Terrorist Islamic Republic of Pakistan - July 07, 2009

[pgbhat]

NATO can't see pakis getting fecked

ISLAMABAD: Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, chairman of the NATO military committee, on Thursday said the United States should respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and let the Pakistani forces tackle the terrorists inside its territory. “I don’t want to (be seen) as shy. I am not a US official. There are some US policies... I believe that [sovereignty] of both Pakistan and Afghanistan should be respected. The fight against terrorists in Pakistan should be fought by Pakistan itself. But in Afghanistan [the situation is different] we are doing what Afghan government is asking for,” he said during a press conference. staff report

[NRao]

What!, no protests from the porkis or Indian dhimmis


‘Mosques shutdown in Urumqi ahead of Friday prayers ’

URUMQI: The normally bustling mosques of China’s Urumqi city were ordered shut on the main Muslim day of prayers on Friday with police out in force to prevent new outbreaks of deadly ethnic unrest.

Uighur Muslims said they had been directed to pray at home, as armed forces saturated the streets of the northwest Xinjiang region’s capital five days after clashes that authorities said left 156 people dead.

This has to happen.

Recall that Pakistan said that someone was trying to meddle in Sino-Apk affairs.

This shutting down of prayers restores that relationship. It is good.

[NRao]

More Billions:

Pak reconstruction could cost billions: UN

Let her slide.

[archan]

In case anyone is missing the OT discussion, it has been moved to nukkad. So please take your saffrom-sekoolar love fest there, but be cautious as the evil predators stroll...

[Kakkaji]

Choice 'Nuggets' from this week's TFT:

Secular enemies in Pakistan

Writing in Jang, Hamid Mir stated that Pakistan was ignoring the liberal and secular enemies who are defending the interests of India while dubbing those who reveal the conspiracies of India, as enemies of Pakistan. These liberal and secular elements once regretted Pakistan’s existence while standing on Indian soil. The nation should unite against these liberal and secular elements just as it has united against Baitullah and Fazlullah.

Politicians are corrupt!

Great scientist Dr AQ Khan wrote in Jang that Pakistani leaders were corrupt and incompetent and were not sensitive to the sufferings of Muslims in the world. He gave the example of Tony Blair, now special envoy for Palestine. He called him jhooton ka badshah (king of liars) who spilled Muslim blood in Iraq.

Kidnapped cadets speak out

Kidnapped cadets of Razmak College near Bannu, after their release, were quoted by Nawa-e-Waqt as saying that after their abduction the Taliban wanted to know if there was any Punjabi among them. When told no, they asked if any cadet was the son of a brigadier or general. They were again told no. After that they said the cadets would be taken to a place where they would meet Baitullah Mehsud in person.

Holbrooke not Zardari’s equal

Columnist Aftab Iqbal strongly protested in Nawa-e-Waqt that on one occasion when American special envoy had spoken and had to be addressed by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, President Zardari took the mike from Qureshi and started speaking himself. This was wrong because Holbrooke was lower in status than the president. President Zardari was doing too many things that he was not supposed to do.

Ismailis next

According to Jang, Tehreek-e-Taliban of Baitullah Mehsud had issued warnings that if offices and institutions belonging to the Ismaili community in Islamabad, Gilgit and Chitral were not closed they would be blown up.

Questioning Imran Khan

Writing in Nawa-e-Waqt columnist Izharul Haq challenged Imran Khan on defending the Tribal Areas as a backward area for the sake of its customs. He asked Imran Khan whether he could say that governance in the Tribal Areas was democratic and that jirgas there were not dominated by the local strongmen. He asked him whether he would like to retain the primitive ways of treating women and children.

Female minister with male voice

Chief Editor of Jinnah Khushnood Ali Khan stated that Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who read out the budget 2009-10 had a male voice despite the fact she was a woman. Many women along with their children will commit suicide because of the tough budget she announced.

Sewage drains named after saints

According to Jinnah Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Khwaja Muhammad Sharif was offended while hearing a case where labourers had drowned in a sewage drain named after Mianmir the great Lahore saint. He said that all sewage streams named after saints should be renamed.

India on both borders

Columnist Abbas Athar wrote in Express that some people complained that India had activated our western borders and Tribal Areas. But Pakistani troops were amassed on the eastern border thinking that India would attack from that direction. There was a need to fight on the western border and Pakistan could mobilise from the eastern border keeping India challenged with its nuclear weapons.

Expert of suicide-bombers

According to Aajkal, Maulvi Abdul Karim of Rahimyar Khan was caught while returning after taking a group of young suicide-bombers to South Waziristan for the use of Taliban and Al Qaeda. Karim had so far supplied 1000 suicide bombers to Taliban and Qaeda and was a member of Al-Asad charity trust.

Naeemi killed by India

Columnist Ansar Abbasi wrote in Jang that according to a columnist Mufti Naeemi was killed in Lahore by an outside power because he was of the view that India and the US were responsible for terrorism in Pakistan and were sponsoring it and that the real Taliban were innocent.

Hizbullah and Jandullah

Writing in Jang Dr Shahid Masood stated that, according to an Iranian scholar, if Iran had Hizballah of Lebanon to put pressure on Israel, Israel had Jandullah based in Pakistan to put pressure on Iran. He referred to American journalist Seymore Hersh who had said that America was behind Jandullah in Pakistan.

Mean person Musharraf

Famed nuclear scientist Dr AQ Khan wrote in Jang that General Musharraf was the son of a lowly officer who was dismissed from service by Bhutto for corruption. His family survived because Musharraf’s mother was working for an international organisation. Later Musharraf’s father was restored as a lowly section officer. That was why he spoke meanly of Bhutto in his book.

MPA offers cigarettes to MPA lady

According to Jang, a lady MPA of the PMLN was greatly offended when a male PPP MPA offered her a cigarette in the corridors of Punjab Assembly, leading her to complain to the senior PPP minister in the Punjab cabinet. The incident occurred when the lady MPA wanted to pass next to the said MPA and had to remove his cigarette holding hand away from her.

