CAIRO — Norman Gershman has become accustomed to the reactions from people who see his photos and read his stories about Muslims sheltering Jews and saving their lives during the Holocaust.
"I had people say 'Muslims save Jews! How is that?'" the American Jewish fine art photographer told IslamOnline. net in a telephone interview.
Gershman has been engaged in a 5-year project that honors stories of Albanian Muslims' heroism in saving thousands of Jews, who either lived in Albania or sought refugee there, during World War II.
The "BESA… a code of honor" project began when he was seeking out photographs of righteous, non-Jews who helped Jews during the Holocaust, in New York.
Gershman was amazed to find among them Muslim names that he was told belongs to Albanians.
His quest then took him to Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum in Jerusalem, where he found more Albanian names.
"I traveled all through Albania and Kosovo where I met the rescuers' children, who are in their sixties or even older, the rescuers' widows, and in some cases the rescuer himself."
After more than four years of collecting stories and shooting black and white photos, Gershman's first exhibition was held last November at Yad Vashem.
The exhibition then went the UN headquarter in New York before starting a world tour.
A full length documentary is in progress along with a fine art book of the heroic profiles of Muslims saving Jews in Albania and Kosovo.
The premier of the film worldwide is expected in 2009.
"I am proud and happy to show this story to the world," Gershman says
Qur'anic BESA
Albanian Muslims saved Jews from the Nazis "to go to paradise."
People usually ask Gershman about the title he chose for the fruit of his painstaking five-year efforts.
"BESA is a tribal Albanian culture that goes back to thousands of years," he explains.
"What BESA says is that if some one knocks on your door you have an absolute obligation – no matter who that person is – to save their lives."
There is no any evidence that any Jew was turned over to Nazis in Muslim-majority Albania.
There were ten times more Jews in Albania after WWII than before.
"In fact, Albania is the only Nazi occupied country that sheltered Jews," says Gershman.
"They came in as guests. They were given Muslim names, they were living with Muslim families."
From the saviors' tales, Gershman found that Albanian Muslims considered BESA a manifestation of the Islamic teachings of keeping the promise and protecting the weak.
"I remember that some of them said 'there is no BESA without the Qur'an.'"
Gershman believes that to Muslim Albanians, the idea of not saving Jews from the Nazis was inconceivable.
"They did this in the name of their religion. They absolutely had no prejudice what so ever.
"I asked them 'why did you do this? What was in the Qur'an that you did this?' They would only smile.
"Some of them said 'we have saved lives to go to paradise.'"
Message to West
Gershman believes the Albanian Muslim heroism is of extraordinary significance.
"In one way it's a small story because we are not talking about hundreds of thousands of people being saved. But it's an important story," he insists.
"It says that there are good people in the world, and they come from every religion."
Gershman says believes that the stories of Albanian religious tolerance left a legacy that runs in the face of stereotyped portrayal of Muslims.
"My message to the Western world is that there are so many good people in the world and so many of them are Muslims," he maintains.
"If you see my pictures and the stories, there is no question that these are good people.
"I defy if anybody sees my pictures, especially in the West, and say that these people are militants or supporters of violence."
The Jewish American, who has studied Sufism, says Islam is not what many Westerners think.
"To me Islam is poetry, is science, is to be with the divine. Islam is beauty."
Monday 31 August 2009
When Muslims Saved Jews
kicking one’s wife is not an act of "cruelty" said India’s Supreme Court
Labels: InternationalNew Delhi (AsiaNews) - India’s women are in revolt against a recent Supreme Court decision, which states that "kicking one’s daughter-in- law is not an act of cruelty." Women have branded the ruling as "retrograde" and are demanding the intervention of the Ministry for Justice. The dispute stems from a family case between a woman and her husband, who lives in South Africa. The highest judicial body in India has ruled that the man and his relatives can not be prosecuted for "cruelty" towards his wife, just because the mother-in-law or other family members of the group beaten and kicked her and threatened her with divorce. A branch of the Supreme Court, chaired by the Chief Judge SB Sinha explains that other charges can be laid, but not to Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which punishes the husband’s - or his relatives - maltreatment of the woman. Brinda Karat, a key figure in the Marxist-inspired Communist Party of India, sent a letter to Minister for Justice Veerappa Moily, requesting a review of the trial because it is the roadmap "to legalize domestic violence”. Julia George, a lawyer and activist from Stree Vani - "Voice of Women", an association based in Pune, in Maharashtra - describes the story as "not only an insult to women, but to all humanity”. “Even the act itself of kicking is inhumane - she explains to AsiaNews -It is distressing that, even today, there are honourable members of the judiciary that take this position”. The lawyer stressed that the question arises within families, where women are "beaten to death not only by husbands, but also by his relatives”. “The question – states Julia - exceeds the boundaries of social class, education or wealth”. It is due to the "patriarchal" logic typical of Indian society, which "encourages women to accept gender oppression." The activist, reports that during her professional career in Maharashtra she has witnessed many cases of domestic, physical and mental violence. For this reason it is essential to strengthen "education" but it "must not be one sided only, men too must be educated and sensitized."
by Nirmala Carvalho
According to the ruling the husband and family should not be prosecuted for abuse. An Indian deputy calls for the intervention of the Ministry of Justice. Activist condemn the decision as "an insult to all humanity" and point the finger at the "patriarchal"society that legitimizes violence.
Sunday 30 August 2009
Hasb-e-Haal - Aftab Iqbal - 30th August 2009
Open Letter to General Kiyani
Labels: MiscOpen Letter to General Kiyani-Don’t Let Your Soldiers Down Dear Gen. Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani, As the Commander of the Armies of the Republic, we invite you to take a trip to 2024 in our time machine. Imagine, if after 15 years , an ex-officer of some intelligence agency and the ex-Corps Commander Peshawar appeared on the TV screen claiming whatever was done in Swat in 2009 was nothing but a drama and there was no entity called the “Taliban” in Swat, how will the families of Shuhada/martyrs of Pakistan Army (Jawans and junior NCOs) feel.? What will be the impact of such a revelation on the morale of soldiers and officers? What will they think of their officers and generals when they realize that their blood was used as a bargaining chip by the GHQ? And what about the nation’s confidence in their Army as the guarantor of our territorial integrity after another Imtiaz Billa spills the beans on Operation Rah-e-Rast? What if the videos of terrorists killed and their hideouts, training camps of suicide bombers, were revealed in 2024 as a brilliant psy-ops action? This is exactly what some ex-army officers are doing now by appearing on our TV screens and claiming whatever was presented in official ISPR briefings in 1994 was a concocted drama, along with all the footage, pictures and evidence presented to the media. Let us for a moment think about the army officers and soldiers who are being told the same stories about the Taliban and are being asked to risk their lives to save the county. Who will guarantee our soldiers today that they are not being used like a disposable napkin by their superior officers who only want a plot or two in DHA Islamabad? We believe what is happening today is a huge conspiracy to demoralize the real core of the Pakistan army: its soldiers and junior officers. These ex-army and ex-intelligence officers who have confessed to massive corruption and meddling in politics must be tried in military courts and there should be an open inquiry so that the whole, complete, unadulterated truth can come out. That is the only way the wounds being inflicted on the national psyche, the Republic and its armed forces can be healed. The ISPR needs to come out of its bunker and make its stance clear about the issue of Karachi Operations and guarantee the nation that the current campaign against anti-Pakistan Taliban is not some similar cock and bull story to save the skin of a dictator whose destructive reign not only destroyed the judiciary, damaged democracy but has also delivered a death blow to the prestige of our army. Pakistan Army must now realize that their image and reputation can ONLY be restored by standing WITH the people of Pakistan and not by protecting an ex-dictator from his chosen fate: The noose of Article 6.
Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan Army
GHQ Rawalpindi,
Saturday 29 August 2009
Hasb-e-Haal - Aftab Iqbal - 29th August 2009
Friday 28 August 2009
First Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul train arrives in Turkey
Labels: International
A freight train, which departed from Islamabad to test the newly established 6,500 km railway linking Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, arrived in eastern Turkey Tuesday, the semi-official reported. The railway line, which was recently completed linking Islamabad, Tehran and Istanbul, aims at connecting members states of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), according to the report.
ECO is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey to boost cooperation. It currently holds 10 member states. The first freight train departed from Pakistan on Aug. 14 and stopped at Iranian capital of Tehran Sunday, and then arrived in Saray town in eastern Turkish Van province early Tuesday, said the report. A number of Turkish, Iranian and Pakistani railway officials were on the train, according to the report. The new railway connected Pakistan to Europe via Iran and Turkey, Turkish railway official Muhammed Atilcan was quoted as saying. The train journey from Islamabad to Istanbul takes about 13 days, while travelling from European countries to Pakistan via seaway needs almost 40 to 45 days. The Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul railway project comes amid efforts to boost economic cooperation among ECO member states. Besides Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, ECO members are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Read more »»
Thursday 27 August 2009
Hasb-e-Haal - Aftab Iqbal - 27th August 2009
Turkey, Pakistan to step up cooperation
Labels: InternationalANKARA, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkey said Wednesday it would further improve cooperation with Pakistan in political and economic fields and the two countries' relations would set an example for other countries in the world, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
The Turkish and Pakistani foreign ministries would soon establish a strategic mechanism that would set a framework for cooperation and coordination on issues related to Asia, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted as telling a press conference after meeting his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Ankara.
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| Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) meets with his visiting Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Ankara, capital of Turkey, August 26, 2009.(Xinhua/Anadolu Agency) |
Turkey and Pakistan shared a common destiny although they were not geographically neighbors, said Davutoglu.
He noted economic ties between the two countries were not that satisfying despite good political rapport, saying Turkey and Pakistan would cooperate in transportation sector to improve economic relations.
Meanwhile, Qureshi said he was pleased to visit Turkey and had quite fruitful talks during his trip, telling the press that Pakistan had always been and would continue to be a friend of Turkey.
He said both countries had dynamic private sectors that could contribute to the improvement of economic ties, according to the agency.
Qureshi arrived in Istanbul on Monday to attend a ministerial meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP). The Istanbul meeting aims to provide assistance to the Islamabad government in the field of education, health, energy, economy and local administration.
Read more »»
Pakistani forces launch air attack on Taliban
Labels: Pakistan TodayWANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani helicopter gunships stepped up attacks on Taliban positions in the South Waziristan region on Wednesday, a day after militants confirmed that their leader was dead and announced his successor.
Pakistani and U.S. officials had been saying for days that Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a missile strike by a CIA-operated drone in his South Waziristan stronghold near the Afghan border on August 5, but the Taliban had been denying it.
Baitullah, an ally of al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban, was accused of a series of attacks in Pakistan over the past couple of years including the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Western governments with troops in Afghanistan are watching to see if a new Pakistani Taliban leader will shift focus from fighting the Pakistani government to aiding the Afghan insurgency.Security forces have made significant gains in an offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, since late April, and have also been attacking Mehsud's men in South Waziristan.
Helicopter gunships attacked militant hideouts in Madi Jam, an area 20 km (12 miles) east of South Waziristan's main town of Wana, on Wednesday after Taliban attacked a military convoy, killing two soldiers, intelligence officials and residents said.
Residents in Wana saw armoured personnel carriers heading toward Madi Jam.
"Helicopters dropped leaflets asking people to leave the fighting area," Mohammad Aslam, a resident of Madi Jam, told Reuters by telephone.
Military spokesmen were not available for comment.
Pakistan and U.S. officials had been saying the militants appeared to be in disarray since Mehsud's death.
Analysts saw the Taliban's earlier denials that Mehsud was dead as an attempt to hide divisions over who should take charge of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, alliance of about 13 militant factions.
Read more »»
Wednesday 26 August 2009
Baby Bush: The Worst President in History?
08/19/09 Vancouver, British Columbia
I recognize that I've antagonized many of my subscribers over the years with "Bush Bashing." In January, just after OBAMA!'s election, I said I wouldn't mention Bush again, his departure having made him irrelevant. I only feel bad that he and his minions will apparently get away scot-free with their crimes; better they had all been brought up before a tribunal and tried for crimes against humanity in general and the US Constitution in particular. But that is objectively true of almost all presidents since at least Lincoln.
Most of our subscribers to The Casey Report appear to be libertarians or classical liberals Рi.e., people who believe in a maximum of both social and economic freedom for the individual. The next largest group are "conservatives." It's a bit harder to define a conservative. Is it someone who atavistically just wants to conserve the existing order of things (either now, or perhaps as they perceived them 50, or 100, or 200, or however many years ago)? Or is a conservative someone who believes in limiting social freedoms (generally that means suppressing things like sex, drugs, outr̩ clothing and customs, and bad-mouthing the government) while claiming to support economic freedoms (although with considerable caveats and exceptions)? It's unclear to me what, if any, philosophical foundation conservatism, by whatever definition, rests on.
Which leads me to the question: Why do conservatives seem to have this warm and fuzzy feeling for George W. Bush? I can only speculate it's because Bush liked to talk a lot about freedom and traditional American values, and did so in such an ungrammatical way that it made him seem sincere. Bush's tendency to fumble words and concepts contrasted to Clinton's eloquence, which made him look "slick."
I'm forced to the conclusion that what "conservatives" like about Bush is his style, such as it was. Because the only good thing I can recall that Bush ever did was to shepherd through some tax cuts. But even these were targeted and piecemeal, tossing bones to favored interests, rather than any principled abolition of any levies or a wholesale cut in rates.
Is it possible that Bush was actually the worst president ever? I'd say he's a strong contender. He started out with a gigantic lie – that he would cut the size of government, reduce taxes, and stay out of foreign wars – and things got much worse from there. Let's look at just some of the highpoints in the catalog of disasters the Bush regime created.
•No Child Left Behind. Forget about abolishing the Department of Education. Bush made the federal government a much more intrusive and costly part of local schools.
