Terrorist Islamic Republic of Pakistan - July 07, 2009

Mahendra · Post by **Mahendra** » 04 Sep 2009 01:26

Hope he reads Sherry's book How to squeeze your way into Information ministry

shravan · Post by **shravan** » 04 Sep 2009 01:26

OT

Website says to carry bin Laden "present" to Muslims

DUBAI (Reuters) - A website often used by al Qaeda supporters said it would soon carry a "present" to Muslims from Osama bin Laden on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.

The Islamist website gave no further details, but messages by the al Qaeda leader have usually appeared within 48 hours of being announced on the Internet.

Mahendra · Post by **Mahendra** » 04 Sep 2009 01:30

Not OT sir

AQ is Bakistan Bakistan is AQ
OBL is the new Djinnah

jash_p · Post by **jash_p** » 04 Sep 2009 02:21

SM Krishna's flight makes emergency landing in Karachi
PTI 4 September 2009, 12:29am IST
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ISLAMABAD: An Emirates Airline aircraft flying from Dubai to New Delhi with external affairs minister SM Krishna on board was diverted to the
Pakistani port city of Karachi on Thursday night due to bad weather in Indian airspace.

Krishna, who was in Brazil on an official visit, had cut short his trip and was returning to New Delhi following the death of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in a chopper crash.

What to make of this ? Another arm twisting tech. by Uncle to talk to Pakis by default at Karachi airport with Paki FM.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 04 Sep 2009 02:33

Indian FM 'visits' Karachi

The plane did not receive clearance from New Delhi Airport due to inclement weather, so it had to land at Karachi Airport.
The plane was refuelled and stayed at the airport for almost 50 minutes.
Protocol officer of Interior Ministry, Nadeem Ahmed went to see the Indian minister, but no meeting could take place, the channel added.
Later, the plane headed back to UAE after receiving no clearance from New Delhi Airport. Over 100 passengers including SM Krishna were on board the plane.

shynee · Post by **shynee** » 04 Sep 2009 03:06

Imagine if SM Krishna get's a Paki visa stamp on his passport, he will get dhoti searched if he ever visits uncle-land.

shyamd wrote:Indian FM 'visits' Karachi

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 04 Sep 2009 03:54

The death wish of the Pakistani political class ---- Ayaz Amir
Swat on edge? ---- Dr Masooda Bano
How Aslam Beg damaged a nation ---- Shafqat Mahmood

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 04 Sep 2009 03:56

Leasing out land and food security ---- Ahmad Rafay Alam

Pakistan is also fast becoming a water-stressed country. At partition, our water resources were over 5,000 cubic metres per capita. They are now below 1,500 cubic metres per capita and fast heading below the 1,000 mark – officially the water-stress limit. Pakistan's water comes from the glacial melt of the Himalayas, which are themselves fast melting due to climate change. Experts predict a 30 to 40 per cent drop in glacial melt in the next 30 years. Remember, over 90 per cent of our water is used in the agricultural sector and that too, not economically. The remainder is needed for drinking and related purposes. A future without water is one of the most pressing issues facing this country.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 04 Sep 2009 04:12

The Saudi connection ---- Zafar Hilaly

Prior to that, the Saudis had generously supported the Mujahaideen in their brave fight against the Soviets. No doubt, they would have done so regardless of whether or not their mentor and ours, the United States, had wanted it. It is quite another matter that stemming from that decision, Pakistan now finds herself in the grip of an onslaught of terror that no country has ever confronted; and much of it at the hands of the son, younger brothers and, on occasions, of the same mujahideen who the Saudis funded through their favourite Pakistani dictator.

Luckily, the official Saudi interest in Pakistan has mostly been a benevolent one. The custodian's family at least oozes good will for Pakistan. They regard our strength as their own. The Islamic bomb gives them as much joy as it does us. But how can it guarantee Saudi security because it is inconceivable that our weapons will be used for the defence of anyone but ourselves?

About the only malevolence the Saudis have ever displayed towards anything belonging to Pakistan has been towards our Houbara Bustards which they massacre at will every winter during hunting season.

Pakistan has tried to reciprocate by sending our army to guard the Saudis but here again, apart from the psychological comfort the custodians may have gained from such a deployment, one is hard pushed to discern the threat. Of course, in Jordan one of our officers, none other than Ziaul Haq, enthusiastically participated in a war against the Palestinians, people for whom we profess as much love as we do for the Jordanian monarchy. It is small wonder then that many countries of the ummah take our Islamic brotherhood peens with a pinch of salt. A similarly dramatic display of a mismatch between word and action happened at the time of Suez (1956). On that occasion, we sided with the infidels against Muslims.

But what has outweighed all benefits the Saudi equation has brought has been the export to Pakistan of their creed, that is, Wahabism. This has proved deadly. As interpreted and practised in some madrassas in Pakistan, Wahabism has wrought havoc on Pakistan's social structure, producing an army of bigots who believe that the ultimate simplification of life is murder. They revel in killing and make no distinction between friend and foe when it comes to achieving their purpose.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Sep 2009 04:32

pgbhat wrote:The Saudi connection ---- Zafar Hilaly
Prior to that, the Saudis had generously supported the Mujahaideen in their brave fight against the Soviets. No doubt, they would have done so regardless of whether or not their mentor and ours, the United States, had wanted it. It is quite another matter that stemming from that decision, Pakistan now finds herself in the grip of an onslaught of terror that no country has ever confronted; and much of it at the hands of the son, younger brothers and, on occasions, of the same mujahideen who the Saudis funded through their favourite Pakistani dictator.

Luckily, the official Saudi interest in Pakistan has mostly been a benevolent one. The custodian's family at least oozes good will for Pakistan. They regard our strength as their own. The Islamic bomb gives them as much joy as it does us. But how can it guarantee Saudi security because it is inconceivable that our weapons will be used for the defence of anyone but ourselves?

