The 2,700-km stretch will transfer Iranian gas to India, through Pakistan
The agreement has an article that will allow India to join the project at an appropriate time
Turbulence in Baluchistan province poses practical difficulties in its implementation
Four men say their training experience in Pakistan wasn't what they hoped for. Anti-terrorism officials wonder if they're just biding their time, ready to strike in Europe.
"We were expecting at least a welcome for 'our brothers from Europe' and a warm atmosphere of hospitality," ... Instead, the Europeans -- and at least one American -- learned that life in the shadow of the Predator is nasty, brutish and short.
Then the trainees dodged missile strikes for months. They endured disease, quarrels and boredom, huddling in cramped compounds that defied heroic images of camps full of fraternal warriors.
ISLAMABAD: In an unprecedented move, the top military leadership of Pakistan has directed the ISI and the Military Intelligence (MI) to conduct an urgent inquiry into the shocking allegations of possible collaboration between former commissioner Malakand Mohammad Javed and the Taliban, who first gunned down and then beheaded four SSG commandos in Swat.
A top intelligence source confided that an unrelated critical telephone intercept might throw some kind of light on the former commissioner’s allegedly sympathetic leaning towards the Taliban. Javed, it may be recalled, had also told the media and the Supreme Court, on oath, that Taliban did not lash the girl in public in the much publicised lashing case. But later, ANP leader Afzal Khan Lala and other journalists from Swat had confirmed the shocking incident.
The investigators, it was learnt, shall also look at the coincidence of why Javed was never touched by the Taliban, who otherwise were kidnapping soldiers and other civil servants like DC Dir, etc. Why he was chosen by the Taliban to negotiate the release of those detained commandos.
ISLAMABAD: The premier civilian spy agency, Intelligence Bureau (IB), may be equipped with the latest apparatus for automatic conversion of secretly recorded conversations into different languages.
He said during his visit to China, which was unpublicised as such trips were always kept secret,the outgoing IB chief Shoaib Suddle had observed the Chinese technology and had been impressed with it. (And now we all know about it)
the official explained the device was so designed that when made operational it would automatically convert a taped dialogue into any language desired by its operator.
Relevant intelligence officials will have to go through the transcript to examine any misreading by the apparatus of any portion of the monitored chat.
The Japanese are leading the way with speech translation and many Japanese computers now come with speech recognition, machine translation and speech synthesis programs already installed. These systems are basic in many ways but do allow input and output in both text and speech formats.
Its the opposite.. he says Pakistan saved India from US...(in its uppity mood) would have attacked India next, if Pakistan would have let them and they didnt.anupmisra wrote:Or, "pookistan saved India from the Ruskies".Tilak wrote:I am sure you didnt miss the "Bharat is Dar-ul-harb" bit.
Hey for all you know, the porki mard-e-momeens are the last thin line between civilization and chaos. After that, total annhilation of the civil world as we know it. Thank you, O'porkies.
The most likely scenario of Pakistani WMD falling into Islamist hands is an intra-military struggle in which the jihadists gain ascendancy.
At the call of the MQM, the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz and other “nationalist” forces, the province of Sindh experienced a virtual shutdown on Saturday in response. Outside Karachi, the strike was more or less peaceful, except in Hyderabad where there was heavy firing reported from many localities; a coaster and a car were set ablaze in Tandojam, and an agriculture department jeep was torched in Qasimabad. Scores of JSQM activists were arrested in Khairpur, Nawabshah and Mirpurkhas for forcing shopkeepers to close their shops.
In Karachi, the stronghold of the MQM, matters were different. During a near-total shutdown, a woman was killed when the rioters set a bus on fire while she was still inside. Three people were killed despite increased deployment of both police and Rangers, and young men on motorcycles torched at least 15 vehicles in the city, including several buses, two water tankers and a motorcycle. The reaction from the ANP, which defends the rights of the IDPs to take shelter anywhere in Pakistan, is a threat once again to resign from the Sindh cabinet. As usual, Mr Imran Khan has “slammed” the government’s decision to deny the Swat IDPs entry into Sindh even as the Sindh government denies it has banned entry to them.
The PPP federal information minister says the government is simply registering the IDPs before letting them into Sindh, and that takes time at the provincial border posts. The interior minister, Mr Rehman Malik, however, is clearly sticking to a policy of keeping the IDPs from scattering all over Pakistan. He says anyone leaving the NWFP and seeking refuge outside it will not get government aid. But the prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, says the IDPs have the right to go anywhere in Pakistan, keeping in mind the Constitution of Pakistan which gives this right to them. Despite this, someone has gone to court in Karachi against anyone opposing the IDPs’ rights in this connection. But the picture is not as black and white as it appears.
