Sindh: Terror in Boriri

Courtesy: Geo

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Terror in Boriri – by AZIZ NAREJO

– Daily Times

This is with reference to news stories, letters and editorials in media about the people living in the state of fear in Boriri and some other neighbouring villages in Taluka Khairpur Nathan Shah, District Dadu in Sindh.

According to the reports and personal communication with the people in the area, it is evident that the government has utterly failed to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities to provide safety and security to the people. It has completely let down the people who are living in war-like conditions. The dacoits and criminal elements have murdered six people belonging to village Boriri and about 40 people belonging to neighbouring villages in the last few years. Extortions, robberies, kidnappings, threats to life and property and intimidation are commonplace.

Attitude of Punjab towards other units of Pakistan

Do not hate me for who I am! —Shahid Ilyas

We are taking too long to understand that Pakistan does not mean Punjab only. It consists of several nationalities, which have very distinct and old languages, cultures and histories. All of them have as much a share in the state of Pakistan as any other

Going by the rhetoric that one comes across from a host of media, including e-mails, the internet, TV shows, blogs and personal conversations, it is very disturbing to see the level of hatred which the youth in Punjab (is it only the youth?) — exceptions notwithstanding — harbour against personalities like President Zardari, President Karzai, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Mahmud Khan Achakzai. On the other hand, a soft corner in their attitudes is discernible for Qazi Hussein Ahmad, Nawaz Sharif, Zaid Hamid, Hamid Gul and Pervez Musharraf — people who subscribe to, some explicitly, others implicitly, the narrative which states that the international forces in Afghanistan are ‘occupying’ forces (do we have any business with who occupies what?), the Taliban are fighting to ‘free’ their country from a foreign occupation while India is an irreconcilable enemy, and so on and so forth. Can a country like Pakistan see stability with the configuration of love and hate on the above patterns?

To begin with, let’s ask what can be the possible reasons for the widespread hostility towards the person of President Zardari? Is it the NRO? But Zardari is not the only person to benefit from it or to allegedly be corrupt. The problem seems much deeper. It has partly to do with the anti-Zardari propaganda on pro-establishment news media. But it has also to do with where he comes from and what he stands for. The continuous and decades-long domination of political power in Pakistan by an overwhelmingly Punjab-based establishment makes it so difficult for them to accept the presence of a non-Punjabi and non-obliging personage in the presidency of the Islamic republic. It is simply too much for them to see the president talk about such ‘irritating’ issues as the rights for the Baloch and Pashtuns, and civilian supremacy over the armed forces. Indeed they have enjoyed so much power and for so long, that they started to take the same for granted.

We are taking too long to understand that Pakistan does not mean Punjab only. It consists of several nationalities, which have very distinct and old languages, cultures and histories. All of them have as much a share in the state of Pakistan as any other. All of them have to be given a chance to reach to the highest slots including the presidency and the prime minister house. Their languages and cultures are as important as any other, and the same has to be granted as much importance — on official level — as the languages of Punjab and Muhajirs. Asif Ali Zardari’s presence in the presidency is not the result of a favour from anyone. He is the president of the Islamic republic because he is duly elected and he represents a group of people, which has equal ownership of the country.

Read more >>- Daily Times

Link – http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20106\30\story_30-6-2010_pg3_4

Justice Sharif: Is he a judge or a politician?

PPP should quit provincial coalition on differences: LHC CJ

LAHORE: The Pakistan People’s Party should separate itself from the coalition in the Punjab government if it has any differences with it, a private TV channel quoted Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif as saying on Tuesday, adding that his personal relations with the Sharif brothers can never come in the way of justice.

The LHC CJ was addressing a ceremony in Hafizabad, where he inaugurated a new chamber of lawyers. He said he shares 40-year old relations with the Sharif brothers, but his relations with both the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders have never come in the way of justice. He said some elements were creating baseless propaganda against him and his son, the channel reported. …

Read more >>- Daily Times

Pakistan Diplomatic Service Working Against Sindhis!

by Dr. Ayoub Shaikh

An eye-opening article by Dr. Ayoub Shaikh on the discrimination of Sindhis in the Foreign Service of Pakistan. The article also highlight the issue of selling Pakistani passports to Burmese refugees in Saudi Arabia and have them settled in Karachi, Sindh.

