We are a poor countrysanjaykumar wrote:I am beginning to wonder if RAW/CIA is not behind the devastating assaults on the PA in Pakistani cities. Given the history of these organisations it is not implausible.
“It’s coming from Americans, Jews and Indians,” he said. “It’s an axis of evil that’s being supervised by you people.”
He asserted that the American security company formerly known as Blackwater, a favorite target of criticism for ultranationalists, rented a house next to his, and that its employees had been trying to lure his servants with sweets, alcohol and “McDonald’s food every Sunday.”
The usual conspiracy theories - YYY, Unkil, Blackwater. The last quote sums up TSP thinkingConspiracy theories are pervasive in Pakistan, and Ms. Alvi offered an explanation. They are a projection, she said — a defense mechanism that protects one’s psyche from something too difficult to accept. “It’s not me, it’s you,” she said. “It’s a denial of personal responsibility, which goes a long way to cripple our growth.”
.Bismilla,anupmisra wrote:Kufr, have you forgotten Zaid Hamid (pbuh), the future mahdi? His coming will mark the start of a new glorious paki era.Gagan wrote:I think no one in pakistan is serious about that country's future.
Gagan wrote:2. For the middle classes and the youth, there are the wild stories spun by the likes of Jahil Hamid.
There's a reason why Kiyani reiterated 'strongly' Pakistan is Islam rhetoric after the Mosque bomb.And who decides who is pious or not?
The Book. However much newer converts may convulate logic, they cannot beat the doctrine. The Taliban were named exactly because they were Islamic students and there leaders were theologians. Mullah Omar, Bin Laden and Zawahari know their book and it's requirements to the T. Musharaff and PA Generals probably not that much. Denaiability arises from that very fundamental..no it just cannot be so. It's not possible the doctrine says so. Thats why the stress on the RoP even as bombs, murder, mayhem and beheadings go on all around.
And does the author mean to say only Pakistan was scarred? I thought there is a saying Pakistan has ke liya, Kashmir ladke lenge..Paki's were hardly scarred by the bloodshed. They rooted for it, participated with enthu and look forward to more of it. Foreigners surely do not understand the Paki psyche as yet.Many Pakistanis have a bitter view of America. Conspiracy theories are rife. The bloody partition from India left scars that are difficult for foreigners to understand.
Good question.NikhilB wrote:I am afraid. Are we too going into too many conspiracy theories, a disease fully spread into pakis, while it could be more obvious and simpler. Agree that Al-Qaeda is section of ISI, but then assumming them to be supporting of CIA does not make sense, to me at least. Why would US then spend billions, loose their people, drain other resources if Al-Qaeda/taliban are supported by them, though in past CIA created them.Raju wrote:
Al-Qaeda is that section of jihadi or ISI puppets who are supportive of CIA or are agreeable to do their work.
Five generals also got their loans written off.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
By Rauf Klasra
ISLAMABAD: If you thought that only civilian and politicians got billions of rupees worth of loans written off from state-owned banks, you thought wrong.
Records now show that many top military officers got their loans written off. This lucky lot included five lieutenant generals, two major generals and a battalion of other senior uniformed beneficiaries, with some Army (mis)managed institutions to boot.
The Army controlled institutions also got their share from the national plunder with the Army Welfare Trust (AWT) got a massive loan written off worth Rs 14.49 million from a state-owned financial entity, which is now defunct (hardly a surprising fate). ……………………..
According to the official list of loan write-off beneficiaries tabled in the National Assembly, Lt General (retd) Ali Kuli Khan and his father Lt General Habibullah Khan had their loans written off. General Kuli had shot to prominence when he was ignored by the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in favour of Gen Musharraf in a bid to succeed General Jehangir Karamat as the next COAS ………………………….
Lt General (retd) K M Azhar, who later became active in politics, of Rex Breen Batteries got Rs16 million written off by the Agriculture Development Bank. His business partners were Misbah Azhar, Sward Azhar, Ahmed Jamal Siddiqui, Syed Ijaz Ahmed Hashmi, Mauro Dr Bashir Ahmed.
