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Most (if not all) young Baloch leaders that are worth their salt are in exile. The communication link between these leaders and the rank & file freedom fighters on the ground is at best shaky and muddled. These are the English speaking elite that seem to do well in the chatterati circuits overseas but lose steam when confronted with a credible future democratic vision for an independent Balochistan. These are the folks who need to get together and get their act right. A common platform rather than a collection of tribes fighting for freedom, They will need to find a godfather in a large multinational corporation or else all is lost. Money talks and powerful money talks absolutely. Remember Afghanistan?SSridhar wrote:Balochis, fearless and determined as they are against an overwhelming Pakistani Army, lack charismatic political and military leaders.
http://blip.tv/awaztoday/my-demands-are ... al-6374683parsuram wrote:September 28th, 2012(Duniyanews on youtube, if someone can, please post link here):
Mengal puts forward Mujibur Rehman's six point demands (for east pakistan, 1971) for Balochistan at Supreme Court of Paki Stan . As he states, "there is no difference between Balochistan's six point demands and what Mujib demanded for Bengal. In joint appearance with Nawaz Sharif outside the Court, he warned that Pakis should not make the same mistake with the Baloch as they did with the Bengalis. According to him, better to say "khuda hafiz" with civility so they can meet in a civil way with " aslam aleokum" in the future. X posted on Baluchistan forum.
Anujan wrote:Author argues that America is not violating Pakistan's sovirginity because Pakistan has no sovirginity to violate.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/20 ... vereignty/
And this is the real reason manmohan is being pressurized to make concessions on siachen. First siachen and then "lets erase the borders" and "free movement between two kashmirs" sloganeering WKKs and the jholawallas will use their connections to bring "peace" to the subcontinent which will lead to more terrorist attacks and death of our citizens.If Pakistan’s generals were willing to demilitarize their “Line of Control” with India and move those troops to the FATA, they might indeed have the forces necessary to bring the fractious inhabitants of the tribal areas under Islamabad’s direct control.
From the Newspaper - Shahid Kardar - 2 days ago
THESE are abnormal times. How else should one describe the confluence of several crises reinforcing each other and generating an acute crisis of state and society?
The insurgency in the country (which is costing the economy more than $5bn a year), lack of political consensus on many issues, Baloch disaffection, unprecedented recession-like global conditions, massive power shortages, a budget deficit running wild, the ‘poor country’ image, the state’s inability to protect life and property affecting investment, and the annual increase of more than a million youth in the unemployed category are all contributing to social discontent and worsening law and order.
And to top it all there is a fragile government that will not get rave reviews on its competence to handle crises which even capable leaderships elsewhere would struggle to tackle. It would be a miracle for any economy to demonstrate even a semblance of resilience under these circumstances.
So how will 2012-13 pan out and what outcomes should one expect?
Well, GDP should grow by four per cent, although this will, among other factors, depend on how the weather behaves, with floods already ravaging some areas of the country. Obtaining a good agricultural output under these circumstances will not be easy, as we await the official assessment of crop damage caused by the untimely monsoon.
Both the small- and large-scale industrial sectors could do better this year, despite the scourge of power shortages — owing to a low base last year, lower interest rates and increased government and private spending in the domestic economy in an election year.
We should expect industrial output to improve partially also because of increased demand for goods from the rural sector as crop prices begin to climb owing to international developments (e.g. the drought in the US), and as a result of reduced supplies owing to crop losses from rains and floods. With excess capacity, the manufacturing sector (facing stagnation in production and sales volumes) should be able to respond fairly quickly to the increased demand without being inflationary.
However, it will be next to impossible to achieve a fiscal deficit of less than eight per cent of GDP this year. This is partly because a) tax revenues will be lower than the ambitious budgetary estimates; b) we are fighting a battle for the country’s survival; c) this is an election year; d) the subsidy for the power sector is now touching Rs10 lakhs a minute (Rs140 crore a day); and e) Islamabad is not seen to be losing sleep over the worsening situation.
The resulting heavy borrowing by the government will deny the private sector adequate volumes of credit at a time when uncertainty in our traditional export markets shows no sign of ending.
Moreover, contrary to official projections, inflation will continue to be double-digit. This is because international commodity prices are firming up (although the saving grace could be oil if its price settles at around $100 a barrel); b) administered prices of utilities — electricity and gas — are being raised steadily; c) expectations regarding inflation will reinforce inflationary trends; and d) the pressure on the rupee will not abate in the foreseeable future (given our higher rate of inflation than that of our competitors) even if the Americans give us the $400m we are hoping they will part with before their presidential election.
It will be difficult to achieve macro-economic stability under these circumstances (all self-inflicted). Trying to do so may well result in the death of a junkie addicted to bailouts by the international community which has tended to be too eager to loosen its purse strings for fear of chaos.
Our Achilles’ heel is our external account. We will need $ 3.5bn to $4bn to finance the current account and that too provided Etisalat coughs up the overdue $800m and our export earnings remain flat at last year’s levels (assuming we sell low-value products whose demand is not likely to be affected too badly despite the global gloom). Also there will have to be enough interest in acquiring 3-G licences (with budgeted receipts of Rs79bn) and the dream of a Euro bond float of $500m needs to be realised.
Flows from the World Bank, ADB, the US and UK cannot fill a hole of this size. Thus, certain actions may result as default measures, like regulatory duties, higher import tariffs, 100 per cent LC margins on imports of ‘luxury items’ and the inevitable depreciation in the value of the rupee.
We may have to request the Saudis (and maybe the Kuwaitis) to accept deferred payments for their oil, initiate privatisation of some assets to foreigners and perhaps resort to ‘bad policies’ like import bans/controls on some items (with all its implications under the WTO).
Moreover, even after taking these steps a significant proportion of this gap might have to be financed by depleting foreign exchange reserves, already down to $10bn, equivalent to three months of imports. How the market reacts to such an outcome would be anyone’s guess, apart from piling additional pressure on the rupee.
Indications of market views on these developments should start becoming visible by the end of this calendar year, testing our management capabilities on this front much more seriously by March 2013; a parting ‘gift’ from the caretakers to the next coalition government.
To conclude, the Pakistan economy can now only be fixed and growth restored, if not enhanced, by painful structural reforms.This will be a long haul, requiring better quality governance and management if growth prospects are not to be unduly compromised and some trust in government is to be repaired.
The ‘more-of-the-same’ approach is no longer an option and the actions required will test the limits of what is politically feasible. But is there a leadership on the horizon well prepared and determined to embark on this arduous journey, and capable of taking on powerful interest groups protecting the status quo?
The writer is a former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan.
Opinion - Farrukh Saleem - Wednesday, October 03, 2012
From Print Edition
Are our elections rigged? At least three out of four Pakistanis think so. One of the most authoritative pieces of research that provides a direct answer to the question is Pildat’s “A dispassionate analysis of how elections are stolen & will of the people is defeated.” (“Pildat” stands for Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency).
As per Pildat’s research, election rigging has to be split into three rather distinct phases: pre-election rigging, Election Day rigging and post-election rigging. Pre-election rigging has at least five features: influencing the media; doling out development funds; using state resources for political gains; installing a partisan caretaker government and a partisan Election Commission.
Election Day rigging is mostly about “tampering, stuffing ballot boxes, dishonest counting and dishonest tabulation of results.” Finally, post election rigging, which is all about the “use of public resources (in violation of the constitutional provisions) to influence, affect or alter the formation of government.”
Over the past 42 years, we have had nine elections – in 1970, 1977, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2002 and 2008. Intriguingly, the incidence of Election Day rigging was “high” in 1977, the only election with high Election Day rigging. As far as post-Election Day rigging is concerned, the elections that stand out are the 1970, 1985 and 2002 elections. As far as pre-Election Day rigging is concerned, the elections that stand out are the 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2002 and 2008 elections.
Keep it simple stupid! Do not wait for Election Day because it is almost always pre-election rigging. Remember five features: influencing the media; doling out development funds; using state resources for political gains; installing a partisan caretaker government and a partisan election commission.
Recent lawmaking has done two good things: one, made the installation of a partisan caretaker government very difficult. Two, the Election Commission is no longer partisan.
Now, the bad news. The PPP’s pre-election war chest is now both smart and huge; smarter and larger than those of the PML-N and the PTI combined. At the top of the pre-election rigging agenda is influencing the powerful electronic media. To begin with, the prime minister’s discretionary fund at Rs27 billion is higher than ever before. Then, there is government advertisement spending under which an amount of Rs2,071 million has already been disbursed to 23 TV channels. Then there is the Rs2.39 billion advertising allocation under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). Then there is the Rs2 billion ministry of information secret funds. Then there is Rs5 billion for Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC). Then there is Rs4 billion for Pakistan Television (PTV). On top of all that are multi-million rupee disbursements in the name of “development funds,” out of the Rs360 billion Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
Contrary to common perception, almost all Pakistani elections have been extremely prone to pre-election rigging. If our 42-year electoral history is any indication, all or most Pakistani eyes will remain focused on Election Day rigging. If our 42-year electoral history is any indication, there will be little or no Election Day rigging in the upcoming election. If our 42-year electoral history is any indication, the Election Commission of Pakistan will ignore the ongoing pre-election rigging.
Conclusion: Of the nine elections over the past four decades, at least seven were subjected to serious pre-election rigging.
Who said, “The thing about rigging is you can learn it if you become a master rigger, but there’s no book on rigging”?
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@ hotmail.com
Saleem Safi - Wednesday, October 03, 2012
From Print Edition
Germany, France, the US and even Russia cannot take a single political, economic, strategic or military decision that hurts Israel, or the Jews. The Holocaust has no direct link with sacred books, religion or respected personalities of Jewish religion. However, its negation (whether right or wrong) is prohibited by law in some countries. On the other hand, if someone insults sacred books or personalities of Muslims or even Christians, their act is defended on the pretext of freedom of expression. My intention here is not to advocate equal right to insult; rather, the question that intrigues me is: how did the Jewish community get that much prestige?
Numbers fail to provide any clue in this matter. Throughout the world, there are only 13 million people of the Jewish faith, while Muslims make up 150 million and Christians well above 200 million. As for nation-states, Jews have only one – Israel – while there are more than 50 Muslims states. In terms of division of population, there is not a single western country where people of the Jewish faith can claim majority. In the United States, there are 76 percent Christians, 0.6 percent Muslims and 2.1 percent (6214569) population is Jewish. The Jewish population is estimated at 641000 in France, 360283 in Canada, 250000 in Russia, 306876 in the UK, and 200977 in Germany persons. In terms of percentiles, they are 2 percent in France, 1.1 percent in Canada, 0.6 percent in Russia, 0.5 percent in the UK and 0.3 percent in Germany. Thus, they are less than one percent in any country of the world, except the US, Canada and France.
Leaving the population factor aside, did the Jews achieve their present prestige through political mobilisation? This question again yields a big no, as indeed Jews are hard workers and missionaries, but they do not have any fame for their bravery in world history. Except in Israel, Jews have never used weapons; and even in Israel that is official business. In the recent past, we have not seen them involved in protests or sit-ins on the streets of London, Paris, New York, Toronto, or Berlin. They are considered more law-abiding and responsible citizens when compared with their peers from any other religions.
After due study and contemplation, I have come to the conclusion that hard work and unity are the major factors behind their success. White or black, Asian or European, liberal or extremist, the Jewish community supports each other. They have prioritised education and business as their main weapons and through these two they are ruling politics, diplomacy and media in the west. The Jewish nation is driving almost all important financial institutions of the world. They hold cabinet seats in many countries, but hardly ever mention their religious affiliation.
Their achievements in the US are far beyond their numbers. Out of a hundred senators, 13 are of Jewish denomination. In Congress, 27 members are Jewish. They control 7.7 percent of the boards in important corporations. The major stock exchange market remains in Jewish hands, as do most media companies.
Jews command almost equal power in other western countries. By this unity and hard work they are able to influence global decision-making. In any corner of the world, any single decision against Israeli interests is dealt with vigour and unity. In such cases, media quickly creates hype around the story and world governments use their potential to address the issue. Even valid criticism against Zionists or Israel is dealt with zero tolerance.
The writer works for Geo TV. Email: saleem. [email protected]
Harris Khalique - Wednesday, October 03, 2012
From Print Edition
Side-effect : The writer is a poet and author based in Islamabad.
Sardar Akhtar Mengal wanted to appear in the case of forced disappearances in Balochistan being heard in the Supreme Court. He was granted audience. Once in Islamabad, besides appearing in the court to give his testimony, he met a number of politicians, held a press conference and spoke to many journalists and commentators. He propounded his six points to move forward on Balochistan and to help resolve the current crisis.
Around the same time, the government and security agencies submitted to the court that no military operation, forced disappearances or extra-judicial murders are taking place in the province. They out rightly rejected the claims made by Baloch nationalists and rights activists about their persecution and denied all allegations levelled against the military, paramilitary and law-enforcing agencies.
The head of the Balochistan National Party, Akhtar Mengal is veteran Baloch leader Sardar Attaullah Mengal’s son. He was the chief minister of the province in the late 1990s. He was arrested in 2006 during Gen Musharraf’s regime and released in 2008 after the incumbent government was elected. The points he presented in Islamabad are neither new nor have any unconstitutional air about them. They are simple, practical and only for the short run.
They ask for all overt and covert military operations to end, forced disappearances and elimination of Baloch political workers to stop, those disappeared should be released, role of intelligence agencies in the governance and politics of Balochistan to be curbed, Baloch political parties to be allowed to function without interference, and, those poor Baloch who are displaced by conflict must be rehabilitated with respect.
But what do you do when the other side is in complete denial and says nothing of the sort is happening in Balochistan that Mengal refers to? Also, when the other side represents no one less but the State of Pakistan itself? That’s what you call a stalemate.
Contrary to popular rhetoric, I see little in common between the situation in Balochistan and the former East Pakistan – the reason being that Bengalis were in a majority and when the majority is denied their due share in power and resources, the dynamic is very different. Technically, the creation of Bangladesh cannot be called secession from Pakistan either.
Because the majority of people living in united Pakistan was pushed to have a separate country, making them into Bangladesh and us into the Islamic Republic of (West) Pakistan. If they had decided to keep the name of Pakistan, we would have been in a quandary.
We must also recognise that from day one, a fair segment of the West Pakistani elite, dominated by north Indian immigrant bureaucracy and the Punjabi feudal, wanted to get rid of East Pakistan. There was a sinister propaganda in the western wing of the country that East Pakistan bleeds Pakistan’s economy. For the Pakistani elite today, particularly the civil and military establishment, Balochistan is of paramount importance due to its economic resources. The case is different from that of East Pakistan.
Although Balochistan is spread over 45 percent of Pakistan’s landmass, it is the least populous province in the country. It is ethnically diverse and not as homogenous as East Pakistan was. The issue is not with the whole of Balochistan as a province or administrative region but with the denial of the rights of Baloch as a people who constitute the majority of population in the province and inhabit most of its land.
The forced annexation of the Kalat state, instead of a peaceful, democratic process of annexation through negotiation, had happened soon after the creation of Pakistan. Quaid-i-Azam was perhaps in a hurry. This did not sit well with many Baloch political workers and intellectuals of that time. However, the real trouble began when the Pakistani establishment under Gen Ayub Khan started dealing with the Baloch leadership with extreme disgrace and utter contempt.
The worst incident of all until then was the breaking of oath with Nauroz Khan, the chief of the Zehri tribe in Jhalawan. When during the armed struggle of 1960 to resist one-unit in West Pakistan and the usurpation of Baloch rights by the central government, Nauroz Khan was putting up resistance in one of the battles. Pakistani military swore an oath and urged Nauroz to surrender and prepare for negotiations. Nauroz Khan was betrayed, he and his sons arrested and no amnesty was granted. His sons were hanged in Hyderabad and Sukkur. He died a shocked man soon after in 1962.
Civilian Z A Bhutto, who was to be hanged himself by a military dictator, and his successors, Gen Zia-ul-Haq and Gen Pervez Musharraf, were no different from Gen Ayub Khan when it came to making an attempt to understand, let alone respect, the rights of the Baloch people. Ironically, Nawab Akbar Bugti worked closely with the Pakistani establishment just a few years before turning against it. The state couldn’t keep him happy either. And now, all of a sudden, a section of twisted right-wing politicians and journalists have started saying that Bugti in fact blew himself up. There should be a judicial commission to investigate his death. Why wasn’t this raised in the last six years?
Today, there may well be a foreign involvement in Balochistan as the interior minister Rehman Malik insists. But the foreigners can only train and arm the insurgents. Who produces them? The Pakistani establishment does by its own folly. And it refuses to learn. Simply refuses. Malik needs to remind himself that there was a time when Akbar Bugti was Pakistan’s minister of state for interior.
While Mengal was in Islamabad, we were told day in and day out by the self-proclaimed custodians of the ideology of the Islamic Republic, the pseudo-intellectuals who believe in a caliphate that never was, that the struggle in Balochistan is for the rights of the sardars and not for the rights of the people. This is believed and reverberated by those who live in the palatial homes of Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad and cook their chapattis on piped natural gas from Balochistan. They loathe Baloch sardars for their cruelty and sympathise with Baloch masses for their innocence.
At the same time they treat their own domestic servants like dirt and those who own land back home in a village, find no problem in keeping low caste musallis working on their farms without paying them anything close to a decent wage.
Let me just recall what the Baloch demanded from the Pakistani authorities led by Gen Ayub Khan in 1963 and many months after the death of Nauroz Khan. This was the time when from Sardar Khair Bakhsh Marri to poet Gul Khan Naseer, many prominent Baloch rights campaigners were imprisoned.
The Baloch leadership sent a memorandum to the General with a list of demands. The document was drafted by Sardar Sherbaz Mazari while Maulana Bhashani, the veteran leftist leader from East Pakistan, was the emissary. The Baloch asked for the release of prisoners and restoration of their confiscated property, creation of a university in the province, making school education compulsory and free, construction of a college in each district, a high school in each tehsil, a primary school in each village, a dispensary in a sizeable village, a hospital in each tehsil, construction of roads in the province and the development of local harbours and fisheries. They demanded that government servants of lower grades must be domiciled in Balochistan and local labour is recruited on developmental projects. How seditious and unconstitutional!
Email: [email protected]
This guy is on record as saying India committed 26/11 to defame TSP. that is his faction, forgot its name, is it al-poakhole?Nandu wrote:I don't know which faction this Shamshad Ahmad belongs to. Ayesha Siddiqa says establishment. But it is clear they have the knives drawn for Hina.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9 ... ublic-life
Baikul wrote:And as Mohammad Ali Jinnah, 400% not be outdone, so astutely stated as far back as in 1947, Pakistan "is a piddle wrapped by a mistry inside an enema".BijuShet wrote:From Tribune (opinion piece - posted in full)
............In any case, as Sir Winston Churchill stated as far back as 1939, Russia “is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”.
That is it?? Hain jeee, why is this list by this Paki so small? Why is the Paki imagination so short and modest? IPRI needs better beggars than this washed up retired colonel....Strategic community in Pakistan considers that Pakistan-US relations can be improved speedily but being a super power some meaningful and major initiatives have to be taken by the US with a view to addressing Pakistan’s concerns and turning Pakistani public opinion in its favour by addressing their expectations. In this context following suggestions and policy options are offered for the US policy makers.
US may announce a concrete plan to help meet Pakistan’s energy needs with in shortest possible time since this shortage has very badly affected Pakistan’s industrial sector and also the common people. US should announce a nuclear deal for Pakistan like India. As a consequence, majority of Pakistani people is likely to consider the US a friendly country because it will end their perception that the US is after Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. This is because people consider that nuclear deterrence is the only safety measure against India’s aggressive designs. US should declare provision of substantial economic aid to Pakistan (without strings or restrictions) for ending Pakistan’s debts, bailing out its economy due to losses suffered on account of war on terror, then Pakistani people will fully support initiatives of the Pakistan’s government in brokering a successful peace deal in Afghanistan.
The US should give assurances to Pakistan that it will not give any military foothold to India in Afghanistan and will also not accept Indian strategy of exploiting its strategic partnership with it against Pakistan’s interests with respect to Kashmir dispute and Afghanistan. It is already being done by India by terming Kashmiri’s freedom struggle as terrorism and by having increased foothold in Afghanistan; she is destabilising Balochistan using its consulates in Afghanistan. While Pakistani people are not against US- India friendship, they want that the US should consider Pakistan equally important in this region and should give equal treatment to it. The US should not insist on Pakistan to do more and may cooperate with it to carry out anti terrorist operations according to its own internal dynamics and environment. It is also not justified to say that Pakistan is providing sanctuaries to terrorists in FATA.
Isn't Shamshad the guy who Strobe Talbott wrote about---saying he 'lunged' across the table to show his anger at the US position after the 1998 tests?KLNMurthy wrote:Nandu wrote:I don't know which faction this Shamshad Ahmad belongs to. Ayesha Siddiqa says establishment. But it is clear they have the knives drawn for Hina.
RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani arrived in Moscow on a three-day official visit Wednesday.He was received by Deputy Commander in Chief of Ground Forces of Russia, Lt Gen Nikolay Bagdanovsky, said an ISPR press release here.Earlier, before leaving for Russia, commenting on the latest situation in Balochistan, General Kayani said, "Army fully supports any political process as long as it is within the Constitution of Pakistan."
Actually Shamshad Ahmad, when he was the top bureaucrat in Punjab, used to regularly visit Muridke LeT HQ - another GP nugget.Anujan wrote:Also according to GP he flat out denied that there was an organization called LeT in Pakistan.
If there are 10 successful people and 1000 losers one also needs to look at why the losers may be losers and not just at why winners are winners.BijuShet wrote:Saleem Safi - Wednesday, October 03, 2012
After due study and contemplation, I have come to the conclusion that hard work and unity are the major factors behind their success. White or black, Asian or European, liberal or extremist,
The two major Goalith religious ideology is exactly that. Religious supremacy not unlike the racial Supremacist KKK go around chest pounding their monopoly of the "Truth" and "god".shiv wrote: This is easy to say, but when you have several hundred million people brainwashed into thinking that just following a religion makes them great then you have the largest collections of losers on earth.
Organised by international organisation , ‘Face to Faith’ that brings students across cultures and faiths together through technology, the video-conference between four schools, two from Pakistan and two from India , included Brindavan Vidyalaya, Thiruvanaikoil as a participant. The school had invited grandparents to join students in the discussion centred on International Day of Older Persons observed on October 1.
The mediator encouraged students to share anecdotes and axioms from scriptures to express what diverse faiths talk about treatment of elders.
Students from Brindavan Vidyalaya joined their counterparts in Bal Bharathi Public School, Pitampura, New Delhi, in narrating instances from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, and sayings by Thiruvalluvar and Avvaiyar.
Rama’s exile in obedience to Dasaratha, Shravan Kumar’s devotion to his aged parents who were carried in two baskets slung over his shoulder, Parasurama who beheaded his mother’s head in compliance with his father’s order and used a boon granted by him to restore her to life, were cited.
Students from across the border quoted the Prophet on the value of respecting elders.
Jhujar wrote:Paki building Railway line from Kaarchi To Kashmir with the help of China .
China to supply Pakistani Railway with latest model Thomasonian Engines
With the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) grappling with the popular perception of its being too pro-American, and with its “secular” moorings more of a baggage than an asset, the federal government plunged right into the thick of it by calling for a national day of protest on September 21, a day officially designated as “Yom-e-Ishq-e-Rasool” (Day of Love for the Prophet).
The PPP leadership took great pride in claiming that Pakistan was the only Islamic country where the federal government had taken such a strong stance on the film, leading the protests from the front, so to speak. Only, when the day arrived, none in the PPP leadership—or for that matter none of the leaders of any of the political and religious organisations that had called for protests—was to be seen among the crowds that took to the streets, leaving the field wide open to all and sundry to do as they pleased.
The federal government’s declaration of a day of protest appeared to many—not just among the mob but those who had greeted the decision with well-founded and later vindicated premonitions of what it would lead to—as a licence to go on the rampage. Sure enough, the mobs did not disappoint. A taste of what was in store was provided in the fortified capital itself within 24 hours of the Cabinet’s decision when school students converged near the Diplomatic Enclave a day ahead of the designated day of protests.
As it was being tear-gassed and lathi-charged, the mob kept swelling, with people pouring into the capital from the neighbouring districts of Rawalpindi and Murree. How they managed to enter Islamabad in buses remains a mystery since all entry points to the city are usually heavily barricaded. For four hours, they held the area hostage, and it was only when the federal government called in the Army to protect the Diplomatic Enclave that the mob dispersed.
This was to be only a trailer, with the national day of protest turning into a day of loot and arson. As many as eight cinema halls were torched across the country—five in Karachi alone—and several banks and petrol pumps looted. According to the veteran journalist Najam Sethi, 70 per cent of the mob was made up of supporters of religious organisations and children from various madrassas while 30 per cent comprised miscreants. In the name of religion, a myriad of frustrations were let loose, and because it was a matter of faith, the state remained on the back foot.