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Selling of Passports and Settlement of Foreigners in Karachi

By: Dr. Ayoub Shaikh

Translation by: Khalid Hashmani, McLean, Virginia, USA

Excerpt:

There are reports that more than 250,000 Pakistani passports have been sold to Burmese and nationals of other countries in Saudi Arabia and other countries. The purchasers of these passports have been migrating to Karachi for some time. The article demands that all those employees of Pakistani Embassy, who are involved in the illegal selling of Pakistani passports should be tried and sentenced to life imprisonment if found guilty.

Discrimination Against Sindhis in Pakistan Foreign Service

According to the article out of total 472 foreign service officers, only 44 are from Sindh. This represents less than 10% compared to the the 20% of Pakistani population that lives in Sindh. The article says that more than 85,000 illegal domiciles have been issued in the recent years. The illegally obtained domicile certificates are used by non-Sindhis to get employment against the quota established for Sindhis. IN the Ministry of Foreign affairs, out of seven (7) Additional Secretaries, none is a Sindhi. Out of 17 Director Generals, only two are Sindhis. Out of 34 Directors only two are Sindhis. Out of 74 Assistant Directors and Deputy Directors, only five (5) are Sindhis. It is said that the department has an unwritten rule for some time that no Sindhi will be promoted beyond 20th grade.

As Pakistan government does not publish correct figures, this under- representation of Sindhis cannot be confirmed by me. However, living in Washington DC for the last 12 years, where Pakistan has the largest embassy, I can say that the numbers quoted in the article are even on high side as the representation of Sindhis in the U.S. Embassy is substantially less than even 5%.

I hope overseas Sindhi organizations that are quite active in fighting for the Sindhi rights will start a campaign to secure a fair share of Sindhis in Pakistan’s Foreign services and other federal departments.

29 June 2010

TARGET KILLING OF MINORITIES IN KARACHI

Sectarian killings claim two more lives – By Imran Ayub

KARACHI: Two young men were gunned down in different parts of the city on Monday as Rangers and police remained unable to control the spate of ongoing sectarian killings. …

Read more >>- DAWN

Fear and silence

Why are Ahmadis persecuted so ferociously in Pakistan?

By Mohsin Hamid

…. Because if we can be silenced when it comes to Ahmadis, then we can be silenced when it comes to Shias, we can be silenced when it comes to women, we can be silenced when it comes to dress, we can be silenced when it comes to entertainment, and we can even be silenced when it comes to sitting by ourselves, alone in a room, afraid to think what we think.

That is the point.

Read more >>- DAWN

A Prominent Sindhi rights activist Munawar Laghari met U.S. Vice President Joe Biden

Munawar Laghari

Washington, DC : (29 June 2010) : Representatives of the Sindh and Baloch communities attended on Friday, June 25th a fundraising luncheon for Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) in Milwaukee, WI. Munawar Laghari, the Sindhi rights activist and the executive director of Sindhi monitor was also  present at this luncheon in support of Senator Feingold’s reelection was the Vice President of America, the Honorable Mr. Joseph Biden.

Pakistan : Rs220 billion custom fraud

Rs220b embezzlement unearthed in NATO containers transport

Dunya News unearthed country’s biggest custom embezzlement on Monday. According to the documents received by Dunya News, a Rs 220billion irregularities have been unearthed in the transportation of legal and illegal stuff to Afghanistan for ISAF forces.

Read more >>- DunyaNews

Parking Area of PMLN Cheif Minister Shahbaz Sharif ( Khadim-e-Punjab)

Courtesy: Dunya TV  >> via- Siasat

Promised Land!

The mountains that were climbed to get to Canada – By Natasha Fatah

Before I was born, my father was in and out of prison for leading demonstrations against Zia-ul-Haq’s military dictatorship.

In his mind, and that of many other liberals, Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq was threatening to turn Pakistan from a progressive, exciting country into a conservative, dogmatic Islamic republic.

At that point, the dictatorship was winning, so for the safety of his family my father left Pakistan.

I don’t think he wanted to leave, but we ended up spending years in Saudi Arabia and Holland. Then my younger sister came along and my family waited for a safe opportunity to return to Pakistan.

But that return was never to happen.

Eventually, we made our way to a new home in Canada. It was the best decision our family ever made. Canada is our Promised Land.

There is a funny thing about the idea of a promised land — it’s about the place that you end up, but it is just as much about the environment you are trying to escape.

Whether it was the Jews in the Bible trying to rid themselves of the tyranny of the Egyptians, or African slaves in the American South — people flee to this sometimes vague notion of freedom. Away from whatever it is that harms them and towards opportunity and dignity. We don’t always know where that promised land is, but we know it when we find it.

Read more >>- CBC

Is Pakistan becoming a country for extremists only?

Editor’s Note – By Rehana Hakim

– NewsLine

Pakistan is fast becoming a state that will be habitable only for extremists: religious bigots who hold the view that only Muslims (as defined by them) have the right to live in this country – and that all non-Muslims are kafirs, infidels who are wajib-ul-qatl or deserve to be killed. Further, that all those who kill them are guaranteed a place in heaven, replete with houris and streams of milk and honey.

It’s criminal that those who harbour such hatred are being allowed to operate with impunity, to spout venom from the pulpits of mosques, to train in the Punjab government’s backyard while the head honcho feigns ignorance, even as his own law minister is seen hobnobbing with the Sipah-e-Sahaba at an election rally in Jhang.

To read full article, click here to go to  NewsLineMagazine

Courtesy:- http://www.newslinemagazine.com/2010/06/editor%E2%80%99s-note-june-2010/

Baloch leader meets Vice President Joe Biden, draw his attention to the Balochistan’s situation.

WASHINGTON, DC: (June 25, 2010) On the eve of United Nation’s International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the president of Baloch Society of North America (BSO-NA), Dr. Wahid Baloch, met with Vice-President Joe Biden to draw his attention to the gross human right violations, ongoing military operation and enforced involuntary disappearances in Pakistani and Iranian Balochistan. …

Gorakh Hill Station

by: Dr Ali Akbar Dhakan, Karachi

… For Gorakh Hill project, it is proposed that commercial centers and small houses for residence purpose and  small restaurants may be built up on the hill with necessary security so that tourism can take place and the purpose of the new project can be achieved in the very shortest possible time otherwise the cost of construction will increase and more financial burden will fall on the scant financial resources of the province of Sindh.

Tariq Ali: Afghanistan — `Obama’s war’

By Tariq Ali

[The following talk was given on April 19, 2010, to mark the 30th anniversary of the London Review of Books. It first appeared at Guernica /a magazine of art and politics. It is posted at Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal with Guernica’s permission.]

Afghanistan now is at a critical stage. And now I’m very glad to say that the London Review of Books, whose thirtieth anniversary we are commemorating, has over the years published myself and others on this subject, taking essentially a critical stance to this war because, as many of you will recall, it became fashionable all over the world, not just in the United States, to think of Iraq and Afghanistan as two very different wars. Which of course, on one level, they are. But I mean different moral values were placed on these wars by good-thinking people. The Iraq war was a bad war, which should never have happened; that is the view of large numbers of people in the United States today, and always was the view of an overwhelming majority of Europeans. …

For more >> Links International

What led the Tehrik-e-Taliban to issue this denial

Who made the call?

What led the PTT to issue this denial when the conversation was allegedly held between Hamid Mir and the Asian Tigers?

Mohammad Nafees

Who was the person, if not Hamid Mir, that talked to a terrorist and sealed the fate of the ex-ISI official, Khalid Khwaja? Who were the killers of Murtaza Bhutto if not those who were accused, tried, and then acquitted by the court? Who was the killer of Daniel Pearl if not Omar Saeed Shaikh who has been awaiting his fate since his arrest back in 2002? Who killed the daughter of the East, Benazir Bhutto, if not the person who was repeatedly shown on the TV channels carrying a pistol in his hand and targeting at Benazir? We may perhaps never know answers to all these questions during our life time but curiosity will continue haunting us to find the real culprits behind all those crimes.