•Project Safe Neighborhoods. A draconian law that further guts the 2nd Amendment, like 20,000 other unconstitutional gun laws before it.
•Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit. This the largest expansion of the welfare state since LBJ and will cost the already bankrupt Medicare system trillions more.
•Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Possibly the most expensive and restrictive change to the securities laws since the '30s. A major reason why companies will either stay private or go public outside the US.
•Katrina. A total disaster of bureaucratic mismanagement, featuring martial law.
•Ownership Society. The immediate root of the current financial crisis lies in Bush's encouragement of easy credit to everybody and inflating the housing market.
•Nationalizations and Bailouts. In response to the crisis he created, he nationalized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and passed by far the largest bailouts in US history (until OBAMA!).
•Free-Speech Zones. Originally a device for keeping war protesters away when Bush appeared on camera, they're now used to herd.
•The Patriot Act. This 132-page bill, presented for passage only 45 days after 9/11 (how is it possible to write something of that size and complexity in only 45 days?) basically allows the government to do whatever it wishes with its subjects. Warrantless searches. All kinds of communications monitoring. Greatly expanded asset forfeiture provisions.
•The War on Terror. The scope of the War on Drugs (which Bush also expanded) is exceeded only by the war on nobody in particular but on a tactic. It's become a cause of mass hysteria and an excuse for the government doing anything.
•Invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Bush started two completely pointless, counterproductive, and immensely expensive wars, neither of which has any prospect of ending anytime soon.
•Dept. of Homeland Security. This is the largest and most dangerous of all agencies, now with its own gigantic campus in Washington, DC. It will never go away and centralizes the functions of a police state.
•Guantanamo. Hundreds of individuals, most of them (like the Uighurs recently in the news) guilty only of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, are incarcerated for years. A precedent is set for anyone who is accused of being an "enemy combatant" to be completely deprived of any rights at all.
•Abu Ghraib and Torture. After imprisoning scores of thousands of foreign nationals, Bush made it a US policy to use torture to extract information, based on a suspicion or nothing but a guard's whim. This is certainly one of the most damaging things to the reputation of the US ever. It says to the world, "We stand for nothing."
•The No-Fly List. His administration has placed the names of over a million people on this list, and it's still growing at about 20,000 a month. I promise it will be used for other purposes in the future…
•The TSA. Somehow the Bush cabal found 50,000 middle-aged people who were willing to go through their fellow citizens' dirty laundry and take themselves quite seriously. God forbid you're not polite to them…
•Farm Subsidies. Farm subsidies are the antithesis of the free market. Rather than trying to abolish or cut them back, Bush signed a record $190 billion farm bill.
•Legislative Free Ride. And he vetoed less of what Congress did than any other president in history.
The only reason I can imagine why a person who is not "evil" (to use a word he favored), completely uninformed, or thoughtless would favor Bush is because he wasn't a Democrat. Not that there's any real difference between the two parties anymore…
As disastrous as he was, I rather hate to put him in competition for "worst president" in the company of Lincoln, McKinley, Wilson, the two Roosevelts, Truman, Johnson, and Nixon. He is simply too small a character – psychologically aberrant, ignorant, unintelligent, shallow, duplicitous, small-minded – to merit inclusion in any list. On second thought, looking over that list of his personal characteristics, he's probably most like FDR, except he lacked FDR's polish and rhetorical skills. I suspect he'll just fade away as a non-entity, recognized as an embarrassment. Not even worth the trouble of hanging by his heels from a lamppost, although Americans aren't (yet) accustomed to doing that to their leaders. Those who once supported him will, at least if they have any circumspection and intellectual honesty, feel shame at how dim they were to have been duped by a nobody.
The worst shame of Bush – worse than the spending, the new agencies, the torture, or the wars – is that he used so much pro-liberty and pro-free-market rhetoric in the very process of destroying those institutions. That makes his actions ten times worse than if an avowed socialist had done the same thing. People will blame the full suite of disasters Bush caused on the free market simply because Bush constantly said he believed in it.
And he's left OBAMA! with a fantastic starting point for what I expect to be even greater intrusions into your life and finances. Eventually, the Bush era will look like The Good Old Days. But only in the way that the Romans looked back with nostalgia on Tiberius and Claudius after they got Caligula. And then Nero. And then the first of many imperial coups and civil wars.
Is Taliban collapsing in Pakistan?
Labels: Pakistan TodayThe death of Baitullah Mehsud appears to have done even more damage to the Taliban terrorist network in Pakistan than first thought. Without their charismatic leader to unite them, the Taliban has begun to splinter across ideological and tribal lines, and the council Mehsud founded is dissolving into power plays and parochial interests. The infighting might prove more deadly to the network than the Pakistan Army:
Pakistan's extremist Taliban movement is badly divided over who should be its new leader, and analysts and local tribesmen say the al Qaida-linked group may be in danger of crumbling.
A wave of defections, surrenders, arrests and bloody infighting has severely weakened the movement since its founder, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed Aug. 5 in a U.S. missile strike. The announcement this weekend that Hakimullah Mehsud, a 28-year-old with a reputation as a hothead, would succeed him is likely to further widen the split. …
Pakistan authorities arrested the Taliban's high-profile spokesman, Maulvi Umer, in the tribal areas, while a key interlocutor between the Taliban and al Qaida, commander Saifullah, was also detained at a house in Islamabad where he was receiving medical treatment.
Separately, 60 Taliban fighters gave themselves up in the Swat valley in Pakistan's northwest. Many Taliban in Waziristan have defected since Baitullah Mehsud's death.
In a further sign of internal discord, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed Sunday that militants had killed Baitullah Mehsud's in-laws, including his father-in-law, on suspicion of giving away his location. The former Taliban leader had been staying at his father-in-law's house in Waziristan when he was killed by a missile fired from a U.S. drone.
Any time one side can decapitate the leadership of the other, recriminations and feuds usually follow in its wake. That would be especially true for a movement based on tribal politics like the Taliban. Mehsud managed to keep a lid on rivalries and petty jealousies, presumably on the strength of his personality and success. But Mehsud was nothing more than a warlord at best, and when warlords die before they prepare their succession, infighting inevitably results among the remaining players.
The two heirs apparent are Haikmullah Mehsud, Baitullah's hot-headed son, and Waliur Rehman, a more level-headed lieutenant of Mehsud and more connected to the Waziristan base for the Taliban. Mehsud claimed the top spot in Orakzai, well away from Waziristan, which indicates his weakness in that area, according to McClatchy reporter Saeed Shah. The Waziris want Rehman, whom they claim was Baitullah Mehsud's favorite before his death.
Shah notes that the infighting could ratchet up the danger for Pakistan, as both factions try to prove their mala fides by launching a rash of attacks, especially the hot-headed younger Mehsud. However, there is also opportunity, as both sides fight with each other, and create more splintering and factions in the Taliban. Shah doesn't mention that the various factions may try to gain advantage by supplying Islamabad with intel to get the Pakistani Army and the US to do their dirty work in this regard. That is an old, old story in insurgencies and factionalization that goes back centuries if not millenia in all parts of the world. While the danger for Pakistanis could certainly rise significantly, the opportunities for further destruction of the Taliban rise much higher.
