Pakistan is at war with itself, with blackouts, corruption and terror attacks. Now there are calls for the return of the reviled Musharraf
By Fatima Bhutto
Pakistan has become a very unusual place. In Lahore, the heart of Pakistani cricket, the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in broad daylight by masked gunmen carrying guns and rocket launchers, because you never know when a rocket launcher will come in handy during an urban attack. The government had been warned of a potential terror threat but, true to form, ignored it. After killing eight people, mostly policemen, and wounding several others including the foreign cricketers, the gunmen ambled leisurely away. They were caught on CCTV camera calmly mounting their motorcycles and surveying the scene before deciding they had other places to be.
Immediately the cacophony of ludicrous claims hit the media. “The attack is to ruin our [the ruling party’s] image,” bellowed Raja Riaz, a Pakistan People’s Party hack. Er, no. “The motive was to damage the state of Pakistan and end cricket here,” said Imran Khan, head of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Er, no. The Pakistan cricket team are perfectly capable of ruining the state of cricket in the country on their own; masked gunmen are not required, thank you very much. Incidentally, on Monday night local police attacked the offices of Khan’s party brandishing Kalashnikovs and pistols. It’s probably not a coincidence that Khan has been openly critical of the Zardari government.
It’s fear. That’s what it is. It’s the state of a nation at war with itself. When vigilantes armed with sophisticated weaponry can attack a team of cricket guests (and there are no guests more esteemed in south Asia) in the middle of the afternoon, what they’re telling you is that no one is above the reach of the terror that has taken over Pakistan. It’s startling how adept this government has been at losing control of law and order, leasing out Pakistan’s stability for an increased role in the war on terror in preparation for the troop surge in Afghanistan, and generally running the country to rot.
“Droned” is a verb we use now in Pakistan. It turns out, interestingly enough, that those US predator drones that have been killing Pakistani citizens almost weekly have been taking off from and landing within our own country. Secret airbases in Balochistan – what did we ever do before Google Earth?
The PPP-led government, hailed as being “democratic”, capitulated to the Pakistan Taliban’s demands for sharia law in the Swat Valley in February. There was no vote, no referendum, nothing. The government, tired of fighting those pesky militants who’ve been burning down Sufi shrines and local girls’ schools, just declared that a part of the country would be ruled no longer by federal law, but by a myopically interpreted and Taliban-approved “Islamic” code. And verily it shall be.
We’ve just had senate “elections”. Of course, there are no actual elections involved: the ruling party puts forward winners and they end up in parliament. On Monday, in a shock move, President Asif Ali Zardari’s former attorney, who defended the erstwhile criminal on corruption and murder charges, was made chairman of the senate. What a gas!
Meanwhile, with Delhi still beating war drums over the November Mumbai attacks, our former dictator/president Pervez Musharraf travelled to India recently, and there he warned our neighbours of an all-out war should they strike Pakistan. He also let us know that he is ready to return to the call of political duty. Outsiders might be confused at this change in the situation – what’s he doing there? Didn’t he resign in August? Here’s the beauty of it all: Musharraf’s re-emergence has many middle-class Pakistanis excited and hopeful. Is he back?! A series of op-eds in a local English newspaper (not highly censored because no one reads them) was titled “Why I miss Musharraf”. When a dictator tickles your fancy, you know something has gone very, very wrong.
So, the mood in Pakistan is one of confusion. How did we come to this? How do we get out?
On the eve of spring, it is the same problems that blight the country’s poor – there is no electricity, there is no potable water, and food inflation continues to rise. The newspapers warned us this week that “load shedding” in the summer will be some 15 hours long, which is not that bad considering the fact that we’re sitting in darkness for 12 hours a day now. Pakistan has long missed its millennium target goals of eradicating polio, largely because we can’t keep the electricity going long enough for the vaccines to be properly refrigerated, so they keep going bad. And we’re a nuclear country, a grossly corrupt one at that.
The press censorship continues unabated with future threats of an absolute blackout on any criticisms of the government safely enclosed within the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act that the parliament is currently sitting on. The bill, which imposes jail sentences from three months (for having an email account not registered in your real name) to the death penalty, and criminalises the acts of “spoofing”, “spamming” and “character assassinating”, will apply to the width and breadth of the country and to any person, regardless of nationality or citizenship. It will crack down on all objectionable – the definition of what is objectionable is typically vague – messages sent via, but not limited to, “electrical, digital, analogue, magnetic, optical, biochemical, electrochemical, electromechanical, electromagnetic, radio electric, and wireless technology”. So any subversive content found on cell phones, computers, or toasters will soon be illegal. Your head should be spinning by now.