About the only malevolence the Saudis have ever displayed towards anything belonging to Pakistan has been towards our Houbara Bustards which they massacre at will every winter during hunting season.

Pakistan has tried to reciprocate by sending our army to guard the Saudis but here again, apart from the psychological comfort the custodians may have gained from such a deployment, one is hard pushed to discern the threat. Of course, in Jordan one of our officers, none other than Ziaul Haq, enthusiastically participated in a war against the Palestinians, people for whom we profess as much love as we do for the Jordanian monarchy. It is small wonder then that many countries of the ummah take our Islamic brotherhood peens with a pinch of salt. A similarly dramatic display of a mismatch between word and action happened at the time of Suez (1956). On that occasion, we sided with the infidels against Muslims.

But what has outweighed all benefits the Saudi equation has brought has been the export to Pakistan of their creed, that is, Wahabism. This has proved deadly. As interpreted and practised in some madrassas in Pakistan, Wahabism has wrought havoc on Pakistan's social structure, producing an army of bigots who believe that the ultimate simplification of life is murder. They revel in killing and make no distinction between friend and foe when it comes to achieving their purpose.

Two comments. The first quote explains the recent Gen. Deepak Kapoor's statemetn that TSP was moving beyond deterrence upon hearing that the US experts claim TSP inventory has goen up form 60 to ~ 90 nuclear weapons.

The last quote supports what I have been saying earlier that the TSP Deobandi jihadis are morphing into Wahabised jihadis.

arun · Post by **arun** » 04 Sep 2009 07:39

Under normal circumstances would not have been posted at all being a book review of a work of fiction. Nonetheless posted as the first paragraph is an “interesting” description of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:

SEPTEMBER 3, 2009, 10:05 P.M. ET

A Peek Into Pakistan

A new novel offers a worm's-eye view of the kinds of lives that rarely make their way to the pages of a newspaper.

By SADANAND DHUME

On the face of it, few countries are in as dire need of a public image makeover as Pakistan. Its best-known exports are the Taliban and contraband nukes. Its airspace commands more attention from Predator drones than from commercial airlines. Its immediate future rests more in the hands of NATO than in those of the WTO. In recent years, the permanently enraged Pakistani mob—protesting Danish cartoons, rumors of Koran desecration, obscure references to Byzantine history by the Pope—has become almost emblematic of the ongoing culture war between radical Islam and the West.

Wall Street Journal

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Sep 2009 08:48

Talibanization of Islamabad

The truth is that anyone located in Islamabad is a sitting duck because the Taliban are better represented here than any other city in Pakistan.

Islamabad is not a secure city. Foreign diplomats who live here feel endangered. Many Pakistanis who seek honour in isolationism draw comfort from the fact that “foreigners” are uneasy coming to Islamabad. The truth is that the city has become “Talibanised” among the lower classes that outnumber the rest of its population. Anyone who has held a discussion among the lower middle class student community there would bear witness to this fact. Yet, those Pakistani circles that are endangered would rather focus on how the Americans and other foreigners have made Islamabad unsafe by beefing up their own security arrangements!

Sadly, the TV reporter is querulous in tone when he reports on the “hundreds of barriers” erected by Islamabad police to minimise incidents of terrorism in the city. The media message is: Islamabad is suffering because of the security barriers and the Americans. But this message goes in favour of the Taliban and Al Qaeda who would like nothing more than the removal of all obstacles in Islamabad.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 04 Sep 2009 11:24

kit wrote: Actually it does.Remember those EULAS India signed with US , PK I 'think' has also done it. PK is showing uncle the middle finger that what it bought / got / borrowed is theirs ( and their aunt CN who would be very happy to reverse engineer whatever american weapons PK gets ! ) Now question is how India is going to deal with its EULAs regarding Block 3 harpoons or SDB s or whatever.Remember you may not get any spares if some congressman gets a cold.

OT but I think that "pakis modified harpoon" is an euphemism for something far more sinister that they did. Modifying harpoons for land attack makes no sense. Unless they modified it to target offshore oil rigs. But then even the SDREs used the styx against oil storage tanks in karachi so this type of use is to be expected and shouldn't bother unkil too much. All this indicates that some bigger perfidy is afoot

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 04 Sep 2009 11:30

One thing I noted from the SM Krishna incident quite odd

1) Cabinet Minister does not fly GOI or Air India plane, rather these elites fly in foreign airlines. Now how can Praful Patel and MMS justify the bail out package to Air India with a straight face?

2) Considering the plane was carrying an FM could he not find anther airport in India to Land the aircraft. Any track II diplomacy going on where the next S-E-S type draft handed over?

arun · Post by **arun** » 04 Sep 2009 11:55

SSridhar wrote:Zardari praises China's handling of Xinjiang riots

President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday appreciated China’s handling of Xinjiang crisis and said Pakistan supports China’s efforts to promote stability and values its prosperity. “Pakistan appreciates the fact that life and property of Muslims of China is fully protected and their rights including the right to worship fully safeguarded {What an unadulterated lie !}”, the president told Chinese Ambassador Lue Zhaohui. Following Zhaohui’s visit to Zardari, the task force on China held a meeting to review the actions taken to speed up various cooperative agreements
Ahh... the task force is speeding up action on Uighurs in Pakistan; that was the demand from the tallest-mountain nation.

Meanwhile belieing President Zardari's certificate of good conduct, close to 200 detained Uighur reported tortured to death in custody by P.R.China

.

Looks as if the Uighur's are firmly set to join the ranks of the Palestinian's and Egyptian's as yet another group of "Muslims" sold down the river by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:

Uighur exile airs prison killing allegation

(AFP) – Aug 24, 2009

WASHINGTON — Rebiya Kadeer, the leader of China's Uighur minority in exile, has highlighted a report that nearly 200 inmates were "tortured" to death in prison.

