The Lost Pakistani Dream

Dubai - The New Pakistani Capitol

2008-07-17T22:40:00.003-04:00

Is it official? If not? When? At least all the Pakistani State decsissions and business is run from Dubai by King Shah Zardari. It does have major Pakistani TV channels. Lets merge Dubai into Pakistan and call it West Pakistan as it lies West of Pakistan(i.e East Pakistan).

A plethora of black days

2008-07-12T10:31:00.001-04:00

Dawn July 12, 2008 Saturday Rajab 8, 1429

In an insipid decision to ‘mourn’ the date of Zia-ul-Haq’s martial law, the PPP spent much time and energy to ‘commemorate’ the said event. It is termed as a ‘black day’. But then, there are so many other ‘black days’ that have fallen on the people of Pakistan, it would take nearly 100 days or more each year to commemorate those black days as well.

Was it not a black day when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated? Or further back when Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated? Or when Ayub Khan imposed martial law? Or when each terrorist exploded himself to kill, maim and wound hundreds of Pakistanis? Was it not a black day when riots erupted in Karachi which brought the hub of the economic activity of Pakistan to a standstill last year?

It is not wise to live in the ‘blackness’ of the past. Even in South Africa, there was a Truth and Reconciliation Committee to absorb all ‘black days’ and that nation has the grit and determination to forgive, forget and re-unite. That in is how ‘black days’ are tied up, locked and drowned in an ocean forever.

Let’s now look towards ‘bright days’, ‘sunny days’, etc. Let’s all resolve to bring out the best in us, not remember the worst that was done to this nation by dictators and despots.

DAWOOD SHAKIL
Rawalpindi

BBC Urdu Service, A Taliban Propaganda Network

2008-07-11T22:54:00.003-04:00

Its amzing,organization like BBC can find and interview culprits like Mangal Bagh,Baitullah Mehsud, Hazrat Umar etc. and propagates thier filthy taliban propanganda on the BBC airwaves (Urdu services) than why the British and American authorities are unable to find these criminals? This conculdes that BBC Urdu is partlyt involved and partly shares the blame of terrorism in Pakistan and hence BBC is one of the terrorist network and extention of Taliban in Pakistan.
Perhaps CIA should get thier hand on the BBC Urdu network correspondents who knows the terrorists hideouts or else how the BBC Urdu can interview and propagate the terrorist agenda of talibans.

Let the Lal Masjid Terrorist burn in Hell. Now and for ever

2008-07-08T22:56:00.004-04:00

In Pakistan Shahadat(martyrdom) is cheap. Dog bites and you are shaheed.
The New reprted
Shuhada-e-Lal Masjid conference for women today
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
The Lal Masjid terrorists died "Haram Moot". Let them Burn in Hell. Now and for Ever.

Karachi - The Dangerous City

2008-07-08T22:42:00.003-04:00

At partition, most of Karachi's 440,000 population of Hindus had left and were replaced by 1.2 million Mohajirs, or Indian migrants. They had followed the dream of Pakistan's founding father, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, to create a nation for Muslims. But the Mohajirs were in for a rude shock. Many of the local Punjabis, Sindhis and Pathans regarded them as unwanted trespassers. They still do, except nowadays the Mohajirs have earned wary respect by carrying out vicious ethnic warfare in Karachi throughout the early 1990s. The Pathans and the Sindhis retaliated but the Mohajirs matched them murder for murder, operating torture cells. Today Karachi is in the grips of the Mohajir godfather, Altaf Hussain, a fugitive in Britain charged with more than 100 counts of murder, sabotage and arson, who continues to rule the city from afar. More...The Times.com/CNN

Update on Zardari and the fired judges

2008-04-29T19:37:00.002-04:00

Comment: Let's wait and see when The Sharif Zardari Bhutto Falls.

Dubai talks inconclusive, one day to go before deadline
The News Tuesday, April 29, 2008
DUBAI: There is only one day to go before the deadline announced for restoration of judiciary while the talks between the two main parties going on in Dubai for two days have proved inconclusive.
On the other hand, Nawaz Sharif has left for Dubai to meet with Asif Ali Zardari.
Pakistan Muslim League-N Chief is of the view that some forces do not wish to see the democracy flourishing in the country.
The ongoing talks between Pakistan People’s Party and PML-N have failed so far and the PML-N delegation is now heading back to Pakistan.
PML-N leaders have made it clear to Asif Ali Zardari that they could announce to quit the government after tomorrow night – the deadline for restoration of judiciary, sources said. However, a final decision in this regard will be made by PML-N Chief, Nawaz Sharif in his policy statement.
Earlier, a number of rounds of talks were held between the two parties but they were proved inconclusive.

Pakistani & Indian Military Golden Cooperation in Congo

2008-04-29T19:07:00.003-04:00

Congo spotlight on India and Pakistan
By Martin Plaut
BBC News
A BBC investigation into United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo has put the spotlight on Indian troops for the first time, and revived questions about Pakistani troops there. More: BBC

KINSHASA: Peacekeepers from Pakistan and India smuggled gold. India, Pakistan deny allegations More: Daily Times

India peacekeepers swap guns for gold in Congo. More:IndiaInfo.Com

India bans Pakistani TV channels in Held Kashmir

2008-04-24T22:38:00.002-04:00

The news Friday, April 25, 2008
OCCUPIED SRINAGAR: Local authorities in the Indian-occupied Kashmir have ordered most Pakistani cable stations off the air in the territory, cable operators said on Thursday.
The popular Pakistani channels are the only source of entertainment and current news programming in the Indian-occupied Kashmir. The Indian cable operators in Kashmir carried several Pakistani channels, including state-run PTV, for several years. It was not clear why the local officials ordered the cuts now. Read More:The News

Grade report on Urdu Langauge proficiency

2008-04-24T22:23:00.003-04:00

Rupee News
Urdu language and Communication skills of Pakistani Politicians, & Television Networks graded on usage of the National Language.
Great nations take pride in their ethnicity and their national language. Pakistanis also do that. However the convent bred Pakistani elite is unable to communicate with the masses because they do not speak the language of the masses. It is scandalous that girls schools like “Jesus and Mary Convent” and others continue to produce functionally illiterate and operationally alienated Pakistanis who are only useful for the West.
It is abominable that state organs and the media of Pakistan work against the integrity of Pakistan by working in foreign languages and making them look “cool”. They hosts who speak in Enlglish are not cool, they are disgusting, should not be tolerated and should learn Urdu and the local languages.
More: Rupee News

Obama's host in Pakistan

2008-04-23T20:51:00.002-04:00

Soomro was among Obama’s hosts in Pakistan
The News Thursday, April 24, 2008
By Umar Cheema
NEW YORK: Chairman Senate Muhammadmian Soomro may be having a friend in White House if Barak Hussain Obama finally succeeds in his presidential bid.
Hardly a few people know about Soomro's link with Obama, which he never discussed it in public. But in private interactions with influential Pakistanis here in the US, Obama disclosed that Soomro's father was his host when he went on a hunting expedition in Jacobabad during his visit to Pakistan in 1981.
While in Karachi, Obama had stayed at the residence of his college friend, Hassan Chandio. In Jacobabad, he was the guest of Soomro family. Muhammadmian Soomro confirmed this information and said it was his first meeting with Obama.
"Yes, he had been our guest and spent three days in Jacobabad," he told The News. Soomro, presently in the US, his second home, said an American friend had told his father, Ahmadmian Soomro, about Obama's arrival in Pakistan and asked him to look after the American. Soomro's father was the deputy speaker of West Pakistan Assembly and had also later served in the Senate.
Ahmadmian Soomro had also served in banking industry and was considered a pioneer in cooperative banking. By the time Soomro's father had hosted Obama, he was only a college student who went to Pakistan on his way from Indonesia where his mother was working with the Ford Foundation's micro credit finance project. Also Obama's mother was a frequent traveller to Pakistan and according to Time Magazine, she had a little bit proficiency in speaking Urdu.
When Soomro was asked about the person who referred Obama to his father, he said he nowadays lived in some country in South America. He was, however, reluctant to disclose his identity, saying he will have to seek permission from that man before giving his profile.
Although, Obama has not disclosed his link with Soomro, he mentioned it during his canvassing campaign while talking to a Pakistani American, Shahid Ahmad Khan, member of Board of Trustees Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.More:
The News

The Story of Barack Obama's MotherTime

Sherry Rehman Dangerous curves and the Prime Minister has to get through.

2008-04-21T21:56:00.008-04:00

More:You Tube

Did Pakistani PM Gillani grope Sherry Rehman? More:Rupee News

Special Verdict and Arrangement for Zardari

2008-04-20T15:58:00.003-04:00

Verdict on graduates
The News Sunday, April 20, 2008
A seven-judge Supreme Court bench is expected to give a verdict within days on whether the controversial clause laying down the possession of a graduation degree as a condition for legislators should be retained. The provision was put in place through an executive order which in 2002 was inserted into the Representation of People Act of 1976. Under this addition, any person must hold at least a degree of graduation or an equivalent qualification to be a member of the legislature. The question of whether 'sanads' issued by madressahs constitute an equivalent qualification is still pending before the court.

In the current situation, the verdict in the case will also decide several other key issues. Foremost among them is the matter of whether Asif Ali Zardari can contest an NA seat. A decision that keeps the graduation clause in place, either indefinitely or for the current assembly term, would act to, in all likelihood, keep Zardari out of the assembly. While the PPP co-chairperson has consistently stated he has no desire to become PM, speculation continues that he may eventually choose to move into the key decision-making slot himself. More: The News

Fatima Bhutto's Story - Who killed Who!

2008-04-19T22:24:00.002-04:00

Is Fatima Bhutto sealing deal to sell Bhutto story?
19 Apr, 2008, 1551 hrs IST, PTI
ISLAMABAD: Slain former Pakistani premier Benazir's Bhutto's fiery niece Fatima Bhutto may be sealing a deal shortly to sell a memoir of the Bhutto dynasty.
The 25-year-old Fatima, who already has two books to her credit, has reportedly sent a 12-page proposal for the as-yet-untitled family memoir of Pakistan's best known political dynasty to top British literary agent David Godwin.
Fatima and her stepmother Ghinwa have often hinted that they believe Benazir or her widower Asif Ali Zardari had a hand in the killing of her father Murtaza.
Godwin said Fatima "believes Benazir was the cause of the death of her father and part of the book will be an investigation into whether that was the case".
Though Benazir made several warm references in her autobiography "Daughter of the East" to her niece, Fatima believes her aunt tried to split the Bhutto family apart. More: Economic Times

Inglish & India - Pakistan is just following our Indian Cousins

2008-04-19T21:39:00.006-04:00

Chasing success and status, Indians learning English
Washington Post / April 13, 2008
India has a reputation as a nation of fluent English speakers, but by many estimates, only 5 percent of the population merits that description. Now, a five-year-long economic boom has triggered a rush to bring the reality into line with the lore. Once the preserve of big-city elites, English is spreading to the hinterlands.
"You are judged differently as soon as you speak English in India. My students' inability to speak in English dwarfs their self-confidence," said Uma Shanker, who runs the academy. "Everybody has a dream now in India, and English is central to that dream."
Some Indians call this an embarrassing hangover from 200 years of British rule. Some say that whatever its origin, India's strength in the language is a trump card in a globalizing world.
Others argue that it is all going too far. The popular Indian news magazine Outlook ran a cover story last month decrying the "English speaking curse. More:Boston Globe

English Speaking Curse
English is a source of anxiety, even despair, for its have-nots
Anjali Puri
The buzz around "fixing" India's English is growing louder and louder....
Read More:Outlook India

Doodh Ka Doodh, Pani ka Pani

2008-04-15T23:06:00.004-04:00

Indeed Great Great Idea. What NA Should do is alongside The UN investigation of Benezer Bhutto. United Nations Investigation of alleged charges of corruption against Zulfiqar Bhutto, Benezer Bhutto, Asif Zardari, Sharif Brothers and other high ranking politicans including Gilani himself.
This is the only way to get a clean slate for every alleged charges of corruption and restore full faith in democracy and come clean.
In Urdu its called Doodh Ka Doodh, Pani ka Pani.

Dawn April 15, 2008 Tuesday Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1429
NA calls for UN probe into BB’s assassination
By Raja Asghar
ISLAMABAD, April 14: The National Assembly asked the government on Monday to approach the United Nations to get former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assination investigated by an international commission, on the pattern of a probe into the 2005 killing of former prime minister of Lebanon Rafiq Hariri. More:Dawn

Punjabi Policeman to Rule Karachi one more time.

2008-04-14T19:05:00.005-04:00

IG Sindh comes from Punjab to rule Sindh, What does he cares about the well being of Sindh or Karachi? Like most of the Karachi's Police Force is "imported" from Punjab. So what do they care about Karachi? We do not see any Non_Punjabi Police in Punjab or not many non Pakhtoon in Peshawar. "Jul Karachi tay Mujh Kamayeen"

Its payback time - Who but Siegel to seal the deal.

2008-04-13T20:54:00.004-04:00

Govt hiring Siegel as lobbyist in Washington
The News Monday, April 14, 2008
By Qudssia Akhlaque
ISLAMABAD: The PPP-led government is keen on hiring the services of American lobbyist and Democratic consultant Mark A Siegel, a longtime friend and adviser to Pakistan's twice-elected Prime Minister late Benazir Bhutto.
A key aide of PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari recently conveyed this desire to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is likely to move a summary to the PM Secretariat to initiate the process, The News has learnt through knowledgeable sources. More:The News

What are the benefits of commonwealth

2008-04-13T19:14:00.003-04:00

Dawn
April 13, 2008 Sunday Rabi-us-Sani 6, 1429
C’wealth likely to readmit Pakistan, says Maleeha
ISLAMABAD, April 12: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Dr Maleeha Lodhi said on Saturday that the Commonwealth was working out modalities for the restoration of Pakistan’s membership in the organisation.
More:Dawn
Comment: What are the benefits of commonwealth? Other than Rule Britania.

Fickle Pakistani liberals

2008-04-12T09:46:00.001-04:00

The News
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
By Ahmed Quraishi
Welcome to the fickle politics of Pakistani liberals. At any given time, less than thirty liberal political 'experts' are found rotating on fifty or so Pakistani television networks regaling us with their twisted logic. Last week, all of them suddenly re-discovered our late prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The PPP has every right – and a moral obligation – to make a show out of the 29th death anniversary of its founder. But the way our fickle liberals gushed out emotions in unison, almost on every television screen, begged a question: Where were they earlier? Does this mark the onset of the 'herd mindset' in Pakistani media?

Raising an ethical question in Pakistani politics is a contradiction in terms. But last week I dared offer one: If you have campaigned hard to boycott the election of a parliament, is it ethical for you to join this parliament after it has been elected despite all your efforts? I was referring to Mr Aitzaz Ahsan's decision to try to get inside our new parliament through the backdoor, a by-election, if PPP grants him a ticket. Suddenly, I was inundated with lectures on how it's legal and there is nothing wrong with it. But if you are a fair-minded person, you can still smell a rat in there. It is far more convincing – and ethical – to stick to your principles and stay out of this assembly. President Musharraf, after all, is still around. Mr Ahsan wanted everyone to boycott a parliament elected under this president. Why jump the ship of the lawyers' movement now?

And what does Mr Ahsan do when he does not get a good response from his party? He goes to Quetta with his client, the former chief justice, and sends indirect warnings to his own party's new federal government that he is a dangerous man if ignored. How come you didn't hear most of the thirty or so liberal political analysts on our television screens put the story this way? It's because hard blows are reserved for the likes of Arbab Ghulam Rahim. One more sign that in Pakistani politics, revenge trumps civility, any time.

Pakistani liberals fume when you talk about how Pakistan needs to evolve its own version of democracy and that we are not suited to the British democracy no matter how admirable it is. If not checked in our hands, British democracy has the potential of exploding in our faces. The deliberate mistreatment given to Sindh's former chief minister, Arbab Ghulam Rahim, shows that revenge remains an integral part of our politics. Our political discussions are devoid of any tolerance for opposing opinions and respect for those who hold them. You might excuse our tribal and feudal politicians for this culture but a disturbing fact is that this culture has slipped into Pakistan's middle classes, the supposed engine of future political change in our homeland.

While we are busy in these sideshows, real games are being played out elsewhere. Some of our liberals sprang out to defend a foreign terrorist, Sarabjit Singh, convicted of killing innocent Pakistanis. But none of them paused when an Indian supreme court judge took notice over the weekend of the fact that his country has jailed scores of Pakistanis without trial, some for more than ten years. The only reason New Delhi is beginning to take this issue seriously is because of our firm stand on the death sentence for the Indian terrorist, convicted after a fair due process.

Another area where we need to show some toughness is Afghanistan. Make no mistake, our American friends are making all the necessary preparations to invade our western regions. Washington has brought unprecedented pressure on the Europeans to beef up NATO contingents in areas close to our border.

We need to make our American friends understand that Washington cannot win in Afghanistan if Islamabad does not win too. The post-9/11 deal has to be a win-win for both of us. And it is not. Stating this specific reciprocity is far better than a blanket opposition to America's war on terror. Let's create consensus on this issue. This is a far more urgent matter than the nonissue of the deposed judges.