Meanwhile, Michael Yon gives us a front-line report from Afghanistan:
The mission was an obvious success. It was surprising that we endured no fatalities or serious injuries. The mission was well-executed and since many of the soldiers have substantial combat experience from Iraq and Afghanistan, major dramas were averted. Murphy had smiled upon us. The only injury to my knowledge was the soldier who fell off the ladder. Soldiers who had previously fought on Pharmacy Road said we had sustained about twenty fatalities and injuries in that general area. And though at least one IED has been placed on the road since last week, C Coy and the ANA are now regularly patrolling and the freedom of movement has resumed.
This is a brutal fight. Since that mission, eight more British soldiers and two interpreters have been killed in this area. That's ten KIA plus the wounded. The soldiers keep going Read more »»
Australia's downfall excites Pakistan's Waseem Akram
Labels: Pakistan TodayKARACHI — Australia losing the Ashes and slumping to number four in Test rankings is good for world cricket as it gives other teams the confidence to shine in the future, Pakistan great Wasim Akram said Tuesday.
England beat Australia by 197 runs in the fifth and final Test at The Oval on Sunday to regain the Ashes 2-1 -- a defeat which knocked Australia from the top position for the first time since the rankings were introduced in 2003.
"Thank God, the Australians are now losing and have lost their dominance on world cricket," Wasim told AFP. "I wish I was playing in this period because when I played they were nearly unbeatable."
Australia, which also lost a home series against South Africa and an away series in India last year, are now placed fourth with South Africa perched atop the Test rankings. Sri Lanka are number two and India three.
Pakistan are ranked sixth in the world.
Wasim, one of the best left-arm paceman to play the game, agreed Australia's aura as near-invincible was over.
"I agree with what England captain (Andrew) Strauss said that Australia have lost their aura, they don't have replacements for (Glenn) McGrath and (Shane) Warne and that's making the difference.
"This Australian team is still exciting but they are no more world beaters with two great bowlers in Warne and McGrath, and (Adam) Gilchrist and (Matthew) Hayden all retired."
Wasim confessed he never thought England would win the Oval Test.
"It is unexpected for me that England won the last Test," said Wasim, who took 414 Test and 502 one-day wickets in an illustrious 19-year career.
"England played bold cricket, did bold selections and were not scared of losing.
Wasim said retiring England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff would be missed in Test cricket.
"Of course, Flintoff will be missed. He will be remembered as an exciting and aggressive player," said Wasim of his former Lancashire county colleague who retired from Test cricket after the Ashes.
"We need a series like this to keep Test cricket healthy," added Wasim, who has been linked to Indian Premier League team Kolkatta Knight Riders as their new coach. Wasim, however, refused to comment on the reports in Indian media Read more »»
Tuesday 25 August 2009
Jinnahpur conspiracy
Jinnahpur conspiracy: Altaf asks CJ to form truth and reconciliation commission
Army men's revelations vindicate MQM
LONDON: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Quaid Altaf Hussain has demanded formation of a national truth and reconciliatory commission to put facts before the nation after astonishing revelations that the Jinnahpur map and the plan never existed and it was only an excuse to start the June 19, 1992 military operation against the MQM.
Two former military men have disclosed that the alleged map of Jinnahpur was a 'drama' and its publication was meant to malign a democratic party.
Former Intelligence Bureau director-general Brig (retd) Imtiaz, who was a major player in the 1992 operation against the MQM and its cadres, confessed that the Jinnahpur map "was a drama that was aimed at creating a rift amongst various sections of the nation".
Known as one of the most influential spy officers, who played a key role in shaping political events in Pakistan, Brigadier Imtiaz Ahmed further confessed that he carried out research into the allegations and found that no such thing as Jinnahpur existed and no such map was found from any office of the MQM.
The retired Army officer further said the operation, which was started during the reign of the then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was launched after full consultation and with the full knowledge of the proper chain-of-command, which included the then-Army chief Asif Nawaz, president Ghulam Ishaq Khan and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Gen (retd) Nasir Akhtar, who was the corps commander Karachi at the time of the operation, also confessed he had no knowledge of the Jinnahpur map and that was the reason why the ISPR withdrew it two days after its publication.
Addressing a press conference at the MQM international secretariat here on Sunday night, Altaf said his party's stance stood vindicated and termed the confessional statements by two pivotal charters of the operation as the victory of truth and justice, and proof that the establishment was scared of the party's pro-middle class and anti-corruption and feudalism message.
Congratulating the whole nation, the party chief said his thoughts were filled with the memories of those 15,000 who had been killed cold-bloodedly.
Altaf said since then his party had been maligned and portrayed as a 'traitor' at every opportunity but the truth has prevailed and it has been proven that his party believed in a strong, united and prosperous Pakistan and the operation against it was absolutely wrong.
"Allegations are always hurtful whether they be about personal corruption or character assassination but the allegation of being a traitor and on the pay of an enemy is the worst of all accusations.
"We were put on the front pages of newspapers for being behind the Jinnahpur 'conspiracy' and the whole of Punjab was turned against us as we were considered the enemy within.
"Now the two main characters of the 1992 operation have spoken the truth, may I question what about the doubts that have been seeded baselessly in the minds of Pakistani people that the MQM is a traitor?"
Altaf said he and those who lost loved ones during the operation will always be bereaved but they would forgive the blood of their loved ones, including Altaf Hussain's brother Nasir Hussain and a nephew who were killed during the same operation.
He said after being vindicated by the two men, he could ratchet up the pressure and complicate things but added the country was passing through a critical phase and any kind of instability and heated situation would not be in the best interest of the country.
"I extend the hand of friendship and unity towards all for the solidarity of Pakistan." He appealed to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to form a truth and reconciliation commission to find facts behind the anti-MQM operation and also call the two former Army officials and know from the horse's mouth as to what lay behind the operation and why 15,000 Pakistanis were killed, hundreds forced to flee the country and dozens still missing.
He asked Pakistan Muslim League-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif to state before the nation why he allowed the Army operation, whether he was consulted, knew full facts behind it and why he didn't intervene to stop it.
Addressing the current military leadership, Altaf said he didn't believe the present command had anything to do with the injustice done 18 years ago in its name but appealed to the Army and intelligence agencies not to be part of any conspiracy against the MQM and "welcome the MQM with open arms as a truly patriotic party which loves Pakistan as much as any other Pakistani does".
Altaf said the 1992 operation was unleashed on the party to break it into pieces but the resilience of the party workers and the strength of the MQM message and its connection with the masses helped the party stay united.
The MQM founder hoped a lesson will be learnt and no attempts will be made to stop the party from taking its secular message of women's equality, education for all, enlightenment and elimination of the corrupt feudal system in all parts of Pakistan.
Read more »»
Zardari urges Chinese entrepreneurs to investment in Pakistan
Labels: Pakistan Today GUANGZHOU, China (APP) -- President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday said Pakistan offers ideal investment climate for foreign investors and invited businessmen and entrepreneurs to set up businesses in the country.
He said Pakistan offers 100 percent equity share and their investments are protected by a law of the parliament.
The President said Guangdong's economy is comparable to some of the most developed economies of the world and the province is an industrial giant.
He said despite the international financial crisis, Pakistan has done well economically in the previous year, despite expenditure on security, relief and reconstruction.
Pakistan's agriculture, he added, has done well year on year, but with cooperation from China it will develop even further in future.
The President said it was heartening to note that Sino-Pak relations have a long history of cooperation, spanning four generations, but added, they are yet to be exploited to full potential.
"Leadership of both the countries will now have to transform these relations into tangible economic ties. We will have to take them to another level," he added.
President Zardari reiterated his offer to China to take full advantage of Pakistan's geo-strategic location and access warm waters for trade with new world markets in Middle East and Arab countries for its products.
"We have been friends for years and intend to be friends for many more years to come."
Pakistan's Ambassador to China Masood Khan on the occasion said that around 50 percent of Pakistani exports come to Guangdong, which, given the potential is very modest. He said to redress the situation, the volume of trade and investment needs to be diversified.
Vice Governor of Guangdong noted that Pakistan is one of the first countries to recognize China 60 years ago and since then their relations have seen a steady growth.
The representatives from various business houses in Guangdong in their presentations stressed the need for increase in economic ties between Guangdong and Pakistan.
Later, Pakistan's Board of Investment (BoI) and sub council of China Council for Promotion of International Trade signed a Memorandum of Understanding. President Asif Ali Zardari was also present at the signing ceremony. Read more »»
Monday 24 August 2009
How i Discovered Islam.. Imran Khan
My generation grew up at a time when colonial hang up was at its peak. Our older generation had been slaves and had a huge inferiority complex of the British. The school I went to was similar to all elite schools in Pakistan. Despite gaining independent, they were, and still are, producing replicas of public schoolboys rather than Pakistanis.
I read Shakespeare, which was fine, but no Allama Iqbal — the national poet of Pakistan. The class on Islamic studies was not taken seriously, and when I left school I was considered among the elite of the country because I could speak English and wore Western clothes.
Despite periodically shouting 'Pakistan Zindabad' in school functions, I considered my own culture backward and religion outdated. Among our group if any one talked about religion, prayed or kept a beard he was immediately branded a Mullah.
Because of the power of the Western media, our heroes were Western movie stars or pop stars. When I went to Oxford already burdened with this hang up, things didn't get any easier. At Oxford, not just Islam, but all religions were considered anachronism.
Science had replaced religion and if something couldn't be logically proved it did not exist. All supernatural stuff was confined to the movies. Philosophers like Darwin, who with his half-baked theory of evolution had supposedly disproved the creation of men and hence religion, were read and revered.
Moreover, European history reflected its awful experience with religion. The horrors committed by the Christian clergy during the Inquisition era had left a powerful impact on the Western mind.
To understand why the West is so keen on secularism, one should go to places like Cordoba in Spain and see the torture apparatus used during the Spanish Inquisition. Also the persecution of scientists as heretics by the clergy had convinced the Europeans that all religions are regressive.
However, the biggest factor that drove people like me away from religion was the selective Islam practiced by most of its preachers. In short, there was a huge difference between what they practiced and what they preached. Also, rather than explaining the philosophy behind the religion, there was an overemphasis on rituals.
I feel that humans are different to animals. While, the latter can be drilled, humans need to be intellectually convinced. That is why the Qur'an constantly appeals to reason. The worst, of course, was the exploitation of Islam for political gains by various individuals or groups.
Hence, it was a miracle I did not become an atheist. The only reason why I did not was the powerful religious influence my mother wielded on me since my childhood. It was not so much out of conviction but love for her that I stayed a Muslim.
However, my Islam was selective. I accepted only parts of the religion that suited me. Prayers were restricted to Eid days and occasionally on Fridays, when my father insisted on taking me to the mosque with him.
All in all I was smoothly moving to becoming a Pukka Brown Sahib. After all I had the right credentials in terms of school, university and, above all, acceptability in the English aristocracy, something that our brown sahibs would give their lives for. So what led me to do a 'lota' on the Brown Sahib culture and instead become a 'desi'?
Well it did not just happen overnight.
Firstly, the inferiority complex that my generation had inherited gradually went as I developed into a world-class athlete. Secondly, I was in the unique position of living between two cultures. I began to see the advantages and the disadvantages of both societies.
In Western societies, institutions were strong while they were collapsing in our country. However, there was an area where we were and still are superior, and that is our family life. I began to realize that this was the Western society's biggest loss. In trying to free itself from the oppression of the clergy, they had removed both God and religion from their lives.
While science, no matter how much it progresses, can answer a lot of questions — two questions it will never be able to answer: One, what is the purpose of our existence and two, what happens to us when we die?
It is this vacuum that I felt created the materialistic and the hedonistic culture. If this is the only life then one must make hay while the sun shines — and in order to do so one needs money. Such a culture is bound to cause psychological problems in a human being, as there was going to be an imbalance between the body and the soul.
Consequently, in the US, which has shown the greatest materialistic progress while giving its citizens numerous rights, almost 60 percent of the population consult psychiatrists. Yet, amazingly in modern psychology, there is no study of the human soul. Sweden and Switzerland, who provide the most welfare to their citizens, also have the highest suicide rates. Hence, man is not necessarily content with material well being and needs something more.
Since all morality has it roots in religion, once religion was removed, immorality has progressively grown since the 70s. Its direct impact has been on family life. In the UK, the divorce rate is 60 percent, while it is estimated that there are over 35 percent single mothers. The crime rate is rising in almost all Western societies, but the most disturbing fact is the alarming increase in racism. While science always tries to prove the inequality of man (recent survey showing the American Black to be genetically less intelligent than whites) it is only religion that preaches the equality of man.
Between 1991 and 1997, it was estimated that total immigration into Europe was around 520,000, and there were racially motivated attacks all over, especially in Britain, France and Germany. In Pakistan during the Afghan war, we had over four million refugees, and despite the people being so much poorer, there was no racial tension.
There was a sequence of events in the 80s that moved me toward God as the Qur'an says: "There are signs for people of understanding." One of them was cricket. As I was a student of the game, the more I understood the game, the more I began to realize that what I considered to be chance was, in fact, the will of Allah. A pattern which became clearer with time. But it was not until Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses" that my understanding of Islam began to develop.
People like me who were living in the Western world bore the brunt of anti-Islam prejudice that followed the Muslim reaction to the book. We were left with two choices: fight or flight. Since I felt strongly that the attacks on Islam were unfair, I decided to fight. It was then I realized that I was not equipped to do so as my knowledge of Islam was inadequate. Hence I started my research and for me a period of my greatest
enlightenment. I read scholars like Ali Shariati, Muhammad Asad, Iqbal, Gai Eaton, plus of course, a study of Qur'an.
