Pakistan’s ideological vacuum
by Dr Manzur Ejaz
Courtesy: Wichaar.com
An independent judiciary seems to be taking root in Pakistan, but it is just one institution of many, and cannot induce societal balance on its own. Furthermore, an isolated institution cannot survive for long unless a more modern and progressive political force takes the reins of the state.
Monthly Archives: April 2009
No representation of Sindh in financial institutions
by: Dr Ali Akbar Dhakan
The representation to people of Sindh as it has been observed that in the appointment of heads of all institutions, financial corporations, banks and departments etc no Sindhi has been given the post of the head of the Department, bank and financial institution. In this way Sindhis deserving, highly qualified and experienced have been neglected and not given their constitutional rights and representation in any bank or financial institution.
Even recently, for the post of banking ombudsman, a retired Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan has been appointed who got two extensions in State Bank of Pakistan.The deserving people of Sindh are depressed and frustrated so much that from the policies of the PPP Government, they are thinking for diversion of their sympathies, hopes and blessings. Not only the appointment as the heads of banks but even no bank or corporation needs representation of Sindhis as its Board of Director or member of its committees. All intellectuals and parties of Sindh are demanding inquiries and checking of these facts to the effect that why not Sindhis are neglected and given their representations in all financial institutions.The President of Pakistan is therefore requested to issue his orders for providing constitutional representation to Sindhi people in all banks and in institutions.
Apirl 15, 2009
MQM and Sindhis
by Prof. Nadeem Jamali, Canada
..Mohajirs live in Sindh. MQM has significant muscle on Sindh’s streets. They have the deciding votes in Sindh’s parliament. There are a number of reasons why Sindhis may feel that they have to engage with them…
BALOCH HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL OF CANADA (BHRC)
Report by Manat War, Imtiaz Baloch Spokes Person, BHRC Canada
On Friday April 17, The BHRC (Canada) the Toronto Chapter ask all Peace loving and Human rights organization of Toronto area to join hands with BHRC Canada to denounce the continuing killings taking place in Balochistan.
Gathering to condemn the killings in Balochistan, Pakistan.DATE: FIRDAY APRIL 17, 2009, PLACE: 200 FRONT STREET WEST TORONTO IN FRONT OF CBC BUILDING. TIME: 4 PM
Similar protest are being held in Vancouver, Calgary and other parts of Canada.
Sindhi as a nation is great and honest
by Zulfiqar Halepoto, Hyderabad, Sindh
..Sindhi as a nation is a great entity and honest as well. They are also brave, fighters and mature in their political decision making. I salute to Sindhi nation who is fighting against all odds and still stands as the leading nation of the state. Sindhis are an ideal nation who believe in co-existence of other nations.
Opinion- Balochs are natural allies of Sindhis in their struggle
by Nadeem Jamali, Canada
Sindh is a confused mess. The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that Sindhi elites do not trust Sindhi people. Different groups in Sindh rely on Sindh’s adversaries to keep a type of balance that helps them stay relevant to the twisted reality of Pakistan. Many do not want Sindh to be governed by Sindhis. Many make opportunistic alliances with adversaries of Sindh for short term goals.
This is the key problem. Should they be ridiculed for that? Probably yes! Ridicule is an important motivator for action in Sindhi and Baloch societies. People of Sindh are broken and exhausted. So exhausted that they can let opportunities pass by.
Baloch mindset is not hostile toward Sindhis. Baloch mindset is hostile toward murderers of Baloch people.
Opinion- Let’s not forget that Sindhis are friends of Balouchs
Balouch Mindset..
by Zulfiqar Halepoto, Hyderabad, Sindh
The writer can be reached at zhalepoto@yahoo.com
.. I would like to draw an attention to some facts, which are important to understand at the time when we claim that both Sindhi and Balouchs are coming closer to each other but the mindset of Balouch intellectuals are still hostile towards Sindhis… In post Benazir Bhutto Pakistan, the political complications to run the state as a viable polity, are increasing day by day. The internal contradictions of the state are reached at a point where no adhoc remedy or daily wages approach to run the affairs, are further widening the contradictions.