Pakistan is in a dire situation. Religious extremism, violence and a faltering economy have made the state of affairs here decidedly grim. Joe Biden and John Kerry see American dollars as the only way of helping Pakistan stave off extremism; but Yankee aid donations and senatorial money will not help us now. It is estimated that President Zardari and his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, stole between $2bn and $3bn from the country’s treasury during their two previous stints in power. Now Zardari has claimed his personal wealth to be somewhere in the ballpark of $1.8bn. Nawaz Sharif, leading coalition partner and head of the Pakistan Muslim League, declared his fortune to be not as grand, at only $1.4bn. You do the maths.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Nawaz Sharif's Long March ! The War is between the Left and the Right !
All in a nutshell !
The war is between the Secular PPP-MQM-ANP on one side and PML(N)-JI on the other has the whole country reeling with turmoil.
The religious forces are loosing their grip on power after a clear drubbing by the Musharraf government for 9 years. JI is using PML(N) once a 'center right' party to get into the corridors of power. PML(Q) is on the fence Watching the show. Its clearly looking at Musharraf to join its ranks in 18 months. (Musharraf has to be out of politics for 2 years after leaving the army).
NAWAZ Sharif’s declaration, that matters will now be settled on the streets, and Raja Pervez Ashraf’s statement, that attempts at reconciliation have been abandoned, have taken the political crisis in the country to new heights.
Normally, parliament is the forum where political battles are fought. That is the democratic norm to which the PML-N continues to be publicly committed. However, Nawaz Sharif’ pronouncement indicates that the PML-N has jettisoned the parliamentary route and opted for flexing its muscles on the streets.
PML-N politics since Nawaz Sharif’s second return to the country has centered around an absolutely uncompromising one-point agenda -- the restoration of Iftikhar Chaudhry as Supreme Court chief justice. The judicial crisis is essentially a political issue and politics is the art of compromise. Adopting uncompromising positions is tantamount to creating a deadlock and that is precisely what the PML-N appears to have done. Certainly, the PPP has reneged on agreements and the imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab is indefensible; however, a refusal to negotiate on a give-and-take basis amounts to allowing force to prevail over democratic processes.
The current crisis is stated to have been triggered by the disqualification of the Sharif brothers and the imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab. However, the crisis can be said to have been initiated by the PML-N decision to participate in the lawyers’ long march. The PPP is in government at the centre and was in coalition with the PML-N in Punjab. In this context, the PML-N’s decision to march against the federal government of their provincial coalition partner sealed the fate of the Punjab provincial coalition government.
From the PPP’s perspective, the PML-N could not be expected to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. The PPP and its coalition partners in the federal government command a clear majority in the National Assembly and, from their perspective again, an opposition party in the centre cannot be allowed to dictate policy to the federal government, even if that party is the ruling party in one of the provinces. Two important coalition partners, the ANP and MQM, have publicly disassociated themselves from the lawyers’ movement with the former explicitly stating that the NWFP has other priorities.
However, the PML-N’s position cannot be dismissed out of hand, despite the questions it raises. The PML-N has chosen to place the restoration of Iftikhar Chaudhry above the imperatives of a serious economic crisis and the security challenges facing the state of Pakistan, with insurgents striking in Punjab as well, including in the heart of Lahore. It was perplexing to find that hours after the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore -- an event with international repercussions -- Shahbaz Sharif addressed a press conference and continued to dwell upon the issue of restoration of the judiciary. This single-minded pursuit of a one-point agenda to the exclusion of all else merits a closer analysis and explanation.
The answers to the conundrum can perhaps be found in the arithmetic of electoral results. It is pertinent to note that, despite being billed as one of the two national parties with Nawaz Sharif as a national leader, the PML-N has emerged in the 2008 elections as a regional party representing Punjab and Hazara. The party has no representation whatsoever at either the national or provincial levels in Sindh and Balochistan or from the majority Pakhtun areas of the NWFP. That PML-N has been able to carry forth its current campaign only in northern Punjab cities underlines its geographically narrow political base.
PML-N’s jettisoning of the parliamentary route can, therefore, be attributed to the fact that it does not command the numbers in the National Assembly and in the Senate to be able to possess an effective say in national decision-making. The recent Senate election underscored the PML-N’s marginalisation, except in Punjab. Its coalition status government in Punjab did provide it with a tenuous hold therein. However, seasoned power brokers know that real power rests in Islamabad. And having been in power for most of the last 30 years, Nawaz Sharif is fully aware of this reality. Of course, the PML-N can wait for the next elections due in 2013 to improve its electoral fortunes, but appears to be unwilling to sit out of the corridors of power for that long. This may explain its current confrontational extra-parliamentary politics.
The alleged unwillingness to remain in opposition for another four years also needs to be accounted for. Two explanations can be forwarded. One is that the Punjabi elite has held virtually absolute power since the military coup in 1977. However, the party configuration in parliament that the 2008 elections has thrown up has placed regional forces from Sindh, the NWFP and Balochistan in a decisive position and they are asserting their claims on state resources.
Resultantly, the Punjabi elite is no longer in a position to use its hitherto near-monopolistic influence in the federal government to sway resource-allocation decisions. And having thrown its weight behind the PML-N, it now finds itself on the wrong side of the power fence. Thus, its backing of the PML-N attempts to create centres of power outside parliament.
