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ہفتہ، 30 جولائی، 2011

Pakistan faces unjust World Order

By Sajjad Shaukat

Although all the small countries have been facing the unjust world order, reflected by the US-led privileged status quo of the affluent countries in the unipolar system, yet Pakistan has become its special target because it is the only Islamic country which possesses nuclear weapons. The prevalent global system tends to give a greater political and economic leverage to the most developed nations who could safeguard their interests at the cost of the weak countries. Whenever, any controversy arises, the UN Security Council enforces the doctrine of collective security against the small states, while the five big powers protect their interests by using veto. This shows discrimination between the powerful and the weaker. It is notable that in 2001, UN had permitted the United States to attack Afghanistan under the cover of right of self-defence. In 2003, UN became helpless regarding Anglo-American illegitimate invasion of Iraq. In case of the Indian occupied Kashmir, the issue still remains unresolved as UN resolutions regarding the plebiscite were never implemented because Washington supports the illegitimate stand of India due to its anti-China interests. Similarly, US-led NATO countries have attacked Libya by setting aside the international law. Since September 11, Pakistan which joined the US war on terror as the frontline state against terrorism, especially in relation to Afghanistan, Washington has always tried to apply coercive diplomacy by manipulating the multiple crises of this developing country. The contradictory statements of the US high officials which still continue, shows American duplicity with Pakistan. In this respect, sometimes, US has cajoled Islamabad with economic and military aid, sometimes pressurised the latter to take actions against the Taliban militants, sometimes accused Pak Army and its intelligence agency, ISI of close contacts with the Afghan Taliban, while blaming for cross-border terrorism in Afghanistan. On the other hand, in the past few weeks, cross-border attacks by heavily armed militants who entered Pakistan from Afghanistan and targetted the infrastructure of our country’s various regions have continued intermittently.While, in the post-Osama episode, since the militants’ attack on Pakistan’s naval base in wake of perennial wave of terror-events in the country, US-led some western countries including India and Israel have intensified their campaign against the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. In this regard, on June 9, the then American CIA Chief Leon Panetta expressed fears that there is a danger that Pakistani nuclear weapons could fall into wrong hands. On May 24, the head of NATO in Afghanistan, Anders Fogh Rasmussen also expressed similar thoughts. In fact, CIA-led Indian RAW and Israeli Mossad which are already behind suicide attacks, bomb blasts and targeted killings in Pakistan have continuously been exploiting the killing of Osama Bin Laden. These elements are distorting the image of Islamabad in the comity of nations by indicating that other leaders of Al Qaeda have also taken shelter in Pakistan. Meanwhile, America has also increased drone attacks on Pakistan, which could also include Balochistan and other major cities of the country. At the same time, by setting aside the joint session of Pakistan’s Parliament, protesting the violation of the country’s sovereignty, recently, Obama repeatedly made it clear, “He was ready to order more assaults against any safe havens” of terrorists in Pakistan.In fact, before leaving Afghanistan, US wants to shift Afghan war to Pakistan, which it has already started transferring. Under the pretext of Talibanisation of Pakistan and lawlessness in the country, which has collevtively been created by CIA, RAW and Mossad, US-led India and Israel are preparing ground to ‘denuclearise’ Islamabad. Like ex-president Bush, high officials of the Obama Administration have also been stating that any plot to attack the US homeland and Europe would be planned in Pakistan’s tribal regions. In the recent past, while talking about the failed attempt of the Times Square bombing, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had warned that Pakistan would face “severe consequences” if a future terrorist attack on US soil was traced back to Pakistan. In this respect, America has already gained the favour of some western countries, showing Pakistan as a failed state. Notably, renowned political thinkers, Hobbes, Machiavelli and Morgenthau opine that in international politics, deceit, fraud and falsehood become the principles of international morality. In their sense, strategic thinker, Thomas Schelling remarks about the US, “coercion to be an effective tool of foreign policy.” Kissinger also endorses politics of bargaining and pressure through threats, coercion and even violence as key elements of the US diplomacy. In this regard, diplomacy itself becomes the real tool of blackmailing. In these terms, American policy shows deliberate duplicity towards PakistanIt is notable that despite Pakistan’s successful military operations against the Taliban militants and sacrifices of country’s security forces including civilian casualties and collateral damage during war against terrorism, the US has continuously been pressurising Islamabad to take military action against the Haqqani group in North Waziristan. In this context, on June 28, Lieutenant General John Allen, the US commander in Afghanistan, blamed that Pakistan was keeping its options open by allowing Haqqani fighters based in North Waziristan to operate within its borders to kill the Americans in Afghanistan. While Islamabad has already made it clear that army is engaged in other tribal areas, so it cannot attack the militants of North Waziristan. On June 9, Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Parvez remarked about military operation in North Waziristan, “a well thoughtout campaign is under no pressure to carry out operations at a particular time…future operations, as and when undertaken, will be with political consensus…the people of Pakistan whose support the army has always considered vital for its operations against terrorists.” On June 7, Gen. Kayani again emphasised people’s backing for army.However, in the recent past, Pakistan’s civil and military leadership has flatly refused to act upon American unnecessary demands. Knowing the American double game and its intentions to shift Afghan war to Pakistan, Islamabad sent home 120 US military trainers. In response, on July 10, America withheld $800 million in military assistance to Pakistan. On the other side, on July 13, Gen. Kayani during Corps Commanders’ Conference made it clear that the military could do without US assistance by depending on its own resources, while on the same day, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar threatened to pull back troops from the Afghan border in response to US aid cuts. At present, trust deficit exists between Islamabad and Washington owing to the ambivalent policy of the US towards Pakistan. In this context, on July 25, US Admiral Mike Mullen stated that US-Pakistan military-to-military ties were at a very difficult crossroads, allowing progress on that front was not yet clear, but like some other US high officials, he hoped that the two nations would soon find a way to reconcile those ties. An American official said, “we are committed to work with Pakistan on counter-terrorism.” It is mentionable that in economic context, the world order shows greater disparities as the flow of capital and credit system including I.M.F and World Bank is also dominated by the US-led most developed countries——its result is an increase in the activities of the Multinationals which have shattered the economies of the poor developing states—-particularly Pakistan. Besides, these developed countries blackmail the governments of the small states through financial pressure, while US especially blackmails Pakistan. Every time, I.M.F sanctions loan to Pakistan after American green signal. Past experience proves that economic dependence on foreign countries always brings political dependence in its wake. While, at this critical juncture, our country has been facing precarious financial problem, US-led some western allies are compelling Islamabad to accept American undue demands which are, in fact, part of American shrewd diplomacy as the US, India and Israel are trying to weaken Pakistan for their secret strategic designs. In case of refusal, US can conduct full-fledged aerial strikes on Pakistan. There is also another option for the United States as with the help of some western powers, the US can impose economic sanctions on Pakistan or can declare the latter as defaulter in connection with the payments of debts so as to further destabilise the country.No doubt, Pakistan has been facing the unjust world order in the unipolar world led by the US. Such a critical situation demands a strong sense of unity among our security forces, politicians and general masses in order to cope with foreign enemies.  

sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

جمعہ، 29 جولائی، 2011

The New Delhi talks

The visit of the Pakistan delegation headed by the youthful but formidable Foreign Minister, was an indication that in the country, a new generation has emerged that seeks to get liberated from the shackles of the past, and which seeks a modus vivendi whith a country that can be a natural partner. In Hina Rabbani Khar, the people of India saw a new Pakistan, one very different from the country portrayed in the international media. The question is, will the Dead Hand of the Past choke off these bamboo shoots of rapprochement, or will this finally give way to the needs of the new generation in both countries, which is peace?
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Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar

It is not that no high hopes were held about the New Delhi talks that their inconsequential outcome has set off no despondency or dismay. The people here have got used to this familiar pattern of bilateral talks between India and Pakistan over these past decades. From their experience, they know that the interlocutors would emerge from the conference room either with smiling faces or with frowns on their brows, but the outcome would be the same. Over the period, they have witnessed talks even at the highest levels finally ending up the same way: a damp squib. Only a commentariat that latches on even to the most insignificant to burnish its talking skills gets enthused. Keep talking is their mantra, even if it means continue talking to infinity with no concrete result whatsoever coming by on any substantive issue outstanding between the two countries. Talking keeps the two countries at least at bay from tensions or a conflict is the commentariat’s mantra, even despite being proved wrong on this count again and again. Their dialogue is indeed the first casualty of any flare-up between the two. The hard facts are a living testimony of this truth. And if their tensions over the period have not gone wild, it is because of the dreadful weapon that both possess. Not even a loony would permit the tension flaring up to the point where a nuclear Armageddon is unleashed on the region.In any case, the keep-talking-battalion has something to crow about. The two top diplomats of the two countries have in their New Delhi decided to keep talking. And it should come as great consolation to the battalion that the have agreed to meet again, mark you, by the middle of next year, not the next century. But homilies, platitudes and pious vows that the people have heard now they have heard earlier too. The brew is the same; only the bottle is new. It was a “composite peace dialogue” then. Now it is a “full spectrum dialogue”. Over four rounds of the composite dialogue went by stillborn on substantive issues. The first round of full spectrum has culminated likewise. And take it from us, this will go on like this if a hard bitter truth is not contended with.Although our self-righteous mob of political pundits, commentators and analysts, which has transformed self-flagellation into a fine art, would have it believed that the obstruction to normality between the two countries is our security establishment, the boot fits squarely the leg of its Indian counterpart.

  The Indian establishment is not so meek or subservient as this mob has self-servingly taken it to be. It is a very formidable force, and a very decisive voice when it comes to India’s Pakistan policy. It almost has a veto power on India’s policies and stances regarding Pakistan. Nothing could be as illustrative of this as the stalled Pakistan visit of Manmohan Singh, India’s prime minister. To impart a measure of significance to his visit, he wanted to come with a final agreement on Siachen demilitarisation and sign it up in Islamabad. But both the Indian army and air force put their feet down, refusing to vacate some of their positions and facilities on the glacier. Consequently, his intended Pakistan visit went on hold. And predictably the visit invitation extended to him by the foreign minister would in all probability go immaterialised again, particularly when his position has got a severe battering from some high-profile corruption scams that have come to blight his government in these recent times. Arguably, the Indian establishment has got a big shot in the arm from the massive armament spree that the Singh government has embarked upon. With a booming economy, India has unfolded a whopping multi-billion-dollar shopping list to equip the Indian militarily lethally massively. Inevitably, that huge refurbishment would lead up to the further beefing up of the Indian military’s clout on the country’s foreign policies. Furthermore, the foreign powers eyeing avariciously India’s enormous economic opportunities and big weapons contracts would be much less prone to nudge it to go wholeheartedly for settlement of its outstanding disputes with Pakistan. Already, the Americans have catapulted India from a preeminent power of the region to its leader, exhorting it to be assertive in its leading role in and around the region. Hence instead of living in illusions and fantasies, the Islamabad hierarchs must see the realities as they are and chalk out a pragmatic policy to secure Pakistan’s interests to the best possible. India is already snatching away from Pakistan its river waters systematically.

جمعرات، 28 جولائی، 2011

US world economic monopoly is coming to an end

 The whole world is watching America at the moment. If the state debt level is not raised the government will have will be up in the air. In this context, many experts predict a new wave of the global financial crisis, compared to which the 2008 tsuami will seem a caressinng wave.
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The USA is on the verge of a default. If Washington politicians do not come to an agreement on raising the debt ceiling, this pessimistic scenario can become reality in a few days, for the first time in the history of that country. The head of the IMF Christine Lagarde has declared that the global economy will feel the consequences of this. The confrontation between US President Barack Obama and the Republican majority in the Congress has reached its peak. The global financial system has become a hostage of political squabbles in the US Congress, Garegin Tosunian points out:
“The financial market cannot be completely insured against any force majeure. However, if we analyze today’s situation in the USA we can see that it is just a political struggle. If we remember the previous years, opposing parties often agreed to increase the state debt sum, but can this go on forever?”
Still, GareginTosunian believes that a technical default in the USA is hardly likely. On the other hand, he is convinced that in any case Washington’s monopoly in the global economy and finance is coming to an end:
“Even if there is no announcement of a default, which I believe will be the case, the current situation in the world is pushing the dollar and the US monopoly to the ditch of  the global economic space. The influence of the US currency will be gradually dropping and the USA will not be able to consider itself the only country dictating its conditions to the whole world. The euro, which appeared over 10 years ago as a competitor to the dollar, is the proof of this. Today’s forex resources, at least in Russia,  are commensurable to the dollar and the euro.”
The head of the parliamentary Committee on the Economic Policy and Enterprise Yevgeny Fyodorov has a similar opinion. In his interview for the Voice of Russia he noted that the USA may lose the title of the world’s largest economy. This is obvious because the USA is buying more than it is selling and the state expenditure is higher than tax revenues, so the government is constantly borrowing money, Yevgeny Fyodorov says:
“America’s political monopoly provides for its economic monopoly. The default actually means that the Americans are living beyond their means. Using their political influence they as good as rob other countries. 4.5% of the world population consume 40% of the global GDP. I do not believe that the Americans will ever pay their debts.”
The whole world is watching America at the  moment. If the state debt level is not raised the government will have no money for current expenses. Foreign debt interests will grow and the stability of state bonds and the US dollar will be up in the air. In this context, many experts predict a new wave of the global financial crisis, compared to which the 2008 tsunami will seem a caressing wave.
Interestingly, some analysts insist that such a shake-up is what the global economy needs right now. It will facilitate the transition from old economic models to new ones. Incidentally, many countries, Russia included, have already put forward proposals about dismantling the unidirectional political and economic arrangement of the world. These proposals include establishing new reserve currencies, regional ones as well, that will be controlled by the whole of the global community, rather than one country. In that case we can expect a real competition between currencies and economies instead of new crisis balloons threatening the whole world.

Murder squads reappear in Karachi

 Sindh senior minister Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza who had met Afaq Ahmad in prison to pave the way for the renegade leader's release to fight his battle against the MQM leader Mr. Altaf Hussain. With the support of the Sindh government, particularly Zulfiqar Mirza who had clearly disclosed his intentions in his brash and venomous speech against Mohajiris for which he started his campaign to demolish Mohajir unity under the leadership of Altaf Hussain by putting up Afaq faction against him.
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Founder and Leader of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Mr Altaf Hussain
 By Burhanuddin Hasan

Sure enough the killings started once again, this time in Malir and Khokrapaar areas claiming 13 lives. The area remained under siege for quite a while as gunmen were roaming around freely facing no resistance from police or rangers. How could they? It was all preplanned. The MQM leaders who had reached an agreement with President Zardari only a few days ago to partially cooperate with the government under the guidance of Dr. Ishratul Ibad who returned to Karachi to resume office as Governor Sind. He called a few meetings to stress the need for peace and quite in Karachi.

That was about all. He has not spoken a word about the recent killings by the activists of Afaq group in Malir and Landhi. The next day the killers were so emboldened that they opened fire on the streets around Civil Hospital on unsuspecting passers by who ran all over the busy streets in panic to save their lives. This horrific scene shown by TV channels was awe inspiring. Mr. Altaf Hussain has in a statement only appealed for calm. Other MQM leaders staged a walk out from the assembly and blamed a few ministers for the deadly episode. They said that the way our workers and sympathizers were targeted in Malir and Landhi makes it obvious that this unleashing of terrorism is calculated and being patronized by some one in the government. They said we would; however cooperate with the government in every effort for peace in Karachi. A wishful thinking indeed!

