Sunni Terrorist Fragments of Unstable Pakistan-Sept 05, 2015

[johneeG]

Arrey saars, this cricket with pakistan is a total non-issue. Playing cricket is not going to change anything nor stopping cricket going to change anything. Of course, its a big business and pakistan wants to wet its beak in here whether its bollywood or cricket. But, thats a side-issue. The core issue is: basically, India has to decide:
- Is Pakistan a friendly entity or not?
- If its a friendly entity then it should be rewarded with all kinds of bounties.
- If its not a friendly entity, then it should be punished in some form which we can afford.
- If its an enemy entity, then we should work towards weakening it in the long-term.

Right now, it seems that Indian Govt is not even clear if Pakistan is a friendly country or enemy country or a neutral country. Indian Govt routinely blames the Pakistani groups for orchestrating terror in India. If these groups are operating in Pakistan and sponsoring terror on India, then either Pakistan hands over these groups to India or Pakistan itself is abetting terror against India. If Pakistan itself is abetting terror against India, then it is an enemy. If it is an enemy, then it should be weakened and broken into pieces.

Playing cricket is just a distraction. The more important point is: does Indian Govt think Pakistan to be a friendly country, enemy country or a neutral country?

[CRamS]

The hypocrisy of your statement about leverage stands out for those who have read your posts repeatedly asserting over the years pointing that the US controls Pakistan while India is impotent. Now suddenly, because of your obsession with cricket, it has become "leverage" that India has over Pakistan. Nice try.

Oh please, cut the nonsense will you, and get a life. Have you declared Jihad on me or what. You have way too much time on your hands. First, you were ranting away that PCB's claim that BCCI approached them is a lie and some crap about giving their lie a publicity despite several newspapers reporting that. When that has been proved false, you come up with another rant. I don't know what I did to you (even after our nice friendly meeting B'lore a few a while back) that you just take some perverse pleasure in going after whatever I say. There is no hypocrisy. Pakis are begging for kirket (read what BJP MP Kirti Azad said), India govt has held tough so far, but BCCI and possibly a lot of WKKs are playing spoilt sport. Its a worthy discussion to have, and yes, it is a leverage.

I know another long rant will follow, and please hammer away (but control your BP), but I am going to ignore, thats a promise. I'd rather fight Pakis than you, because both of us want to see TSP destroyed. Denying them the revenue from kirket is one baby step.

[Prem]

These guys have been selling temples and Gurdwaras and their land.

[KLNMurthy]

DoCJi, I maintain that something is cooking. You are free to disagree. Lets leave it at that.

If something is indeed "cooking " or "not cooking " there is no way to glean that from any paki sources, and increasingly, from much of Indian ELM. Because they are all congenital liars and cookers-up of "facts." So only thing that is cooking anything are your sources. You can't even usefully look for second-order signals, as in, "the fact that they are telling this particular lie at this time means x or y" because, in addition to being congenital liars, these persons are also compulsive liars, who will often tell lies and make up sh1t for no reason.

So, unless you have an alternate credible source of information, you are just being "stubbornly credulous " when you quote such sources as the basis for your insistence that "cooking" of anything other than facts is going on. That is in fact a problem, whose is a different issue.

[KLNMurthy]

Given that I travel to Europe once or twice a year I am a bit jittery after all this. To my misfortune I have been mistaken for a Baki quite often everytime I travel there.

You should feel proud of your TFTA looks then.

[member_22733]

Sorry, no TFTA here.

The likely culprit is my beard. But I have a pandu-havildar fashion handlebar moustache to go with it unlike PBUH following Bakis (they will meticulously shave their moustache).

On top of this I have balding hair and a lazy eye. From which side (of my rather rotund body) I look Baki I dont know.

But I do get asked often (in a slightly awkward way) :- "So, its cold here in Seville huh!, does it get this cold in ... ummm... Packishtan". And I go

[KLNMurthy]

FalijeeJi, why are you posting anything about this topic? As per DocJi's "insight" any news about playing kirket (reported in many newspapers) going on between PCB and BCCI is a figment of Paki imagination, and by discussing it, we are giving them credibility .

On a serious note, yes, it seems BCCI is bent on playing despite GOI's objections, paying scant regard for India's terror concerns

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/report/bc ... 151116.htm

AFAIK BCCI can't do any paki tours w/o GOI approval, so if tour happens, it would because GOI said yes. It doesn't matter what anyone says about it.

[KLNMurthy]

Sorry, no TFTA here.

The likely culprit is my beard. But I have a pandu-havildar fashion handlebar moustache to go with it unlike PBUH following Bakis (they will meticulously shave their moustache).

On top of this I have balding hair and a lazy eye. From which side (of my rather rotund body) I look Baki I dont know.

But I do get asked often (in a slightly awkward way) :- "So, its cold here in Seville huh!, does it get this cold in ... ummm... Packishtan". And I go

Try a turban in Indian flag colors
You could pass as a Sikh and it will also take care of the er, super-high forehead issue Plus, any BRFite you might run into will happily buy drinks.

For lazy eye, maybe a jaunty Moshe Dayan eyepatch?

Yes, I seem to have a bit too much time on my hands and the auto fill on my phone makes typing a breeze.

[Gagan]

CRamS ji
There is always something cooking.
1. Either the ISI / Jihadis are planning a terror strike, or trying to get permission to do one from their higher ups.
2. Now given their media's interest in anti BJP events in India, one has to assume that they will try to dole out money and if possible arms to anti BJP minority groups for a start, and then to some anti BJP netas. I will specially watch out for netas who travel to Pakistan/Nepal to attend a track-2 type jamboree.

These guys can come in handy at times to muddy the water and prevent an overtly anti-pakistan decision being taken by GOI.

That is what draws my attention, not cricket!!!

[Gagan]

Not playing cricket has other side advantages - reforming the Pakistaniyat of Pakistani society wrt their attitudes with India.

