Bharat Rakshak

Pakis Want To "Grab Some Credit" For Indian Soft Power. Upset Over Gulab Jamans Being Referred As "INDIAN Doughnuts" In Western Media

Have you ever wondered what they call the Gulab Jaman in the West? Tasty, which is the food-related division of Buzzfeed, gave us a peek into how they consider what is probably the most popular sweetmeat in our part of the woods:

‘Indian Fried Donuts’ they called it. These angraiz I swear, making everything about themselves with their labels and cultural appropriation. Pakis want some "share of the soft powwer action", just as they want credit for The Taj Mahal or The Indus Valley Civilization . Mostly Pakistan is either known as "the most dangerous country in the world" or a "rogue Atomic power, responsible for nuclear proliferation". No soft power here for sure

Do we call the American hot dog as Amreekan Garam Kutta? Sounds weird doesn’t it?

Take a moment or two to laugh out loud at the sheer ridiculousness of their attempt to rename the king of sweetmeats Gulab Jaman itself.

Thankfully, a lot of people from the sub-continent can’t help but chuckle at Tasty’s attempt to ‘rename’ the mighty Gulab Jaman as they saw fit. They then turned the tables, by renaming all famous Western dishes to what could be the closest equivalent to it in a Desi setting.

chetak wrote:This man is peddling cheap snake oil.

His motives are suspect. He is not of a stature or even of some political heft with known influence or even the capability of convincing any of the recalcitrant players to gather at the negotiating table. He comes across as an ex baboo(n) on the make and also on the take.

His theatrical attempt to play the honest broker is entirely unconvincing and one wonders as to whose line he is actually parotting and especially, why now??.

Since he is a self confessed participant in the track thoo "process", it can only be the ISI's line that he is so assiduously peddling. No one in this government would ever trust such a dubious character.

So, exactly how he managed to clamber on to the track thoo gravy train is a mystery and solving the mystery would surely provide some very interesting insights.

The illegitimate and nefarious extra constitutional role long usurped by the paki army generals in sidelining pakiland's legally elected, and "democractic" personalities and repeatedly subverting the due parliamentary processes is universally despised. Ther involvement is very often transactional and the "next deal" syndrome is always preoccupying their attention and coloring their views.

The paki generals would hope to gain immediate national and international legitimacy if invited by a huge power like India for "talks" because then they would sit at the table as equals and be recognized as such by India's truly powerful civilian government.

It would also help to recast their currently perceived illegitimate position of wanting to be seen as the only true and final arbitrators of pakiland's future by completely legitimizing it in the eyes of the world and especially with the perception of the army's role by their own people.

It would also permanently weaken the present and future status of any and all democratically elected paki civilian govts by according and ensuring the primacy of the army generals vis-a-vis the civilian govt and that is exactly what they are looking for. Once this is done, the generals will never ever give up this enhanced status.

This is the reason why the paki generals and the ISI use bikau बिकाऊ catspaws like dulat, iyer, kulkarni and many other Indian traitors and presstitutes like burkha butt to do their dirty work and pressurize India to deal directly with them rather than with an elected govt.

'Why not invite Pakistan Army chief for talks?': Ex-RAW chief AS Dulat's out-of-the-box solutions to improve bilateral ties

May 27, 2018

New Delhi: At a time when the India-Pakistan border is crackling with persistent gunfire with mounting casualties on both sides, former Indian intelligence chief AS Dulat has floated a disruptive proposal — invite Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa for a dialogue to reduce tension and talk peace.

Dulat said General Bajwa was making all the "right noises", referring to his April remarks that disputes, including Kashmir, between India and Pakistan can be solved only through peace talks.

"We should invite General Bajwa, the army chief. He has been talking peace and also a lot of our frustration in our dialogue with Pakistan is because we feel frustrated by the armed forces or what we call the 'deep state' — the ISI or the army. Therefore, why not talk to the army chief directly? He is talking reasonably now. Why not invite the army chief, just an idea," Dulat told IANS in an interview at his south Delhi residence.

India has maintained that it will talk only to the elected civilian leadership in Pakistan and has shunned talking to the Pakistani military, which however controls key decision-making on foreign policy — particularly with respect to India — and security in the Pakistani establishment.

Dulat served as chief of India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the country's external intelligence agency, from 1999 to 2000 and was a close aide of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Kashmir affairs from 2001 to 2004.

He has participated in a somewhat unique book of dialogues, The Spy Chronicles - RAW ISI And The Illusion Of Peace with his once rival, former Pakistani spy chief Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani (retd).

The book throws light on Kashmir, and a missed opportunity for peace; Hafiz Saeed and 26/11; Kulbhushan Jadhav; surgical strikes; the deal for Osama bin Laden; how the US and Russia feature in the India-Pakistan relationship; and how terror undermines the two countries' attempts at talks.

Dulat, who has previously authored Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years, said "not talking to Pakistan is a sort of a handicap" more so at a time when geo-political landscape was witnessing a new churn.