The other explanation for the PML-N’s alleged unwillingness to play the role of the parliamentary opposition for long can be found in the ideological composition of the PML-N and its allies. Many of the stalwarts of the PML-N have previously been affiliated with religious parties. These parties have now also allied themselves with the PML-N in the confrontation with the government in Islamabad. The PPP, ANP and MQM are perceived to be committed to a Pakistan that is free from religious bigotry. As such, the religious establishment too can be seen to be unwilling to tolerate, for the next four years, a government that is not only unsympathetic to their cause but is out to curb their influence. They do not want to risk seeing their gains since the Ziaul Haq days whittled away.
The battle lines are, therefore, drawn on two fronts. One divides the northern Punjab elite and the rest of the country; the other divides overt and covert proponents of varying degrees of religious theocracy and those who wish to see an enlightened society in the country. The present confrontation around Iftikhar Chaudhry’s reinstatement and the imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab, couched in moralistic terms, are mere symptoms of a deeper struggle for power and for control. Which way the conflict settles will decide the future of democracy in the country and of the country itself.
The war is between the Secular PPP-MQM-ANP on one side and PML(N)-JI on the other has the whole country reeling with turmoil.
The religious forces are loosing their grip on power after a clear drubbing by the Musharraf government for 9 years. JI is using PML(N) once a 'center right' party to get into the corridors of power. PML(Q) is on the fence Watching the show. Its clearly looking at Musharraf to join its ranks in 18 months. (Musharraf has to be out of politics for 2 years after leaving the army).
NAWAZ Sharif’s declaration, that matters will now be settled on the streets, and Raja Pervez Ashraf’s statement, that attempts at reconciliation have been abandoned, have taken the political crisis in the country to new heights.
Normally, parliament is the forum where political battles are fought. That is the democratic norm to which the PML-N continues to be publicly committed. However, Nawaz Sharif’ pronouncement indicates that the PML-N has jettisoned the parliamentary route and opted for flexing its muscles on the streets.
PML-N politics since Nawaz Sharif’s second return to the country has centered around an absolutely uncompromising one-point agenda -- the restoration of Iftikhar Chaudhry as Supreme Court chief justice. The judicial crisis is essentially a political issue and politics is the art of compromise. Adopting uncompromising positions is tantamount to creating a deadlock and that is precisely what the PML-N appears to have done. Certainly, the PPP has reneged on agreements and the imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab is indefensible; however, a refusal to negotiate on a give-and-take basis amounts to allowing force to prevail over democratic processes.
The current crisis is stated to have been triggered by the disqualification of the Sharif brothers and the imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab. However, the crisis can be said to have been initiated by the PML-N decision to participate in the lawyers’ long march. The PPP is in government at the centre and was in coalition with the PML-N in Punjab. In this context, the PML-N’s decision to march against the federal government of their provincial coalition partner sealed the fate of the Punjab provincial coalition government.
From the PPP’s perspective, the PML-N could not be expected to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. The PPP and its coalition partners in the federal government command a clear majority in the National Assembly and, from their perspective again, an opposition party in the centre cannot be allowed to dictate policy to the federal government, even if that party is the ruling party in one of the provinces. Two important coalition partners, the ANP and MQM, have publicly disassociated themselves from the lawyers’ movement with the former explicitly stating that the NWFP has other priorities.
However, the PML-N’s position cannot be dismissed out of hand, despite the questions it raises. The PML-N has chosen to place the restoration of Iftikhar Chaudhry above the imperatives of a serious economic crisis and the security challenges facing the state of Pakistan, with insurgents striking in Punjab as well, including in the heart of Lahore. It was perplexing to find that hours after the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore -- an event with international repercussions -- Shahbaz Sharif addressed a press conference and continued to dwell upon the issue of restoration of the judiciary. This single-minded pursuit of a one-point agenda to the exclusion of all else merits a closer analysis and explanation.
The answers to the conundrum can perhaps be found in the arithmetic of electoral results. It is pertinent to note that, despite being billed as one of the two national parties with Nawaz Sharif as a national leader, the PML-N has emerged in the 2008 elections as a regional party representing Punjab and Hazara. The party has no representation whatsoever at either the national or provincial levels in Sindh and Balochistan or from the majority Pakhtun areas of the NWFP. That PML-N has been able to carry forth its current campaign only in northern Punjab cities underlines its geographically narrow political base.
PML-N’s jettisoning of the parliamentary route can, therefore, be attributed to the fact that it does not command the numbers in the National Assembly and in the Senate to be able to possess an effective say in national decision-making. The recent Senate election underscored the PML-N’s marginalisation, except in Punjab. Its coalition status government in Punjab did provide it with a tenuous hold therein. However, seasoned power brokers know that real power rests in Islamabad. And having been in power for most of the last 30 years, Nawaz Sharif is fully aware of this reality. Of course, the PML-N can wait for the next elections due in 2013 to improve its electoral fortunes, but appears to be unwilling to sit out of the corridors of power for that long. This may explain its current confrontational extra-parliamentary politics.
