قادیانیوں کی عبادت گاہوں پر شرپسندوں کے حملے

باجود اس کے کہ قادیانیوں کو پاکستان میں پسند نہیں کیا جاتا۔ لگ بھگ ہر شعبہ زندگی سے تعلق رکھنے والے افراد نے قادیانیوں کی عبادت گاہوں پر حملوں کی سخت ترین الفاظ میں مذمت کی ہے۔ معاملہ یہ ہے کہ کسی بھی شخص کا تعلق خواہ کسی بھیمذہب و ملت سے کیوں نہ ہو بنیادی طور پر وہ انسان ہے اور انسان کا یوں بے دردی سے خون بہانا بدترین ظلم ہے اور اللہ تعالیٰ ظلم کو ناپسند کرتا ہے۔
ہر مذہب کے ماننے والوں میں ایسے افراد موجود ہوتے ہیں جو دوسرے مذاہب کے لوگوں کو سخت ناپسند کرتے ہیں اور ا ن پر تشدد کو بھی جائز سمجھتے ہیں لیکن خوش قسمتی کی بات یہ ہے کہ ایسے افراد ہمیشہ اقلیت میں ہوتے ہیں ورنہ یہ دنیا جہنم بن جاتی اور زمین نامی یہ سیارہ رہنے کے قابل نہ رہتا۔
قادیانیوں کی عبادت گاہوں پر حملے کرکے دہشت گردوں نے وہی رویہ پیش کیا ہے جو امریکہ اور اس کے اتحادی مسلمانوں کے خلاف افغانستان اور پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقوں میں پیش کررہے ہیں ۔ دنیا میں بڑے بڑے متعصب عیسائی ہندو اور یہودی ہیں جو مسلمانوں کو صفحہ ہستی سے مٹا دینے کی خواہش رکھتے ہیں لیکن کیا انہیں اجازت دی جاسکتی ہے کہ وہ ہماری مساجد پر حملے کریں؟ کیا فرق ہے ان لوگوں میں اور ان نئے دہشت گردوں میں جنہوں نے خیبر سے کراچی تک ان گنت مساجد میں خودکش حملے کئے اور عبادت میں مصروف لوگوں کے چیتھڑے اڑا کر رکھ دیئے۔ کیا ان ساری کرداروں کو ملانے سے یہ بات واضح نہیں ہو جاتی کہ دہشت گرد کا کوئی مذہب نہیں ہوتا اور اس کی پہچان صرف اور صرف دہشت گرد کی ہوتی ہے۔
ہم سمجھتے ہیں کہ جو لوگ قادیانیوں کی عبادت گاہوں پر حملہ آور ہوئے ہیں وہ مسلمانوں کے دوست نہیں ہوسکتے۔ اس ایک واقعے سے دنیا بھر میں قادیانیوں کو مظلوم اور مسلمانوں کو ظالم سمجھا جائے گا۔ صرف یہی نہیں دنیا بھر میں قادیانیوں کی پذیرائی بڑھے گی اور ان کے اس موقف کو درست تسلیم کیا جائے گا کہ پاکستان میں وہ نفرت ' تعصب اور تشدد کا شکار ہیں وہ تو ایک زمانے سے یہی پراپیگنڈہ کررہے تھے کہ پاکستان میں وہ خود محفوظ ہیں نہ ان کی عبادت گاہیں ' لیکن ان کے لئے یہ بات ثابت کرنا مشکل ہو جایا کرتی تھی کیونکہ عملاً صورت حال اس سے مختلف تھی۔ ان کا برطانوی مرکز چیخ چیخ کر دنیا کو بتائے گا کہ وہ پاکستان میں کتنے کڑے حالات سے دوچار ہیں اور عالمی برادری سے مدد کے خواہاں ہیں۔
جو لوگ اس طرح کے حملوں کی منصوبہ بندی کرتے ہیں یا تو ان کے پاس عقل نام کی کوئی چیز نہیں ہوتی یا پھر وہ کسی استعماری طاقت کے ایجنٹ ہوتے ہیں۔ امر واقعہ یہ ہے کہ حملہ آوروں کا تعلق اول الذکر گروہ سے ہے یا موخر الذکر گروہ سے ' انہوں نے مسلمانوں خصوصاً پاکستانی مسلمانوں کا امیج خراب کیا ہے اور یہ تاثر قائم کیا ہے کہ مسلمان اپنے علاوہ کسی دوسرے کو برداشت نہیں کرتے۔ یہ بڑا خوفناک تاثر ہوتا ہے کہ کسی ایک قوم کے بارے میں یہ تصور کرلیا جائے یا اس پر ٹھپہ لگ جائے کہ وہ برداشت سے عاری ہے۔ دوسرے لفظوں میں متشدد ہے۔ حالانکہ حقیقت یہ ہے کہ صبرو برداشت کی جس قدر تعلیم اسلام میں دی گئی ہے اتنی دنیا کے کسی مذہب میں نہیں دی گئی۔ اب یہ کیسی عجیب بات ہے کہ ایک قوم جو صبرو برداشت کی تعلیم سے متصف ہو اور اس کی خوگر بھی ہو لیکن دنیا اس کے بارے میں یہ فرض کرلے کہ اس میں برداشت کی کمی ہے یا وہ تشدد پر یقین رکھتی ہے۔ کیا ہم مسلمانوں کے پاس اتنا طاقتور میڈیا ہے جو اس تاثر کو بدل سکے؟ کیا مسلم دنیا اتنی توانا آواز رکھتی ہے جو دنیا کے ایک کونے سے دوسرے کونے تک پھیل جائے اور اس تاثر کو زائل کرسکے؟ ہم تو مغلوب قوم ہیں غلبہ تو دوسری قوموں کا ہے۔ ہمیں تو بہت پھونک پھونک کر قدم اٹھانے کی ضرورت ہے کیونکہ ہم جو بھی غلط قدم اٹھائیں گے اس کے نتیجے میں یا تو کنویں میں گریں گے یا کھائی میں۔ ہمارے آگے بھی اندھیرا ہے اور پیچھے بھی اندھیرا' اس پر مستزاد کہ ہم جذباتی بھی ہیں اور لاپرواہ بھی۔ ہمیں کچھ پتہ نہیں کہ دنیا میں سربلندی حاصل کرنے کے لئے کیا کچھ کرنا پڑتا ہے؟ کچھ پانے کے لئے کیا کچھ کھونا پڑتا ہے۔ عمومی طور پر ہمارا رویہ یہ ہوتا ہے کہ د نیا جائے بھاڑ میں ' جس نے جو کرنا ہے وہ کرلے۔
ہم سمجھتے ہیں کہ یہ رویہ درست نہیں۔ یہ دنیا ایک گائوں کی مانند ہے جس میں ہر رنگ و نسل ' ملت و زبان کے لوگ بستے ہیں۔ کوئی مذہب پر یقین رکھتا ہے ' کوئی مذہب کو مانتا ہی نہیں۔ کوئی بہت زیادہ مذہبی ہے تو کوئی واجبی سا۔ کوئی مذہب پر یقین تو رکھتا ہے لیکن اس میں کوئی خاص دلچسپی نہیں لیتا۔ یہ کارخانہ قدرت کا نظام ہے۔ یہ اسی طرح چلتا آیا ہے اور اسی طرح چلتا رہے گا۔ ہم نے اگر اس گائوں میں رہنا ہے تو سب کے وجود کو تسلیم کرکے ہی رہنا ممکن ہے۔ اپنی پہچان اور شناخت کو کسی صورت نہیں بھولنا لیکن دوسروں کی پہچان اور شناخت پر حرف گیری بھی نہیں کرتی۔ راہنمائی کے لئے سیرت النبیۖ موجود ہے۔ آپۖ نے یہودیوں کو بھی برداشت کیا اور کفار مکہ کو بھی اور تو اور آپۖ نے ان کی زیادتیاں بھی برداشت کیں لیکن جب غلبہ پایا تو سب کو معاف کر دیا۔ اس ہدایت کی روشنی میں ہمیں ایسے لوگوں کے ساتھ کوئی ہمدردی نہیں ہونی چاہیے جو دوسروں کی عبادت گاہوں میں گھس کر قتل و غارت گری کرتے ہیں۔ اللہ ہمیں ہدایت نصیب کرے۔ آمین یا رب العالمین

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Gaza: Global response to killings on Freedom Flotilla

Gaza based Palestinian Civil Society Organizations and International activists call on the international community and civil society to pressure their governments and Israel to cease the abductions and killings in Israel’s attacks against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla sailing for Gaza, and begin a global response to hold Israel accountable for the murder of foreign civilians at sea and illegal piracy of civilian vessels carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza.

We salute the courage of all those who have organized this aid intervention and demand a safe passage through to Gaza for the 750 people of conscience from 40 different countries including 35 international politicians intent on breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade. We offer our sincerest condolences to family and friends who have lost loved ones in the attack.