I will try to explain as concisely as is possible, what "discovering the truth" meant for me. When the believers are addressed in the Qur'an, it always says, "Those who believe and do good deeds." In other words, a Muslim has dual function, one toward God and the other toward fellow human beings.
The greatest impact of believing in God for me, meant that I lost all fear of human beings. The Qur'an liberates man from man when it says that life and death and respect and humiliation are God's jurisdiction, so we do not have to bow before other human beings.
Moreover, since this is a transitory world where we prepare for the eternal one, I broke out of the self-imposed prisons, such as growing old (such a curse in the Western world, as a result of which, plastic surgeons are having a field day), materialism, ego, what people say and so on. It is important to note that one does not eliminate earthly desires. But instead of being controlled by them, one controls them.
By following the second part of believing in Islam, I have become a better human being. Rather than being self-centered and living for the self, I feel that because the Almighty gave so much to me, in turn I must use that blessing to help the less privileged. This I did by following the fundamentals of Islam rather than becoming a Kalashnikov-wielding fanatic.
I have become a tolerant and a giving human being who feels compassion for the underprivileged. Instead of attributing success to myself, I know it is because of God's will, hence I learned humility instead of arrogance.
Also, instead of the snobbish Brown Sahib attitude toward our masses, I believe in egalitarianism and strongly feel against the injustice done to the weak in our society. According to the Qur'an, "Oppression is worse than killing." In fact only now do I understand the true meaning of Islam, if you submit to the will of Allah, you have inner peace.
Through my faith, I have discovered strength within me that I never knew existed and that has released my potential in life. I feel that in Pakistan we have selective Islam. Just believing in God and going through the rituals is not enough. One also has to be a good human being. I feel there are certain Western countries with far more Islamic traits than us in Pakistan, especially in the way they protect the rights of their citizens, or for that matter their justice system. In fact some of the finest individuals I know live there.
What I dislike about them is their double standards in the way they protect the rights of their citizens but consider citizens of other countries as being somehow inferior to them as human being, e.g. dumping toxic waste in the Third World, advertising cigarettes that are not allowed in the West and selling drugs that are banned in the West.
One of the problems facing Pakistan is the polarization of two reactionary groups. On the one side is the Westernized group that looks upon Islam through Western eyes and has inadequate knowledge about the subject. It reacts strongly to anyone trying to impose Islam in society and wants only a selective part of the religion. On the other extreme is the group that reacts to this Westernized elite and in trying to become a defender of the faith, takes up such intolerant and self-righteous attitudes that are repugnant to the spirit of Islam.
What needs to be done is to somehow start a dialogue between the two extreme. In order for this to happen, the group on whom the greatest proportion of our educational resources are spent in this country must study Islam properly.
Whether they become practicing Muslims or believe in God is entirely a personal choice. As the Qur'an tells us there is "no compulsion in religion." However, they must arm themselves with knowledge as a weapon to fight extremism. Just by turning up their noses at extremism the problem is not going to be solved.
The Qur'an calls Muslims "the middle nation", not of extremes. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was told to simply give the message and not worry whether people converted or not, therefore, there is no question in Islam of forcing your opinions on anyone else.
Moreover, we are told to respect other religions, their places of worship and their prophets. It should be noted that no Muslim missionaries or armies ever went to Malaysia or Indonesia. The people converted to Islam due to the high principles and impeccable character of the Muslim traders. At the moment, the worst advertisements for Islam are the countries with their selective Islam, especially where religion is used to deprive people of their rights. In fact, a society that obeys fundamentals of Islam has to be a liberal one.
If Pakistan's Westernized class starts to study Islam, not only will it be able to help society fight sectarianism and extremism, but it will also make them realize what a progressive religion Islam is. They will also be able to help the Western world by articulating Islamic concepts. Recently, Prince Charles accepted that the Western world can learn from Islam. But how can this happen if the group that is in the best position to project Islam gets its attitudes from the West and considers Islam backward? Islam is a universal religion and that is why our Prophet (peace be upon him) was called a Mercy for all mankind.
Friday 21 August 2009
Punjab government ‘takes over’ sugar mills
Punjab government 'takes over' sugar mills
Row over price takes dramatic turn; owners rush to Islamabad
LAHORE: In what is bound to prove an immensely popular action with angry masses, the Punjab government on Thursday took over the 'unofficial control' of all 43 sugar mills in the province and deputed its employees to check and register the stocks.
The rather drastic step was taken after the owners of these mills reportedly refused to sell sugar at the government fixed rates. Punjab Food Minister Malik Nadeem Kamran confirmed to our sources that government teams had been sent to the sugar mills to verify the stocks. "The sugar mills were not giving the Punjab government their sugar stock positions despite several reminders," he said, adding that the Punjab government had again called the millers to discuss the price issue on Thursday night, but they never came.
Initially the Punjab government had asked the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association ,Punjab chapter (PSMA-Punjab) to ensure sugar supply at the designated points and special Ramazan bazaars at Rs 40 per kg during the holy month. But, as put by one senior Punjab government functionary, "federal minister Manzoor Wattoo threw a spanner in the works by inexplicably capitulating before the powerful sugar lobby and fixed the ex-mill price at Rs 49.75 per kg and retail price at Rs 52 to 53 per kg in open market".
The Punjab government, however was anything but through with the issue. In a meeting with PSMA-Punjab, it again asked sugar mills owners to further rationalise the price and to sell the commodity for Rs 40 per kg at Ramazan bazaars. However, the representatives of the PSMA once again refused to entertain the request, arguing that the federal government had already fixed the prices and that they would supply sugar at the federal government rates.
Subsequently, in a meeting with PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif at Murree, top Punjab government hierarchy decided to regulate sugar prices administratively. The meeting was attended by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Senator Ishaq Dar, opposition leader in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali, CM's Special Advisor Pervaiz Rasheed, and Punjab Food Minister Malik Nadeem Kamran.
The PML-N leadership appealed to the federal government to waive the general sales tax (GST) and Excise Duty on sugar, which is Rs 5 per kg, so that sugar could be sold for Rs 40 per kg at the sugar mills' gates to provide relief to people.
The leadership was of the view that sugar stocks in the country were sufficient to meet the demand and that the crisis had been created by hoarders, profiteers and corrupt vested interests.
Meanwhile, sources in the sugar milling industry told that the understandably perturbed PSMA-Punjab office-bearers had already left for Islamabad. Sweet rich relief, is thy name Wattoo?
Pakistan begins production of drone planes
Labels: Pakistan TodayIslamabad, Aug 20 (Xinhua) Pakistan has commenced production of drone planes in the country in collaboration with an Italian company, TV reports said Thursday.
The pilotless aircraft, called Falco UAV, is being produced at the country's Kamra aeronautical complex in collaboration with the Italian firm Selex Galileo, GEO TV said.
