Sindh Needs Peace, Love & Brotherhood: MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain address to Sukkur Convention

Founder and Leader of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain has said that no one in the province of Sindh would be left unemployed if Sindh was given its due share. He asked if the country can survive if the 70 per cent revenue generated by the Sindh province was taken out.

MQM was the only political party that had not signed the NFC Award for over five years. It was the MQM that opposed the Kalabagh Dam project because the people of Sindh had rejected it.

“Which political party had presented the bill on Karo-Kari, Women Rights in the National Assembly? Will be people of Sindh not think about it and remain helpless before the feudal lords and thieves?”

“It is the time for the people of Sindh to decide that they will get elected candidates from middle class nominated by the MQM and inflict a crushing defeat on the feudal lords.”

Addressing the so-called Sindhi nationalists he said, “Your politics of divide and rule has come to an end. The Urdu-speaking Sindhis and the Sindhi-speaking Sindhis have united like an iron wall. Today’s public meeting has driven the last nail in the coffin of the so-called nationalists, and it has rejected hatred.”

“We all need peace, love and brotherhood and this was the message given by Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai.”

“The province of Sindh contributes over 70 per cent in the national exchequer. If it is given its due share according to its population and according to its contribution, feudalism, barbarism and injustices prevailing in Sindh will come to an end. Schools will be opened, educational institutions will be established, centres for women development will be built, and technical universities would be set up. The people of Sindh will work hard and provide a life of dignity and honour for their children.”

“If the province of Sindh is given its legitimate share, no one will remain unemployed here. We have to make Pakistan strong by making Sindh prosperous.”

“The MQM manifesto embodies the Last Sermon of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The rich and the poor, the black and the white, and the servant and the master are all equal before Allah.”

“When Altaf Hussain speaks about the revolution it means bringing a change. It means abolishing the age-old and rotten feudal system and breaking the status quo. The change means giving the reign of power in the hands of the poor and middle class people and doing away with the culture of dynastic politics.”

“How long will the people of Sindh continue to lead a life of helplessness before the feudal lords and not think about bringing a change in their circumstances? Today Sindh needs a genuine leadership instead of thieves and robbers.”

“We should remove the distinction of new Sindhi and old Sindhi by embracing each other. We are all Sindhis. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had said that The Muslims are free to go to their mosques, the Hindus are free to go to their temples, and the Christians are free to go to their Churches and the religion is a personal matter.

“I say to the people of Sindh, particularly the younger generation, and I humbly request that the law and order situation in Sindh should be improved. Incidents of kidnappings for ransom and tribal feuds should be finished.”

“Sukkur has always been neglected. Federal and provincial governments must allocate additional funds for development works in Sukkur. The federal and provincial governments should contribute equal funds for building a hospital with modern facilities in Sukkur.”

“There is no university in Sukkur and other adjoining areas hence a university should be established in Sukkur for the promotion of higher education. A medical college and Polytechnic institutes should also be established. The condition of Ghulam Muhammad Mehr Medical College should be improved for imparting medical education in a better way.”

“Electricity and gas supply in Sukkur and the adjoining areas should be ensured. Railways system in Sukkur has also worsened. Special funds should be made available for the rehabilitation of the Railways system in Sukkur.”

Mr Hussain announced one million rupees for Sukkur Press Club and called for establishing an institution for giving training to the journalists.

Mr Hussain said that doctors were killed in Karachi under a conspiracy and Shia, and Sunni lawyers were being killed. He sympathised with the bereaved family members and said that the people of Pakistan would frustrate the nefarious conspiracy to create Shia-Sunni strife by remaining united.

Mr Hussain said that if the religious and political parties want Pakistan to survive and prosper, they should raise the slogan of finishing the feudal system.

» YouTube

Making absolute fools of ourselves

By Kamran Shafi

All of the time, in more ways than one. So, first to our blow-hot, blow-cold prime minister who has executed another dizzying U-turn. This time on his statement that the Sipah Salaar-e-Azam (an honorific bestowed upon the Sipah Salaar by Akram Shiekh, who is also Mansoor Ijaz-of-the-Murky-Memo’s counsel) and the DG ISI had acted improperly in submitting a reply to the SC without the government’s approval.

We are now told that he had said what he said under “a unique situation when there was no clarity”, but that now, “since there is clarity and now we have all met … that (remark) does not pertain to these two gentlemen”. I don’t know if your head is spinning reader, mine surely is. It’s so bad actually that I am now going for a walk with my beloved Labrador, Mister, to try and clear my head. I only hope I can get this piece done by my deadline.

Now, that was good! A crisp sun shines down on a Lahore that was freezing till yesterday — no gas, thank you very much. While the walk was bracing, my head is still buzzing at the extent of Makhdoom Sahib’s naiveté. However, here goes another effort at writing.

So then, the three protagonists met and clarity came, eh? Was it in the form of a demand that the PM withdraw his remarks and mayhap the army would let the government off the hook? Or were there any other quid pro quos to off-set the PM’s humiliation? And if there weren’t any, why? Should one of them, indeed, not have been ISPR’s withdrawing its harsh and insolent statement against the PM? Once bitten twice shy they say, but he simply will not learn: I’ll bet the PM will be bitten again.

And now to Mamogate or Meemogate, depending on which TV channel you prefer. I attended the first hearing of the Commission and, even before proceedings started, told my nephew who was with me that this was going to descend into a complete farce. And what do you think made me say that? Only the fact that whilst a twice-elected former prime minister accompanied by seven senior leaders of his party, all former chief ministers and federal ministers (two of them flying in from Karachi for the hearing) attended; whilst senior Grade-22 ‘bloody civilian’ bureaucrats attended, two army officers, one Grade-21 and one Grade-22 did not deign to attend. All had been issued like summons. The portends were clear from the start.

Look at where we are today; just look at what the world is saying about us Pakistanis, our politicians, our army, our intelligence services, even our superior judiciary. Just read reports in the international press from the Christian Science Monitor to the Washington Post to the Wall Street Journal. Indeed, see what the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has said. In short, that we are an irresponsible, unfair, inequitable, capricious, bitter people.

How Swedes and Norwegians Broke the Power of the ‘1 Percent’

By George Lakey

While many of us are working to ensure that the Occupy movement will have a lasting impact, it’s worthwhile to consider other countries where masses of people succeeded in nonviolently bringing about a high degree of democracy and economic justice. Sweden and Norway, for example, both experienced a major power shift in the 1930s after prolonged nonviolent struggle. They “fired” the top 1 percent of people who set the direction for society and created the basis for something different.

Both countries had a history of horrendous poverty. When the 1 percent was in charge, hundreds of thousands of people emigrated to avoid starvation. Under the leadership of the working class, however, both countries built robust and successful economies that nearly eliminated poverty, expanded free university education, abolished slums, provided excellent health care available to all as a matter of right and created a system of full employment. Unlike the Norwegians, the Swedes didn’t find oil, but that didn’t stop them from building what the latest CIA World Factbook calls “an enviable standard of living.”

Neither country is a utopia, as readers of the crime novels by Stieg Larsson, Kurt Wallender and Jo Nesbro will know. Critical left-wing authors such as these try to push Sweden and Norway to continue on the path toward more fully just societies. However, as an American activist who first encountered Norway as a student in 1959 and learned some of its language and culture, the achievements I found amazed me. I remember, for example, bicycling for hours through a small industrial city, looking in vain for substandard housing. Sometimes resisting the evidence of my eyes, I made up stories that “accounted for” the differences I saw: “small country,” “homogeneous,” “a value consensus.” I finally gave up imposing my frameworks on these countries and learned the real reason: their own histories.

Genesis of the failure of Islamist militancy

Failure of militancy

by Nadeem F. Paracha

Excerpt;

…. Political Islam’s consequent failure to produce the desired results that its intellectuals had promised, and also its doctrinal involvement in the armed “jihad” in Afghanistan, generated the creation of modern-day Islamic militancy.

This militancy too faced the same problems in trying to triumph with a singular concept of Islam and the sharia in the face of the social and religious complications that run across Muslim countries.

So much so that by the late 1990s, Political Islam had devolved into what we now call “Islamic fundamentalism,” and/or stripped clean off its intellectual moorings and reduced to being an ideology of pure terror and having a myopic and narrow understanding of Islam and of the West. Entities like the al Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban and the many militant outfits that were active in Kashmir (Harakat ul-Mujahedeen, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba), are clear examples.

So it was heartening to hear Kashmir leaders like Bhatt and Yasin distancing themselves from those aspects of the movement that have caused nothing more than bloodshed, pain and chaos, more at the cost of the Kashmiris’ rather than their ‘occupiers.’

Read more » DAWN.COM

Louie Gohmert Afghan Strategy: Carve Out Balochistan From Ally Pakistan To Beat Taliban

By Michael McAuliff

WASHINGTON — President Obama is losing the war in Afghanistan to the Taliban, argued Rep. Louie Gohmert after listening to Tuesday’s State of the Union address. So he proposed one way to win: create a new, friendly state within the borders of neighboring Pakistan.

The Texas Republican took issue with Obama’s assertion that “the Taliban’s momentum has been broken.” He said he had just visited Afghanistan and came away with a very different sense from talking to members of the Northern Alliance, a multiethnic confederation of warlords and other forces who led the U.S.-backed ouster of the Taliban in 2001.

Gohmert argued that, far from being broken, the Taliban are feeling powerful enough to demand that members of the Northern Alliance apologize before the United States leaves in 2013. “If you look at the objective facts … they’re not on the run,” Gohmert said.

His solution was first to supply more arms to the Northern Alliance. But then, he said, the Afghan border with Pakistan needs to be shored up.

“Let’s talk about creating a Balochistan in the southern part of Pakistan,” Gohmert told The Huffington Post, referring to a region of Pakistan that constitutes nearly half that vital if troublesome ally.

“They love us. They’ll stop the IEDs [improvised explosive devices] and all the weaponry coming into Afghanistan, and we got a shot to win over there,” said Gohmert, who accused Obama’s national security advisers of giving the president bad intel on Afghanistan.

“His strategy of working from ignorance and thinking we have them on the run is no way to go through life, son,” Gohmert said. “I’m about to borrow from an ‘Animal House’ line, but anyway, that’s no way to go through life when you’re that ignorant of what’s really going on.”

The White House did not answer a request for comment, and Gohmert’s office did not elaborate on how the United States could even discuss carving off Balochistan from a country that is both an ally and a nuclear power.

The United States recently has been talking about a truce with the Taliban. Gohmert, a member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, characterized such efforts as begging, backed by an offer to “let all these Taliban murderers” go free.

Courtesy: Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/louie-gohmert-afghan-strategy-balochistan-pakistan-taliban_n_1232250.html

GIVE AND TAKE (LUTTO TE PHUTT0) – Pasha likely to get extension

Pasha likely to get extension

By Abdul Hafeez

Karachi: As Pakistan’s civilian government and military establishment are mending ties which strained after memogate controversy, ISI chief is likely to be given extension by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

However, sources said the spymaster who was given extension twice after reaching the age of retirement in 2010 and 2011, is reluctant to continue his job.

A Pakistani newspaper claimed that civilian and military leaders had decided to lower temperature in the ‘national interest’ and it was evident from General Kayani’s visit alongside Let Gen Pasha to Prime Minister House on Tuesday.

Sources said that Pasha during corps commanders meeting had offered his resignation and was unwilling to continue. However, Gen Kayani has desire that Pasha should get extension for another term.

In case, Pasha refused to get extension, the prime minister after consultation with the army chief would appoint new ISI head in March that might be Let Gen Zaheerul Islam, currently working as corps commander Karachi, or Major Gen Naushad Kayani, now working as Director Gen Military Operations.

However, sources told The News Tribe that Major General Sahibzada Asfandyar Pataudi, a paternal uncle of Indian film star Saif Ali Khan might be appointed ISI chief.

Indian media, shortly after the US raid in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden, had published reports, speculating that Saif Ali Khan’s uncle might be a new ISI chief if Pasha resigned from the post.

Interestingly, Saif Ali Khan is going to release his new movie Agent Vinod, in which he played RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) Agent and Kareena Kapoor, a leading bollywood heroin would be playing ISI agent role. One could imagine how Saif would deal with the ISI spy.

Courtesy: The News Tribe

http://www.thenewstribe.com/2012/01/26/pasha-likely-to-get-extension/#.TyFfVIHZXTp

Editorial – BSF Brutality on the border

New Delhi needs to make an unreserved apology to Bangladesh for the brutal conduct of its Border Security Force personnel who were seen in a recent video torturing a Bangladeshi man. Not surprisingly, the telltale video has caused widespread outrage in Bangladesh. A remark by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that the incident must not be hyped, echoed by a Bangladeshi Minister, seems only to have provoked more anger and fuelled opposition allegations against the Sheikh Hasina government for being “pro-India”. With the Bangladesh Army claiming the other day that it averted a coup against the government by an “anti-India” section of officers, New Delhi needs to guard against becoming an unwitting cause for political instability in its eastern neighbour. Anti-India sentiment has been high in Bangladesh since the killing of three of its nationals by the BSF in two separate incidents on the border last month. A March 2011 agreement between the two countries not to use firearms in dealing with illegal activities on the border has brought down the number of such incidents, but the video is evidence that the guards feel free to use other forms of violence. It underlines the fact that such bilateral agreements on the management of their complex boundary are worth nothing unless accompanied by a change in the mindset of those responsible for it on the ground.

The distressing 11.56 minute footage, circulated through YouTube, is quite evidently a trophy video, the guards happy to pose as they strip their victim, tie his hands and feet, and beat him mercilessly while discussing among themselves other severe options of dealing with him. …..

Read more » The Hindu

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article2826161.ece

The Supreme Court must clarify if Husain Haqqani’s passport was taken away on its directive or with its knowledge. Nothing unlawful has been proved against him

Top Judge

Passport please – By Dr Mohammad Taqi

The Supreme Court must clarify if Husain Haqqani’s passport was taken away on its directive or with its knowledge. Nothing unlawful has been proved against him and Article 9 must be upheld now

MIA — Mansoor Ijaz absconding! Well, at least so far the man has been living up to every expectation: megalomania, narcissistic tantrums, a desire for media attention (the Americanism for which is rather impolite to quote here) and the prediction that when the time comes, he will go MIA.

The so-called Memogate case was a farce from the word go but has really become a circus now with the main petitioner not willing or not interested in pursuing the charges and the star witness — not the accused — absconding. Even in the old Urdu/Persian adage ‘muda’ee sust, gawaah chust’, it is the accuser who is slack (in pressing the case) while the witness is overactive or oversmart. Okay, Mansoor Ijaz is the accuser-cum-witness but an absconder all the same. Let’s face it, the only potential smoking gun in this case could be a voice recording, which, had it existed, would have surfaced by now. Minus that, Ijaz will remain a no show. Indeed, the only party that now remains overzealous is the superior judiciary.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) expresses concern over Husain Haqqani’s security

PRESS RELEASE – GENEVA – The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has expressed grave concern for the infringement of rights of Husain Haqqani, former Pakistani ambassador to the United States of America.

“Husain Haqqani faced a vicious media trial following which the Supreme Court of Pakistan on a petition filed debarred him from travelling abroad, despite the fact that he has not been charged with any crime,” said Sheila Varadan, International Legal Advisor at the ICJ Asia-Pacific Regional Office. “Husain Haqqani continues to receive threats and has been painted as disloyal to the country. There is, though, no proof of any betrayal of his duties as an Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States.”

“We are calling on the Pakistani Authorities to respect Husain Haqqani’s right to be presumed innocent and to remove the restriction on his right to leave the country and any other restrictions on his right to freedom of movement,” added Varadan. “They must also ensure his personal safety at all times and respect his right to a fair and impartial hearing throughout the Inquiry process.”

Courtesy: Pakistan Today

Thousands protest media’s moral policing in Pakistan

By Beena Sarwar

A morning show broadcast in Pakistan on Jan 17, 2012, on Samaa, a Pakistani television channel, has catalysed what could well be the beginning of a media consumer rights movement.

In the show, Subah Saverey Maya kay Sath (Early Morning with Maya), the host Maya Khan, charges through a public park looking for dating couples to interrogate. With her is a battalion of other women, who join her in self-righteously lecturing the couples they come across – does your family know you are here, why don’t you meet at home if you are engaged, and, most outrageously, if you are married, where is your nikahnama (marriage certificate)?

When the harassed couples ask for the camera to be turned off, the Samaa team pretends to acquiesce but carries on filming with sound. As several people have pointed out, this intrusive behaviour could result in putting those couples in life-threatening situations in a country where forced marriages and ‘honour killings’ continue to be the norm. ….

Read more » Beena Sarwar

Journalists are not judges and judges are not above the constitution

The language of the video clip is urdu (Hindi).

Courtesy: ARY News Tv » YouTube

Sindh Assembly smells conspiracy behind 20th draft bill of amendments in constitution for creation of new provinces

Sindh Assembly

SA thumbs down to any change

By: Ramzam Chandio

KARACHI – The Sindh Assembly on Friday sent a clear signal not to accept any amendment in Article 239(4) of the Constitution, relating to two third votes of provincial legislature mandatory for altering/creating new province within any province.

The law minister while supporting the proposed resolution of a lawmaker from NPP promised before the House that the resolution would be taken up in the Assembly for discussion on the next Monday. The Sindh Assembly, which met at 11:30hours, against schedule of 10:00am, with Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, consumed over ten minutes on arguments and counter arguments on a request of Masroor Ahmed Jatoi from NPP, who wanted to move a resolution out of turn, opposing any amendment in Article 239 (4) of Constitution. After question-hour session, NPP MPA Jatoi, stood on his feet and urged the chair to allow him to move a resolution out of turn. The proposed resolution of Mr Jatoi was also distributed among the media persons in press gallery, carried signatures of lawmakers of the ruling PPP, PML-F, NPP and ANP. ….

Read more » The Nation

Mansoor Ijaz – A whistle blowing hero to some, a villain doing the Pakistan military’s dirty work to others

Who is Mansoor Ijaz? The US businessman behind Pakistan’s ‘Memo-gate’

A whistle blowing hero to some, a villain doing the Pakistan military’s dirty work to others, Ijaz is above all a mysterious anomaly.

By Issam Ahmed

Islamabad, Pakistan – A multi-millionaire American businessman at the center of a political crisis in Pakistan refused to travel to Islamabad Monday to testify before a Supreme Court commission, saying he feared for his personal safety. ….

Read more » csmonitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2012/0125/Who-is-Mansoor-Ijaz-The-US-businessman-behind-Pakistan-s-Memo-gate

DAWN Editorial on Memogate: Its “Time to move on.” “Eternal shame of all those involved in creating the hysteria.”

Time to move on

THE high drama over memogate has given way to low farce. Yesterday, the high-powered judicial commission formed to assist the Supreme Court ascertain the ‘origin, credibility and purpose’ of the memo tried several times to convince a reluctant Mansoor Ijaz to travel to Pakistan and appear before the commission. ….

Read more » DAWN.COM

Defending democracy

By Saad Hafiz

It seems at the first sign of cracks in a democratic setup in Pakistan, a battle cry goes out from media pundits, back-door politicians and professional pontificators alike to end or derail the democratic process. As the knives and bayonets are sharpened, headlines like “End the farce”, “Noose tightens” and “Government isolated” dominate in the media.

One of Pakistan’s most bizarre political dramas appears to be running out of steam.

Obituary of a scandal : A first draft on Pakistan’s “Memogate”

By Myra MacDonald, Reuters

One of Pakistan’s most bizarre political dramas appears to be running out of steam.  What began as an unsigned memo seeking American help to rein in the military escalated into a full-blown power struggle between the civilian government and the army after Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz accused then ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani of writing it. Haqqani, who denied involvement, resigned and returned to Pakistan to clear his name.  But that did nothing to stem a crisis in civilian-military relations which carried uncomfortable echoes of the 1990swhen government after government were dismissed in a decade which ended in a coup in 1999.

With Haqqani now living in virtual house arrest in Pakistan, the so-called “Memogate” affair is far from over – it remains subject to judicial and parliamentary enquiries. But after weeks of drama, from coup rumours to allegations the army had already sought Gulf backing to take over - both denied by the military – to unusually spirited criticism of the army by the government, to the more farcical circulation of an old video featuring Ijaz commenting on naked female wrestling – the media feeding frenzy triggered by the memo appears finally to be satiated. Ijaz, meanwhile, has said he is unwilling to travel to Pakistan to testify, citing fears for his safety, diminishing his utility as a star player.

Presidential immunity vs selective accountability

Reblogged from Baaghi:

Appeared as my weekly column BAAGHI in Daily Times on Monday January 23, 2012 Umpteen talk shows on 24/7 ‘breaking news’ media in Pakistan tell us almost daily how bad is democracy, how this democracy is worse than the dictatorships we have had, etc. TV presenters and reporters show little care for facts-based evidence to substantiate their claims. The act not only goes largely unchecked but brings more ‘ratings’ as a bonus. Who would like facts to come in the way of a good story? The recently …

Sindhi Version of Tamil Song – Kolaveri Di

Gul Pari Lal Pari Mokhe Aa Dini Moula Pari Moula Pari Dil Ghuri- Singer Waheed Hakro.

» YouTube

Rs3.65bn for 2010 flood victims yet to be spent

By Bhagwandas

KARACHI: The Sindh government has not yet spent even a single penny from the Rs1.15 billion it has received from the Central Zakat Fund in addition to the Rs2.5 billion allocated by Sindh for the reconstruction of houses damaged or destroyed in the 2010 floods, said Sindh Zakat and Ushr Minister Sajid Jokhio on Monday. ….

Read more » DAWN.COM

The supreme court on the army and ISI chiefs’ removal

By Nasim Zehra

Excerpt;

….. The prime minister is within his constitutional authority to remove the two chiefs, and therefore under what law would the Chief Justice of Pakistan interfere in the prime minister’s authority and ask for a no-removal guarantee by the latter? Giving such a guarantee would clearly restrict the constitutional powers given to the elected prime minister. Was the CJP overstepping his constitutional mandate? The CJP can re-interpret or use his own discretion, but not without undermining the Constitution.

Such an action by the CJP could set a dangerous precedent and could undermine the recent thawing of government-army tensions. The Chief Justice of Pakistan is humbly advised to re-trace his missteps on this matter. Meanwhile, the government would be ill-advised to give in writing that it will not remove the army and the ISI chiefs.

Courtesy: The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2012.

Pakistan Today – Pick-and-choose

Taking credit, avoiding blame

It was General Kayani’s strong warnings that prevented Nato strikes into Pakistani territory, claims the military. This is a cause for celebration. For it seems that the western forces in Afghanistan take heed to the Pakistani military chief’s warnings. This would, in turn, present a solution to the drone strikes, the latest of which we saw in the Datakhel area in North Waziristan on Monday. All the army chief has to do to stop them is to protest. Taking credit for one development means taking responsibility and blame for another.

There is, clearly, a lack of objective standards with which the military’s performance is to be evaluated. A pick-and-choose approach doesn’t hold water in any other government department, why should it here?

Much confusion persists, as always, on the role of the military. The military’s top spymaster, for instance, reportedly, met with former president Pervez Musharraf in Dubai the other day. Under what mandate did this meeting take place? The chief of an organisation that is tasked with counter-intelligence should not be going about liaising with political figures. If he can meet with the latter, then nothing much could be found wrong with the spy chief’s meeting with US national Mansoor Ijaz in London. It seems that the agency’s penchant for “political management” (as a former spy chief called it) has not ended.