The allegations came as a war of words intensifies between Beijing and the 62-year-old former businesswoman. China has accused her of instigating recent unrest in northwestern Xinjiang region, charges she adamantly denies.

Kadeer, who lives in the Washington area, said Monday she received a fax from a Uighur policeman who fled to nearby Kyrgyzstan and gave a grim account of Urumbay prison south of the city of Urumqi.

The policeman said that 196 Uighurs detained in a clampdown in the region "were tortured and killed" at the detention center, according to Kadeer. .......................

AFP via Google

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 04 Sep 2009 13:33

Its high time Indians everywhere demand the US support TSP with dollops of aid (denominated in zimbabwe dollahs) lest it disintegrate and become a global migraine.

Boscoe · Post by **Boscoe** » 04 Sep 2009 16:29

Aditya_V wrote:One thing I noted from the SM Krishna incident quite odd

1) Cabinet Minister does not fly GOI or Air India plane, rather these elites fly in foreign airlines. Now how can Praful Patel and MMS justify the bail out package to Air India with a straight face?

2) Considering the plane was carrying an FM could he not find anther airport in India to Land the aircraft. Any track II diplomacy going on where the next S-E-S type draft handed over?

Perhaps because Air India does not fly to Brazil and the most direct way of traveling between India & Brazil is on Emirates via Dubai straight to Sao Paulo.

And I think it's commendable that such a senior minister travels on a commercial flight and not splurge on a private plane.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Sep 2009 16:36

Such Gup from TFT

Guilty on both counts

Maulvi Umar, one-time spokesman of the Taliban, ran off with his brother’s wife when they all lived together in Bajaur. He fled with the lovely lady to Islamabad. His poor brother, who had lost his wife and that too to his brother, was flogged by the Taliban. “What have I done?” he wailed. “I’ve lost my wife to my brother and here I am getting beaten up by you guys!” or words to that effect. The Taliban explained to the cuckolded man that he was being beaten up because he was a weak man – not strong enough to keep his wife, and not strong enough to prevent the elopement of our spokesman, they said. So, you are guilty on both counts, they said as they proceeded to flog the poor fellow. Meanwhile, Maulvi Umar’s captors and interrogators are asking him to spill the beans good and proper, or else they’ll turn him over to the Taliban for a hellishly good flogging, followed by an even better stoning, they say. Maulvi Umar is said to be co-operating.

Take the money and run

Our mole reports that the notorious dacoit who was shot and killed in Karachi last month, Rehman Dakait , had on his person Rs 17 crore in cash when he was ambushed in Steel Town. Those who killed him, a law enforcement outfit, took the money and ran. His gang complained to the police about the money. They said, too bad boys! It’s gone.

For his memory

We hear Nusli Wadia, Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s grandson, has co-operated fully with Jaswant Singh in the writing of his controversial book on the Partition which accuses Nehru and Patel of having forced the partition of India. Some say Wadia, a wealthy industrialist, has actively encouraged Mr Singh because it has long been his wish “to rehabilitate the memory” of his grandfather in India.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Sep 2009 16:50

Selected NUGGETS from TFT

Aitzaz in cabinet?

Chief Editor writing in Jinnah stated that after a meeting of barrister Aitzaz Ahsan with the army and the subsequent meeting of the army chief with prime minister Gilani he could speculate that Aitzaz Ahsan would soon be in the cabinet {Ed: This is what Miliband means by claiming that Pak Army and Government are working in harmony} of the PM along with Ms Sherry Rehman. Commentator on democracy Ahmad Bilal told Khabrain that army chief should not have met Aitzaz.

Condoling with Hafiz Said

According to Nawa-e-Waqt Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Mushahid Hussain, ex-president Rafiq Tarar, Sheikh Rashid, Javed Hashmi and Zulfiqar Khosa sent condolence notes to Hafiz Said on the death of his khush-daman (sister-in-law) and Abdur Rehman Makki’s mother. Makki is chief of the political wing of Jamaatud Dawa.

Nuclear war for Kashmir

Famous ISI chief Hamid Gul was quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt as saying that NRO was the reason Pakistan was not taking its policy on the correct path. It is the NRO which is allowing drone attacks. In national interest, Musharraf should be tried for treason; and for Kashmir even nuclear war must be fought, he said.

General Zia and the unmentionable part

According to Chief editor Khushnood Ali Khan in Jinnah once his editor late Azhar Suhail was called by General Zia who was unhappy with his reporting and warned that he (Zia) would tie a rope around an unmentionable part of his body and hang him upside down. {AoA}

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Sep 2009 17:19

The Fear of Spread of Talibanization to Balawaristan

With the dominance of the Taliban movement in the Tribal Areas and Swat, there is a growing apprehension about its spillover into other settled areas of Pakistan in the near future. In this regard, various political analysts, politicians and national dailies have expressed their concern regarding the possible spread of Talibanisation to Gilgit-Baltistan. Recently, Asad Zaidi, the deputy speaker of the Northern Areas Legislative Council (NALA), was assassinated in Gilgit. To treat the murder of Asad Zaidi as an isolated incident is tantamount to ignoring the overall pattern of which his murder is a part.

After a lull of three years, targeted killings in Gilgit resumed in December 2008 when a high official of the government was brutally murdered along with his family. It ignited a series of targeted killings which have consumed the lives of more than twelve people. Unlike in the past, the current targeted killings could not ignite a whole-scale sectarian violence in Gilgit city, but they definitely disrupted the normal life of ordinary citizens. Some people see the murder of Asaf Zaidi in the context of the Taliban insurgency in Swat.

The Talibanisation threat in Gilgit-Baltistan is seen as foretelling a possible domino effect of the Taliban’s militancy in Swat. Therefore, it is imperative to take stock of local factors that could encourage or prove to be an impediment to the expansionist designs of the Taliban movement in the region. For a domino effect, a similarity of the cultural, political and socio-economic situation would be necessary. Gilgit-Baltistan is different from the rest of Pakistan, not only in its cultural, linguistic and racial heterogeneity, but also in its sectarian composition. It is this factor that makes the socio-political dynamics of the region different from the rest of the country.

