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LAHORE: At least 12 people were injured in a blast at a shop located at Pakistan Chowk in Ichra area of the city, Geo News reported Friday.The shop owner said he had been receiving threat calls for the last some days. He said he had informed the police about the phone calls in which he was asked to Rs2 million extortion. He said that the extortionists had also fired shots at his residence last month.The rescue sources injured were taken to the Services Hospital for treatment Police rushed to the area following the explosion. The Bomb Disposal Squad said that 250 to 300 gram Grams explosive material was used in the blast.
partha wrote:
With people of Afghanistan showing Taliban the middle finger in recent elections, I hope Taliban forgets Kabul and establishes an Islamic emirate in Pakistan with Peshawar or Quetta as the base. Inshallah.
Does anyone know if the author Dr Mohammad Taqi is Pashtun?
I was unable to find his bio.
He does list Peshawar on the banner of his twitter page:
Describing Pakistan's friendship with China as an exemplary inter-state relationship, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday stressed that Pakistan attaches the highest priority to its relations with China.
Bakis are invoking brotherhood and friendship with China to beg for more $$$. Bakis should note that in China Brothel sounds the same as Brother.
Describing Pakistan's friendship with China as an exemplary inter-state relationship, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday stressed that Pakistan attaches the highest priority to its relations with China.
Bakis are invoking brotherhood and friendship with China to beg for more $$$. Bakis should note that in China Brothel sounds the same as Brother.
There has been much conjecture about why Bobby let rip the other day whilst addressing a group of commandos. Apparently, it has to do substantially with the Mush saga but there are other irritants too, between the “ruddy civilians” and the boys led by Bob. Our mole reports that Bob & Co were assured that The Man of Steel would not stand in the way of Mush’s departure if, after the indictment, the adjudicators decided to let him fly away. As we know, the honourable adjudicators passed the buck back to the government which can’t very well undo pronouncements of the courts. So, the ball’s in the court of the highest adjudicators as of now. We hear Bob & Co let it be known to The Man etc that following these developments, the month’s Troops’ Pulse Report (TPR) had registered a hypertensive spike. In addition to this, we hear the head honcho of the Invisible Soldiers Inc discovered that his phone had been bugged. Dissenting politicos, journos and rights activists should extend to the head honcho, a warm welcome to the club of the bugged. And as for Mush, if he couldn’t take the heat, he should never have returned to the kitchen.
the case of the nine month old murderous baby in court! the depths plumbed by baki bolis is incredible
Murderous Baby Musa Khan, the 9 month old baby charged with attempted murder, was produced in court last week and because he was crying his head off, had to be comforted with a bottle of milk. This, while a court official recorded his thumb print. Observers at the court noted that the baby could not hold the milk bottle, and it boggled the mind to think that he could be charged with stone-pelting the police or handling a weapon. The Lahore police had charged an entire family with murder, including little Musa, when slum residents had pelted gas bill collectors with stones.
Greetings to the ol’ timers!! I have not been away totally, and have in fact been lurking of late, lately especially.
In the past, I have dished out my fair bit of very fair criticism aimed at Dr. Unfair, i.e., Prof. Christine Fair.
But this time, she just has gotten a new book of hers released a couple days ago. This is available right now on Amazon Kindle (and also on Google Play Books), and will be available in print on May 26.
The book is titled:
“Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of Way”
by
C. Christine Fair.
Find it for ebook download on Amazon for $19.63 and Google Play Books for $15.33 (I bet these prices are customized for me, based on my browsing habits, and will be different for you in the US or elsewhere).
I am posting here to say that I have read this ebook already, and it is an excellent, excellent, read.
As I said above, I have found Dr. Fair quarrelsomely unfair on a few issues in the past (such as her oft-stated — but without any evidence other than an “it must be so” belief — statement that India and the RAW is surreptitiously messing in Baluchistan), but this new book dissects the TSP unlike any prior book on TSP by a US based scholar. I found it way more incisive and illuminating, as compared to the TSP tomes written by our beloved Prof. Uneven Cohen.