These abduls have been taught that hindu baniya is cunning and scheming and bad.
Their cricket board and cricketers groveling for playing cricket series and being allowed into IPL, tells the abduls that their Martial Paki Abdul cricketers are fata-shalwar beggars. And these are their idols and gods that they look upto.

These last few years, starting at the end of Cong rule and this has been acutely intensified with the BJP rule, just going by the rona dhona on Paki TV channels, is teaching the aam abduls in La La Land a very important lesson.

It is teaching them about their insignificance in the world order. Insulated as they are from the rest of the world, and exposed to only the India studies section of fiction taught in their schools and even worse things at the madarsa, this is a very important eyeopener for them. Not every paki abdul can get a visa to travel to India and see the difference hain ji?

This islamist supremacy thing needs to be shattered. That is partly what causes them to do terrorist acts.

[shiv]

Oh please, cut the nonsense will you, and get a life. Have you declared Jihad on me or what. You have way too much time on your hands.
<snip>

I know another long rant will follow, and please hammer away (but control your BP), but I am going to ignore, thats a promise. I'd rather fight Pakis than you, because both of us want to see TSP destroyed. Denying them the revenue from kirket is one baby step.

Good to see you getting irritated. This is exactly the way your posts come off and am happy to see you getting pissed off. It is comforting, and lowers my BP to see you behaving like a normal person rather than the whining ranting cricket enthusiast filling this thread up with cricket news as a measure of geopolitical dominance over Pakistan.

[ramana]

SS,
Bad Sharif good be in US as hallmark of the Paris attack. Recall during 9/11 the ISI chief was sitting in DC observing the festivities.

[CRamS]

Their cricket board and cricketers groveling for playing cricket series and being allowed into IPL, tells the abduls that their Martial Paki Abdul cricketers are fata-shalwar beggars. And these are their idols and gods that they look upto.

Exactly GaganJi, thats the way it should be. Unfortunately, nether does BCCI get it or of they do, they don't care, nor do some WKKS, nor do some piskological ranters here get it . Remember, one other thing. The TSP punks want to play in UAE, and you can imagine the kind of betting rackets and money laundering that goes on there. Its is obvious from TSP begging, that this is a key leverage India has over TSP, and it should be used. I for one will be disappointed if govt of India relents, and so far it has not.

[SSridhar]

We can't blame the Indians. We did the same to our Hindu Minority, Pakistani . . .

That's a clever way of equating. In India, there is nothing happening that can even be remotely compared with what the Pakistanis do to their non-Sunni Wahhabi/Deobandi people.

[shiv]

Exactly GaganJi, thats the way it should be. Unfortunately, nether does BCCI get it or of they do, they don't care, nor do some WKKS, nor do some piskological ranters here get it . Remember, one other thing. The TSP punks want to play in UAE, and you can imagine the kind of betting rackets and money laundering that goes on there. Its is obvious from TSP begging, that this is a key leverage India has over TSP, and it should be used. I for one will be disappointed if govt of India relents, and so far it has not.

Your anger does not cut it boss. That money laundering goes on in India as well and all this blather is simply a way of discussing cricket on this thread. "India dominates Pakistan because Pakistan wants money from BCCI. Let's talk about cricket as a weapon for destroying Pakistan because the Pakistan army and ISI will be rendered weak and powerless when some PCB officials don't make money"

Laughable tripe.

[Kashi]

Not every paki abdul can get a visa to travel to India and see the difference hain ji?

I would go ahead and say "NO Paki abdul should EVER get a visa to travel to India and see the difference". Let them stew in their own juices.

This islamist supremacy thing needs to be shattered. That is partly what causes them to do terrorist acts.

Not bloody likely. Nothing will be shattered as long as Islami mumaalik exist, even if Pakiland ceases to exist in its present form- many Pakis have said as much. After every defeat, they do not blame Islam, rather they blame the LACK of Islam and the reason why Allah ne humaari nahin suni and strive to become more and more pious. They will believe believe in Islamic supremacy till their dying breath. One can only accelerate that process...

[Gagan]

CRamS ji,
Neither you nor I did anything wrt cricket with Pakistan.
BCCI and BCCI alone did this. They threw the pakistanis out of IPL, they stopped cricket series with the Pakistanis.

They are an organization that holds the worldwide cricketing keys, they DOMINATE cricket worldwide.
I say we trust their judgement and let them do what they see fit. Ultimately, the emperor (BCCI) has to dangle a carrot at the minions (Abduls), and not entirely do a dry earth policy.

See how hard Shaharyar khan has had to jump hain? See all the pleading, groveling, traveling, chamchagiri and maskagiri he has had to do? Surely that effort has to be given something, some reward, by the Gods in BCCI hain ji?

[CRamS]

GaganJi, is the ostensible disagreement between GOI and BCCI real or good cop bad cop kind of deal? But its obvious to one and all that PCB (and by default ISI given they are the deep state) want cash, recall Hajam Soothi's interview that someone posted here, and India must deny that. Bring them to their knees and let them continue the begging. Can we not continue to use this TSP desperation as a lever to drive home a hard bargain on terror?

[Kashi]

GaganJi, is the ostensible disagreement between GOI and BCCI real or good cop bad cop kind of deal? But its obvious to one and all that PCB (and by default ISI given they are the deep state) want cash, recall Hajam Soothi's interview that someone posted here, and India must deny that. Bring them to their knees and let them continue the begging. Can we not continue to use this TSP desperation as a lever to drive home a hard bargain on terror?

That is unlikely to happen. It hasn't happened so far and cricket will hardly be the catalyst for that to happen.

We have not played a bilateral series with Pakis since 2008 (save for the ill-considered 3 matcher in 2013), no Pakis in IPL since 2009. There has been absolutely no change in Paki mindset or their policies during this period. Why? Because cricketers and cricket do not run Pakistan (Im the dim's circus notwithstanding)- Cricket, as important as it is, forms a minor portion of that system. The army runs Pakistan and they DO NOT need cricket or trade with India to survive.