Lady MPAs go ‘gutham-gutha’

Reported in Jinnah lady MPA of the PPP Nargis Faiz Malik was speaking at the Punjab Assembly about the anniversary of Benazir Bhutto when she was interrupted by PMLQ lady MNA Samina Khawar. She did not like the interruption and said ‘shut up’ and used strong language whereupon loudspeakers were shut. The quarrel developed into a physical contest (hatha-pai) later outside the assembly building. According to Daily Pakistan, PPP ladies Sajida Mir and Uzma Bukhari joined hands outside the Assembly to curse Samina Khawar. Then they became gutham-gutha while men MPAs enjoyed the scene.

[Kakkaji]

Last installment(?) of Shahryar Khan's memoirs in this week's TFT. Posting in full:

Retirement? No way

Shahryar M Khan
looks back on his eventful post-retirement years

I came back to Pakistan from a stay of two years and ten months in Rwanda, quite prepared to work with the International Peace Academy, a job arranged for me by Kofi Annan. Nawaz Sharif had just taken power by this time as Prime Minister. I paid him a courtesy call, and he told me that I ought not to go abroad, since I was needed in Pakistan. So I turned down the very lucrative offer from the Peace Academy and decided to stay on in Pakistan.

Nawaz Sharif told me that he would like to send me as Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN. He probably thought that since I was close to Kofi Annan, my appointment in New York would be helpful for our country.

My friend Ahmed Kamal was then serving as our ambassador to the UN; his tenure had not yet ended, and I did not want to replace him in this manner. But Nawaz Sharif asked me to enquire as to when his tenure was ending. I found that he was to be there for around six to eight months more. Nawaz Sharif then suggested that during this time, I should stay in Pakistan and work with the Foreign Policy Review Committee (FPRC), to analyse the work of our Foreign Service and make recommendations as to how it could be improved. In this regard, I looked at the foreign service in other middle-sized countries similar to Pakistan, especially Thailand, India, Turkey and Egypt.

When his tenure came to an end, Ahmed Kamal got an extension for one year. I could have opted to wait another year and then have been posted as ambassador to the UN. However, I did not really relish the idea of staying in New York in any case, so I decided to forego it altogether. On my suggestion, Nawaz Sharif appointed me as our ambassador to France.

Just before I left for France, I was asked to manage the Pakistani team to go to India for a series of bilateral games, in 1999. The preparations for the series were in a tense atmosphere, with the Hindu right-wing extremists in Shiv Sena threatening to kill our team. We were told that we could come up against possible problems.

Despite this however, the tour proved to be a great success. For the first time, India and Pakistan played cricket not as political opponents but as cricketing rivals. After the first two Test matches in Madras and Delhi, the third game in Calcutta took place in a rather ghostly atmosphere, with the stadium having to be emptied because of crowd-control problems: Sachin Tendulkar had been run out in the previous game under controversial circumstances. During this Test match in Calcutta, though, Saqlain Mushtaq shone as our master bowler. Once he had gotten rid of Sourav Ganguly, the Indian batting line-up fell like ninepins, and eventually we won. We returned home having won both the Test and One-day series.

Interestingly, cricket preceded diplomacy between the two countries at this time. Our tour of India paved the way for Prime Minister Vajpayee’s bus trip to Lahore, and the announcement of the Lahore Declaration. Nawaz Sharif, as Prime Minister of Pakistan, reciprocated with his own trip to India.

My assignment in France began in 1999, and I moved to Paris as the Pakistani ambassador. During this time, the Kargil conflict with India took place, and in diplomatic terms, we lost all the ground which had been gained with the Lahore Declaration earlier that year. The Indian Prime Minister felt stabbed in the back. But Kargil did not just take us back in a diplomatic sense. World opinion also swung against us, since the whole conflict was seen as having been incited by Pakistan.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted soon after this in a military coup. For contract employees, especially those appointed by the previous government as a political favour, the honourable thing to do is to resign around three months after the end of that government. Strictly speaking, I was not a political appointee of the Sharif government. Nevertheless, as soon as Nawaz Sharif was removed, I sent in my resignation to the new government: the military regime led by General Pervez Musharraf.

But my resignation was not accepted, and General Musharraf allowed me to continue on at my post in Paris. My basic contract was for two years. When it expired, I tendered another resignation, and this one was accepted. And so I came back to Pakistan in 2001.

I went home to Malir, in Karachi, where my mother was in her late eighties, and not at all well. She had to deal with, among other things, a broken thigh and eye problems. Despite all this, she still drove her own car at the age of eighty-six. I felt I ought to be close to her in her last years. So while my wife stayed on in Islamabad with our children, I remained in Karachi.

Soon after my return, my mother became bedridden. She was growing weaker and could not eat properly. Her condition got progressively worse, until one day the doctors told me she had pancreatic cancer. I took her to a hospital run by the Fauji Foundation near Malir. It was an amazingly clean and well-run institution, almost like a green patch in a desert. My mother spent three months there, with her condition getting worse each day. She died on the 12th of May, 2002.

When I first returned to Karachi, I said to my mother that since she had memorized the translation of the Holy Quran, she should tell me the meaning of the holy book. We would often discuss and argue for hours the meaning of a verse in the Quran. She was delighted that I had become her pupil late in life. My own attitude to religion was one of respect and reverence. While I was liberal-minded in everyday life, I never drank or gambled.

My mother’s death was a great loss for me, and I was helped greatly by my wife and family to overcome it. I spent another year in Malir, mainly in order to be close to my mother’s grave.

Then one day in December 2003, out of the blue, General Tauqir Zia called me and informed me that I had been nominated his successor as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). I thought over it for a while. My sons advised me against it, but because of my love for the game, I accepted the offer. And so I went to see President Musharraf, to be appointed the Chairman.

At the SAARC summit in 2004, the ice between India and Pakistan had melted to some degree. It was decided, therefore, that the two countries would play a tournament in March that year. Despite the ups and downs in political relations between India and Pakistan, the two cricket boards had keep up a good working relationship.