President Zardari, who was in Karachi summoned the Home Minister Manzoor Wassan to discuss the situation and ordered him to take action against the killers. Only time will tell how the minister deals with the situation. It is our good luck that Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who has been indifferent to the Karachi carnage so far, told the National Assembly that his government would not tolerate disorder in the country’s economic hub and asked all political forces to help maintain peace there. This cliché ridden statement will obviously not solve the Karachi problem. As chief executive of the country he is expected to come down to Karachi and personally take command to tackle the most complicated Karachi situation in which a minister in Sind government who is very close to the President is deeply involved. So long as this minister is in his present position the persecution of Mohajir community will continue.

Karachi which was once considered the safest and most peaceful metropolis in South Asia has now become the den of senseless crime, ethnic strife and sectarian fanaticism. Every day media is full of revolting stories of gruesome murders, daredevil robberies and free use of most sophisticated weapons. These merchants of death roam around freely killing peaceful citizens sleeping in their houses, sitting in their shops or walking on the streets. Nobody feels safe. Isn’t it the responsibility of the government to clean up this metropolis which is the hub of trade and industry, from the dirt of crime, murders and political warfare going on these days?

Sindh senior minister Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza
Mr. Prime Minister you cannot shirk your responsibility that God has bestowed upon you. Altaf Hussain too, on whom God has bestowed the honor to lead a well organized and disciplined party of middle class people who earn their living through their honest hard work, it is his duty to safeguard their lives and their jobs. Most of all protect their identity as a community which has played a historic role in the creation of Pakistan. The Mohajirs are passing through a critical phase these days at the hands of crafty Sindhi leadership which is bent upon damaging the community as much as they can. The most regrettable aspect of the prevailing situation is that neither the federal nor the provincial government, seem to be really concerned about the explosive situation in the country’s biggest city and its industrial base. Only when some tragic event happens and people lose their lives our rulers just issue standard statements or condolence messages and then go back to sleep. One hopes that this time they will take some tangible measures by throwing out the mischievous elements from the provincial government as quickly as possible.

Pakistan, India FMs say ties on ‘right track’

Pakistan and India have agreed carry forward the dialogue process with a view to resolving peacefully all outstanding issues through constructive and result oriented engagement, and to establish friendly, cooperative and good neighbourly relation.
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Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar shakes hands with her Indian counterpart prior to a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.  

On the face of it, the discussions on the Kashmir issue held between Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and her Indian counterpart S. M. Krishna at New Delhi on Wednesday and their agreement on “the need for continued discussions, in a purposeful and forward looking manner, with a view to finding a peaceful solution by narrowing divergences and building convergences” is a welcome development. It indicates that India has at last acknowledged that the occupied Kashmir is a disputed part that has to be settled through dialogue. But India’s seriousness about resolving the issue could only be known when these oral expressions of intent undergo the test of substantive negotiations: true representatives of the Kashmiri people are also associated in the talks to elicit their views; the huge presence of Indian security forces in the Valley is considerably pared down; and preparations are set afoot for holding a UN-sponsored plebiscite.
On the whole, the outcome of the talks has rightly been commented upon as, “There was little in the way of substantive agreements to back the general mood of optimism.” Considering the short duration of the meeting, there could not have been more than a brief exchange of views on the entire range of issues existing between the two countries the two Foreign Ministers discussed. The discussion on building “a relationship of trust and mutually beneficial cooperation” through CBMs and people-to-people contacts; the threat to peace and security that terrorism poses; the expansion of trade between the two countries; the decision on the promotion of commercial and economic relations across the Line of Control by enhancing the period of trading days from two to four; and the agreement to include visits for tourism and religious pilgrimage in the purposes of travel across the LoC – these matters would have taken most of the time.

Hina Rabbani Khar
 It is an unfortunate reality that Pakistan and India work at cross-purposes while conducting dialogue on any of their disputes, notwithstanding the assertions of both the Foreign Ministers that peace is in the interest of the whole region. New Delhi at best would not like to discuss them at all and would latch on to any event to put the talks off; Islamabad, on the other hand, is eager to engage India to come to peaceful settlement. The upshot of composite dialogue that began in January 2004 testifies to the above conclusion, as not a single issue stands resolved. While Minister Khar was making conciliatory gestures and talking peace and friendship, the Indian air force chief issues a really provocative statement a day before talks are due to be held. Just out of the blue, he chooses to bring up the subject of ‘in case Pakistan launches a nuclear attack on India’, and harangues and threatens it with severe retribution. Unless such elements are reined in and the atmosphere of trust, which India insists is necessary for talks, is allowed to take its logical course of settlement of issues, the two countries would remain at odds with each other to the dismay of their teeming millions suffering from poverty and hunger.

بدھ، 27 جولائی، 2011

OBL of the Norway

 While one is at a loss for words to condemn the massacre of over 100 people in Norway by Anders Behring Breivik, the incident is a grim reminder that terrorism has no boundaries or religion for that matter and that indeed the western world by badmouthing Muslims everywhere around the globe was only deceiving its gullible public to achieve ulterior motives.

Anders Behring Breivik
Hair-raising details are coming to surface about real background and motives of the Norwegian mass murderer, who killed 93 people in Oslo in twin attacks — a bomb blast and firing on a summer camp of the ruling party. According to the latest reports, the deeds of the killer were part of a deep-rooted conspiracy being hatched by some anti-Islam groups to malign Muslims and create conditions that could provide justification for military action against them.

It is shocking to know that the man was not just a Christian fanatic but had been working in coordination with several dozen other anti-Muslim individuals and groups in the United States, Israel, Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and India. He was also working on a plot to attack nuclear power stations and put the blame on Muslims in a secret campaign to banish Muslims from Europe. It was bad luck of the masterminds that the killer not only survived but was also arrested and their nefarious designs to put the blame on Muslims were foiled. These chilling and stunning details make it quite obvious that the network and activities of the groups which the killer represented were no less than that of Al-Qaeda and the man himself was as dangerous as Osama bin Laden. But it is intriguing and regrettable that the Western media, which misses no opportunity of Muslim bashing, has adopted a mysterious silence and is not as enthusiast as it should have been in digging out the truth; just because the man is their brother in faith and the term ‘terrorist’ is only reserved for Muslims. Otherwise, we need an Abbottabad-like operation to strike at the roots of such groups and individuals, who are in abundance in Europe as well as in India.

Also it is an unfortunate reality that America’s unjust war on terror has bred hatred within the Muslim community on the one hand and has increased prejudice of Muslim in the West, on the other; Breivik provides a glaring example of it. In fact such an outburst of hatred of Muslims was bound to happen given the US propaganda machinery busy demonising Muslims day in and day out. It is, therefore, understandable why the attack had so much shocked Europe and the US. Breivik is no lunatic, as is manifest from his statement that the action was “atrocious but necessary”. He thought it necessary because he wanted to prevent the Western Europe from “Muslim takeover” and therefore attacked “Islamic colonisation”. His words that he wanted to bring about a revolution are noteworthy because they reek of the same hatred that President Bush had nurtured evident by the term “crusade” he used. Breivik also revealed that a network of more terrorist cells exist and so the police, who up until the incident were busy keeping an eye on the Muslim Diaspora, should get alert.