The alleged unwillingness to remain in opposition for another four years also needs to be accounted for. Two explanations can be forwarded. One is that the Punjabi elite has held virtually absolute power since the military coup in 1977. However, the party configuration in parliament that the 2008 elections has thrown up has placed regional forces from Sindh, the NWFP and Balochistan in a decisive position and they are asserting their claims on state resources.
Resultantly, the Punjabi elite is no longer in a position to use its hitherto near-monopolistic influence in the federal government to sway resource-allocation decisions. And having thrown its weight behind the PML-N, it now finds itself on the wrong side of the power fence. Thus, its backing of the PML-N attempts to create centres of power outside parliament.
The other explanation for the PML-N’s alleged unwillingness to play the role of the parliamentary opposition for long can be found in the ideological composition of the PML-N and its allies. Many of the stalwarts of the PML-N have previously been affiliated with religious parties. These parties have now also allied themselves with the PML-N in the confrontation with the government in Islamabad. The PPP, ANP and MQM are perceived to be committed to a Pakistan that is free from religious bigotry. As such, the religious establishment too can be seen to be unwilling to tolerate, for the next four years, a government that is not only unsympathetic to their cause but is out to curb their influence. They do not want to risk seeing their gains since the Ziaul Haq days whittled away.
The battle lines are, therefore, drawn on two fronts. One divides the northern Punjab elite and the rest of the country; the other divides overt and covert proponents of varying degrees of religious theocracy and those who wish to see an enlightened society in the country. The present confrontation around Iftikhar Chaudhry’s reinstatement and the imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab, couched in moralistic terms, are mere symptoms of a deeper struggle for power and for control. Which way the conflict settles will decide the future of democracy in the country and of the country itself.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Musharraf Travels to India for Cathartic Debate
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf jousted with Indian questioners about how to improve one of the world's most dangerous relationships
NEW DELHI -- He came. He sparred. And in the end, he received a standing ovation from the combative crowd.
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who won power in Pakistan during a 1999 military coup and was ousted last summer, asked the Indian audience he spoke to Saturday to accept Pakistan. He appealed for India's help in curbing violent religious extremism, rather than demonizing Pakistan as a source for it. And he said he had come to India as "a man for peace," describing years of official and back-channel talks to settle sea and land border disputes that have plagued the two nations since they were formed by the bloody 1947 partition of British-ruled India.
In between a polite welcome and the warm conclusion, Mr. Musharraf also jousted with Indian questioners about how to improve one of the world's most dangerous relationships. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are burdened by a past that includes three wars, a present relationship strained from the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the looming prospect that a new strike could trigger another conflict.
Mr. Musharraf tried his best to steer the countries from confrontation, in a long discursive meditation about burying the past and tackling problems together.
"We have done enough damage to each other," he told a conference hosted by the news magazine India Today. "We should try for peace now, with equal zeal that we had confronting each other."
It was his first trip to India since being driven from power in August last year, and it comes at extremely delicate time. Pakistan's civilian government, led by the new president, Asif Ali Zardari, is embroiled in several crises -- including a violent militancy, a struggling economy and an energized political opposition.
Foreign governments fear that Pakistan's instability poses a threat to others. India, in particular, has been scathing.
"In Pakistan, with regret, I would say we don't know who is in control there -- whether it is the army or the president or the government,' ' the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram as saying Friday. "It is not a failed state, but it is threatening to become one." A home ministry spokesman couldn't be reached over the weekend to confirm his comments.
In late November, militants arrived in Mumbai from Pakistan, officials from both countries say, and a gun and grenade siege on hotels and restaurants left more than 170 dead. Last week, about a dozen gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket squad in the Pakistani city of Lahore, killing six policemen and two others before escaping. Critics of Pakistan say the attacks show its security forces are, at best, ineffective and, at worst, complicit in the attacks.
The former president and ex-army chief -- who oversaw a brief 1999 battle with Indian forces in the contested region of Kashmir -- rejected any official role in the attacks. He also jabbed back at critics.
When challenged about the role Pakistan's army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency played in fostering Islamic militants, Mr. Musharraf said there was plenty of evidence to show India's spy service, known as the Research and Analysis Wing, has helped antigovernment fighters in Pakistan.
'Your RAW does exactly to us what our ISI does to you," he said.
Mr. Musharraf has kept a low profile since his ouster. He seldom speaks to the media in Pakistan, and has avoided criticizing the current government. His public appearances overseas have been rare. But on Saturday, the 65-year old retired general, wearing a business suit with a tie of deep purple, seemed to relish being back in the spotlight.
"I can go on for ten hours," he said at one point.
Mr. Musharraf made the trip despite friends, and his daughter, urging him to cancel because of hostilities between the two countries. Late into the night, though, both the speaker and his crowd seemed to recognize the cathartic nature of the debate. Even skeptics of his arguments gave him credit for showing up.