"There is a lot happening in the world around us and they are all taking interest in this particular region. The Americans have a big interest in Pakistan and in Afghanistan.

"Likewise now, the Chinese, the Russians and the Iranians have all developed interest and we need to take note of that and in that, I think, not talking to Pakistan will not help," he said.

But is it wise to extend an invitation to the Pakistani army chief, particularly at this juncture when ceasefire violations across the frontier have killed scores of civilians and over 40,000 residents were forced to flee their homes from the border areas in Jammu?

"Isn't it more reason that we should talk," Dulat asked, adding: "You are presuming that all these cease-fire violations happen only from the Pakistani side and only our people are suffering.

"There is a their side of the story also, it can't be one-sided. If there is firing from one side, the Army or the BSF is bound to respond."

Dulat, who served in Kashmir as the Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau from 1988 to 1990, maintained that "there is no military solution" to the seven-decade old conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and triggered two wars (1948 and 1965) and a prolonged military skirmish (1999) between the two nuclear-armed powers.

"There is only so much that the army can do; after that it is time for the politicians to play their part," he said.

The former spymaster also noted that there was no space for big-brotherly attitude in bilateral relations, suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should revisit his hardline stance against Pakistan.

"The trouble with Modi is, because India is a big country (there is no doubt about it), we want things on our terms but bilateral relationships do not work in this way. We should not ask 'isme mere liye kya hai' (What does it hold for us?)

"Once you start talking to Kashmiris, there is a lot for you. You should try this and see what all is in store for you."

He said most things in the Modi government were related to elections but still expressed a "feeling" of a breakthrough on Kashmir before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections that are due in May.

"Somewhere I have a feeling that something will happen. It's just a feeling. I am not in government. But I have a feeling."

menon s wrote:So the pressure to talk with Pakistan came from, Moscow and Beijing this time! ? i think thats the reason, why xi and Putin called NM for talks , so called intimate diplomacy.

Big daddys are getting intimate with India, because Pakistan is entering a very shaky stage.
1. The caretaker set up is going to announce the real state of Pakistans defecit in the next two weeks. Which i suspect is at about 11% of GDP.
2. This coupled with rise in oil prices, lack of governance, rising CAD and the FATF grey listing....will create a perfect storm, that will make Pakistani economy go belly up before mid September.

The army knows this already, and, have used the big daddys, to convince India to go soft .....

If we give up this sweet chance to tear Pakistan asunder....it will be Indias loss.

Pakistan (MNN) — On May 6, an impoverished 17-year-old Christian Pakistani girl, serving in domestic work, was killed by her Muslim employer. The reason for the monstrous murder—‘not cleaning properly’.

The victim, Kainat Masih, lived in Gujranwala in the Punjab province where she had worked since she was a kid, as a live-in maid for a Muslim family. On the day of her death, her father had come to her employer’s home to visit with her, a rare occurrence in these situations.

Upon arrival, her father saw Masih’s arms and legs were being held down by her employer, his wife, two other men, and a woman. Masih was being strangled by a rope tied around her neck. Masih’s helpless father pleaded with these people to not kill his daughter, but to no avail.

The grotesqueness of the situation doesn’t end there. The 17-year-old had been raped by all three of these men. In fact, she had been raped for years by her employer.

Masih’s murder is currently under investigation. No arrests have been made, and none are expected to be since Masih’s employer, Asif Ismail, is the son of a local political party leader, Ismail Gujjar. Unless Imran Khan looks at the case , and "demand" justice, if the local political leader happens to be from Ganja's Party

The Christians in Pakistan, for the most part, are a very impoverished community. They’re a sliver of the demographics that make up Pakistan, as a minority. And so they often feel like there’s nothing for them in society,” FMI’s Bruce Allen explains.“They’re discriminated against in terms of education and therefore in terms of employment. So sometimes having a job as domestic help, a housekeeper, a maid, that’s all that they can think is their lot in life.”

Christians are treated as third-class citizens in Pakistani society. In the Muslim majority, there are hardly second thoughts when it comes to beating, raping, and even killing the help for no reason other than disliking them. Since this type of work is almost thought of as a “destiny” for these individuals, many domestic workers accept the sexual exploitation that often comes with it. Stories like Masih’s, which feature the abuse and even death, are not uncommon in Pakistan.

Pray for Christian Pakistani leaders to have a good grasp on what’s happening in their society and the needs of their congregations and neighbors. Also, pray for their ability and understanding to equip their congregations to respond to the needs around them as well as living out God’s values in their society.And please, pray for the women and children who are trapped in abusive situations and employment. Ask that God would bring together the resources for more churches to start their own sewing and literacy outreaches to women, and that these women wouldn’t just be lifted out of these terrible environments, but that they’d see God’s hand in the process. Another way to tangibly help is by donating to FMI’s ‘Tangible Resources’ fund to help provide the sewing machines, Bibles, and cloth for the outreaches. A gift of $150 provides one sewing machine and bolts of fabric. For $6, a Bible can be provided in the local language.

At least 14 people including three policemen were injured in a blast targeting police vehicle in Dera Murad Jamali on Monday evening, DIG Naseerabad Nazeer Kurd told DawnNewsTV.

The senior police official said unidentified miscreants had planted an improvised explosive device, weighing almost 5kg, in a motorcycle parked on the roadside.A police vehicle passing through the area was the target of the blast, DIG Kurd said.The injured were rushed to nearby Naseerabad hospital for medical treatment where an emergency was imposed. The windowpanes of nearby shops and houses were smashed due to the impact of the blast.

Police and other law enforcement agencies reached the spot as an investigation into the incident went underway.

LAHORE – Former premier Nawaz Sharif has expressed that Musahid Hussain Syed gave him confidence that he should trigger the button of Nuclear explosions at any cost, some 20 years back.

Addressing a public gathering at an event in Lahore in connection with Youm-e-Takbir, the former premier said that US President Bill Clinton and other world leaders threatened him about the consequences of conducting nuclear explosions.Had I been a corrupt person, I had demanded Billions in return over nuclear explosions but I never asked anyone for a medal for my contribution towards the country, said the three-time prime minister.

The supreme leader of ruling PML-N asked Dr. Qadeer and other scientists to start preparations for nuclear explosions and ordered them to dig the tunnel in days.The politician expressed that he triggered the button, despite threats of sanctions, hours after the preparations were completed, adding that only elected PM could conduct nuclear explosions. Ganja basking in glory after 20 years !

I told Indian authorities that we had more power than you, it was our right to conduct explosions in face of India’s aggression, said the PML-N supremo.
The elder Sharif expressed that he never compromised on country’s defense like Musharaf and made Pakistan an economic power.The former premier said that he had appeared before accountability court 75-time to this day adding that Maryam testified for 4 hours in the accountability court today.
Talking about the miseries of Karachites, Nawaz said that the situation of the metropolis was visible, urging people to elect better people in the forthcoming elections.

Not sure if this particular day ( May 28 ) has been declared a "national holiday" in Pakistan

g.sarkar wrote:"Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace" is now available on Amazon and includes an online free preview of some of the pages. I had a quick look at it and found it interesting. While the book is expensive (for me), there is also cheaper Kindle price available.
Gautam

g.sarkar wrote:"Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace" is now available on Amazon and includes an online free preview of some of the pages. I had a quick look at it and found it interesting. While the book is expensive (for me), there is also cheaper Kindle price available.
Gautam

g.sarkar wrote:Got the pdf of the book. Google Chacha paininthebutt. Thanks guys.
Gautam

chetak wrote:

g.sarkar wrote:Got the pdf of the book. Google Chacha paininthebutt. Thanks guys.
Gautam

tell your friends too

For any keen observer of the Indo-Pakistan slugfest, there is absolutely nothing new in the book. Nor is there any new insight.

The book is in fact more than intellectual masturbation by two guys way past their sell-by date — one of them retired nearly a quarter-century ago and the other, about two decades ago. The fact that people who retire are out of the loop and are probably as well-informed as any journalist who gets handouts from the intelligence agency involved means that everything these two discuss is already in the public domain.

Of course, if someone is interested in the woolly-headed analysis and trite prescriptions — even wet dreams — of an elusive and ephemeral peace, of two guys who are imagining a world that doesn't exist, then this is just the book for them.

'Why not invite Pakistan Army chief for talks?': Ex-RAW chief AS Dulat's out-of-the-box solutions to improve bilateral ties

nam wrote:

'Why not invite Pakistan Army chief for talks?': Ex-RAW chief AS Dulat's out-of-the-box solutions to improve bilateral ties

Indians, specially in the bureaucracy have very short memory. Who was Musharaff then, when he was invited to Agra? A tourist?

We have seen how that panned out. With governments, we can have treaties. Can we have a treaty with PA? Should we invite every new PA chief to India and beg him not to kill us? Under what authority will PA provide guarantees that it's next chief will oblige to the deal?

Nonsense like these is why PA is able to get away with causing terror in India. Pak conveniently use their rouge army to get away with consequence, saying GoP does not have control over it. It is not India's concern to provide legitimacy to PA. We hammer PA hard. Let GoP control it's army.

Former chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt. Gen. (retd) Asad Durrani had not sought approval on the draft of his highly-controversial book 'The Spy Chronicles' from the army, which was mandatory under the military code of conduct

A formal court of inquiry, headed by a serving lieutenant general, has been ordered to probe the matter in detail

Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch of the army will carry out legal actions after obtaining approval from Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa. (which is a must for most legal actions in kabadistan these days)

The legal course against Durrani depends upon the availability of credible information and witnesses (No $hit! Really?)

Shoaib stated that the draft of General Pervez Musharraf’s book had been given a go-ahead by the GHQ (now here's an ex-genrail who does everything by the book...er...you know what I mean).

He also opined that the timing of the book’s publication indicates what many believe a fifth generation war launched by India against Pakistan.

Is Golf Considered Sharia Compliant

KARACHI: A three-member Pakistan team will be hoping to make its presence felt in the Mission Hills Jack Nicklaus Junior Golf Championship 2018, a major event of the Asia Pacific amateur golf calendar.The national team featuring Junaid Irfan, Hamza Shikoh Khan and Omar Khalid will be taking part in the three-day championship to be played from June 1-3 at Mission Hills, the world’s largest golf course, in Haikou, Hainan (China).
Commodore Ghazanfar Abbas, COO of the Karachi Golf Club, will be accompanying the team as the manager.

The national team’s visit to Haikou is part of Pakistan Golf Federation’s plans to boost the game at the junior level.

“Our emphasis is on youngsters because they are the future,” said PGF president Gen Hilal Hussain. ( in Pakiland "generals" are dime a dozen ) “We want to train youngsters and give them ample international exposure so that they can become world-class players,” he added.

Among the trio only Junaid holds international experience having represented Pakistan in Sri Lanka.
“I’m really excited about the event and am confident of giving my best in China,” said the 17-year-old who has won many junior titles in the past.
Hamza, 17, is also itching to play at Mission Hills. “Going to China and playing in the Jack Nicklaus Championship would be one of my greatest achievements and I look forward to it,” said Hamza, a student of Karachi America School, who has many junior titles under his belt.

Golf is strictly a game, indulged by the RAPE sector of Pakiland. It helps, if you are a student at the local American school. Your passport to Massaland in the future

Looks Like Ganja Sharif's Son - In- Law , Capt Safdar (r) Is Going To Ditch Him Pretty Soon

Captain (r) Safdar, the husband of Maryam Nawaz dropped a bombshell as he started recording his statement in the Avenfield reference before the accountability court on Tuesday.Safdar, who is co-accused in the reference pertaining to the upscale London flats of embattled Sharif family, testified before the Judge Muhammad basher that he was compelled to turn approver through tough questions.

The son-in-law of former premier Nawaz Sharif stated that I was treated as a war prisoner by the six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that probed the wheeling and dealing of Sharif family, on the directives of the Supreme Court.‘The self-made JIT’s report is irrelevant in this case,’ stated Safdar.
On the occasion NAB prosecutor, Afzal Qureshi interrupted him and claimed that he had not even read the questionnaire to which Safdar quipped that he had read the questionnaire and recited Taraweeh as well.The counsel for Safdar also advised him not to indulge in unnecessary conversation with the prosecution team and go ahead with his testimony.

IMO, once a fauji, always a fauji. Could this Retarded Retired ! Captain be some sort of a mole within the Ganja Sharif household .

Captain Safdar claimed that he had no association whatsoever with Avenfield properties or Hudaibiya paper Mills adding that the verdict handed down by Queen’s bench London did not pertain to him.

To a question regarding the speech of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, made on the floor of the house, Safdar replied that he did not remember the contents of the said speech. Is he keeping roza and "empty stomach" might have made a difference . Maybe, he will remember the contents after a "full stomach", when the fast is broken

‘I hardly rectify the contents of my speech,’ claimed Capt (r) Safdar.Regarding the sale proceeds of Gulf Steel Mills, the co-accused responded that the issue dates to the time when he had not married Maryam Nawaz.

Distancing himself from the "corrupt" Shariffs

He confirmed that his signatures on the declaration of Coomber group had already been verified by him.
“Maryam Nawaz was made a trustee in the group; I approved the agreement as a witness,” observed Captain (r) Safdar but added that he had no connection with the trust deeds of Neilson and Nescoll.He also expressed suspicions over the trust deeds and claimed that the JIT did not seal those when Maryam Nawaz appeared before it.

Captain (r) Safdar also detached himself from the communication between Samba group and Minerva, that dates back to 2005.The lawmaker claimed that he had no connection with the agreement between Altaufeeq trust and Hudaibiya paper Mills.After answering 80 questions, Captain (r) Safar finished his testimony for the day, which would resume tomorrow (Wednesday).
In an informal discussion with newsmen, the legislator expressed that Nawaz Sharif needs Maryam Nawaz more than him, so she accompanied her father to the Punjab House.