What will bring Pakis to their knees is a complete socio-economic collapse. That is unlikely to happen happen as long as the the four fathers continue to keep them afloat via periodic jaziatic transfusions. This leaves the army free to launch terror strikes on India, while Ganja and his pals face the verbal music from the rest of the world.

We must deny Pakis the privilege of playing cricket with us, not because it will bring them down to their knees, but because we as a country can very well do without any sort of business with them. A resumption of cricket ties will not be seen by Pakis as a sign of warmth or reconciliation. No. They will view it as the eevil yeendus capitulating "as usual" and being brought down to our knees by the Pakis and only invigorate them to fuel even more jihaad. The Hajams and Choryaars all know this, along with the money they will make.

[Prem]

General Raheel, CIA director discuss regional security challenges
http://www.dawn.com/news/1220275/genera ... challenges
( Chinese lock on Bombs must be giving some one goosebums)

WASHINGTON: Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif and CIA chief John Brennan met on Monday and discussed security challenges facing the region and the way forward to confront these, said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).Gen Raheel visited the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters in Langley, Virginia, where he held a meeting with the CIA chief.During the meeting, the COAS specifically highlighted the need for permanent stability in the region, ISPR spokesman Director-General ISPR Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa said in a series of tweets.he COAS is in the United States on a five-day visit, in a trip analysts have said will underscore security issues facing Islamabad and Washington in the region as well as the dynamics relating to civilian-military ties within Pakistan.The US Department of Defence said on Monday Washington was grateful that the COAS was visiting the US for consultations on bilateral issues, Dawn newspaper reported.

[Shreeman]

Sorry, no TFTA here.

The likely culprit is my beard. But I have a pandu-havildar fashion handlebar moustache to go with it unlike PBUH following Bakis (they will meticulously shave their moustache).

On top of this I have balding hair and a lazy eye. From which side (of my rather rotund body) I look Baki I dont know.

But I do get asked often (in a slightly awkward way) :- "So, its cold here in Seville huh!, does it get this cold in ... ummm... Packishtan". And I go

To bee buying yourself jewsian hat or skullcandee plis. All kweschens will end. No maulaner worth his salt will be caught looking jewsian.

[Vayutuvan]

LokeshC lucky up you to be visiting Spain. There is one Helen Macinnes takes place in Seville and Maclean's caravan to vaccaris. Both good spy/ thriller books.

[SSridhar]

Pakistan's General Raheel Sharif Goes to Washington: Déjà Vu All Over Again - Michael Kugelman, The Diplomat

Imagine you’re the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, and you’ve been tasked to draft a cable to prepare American officials in Washington for the visit of General Raheel Sharif, the Pakistani army chief who has arrived in town for a five-day trip.

So what would you say?

First, you’d counsel some conciliatory comments: “We should recognize growing Pakistani casualties in the fight against militants … [and] reiterate the long-term U.S. commitment to support Pakistan.”

Soon thereafter, however, you’d urge your Washington counterparts to get down to business: “We need to lay down a clear marker that Pakistan’s Army/ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s spy agency] must stop overt or tacit support for militant proxies.”

And then you’d get to the heart of the matter: “The single biggest message … is that this support must end. It is now counterproductive to Pakistan’s own interests and directly conflicts with USG objectives in Afghanistan—where [the] Haqqani [network] is killing American soldiers and Afghan civilians,” and in the broader region, where the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008 “exposed the fruits of previous ISI policy to create Lashkar-e-Taiba and still threatens potential conflict between nuclear powers.”

Some thoughts on Afghanistan would be in order: “We should ask for his views on what political end state in Afghanistan would convince him to end proxy support for militants.”

And on India as well: “Indo-Pak tensions are still simmering, but to avoid a potential Indian military strike, the GOP [government of Pakistan] needs to continue to show progress on prosecuting those Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives responsible for the Mumbai attacks.”

Nuclear proliferation too: “We believe that the military is proceeding with an expansion of both its growing strategic weapons and missile programs.”

There would also be some obligatory words on U.S. military aid to Pakistan: “We continue to work on delivering Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aerial capability,” and “we need to come to agreement with Pakistan” on aligning U.S. military support with Pakistan’s long-term counterterrorism needs.

Finally, you’d wrap up with some suggested talking points for conversations with General Sharif. Their tone would range from cordial (“What we seek going forward is an all-encompassing bilateral relationship based on what we can accomplish for the future.”) and inquisitive (“We must succeed in Afghanistan. What is your vision for what constitutes an acceptable outcome?”) to firm bordering on threatening: “It is time to cut your ties to extremist groups/proxy forces and urge the permanent severing of ties. Such ties hinder trust and our ability to move forward together.”

In fact, there’s nothing hypothetical about this cable. It’s already been written—but not earlier this week. It was transmitted nearly seven years ago—in February 2009, several weeks after President Obama took office, on the eve of a visit to Washington by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistani army chief at the time.

And yet it would also be a perfectly suitable memo to set the scene for General Sharif’s Washington meetings this week.

To be sure, much has changed in the U.S.-Pakistan security relationship since 2009. The Pakistanis have significantly ramped up their fight against anti-state militants. The frequency of U.S. drone strikes—another big theme in the 2009 memo—has diminished dramatically. Washington’s nuclear concerns have shifted from Pakistan’s strategic assets to its rapidly intensifying tactical stockpile. Above all, U.S. forces are no longer fighting a combat war in Afghanistan, meaning that Washington does not need as much Pakistani counterterrorism and countermilitancy assistance. Consequently, military aid flows to Pakistan could see some reductions—and the relationship on the whole could be scaled down to an extent.

And yet the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The United States continues to emphasize cooperation with, and a commitment to, Pakistan. It continues to seek Pakistani assistance in Afghanistan, and to ply the Pakistani military with money and material. For good reason, it continues to worry about Pakistan’s nukes and its volatile relationship with India.