The writer works for Geo English. Email: aq@ahmedquraishi.com

Lawyers in The Boston Blobe

2008-04-10T19:26:00.002-04:00

Lawyers' rumble leads to rioting in Pakistan
Shootings, fire kill 7 in Karachi after protest
Rival political groups clashed yesterday in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, creating a trail of destruction, police said. Armed gangs set several cars and a building on fire. By Ashraf Khan
Associated Press / April 10, 2008
KARACHI, Pakistan - A street fight between political rivals spiraled into rioting in Pakistan's biggest city yesterday, with armed men smashing cars and setting fires. Five people burned to death in one building and two were shot and killed.
The trouble started when pro- and anti-government attorneys punched and beat each other with sticks near the main courts complex in Karachi. Soon after, armed men began shooting at and torching cars, witnesses said.
A building was set ablaze, and five charred bodies were found on the sixth floor, said police officer Syed Sulaiman. Two other people died of gunshot wounds, including a paramedic whose ambulance came under fire while trying to reach the injured. More: Boston Globe

Lawyes took Law into their hand

2008-04-10T07:15:00.002-04:00

Daily Times Thursday, April 10, 2008
Lawyers clash, riots kill 9 in Karachi
* 40 vehicles torched
* Seven bodies found in building housing lawyers’ offices
* Sindh CM pledges inquiry into incident
By Faraz Khan
KARACHI: At least nine people were killed and several others wounded in riots on Wednesday, after a clash between two groups of lawyers spread outwards from the City Courts building.
Daily Times

The PPP Democrazy at its best. "Khun ka Badla Khun"

2008-04-08T21:25:00.005-04:00

Following was reported by the News.
Angry mob thrashes Sher Afgan
Charged lawyers besiege ex-minister near Lahore High Court as rescue attempt by Aitzaz fails
By Wajih Ahmad Sheikh
LAHORE: In a horrific incident, one day after the manhandling of Arbab Ghulam Rahim, another right-hand man of President Pervez Musharraf was beaten up outside the Lahore High Court by a charged crowd of lawyers on Tuesday evening. More:
The News
Pro-Afgan protesters torch Mianwali bar.
LAHORE: Around 30 to 40 miscreants attacked the district bar offices of Mianwali, and torched it completely in protest against thrashing of Dr Sher Afgan Niazi.
More: The News
Lawyers pummel Sher Afgan
LAHORE: People watched as lawyers used kicks and punches and tore clothes of former law minister Sher Afghan in presence of representatives of the bars, with police trying to give him a safe passage from the office of a bar where he had gone for so .... Business Recorder

Revenge PPP Style or Jutee Mar Democracy.

2008-04-07T23:09:00.006-04:00

Comment: Ibte dae Ishq hay roota hay kia. aage aage deehkye hoota hay kia.

The Nation Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Arbab Rahim given shoe-lashing
Zamir Sheikh
KARACHI - PML-Q leader and former Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim was hit on the face with a shoe by a PPP supporter when he was leaving the provincial assembly.
More: The Nation

It was preplanned, says Arbab Rahim
KARACHI (NNI) - Former Chief Minister Sindh Arbab Ghulam Rahim has said that he was tortured and abused within the Sindh Assembly premises and outside when he came to take oath as member Sindh assembly.
He said this ugly incident proved that small opposition cannot enter the assembly without torture risk. More: The Nation

The News Tuesday, April 08, 2008, Rabi-ul-Awal 30, 1429 A.H
Arbab manhandled in Sindh Assembly
MQM boycotts session indefinitely, withdraws support to CM; PPP sees incident as conspiracy against system
By Tahir Hasan Khan
KARACHI: A rumpus marred the proceedings of the Sindh Assembly during the swearing in of the speaker and the deputy speaker when emotionally charged People's Party activists thronging the galleries raised slogans when former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim made an appearance to take oath as MPA.
More:The News

Zardari's action

2008-04-06T23:48:00.003-04:00

The News
Zardari offers governorship to Iftikhar Chaudhry
LAHORE: Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), has offered the position of Balochistan governor to Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the sacked chief justice of Pakistan, Aaj television channel reported on Thursday. The channel said Zardari made the offer through Iftikhar’s counsels Aitzaz Ahsan, Athar Minallah, and Munir A Malik. daily times monitor
The News

Judges ditched by Zardari too!
Web posted at: 4/6/2008 1:8:12
Source ::: internews
ISLAMABAD • Pakistan Peoples Party Co-Chairman Asif Zardari has shocked Pakistanis by issuing a long ‘charge-sheet’ against 60 popular judges controversially sacked by President General (retired) Pervez Musharraf and for whose restoration he has signed a pact with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, alleging they never came to his rescue and were responsible for his eight years in jail
More The Peninsula Doha Qatar

Zardari Stuns - Disturbing signs

2008-04-06T01:41:00.004-04:00

PPP co-chairman stuns allies
Saturday April 05, 2008 (1201 PST)
More:Pak Tribune

Zardari issues ‘charge-sheet’
Snubs Aitzaz; says he is not interested in restoration of personalities
By Ansar Abbasi
The News Sunday, April 06, 2008, Rabi-ul-Awal 28, 1429 A.H.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has issued a long charge-sheet against the deposed superior court judges, saying they never came to his rescue and were responsible for his eight years in jail.
In the clearest indication that the PPP may not stand by the Murree Declaration to restore the judges, the PPP leader told his central executive committee in Naudero that he was not interested in the restoration of personalities but wanted a judicial reforms package.
More:The News

Disturbing signs
Saturday, April 05, 2008
The issue of restoration of the deposed judges is already causing cracks and friction not only in the grand political coalition but within the ranks of the PPP as well. Barrister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan has even gone on record to unfold what he calls a constitutional package, born and bred in the presidency, to selectively screen out the judges not liked by the presidency, foremost among them Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. Under the attractive garb of providing sovereignty to parliament, Aitzaz says, all judges would be dismissed and then re-appointed after scrutiny by a parliamentary committee where the pro-presidency elements would rake up dirt against the unwanted judges and eliminate them. On Thursday this warning by Aitzaz was almost confirmed by PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari at the PPP CEC meeting at Naudero, when he said the restoration of the judges would be linked to the judiciary reforms package, a position different from the Bhurban Accord. There are also reports that Mr Zardari publicly snubbed and rebuked Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan in Naudero on the judges issue, asking him to stop threatening long marches and stop claiming the credit for the restoration of democracy because, according to Mr Zardari, it was Benazir Bhutto's ultimate sacrifice and not the lawyers' movement or judges' sacking which led to the elections and the return to democracy. These signs of bitterness within the PPP are unfortunate, but the main coalition partner of the PPP, the PML-N, is also not going to like the way things are moving and an urgent session of the party was held on Friday to discuss the developments.
More:The News

Graveyard and other cults

2008-04-06T01:26:00.001-04:00

Dawn
By Ardeshir Cowasjee

IT is since 1971, when we lost half of ourselves, that the nation at large, with particular emphasis on those catapulted or ‘freely and fairly’ voted into power, has adopted and thrived upon the habit of visiting of tombs, with ‘figures de circonstance’ (the arrangement of faces to wear suitable but fictitious expressions of grief).
From 1948 when he died, Mohammad Ali Jinnah (never let it be forgotten that he once famously stated that he wished to be known as ‘plain Mr Jinnah’) lay deeply buried in a simple grave over which was placed a marble slab (provided by the Sind Patent Tile Factory owned by Jinnah’s friend, Jamshed Nusserwanjee) protected from the skies and the weather by a simple tent. Visitors were few and far between, one reason being that Jinnah himself had not been known to be prone to take himself off to linger at various grave-sides — at least there are no known photographs of him doing so.
The tent stood until 1960 when construction started on the marble tomb that now marks his place of burial. The rather squat structure was completed in 1971, and it was during the era of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto that guards were posted and it became the habit and hobby of every politically connected Tom, Dick and Harriet, with their suitable figures de circonstance, to slow-march up the marble stairs for a photo opportunity (suitably surrounded by uniforms and sycophants), hands raised, eyes lowered, at the iron railings that surround the empty catafalque on the upper floor of the mausoleum — Jinnah himself lies way down, in the bosom of the earth.
It has become one of those obligatory duties, rather like proceeding on Umra at the nation’s expense, that when people are appointed to political positions they must travel to Karachi expressly to be seen at the Mazar, a place in their previous apolitical lives they had never thought to visit.
This cult of tomb-side photo opportunities is growing by the day — not a healthy phenomenon. On Saturday, in the national press were three photographs taken of the Asif Zardari-appointed prime minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani. One depicted him in traditional pose at the Mazar of Mr Jinnah, one likewise before the grave of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and the third offering fateha at the grave of Benazir Bhutto.
These three visits had taken place on one day — April 4, the 29th death anniversary of ZAB, a day that was declared a school holiday in the province of Sindh, a first-time happenstance that had never before occurred, not even during the two governments of Benazir herself.
The cult of grave-visiting is becoming graver by the day. The press yesterday, apart from the prime minister, showed numerous shots of our various luminaries at Garhi Khuda Baksh. And three days prior to this, on April 1, Asif Zardari, in a fit of forgiveness, took himself off to the Azizabad graveyard, here in Karachi, to pay homage at the gravesides of Altaf Hussain’s brother and nephew (had he ever met them?) who were murdered in Karachi during Benazir’s second premiership.
This Zardari make-up with the MQM and Altaf Bhai is not pleasing Mian Nawaz Sharif of Lahore and he has expressed his displeasure.
However, it must be said that we who live in Sindh, and in Karachi in particular, welcome the accord between the provincial ruling PPP and the party of the Pir of London merely because it denotes that, if it holds, there will hopefully not be any unusual violent upheavals in our lives. Things tend to get tricky when the MQM is isolated — we are understandably apprehensive.
The Mian is also unhappy — and he shows it, looking exceedingly grim in his photographs — over the matter of the reinstatement of the dismissed judges. Widower Asif Zardari is in a bind — firstly and foremost he is bound to honour the agreement made between the powers in the USA, President General Pervez Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto in which her future line of action had been laid out for her, and the same with Musharraf. The question of the judiciary and the survival of Musharraf to which it is linked is very much within the purview of the current US ‘great game’.
There can be no doubt that the minority literate and fairly well economically endowed of the nation who can afford the luxury of dwelling upon such matters is all for an independent judiciary. Mian Nawaz Sharif’s new-found passion for the independence of the judiciary has all to do with his equally passionate desire to rid himself of Musharraf.
Zardari has to say he is all for an independent judiciary and that is the democratic and right thing to say (whether one thinks so or not). But realistically, can the leaders of this country — be they civilian or military — ever afford a truly independent judiciary? The answer has to be no, as they all carry far too much baggage.
Asif, to give him his due, is open and upfront about the matter, as can be gauged from reports in the national press of a one-sided conversation held at Naudero (on the grave-visiting occasion) between himself and Aitzaz Ahsan on the matter of the judiciary. Asif made it quite clear to Aitzaz that it was not the legal fraternity and their histrionics that had removed Musharraf’s uniform and given the country free and fair elections — it was Benazir Bhutto and what she achieved whilst alive and by her death.
He was also very clear in pointing out to the besieged barrister that none of the now heroic judges had ever given him the time of the day when he was imprisoned on what he terms cooked-up charges and that they had even refused him one day’s reprieve to attend the funeral of a relative.
He also had a go at the deposed chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who he accused, with some justification it must be said, of having politicised himself and rendered himself unfit for the high office to which he again aspires. Reportedly he also questioned the integrity and independence of some of our other honourable former judges.
As for Musharraf, Asif is right when he says he has delivered — he has, down to the last drop, which for Asif is the National Reconciliation Ordinance. Now, even the hard-cast case in the Swiss courts involving the Cotecna and SGS kickbacks and money laundering is being killed off thanks to the NRO (though with a PPP government in power Pakistan could in any case have withdrawn itself). The NRO is in itself iniquitous, it is unconstitutional, unlawful and immoral as it involves not the money of individuals but of the people of Pakistan.
What we must remember, and what the beneficiaries of the NRO in their shamelessness will not remember, are the words of Dominique Henchoz, the Government of Pakistan’s lawyer in the Swiss case. Whilst confirming to the press that Pakistan had withdrawn itself as a civil party to the case, she remarked: “Just because there has been an amnesty for the good of the country does not mean that no crime was committed.”

arfc@cyber.net,pk

Geo Maze se, Dubai men. Baqi Sab ko Marne Do

2008-04-04T23:41:00.004-04:00

Dubai based "Beacon of free Press, Geo Tv" Never reported the following or similar attrocities in the Persian Gulf States of UAE. But Dawn did. Shame on GEO. or its Geo Maze se Dubai me Baqi Sab ko Marne DO.

Asian workers grilled over Sharjah unrest
Dawn April 04, 2008 Friday Rabi-ul-Awwal 26, 1429
DUBAI, April 3: Authorities questioned dozens of Asian labourers after hundreds of workers clashed with police during a protest against their living conditions in the emirate of Sharjah, media reported on Thursday.
Police “brought calm” to the al-Nahda district of Sharjah where the workers’ protest took place on Wednesday night at the site of a number of residential towers under construction, the state news agency WAM reported.
It said the workers, from the Tiger Contracting Company, climbed one of the unfinished buildings and threw stones, bricks and other construction equipment at police.
The head of Sharjah police, Brig Gen Humaid Mohammed al-Hudaidi, called the incident “an act of rioting” that had “nothing to do with labour disputes,” WAM reported.
The English language newspaper Khaleej Times reported 600 workers were arrested, but WAM did not mention arrests.
A witness, living next to the site of the protest, said the workers were angry because they were forced to live on the construction site where they worked. The witness said he saw the workers climbing the structure and shouting.
Strikes are illegal and unions are banned in the UAE. Protesting labourers complain of poor salaries that are diminishing in value because of the falling US dollar. The Emirates’ currency – the dirham – is pegged to the dollar.
WAM said police were alerted to Wednesday’s unrest by an anonymous motorist who said “a group of people” had blocked a road between Dubai and Sharjah.
After “verifying the information through the observation cameras which were activated at the site, Sharjah police found the rioters were Indians, Bengalis, Afghans and Pakistanis working for the company,” WAM said.
The Khaleej Times said on Thursday the workers felt the building site was not an appropriate accommodation. It said about 800 workers were involved in “destruction of property, blocking traffic and posing security threat to drivers” and that police had arrested more than 600 workers.
It also said the workers had to live in the two building sites as a temporary measure due to maintenance work in the camps they normally live in.
WAM said Sharjah authorities started questioning workers who were “involved in the riot” to find out the reasons behind “the subversive act.”
“The UAE security forces will never allow any individual or group to jeopardise the country’s stability and security and whoever attempts to do so and violate the law will be strictly dealt with,” Al-Hudaidi said.—AP

Is PPP trying to protect Musharraf?