In this situation any kind of rift between any suppressed nation and especially between Sindhis and Balouchs will harm the cause of the right of political and fiscal sovereignty of the oppressed nations within Pakistani territories… and Sindhi politician, nationalist, writer, intellectual and pressman always support the cause of Balouch. The Quetta based Sindhi media friends of Kawish, KTN, daily Ibrat, Sindh TV and other media houses used to support the just cause of downtrodden people of Balochistan. Many of us know that during Musharraf’s naked fascist regime there were curbs on media and ISPR used to directly monitor media coverage especially during Akbar Bugti Shaheed’s fight with the establishment. Lot of pressure came on the shoulders of those brave Sindhi journalists who were working in Balochistan at that time. But they refused to carry out the dictation of agencies. They were on good terms with Shaheed Bugti, Mir Balach and others.
Aziz Jan: A dynamic Sindhi journalist
Profile of a departed journalists
- Desk report
It was mid night of April 3 and 4, 2009 that Aziz Jan Baloch died due to a fatal accident on Hyderabad-Karachi Super Highway. He was in his 30s. Aziz Jan was Senior News producer to an upcoming news channel “Awaz TV”.
Aziz, a very loving, caring and always in happy and pleasant mood is missed by everyone who worked with him. His close friends cherished his company, he was an easy going person.
Aziz’s true professional life had began afterwards, he had moved from Sanghar to Hyderabad and then to Karachi to seek an career in Journalism.
He was news caster for PTV and latter was associated with KTN, as narrated by Jami.
He was an ambitious person, sky was limit to him, he left KTN and joined City News, a local channel owned by ARY One World group, he rejoined KTN but again when Sindh TV was launched he joined it as news caster.
His voice was clear and loud, the way he used to read news stories people liked it very much, he became a model news caster and popular. He also hosted some talks shows on current affairs. He was deeply involved and interested in the currents of politics. That actually made him not only news caster but someone who would think independently and decide with regarding to planning the news bulletin, seeking telephonic interviews of top leaders, he interacted from top Baloch politicians to Kashmiri leaders. He had earned a say and was known in the political circles, MQM leader Altaf Hussain would know him with his name. When he launched his second book based on articles in Karachi’s Mehran Hotel, PML Q leader Syed Mushahid Hussain was to be the chief guest of the program. He would not shy away using his media contacts to establish that he is a well-connected person. True he was very resourceful person, he was like a directory of contacts, and that is actually works a lot in journalism.
Due to his ambitious aims, he would keep make entries and exists from Channels knowing his worth. He left twice Sindh TV and rejoined it and latter on eventually left it and started working on a new project the “Awaz TV”, owned by a noted Sindhi businessmen Sikandar Jatoi. “Awaz TV” is in pipe line, experienced Sindhi folks of electronic journalism was working to launch it. Aziz, Altaf Memon, Maheen Hisbani and Zariyab Khaskheli, to name few people were working for launching this new channel.
Aziz was very happy that he finally would be working freely in a channel which would be free from control of owners. Though funded by a businessmen but this channel is largely seen as franchise of journalists.
Aziz Jan was enjoying working in Awaz, he had both freedom to work and better remuneration package. He had reached to place which was striving for and dream for, but life did not give him chance to live a dreamed life. It’s a loss not only of his family (two wives and few children) but of Sindhi electronic media, he had emerged a well-trained and professional media guy.
Lala Qadir, district reporter of Sindh TV wrote “All is lost with his death”. It was not time for him to die, it was time to grow and make achievements in life and let society know what its youth has to offer.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
In Pakistan, a Sex Industry Has Begun to Boom
SEX IN DEPTH
In Pakistan, a dark trade comes to light
By William Sparrow
BANGKOK – Prostitution in the Islamic nation of Pakistan, once relegated to dark alleys and small red-light districts, is now seeping into many neighborhoods of country’s urban centers. Reports indicate that since the period of civilian rule ended in 1977, times have changed and now the sex industry is bustling.
Early military governments and religious groups sought to reform areas like the famous “Taxali Gate” district of Lahore by displacing prostitutes and their families in an effort to “reinvent” the neighborhood.
While displacing the prostitutes might have temporarily made the once small red-light district a better neighborhood for a time, it did little to stop the now dispersed prostitutes from plying their trade. Reforming a neighborhood, instead of offering education and alternative opportunities, appears to be at the core of early failures to curb the nascent sex industry. This mistake would become a prophetic error as now the tendrils of the sex trade have become omnipresent in cities like Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore, not to mention towns, villages and rural outposts.
An aid worker for an Islamabad-based non-governmental organization (NGO) recently related a story: quickly after his arrival in the capital, he realized the house next to his own was a Chinese brothel. The Chinese ability to “franchise” the commercial sex industry by providing down-trodden Chinese women throughout Asia, North America and Europe would be admirable in a business sense if it were not for the atrocities – human trafficking, sexual slavery and exploitation – which cloud its practice.
Chinese bordellos, often operating as “massage parlors” or beauty salons, are across Pakistan, even spread even to war-torn and restive locations such as the Afghan capital Kabul. Chinese in the sex industry have developed a cunning ability to recognize areas where the demand for sex far outstrips the supply.
The NGO worker said that after months of living adjacent to the brothel things were shaken up – literally. One evening a drunk Pakistani drove his car into the brothel. Later the driver told authorities the ramming was a protest by a devout Muslim against the debauchery of the house and its inhabitants. The NGO worker, however, had seen the same car parked peacefully outside the house the night before.
The local sex industry comprised of Pakistani prostitutes has also grown in recent years. One can easily find videos on YouTube that show unabashed red-light areas of Lahore. The videos display house after house with colorfully lit entranceways always with a mamasan and at least one Pakistani woman in traditional dress. The women are available for in-house services for as little as 400 rupees (US$6) to take-away prices ranging 1,000 to 2,000 rupees. These districts are mostly for locals, but foreigners can indulge at higher prices.
Foreigners in Pakistan have no trouble finding companionship and may receive rates similar to locals in downtrodden districts. More upscale areas like Lahore’s Heera Mundi or “Diamond Market”, cater to well-heeled locals and foreigners. At these places prettier, younger girls push their services for 5,000 to 10,000 rupees for an all-night visit, and the most exceptional can command 20,000 to 40,000 rupees for just short time.
Rumors abound online that female TV stars and actresses can be hired for sex. “You can get film stars for 50,000 to 100,000 rupees but you need good contacts for that,” one blogger wrote after a trip to Lahore.
“The Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi sex scenes are totally changing and it’s easier and easier to get a girl for [sex],” another blogger wrote. “Most of the hotels provide you the girls upon request.” Bloggers also reported that it is easy to find girls prowling the streets after 6 pm, and foreigners can find young women hanging out near Western franchises like McDonald’s and KFC. Such women, the bloggers claim, can lead the customer to a nearby short-time accommodation.
Short-time hotels offering hourly rates can be found all over major cities, underscoring the profits being reaped by the sex industry.
Pakistan can also accommodate the gay community with prostitution. Unfortunately, this has also given rise to child prostitution.
A Pakistani blogger wrote, “We [ethnic] Pathans are very fond of boys. [In Pakistan] the wives are only [had sex with] once or twice a year. There are lot of gay brothels in Peshawar – the famous among them is at Ramdas Bazaar. [One can] go to any Afghan restaurant and find young waiters selling sex.”
As in many societies, access to technology, the Internet and mobile phones has only facilitated the sex trade in Pakistan. “Matchmaking” websites serve the male clientele, while providing marketing for prostitutes.
The root causes of prostitution in Pakistan are poverty and a dearth of opportunities. Widows find themselves on the streets with mouths to feed, and for many prostitution offers a quick fix. A local Pakistani prostitute can earn 2,000 to 3,000 rupees per day compared to the average monthly income of 2,500 rupees.