I sensed that the public in Pakistan was eager to see good cricket, and to welcome the Indian team here. Security, of course, was a major issue: the Indians did not want to play in Karachi. I told my Indian counterpart Mr. Dalmiya that we would have to play there, and that we would ensure adequate security measures. When the Indians came to Karachi, our security experts gave them a very good view of the arrangements which had been made, so it was agreed that we would play a one-day game there.

We lost the series, but it was enjoyed greatly by people on both sides of the border. 20, 000 Indian fans came to Pakistan to watch the matches, and were treated very well. We were told that restaurants refused to charge them for meals, shops gave them huge discounts, taxis charged very low fares, and the general public went out of its way to welcome the Indian people.

The most telling remark came from Mr. Shivshankar Menon, then the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan. He said that 20,000 Indian cricket fans had visited Pakistan and 20, 000 Pakistani ambassadors had gone back to India. Among the dignitaries who visited from India were Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi, Dina and Nusli Wadia (the former being the daughter of Jinnah), and the Ambanis. Planes filled with Indian magnates were arriving and we had to make arrangements for their accommodation here. It became obvious that the Indian and Pakistani public were not as hostile to each other as some might have thought.

Our reciprocal tour of India did not involve the same level of hype and excitement, probably because our matches were in cities of India which were very distant from Pakistan.

This marked a newer phase in India-Pakistan relations, where cricket matches are no longer political battles but proper sporting competitions.

One of my decisions as the PCB Chairman was to employ Bob Woolmer as the coach of our squad. He was a wonderful man and did much to mould the team into a fighting unit. We played India seven times after Woolmer took over, and won each time. In fact, I am absolutely delighted that Younis Khan has dedicated our recent Twenty-twenty tournament win to the memory of Bob Woolmer.

Other issues which I dealt with as the PCB Chairman included the need for a proper constitution for the Board. We had to organize our first-class cricket in an effective manner and arrange for sponsorships for cricket in Pakistan. And above all, we had to ensure that players of top quality were produced at the grass-roots level in Pakistan.

I was also delighted to form a womens’ wing at the PCB. By the time I resigned, we had qualified for the Womens’ World Cup and had become one of the top eight teams in the world.

One of the challenges facing any chairman of the PCB is the need to maintain good relations with the ICC (International Cricket Council) board. I suppose my experience as a diplomat helped me in that regard. My relations with Asian colleagues and others came in very handy when we vied to host the World Cup in 2011. We nearly lost the opportunity to our competitors in New Zealand and Australia, but we were able to save the day after seeking a one-month postponement to revise our bid. During this period, we Asian members of the ICC, especially my Indian colleague Sharad Pawar (who succeeded Jagmohan Dalmia as Chairman of the Board of Control for cricket in India), went about winning over the Africans and West Indians, and eventually they voted for Pakistan and we were granted the opportunity to host the World Cup in 2011.

I did, however, have my share of problems as the chairman of the PCB. The press was frequently full of venal criticism, but I paid little attention to it. As long as I could assure myself that I was following my conscience, I let this criticism pass over my head. In cricketing terms, we were doing quite well, actually. We had beaten the English team which had just won the Ashes. We also beat a strong Sri Lankan team.

A new talent was emerging in the form of Muhammad Asif. Except for the maverick behavior of Shoaib Akhtar, the team was beginning to take on a settled appearance.

There was an issue involving the overt religiosity of Inzimam-ul-Haq and some other players. At times, I would remind Inzimam to tone down his public fervour. But knowing our players, I was sure that this was a temporary phase which would evaporate once Inzimam retired. Bob Woolmer, who was a bit disconcerted by the fact that our players were constantly at prayer, eventually came round and acknowledged that praying together led to a better team spirit and meant that there were fewer disciplinary problems, such as nights out visiting night-clubs, or breaking curfews.

My greatest sorrow from my period as the Chairman of the PCB was the Oval Test fiasco, which was extremely poorly handled by the ICC and its umpires, as well as our own captain and team. The match referee proved to be unhelpful in the middle of the crisis, which exacerbated the situation.

When we returned from the Oval Test, I had completed two years and ten months out of my three-year contract, and I felt that I should not continue after my contract was over. The World Cup was only three months away, and I decided to resign with immediate effect.

I really enjoyed my stint as the Chairman of the PCB, especially working with Bob Woolmer and Inzimam-ul-Haq. Soon after I resigned, I learnt of the death of my dear friend Bob in the most tragic of circumstances. I have no doubt that he died an extremely disappointed man, and I was convinced that there was no foul-play involved in his death in Jamaica.

Since then, I have been teaching Foreign Policy at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). It is very rewarding to interact with the bright young minds of the future.

After my departure from the PCB, there were problems relating to drug abuse, player intrigue, captaincy and poor cricketing results, but I am absolutely overjoyed that our team has achieved a significant victory by winning the T-20 series in England. I consider it a great boon for cricket and the Pakistani public, especially at such a critical time for the country.

As I look back on my long diplomatic and post-retirement career, I think I can safely say that I have served Pakistan to the best of my ability. These have been richly-rewarding years, and I have enjoyed them thoroughly.

Shahryar M Khan, a distinguished diplomat and former Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board, lives in Lahore

[Gerard]

New Al-Qaeda Book Betrays Panic Over Predator Strikes, Covert Operations

Fox News report

"Their effects are seen: carnage, destruction, arrest, and pursuit, but they themselves remain unseen, just like Satan and his ilk who see us while remaining unseen."

[derkonig]

^^^^
Seems to be another step by Unkil towards declaring victory & quitting Afghanistan. No other reason for such a report to come out at this time.

[Kakkaji]

Memoirs of another retired Pakistani civil servant, from this week's TFT. He writes about his tenure in then East Pakistan. Posting in full:

Acquiring training tools

Shoaib Sultan Khan’s
early posting to the then East Pakistan taught him the importance of integrity in public service

Life at the Civil Service Academy was a new experience, but I loved the rigour and discipline enforced by Mr Burgess. The Director made it very clear that getting into the Civil Service of Pakistan did not mean that you were the best or that everyone should bow to you in deference. He insisted that unless you proved yourself clearly and demonstrably superior, no one was going to accept you as a leader. He also underlined the importance of integrity and impartiality in public service. He used to say that your moral fibre would be tested only very rarely, and if you gave in and buckled under on that odd occasion, the fact that on hundreds of other occasions you had acted correctly would be of no significance.