منگل، 26 جولائی، 2011

Norwegian assaults

Luckily for Pakistan and rest of the Muslim world, the stone hearted perpetrator of the dastardly act of killing 92 people, mostly youngsters, is a right wing Christian extremist. We say this because God forbid if he had Muslim identity it would have provided yet another excuse to the US led allies to further strangulate the Islamic countries by starting propaganda tirade against them.
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By Yousaf Alamgirian


Terrorist attacks in Norway must be an eye opener for those European and the western countries which blame Islam for extremism. Extremism has no religion. Extremists are enemies of the humanity. Two deadly attacks in Norway that killed at least 92 people is a sad knick-knack that domestic extremism remains a serious threat across the world. The world must feel the critical consequences of the terrorism which has entangled South Asia. The superpowers instead playing gimmicks in the garb of war on terrorism must join hands to help this part of the world to save them from the terrorism menace. They must realize that if they continue using this war for their vested interests soon they are going to become the victims of the same. Islam, Christianity or any other religion never teaches its followers to go for extremism. It is the set mindset of the individuals, international conspirators to defame and destabilize any of the nation or a state. No one in the world can appreciate what the 32 years Norwegian has done. It is not only a criminal act but depicts an approach to impose someone’s ideas. It may have provided pleasure to mentally sick people who could be hailing from any of the society. During the last ten years of war on terrorism European and western leadership and its media is on the same pace to malign Islam and the Muslims by using terms like ‘Islamic extremists’. India also plays the ‘frontline state’ role to defame Pakistan and impose blame of each and every incident of terrorism on it. Only the responsibility of recent bomb explosions of Mumbai has not been imposed on Pakistan as Indian government got the strong linkage of Hindu extremists in the incident.Soon after the news of twin terror attacks in Norway it was speculated that the western and European lobby may try to link it with any of the extremists’ network of South Asia. But Norwegian law enforcing agencies seem so honest and professional that they sorted out the issue immediately after the attacks that the attacker was a local citizen who doesn’t have to do anything with the world extremist networks. The news agencies have reported that “Preliminary investigations indicate the suspect, a 32-year-old Norwegian man, has nothing to do with international terrorist groups, while local media said the horrific carnage, which deprived many families of their young children, appears to be the crazy act of a local extremist who wanted revenge on society”. Extremists are obviously the real enemies of the humanity which even don’t spare their country mates or the people from the same society. They are only bothered about their own beliefs and consider others as nonbelievers.Few months back an American citizen and a priest Terry Jones set on fire the ‘Quran’ and that too in religious place like a Church. That delivered a very wrong message. His act not only created unrest among the Muslims but also among the sensible religious segments of different religions including Christianity.Radicalization is not something pertaining to act upon beliefs and preaching of certain religion but is a mindset and move to adopt means of insulting the faith and emotions of same as well as of the other religions and instigate them to the extent in a way which could be formed as ‘extremism’. This is what the West is doing with Muslims. The Muslims have never thought of burning a Bible and Torah. For Muslims these are sacred books and must be respected in true spirit.Religious extremism strengthened its roots during Russian invasion in Afghanistan. America joined hands with this part of the Muslim countries to oust Russian forces from Afghanistan and then left these forces being trained during the course of war in aloofness. Then it was Pakistan alone to take care of the breed being flourished. So the trained lot scattered all over the country to settle themselves according to their own choice and style. Things were not controlled and the state level as there would have been proper employment opportunities for them to get them acquainted with the routine life. So they joined different factions and of course the political as well.Extremism is not a phenomenon which is linked to physical actions but the rays it ejects in kind of intolerance, prejudice and ethnocentrism. People who are religious or the political are so possessive towards their school of thoughts that they don’t let any option differing to their perception to pour into their minds. Radicalization is based on radical philosophy supporting certain factions to be intolerant to any of the ideology or thought process which differs with them. A 32-year-old Norwegian man is quite a relevant example of the mindset narrated above. He must be of 22 years of age when American and allied forces attacked Iraq and Afghanistan.Western and European media has shown ‘embedded coverage’ of terrorist attacks and had tried to establish Muslims as terrorists. So their youth is permanent viewer of the news stories, documentaries and video packages which were mainly shown to malign Muslims and Islam. They were obviously not shown for the information purpose. Their youth could have got influenced from the same to practice it in their respective societies.This incident has exposed that there could be very deep roots of extremism in Norwegian society. Few years back a Norwegian newspaper published blasphemous sketches of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which caused severe mental torture for the Muslims world over. It seems the network (that may not be connected with the international extremists networks) of the people having intentions to sermonize their side of the memo.This is really an alarming for the societies which believe in peace, love and harmony. They must set their houses in order and review their policies to help the societies entangled in extremism to make the world and their own territory worth living for the humans.

ہفتہ، 23 جولائی، 2011

Pak-Iran relations in changing regional scenario

Pakistan and Iran have "vital interests" in stability and peace in Afghanistan. On the economic side. Zardari proposed the conclusion of a free-trade agreement between the countries and a currency swap arrangement that would enable them to use the two national currencies for bilateral trade transactions. These are nascent ideas and the only tangible outcome seems to have been on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipleine project, which the two countries are keen to expedite.
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President Asif Ali Zardari paid a brief but important visit to Iran on Saturday  

By Arshad Ali Shah

President Asif Ali Zardari paid a brief but important visit to Iran on Saturday. On the eve of his visit, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua in her weekly briefing to media in Islamabad termed President Zardari’s visit to Iran as “important and integral to Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to deepen engagements with a brotherly neighbour”. Zardari had visited Iran last June to attend an anti-terrorism conference there. The visit has been hailed by many Pakistani political leaders and political and security analysts. They opined that it would improve the bilateral relations between the two Muslim countries as well as would reduce the foreign interference in the region.Pakistan and Iran relations were very cordial during the Shah era. They remained members of the Baghdad Pact and amicably resolved their border issue. Iran successfully mediated between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the 1960’s and supported Pakistan during its wars with India in 1965 and 1971.In the 1990’s Pakistan-Iran relations were negatively affected because of their support to opposing groups in Afghanistan, competition for influence in Central Asian States, and Shia-Sunni conflict in Pakistan. The post 9/11 regional environment provided ample opportunity to both Pakistan and Iran to forget the past annoyances and improve their bilateral relations. The Taliban regime, the major irritant between the two countries has been removed. The government of Pakistan also took some concrete steps to eliminate sectarianism from the country that also lessened the tension between the two countries. These developments paved the way for a close relationship and efforts were made to revive their earlier closeness. However, a little improvement has been done and they could not exploit the situation according to their potential. The close ties of Iran with India and Pakistan, close collaboration with US, arch-rival of Iran, in war on terror were the main factors that hampered their rapprochement.The present democratic government of Pakistan is determined to improve its relations with Iran, the most important and influential neighbour of Pakistan. Iran also made some overtures towards Pakistan and pledged $100million to Pakistan for flood victims. There are various factors that contributed to the present closeness between Pakistan and Iran. First, President Obama has already announced drawdown plan from Afghanistan. It is high time for both Pakistan and Iran to accommodate each other’s strategic and economic interests in Afghanistan. They should avoid the repetition of the past short-sighted policies in Afghanistan that led to another intervention in Afghanistan by the superpower. During the civil war in Afghanistan, Pakistan supported the Pakhtun Taliban while Iran supported the Tajik Northern Alliance. Pakistan and Iran can use their influence on the Taliban and on the Northern Alliance respectively to bring them to the negotiation table and avoid another civil war in the post-US Afghanistan. Second, it is a fact that continuous instability in one country never remains domestic affair and spreads to other neighbouring countries if meaningful and timely preventive measures are not taken by the regional states. This fact has now been realized by the leaders of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan and they met on the sideline of the ant-terrorism conference held in Tehran on June 25. They agreed to expand and strengthen trilateral cooperation for peace, stability and development in the region. The prolong presence of the foreign troops in Afghanistan has not only jeopardized the peace and security of Afghanistan but also of the entire region. Pakistan has suffered more than any other country in the region both in terms of money lose and human casualties. Iran has also been targeted by several terrorist attacks. Jundullah, anti-Iranian Sunni militant group, was the main actor behind these attacks. Jundullah’s anti-Iran activities on the Iranian soil have also created rift in Pakistan-Iran relations. To assuage Iran’s concerns, Pakistan arrested several Jundullah leaders and handed them over to Iranian authorities.Third, the current standoff between the US and Pakistan compelled the latter to look for other regional allies to strengthen its position in the region. Pakistan-US relations have been tense since Raymond Davis affairs. It touched their lowest ebb when, on May 2, the US forces killed Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden in a unilateral operation in Abbottabad. Besides, the continuous drone attacks in the tribal areas and US attempt to sideline Pakistan in the reconciliation process with the Taliban to minimize the Pakistan’s role in the post-withdrawal period in Afghanistan has created rift between Pakistan and America. Fourth, at present, India-Iran relations are at nadir. India’s twice vote against Iran’s nuclear programme at IAEA, its withdrawal from Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline agreement and now inability to pay for Iran’s crude oil distanced itself from Iran. These steps compel Iran to move towards Pakistan. In the post-cold war period, there was convergence of interests between Iran and India in a number of areas that brought them closer, for example, India’s access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, containing the Taliban in Afghanistan, and trade particularly in energy sector. India signed strategic pact with Iran in 2003. Fifth, Pakistan and Iran are committed to raise bilateral trade from one billion dollars to four billion dollars. The president of Pakistan proposed various proposals to his counterpart for enhancing bilateral trade such as currency swap accord, and bilateral free trade agreement. At present, there is an acute energy crisis in Pakistan and we need Iranian gas to overcome this shortage. This fact has been recently been acknowledged by Asim Hussain, Pakistani minister for petroleum saying that, ‘Our dependence on the Iran pipeline is very high. There is no other substitute at present to meet our growing demand for energy’. Therefore, despite US pressure, Pakistan went forward and signed Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline without India in June 2010. India withdrew from the project under US pressure. Pakistan would get 750 million cubic feet gas from this project which would start by 2014. Pakistan is also taking keen interest to import of electricity from Iran.The recent tilt of Pakistan towards Iran created doubts in the minds of Saudi brothers. Saudi Arab’s opposition to Zardari’s participation in the international conference against terrorism in Tehran and meeting of Saudi’s ambassador to Pakistan with president Zardari on the eve of his visit to Iran clear this point. Pakistan has very close economic and political relations with Saudi Arabia. Now there is a need of shrewd diplomacy on the part of Pakistan to remove Saudi suspicions and to tell them that the present closeness with Iran would not suffer our strong bilateral relations. The regional approach is the most viable option for resolving the issues confronted by the region. Therefore, the current warmth in the Pakistan-Iran relations is a welcome step in a changing regional scenario and this process of mutual interaction at the highest level should be continued in future.