Culturally the region is different from South Asia or NWFP. Secondly, in sectarian terms, communities who are a minority in the rest of Pakistan are in a majority in Gilgit-Baltistan. On the administrative front, the region is directly governed by the federal government. Geo-strategically, Gilgit-Baltistan is sensitive, because it shares borders with China, Afghanistan and India. The cumulative result of these dissimilarities makes the religio-political dynamics of Gilgit-Baltistan diametrically different from other areas of Pakistan. These differences reduce the chances of success of the Taliban in even gaining a foothold in the region, let alone controlling the valleys from Shandoor to Siachin.

Until 1974, the valley domains of Gilgit-Baltistan were governed by local rajas/mirs. With the abolition of the local dynasties by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1974, the region came under the direct control of the federal government. Despite the dissolution of local power structures, the Pakistani government did not empower new and modern institutions. In the wake of the dissolution of the local governance structure, Pakistan came under the Martial Law of General Zia-ul-Haq. In the presence of a power vacuum and the espousal of a particular brand of religion under Zia, religious parties stepped in to fill the vacuum. This enabled the clergy to increase their influence over society by shifting the basis of identity from culture to sectarianism.

Consequently, Gilgit-Baltistan witnessed large scale sectarian violence in 1988 under state patronage. This was a watershed in the history of the region, for it created a trust deficit among the people vis-a-vis the state on the one hand, and the sowing of the seeds of mistrust among the region’s communities on the other. The trust deficit has manifested itself in the increasing power of religious parties, the accumulation of arms and ammunition, the sectarianisation of secular domains, sectarian violence and targeted killings.

There are a few elements within the society of Gilgit-Baltistan who are sympathetic to the Taliban’s agenda and who participated in the Jihadi movements in Kashmir and Afghanistan. With the influx of people from a neighbouring region, and the improvements in communication, these elements have been able to forge connections with national and international Islamists and have accepted global Islamist discourse. Currently, local Taliban sympathizers, who are miniscule in number, lack the expertise, resources and manpower of the Taliban in the Tribal Areas and Swat. If the Taliban want to impose their influence over Gilgit-Baltistan, they can extend their expertise and logistic support for the elements that tend to see the local religio-political and economic situation in cosmic terms of a fight between absolute good and evil.

The existing strong link between Gilgit-Baltistan and Swat operates outside the purview of law in the shape of illegal trade, ranging from drugs and arms trafficking, smuggling of Chinese goods, supply of stolen and smuggled vehicles, to the recruiting of local people during the Afghan and Kashmir Jihad. Illegal trade has been thriving here for the last two decades. An increase in the volume of this trade was facilitated by a weak writ of law. If the Taliban want to create a disturbance up in the North, then this grey area can provide a potential foothold and safe sanctuary. In addition, it can be a potential source for the Taliban to finance their militant agenda. It is important to note that the interests of people involved in the illegal domain can only be secured by weakening the writ of the state. If the Taliban provide this opportunity, then there are people who are ready to abet them just to protect their vested interests under the garb of religion.

A possible launching pad for the Taliban’s intrusion into Gilgit-Baltistan can be Diamer, which is adjacent to Swat. The Taliban might try to capitalize on sectarian homogeneity in the district of Diamer for their benefit. However, it is difficult for them to bring the local tribal system under their control. Unlike the rest of Gilgit-Baltistan, Diamer has traditionally remained a society in which people tend to be strongly opposed to a controlling authority outside their tribe. The power politics of Diamer revolve around tribal dynamics. That is why the religious parties of Gilgit-Baltistan failed to garner even a single seat in Diamer.

Furthermore, the Taliban are antagonistic to the traditional institutions of society. In Swat and the Tribal Areas, their prime targets were chiefs who are symbols of authority or power in tribal settings. Once the Taliban challenge traditional loci of authority and power, they are bound to clash with local tribes. Here the fight can turned into a conflict between globalised Islamists and the local culture. The dominance of the Taliban over the local power structure in the district of Diamer will play havoc with cultural institutions which have been fiercely guarded by locals for centuries. So it can be said that the Taliban’s attempt to establish a foothold in Diamer will not be a cake walk as it was in Buner.

To prevent the spread of Talibanisation in Gilgit-Baltistan, the government needs to adopt a discreet policy that would use the existing cultural institutions and social ethos as possible bulwarks against the rising tide of extremism. On the other hand, it is imperative that the elected representatives of Gilgit-Baltistan be empowered. Unfortunately, the state has willfully kept local power structures emasculated and the elected representatives toothless. Therefore, the latter are crippled, even if they want to take a stand against obscurantist forces.

The omnipotent bureaucracy of Gilgit-Baltistan is also incapable of curbing extremism. Despite the presence of the police, the agencies and various paramilitary forces, it failed to curb sectarian violence in a city of 100,000 inhabitants in the past. At the same time, there is no link between the executive forces and the people, because the head of the local administration is always an appointed bureaucrat from the centre. He is just a cog in the bureaucratic machinery, and totally lacks an organic link with local society, let alone the support of the whole region. It is this missing link between administrative power and the people, which is exploited by religious groups to extend their influence in every sphere of life in Gilgit-Baltistan.

With the existing structure of governance it might be extremely difficult for the state to curb the triumphant march of the Taliban into Gilgit-Baltistan. Their presence in the area portends trouble for Pakistan. If violent forces succeed in establishing a foothold there, they would be able to sever a symbol of long-lasting friendship with China, the Karakoram Highway, the only conduit between Pakistan and China. Although the Taliban may be following their self-conceived agenda, they can, unknowingly, become pawns in the hands of players active in the New Great Game that is being fought on the turf of the fulcrum of Asia, that is Gilgit-Baltistan. What the enemies of Pakistan have not been able to do, the extremist followers of Islam are doing; that is, cutting Pakistan off from China, thus benefitting the enemies of Pakistan. Indeed, the way to hell is paved with good intentions.