"It was a brave attempt," said Deepak Kapoor, managing partner in India of PricewaterhouseCoop ers Pvt. Ltd.
An Indian foreign ministry spokesman said there were no official meetings planned for Mr. Musharraf. Before his departure from Pakistan Friday, Mr. Musharraf said he may meet with former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, his counterpart in some of the peace talks.
He gave few clues about his own future. Although he said he was enjoying his retirement, Mr. Musharraf didn't rule out a return to public life. He allowed that he would be interested in a peace-brokering role between the two nations, when it was suggested by a questioner. Some in the audience admitted to nostalgia for a Pakistani leader clearly in charge of the country.
"He's received a fantastic reception," said Venu Nayar, a sales director for a petrochemical company. "We Indians have very short memories.
NEW DELHI -- He came. He sparred. And in the end, he received a standing ovation from the combative crowd.
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who won power in Pakistan during a 1999 military coup and was ousted last summer, asked the Indian audience he spoke to Saturday to accept Pakistan. He appealed for India's help in curbing violent religious extremism, rather than demonizing Pakistan as a source for it. And he said he had come to India as "a man for peace," describing years of official and back-channel talks to settle sea and land border disputes that have plagued the two nations since they were formed by the bloody 1947 partition of British-ruled India.
In between a polite welcome and the warm conclusion, Mr. Musharraf also jousted with Indian questioners about how to improve one of the world's most dangerous relationships. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are burdened by a past that includes three wars, a present relationship strained from the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the looming prospect that a new strike could trigger another conflict.
Mr. Musharraf tried his best to steer the countries from confrontation, in a long discursive meditation about burying the past and tackling problems together.
"We have done enough damage to each other," he told a conference hosted by the news magazine India Today. "We should try for peace now, with equal zeal that we had confronting each other."
It was his first trip to India since being driven from power in August last year, and it comes at extremely delicate time. Pakistan's civilian government, led by the new president, Asif Ali Zardari, is embroiled in several crises -- including a violent militancy, a struggling economy and an energized political opposition.
Foreign governments fear that Pakistan's instability poses a threat to others. India, in particular, has been scathing.
"In Pakistan, with regret, I would say we don't know who is in control there -- whether it is the army or the president or the government,' ' the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram as saying Friday. "It is not a failed state, but it is threatening to become one." A home ministry spokesman couldn't be reached over the weekend to confirm his comments.
In late November, militants arrived in Mumbai from Pakistan, officials from both countries say, and a gun and grenade siege on hotels and restaurants left more than 170 dead. Last week, about a dozen gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket squad in the Pakistani city of Lahore, killing six policemen and two others before escaping. Critics of Pakistan say the attacks show its security forces are, at best, ineffective and, at worst, complicit in the attacks.
The former president and ex-army chief -- who oversaw a brief 1999 battle with Indian forces in the contested region of Kashmir -- rejected any official role in the attacks. He also jabbed back at critics.
When challenged about the role Pakistan's army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency played in fostering Islamic militants, Mr. Musharraf said there was plenty of evidence to show India's spy service, known as the Research and Analysis Wing, has helped antigovernment fighters in Pakistan.
'Your RAW does exactly to us what our ISI does to you," he said.
Mr. Musharraf has kept a low profile since his ouster. He seldom speaks to the media in Pakistan, and has avoided criticizing the current government. His public appearances overseas have been rare. But on Saturday, the 65-year old retired general, wearing a business suit with a tie of deep purple, seemed to relish being back in the spotlight.
"I can go on for ten hours," he said at one point.
Mr. Musharraf made the trip despite friends, and his daughter, urging him to cancel because of hostilities between the two countries. Late into the night, though, both the speaker and his crowd seemed to recognize the cathartic nature of the debate. Even skeptics of his arguments gave him credit for showing up.
"It was a brave attempt," said Deepak Kapoor, managing partner in India of PricewaterhouseCoop ers Pvt. Ltd.
An Indian foreign ministry spokesman said there were no official meetings planned for Mr. Musharraf. Before his departure from Pakistan Friday, Mr. Musharraf said he may meet with former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, his counterpart in some of the peace talks.
He gave few clues about his own future. Although he said he was enjoying his retirement, Mr. Musharraf didn't rule out a return to public life. He allowed that he would be interested in a peace-brokering role between the two nations, when it was suggested by a questioner. Some in the audience admitted to nostalgia for a Pakistani leader clearly in charge of the country.
"He's received a fantastic reception," said Venu Nayar, a sales director for a petrochemical company. "We Indians have very short memories.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Pakistan-based US drones ‘nothing new’
* Excerpts from news reports reveal Predators have operated from Pakistan for years
Karachi: Contrary to the impression being created by the media and the Los Angeles Times in particular, the fact that Predator drones were based in Pakistan has long been public, a US-based website has claimed.