Forced prostitution is not rare. Women in hard times are often exploited and pushed into prostitution. Sandra (not her real name), said that after the death of her father she was left alone; friends and relatives deserted her after the grieving period. As a middle-class, educated woman she was surprised to find herself forced into prostitution from her office job.
“My boss initially spoiled me at first,” she told Khaleej Times. “[But] now I am in [the sex industry].” Sandra first thought her boss was being gracious, but quickly learned he was grooming her for sex for his own pleasure, and then acting as her pimp.
Many of Pakistan’s contemporary sexual mores may have evolved from traditional practices. For example, the polygamy permitted in Muslim society stemmed from the need for larger family units, the better to support familial ties and tend for widows. Until such ancient customs are updated, women such as Sandra will continue to be bought and sold.
It’s time for Pakistan to admit that prostitution is doing a roaring trade within its borders, and will continue to prosper until it is addressed in a modern manner. Let us hope that the people and government of this proud Muslim country will stop pretending the problem simply isn’t there.
William Sparrow has been an occasional contributor to Asia Times Online and now joins Asia Times Online with a weekly column. Sparrow is editor in chief of Asian Sex Gazette and has reported on sex in Asia for over five years.
Courtesy: atimes.com
Source- http://pakteahouse.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/in-pakistan-a-sex-industry-has-begun-to-boom/
Murky alliance of Jamaat-i-Islami and PML-N took control of the Lawyer’s Movement- Kaiser Bengali says
Lawyers’ struggle: another view
By Kaiser Bengali
THE successful movement for the reinstatement of Iftikhar Chaudhry is being billed as a historic watershed event that has redefined the politics of the country and, in particular, the relationship between citizen and state.
Humor
A guy dials his home and a strange woman answers.
The guy says, “Who is this?”
“This is the maid,” answers the woman.
“We don`t have a maid,” says the man.
The woman says, “I was hired this morning by the woman of the house.”
The man says, “Well, this is her husband. Is she there?”
The woman replies, “She is upstairs in the bed room with someone who I figured was her husband.”
Universal message of peace and brotherhood
By Surjit Singh Flora
Beliefs of Guru Nanak Dev Ji
-God is one, – All human beings are equal, -Women are equal to men in all respects.
“There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim” (in Punjabi, “n k hind, n k musluman“). All are human beings.
PM Gilani breaks tradition
by Manzoor Chandio, catalyst2pk@yahoo.com
Blog: http://manzoorchandio.blogspot.com/
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday broke the tradition of speaking national language during official ceremonies and made his speech in Seraiki at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Multan Airport’s upgradation.
PM Gilani even doesn’t shy speaking Seraiki in the PM house with all delegations from south Punjab. PM Gilani and President Zardari also communicate in Seraiki which is mother tongue of both of them.
This assertiveness on the part of the head of state and the head of government should be a lesson for all Sindhi ministers who have inferiority complex of speaking
The fall of buner- After Swat the district of Buner is on the verge of being captured
BUNER: Instead of pulling out of Buner as they had announced on Thursday, the Taliban of Swat moved on Friday to consolidate their hold and took control of new areas, including the shrine of Sufi saint Pir Baba. Security forces offered no resistance.
Pakistan, China, Turkey, Iran and others in growing Asia Pacific Space Agency
In the wake of the sterling success of its third manned space mission, China is sitting proud and looking ahead to its future in space
Courtesy and Thanks: Space.com
October 2, 2008
The Asia-Pacific Space Agency continues to grow,, combining the spacefaring ambitions of China, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Cambodia, Indonesia and others:
100 days of AfPak
by Rafia Zakaria
- DAILY TIMES LAHORE
In the absence of ideology as the basis for selling the war to the American public, the Obama administration is likely to turn to cost-effectiveness as a marketing tool. The paltry aid commitments currently being promised to achieve the task of saving the flailing Pakistani state and revamping the Afghan army both lend credence to this argument.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazlur (JUI-F) the supporter of Taliban idealogy spreading its wings in Sindh
Pakistan festival dancers banned
By Nisar Khokar, Sindh
The writer can be reached at khokharnisar@hotmail.com
BBC Urdu service, Larkana, Sindh
Leaders of a religious group in the south of Pakistan have banned women dancers from a traditional spring festival, officials say. Organisers of the festival in the province of Sindh say they have had to cut the 10-day festival to three days as a result of the threats. The clerics who asked the dancers to leave the area were accompanied by local police, witnesses said. The group, called the JUI-F, has its main support base in the north-west. But the JUI-F (Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazlur) has been spreading its wings in the south of the country as well. The JUI-F is led by cleric Maulana Fazlur Rahman, who is known for his close ties to the Taleban in Afghanistan. His is one of the most influential and resourceful organisations in Pakistan working for what is described as a “pure, Islamic state“.
Let’s Learn Sindhi through Interactive Multimedia- Sindhi Sangat
Sindhi Sangat and the Indian Institute of Sindhology, take pleasure and pride in presenting this “LET’S LEARN SINDHI CD-ROM” an interactive multimedia CD-ROM.
Click here for details
AHRC on the killings of three Baloch nationalist leaders
AHRC-STM-087-2009, April 11, 2009
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
PAKISTAN: Fingers point at state intelligence agencies in the killings of three Baloch nationalist leaders
Three Baloch nationalist leaders were killed after their abduction by plain clothes persons in mysterious vehicles that bore no registration plates.
A documentary on Sindh and Sindhi Life
A Sindhi attorney in Los Angeles is currently working on a small documentary through the Sindhi Association of Southern California which is to be presented at a Sindhi Sammelan/ conference this July in Los Angeles, and potentially posted online. She is interested in using pictures of Sindhi singers, Sindhi art, and Sindhi historical monuments.
The documentary will be an interview of 5-10 elder Sindhis who left Sindh as refugees during the 1947 partition. The idea is to document their journey and recognize their ability to re build their lives and retain their culture. This movie will be made only to document their lives for younger generations to have a glimpse of how Sindhi culture survives in their lives. (this is strictly a non profit- educational and cultural video).
April 10, 2009
Balochistan breaking point?
By: Yasir Babbar, Islamabad
Please note: Yasir Babbar is an Islamabad-based journalist working at The Frontier Post and the Pakistan Press International.
Courtesy: Himal Mag
After national elections in February 2008, optimism in Pakistan was brimming over. Perhaps nowhere did the elections have a more immediate impact than in Balochistan, the province that has been attempting to break away from Islamabad’s control for decades. The first positive signs from the national capital came after Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman (and now President) Asif Ali Zardari formally apologised to the people of Balochistan for the excesses committed against them in the past. He also announced that the new PPP-led government would call an all-parties conference to address the province’s long-entrenched problems, while also promising to form a truth commission to investigate the abuses. Such pledges, rarely if ever heard before, created a sudden blossoming of hope in the province. The three leading armed militant groups – the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) – even announced a joint unilateral ceasefire.
Like Father.. Like Son..
by Mazhar Lakho, Belleville, IL, USA
The writer can be reached at m_lakho@yahoo.com
There are many friends who quietly continue to work without any concern for the name or fame. One of them is the former President of SANA Sani Panhwar son of the few top Sindhi educationist, intellectual, Scientist and writer Late Mohammad Hussain Panhwar who graced some SANA Conventions with his papers and presence. Sani also in his own way has been working to bring Sindhi History and Literature to Cyberspace besides working for SANA. Below are some links to his works. In short he is a wonderful person like his father.
Click here to seen Sani Panhwar’s literary works
World Sindhi Congress condemns the killing of three Baloch political leaders
Press release by Information Secretary Ali Memon, London
April 11th , 2009
World Sindhi Congress (WSC) is deeply shocked and strongly condemns the killing of three Baloch political leaders, Ghulam Mohammad Baloch, Sher Mohammad Baloch and Lala Muneer Baloch. The three leaders were steadfastly involved in the struggle of defending the genuine democratic rights of Baloch people. WSC on behalf of Sindhi people show their solidarity with Baloch people at their national loss.