Lt General (retd) SA Burkey and Lt General (retd) Safdar Butt also figure amongst the happy generals benefiting from the state institutions generosity.
Another prominent name on the list is that of Air Marshal (retd) A Rahim Khan.
Air Marshal (retd) Viqar Azeem also got Rs15 million written off from Pakistani Kuwait Investment Co. Lt General (retd) SA Burkey, Major General Zahid Ali Akbar, Brig MM Mahmood, Begum Omar Mahmood, Saeed Ahmed also got loans written off.
Gohar Ayub Khan, brother of General Kuli Khan—Raza Kuli Khan also got a loan of Rs7.2 million written off against Rehana Woolen Mills. Tariq Ayub Khan, Zahid Ahsan, Ahsan Khan were the directors of the mills whose loan was written off by the financial institution SAPICO.
Major General (retd) M Mumtaz from Abbottabad, Lt Colonel (retd) Shaukat and Major (retd) Tajuddin Rs1.2 million, Major General (retd) Ghaziuddn are also in the list. Major General (retd) G Umar also got Rs8.5 million written off from the Agriculture Development Bank.
Lt General (retd) Safdar Butt, Major General (retd) Abdullah Malik, Brig (retd) M M Mahmood, Col (retd) M Zafar Khan, Mohammad Afzal Khan, Mrs Hamida Farhat also got benefits from the UBL. General (retd) Abdullah had resigned after the military coup of General Zia and had opposed the military take over of July 1977. ………………………….
The News
But that would not answer several other questions. The well-known reality that the militants use American and Indian arms and equipment would tend to cast a shadow on the intentions of the occupation forces across the border. Interior Minister Rehman Malik, in his reaction, referred to the flow of arms from Afghanistan and the capture of two trucks carrying Indian branded ammunition by Pakistan when they were trying to cross the frontier at Barra. How could India smuggle arms into Afghanistan and then transport them to FATA without the connivance of such a large US-led NATO force in occupation of the country? The question simply cannot be brushed aside, neither by Washington nor Islamabad, especially when the mastermind of attacks on brigadiers earlier in Islamabad, who was caught the other day, has confessed to having links with Inter-Risk, that points to the US desire to keep Pakistan destabilised. We must take up the matter in strong terms to bring home to the US that the situation cannot be allowed to persist, if it wants our cooperation.
Time to Take the Gloves Off in Pakistan
Max Boot - 12.04.2009 - 10:19 AM
For years the U.S. has been carrying out Predator strikes against Islamist terrorists in Pakistan — but only in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The rest of Pakistan has been out of bounds, including Baluchistan, where in the city of Quetta, the Afghan Taliban have established their operational headquarters. That may be changing. The New York Times reports today: “American officials are talking with Pakistan about the possibility of striking in Baluchistan for the first time — a controversial move since it is outside the tribal areas — because that is where Afghan Taliban leaders are believed to hide.”
It’s about time. In a Times op-ed today, RAND’s Seth Jones quotes a Marine he met in Helmand Province: “The Taliban sanctuary in Baluchistan is catastrophic for us. Local Taliban fighters get strategic and operational guidance from across the border, as well as supplies and technical components for their improvised explosive devices.” .........................
Commentary Magazine
THIS is apropos of your editorial, ‘A simplistic view’ (Nov 28). There are merits to the arguments that have been made in the editorial. It is a fact that a ‘no dialogue’ situation helps the ‘murderous yahoos’ (in Mr Shafi’s words) the most.
Hence India and Pakistan should talk.
But there are also other simple common questions that pop up in one’s mind which, I am surprised, none of the Pakistani media has raised so far.
For example, Manmohan Singh in his US visit made a comment that he has no partner in Pakistan to discuss peace with. The above statement has not been countered by the Pakistani media. This is one of the many fundamental questions that pop up in a common Indian’s mind that is somehow missing in the Pakistani mindset. Some of the others are:
a. What is the guarantee that ‘murderous yahoos’ will stop targeting India after the resolution of Kashmir issue when the Pakistani government has openly admitted that the non-state actors are uncontrollable and LeT has openly stated that its aim is to capture Delhi?
b. What is the guarantee that the army will support the civilian government for any deal with India when it is not even agreeing to a civilian control of the Inter Services Intelligence which is a governmental agency? What stops the Pakistan army plan for another Kargil?
c. What will happen if there is another 26/11 during or after the negotiations and the evidences lead to the doorstep of Mudrike?
d. Here comes the mother of all fundamental questions: “What has Pakistan got to offer other than geostrategic position and a nuclear arsenal?
e. Forget India, why should any country go to great lengths to patch up a great relationship with Pakistan?