arshadbunery@yahoo.com

Malir shootout, 13 killed

A woman weeps over the dead body of her relative who was gunned down in Malir area, at a hospital in Karachi on Friday.

Thirteen people were killed and 15 injured in an exchange of fire between two groups in the Malir area of Karachi on Friday.All businesses and shops were shut down after a shootout took place between two groups in the Khokrapar area of Malir.According to police two rival criminal groups residing in Khokrapar area of Malir on Friday morning traded fire due to unknown reasons. The intense fire continued for hours and the two sides used heavy and automatic weapons against each other.In exchange of fire 13 persons from both groups were killed and 15 others were reported injured.Heavy contingent of police and rangers personnel in armoured personnel carriers reached the area after the clash and brought the situation under control.However, fear gripped the area in Jinnah Square, Mehran Town and Liaquat Town areas of Malir. Shops and markets in the said areas were closed as the firing started.The injured people were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Complex (JPMC) Hospital for medical treatment and according to hospital sources condition of several injured people was serious.Inspector General Sindh Wajid Durrani said a door-to-door search operation will be conducted in the area.Later, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) strongly protested against the firing on the floor of the Sindh Assembly and claimed that four party workers were killed in the incident.MQM leader Sheikh Afzal alleged that the party had contacted the police, and had been informed that they did not have orders to enter the area.Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) chief Ahmed Chinoy said the situation in the city was under control and law enforcement agencies are trying their best to maintain peace. The newly nominated opposition leader in Sindh Assembly Raza Haroon demanded of the government to take action against target killers in Karachi.Speaking to the media after the MQM staged a walkout from Sindh Assembly, Haroon claimed MQM workers were being targeted in Karachi and alleged that some people in the government were giving protection to the killers.He said the government has yet to take action and arrest those involved in today’s incident.Raza Haroon blamed that his party activists and supporters were being targeted and unlawful elements have been given free hand to control some areas in the city including Malir.Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani condemning the Malir situation has asked the interior ministry to submit report immediately.During his address in the National Assembly, Giani said that Karachi is the backbone of country and no one will be allowed to make the situation worst in the city. “The stability in the city is the stability of the country.” He said that all the political parties have to resolve Karachi’s law and order situation.Meanwhile, talking to media at the Parliament House on Friday, Haider Abbas Rizvi demanded that the terrorists arrested in Karachi should be brought before the public. He alleged that the situation in Karachi was being worsened through a pre-planned conspiracy. The MQM parliamentary leader warned that the economy of the country would be destroyed if peace was not restored in the mega city. He said the mass killings continued in Karachi for five days but Rangers were not called. He said only in Katti Pahari area 110 people were killed in five days. Haider Abbas Rizvi said that the MQM supporters were being martyred in Malir and Landhi localities of Karachi. He said the Inspector General Police was repeatedly claiming that the situation would be brought under control but it was deteriorating with the passage of every day. He said in a few hours time eight persons were killed in Malir on Friday.The MQM leader appealed the prime minister to take personal notice of the serious situation in Karachi.He alleged that the federal government was indulged in massive rigging in AJK elections and every attempt was made to keep MQM away from them. He said the party has moved the court against rigging in the elections. He demanded that the AJK election be disbanded and fresh elections held in the Azad territory.