And yet through it all, Pakistan’s security establishment continues to nurture ties with militant groups that endanger U.S. interests and lives.

The cold hard calculus of international relations dictates that nations pursue relations with each other to help advance national interests. And yet Washington’s relations with Pakistan have arguably imperiled its core interests as much as they have advanced them. To be sure, Pakistan has helped U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan by offering the use of supply routes, and it has assisted U.S. drone efforts by letting the United States use Pakistani military bases. Additionally, in recent months Pakistan has waged major offensives against militants and their command-and-control systems in North Waziristan. This has brought some much-needed stability (read: fewer terror attacks in Pakistan, at least for now).

And yet even as it pockets billions in U.S. aid and takes in tons of military hardware, Pakistan patronizes proxy groups that terrorize Americans, Afghans, and Indians.

What accounts for this dysfunctional dynamic? One reason is naiveté: a belief that showering Pakistan with aid will, in time, compel it to act in ways that benefit U.S. interests. As Husain Haqqani’s book Magnificent Delusions makes clear, U.S. officials have long been content to keep the aid flowing while holding their noses and hoping for the best. Such an approach is utterly wrong-headed; U.S. aid does not buy Washington leverage over Pakistan. Additionally, U.S. and Pakistani interests are diametrically divergent on the militancy issue. For America, the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba are dangerous groups that must be reined in. For Pakistan, these groups are useful assets because they make archenemy India vulnerable.

Another possible reason for Washington’s continued courtship of a nation that works against American objectives and interests? Fear. The United States prefers to be on the good side of a volatile nuclear-armed nation than on its bad side.

Whatever the reason, we can expect more of the same this week in Washington. General Sharif’s meetings will feature plenty of discussion about Afghanistan—and how Pakistan can help bring the Taliban back to the negotiating table. There will presumably be talk of a potential—though highly unlikely—deal to scale back Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program. Sharif will likely make fresh pitches for new military assistance. The United States will issue fresh calls for Pakistan to end its relationships with militants. And through it all, Gen. Sharif will receive the full red carpet treatment—as he did on his last trip to Washington.

It’s possible and desirable to make the best of a difficult relationship. Indeed, there is considerable scope for genuine cooperation—based not on pie-in-the-sky hopes for a nuclear deal, but rather on limited but practical counterterrorism collaboration on shared threats such as al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban, and, as November 13 made horrifically clear, an increasingly expansionist ISIS. The Americans and Pakistanis can also work together to resuscitate the Afghan reconciliation process—though despite their best efforts, along with those of China, the Taliban has little incentive to come to the table, given its soaring successes on the battlefield. Additionally, Kabul’s enthusiasm for a peace process with a deep Pakistani imprint has dimmed of late. Yet given the stakes for a war with no military solution, this is something U.S. officials should discuss in earnest with General Sharif.

Nevertheless, none of this will silence the constant refrain yapping at the heels of this relationship: We’ve been here before. Or, as the late and inimitable Yogi Berra famously put it, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

Disagree? Just refer back to that 2009 cable.

We’ve seen this movie before—literally. “Groundhog Day” is a 1993 film about a weatherman doomed to repeat the same day—Groundhog Day—over and over. It is an apt metaphor for one of diplomacy’s most fraught bilateral partnerships.

When it comes to U.S.-Pakistan security relations, every day is Groundhog Day.

[Murugan]

Irony

Pakistan Condemns Cross Border Shelling from Afghanistan

[asgkhan]

They wanted me to cook chapatis, stay indoors: Imran Khan's ex-wife Reham

http://zeenews.india.com/sports/cricket ... 22411.html

London: Two weeks after Imran Khan's second marriage ended in a divorce in just 10 months, Reham has spoken out, claiming that she was told that she should be making chapatis in the kitchen and not to be seen outside.

The Pakistani cricket legend-turned-politician and the 42-year-old TV journalist announced their decision to split on October 30 amid reports that Imran objected to her meddling in politics.

62-year-old Imran's marriage to Reham was his second after his first marriage with English heiress Jemima Goldsmith for nine years ended in divorce in June, 2004.

ALSO READ: Did Imran Khan's ex-wife Reham try to poison him?​

Reham Khan, a divorced mother of three, left a job on regional BBC news and moved back to Pakistan in 2013.

"I was told specifically by a senior adviser: they basically wanted me to be in the kitchen, to be cooking chapatis and not to be seen ever again," Reham told Sunday Times.

Reham said as soon as she and her youngest daughter moved into Imran's mansion in Bani Gala, on a hilltop overlooking Islamabad, she felt stifled.

Her career was a constant problem, particularly when she became an "ambassador for street children" in Peshawar.

"There wasn't any involvement, I never attended meetings or anything of the sort, but obviously there was insecurity," Reham said.

Reham said she gave up her television show to avoid a conflict of interest and did not work for several months.

But she still upset Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) early on when a journalist questioned her about problems in her first marriage. Asked in an interview if she had been the victim of domestic abuse, she "didn't want to lie" and said yes.

"I answered as diplomatically as I could, being a politician's wife," she told the paper.

But the media storm that followed upset Imran's party.

Imran's response was silence, she said.

ALSO READ: Black magic causes divorce, says Imran Khan's ex-wife Reham

"I was told not to defend myself, to let it die down, she said. But the "attacks escalated". Although Imran knew about her past, she thinks it took its toll on him: "I don't know if he was surprised by it, but he was affected by it."

She said guests to Imran's home were never fed and Imran was surviving on "one chapati a day".

Imran was not, she thinks, quite prepared for married bliss.

"I tried to talk to him. I'm very talkative and I'm very chatty but, you know, you can't exactly with Imran Khan. You can't discuss the colour of the curtains; you can only talk politics. You cannot exactly discuss Bollywood films with him.

God knows I tried," she said.