Currently it looks as if in a negotiation Pakistan has got to benefit much more than any partnering country that is sitting on the opposite side of the table.
Hence it is not just the past that is hanging on in the minds of Indians, but equally also the uncertain future due to a murky Pakistani political atmosphere.
This is why there is a positive move towards negotiations though there are issues with China. The US, which was not so trusted a friend yesterday, has become a big partner. And relationship with Pakistan remains where it is.
The first stage in any negotiations is to state clearly what you have got to offer that is positive and not offer ‘reducing the negatives’ that comes later in the ‘give and take’. In other words, stop pointing a gun at your own heads while trying to negotiate with the Indians.
If Pakistan can show it, then I guess India will have no choice but to talk.
KARTIK SWAMINATHAN
Via email
Blasts at security check-posts:
The media should create awareness on how we as a nation stand against terrorism. Bomb blasts that go off on security check-posts are indeed tragic, but the media can help us in being optimistic by stating how much more unfortunate it could have been if the security check post was not there. The media should play a positive role in uniting us against terrorism. The lives of the security forces lost in the fight should not go unnoticed.
HASAAN SAEED
At first they were a source of delight for womenand curiosity for men (especially porkis who were used to staring at goats)
The only odd aspect of their behaviour was that more and more of them began wearing ‘allergy masks’ and it was figured that they were using them to hide their faces from curious stares rather than because they were allergic to something like dust and dirt!
Where are they? It would be interesting to know their fate!
Ah! Good ol'days.Or maybe it is not the PPP, which is to blame but the PML-N, which rules the roost in Punjab. We all know that this party is not as progressive as far as women’s issues are concerned since its founding fathers sided with president Zia-ul Haq during his eleven year rule, when women were subjected to discriminatory laws and men were flogged for standing up to the system and saying ‘no.’
Some of the rules that were laid down were so petty they boggled the mind — for instance wearing a sari to office or official function was forbidden !
Again, that image thing.Whatever the case may be, it would be nice if the female wardens came back to ‘man’ the roads again. There were a number of benefits of having them around the least not being that they did help women and children; were quite good at their job and their presence did mitigate somewhat the negative picture the international community has of the country being anti-women and discriminatory in its policies as far as matters regarding women are concerned.
Pakistan cannot oppose US drone strikes in Balochistan as Washington can do “whatever it pleases” because it is “paying money” to the country, Balochistan Governor Zulfiqar Magsi said on Saturday.
Talking to reporters after chairing a seminar at a local hotel, Magsi said Pakistan did not have an option in the matter. “You cannot oppose someone who pays you money. The US is paying money to Pakistan. How can we oppose it? It will do whatever it pleases,” the governor said.
Purelanders are not pure anymore, Taliban can talk to the prophet and follow his orders while the pakistan army talks to obama and follows his order.Updated on Saturday, December 05, 2009, 12:51 IST
Rawalpindi: The Tehreeke-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has taken responsibility for Friday’s ghastly suicide attack on the Parade Lane mosque, saying the mosque was “demolished on the orders of Prophet Muhammad”.
TTP chief Waliur Rehman Mehsud told the BBC that the prime target in the attack were military officers, and warned about more such attacks on Army personnel in the near future.
“Our militants attacked the military officers (our primary target) and we will continue to attack the Army. The civilians killed in the attack were relatives of Army personnel and their deaths did not matter,” Mehsud said.
At least 39 people were killed and 45 others injured in the suicide attack carried out by three attackers.
According to media reports, two-star generals were among the people killed in the attack.
The Dawn reported that a colonel also died in the attack while several senior military officers, including a former vice army chief, retired general Mohammad Yousuf, were among the injured.