How Pakistan [Army] helps the U.S. drone campaign

By Chris Allbritton, Reuters

ISLAMABAD – (Reuters) – The death of a senior al Qaeda leader in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan’s tribal badlands, the first strike in almost two months, signaled that the U.S.-Pakistan intelligence partnership is still in operation despite political tensions.

The Jan 10 strike — and its follow-up two days later — were joint operations, a Pakistani security source based in the tribal areas told Reuters.

They made use of Pakistani “spotters” on the ground and demonstrated a level of coordination that both sides have sought to downplay since tensions erupted in January 2011 with the killing of two Pakistanis by a CIA contractor in Lahore.

“Our working relationship is a bit different from our political relationship,” the source told Reuters, requesting anonymity. “It’s more productive.”

U.S. and Pakistani sources told Reuters that the target of the Jan 10 attack was Aslam Awan, a Pakistani national from Abbottabad, the town where Osama bin Laden was killed last May by a U.S. commando team.

They said he was targeted in a strike by a U.S.-operated drone directed at what news reports said was a compound near the town of Miranshah in the border province of North Waziristan.

That strike broke an undeclared eight-week hiatus in attacks by the armed, unmanned drones that patrol the tribal areas and are a key weapon in U.S. President Barack Obama’s counter-terrorism strategy.

The sources described Awan, also known by the nom-de-guerre Abdullah Khorasani, as a significant figure in the remaining core leadership of al Qaeda, which U.S. officials say has been sharply reduced by the drone campaign. Most of the drone attacks are conducted as part of a clandestine CIA operation.

The Pakistani source, who helped target Awan, could not confirm that he was killed, but the U.S. official said he was. European officials said Awan had spent time in London and had ties to British extremists before returning to Pakistan.

The source, who says he runs a network of spotters primarily in North and South Waziristan, described for the first time how U.S.-Pakistani cooperation on strikes works, with his Pakistani agents keeping close tabs on suspected militants and building a pattern of their movements and associations.

“We run a network of human intelligence sources,” he said. “Separately, we monitor their cell and satellite phones.

“Thirdly, we run joint monitoring operations with our U.S. and UK friends,” he added, noting that cooperation with British intelligence was also extensive.

Pakistani and U.S. intelligence officers, using their own sources, hash out a joint “priority of targets lists” in regular face-to-face meetings, he said.

“Al Qaeda is our top priority,” he said.

He declined to say where the meetings take place.

Once a target is identified and “marked,” his network coordinates with drone operators on the U.S. side. He said the United States bases drones outside Kabul, likely at Bagram airfield about 25 miles north of the capital.

From spotting to firing a missile “hardly takes about two to three hours,” he said.

DRONE STRIKES A SORE POINT WITH PAKISTAN

It was impossible to verify the source’s claims and American experts, who decline to discuss the drone program, say the Pakistanis’ cooperation has been less helpful in the past.

U.S. officials have complained that when information on drone strikes was shared with the Pakistanis beforehand, the targets were often tipped off, allowing them to escape.

Drone strikes have been a sore point with the public and Pakistani politicians, who describe them as violations of sovereignty that produce unacceptable civilian casualties.

The last strike before January had been on Nov 16, 10 days before 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in what NATO says was an inadvertent cross-border attack on a Pakistani border post.

That incident sent U.S.-Pakistan relations into the deepest crisis since Islamabad joined the U.S.-led war on militancy following the Sept 11, 2001 attacks. On Thursday, Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar said ties were “on hold” while Pakistan completes a review of the alliance.

The United States sees Pakistan as critical to its efforts to wind down the war in Afghanistan, where U.S.-led NATO forces are battling a Taliban insurgency.

Some U.S. and Pakistani officials say that both sides are trying to improve ties. As part of this process, a U.S. official said, it is possible that some permanent changes could be made in the drone program which could slow the pace of attacks.

The security source said very few innocent people had been killed in the strikes. When a militant takes shelter in a house or compound which is then bombed, “the ones who are harboring him, they are equally responsible,” he said.

“When they stay at a host house, they (the hosts) obviously have sympathies for these guys.”

He denied that Pakistan helped target civilians.

“If … others say innocents have been targeted, it’s not true,” he said. “We never target civilians or innocents.”

The New America Foundation policy institute says that of 283 reported strikes from 2004 to Nov 16, 2011, between 1,717 and 2,680 people were killed. Between 293 and 471 were thought to be civilians — approximately 17 percent of those killed.

The Brookings Institution, however, says civilian deaths are high, reporting in 2009 that “for every militant killed, 10 or more civilians also died.” Pakistan’s interior minister, Rehman Malik, also said in April 2011 that “the majority of victims are innocent civilians.”

Still, despite its public stance, Pakistan has quietly supported the drone program since Obama ramped up air strikes when he took office in 2009 and even asked for more flights.