Registration of IDPs was shown on TV as it was being done on the Sindh border. It is not an easy process for those who conduct it and for those who are subjected to it. The point made in favour of registration is that government aid will start flowing on this condition. But what if the IDPs say they don’t want any government aid? (This is what some of them actually said.) The other reason, however, is more worrisome, and that is that the government wants to make sure no Taliban terrorists are going in along with them. It is worrisome because one is not sure how the government plans to stop a Taliban onslaught in Karachi by this act of registration. There are already enough Taliban in Karachi to do the job and many of them are caught virtually everyday confessing that they have been “sent” by the Taliban high command to cause havoc in the city.
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Nevermind the Bleeding Hearts..'Boldness', Track II Dippy and Non-papers.RaviBg wrote:Manmohan must be bold on Pakistan
Former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf said in an interview aired on Saturday that he would deal with the allegations being levelled against him in Pakistan. He said he had been living in Army House because the construction of his own house at Chak Shahzad had not been completed. He said he had bought a house in London, but his permanent residence would remain in Pakistan. He said he didn’t know anything about the low electricity rates he was paying for his residence in Chak Shahzad. He rejected allegations that he had rigged the 2008 elections and that he had pressured the PMLQ President Shujaat Hussain to accept the results.
There are many in Pakistan who want to see Mr Musharraf punished.
Mr Musharraf says he may have to live in London for the time being. There was always a muffled discussion in the corridors of power about whether Mr Musharraf should leave the country or stay on to face the post-incumbency music. It was decided in 2008 that he should step down but stay. With the passage of time however it may be becoming clearer that he should have left, like Mr Shaukat Aziz, to live abroad and wait for the verdict of history. *
More on the Pahtun (IDPs) AKA. Cannon Fodder of Pakjabis..ISLAMABAD (Online) - Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has urged the international community not to
worry about Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal as it is a responsible nuclear country.
Talking to a private TV channel on Sunday, he said Pakistan’s nukes are in safe hands and cannot fell into
wrong hands and appealed to the international community to treat Pakistan like India. Commenting on ongoing
military operation, the minister said that most low-level Taliban commanders have been killed and now their top
leadership would be targeted in the security forces offensive against them in Swat.
He said the operation could also be conducted where we have information about presence of militants and
Taliban because we are committed to flush out them. PM Yousuf Raza Gilani launched the offensive against
militants by taking all parties into confidence, he said.
“We have been able to control law and order,” he said, adding: “We have feared reaction of our operation
against militants but the law enforcement agencies have been put on high alert to cope any emergency
situation.”
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LAHORE: The internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Swat and Malakand division should rely on the relief camps set up for their welfare, rather than turning to neighbouring provincial governments for help, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif said on Monday.
During a meeting with Pakhtoonkhwah Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, however, he said the IDPs are welcome in Punjab, a private TV channel reported. “We (PML-N) believe in reviewing the current distribution of natural resources within the provinces of the country. This would not only improve the relationship between the federation and the provinces, but would also rule out misunderstandings between the provinces,”
Riots erupt in Karachi over power outagesKARACHI: A senior activist of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) was gunned down in a target killing on Sunday. Allauddin, 40, was the Lines Area Unit Incharge of the banned religious outfit, and had earlier worked for the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ). A source in the Criminal Investigation Department told Daily Times the deceased was currently engaged in reorganising the SSP in Karachi. The killing occurred early on Sunday, when three unidentified men on a motorcycle shot Allauddin seven times with a 9mm pistol. Following the incident, participants of Allauddin’s funeral prayers started shooting guns in the air outside Imambargah-e-Ali Raza. Inspired by the firing, dozens of people belonging to Fiqa-e-Jafferia gathered on the road and started rioting by burning tyres and pelting stones on passing vehicles.
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The US does not understand the very strong sense of nationalism that the nuclear programme evokes in the Pakistani people, which in a strange paradox becomes a shield against any attempt to retrench, dislodge or dismantle the capability. Such a reaction is practically embedded in the Pakistani character. Similarly, any effort to attach religious definition to Pakistan’s nuclear capability is mala fide and a figment of the western imagination. Pakistanis neither give the capability any religious association, nor do they accept such a classification. {And, you want us to believe this b***s*** ? While Pakistan will sell to anyone from whom strategic reciprocity is possible, like non-Islamic China or North Korea, the Pakistani nukes have, from day one when ZAB unveiled the project in Multan on a cold January day in circa 1972, been touted as an 'ummah bomb'. Bhutto remarked that when the Christians, Jews and the Hindus can have it, why not the Muslims. On that basis alone, you got funding from Libya and Saudi Arabia.}
If there is anything that triggers Pakistan’s nationalistic sentiment even greater than the nuclear capability, it is events in the Indo-Pakistan context. That testifies to the shared history and socio-cultural commonalities, interspersed with significant variations, that became the driving force for the two-nation theory. This love-hate relationship is mutual and the basis of a psychotic infatuation between Indian and Pakistani societies. Neither is complete without the other; such is the compulsive nature of this relationship, whether in love or war.
