Bharat Rakshak

(Reuters) - Pakistan's Taliban have threatened to despatch suicide bombers and snipers to kill former President Pervez Musharraf when he returns home from exile on Sunday to contest elections.

"When the jackal's death is near he heads to the town," said Rasheed, who was among 400 prisoners who were broken out of a jail by militants in 2012.

Militants were especially enraged when Musharraf's security forces launched a full-scale attack on Islamabad's sprawling Red Mosque in 2007 after followers of radical clerics running a Taliban-style movement from there refused to surrender.

The government said 102 people were killed in fighting when the complex was stormed.

"The Pakistani Taliban is fully prepared to deal with this pharoah. If God is willing, we will give this devil what he deserves and give satisfaction to the victims of the Red Mosque," said Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan in the video.

A police official says a bus has overturned on a highway in eastern Pakistan after hitting a roadside electricity pole, killing at least 32 passengers.

Senior police official Zulifiqar Cheema says 35 passengers were injured in the accident near the city of Sheikhura early Saturday. He says the apparent cause was driver negligence, as the bus was speeding.

Cheema says the bus was traveling from Lahore to Faisalabad, an industrial city which lies in the eastern Punjab province.

Road accidents are common in Pakistan because of poor infrastructure and routine disregard of traffic laws.

On March 16, a bus carrying Pakistani soldiers fell into a ravine in the northwest, killing 24.

Why was Pakistan created? What was its genesis and what ideology was driving the Pakistan movement?

These are the questions which have been debated ever since Pakistan came into existence.

While everyone agrees that Pakistan should be modeled around Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s views, the contention arises over what exactly was in his mind for Pakistan?

It did not help that Jinnah died in 1948, just a year after Pakistan was born, with his plans still ambiguously stated. He authored no books and wrote no policy papers.

He delivered many speeches which are freely cherry-picked today, with some finding in them a liberal and secular voice; others an embodiment of Islamic values.

Both sides have been blaming the downfall and chaos in Pakistan on each other.

Liberals argue and blame Zia’s Islamisation as the root of all problems while Islamists blame the westernization and secularization of Pakistan as the crux of all the problems.

The confusion has reached the level of point of no return.

It is about time we stopped arguing over what Jinnah wanted, or what perhaps Iqbal wanted, or whether they were secular or not. There is a desperate need to change the debate in our curriculum, media, and households.

We need to stop moving around the same mulberry bush just to understand the basic structure upon which Pakistan was created.

We need to start asking the right questions to reach the right answers.

The need of the hour is what do we want for Pakistan today and how do we intend to achieve what we want for Pakistan.

Pakistan’s history is filled with instances of wrongdoings on the part of our forefathers.

Who can deny that the right of equality was negated when the concept of minorities was introduced in the Pakistani polity through the Objectives Resolution, or the shattering of the “Two Nation” theory when East Pakistan was separated in 1971 to become Bangladesh, and acknowledging military into politics?

This is our history; we can’t undo it. We cannot continue to protest for actions of the past just because we are too intimidated to accept our responsibilities for the future.

The harsh reality is that Pakistan has been a state since 1947, but is still not a nation.

More precisely, Pakistan is the name of a land and a people inside a certain geographical boundary that lacks the crucial components needed for nationhood including a strong common identity, mental make-up, a shared sense of history and common goals.

In the past efforts were made to unite the people under a catchy slogan about the ideology of Pakistan: “Pakistan ka matlab kya? La illaha illala!” (What is the meaning of Pakistan? There is no God but Allah!).

Unfortunately this phrase did not play the magic it was expected to play, rather it caused certain dominant sects to impose their interpretation of Islam on the smaller sects.

These particular sects also self-acquired the right to declare who can be called a Muslim and who cannot.

Today Pakistan is divided on the one hand between Mohajirs, Pathans, Punjabis and Balochis and on the other between the army, mullahs, landlords and the elite.

Each is trying to impose its views on the other and in doing so they are not only pulling this country towards the deepest abyss of chaos but are also tearing it apart.

We cannot forget that Pakistan was formed for the Muslims of the subcontinent as a state where they were allowed to practice their religion freely; we also cannot forget the fact that Jinnah was a secular person.