Reham said she plans to continue her work with street children in Pakistan, is producing two films.

"I have to make up for loss of income. I married a man who convinced me that he loved me, who looked lonely and who I thought had the same ideas about life and the same goals, but we were just too different," she said.

[asgkhan]

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... ge-divorce

When the news of my marriage to Imran Khan, Pakistan’s cricket star turned politician, broke in January this year, my sister joked that the way I was being introduced in the press – as talaaq yafta (divorcée) – seemed to almost be a qualification, like a degree. I was described by the media as a divorced mother-of-three while, unsurprisingly, my husband’s previous marriage to Jemima Goldsmith was not discussed. I watched in dismay how the media spared no personal details to feed their bulletins – including flashing my children’s birth certificates on their screens. Where they found no information, they liberally filled in the blanks with their own imaginations.

Now, since the announcement of our divorce was made last month, while I was abroad, quite a few things have dawned on me. One, I’m not as intelligent as I think. Two, the sad realisation that, if you’re a woman, it doesn’t matter how educated you are, how enviable your income might be or how confident and high-achieving you are. A poor, uneducated woman and I are both vulnerable to the same risks: any man can throw mud at you, can abuse you, can call your character into question and get away with it without having to prove anything. Fathers, brothers, husbands and sons often lead the way in the brutal slaughter of a woman’s basic rights – all in the name of “love” and “protection”.


Imran Khan announces divorce after 10 months of marriage
Read more
Back in January, as Imran and I arrived home from our walima reception in Islamabad, I was told that we would be sitting together to give our first-ever TV interview as newlyweds. Totally unprepared, without even having the chance to change out of my bridal outfit, I was put on the hot seat to face millions of people. The anchor sprang a surprise: he said his research had shown that I had been a victim of domestic violence in my first marriage. Unprepared for a question no one had ever asked me before – about a traumatic memory that I had locked away – I tried to answer in a balanced fashion and said: “I’m not scarred by my experience of domestic violence. It is a huge issue, though. I have never spoken about my own experience before, but this issue needs a lot of awareness.”

The following day, my first husband denied the allegations and said my answer was a complete lie. I was advised by Imran’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), not to respond.

This became the beginning of the end of the woman I had been; a woman who had defied oppression, who had never confined herself to stereotypes, suddenly in a position where she was expected to conform to traditional behaviour associated with Pakistani political wives and first ladies. Everything that I stood for – from women’s rights, social freedom, independence of thought and a voice of one’s own – had to be compromised. And I willingly did so, out of love. A “celebrity couple” wants the same things that an average couple wants and can have similar domestic problems. Admittedly, because we were in the public eye, everyone felt they had a right to get involved in our private affairs. Marrying a man most people have become accustomed to seeing as the country’s foremost bachelor compounds the problem further. Women in our society generally complain of an interfering mother-in-law or sister-in-law, but being the national bhabi (sister-in-law), meant the whole country was my susral (in-laws); it meant everyone had a say.

To me, now, it feels as if the value of a wife’s love and devotion is worthless. The price of a stamp is all you need as a man in Pakistan to shut the doors of your house to a woman who had made it a home. The decision to take away a roof from a woman’s head can be made in a flash. At 42 and after two marriages, it’s back to square one. Things that you leave behind are insignificant – they can be bought again. But the faith in humanity and the faith in love that you lose can never be replaced.

The striking fact is that in the 10 years previous that I was unmarried and on my own (two of those years in Pakistan), I felt more secure and protected. I went and got married to the strongest man in the land, idolised by millions, only to face a barrage of abuse. In the end, being Mrs Imran Khan couldn’t protect me. Even the divorce announcement couldn’t stop the hate campaign waged in the press to demolish my character. It still surprises me how people I have never met and who are sitting miles away, are capable of giving reliable information about me. I wasn’t aware of the extra eyes and ears inside my bedroom. People who can’t pronounce my name have become authorities on my character, finding it perfectly acceptable to degrade me on national television. It wasn’t the ease with which the vitriol poured from the press, it was the complacency with which the nation watched it day after day that confirmed a deep-rooted misogyny. As I met different diehard professional female PTI supporters, I urged them to come forward and become active in politics. The answer was always the same: “Look at what they are doing to you! We cannot tolerate the attacks you put up with.”

I have been asked constantly why my marriage ended after just 10 months: was it because of the media scrutiny? Or was it the interference of Imran’s advisors? Is it possible that family disapproval played a part? The answer: none of the above.

A bond that is strong can withstand any attack, rumour or pressure. It was no one but us who were responsible for the relationship’s breakdown. We are both mature adults who, between us, have an accumulated wisdom of more than a hundred years. It happened because we allowed it to happen. In the absence of any serious differences of opinion or unreasonable demands, if a bond breaks that easily, it means it has not been cemented together with strong communication. Conjecture about what the reason was, who was behind it and when it was triggered is pointless.

I have always felt it was my duty to protect my family. After Imran became family, I defended him in every way. When my campaign appearances for the PTI were criticised, I disappeared from the public eye. From both our Twitter accounts we clearly stated that I would never have a role in the party. But that wasn’t enough to put a stop to the censure. And so, I felt compelled to make a graceful exit hoping that the unimaginable pressure on my husband would cease and he could focus on his mission. Love isn’t always about hanging on. Sometimes it’s about letting go.

[Gagan]

Pakistan won't itself do anything about its jihadi groups.
If some other power steps in and whacks them to paste, the pak fauj will stand by and watch it all happen - just like they did when their state-nonstate guest no. 1, OBL was being marinated to become fish food.

I think this will partly be true if someone whacks the LET or JEM.

[Gagan]

As someone has said before...
Washington DC had better watch out, we are back to the pre 9-11 days with Pakistan needing a four-father, money and political support. Massa again showing a renewed interest in Pakistan's new-clear program (as it is wont to do, every decade or so...), Gen Raheel Sharif just happens to be in town, and there might be several pakis in ISIS.