There seems to be some sort of an unexplained tension between the Captain and Ganja's heir apparent. Pretty soon, he will have to make a choice between the fauj and Ganja's family - which does he prefer . Maybe, because of his extreme Anti Ahmedism, he may want to consider joining the Khadim Rizvi's TLYP Party instead

A Few Days Ago, Sikhs Were Doling Out Iftar Food For The Faithfools . And Now THIS Is Happening

PESHAWAR – A firing incident killed on Tuesday a Sikh trader in capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar.The victim identified as Sardar Charanjeet Singh was attacked near Scheme Chowk, Budhbir area.According to the police officials, Charanjeet Singh was sitting in his shop when militants opened fire on him and escaped. He succumbed to his wounds and died on the spot, they added.Officials said they had launched murder investigations after lodging a case at Inqalab Police Station.Earlier,two Sikhs traders were gunned down in separate incidents of violence in Peshawar in 2014.

anupmisra wrote:‘Gen Durrani failed to satisfy military on new book’

Former chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt. Gen. (retd) Asad Durrani had not sought approval on the draft of his highly-controversial book 'The Spy Chronicles' from the army, which was mandatory under the military code of conduct

A formal court of inquiry, headed by a serving lieutenant general, has been ordered to probe the matter in detail

Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch of the army will carry out legal actions after obtaining approval from Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa. (which is a must for most legal actions in kabadistan these days)

The legal course against Durrani depends upon the availability of credible information and witnesses (No $hit! Really?)

Shoaib stated that the draft of General Pervez Musharraf’s book had been given a go-ahead by the GHQ (now here's an ex-genrail who does everything by the book...er...you know what I mean).

He also opined that the timing of the book’s publication indicates what many believe a fifth generation war launched by India against Pakistan.

So, a question: Can Raaaa bail out Door ki Rani this time, once again?

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/32299 ... n-new-book

Ganja Sharif Becomes Assertive Once Again. Says That He Does Not Support Any Action Against ISI Durrani Re Spy Chronicles

ISLAMABAD – Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif expressed on Tuesday that there was no point in launching a probe solely against Gen (r) Asad Durrani for his recently launched book ‘The Spy Chronicles’.

In an informal discussion with newsmen outside the accountability court, the supreme leader of ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz expressed that former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf and former Chief of General Staff (CGS) Shahid Aziz also passed such remarks.The former premier asserted that a national inquiry commission should be formed after an advisory meeting to look into the contents of the book which contains chilling details about Pakistan’s national security and strategic affairs.

The sooner the Paki Fauj locks up this ghaddar in Adiala, the better it will be for all concerned . He is throwing all caution to the wind and singing "India's tune"

The Spy Chronicles is jointly written by former Inter-Services Intelligence chief, Gen (r) Asad Durrani and ex-RAW chief, A.S Dulat.On Monday, Durrani appeared before Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) to explain his position on the book following which Major General Asif Ghafoor, director-general of the Inter-Services Public Relations, detailed that a formal Court of Inquiry headed by a serving lieutenant general had been ordered to probe the matter in detail.

“The competent authority has also been approached to place his name on Exit Control List,” tweeted the ISPR chief.

The book in question has discussed important issues between the two nations. It also sheds light on Kargil Operation, Abbottabad Operation against Osama bin Laden, the arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan, Hafiz Saeed, Kashmiri freedom fighter Burhan Wani, surgical strikes, etc.

Pakis Get A Reprieve From India

ISLAMABAD - The Directors General Military Operations of Pakistan and India have agreed to implement peace accord and avoid targeting civilians in border areas. The agreement came during a special hotline contact between the two sides today.They reviewed the prevailing situation along the Line of Control and Working Boundary and mutually agreed to undertake sincere measures to improve the existing situation ensuring peace and avoidance of hardships to the civilians along the borders.

They also agreed to fully implement the ceasefire understanding of 2003 in letter and spirit forthwith and to ensure that henceforth the ceasefire will not be violated by both sides.Both DGs MO agreed that in case of any issue, restraint will be exercised and the matter will be resolved through utilisation of existing mechanisms of hotline contacts and border flag meetings at local commander's level.

The tone of the above report seems to be subdued. Anything to do with the strictures mentioned for the "Holy" Month ( praying, sleeping, eating and drinking and "no fighting" and " no sex" !) . Or is this something on a permanent basis- and India seems to have "purchased" the snake oil peddled out by the Paki side

Falijee wrote:Pakis Want To "Grab Some Credit" For Indian Soft Power. Upset Over Gulab Jamans Being Referred As "INDIAN Doughnuts" In Western Media

BuzzFeed Called Gulab Jamans “Indian Doughnuts” & Pakistanis are Reacting Brilliantly Furiously !
Posted 5 hours ago by Samir Yawar

Have you ever wondered what they call the Gulab Jaman in the West? Tasty, which is the food-related division of Buzzfeed, gave us a peek into how they consider what is probably the most popular sweetmeat in our part of the woods:

‘Indian Fried Donuts’ they called it. These angraiz I swear, making everything about themselves with their labels and cultural appropriation. Pakis want some "share of the soft powwer action", just as they want credit for The Taj Mahal or The Indus Valley Civilization . Mostly Pakistan is either known as "the most dangerous country in the world" or a "rogue Atomic power, responsible for nuclear proliferation". No soft power here for sure

Do we call the American hot dog as Amreekan Garam Kutta? Sounds weird doesn’t it?

Angst shows here for sure !

Take a moment or two to laugh out loud at the sheer ridiculousness of their attempt to rename the king of sweetmeats Gulab Jaman itself.