He, however, successfully managed to unite a great percentage of the Muslim population of the subcontinent under his leadership for the struggle for a separate homeland.

This unity for the struggle of Pakistan was without any cast or creed differences.

However, today the same cast and creed differences have so profoundly seeped into our society that they are tearing down everything from conscience to morality.

The magic words about any system to be explicitly successful are: Confidence and Thought.

Confidence in a system comes from equitability, justice and sustainability. Plato noted that “thinking is man’s natural instrument for problem solving….any problem could be solved by thought”.

The thinking people of the new and educated generation need to perceive plan and play a defining role in rebuilding the future of Pakistan.

The question is that forgetting our past are we willing to do the right thing for a secure and stable future?

Are we ready to repose confidence in our system?

If not, then are we thinking of playing a defining role in rebuilding the Pakistani society and the Pakistani system in which we can repose confidence?

The answer is that at the moment we are not ready and why not, because we are willing to satisfy ourselves by blaming everyone for the current state of affairs in Pakistan.

What we forget is blaming the bureaucracy, the army and the politicians for corruption, instability and bad governance.

Blaming India for internal anarchy, and the age old saying that whatever is happening in Pakistan is because of America is just an easy way out to escape reality.

The bureaucracy, the army and the politicians did, and are doing, what they are best capable of.

The question now is whether we as citizens can rebuild and put Pakistan together in some new order.

Can we turn our challenges into opportunities?

What is it that Pakistan does not have to offer?

It is blessed with fertile land, countless natural resources and some of the most talented people in the world.

Pakistan has tremendous potential as a country and if its resources are utilized properly then it has the potential to easily become one of the most developed countries of the world!

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, our country is strategically positioned and we can leverage this advantage in any negotiations with foreign powers.

Also, our country is a mineral treasure of sorts and we need to exploit this treasure to protect our economic interest with a view to substantially reduce our dependence on the debt which has increased astronomically.

The question is: are we wholeheartedly ready to exploit the potential this country offers?

If yes, then are we willing to exploit the potential in the right direction? As things stand, it is easier said than done but it is not impossible.

Our spiritual leaders of the different sects have to set examples for their followers by preaching tolerance.

Our politicians have to set examples for their voters by practicing equality.

Our parents have to set examples for their children by removing prejudices.

Our teachers have to set examples for their students by teaching unity.

We have to set examples for the generations to come to find an identity we have not been able to find yet.

The path to creating a patriotic Pakistani nation is daunting.

As the population explodes, oceans of poverty and misery deepen, limbless beggars in the streets multiply, water and clean air become scarce, education is stalemated, true democracy remains elusive, and the distance from a rapidly developing world increases; one is strongly tempted to step aside, give up and admit helplessness.

We will have to unite and strengthen ourselves and in turn strengthen the state in order to enable it to focus on critical challenges.

These include: defeating the forces of extremism and sectarianism, fighting inflation on a war footing, making government operations less costlier and more efficient, reducing our reliance on debt whether internal or external, fighting corruption, making the working of government more open, improving rule of law by respecting the decisions of the superior judiciary, and most of all rebuilding the edifice of our educational system at all levels.

Though Pakistan conveys the impression of being a heap of paradoxes with ever-escalating internal strife, the overall situation is far from reassuring.

However, references on Pakistan being a “failed state,” “sinking nation” or “failing country” clearly appear to be instances of journalistic hyperbole.

Pakistan has proved these wrong in the past while successfully weathering crises it faced and it will, God willing, do so again.

Pakistan does not need a military take over. Neither does it need a sharia system nor westernization.

All Pakistan needs is a united, vibrant and resilient nation!

Pakistan Taliban threaten to send Musharraf to "hell" when he returns

KARACHI, March 22: The biggest port city of the country that remained cut off through railways from the rest of the country owing to the Thursday evening bomb blasts on tracks was reconnected in around four and a half hours and the normal traffic resumed in the early hours of Friday, officials said.

Responding to Dawn queries, a railway official said the railway traffic remained suspended from 8.30pm on Thursday to 1am on Friday, when a railway track was damaged near the Bin Qasim station. He said nine trains — seven of them up and two down — were delayed.