At the end of this wonderfully researched book, Dr. Fair reaches (and emphasizes throughout the book ) the following conclusions:
(1) The TSP army owns the TSP, and that this TSP army can, continuously, ad infinitum, define and claim victory over Hindu India simply on the basis that it has not been overrun by India, and that it has stood up thus far to the big and hegemonic India, despite provoking and challenging this India numerously. And that it has thus successfully thwarted the Hindu India’s growth and “hegemony” (no matter having received however many physical beatings in however many prior wars)
Which means that:
(2) Quote: “Even after the 1971 war, Pakistan did not view itself as defeated; rather it saw itself as emerging from the wreckage still capable of challenging of India. In the army’s view, Pakistan will be defeated only when it can no longer actively work to deny India’s claims — on Kashmir specifically and on regional ascendancy in general. This is a startling realization, prompting us to ask what sort of defeat it would take for Pakistan to relinquish its revisionism? Would the world stand by as such a defeat was meted out to Pakistan, given the numerous risks for asymmetric retaliation as well as nuclear proliferation? As I discussed in Chapter 10, this is simply an unreasonably expectation.”
which leads Dr. Fair to say:
(3)Quote: “This suggests that the US and others should stop attempting to transform the Pakistan Army, or Pakistan for that matter. It is unlikely that the United States can offer Pakistan any incentive that would be so valuable to Pakistan…(that would make TSP and the TSP army fix itself)”.
In fact, given this long standing TSP disposition, Dr. Fair states that any concession or appeasement to TSP “is in fact the more dangerous course of policy prescription. This is exactly the conclusion that I hope readers will draw from my work here….”
And (sadly) in the end, what this means to India is that it will continue to face this f!cked up dangerous menace for ever:
(4)Quote: “This suggests that those who are interested in Pakistan and its destabilizing impact on regional and international security must adopt an attitude of sober realism about the possible futures for Pakistan and the region it threatens. In the absence of evidence that any existing approach can persuade Pakistan to abandon its most dangerous policies, it is time to accept the likely fact that Pakistan will continue to pursue policies that undermined American interests in the region. For India, the implications of this conclusion are stark: the Pakistan Army will continue to seek to weaken India by any means possible, even though such means are inherently risky. In the army’s eyes, any other course would spell true defeat (to India).”
I am figuring that after this book, Dr. Fair is unlikely to get a visa to visit TSP any time soon, and if she indeed does get a visa, then for her own safety and well being, she should avoid visiting the TSP.
I would love to have Dr. Shiv offer his take on this new book…..
ISLAMABAD: The Kuwait government has announced the opening of its defence office in Islamabad under its diplomatic mission here and the Pakistan government has been formally informed about the decision. The Gulf state will also hire military experts from Pakistan.
The visa restriction on Pakistan nationals by Kuwait is also being removed next month. Kuwait will be the fourth country of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries that is opening its Defence Wing in Islamabad.
Interesting post. What then lies in India's interest? For those who are familiar with my old rambles, I had concluded that the dispelling of two myths on which Pakistan's survival is being sold to India is the only answer. I do not want to do the old beaten record once again - except to remind the gentle rakshaks here of those myths
1. A stable, peaceful Pakistan is in India's Interest
2. There is no alternative but to talk and resolve issues with Pakistan - we cannot gepgraphy
These two are at the essence of arguments being touted by the 3.5 benefactors of Pakistani "state". There has been a continuous drilling of these myths in India and there are many even in the strategic community that has bought into these myths - if not fully but substantially.
The lost decade due to a policy of drift followed by the GoI has failed to capitalise on the window of opportunity that is available as Pakistan descends to its logical conclusion - implosion. However, it is interesting to note that as long as the benefactors are around, it will be like some algebraic progression - Pakistan will forever tend towards implosion but never implode.
This article that you have referred here is probably the first time that someone from the US strategic community has officially recognised the facts on the ground - The PA owns the state of Pakistan and as long as the artificial rentier entity passing of a state survives, the PA will be relevant to the benefactors. By doing their bidding, primarily against India, they are useful to them.
It is therefore up to India to see through the myths, prepare a game plan and execute it so that the PA is defeated. It could be through a combination of economic, political and military (overt and covert, conventional and non-conventional) measures. What are these steps? how can it be done? etc are probably a topic for a different thread.
We have to break shackles that are there in the mind first for anything to happen. I am sure that there are people in GoI who clearly have a view on these myths and what needs to be done. I hope that in the coming days the new dispensation, whatever party(ies), will provide the necessary leadership in breaking free from these imposed shackles in our minds.
Just a ramble, for what it is worth.
Last edited by Raja Ram on 11 Apr 2014 12:04, edited 1 time in total.
jrjrao wrote:
(1) The TSP army owns the TSP, and that this TSP army can, continuously, ad infinitum, define and claim victory over Hindu India simply on the basis that it has not been overrun by India, and that it has stood up thus far to the big and hegemonic India, despite provoking and challenging this India numerously. And that it has thus successfully thwarted the Hindu India’s growth and “hegemony” (no matter having received however many physical beatings in however many prior wars)
(2) Quote: “Even after the 1971 war, Pakistan did not view itself as defeated; rather it saw itself as emerging from the wreckage still capable of challenging of India. In the army’s view, Pakistan will be defeated only when it can no longer actively work to deny India’s claims — on Kashmir specifically and on regional ascendancy in general. This is a startling realization, prompting us to ask what sort of defeat it would take for Pakistan to relinquish its revisionism? Would the world stand by as such a defeat was meted out to Pakistan, given the numerous risks for asymmetric retaliation as well as nuclear proliferation? As I discussed in Chapter 10, this is simply an unreasonably expectation.”
(3)Quote: “This suggests that the US and others should stop attempting to transform the Pakistan Army, or Pakistan for that matter. It is unlikely that the United States can offer Pakistan any incentive that would be so valuable to Pakistan…(that would make TSP and the TSP army fix itself)”.
THis is trying to create an image of the TSP army
Unkil will always try to create a fake image out of nothing. PRC is another example of this
By these kind of analysis they are trying to justify and build up a failed country.
THis attitude of the TSP PA is a defeatist.
THey just opposed the rise of India when India has doubled its population in the last 40 years. THey were helped by unkil and PRC and for this they get a reward
With global media showing a Indian culture these guys watched Indians world wide and opposed the Indians in every forum. It was Indians who gave too much attention to Pak instead of doubling Indian economy
Welcome back jrjr - excellent that you have returned. It is welcome, and we await your scything write-ups on our friendly neighbourhood psychopath.
Now given C. Fair's conclusions, which I think most of us will wholefartedly agree with, what do we think GoI should have done "differently" - post 1971.
Except for a tweak here and a nudge there, I'm thinking not much... considering that we do not, at the same time, want to slump down to their socio-economic level.
Quite right that a visa for Fair, Lamb or Gall is unlikely - though it is fair to presume that if they are led like lambs to the slaughter and apply for one, the galling prospects of a Canadian visa more likely awaits.
In an increasingly Talibanised Pakistan, ‘liberal-fascists’ are being attacked for not falling in line.
After his visit to Lahore in February, K. Anis Ahmed, a Bangladeshi intellectual, wrote in Newsweek Pakistan about the tough Pakistani textbook narrative against the birth of Bangladesh and the refusal of Pakistanis to even acknowledge what the Pakistan army had done to the people of East Pakistan in 1971: “Bangladeshi intellectuals have long known and appreciated the opposition mounted by Pakistani liberals during 1971.
What was interesting for me to discover on this trip is the abiding hold of that liberalism across generations. As a narrative of extremism has come to dominate global perceptions of Pakistan, the fact that there is a durable, indigenous tradition of liberalism has fallen by the wayside.
“In my university days, I regularly came across Pakistanis who, liberal on most counts, simply could not square the globally mainstream narrative about 1971 with their sense of identity. Education in the world’s best colleges, or living in the most cosmopolitan capitals, was not enough to open up the space that was required to question received narratives. But in Lahore I came across many young people from local colleges who did precisely that with ease.
“Is this tiny but deep strain of liberalism any match for the more ferocious ideologies that seek to crush it? I know too little about Pakistan to make any pronouncements let alone predictions. I can only say that an encounter with this country that I had long resisted proved to be more full of surprises, and pleasanter ones, than I had expected.”
The Lahore Literary Festival is a rare annual gathering of the “liberals” in a notoriously conservative city. On Facebook, however, Ahmed’s article received the typical barrage of “India-did-it” kind of response from Pakistani readers, accusing East Pakistanis of betrayal of their state.
The “liberal” in Pakistan is under siege; he must fear for his life as the national consensus swings in favour of the Taliban. Judging from what the Urdu columnists write — mother tongues, alas, have become toxic in our day — they will all be lynched when the sharia is finally enforced. But the liberal is anathematised all over the world.
To be clear, let’s quote The Economist (February 5, 2009): “Barack Obama shuns the L-word. But his speeches brim with liberal ideas and ideals. What is it about the doctrine that dare not speak its name? Authors who defend liberalism must often struggle just to get the word out without facing incomprehension or abuse — even today. To the left, particularly in Europe, liberalism means the free-market dogma of clever simpletons who created the present financial mess. The American right’s complaint is quite different.
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Forget that Hamilton, Jefferson and Madison fathered liberalism in the United States. For nigh on 30 years conservative Republicans persuaded American voters that liberals were godless, amoral, tax-happy hypocrites.”
In Pakistan, the ideological state is in the process of becoming more hardline, and the liberal is the one who “rejects religion and is willing to work for the CIA to undermine his own country”. People who defend women’s rights and Pakistan’s beleaguered non-Muslims are identified as agents of America and India — and Israel, for good measure — and the subliminal message is: “there are liberal-fascists in our midst”.
Popular anthropologist-author Akbar Ahmed, whose book The Thistle and the Drone has made an impact in Pakistan, defines these “elitist” liberal-fascists thus: “There is also the failure of the elite to come to grips with the problems of Pakistan. Many of its members, like Pakistani liberal commentators, reflect ideas picked up from Washington or London think-tanks, such as the War on Terror. They simplify what is happening in Pakistan as an Islamic movement.
Their analysis is replete with words and concepts like jihadis, Islamists, and Salafis which explain little and add to the confusion. Not fully understanding the problem, like their Western colleagues, they are incapable of offering solutions.”
Is liberalism a creed? Liberalism is not an ideology; it is a moment of conscience, an attitude. You can find a liberal Muslim Leaguer, even a liberal cleric, but you can’t find a coherent group or a party calling itself liberal and then acting consistently on the basis of consensus.
A dog-in-the-manger liberal stymies planned revolutions, questions immaculate creeds, and advocates tolerance towards elements making the ideological state impure. He is often considered below contempt by revolutionaries who will not allow his doubt to challenge their certainties.
Is it right to place the extremist and the liberal in opposition to each other? The liberal at best can get pummelled from both sides of an extreme divide. He is despised for being what he is, a loser and a bit of a spoilsport, introducing shades of grey when the situation is Manichean. The latest development is the invention of an oxymoron as a label for him: liberal-fascist. Greatly put off by the liberal’s habit of speaking up for the underdog, the hard conservative has set him up as an extremist together with the terrorist.
According to a very popular Pakistani TV anchor, “Liberal-fascist is he who supports the US drone attacks on Pakistani territory, opposes the Islamic articles of the 1973 Constitution, supports Musharraf in his rule and is now supporting Zardari, and is in the habit of designating his opponents as friends of the Taliban.
The extremists and liberals are in the same category because they both don’t accept the Constitution of Pakistan. One lies after drinking wine, the other lies after saying Namaz.”
Let us first clear our mind about the categories we are talking about. Where does extremism spring from? If you take liberal uncertainty and doubt as your norm, then one can say it springs from certitude. In doubt, there is freedom to make concessions to those who think differently. Doubt here includes self-doubt, to allow for a measure of altruism. It is also from doubt that moderation emanates: the instinct to stand in the middle when everyone is taking sides and is getting ready to clash.
The conservative is surer of his thinking because it is connected to the known past; the liberal is less sure-footed because he wants to question the entrenched attitudes of the past. It is the ask-no-questions certitude that inclines us to punish those who don’t agree with us.
The liberal will appeal to us to consider his argument but will not threaten us if we reject him. The misapplied term “liberal-fascist” implies “power” that the liberal doesn’t wish to possess because he knows that his thinking is too individualistic for the formulation of a group capable of wielding the power to punish.
There is also the thesis of multiple identities within one person made popular by Amartya Sen, which should make a person generous and tolerant as opposed to a person with only a single identity on the basis of which he “includes” and “excludes”.
The Taliban are not Taliban for nothing: the Pakhtun have the most aggressive single identity as a group and will reject other identities most readily; and this rejection will usually be done through violence.
Anis Ahmed will always be embraced by the liberals of Pakistan recommending that Pakistan apologise to Bangladesh for the atrocities of 1971. But he is right; the liberal also faces accelerated obsolescence as the Taliban phenomenon looms.
The writer is consulting editor, ‘Newsweek Pakistan’
jrjrao wrote:And (sadly) in the end, what this means to India is that it will continue to face this f!cked up dangerous menace for ever:
(4)Quote: “This suggests that those who are interested in Pakistan and its destabilizing impact on regional and international security must adopt an attitude of sober realism about the possible futures for Pakistan and the region it threatens. In the absence of evidence that any existing approach can persuade Pakistan to abandon its most dangerous policies, it is time to accept the likely fact that Pakistan will continue to pursue policies that undermined American interests in the region. For India, the implications of this conclusion are stark: the Pakistan Army will continue to seek to weaken India by any means possible, even though such means are inherently risky. In the army’s eyes, any other course would spell true defeat (to India).”
I agree with svinayak. The conclusion is exactly what can be expected - that the world, and especially India, must give up the thought of doing anything about Pakistan. It is a menace that we must learn to live with, and instead of fighting it, one is better off ignoring, avoiding, circumventing, and sometimes succumbing to its demands.
Recently, I had an interesting exchange with Christine Fair on twitter. She was mourning the death of a foreign journalist friend in Pakistan in a TTP dhamaka. I posted a reply with condolences, and said that the US must acknowledge that it connived in Pak getting nukes - a fact that Dutch intel has said on record. I said that the US and India must work to de-nuke Pakistan. To this, she replied with a particularly b!itchy comment, replete with expletives. Perhaps she was in a bad mood that day. I responded firmly, with references to facts surrounding the US conniving in Pak's nuclearization. Interestingly, the very next day she went up and deleted her first tweet in that particular chain of conversation - so that those reading her own timeline would not see the conversation. It was clear to me that she is unwilling to talk about the US' role in the nuclearization of Pakistan, or of any pro-active efforts to de-nuke this qabila state.
jrjrao wrote: For India, the implications of this conclusion are stark: the Pakistan Army will continue to seek to weaken India by any means possible, even though such means are inherently risky. In the army’s eyes, any other course would spell true defeat (to India).”
jrj - I am several books behind on my reading and this would have to take its place in the queue. I don't disagree with Fair here, but I have seen nothing about Pakistan that will change certain fundamental issues - namely the growth of population beyond the ability of the economy to keep up, the inability of the "state" including the army to "manage" and control the population in terms of education and development.
I believe that Pakistan has morphed from a more-or-less unitary state under control of the army into a number of sub states of which the army is only one. I also think that ins recent years - especially after Musharraf and the OBL capture fiasco - the Pakistani army, which really is the only force that should be able to control violence and bring order, if necessary by means of a military coup, is not longer strong enough to do that. The military are running their own agenda as Fair says, but there are multiple parallel agendas in Pakistan that are either being run by others (eg the Taliban) or are running themselves - like population growth.
I still do believe that lack of war with India is among the most debilitating problems that the Pakistan army faces. They could regain honour by means of a short war - but that is getting more and more dangerous. Oh yes they are well stocked in terms of weapons to fight India and India will not have a "cake walk" defeating them even in a short conflict - but India will have to plan to shame the Pakistani army with embarrassing defeats. India is capable of doing that currently - and that is a huge risk that would seriously affect the Paki army's popularity. But they could still come out bruised but with renewed honour and renewed credentials for fighting India. So I think India's best bet would be to act fearsome and threatening from a military viewpoint and act sweet and friendly from a diplomatic viewpoint. - that is be the liquid oxygen that does not allow the Pakis army to die or live.
The Pakistan army is needed by the US and Saudi and China - each for its own purposes. As always, enmity with India provides a convenient lever to manipulate the Paki army. The US will support Pakistan indirectly in a war with India (at least after the war) and the war emergency will allow the Paki army to crack down mercilessly on inconvenient rebels. So while Pakistan must be punished by local area retaliation, a wider war will only help the Pakistan army even in defeat. In the meantime Pakistan's economic status should be reduced in comparison with India to that of a poorly performing Indian state - which is all that Pakistan is in size and capability.
1) I don't know how many people here have read Feroz Hassan Khan's 'Eating Grass,' a history of the Pakistani strategic weapons programme. Given that he was at the heart of the Pakistan Army policy process on the bomb what he has to say is interesting.
Pakistan's pursuit of nuclear weapons was always driven foremost by the realisation after 1971 that no set of alliances - whether with the US, China or Middle Eastern states were reliable enough to offset Indian conventional advantages at a time of war.
The massive pace of the expansion of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal after 1998 is a reflection of the PA anxiety over the widening conventional force capabilities gap between India and Pakistan.
Given that the PA believes it ensures Pakistan's existence, the PA leadership essentially believes that nuclear deterrence is the only thing that stands between it and being taken to pieces by India. Which means of course they will go to any length to maintain nuclear deterrence.
2) Moving beyond that. The above represents the views of a couple of generations of officers whose main operational experience is either fighting India, or preparing to fight India. Serving in GCC forces or on UN peacekeeping is much more of a matter of making some money.
What happens when we fast forward two decades to a generation of senior officers for whom the bulk of operational experience has been fighting and dying at the hands of the TTP and to a lesser extent Baloch groups? I haven't crunched the numbers, but I'd like to see the point at which PA casualties at the hands of the TTP equal those inflicted by Indian forces, and when they become twice, or even thrice that number.