جمعہ، 22 جولائی، 2011

NATO’s evolving strategy in Afghanistan

The year 2011 carries immense significance in terms of developments in the Af-Pak theatre. The year saw the killing of Osama Bin Laden (OBL) in a night raid by US special forces in Abbottabad on 2 May 2011. OBL’s killing followed announcements by various NATO countries, especially France, Canada, Germany and UK, to start gradual withdrawal troops from Afghanistan. This was spurred by an earlier speech on 22 June by US President Barak Obama to start pulling out US troops in July 2011, and completing a complete pullout by 2014. Coupled with this was a rapid deterioration in Pakistan-US relations, where intelligence and security cooperation is reported to be at an all-time low.
Similarly, there was a complete overhaul of the US team overseeing the US policy in Afghanistan. Leon Panetta succeeded Roberts Gates as the new US Defense Secretary, while General Petraeus was appointed as the new CIA head in place of Panetta. Meanwhile, a gradual handover of security responsibilities by NATO to the Afghan forces also commenced in July 2011.
All these developments are ominous for the Af-Pak theatre since they may prove to be the harbinger for a future course of action that the US and NATO may adopt towards the Af-Pak region. It seems there has been a visible shift in the mindset of policy makers in Washington and Brussels.
Firstly, greater emphasis is being placed on Pakistan as the “ground zero” of terrorism instead of Afghanistan, which was earlier perceived as the centre of gravity of terrorism. Statements by US policy makers and Congressmen that the short- and long-term terrorist threat to the US security emanates from Pakistan’s western border regions instead of Afghanistan points towards this direction. From a Pakistani perspective, NATO’s future orientation could shift from Af-Pak to Pak-Af.
Secondly, a gradual troop drawdown by NATO is pointing toward a shift from counter-insurgency (COIN) to counter-terrorism (CT) strategy. Former US Secretary of Defense, Roberts Gates, hinted at this transition when he stated in June 2011 that NATO’s mission “will be less and less COIN and more and more counter-terrorism.” While US and NATO troops were redeployed in late 2009 from eastern and southeastern Afghanistan to southern Afghanistan in order to undertake COIN operations in Helmand and Kandahar, there are reports that NATO is now contemplating to redeploy once more its resources – both human and material - to southeastern Afghanistan (Khost, Pakita and Paktika) which borders North and South Waziristan agencies of FATA region of Pakistan. NATO strategy therefore would rely heavily on neutralising terrorist entities holed up in the FATA region through intensification of drone strikes. While the US has not undertaken a ground operation in FATA so far due to Pakistani sensitivities, the US leadership is already making it clear that they will not desist from unilateral ground operations, if there is actionable intelligence regarding presence of high profile terrorist on the Pakistani territory. To ward off any adverse Pakistani reaction, NATO is already diversifying its logistics dependence on Pakistan by opening up more ground routes from Afghanistan’s north. According to reports, NATO dependence on Pakistan’s logistics route has dwindled from 90 percent in 2008 to 60 percent by 2011.
However, there are certain pitfalls that the western security alliance should guard itself against. Firstly, the US strategy from 2002 until 2008 focussed heavily on FATA, under which it maintained significant military presence in Afghanistan’s southeastern province. A heavy focus on eliminating al-Qaeda kept the US off guard against Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan’s southern provinces. Under the evolving strategy, NATO shift from south to southeast and lead them towards repeating the same mistake. While NATO claims that Taliban in southern Afghanistan are on the retreat, it could hardly be substantiated. It seems Taliban are adopting a new strategy of playing “cat-and-mouse” game by going into hiding and reemerging in the same area after the focus is taken off. Similarly, the Afghan security forces remain weak to counter a Taliban offensive if the former is put into action. The fact that a highly organised, trained and disciplined Pakistani security force has not been able to completely wipe out the Taliban in its multiple military operations in FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) shows the potency of the Taliban insurgency. Similarly, a corrupt, inefficient and crude governance system in Afghanistan allows the Afghan Taliban to present themselves as an alternative to the corrupt Afghan government in power.
Similarly, Taliban is not a static phenomenon but remains fluid, since they have so far shown great resilience, mobility and adaptability. With the US shifting their focus on southeastern Afghanistan, the Taliban may try to find new sanctuaries in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, especially in northern Afghanistan and upper parts of FATA and KP to survive the NATO’s move. Already, Taliban and al-Qaeda have been able to establish semi-sanctuaries in Kunar and Nuristan provinces in eastern parts of Afghanistan, where they intend to reverse the fragile security gains both Afghanistan and NATO had made since 2008. By destabilising Kunar, Nuristan and the Malakand Division, Bajaur and Mohmand agencies of Pakistan, the Taliban and al-Qaeda want to create a strategic depth which could prove to be a rearguard if they are attacked by either NATO, Afghan or Pakistani troops in the future.
Similarly, NATO’s “fight and talk” strategy has not bore the desirable results it had hoped for. The Taliban and other insurgent groups remain unwilling to hold talks with the Afghan government and NATO. An emphasis on CT could weaken the existing leadership of the insurgent groups, but the latter have shown profound adaptability in filling up their ranks quickly and efficiently. In fact, the neo-Taliban are proving to be more hardliners in their approach, compared to the old guard so far. The NATO would be in a fix if this current CT policy also fails in the long run since they will lose whatever leverage they have gained in the battlefield against the insurgents so far. To quote a phrase, “you cannot win on the negotiating table what you have lost on the battleground.”
What has been absent so far in the entire discourse on a future political settlement of the Afghan imbroglio is NATO’s inability to engage Afghanistan’s neighbours in developing a regional outlook of the Afghan quagmire. So far, efforts have focused on bilateral engagements and lack a multilateral approach. While neighbouring countries seem to pursue conflicting interests in Afghanistan, they also share common concerns, such as US’ efforts to acquire military bases in Afghanistan on a long-term basis. Similarly, narco-production and its trafficking as well as spillover of the Afghan instability into the Middle East, South and Central Asia are concerns that are jointly shared by the regional countries. It is pertinent to mention that the conflict in Afghanistan was confined only within boundaries pre-September 2001, which has now spread to cover not only significant parts of Pakistan, but has also spread to Iran and Central Asia as well. Hence, their stakes in a future settlement in Afghanistan have become dire. It is imperative that the US and NATO should deepen their engagement with Pakistan, since it is only through joint and coordinated actions on both sides of the Af-Pak border which could help in weakening the Taliban as well as effecting a political solution to the Afghan conflict.
The withdrawal of NATO forces and a shift in strategy from COIN to CT could be viewed as the beginning of a new phase in Afghanistan, which is a departure from the status quo that prevailed since the signing of Bonn Accord in December 2001. These developments would have wider implications and could prove decisive in the success or failure of the international effort to stabilise the war-ravaged country.
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By Alia Qaim:
The author is a graduate of University of Peshawar and London School of Economics (UK). She is currently pursuing her doctoral studies at University of London. Her dissertation focuses on the current insurgencies in the Af-Pak region.

Whose Nukes are safer?

In Pakistan not a single incident of recklessness regarding nukes appearedin media like Indian and Western nukes. In last year news came up that US lost communication with some 50 missiles. It was not first and last time, such blunders happened in cold war both from US and former Soviet Union.  The history of Indian nuclear loopholes is as older as Indian nuclear program itself. Facts and finding in this regard is really alarming. Since 1984 when the horrific incident of Bhopal shook India, till now more than 152 incidents of Uranium leakages took place and this is the number of incidents reported and registered in the police, there must be many which were not reported.
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In the aftermath of the militants’ attack on Pakistan naval airbase on May 23 this year in wake of a perennial wave of bomb blasts and suicide attacks in the country, while manipulating the phenomenon, US, India and some western countries including their media have intensified their campaign against the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.In this connection, American misperceptions are not new ones, in 2009 when the heavy-armed Taliban entered Swat, Dir, Buner and other adjoining areas, on April 23, 2009, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had stated that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists. But when Pakistan’s armed forces ejected the Taliban insurgents out of the affected areas by breaking their backbone, then American high officials including Ms. Clinton had admired the capabilities of Pak Army.As regards the naval base assault, on May 25, Indian Defence Minister AK Antony remarked that India was concerned about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal after a group of terrorists laid siege to a heavily guarded naval air base. However, instead of Pakistan, if we pay attention to Indian nuclear weapons, question arises whose nukes are safer? Being a responsible atomic power, Pakistan has adopted strict measures at its nuclear plants so as to save the lives of their employees and the nearby population, yet India’s record of poor nuclear safety has surprised the international community in the era of ongoing nuclear age. In this respect, in the end of November 2009, more than 90 Indian workers suffered radiation due to contamination of drinking water at the Kaiga Atomic Power Station in Karnataka. Indian media got the story when many suffered persons were hospitalised, and it became impossible for New Delhi to conceal the tragedy.The Nuclear Power Corporation, which runs Kaiga plant, did not reply to the media queries over the nuclear accident, while Indian Atomic Energy Chairman, Anil Kodkar called the mishap at Kaiga an act of sabotage. Afterwards, an internal probe by Nuclear Power Corporation indicated possibility of mischief by an insider who had deliberately added some heavy water containing tritium to the drinking water cooler.