[SSridhar]

Mani Shankar Aiyar asks Pakistan to 'remove' Modi so that dialogue can start - ToI

Barely had the row over his remarks on Paris attacks faded that senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar once again courted controversy on Tuesday by asking for the removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to solve the Kashmir dispute.

"Hamein le aaiye, inhein hataiye (Bring in the Congress, remove him)," Aiyar reportedly told a Pakistani TV anchor when asked about how his party, the Congress, suggests the bitter India-Pakistan imbroglio over Kashmir be resolved. "That you have to do," was the anchor's response.

The Congress, embarrassed by its senior leader for a second straight day, dismissed the row. "We haven't heard what Mani Shankarji has said, but I can say the position of our party is to have a friendly neighborhood," Congress spokesperson, Tom Vadakkan, said.{What kind of a response is this completely unconnected with the issue?}

Aiyar's remarks on Modi came a day after the Congress had to do some serious firefighting in the wake of the Paris massacre. Reacting to the attacks on Friday which killed 129 people, Aiyar had called for "the anti-Islam phobia" that is being carried out in the western countries "to be stopped immediately", remarks that were seen as his endorsement of the attacks.

[SSridhar]

As someone has said before...
Washington DC had better watch out, we are back to the pre 9-11 days with Pakistan needing a four-father, money and political support. Massa again showing a renewed interest in Pakistan's new-clear program (as it is wont to do, every decade or so...), Gen Raheel Sharif just happens to be in town, and there might be several pakis in ISIS.

And, ISIS has openly said that the next target was Washington DC

[rsingh]

They wanted me to cook chapatis, stay indoors: Imran Khan's ex-wife Reham

http://zeenews.india.com/sports/cricket ... 22411.html

London: Two weeks after Imran Khan's second marriage ended in a divorce in just 10 months, Reham has spoken out, claiming that she was told that she should be making chapatis in the kitchen and not to be seen outside.

The Pakistani cricket legend-turned-politician and the 42-year-old TV journalist announced their decision to split on October 30 amid reports that Imran objected to her meddling in politics.

62-year-old Imran's marriage to Reham was his second after his first marriage with English heiress Jemima Goldsmith for nine years ended in divorce in June, 2004.

ALSO READ: Did Imran Khan's ex-wife Reham try to poison him?​

Reham Khan, a divorced mother of three, left a job on regional BBC news and moved back to Pakistan in 2013.

"I was told specifically by a senior adviser: they basically wanted me to be in the kitchen, to be cooking chapatis and not to be seen ever again," Reham told Sunday Times.

Reham said as soon as she and her youngest daughter moved into Imran's mansion in Bani Gala, on a hilltop overlooking Islamabad, she felt stifled.

Her career was a constant problem, particularly when she became an "ambassador for street children" in Peshawar.

"There wasn't any involvement, I never attended meetings or anything of the sort, but obviously there was insecurity," Reham said.

Reham said she gave up her television show to avoid a conflict of interest and did not work for several months.

But she still upset Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) early on when a journalist questioned her about problems in her first marriage. Asked in an interview if she had been the victim of domestic abuse, she "didn't want to lie" and said yes.

"I answered as diplomatically as I could, being a politician's wife," she told the paper.

But the media storm that followed upset Imran's party.

Imran's response was silence, she said.

ALSO READ: Black magic causes divorce, says Imran Khan's ex-wife Reham

"I was told not to defend myself, to let it die down, she said. But the "attacks escalated". Although Imran knew about her past, she thinks it took its toll on him: "I don't know if he was surprised by it, but he was affected by it."

She said guests to Imran's home were never fed and Imran was surviving on "one chapati a day".

Imran was not, she thinks, quite prepared for married bliss.

"I tried to talk to him. I'm very talkative and I'm very chatty but, you know, you can't exactly with Imran Khan. You can't discuss the colour of the curtains; you can only talk politics. You cannot exactly discuss Bollywood films with him.

God knows I tried," she said.

Reham said she plans to continue her work with street children in Pakistan, is producing two films.

"I have to make up for loss of income. I married a man who convinced me that he loved me, who looked lonely and who I thought had the same ideas about life and the same goals, but we were just too different," she said.

Wah re kismat..............kya tamacha mara hei.

[Paul]

Adnan Sami ‏@AdnanSamiLive Nov 12
@IndianExpress What rubbish! I renounced via standard form Sec-14A Citizenship act 1951 & it WAS accepted by Pak High Commission Delhi!

[CRamS]

GaganJi/SSJi, my take on this bogus ISIS threat in US, is just that, hot air. This is one of those things one cannot openly prove, but from the anti-Muslim atmosphere in US: overtly (Trump like statements to close down some mosques), to official FBI and other internal security policies, you can be rest assured, every Muslim's shadow is being followed.

Availability of guns is a huge issue, but even there, I will be willing to bet that FBI has instructed every gun store to alert them if a person of color (super set of most Muslims) buys a gun. And finally, US is ultra nationalistic that you don't have "award wapsi" and MSA type morons who come anywhere close to dominating the airwaves, and average joe-six-pack will not hesitate to shoot a Muslim in "self defense".

But closer to home, in an oblique way the so called ISIS threat to US has its implications on India. What I'd watch for is the amount of goodies US doles out to "moderate Muslims" like bad Sheriff during his sojourn to the super power capital. And also Mira Kamdar, Pankaj Mishra type shrill propaganda in widely-read US/UK newspapers like NYT, WP, Economist etc that India under BJP govt is "intolerant" and "fascistic" towards Muslims.

Bottom line: the so called bogus threat that ISIS poses to US, is just anther pawn on US empire's chess board to manipulate geo-politics to ensure its pre-eminence, nothing else. I live in US, and I won't sleep over ISIS despite the shrill rhetoric on CNN/Fox, and republican/democrat toadies using ISIS and anti-Muslim rhetoric for one-upmanship and jockeying for power. Matter of fact, in the middle of last night, in our area here in North Texas, me and my family had to huddle for about 30 mins in a closet in our basement because the national weather service issued a tornado alert. In other words, US faces more dangers from weather and lily white gun-toting nut balls than ISIS.