However, there is a local potential that can be employed to forestall the march of the Taliban into Gilgit-Baltistan. This can be done by removing the contradictions within the governance system of the region by empowering elected representatives. In addition, the greatest asset is the cultural difference of Gilgit-Baltistan from the neighbouring region where the Taliban are active. By empowering the cultural and ethnic dimensions of Gilgit-Baltistan, we can cut the vital line that connects a layman with the utopian version of Islam represented by the Taliban. Until now, the state has been suspicious of elements that base their identity and politics on culture. In order to curb nationalist sentiments, the establishment has been heavy-handed with nationalist forces and people who struggle for their legitimate rights. It has even covertly supported sectarian elements to curb nationalist sentiments.

It is in the nature of power that it finds ways to express itself regardless of the medium, whether it be secular, religious, nationalist or fascist. Pakistan has kept the region powerless for sixty-two years. Now the ball is in the court of the current government. It can pave the way for secular, nationalist and national parties, or for extremists. Only by empowering local people can we halt the Taliban in their march towards Gilgit-Baltistan. Delaying tactics will give time to extremist forces that can become a medium of grievance for the powerless masses of this region.

amardeep_s · Post by **amardeep_s** » 04 Sep 2009 18:43

The Taliban explained to the cuckolded man that he was being beaten up because he was a weak man – not strong enough to keep his wife, and not strong enough to prevent the elopement of our spokesman, they said.

the trouble of finding another no. 3 spokes-man

BijuShet · Post by **BijuShet** » 05 Sep 2009 00:01

Dawn breaks in the United States

Thursday, 03 Sep, 2009 | 03:19 PM PST |
DawnNews, Pakistan's first English news channel, has launched its beam in the USA. Viewers can now tune in to the channel on the Dish Network and remain updated with news from Pakistan and the South Asian region. ...

Rishi · Post by **Rishi** » 05 Sep 2009 00:02

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/daw ... august-189

EDITORIAL
The guns of August

By Ahmad Faruqui

Monday, 31 Aug, 2009 | 01:09 AM PST |

SOME of the writing about the Indo-Pakistan war of September 1965 borders on mythology. It is no surprise that generations of Pakistanis continue to believe that India was the aggressor and that one Pakistani soldier was equal to 10 Indian soldiers.

A few have argued that the war began in August when Pakistan injected guerrillas into the vale of Kashmir to instigate a revolt and grab it before India achieved military dominance in the region. That was Operation Gibraltar.

When it failed to trigger a revolt and drew a sharp Indian riposte along the ceasefire line, Pakistan upped the ante and launched Operation Grand Slam on Sept 1. Infantry units of the army backed by armour overran the Indian outpost in Chamb, crossed the Tawi river and were headed towards Akhnur in order to cut off India’s line of communication with Srinagar.

In the minority view, the Indian response on Sept 6 across the international border at Lahore was a natural counter-response, not an act of aggression.

I asked Sajjad Haider, author of the new book, Flight of the Falcon, to name the aggressor. He retired as an air commodore in the Pakistan Air Force. A fighter pilot to the bone, he does not know how to mince words: “Ayub perpetrated the war.”

In April, skirmishes had taken place in the Rann of Kutch region several hundred miles south of Kashmir. In that encounter, the Pakistanis prevailed over the Indians. Haider says that the humiliation suffered by the Indians brought Prime Minister Shastri to the conclusion that the next round would be of India’s choosing.

The Indian army chief prepared for a war that would be fought in the plains of Punjab. Under ‘Operation Ablaze’, it would mount an attack against Lahore, Sialkot and Kasur. Of course, the trigger would have to be pulled by the Pakistanis.

On May 12, says Haider, an Indian Canberra bomber flew over the Pakistan border on a reconnaissance mission. To quote him: “The PAF scrambled interceptors which got within shooting range of the intruder. Air Marshal Asghar Khan’s permission was sought to bring down the intruder. He sought clearance from the president on the newly installed direct line but Ayub denied permission fearing Indian reprisal.” Laments Haider, “If this was not an indication of Indian intentions, what else could have been?”

Oblivious to what had just taken place in the skies above Punjab, and failing to anticipate how India was gunning to equalise the score, Ayub gave the green light to Operation Gibraltar on the advice of his foreign minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (later president and prime minister). Bhutto had sought out the opinion about Indian intentions from Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Yi during a meeting at the Karachi airport and concluded from the latter’s body language that India would not respond.

So Ayub gave the green light to send 8,000 infiltrators into Indian-held Kashmir. These, says Haider, were mostly youth from Azad Kashmir who had less than four weeks of training in guerrilla warfare. The entire plan was predicated on a passive Indian response, evoking Gen Von Moltke’s dictum: “No war plan survives the first 24 hours of contact with the enemy.”

It is also worth recalling what the kaiser said to the German troops that were heading off to fight the French in August 1914: “You will be home before the leaves have fallen off the trees.” The three-month war turned into the Great War which lasted for four years.

Operation Grand Slam abruptly ground to a halt. An Indian general cited by Haider says in his memoirs: “Akhnur was a ripe plum ready to be plucked, but providence came to our rescue.” The Pakistani GHQ decided to switch divisional commanders in the midst of the operation. The new commander, Maj-Gen Yahya (subsequently army chief and president), claimed later he was not tasked with taking Akhnur.

I asked Haider whether the Pakistani military was prepared for an all-out war with India, a much bigger country with a much bigger military. He said it was the army’s war, since the other services had been kept in the dark. The army was clearly not prepared for an all-out war since a quarter of the soldiers were on leave. They were only recalled as the Indian army crossed the border en route to Lahore, a horrific sight which Haider recalls seeing from the air as he and five of his falcons arrived on the outskirts of Lahore.