According to a U.S. State Department cable published by anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks, Pakistan’s chief of army staff General Ashfaq Kayani in February 2008 asked Admiral William J. Fallon, then-commander of U.S. Central Command, for increased surveillance and round-the-clock drone coverage over North and South Waziristan.

The security source said Pakistan’s powerful spy agency, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, also was supportive of the strikes, albeit privately.

(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Courtesy: Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/22/us-pakistan-drones-idUSTRE80L08G20120122

via » Siasat.pk

!!?? “No permission of high command needed to retaliate” – Kiyani !!??

In a special meeting Chaired by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Pak Army is given orders to respond in a befitting manner to NATO force on any violation of territorial integrity. This decision of was taken in an extraordinary meeting of corpse commander two days ago after the NATO attack. 1. Army Chain of Command System has been dismissed for the time being to respond NATO. The officers on the front can take their decision as per demand of the situation. 2. The officers on front don’t need any orders to respond any attack on territorial integrity. 3. We should not forget the blood of Shaheeds.

Courtesy: DAWN News Tv

Via » Siasat.pk

Father and Son

Reblogged from Indus Asia Online Journal (iaoj):

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at …

Kajal Chandiramani – Sindhi song

» YouTube

Pakistan appeased militant groups, ignored army abuses in 2011: HRW

NEW YORK: Pakistan’s fledgling democratic government, under increasing pressure from the military, appeased extremist groups, ignored army abuses and failed to hold those responsible for serious abuses accountable in 2011, New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch has said. ….

Read more » The Express Tribune

More details » BBC

India: Disappointing Year for Human Rights

Failure to Address Impunity, Police Reform, Torture, Women’s Rights

(New York) – The Indian government during 2011 failed to hold rights violators accountable or to carry out effective policies to protect vulnerable communities, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012.

The government took no action to repeal the widely discredited Armed Forces Special Powers Act, disregarding the recommendations of political leaders and advisers, Human Rights Watch said. The government also ignored the urgent need for police reform despite widespread complaints of torture and unlawful killings as well as deplorable working conditions for police personnel….

Read more » Human Rights Watch

ISI chief meets a serial coup-maker, guilty of massive human rights abuses and former dictator Musharraf, tells him not to return to Pakistan.

- ISI chief secretly meets Musharraf in Dubai: sources

ISLAMABAD: Lt General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the chief of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), held a secret meeting with former President General (retired) Pervez Musharraf in Dubai advising him not to visit Pakistan, sources told DawnNews on Monday.

“General Pasha, who has remained very close to the former president, held a meeting with him (Musharraf) in Dubai and advised him not to return to the country as the situation is not conducive for his return,” said an insider while requesting anonymity from this correspondent.

The Senate on Monday also passed a resolution demanding the arrest of the former military ruler on his return. Interior Minister Rehman Malik also announced that Musharraf would be arrested the day he landed in Pakistan.

The sources claim that Pasha strictly advised Musharraf to not to return.

It is yet not clear whether the meeting was held on the directions of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party government or if it was a private meeting. However the sources insist that it was a private meeting between the two.

The sources also claim that Pasha enjoys a long history of relations with the former dictator.

In 2008, during the last year of Musharraf as president, Pasha was appointed to the key posting of Director General (DG) of Military Operations Directorate. Later General Kayani, after becoming the chief of Army Staff, promoted him as Lt Gen and appointed him the chief of the ISI.

Currently two important cases against Pervez Musharraf have been registered in Pakistan. An Anti Terrorists Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi has already declared Musharraf a proclaimed offender in the Benazir Bhutto murder case. Musharraf was also nominated in Akbar Bugti’s murder case in Balochistan.

The sources also claim that Musharraf, after meeting with the ISI Chief, called a meeting of his party on January 25th for revisiting his decision to return to Pakistan.

Courtesy: DAWN.COM

Election Commission of Pakistan – Supreme court’s “stay order” against “by-pools” unconstitutional

SC’s staying by-polls unconstitutional: EC

ISLAMABAD: Secretary Election Commission, Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan, Monday said, though staying the set by-polls was a violation of the Constitution, but EC would honour Supreme Court’s order, Geo News reported.

Addressing a press conference here, he said that Supreme Court of Pakistan did not hear us out on the issue of by-elections. ….

Read more » The News

Natural Treatments

Apple helps to correct skin and liver disorders. Beets nourish the liver. Cabbage is excellent for alleviating stomach ailments. Carrots are high in antioxidants including beta-carotene, vitamin A, C and E. Melons are wonderful kidney cleansers. Pineapple contains bromelain which has an anti-inflammatory properties.

Sindhi is a very sweet and melodious language – Dr. Annemarie Schimmel

Sindhi culture day

- Sindhi is a very sweet and melodious language. Writes Dr. Annemarie Schimmel, Harvard professor of  linguist: “Since every word in Sindhi ends in a vowel, the sound is very musical.”