The rupee and forex reserves would once again likely come under pressure when Pakistan will repay an amount of $144 million to International Monetary Fund (IMF) under Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) loan facility on March 28, 2013.

Financial experts said the government could lessen pressure on the rupee and forex reserves by utilising overseas Pakistanis remittances in a judicious manner.

Another repayment will be made amounting to $144 million under this facility in April 2013 and one more in three equal phases amounting to $533 million in May 2013.

This will probably put some pressure on local currency value against the dollar and forex reserves position, said a foreign currency expert in Houston Fazal Ahmad.

The rupee fell to an all-time low level of Rs 100 against the dollar in the open market in February 2013 due to repayment of $146 million to the IMF under the SBA loan facility.

This repayment was the first phase of the two instalments to be paid in February 2013. The second phase of the instalment of $354 million was made on February 26, 2013. It put pressure on Pakistan’s shrinking forex reserves. It is the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth instalments in a row as Pakistan has already paid around $3.24 billion against the total loan of $7.80 billion.

The currency experts said the rupee lost 39 percent of its value against the dollar since March 2008. The country has hardly two-and-a-half-month import bill amount, which it has to provide in shape of L/Cs, food import bill, edible oil import bill and crude oil bill.

The rupee is likely to remain under pressure because of IMF repayments as the foreign exchange reserves have declined to $8.5 billion in February.

Pakistan is likely to incur around 22 percent more repayment of IMF under SBA facility on back of sinking rupee value against the dollar since last four years, currency experts said.

The country acquired the loan in 2008 after fragile economic conditions and for supporting the economy. Pakistan got a loan of $7.80 billion in March 2008 when the dollar-rupee value was around Rs 64 in the open market. Pakistan has to pay around $1.57 billion in excess against retiring loan with interest and hike in dollar value of $8.53 billion, he added.

If the current poor economic conditions of the country can not be brought under control due to continuous borrowing by government from State Bank of Pakistan, lowering down foreign reserves, no further direct foreign investment hopes in the next six months and poor law and order situation, Pakistan would likely ask IMF for a fresh loan for the retirement of IMF’s SBA facility.

Seeking loan for repaying fresh loan is a greater risk for the fragile economy.

Absence of foreign inflows in the economy and higher tendency in non- productive expenditures by the government on political grounds is also affecting the rupee value negatively. The fundamental weakness in the balance of payments is the continuous decline in the net capital and financial flows.

Overseas Pakistani workers remitted an amount of $8,206.39 million in the first seven months (July to January) of the current fiscal year 2012-13, showing a growth of 10.36 percent or $770.41 million.

Current position :

Paid

$3.24 billion

Total loan

$7.80 billion

Remaining

$4.56bn

saip wrote:Suicide attack on check post leaves six dead in North Waziristan

Six Good Pakis

What happened to the poor bomber? Did he live or go directly to heaven?

Peace activists who gathered at Lahore’s Fawara Chowk in the Shadman area on the 82nd death anniversary of revolutionary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh on Saturday to press for renaming the roundabout after him were attacked by religious right-wing groups.

According to Saeeda Diep of the Institute for Peace and Secular Studies (IPSS), women were also assaulted. Posters and banners held by the peace activists were torn up and things could have got ugly but for police intervention, said Madeeha Gauhar of Ajoka Theatre.

For the first time in 15 years the annual remembrance of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom by peace activists has come under attack. Trouble was anticipated as the morning’s newspapers had carried a threat by religious groups warning that anyone who demanded the renaming of Shadman Chowk as Bhagat Singh Chowk would be considered a traitor, anti-national and anti-Islam.

When the activists reached the venue in the afternoon, they found some religious rightwing groups already picketing the area. They had placards which said Bhagat Singh was not only anti-Islam but also an atheist, said Ms. Gauhar.

Though the peace activists were allowed to continue their protest, it had to be cut short after the manhandling as the police advised them to leave the area for fear of escalation of tension. “This is yet another example of how the democratic space for peaceful protest and pluralism has been hijacked by narrow-minded bigots who believe in imposing their version of Islam and nationalism on everyone,” the IPSS said in a statement.