2008-04-04T07:20:00.002-04:00

The News Friday, April 04, 2008, Rabi-ul-Awal 26, 1429 A.H.
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: A PPP minister has been going around meeting some of the deposed judges in Islamabad’s Judges Enclave to seek assurances that once restored they would not re-open cases against President Musharraf, it is learnt.
More:The News

Qabailistan, Seraikistan and Pakhtunkhwah

2008-04-03T20:59:00.001-04:00

The Frontier Post Tuesday, April 1, 2008, Rabi ul Awwal 23, 1429 A.H.
Dr Naeem Chishti
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced at the floor of the National Assembly on March 29, after taking a unanimous vote of confidence, that the Concurrent Legislative List will be abolished from the Constitution within a year. This is indeed a very courageous statement and is a right step in the right direction. Our final objective indeed is an invincible Pakistan which is strong both internally as well as externally. Although military might is essential for a strong state but the real strength comes from the people and not weapons. Conversely, a state can still be strong without its artillery, armour and weaponry but it cannot stay long if its people are disunited and dissatisfied with their political system. This is all the more true in case of federal states. It is for this reason that democracy is regarded as the most suitable form of government for federal states. Federalism aims at devolving powers between federating units in such a manner that only the bare minimum powers are retained by the centre while the rest of the powers are allocated to the provinces. It is in accordance with this spirit of federalism that the 1973 Constitution divided the legislative lists into two categories. While the legislation on the subjects contained in the Federal Legislative List could be made by the Parliament, the legislation on the subjects not contained in any Legislative List was the prerogative of the Provincial Assemblies only. As far as the Concurrent Legislative List is concerned, both the Parliament and the Provincial Assemblies could legislate on any of the subjects contained in it. However, in case of clash between two laws, the bill passed by the Parliament would take precedence. The Concurrent List contains as many as forty-seven subjects. All these subjects are essential to be allocated to the provinces to give them autonomy. After the abolition of the Concurrent List, the Provincial Assemblies will be able to make or amend the civil, criminal and industrial laws and procedures in their provinces without any interference from the federal government. Furthermore, they will also be able to legislate exclusively on subjects such as education, electricity, press and publications, and legal medical and other professions. Abolition of the Concurrent List would mean that the federal government’s powers will be restricted only to the subjects contained in the Federal Legislative List while all other subjects will be governed by the provincial governments. Although Federal Legislative List is quite comprehensive but the abolition of the Concurrent Legislative List will not be a bad beginning. The underlying idea of the abolition of the Concurrent List is to give more autonomy to the provinces so that they can focus on their development. At the same time, the federal government will also be able to give more time to fundamental issues like defence, foreign affairs and fiscal management. However, abolition of Concurrent List alone will not solve the fundamental problems of the people. If we look at our political system, we will see that the pattern of development in our country has always been vertical and not horizontal. What it means is that there are certain areas in different parts of Pakistan which have traditionally been more developed at the cost of other areas. Therefore, while we can see some very developed regions in a province we can also see other regions too which are in complete contrast and do not appear to be a part of the same province. At least two examples can be quoted in this regard. The first example is that of the tribal areas of the NWFP while the other one is that of the Seraiki belt of the Punjab. If we travel either from Peshawar to FATA or from Lahore to the Seraiki belt, it would look as if we have come into another province especially as far as their political, economic and social development or backwardness is concerned. These areas inter alia need to be recognised as separate provinces. In old times, a province used to be a territory with a distinct culture. However, the concept of a province has undergone change in modern times. These days, the provinces are created for better administrative management rather than for their distinct cultures or geographic boundaries though those could be taken into consideration among other factors. The creation of new provinces is a regular feature of a federal state. In fact, the more the provinces the stronger the federation will be. It is so because it will offer more efficient administration and will afford a better opportunity to the people to participate in the horizontal development of their provinces. It is for this reason that we can always see truly federal states yearning for more provinces whenever it can reasonably be done. In this regard, we can present the examples of the United States and India. The United States of America at the time of its creation comprised of thirteen states only but today it has fifty-one states. Similarly, our neighbouring country India comprised of eleven provinces only at the time of independence form Britain but today it has as many as twenty-eight provinces. Pakistan has for the most of the time been under military dictatorships. Our military rulers spent their professional lives in very centralised and disciplined or closed environments. Therefore, they always believed in a very strong centre. They failed to realize that running a country was quite different, if not quite opposite, from having the command of a force. Therefore, they always abhorred the idea of creating new provinces. This was just their lack of knowledge and foresight. There is absolutely nothing wrong in creating new provinces in the country. In fact, the catastrophe of East Pakistan would have perhaps been avoided if the experiment of ‘One Unit’ had not been attempted by Governor General Ghulam Muhammad through his ‘Cabinet of Talents’ in which Iskander Mirza and Ayub Khan sat as Interior Minister and Defence Minister, respectively. We must not repeat our past mistakes and must willingly recognise FATA and the Seraiki belt as separate provinces after ascertaining the desires of the people of those areas. As far as the names of the new provinces are concerned, we should give the locals an opportunity to choose the names of their own provinces. For that matter, there is no harm even if the NWFP is renamed as Pakhtoonkhawah. To remove the doubts, let me clarify that I am neither a Qabaili, nor a Pakhtun, nor even a Seraiki. Therefore, my support for Qabailistan, Seraikistan or Pakhtoonkwah is based purely on my objective study and love for Pakistan. It is my candid opinion that Pakistan will be further strengthened by recognising FATA, Seraiki belt and other underdeveloped homogeneous regions as separate provinces. I have already presented the case for a new province comprising of Federally Administered Tribal Areas in my article ‘Qabailistan – Fifth Province of Pakistan’ published in these columns on October 24, 2007. I touched upon this issue again in my analysis titled ‘Repeal of FCR’ published in the Frontier Post on March 31, 2008. Incidentally, our Chief Editor Rehmat Shah Afridi has also supported the idea of a separate province for tribal people in his comments on ‘Abolishment of FCR’ published in the Frontier Post on March 31, 2008. Rehmat Shah Afridi hails from FATA and belongs to the famous Kamberkhel tribe. Therefore, his comments should be treated as a representative voice of the tribal people.

60 Years of Basi Roti & Phate Kapre & The Pakistani Dream

2008-04-03T20:36:00.003-04:00

The News

Pakistani American activist named Woman of the Year

2008-04-03T20:31:00.001-04:00

'Pakistan Times' Political Desk
WASHINGTON (US): A Pakistani American community activist, Moina Shaiq, has been named as Woman of the Year in California by State Senator Ellen Corbett (Democrat-San Leandro)in recognition of her outstanding social welfare work.

“I felt very overwhelmed and humbled on getting this recognition,” Shaiq said. “I feel very honored because my goal is to work toward the common good of the community. I want to build bridges and contribute to our community as much as I can.”
Read More: Pakistan Times

1,000 Nameless graves found in held Kashmir

2008-04-02T22:54:00.004-04:00

The Daily Times
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Nearly 1,000 nameless graves found in Indian-held Kashmir
* Rights group wants graves opened to find ‘disappeared’
* Indian army says group’s report aims to malign security forces
Read More: The Daily Times

BBC
Kashmir police refuse body demand
Police in Indian-administered Kashmir have rejected a demand for the identification of up to 1,000 bodies, said to be buried in unmarked graves.
Read More: BBC

Geo TV
Nearly 1,000 nameless graves found in held Kashmir
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
SRINAGAR: Human rights workers have found the graves of nearly 1,000 unidentified people scattered in cemeteries across held Kashmir, a prominent rights group said saying some may hold the bodies of innocent people killed by government security forces.
Read More: Geo TV

Osama bin Laden and US Elections 2008

2008-04-02T22:26:00.006-04:00

'Osama bin Laden is Planning Something for the US Election'
SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH US AUTHOR STEVE COLL
'Osama bin Laden is Planning Something for the US Election'
Read More://Der Spiegel

Pakistan rejects Afghan minister's statement on nuclear waste

2008-04-02T22:16:00.002-04:00

People's Daily Online
+ - 21:48, April 02, 2008
Pakistan on Wednesday termed as baseless a statement from an Afghan cabinet minister that Pakistan had dumped nuclear waste in southern Afghanistan during Taliban period.
Afghanistan Parliamentary Affairs Minister Farooq Wardag was quoted as saying that Pakistan had buried nuclear waste in Kandahar and Helmand when Taliban were ruling the areas.
"The Afghan minister regarding dumping of nuclear waste by Pakistan in Afghanistan was baseless," Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said at the weekly news briefing here.
He said disposal of nuclear waste was strictly regulated in accordance with the international standards.
"Our nuclear power stations are under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards which not only keeps an oversight on their operations but also on storage of nuclear waste which has to be fully accounted for," Sadiq said.

Source: Xinhua

Russian bid to replace Pakistan as supply route: War in Afghanistan

2008-04-02T20:46:00.001-04:00

Dawn
April 2, 2008

By Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON, April 1: At the Nato summit, which begins in Bucharest on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to offer an alternative route for supplying US and Nato troops in Afghanistan.
The proposal, if accepted, will change the course of the war in Afghanistan and will also have far-reaching consequences for Pakistan as Nato’s 43,000 troops in Afghanistan rely heavily on supplies transported via Pakistan.
Diplomatic sources in Washington told Dawn that Russian and Nato diplomats have already held a series of “productive and successful” talks on a plan that would allow non-military material – such as clothing, food and petrol – to cross Russia by land.
The plan, however, could later be expanded to include ammunition and light weapons as well, the sources said.
Russia’s new ambassador to Nato Dmitri Rogozin played a key role in selling this plan to the members of this US-led alliance, telling them that this will be a reliable alternative route free of violence and political troubles.
While America’s European allies have shown great interest in the proposal, the Americans are still reluctant as they do not want to bring Russia back to a region from where it was forcibly ousted in 1989, after battling Afghan freedom fighters (now Al Qaeda and Taliban militants) for almost 10 years.
Despite Washington’s reluctance, the Nato has held intensive talks with Russian officials on the precise routes to be used and hopes to reach agreement at this week’s summit in Bucharest.
If approved by the summit, the supplies can begin as soon as Nato wants as the Russians already have a functioning route passing through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Under the proposed agreement, Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a military alliance of former Soviet republics, will jointly guarantee an interrupted supply of essential goods to the Nato forces.
Western diplomatic sources in Washington told Dawn that Nato sees the proposed route as a good alternative for supplies going through Pakistan which faces political uncertainty and may not be a reliable route for long.
The Pakistan route, according to these sources, passes through the Taliban-infested tribal zone and has become increasingly dangerous. Last Sunday, militants blew up a convoy of 36 oil tankers meant for US forces in Afghanistan.
Russian diplomats promoting their proposal also have underlined a so-called “crisis of trust” between the United States and Pakistan, where the new government plans to engage militants in a dialogue opposed by Washington.
They also argue that Russia has always had a strong interest in seeing the Nato mission in Afghanistan succeed because Moscow wants to prevent Muslim extremists enter the former Soviet republics.
But there are others in Washington who warn that an attempt to disassociate Pakistan from any plan for Afghanistan may have dangerous consequences.
In an article published on the eve of the Nato summit, Karl F. Inderfurth, a former US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, describes Pakistan as “one country that can make or break (Nato’s) mission” in Afghanistan.
He notes that Nato’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has promised to visit Islamabad as soon as the new Pakistan government is in place.
“After Bucharest there is no better destination to reinforce Nato’s Afghan mission,” says Mr Inderfurth while backing the proposed visit.
Mr Inderfurth urges Nato leaders to work on a “new compact” that addresses Afghanistan and Pakistan’s political, economic and security concerns and seeks to neutralise regional and great power rivalries.
To attain this, he proposed an UN-sponsored, a high-level conference of all Afghanistan’s neighbours and concerned major powers for talks on a multilateral accord that addresses Pakistan’s concerns about developments in Afghanistan.
The proposed accord should recognise Afghanistan’s borders with Pakistan, pledge non-interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, recognise Afghanistan as a permanently neutral state and establish a comprehensive international regime to remove obstacles to the flow of trade across Afghanistan.
Mr Inderfurth also warns that any large-scale outside military intervention in Pakistan’s tribal areas would be disastrous for the Pakistani state and US interests.
Instead, he urges working with Pakistan’s new leadership to integrate the tribal region into the Pakistani political system and provide substantial assistance to build up their economy and social infrastructure.

PPP, MQM forgive each other

2008-04-02T20:41:00.008-04:00

The Nation
April 2, 2008
NISAR MEHDI
KARACHI - Muttahidda Qaumi Movement(MQM) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) announced on Wednesday that both parties have forgiven each other and promised to save Pakistan for the future generation.
This was announced by PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and MQM founder leader Altaf Hussain at a Press briefing at Nine-Zero.
PPP delegation was led by Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari who held talks for over an hour with the MQM delegation.
More....The Nation

PPP, MQM decide to forgive and forget
The News
By Fasahat Mohiuddin
Zardari visits Nine Zero after 20 years; Altaf describes Qaim Ali Shah as ‘Sindh CM’, calls for foiling conspiracies; committee formed to discuss political changes, future line of action. More: The News

Asif, Altaf agree to forgive and forget
Dawn
April 03, 2008 Thursday Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1429
By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque
KARACHI, April 2: Asif Ali Zardari and Altaf Hussain have vowed to initiate a “new journey” for the sake of Pakistan, “pardoning” each other for the bitterness of yesteryear.
“We have forgiven each other and also pardoned our enemies. We will not take our revenge on the people … we will avenge ourselves by changing the system,” said Mr Zardari, the co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, in a speech at the MQM headquarters Nine Zero on Wednesday night. Read More: Dawn

Conspiracy to break country still at work

2008-04-01T22:00:00.002-04:00

Pakistan Observer

PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s first visit to Jati Umra on Sunday has special significance in many respects. It is quite evident that the top leadership of the two major Parties in the new coalition exchanged views on crucial issues regarding formation of the Government in Punjab as well as their strategy to deal with the challenges ahead. However, by saying that the visit was aimed at offering Fateh at the grave of father of Sharif brothers, Mr Zardari has inculcated a goodwill gesture that would bring the two sides still closer.

During their joint news conference, the PPP leader made some of the very significant statements including the intention to change the system. This is what the country needs to overcome the multi-directional crises that confront us today. Genuine reforms in police and judiciary is the surest way to bring about a revolution for the good of the common man who is fast getting alienated because of the discriminatory culture that favours the rich and influential class. However, on this occasion, Mr Zardari thought it appropriate to sound alarm bells by saying that assassination of Benazir Bhutto was a conspiracy to break the country and it is still at work. Such a statement coming from a person of Zardari’s stature, who is head of the ruling Party, is bound to cause anxiety and concern in different circles. We don’t know whether it was just a rhetoric and off-the-cough remark or the PPP leader has substantial evidence with him to say so. But in any way, we believe, Mr Zardari being important part of the system, should adopt cautious attitude in the selection of words while answering ticklish questions. This is because such a perturbing statement has far-reaching implications for the society and the country. It not only undermines confidence of the people in the future of the country but also sends wrong signals to prospective investors. Pakistan is lucky that almost the entire political leadership of the country has joined hands at the Centre and in Provinces and this offers unique opportunity to address all sorts of challenges and thwart nefarious designs of our enemies. The leadership should, therefore, make deliberate attempts to boost confidence of the people, as this will prove to be an asset in overcoming the problems facing the nation.

Of Politics and People

2008-04-01T21:51:00.002-04:00

Pakistan Times
By Hashim Abro
"IN the game of politics, it’s usually the public that loses and politicians do nothing but play politics with the people”.
These words of one of my professors of International Law and Contemporary politics are still on my mind. These words depict a clear picture of the present political scenario in the country where the Co-Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party Mr Asif Ali Zardari is struggling for this sole defined purpose that the public may not become the loser thi#s time too, as in the past, hence he is cobbling up all together but reported rather disinformation launched by the anti-PPP and anti-people lobbies in the media regarding the growing factionalism over the nomination of premiership in the party has demoralized the staunch workers of the party.
The PPP loyalists and disciples expect from the Makhddoom of Hala and others to re-write new history of loyalty and attachment. Positions are not important it is the attachment and loyalty which becomes quotable in the annals of history.
Of course, as the political parties grow old they become unable to take care of the interest of all their party members. Those in the inner circle form cliques and usurp all the privileges, while those at the periphery are pushed into weaker positions.

More....: Pakistam Times

US spy agencies hire Google's services

2008-04-01T21:37:00.001-04:00

The Nation April 2008
Asif Mehmood
LONDON - World's famous search engine Google has been recruited by US intelligence agencies to help them better process and share information they gather about suspects.
Agencies such as the National Security Agency have bought servers on which Google-supplied search technology is used to process information gathered by networks of spies around the world.
More: The Nation

Altaf demands probe into 1992 operation against MQM

2008-04-01T21:16:00.001-04:00

The News
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
By our correspondent
Karachi
All political parties should accept the mandate of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), because it is “the third-largest political party in Pakistan,” MQM founder Altaf Hussain said Tuesday during a telephonic address delivered to traders and industrialists of Karachi.
Hussain also demanded that the prime minister constitute an inquiry commission, comprising judges from the International Court of Justice, to inquire into the June 19, 1992, operation against the MQM, as well as the mayhem of May 12, 2007, and the “loot, plunder and murder” on December 27, 2007.
“The MQM has extended all-out cooperation in the larger interest of the country, but has received only cold shoulders. The party will never compromise its dignity or respect,” Hussain said. “The MQM withdrew its prime ministerial candidate, Dr Farooq Sattar, on the request of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, and also voted for the PPP-nominated prime minister in the national assembly.”
The MQM does not believe in a policy of confrontation, Hussain said, adding, however, that the people who think they can “push us into the sea are living in a fool’s paradise.”
Pakistan is not the property of a few families or feudal lords; it is the “country of 170 million people,” the MQM chief said. He lashed out at Pakistan Muslim League ñ Nawaz (PML-N) chief, Nawaz Sharif, and said that even though he (Sharif) had not accepted the mandate of Karachi in the 2008 general elections, “we accept their mandate wholeheartedly.”
Sharif has, meanwhile, continued to issue provocative statements against the MQM, particularly with reference to May 12, Hussain said.

MQM decides to sit in opposition

2008-03-31T19:05:00.001-04:00

The News

Monday, March 31, 2008
Karachi
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has finally decided to sit in opposition in the Centre as well as in Sindh.
This was stated by MQM MNA Haider Abbas Rizvi while talking to The News from Islamabad on Sunday.
He said: “We are part of the opposition at the federal level and will be part of opposition in Sindh as well.”
When asked as to what direction the dialogue between the MQM and the PPP was heading, he said no further headway has been made after some initial talks and every thing seems to be at standstill.
He said that there have been no serious efforts from the PPP to take the MQM on board vis-a-vis formation of the government.
It may be noted here that the MQM had extended unconditional support to the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in his election to the premier’s slot.
However, PPP’s coalition partners including the PML-N and the ANP have expressed reservations about the inclusion of MQM in the coalition government at the federal level.
When asked if Asif Ali Zardari’s arrival in Karachi on Monday could lead to the possibility of high level talks between the PPP and the MQM, Rizvi said: “We haven’t received any message from the quarters concerned in this regard.” —FM

Zardari is not apologetic

2008-03-31T01:09:00.001-04:00

The New March 31 2008
By Shaheen Sehbai
ISLAMABAD: PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is a very busy man but he is also very lonely at the top. He misses competent, loyal friends and he is not at all apologetic about the recent key government appointments, which have drawn a lot of critical fire from the media and independent analysts.
A quiet session with him, mostly off the record and on critical issues facing his nascent administration, reveals he is in an agitated mindset because he thinks the PPP, and he himself, have taken responsibilities and challenges which are far too enormous than he had ever anticipated.
He defends his appointees, Salman Farooqi, Siraj Shamsuddin, Rehman Malik, Hussain Haqqani, Farooq Naek and some others yet to come, with animated arguments about their sacrifices, loyalties and steadfastness.
About a growing perception that some of his key appointees were pre-approved by the presidency, and there may be a tacit understanding somewhere that they may not deliver, like many hawks in the coalition may wish, Zardari gets aggressive.
Each one of them, he says, faced the wrath of the dictator for years, in exile or in Pakistan, suffered tremendously, stayed the course with Benazir Bhutto, himself and PPP and earned their prized spots after a people's verdict.
"Each appointee will be evaluated according to his performance and we have to take all the coalition partners together. Is is not possible to follow someone else's agenda," he argues When I point out that his own long time attorney who will hold the key position of law minister, has been on record several times that no judge could be restored without a two-third majority in the parliament, Asif says personal opinions of individuals may differ but a minister in the cabinet has to follow cabinet decisions. It seems to be a very fair and logical argument.
"We are not yet out of the spiral of conspiracies and the web of intrigues and in this situation we need trust worthy men in key places. How do we face the continuing onslaughts without our own men," he asks.
But when he is told that public perceptions are of immense importance in this age of a free and super paced media, when word travels round the world in seconds, he insists that the basic task of control over governance is more important than media perceptions.
"I may be wrong or may falter on some decisions but you have to give me the credit that so far most of the major and critical decisions have proved to be right and have produced an overwhelming surge of strength and support for the political parties vis a vis the establishment," he argues. "I cannot be right about everything every time," he admits.
The list of successful strategy and decisions Zardari has in mind is, in fact, long and impressive. It starts with his immediate return to Pakistan after Benazir's death, naming young Bilawal simultaneously as a Bhutto and as Chairman of PPP, keeping the presidential camp and the establishment sufficiently engaged and assured to take them through the critical phases of general elections, keeping the party structure intact without major faults and fractures and keeping the opposition parties engaged and focused on working together.
In specific terms he takes full credit of developing a direct personal relationship with Mian Nawaz Sharif, a relationship full of trust and understanding, bringing on board the other fringe parties like Maulana Fazlur Rehman's JUI or MQM in Sindh, his Bhurban Declaration to form a coalition, his choice of a popular and widely accepted Speaker of the National Assembly and finally his decision to pick Yousuf Raza Gilani as the prime minister.
"So after all these correct moves, if you think some appointments are not as good as they should have been, this is your view and I respect it," he says, adding: "I have to be mindful of a lot of other things while making these appointments."
As we discuss these issues, the news breaks that the house of Justice Ramday had been broken into in the Judges' Enclave and a police standoff is continuing.
"Look," he says, "these are the kinds of missiles we will get from the other side and they are not going to stop. We will have to deal with many such situations."
Likewise, he admits, that since the prime minister is new and is not even fully settled, there may be some initial acts of omission or commission. "But we will correct the course quickly as we go along and as mistakes are pointed out."
In this context he immediately agrees that the announcement made by the prime minister about Pemra laws and returning its control to the Information Ministry was not in his knowledge and may have been done by the new PM in consultation with other colleagues. "But it has been corrected and we do not want to impose any curbs on the media, as we have always promised."
He was also surprised by some of the announcements made by Prime Minister Gilani in his 100-day package but he defended the PM strongly, saying: "He is our prime minister and I do not dictate to him. He can do many things which I do not or may not know."
This particular reference was about the surprise Asfandyar Wali Khan and Maulana Fazlur Rehman had expressed about the sudden announcement by PM Gilani that the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) had been abolished in the tribal areas. Again, he asserted, the correction was quickly made by the prime minister.
But whatever these initial hiccups in the administration and corrections in the course, Asif Ali Zardari is very firm on one basic pillar of his coalition strength. He is not going to let any issue or any conspiracy break the vital bond of understanding and trust between himself and Mian Nawaz Sharif.
He would keep meeting the PML-N leader very frequently and sort out anything that crops up, either by malicious design or any misunderstanding created by any one. To further this bond he left on Sunday to offer prayers for late Mian Sharif, the phenomenal Abbaji at Raiwind, and to finalise the cabinet to be sworn in on Monday.
A strong impression is created when discussing these sensitive issues with Zardari that the strength and unity of the grand coalition in Parliament is directly related to their common target in the presidency. As long as the president is there and stays there, this coalition will not break up. So in a way Mr Pervez Musharraf is directly responsible for the historic displays of unity and cohesion among the political parties in the parliament.
But Zardari says even if Mr Musharraf goes away, he will keep this unity in tact as the problems facing the country are enormous and cannot be handled by any party alone. A national consensus is an essential requirement.
He also gives the impression that so far the strength of the coalition in the parliament is not enough to displace Mr Musharraf. On many issues, he believes, some of the parties may not vote as they did for the Speaker or for the prime minister. So when the numbers are not there on impeachment or replacement of the president, any talk would be premature.
But obtaining the required numbers is certainly one of the main targets in the mind of every member of the coalition and this may keep these partners in power together. The entire ballgame may change if the prime target is suddenly out of sight and out of mind. Then would begin the real test of the grand coalition and the PPP Co-Chairman realizes this fully.

MQM seeks complete provincial autonomy

2008-03-31T00:37:00.002-04:00

Dawn March 30, 2008 Sunday Rabi-ul-Awwal 21, 1429
ISLAMABAD, March 29: Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly Dr Farooq Sattar on Saturday called for a complete provincial autonomy to achieve the objective of streng-thening the federal democratic system in the country.
He urged the coalition government to pass the 18th amendment bill submitted by his party for the purpose.
“The provincial autonomy is necessary for socio-economic development of the country,” he said in his speech in the National Assembly.
“Provincial autonomy is indispensable for solidarity of the country,” he said, adding that the MQM would extend full support to the prime minister and his government for socio-economic development of the country.

More: Dawn

Benazir Bhutto: "Bin Laden was Murdered"

2008-03-29T12:13:00.003-04:00

Let the Party begin, Cleptocrats and Nepotist. Start your engine

2008-03-29T00:54:00.003-04:00

PPP is confused as Nawaz honours friends and family
By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has apparently distributed the key ministries given to his party in the Gilani cabinet among his "family and friends".

Read More:The News

Bhutto's dark Clinton-era legacy

2008-03-29T00:30:00.001-04:00

By Jack Cashill

The story begins in 1987, when Benazir Bhutto, the eldest daughter of a former Pakistani prime minister, married a polo-playing idler by the name of Asif Ali Zardari.

Read More:World Net Daily

U.S. pressure on Pakistan to attack militants may backfire

2008-03-29T00:19:00.001-04:00

By Saeed Shah | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2008
AP

Pakistanis burn a U.S. flag Tuesday to protest the visit of U.S. officials John Negroponte and Richard Boucher. | View larger image
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Top U.S. officials on Thursday publicly questioned the plans of Pakistan's newly elected civilian government to negotiate with militants in the country's border region with Afghanistan and instead urged the continued use of military force.

Concluding a visit that's been widely criticized for taking place before a new government was fully formed, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said that talking with many of the insurgents is unthinkable.

More:McClatchy Newspapers

THE REAL STORY OF 'CURVEBALL'

2008-03-27T21:33:00.008-04:00

March 22, 2008
THE REAL STORY OF 'CURVEBALL'
How German Intelligence Helped Justify the US Invasion of Iraq
By Erich Follath, John Goetz, Marcel Rosenbach and Holger Stark

Five years ago, the US government presented what it said was proof that Iraq harbored biological weapons. The information came from a source developed by German intelligence -- and it turned out to be disastrously wrong. But to this day, Germany denies any responsibility.
More:Der Spiegal In English

. März 2008 webnews Yigg folkd Mister Wong Linkarena Del.icio.us Schrift:
IM VORFELD DES IRAK-KRIEGES
US-Offizielle werfen BND Versagen vor
Fünf Jahre nach dem US-Einmarsch im Irak entbrennt eine neue Debatte über das Versagen der Geheimdienste. Ehemalige US-Offizielle behaupten, der BND habe mit seinen Informationen über angebliche rollende Biowaffenlabore eine der zentralen Rechtfertigungen für den Waffengang geliefert.
Der Spiegal

Asif Ali Zardari

2008-03-26T22:47:00.002-04:00

The New York Times Topics > People > Z > Zardari, Asif Ali

Asif Ali Zardari was described by his wife, Benazir Bhutto, as "the Mandela of Pakistan." But while she was prime minister Mr. Zardari earned another nickname: "Mr. 10 Percent," for his reputation of demanding kickbacks on government contracts.

The marriage in 1987 was an arranged one, in the Muslim tradition; her mother acted as marriage broker. Mr. Zardari came from a modest business family that owned a cinema.

Ms. Bhutto herself spoke soberly of what an arranged marriage entailed, saying that her five years under house arrest and, briefly, in prison under Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, had left her with little opportunity for courtship. But friends watched with fascination as her relationship with Mr. Zardari developed. Handsome, with a macho style that Ms. Bhutto told friends she thought at first was ridiculous, he became an important figure in her two governments, serving in her cabinet in her second term in a role that gave him a major role in approving foreign investment.

Pakistani investigators to accuse her and Mr. Zardari of embezzling as much $1.5 billion from government accounts.British and American private investigators working for the government of her political rival Nawaz Sharif, produced a thick volume of documents tracing what they said were multimillion-dollar kickbacks paid to the couple in return for the award of government contracts, and a web of bank accounts across the world that were used to hide the money. Ms. Bhutto and Mr. Zardari vehemently rejected the allegations, saying their accusers wanted to drive her from power.

While his wife went into exile, Mr. Zardari spent eight years in prison; his release by President Pervez Musharraf in 2004 was seen as an early sign in a possible alliance between Mr. Musharraf and Ms. Bhutto. When Ms. Bhutto returned to Pakistan in October 2007, Mr. Zardari came with her. After she was assassinated at a political rally, it was Mr. Zardari who accompanied her casket in a procession to the family burial site. — Dec. 28, 2007

UNSC may consider request for probe: US

2008-03-26T22:09:00.002-04:00

By Masood Haider

NEW YORK, March 25: Zalmay Khalilzad, US Ambassador to the United Nations, said on Monday that the world body can consider Pakistan’s request for a UN investigation into the December assassination of Pakistan People’s Party chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

Talking to journalists at the Pakistan Mission to the UN, Mr Khalilzad said it all depended on the 15-member Security Council after it received such a request.

Responding to questions about the US-led war on terror, Mr Khalilzad said that the war could be re-calibrated by the new government keeping the new ground realities in mind.

On Monday, new Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani had expressed intention to seek a UN investigation into the assassination of Ms Bhutto. He asked the new National Assembly to pass a resolution calling for a UN investigation.

Pakistan government’s own investigation and a probe by the Scotland Yard blamed the militants in the tribal areas for the murder of Ms Bhutto, but their conclusions failed to satisfy the PPP leadership which continued to demand UN-led investigations.

Dawn

Comment: I think Gilani should conduct UN Security council investigation on all other open/Closed corruption/nepotism etc cases/charges on all politcal and military persons, live or dead.

American duo’s surprise visit

2008-03-26T22:03:00.002-04:00

Dr Naeem Chishti
The United States’ anxiety on Pakistan’s changed political scene can be witnessed from the fact that it has sent a high-powered team to Pakistan comprising of Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher. Negroponte and Boucher arrived on an unannounced visit to Pakistan on Monday.

The Frontier Post Peshawar Pakistan

Workers stage violent protest in Sharjah

2008-03-25T21:26:00.004-04:00

The Dawn BlogClose to 1500 workers torched offices and vehicles during a violent labour protest in Sharjah, the official Wakalat Anba’a al-Emarat(WAM) news agency said ...

Workers stage violent protest in Sharjah

Geo TV Should raise some serious voice and stage series protest against these unjust done, After all its Geo aur Jeene do. Otherwise it should be changed to Geo Maze se Dubai men, Baqi sab ko marne do.

The luck of the leprechaun

2008-03-25T19:30:00.002-04:00

After this recent acquittal, only three cases remain pending against him. The remaining cases include the murder case of Murtaza Bhutto and seven others, Alam Baloch murder case of Hyderabad and the Special Federal Anti-Corruption Court case for smuggling artefact.......

luck of the leprechaun

PM’s Ist order: release judges

2008-03-24T18:51:00.003-04:00

PM’s Ist order: release judges
* Gillani to seek UN probe into Benazir’s assassination
* Wants resolution seeking apology over ZAB’s political murder

Indeed Great Day for Pakistam.
What PM Gilani do beside restoring the Judiciary and UN investigation of Benezer Bhutto.
United Nations Investigation of alleged charges of corruption against Zulfiqar Bhutto, Benezer Bhutto, Asif Zardari, Sharif Brothers and other high ranking politicans including Gilani himself.
This is the only way to get a clean slate for every alleged charges of corruption and restore full faith in democracy and come clean.
In Urdu its called Doodh Ka Doodh, Pani ka Pani.

Great move by Zardari, killed three bird with one sling shot

2008-03-22T21:23:00.003-04:00

Great move by Zardari, killed three bird with one sling shot,
1. PM from Punjab, a Saraike man who will promote the Saraike Province cause, taking some air from Punjab
2, Took air off Amin Fahim.
3. Took air from Pir Pagara, his son is being married to the grand daughter of Pir Pagara.
It is generally assumed that Gilani will be PM until Zardari will orchestrate his election into the Pakistan National Assembly and hence takeover as the next PM. This presumable move by Zardari may bite him back. Remember Ayab Khan and Zulfiqar Bhutto, and ZAB appointing “Lota General Mard-e-Momin” Zia ul Haq who then was killed in an air crash.Benezer Bhutto was fired by her own man the then President Farooq Lagari. Zia’s protégé Sharif appointing “Bhaiyya General” in an army of Panjabis and Phaktoon’s.. What happened next, everybody knows the rest of the story.

Gilani wins the race for PM The News

Howling Hala, hopeful Haqqani, talking tribals!

2008-03-20T23:19:00.003-04:00

The Newscom.pk

Bilawal Bhutto Zadari: The People's Choice? Fordham Observer

2008-03-20T23:17:00.000-04:00

Fordham Observer

Nepotism in Pakistan

2008-03-20T20:15:00.002-04:00

The HIR
January 23, 2008
Nepotism in Pakistan
Filed under: National Politics, South Asia — Kiran Bhat @ 2:55 am
As an American of South Asian descent, dynastic politics at the highest levels of government is something I’ve grown quite accustomed to. As far as I can remember, a Bush or a Clinton has sat at the top of American politics. In India, the Nehru/Gandhi family has dominated, interrupted only a few times since independence. And even with its history of military leaders and democratic turmoil, the trend towards dynasty has emerged in Pakistan as well.

Under the pretense of stability, the late Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) quickly named the slain leader’s 19-year-old son Bilawal its new chairman. Bhutto had named her husband Asif Ali Zardari heir to the chairmanship in her will, a strange choice considering the time Zardari spent in jail on charges of corruption and blackmail (which, in fairness, he claimed were politically motivated). However, Zardari insisted on giving the official title to his son. This was an even stranger choice in that Zardari will continue to run the PPP’s day-to-day affairs and that Bilawal currently has no experience, no qualifications, and no intention of running the party before he graduates from Oxford.

All of this left the outside observer only one logical conclusion: Bilawal was appointed only to ensure the longevity of the Bhutto family’s hold on the PPP. Since the PPP is the only party to consistently mount opposition to Pervez Musharraf and realistically have a chance at beating him in a fair election, the Bhutto family’s hold on the PPP is by extension a hold on Pakistan’s democratic politics. Needless to say, Bilawal’s appointment smacked of severe nepotism.

That’s why it’s refreshing to see pieces such as this one, which features an interview with a politically-oriented Bhutto who, ironically enough, recognizes the harm that cronyism can do to the democratic character of a nation. Fatima Bhutto, Benazir’s 24-year-old niece, is currently an opinion columnist and critic of the Musharraf regime and is cutting her teeth in print and in efforts to enfranchise Paksitan’s masses before turning to politics. This Bhutto sounds like she wants to earn her way to a leadership role - and if that’s true, then who cares that she is part of a powerful political family? Fatima demonstrates that there is nothing wrong with dynastic politics per se if it means that earnest and competent individuals come to power. Pakistan can only hope that Zardari and Bilawal won’t demonstrate everything that is wrong with keeping things in the family.

Bilawal, Fahim in cat and mouse game

2008-03-20T19:35:00.002-04:00

Bilawal, Fahim in cat and mouse game
The News
By Asim Yasin
ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reached Islamabad Thursday evening to make final announcement of party candidate for the Prime Minister while Makhdoom Amin Fahim flew to Karachi.
As Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reached Islamabad, Makhdoom Amin Fahim flew to Karachi, which made it clear that meeting between Bilawal Bhutto and Makhdoom Amin Fahim was not expected. Sources indicated that the final announcement of the party candidate would be announced by Saturday or Sunday. Just after reaching Islamabad, he held meeting with top leadership of the party to finalize the candidate for Prime Minister.
Sources hinted that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would hold a formal meeting with the parliamentarians of the party today (Friday) to seek their point of view on the question of party candidature for the Prime Minister.
As there were four candidates still in the race including Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar but sources said that the real contestants of the race were Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani and Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
Sources in the PPP led quadrangular alliance told The News that PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari also sought the suggestions from PML-N, ANP and JUI-F about the party nominee and most of them favoured Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani as a best choice.
However, hopes of Makhdoom Amin Fahim was being diminished with the election of Dr Fahmida Mirza, who also hails from Sindh. Besides this, Makhdoom Amin Fahim also gets a poor response from within the party. Meanwhile, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will accelerate the final round of discussions with the top leadership of the party to decide the final candidate.

Bilawal to the rescue

2008-03-20T19:28:00.004-04:00

Bilawal to the rescue sounds like Buzz Lighter to the Rescue from The Toy Story.

The news, Bilawal to the rescue

Rally held to nominate Fahim as prime minister

2008-03-18T22:13:00.001-04:00

Rally held to nominate Fahim as prime minister

The Post Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Our Correspondent

BADIN: The PPP Badin workers took out a rally on Tuesday to nominate PPP Central Vice President Makhdoom Amin Fahim as Prime Minister.

"Amin Fahim has sacrificed a lot for the party so he deserves more for the premier slot, besides it is also in accordance with the will of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, said the rally leaders Muhammad Jatt, Ali Murad Bachal and others while speaking to the rally participants.

Motorbike, mobile snatching on the rise: The incidents of snatching motorcycles and mobiles are growing in Badin city. The citizens are much worried over the situation as the theft of motorbikes is frequent while a large number of people are deprived of their mobiles daily.

While talking to the newsmen, the residents stated that police had failed to maintain law and order in the city. On the occasion, they demanded the high-ups to take notice of the situation and rid the citizens of this menace.

DPO transfers 3 cops on public complaints: At least three police officials have been transferred throughout the Badin district on public complaints.

According to police sources, Badin District Police Officer (DPO) Abdullah Shaikh has transferred Matli SHO Liaquat Jiskani and appointed him as SHO Tando Bago and Asghar Jatt has taken the charge of new SHO Matli.

Reportedly, Talhar SHO Nand Lal has been transferred to Gulab Legahri and has been replaced by Raj Kumar as new SHO Talhar while SHO Qasim Panhwar has been transferred to District Dadu.

Meanwhile, Matli police station head constable Shabbir Chandio has been suspended and asked to report at police line Badin.

People protest against LHV: A protest demo was staged by the residents of village Jafar Khoso near Pangrio against the Lady Health Visitor (LHV) of Rural Health Centre Pangrio.

The protestors, under the leadership of Meer Muhammad Khoso, Muharram Khoso and Abdul Sattar, alleged that the LHV treated the patients carelessly forcing them to visit her private clinic. On the occasion, the protestors demanded of the health authorities to transfer the LHV Pangrio and replace her with a more dutiful and efficient lady health visitor

Naveed Qamar refuses to nominate Makhdoom Amin

2008-03-18T22:04:00.000-04:00

Naveed Qamar refuses to nominate Makhdoom Amin

The News

By By Rauf Klasra
3/19/2008
ISLAMABAD: Heartbroken and depressed Makhdoom Amin Fahim (MAF) was shocked when the man he had groomed in politics, Naveed Qamar, MNA, refused to sign his nomination papers for the slot of the prime minister.

When contacted by The News, Amin Fahim opened his heart before this correspondent as he was found reconciling with the unexpected betrayals at the hands of his old friend. In a very heartbreaking tone, he said, "Yes, this is true that Naveed Qamar has refused to sign my nomination papers for the election of the prime minister."

Fahim had met Naveed Qamar (NQ) to get his signature on the official papers, which he plans to submit in the NA Secretariat to contest the election to defy the nomination of Asif Zardari (AZ).

Now a totally transformed Naveed Qamar, dreaming to become the finance minister who, otherwise, has been winning the elections on the basis of political strength of MAF in his constituency, is said to have preferred Zardari over his old sponsor in the fast unfolding political dramas within the four walls of the Zardari House.

To further explain his inner feelings over the refusal of his most-trusted friend whom he always backed since 1988, Fahim quietly read out a widely-quoted couplet of the late poet Perveen Shakir: "Kaisay Keh Doon Keh Mujhay Chor Diya Hi Uss Nay, Baat Tu Sach Hai, Magar Baat Hai Ruswai Ki".

The most-unexpected refusal of NQ to sign his nomination papers is said to have reminded many sympathisers of Fahim in the ranks of the PPP that party stalwarts (Naveed) from Sindh had once again established the time- tested proverb that "there is no permanent friendships in politics except everlasting political interests".

This unlikely refusal of Qamar in whom Fahim had great faith because of his past personal relationship is said to have landed Amin Fahim in big political trouble as he is yet to find someone from the ranks of PPPP to sign his nomination papers, in case he decides to contest the election for the post of the prime minister to defy the nomination of Asif Zardari. This refusal of NQ has also revealed that MAF now stands isolated in the ranks of the PPP, after he refused to accept the decision of AZ to nominate someone else as the prime minister.

The only consolation MAF can have in these days of political betrayal is the public declaration of PPP Senator Enver Baig that what come may, he would not leave his 37-year-old friend Amin Fahim in these testing times. The rest of PPP leaders remain silent or indifferent to his ordeal, as they all seem to have adopted the policy of wait and see.

Like a pure pragmatic politician, a shrewd Naveed Qamar is believed to have simply preferred political considerations over his old friendship with Fahim. These days, Qamar, who spent a considerable time in jail on account of serious charges of corruption by the NAB, is now desperately trying to capture the top slot of the finance minister. This single consideration alone is believed to have led him to betray his patron and benefactor from Hala.

Though, Ishaq Dar is also being considered for this job keeping his expertise and abilities in view, Qamar was still hopeful of capturing the slot by his own manipulation within the ranks of the party.

Top-level sources said if so far Fahim had asked anyone to sign his nomination papers within the ranks of the PPP, it was Naveed Qamar as Fahim had been playing a major role in his election victory because of the presence of his spiritual followers in Sindh.

Earlier, a confident Fahim went to bewildered Naveed Qamar to sign his nomination papers for his election for PM. As a puzzled Qamar tried to justify his refusal, a visibly-shocked Fahim told him in a changed tone to reply him in "yes or no". After reading a big NO on the face of Naveed, a hurt Fahim simply walked away to hide his own emotions.

This correspondent made calls to Naveed Qamar but he did not attend. This correspondent also sent him a text message but he did not reply.

Meanwhile, Fahim revealed that Syed Qamar Zaman Shah, the father of Naveed Qamar, was his friend. He brought Naveed to him in 1988 or 1990 after he returned from the US after completing his studies in computer related subjects, etc. Qamar Zaman requested Fahim to arrange some job for his young son within the PPP. Fahim took a young Naveed to Benazir Bhutto, who at the personal request of Amin Fahim, gave him assigned him under Naseer Shah, a retired ambassador, who was then collecting applications from candidates. Later, Amin Fahim arranged his full induction into the party and enabled him to contest the election from the area where he had big number of spiritual followers. Fahim said he had always been backing Naveed Qamar in all these elections that he had won.

"If I don't support Naveed in his constituency, he may not win the election," Fahim said and added, "I was the one who had actually got him inducted into the party, but today he simply refused to sign my papers. This is something that hurts but a fact, too," Amin Fahim said. "It’s better if you don't ask me any more things on this subject," MAF asked this correspondent in a disheartening voice.

MAF also read out one more couplet: "Go Zara See Baat Pay Barsoon Kay Yaaranay Gaye, Laikin Itna Tu Hoa Kuch Log Pehchaney Gaye".

Its all in the friends of the family, We keep it simple stupid.

2008-03-18T20:57:00.000-04:00

PPP nominates Fahmida Mirza for NA Speakership
'Pakistan Times' Parliamentary Correspondent

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) has decided to nominate Dr Fahmida Mirza as candidate for slot of Speaker of the National Assembly while Faisal Kareem Kundi would be candidate for deputy speakership, party sources said Monday.

“Our Parliamentary party has endorsed co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s decision to nominate Fahmida Mirza as candidate for the speakership,” sources said.
Dr Fahmida comes from a political family of Sindh.

She is wife of Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, who is a close aide of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari. She had won February 18 general polls from coastal district of Badin after defeating Bibi Yamin Shah.

The PPP sources said that Dr Fahmida’s nomination would be announced by party co-chairman himself.

Meanwhile, when contacted Fahmida Mirza declined to give comment on her nomination. She said her nomination for Speakership of the National Assembly has not been finalized but the ultimate decision is expected within 24 hours.

“Well, there are three to five candidates in run for speakership and my name is also on the list,” Fahmida Mirza said.

She said PPP has summoned important meeting at Zardari House on Monday evening to discuss nominations for slot of the speaker and other key positions.

“There is no confusion over nomination for candidate of the slot of the Prime Minister and rumours of rift are baseless,” she said, adding, “all the party members would endorse decisions of the party co-chairman.”

Meanwhile, central leader of PPP Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah disclosed that PPP MNA Faisal Karim Kundi would be candidate of the coalition partners for the slot of Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.

“MNA Faisal Karim Kundi would be our joint candidate for the slot of Deputy Speaker while the name of candidate for the slot of Speaker would be announced by Monday evening,” said Khurshid Shah while talking to the media outside the chamber of Mian Raza Rabbani, the Opposition Leader in the Senate.

When asked who would be the nominee for the top slot, Shah said the announcement would be made by March 20.

“The future Prime Minister would be announced by March 20. There are four to five candidates for the top slot and the final decision would be taken after consulting the coalition partners,” he said.

When asked did the delay in finalizing the name of future premier suggests any difference within coalition partners, Khurshid Shah said the consultation indicated that the coalition partners were adopting a democratic path.

“When you have three to four coalition partners, you have to consult each party for taking a final decision. The consultation does not mean that the coalition is facing internal rifts,” he concluded.

Young Kundi, who has been elected to the Lower House for the first time, defeated MMA Secretary General Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman in the election held on Feb 18 from NA-24, D.I.Khan.●

Zardari, Its all in the family, We keep it simple stupid.

2008-03-16T12:46:00.002-04:00

Zardari may name sister as interim PM
16 Mar 2008, 0001 hrs IST,ANI
The Times of India

LAHORE: Amid tussle within the Pakistan People's Party over who should be nominated for the post of prime minister, close aides to party's de facto chairman Asif Ali Zardari have reportedly said that he was thinking of nominating his sister Azra Fazal Pechooho as the interim premier.

Quoting the close aides, a BBC report said that as Zardari is not a member of the National Assembly, he could not become premier himself.

In such a situation, he might nominate his sister as a temporary prime minister, said the Daily Times while quoting the BBC report.

Meanwhile, according to another report published in the News, veteran PPP leader Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, who has so far put himself away from media glare, might emerge as the dark horse and get Zardari's nod for the top post.

"PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has told Gillani that he will be the final choice on the conclusion of his ongoing consultations with the MNAs-elect in groups," the party quoted sources in the PPP and the PML-N as saying. A prominent PML-N leader, privy to the consultations with the PPP, also said that Gillani, a former National Assembly speaker, was going to ultimately win the nomination by Zardari.

Echoing same sentiments, a PPP leader said that Gillani had been asked to stay low in the current hullabaloo so that he did not embroil himself in controversies unnecessarily.

Rift in PPP as Zardari eyes PM's post

2008-03-16T12:41:00.000-04:00

Rift in PPP as Zardari eyes PM's post
11 Mar 2008, 0001 hrs IST,TIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES
The Times of India

ISLAMABAD: Even before a coalition government could be cobbled together in Pakistan, the country's biggest political party, the PPP, seems to be developing cracks over who should be the new prime minister. On Monday, amid rumours that he was planning a meeting with President Pervez Musharraf, the party's leading contender for the post, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, alleged that the PPP co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, was planning to install himself as prime minister within three months.

Just one day after the Zardari-led PPP and Nawaz Sharif's PML(N) announced that they were joining hands to form a coalition government on Sunday, the rift in the PPP came out in the open with Fahim hinting that the widower of Benazir Bhutto was eyeing the prime minister's post. Fahim, who was not present at the Zardari-Sharif joint press conference at Murree on Sunday, said that the party co-chairman was planning to appoint someone from Punjab as PM for three months until he enters parliament and takes over power.

According to a report in the News on Monday, Zardari shared his "little secret" with MPs from Hyderabad (Sindh) on the eve of the crucial meeting with Sharif in Murree. However, Fahim, 68, who led the PPP for seven years while Benazir was in exile, rejected news report that he was pulling out of the race. Confirming that he was still a "candidate for the PM's slot", the MP from Sindh hinted that the behind-the-scene political developments in the party were intensifying by the day.

It's basically because of this squabbling for the top post within the PPP that Pakistan is still without a new government even three weeks after the national elections in which the PPP emerged as the single largest party with 88 seats in the National Assembly. But, as the PPP parliamentary group has not elected a leader formally, Musharraf has not invited the party to form the next government. Soon after the election results on February 19, political experts were certain that Fahim would be the next PM as both Zardari and Sharif are at present ineligible for the post.

In fact, shortly after Bhutto's assassination in December last year, Zardari had declared that Fahim would be the party's prime ministerial candidate. However, he changed his mind soon after and talked about a PM from Punjab and senior PPP leaders Yousaf Raza Gillani, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar were tipped to be in the race.

According to PPP sources, Zardari has decided to become the candidate for the PM's post, after quietly pitching the top four leaders against each other. One more reason Zardari might opt for a leader from Punjab, according to a source, is to neutralise the dramatic rise of the PPP leader and supreme court bar association president Aitzaz Ahsan on the national scene. Ahsan, who has openly endorsed Fahim for the top job, is himself seen and backed by many for the post, though he has denied that he is in the running.

Ahsan may not be interested in power, but many other leaders are busy in hectic lobbying and deals to be part of the new government. "The PPP has been out of power for 13 years. Now they are itching to get back to power and everyone wants a plum post," says a Lahore-based PPP leader, speaking on the condition of anonymity. With Fahim getting impatient with Zardari, the already tense situation is likely to take a more dramatic turn.

Amin Fahim resigns from PS-44

2008-03-16T10:33:00.001-04:00

Amin Fahim resigns from PS-44
Sunday, March 16, 2008 GEO TV
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s party (PPP) Vice-Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim has sent his resignation from his seat PS-44 to party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday.

According to Geo News, Amin Fahim will keep his seat NA-218.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim further said it is nothing but a rumour that he is no more running for the premiership, adding he is still the candidate for the top position of the country.

‘I am not attempting any division in the party,’ he added.

Zardari is no more Mr 10 Percent

2008-03-14T22:58:00.000-04:00

Zardari is no more Mr 10 Percent
etala’at

Zardari is no more Mr 10 Percent
Islamabad, March 14
A court Friday quashed the last outstanding graft charge in Pakistan against the husband of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a lawyer said.
The move could ease tensions between U.S.-backed President Pervez Musharraf and Bhutto's party, which is now led by her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, and won last month's parliamentary elections.
An anti-corruption court acquitted Zardari in the so-called "BMW case" relating to the import of a German limousine.
The court had already dismissed six other graft cases against Zardari under an order passed by Musharraf last year that was supposed to foster political reconciliation.
"After a struggle of 11 years, the state has failed to prove any case against Mr. Zardari," said his attorney, Farooq Naek.
"After a long darkness in the tunnel, the light has come," he told reporters outside the anti-corruption court in Rawalpindi, a city that neighbors the capital, Islamabad.
Zardari took control of Bhutto's party after she was killed in December, making him a key political figure
as Pakistan moves toward democracy after years of military rule.
But Zardari's return to politics is eyed with suspicion by some Pakistanis who see him as a symbol of corruption and misrule that nearly bankrupted Pakistan in the 1990s.
He became known among Pakistanis by the nickname "Mr. Ten Percent" on suspicion he pocketed kickbacks when his wife was in office. He spent years in jail without being convicted and insists the charges were politically motivated.
Now Zardari's Pakistan People's Party is poised to form a coalition government with the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, under whose administration Zardari was jailed.
The PPP won the most seats in Feb. 18 parliamentary elections, routing Musharraf's supporters and triggering calls for the president to step down. Sharif's party came in second.
Parliament is due to convene Monday.
The previously dismissed charges against Zardari included illegal payments relating to the construction of a polo ground inside the prime minister's residence and to the purchase of thousands of Polish tractors.
A money-laundering case is still pending against him in Switzerland Agencies

Asfandyar Wali regrets to meet Fahim

2008-03-14T22:36:00.000-04:00

Asfandyar Wali regrets to meet Fahim
Friday, March 14, 2008
ISLAMABAD: Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali has regretted to meet PPP Senior Vice President Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the sources said.

Asfandyar Wali has regretted to meet Makhdoom Amin Fahim today (Friday) due very busy schedule, said the spokesman of ANP Zahid Khan said.

The meeting was part of consultation process for the formation of the new government in the centre and provinces.

Political chessboard has still been laid: Amin Fahim

2008-03-14T22:34:00.001-04:00

Political chessboard has still been laid: Amin Fahim
Friday, March 14, 2008 Geo TV
ISLAMABAD: PPP Senior Vice President Makhdoom Amin Fahim has said that the political chessboard has still been laid.

He stated this while giving joint briefing to media along with Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazal-u-Rehman after meeting between the two leaders.

Fahim termed said that the meeting was not a political but a personal one. The meeting was said as part of consultation process for the formation of the new government in the centre and provinces.

Referring to meeting with Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali, Fahim said it was not a fixed meeting.

Pakistan Peoples Party at the crossroads?

2008-03-14T22:27:00.000-04:00

Pakistan Peoples Party at the crossroads?
BY DR MOEED PIRZADA
Khaleej Times Online 9 February 2008

THE internal power schisms of ‘Pakistan People Party’ are finally coming to the fore. This gives credence to the dark prophecies of all those pundits who had predicted, immediately after Benazir’s assassination, that Pakistan’s most popular political formation will find it difficult to survive as ‘one’ beyond the immediate needs of the coming elections.

The rot may have been brewing for a while. The natural thought, “what will I get?” must have dominated many minds from the moment they descended upon Naudero and Gari Khuda Baksh to bury the last of the ‘real Bhuttos’. But in recent days the first shot was fired by PPP Senator Dr Babar Awan who issued a statement that no one but the party co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, was the right person to be nominated as PPP candidate for prime ministerial slot after the elections.

The good senator was obviously testing the waters for Zardari. It then transpired, from newspapers, that party’s top most leadership has rebuked Awan for giving such a statement in violation of the party’s considered position that such a decision will be taken after the elections. Many wondered: “who is this top leadership?” Fortunately the confusion did not last long.

PPP senior vice chairman, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, emerged on the scene terming Senator Awan’s statements his personal opinions and clarified that only party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) has the authority to decide upon the matter -- and that too after the elections. Perhaps to add authority to his voice he claimed that he and Asif Ali Zardari were in complete cohesion over the issue.

Makhdoom of Hala might have regretted his words. For soon afterwards Zardari, while talking to the US publication Newsweek, made it clear that he is seriously considering himself for the prime ministerial slot, for he has the “widest name recognition in the party” and “no senior leader apart from him spent eleven years in jail”. Under his directions a copy of the will of Benazir Bhutto was made public to prove, once again, that she had nominated him, and no one else but him, as the acting chairman of the party.

This is now the third time that PPP under Zardari changed its position on the subject: First on 30th December, three days after Ms. Bhutto’s assassination, Zardari had clearly indicated that Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who always lead PPP, in Benazir’s absence, would be the party’s candidate for the prime ministerial slot. A few days later this position was reversed announcing that CEC will decide this after the elections. This in itself was an indication of the growing fault lines.

However, now with Senator Awan’s premonitions, Zardari’s interview in Newsweek followed with the dramatic release of the Bhutto’s ‘political will’ it is abundantly clear that Benazir’s widower is making his moves towards the top slot-albeit cautiously, inch by inch, to make it more palatable. Even in the Newsweek interview he said that he might or might not be the prime ministerial candidate. And since then he has again tried distancing his person from the idea- he has planted himself.

Since Benazir’s assassination, Zardari has not only benefited from a natural wave of sympathy inside Sindh but several of his actions have generated a national goodwill and expanded his political space: his voice of reason and restraint at a time of great commotion in Sindh; his ability to defend the federation; his better command on the use and nuance of Urdu language and his indicating that Makhdoom Amin will be the party’s nominee for the prime ministerial slot all contributed to that.

Yet his, all too visible, desire to become the prime ministerial candidate is something he should better stay away from, in the best interests of his party, country and his family. And there are certain good reasons for that.

Zardari may not be that villainous character many in the media and the government agencies paint him into. Some of those who have interacted with him on an intimate level vouch that he is as normal or unprincipled as any other in Pakistan’s power structure. Yet someone, like him, rooted in reality might be painfully aware of the negative baggage, rightly or wrongly, he carries in Pakistan’s collective consciousness. The attempts of his lawyers and lobbyists to either defend him on the grounds that nothing has been proved or by drawing parallels with the misdeeds of other politicians, bureaucrats and generals will fail to make any significant dent in the overall collective perception, at least not in the short run.

Whatever he may do, in immediate future he will continue to be a divisive figure, especially outside Sindh. And both People’s Party and Pakistan, at this hour, need a less polarised, and a uniting figure.

Also, there is a limit to which this “will business” can be pushed; and for two reasons: One, even if it is 100 per cent original many will continue to doubt it for the simple reason that Benazir Bhutto had meticulously kept her husband out of immediate political arena in her last few months and her sudden change of heart on 16th October 2007, making her beloved husband the net beneficiary of her legacy – though analytically correct -- continues to look far more dramatic than most people can digest.

But even if all this is ignored, this “will business” has serious limitations in the long run. Pakistan People Party may not be a party in the western sense of it, but it deserves to be at least comparable to a better managed Private Limited Company.

This “will business” belongs to private assets and properties and even there exist examples of private concerns where managers or long time associates end up inheriting the mantle of leadership over incompetent off springs. And PPP, in all fairness, is endowed with a range of competent persons.

Despite this, we must admit that today Asif Ali Zardari has been given a role by history; he is someone who can provide internal unity to PPP; by keeping it together he can help it to emerge as the most powerful political force in the aftermath of the elections; can wield tremendous influence for himself, his son and for people of Sindh and may end up developing a new profile for himself in his own role rather than the borrowed sheen of his slain wife.

But all of it will have a chance of possibility if he demonstrates the maturity of putting his good will and organisational abilities behind a ‘consensus candidate’; in other words: if he decides to become Sonia Gandhi of Pakistan.

Dr Moeed Pirzada, a broadcaster and political analyst, with GEO TV Network, has been a Britannia Chevening Scholar at London School of Economics and Political Science. Email: mp846@columbia.edu

A Milestone on the Road to Democracy

2008-02-23T08:52:00.000-05:00

A Milestone on the Road to Democracy

By Pervez Musharraf
Friday, February 22, 2008; Page A23

After months of turmoil, including the death of an important national figure, Benazir Bhutto, and the civil unrest that followed, Pakistan has successfully carried out a critical election -- balloting that was a milestone in our nation's 60-year history.

Pakistan's transition to democracy is essential to achieving reconciliation among our people. The government worked tirelessly to ensure that Monday's vote would be free, fair, transparent and peaceful. A broad range of new procedures were put in place -- such as the public counting of ballots at each polling station -- to make certain that this would be the fairest election ever held in Pakistan.

The historical significance of this election makes this the right moment for an honest discussion of the challenges and opportunities confronting both Pakistan and the United States, whose interest in a stable, democratic government in Islamabad is matched by that of the Pakistani people.

Our nation faces three main tasks: defeating terrorism and extremism; building a stable and effective democratic government; and creating a solid foundation for sustained economic growth. Because these goals are shared by the vast majority of Pakistanis, I am certain we can and will accomplish them, and I stand ready to work with the newly elected Parliament to achieve these objectives.

Do we still face challenges? Of course. Do great opportunities lie ahead? The answer is an emphatic yes. Our economy is strong -- and growing stronger. Our armed forces are dedicated, professional and committed to maintaining both public order and the integrity of our political system. Most important, the overwhelming majority of our 160 million people are firmly committed to a moderate view of Islam and to the national prosperity that only modernization can bring.

On terrorism, let me be perfectly clear: Pakistan faces and fights this menace with full dedication. How could we not? Al-Qaeda and its affiliates have declared war on the civilized world, and the moderate government and people of Pakistan are prime targets. Some have questioned our commitment to the fight against extremism. In fact, more than 1,000 Pakistani troops have lost their lives fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban forces over the past four years, and 112,000 troops are fully engaged in the regions along our border with Afghanistan. We will continue to work closely with our longtime American allies in our common struggle to rid Pakistan and the world of militant extremism.

But as the U.S. experience in Iraq has shown, military force alone is not sufficient. A successful counterinsurgency requires a multi-pronged approach -- military, political and economic. Our political strategy emphasizes separating terrorists from those citizens living in the regions bordering Afghanistan. Our economic strategy is bringing education, economic opportunity and the benefits of development to those same areas. As history has clearly taught us, when people see improvement in their daily lives and the lives of their children, they turn away from violence and toward peace and reconciliation.

But our success will require the continued support of the United States. I would ask Americans to remember that building democracy is difficult in the best of conditions; doing so in a complex country such as Pakistan -- with its uneasy political history, with its centuries-old regional and feudal cleavages, and with violent extremists dedicated to the defeat of democracy -- is even more challenging. As history has shown, a peaceful transition to democracy requires the leadership of government and the willingness of the population to embrace democratic ideals. The people of Pakistan on Monday demonstrated that willingness; now it is time for government leaders to work together and do our part.

The writer is president of Pakistan

Pakistan After The Assassination: Interview with Pervez Hoodbhoy

2008-01-09T23:37:00.000-05:00

Pakistan After The Assassination: Interview with Pervez Hoodbhoy
Chowk January 6, 2008
Interview with Pervez Hoodbhoy by Stefania Maurizi of Venerdi of La Repubblica
Pervez Hoodbhoy, professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and chairman of the department of physics at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, has been interviewed by Stefania Maurizi for Il Venerdi (Friday supplement) of La Repubblica (http://www.repubblica.it), where the interview will be publishedin Italian. The interview is
reproduce here in the original English, as supplied by Professor Hoodbhoy.

Q: Let's start with the tragedy of Bhutto assassination. Today, international media remind us she was the first woman to become the PM of an Islamic country, she was a democratic leader, etc. Nonetheless, she was the scion of a feudal family, which was primarily responsible for making Pakistan an atomic power and she was known for the authoritarian control of her party. Looking back, how do you judge Benazir Bhutto?

A: Having first known Benazir Bhutto from high school in Karachi, and then later in Cambridge (Massachussetts), I am deeply saddened by her assassination. But, although the international media paint her as someone who could have led Pakistan into the modern age, the truth is very different. Her two tenures as prime minister were a nightmare of autocratic government and mis-governance. Billions disappeared from foreign aid. A Swiss court found her guilty of money laundering in 2003.

Ms. Bhutto owned mansions and palaces across the world. She even tried to steal land from my (public) university to feed the rapacious appetite of her party members.

Even during school days, Benazir thought she had been born to rule. More importantly, she made not the slightest effort to change the feudal character of Pakistani politics and society. The Bhuttos own vast tracts of agricultural land in Sindh that is worked upon by serfs. Although she promised to bring democracy to Pakistan, after returning to Pakistan, Ms. Bhutto made clear that for a few table scraps she would be happy to team up with General Musharraf under the hopelessly absurd US plan to give our military government a civilian face. Her party, the Pakistan Peoples Party was her fiefdom. She appointed herself as "chairperson for life".
Reflecting the mindset of a feudal princess, she even named her successors to be male members from her family: her 19-year son, who is a student at Oxford and knows nothing about Pakistani culture, as well as her phenomenally corrupt husband, initially known as Mr Ten Percent and later as Mr. Thirty Percent.

Q: Was Ms. Bhutto a model for Pakistani women?

A: She was courageous and single-minded. And she showed that a woman could be the head of a conservative Islamic state. Nevertheless, it is hard to see what she wanted beyond personal power. Although she said that she was fighting for grand causes, I'm still trying to figure out what they were.
She certainly did nothing for Pakistani women during her two stints in power and left untouched the horrific Hudood laws, according to which a rape victim needs to produce 4 witnesses to the act of penetration (else she could be punished for fornication). Nor did she try to overturn the
Pakistani blasphemy law that prescribes death as the minimum penalty for those convicted of insulting the prophet of Islam or his companions. As for democracy: she had been desperate to do a deal with Musharraf who dangled over her head the many corruption cases that she was charged with.
But he proved too clever for her and she was forced into the opposition.

In foreign policy, she played footsie with the army. It could do whatever it liked, including making nuclear weapons, sending Islamic militants into Kashmir, and organizing the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban. In
2002 she regretted having signed the document authorizing funds for the Taliban forces poised to capture Kandahar. But Ms. Bhutto makes an excellent martyr. In her death she will doubtlessly play a more positive role than when alive.

Q: Al Qaeda was immediately blamed for Bhutto assassination. However, many people hated her: Musharraf, the Army, and the infamous ISI, which in 1990 removed Bhutto from power after she had replaced General Hameed Gul, the man who invented the Taliban. Do you believe that Al Qaeda was really responsible for killing Benazir Bhutto? Who is going to gain from Bhutto's death?

A: There are different possibilities and much confusion. But some facts are certain. There definitely were gunshots, and this was followed by a suicide blast. Now, I do not think that suicide bombers can be bought with any number of rupees. Only a religious fanatic lured by heavenly rewards
would blow himself up. Therefore Al-Qaida, the Taliban, or other Islamic jihadist groups are strong possibilities. They always hated Bhutto, but even more after she announced in Washington that, if elected prime minister, she would fight them even more vigorously than Musharraf. Of course, rogue elements of Pakistan's intelligence agencies, who are also
strong Islamists, and who lie deeply hidden within the establishment, could also have done it. They have a stock of suicide bombers available to them, as evidenced by the success they have had in organizing suicide attacks upon army commandos as well as their own colleagues.

So did Islamists of one or the other flavour do it? Maybe, but the waters have been muddied by the government. First, publicly available photographs and videos show a modern-looking gunman accompanying the suicide bomber.
He fired three shots, heard by all present, at least one of which hit Bhutto. Some say that there was a second sharpshooter in a building too.

On the other hand, the government initially insisted she died from concussion and not a bullet wound - an obvious lie immediately refuted by those in the same car as Bhutto. Second, in just an hour after the assassination, the police washed away all the bloody evidence with water hoses. So, it is quite possible that non-Islamists in the government have
somehow used brainwashed suicide bombers, trained in mosques and madrassas, to do their dirty job. But, as in the JFK murder, the truth will never be known.

As for the gainers and losers: Islamist groups saw Bhutto as a tool of America that would be used against them, and a leader who could secularize Pakistan. Plus, she was a woman and popular. But Musharraf and his political party, the PML(Q), have also gained because a political rival
has been eliminated. The losers are those Pakistanis who wish for a secular, modern Pakistan and not one that is run by mullahs. Although she never delivered on her promises, her followers never lost faith.

Q: There is a lot of concern about the future of Pakistan. How real is the threat of an Islamic takeover, in your opinion?

A: It has already been taken over! Twenty five years ago the Pakistani state began pushing Islam on to its people as a matter of policy.

Prayers in government departments were deemed compulsory, punishments were meted out to those who did not fast in Ramadan, selection for academic posts required that the candidate demonstrate knowledge of Islamic teachings, and jihad was propagated through schoolbooks. Today government
intervention is no longer needed because of a spontaneous groundswell of Islamic zeal. But now the state is realizing that it shot itself in the foot. The fanatical jihadists it created have turned against it. It is supreme irony that the Pakistan Army - whose men were recruited under the banner of jihad and which saw itself as the fighting arm of Islam - is now frequently targeted by suicide bombers who are fighting a jihad to bring even stricter Islam. It has lost a thousand or more men fighting Al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The pace of radicalization has quickened. There are almost daily suicide attacks. This phenomenon was almost unknown in Pakistan before the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Now it is common in major cities as well as tribal areas. The targets have been the Pakistan army, police, incumbent and retired government leaders, and rival Islamic sects. But this is just the tip of the iceberg; we'll see much more in years ahead.

Q: Ideally, what do you want to see happen in the next few weeks?

A: I want Musharraf to go - resign or somehow be removed, preferably without bloodshed. I want the independent judiciary restored, a new neutral caretaker government installed for overseeing free and fair elections, and then elections that would decide upon the new parliament and prime minister. This will not immediately solve Pakistan's fundamental problems - army dominance, maldistribution of wealth, religious fanaticism, provincial imbalances - but it would get Pakistan on the track to democracy instead of the self-destruction it is now racing towards.

Q: People in Washington are increasingly frustrated with Musharraf's counterterrorism efforts, however they think there are no alternatives to Musharraf. What do you think about this?

A: The Americans have tunnel vision. They want lackeys like Musharraf who do their bidding, although here too there is deception at work. They know, but choose to forget, that Pakistani military leaders, Musharraf included, are the makers of the jihadist monster. In 1999, after Musharraf launched the secret Kargil operation in Kashmir, the United Jihad Council celebrated him as a true fighter for Islam. After 911 such praises disappeared, but under his leadership the army still covertly supported jihadist groups and the Taliban in Kashmir and Afghanistan.