The blogger points to the following news stories accessible on the Internet:
New York Times, 6 November 2002: “In any offensive against Iraq, the air force would probably use Predators flying from Ali Al-Salem Air Base, Kuwait, military officials said. The Predators flying over Afghanistan have operated from an air base in Jacobabad, Pakistan.”
CNN, 1 January 2003: “In a separate development, a US surveillance plane crashed on Wednesday in southern Pakistan, shortly after takeoff. There were no injuries or damage on the ground.”
“Jacobabad police chief said the drone crashed about seven kilometers from Jacobabad because of technical reasons.”
RAND Corporation report, 2004: “Pakistan provided the US access to numerous military bases and helped establish facilities including Intermediate Staging Bases at Jacobabad, Pasni, Dalbandin and Shamsi; Predator basing at Jacobabad and Shamsi, and access to other bases used by over 50 aircraft and 2,000 coalition military personnel at these locales.”
Washington Post, 27 March 2008: “Musharraf, who controls the country’s military forces, has long approved US military strikes on his own. But senior officials in Pakistan’s leading parties are now warning that such unilateral attacks – including the Predator strikes launched from bases near Islamabad and Jacobabad in Pakistan – could be curtailed.”
The News International (Pakistan), 27 October 2008: “In the early days of our entering the US “war on terror”, we offered certain bases of which Jacobabad had been apparently returned over two years ago. As for the Shamsi base in Balochistan where there are Predators, one can assume that the US would find it tempting to target Iran from this prime location.”
The Wikipedia entry on Jacobabad reads: “Pakistan agreed to an American request for a long-term, logistics and support base at the Shahbaz Air Base in Jacobabad following 9/11. The US forces, mainly from its air force, were stationed there from October 2001 to November 2004. Units active during this period included a Predator UAV squadron, a C-130 airlift squadron, a CSAR detachment, and associated support units.”
Karachi: Contrary to the impression being created by the media and the Los Angeles Times in particular, the fact that Predator drones were based in Pakistan has long been public, a US-based website has claimed.
The blogger points to the following news stories accessible on the Internet:
New York Times, 6 November 2002: “In any offensive against Iraq, the air force would probably use Predators flying from Ali Al-Salem Air Base, Kuwait, military officials said. The Predators flying over Afghanistan have operated from an air base in Jacobabad, Pakistan.”
CNN, 1 January 2003: “In a separate development, a US surveillance plane crashed on Wednesday in southern Pakistan, shortly after takeoff. There were no injuries or damage on the ground.”
“Jacobabad police chief said the drone crashed about seven kilometers from Jacobabad because of technical reasons.”
RAND Corporation report, 2004: “Pakistan provided the US access to numerous military bases and helped establish facilities including Intermediate Staging Bases at Jacobabad, Pasni, Dalbandin and Shamsi; Predator basing at Jacobabad and Shamsi, and access to other bases used by over 50 aircraft and 2,000 coalition military personnel at these locales.”
Washington Post, 27 March 2008: “Musharraf, who controls the country’s military forces, has long approved US military strikes on his own. But senior officials in Pakistan’s leading parties are now warning that such unilateral attacks – including the Predator strikes launched from bases near Islamabad and Jacobabad in Pakistan – could be curtailed.”
The News International (Pakistan), 27 October 2008: “In the early days of our entering the US “war on terror”, we offered certain bases of which Jacobabad had been apparently returned over two years ago. As for the Shamsi base in Balochistan where there are Predators, one can assume that the US would find it tempting to target Iran from this prime location.”
The Wikipedia entry on Jacobabad reads: “Pakistan agreed to an American request for a long-term, logistics and support base at the Shahbaz Air Base in Jacobabad following 9/11. The US forces, mainly from its air force, were stationed there from October 2001 to November 2004. Units active during this period included a Predator UAV squadron, a C-130 airlift squadron, a CSAR detachment, and associated support units.”
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Coke has a rival. RSS's cow urine cola !
Coke has a rival: RSS's cow urine colaGujarat coast becomes virtual war zoneElements in India helped carry out 26/11: Pa...Don't attack us please, UK ads to say on Pak...More 26/11 if India attacks Pak, threatens a...US won't allow safe havens for terrorists in...
Vajpayee's condition stableBapu's ethos found only in Sangh Parivar...No one can shake BJP's faith in Lord Ram...
Dehradun The RSS has found something to give the popular colas and cold drinks a run for their money: bovine urine. The Sangh's Cow Protection Department is planning to produce a soft drink with this magic ingredient as base, and believes it will sweep the market.
The head of the Hardwar-based department, Om Prakash, said: "We refer to gau ark (cow urine) as gau jal (cow water) as it has immense potential to cure various diseases. We have developed a soft drink formula with gau jal as the base and it has been sent to a laboratory at Lucknow for testing."
Once the tests show positive results, he added, the department will think about its packaging, preservation and marketing.
While the RSS is at the task alone right now, once the drink is ready to be taken to the market, the Cow Protection Department might seek the help of the Uttarakhand Government in the operations.