This is one of the reasons its ideologically important to push the idea that India is behind these groups, because without that belief, the experience of all that fighting and dying is potentially transformative. India stops being the main threat to Pakistan's existence. I'm not sure of the extent to which junior and field grade officers believe that foreign powers are behind the TTP, but it will have profound effects on the direction of the PA, and thus Pakistan as a whole, because if the threat is internal rather than external, and you can't nuke the threat then....things become complicated.
Ministry of Finance (MinFin) is eyeing $5 billion foreign inflows in to the country by May 15, 2014 to strengthen it’s foreign exchange reserves and rupee dollar parity, a senior official at Ministry informed on Thursday.
These inflows would include budgetary support from World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the shape of proceeds of auction of 3G and 4G spectrum and arrears of Coalition Support Fund (CSF), official added.
See how India is added to in the headline as though India has some pending action.
What is also interesting to note is how the whole world is likely to stand behind Pakistan in facing Indian tyranny.
Once Pakistan notifies abolishing of trade restrictions for India, entire trading partners of India would stand beside us as they are continuously voicing against non-tariff barriers applied by the India authorities on imports in to India. That occasion would be an opportunity for us to compel India to remove the operational difficulties faced by the Pakistani exporters.
shiv wrote:I was upset with Sridhar for posting that pukeworthy photo of Shrilleen darlin - but I take my words back. I know that true love has brought jrjr back
Ha ha. Shiv, I had indeed seen this post, on seeing which, I had to quickly run back to the comfort of the Shrilleen tasveer that I keep in my wallet: http://www.defencejournal.com/images/shireen.jpg
BTW, I have moved on a little bit in my tastes, and lately, I have been eyeing Ms. Neelum Nawab: http://goo.gl/3aQ8ar
who urgently needs to be rescued from her vigorous job working under the desk of that Zaid Hamid...
shiv wrote:I was upset with Sridhar for posting that pukeworthy photo of Shrilleen darlin - but I take my words back. I know that true love has brought jrjr back
LAHORE: At least 12 people were injured in a blast at a shop located at Pakistan Chowk in Ichra area of the city, Geo News reported Friday.The shop owner said he had been receiving threat calls for the last some days. He said he had informed the police about the phone calls in which he was asked to Rs2 million extortion. He said that the extortionists had also fired shots at his residence last month.The rescue sources injured were taken to the Services Hospital for treatment Police rushed to the area following the explosion. The Bomb Disposal Squad said that 250 to 300 gram Grams explosive material was used in the blast.
At least two people were killed and several injured on Friday in an incident of indiscriminate firing on a local district court in the garrison city, DawnNews reported.
At least 12 people including a Shia doctor and three madressa students were killed and several others injured in different incidents of violence in the port city, DawnNews reported on Wednesday.
Earlier during the day, a bomb weighing 13 kilograms was defused near Khalid Bin Waleed road in Karachi’s PECHS area.
And they want Indian team to come and play cricket!!???
the two major suspects for transporting bombs in 365 guava crates from Sharaqpur tehsil. Police were also seeking detailed information about the owners of nine guava farms, including Baba Ali, Muhammad Hanif, Muhammad Tufail, Rang Elahi, Muhammad Siddiqui, Shahbaz, Sajid, Muhammad Asif and Wakeel Ahmad
TTP is closely watching the development. May promote guava plantation in Islamic Emirate of Waziristan.
Last edited by abhijitm on 11 Apr 2014 20:23, edited 1 time in total.
also from the above - these guys can never give up their inherent Pakiness...
An autonomous Kashmir within such a framework is a logical way of finessing that problem, and the money flowing to India and Pakistan from tourists on their way to the valley should quiet any cries of protest. We are past feudalism, and both countries have to realize that land belongs to the people who till it.
Ms Fair might be correct this time, but she has always confused me. Wrote an article supporting nuke deal for Pakistan, lectured India like a petulant kid for not settling J&K through talks (why can't US settle Afghanistan through talks or get OBL through talks) and now this book.
What I have realized is that she makes hay while the sun shines. She catches wind of the trend in US circles and writes articles and books supporting that view. With US drawdown imminent, there is likely to be a stock taking as to why US failed in Afghanistan and the natural target for that impotent rage is Pakistan. Carlotta Galls piece is the beginning of the torrent. Expect more. My question is, if Pakistan is so bad, what did the US do for a whole 13 years after 2001 ?