First video can be viewed hereNandu wrote:Did anybody save the youtube videos from the parade lane mosque attack?
Avinash R wrote:Prophet Muhammad ordered Rawalpindi mosque blast: Pak Taliban
Updated on Saturday, December 05, 2009, 12:51 IST
Rawalpindi: The Tehreeke-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has taken responsibility for Friday’s ghastly suicide attack on the Parade Lane mosque, saying the mosque was “demolished on the orders of Prophet Muhammad”.
TTP chief Waliur Rehman Mehsud told the BBC that the prime target in the attack were military officers, and warned about more such attacks on Army personnel in the near future.
“Our militants attacked the military officers (our primary target) and we will continue to attack the Army. The civilians killed in the attack were relatives of Army personnel and their deaths did not matter,” Mehsud said. [/i]{Snipped}........................
Purelanders are not pure anymore, Taliban can talk to the prophet and follow his orders while the pakistan army talks to obama and follows his order.
The beast within
Sunday, December 06, 2009 …………………
It is of course ironic that the killing took place during Friday prayers – marring an occasion that is most sacred to Muslims. The men behind it clearly have no faith, no morals and no humanity. Yet, despite this, condemnation from our religious leaders has been muffled. ……………….
There is every reason to believe they are not Muslim – on the basis that no true believer would be capable of such brutality, for Islam preaches tolerance and peace and love for all. But they are not outsiders planted by enemies. This is a reality we need to accept so that we can combat it. ………………..
There is now a growing sense that the militants may have links to the security apparatus. There have been unconfirmed reports that former police or army personnel could be involved.
Now they have exploding paint as well.Investigators quoted by the Associated Press said they found no trace of explosives at the scene of the Peshawar blast.
Several people were seen clinging to windows in one building that was on fire, shouting for help.
Police Chief Liaquat Ali Khan told AP it was an accidental explosion that went off in a shop with paint stored inside, although the exact cause remains unclear.
What utter nonsense. It was RAW. And Mossad.arun wrote:There is now a growing sense that the militants may have links to the security apparatus. There have been unconfirmed reports that former police or army personnel could be involved.
The News
Yes yes yes boss. Keep contemplatin'. Keep contemplatin'The time has come to contemplate what can be done to ensure a better future.
Except that the PA/ISI themselves are jihadis/terrorists too, ISI is not seperate from them or the Jihadis/terrorists not seperate from PA/ISI.Jarita wrote:Vsihwakarma
I was abt to ask the same question - was 26/11 a western/ISI operation to push India into AFpak.
Have also tried to proble why those specific hotels - why not the others.
To be honest - big orchestrated attacks appear to be beyond the ambit of the jihadis running around in the region, unless there are intelligence agencies behind. Likewise with 9/11 - impossible to make it happen with just the jihadis orchestrating it.
Jarita wrote:Old video
Pakis are pissed off with Rahul Gandhis statement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJR4x3hGlPM
the thinking still is that brainwashing is okay, killings are also ok, if the target is not TSP and its own fanatic barbarian animals. It they kill human beings, then it is not considered 'distortion'.It is possible that the brainwashing that in the past used 'jihad' as a motive has somehow become distorted and is now being used against the state of Pakistan
vishwakarmaa wrote:
Because USA pretends to be a messiah of democratic world and it needs valid reasons to wage wars, invade countries and have military presence in purposefully "destablized" regions(funds rouge regims, elements through CIA) to spread its influence on future power centers in Asia, Middle East and every corner of world.
I'm not sure whether I agree or not with this.Raju wrote:
ISI/Pakistan Army is an american/british foreign policy tool to restrain India and destabilize the region.
(sorry, couldn’t resist giving his reference). I don’t mean confronting US, but then playing our foreign policy in right way so as to prevent US doing this again and again. Else, even if we manage or remove ISI/PA, still CIA will create another one "to check our growth" - may be in SL, BD, or even in TSP. Suppiah, you are absolutely correct. From a part of what I posted here a couple of months back,Suppiah wrote:the thinking still is that brainwashing is okay, killings are also ok, if the target is not TSP and its own fanatic barbarian animals. It they kill human beings, then it is not considered 'distortion'.
