Bharat Rakshak

Abhijit wrote:Why take out a procession against the Shia killing in pakistan to the Vidhan Sabha of Uttar Pradesh? Why not take the procession to Deoband and ask them to condemn the Shia killing? Or paki high commision? Hain ji?

Aditya_V wrote:Where is this South Asia

johneeG wrote:The logical culmination of the present situation of pakis (particular RAPEs) is undoing the partition, so that they can take part in over and take credit for India's economic party...

Aditya_V wrote:Where is this South Asia

Anujan wrote:One of the funny thing about Pakistan is that they rely on "talking points". Suddenly every WKK will use the same phrase over and over again for a few weeks.
Here is a good example for "education emergency" and "good taliban" and "drone technology"

http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q= ... tan&cmpt=q

Before that, I can think of "solve Kashmir to solve Afghanistan" and from time to time "we want drone technology" and "trust deficit between Pakistan and the US"

Anujan wrote: One of the funny thing about Pakistan is that they rely on "talking points". Suddenly every WKK will use the same phrase over and over again for a few weeks.
Here is a good example for "education emergency" and "good taliban" and "drone technology"

http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q= ... tan&cmpt=q

shaardula wrote:somebody does all the hardwork by doing social and economic normalization, and this guy expects to benefit from that, while sticking to his feudal, medieval ways?

rajanb wrote:

Aditya_V wrote:Where is this South Asia

Jhujar wrote:Dil ke Behlane ko
Poaq Dumb Loak
Yeh Khyal Accha Hai !!
Butt Beta Paki
Tuu Aqal Ka Kacca Hai
Saddiyo se Cheekh raha Hai
Ki Tuu Arapo Ka Bacca Hai !!
Terri Maa Thi Local
Jinko Fourfathers Ne
Kitni Baar Fu..ka Hai !!
Batta PaAki , Tera Baap Kaun Sacca Hai?

Rajdeep wrote:Sir Creek not to be handed over to Pak: PM : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh replied to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's letter on Sir Creek. "Allegations that Sir Creek will be handed over to Pakistan are untrue," he added.

Modi on Thursday asked Dr Singh to stop dialogue with Pakistan at once on the Sir Creek issue and demanded that it should not be handed over to the neighbouring nation.

Source Rediff

he Oberoi and the Trident, which are interconnected hotels, are extremely impressive and as expected, the BFA team has made professional arrangements. Within 20 minutes of my arrival, I have been registered, handed over the conference material, my room key along with my entitlement vouchers and have even received a short briefing on my 40 minutes session on ‘inclusive growth’ to be conducted the following day involving four panelists. During the briefing I discover that not only am I the sole delegate speaker from Pakistan, but also the only Pakistani attending this conference. Conspiracy theories are already doing the rounds in mind, as I am entering the meeting room, thinking back to the 2001 inaugural BFA board meeting (the last one that I attended) where the tension between China and India was obvious. To everyone’s surprise, particularly to mine, the Secretary General had asked me to sit right next to him on his right side; an obvious enough gesture to marginalise India and prop up Pakistan. Will today be a repeat and could the real reason for this invitation be to reassure Pakistan and advise India that Asian and especially South Asian solutions need to include Pakistan?
The false feeling is short-lived. No special chair this time is reserved for me at the main board table. I quietly take a seat in the fourth row to watch in amazement as how in 2012, the representatives from China, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia (all sitting at the main table) work in complete harmony to take key decisions in carving out a common Asian dream and to see Asia assume its rightful position in global decision making by taking its destiny into its own hands. No mention or even acknowledgement of Pakistan – surely, this conference is going to be different!
It is different alright, as it just dawns on me that the first day of the conference coincides with the anniversary of the tragic 26/11 Mumbai incident where 11 people also died at the Oberoi/Trident Hotels. The proceedings start at 9 am with a one minute silence, followed by prayers for the deceased during the incident and a condolence speech by a Chinese official. All leaders, which include the Chinese Vice Premier, former Japanese PM, Secretary General BFA, South Korean Finance Minister and, of course, the Indian Finance Minister and the Head of India’s Reserve Bank, begin by first referring to the tragic incident before going on to make their respective addresses. While Asia is eager to show its solidarity with the emerging India, I am trying to do my best to appear invisible. Finally, the sessions kick off at 11 am (the first two hours feeling like eternity) and the mood thankfully shifts to the main theme, ‘Open Asia - Open Finance’, through cooperation and innovation. No mention or even a hint by anyone on the ongoing dispute between China and Japan over the islands in the South China Sea or the maritime issues amongst China, South Korea and Japan or for that matter on the perception about India being developed to counter China’s rising influence; just sheer focus on business on hand: Asian cooperation on finance, trade and economics to challenge the grip cum dominance of the West and to carve out a win-win formula for Asia as a whole.While the shape of the Asian century is not set in stone, the scale and pace of Asia’s rise in the coming decades are expected to be staggering. Many nations in the region have just begun to catch up with the productivity levels enjoyed in advanced economies, promising strong growth for decades to come and a confident India it appears seems to be leading the pack. It is not afraid that the current $100 billion bilateral trade with China is tilted heavily in favour of the Chinese (India’s current trade deficit with China is around $40 billion/annum). It feels that as the incubator effect starts taking effect and Indian industry learns more, not will it close this trade gap, but will, in fact, post a surplus in the years to come. The Indian businesses are viewing China as an opportunity and not as a threat. I hear a joint presentation by the Reddy and the Birla groups, who talk about out-of-the-box financial solutions between India and China, such as turning the $40 billion/annum trade deficit amount into a mutual advantage by asking the Chinese to instead invest in India in Renminbi, which can yield higher returns and flexibility for China by keeping its export surplus out of the dollar denomination and, at the same time, provide India with the much needed regular annual finance to meet its colossal yet growing demand for investment in infrastructure development; following and partnering China in its quest for currency swaps (Chinese currency swap arrangements have already crossed the yuan 1 trillion mark and growing) where bilateral trade can take place in mutual currencies and without the additional cost of a foreign currency; cementing Asian cooperation