"It will be a revolution of sorts. The acceptance of cow urine as a potent medicine is increasing day by day and once it comes as a cold drink, its demand will definitely increase," Prakash claimed.
Stating that several colas are harmful to the extent that they can be substituted for pesticides, he asserted that their soft drink with cow urine will not only be natural but cost-effective too. "In addition to this, it will prove and justify the high stature accorded to a cow in Indian culture."
Cow urine, in fact, ranks quite high on the RSS list of priorities. "We discuss its importance at various meetings and public programmes. We have also been circulating pamphlets about its medicinal value," said Om Prakash, who has been actively involved in the task of cow protection and promoting bovine urine for the last four decades.
He names products ranging from toothpaste, shampoo, soap, face powder and shaving lotion to balm, biscuits, incense sticks, phenyl, mosquito coils and distemper which are being made from cow urine and cow dung.
He asserts that tiles made up of cow dung have been found to be fire - and water-resistant and can ward off radiation.
Vajpayee's condition stableBapu's ethos found only in Sangh Parivar...No one can shake BJP's faith in Lord Ram...
Dehradun The RSS has found something to give the popular colas and cold drinks a run for their money: bovine urine. The Sangh's Cow Protection Department is planning to produce a soft drink with this magic ingredient as base, and believes it will sweep the market.
The head of the Hardwar-based department, Om Prakash, said: "We refer to gau ark (cow urine) as gau jal (cow water) as it has immense potential to cure various diseases. We have developed a soft drink formula with gau jal as the base and it has been sent to a laboratory at Lucknow for testing."
Once the tests show positive results, he added, the department will think about its packaging, preservation and marketing.
While the RSS is at the task alone right now, once the drink is ready to be taken to the market, the Cow Protection Department might seek the help of the Uttarakhand Government in the operations.
"It will be a revolution of sorts. The acceptance of cow urine as a potent medicine is increasing day by day and once it comes as a cold drink, its demand will definitely increase," Prakash claimed.
Stating that several colas are harmful to the extent that they can be substituted for pesticides, he asserted that their soft drink with cow urine will not only be natural but cost-effective too. "In addition to this, it will prove and justify the high stature accorded to a cow in Indian culture."
Cow urine, in fact, ranks quite high on the RSS list of priorities. "We discuss its importance at various meetings and public programmes. We have also been circulating pamphlets about its medicinal value," said Om Prakash, who has been actively involved in the task of cow protection and promoting bovine urine for the last four decades.
He names products ranging from toothpaste, shampoo, soap, face powder and shaving lotion to balm, biscuits, incense sticks, phenyl, mosquito coils and distemper which are being made from cow urine and cow dung.
He asserts that tiles made up of cow dung have been found to be fire - and water-resistant and can ward off radiation.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Senate Elections :PPP, PML-N, PML-Qand MQM jostle to make alliances
PML-N left out in the cold by tactical PPP maneuvering !
Ishartul Ebad being accorded the slot of Senate Chairman, and City Nazim Mustafa Kamal being given the slot of Sindh Governor.
The Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have started manoeuvring for making new alliances in preparation for Senate elections which are due in March.
Sources said that the Pakistan Muslim League — Quaid (PML-Q), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the PPP are likely to form an alliance and efforts would be made to extend more cooperation to the MQM. Sources said this would be done to thwart attempts from the PML-N to launch a political campaign in PPP-dominated Sindh.
PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif is expected to visit Sindh before the Senate elections to mount political pressure on the PPP. It may be noted that National Reconciliation Bureau (NRB) Chairman Dr Asim Hussain has arranged a meeting in Dubai between President Asif Ali Zardari, federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Ghauri (from the MQM) and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of the PML-Q. Besides, they are also in touch with MQM chief Altaf Hussain in London.
Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, who often plays the role of mediator, is expected to reach Dubai in the next 24 hours.
Sources said that this emerging alliance is also meant to counter any political reaction or pressure from the PML-N, and the PPP was not leaving any option open regarding the court judgment in the Nawaz Sharif case. On the other hand, sources said, the Saudi government was trying to enact some rapprochement between the PPP and the PML-N, because during his recent visit a Saudi prince had met Zardari and Sharif to bring them closer.
Moreover, a leading UAE figure, Nasir Loota, has close relations with President Zardari and he had recently met him at the President House in Islamabad. Sources further said that the PML-N was also trying to make a new alliance for which it contacted Jamat-e-Islami Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and nationalist parties.
The visit of Governor Punjab Salman Taseer to Karachi and his meetings with MQM leaders was also meant to mount pressure on the PML-N before the Senate elections. There is also speculation about the likelihood of Ishartul Ebad being accorded the slot of Senate Chairman, and City Nazim Mustafa Kamal being given the slot of Sindh Governor. Dr Hussain is also one of the candidates for the post of Sindh governor but he may also be vying for a Senate seat.