Last year, some Indian peace activists, including film-maker Mahesh Bhatt, had participated in the protest. Though some were visiting the city this year also, they were apparently advised against participating.

For the last several months, the issue is in court after Tehrik Hurmat-e-Rasool, an organisation led by a Jamat-ud-Da’wah leader, filed a petition against the attempt by the Lahore administration to rename Shadman Chowk after Bhagat Singh Chowk in memory of his being hanged to death by the British at that spot in 1931. Prior to Partition, the roundabout was known as Bhagat Singh Chowk.

saip wrote:Suicide attack on check post leaves six dead in North Waziristan

Six Good Pakis

What happened to the poor bomber? Did he live or go directly to heaven?

A suicide bomber rammed a water tanker bomb at a military check post late Saturday, killing eight soldiers near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

saip wrote: What happened to the poor bomber?

habal wrote:Does anybody know about the latest gossip on pakistani ghee/vanaspati ?

A group of about 200 supporters and journalists are travelling with the former military ruler - including party members from the UK, Canada, Switzerland and the US.
To paraphrase Albert Uderzo, "these Bakis are crazy!". They paid $5k apiece to be on the same plane with a person who is a moving target.

Before take-off chants of "Long live Pervez Musharraf" broke out on board, says our correspondent.

Some of the general's supporters wore white armbands saying they were ready to give their lives for him.
Personally, I think brown pants might be a better choice, or possibly black kevlar vests.

But aides confirmed a planned mass rally had been called off because authorities withdrew permission. Instead, they said, a rally would be held at the airport in Karachi upon arrival.

ArmenT wrote:

habal wrote:Does anybody know about the latest gossip on pakistani ghee/vanaspati ?

Is this an euphemism for something Do tell.

James B wrote:Sharia comes to Karachi

The crowds that gathered around and witnessed the burning bodies of the three robbers near the Timber Market, Karachi yesterday said they were ‘happy over the incident and praised the persons who had torched these robbers alive."

GRAPHIC: http://wecite.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/karachi.jpg

arun wrote:

saip wrote:Suicide attack on check post leaves six dead in North Waziristan

Six Good Pakis

What happened to the poor bomber? Did he live or go directly to heaven?

The death toll in this particular round of Green on Green intra-Mohammadden violence by way of a demonstration of the IED Mubarak variant of the IEDology of Pakistan that saw the uniformed Jihadis of the military of the Islamic of Pakistan targetted by un-uniformed Jihadi’s they themselves created, has climbed to 8:

Suicide attack kills eight soldiers near Miranshah

Greeting him at the airport was a small but vocal crowd of several hundred of supporters, many of them dancing and waving green flags and banners imprinted with his image. Musharraf’s aides had expected tens of thousands of backers to show up at the airport. Later in the afternoon, he spoke to the crowd, portraying himself as a savior risking his life for the sake of his homeland.

“People said I wouldn’t come back and would be afraid. But I fear only God,” Musharraf told the crowd. “Risking my life, I have returned because people wanted me to come back and save Pakistan.”

James B wrote:Sharia comes to Karachi (from old times)

The crowds that gathered around and witnessed the burning bodies of the three robbers near the Timber Market, Karachi yesterday said they were ‘happy over the incident and praised the persons who had torched these robbers alive."

GRAPHIC: http://wecite.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/karachi.jpg

James B wrote:JSQM denounces Pakistan

The biggest nationalist party of Sindh, Jeay Sindh Quami Mahaz, protested at Hyderabad, Sindh, to denounce Pakistan and to request the UN to probe the assassination of the former JSQM chairman, late Bashir Khan Qureshi. The


More pictures here

http://www.demotix.com/news/1898825/jsq ... ia-1898804

Mort Walker wrote:

James B wrote:JSQM denounces Pakistan

The biggest nationalist party of Sindh, Jeay Sindh Quami Mahaz, protested at Hyderabad, Sindh, to denounce Pakistan and to request the UN to probe the assassination of the former JSQM chairman, late Bashir Khan Qureshi. The


More pictures here

http://www.demotix.com/news/1898825/jsq ... ia-1898804

What's the deal with their flags? It looks like the dyslexic Nazi party that suffers from Down's syndrome.

jamwal wrote: