Monday, April 21, 2008

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

More:You Tube

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

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Special Verdict and Arrangement for Zardari

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

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Fatima Bhutto's Story - Who killed Who!

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

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

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Doodh Ka Doodh, Pani ka Pani

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

Monday, April 14, 2008

Punjabi Policeman to Rule Karachi one more time.

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"

Sunday, April 13, 2008

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

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

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.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Fickle Pakistani liberals

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

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Lawyers in The Boston Blobe

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

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

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

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

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

Monday, April 7, 2008

Revenge PPP Style or Jutee Mar Democracy.

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

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Zardari's action

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

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