Video of angry protests as Israel attacks Gaza Freedom Flotilla

By sailing directly to Gaza, outside of Israeli waters, with cargo banned illegally by Israel, such as the 10,000 tonnes of badly needed concrete, toys, workbooks, chocolate, pasta and substantial medical supplies, the flotilla is exercising international law and upholding article 33 of the Geneva Convention which clearly states that collective punishment is a crime against humanity.

The hardships of Israel’s closure of Gaza have been well documented by all human rights groups operating, most recently by Amnesty International in their Annual Human Rights Report concluding that the siege has “deepened the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Mass unemployment, extreme poverty, food insecurity and food price rises caused by shortages left four out of five Gazans dependent on humanitarian aid. The scope of the blockade and statements made by Israeli officials about its purpose showed that it was being imposed as a form of collective punishment of Gazans, a flagrant violation of international law.” The United Nations continuously states that only a fraction of the required aid is entering the Strip due to what it calls ‘the medieval siege’, with John Ging the Director of UNRWA in Gaza specifically expressing the need for the Flotilla to enter Gaza. The European Union’s new foreign affairs minister Catherine Ashton has just reiterated its call for, “an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza.”

The people of Gaza are not dependent people, but self sufficient people doing what they can to retain some dignity in life in the wake of this colossal man-made devastation that deprives so many of a basic start in life or minimal aspirations for the future.

We, from Gaza, call on you to demonstrate and support the courageous men and women on the Flotilla and join the, many now murdered on a humanitarian aid mission. We insist on severance of diplomatic ties with Israel, trials for war crimes and the International protection of the civilians of Gaza. We call on you to join the growing international boycott, divestment and sanction campaign of a country proving again to be so violent and yet so unchallenged. Join the growing critical mass around the world with a commitment to the day when Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as any other people, when the siege is lifted, the occupation is over and the 6 million Palestinian refugees are finally granted justice.

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Why Blame Game against ISI Continues?

By Sajjad Shaukat

Despite the successful military operations by Pakistan’s armed forces and the arrest of renowned commanders of the Taliban which became possible due to our country’s intelligence agencies, India and Afghanistan including particularly the US continues blame game against Pakistan intelligence agency, ISI.

In this connection, on May 16, 2010, while quoting Indian intelligence agencies, Indian Express allegedly reported, “Nearly three months after the attack on Indians in Kabul, Afghan Security agencies have traced back recent anti-India operations in Afghanistan to an ISI outfit located inside a military cantonment in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan…this was a detailed dossier on ISI activities across Afghanistan…specifically dealt with Pakistani efforts to target Indian assets in Afghanistan which included the Indian embassy, its consulates across that country, Indian companies and their projects.”

On May 24, 2010, The Long War Journal, while quoting US military intelligence officials wrote, “The Pakistan-based Haqqani Network carried out suicide attack in Kabul on May 18 that killed a Canadian colonel, two lieutenant colonels, two US soldiers, and twelve Afghan civilians.” The Journal further elaborated, “It the attack was hatched across the border in Pakistan…the US officials disclosed the information after a briefing by the spokesman for the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s top intelligence service, Saeed Ansari who claimed that the attack was organized in Pakistan with the help of ISI.” On the same date, The New York Times also reported same allegation in one or the other way.

These are not new blames against ISI, but are part of a continued campaign against the agency which is the first defence line in thwarting the foreign plot against Pakistan. In 2009, The New York Times and Washington Post had disclosed in a series of allegations regarding presumed ties between our country’s intelligence service and militants of Pakhtunkhwa�aiding Afghan Taliban and in bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul. In that regard, New Delhi had said that ISI must be destroyed. However, all these accusations cannot be seen in isolation, they are linked with all the related-developments which themselves are part of a conspiracy against Pakistan.

It is mentionable that BBC, on October 7, last year displayed a documentary movie regarding the eighth anniversary of the US-led NATO invasion of Afghanistan. It stated that now this war is being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, and “it will soon spread in Pakistan.”

Pakistan’s image had been improved in the eyes of the western public owing to successful military action against the Taliban insurgents, while India faced a diplomatic defeat as it had failed in isolating Pakistan under the pretext of the November 26 terror-attacks of Mumbai. Due to these reasons, Indo-Israeli lobbies in America and Europe have become active against Islamabad with the support of their western partners. It is because of the influence of these lobbies and combined interests of Washington, New Delhi and Tel Aviv against Pakistan that India, Afghanistan and some American officials including their media have again started a blame game against Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI, while giving strong signals to widen the course of drone strikes in Balochistan. They are also misperceiving that Al Qaeda’s top leaders including Mullah Omer has taken shelter in Balochistan.

In this regard, America has been playing a double game with Islamabad, sometimes by cajoling it with economic and military aid, and sometimes by accusing it of supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan. It is most surprising to note that Pakistan’s armed forces and ISI have broken the backbone of the Taliban militants in their own country�as to how it is possible that they are sending militants in Afghanistan for backing the Taliban.

So far as this the explosion in Kabul, attack on the Indians and its embassy is concerned, it is also notable that sometimes people form their opinion in haste as stereotypes guide them. Logical approach requires that we should not conclude it through single factor determinism. A number of factors are involved in world politics, especially when a conspiracy is being prepared. Although Afghanistan has witnessed a number of suicide attacks in the recent weeks, yet these events are part of the collective plot against Pakistan which is the only nuclear country in the Islamic world, and the US-backed Indo-Israeli nexus whose secret agents have well-established themselves in Afghanistan are determined to destablise Pakistan under one or the other pretext. Question arises in the mind of people as to how these foreign enemies can arrange bomb blasts, ambush attacks and killing of the Indians in collusion with the secret agencies of their countries. The reply is quite clear, which can better be understood by students of international relations.

In this respect, renowned political scholars like Machiavelli and Morgenthau remark that in international politics, sometimes leaders and rulers have to choose between the lesser evil and the greater evil. And in these circumstances, deceit and fraud become the principles of international morality.

However, judging in these terms a “nuclearised Pakistan” is considered a greater evil by the US-led Israel and India which possess thousands of atomic weapons. US which wants to make India a regional super power of Asia in order to counterbalance peace-loving China takes Pakistan an obstacle in its covert strategic designs.

Nevertheless, by acting upon a plot to weaken Pakistan�US-led some countries wants to fulfill a number of aims. In this context, frustrated in their misadventure in Afghanistan where defeatism has even been admitted by the American NATO commander, American President Obama has been seriously thinking to withdraw American troops according to the announced schedule.

In fact, US-led India, Afghanistan and Israel have accelerated their covert strategic game by manipulating Pakistan’s grave crises which they have themselves created through their secret agencies, CIA, RAW, Khad and Mossad.

As regards India, it has become fashion to blame ISI for every mishap to conceal her own secret operations against Pakistan. In this connection, more than 12 crude bombs were exploded in the across Ahmedabad one day after the blasts of Bangalore. Although some Indian leaders accused Pakistan’s ISI as usual, yet reality behind the bombing was disclosed by Sushma Swaraj, a leader of the main opposition Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). While indicating the horsetrading by the Manmohan-led ruling party, she pointed out that the blasts in two BJP-ruled states could be the handiwork of a central agency like RAW in order to distract attention from “cash for vote scam”, used to get vote of confidence for the P.M.

Regarding the perennial blame game against ISI, some other developments also verify that the same is the part of a conspiracy against Pakistan. The fact of the matter is that the failed attempt at the Times Square was a plot against Pakistan. In this connection, agents of the Indian secret agency RAW and those of the Israeli Mossad who are well-penetrated in the American CIA have prepared that plot in order to achieve a number of designs against Islamabad. If we go through the reports of Indian media, Reuters and other western news agencies, we can witness regarding the foiled Times Square attempt that it was a trick to keep Pakistan under pressure and push it to go after the Haqqani network in North Waziristan. While ISPR spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas had stated that Pakistan’s military is engaged in eliminating militancy in other tribal areas in accordance with its programme and military operation in North Waziristan has not yet been decided.

Nonetheless, Times Square episode could be part of a conspiracy to tarnish the image of Pakistan which it has earned by decimating the terrorists’ infrastructure and strongholds. It looks to be an artifice to de-track the Obama Administration which has been releasing economic and military aid for Islamabad.