An MQM spokesman said they were waiting for the outcome of the Dubai meeting. Meanwhile, the statement of the Punjab governor during his recent visit to Karachi, where he categorically stated that the PPP government would not roll back the local government system, conveyed a good message to the MQM.
Ishartul Ebad being accorded the slot of Senate Chairman, and City Nazim Mustafa Kamal being given the slot of Sindh Governor.
The Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have started manoeuvring for making new alliances in preparation for Senate elections which are due in March.
Sources said that the Pakistan Muslim League — Quaid (PML-Q), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the PPP are likely to form an alliance and efforts would be made to extend more cooperation to the MQM. Sources said this would be done to thwart attempts from the PML-N to launch a political campaign in PPP-dominated Sindh.
PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif is expected to visit Sindh before the Senate elections to mount political pressure on the PPP. It may be noted that National Reconciliation Bureau (NRB) Chairman Dr Asim Hussain has arranged a meeting in Dubai between President Asif Ali Zardari, federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Ghauri (from the MQM) and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of the PML-Q. Besides, they are also in touch with MQM chief Altaf Hussain in London.
Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, who often plays the role of mediator, is expected to reach Dubai in the next 24 hours.
Sources said that this emerging alliance is also meant to counter any political reaction or pressure from the PML-N, and the PPP was not leaving any option open regarding the court judgment in the Nawaz Sharif case. On the other hand, sources said, the Saudi government was trying to enact some rapprochement between the PPP and the PML-N, because during his recent visit a Saudi prince had met Zardari and Sharif to bring them closer.
Moreover, a leading UAE figure, Nasir Loota, has close relations with President Zardari and he had recently met him at the President House in Islamabad. Sources further said that the PML-N was also trying to make a new alliance for which it contacted Jamat-e-Islami Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and nationalist parties.
The visit of Governor Punjab Salman Taseer to Karachi and his meetings with MQM leaders was also meant to mount pressure on the PML-N before the Senate elections. There is also speculation about the likelihood of Ishartul Ebad being accorded the slot of Senate Chairman, and City Nazim Mustafa Kamal being given the slot of Sindh Governor. Dr Hussain is also one of the candidates for the post of Sindh governor but he may also be vying for a Senate seat.
An MQM spokesman said they were waiting for the outcome of the Dubai meeting. Meanwhile, the statement of the Punjab governor during his recent visit to Karachi, where he categorically stated that the PPP government would not roll back the local government system, conveyed a good message to the MQM.
Monday, February 2, 2009
India wary of Obama’s South Asia focus
* Potential problems to US-India ties include Obama’s approaches to Kashmir dispute, terrorism
* New Delhi keeping its fingers crossed ahead of Holbrooke’s visit to region
NEW DELHI: With US President Barack Obama still in the early days of his presidency, India is keeping a wary eye on policy changes that could irritate what has become a key strategic relationship.
These include the new president’s approaches to terrorism and the Kashmir dispute. “When it came to India, (former president) Bush was exceptional. Whenever any matter on India reached him, Bush overruled his team to address Indian concerns,” said former Indian ambassador to Washington Naresh Chandra. “I don’t think we can expect that kind of personal commitment (from Obama) though all his statements are in line with whatever objectives India holds dear. One has to see how the general is translated into specifics,” he added.
New Delhi is also keeping its fingers crossed ahead of an expected South Asia visit in February by Richard Holbrooke, named special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In an interview with Time magazine, Obama, as president-elect, was quoted as saying the “most important thing we’re going to have to do with respect to Afghanistan is actually deal with Pakistan”. “We should try to resolve the Kashmir crisis so that Pakistan can stay focused ... not on India but on the situation with those militants,” he added.
“It is an open secret that Holbrooke’s original brief included India,” noted Siddarth Varadarajan, strategic affairs editor of the Hindu paper, in an article last week.
However, “silent but strenuous” diplomacy, including strong signals that “any appointment which smacked of linkage with Kashmir would be seen as an unfriendly act” ensured Holbrooke’s brief finally excluded India, he added.
C Raja Mohan, professor at Singapore’s Nanyang University, agreed that it was in ‘deference’ to India that Kashmir was not part of Holbrooke’s responsibilities but “reworking the India-Pakistan relationship will be an inevitable and important component of his initiative”. “It will be a pity if India does not grasp this historic opportunity because its leaders lack either the self-assurance or the strategic imagination to leverage Obama’s South Asia initiative,” Mohan said.
New Delhi-based analyst Uday Bhaskar agreed that engaging Washington was “more of an opportunity” than a challenge. “There is a convergence (between New Delhi and Washington) that terrorism in the region has to be dealt with. The divergence lies in the fact that according to India, the Pakistan military is the problem.
“Until recently, Washington used to see it as part of the solution.
“It’s only on the Obama watch that there appears to be the beginning of a radical review of the role played by the Pakistan military in abetting terror,” he added, noting that Washington had linked aid to Pakistan with delivery on promises to crack down on militants operating on its soil. afp
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