So it is most alarming that anyone can cause any mischief at any Indian nuclear facility. This raises more questions regarding the poor safey of Indian all nuclear plants. Nevertheless, Indian nuclear power installations have not been practising the right safety methods along with rigid security measures. The incident at Kaiga Atomic Power Station is not the first one, On July 27, 1991, a similar incident took place at the heavy water plant run by the Department of Atomic Energy at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan. Nuclear radiation had affected and injured many labourers there.Indian past record shows various kinds of security lapses in relation to various nuclear plants and the related sensitive materials. Coupled with other events of nuclear theft, smuggling and killing have become a regular feature of Indian atomic plants and facilities.In July 1998, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seized eight Kilograms of nuclear material from three engineers in Chennai. It was reported that the uranium was stolen from an atomic research centre. The case still remains pending. On November 7, 2000, International Atomic Agency (IAEA) disclosed that Indian police had seized 57 pounds of uranium and arrested two men for illicit trafficking of radioactive material. IAEA had said that Indian civil nuclear facilities were vulnerable to thefts.On January 26, 2003, CNN pointed out that Indian company, NEC Engineers Private Ltd. shipped 10 consignments to Iraq, containing highly sensitive equipments entailing titanium vessels and centrifugal pumps. In February 2004, India’s Ambassador to Libya, Dinkar Srivastava revealed that New Delhi was investigating that retired Indian scientists could possibly be engaged in “high technology programmes” for financial gains during employment in the Libyan government.In December 2005, United States imposed sanctions on two Indian firms for selling missile goods and chemical arms material to Iran in violation of India’s commitment to prevent proliferation. In the same year, Indian scientists, Dr. Surendar and Y. S. R Prasad had been blacklisted by Washington due to their involvement in nuclear theft. In December 2006, a container packed with radioactive material had been stolen from an Indian fortified research atomic facility near Mumbai.In June 2009, death of India’s nuclear scientist, Lokanathan Mahalingam raised new apprehensions about the safety of Indian atomic assets.



He was missed from the scenario and after a couple of days; his dead body was recovered from the Kali River. Indian police concocted a story that Mahalingam had committed suicide by jumping into the river. It is a big joke to hide some real facts behind his death because wisdom proves that if an educated person decides to commit suicide, he will definitely adopt a soft way to eliminate his life. Afterwards, Dr. Haleema Saadia disclosed that death of the scientist is a conspiracy——as soon as his dead body was found, within no time; the police had announced that Mahalingam had committed suicide.It is regrettable that by setting aside the Indian irresponsible record of proliferation, defence agreement which was signed between the US and India on July 20, 2009 as part of the deal about civil nuclear technology, agreed upon by the two countries in 2008 has raised new alarms on global and regional level.Now, New Delhi is officially allowed to obtain the US sophisticated arms and nuclear weapons for its armed forces. In this regard, America had also pressurised IAEA to sign an accord of specific safeguards with India. It permits New Delhi a broad atomic cooperation, while superseding the IAEA in relation to transfer of nuclear equipments and technologies. These arrangements also entail enrichment and reprocessing items under the so-called cover of IAEA. For this purpose, Washington also contacted the Nuclear Suppliers Group in order to grant a waiver to India for starting civil nuclear trade on larger scale, while the latter has already been getting nuclear material and arms of all kinds from Israel, Russia, and other European countries.On the other side, despite the repeated assurances of Pakistan’s military and civil leadership that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are well-protected and are under tight security arrangements, having well-coordinated command and control system, a deliberate propaganda campaign against the safety of these armaments keeps on going particularly by the US and Indian media. Besides, US high officials and some European countries also make much hue and cry regarding the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear assets. It is mentionable that while acting upon their continued unilateral approach, US-led west is displaying pin-drop silence over the continued wave of separatism, insurgency and terrorism in India.


India has not only been facing separatism in more than seven states where terrorist incidents have become a routine matter. In case of Maoist insurgency, it has increased to a greater extent. On September 21, 2009, even Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had admitted that the Maoist “insurgency is the single biggest threat to India’s security. A few days before his statement, he also said, “Maoist violence affects a third of all districts…India is losing the battle against the rebels.” Meanwhile, a latest report reveals that in June this year, the Nuclear Suppliers Group voted to bar access to sensitive uranium enrichment and reprocessing technology which can be used to make atomic bombs to countries that have not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty as India has also not signed the same.It is of particular attention that on September 25, 2008, Obama had pledged that if elected, he would encourage India and Pakistan to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and resolve the Kashmir problem to reduce nuclear dangers in South Asia. But he has deviated from his earlier commitments and by following the unilateral approach of the ex-president Bush, he is determined to implement US-India nuclear deal. Surprisingly other major countries like France, Germany and UK are also silence on US-India nuclear deal. In fact, they are also encouraging New Delhi in this regard. Moreover, double standards of the US-led western counties indicate that they totally ignore India in relation to nuclear safety and proliferation as their sole aim is to ‘de-nuclearise’ Pakistan which is the only atomic power in the Islamic World. Nonetheless, regarding the question of nuclear safety and illegal proliferation, India’s past and present record is replete with innumerable events. In these terms, Pak nukes are safer than those of India.

 By Sajjad Shaukat 
sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

جمعرات، 21 جولائی، 2011

Unmaintainable US charges against Dr Fai

Kashmiri leader Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, who commands wide and immense respect of Kashmiris throughout the world for his sincere efforts to project their cause, established Kashmir American Council/Kashmir Centre in Washington way back in 1990 with the declared objective of 'raising the level of knowledge in the US about the struggle of the Kashmiri people for self-determination' but strangely enough it dawned upon the US after about 22 years that he was involved in activities the violate its laws.
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Kashmiri leader Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai
The detention of American-Kashmiri campaigner Ghulam Nai Fai by FBI on the charge of being allegedly an ISI agent in America should tell tellingly which way the icy wind is blowing from Washington against Pakistan. But more chilling is our own ruling hierarchy’s act, leaving the citizens in shivers. Over these times, not a day goes by when Pakistan is not humiliated in the US Congressional chambers, is not pilloried on its administration’s floors and is not demonised in its media compounds. But this hierarchy is sitting idly by, as if all is honky-dory and nothing has it to fret about. Neither it shows any much concern for the gales coming out from Washington nor for the storms brewing up in Afghanistan to further hurt our nation. This insouciance of the hierarchy is all the more troubling as the ruses and contrivances being dished up by the Americans have a lot of skullduggery and perfidy to them. They smack of a deeper stratagem of the American movers and shakers to throw in Pakistan to face up to the dire consequences of their acts of commission and omission in Afghanistan. Their very mantra of our North Waziristan tribal agency having become the safe haven of Afghan Taliban’s Haqqani group and it al-Qaeda chums, no lesser if it really is, then it is all because of the cowardice and spinelessness of the US-led invaders of Afghanistan who didn’t corral and hobble them on their side and let them sneak into the Pakistani territory to save their own skins. But their whole chant about al-Qaeda is a very deceptive discourse, covering up many an unpalatable truth, all unpardonably damning of America, particularly its spy agency CIA. There indeed was no al-Qaeda and is no al-Qaeda international. It is all a big hoax that the CIA has invented, which has been propagated as such fallaciously by trumpeting self-styled western terrorism experts, subject specialists, think tanks and media.The bland truth is more damning of the CIA. It was this agency that recruited zealots from all over the Muslim world to fight America’s proxy war against the Soviet invaders in Afghanistan. For poaching, it swooped on fanatical outfits, living on the fringes of the mainstreams of their national polities, though violently but marginally. But once the CIA dumped its recruits after the Soviet retreat from Afghanistan, many returned to their parent outfits to turn them into bigger and more lethal organisations, and a few stayed on in Afghanistan. But when they all were fighting America’s proxy war, they had no separate command known as al-Qaeda. They teamed up with one Afghani jihadi faction or the other and fought the Soviet invaders along with it. Osama was no commander in-chief of any separate command. He was mainly the CIA-backed recruiter of Arab fighters as indeed was the blind Egyptian sheikh, Omar Abdel Rahman. And the Americans’ then-much-loved mujahideen commander Jalaluddin Haqqani was the principal handler of the Arab recruits shepherded in Afghanistan by the CIA and its anointed recruiters of zealots. Indeed, it is the Americans and their western allies who have glibly coined up such fictitious nomenclatures as al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, al-Qaeda in Maghreb, al-Qaeda in Africa and so on. The fanatical outfits go by their own names, although they often teasingly use the banners assigned to them by the western governments and their self-professed terrorism specialists, experts and opinion-making elites. Blind sheikh Rahman’s outfit still bears the name of Al Gama’a al Islamiyya, so do the others. All that talk of al-Qaeda affiliates is just bunkum. The only difference now is that with the return of Afghan war veteran to their cadres, the previously feeble fanatical fringes have become so stronger as to threaten the mainstreams with imminent infestation and inroads. Haqqanis may have retained some of their old links of the era of CIA-propelled Afghan jihad against the Soviet invaders. But no affiliate could it be, as it has its own long-established strong base in the eastern Afghanistan where it still commands wide tribal support.But the woe is that our ruling hierarchy is paying no attention at all to this American hoax of North Waziristan having become the base of the Haqqani group and its al-Qaeda allies and letting it pass uncontested.It doesn’t even seem to understand that the Americans are in all probability going to use this contrivance for a diabolical adventurism against our country with a sinister design in their minds. Will it take some time out at least now from its power forays to give some thought to the American impending venture? Or will it wake when the tide is on the head?