Besides, in the recent past, Pakistan gained much success through the London Conference and the Pak-US strategic dialogue which frustrated Indians. In this context, New Delhi left no stone unturned in maligning Islamabad through RAW-planned terrorist events in Afghanistan. Moreover, the second round of the Pak-US strategic dialogue will take place in the near future. Therefore, particularly India has accelerated its blame game against ISI.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations. Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

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fake Indian Kargil heroes

INDIAN army faced a huge embarrassment when its Armed Forces Tribunal raised serious questions over the Kargil war history setting the record straight regarding Indian fake claims in the Kargil skirmish, some of which came to light, when Brigadier Devinder Singh, who had commanded the 70 Infantry Brigade in the Batalik sector during the Kargil war petitioned against his superiors after being passed over for promotion and given only a low level peace time medal. Brigadier Singh had led the critical battle for Point 5203, which had been captured by Pakistan in the early days of the war. He also led the assaults on the Jubbar complex, one of the most difficult campaigns during the war. Unfortunately for Singh, his superiors did not recognize his efforts despite that a month before the operations broke out, during a corps-level war game, Brigadier Singh had also predicted the pattern of intrusions by Pakistan Army but Lieutenant General Kishan Pal, the then 15 Corps Commander, doctored his battle performance report to underplay his role. Brigadier Singh became a victim of prejudice and that cost him a war medal and promotion. He was recommended for a Mahavir Chakra, the second highest award for gallantry but was awarded a Vishisht Seva Medal, a peacetime decoration. The verdict in the favour of Kargil war hero Brigadier Devinder Singh came as a slap on the face of the Indian army’s Kargil war commanders. The tribunal has questioned the veracity of entire history of the Kargil war and concluded that top commanders fabricated war records to award their favourites with fake encounters. After a bitter decade-long fight, the Indian army has been forced to set the record straight about its performance in the Kargil conflict. In a judgment made public on Wednesday, Justice A.K. Mathur and Lieutenant-General Naidu — who heard the case after it was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the newly-formed Tribunal — have called on the Indian Army for a full investigation into the actions of the military leadership in the 1999 Kargil war. According to India Today, former Indian army chief General V.P. Malik has admitted that the Indian Army had fudged the records for its gains but defended saying that “the entire the Kargil war records had not been fudged.” Readers may recall The Daily Mail’s Delhi Correspondent Christina Palmer’s February 01, 2010 exposé titled ‘Another Fake Kargil Hero emerges in Indian Army’, in which she had blown the lid off Grenadier Yonginder Singh Yadav and Havaldar Sanjay Kumar, who had been decorated and promoted out of turn for their feigned valour but later after the discovery of their falsehood, stripped of their ranks. The Daily Mail’s findings indicate that after the Kargil conflict was over, the Indian Army Headquarters at New Delhi, which was stormed by controversies and massive criticism, not only for the debacle at the war front but also for the massive financial wrongdoings in the direction of procurements by army, had directed all the commanders of the Kargil front to immediately submit citations for the bravery of the soldiers so that the pressure from the political circles could be minimized nonetheless to boost up the morale of the demoralized troops. These findings indicate that in the hasty compliance of strong orders from the headquarters, the commanders at Kargil made a variety of blunders and submitted many fake citations with the recommendations of top military awards including the highest and the most prestigious Paran Vir Chakra) (PVC) award. The Daily Mail’s findings reveal that the wrong citations started surfacing soon and the biggest blunder in this regard emerged when the farcical episode of PVC recipient Grenadier Yoginder Singh Yadav got exposed as Yoginder was found hiding at a military hospital in New Delhi while, following the fake citations of his commanders, the government of India had awarded him with the posthumous (after death) PVC award. The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that Indian army leadership was put on a flashing burner by the opposition parties in the parliament not only for outrageous display of combat at Kargil but also for huge financial wrongdoings in procurements, during the conflict. These findings indicate that after pointing out glaring lapses and improprieties in purchase of specialized mountain warfare equipment for the Kargil war, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India had said that even non high-altitude weaponry deals were pushed through by the Defence Ministry in the name of Operation Vijay. Today as the truth emerges after eleven years, the Indian Army must hang its head in shame and conduct a full length inquiry as the tribunal has ordered to cleanse its records once for all and expose all fake heroes.

India willing to talk to Maoist but not Kashmiris

MARK Mazzetti of the New York Times, in his weekend exposé titled ‘U.S. Is Still Using Private Spy Ring, Despite Doubts’ has revealed that in direct contravention of the Pentagon rules prohibiting the US army from hiring contractors for spying, top military officials have continued to rely on a secret network of private spies who have produced hundreds of reports from deep inside Afghanistan and Pakistan. The scathing account reported by Ginger Thompson and Eric Schmitt, combined with research by Barclay Walsh is based on interviews with more than a dozen current and former US government officials and businessmen, and an examination of official documents. It reveals that not only are the networks still operating, their detailed reports on subjects like the workings of the Taliban leadership in Pakistan and the movements of enemy fighters in southern Afghanistan are also submitted almost daily to top commanders and have become an important source of intelligence. Earlier this year, government officials admitted that the military had sent a group of former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officers and retired Special Operations troops into the region to collect information. The inputs were used to track and kill people suspected of being militants. It was hastily shut down once a probe began, following General David H. Petraeus, the top commander in the region, signed off on the operation in January 2009. However, quoting Pentagon officials, the New York Times sleuths report that over time the operation appeared to morph into traditional spying activities and the supervisor who set up the contractor network, Michael D. Furlong, was now under investigation. The disturbing aspect is that according to NYT, Mr. Furlong’s operatives were still providing information using the same intelligence gathering methods as before. The contractors were still being paid under a $22 million contract, the review shows, managed by Lockheed Martin and supervised by the Pentagon office in charge of special operations policy. Mr. Furlong remains at his job, working as a senior civilian Air Force official. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the expanded role of contractors on the battlefield — from interrogating prisoners to hunting terrorism suspects — has raised questions about whether the United States has outsourced some of its most secretive and important operations to a private army many fear is largely unaccountable. The C.I.A. has relied extensively on contractors in recent years to carry out missions in war zones. The exposure of the spying network also reveals tensions between the Pentagon and the C.I.A., which itself is running a covert war across the border in Pakistan. In December, a cable from the C.I.A.’s station chief in Kabul, Afghanistan, to the Pentagon argued that the military’s hiring of its own spies could have disastrous consequences, with various networks possibly colliding with one another. The memo also said that Mr. Furlong had a history of delving into outlandish intelligence schemes, including an episode in 2008, when American officials expelled him from Prague for trying to clandestinely set up computer servers for propaganda operations. Some officials say they believe that the C.I.A. is trying to scuttle the operation to protect its own turf, and that the spy agency has been embarrassed because the contractors are outperforming C.I.A. operatives. Whatever the case maybe, for Pakistan it raises a number of disconcerting thoughts. The recent case of the five US citizens, albeit of Pakistani origin, who were arrested from Sargodha on suspected links with Al-Qaeda and more lately, Mr. Faisal Shahzad, who was apprehended for his botched bombing plot in Times Square, New York, and allegedly having received bomb making training in Waziristan, should have been on the watch list of US authorities since they are all US citizens. Amidst the tough talk of US Secretary Hillary Clinton and her allegations of Pakistan being in the knowledge of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar’s whereabouts, the revelation of the illegal spy ring’s excessive presence in both Pakistan and Afghanistan indicates that not only it is USA which is on the wrong foot, but also its spymasters must definitely be knowing the exact coordinates of the location of Osama and Mullah Omar. A pertinent question is why the number of deaths due to collateral damage has risen owing to the Drone attacks, if such an extensive spy network was in place? Conclusively, it is USA, which needs to do more in respecting Pakistan’s sovereignty and integrity rather than casting aspersions on it.

http://dailymailnews.com/0510/29/Editorial_Column/DMEditorial.php#1

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Facebook madness

Babar Sattar

The writer is a lawyer based in Islamabad.
Email: sattar@post.harvard.edu




The "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" competition hosted on Facebook, our society's response to the offensive competition and the banning of the entire website along with hundreds of other websites by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority on Lahore High Court's orders highlights the dangerous entanglement of law and religion in Pakistan. The competition was crass and malicious for it was initiated with the intent to offend Muslims by mocking their belief that creating depictions of the Prophet (PBUH) are explicitly forbidden. It not only anguished Muslims, but also most fair-minded people around the world who agree that liberty and freedom don't vest in anyone the right to hurt others through their speech.

Let us understand that while free speech is a fundamental human right, it doesn't trump all other fundamental rights. For example, the law of defamation is a fetter on free speech and is a sensible effort of civilized societies to strike a balance between the competing rights to free speech and privacy. Also, the law doesn't regard hate speech – that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some identity or characteristic such as religion, nationality, sex, ethnicity etc. and incites disorder or violence – as a permissible category of protected speech. But let us also acknowledge that hate speech, no matter how abhorrent and contemptible, doesn't justify violence as a retaliatory measure.

The Facebook competition is indefensible by any ethical or moral yardstick. The Facebook policy allowing individual users to create hate pages under the garb of individual autonomy and free speech is not just misconceived but also discriminatory. For example Facebook doesn't allow pejorative speech against the Jews, and rightly so. But if anti-Semitism is forbidden, how can bigotry against Muslim and their revered beliefs be protected in the name of fundamental rights and free speech? Thus, the relevant question, especially for Pakistanis, was not whether what Facebook did was right or wrong, but how to respond to such insensitivity and hypocrisy. But unfortunately this is not how public debate over the issue has come to be structured in Pakistan.