There are claimers and disclaimers on the authenticity of the phone conversation that was allegedly held between the renowned journalist Hamid Mir and an associate of the newly emerged terrorist group, Asian Tigers. This conversation is claimed to have been made only a few weeks before the execution of the kidnapped ex-ISI official Khalid Khwaja who was himself a sympathiser and a supporter of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Taliban …

For more >>- ViewPointOnline

G-20 : report of police violence against peaceful protesters in Toronto

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– More at The Real News

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Toronto is burning! Or is it? Black bloc tactics play into the state’s hands

By Judy Rebick

June 27, 2010 — Rabble — For people sitting at home and watching TV news last night, Toronto was burning. The same police car on Queen St West burned and blew up over and over again. The same image of a young man very violently smashing Starbucks windows appeared over and over again. Windows smashed all along Yonge Street. None of us had ever seen Toronto like this. It was shocking.

Most of the 400 protesters arrested last night and others who may have avoided arrest didn’t see that violence. From their perspective, they were facing a violent police state. These demonstrations, militant but overwhelming peaceful, were resisting the right of the police to hold them to Queen Street. They think the people have a right to protest in a place where political leaders can hear them. They had nothing to do with torching police cars or trashing windows.

For more >>- Links International

Pakistan back to 1984

PTA plans to push Pakistan to 1984 – by Jahanzaib Haque

A leaked confidential draft of the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) allegedly delivered to the Lahore High Court (LHC) has suggested the implementation of a new draconian system which would greatly curtail internet freedom in the country, not unlike Big Brother from George Orwell’s ’1984′.

For more >>- Tribune

Pakistan: Islami Jamhoori Ithad (IJI) Money Scandal Case

Courtesy: ARY  >> via- Siasat

Is judiciary nonpartisan in Pakistan or not?

The language of talk show is Urdu/Hindi.

Courtesy: Dunya TV,  via – Siasat,

Health tips!

Carrot + Ginger + Apple – Boost and cleanse our system.

Apple + Cucumber + Celery – Prevent cancer, reduce cholesterol, and improve stomach upset and headache.

Tomato + Carrot + Apple – Improve skin complexion and bad breath.

Bitter gourd + Apple + Milk – Avoid bad breath and reduce internal body heat.

Orange + Ginger + Cucumber + Apple + Cucumber + Kiwi – Improve Skin texture and moisture and reduce body heat.

Pineapple + Apple + Watermelon – To dispel excess salts, nourishes the bladder and kidney.

Pear – regulates sugar content.

Carrot + Apple + Pear + Mango – Clear body heat, counteracts toxicity, decreased blood pressure and fight oxidization.

Banana – Best source potassium.

Orange + Grape fruit + Watermelon + Milk – Rich in vitamin C + Vitamin B2 that increase cell activity and strengthen body immunity.

Papaya + Pineapple – Rich in vitamin C, E, Iron. Improve skin complexion and metabolism. Rich in digestive enzymes.

Banana + Pineapple + papya – Rich in vitamin with nutritious and prevent constipation.

Watch interesting discussion

Cortesy: Geo,  Link to Youtube , Via-  Siasat

SANA 26th annual convention

PR- June 26- TX: Sindhi Association of North America (SANA) is to hold its 26th annual convention at Westin Galleria Hotel, Houston TX, July 2-5. SANA is the largest representative, secular, democratic organization of Sindhi’s living in USA and Canada. Its annual convention is the most popular and a major community event attended by a large number of people.

Former Indian Union Minister, member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of India Ram Jethmalani will be Chief Guest at the convention. Former Minister of State in Pakistan and ex-chairman of the Technical Committee on Water Resources, Engineer A. N. G. Abbasi will be the keynote speaker. Former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan and Pakistani ambassador to USA Najamuddin Shaikh, Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party chief Dr Qadir Magsi and head of Sindh TV Dr Karim Rajpar, Dr Sono Khangharani, Jami Chandio, Imtiaz Shaikh and Zulfiqar Halepoto are among panelists at various sessions.