Musharraf is extremely unpopular now and the Americans will have to dump him at some point. It is hard to find a pro-Musharraf person anywhere in the country except in the top business circles and the top army leadership. Until recently he ran both the army and the government himself, with the connivance of a rubber-stamp Parliament put in place through rigged elections. When the courts were about to rule that he could not legally be president, Musharraf chose to suspend the constitution and impose emergency rule. He dismissed the Supreme Court and arrested the judges, replacing them with judges who obey his every command. He blocked all independent television channels, and punished the news media for disparaging him or the army. His police arrested thousands of lawyers and pro-democracy activists. He ordered that civilians be tried in closed military courts. This was necessary, he said, to save Pakistan from a
rapidly growing Islamist insurgency. But he released 25 Islamic extremists on the day that the judges were arrested. In spite of all this, George W. Bush called Musharraf "a democrat at heart". It makes you sick.

The Americans have shot themselves in the foot by supporting the army consistently for decades. They have lost credibility and respect among Pakistanis. Everybody laughs when they hear that America wants democracy for Pakistan. In this situation, even if Musharraf goes and Gen. Kayani (the new army chief) takes over, the best that American can hope for is for the status quo. This is sad, because America is a great country with many virtues. If only they could get over their hangup of wanting to run the world! It's an impossible task anyway.

Q: In Pakistan what is the man on the street thinking?

A: Almost everyone holds the government responsible for the assassination. Tragically, suicide bombings are not condemned with any particular vigor. There is no strong reaction against the mullahs, madrassas, and jihadis. Perhaps people are afraid to criticize them because this might be seen as a criticism of Islam. Interestingly, in all the street demonstrations I have gone to after the Bhutto assassinations, there was no call for cracking down on extremists. Yesterday I met the lone taxidriver who
thought the Islamists did it.

Q: What could be an effective way to fight Al Qaeda and the Taleban in Pakistan?

A: To fight and win this war, Pakistan will need to mobilize both its people and the state. The notion of a power-sharing agreement between the state and Taliban is a non-starter; the spectacular failures of earlier agreements should be a lesson. Instead the government should help create public consensus through open forum discussions, proceed faster on
infrastructure development in the tribal areas, and make judicious use of military force - troops only, no air power. This should become every Pakistani's war, not just the army's, and it will have to be fought even if America packs up and goes away. But, as long as Musharraf is president,
it will be impossible to get popular support for the war. If presented with a choice between Musharraf and the Taliban, the overwhelming majority of Pakistanis would want the latter - although I am sure they would regret it later.

Q: Let's talk about Pakistan's nukes. There a lot of concern about the possibility that nuclear weapons could end up into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. Early in December the Washington Post revealed that a small group of U.S. military experts and intelligence analysts convened in Washington for exploring strategies to secure Pakistani nukes if the
Pakistani regime falls apart. Their conclusions were very scaring, as, - there are no palatable ways to forcibly ensure the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. What do you think about this?

A: The government says there is absolutely no danger of loose nukes.

Pakistan has been sending serving officers of the Strategic Plans Division, which is the agency responsible for handling nuclear weapons, to the United States for training in safety measures (PAL's locking devices, storing procedures, etc). But there's no way of telling if this will be effective. Extremists have already penetrated deep into the army and the intelligence agencies. We now see repeated evidence: for example, last month an unmarked bus carrying employees of the Inter Services Intelligence [Pakistan's secret intelligence], was collecting employees early in the morning. It was boarded by a suicide bomber who blew himself
up killing 25. It was an inside job.

And now there are many other such examples, such as that of an army man killing 16 Special Services Group commandos in a suicide attack at Ghazi Barotha. A part of the establishment is clearly at war with another part.

There are also scientists, as well as military people, who are radical Islamists. Many questions come to mind: can there be collusion between different field-level commanders, resulting in the hijacking of a nuclear weapon? Could outsider groups develop links with insiders? Given the
absence of accurate records of fissile material production, can one be certain that small quantities of highly enriched uranium or weapons grade plutonium have already not been diverted? I do not know the answers.

Nobody does.

Pakistani Dream: Bhutto Shaheeed Aka martyr

2008-01-01T23:29:00.000-05:00

Pakistani Dream: Bhutto Shaheeed Aka martyr

Pakistan Rich List 2008

2008-01-01T22:57:00.000-05:00

Bhutto's Son Chosen As Eventual Party Chief

2008-01-01T22:20:00.000-05:00

KARACHI, Pakistan, Dec. 30 -- Pakistan's largest and most storied political party chose Sunday to continue its dynastic traditions, anointing the 19-year-old son of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to be her ultimate successor but picking her husband to lead for now.
- By Griff Witte
Washingtonpost.com

Bhutto's son named as heir to political party

2008-01-01T22:15:00.000-05:00

Benazir Bhutto's 19-year-old son Bilawal has been chosen to take over her Pakistan People's Party, after her assassination on Thursday.
He will become president in a ceremonial capacity while he finishes his studies at Oxford University.
Bilawal told journalists at the Bhutto family home: "My mother always said democracy is the best revenge".
Ms Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, who will run the party day-to-day, said it would contest January elections.
....

Bhutto Shaheeed Aka martyr

2008-01-01T21:58:00.000-05:00

The killing of Ms. Bhutto is a heinous crime which cannot and should not be tolerated an any way or any circumstances and the killer and their organization should be brought to daylight and face the justice.

However the word martyr a.k.a Shaheed has been inflated at least 10 times the rate of inflation in Pakistan.

Ms. Bhutto inherited this business of making money under the façade of democracy from her father the main architect of break up of East Pakistan, (remember the just wanted to be the Top Dog rather than the underdog). She inherited this because of her brother turned terrorist(Remember Al Zulfiqar, hijacking of PIA aircraft etc.) Now with her demise the fate of millions is in the hand of a teenager. This is laughable. This is what is also called nepotism at its best, even Indra Gandhi did not nominate Rajiv in her will or Rajiv nominate Sonia. The nomination of a teenager in the name of Pakistan falling apart seems to be farce of democracy at its best.

Back to the definition of Shaheed AKA Martyer Iman Hussain was Shaheed , Hazrat Hamza was Shaheed, Hazrat Ali is Shaheed, and there are whole list of Martyrs and shaheed in the history, Look at their life style and their cause for which these personalities has given their lives, compare it with Bhutto’s corruption, nepotism, kleptocary. Bhutto is no Shaheed, just a victim of heinous political murder set up by the Al Qaida/Talibans and an event which could have been avoided.

Pakistan's flawed and feudal princess

2007-12-30T12:18:00.000-05:00

The Queen has died, Long live the king

Short Memory

2007-11-13T00:30:00.000-05:00

People like in People's Party have short memory.

This is Ny times follow the links to Bhutto's fortune.
http://www.samsloan.com/benazir.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/010998pakistan.1.GIF.html
http://www.samsloan.com/benazir.htm#9

Aid and AIDS

2007-11-11T01:55:00.000-05:00

The Notion of aid can be described in one acronym "AIDS" the recipient county cannot get rid of it.
The donor county makes "muchos dineros" by dumping sub standard and low quality surplus widgets to the recipient country/ The kleptocratic elite if the recipient county takes 99% of this and sent the profit back to the recipient county for "a rainy day" and shut up their voices.

So what goes around comes around.
Example:
How many times Bhutto Sharif complained about poor conditions of Pakistanis living in Dubai or Jedda.
Geo Bhutto, maze se . Dubai men, San ko Marne Do,

Imran Khan of MianWali

2007-11-11T01:01:00.000-05:00

Khan of MianWali is without his biwi, The man who cannot save his mariage, wants to save Pakistan.
Perhaps he should clean his Urdu, before cleaning Pakistan. Baat karne ka saliqa tou Seekh lo. Shurfa meen apne dushman se bhi tamiz se baat karte heen.

Geo Maze se Dubai men, Baqi sab ko marne do.

2007-11-07T07:51:00.000-05:00

Our "Fair and Balanced" Geo Tv which is based in Dubai, has challanged every thing on the planet except the wrong doing of thier hosts in United Arab Emirates. Example conditions of immigrants from Pakistan mostly poor and low wages worker from Pakistan, India, Bungladesh etc.

Geo Maze se Dubai men, Baqi sab ko marne do.

Open Season on Pervez

2007-11-06T22:13:00.000-05:00

Pervez out of order
Pakistani strongman suspends constitution
By Hassan Abbas

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1042792&format=comments

I agree its open season on Musharraf, but let me ask, what Hasan Abbas was doing when Bhutto his former employer, who he refers to as "Mohttarma" a prefix meaning "The Respected One" was plundering Pakistan's meager wealth together with her husband as "Dulha Bhai" The brother in law of Pakistan? Bhutto asked the investigation of suicide bomb by the American investigation teams. With all due respect I ask her how about the investigations of all the wrong doing and illegal activities during her rule by the American investigation team, and If found guilty, then is she and her husband ready to face "the American Justice"?
How about Sharif brothers showing Sharafat during their time as "Amir ul monineen" (The leader of faithful) as Nowaz Sharif was trying to work out this title for himself. The wealth he created after he was elevated to the PM by Zia. His relationship with Saudi Klan and connections with the Talibans and Bin Laden. Perhaps Sharif should also face American Justice.
Where were the Human Right activists during Bhutto Sharif rule? Why did they kept silence?

Where were the Media at that time? Why did it was silenced by both Bhutto and Sharif ? Because it did not simply existed.

The problem with us is we had very short memory. Remember Ahmed Chalabi and the other Iraqi experts?

Message to former thief justice of Pakistan

2007-11-06T20:36:00.000-05:00

Message to former thief justice of Pakistan

Where were you when Nawaz Sharif was plundering Pakistan's wealth?
Were were you when Bhutto together with her husband Zardari stealing money from Pakistan's wealth?
There has been allegation about your own conduct any comment about the rumors about your own records.
Yes it is open season on Musharraf and as Haqqani an another acolyte of Benazir and Nawaz did confess on NPR talk of the nation that "yes there are and will be Kleptocrats in Pakistan's Leader ship". Are you also one of them boys and gals? as some calls you thief justice of Pakistan.

Schrille Alarmrufe aus dem islamischen Wunschgebilde

2007-11-05T19:56:00.000-05:00

Pakistan

Schrille Alarmrufe aus dem islamischen Wunschgebilde

Von Werner Adam

Mitglieder der islamischen Oppositionspartei Jamaat-i-Islami demonstrieren gegen Musharraf
05. November 2007
In den sechs Jahrzehnten seines Bestehens ist Pakistan bislang nicht weniger als zweiunddreißig Jahre lang von Männern in Uniform regiert worden. Zwischenzeitlich führten zivile Politiker eher schlecht als recht das Ruder, und zwar unter insgesamt zwanzig Ministerpräsidenten in ebenso vielen Jahren. Wenn immer die Militärs eingriffen, wollten sie sich selbstredend als Retter der Nation verstanden wissen.

So melodramatisch, wie jetzt Präsident und Armeechef Pervez Musharraf mit der Verhängung des Ausnahmezustands sein Festhalten an der Macht begründet hat, ist es vor ihm allerdings noch keinem pakistanischen General über die Lippen gekommen. Musharraf rechtfertigte seine vorläufige Absage an einen neuerlichen Anlauf in Richtung Demokratie mit der Behauptung, nur auf diese Weise sein Land vor dem „Selbstmord“ bewahren zu können.

Ein staatlicher Todesstoß

An schrillen Alarmrufen hat es noch nie gefehlt in der Geschichte dieses einzigen Staatswesens der Welt, dessen Raison d'être allein auf dem Islam basiert. Kein Wunder, denn der muslimische Nachfolgestaat Britisch-Indiens war 1947 als eine geographische Missbildung gegründet worden, bestehend aus zwei Landesteilen, die durch zweitausend Kilometer indischen Territoriums voneinander getrennt waren. Zwischen dem bengalischen Ostpakistan und den Völkerschaften in Westpakistan gab es, von der religiösen Ausrichtung abgesehen, weder kulturell noch ethnisch die geringsten Gemeinsamkeiten.

Schon bald zeigte sich, dass dieses Gebilde nur mit militärischer Strenge zusammenzuhalten war. Als es dann 1971 endlich zu den ersten freien Wahlen kam, für die sich damals der Militärherrscher Yahya Khan stark gemacht hatte, liefen diese buchstäblich auf einen staatlichen Todesstoß hinaus. Dank ihrer Bevölkerungsmehrheit fiel der Wahlsieg den Ostpakistanern zu, den die Westpakistaner mit dem politischen Heißsporn Zulfikar Ali Bhutto an der Spitze jedoch nicht anerkennen wollten. Und so wurde nach einem blutigen Bürgerkrieg, an dem Indien einen nicht unerheblichen Anteil hatte, aus Ostpakistan das unabhängige Bangladesch und aus Westpakistan eine politisch lange Zeit traumatisierte, weil nunmehr halbierte „Nation“, die sich fortan um so stärker islamisierte.

Zehntausende in Koranschulen

Dazu wiederum trug maßgeblich ein anderer Militärherrscher bei, der durch einen Putsch gegen den zivilen Premierminister Bhutto an die Macht gelangt war und letzteren durch den Tod am Strang ausschalten ließ: General Zia ul-Haq. Er spielte eine wichtige Rolle im „Heiligen Krieg“ gegen die sowjetische Besatzungsmacht im benachbarten Afghanistan, zumal westliche Waffenlieferungen an die afghanischen Mudschahedin vornehmlich über Pakistan liefen. Hier nun kam vor allem der Militärische Geheimdienst (ISI) unter dem pakistanischen General Hamid Gul mit ins unselige Spiel.

Der am Wochenende von Musharraf endlich in Gewahrsam genommene Gul mochte sich seinerzeit mit der Rekrutierung afghanischer und pakistanischer Glaubenskrieger nicht begnügen. Mit der Begründung, dass die Kommunisten internationale Brigaden hätten und der Westen sich auf die Nato stützen könne, redete er einer „gemeinsamen Kampffront“ aller Muslime das Wort - und handelte danach. Bis zu 35.000 Islamisten aus Algerien, Ägypten, Jordanien, Sudan und dem Jemen, aus Usbekistan, dem chinesischen Xingjang und selbst aus den Philippinen wurden in dem Jahrzehnt von 1982 bis 1992 in pakistanischen und afghanischen Koranschulen trainiert und zum Kampf nicht nur gegen die Sowjetarmee am Hindukusch, sondern zum Teil auch im indischen Teil Kaschmirs, im nordkaukasischen Tschetschenien und auf dem Balkan eingesetzt.

Ein mysteriöser Flugzeugabsturz

Aus den Millionen afghanischer Flüchtlinge, die in Pakistan Zuflucht gefunden hatten, ging unter dem Oberkommando des ISI schließlich auch die Bewegung der Taliban hervor. Die pakistanischen Militärs waren sich sicher, auf diese Weise nachhaltigen Einfluss auf den weiteren Gang der Dinge in Afghanistan nehmen zu können. Den Siegeszug der Taliban sollte Zia ul-Haq freilich ebenso wenig erleben wie den vorausgegangenen Abzug der Roten Armee aus Afghanistan. Er kam, zusammen mit dem damaligen amerikanischen Botschafter, 1988 nach elfjähriger Herrschaft bei einem mysteriösen Flugzeugabsturz ums Leben.

In den folgenden elf Jahren wurde Pakistan jeweils wechselweise von den beiden Zivilpolitikern Nawaz Sharif, dem Führer der Muslimliga (ML), und Benazir Bhutto, der Tochter Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos und Vorsitzenden der Pakistanischen Volkspartei (PPP), regiert. Beide sahen sich wieder und wieder Vorwürfen der Korruption und der Vetternwirtschaft ausgesetzt, bis 1999 schließlich abermals die Generalität eingriff: Pervez Musharraf übernahm die Macht und schickte Nawaz Sharif, der ihm nach einer Auslandsreise die Rückkehr nach Pakistan hatte verweigern wollen, ins Zwangsexil nach Saudi-Arabien, während sich Benazir Bhutto nach London absetzte. Kurz zuvor war Pakistan dem Beispiel Indiens gefolgt und hatte sich als Atommacht etabliert.

Einer der wichtigsten Verbündeten Amerikas

Nach den Anschlägen am 11. September 2001 in New York und Washington wurde Musharraf nicht ohne massiven Druck aus dem Weißen Haus zu einem der wichtigsten Verbündeten des amerikanischen Präsidenten Bush im „Krieg gegen den Terror“. Die militärische Ausschaltung der Taliban-Herrschaft in Afghanistan führte im Gegenzug dazu, dass das pakistanische Grenzgebiet zu Afghanistan zu einem Rückzugsgebiet sowohl für die Taliban als auch für Al Qaida wurde. Zugleich nahm in Pakistan die nicht zuletzt gegen Musharraf gerichtete antiamerikanische Stimmung zu, und mit ihr ging besonders in der „Northwest Frontier“ Province und in Belutschistan eine islamische Radikalisierung - lies: Talibanisierung - sondergleichen einher.