Notwithstanding the fact that almost everyone in this country has been outraged by the Facebook competition, (i) the demand of the religious-right that anyone proposing a response to the offensive Facebook page other than complete ban of the website is also an apostate liable to be maimed, (ii) the Lahore High Court's decision adhering to the rightist logic and banning Facebook altogether, and (iii) the response of the state as a silent bystander in face of the religious right coercing and intimidating opponents of overbroad internet censorship in Pakistan, has highlighted the vulnerability of our fundamental right to free speech, our right to freedom of information and as well as our right to practice our religion freely.

The Facebook ban has raised some disturbing questions that must be addressed to take measure of the kind of state and society we are becoming. On what basis do courts exercise their jurisdiction, who determines the limits of judicial intervention and can judges allow personal morality to influence their interpretation of the law? What is the role of the state in upholding fundamental rights and striking a balance between competing rights? And how do we recover from being a society where whoever speaks most virulently against acts or words deemed sacrilegious and threatens indiscriminate violence against all dissenters comes to be seen as speaking in the name of God?

Reasonable people can disagree about the efficacy of a strategy or action. But when did we become complacent about the current state of our collective life wherein there is no public space for anyone to offer strategies to protect and defend our religious beliefs if they are different from those dictated by the most radical elements within our religious thought? People taking offense to others scandalizing their religious beliefs is acceptable. But when did we become a community that came to accept violence as a legitimate manifestation and response to offensive words or actions of another?

If members of the civil society opposed to an outright ban of Facebook cannot propose alternative measures, that they perceive as more effective, to counter the Facebook caricature competition and the company policy and larger social and legal context that allows such hate speech and sites, during a press conference at the Karachi Press Club without being exposed to physical violence, why do we get surprised when the Taliban of Swat decide to impose their deformed view of Islam through the barrel of the gun, or Faisal Shehzad attempts to blow up a car and ordinary civilians in Times Square because he might be opposed to US foreign policy. Is the common strand of intolerance coupled with violence – in varying degrees of course – underlying all these situations too hard to discern?

And what role must the state play? Should it stand aside and watch baton-dangling fanatics claim a monopoly over the understanding of God's divine message and bully fellow citizens into silence. Should it intervene when maulvis manhandle a technology-savvy Pakistani who proposes a forceful Internet campaign to convince the world that the Facebook caricature competition is wrong, as a preferred alternative to banning Facebook altogether? Should it intervene when maulvis decide to function as moral brigades, patrol neighborhoods, and shut down or burn CD shops? Or should it wait till a group of maulvis organizes itself into a militia, flog women and slaughter men publicly, and declare that anyone who is not a Taliban is an infidel?

And finally, what is the legal basis of the orders passed by the Lahore High Court? Under Article 2A of the Constitution the state is obliged to enable Muslim citizens of Pakistan to order their lives in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam. Article 20 guarantees the right to profess, propagate and practice religion. Has Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry then found that the ability of anyone within the territory of Pakistan to voluntarily access hate sites hosted outside the country contravene the State's obligation to enable Muslims to order their lives in accordance with the teachings of Islam. And even if so, how is access to non-hate pages of Facebook disabling Muslims from living their lives in accordance with Islamic teachings?

What about the right to free speech protected under Article 19 and the newly founded Constitutional guarantee of freedom of information? Even if one disagrees with its efficacy, the demand for shutting down Facebook entirely as a mark of protest in an effort to get the Facebook to change its policy can be a valid political position. The government can take such position as a matter of policy. But how can the court dictate such an order and justify it in law? Aren't all fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution on an even keel? Is the order of the Lahore High Court not overbroad then?

While giving a strained construction to the right to practice one's religion freely, was the court not under an obligation to ensure that this right is upheld in such manner that it imposes minimum fetters on other fundamental rights such as the right to information and free speech? Further, there is near jurisprudential consensus that foreign affairs fall outside the domain of the judicature. On what legal basis did the Lahore High Court order the Federal Government to lodge "an official and sovereign protest" with the US government over the Facebook issue? If the judicature finds itself more qualified to manage all aspects of national life, should it not start instead by imposing a ban on drone attacks in an effort to protect right to life?

We urgently need a dispassionate debate over the role of religion in our state and society. Without acknowledging the elephant in the room, we will fail to avert our slide into the morass of intolerance and violence.

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Pakistan, Iran finalise gas pipeline deal

Pakistan will have intake of the fist flow of Iranian piped gas in its system by mid-2014 and 100 per cent flow (750 million cubic feet gas per day) by end of 2015 under the IP gas pipeline, said Naeem Sharafat, Managing Director of Inter-State Gas Company.

He was talking to our sources soon after the landmark Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline sovereign guarantee agreement was signed here late pn Friday evening.“The imported gas volume is nearly 20% of Pakistan’s current gas production and the supply is for a contracted period of 25 years, renewable for another 5 years.”

The agreement was signed by S.R. Kasaezadeh, Managing Director National Iranian Oil Company, and Irshad Kaleemi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources on behalf of the Government of Pakistan. Minister for Petroleum Naveed Qamar and Secretary Petroleum and Natural Resources Kamran Lashari also witnessed the ceremony.

Sharafat said that the Government of Pakistan had extended the sovereign guarantee against the Performance Guarantee and liabilities of the Inter-State Gas Company, which is responsible for the IP gas line project on behalf of Pakistan.

After the signing of the last document, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will issue to Pakistan a letter mentioning that Pakistan has completed all conditions precedents (CPs). For additional 250 mmcft gas per day, the cost of the gas will be equal to the cost of 750 mmcfd gas for which the agreement has been inked, as there exists a provision in the agreement.

“Pakistan will lay pipeline from Point 250 KMS at Pak-Iran border under segmented approach while Iran will itself lay pipeline from Paras gas field to Point 250 KMS.”

He said: “The whole imported gas will be dedicated to the power sector. The imported gas volume will support approximately 5,000 megawatts (MW) of power generation and will result in significant annual savings when compared with alternative fuels like HSFO, LNG, coal, etc.”

“The project is planned to be funded through public/private partnership. The capital cost for the Pakistan section is estimated at US $1.65 billion.” The construction of the pipeline, he said, will also create job opportunities, vocational training and health facilities and social uplift in backward areas of Balochistan and Sindh.

End.

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Canadian High Commission shows the way

By Bashir Assad


In a very striking development which Indian establishment refers to as shocking incident, Canadian High Commission first refused BSF constable Fateh Singh Pandher a visa then turned down two visa proposals, of retired Lieutenant General AS Bahia and an ex-IB officer of deputy director rank. All the three had allegedly been involved in human rights abuses Jammu and Kashmir.

The Canadian High Commission refused BSF constable Fateh Singh Pandher a visa on grounds that he was associated with a 'notoriously violent force which has committed serious kind of rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir.

Only after weeks time retired Lieutenant General AS Bahia a member of defence appellate tribunal was denied visa on the grounds that he had served in Jammu & Kashmir and his unit the Rashtriya Rifles was involved in rights violations.

The third case involves an ex-IB officer of deputy director rank who has been denied a visa because the Canadian government believes he will snoop around.

The Canadian government has quoted amnesty international's report which says that India committed war crimes that led to the death of 70,000 people.

Canadian high commission states his visa was being denied under war crime act of Canada. The consulate general of Canada in a letter to Bahia said that he was posted in Jammu and Kashmir with the Indian defence forces.The Canadian high commission also said: There are concerns over your tenure in J & K.Quoting Amnesty International, the letter said defence forces were involved in certain excesses in the region which is violation of their law and thus his tourist visa application shall be rejected.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has strongly opposed it through External Affairs Ministry. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao reacted sharply on fresh cases of visas being denied by Canada high commission said the Indian high commission would take up the matter with the Canadian government. Though the denial of visa and the reason given for it sparked public outrage in India, but it was quite embarrassing for the Indian government. If at all the three ex-security officials of India succeed in getting visa for Canada on intervention of External Affairs Ministry, but the fact remains that this kind of exemplary treatment of Canadian High Commission to three security officials who have served in Kashmir can certainly open a new way of agitating over human rights abuses and at least can have far reaching implications on the overall diplomatic principals.

The declination of visa to Indian security personnels by the Canadian embassy is not new. That country has been denying visa to Punjab police officials for quite some time. Canada’s respect for human rights is being acknowledged by the fact that a sizable chunk of the people of Punjabi origin live in that country and during the Punjab turmoil some most wanted Sikh Guerrillas took shelter in that country. But soon after there was dramatic change in the Canadian approach, perhaps under the influence of changing world scenario, Canada became prohibited area for the people who one way or the other attire involved in rights abuses.

Reportedly, immigration petitions from many BSF officers from Punjab were rejected in a number of instances. For instance, before the case of Fateh Singh Pandher, two more applications from the border protection crew officials were refused by the commission. For reason the latter stated that both the personnels who applied for the visa were involved in “anti-military activity”. Besides, they were believed to have participated in actions that had the tendency to violate human rights in Punjab. According to some reports, now BSF personnels who intend to file petition for a Canadian visa will need to complete a distinctive form. The form would contain an officer’s details regarding the places where has served during his job tenure. It is believed that the Canadian high commission has recognized six districts in Punjab where maximum instances of anti-military activities are recorded.