The proposed sessions at the convention include the general body session, a special session on Sindhi Youth and future of SANA, economic and political situation in Sindh, Sindhi identity and the role of Sindhi Diaspora, sessions for ladies, medical seminar and the literary session, Sindhi Adabi Mehfil.

Two nights of great Sindhi music have also been planned for the convention. Artists from USA, and Sindh, Pakistan including Humaira Channa, Arshad Mehmood and Siridivi, will perform at the convention.

Mayor Houston Annise D. Parker and US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison are also expected to attend and speak at the convention.

Indian Parliamentarian takes oath in Sindhi

MP Mavindra Singh

Not only do many in Western Rajasthan (Eastern Thar) speak Sindhi as a native language, others Rajasthanis also know and prefer Sindhi to Hindi/Urdu. Member of Parliament (Rajasthan, India) Manvendra preferred to take oath in Sindhi which is recognized as one of India’s constitutional languages. Not only do many in Western Rajasthan speak Sindhi, the language and culture of all of Thar is very much like Sindh’s. People sing songs of Shah Latif in this area.. Mumali Raarno is a folktale from this area that is remembered through Shah Latif’s poetry in Sindh and all over Thar. Plenty of other MPs had their families cheering too from the Distinguished Visitors’ gallery. There was the Pilot clan — Sachin Pilot’s mother Rama, wife Sara Abdullah, sister Sarika and brother-in-law; Jaswant Singh’s son Manvendra had his wife, mother, and brother cheering. The former finance minister himself preferred a relatively obscure seat in the Rajya Sabha gallery from where he could watch his son who took oath in Sindhi (as Rajasthani is not a recognised language, Manvendra later said).

Courtesy: –  Indian Express, Friday, June 04, 2004.

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Unfortunately, Pakistan not only refuses to recognize Sindhi as a national language of Pakistan and has effectively blocked the implementation of Sindh’s decision to use Sindhi as its official language in Sindh.

Talban take over as when Russians left.

Pakistan Is Said to Pursue a Foothold in Afghanistan

By JANE PERLEZ, ERIC SCHMITT and CARLOTTA GALL.

– NEW YORK TIMES

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan is exploiting the troubled United States military effort in Afghanistan to drive home a political settlement with Afghanistan that would give Pakistan important influence there but is likely to undermine United States interests, Pakistani and American officials said.

Beware Of What You are Eating

Courtesy: Dunya TV,  Link to YouTube – –  Via-  Globeistan

Thai health commercial

Source – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdUsi37ddaE

India and Pakistan are ‘siblings’: says Fatima Bhutto

Islamabad (PTI): Describing India and Pakistan as “siblings”, slain former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto’s fiery niece Fatima Bhutto said there was more fortune in peace between the “two sister nations” than war.

“We have, like siblings, more in common than we appreciate and our differences, though vast, are not impossible to overcome.

Courtesy: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200802031721.htm

McChrystal Fired

Washington : US President Barack Obama today removed the top American military commander in Afghanistan Gen Stanley McChrystal who had made disparaging remarks about senior officials and Obama. McChrystal will be replaced by Iraq war hero General David Petraeus. The decision comes a day after McChrystal’s interview to Rolling Stone magazine in which he was very critical of the Obama administration officials.

IMPACT OF MEDIA ON MORAL CHARACTER OF FUTURE GENERATIONS

By Dr Ali Akbar Dhakan

The media means source of Information, Knowledge, awareness, enlightenment and illumination. The media consists today of (i)newspapers (ii)Radio (iii)T.V channels and Journalism (iv)internet (v)Mobiles (vi)other source of information technology. It is the best source of getting information or a breasting of new developments or events being occurred or happened in every sphere of life throughout the globe.

To call a thief a thief

To call a thief, a thief In other countries, you used to call a thief, a thief but in Pak you call them government officers.

Logical reason:  Teacher: “Why are you always late for school.”  Student: “Because you always ring the bell before I get there.”