nally, we get to the last session of the first day that discusses the “overall impact on Asia of regional cooperation within Asia.” I’ve been eagerly awaiting this, since I am most interested in finding out India’s designs vis-à-vis its own backyard. Contrary to my expectation, the tone for South Asia continues on the same frequency as of Asia as a whole. On how by 2025 South Asia collectively will not just be the most populous region in the world, it will also be the biggest economic zone, the biggest consumption zone and the home to majority of the world’s middle class. However, in order for it to realise its true potential, there is a need for regional economic integration and a liberalised trade environment that can only be brought about by sound and stable fundamentals and mutual cooperation. Leading Indian corporations make powerful presentations to demonstrate how and why India’s private sector is keen to play its due part in lifting South Asia to the top of the Asian table. And with these upbeat cum positive notes, the first day is drawing to a close and I am already thinking that the ‘Indian business’ has assumed the driving seat of the South Asian economic bus and Pakistan will be well served to be on it rather than off it!

A_Gupta wrote:The state of Pakistani official statistics is interesting.

After a story earlier in the year, about preliminary results from the Pakistan census 2011, showing the population to be 192+ million, there is nothing further.

<snip>

Anyway, the CIA Fact Book has in the meantime been updated.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publication ... os/pk.html
Pakistan's population is:
190,291,129 (July 2012 est.)

RamaY wrote:^ he is waiting for free ride

I am already thinking that the ‘Indian business’ has assumed the driving seat of the South Asian economic bus and Pakistan will be well served to be on it rather than off it!

venug wrote:TSP wants to take advantage of Indian economic boom and wants the tide like like it's own doing, talk of stealing the thunder.

Jhujar wrote:Bao Forum moot at Mumbai
Another Sooth Ass Poaqasur

I am already thinking that the ‘Indian business’ has assumed the driving seat of the South Asian economic bus and Pakistan will be well served to be on it rather than off it!

State Minister for National Food Security and Research Moazzam Khan Jatoi has said that the government is in the final stages to launch a National Food Security Council to address the issue of food insecurity in the country. He was speaking on the second day of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute’s (SDPI) annual Sustainable Development Conference.
The three-day conference, titled “Sustainable Development in South Asia: Shaping the Future” is looking at the future of sustainable development in South Asia

ISLAMABAD: A majority of parliamentarians who generally refer to each other as ‘honourable member’ have turned out to be tax dodgers, a year-long study by the Center for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan (CIRP) has found.
Out of 446 members of the Senate and National Assembly, 300 did not file the tax returns. And those who submitted the income tax return statement have paid an insignificant amount that doesn’t match with their princely living standards and expenses.
Out of 126 tax return-filing lawmakers from both the Houses, only 15 paid tax above one million rupees and 68 paid below Rs100,000 each. All the MNAs and senators were sent a letter asking them for tax details. Only two MNAs, Pervaiz Malik and Arbab Muhammad Zahir, responded positively.
The NTNs and CNICs of the lawmakers were collected from their nomination papers and used for checking their tax information through sources with access to their data.
Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf paid an insignificant amount of tax, Rs142,536, in 2011. Out of 54-member jumbo size cabinet, 34 don’t file tax returns. Prominent among them are Ch Pervaiz Elahi, Ch Wajahat Hussain, Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Rehman Malik, Nazar Mohammad Gondal, Farzana Raja and Makhdoom Amin Fahim. This 70-page report that contains all tax-related details of the MPs can be accessed through the CIRP website: http://www.cirp.pk.
The number of tax-dodgers has increased over the years. A study based on the 2008’s nomination paper record of the lawmakers conducted by this correspondent found out that 61% of them admitted in their papers having not paid a penny in taxes the year they contested elections. Of the remaining 39% taxpaying lawmakers, only nine percent paid tax above one million rupees.
Gilani, then PM, and his 25 cabinet members had paid zero tax, including present Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar. Gilani himself registered for NTN in July 2010.
The latest report “An Analysis of MPs’ Income Tax Returns for 2011,” authored by this correspondent has also mentioned the top-five and bottom-five taxpaying senators and MNAs. In the Senate, Aitzaz Ahsan is the highest taxpayer who paid Rs12,975,996. He is followed by Abbas Khan Afridi, Talha Mehmood, Farogh Naseem and Osman Saifullah. Mushahid Hussain is the lowest taxpaying senator as he paid Rs82 in 2011. Although, he mentioned the payment of Rs582 in his nomination papers submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan, the FBR data disputes his claim putting the real figure at Rs82. Karim Ahmad Khawaja, Haji Saifullah Bangash, Naseema Ehsan, and Malik Salah-ud-Din Dogar are other four lowest taxpaying Senators. No political party has shown significant compliance with the tax laws making it mandatory to file the tax returns.
Jehangir Tareen is the highest taxpaying MNA with Rs17,053,172. Since he was an MNA in September 2011 when the returns were filed, hence he was considered for this study. He is followed by Hamid Yar Hiraj, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, Attiya Inayatullah and Humayun Saifullah Khan. Sheikh Rohail Asghar of the PML-N is the lowest taxpaying MNA among those who filed the returns. He paid Rs16,893. Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, Asim Nazir, Engineer Amir Muqam, and Rana Afzaal Hussain have followed Sheikh Rohail in the bottom-five list.
There are 88 senators and MNAs who still don’t have NTNs. Among them are included Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi, Senator Pervez Rashid, Aftab Sherpao, Faisal Saleh Hayat, Samina Khalid Ghurki, Zubaida Jalal and Mehboobullah Jan, who was declared the richest MNA in 2009.There are 35 senators and MNAs registered for NTN after their elections.
Prominent among them are Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, Zahid Khan and two ministers Sardar Bahadur Ahmed Khan Sehar and Khawaja Sheraz Mahmood. Although, Gilani is no more in the National Assembly, he was an MNA and PM in 2011 when the tax returns were filed and thus considered for the study.
The study has also made separate tables of the taxes of the key office-holders in parliament. There are 10 key-position holders in the Senate like the chairman and deputy chairman Senate and parliamentary leaders of different parties. Among them the highest taxpayer is Abbas Khan Afridi who paid Rs11,528,292 and Ishaq Dar the lowest taxpayer among them with Rs32,750. Deputy Chairman Senate Sabir Baloch didn’t file the tax return.
There are 12 MNAs holding key positions in the National Assembly. Among them, Dr Fehmida Mirza, Speaker National Assembly, is the highest taxpayer who paid Rs649,306 and Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, the parliamentary leader of the National Peoples’ Party (NPP) is the lowest taxpayer who paid Rs21,993. Ch Nisar, the leader of the opposition, paid Rs153,940 as income tax in 2011.
The Pakistani elite class has been the biggest tax evaders. The report where it quoted examples from different parts of the world about the tradition of tax disclosure by the political leaders, it also sums up the tax history of Pakistani leaders. Right from Zia to President Zardari, no leader filed tax returns regularly. In the case of Zia, the report quoted his speech where he urged Islamic punishment for the tax evaders, it has also mentioned that tax authorities started investigation after his death and found that he never filed a return right from 1969 to 1988. His family was finally forced to do so.
These tax malpractices on the part of elite have discouraged the common citizens to pay taxes who already feel overburdened through indirect taxes. The low tax to GDP ratio has been a major revenue issue confronting Pakistan. Resultantly, its economy has long been dependent on foreign aid and loans.
The state is thus failing in performing the functions that it has assumed. Pakistan’s tax to GDP ratio is significantly lower than India (16 percent), Sri Lanka (13 percent), Indonesia (14 percent), Malaysia (15 percent), Thailand (17 percent), Philippines (14 percent), and South Korea (16 percent). It is even lower than Ethiopia (10 percent) and Afghanistan (9.4 percent). The National Assembly was informed on 7th June 2011 that Pakistan was second from the bottom among 154 countries on the tax to GDP ratio ranking.