Maj-Gen Sarfraz was the general officer commanding of the No.10 Division which had primary responsibility for the defence of Lahore. Along with other divisional commanders in the region, he had been ordered by GHQ to remove all defensive landmines from the border. None had been taken into confidence about the Kashmir operation. The pleas of these generals to prepare against an Indian invasion were rejected by GHQ with a terse warning: “Do not provoke the Indians.”

Haider notes that the gateway to Lahore was defended by the 3rd Baloch contingent of 100 men under the intrepid Major Shafqat Baluch. He says, “They fought to the last man till we (No.19 Squadron) arrived to devastate the invading division. There could have been no doubt even in the mind of a hawaldar that an Indian attack would come. But the ostriches at the pulpit had their heads dug in sand up to their necks.”

In the 1965 war, the Pakistani Army repeated the mistakes of the 1947-48 Kashmir war, but on a grander scale. No official history of the 1965 war was ever written even though President Ayub wanted one. Gen Yahya, his new army chief, just sat on the request until Ayub was hounded out of office by centrifugal forces triggered by the war.

Pakistan’s grand strategy was flawed. None of its strategic objectives were achieved. And were it not for the tactical brilliance of many mid-level commanders, the country would have been torn apart by the Indians. Ironically, in Ayub’s autobiography, one would be hard pressed to find any references to the war of 1965. One is reminded of De Gaulle’s history of the French army which makes no reference to the events that took place in Waterloo in 1815.

War, as Clemenceau put it, is too serious a business to be left to the generals.

The writer has authored Rethinking the National Security of Pakistan.

[email protected]
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/daw ... august-189

Copyright © 2009 - Dawn Media Group

BijuShet · Post by **BijuShet** » 05 Sep 2009 00:06

Not sure if this was poster before but it is a small report so posting in full:
TNSM chief patron Safiullah surrenders

By Our Correspondent
Friday, 04 Sep, 2009 | 05:44 AM PST |
MINGORA: At least three militants were killed in a clash with a lashkar near Mingora on Thursday and the chief patron of the outlawed Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi, Maulana Safiullah, surrendered along with two supporters.

According to ISPR, the militants were killed when they attacked the lashkar in Totan Banda. One volunteer was injured.

Maulana Safiullah, a close associate of TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Mohammad, surrendered in Ber Shoor.

At least 10 militants were arrested in different parts of Swat.

Security forces also presented two alleged militants before journalists.

One of them, Mohammad Nisar, said he had joined the Taliban in April. He said he had witnessed the slaughter of a security man and killing of three others.

He said he was a seminary student and police arrested him when he was going to Buner.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 05 Sep 2009 00:41

There are two pointers about 1965. Ayub Khan in an article in Foreign Affairs in 1964 was lamenting on the increase in the Indian military edge due to the re-armament program and its potential to reduce the chances of the TSP gaining kashmir. If I were a babu in MEA I would take note of it as early warning indicator and be prepared.

The second one is from K Subramanyamji. When he was in London for his PHD at LSE, he was browsing a pavement book sellar's dispaly and found a book on Crisis Games Study from the US published before 1965. One of the games was table top on a Indo-Pak war triggered by a TSP sponsored guerilla war just as 1965 was. And the participants were both USand TSPA officers.

So the 1965 war had other connections which we Indians dont understand. Sukarno declaring Indonesian Ocean, KSA switching from Rupee trade to $ etc all happened. The PKI attempted coup in Indonesia i sanother event related to this.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 05 Sep 2009 01:23

Maulvi Umar, one-time spokesman of the Taliban, ran off with his brother’s wife when they all lived together in Bajaur. He fled with the lovely lady to Islamabad. His poor brother, who had lost his wife and that too to his brother, was flogged by the Taliban. “What have I done?” he wailed. “I’ve lost my wife to my brother and here I am getting beaten up by you guys!” or words to that effect. The Taliban explained to the cuckolded man that he was being beaten up because he was a weak man – not strong enough to keep his wife, and not strong enough to prevent the elopement of our spokesman, they said. So, you are guilty on both counts, they said as they proceeded to flog the poor fellow. Meanwhile, Maulvi Umar’s captors and interrogators are asking him to spill the beans good and proper, or else they’ll turn him over to the Taliban for a hellishly good flogging, followed by an even better stoning, they say. Maulvi Umar is said to be co-operating.

This is the first time that torture and humour have been paired in the body of world history or literature.

Pakistanis, thou art great yet.

Yogi_G · Post by **Yogi_G** » 05 Sep 2009 06:48

sanjaykumar wrote:Maulvi Umar, one-time spokesman of the Taliban, ran off with his brother’s wife when they all lived together in Bajaur. He fled with the lovely lady to Islamabad. His poor brother, who had lost his wife and that too to his brother, was flogged by the Taliban. “What have I done?” he wailed. “I’ve lost my wife to my brother and here I am getting beaten up by you guys!” or words to that effect. The Taliban explained to the cuckolded man that he was being beaten up because he was a weak man – not strong enough to keep his wife, and not strong enough to prevent the elopement of our spokesman, they said. So, you are guilty on both counts, they said as they proceeded to flog the poor fellow. Meanwhile, Maulvi Umar’s captors and interrogators are asking him to spill the beans good and proper, or else they’ll turn him over to the Taliban for a hellishly good flogging, followed by an even better stoning, they say. Maulvi Umar is said to be co-operating.

This is the first time that torture and humour have been paired in the body of world history or literature.

Pakistanis, thou art great yet.