Sindhi is a very rich language with a vast vocabulary; this has made it a favourite of many writers and so a lot of literature and poetry has been written in Sindhi. Writes K. R. Malkani in “THE SINDH STORY”: ‘The Sindhi language and literature reflect the rich variety and quality of Sindhi life and thought. Sindhi has 125 names for as many varieties of fish. From Hyderabad to the sea, a distance of less than one hundred miles, the Sindhu river has half a dozen names — Sahu, Sita, Mograh, Popat, Bano, and Hajamiro — to reflect its many moods. The camel has a score of names, to indicate its age, colour, gait and character.’

It is the language of Saints and Rishis of ancient Sindh. It has been the inspiration for Sindhi art, music, literature, culture and the way of life. Many great poets and literatis have been profoundly inspired by the beauty of Sindhi language.

via – facebook

Fatima Bhutto Blasts Imran Khan

Fatima Bhutto

By Margherita Stancati

There was a short-lived rumor last month that Fatima Bhutto was flirting with the idea of joining Imran Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
Speaking at the Jaipur Literature Festival on Sunday, she made it clear this was unlikely to happen. Ever.

“He (Imran Khan)  has an incredible coziness not with the military but with dictatorship,” Ms. Bhutto said of Mr. Khan, a cricket legend-turned-politician who has been billing himself as the face of change in Pakistan.

Ms. Bhutto accused Mr. Khan of defending the legacy of former dictator Gen. Zia-ul-Haq, who came to power in the late 1970s after overthrowing Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Fatima’s grandfather and the founder of the country’s ruling Pakistan People’s Party. She also mentioned Mr. Khan’s support for a 2002 referendum allowing Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who had come to power with a coup a few years earlier, to extend his term.

That’s not where it ended. In what appeared to be a well-rehearsed argument to debunk the political credibility of the former cricket captain, Ms. Bhutto went on to list more reasons why she opposed his political foray.

“As a woman I worry very much about Imran’s politics,” said Ms. Bhutto. She spoke of his opposition to amending a 2006 woman’s bill in favor of victims of rape. She also questioned Mr. Khan’s commitment to secularism and to defending minorities.

“Is he a savior? No, I don’t think so,” said Ms. Bhutto during a Pakistan-focused session at the literary festival. ….

Read more » The Wall Street Journal (wsj)

The sword of Damocles

By Waseem Altaf

The present government adopted a policy of complete subjugation to the military and left no stone unturned to please the men in uniform. This stance of the civilian establishment was fully exploited by the military, and soon the pay package was doubled for the entire armed forces of Pakistan

Elected governments in Pakistan, despite mandate, light or heavy, from the people of Pakistan are forced to function under stringent conditionalities imposed upon them by the Pakistan army. A military dictator comes, overthrows a democratic government and disfigures the whole constitution with ‘two third majority’ flowing from the barrel of a gun. He destroys institutions and after playing havoc with the political system departs after receiving a guard of honor. Any political government which then assumes power has to first of all cleanse the filth spread by the khaki adventurer while seeking ‘two third majority’ in the parliament to undo the illegitimate additions in the constitution; and at the same time, making unconditional commitments that no incursions would be made in areas which remain the sole jurisdiction of the military. That virtually covers every aspect of our national life; from law and order to trade relations with India to growth of obscurantism to budget allocations to various sectors. ….

Read more » View Point

Why is the Pakistani Supreme Court insisting government, not fire army, ISI chiefs!?

Assurance sought against removal of Kayani, Pasha

By Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court asked the government on Friday to submit a written assurance on a petition filed in anticipation of a perceived move to sack Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and ISI Director General Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha against the backdrop of the ‘memogate’ fiasco.

The order was issued by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry when Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq rubbished the claim and said the government had no plans to remove the two top military officers.

The bench adjourned for two weeks the hearing on the petition filed by Advocate F.K. Butt.

The petitioner requested the court to issue a restraining order and stop the government from taking any step to remove or retire the two officers till the pendency of the case. The army chief will retire on Nov 29, 2013, while the ISI chief will complete his extended term on March 19 this year. ….

Read more » DAWN.COM

Memogate-fame Mansoor Ijaz now says, Pakistan’s ISI is a Terrorist Organization

Pakistan’s ISI is a Terrorist Organization says Mansoor Ijaz, a Pakistani-American who is an influential link between American and Pakistani officials.

Courtesy: CNN » YouTube

A demand by Mansoor Ijaz to provide him presidential protocol (security) is ridiculous.

By Press Media of CPP

The memo gate Commission’s order of providing security to an American citizen, Mansoor Ijaz, by the Army battalion is ridiculous. The CC of CPP discussed this issue at party Central Secretariat today on 22-1-2012 and strongly protested on it. From: Engineer Jameel Ahmad Malik, Central Chairman of CPP.