He also made us keep diaries and observe and record in them everything of consequence. He used to read each diary and make copious comments. Over time, I noticed a change in the way I took note of my surroundings and observed things. I became analytical and constructive. I have since found diaries a most powerful training tool.

The posting in 1957 to the eastern wing of Pakistan came as a surprise to many of us, because it had been rumoured that the Chief Minister of East Pakistan wanted only officers from his wing to be posted to his province. With Mr Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy as the Prime Minister, it was taken for granted that he would accept the recommendation of his political party’s chief minister. However, Mr Suhrawardy had different views on the matter and when the summary was put to him for a decision, he ordered that all East Pakistanis should be posted to West Pakistan and all West Pakistanis to East Pakistan. The only exception was the people selected for the NWFP list. I had always wanted to be on the NWFP list, but my Pashto was not proficient enough. Later on in my career, I got postings to Kohat and Peshawar districts, as well as to the health, education and social welfare departments as Secretary, and to the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development as Director.

After my return from Cambridge, I went to Kushtia (in the then East Pakistan) in September, 1957, to take over as assistant magistrate and collector with the power to sentence a person found guilty of an offence to a simple imprisonment of one month, a fine of Rs 1,000, both. On arrival, I found that the offices were closed for 23 days for puja holidays. I cursed myself for not listening to Musarrat, and for complying to the letter with my orders to report for duty immediately without taking any ‘joining time’. No one in Karachi had bothered to find out that in those days, everything in Bengal used to shut down for nearly a month during the puja festival.

Since there was no residential accommodation earmarked for the post I was holding, I was lodged at the Ganges-Kobadak Project inspection bungalow. Under the rules, I could stay there only for 30 days at a stretch. When I received a notice to vacate the room at the end of the month, I was furious. My pride had been hurt. How dare a lowly functionary with the rank of a sub-engineer treat a CSP officer in this manner! I mentioned this to one of the engineers who was also staying in the bungalow, and expressed my intention of teaching this person a lesson by hauling him up under some pretext of the Criminal Procedure Code. My engineer friend looked appalled, and said that he had not expected such a reaction from me; it was more in keeping with the mentality of a police SHO. I felt ashamed and never forgot this reprimand.

I was given my first independent charge at Brahmanbaria subdivision. Mr Taffuzal Ali of the Muslim League came from the subdivision and announced a public rally in his hometown, Quasba. The local president of the Awami League (the party in power) decided to disrupt the meeting and humiliate the ex-federal minister. I tried to reason with the Awami Leaguers, asking them to hold their meeting either on a different day or at a different place, because Mr Ali had publicized his meeting prior to their announcement. However, the Awami Leaguers were adamant. I instructed the police to stop the Awami Leaguers from disrupting the meeting. The local president of the Awami League, Mr Abdul Bari, a member of the Bar, complained against me to the Chief Minister, Mr Ataur Rehman, and sought my transfer to some other place. The chief minister declined to accede to the request, telling him that if what he was saying was true then at the next place I would be likely to put up even more resistance to the Awami League.

A few days later, while I was expecting a visit by no less than four ministers of the provincial government, an early morning telephone call from the collector informed me that martial law had been imposed and the provincial government had been dismissed. That day in the office I sent for Mr Bari and reassured him that I had nothing against him, and if he had any apprehensions in this regard I would like to allay them right away. I stayed on in Brahmanbaria for another two years and Mr Bari and I remained the best of friends.

The Laxmipur border skirmish between India and Pakistan happened during my tenure as SDO of Brahmanbaria. One day the Indians established themselves on a spur, which according to us was well inside Pakistan. Since the border between the countries was in the process of being finally demarcated, this occupation was likely to give an advantage to the Indians. According to established practice, such disputes had first to be resolved by the civilian authorities. We held a meeting on the disputed site, in which my collector and I represented the Pakistan side, and the deputy commissioner of Agartala (a Colonel Butalia) came from the other side with a number of officers. The meeting ended in failure because the Indians refused to budge from the positions they had taken. They had already moved a good number of armed personnel and set up tents on the site.

Major Mohammad Tufail was the wing commander of the East Pakistan Rifles detachment at Akhora, a railway junction for trains to Sylhet, Chittagong and Dacca (now Dhaka), which was aboutt ten miles away from Brahmanbaria, with no road link. I often used to visit Major Tufail and he did the same. He was a very kindly and fatherly sort of person and despite the difference in our ages, we got along very well. Very often Major Sahib would baby-sit my two daughters, allowing Musarrat and I to have time to ourselves. Sometimes, if it got too late and we had missed the train connection, we used to spend the night at his bungalow. A few days after the abortive meeting with the Indians, I happened to visit Major Tufail and found an emissary from Dacca closeted with him. After his departure, I could sense that there was something bothering Major Sahib. I could not believe my ears when he told me that he had received instructions to throw out the Indians without firing a shot. I said, ‘I am sure you are not going to do anything of the kind, because I have been to the site, and the Indians are armed to the teeth’. He agreed, but said this was such a small operation that if he did not succeed, he would not be able to live it down. On the other hand, if he did succeed, it hardly mattered. We talked about many things. He was not happy about the imposition of martial law, saying this was not the job of the army. That night he did not ask me to spend the night at his bungalow, but made the railway power trolley available to me to return to Brahmanbaria.

The next morning, I received a telephone call from Akhora informing me that Major Tufail and Subedar Major Sarwar had been injured in action at Laxmipur. True to his orders, Major Tufail was said to have divided his company of soldiers into two, one under his own command and the other under the Subedar Major, and to have demanded that the Indians surrender. The Indians opened fire with light machine guns, felling the commanders of both columns in their first bursts. Tufail fell but went on commanding, even capturing the Indian major who commanded the Border Force. Later on, at the time of handing him back to the Indian authorities, the Indian major told me that but for Major Tufail, he would have been killed. Major Tufail had told his troops that the Indian major would be more useful alive than dead.