I would pick Husain haqqanis book any day. It is far more informed and makes a cogent case as to why Pakis are well, Pakis.
^^She might have learnt a thing or two when she actually started to obtain more than superficial understanding of the turd-world issues like "fights over the Yellow Sea", that she was sermonizing about. Glad to see that she is not closing (or atleast pretending to not close) her eyes when she is starring at the truth. Need more data points, and a pattern of consistent behavior to determine if she has actually seen the truth.
Anujan wrote:Wait till "Solve cashmere to solve Afghanistan" comes back into fashion. Then we will see who jumps into the bandwagon.
Solve Pakistan Problem to solve Afghanistan, Drug Smuggling, Terrorism, and Islamist Problem now being faced by the Civilized world. Lakh Bimario Ki Eik Dwa is the Demise of Pakistan. Modi Sarkar should freeze any interaction with Pukeland for the next 10 years. Salami slicing in K should go on till Skardu fall and Gilgit Baltistan comes under IA control. This will fix Poaqarmy H&D to decide if they really want to go out by way of evapoaration or exhausation. Knowing they always want to survive to fight another day shall be exploited to full extent.
JE Menon wrote:Welcome back jrjr - excellent that you have returned. It is welcome, and we await your scything write-ups on our friendly neighbourhood psychopath.
Now given C. Fair's conclusions, which I think most of us will wholefartedly agree with, what do we think GoI should have done "differently" - post 1971.
Except for a tweak here and a nudge there, I'm thinking not much... considering that we do not, at the same time, want to slump down to their socio-economic level.
Quite right that a visa for Fair, Lamb or Gall is unlikely - though it is fair to presume that if they are led like lambs to the slaughter and apply for one, the galling prospects of a Canadian visa more likely awaits.
Not putting the 93k murderers on trial post-71 was a monumental mistake.
KARACHI: Pakistan received more than $11.5-billion remittances during the last nine months, which has provided strong support to the economy facing current account deficit and low reserves.
The State Bank reported on Thursday that overseas Pakistani workers remitted $11.582bn in the first nine months (July-March) of this fiscal year (FY14), showing a growth of 11.87 per cent compared to $10.353bn received during the same period of last fiscal year (FY13).The inflows from all the traditional sources including Saudi Arabia, UAE, the United States, have increased. Pakistan received $13.9bn remittances in FY13. If the growth rate of 11.9 per cent remains constant, the country may receive up to $15.5bn till end of FY14.
Army creep Raheel sees multidimensional security threats to Pakistan
MALSIABAD: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Friday said that multidimensional security threats faced by the country require a high state of preparedness at all times.“Highest standard of training and professionalism must remain our hallmark to accomplish the mission,” he said.Gen Sharif’s visit follows an important meeting of the army’s top brass earlier this week which reviewed internal and external threats to Pakistan’s national security. At the monthly Commanders conference, Gen Sharif commended soldiers for their work despite “serious security and administrative challenges”, according to an ISPR press release. Gen Sharif caused a stir earlier this week when he vowed that the army would “resolutely preserve its own dignity and institutional pride.” The army chief caused quite a stir in government circles when he vowed at a Special Services Group base in Tarbela that the army would “resolutely preserve its own dignity and institutional pride”. Gen Sharif’s comments were said to be made in the context of the army’s concern over the trial of former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf on the charge of high treason.The statement had sent shockwaves through government circles and became the topic of debate for analysts and local media talk-show anchors. Insiders the army is also not happy with the way the government is proceeding with its initiative of holding peace talks with militants involved in the killing of tens of thousands of Pakistani citizens and soldiers
MALSIABAD: Pakistan’s Information Minister, Pervaiz Rashid has dismissed reports of the army calling for the resignation of any ministers. Following a ceremony held at Lok Virsa here on Friday, the information minister told reporters the Pakistan Army was working according to the constitution. According to Rashid rumours were spread by those who had been raised under dictatorship and were now jobless. He added that the court’s decision pertaining to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf will be accepted by all.Rashid further said that all institutions were bound by the constitution and had to work under it.