Canada’s refusal to issue visas to the Indian security officials and India’s warning of retaliation will help Human Rights organizations in updating their reports on human rights situation in two countries diplomatically at loggerheads heads over the issue of visa denial.India has warned that it would retaliate by denying visa to Canadian officials who go to Afghanistan via this country.

The issuance of a visa is the prerogative of the host government. However while giving the reason for visa denial, Canada has questioned the role of security forces and security agencies in dealing with what India says domestic security situations. If India translates words into action, track record of many Canadian military men will come to the fore. Canada is already on job for two years by now. What else human rights activists need. At times, they can even approach concerned embassies for help to expose anti human faces in uniform.

Author can be reached at: bashirassad@rediffmail.com

Kashmir Watch, May 27

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Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah killed?

By Iftikhar Firdous

Conflicting reports on Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader in Swat, Maulvi Fazlullah’s death surfaced Thursday. Afghan officials claimed Fazlullah may have been killed in fighting in the remote mountains of eastern Afghanistan. It has been reported that hundreds of insurgents launched an attack in the Afghan province of Nuristan.

The Taliban chief in the Bajaur area Faqir Mohammed said that Maulana Fazlullah or the Pakistani Taliban “cannot be considered a part of the scenario that developed in Nuristan.” He further said that since Fazlullah was not involved in the incident, he could not have died in it. Mohammed also said the clash in Nuristan was amongst the Afghan Taliban and the Afghan army.

Pakistan’s former ambassador to Afghanistan Rustam Shah Mohmand told The Express Tribune that Fazlullah, after switching between Swat, Dir, Bajaur and Dir again, might have shifted to Nuristan but only through an unusual route as they Pakistan-Afghanistan border has a heavy deployment of the Pakistan Army on the border. Mohmand further said that Fazullah couldn’t have crossed the border with a very large number of people and if he did manage to cross over to Afghanistan, he would have only done it along with a very small group not hundreds of insurgents.

Mohmand said that there is hardly any presence of the Taliban in Nuristan. The province is under the control of the Salafis just as the Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces are under the control of Haqqanis.

Fazlullah’s death can be confirmed in the next few days because if he is indeed dead, a funeral will take place somewhere in the area which can be used to identify him, Mohmand said.

Sources have told The Express Tribune that intelligence officials in Bajaur are also speculating Fazlullah might be in Nurisan and killed. But even they are not confirming the news.

If Fazlullah is dead, he is going to be the second major TTP leader who was killed by forces external to Pakistan. Prior to him, Baitullah Mehsud was killed by a US drone strike. Political analysts say Fazlullah’s death will have consequences in the Malakand division’s areas such as Swat, Dir and Buner but no repercussions are going to be seen in Fata as militants there are acting independently.

Fazlullah might have been living in the eastern Afghan province of Nuristan for past six months, intelligence officials and frequent visitors to the area said.

Some religious leaders in Pakistan’s Chitral district, who have been visiting Nuristan frequently in recent months, told The Express Tribune they had heard the presence of the militant commander in the area since last December.

AP ADDS:

The Associated Press (AP) quoted provincial police spokesman Farooq Khan as saying that about 400 Afghan police supported by village militias have been trying to fend off an attack by hundreds of insurgents in eastern Nuristan province for five days and on Wednesday, the militants made a push to capture all of Barg-e-Matal district on the Pakistan border, sparking heavy fighting throughout the area.

A senior border police official said he had credible reports that Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah was killed on Wednesday. Gen Mohammad Zaman Mamozai, the commander for border police in eastern Afghanistan, said the information came from local residents where the fighting was taking place.

Another Taliban commander in Bajaur, Asad Ullah, insisted that Fazlullah was alive. “Maulana Fazlullah was the guest of Taliban in Nuristan, and we don’t think he can be killed so easily,” he said. Others in the Afghan government however were hesitant to confirm Mamozai’s account while Nuristan police Chief Mohammad Qasim said it was difficult to identify the bodies of those killed.

At least seven militants and one police officer have died so far in the fighting , according to Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry while about 500 Pakistani attackers have laid siege to the area, officials said.

Heavy fighting continued Thursday and government forces were running short of food and ammunition, said Khan, the police spokesman. Nato helicopters have flown in some weapons and ammunition but more is needed, he said. It takes two days by donkey to reach the site of the fighting through the one road that is open, he added.

Fazlullah, nicknamed the “Mullah Radio” for his hard-line anti-Western broadcasts on a pirate radio station in northwestern Pakistan, was the Taliban commander in the Swat Valley until the Pakistan military pushed out the group from the area last year.

Maulvi Fazlullah Profile: Watch video

A base to the south of Barg-e-Matal, Combat Outpost Keating, was the site of a massive attack in October 2009 in which insurgents breached the base’s defenses and killed eight soldiers. Keating, already scheduled to be closed when the attack occurred, was abandoned soon after.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ZIA M KHAN AND SUMERA KHAN

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Facebook and Pakistan

By Usama Khilji


The Facebook event 'Draw Muhammad Day' indeed came as an offensive shock not only to Muslims around the world; but to all those who believe in tolerance and respect of others' beliefs. Islamic tradition disallows the representation of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in any state, but a special event to draw caricatures of a revered and respected religious figure is tantamount to hate speech, and was most certainly bound to provoke a strong reaction across the globe, especially from followers of Islam. In Pakistan, the courts reacted by blocking access to Facebook on May 19, and to YouTube on May 20, owing to the presence of blasphemous material on these mass sharing and communication portals. However, it is pertinent to discuss the dynamics of this issue before concluding the extent of its effectiveness.
Facebook is a social networking site where millions from all over the world can interact with anybody with a Facebook page anywhere in the world through his/her own page, known as a profile. Photographs are shared, messages are sent, one can write on another's 'Wall', and there are millions of groups and fan pages for varying interests for people to interact and discuss different topics on. Another useful component of Facebook is events, which can be made by any user for any purpose, and people can be invited to it. Events range from art exhibitions to school functions, protest demonstrations, book readings, parties, concerts, charity drives, business meetings, etc., and reminders are given to users on the home page once an RSVP is given.
One such event, 'Draw Muhammad Day', had been made by a Facebook user in Seattle in reaction to the censorship of an episode of the popular American animated satirical comedy 'South Park' that had a graphic representation of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and in support of the freedom of expression. However, this was insensitive to millions of Muslim users of Facebook. Muslims reacted by 'reporting abuse' for offence on the event and page; however, the Facebook administration has announced that the event and page do not violate Facebook's privacy statement and terms of use; hence, they cannot be deleted. Another point to be noted here is that the Facebook event has been made by a private Facebook user, and is not endorsed by the Facebook administration. The event can only be seen if searched for or if one is invited to it.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Opinions/Columns/26-May-2010/Facebook-and-Pakistan

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Terrorism's real nature

Saleem Safi

The basic faults in the strategy against terrorism will make success in the war against terror irrelevant at best. While devising a strategy both the US and Pakistan have missed the point: it is a multi-dimensional problem. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are fighting this war professionally and cover all fronts of the war, while the US and Pakistan are fixated on a single point of armed response to the threat. They ignore the ideological, social, political, economic and strategic aspects of the problem.

Terrorism in the region sprouts from ideological and religious sentiments. Al-Qaeda and affiliates believe in a certain interpretation of the Islamic concepts of jihad, state, crusades, non-Muslims and killings of Muslims who support non-Muslims in this conflict. The Afghan war ended but the ideology survived for more than 30 years and a whole generation was brought up on this theology. Al-Qaeda has now shouldered the burden of propagating this ideology through mosque leaders, the internet, CDs and all other means of communications, not only in the region but in the whole world.

Contrary to the ideology of Al-Qaeda and others, the traditional Islamic interpretations eulogise love for humankind, sympathy, peace, respect for life and property of every man and a belief in peaceful means of preaching and propagating Islam. The US and Pakistan needed to counter the Al-Qaeda through promotion of this true interpretations of the concepts of jihad, state, crusades and Muslim-non Muslim relations shared by an overwhelming majority of ulema. The majority of people who oppose Al-Qaeda's interpretation of Islamic concepts are either terrorised into silence or are indirectly used for promotion of that ideology. Only a few, though at the cost of huge threats to their lives, are fighting the Al-Qaeda ideology.

This specific interpretation of jihad and state has formed the basis of Al-Qaeda's ideology. For instance, this ideology preaches that state authority or approval is not needed in waging jihad against infidels. Similarly, it advises its adherents that helping Muslims in trouble in any part of the world is not only necessary but an act of faith. Such thinking effectively negates the sanctity of nation-state boundaries. It is precisely in accordance with this thinking that the borders of Pakistan were opened for Afghans who were allowed to carry out their activities inside Pakistan. All mosques leaders faithfully played the role of advancing the Afghan cause. The arrival was facilitated for fighters from all over the world, including Osama Bin Laden and his top leadership, to come here with the financial and technical support of the US. Pakistan not only welcomed them as state guests, but also hailed them as heroes.