Tufail and Sarwar died of excessive bleeding, because it took more than twelve hours to take them by train to the Comilla Combined Military Hospital. That afternoon, I saw a seaplane landing at Akhora Lake bringing senior army officers, and I wondered why the plane could not have been sent in the morning to evacuate the casualties and save precious lives. Tufail was decorated with the Nishan-e-Haider, Pakistan’s highest military award, and Sarwar with the Sitara-e-Jurat. As I had known both of them I was asked to commemorate their heroic deed, which seemed to be in the class of the Charge of the Light Brigade. I had a marble tablet fixed at the Laxmipur spot saying ‘Here the heroes fought, fell, crawled and commanded’. The people of Brahmanbaria rose magnificently to the occasion, raising over Rs 200,000 to construct a Tufail Memorial Health Dispensary at Akhora. They also instituted an annual Tufail Memorial Football Tournament. The way my family and I mourned his death led some people to think that Tufail was a close relative of mine. They hardly realized that although he was from Burewala, in Punjab, he was more than a relation to me. Musarrat used to call him Clark Gable and he would innocently ask who this man was. Much later, Iwas happy to see that the house in which he lived in the 1950s, as Commandant of theScouts in Gilgit, had been renamed Tufail House.

I got the most warm and loving treatment from the people of Bengal, whether it was Bakargunj, Kushtia, Brahmanbaria, Mymensingh or Dhaka. Bengal’s most precious gift to me was my third daughter, who was born during this period. The value of the gift became even more apparent when I lost her thirty years later.

Excerpted from Chapter 1 (An Autobiographical Introduction) of the forthcoming book A Journey Through Grassroots Development, by Shoaib Sultan Khan, to be published by Oxford University Press, Pakistan (price Rs. 725)

Shoaib Sultan Khan lives in Islamabad

[Gerard]

Pak reconstruction could cost billions: UN

[Gerard]

Red Mosque cleric warns of 'bloody revolution'

[svinayak]

India-Pakistan tensions surface at global faith meet


Vishnu Makhijani, Indo-Asian News Service
Astana, July 02, 2009
First Published: 13:59 IST(2/7/2009)

Simmering India-Pakistan tensions came to the fore on the concluding day of a global faith meet in Astana on Thursday but the blip was taken in its stride.

Intervening during the plenary on "Moral and spiritual values, world ethics" at the third Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Anwar Hussain Siddique of Pakistan's International Islamic University objected to Indian delegate Jyotindra Mukundrai Dave's reference to Muslims being responsible for the attack on Gujarat's Akshardham temple in 2002 that resulted in the deaths of over 30 people.

"I strongly object to the Indian delegate's remarks. He has blamed Muslims for the attack without giving any proof. This is objectionable and uncalled for," Siddique maintained.

Dave, who was a panelist at the plenary, had referred to the attack at the fag end of his presentation to reinforce India's multi-cultural credentials.

"There was an attack on the Akshardham temple in the new Gujarat capital of Gandhinagar in 2002 in which more than 30 people were killed.

"After the attack, we held a prayer meeting at which we did not invite any politician. The attack was staged by Islamists but we did not mention this during the prayer meeting. We only prayed.

"This is what India's multi-culturalism is all about," Dave said.

There was no reaction from the audience when Dave made his statement or when Siddique reacted.

Dave is attending the Congress as a representative of the Swaminarayan faith that runs the Akshardham temple, one of some 450 in India.

[Dipanker]

Pakistan says Taliban leader will talk to U.S

(CNN) -- Pakistan's military has declared that not only is it in contact with Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar but that it can bring him and other commanders to the negotiating table with the United States.


Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Afghan Taliban leader, has been a fugitive from U.S.-led forces since 2001.

The acknowledgment of on-going communication with Taliban forces using sanctuary in Pakistan to launch military strikes against U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan is part of a new diplomatic overture to help the Obama administration find an end to the long-running conflict.

In a CNN exclusive interview, Pakistan military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said in return for any role as a broker between the United States and the Taliban, Pakistan wants concessions from Washington over Islamabad's concerns with longtime rival India.

[Gerard]

India plans to attack Pakistani nuclear installations using Baitullah Mehsud’s gang

[sanjaykumar]

It is reliably learnt that RAW is extracting intestinal luminal endothelial cells from raw sewage at top army bases. Manmohan Singh is known to have pursued genetic engineering while he was supposedly recovering from bypass surgery. The Indians aim to clone doppelgänger Officers to further confuse them.

Instructions have been issued to army not to eat too much fiber.

From twilight.com

[Gerard]

Swat Taliban chief 'near death'

[NRao]

India-Pakistan tensions surface at global faith meet


Vishnu Makhijani, Indo-Asian News Service
Astana, July 02, 2009
First Published: 13:59 IST(2/7/2009)

Simmering India-Pakistan tensions came to the fore on the concluding day of a global faith meet in Astana on Thursday but the blip was taken in its stride.

Intervening during the plenary on "Moral and spiritual values, world ethics" at the third Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Anwar Hussain Siddique of Pakistan's International Islamic University objected to Indian delegate Jyotindra Mukundrai Dave's reference to Muslims being responsible for the attack on Gujarat's Akshardham temple in 2002 that resulted in the deaths of over 30 people.

"I strongly object to the Indian delegate's remarks. He has blamed Muslims for the attack without giving any proof. This is objectionable and uncalled for," Siddique maintained.

Dave, who was a panelist at the plenary, had referred to the attack at the fag end of his presentation to reinforce India's multi-cultural credentials.

"There was an attack on the Akshardham temple in the new Gujarat capital of Gandhinagar in 2002 in which more than 30 people were killed.

"After the attack, we held a prayer meeting at which we did not invite any politician. The attack was staged by Islamists but we did not mention this during the prayer meeting. We only prayed.

"This is what India's multi-culturalism is all about," Dave said.

There was no reaction from the audience when Dave made his statement or when Siddique reacted.

Dave is attending the Congress as a representative of the Swaminarayan faith that runs the Akshardham temple, one of some 450 in India.

So, following the blazing path of President Z, this Pakistani is agreeing that Islamists are Muslims, and, Muslims are Islamists?