Therein lies the true nature of TSP and even its liberal, educated sections...let us not even talk about the madrasah educated barbarians.
This implicit reliance on jihad to achieve political goals was amply demonstrated in the National Assembly of Pakistan by no other than the Secretary of Defence Maj. Tanveer Syed on Aug. 7, 2007 when he demanded the Pakistani government to wage jihad against India to get Kashmir. He assured the nation that if full-fledged jihad was waged, Pakistan would get Kashmir within six months. It is noteworthy that the Secretary of Defence, who justified jihad, was a retired Army major.The study by a clinical psychologist who led a team of doctors and psychologists to profile the Pakistani jihadis who returned to Pakistan after 9/11 resulted in the publication of a book, "Probing the Jihadi Mindset". He found to his surprise that over 40% of the jihadis were *not* from madrassah but from mainstream educational institutions in Pakistan. He then went on to probe the Pakistani educational system and concluded that the rot came from within. This was published in c. 2006 . . . . . Musharraf's education minister, Ms. Zobaida Jalal, tried to remove a reference to jihad in the Class X Biology textbook which resulted in her losing the job immediately and later was forced to declare that she was a 'fundamentalist' to escape the wrath of the clergy who destroyed her house even then.
Do serving officers in PA also serve on boards of family-run businesses as Lt. Gen. Ali Kuli Khan did ?arun wrote:Five generals also got their loans written off.
. . . . The list shows that General Kuli Khan got two loans written off from the Allied Bank of Pakistan while he was still serving in the Army in the mid 90s. The first loan was of Rs1.8 million and second was Rs1.6 million outstanding against Janana De Malucho Textile Mills Limited, Kohat owned by his father General (retd) Habibullah Khan. General Kuli was then one of the directors of the textile mills. After the death of General Habib, he became the chief executive of this textile unit. . . .
The News
Najam Sethi receives Golden Pen Award
Hyderabad
Najam Sethi, former Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Times, Pakistan, was presented the ‘2009 Golden Pen of Freedom’, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, during the opening ceremony of the 62nd World Newspaper Congress and 16th World Editors’ Forum (WEF) here on Tuesday.
...
President Pratibha Patil, in whose presence the award was presented, complimented Mr. Sethi.
...
Away from Lahore party, B’lore a home
Bangalore : There really is nothing common between Lahore, Pakistan’s bustling cultural capital in the Punjab province, and Bangalore, easily South Asia’s most high-tech city. Delhi could be comparable.
The variety of South Indian culture has attracted these students from Pakistan. DH photo But for a compact band of nine visiting young men and women, budding jurists from the University College, Lahore, there was one element that bound them to Bangalore –– its very alienness. The variety of South Indian culture struck them in more ways than one.
Here for over a week to compete in the South Asian Debate Competition at the National Law School Universiyt of India (NLSUI), the Pakistani contingent not only debated and put across their views on jurisprudence, but took away a few points when it came to comparing city life in Lahore and Bangalore.
Must be from Dawood Gilani's Travelogues, since we know he visited Kerala.Away from 'Hore, B'lore a home
Seriously, the Punjab government of Shehbaz Sharif is living in denial for long.“All foreign journalists are required to get permission from foreign affairs as well as from interior ministries for visiting any specific place especially in South Punjab,” a senior officer of the Punjab government told PTI.
He said in the past foreign journalists had visited different seminaries in the province and published or broadcast “twisted and unfounded” facts.
Giving example of a UK based popular TV channel, Regional Police Officer of Bahawalpur division Mushtaq Sukhera, said that the TV crew requested for filming various seminaries in Bahawalpur including one of Jaish-e-Mohammad’s chief Maulana Azhar Masood.
“I was rather shocked to see that the TV channel showed that the seminary of Masood Azhar was used as a training camp of terrorists,” Mr. Sukhera said. {What a lie by the gora kufr ? Maulana Masood Azhar is the most peace-loving of the peaceful religion. How dare these Westerners do that to a mard of the stature of Masood Azhar ?}