This ideology also stipulates, as an act of faith, that evil should be put down with force. This thinking has permeated mainstream religious political parties attacks, which results in attacks on New Year's Eve parties, the defacing of signboards in Peshawar and many other incidents. This interpretation is still current among the majority of Muslims youths and in the general masses. They are convinced of its correctness. The same political and religious leaders who oppose Al-Qaeda and its affiliates at public platforms privately adhere to the same narrow interpretations of jihad, state and Islam. Resultantly, an overwhelming majority of people in Afghanistan and Pakistan support Al-Qaeda's struggle against the US and allies.

In Pakistan, the mainstream political parties are not only convinced of this interpretation, but also propagate and preach this ideology. The faith and Islamic knowledge of those who disagree with this ideology are questioned even by mainstream religious elements. So here a dilemma, unanswered to-date, arises as to why the preachers and propagators of this ideology are not targeted while those who practice it are chased till death or incarceration in this "crime"? In this situation, how could these militants be defeated?

When it comes to the US, not only the religious parties but also the mainstream secular political parties are propagating the view (which is true to some extent) that the US and allies are the worst enemies of Islam. The intentions of the US and its allies towards Pakistan are also not good. In the Islamic world, not only the common man but the majority of the elite holds this view. In the Arab world, the elites in government hail the US as an ally, but after retirement or in private conversations they would call the US an enemy of Islam. This line of thinking gives rise to sentiments of hate and revenge against the US and its allies, which are exploited by the militants for their own purposes.

For the last nine years, the US ignored all calls for improving its image in the Muslim world and reconsideration of the repercussions of its policies that strengthen these views. On the other hand, Al-Qaeda and the militants are skilfully exploiting this environment against the US and its allies through all possible means.

In Pakistan, the sentiments against the US are running high. Therefore, any government seen close to the US cause as a frontline state is least expected to get public support in the campaign against Al-Qaeda and the militants. And as the latter groups, in the public view, is leading a campaign against the US and its allies, the majority of people are least interested in helping the Pakistani security forces and the government in this fight against militants.

The writer works for Geo TV. Email: saleem.safi @janggroup.com.pk

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=241182

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Official report blames MQM militants for target killings

By Umar Cheema


The first official diagnosis, prognosis and prescription on the highly destabilising target killings in Karachi is now available as a seven-member high-level official committee has prepared its report blaming political parties and naming only the MQM which it says has a militant wing which is tasked to create law and order situations to achieve its political ends.

For the first time all the security agencies in Karachi have collectively pinpointed the problems and have admitted that as many as 83 police officers involved in earlier operations against MQM have been eliminated in target killings, which has adversely affected the morale of police force.

The report ordered by the Interior Ministry was prepared by a committee which had all the official security stakeholders in Karachi, including the Sindh Police, Special Branch, IB, ISI, Rangers and the Interior Ministry.

It is now said to be lying with the prime minister for action but its recommendations are almost impossible to implement, including de-weaponisation of Karachi, registration of all aliens, insulation of police from political influence and others.

A security expert said it is for the first time a comprehensive picture, and a blunt one, has been presented by the report but whether any action can be taken is a big question mark.

Federal Interior Secretary, Chaudhry Qamar Zaman, confirmed to The News that the report was ready but said he had not seen any follow-up as yet, saying the interior minister has gone to Karachi to find a way out in the wake of the current spate of target killings.

MQM’s parliamentary leader, Dr Farooq Sattar, rejected the party’s involvement in target killings. As far the killings of police officers involved in Karachi operation, he said this issue needed separate treatment and a comparison should be drawn between the number of casualties the party suffered in that operation and the police killings later on.

To be fair to all parties the entire text of the three-page report is being reproduced below. The copy available with The News has been doctored by our sources to the extent that the dates, file numbers and signatures of the members have been deleted. The text is, however, complete with recommendations:

Subject: Report on Target killings in Karachi

1. Minister for interior constituted a committee under the additional secretary, Ministry of Interior consisting of members from Sindh Police, Special Branch, IB, ISI and Rangers to identify target killings which took place during the last six months in Karachi and investigate into the circumstances with a view to find its solution.

2. The committee invited affectees of target killings. The members of the committee assembled at NCMC office, Karachi and interviewed scores of affectees, interested groups and NGOs etc, home secretary, Sindh, DG Rangers, Sindh, IG Police Sindh, CCPO Karachi were also interviewed to assess the situation.

3. Politically motivated target killing in Karachi appeared in 90’s when MQM Haqiqi parted its ways with MQM Altaf and continues to stall the landscape of Karachi with varying intensity to date. It is a turf war going on amongst political groups to have their say in the affairs of Karachi. MQM has won 17 out of 20 NA seats in Karachi and wants to keep its hold. ANP has for the first time won two provincial seats in Pakhtun dominated areas and wants to consolidate gains. Lyari Town with its Baloch population is a stronghold of PPP. Migration from Swat/Fata to Karachi is a cause of concern for the dominant ethnic group in Karachi. MQM is trying to expand its influence in Rehmanabad, Junejo Town, Khuda ki Basti, Gutter Bagheecha etc in non-Urdu speaking population by bringing in new settlement of Urdu speaking people in these areas. This is creating resentment in Pakhtuns and Balochs who feel that they will lose their electoral strength due to change in demography. New settlements also attract land mafia which further complicates the situation.

4. Eighty-three police officers involved in earlier operations against MQM have been eliminated in target killing which has adversely affected the morale of police force.

5. Political parties, specially the MQM, has its militant wing which at times is tasked to create law and order situation for achieving political ends.

6. Following proposals are formulated by the committee to address the situation in Karachi:

a) Conference of all stakeholders in Karachi to work out code of ethics for mutual co-existence.

b) Formation of peace committee at provincial/zonal level headed by senior officers for identifying trouble spots in the respective areas and to address the issue before it flares up. Committees can be expanded to police station level.

c) Merit-based policing with institutional arrangements to insulate police from extraneous influence and its capacity building.

d) Media may be involved to highlight the suffering of families of the victims of target killing and to expose the elements involved in it.

e) Strict ban on conversion of amenity plots for residential purposes and removal of all illegal encroachments.

f) Registration of aliens.

g) De-weaponisation of Karachi.

While the MQM was singled out in the report for having militant wings which were used at times, Dr Farooq Sattar vehemently denied it.

When asked by The News as to why the representatives of these agencies had highlighted the MQM’s involvement in target killing more than land mafia, Farooq Sattar said it could be an effort to distract attention from the land mafia.

He said the MQM has lost 140 workers in target killings in the space of one year. He said the Sindh chief minister has formed a law and order committee with representatives of all ethnic groups as its members. The committee would jointly work with anti-encroachment cell and meet every fortnightly to review the situation.

Another MQM leader, who requested not to be named, termed the allegations against the party in the report as totally baseless and having no link with reality. He said efforts to blackmail MQM were made in every period. The successive governments, however, made alliances with the MQM that proved that the party had no role in killings, he asserted.

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How to End War against Terror?

By Zaheerul Hassan

On May 21, 2010 NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Commander General Stanley McChrystal visited Pakistan and provided an update on the alliance's current operations in Afghanistan. He also called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and discussed matters of mutual interest and defence cooperation. ISAF commander also briefed a group of Pakistani parliamentarians on current operations and strategy in Afghanistan.

According to the US Embassy, ISAF Commander frequently used to visit Islamabad to consult with General Kayani and Pakistani leaders to collaborate with Islamabad to achieve their mutual goals of defeating terrorism and establishing regional peace and security. This was the pres release made by US embassy situated in Pakistan. The question arises whether the continue interactions of visits of ISAF chief and other commanders as claimed by the embassy have helped in improving the security situation in Afghanistan or not.

On ground situation is simply quite pathetic and horrible. 70 % area of Afghanistan is under control of Taliban despite presence of more than 113,000 US led NATO’s troops. During last one week, two bases (Kandahar and Bagram) were attacked by the Taliban and resultantly many troops from coalition forces and civilian sustained deaths and injuries. Again on May 18, 2010, a suicide bomber hit an expolosive laden van into a lightly armed convoy of coalition vehicles, killing 18 people including five Americans and a Canadian. ISAF troops probabaly failed to control the afghan situation . The troops are also under terrible amount of stress and losing their faith due to their long stay in Afghanistan. It is also painful to know that since 1979 over one million Afghans have been killed and more than five millions have become refugees. Major bulk of the refugees were shifted to Pakistan and created dilemma to her security. Two million Afghans have been displaced within the country as a result of ceaseless fighting. The capital of Afghanistan is presenting horrible scene of tragedy where over 30,000 people have been killed and even buried in common graves. Thousand of the people suffered death and injuries because of land mines, US bombing, suicidal attackers and poverty. The tragic part of this war against terror is that the country having 652, 000 square kilometers area and with the population of 25,838,797 is at the mercy of western forces, Indian and Israeli intelligence agencies.