Have you locked your keys in the car?
Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their mobile phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other ‘remote’ for your car, you can unlock the doors.
The State and the Taliban: ‘countering internal threats’
by Asim kaghzi
They are not hiding their tails in front of Taliban, the reality is that these people have been trained, funded and supported by all the along, further they do not want to waste their investment, that’s why you hear the term “de-mobilization” . If they cut their ties and go against these forces then who would fight tomorrow the proxy and ghost wars for them. They are two faces of same coin, and Taliban are their B team as well, just to give you two simple examples: 1) PML-N brothers have not spoken against Taliban and Talibanization clearly, perhaps they never will.
2) during the elections almost all partys’ processions were attacked except them. Why is that the case, why is he and his brother an exception, because they have made exception for Taliban and extremism, they will fight anyone and everyone except the people who are direct and indirect product of Zia era.
Courtesy: Asim Kaghzi & SANAlist, April 10, 2010
Crackdown against Pakhtoons in Lahore
Report by: Zia Ur Rehman
It is learnt that after Manawan episode, Punjab government has started crackdown against Pakhtoon people living in Lahore in the name of action against Taliban militants, mostly were the poor fruit vendors and labours who migrated to Lahore for earning bread and butter for their families. According to the media reports, Punjab police arrested more than 400 Pakhtoon people from different parts of Lahore.
Realize now and do something, before it’s too late!
by Khalid Hashmani, McLean, Virginia, USA
The writer can be reached at khashmani@hotmail.com
It appears that our adversaries are organized, determined and have every intension of fully controlling Balochistan and Sindh by using any means that would work. In these difficult times, Sindhis and Baluch have no choice but to unite and save our identity and our homeland. I volunteer my time and energy to participate, organize, lead, or follow an action plan to do some serious advocacy on behalf of our people. However, to make some headway we need at least a dozen persons who are ready to devote 8-10 hours per week to this cause.
In Sindh, they have divided Sindhis in several groups (Sindhi-vs-Sindhi, Sindhi-vs-Mohajir, Mohajir-vs-Pathan) . Having succeeded in weakening the present PPP government, both at the federal and provincial levels, and by dividing people of Sindh, they are now boldly moving to gain complete control of smaller provinces.
In Balochistan, they are on the killing spree to eliminate Baluch leadership. I suspect that these killing cadres have been unleashed against Baluch first. Once Baloch leaders have been killed, the same forces will move against those Sindhi leaders who do not toe their line and give up demands for provincial autonomy and the abolition of concurrent list.
In NWFP, the provincial government has lost all control to Taliban and it is just matter of few months before Taliban will be controlling Peshawar as well.
The way I see the situation, there is a long struggle ahead for smaller provinces to achieve their political rights and protect their identity and culture. We might as well realize now and do something, anything, before it is too late!
Pakistani Taliban claim to be moving in
Courtesy: Dawn.com
‘The day is not far when Islamabad will be in the hands of the mujahideen,’ Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Nazeer Ahmed said.
MINGORA: Pakistani Taliban are moving into a new area in northern Pakistan, clashing with villagers and police in a mountain valley, police and district officials said on Wednesday.
Re-inventing Pakistan
WASHINGTON DIARY: Re-inventing Pakistan
by Dr Manzur Ejaz, USA
April 7th, 2009
Courtesy: Daily Times & Wichaar.com
The writer can be reached at manzurejaz@yahoo.com
The state of Pakistan cannot survive unless the intelligentsia and the masses reconcile to the concept of keeping their belief system to themselves and letting the state be neutral to religion. Unless the masses rally around the new concept of the state, security agencies will never have the moral courage and strength to eradicate extremism.
Girlfriends
A girlfriend knows your deep dark secrets, but likes you anyway. Girlfriends are no farther away than the phone, even if it’s 4 am in the morning. A good girlfriend is hard to find, impossible to replace and never forgotten.