Did Gulab Jaman originate in what is now Pakiland territory or was it a creation of the Mighty Mughal Empire ( Pakis claim heir to that !)

Thankfully, a lot of people from the sub-continent can’t help but chuckle at Tasty’s attempt to ‘rename’ the mighty Gulab Jaman as they saw fit. They then turned the tables, by renaming all famous Western dishes to what could be the closest equivalent to it in a Desi setting.

Pakis are looking for some "soft power credit" for sure . In this tough times of social media and globalization !!!

Falijee wrote:Paki Cricket Teams Shows Its Pakistaniyat !

ICC fines Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed, team

A Very Good Review Of "Discussion Over Scotch Whisky " That Ultimately Led To "Spy Chronicles

The normal expectation from a book based on conversations between spy chiefs of two enemy countries is that this will have enough masala and revelations to set the pulse racing. Unfortunately, The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace, based on conversations between former R&AW chief, AS Dulat, and former ISI chief, Lt General Asad Durrani, does no such thing. letdown !

For any keen observer of the Indo-Pakistan slugfest, there is absolutely nothing new in the book. Nor is there any new insight.

The book is in fact more than intellectual masturbation by two guys way past their sell-by date — one of them retired nearly a quarter-century ago and the other, about two decades ago. The fact that people who retire are out of the loop and are probably as well-informed as any journalist who gets handouts from the intelligence agency involved means that everything these two discuss is already in the public domain.

Agree 100%. So, these two are peddling "old snake oil" !

Of course, if someone is interested in the woolly-headed analysis and trite prescriptions — even wet dreams — of an elusive and ephemeral peace, of two guys who are imagining a world that doesn't exist, then this is just the book for them.

Aim is to sell books and make some money !

A common problem in most Track-II meetings between Indians and Pakistanis is that the interlocutors acquire an air of superciliousness and pretend that their discussions (which are mostly, if not entirely, vacuous) elevate them to a higher intellectual plane, from where they can scoff at the hoi polloi of the two countries who do not see any possibility of reconciliation. It is precisely such a setting in which they generally come up with the chimerical 'choreographed response' of how Pakistan would react to any Indian reaction to an act of terrorism.

Reality is of course a lot more complicated than two retired guys blithely discussing high policy over good whisky, without having to bear any responsibility for the consequences of the choices that they imagine the policy makers will make in any given situation. As they sometimes say, ( whisky may be expensive , unless it is duty free stuff but.. ) talk is cheap !

The make-believe world in which these conversations took place is an outcome of the fact that protagonists are fuzzy with their facts. It is almost as though the India-Pakistan relationship (or the lack of it) is a hobby for them — not a matter of serious study. One would have imagined that at least in India, someone who heads the intelligence set-up would have some degree of mastery over details and not indulge in flights of fancy — alas, we seem to expect too much from our spooks

This looks like a "dig at Dulat" !

On the Pakistani side, deep-seated anti-Americanism comes pouring out of General Durrani. Everything, according to Durrani, is the fault of America. Nowadays, America is the favourite whipping boy of the Pakis !

Pakistan's own sinister shenanigans and skulduggery has been completely glossed over.

Like "hiding" OBL and Mullah Omar, passing nuclear technology to NOKO, sending fictitious invoices to Massa for approval etc etc

Of course, Durrani does what he does best — speaking in general, vague terms, mixing fact with fiction. What is galling is that Dulat doesn't challenge him. If anything, Dulat represents the typical deracinated, guilt-ridden Indian who labours to maintain a convivial atmosphere, and ends up sounding utterly frivolous and fluffy.

Two Pakjabis( - unless Durrani is a full blooded Pathan ) enjoying a drink

Among the patent falsehoods uttered by Durrani: "Institutionally, the military in Pakistan is not anti-India" and that: "it isn't true that Pakistan's Afghan policy is India-centric." Anyone who buys this snake oil will probably also believe that elephants can fly!

Durrani, like most of his compatriots, is a subscriber of conspiracy theories, urban legends and clichéd analysis based on myths that have no empirical basis. For instance, the bit about "What does America sell more than anything else? Weapons." A man on the street who is extremely distant from high policy making such an ill-informed comment is one thing; a 'strategic thinker' invited to international seminars indulging in this sort of talk, quite another. If only Durrani had taken the trouble to do a Google search on American exports, he would realise he is completely off the mark. But the country he comes from is a past-master in first imagining something (mostly fictitious), then building an entire theory around that imagination. Keeping him good company is his counterpart from India, and also the co-author of the book who seems to think that the State Bank of Pakistan is the counterpart of the State Bank of India — it is actually the counterpart of the Reserve Bank of India — and can open bank branches in India!

Did not know that Dulat was that uninformed. Maybe, he did not do "fact checking" of the book !