Am sure the Taliban are flogging him to take his mind away form the grief of loss of his wife, great humanists, the Taliban always were.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 05 Sep 2009 10:06

The great capitulation ---- Praful Bidwai

Farce of India's secularism ---- Imtiaz Gul

Strangely, it is a state that raises hell when Pakistan, for instance, raises its defence budget but justifies its own almost $40 billion defence spending by pointing to a border dispute with China, which is one of its largest trading partners. This huge resource allocation flies in the face of the 38 per cent population that, according to an ex-prime ministerial advisor, S M Tendulkar (Hindustan Times, Aug 20) lives in poverty – almost 400 million souls.

For some, the reaction within the embattled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its parent organisation, Rashtria Swamysevak Sangh (RSS) and similar entities – the proponents of Hindutva -- was quite natural in view of the upcoming elections in Madhiya Pradesh.

What does it mean for Pakistan and those Pakistanis who keep hoping that the right-wing nationalist Indians – the flag-bearers of the Hindutva – will gradually shun their direct or indirect rejection of Pakistan?
Javed Naqvi, another Indian journalist, offers comment in this regard: "It is a feature of India's ties with both its nuclear neighbours that whenever something positive is about to happen -- say a summit-level visit or a major meeting to settle border disputes -- something goes off inexplicably that threatens to destabilise the ties."

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 05 Sep 2009 10:20

Yes India should emulate Pakistan's secularism.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 05 Sep 2009 10:25

'Breaking' News - Shaukat Qadir

We have been sliding downhill for too long{more BR lingo being used by TSPians. I hope they pick up more from BENIS too}, the slide must stop somewhere.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 05 Sep 2009 10:49

Skeletons tumbling out thick & fast

In recent days, it has been a veritable riot of old bandicoots exposing all that happened and even owning up.

Brig Imtiaz Billa, ex-ISI and later IB Chief, talked abour Mehrangate and how millions of rupees funded by KSA was distributed to politicians for opposing Ms. BB.{Even as King Fahd assured Ms. BB that she was like his daughter and the funds were private}
Syeda Abida Husain later accepted having received 5 million rupees
PML-Q Chief said he was called by Gen Beg and asked to take money but he refused
Mirza Aslam Beg confirmed that Ghulam Ishaq Khan ordered the money to be distributed
MQM was helped to be created by Gen. Zia to diminish growing PPP popularity
Later, as Altaf bhai ran amok and went out of control of the ISI, MQM was split and the Haqiqi group was created
A plot was hatched to book Altaf bhai by the ISI under the 'fictitious' Jinnahpur conspiracy

Banana country to the core.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 05 Sep 2009 11:01

A matter of faith

It is the month we in this part of the world have known for centuries as ‘Ramzan Sharif’, but which we now find corrected to ‘Ramadan-ul Kareem’. The prayer-time congregations at the big mosque near my home, which comprise numerous members of Karachi’s uber-bourgeoisie alongside more ordinary mortals, are significantly larger than usual.

The frequent discourse of the Pesh Imam who leads the prayers here concerns the Houris in Paradise, in praise of whom he becomes quite ecstatic, extolling their various charms in terms that are vividly physical. His other pet topic relates to the valiant warriors in Swat and Waziristan who are battling against the forces of Evil (he is not, let it be noted, referring to the armed forces of our Islamic Republic). He also sometimes speaks of a certain “tall Ghazi” in the mountains, on whom he invokes the Almighty’s blessings.

Some among the regular congregation at this particular place of worship do find these perorations excessive. But the mosque in question was set up by a certain friendly Islamic country (one known to give royal welcomes to former dictators) and is managed by their Consular Office. Its affairs are therefore beyond intervention by mere members of a congregation. Or is it merely the superstitious guilt of our tax-evading, bribe-negotiating elite that ensures the passive silence of the congregation?

This holiest of months also brings to my mind a certain exceedingly pious gentleman of my acquaintance. More than pious, he is regarded by his friends as something of an authority on matters to do with the Faith. Knowledgeable and especially well read, he greatly admires Hazrat Maulana Rashid Gangohi, the outstanding scholar who was one of the founders of the Deoband madrassa. The gentleman to whom I refer is a kindly soul, who can be depended upon for help by others. However, when in the course of conversation I chanced to remark that the most basic virtue lay in kindness towards others, he contradicted me. Kindness, he contended, was reserved for “pious, practicing Muslims”. As for others, they should be given a chance to mend their ways, after which “they would be Wajibul Qatal”.

Another person I chanced to meet — a finance man, no less — feels that people who do not attend Friday prayers “should simply be killed. Slit their throats!”

With this kind of intellectual legacy as a backdrop, what kind of political discourse is possible in Pakistan?

arun · Post by **arun** » 05 Sep 2009 11:51

Confirmation by the Ambassador of P.R.China that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan sold fellow Muslim Uighur’s down the river.

The “Islamic” Republic of Pakistan has a long history of selling fellow Muslims down the river. They sold out the Egyptians during the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the Palestinians during the Jordanian purge in 1970/71 :

Saturday, September 05, 2009

‘Pakistan saved China from embarrassment on Xinjiang violence’

*Both countries have not fully utilised political ties for economic gains
*New Chinese embassy issue different from US embassy’s expansion

By Sajjad Malik

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan played a key role in dissuading certain Muslim countries from taking the issue of violence in China’s Xinjiang region to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and saved Beijing from embarrassment, Chinese Ambassador Lou Zhaohui said on Friday.

“Yes, Pakistan played its role in doing so,” the ambassador said in response to a question, adding that certain western countries were fanning the Muslim Uighurs’ issue to incite violence. ………………

Zhaohui said Pakistan had been helpful in dealing with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) militants and curbing violence in Xinjiang where nearly 20 million Muslims lived.

Daily Times

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 05 Sep 2009 12:18

SSridhar wrote:'Breaking' News - Shaukat Qadir
We have been sliding downhill for too long{more BR lingo being used by TSPians. I hope they pick up more from BENIS too}, the slide must stop somewhere.

I am 100% sure that they do pickup from BENIS.

arun · Post by **arun** » 05 Sep 2009 12:29

X Posted.