Promote positive ideas
by Munwar Soomro, Washington DC, USA
The writer can be reached at soomro_munwar@yahoo.com
we should try to promote positive ideas and news. Negative ideas truly have made us hate ourselves. One should not go on the other extreme either where every thing looks great, We should talk and promote good things we have and those which we can do. In this regard I would say that when even our leaders are not helping us, there is great opportunity for us to rise and prove that we are capable and that we don’t depend on the feudals.
Fanatics make terror threats in Sindh to ban music, dance
JUI-F clerics ban festival dancers in Sindh
Local journalists say group apparently uses rising threat of terrorism to get local judiciary, police to implement its agenda
Courtesy and Thanks:Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: Clerics of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam- Fazl (JUI-F) have forced women dancers participating in a traditional spring festival in Shahdadkot district in Sindh to leave the event, officials say.
Top Baloch Leader killed along with two others
Top Baloch leader along with two colleagues found dead in Turbate, Balochistan
A leading Baloch leader who was also active getting UNHCR Quetta head John Solecki released from BLUF was picked up from his lawyer’s office few days back and last night was found dead in Turbat, Balochistan.
Pakistani TV channels are reporting that province-wise angry and violent protests have started against killing three Baloch leaders. At some places office of ruling PPP have been burnt today.
Bear Baiting
The Ex-Servicemen have always represented the best of traditions of the Armed Forces. They have a proud record of sacrifice in stout defence of the country’s national interest. This image has been tarnished by four military dictators and their henchmen comprising coteries of high military officers, a segment of the judiciary and many politicians. General Ayub Khan set the pattern, which was followed by his military successors. The legacy of dictatorial rule has impacted every facet of the society and destroyed the integrity of the institutions of the state. Widespread corruption, rigging of elections, unmerited promotions and a culture of elitism widened splits in the country. The seeds of the separation of East Pakistan were all sown in his period of rule.
General Yahya remained too drunk to apply his mind and faculties to the affairs of the country. He had a small group of incompetent, inexperienced and inept people around him, who were taking all the decisions. They had no foresight or vision and just kept blundering their way through. They took this country towards a war, the conspiracy for which was hatched and planned by India and Sheikh Mujib, years in advance. Given the situation and the circumstances that prevailed, the Armed Forces of Pakistan, or for that matter any other country, could not have fought and won that war. It was forced on Pakistan by India who chose the time as well as theatre of operations (East Pakistan) after a long drawn campaign of subversion. The inevitable result was an ignoble defeat and the separation of East Pakistan.
Will Obama Vacate Iraq?
by Nasir Khan
Please note: Dr Nasir Khan is a peace activist. He is the author of Development of the Concept and Theory of Alienation in Marx’s Writings 1843-44 (1995) and Perceptions of Islam in the Christendoms: A Historical Survey (2006). He has his own blogs at http://nasir-khan.blogspot.com and http://sudhan.wordpress.com through which he can be contacted.
April 8, 2009
On February 27, 2009 President Barack Obama delivered his much-anticipated policy speech on Iraq. The important point in his announcement was the withdrawal of some U.S. troops from Iraq by August 31, 2010. However, it did not mean an end to the American occupation of Iraq, or an end to an illegal genocidal war that the Bush-Cheney administration had started. Despite his high-blown rhetoric about withdrawing from Iraq, Obama did not deal with many important questions. Thus what was not said cannot be regarded as an oversight but rather as an indication of how the new administration intends to pursue its policy objectives. Those who had wished to see a break by the new administration with the Bush-Cheney administration’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are concerned because they detect the continuation of the goal of the U.S. domination, which the American rulers usually refer to as the ‘U.S. interests’ in the region.
The survey was a huge failure;
In Africa they didn’t know what ‘* food*’ meant,
In India they didn’t know what ‘*honest*’ meant,
In Europe they didn’t know what ‘* shortage*’ meant,
In China they didn’t know what ‘*opinion*’ meant,
In the Middle East they didn’t know what ‘*solution *’
meant,
In South America they didn’t know what ‘*please*’
meant,
And in the USA they didn’t know what ‘* the rest of the
world*’ meant!