Mr Musharraf says he may have to live in London for the time being. There was always a muffled discussion in the corridors of power about whether Mr Musharraf should leave the country or stay on to face the post-incumbency music. It was decided in 2008 that he should step down but stay. With the passage of time however it may be becoming clearer that he should have left, like Mr Shaukat Aziz, to live abroad and wait for the verdict of history.
The first step, officials said, will be identifying the remnants of the Afghan Taliban who ruled Afghanistan until it was overthrown by US-led forces in late 2001 for harbouring the planners of the 9/11 attacks.
Then there are Al Qaeda’s leaders and other Arabs aligned with them who used Afghanistan as a haven to plan attacks on the US. But there are other foreign elements, including Uzbeks, Chechens, and Uighurs, whose ultimate intentions are less understood, officials said.
There also are the so-called Pakistani Taliban like Baitullah Mehsud. And there are also criminal elements such as the drug smugglers “who don’t like anybody setting up shop in their area”.
-------WASHINGTON: The Obama administration has appealed to China to provide training and even military equipment to help Pakistan counter a growing militant threat, U.S. officials said.
According to Los Angeles Times, the proposal is part of a broad push by Washington to enlist key allies of Pakistan in an effort to stabilize the country. The U.S. is seeking to persuade Islamabad to step up its efforts against militants, while supporting the fragile civilian government and its tottering economy.
Richard C. Holbrooke, the administration's special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, has visited China and Saudi Arabia, another key ally, in recent weeks as part of the effort.
The American appeal to China underscores the importance of Beijing in security issues. Washington considers China to be the most influential country for dealing with isolated, militaristic North Korea. Beijing also plays a crucial role in the international effort to pressure Iran over its nuclear ambitions.
CAIRO - Iran hosted its first three-way summit meeting on Sunday with Pakistan and Afghanistan to discuss cooperation on regional issues, the latest sign of Iran’s emergence as a regional power.
With Pakistan and Afghanistan fighting to hold back the rising tide of radical, Islamic insurgencies led by the Taliban, the meeting in Tehran seemed intended by Iran to assure its neighbors that working together the three could solve their problems without having to rely on the West.
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They are all jihadi. The question is which faction will get them? Right now its the traditional Deobandis who are in charge. The split is between them and the Wahabised segment.SSridhar wrote:Insider threat to Pakistan's Crown Jewels - Brahma Chellaney
This article is actually an indictment of US policies.
The most likely scenario of Pakistani WMD falling into Islamist hands is an intra-military struggle in which the jihadists gain ascendancy.
Yes, the Taliban are all Deobandis, Ahl-e-Hadiths, the Wahhabis and the Salafists coming together. They are fighting the Berelvis and the Shias. At the rate at which the Berelvis are either being converted into Deobandis/Wahhabis or even being decimated, the left over Berelvis have no chance of taking on the Taliban. They think that they will fight the Taliban along with the PA. That was why the Foreign Minister, Quereshi, said the Berelvis do not approve 'Talibanization' etc. The Berelvis are in for a shock if they are deceived by the appearance of the PA taking on the Taliban in Swat & Mingora. It is a sham. There is going to be be 'civil war' in Pakistan and the Berelvis will cease to exist. The PA will, if not it already 'is', act as the Janissary of the Taliban.ramana wrote:Right now its the traditional Deobandis who are in charge. The split is between them and the Wahabised segment.
What I see is the Deobandis are themselves morphing into Wahabists. Then there wont be any intra-military struggle only the length of the beards will change.
But, the Taliban's stand is clear. . .Taliban militants will not attack the military in the main town of Pakistan's Swat Valley to avoid triggering battles that would result in civilian casualties and destruction, a militant spokesman said.
The army on Monday hailed the announcement as a sign that the outnumbered militants were ``staring defeat in the face,''
The charade goes on . . .Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan denied it was a call for a cease-fire and said the insurgents were not withdrawing from Mingora.