Digging a hole for himself.

[NRao]

India plans to attack Pakistani nuclear installations using Baitullah Mehsud’s gang

Jai Ho. AoAkbar. Indian government is waking up.


A must read article if you are not catching sleep.

[Guddu]

India plans to attack Pakistani nuclear installations using Baitullah Mehsud’s gang

Jai Ho. AoAkbar. Indian government is waking up.
A must read article if you are not catching sleep.

Anyone know the credibility of Farzana Shah, the author of above link..looks like her imagination has gone wild.

[ramana]

It doesnt matter what her sanity is. Its the sanity of those who fed her their paranoid hallucination.

The purpose is to justify the attack on Baitullah Mehsud who as a pious one would be difficult to sell to the aam abduls they are linking him to the two yevil Ys- Yehudis and Yindus. the other Y is with them in the attack so cant be inculded!

Always see hwo benefits and ask whats the story?

[Guddu]

Pakistan offers to mediate between US and Mullah Omar

First 10% set the ball rolling, and now the puki army confirming their illegitimate children. It seems that some one has their cojones in a nut cracker...
I cannot imagine the PA admitting this from the goodness of their heart.

[Prem]

This explains a lot about the activities of BIg O's adminstration in last few months. The Million Dollar question is who will own OBL and his Moojjies ?

[NRao]

Pakis have used the time and resources to get rid of ALL that opposed them.

[anupmisra]

Anyone know the credibility of Farzana Shah, the author of above link..looks like her imagination has gone wild.

Ms. Shah is the same as Jana on the Pooki Deaf & Dumb show. A frustrated hag who addresses all porki posters as "dear". Also, a rabid (as in dog-bitten) anti-India and anti-west flea bag.

[Venkarl]

The article may or may not be true. Bottom line is ISI has groomed a venomous snake and now its hissing back at them. Btw..Indians are great snake charmers

[shiv]

India plans to attack Pakistani nuclear installations using Baitullah Mehsud’s gang

It is learnt through reliable sources that Indian and Israeli special services units in collaboration with TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan ) -–a terrorist organisation– are preparing an attack on one of Pakistan ’s strategic installation in order to achieve multiple goals. Well trained TTP members, around 750, will take part in this attack.

This is serious. No laughing matter

In fact news from other reliable sources is as follows

The attacks on Pakistan's nuclear installations will begin at 9 AM on the 27th of July 2009. A suicide bomber will first appear at the North gate of the nuclear complex and detonate himself to create a diversion. The main attacks will occur from the West gate from 9-15 AM onwards.

The identity of the Suicide bomber has been confirmed as Abdul SuSaeed of Mingora. He said in an interviews that he was doing i for the money that would be paid to his family by two agents from Israel and India. called Ariel Sharon of Tel Aviv, Bihar, India and Indira Gandhi of Mysore, Israel, both currently residing at rooms no 666 and 786 of the Imperial Hotel in Peshawar. ISI sources say that these are likely to be assumed names and fake addresses to confuse investigators. Both their passports have already been impounded. Explaining the structure of his belt SuSaeed showed how it had a fail safe mechanism to ensure his martyrdom.

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[SSridhar]

Success in Swat: Pakistan

But with concerns high that the Taliban may return to the areas from where they have been cleared, especially as the top leaders have not been caught, it is unclear how many of the displaced people share the government’s confidence that it is now safe {for the IDPs} to go back.

[sum]

Not sure if this is Chanakian-ness or genuine regret:

i-did-not-intend-to-hurt-zardari-pm

"Let me say that what I had said to Zardari Sahib, I had not intended to say that in the presence of all the media. I simply forgot that the media were present there . It was not my intention in any way to hurt Zardari Sahib's feelings," he said in reply to a question.

[bart]

Last installment(?) of Shahryar Khan's memoirs in this week's TFT. Posting in full:

Retirement? No way

Shahryar M Khan

Despite this however, the tour proved to be a great success. For the first time, India and Pakistan played cricket not as political opponents but as cricketing rivals. After the first two Test matches in Madras and Delhi, the third game in Calcutta took place in a rather ghostly atmosphere, with the stadium having to be emptied because of crowd-control problems: Sachin Tendulkar had been run out in the previous game under controversial circumstances. During this Test match in Calcutta, though, Saqlain Mushtaq shone as our master bowler. Once he had gotten rid of Sourav Ganguly, the Indian batting line-up fell like ninepins, and eventually we won. We returned home having won both the Test and One-day series.

Lying as usual. Sachin Tendulkar was not run out in the previous game but in that same Calcutta game. And the crowd were upset because of blatant cheating/bad sportsmanship from the Pakistan team. Sachin Tendulkar who was playing a match winning/saving innings was actually in after completing a run and standing with his bat grounded at the non-striker end. The bowler while collecting the throw bumped in to him and pushed him out of the crease, and it so happened that the throw directly hit the stumps and television replays gave him out. Their captain Wasim Akram like a true Paki refused to be sporting or honor the spirit of the game and did not re-call him. That is why the crowd were upset.

Also note that he gives a lot of space to the crowd trouble but does not mention the standing ovation the Paki team got in Chennai after a close match. That was something a lot of Indians were rightly proud of as an evidence of their sportsmanship and continue to be to this day. However such displays are clearly wasted on Pakistanis. You give them an inch, they take a mile.

[SSridhar]

India offering citizenship to Keralite Pakistanis

Most absurd thing to do.

[RajeshA]

India plans to attack Pakistani nuclear installations using Baitullah Mehsud’s gang

<Al Qaida Cap>
Ayman-al-Zawahiri would soon be making an announcement, telling the world how treacherous Pakistani Govt and Pakistani Army has become, how they have spilling the blood of the momeen by the thousands, how the kufr Pakistani Army has chosen to attack the proud Taliban led by the Mujahideen Baitullah Mahsud at the behest of Amreeka.

This Pakistani Govt needs to be brought down!
</Al Qaida Cap>

Tumhare dronon se nazar nahin hatt-ti, pehgam hum kaise bhejen!