However, the fall out of Afghan crises has directly affected Pakistani security .The imposed war put Pakistan under worst kind of insurgency. She was forced to deploy more than 140, 000 troops to tackle the foreign sponsored militancy. Her securities forces are busy in elimination of terrorism from the country. Thousand of millions of people and security forces’ personal have been killed because of suicidal bombers and sabotage activities. Pakistani military had launched 209 major and 510 minor operations in 10 regions. According to reliable sources 2,573 Pakistani army officers and soldiers had been martyred in the fighting so far, which include one 3-star General, two 2-star generals and five brigadiers .whereas western ,Jews and Indian media use to blame Pakistan and her intelligence agencies for playing double game. In this connection while talking to senior journalists in Islamabad, Army chief Gen Kayani rejected the allegations of double game leveled against Pakistan intelligence agencies, saying that 73 intelligence officers had embraced martyrdom in Pakistan, while 11 others were martyred in Afghanistan .

Coming back towards the discussion, it worth mentioning here that US has increased the intensity of drone attacks during the democratic era. She has violated Pakistan territorial boundaries and carried out 131 predicators strikes inside FATA area. As result more than 1100 people got killed and many wounded.

The comparison of causalities and deployment of forces shows that Pakistan has scarified a lot in war against terror. According to ISPR, Pakistan has deployed 140,000 strong force with 821 posts on its side of the border whereas Coalition force have a total of 113,000 force with just 112 posts along their border. The war against terrorism has affected 30,452 people since 9/11, out of which 21,652 are civilians whereas 8,765 are security forces who embraced shahadat. NATO led ISAF forces has just lost 1184 troops so far. Thus asking Pakistan to do more times and again by the US authorities is not understood.

In fact, American should provide all that assistance to Pak as promised in the recently held Pak-US Strategic Dialogues. The second round of strategic talks is being held on July 21, 2010. Unfortunately, Indian lobby present in Obama administration always tries to sabotage the event and keep on planning and staging some activity for maligning Pakistan. The unexploded Bomb incident of Times Square is also one of the episodes of cocktail serial of “Propaganda against Pakistan”. The producers and directors of the crafted serial are RAW, Mossad and anti Obama elements of CIA. Reports are there that the remaining episodes of the said serial would also be arid shortly, preferably around July 15, 2010. Therefore, it’s the need of the time that foreign office should hold some talk with US counter part and express Pakistani future worries.

Pakistani main worries is Indian deeply involvement in the name of development of Afghanistan. Presently, her four consulates and 30 Intelligence detachments are deployed all along our western border and are busy in spreading terrorism in Pakistan. Thus, the key players of GWOT have realized that Afghan issue cannot be resolved without taking into confidence Islamabad. US should be mindful that intelligence failure of her agencies and using pressure tactics against Pakistan by launching nonsense’s might not be acceptable to Islamabad in future. Thus foreign offices of both should try to remove the ambiguities in bilateral relations.

American administration and so called civilized western should respect the emotions of Pakistani, Afghan and Iraqi masses before demanding and repating the music of do more. This do more music becomes very painful once we come across the stories of our comrades who laid their lives, the civilian who have been victimized through suicidal missions, internally displaced refugees who bore the material and live losses during this war on terror. One of the leading newspaper “Daily Times” on May 22, 2010 covered and reported an occasion, when a retired army captain Zafar Tajammal dismisses US demands for Pakistan to do more to fight terrorists as he choked back his tears. His son, Captain Bilal Zafar, was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade while leading a charge against entrenched Taliban fighters. He said, “I loved him so much that once I told him, I will not get you married because I love you so much, I am afraid I will not be able to share my love with your wife,” (unquote). The sahadit of Captain Bilal also reminded me Major Muhammmad Ehsan a brave son of “Frontier Force Regiment’s unit ‘The Volunteers’. I trained Major Ehsan once he joined my team as Second Lieutenant during escalation 2000. later on , I put him as adjutant but could never imagine that just after eight years a day will come once I will identify his completely burnt dead body as witness and dispatch him to his home town.

The father of Captain Bilal very rightly said that if there was an American dignitary sitting in front of him then he would certainly try to ask him, what else a human being can do more than sacrificing their life. American and western think tanks must ask from their authorities, has any other army in the world suffered so many casualties while fighting terrorists. But unfortunately the Indian and Israeli funded think tanks ignore Pakistani scarification and starts yelling against Pakistan to hide their own intelligence failures in the case of incidents like bombing in New York’s Times Square and Twin Tower incident of 9/11. Therefore, such type of propaganda does add in straining US-Pak relations and keep on widening the gap between Islamabad and Washington. In this connection US leadership if serious in improving the relations then has to take steps to chain her domestic and external watchdogs.

The solution to war against terror is lies in unconditional withdrawal of NATO led forces after holding elections under UN. The true elected government should be provided assistance through united nation security council for elimination of militancy and developing Afghanistan. Pakistan and Afghan border should be sealed with concertina wire .Afghanistan should acknowledged Durand line as international border. Immediately schedule of withdrawal of forces be announced. India should be asked to roll back his intelligence set up from Afghanistan. The restructuring of Afghanistan should be the primary objective of UN and Afghan government. Pakistan be handed over predicator technology to guard her area. The economic aid as promised to Pakistan be provided immediately to carry out development in the affected areas of FATA and Swat. The war on terror would be end subject to win the heart of the inhabitants of that area. For that Pakistani political leadership should go to their respective areas and carryout development work. The local political leadership and general masses should be provided protection against militants at all cost. The operation in any Pakistani area if require be the planned with the consent of national assembly. No foreign dictation should be accepted against our sovereignty.

Author can be reached at: zameer36@gmail.com

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The Strategic Vision of Indian Navy

By Dr. Raja Muhammad Khan

Indian Maritime Doctrine was formally announced in April-2004. However, the year-2006 ‘Navy Day’ is considered to be as the day, once Indian Navy actually started, “transforming itself from a ‘brown water’ coastal defense force to a formidable ‘blue water’ fleet.” Blue water navy has indeed two connotations: the technical and the political. Technically, a naval force having the capability to operate 200 nautical miles (320 km) from its sea shore into the deep sea on the longer ranges can be graded as the blue water navy. However, politically, it is the long range extension of the state’s presence, as the former Indian Navy Chief of Staff, Admiral Jayant Nadkarni once said that, “legitimate use…of a Blue Water navy is power projection which is necessary” for a “power like India.”

Indeed, India started expanding its naval fleet in early 1990s after conceiving the concept of blue water navy. Since 1998, India is regularly improving its naval doctrine. In 1998, Indian Navy issued; “The Maritime Dimension-A Naval Vision.” This document set the mission for Indian Navy as, a force capable to operate in the open seas. In April 2004, a formal Indian Maritime Doctrine of 148 pages was proclaimed. The doctrine clearly lay dawn the future strategic vision of the Indian Navy with the subtitle as; The Maritime Dimension-A Naval Vision. Through the Vision Statement, Indian Navy gave a Roadmap to Transformation in October 2006. In 2007, with the mission to ‘Freedom to Use the Seas’: India’s Maritime Military Strategy (IMMS) was issued. Since 1998, an Indian maritime vision has the dedicated support including the enhanced budget allocation from the successive governments; initially the NDA Government under BJP and later the Congress lead UPA Government.

Indeed, the Indian Maritime Doctrine-2004 has been formulated on the basis of strategic concept given by US Navy Admiral Mahan, to the United States President Roosevelt for the domination of oceans especially the Pacific Ocean to gain the status of a major power. Admiral Mahan had a vision that domination of Pacific would give US an edge over the other states geopolitically as well as geo-economically. According to Mahan, “the convergence there of so many ships…will constitute a centre of commerce, inter-oceanic encounters between states. It was one whose approaches will be watched jealously, and whose relations to the other centres of the Pacific by the (maritime) lines joining it to them must be examined carefully.”

In the historical perspective, what Admiral Mahan had visualized for US Navy in the Pacific towards the end of 19th century, Indian Navy desires to achieve through the domination of Indian Ocean and surrounding waters by the end of first quarter of 21st century. India in fact desires the Indian Ocean to become ‘India Ocean’ and the way US entered the club of global powers in the beginning of the 20th century; India does the same in 21st century. Otherwise India considered the Indian Ocean as the part of its extended neighbourhood, where Indian Navy will safeguard its “diplomatic, security and economic interests”.