``This is a long war and we will fight it strategically,'' {Obviously, there are military minds helping the Taliban in military planning, information dissemination and psy-ops; otherwise, these largely semi-literate Pakhtuns will not be able to use sophisticated terminology} he told late Sunday from an undisclosed location in the valley. ``We will continue fighting until an Islamic system is enforced.''
Yes, and that's why there is a monument to the fine art of begging in the land of the pure.raghunath wrote:Now Pakis ask US to ‘do more’ in baksheesh
Pathetic attempt at ==..pukilurks Indians don't care a damn about your compulsions. India was complete before Pakistan and will be complete always. We neither hate you or love you..we just don't think much of youNeither is complete without the other; such is the compulsive nature of this relationship, whether in love or war.
Pakistan has freed all arrested leaders of the Jamat-ud-Dawa the parent body of the Lashkar-E-Toiba in a clear and open violation of UN sanctions.
The Lashkar top brass was rounded up after New Delhi protested in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
After India approached the UN, the UN Security Council had proscribed the Jamaat under resolution 1267 paving the way for the arrests. Among those who are released is Hamir Hamza, the JuD's chief strategist.
Also released are Saeed's key aides Abdul Rehman, the head of the information wing, Qazi, Kashif, Niaz, Balouch and Mufti.
TSP has signed upon hurriedly on something it cant afford to pay, but projecting that their H&D is intact by cobbling up the iAF-Pak triad (at the ~directions of US - Holbrookes and Zbig-Kissinger Videos). But their taqleef of not letting India through towards CAR, is not bearing fruit.
Meray Mutabiq – 24th May 2009
Riaz Khokhar Foreign Secretary, Shamshad Ahmed Khan, Akram Sheikh, in fresh episode of Meray Mutabiq and talked with Dr Shahid Masood.
Duration: 42:30
Added: May 24, 2009
The army is a huge institution, and its mandate is like that of the Turkish army, which sees itself as a defender of secular politics.
Say what you will about the ways of Pakistan, its people have never voted for the darkness that descended on Swat and its surroundings. In the national elections of 2008 the secular and regional parties had carried the day; the fundamentalists were trounced at the polls. The concessions in Swat were a gift the militants had not earned.
In Afghanistan, and in the Pashtun belt in Pakistan, we wish to separate the "reconcilables" of the Taliban from al Qaeda and the forces of the global jihad.
Mr. Ajami is professor of Middle East Studies at The Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies and an adjunct senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
PESHAWAR: Almost 75 per cent desertion has been reported in Buner district police force while over 40 per cent are staying off the duties in Swat after deterioration in the law and order in Malakand division, a source confided to ‘The News’.
Pakistan’s Sports Minister Pir Aftab Shah Jillani alleged that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) influenced the ICC to shift the 2011 World Cup cricket matches from Pakistan and deplored the BCCI’s role in the issue.
“I think the Indian board’s role in this whole affair of shifting the World Cup matches from Pakistan has been deplorable,” Jillani said . . .
SSridhar wrote:BCCI deprived Pakistan of hosting the World Cup
26 May 2009, 0850 hrs IST, IANS
ISLAMABAD: There are 66,000 pregnant women living at the relief camps in Pakistan and many of them are likely to give birth in the next three
months, the UN has said.
According to a UN report, 66,000 pregnant women live at the camps of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and most of these women are in the advance stage of pregnancy, Geo TV said Monday.
Officials are concerned for the welfare of these women as lack of facilities and very few trained medics at the camps might cause serious health problems.
The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) has been the scene of a major military offensive against the Taliban insurgents.
Hundreds of people have been dislodged from their homes since the fighting started last month.
Women and children have been the worst victims, with many of them landing up at the government relief centres for help.
The welfare of the displaced people has been a major concern for the government and the international aid agencies.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Beggar kills salesman in Faisalabad
LAHORE: A beggar on Monday shot dead a salesman working at a bakery in Faisalabad after the worker refused to give him alms …………………. the accused entered the bakery …………… to beg for money, drinks and food from the salesman ……………… Upon refusal, the enraged beggar took out a pistol and opened fire …………………
Daily Times
arun wrote:Found this story quintessentially Pakistani given that it reflects in the domestic sphere the aggressive style of begging adopted internationally by the Pakistani State:
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Beggar kills salesman in Faisalabad
LAHORE: A beggar on Monday shot dead a salesman working at a bakery in Faisalabad after the worker refused to give him alms …………………. the accused entered the bakery …………… to beg for money, drinks and food from the salesman ……………… Upon refusal, the enraged beggar took out a pistol and opened fire …………………
Daily Times