More galling than Durrani's deception and dissemble are the factual inaccuracies of Mr Dulat who is quite nonchalant about details. For example, he waxes eloquent about Punjab-Punjab cooperation, but forgets that the gift horse wasn't from Shahbaz Sharif but his predecessor Pervez Elahi to Amarinder Singh. And Punjab-Punjab cooperation was driven less by the Punjabi factor and more by the Jat factor — Pervez Elahi, Amarinder, the Badals, Hooda and Chautalas were all Jats, and all operating on the Jat network.

Dulat should have "employed" a fact checker, unless he "fact checked" when he was in a state of inebriation

Dulat's astounding ignorance of Pakistan's politics is clear from the fact that he thinks that Punjab is 3/4ths of Pakistan, which it clearly is not; Imran got just one seat from Lahore; the PPP has been wiped out from Punjab. One could go on and on, but suffice to say that if this is the level of understanding of India's most implacable enemy among the top echelons of India's intelligence network, then this country is doomed.

Worse, if at all there is any chance that the input of these guys is actually still taken with some degree of seriousness in making policy, then I strongly suggest people pack their bags and leave this unfortunate country.

Dulat's recommendations are so fatuous and fuzzy — and so one-sided in favour of Pakistan — that even Neville Chamberlain and the appeasement school of diplomacy would balk. Worse, some of his recommendations fly in the face of facts. Dulat seems to imagine that the Taliban were waiting with bated breath to establish relations with India — forgetting that their Pakistani masters wouldn't countenance any such thing.

There is also the issue of the trade deal between India and Pakistan. While Dulat, as is his wont, seems to blame the deal falling through on India, he does this without any comprehension or idea of how the Pakistanis reneged at the last moment. The fact of the matter is — the Pakistanis kept shifting the goalposts and although the Manmohan Singh government was still willing to go along with the deal, it was called off at the last moment because the Pakistan army pressured the Nawaz Sharif government to back off.

Now Ganja in Pakiland is singing like a canary- spilling "state secrets" in front of the media to get his "revenge" so to say

It goes to the credit of the Modi government that they asked the Pakistanis to go take a hike when they tried to revive it after Modi came to power.

Further on, Dulat thinks that the air connections are poor because of cussedness. Clearly, he hasn't applied his mind to the economics of airlines — these won't fly if there isn't enough traffic.

The biggest issue with Dulat is that he is over-keen to give the Pakistanis a free ride for everything — without getting anything in return. And then, he has the temerity to hold it against the diplomats who forsake his non-serious, even dangerous, approach to an enemy country, and ensure that national interest is protected.

If there is one thing that comes out of the book, it is that matters of state security and policy are far too serious to be left to spooks and soldiers who are shallow enough to believe that everything can be fixed over a drink. Soldiers and spooks are at best instruments of state, not the state — for them to think that great headway will be made without diplomats, this would of course be true if surrendering before the enemy is anyone's definition of 'making headway'.

Incidentally, while Dulat is ever ready to give in to the Pakistanis because he thinks this will beget peace, he hasn't elucidated how much his Pakistani counterparts are ready to give in the pursuit of peace. If the book is anything to go by, then the Pakistanis are ready to do zilch, zip, zero.Not only does Dulat not understand Pakistan, he also has very little idea about India.

He subscribes to the old myth that Pakistan is a problem only for north Indians and others don't care much what India does with Pakistan. Such conjecture has no empirical evidence backing it. Given that body bags of Indian soldiers travel to the most obscure corners of India and entire villages come to bid farewell to those soldiers who have died protecting this country, Dulat and his ilk would probably be surprised at the depth of sentiment against Pakistan all across India.

While an entire treatise could be written to debunk what I call 'the chronicles of crap', the sheer vacuity and the utterly fallacious assumptions underlining these conversations is scary. If these are the kinds of people who are or were in charge of protecting this country against external and internal enemies, then God save this land.

Finally, the book is a testament to the old Indian obsession for wanting to 'do something'. According to Dulat, "I'm not at all for perpetuation of the status quo. I'm saying one must do something." This has been the bane of Indian policy-making and also the reason why we make the sort of mistakes we make with Pakistan.

Until and unless India as a nation realises that there are some problems about which nothing can be done except to manage them to our advantage, India will keep making the mistake of wanting to 'do something'.

Sometimes it's better to do nothing but sit on the river bank and wait for the time when you see the body of your enemy floating by.In the meantime, make sure to keep your powder dry, develop your strength and ensure internal peace and stability.

But perhaps that is expecting too much from people who put making peace with the enemy (who declares he is the enemy and makes no bones about dismembering and destroying India) at a premium — and protecting the homeland at a discount.

While The Whole World Is Getting Tough On "Health Warning On Cigarette Packs", Pakistan Has Cowed In To Tobacco Interests, As Per This Reuters News Report

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Philip Morris International Inc and British American Tobacco Plc lobbied Pakistan’s government to not implement bigger health warnings on cigarette packs, in what officials say was part of an industry-wide campaign that successfully persuaded Islamabad to water down a proposal designed to save lives.