AoA

[Prem Kumar]

Not sure if this is Chanakian-ness or genuine regret:

i-did-not-intend-to-hurt-zardari-pm

One word comes to my mind. Starts with a P and is a synonym for cat.

[arun]

X Posted.

Excerpt from CNN's interview of Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, spokesman for the Pakistan Army.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s paranoia about India’s presence in Afghanistan causes the indiscreet disclosure of current links and influence over the Afghan Taliban terrorists sufficient to either broker a peace with the US or alternatively cause the Afghanistan situation “to take an ugly turn” :

Transcript: Pakistan's Abbas talks about Afghanistan

(CNN) -- Pakistan's military says it is in contact with Afghan's Taliban leader and that it can bring him and other commanders to the negotiating table with the United States.

In an interview with CNN's Michael Ware, Pakistan military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said in return for any role as a broker between the United States and the Taliban, Pakistan wants concessions from Washington over Pakistan's concerns with longtime rival India. This is a partial transcript of the interview. It has been edited for clarity.

Abbas: What we see as a concern is an over-involvement of Indians in Afghanistan that becomes a concern -- particularly if one is watching the security calculus in that. If you find a [indistinct] Pashtun, or if the Pashtun are not given their due representation in the government and the military... that causes concern. If you see an over ingress of the Indians into these areas, like their government, their ministries, their army. The fear is, tomorrow what happens if these Americans move out and they're replaced by Indians as military trainers? That becomes a serious concern. So these kind of apprehensions are there, and they are talked about and they are consulted.

Ware: So what can Pakistan do to protect its interests in the face of these concerns in Afghanistan? What can you do?

Abbas: We keep talking, we keep informing them that these are our concerns...

Ware: Informing India?

Abbas: Informing the coalition there and these are our concerns and they have to have a line because if [it] goes beyond them, beyond the line then of course the situation would take an ugly turn...

Ware: But sir, talk is so very cheap, I mean what sanctions or what leverage can you hope to have?

Abbas: Well, every state has options, the states do not run out of options. We have our options also in this regard.

Ware: Such as what sir?

(Abbas laughing)

Ware: Come on, tell me something here sir.

Abbas: Well the states do not disclose their options also, but there are options of how far you can go in supporting the coalition there. How far you can go accepting the Indian ingress there etc. So the states work out their own options in this regard. But the concern is the other side has to see the legitimacy of the concern. If the concerns are not legitimate then the other side would not buy. But this... if there are concern... take example of we have been informing the coalition that our situation in Baluchistan is a result of somebody working out of Kabul. We have informed them that this group is creating an uncertainty, an instability in Afghanistan and it is residing in Kabul. …………………..

CNN

[SSridhar]

Balancing Institutions

There are occasions when the legislature might enact a law that is repugnant to the basic rights guaranteed under the constitution. On such occasions, the Supreme Court could declare the law repugnant to the constitution and send it back to the legislature for reconsideration. One example of such an instance is when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto declared Ahmedis non-Muslims. Whether the legislature is empowered to enact such a law is a theological debate, which I have no intention of entering into, for multifarious reasons.

Of course, the Pakistani legislature is empowered to enact such a law excommunicating Ahmedis from Islam. Pakistani Parliament adopted the Objectives Resolution in March, 1949, barely six months after Jinnah's death. I am pretty sure that such an important measure could not have come out in a jiffy and therefore Jinnah should have been well aware of what was happening. His earlier use of Islam, especially militant strain of it, for his convenience lends credence to that.

The very first principle stated by the Objectives Resolution was:

• Whereas sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to Allah Almighty alone and the authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan, through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust;

The above made Pakistan a theocratic state bound by the limits of Koran. Once this was done, Ahmedis naturally were on the block. Moreover, Pakistan set up a Council of Islamic Ideology in circa 1962, the purpose of which was to ensure that the laws framed in the country conformed to the Islamic Shariat. The Council, with at most 20 members including one lady, has almost always been dominated by the fundamentalist Ahl-i-Hadith, Deobandi leaders. What else can one expect then ?

However, the blatant discrimination against the Ahmedi community that followed the enactment of these laws as a follow up to this decision could have been declared repugnant to the constitution, which assures equal rights to all citizens, irrespective of religion, colour, caste, or creed. For whatever reasons, the Supreme Court of the time failed to do so. I am sure one could think of other such instances.

Who said that the Pakistani constitution affords equal rights to all citizens ? For example, a non-Muslim cannot become a President or a Prime Minister. Blasphemy Laws are especially designed, directed and used against the minorities.

[arun]

X Posted.

Richard Holbrooke dismisses the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s veiled blackmail threat issued by Maj. Gen Athar Abbas and terms it a “non starter” :

THE SITUATION ROOM
Aired July 10, 2009 - 15:59 ET ………………………..

BLITZER: There's been some excellent reporting by our Michael Ware in neighboring Pakistan. And he sat down with representatives of the Pakistan military, the Pakistan intelligence.

HOLBROOKE: Right.

BLITZER: They seem to be making deals right now with the Taliban, and they want the United States...

HOLBROOKE: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: ... to get involved in this.

I want you to listen to this clip. This is -- this is the Pakistani military spokesman, Athar Abbas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that's where Pakistan can perhaps provide valuable assistance to the American mission?

MAJOR GENERAL ATHAR ABBAS, PAKISTANI ARMY SPOKESMAN: I think, yes, that can be worked out. That's possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Now, he's saying on the record he wants to work out some relationship, if you will, between the U.S. and the Taliban.

HOLBROOKE: No, I don't know what he's talking about.

The Taliban and al Qaeda are linked like this. And, unless the Taliban repudiates al Qaeda publicly, this is a nonstarter...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: But he -- he -- he is also confirming on the record that there's a relationship that continues between the Pakistani government and the Taliban.

HOLBROOKE: Yes.

BLITZER: Let's listen to this. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBAS: No intelligence organization in the world shuts its last door on any other organization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLBROOKE: Oh, I don't know...

BLITZER: Because you know there is a long history of the Pakistan intelligence service working with the Taliban. And he says they're not shutting the door.

HOLBROOKE: I don't -- I don't know what he's specifically referring to, not shutting the door.