[Gagan]

CRamS ji,
I wonder if you've lived inside the beltway, or been in Virginia-stan.
There is a HUGE muslim community there, there is that mosque near 7 corners, where one group of nau-do-gyara hijackers went to and prayed.
The number of burquas you see there will remind you of downtown lawhore or pindi onlee.

I don't think that any threat is bogus onlee. Things seem to happen out of the blue, these terrorist groups are very sophisticated, have state support. No terrorist group can exist unless it has some form of state support.

[Anurag]

Mani Shankar Aiyar asks Pakistan to 'remove' Modi so that dialogue can start - ToI

Barely had the row over his remarks on Paris attacks faded that senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar once again courted controversy on Tuesday by asking for the removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to solve the Kashmir dispute.

"Hamein le aaiye, inhein hataiye (Bring in the Congress, remove him)," Aiyar reportedly told a Pakistani TV anchor when asked about how his party, the Congress, suggests the bitter India-Pakistan imbroglio over Kashmir be resolved. "That you have to do," was the anchor's response.

The Congress, embarrassed by its senior leader for a second straight day, dismissed the row. "We haven't heard what Mani Shankarji has said, but I can say the position of our party is to have a friendly neighborhood," Congress spokesperson, Tom Vadakkan, said.{What kind of a response is this completely unconnected with the issue?}

Aiyar's remarks on Modi came a day after the Congress had to do some serious firefighting in the wake of the Paris massacre. Reacting to the attacks on Friday which killed 129 people, Aiyar had called for "the anti-Islam phobia" that is being carried out in the western countries "to be stopped immediately", remarks that were seen as his endorsement of the attacks.

This ba$tard is such a low life, he wants to throw the PM of India under the bus just to suck up to India's enemy. Unreal!

[CRamS]

Oh yes, I have, all I am saying is that US security apparatus post 9/11 has the Muslim community under complete control. On the PR side, faces with brown skin and Muslim names like Fareed Zakarhia on CNN obsessively extolling the virtues of the "founding fathers" and Ronald Reagan doesn't hurt. Also, GagnJi, I am not saying ISIS if it succeeds in its motives, won't inflict the kind of wanton slaughter in US as it does in mideast and France, all I am saying is that like everything elase the super power does, its exaggerated rhetoric far exceeds reality, and one must look under the hood for policy implications. And in our case, its the extent to which it molly-coddles "moderate Muslims" like TSP who will sing the same the anti-ISIS dulcets even as it unleashes ISIS-like pigLeTs into India.

[Gagan]

MSA HAS to have some very compelling reason to be saying this. Just like the delhi congressi goons in 1984, went on a killing spree, because they thought it would bring them closer to RG.
So MSA, who's kinda not in the inner circle of congress, is putting on this act, to cush some support with the inner circle, trying to kill two birds with one stone - Pak-pasandi and Anti-Modi.
This is a convergence of interest that we've spoken about in the past.

[Abhay_S]

In the skies of Pakistan, drinking is an act of terrorism — if you’re a pilot

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wor ... terrorist/

By Tim Craig November 17 at 2:00 AM

In Pakistan, headline-grabbing terrorism cases usually involve Islamist militant accused of plotting suicide bombings, assassinations or attacks on government or military installations.

But now Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act is being used against a pilot accused of being drunk while trying to land a passenger jet.

Last week, a jet operated by a private Pakistani airline, Shaheen Air, skidded off the runway while landing in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore.

About 120 passengers were on board as the plane lumbered into a grassy field, blowing a tire but stopping about 1,000 feet from certain disaster. Ten passengers were slightly injured in the crash, which raised further questions about the safety of Pakistan’s aging fleet of private and state-owned domestic airlines.

Over the weekend, a government investigation into the accident concluded the pilot, Asmat Mehmood, was “drunk” at the time of the crash. According to Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority, Mehmood had a blood alcohol level of .08.

Since 1977, alcohol has been banned in Pakistan. CAA regulations state that “no alcohol level is acceptable in the blood” of pilots, cockpit or cabin crews or passengers in Pakistan. In the United States, the CAA noted in a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations prohibits pilots from flying if their blood alcohol level exceeds .04.

Mehmood’s family and some of his colleagues deny he had been drinking. Instead, they describe him as hero who managed to save 120 passengers on a plane that had to make a crash-landing because it was “overweight,” according to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper.

One captain told Dawn that the same plane experienced four other weight-related mishaps over the past three years.

Based on my travels in Pakistan, Mehmood's apparent defense is somewhat believable.

Earlier this summer, I was on a Pakistani International Airlines (PIA) flight that was oversold. Instead of pushing off extra passengers onto another flight, the flight crew allowed one random passenger to crouch on the floor in the cockpit – for a flight over some of the world’s tallest mountains. Domestic airlines in Pakistan also seem far less strict in enforcing restrictions on weight limits for luggage.

But there is also past precedent for a Pakistani pilot being drunk in the cockpit, despite the country’s conservative reputation.

In 2013, authorities in the United Kingdom arrested a PIA pilot and jailed him for nine months after he smelled of alcohol while preparing to fly about 150 passengers from Leeds-Bradford airport to Islamabad. The pilot reportedly had a blood alcohol limit of four times the legal limit for a pilot in the United Kingdom.

Whatever the truth is in this case, Pakistani police are taking the matter seriously.

Over the weekend, 12 to 15 men scaled the wall in front of Mehmood’s house in Karachi and detained him, Dawn reported.

According to The Express Tribune, the men did not identify themselves, causing Mehmood’s family to report the matter as an “abduction.”

They “started beating him before they dragged him outside,” Mehmood’s wife told the newspaper.