In beiden Provinzen lebten obendrein sezessionistische Tendenzen neu auf und erinnerten daran, dass sechzig Jahre zuvor starke Kräfte besonders unter den muslimischen Pathanen gegen die Gründung Pakistans gewesen waren. Der Anführer jener Bewegung, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, der als „Frontier Gandhi“ in die Geschichte eingehen sollte, war zunächst gegen eine Teilung des indischen Subkontinents und dann, als sich diese nicht hatte verhindern lassen, für ein von Pakistan unabhängiges „Paschtunistan“ unter Einschluss afghanischer Siedlungsgebiete. Auch der spätere Abfall Ostbengalens führte keineswegs zu einem stärkeren Zusammenhalt Restpakistans mit seinen vier Völkerschaften der Pundschabis, Sindhis, Belutschen und Pathanen. Deren Provinzen fanden bis heute nie wirklich zu einer Nation zusammen. Identitätsmerkmal blieb allein der Islam. Und der nahm vor allem in der Frontier Province immer radikalere Züge an.

Kein reibungsloser Machtwechsel

Dass Pakistan unter dem religiös moderaten Musharraf ungeachtet aller Krisen wirtschaftlich durchaus Fortschritte machte, war zwar nicht allein, aber doch vornehmlich amerikanischer Unterstützung zu verdanken, die sich in den vergangenen sechs Jahren auf rund zehn Milliarden Dollar belief. Im Kampf gegen den Terror blieb und bleibt der Westen nun einmal auf pakistanische Mitwirkung angewiesen, und von allen dort denkbaren Machtkonstellationen musste die mit Musharraf als Zentralfigur bisher als die immer noch erträglichste erscheinen.

Dass sich die Amerikaner hinter den Kulissen seit längerem schon für eine Art Partnerschaft zwischen dem General und Benazir Bhutto einsetzten, leuchtete insofern ein, als beide eher säkular als islamisch ausgerichtet sind und Frau Bhutto ungeachtet ihrer fragwürdigen politischen und administrativen Reputation mit der PPP eine recht gut organisierte Partei hinter sich weiß. Schwerlich zu bestreiten ist allerdings auch, dass die alarmierende Sicherheitslage im Lande alles andere als einen reibungslosen Wechsel von militärischer zu demokratischer Herrschaft erwarten ließ.

So ist Pakistan, dieses vor sechs Jahrzehnten geschaffene, aber von Grund auf missratene islamische Wunschgebilde, wieder einmal dort angelangt, wo es schon des Öfteren stand: am Rande des Abgrunds, aus dem als beklemmendes Echo der Notruf von Militärs widerhallt, die daran alles andere als unschuldig - und seit fast zehn Jahren nun auch noch atomar ausgerüstet sind.

Text: F.A.Z., 06.11.2007, Nr. 258 / Seite 3
Bildmaterial: AFP

http://www.faz.net/s/RubDDBDABB9457A437BAA85A49C26FB23A0/Doc~E961392F6DC234E31BCDC1E4E55AF5C0D~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html

Law, order and justice

2007-11-05T19:48:00.000-05:00

By Ardeshir Cowasjee

DAY after day it is becoming increasingly obvious — to ourselves and to the rest of the world which has any interest in us — that we have recently climbed down from the treetops but have yet to lose our tails.

Power and pelf remain the name of the game — the order of the day. Our ‘leaders’, those who assume power unto themselves utilising whatever means may be necessary, lose little time in deciding that they are the ‘chosen ones’ (some even invoking the name of the Almighty).

They bully and dupe the people for as long as their power stints prevail. Incompetent and insecure, they jockey themselves into positions that will hopefully give them a lifelong tenure — the prime example of this being the Daughter of the East, the Star of the West, Benazir (the prefix ‘Mohtarma’ has now become a must when any of her acolytes dare take her name) Sahiba, daughter of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, when she took over from her mother declared herself to be chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party (and the two ‘ps’ that go with it) for life. We must hope that she lives a long and healthy life and can continue to save herself from those who have tried to blow her up and those who are threatening to do so.

One must assume that Nawaz Sharif is also the undeclared chief for life of his own brand of Muslim League, that Altaf Bhai, Pir of London Town, is the Don of his Muttahida for as long as he may live — and right now, signs are that President General Pervez Musharraf, following in the footsteps of President General Ziaul Haq, has intentions of occupying the post of army chief, should he be thwarted in his presidential aspirations, for his lifetime (though we must fervently hope that the similarity with Zia stops short of the ultimate).

All of this desire for and grasping of power (and the accompanying ease and opportunity for the acquisition of pelf) boils down to what has been accumulated in the little aperture in the small head upon chipped shoulders.

What all this leads to is the fact that nowhere in the game exists the imposition or the establishment of law and order. This country, or any country for that matter, must have law and order, law and order first and foremost, if it is to progress, or continue to exist.

For weeks, our press and electronic media, have regaled us with reports on what has been uttered (or ‘observed’ as is the favourite terminology) by their Lordships of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, sitting in Islamabad and snowed under with petitions on a variety of issues which they must hear and decide. The acrimony between the executive and the judiciary is not hidden from us, it is way out in the open, for us all to see, comment upon and even have the odd snigger. This is bad.

We need to learn from other systems, and why not from the United States of America whose bidding we do, having no choice in the matter? As powerful as the most powerful man in the world may be, the President of the Sole Superpower, he is powerless when it comes to his own supreme court — once he has appointed a man to the Bench and his appointment has been approved and confirmed by the US Senate (after a lengthy exhausting procedure) his appointee is a free and independent man. There is no provision in the US which would allow a president to summon to his office a chief justice of his supreme court, or to attempt to intimidate or influence him.

When I was last in the United States, some seven years ago, I spent some time visiting the Supreme Court to see how it operates — with great civility, I must say. How does one become a ‘visitor’? No passes or permits are required. There are 50 chairs in the visitors’ enclosure occupied by the first 50 people who are queuing up in orderly fashion to be allowed into the court. In the winter, despite wind and weather, one has to rise early to be on the open porch by 0800 hours. The doors open at 0930. The lucky first 50 deposit their overcoats and umbrellas in the cloakroom and are escorted to their seats. One can almost hear the big clock on the wall ticking away the minutes.

At exactly 0955, nine chinks appeared in the heavy red curtains behind the nine swivel chairs facing the courtroom and the chief justice (at that time William Rhenquist) and his seven brethren and one ‘sister’ duly robed, appeared, moved forward, and seated themselves. They glanced at the summaries on the desk before them and at the stroke of 1000 hours, the chief justice said, yes, Mr White, and the counsel rose and addressed the court. He has 30 minutes in which to say what he has to say. At five minutes past the hour, another black-suited gentleman, another lawyer, rose from his seat and stood silently with his hands behind his back.

A minute later, he was spotted by the chief justice. Mr White, he said, Mr Black from Texas has something to say. I will hear him. Your time will stop. He turned to Mr Black. Yes, Mr Black? Mr Black had brought with him 20 young lawyers to be sworn in, as the chief justice had so ordered. The CJ consulted his diary. Yes, so I had, said he. He turned to Mr White. I must honour my commitment. You will get extra time.

The young men were duly sworn in and Mr White resumed his pleadings. At 1107 his opponent finished and sat down. The nine judges whispered amongst themselves, the verdict was delivered without much delay.

On the one day I was there, three cases were decided, with no adjournments requested or given. While the second case was being heard, the pleading lawyer mentioned a previous decision, at which the chief justice rose from his chair, disappeared behind the red curtain, returned with a book in his hands, sat down, and opened it up at the relevant page.

Justice was done and justice was seen to be done.

On to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who has ‘vowed’ to find all the ‘missing’ men of the hundreds of the ‘disappeared’ of Pakistan who he feels are held by our various agencies. The lives and welfare of these citizens whose whereabouts are yet to be ascertained should be of more importance to the court, to the judges and to us than the shenanigans of our ‘leaders’ and our government and its various dubious members.

E-mail: arfc@cyber.net.pk

Helsingin sanomat Helsinki Finland

2007-11-03T22:27:00.000-04:00

Musharraf lakkautti Pakistanin perustuslain
(3.11. 23:09)

Pakistanin presidentti Pervez Musharraf julisti lauantaina maahan hätätilan. Myös maan perustuslaki lakkautettiin hätätilan nojalla.

Pakistanin hätätilan taustaa (3.11. 19:36)

HS 19.10.2007: Bhutton paluujuhla muuttui verilöylyksi

KOMMENTTI HS 21.10.2007: Bhutton kotiintulo enteilee Pakistanille vain uusia uhkia

Owen Bennet Jones on NPR

2007-11-03T22:18:00.000-04:00

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=872046

In visit to homeland, Bhutto vows to fight extremism

2007-10-28T23:35:00.003-04:00

Ms Bhutto does not have faith in Pakistani authorities, but the daughter of east and the star of west is confident in Western authorities. Perhaps the western authorities should also investigate the corrouption during her rule. If found guily by the western authorites of corruption. President Bush can pardon her as he did to Libby.
More: Boston Globe

Bomb victims’ rehabilitation DAWN 10/25/2007

2007-10-25T00:13:00.000-04:00

Bomb victims’ rehabilitation

http://www.dawn.com/2007/10/25/letted.htm#2

WHEN there were ominous threats to PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto from the beginning of her journey to Pakistan on Oct 18, where was the PPP wisdom to collect hundreds of thousands of people on the road and jeopardise their lives? The only reason their leadership gives is that it was their democratic right to stage a rally. But under such dire circumstances? What happened was a colossal tragedy that traumatised the nation and tarnished its image internationally.

There is no foolproof security nor is it possible for any government in our predicament to control and protect mammoth crowds. If the purpose of all this show was to assert Ms Bhutto’s massive following, it was well-managed and funded also to satisfy her patrons abroad.

Now that so many party volunteers and public men have been killed and maimed, I do not see that the PPP has chalked out any plan to help the victims and their families financially. It is the responsibility of the PPP to take adequate care of them and spend adequately on their rehabilitation and relief as they have done on galvanizing an assemblage to welcome Ms Bhutto and prepare a luxurious float for her. Mere salutes to the victims and their families will not suffice.

MOHAMMAD ALEEM SHAIKH
Karachi

A comet in orbit

2007-10-23T08:08:00.003-04:00

A comet in orbit

By Ardeshir Cowasjee

IT is inevitable. With the passage of time, our elderly friends, and even many younger, are taken away to rest on Cloud Nine and we suffer, missing particularly those upon whom wisdom and a sense of humour had been bestowed by the Creator.

One such friend was an ambassador of sunny Spain upon whose plains, said that astute professor, Henry Higgins, the rain mainly falls. He was an aristocrat to the core, accredited to the Court of Field Marshal Ayub Khan. His English was limited to three words. Everything that happened in Pakistan was either a ‘catastrophe’, ‘calamity’, or ‘disaster’.

Now, right now, in sunny Pakistan upon whose plains the falling rain is limited, everything done by our President General, Pervez Musharraf, since his commando action of March 9, falls within the ambit of my Spanish friend’s three definitions.

Though, to give the general due credit, he has not wavered from his resolve to fight fanaticism, terrorism and bigotry coupled with ignorance — all formidable foes.

Now, to add to his and to our woes and worries, the Daughter of the East, the Star of the West, has returned to the homeland to bring in democracy, as practised by her party and by her, and thanks to the general and the ‘deal’ foisted upon him by the US ably abetted by the UK, we are all likely to be held hostage to another spell of loot and plunder.

By the selfish acts of her party, approved by her, some 150 lives have been lost and hundreds have been wounded and maimed. This is apart from the mundane fiscal loss to the country of some five hundred million of the beloved awam’s money.

As things are developing, the Inter Service Intelligence organisation and the other ‘agencies’ and their combined spooks will come into play and more than disturb our lives and any hopes of a halfway free and fair election (if there is to be an election).

To counter further potential damage to the country and its image, it is very necessary that Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who has conducted himself admirably, hear and decide Human Rights Petition 19/1996 which was filed by Air Marshal Asghar Khan against the illegal distribution of the people’s money by the ISI to ‘fix’ elections, the respondent being the retired chief of army staff General Mirza Aslam Beg. This seriously needs to be resurrected and heard and decided, telling us and the ISI and others of their colour what it is that they cannot lawfully do.

The man directly involved in ordering the ISI to perform its illegal actions and the man who apparently organised the funds necessary to purchase our pliant politicians was Ghulam Ishaq Khan, then president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and his complacent assistants still with us — General Beg and retired Lt General Asad Durrani who has been man enough to confess to whatever wrong it was that he did.

Both gentlemen, with admirable frequency and consistency, participate in the talk shows aired by our numerous private television channels. A couple of weeks ago, on Dawn News’ Talk Back, a passage from the written statement submitted and filed in the Supreme Court by General Beg in the matter of HRP 19/1996 was read out to him by Anchor Tim:

‘It is submitted with great respect that more serious damage has been caused to the reputation and the goodwill of the armed forces by Air Marshal (Retd) Asghar Khan in bringing this petition before the honourable Court and raising an issue before the apex Court which of course would receive great publicity and would cause greater damage by scandalisation in the media. It also reflects on the poor control of the armed forces Supreme Command...’

When asked to explain why Beg considered that the petition against the ISI’s devious actions and use of public money would damage the reputation of the armed forces, Beg declared that if indeed it was thus written it was a ‘mistake’. It was pointed out to him that his signature is on the written statement which is available in the records of the Supreme Court.

As for the ISI, its very history is against it. It was founded in 1948 by Major General R. Cawthorne, a British army officer, the deputy chief of staff of the Pakistan Army. Its intelligence-gathering role was expanded 10 years later by the army commander in chief and president of the Republic General Ayub Khan to safeguard the ‘national interest’ by monitoring opposition politicians, sustaining military rule and safeguarding Ayub’s own power base.

Its failings in the true and original justification for its existence were exposed in the 1965 war when its operations collapsed, its duties for too long having been devoted to domestic investigation work such as tapping telephones, harassing political opponents and trailing suspects.

It became further involved in politics under President General Yahya Khan, particularly in East Pakistan — and we all know how that meddling ended. It continued to be politically used and manipulated by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, to his detriment and ultimate downfall. It was the ISI that was responsible for the disastrous rigging of the 1977 elections — totally unnecessary — and the subsequent army takeover by General Ziaul Haq.

Now, here we are at the end of 2007, 30 years down the line, and the ISI remains a political force to be reckoned with. Musharraf, hand in hand with the Americans and the Europeans, and with Benazir Bhutto, is busy planning his election strategy, in which undoubtedly will largely figure the experienced ISI. Musharraf should be wary of the ISI and its cynical sycophancy, reflecting upon how it had led Bhutto to the scaffold and the drop.

The ISI’s role in Pakistan’s domestic political affairs has been murky in the extreme, severely marring its performance in the external sphere. It has successfully been used to install and then to bring down governments, presidents and prime ministers.

Air Marshal Asghar Khan’s petition is now highly pertinent and for the sake of any vestige of ‘free and fair’ elections it is vital that it be heard and decided. The last hearing was on Oct 11, 1999, the day before a reckless unthinking prime minister handed over his country to an army chief with whom he was at odds.

The Chief Justice of Pakistan has much on his plate, including the vital issue of the hundreds of missing persons, many surely made to ‘disappear’ by the magic of the ISI. But, truly in the national interest, and before the elections are held, he must find time to decide petition 19/1996 which has languished in his court for over a decade.

arfc@cyber.net.pk

A comet in orbit

2007-10-23T08:08:00.001-04:00

Pakistan Trouble Ahead, Trouble behind

2007-10-22T20:56:00.000-04:00

http://www.ahmedrashid.com/la/1.pdf

Going mainstream

2007-10-21T22:38:00.000-04:00

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/10/18/going_mainstream/

http:///www.hindu.com/2007/10/18/stories/2007101861831800.htm

2007-10-21T22:07:00.000-04:00

Comment: Another example of how the Pakistani Secular politicians “brown nose” with the Indian Press. This time another Bhutto. We do not see any Indian politician making such coments.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/10/18/stories/2007101861831800.htm

Bhutto's husband now admits owning £4m estate

2007-10-21T10:43:00.000-04:00

Its still relevant
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1287768,00.html

BENZAIR SINGS DEMOCRACY BUT SUPPORT TERRORISM

2007-10-20T23:37:00.001-04:00

IltaSanomat Helsink Finland - Pommi-isku surmasi taas useita ihmisiä Pakistanissa

2007-10-20T11:13:00.000-04:00

Pommi-isku surmasi taas useita ihmisiä Pakistanissa
20.10.2007 16:37

News about 7 killed and and more than 20 wounded in Dera Bugti, Baluchistan.

http://iltasanomat.fi/uutiset/ulkomaat/uutinen.asp?id=1446840

2007-10-20T11:07:00.000-04:00

VIEW: Ganjas no more! —Kamran Shafi

2007-10-20T10:52:00.000-04:00

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_31-3-2005_pg3_4