Chief Air Marshal Farhat Hussain, head of the complex, said the Falco UAV is important for the country's defence and the planes will add to the professional capabilities of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).
Farhat said Pakistan is now among the group of countries that manufactures drone planes.
The system will be used mainly for aerial reconnaissance and information gathering, but later on the UAVs will be equipped with weapon systems to carry out offensive operations, he said. Read more »»
Pakistan's forex reserves surge to $12.96 bln
Labels: Pakistan TodayKARACHI, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves jumped by $1.11 billon to $12.96 billion in the week that ended on Aug. 15 as a new tranche of an IMF loan arrived, a central bank spokesman said on Thursday.
The State Bank of Pakistan's reserves rose to $9.47 billion from $8.36 billion a week earlier, while reserves held by commercial banks were unchanged at $3.49 billion, said central bank chief spokesman Syed Wasimuddin.
Reserves rose because of the $1.2 billion received from the International Monetary Fund during the week,' he said.
Pakistan agreed in November to an IMF emergency loan package of $7.6 billion to avert a balance of payments crisis and shore up reserves.
This month, the fund increased the loan to $11.3 billion, and also released a third tranche of $1.2 billion.
Foreign reserves hit a record high of $16.5 billion in October 2007 but fell steadily to $6.6 billion by November of last year, largely because of a soaring import bill.
Read more »»
Pakistan's Stake in the Afghan Election
Labels: Pakistan TodayThe August 20 presidential elections in Afghanistan are seen as a crucial step forward in what U.S. President Barack Obama has dubbed a "war of necessity." But for many in neighboring Pakistan, a country wracked by its own domestic security and political crises, this "election is a bit of a sideshow and much less relevant or exciting than it was the last time around," says CFR Senior Fellow Daniel Markey. He says Pakistan's interest lies in an election that yields a legitimate government and brings political and military stability to Afghanistan. Pakistan would also like a friendly government in Kabul that allows Islamabad to project its influence in Afghanistan. Markey says Pakistanis tend to see incumbent President Hamid Karzai as the best option "simply because he's a known quantity."
What's at stake for Pakistan in the Afghan presidential election?
For Pakistan, the concern has to do with basic political and military stability in Afghanistan. The election is one piece in that process. From a Pakistan perspective, an Afghanistan that returns to deep instability as it has in the past, specifically in the 1990s, would be a cause for concern for Pakistan because it would probably bring greater instability inside Pakistan. An election that works and yields a legitimate government of some kind are basic interests from a Pakistan perspective. The other side, of course, is that Pakistan would like to project its influence into Afghanistan. So to the extent that various candidates offer different potential for Pakistan to do so, Islamabad is more or less a supporter of them. Pakistanis tend to see Karzai as maybe the best of the two serious options--the other being Abdullah Abdullah--simply because he's a known quantity and a Pashtun who has a reasonably good working relationship with the current government in Islamabad.
Karzai's close links with India have given rise to concerns in Islamabad. From a Pakistani strategic perspective, who would they prefer to be in power in Kabul?
From a Pakistani perspective, there are no serious good options. You're right because Karzai, although he's a known quantity and gets along with [Pakistani] President [Asif Ali] Zardari, is not seen to be a friend, per se, of Pakistanis. He is perceived to have links to India. He studied in India. He's been very critical in the past of Pakistan, particularly when President [Pervez] Musharraf was in charge. He's not an easy ally from a Pakistani point of view, and he's not prone to a lot of Pakistani influence. But neither would Abdullah Abdullah be a great outcome from a Pakistani point of view. Although he's half Pashtun, he's also half Tajik. He's most closely associated with the Northern Alliance and the former leader of that anti-Taliban mujahadeen movement, Ahmad Shah Massoud. He's also a Panjshiri from the north of Afghanistan. None of these things make Abdullah Abdullah a particularly positive choice for Pakistan either.
There's much buzz about the Afghan election here in the United States. How do you think Pakistan is viewing this election?
Although Pakistan has interest in this election, Pakistan is also preoccupied with its own politics and security situation, both of which have been precarious in recent years. For many Pakistanis, the Afghan election is a bit of a sideshow and much less relevant or exciting than it was the last time around. The last time around, there were many more Afghan refugees in Pakistan who were participating in the election. Now that's not the case. From a Pakistani point of view, this Afghan election is getting attention, but not nearly what it once got and also not as much as it's getting in Washington.
"For many Pakistanis, the Afghan election is a bit of a sideshow and much less relevant or exciting than it was the last time around."
As you mentioned, unlike the 2004 election, this time there's no mechanism in place for the Afghan refugees in Pakistan to vote. According to the UN refugee agency, 45 percent of the estimated 1.7 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan would be eligible voters. How do you think this affects the election outcome, as well as its legitimacy?
My sense is that Karzai did well among Afghan refugee voters based in Pakistan in the last election. He was able to mobilize those groups fairly effectively. My guess, without any recourse to significant polling data or anything like that, would be that this hurts Karzai. The broader question about the legitimacy of the election relates both to participation by refugees, but also to participation by Afghans throughout the south: Many in the south, seeing such violence, may choose not to go to the polls. If we see very low voter turnout, as some people fear, this will call into question the basic legitimacy of the exercise. It gives a propaganda victory to the Taliban, even if it doesn't mean that the Taliban are actually any more popular than they were before the election. It simply means they were able to be very disruptive, and it shows that they are still an effective force. That's part of their game plan.
If there's a runoff or protests in Afghanistan because people don't accept the electoral outcome, what effect would that have on Pakistan's stability?
Anything that contributes to instability in Afghanistan will have some spillover effect into Pakistan. The potential of a runoff means that we'll have another month to six weeks of political uncertainty in Afghanistan, which contributes to opportunities for militants to continue causing trouble. [Under Afghanistan's election rules, if no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates must be held within two weeks after the announcement of the election results. Many analysts expect a runoff, if necessary, would be held in October.] That all plays to the disadvantage of Pakistan. Aside from that, the real issue is simply whether this election provides a firm foundation for politics in Afghanistan going forward. If you see a lot of contentious activity during this period in between the first election and the second, it will raise more questions about legitimacy and make whatever government that comes out of this probably weaker than it would be if it won through a popular majority right from the outset.
Are there any signals from Afghan Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan on how much of a threat they pose to the election? What's really at stake for, say, Mullah Omar's Quetta Shura or for the Pakistani Taliban in this election?
[Mullah Omar] presumably is banking on the idea that over the long term, the project of democracy and this type of democracy is going to fail in Afghanistan, and that eventually he and his colleagues can return to power in Kabul. Anything that looks like a setback for the international coalition and the government in Kabul is a victory for him.
For the Pakistani Taliban, times have gotten very different and very difficult of late. [Pakistani Taliban leader] Baitullah Mehsud's death, or apparent death, is a setback for them. They seem to be in disarray. I can't imagine that they're spending a significant amount of time strategizing about the Afghan election. They're much more concerned about issues of succession within their own organization and still looking inward inside of Pakistan related to activities by the Pakistani military, both in the Swat valley and in the Waziristans, where Mehsud used to be located and the core of the Pakistani Taliban is still based.
Is there any cooperation going on, particularly in the context of this election, between Pakistan, the United States, and the Afghan government?
We've seen senior-level discussions between U.S. military commanders and the Pakistani army chief related to the Afghan election. There is a desire to try and limit the military problems that will happen on election day. To some degree, the Pakistani involvement in that process the last time around was quite meaningful. This time, they'll try to quell the potential for violence to the extent that they can. A lot of the problem has to do with lack of military capacity on the Pakistani side insofar as not being able to shut down a very difficult border with Afghanistan. Of course, a lot of the violence in Afghanistan is already internal to Afghanistan and doesn't depend, at least in a day-to-day manner, on those sanctuaries, even if it might depend upon them ultimately for safe haven and planning. The ability of the Pakistanis to do much in the next day or so is relatively limited. If we go to a second round of elections, I assume that the U.S., Pakistan, and Afghan governments will work as hard as they can to try to limit the levels of violence during that period as well. But I'm not optimistic that the Pakistanis can or will be able to do that much on that score.
"Unfortunately, because Karzai is likely to win [in the elections], it is likely to yield something that looks more like continuity than change."
Do you expect this election to make any significant improvements in Afghan governance that could help U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in the region?
Unfortunately, because Karzai is likely to win, it is likely to yield something that looks more like continuity than change. There is a potential, as with all political events, for more significant transformation. The real question, assuming that Karzai wins or even if his chief rival Abdullah Abdullah wins, is who gets appointed to the various ministries. There, the international community will weigh in with its expectations and pressures to try to get the best possible cabinet in place. Of course, it's well-known that Karzai has made a lot of promises during the election campaign. Many of these promises are likely to suggest that he will need to appoint people who in previous ways have been understood as warlords. He will need to pay them off in some way, either with governorships or ministries. The overlap between being a warlord and being an effective and capable governor is not particularly good. Everybody is a bit worried that we'll see more of the same, and that this will sap the energy of the average Afghan and make it harder to build an effective Afghan state, even as we put significantly more in the way of military and training efforts into place in the coming years.
In the end, how important are these elections to U.S. interests?
They are very significant because the United States, the international community, and to some degree a significant proportion of the Afghan people have staked a bet on the idea that a new democratic Afghanistan is a project worth pursuing. For that reason, it would have been very dangerous and counterproductive to step away from this election or hold them off indefinitely. Just holding the election is an important sign--if not of progress, then at least of sustained effort towards that end state of a democratic Afghanistan. But in the near term, the best that we can hope is that they don't prove to be even more disruptive and provide even more propaganda value to the insurgency, and that perhaps at the margins we'll see some changes in terms of political leadership that will ultimately work well Read more »»
Exploring Lahore's walled city
Labels: MiscExploring Lahore's walled city, in and around Dilli gate, to experience the extraordinary
By Naeem Safi
You put on your rugged jeans and the most comfortable walking shoes and check the battery and the card of your camera. Fill your bullet flask with chilled water and glucose; tuck in a pack of disposable ear plugs and half a pack of coin tissues in your shoulder bag, along with a cheap medical mask; all this to get into an urban jungle, and get out in one piece, body and mind. You have decided to explore the walled city of Lahore on foot. You either choose a Sunday to have an uninterrupted look at the urban fabric or some workday to float with the social flood on the streets.
You choose a gate that was apparently used by the rulers of a great Indian empire for entering into the city. They say Dilli gate is called Dilli gate because it faces Delhi. You cannot really see that unless you have attained an elevation of a few thousand feet. But if you are acrophobic, then all that you can see it facing is the Lunda Bazaar -- a place that offers the best quality canvases, if you are into painting. You will find it in various sizes, textures, and ratios of cotton. Or if you are into some production with a tight budget then may this be the Universal studio's warehouse for you. Just jump in with your costume designer. However, if this is your first time then make sure the designer is not a lady, and if that is not an option then pray she is attractive, and if your zodiac sign has no mercy on you then you can always add an extra hour for haggling. Even if you are not into any theatre or film production, this market is still very useful for what Shakespeare called a stage. But then you will have to act accordingly, even though if you are not in Rome, you can act like Romans while wearing their trash. All you need to do is just look down on those who cannot afford Marks & Spencer; learn some English, never mind the correct pronunciation, and there you go, being accepted and respected like a first class citizen. Enjoy being a gora saab in the third world. This is the Idiot's Guide to re-Colonisation
You look at the variety of outfits in multitude of forms, materials, colours and fashions and recall images from your school days how your fellows would fool crowds and sponsors by getting their entire ranges from here, dismantling them and then re-stitching them into some Frankenstein fashion. The trick is to cover the jumble of dresses and models of all heights, shapes, and proportions with appropriate lighting, loud music, and fog machines.
Here you can get fresh canvas bags, designed and made to your taste, for very nominal price and once you have what you want, you can gesture to all the Gucci's, and the sort, a V, an L, fare le corna, or any finger of your choice, depending on your level of achievement and contempt.
There is an antique coin seller sitting on the ground in front of a heap of coins of modern times too, but mostly they are the heavy bronze ones found in the foundations of centuries old buildings of the walled city, which are demolished to make room for the ever-growing demand of high-rise commercial buildings.
The vegetable bazaar near the Dilli gate has farm-fresh vegetables and fruits, where the ones with foreign names are not as expensive as in the posh areas of the city. There are fish, mutton and poultry. The smell and sight of the meat business are not very welcoming. The bazaar is connected with a street that has a treasure trove of pottery and some other beautiful handmade collectables.
You feel hungry after a while and you can choose from a variety of chickpeas, ranging from spices of Mexican proportions in pools of crimson red oil, to the ones moderately spiced. There are some barbecue stalls offering chicken spare-parts and a couple of Afghani food joints in Lunda Bazaar crossing that branches out to the scrap metal market. You can try any of these only if you have a military grade stomach and immune system or if you don't mind finishing 'War and Peace' in a single sitting while getting rid of the load.
A local soul guides you and you find a four decade old mutton channey wala in a street just before the Dilli gate next to the pottery and meat street. The small shop has a few tables with wooden benches and a line of frames with images of gates of the walled city of Lahore. The food is not bad; the ambiance -- well, one does not have much of a choice. This is not the sort of food that one can enjoy while on iPod.
You finish your food and come out of the street and there you are, right in front of the Dilli gate. You need some pro-level footwork to avoid being hit by the flux of traffic and the manure on the tarmac that is emitted by the oldest form of transport still used heavily in the maze of the streets -- bulls, horses, and donkeys that pull various sorts of cargos, stuck in the urban jungle with their masters. Their emissions can be hazardous to us, another animal species, but are not a threat to the planet, rather are an essential part of the eco-system, unlike the human genius. Relatively no noise pollution either, except for the rhythmic stamping of the horseshoes. On these streets the number of carts pulled by animals is almost equal to those pushed by humans.
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