KARACHI:
The tabla and sitar have become South Asia’s identity in the world. If Ustaad Allah Rakha with his son Zakir Hussain introduced the tabla, then the sitar earned its recognition through Pandit Ravi Shankar. This wizard didn’t need any wands, just three strings were enough for him to bring tears into the eyes of his audience. Shankar’s journey as a musician was not just a journey of one man, but a whole region.

It is the greatest loss to sitar. Futuristic people like Pandit Ravi Shankar were responsible for introducing our region to the globe.

LAHORE:
Lahore-based author Ali Sethi likes to sing. Predominantly known for his novel The Wish Maker, Sethi has also made a name for himself as a classical singer.

Sethi explained that the South Asian classical musical is broadly defined as Karnataka in the south and khyal in the North, which has distinct longer sounds.

Anujan wrote:Not sure about sitar but tabla is definitely Pakistani sound. When played fast sounds just like an AK

Blind Twenty 20: Zeeshan’s father accuses host country for phenyl accident

partha wrote:Sethi explained that the South Asian classical musical is broadly defined as Karnataka in the south and khyal in the North, which has distinct longer sounds.

Anujan wrote:Not sure about sitar but tabla is definitely Pakistani sound. When played fast sounds just like an AK

Around 150 students boycotted classes at what is now the Government Malala College for Girls in Saidu Sharif, in the Swat Valley, tearing up and stoning pictures of the 15-year-old , accusing her of abandoning Pakistan by going to Britain for treatment.

Anujan wrote:

partha wrote:Sethi explained that the South Asian classical musical is broadly defined as Karnataka in the south and khyal in the North, which has distinct longer sounds.

North has long, bright sounds with tight ending to the songs. South Indian music is darker melody with short sounds.

partha wrote:http://tribune.com.pk/story/475996/we-n ... ali-sethi/

LAHORE:
Lahore-based author Ali Sethi likes to sing. Predominantly known for his (ghost written) novel The Wish Maker, Sethi has also made a name for himself as a classical singer.

Sethi explained that the South Asian classical musical is broadly defined as Karnataka in the south and khyal in the North, which has distinct longer sounds.

..Sethi is well-versed in the history of the tradition of music, pointing out its cultural significance in the context of culture and identity.
....
Sethi explained that the South Asian classical musical is broadly defined as Karnataka in the south and khyal in the North, which has distinct longer sounds. Khyal in the North Indian region is further divided in to dhrupad and khyal. (does this recursive definiton imply he is some "computer physicist" too hain ji?)
“Dhrupad was the style that was here even after Islam came to the region; it’s important to note this because it’s not true when we say that Hazrat Ali Khusro changed everything from the raag yaman to the tabla and so on,” said Sethi, while he spoke to the group students. “For several years, that tradition of dhrupad style continued, and the modern classical music khyal only came about 200 to 300 years ago.”

anupmisra wrote:

Jhujar wrote:Bao Forum moot at Mumbai
Another Sooth Ass Poaqasur

From the farticle:

I am already thinking that the ‘Indian business’ has assumed the driving seat of the South Asian economic bus and Pakistan will be well served to be on it rather than off it!

Pakis want to be hanging out of the economic bus collecting tickets. We'd rather that the pakis be under the "South Asian economic bus", for all I care. This "South Asian" $hit is becoming too omnipresent these days to be just a passing fancy. Every paki worth his or her four fathers is vomiting this phrase now. This subtle mind control has to be part of a bigger plan.

RajeshA wrote:johneeG ji,

many of the RAPE Pakis have concluded that Pakistan is really a deep pit with a huge pile of porky shitta and so they don't want to belong there, so either they belong to some distant feudal Punjab of the '50s or they belong to Mughal-ka-zamaana, and the ones who don't want to only live in the past, belong to South Asia - and not Pakistan.

All those who speak of South Asia are Pakis, but that South Asia exists only in their brains and on some newsprint. Indians know of the Indian Subcontinent, we know of Akhand Bharat, but we know nothing of South Asia nor do we give a shit about it. Pakis and Indians come from two separate societies.

Anujan wrote:

partha wrote:Sethi explained that the South Asian classical musical is broadly defined as Karnataka in the south and khyal in the North, which has distinct longer sounds.

North has long, bright sounds with tight ending to the songs. South Indian music is darker melody with short sounds.