Police in Pakistan’s Punjab province, which includes Lahore, later admitted Mehmood has been detained under Pakistan’s counterterrorism ordinance.

“He has been booked under ATA on the complaint of the Civil Aviation Authority,” said Haider Ashraf, a senior police official from Lahore. “The CAA says his act nearly caused death to ... passengers.”

Among other things, Pakistan’s counter-terrorism act covers any crime that is “likely to cause death or endangers a person’s life.” Mehmood could face up to 14 years in jail if he is ultimately charged and convicted for a terrorism-related offense that didn't result in anyone being killed.

In the meantime, Pakistani aviation authorities have sent fresh notices to Pakistani airlines reminding flight crews: Don’t drink and fly.

Tim Craig is The Post’s bureau chief in Pakistan. He has also covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and within the District of Columbia government.

[CRamS]

Guys, I watched that termite MSA's interview. Not worth positing. But I am curious when he says in TSP that ModiJi must be removed, what is his subtle message to his ISI sponsors? Can this guy be tried for treason and locked up for good?

[Falijee]

Pir Pasand Paki Politicians
Of pirs, goats and kaali daal: Pakistani leaders and their superstitious ways

Pakistanis are a superstitious lot. It is easier for us to blame our own mistakes, lack of vision or just poor risk perception on evil eyes, bad omens or anything else that suits our fancy. The important thing to remember is, it is never we, who are at fault ...

Asif Ali Zardari – Former president

Our former president, who has the distinct honour of having his party’s democratically elected government complete its full term, the first in our history, weathered every storm by sacrificing a goat every day. Every day of the year, for years.

Definitely helped him!Dead goat came in his dream, warned him of the "coming danger" to his political life, so he skipped town mrgreen:

One wonders if the goat sacrifice is still the norm behind the fortress-like walls of Bilawal House, but only God and American spy satellites would know.

Oxford Education Zardari-Bhutto Jr. does not believe in these superstitions; but then who knows what goes behind the walls!

It would be an injustice if we do not mention Pir Ejaz, the pir who enabled our former president to access the paltry sum of $60 million in his Swiss bank account.
The pir gave up all worldly pleasures and meditated in Medina for a year, for the sake of el presidente’s money. The level of dedication is admirable.At the end of the year long meditation, the former president was able to cash his cheque at his Swiss bank branch.

No doubt with a Dus Percent commission credited to the Pir's Sharia Compliant Swiss Bank Account

The pir also claims that no harm can come to Asif Zardari, due to his otherworldly efforts.
The pir had also advised the then president to live near the seashore, in order to ward of ‘evil spirits dangling over his head’. It is highly likely that Zardari’s presence so near to the coast saved us from Cyclone Nilofer.

This service provided ex gratis on the condition that Zardari give a personal letter of recommendation,which the Pir can use to solicit future political clients

Nawaz Sharif – Incumbent prime minister

Our incumbent prime minister is no stranger when it comes to superstitions and pirs. They have guided him well, so well in fact that he got kicked out of office twice; let’s hope third time is a charm.

He better be careful; his Wahabi backers are deadly against this superstitious practice

The pir in Sharif’s life was the celebrated Dewana Baba of Dhanaka Sharif in Mansehra District. Sharif would race to his hilltop abode every time an election was near, in order to get his blessings.

And the Pir better be ready, to oblige Ganja with his favourite dishes like Paya, Nihari, Pindi-Cholay etc etc

Nawaz’s visit to the pir was surely a blessing for the pir’s fellow villagers, as their village was electrified during Sharif’s second term.

So, this pir was "communal minded" and did not ask anything for his own personal use

The pir died in 2008, one wonders if there is a new pir in Nawaz’s life.

So, this explains Ganja's present political problems with the Bad Sharif; And, the search for the " Pakjabi personal pir" is still underway in Pakiland
Benazir Bhutto – Former prime minister

Elected twice democratically, and dismissed just as many times undemocratically, former prime minister of Pakistan and wife to Asif Zardari, had her own pir to guide and assist her. No need for advisers or ministers to advice on functions of the state, the pir knows all.

So, an Oxford Educated Mohtarama also believes in these superstitions; probably, this trait runs in the family

Benazir was lucky to have inherited Dewana Baba after she assumed office following Nawaz’s dismissal. His dismissal should have been a red flag, but Benazir continued to visit the 'famed' pir, and sought his blessings whenever the need arose.
It is reported that she had the road leading to the pir’s abode paved, and eventually constructed a helipad for easier and quicker access, beating Nawaz to his favourite pir.

But are not these "charlatans" Wajib-ul-cutlet under the present Islamic set up ? Maybe, the Saudis need to complete their job of "Islamizing" Pakistan

Another famous incident is of Benazir’s first trip to the White House after getting married. She was accompanied by an individual, part of her very ‘small’ entourage,......

The Americans, just like the Pakistanis on the trip, were unable to determine who the individual in question was. Many say, including a very prominent journalist of Pakistan, that the man was a pir who was accompanying the first couple of Pakistan.

Hope that this was not Dus Percenti's personal pir and hope that the White House was not used as a venue for "goat sacrifice"

Imran Khan – Kaptaan

If social media and certain reports are to be believed, Khan rubbed kaali daal all over himself to ward off a curse. Another distinct possibility is that Khan was experimenting with a new method to cleanse his skin. All those trips to Sindh’s dusty interior areas to gather votes wreak havoc on one’s skin.

What, another Oxford Alumina making thePir Superstition list !
Wonder, if the Ex Mrs Imran Khan had her own personal pir advising her

here were also media reports about certain amulets being found. In a perfect world, amulets would win elections and stop those unsavory opposition party leaders from rigging elections, but fortunately, the world is not a perfect place.

Maybe, Kaptaan's personal pir is hiding in the closet (" Hidden Imam belief Of Shiites ) and at the right time, he may "come out of the closet", as the saying goes !