بدھ، 20 جولائی، 2011

Muttahida Qaumi Movement has once again

 The MQM needs to consider the political wisdom of playing politics while their city is in turmoil. The MQM must also consider why it has consider why it has placed itself in the position of the boy who cried wolf, and how much credibility the PPP will place in any further resignations, as it believe that a phonecall from the President will win over Altaf, and thus the party. It is also not known what will be the fate of the commissionerate system, which the MQM had opposed both while in government, when it prevented it, and out of government, when it protested its re-introduction.

 The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has once again, sort of, mended its ties with the PPP government. MQM chief Altaf Hussain instructed Ishratul Ebad to resume his duties as governor Sindh and “to work in harmony with the federal and provincial governments under the guidance of President Zardari”. The president has welcomed Altaf Hussain’s statement and termed it “a good omen for harmony and reconciliation not only in the province but also throughout the country”. Ishratul Ebad had submitted his resignation along with MQM’s ministers at the Centre and in Sindh following a falling out with the government. The departure had come about because of a government decision to defer elections on three seats of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly. Interestingly, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah announced the PPP’s decision to withdraw its candidates from two of those very seats: LA-30 and LA-36. Obviously the PPP has done this to make way for the MQM’s candidates. It seems that the MQM’s blackmail has worked once again. It will probably only be a matter of time now before the MQM returns to the treasury benches even though for the time being they have announced they will remain in the opposition.

What do all these ‘moves’ say about our political system, particularly in Sindh? That the MQM has always used its political clout and violence to blackmail successive governments is no secret. But to see the PPP falling over backwards to woo the MQM back every time comes as a surprise. Why did the PPP embark on a mission if the eventual idea was to retreat? There was no reason for the PPP to annoy the MQM by deferring the AJK polls in three constituencies. The PPP obviously knew if the MQM left its coalition, there would be more bloodshed in Karachi. After the MQM’s resignations, the PPP introduced the commissionerate system, which was a controversial step. Instead of improving the local bodies system, the Sindh government went back to a colonial administrative arrangement. This was intended purely as a manoeuvre to weaken MQM’s hold on urban Sindh, and envisaged a redemarcation of constituencies in Karachi and Hyderabad to reverse the gerrymandering that advantaged the MQM under General Musharraf. What it ended up achieving is the exact opposite. The MQM came out in full force. More than 100 lives were lost in just four days. In an already dwindling economy, billions of rupees were lost because of the tense situation in Karachi. Whatever the idea behind this ‘one step forward, two steps back’ gambit was, the PPP came out looking worse than ever before in Sindh. The MQM’s ‘quit, rejoin, quit, rejoin’ policy is well known, but the measures taken by the PPP following the MQM’s resignations were, by now it is obvious, lacking the requisite political will. And now that the MQM is back, and the redemarcation proposal too is reportedly being abandoned, the retreat will annoy the PPP’s own Sindhi constituency. The PPP has let its own supporters down by giving in to the MQM’s pressure.

Bloodshed in Karachi and other urban centres of Sindh might be reduced to a certain extent after Governor Sindh Ishratul Ebad’s return and the PPP’s remedial measures, but the future of Karachi and Sindh continues to hang in the balance. Let’s hope that the government is able to bring peace back to the province. That at least would provide some post-facto justification to the ignominious retreat of the PPP.

Pakistan Railways coming to a Dead

In a shocking development, Minister for Railways Haji Guhlam Ahmad Bilour revealed on Monday that the Railways has been left with only two-day fuel and its operation would come to a grinding halt if the Government did not provide necessary finances. He claimed that department was standing at the verge of virtual collapse due to non-availability of funds and absence of locomotives to run goods and passenger trains.

Pakistan Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has portrayed a dismal picture of the organization quoting financial crunch as the main reason. Speaking at a news conference in Lahore on Monday, the minister said the government approved last year Rs13 billion bailout package as a one-time assistance but has released only Rs3.5 billion so far. He talked about depletion to “dangerous level” the critical fuel reserves and if the reserves was not augmented, the entire operational activity would come to grinding halt. Pakistan Railways was a profitable public service utility till 1976 when its decline started that has not been arrested in 35 years. And the most important factor to this deterioration is rampant corruption in one of the cheapest, safest and most economical service. The PR’s losses began when Gen Ziaul Haq’s ministers plundered its resources, particularly in the procurement of rolling stock and their spareparts. No bids were ever invited by Zia’s ministers who themselves approached companies abroad, mostly from China. This practice has not stopped till now and this was Haji Bilour himself who placed the order of importing 75 locomotives in 2009-10. This deal was challenged in the Supreme Court through a constitutional petition and this is the case whose early decision has been requested by the minister on the plea that pending the petition the PR was losing Rs1,50,000 that the PR had to pay to the Chinese firm every day for not making payment of the locomotives in a stipulated period. Every PR budget has a sizeable annual allocation for the maintenance of rolling stock, track and signaling system. Most of these funds are feared misappropriated in procurement of spareparts. No doubt that Pakistan Railways is heavily short of locomotives, high-capacity wagons and coaches to haul passenger and freight traffic. Only 155 from the stock of 520 locomotives are being pressed into passengers service and the remaining are out of order. In working condition and the number of locomotives for freight trains is only 12. As a result, some 3,000 wagons loaded with freight had been stationed at Karachi waiting for engines to haul them upcountry. In all, the PR is short by some 400 locomotives to efficiently run its passenger and freight trains.What, however, remains a mystery is why is the PR not using its own locomotive and carriage workshops at Mughalpura, Lahore, and the carriage factory in Islamabad to repair engines, coaches and wagons although a number of this rolling stock can be put back to rail with little repair, although most of this stock has been discarded as unfit for service. These workshops have in the past prepared whole of trains for many Asian and African countries and they are known for their quality works. The Railway needs a bailout package to keep the wheel moving; but propriety demands that the entire railways affairs are investigated by a high powered judicial commission the degree of corruption since 1976 to fix responsibility and punish officers and political people responsible for the collapse of this public utility. The commission should also probe turning the organization into various corporations in 1990 that followed closure of hundreds of branch lines all over the country.



It is unfortunate that at a time when Railways elswhere in the world have moved towards bullet trains, Pakistan Railway is at the verge of collapes. Whether or not the Government provides financial injection to Pakistan Railway, its conditions would not improve until and unless it gets a dynamic leadership that is willing to initiate reforms and carry out surgery to remove corruption and improve its services.