Cigarette smoking and Tobacco growing brings in lots and lots of money into the Paki Treasury, so this must have been a major factor. Health of the Aam Abdul is a secondary factor. It can always be "sourced out" citing lack of funds

In Pakistan, where the government estimates tobacco kills more than 100,000 people a year, Philip Morris launched a lobbying campaign that included letters to and a meeting with the country's prime minister on blocking larger health warnings and controlling illicit trade of cigarettes. Reuters reviewed two such letters written by Philip Morris executives to the Prime Minister's Office in 2017, and internal company documents describing a meeting in 2015 at which executives discussed "protecting the pack" in Pakistan.

British American Tobacco, through its local subsidiary, also lobbied Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi with a letter and met Pakistani officials, according to government documents and a review of the October 2017 correspondence.

Two current, and one former, health officials said their ministry watered down a requirement to increase the size of health warnings to 85 percent of the surface area due to industry lobbying. One of the current officials also cited pressure from Abbasi’s office.

Abbasi is a businessman! ( some say corrupt )

An official at the Federal Board of Revenue said the government took a sympathetic view towards tobacco industry lobbying because of the sector’s hefty contributions to the nation’s finances - more than $550 million in excise taxes during the 2016-17 fiscal year alone.

Health of the populace should come first rather than money coming into the nation's coffers

Instead of 85 percent, the new rule, which comes into effect on June 1, requires warnings that cover 50 percent of the pack - up from 40 percent now - rising to 60 percent in a year’s time.

In a response to Reuters’ questions, Philip Morris sent a statement from Moira Gilchrist, its vice president of scientific and public communications. “Like any global company, PMI regularly speaks with governments all over the world on a wide range of subjects, including our efforts to replace cigarettes with smoke-free products,” Gilchrist said, referring to next-generation smoking devices that the company says significantly reduce the risk of disease by heating instead of burning tobacco. The long term health effects of such devices have not yet been determined !

A spokesperson for British American Tobacco (BAT) said in a statement: “like many companies, as part of our open and transparent engagement with governments, we regularly consult a wide range of representatives in health, trade, revenue, customs, agriculture and other relevant areas on a range of issues that affect our business. It’s important that any legitimate business should be able to engage with regulators, and contribute to the development of policy that impacts it.”

A Pakistan government survey in 2014 found some 24 million adults, or 19 percent of the population 15 years and older, used tobacco. Of those, 15.6 million were smokers.In February 2015, Pakistan’s health ministry announced it was changing an ordinance to increase health warnings on the front and back of cigarette packs to 85 percent. The graphic photographs currently on packs depict the effects of smoking, such as a close-up image of a person’s mouth ravaged by tobacco use.The initiative by Health Minister Saira Afzal Tarar was aimed at deterring tobacco use and would have put Pakistan, alongside India, near the top of global rankings for the size of such warnings, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

The health ministry notification said the new warnings needed to be applied by March 30 that year.On March 13, a delegation from a subsidiary of British American Tobacco, Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd, called on the country’s then-finance minister and “expressed its reservations about the notification issued” by the health ministry, according to government minutes of the meeting.The tobacco representatives argued that the bigger health warning would lead to more smuggling of black market cigarettes and a “decrease in revenue”, according to the minutes, which were reviewed by Reuters.

The industry argues that cigarette packs become indistinguishable by brand or promised quality when the packaging is covered by disturbing images. As a result, it says, consumers are incentivized to turn to alternatives without the graphic pictures. Health advocates say warnings on packs reduce tobacco consumption.

The BAT statement to Reuters said: “We agree that all tobacco product packaging should feature appropriate health warnings which are bold, easily legible and ensure clarity of message.”

However, the statement said: “Evidence suggests that drastic and large increases in the size” of health warnings “can result in a number of unintended consequences, including a rise in illegal cigarettes – with a corresponding decline in government revenues - and a rise in criminality. Additionally, there is still no credible evidence that graphic health warnings reduce smoking levels.”

Within a day of hearing from BAT, Pakistan’s then-finance minister, Ishaq Dar, formed a review committee that was to examine the issue and present a report within seven days, according to the government document.
Dar told Reuters that the government’s decisions were not influenced by Philip Morris or BAT.Asked about the convening of the review committee, he said it was formed to ensure consultation between ministries on the issue, a move he described as “a fundamental requirement of good policy-making”.

So, Dar the disgraced Finance Minister of Pakiland "purchased " the snake oil pedaled by BAT and Philip Morris at the cost of the health of the 200+ Millions ( not all of them smokers !) . Considering his "well known reputation" for corruption, one wonders if some "consideration" changed hands so as to make the decision more favorable to the tobacco companies

A social activist and prominent member of the Sikh community in Peshawar was killed on Tuesday "in what appeared to be a targeted attack," police said.

The Sikh activist, Charnjeet Singh, was on his way home from his shop when unidentified men opened fire at him, killing him on the spot.