Excerpt from UK PM Gordon Brown’s Sept 4th speech to IISS titled Afghanistan - National Security and Regional Stability.

Clearly spells out the Pakistani connection to the UK’s terrorist problems:

............... as we removed the Taleban from power and drove Al Qaeda from Afghanistan, so Al Qaeda relocated to the remote mountains of Pakistan.

A new crucible of terrorism has emerged. The Director-General of our security service has said that three quarters of the most serious plots against the UK have had links that reach back into these mountains. At present the threat comes mainly from the Pakistan side, ................

………….. the main element of the threat to the UK continues to emanate from Al Qaeda and Pakistan. ..............

PM speech on Afghanistan

sanjeevpunj · Post by **sanjeevpunj** » 05 Sep 2009 12:46

The same source of threats applies to India as well.

Looking forward, there are two scenarios.What actually will happen eventually is not yet clear to me.

1.Pakistan defeats and dismantles the terror regimes operating under Al Qaeda and Taliban.
Consequently, Asia will become a more stable place, peace will eventually come.

2.Pakistan's Army is defeated and taken over by these regimes.
Consequently,India will have to act, to restore peace in the region, by crushing these anti-democratic regimes and re-establishing democracy in Pakistan, with help from US Allies. If India doesn't act then, the trouble will spillover into India.
So we have a no go scenario there.Totally avoidable.

arun · Post by **arun** » 05 Sep 2009 12:55

X Posted.

No place on earth is too obscure to be immune from the depredations of Pakistani connected terrorism.

Six Pakistani men arrested in Liberia for entering on fake U.S. passports with the possible intent to carry out terrorism :

Liberia arrests 6 Pakistanis at airport

Nihat · Post by **Nihat** » 05 Sep 2009 13:20

minister says police have arrested six Pakistani men who tried to enter Liberia on fake U.S. passports with possible intent to carry out terrorism.

Every morning I get up and thank Allah that my passport shows "Republic of India" and not "Islamic Republic of TSP"

arun · Post by **arun** » 05 Sep 2009 13:32

Article heavy on the use of the words paranoid and paranoia in depicting the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

.

Our Pakistan Problem

The nuclear armed, insurgent-plagued, swing state of South Asia.

by Christian Brose & Daniel Twining
09/14/2009, Volume 014, Issue 48

…………… Few nations are as paranoid as Pakistan--where it is a widespread belief that India is behind every setback, that the United States plans to seize Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, that America is out to undermine Pakistani democracy, and that Washington can't be trusted. This paranoia explains many of Pakistan's policies: why America is treated as both ally and adversary in national security planning, for instance, or why Pakistan sponsors the Taliban in Afghanistan as a hedge against both New Delhi and Washington.

Some of this paranoia is baseless; some less so, especially considering past U.S. support for Pakistani dictators. But this misses the point: Pakistani paranoia is real in the minds of the country's leaders, so we must deal with it as a fact whether we like it or not. We should not dismiss Pakistani insecurity or try to disabuse the country's leadership of it through rational discourse. Rather, we should take Pakistan's paranoia as the point of departure for our policies and pursue incremental but sustained actions to create new facts on the ground that might lead Islamabad to alter its strategic calculus.

After several years of playing Santa Claus under the Bush administration, there are now calls to revert to being Scrooge, including by denying Pakistan access to further supplies of its beloved F-16. This is no way to deal with a paranoid country that doubts America's commitment to its security.

More paranoid and skeptical of the United States than even the Pakistani security establishment is the Pakistani public, as America's low public approval ratings show in poll after poll.

Pakistan is a paranoid country that conceives of its national security in ways that are destructive to its neighbors, to us, and to itself.

From Here:

Weekly Standard

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 05 Sep 2009 13:33

arun wrote:Confirmation by the Ambassador of P.R.China that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan sold fellow Muslim Uighur’s down the river.

The “Islamic” Republic of Pakistan has a long history of selling fellow Muslims down the river. They sold out the Egyptians during the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the Palestinians during the Jordanian purge in 1970/71 :

Arun,
That's a very correct observation, but it is all India's fault onlee.

Pakistan's foreign policies have never been founded on any sound principles other than those of sheer expediency and opportunism. Duplicity, subterfuge, fraud and mendacity have been its hallmark right from its inception. It is ironic that situations developed and sometimes were even contrived and then exploited by Pakistan to keep itself on the side of the Western powers to enjoy the benefits of the generous economic and military doles, which it then used against India.

Its siding with the Western powers against Egypt in three instances, the abrogation of the Anglo-Egypt treaty on the Suez Canal and in the British-French-Israeli attack on Egypt in 1956, the creation of Israel and the British-US sponsored treaties such as Middle East Defence Organization (MEDO) or the “northern tier defence” of John Foster Dulles, put paid to the ambitions of assuming the Ummah leadership. The MEDO, SEATO and CENTO (originally Baghdad Pact) relied on the grouping of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan. This upset the citadel of Islam, Saudi Arabia, which in 1955 denounced Pakistan’s action as a “stab in the heart of the Arab and Muslim States” since both Iraq and Iran were enduring rivals of Saudi Arabia. . As for Egypt, its reason for disliking Pakistan was that it was siding with the US which was the main supporter of Israel. The relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was not mended until the mid 1960s when the US-Pakistan relationship began to witness a downturn. In fact, the then President of Pakistan Maj. Gen. Iskander Mirza angrily accused his own Prime Minister Suhrawardy, who wanted to oppose the British stance on the Suez canal, as “irresponsible and irrational."

These also show how Pakistan was willing to even compromise on its Islamic solidarity with the Ummah or its own Islamic goals, the very foundation of its nationhood, when it came to dealing with India. Pakistan’s ambition to assume ummah leadership invited ridicule from the Egyptian King Faruk when he said, “Don’t you know Islam was born on 14th Aug 1947 ?”