While protests were reported from all parts of the country including remote Gilgit-Baltistan, the violence centred around the cities that housed U.S. diplomatic missions: Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. The mobs had a specific target to direct their anger at and whatever came their way was destroyed. Twenty-two people were dead in a day.
The most worrisome sights were that of small boys, as young as 10 or maybe even younger, indulging in mindless violence. A particularly nerve-chilling photograph doing the rounds was of a young boy, with a schoolbag slung over his back, breaking the windscreen of a car inside which an entire family was sitting.
In an increasingly connected world, the wired-in religious right-wingers are quick to pick up and magnify what they see as different yardsticks being used in the West to slights on different religions. Be it the French government’s decision to ban protests against a magazine (more burning, looting and murder in the name of a peaceful religion) that had lampooned the Prophet, a court allowing anti-jehad (anything wrong?) advertisements on the New York subway, or the Advertising Standards Authority of the United Kingdom disallowing an ice cream advertisement showing a pregnant nun (that was perhaps because the clergy prefers boys), all of them fit snugly into the persecution complex that is being drummed up by the jehadi outfits, providing them the fodder to survive and grow while sucking up whatever little space there is for reason.
it is merely 'confusion' so nothing to condemn, or even criticise..is that the term they use for much milder statements by Thackeray or others?..... And, Bilour, who lost his cinema hall to vandalism on that fateful Friday, also condemned the burning down of a church in Mardan by a mob as part of the protests (more attempts to whitewash this barbaric animal that should have been sacked from the cabinet rightaway in any civilised nation of humans)In fact, the confusion among politicians was best exemplified by Railway Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour announcing a $100,000 bounty for anyone who killed the film-maker and enlisting the Taliban’s support in this endeavour
Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Barrister Masood Kousar warned the PTI about peace-rally, saying that Imran Khan lives in dreams.
He said no authority in Waziristan was ready to take the responsibility for the security of rally, adding that the former cricketer must realize that it is an unwise step on his part, the governor added.
It is vital to mention here that the PTI had announced to take out a rally to South Waziristan against the US drone attacks along with thousands of people, including international civil society activists.
However, the local as well as provincial administration opposed the idea, citing security threats.
Additional Chief Secretary of the Federally Administered Tribal Area Tafsheen Khan said that the PTI’s peace-march could result in serious consequences from a security standpoint.
Which is DH?In another article (was it DH?)
But I do. Every time I see the prices creep up at the gas stations, I do. I do turn east and pray. I pray that a vast sand storm with zero visibility engulfs the KSA and that region and stays there for a year. I pray that a hole develops in the bottom of their oil tub and their entire petroleum deposits get drained out with a giant sucking sound. I pray that the camels in middle east develop a communicable disease. I pray that the despotic kingdoms in the middle east have a free for all within their societies, once and for all while we sell tickets (and beer) to that event. I pray.....JE Menon wrote:He also wants all Americans to turn five times towards Mecca daily and pray.....
Did you post this?JE Menon wrote:He also wants all Americans to turn five times towards Mecca daily and pray, but didn't include that it in the article because that would have been too much to ask
Yep, good demands. Add one more. All Americans must turn to Mecca and stick their butts into the sky five times a day. There you go, your demands will be consdered.
Deccan Herald...Saeed Naqvi writes in a opinion piece with the title "Cure for Muslim anger lies in the US" - writes thatsaip wrote:Which is DH?In another article (was it DH?)
Look at how cleverly he manufactures injury and therefore uses that to justify violence and murder - ironically most often targeted at their own fellow ummah brethren.."Muslims, smarting under unbroken litany of defeats and humiliation at least since 1492 when the last muslim ruler departed from Andalusia are in no state of mind to balance their response"
He might only count up to 20.5Cosmo_R wrote:Re 'Col Hanif' ^^^: I am reminded of Joan Rivers' immortal zinger—"To count to 21, he needs to take his pants off." I also get the distinct impression that PO is starved for content but the unpaid scribes they attract are not in the league of the HuffPo
See the pic, you can see PR cannot exactly sue those Engines.Pratyush wrote:Jhujar wrote:Paki building Railway line from Kaarchi To Kashmir with the help of China .
China to supply Pakistani Railway with latest model Thomasonian Engines
If the panda is supplying rail locomotives to the TSP Railways. They why do the bakies want injuns from yindoostan.
This is lost on Hanif: he will think it's referencing surnames--see Khalid Butt Resident Editor on the same page.