The United States and President Karzai have long said that Taliban reconciliation is part of our program, people who work with the Taliban, who support them, who want to lay down their arms and participate, the door is always open.

It's not going to -- this war is not going to end on the decks of the USS Missouri, like World War II did. This war is going to end when the Taliban lay down their arms and reintegrate into society. And that's always been an option.

And President Karzai has spoken publicly, in interviews with you, I believe, on that same subject.

Let me be clear on this. We are not in favor of bringing people into the government who advocate the denial of rights to the women, who are murderous, and who are closely allied with al Qaeda.

But people fighting with the Taliban include vast numbers of people,, probably three-quarters, who just pick up a gun, get paid, and go off and do these things. And there's always room for them to be reintegrated. Many have come back. That program kind of fell apart. We're going to revitalize it.

After the elections, you're going to see a very dramatic increase in our policies across the board. And this will be one of them. ………………………….


CNN

[arun]

X Posted.

Pakistan’s pugnacity rapidly turns into pusillanimity .

ISPR denies comments attributed by CNN to Maj.Gen. Athar Abbas.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

CNN’s claim baseless: ISPR

…………. “The remarks attributed to the ISPR director general are totally baseless, fabricated and unfounded and out of context ... the ISPR rejects them,” said the spokesman. ………….

Daily Times

[SSridhar]

Ex-emir of Jama'at-e-Islami, Qazi Hussain saheb, writes on 'foreign policies of Pakistan'

Soon after the creation of Pakistan, those responsible for framing the country's foreign and defence policies decided to make cooperation with the USA the cornerstone of these policies. To achieve that end, they decided to exploit Pakistan's geographical location and Islamic worldview to portray the country to the Americans as a bastion against communism. The foundations of this policy were laid by Liaquat Ali Khan, Sir Zafarullah Khan, General Ayub Khan and Iskander Mirza. American aid was considered as a means of making Pakistan strong vis a vis India and to make the country stand on its own feet. India, meanwhile, decided to follow a policy of non-alignment towards the US and the USSR. Eventually, India emerged as a leader of the non-aligned bloc and made a name for itself as a powerful independent voice on the world stage. In contrast, Pakistan gradually became a virtual satellite of the US. Meanwhile, the US kept changing its attitude towards Pakistan according to the changing scenario. When India kept itself aloof from Washington, the US patronized Pakistan. By joining CENTO and SEATO, Pakistan allied itself totally with the US and the western bloc. However, the US continued to seek the cooperation of India with its huge population and resources.

The Pakistani people and army were fighting a jihad with their Afghan brethren. When the Soviets were replaced by the western powers and NATO several years later, the Afghan people continued to struggle against foreign intervention. The sympathies of the Pakistani people are with them. What argument does the army and the government have for becoming a frontline US ally against those resisting the occupation?

[SSridhar]

The Khan of Qalat on Balochistan

“I don’t need any offers from the government. I came out of Pakistan on my own free will and will return when I want. My return to Pakistan and becoming part of the so-called dialogue process in not the solution to problems my people are facing. My people have given me a mandate and a duty to take their case to the ICJ and I am determined to stand by them,” the Khan of Kalat said in reference to a September 2006 grand Baloch Jirga, convened after about 126 years, which recommended that a case should be lodged in the ICJ against what it termed violation of agreements signed by the State of Kalat, the Crown of Britain and the Government of Pakistan pertaining to the sovereignty and rights of the Baloch people.

The Khan said that President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan had phoned him several months ago, asking him to return to Pakistan for negotiations but he told the president bluntly that the approaches he was taking to address the Baloch issue were ineffective.

“I told President Zardari that Balochistan’s issue cannot be solved through all partiesí conferences, increasing the budgets and making more hollow promises. I told him that he may be well-meaning but he was powerless to do anything on the ground. The real power, he knows, lies elsewhere. If Zardari was powerful and independent in taking decisions, why would he go to the United Nations to seek justice for his wife Benazir Bhutto’s murder?”

Refusing to be part of any efforts to settle the Baloch issue, the Khan of Kalat, who lives with his family in Cardiff, lay down only one condition to become part of the talks. “The talks have to be mediated by the United States of America, Russia, the United Kingdom or other European countries. The Pakistani government should choose anyone of them. Accept that and you will find me ready to sit down for meaningful talks. There is no point for us any more in getting engaged with powerless people. That option is off the table now. Sixty years of broken promises have broken my faith completely in the sincerity of Islamabad.”

Answering a question, His Highness, as it states on his passport, said that Governor Zulfikar Magsi and many others in the provincial government had said it on record that they are powerless and cannot promise any change to the status quo. “Invitations to talks and big promises were a hoax being played to divert the attention from the real issues.”

[SSridhar]

Not sure if this is Chanakian-ness or genuine regret:

i-did-not-intend-to-hurt-zardari-pm

sum, I think it is neither. Yesterday, MoS, MEA, Tharoor had said that Zardari's change of heart regarding terror 'emanating from Pakistani soil and directed against India' was to be welcomed. That Zardari statement, which most certainly was ambiguous regarding India, has 'allowed' India to save its face regarding the upcoming talks under US pressure. The Indian PM is setting the stage now for a new round of talks under less tension by retracting his statement. IMHO, it is either of the following two:

• India realizes that it has exhausted all its options after 26/11 and has to go back to talks now as demanded by the US.
• Indian diplomacy has fallen for the usual Pakistani bait of Taqiyya by not only taking Zardari's statement at its face value but also extrapolating it to make it look as though Zardari was actually regretting nurturing terrorism against India all these years. He most certainly did not mean that.

[Dipanker]

X Posted.

Pakistan’s pugnacity rapidly turns into pusillanimity .

ISPR denies comments attributed by CNN to Maj.Gen. Athar Abbas.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

CNN’s claim baseless: ISPR

…………. “The remarks attributed to the ISPR director general are totally baseless, fabricated and unfounded and out of context ... the ISPR rejects them,” said the spokesman. ………….

Daily Times

Pukis are shameless liers, CNN has Athar Abbas interview on tape.