Salient features of the Indian Maritime Doctrine-2004 include, controlling the choke points, significant islands and trade routes in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and in the Bay of Bengal. The doctrine further lays down limits of the vision for the Indian Navy for the first quarter of 21st century as to; “look at the arc from the Persian Gulf to the Straits of Malacca as a legitimate area of interest.” The doctrine also highlighted the Indian Navy as the “three-dimensional blue water force”, having the potential to undertake significant assignments and roles “on the surface, underwater, and in the air.” During the peace time, Indian navy will have to undertake the naval diplomatic assignments for the promotion of its cause. However, the proactive role of the Indian Navy would be the projection of its power beyond the limits of Indian shores. It has to counter the “distant emerging threats and protect extended ‘Sea Lines of Communication’ through and from the Indian Ocean.”

In the regional perspective, as perceived Indian Navy has to operate against the navies of Pakistan and China. The doctrine however, “calls for a stronger deterrent capability against foreign intervention by non-littoral navies, not limited to China and Pakistan only. This strategic reach indeed call for procurement of more sophisticated diesel and nuclear capable submarines, establishing aircraft carrier and developing new cruise missiles. Indian Navy, currently operating in area of over 3.5 million square kilometres (extending from the Arabian Sea through Indian Ocean to the Bay of Bengal) is being modernized through the procurement of modern submarines, frigates and other naval vessels in collaboration with its Western allies, US, Israel and Russia.

With respect to the strategic designs of the Indian Navy, as ‘Oceanic Navy’, it has assumed for itself, “the primary responsibility lying on the Indian Navy to guard the steel ring created by Singapore, Ceylon, Mauritius and Socotra…the Indian Ocean must therefore remain truly Indian.” With this strategic thought, the Indian Navy Vision Statement (2006), clearly laid down the role for Indian Navy as, “of safeguarding our maritime interests on the high seas and projecting combat power across (and around) the (Indian Ocean) littoral.” Covering these wide ranging naval interests of India, Indian Premier Dr. Manmohan Singh said that, “our strategic footprint covers…to the far reaches of the Indian Ocean. Awareness of this reality should inform and animate our strategic thinking and defence planning.”

In order to meet its energy needs and for its burgeoning economic drive as a great power status, securing the extended sea lines of communication from the Gulf to Southeast Asia is essential for the Indian Navy. In the wording of former Indian Naval Chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta; “we are not only looking at countering threats but to protect the country's economic and energy interests. This task has extended our area of operations. This might necessitate our operating in distant waters. As the Indian economy grows, the country is making increasing investments in distant places to ensure the availability of energy flow to maintain this growth. This is gradually defining what may be called our secondary area of maritime interest.”

Through yet another revised Maritime Doctrine of 2009, Indian Navy has made major changes in its 2004 doctrine. Indian Navy has revamped its existing policies to factor in maritime terrorism, piracy and coastal security as the matter of great strategic significance. The strategic designs of India as the blue water navy, capable to operate in the open seas, to pursue and safeguard Indian oceanic interests raise the question of “how far India has got the naval capability, the capacity, to match such strategic intentions”.

Author is a South Asian analyst. Email: drmk_edu@yahoomail.com

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The purpose of the Afghan war" is to stop the "return of the Caliphate" - UK General

A British general telling us which version of Islam is acceptable? This is an interview with UK General "Sir" Richard Dannatt.

Isnt it incredible how he tells us what the perversion of Islam is and isnt?! And how the caliphate is only (supposedly!) the asperation of "Al Qaeda"? This is the strategy of the kuffar - paint the caliphate as an al Qaeda project, paint Al Qaeda as the great terrorists, and so the caliphate becomes a form of extremism in itself.

The former head of the British army states that the objective for Britain and US in Afghanistan is preventing the establishment of a Caliphate that would expand from South Asia until it could threaten Europe at the Mediterreanean. It is perhaps the clearest explanation so far from a member of the military establishment in the UK about their fear of the establishment of the Khilafah since Tony Blair's famous speech.

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Facebook: Appearing offline after the ban

Hasnain Bokhari

In November 2007, when the then president General Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, he probably had not expected the scale of protests with a considerable involvement of the youth groups. The emergency law disallowed all sorts of public gathering. But the tech-savvy youth in Pakistan came up with innovative ideas of initiating the flash mobs and the famous balloon carrying Wrangler and Hang Ten youth on the busy streets of Islamabad. They outsmarted law enforcing and riot police by propagating messages via social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter and communicated even more instantly by announcing flash mobs via SMS. By the time law would come after them, the protesters would have successfully protested and dispersed.

Facebook was then hailed as the most powerful internet tool for mobilising community. Later we witnessed how the then US presidential candidate Barrack Obama used social networking websites to raise a record amount of funds through such websites and how the internet-savvy public in Iran heavily relied on Twitter post regarding the Iran elections last year. Facebook is in news again, but this time for all bad reasons. This time people are protesting against Facebook. In response to a petition filed by Ch Zulfiqar advocate, Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court announced a ban on Facebook for its blasphemous cartoon competition.

Facebook which started in 2004 is a brainchild of then 22-year-old Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg. Despite the presence of other websites such as Orkut or MySpace, Facebook rose to popularity because of its personal status, picture and video-sharing and group features. Any Facebook user can create a virtual group and invite members as long as it does not fall into racist, hate, discriminatory or pornographic category. What happened in a recent event is that the Facebook is holding a competition on blasphemous cartoons and this is how the petitioner based his argument to convince the court.

What this petitioner may not have known or brought into the respected court’s attention is that Facebook itself is not organising any sort of competition as such or inviting all its users to participate for that matter. The competition was announced by a virtual group created on Facebook by a bunch of people when Seattle-based artist Molly Hill’s cartoon for the television series South Park got trimmed by the television network Comedy Central. Molly has though announced on her website (www.mollynorris.com) that the creation of the Facebook group about cartoon competition is not her idea but of some stranger. But her declaration cannot help the ban to be active till May 31.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has now safely banned Facebook but Facebook’s page for mobile phone users was still active on the following days of its ban where there is a sheer race for updating personal status messages and the responses to it. The question here is not how swiftly the Facebook can be banned. The matter has more to do with the Internet regulation or internet governance.

In such scenarios, any virtual group inciting and hurting people’s sentiments should have been considered for a ban rather than blocking access to the whole website. However, since currently there is no such technology to block particular sections of such websites, so the temporary solution is to block access to the whole website. A number of users have already reported the Facebook about this group. Facebook’s current stance is that the group does not seem to violate its “Statement of Rights and Responsibilities” charter but said it was considering an action against it. Should Facebook not block this virtual group and would this ban help block this particular Facebook group?

Digital communications today don’t occur with the land line phones or even old-fashioned mobile phones. People now prefer to communicate via voice over IP phones such as Skype or its other variants, they seek news update via web feeds or Real System Syndication (RSS) and via audio/video podcasts, they socialise via social networking websites of which Facebook is just one example. Internet is a whole different world where all the netizens have their virtual presence. Just as any society and its citizens are bound by a code of conduct, cyber space and its netizens also require proper governance, advocacy, regulation, right to privacy and data protection, as is the case of the ‘real’ world. Just like we need social, political and economic institution for good governance and public policy we equally require institutions for the Internet governance.

Back in 2000 when the Internet was going through its initial phases of popularity a number of countries in Arabian peninsula blocked pornographic websites. The authorities in the telecommunication division basically blocked all those websites which carried certain keywords such as sex or porn. Among many others the doctor’s community suffered the most since they could not search any material, for instance, on breast cancer since the word breast was also blocked by the authorities.

Resultantly many people started to spoof the IP addresses and used Anonymiser softwares to seek access. Internet is now becoming a commodity and websites such as Facebook, Twitter or Google serve as institutions. Facebook apart from giving its users a space to share their personal and professional life stories also works as a platform to many social groups just as the search engine Google hosts a number of blogs, groups and web pages. What is ironic here that the images section of Google (images.google.com) still hosts the blasphemous caricatures, should one run a query.

Similarly, there are a number of blogs that conduct rather controversial debates on religious issues. Should it mean that we shall block Google as well? Would we have to block Google’s email service as well since it is owned by Google? Websites such as Facebook, Yahoo and Google have their reach extending to more than 100 countries with numerous translations of their website in order to make it accessible to everyone in the world.

Although the ban is temporary yet these websites would have to consider their regional policies for every country. Their regional chapters must work in close collaboration with the governments and the civil society in order to report what is considered inappropriate and what not. Internet governance can and must not be left to the governments. It is a shared responsibility among several stakeholders from the governments, civil society groups, academia, NGOs and the private sector.

The Information and Communication Technologies divisions of the above institutions are required to build a capacity and educate citizens and netizens about the pros and cons of having business with the virtual world. On Internet Government Forum, the United Nations conducts debates on such issues every year in its forum but there is hardly any presence of the civil society groups from Pakistan. Our government is supposed to have a parliamentary committee on the internet governance issues just as any other government now has. As long as there is no training and coherent policy, we will continue to hurt the sentiments of the innocent public and websites such as Facebook will continue to appear offline.

The author is a visiting research fellow at the Innovation, Management and Policy Division at the Manchester University’s Business School, UK.

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