My passion ran deep into the conditioning that we all go through as Pakistanis, from our childhood. I remember having a collection of Nasim Hijazi novels when I was a budding teenager, back home. My favorite was Khak aur Khoon (Dust and Blood), set against the backdrop of the bloody partition. I remember back in the mid-1970s, the National Film Development Corporation (NAFDEC) transformed it onto the big screen, keeping the same title. To my sheer disappointment and utter surprise it was a box office disaster. A couple of decades or so later, the movie made on the founder of this country, Jinnah, met the same fate. It repeated the same cycle of disbelief and disappointment. Yes, with age I have started to handle all these surprises and disappointments a bit better. The reality has started to sink in and, somehow, I am able to grasp and handle realities.The reality is that Nasim Hijazi wrote fiction, and no matter what the backdrop of his novels, fiction remains fiction. We as a nation are fed a lot of fiction, even in our textbooks. I remember being an internet warrior like another friend of mine who wrote a piece and shared his 40 plus years of coming of age in the US in a local magazine. The changes he went through are very similar to mine. The reality, when it starts to sink in, sets you free.At most local gatherings, when I share my views, those views irk a few, upset some, irritate and, at times, make a few totally angry. The anger comes from the fact that reality starts to sink and the emotional side of the brain starts to battle with the rational side. All the disappointments we mutually face tend to make sense and we just, somehow, want them to magically disappear. When I bring up the idea that we are actually Indians or of Indian descent, it upsets a lot of my friends. How can we be Indians? Somehow, being Indian is an issue with a lot of my fellow countrymen. An ultra-superiority complex starts to engulf our thought processes; not to mention, the ‘two nation theory’ conditioning makes it much harder to accept. No matter what you say or suggest, or provide as an explanation, it is discredited. The fact is that there is a bit of India in all of us. The land we call ours was formerly known as India. We changed its name but we could not change the essence. ( Abbey Same Essense Hi Hotta Tho Koi Rajguru, Sukhdev, Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh naa paida Hotta)The essence is what we share with our quarrelling neighbours. Those of you who honestly think that I have lost my marbles with age ought to go to an absolutely foreign land and gather in a room with a bunch of people from various different countries. You will find an instant kinship with an Indian because of our relatively similar language, customs and food. That in itself is the real essence. This essence or way of life that we call culture or customs, define our everyday lives. It is interesting to witness, when you are on this exercise of self-discovery, that we have more than food and clothing in common — aspirations for emphasis on education and a competitive quest for betterment are also our mutual staples. We are the proud people of what was once known as the subcontinent. No matter who you talk to outside their respective countries, whether it is an Indian or a Pakistani, both yearn for a South Asia free of fear and full of harmony. On the surface, all of this sounds very interesting and in itself very noble but the reality is far uglier. When I bring to the fore that the root of this ugliness is buried in a historical wrong called the partition, it just infuriates a lot of my brethren. The battle between the emotional and rational sides of the brain rages on at jet speed. In most cases, the emotional side supersedes.Yes, I know that right or wrong, the line of demarcation is a reality. The line of demarcation defines geography and there is no denying that. However, the bigger question that I raise and often get no clear or convincing response from my brethren is: does it negate history? History is so blatantly clear that there is no room for denial. I know I can go on and on about this subject and stir up the usual back and forth. People with inflamed passions are the ones who have brought us to all of this. To those full of this blind and meaningless fury, it is time for the exercise that I mentioned above. Just try it and I am sure the truth will start to do its magic on you as well.
Johann, I don't agree. India should not claim nor allow others to make India the fall guy for TSP failings. Besides what TTP is doing is showing the Kabila guards they don't own TSP the Islamic Stae as they are not Islamist enough.
BTW I don't see much difference between Unfair's work and Emma Duncan's C-section of TSP in Breaking the Curfew or Ian Talbot's "India and Pakistan".
Ms Fair might be correct this time, but she has always confused me. Wrote an article supporting nuke deal for Pakistan, lectured India like a petulant kid for not settling J&K through talks (why can't US settle Afghanistan through talks or get OBL through talks) and now this book.
What I have realized is that she makes hay while the sun shines. She catches wind of the trend in US circles and writes articles and books supporting that view. With US drawdown imminent, there is likely to be a stock taking as to why US failed in Afghanistan and the natural target for that impotent rage is Pakistan. Carlotta Galls piece is the beginning of the torrent. Expect more. My question is, if Pakistan is so bad, what did the US do for a whole 13 years after 2001 ?
I would pick Husain haqqanis book any day. It is far more informed and makes a cogent case as to why Pakis are well, Pakis.
+1. CCF knows her book can only sell in India. So she's modulated the the pitch accordingly. Robin Raphel was in India not long ago for her firm Cassidy & Associates,to gin up some business. Soon realized people remembered her too well.
I would not buy the book. I'd prefer to spend my money on Sanjaya Baru's
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and is thus a book of divine revelations.
