The internal jihadi politics in FATA

New Afghan policy & Fata politics

By Syed Irfan Ashraf & Shaukat Khattak
Tuesday, 31 Mar, 2009 (Dawn)

WHAT will be the outcome of the Obama administration’s new policy on Afghanistan and what impact will it have on the western borders of Pakistan? This is the billion-dollar question for all stakeholders in the war on terror including the Fata warlords.

The militants have already devised a strategy of ‘readjustment and relocation’ to strengthen Fata as the first line of defence. Accordingly, they wind up their makeshift settlements — from where terror emanates — in the less strategic areas of the tribal belt and relocate to their strong bases in North and South Waziristan. The warlords are united in their stand and are seemingly more focused on their target across the border.

Insiders say it took one month for an eight-member Taliban delegation from Afghanistan to reconcile with the militants in Fata and make them agree on a one-point agenda — to launch a united front against the allied forces under the leadership of Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and to stop activities inside Pakistan. Under the agreement, key players of the tribal theatre, Maulvi Nazir, Gul Bahadur and Baitullah Mehsud, agreed to serve the ‘larger cause’ under the banner of Shura Ittehadul-Mujahideen (Council for Unity of Mujahideen).

This significant development on the western borders went unnoticed due to tensions between India and Pakistan following last November’s Mumbai attacks.

Analysts believe that the new power adjustment alone would have served little purpose. In fact, it required ending the standoff with the security forces, at least temporarily, so that militants engaged in the north of Peshawar could be relocated to the south of Fata. In fact, as one analyst explained, the idea was to position “militants on this side [Fata] of the Durand Line before US reinforcements arrived on the other”.

For this purpose, peace deals were reached with the government and tension defused in Swat and Bajaur Agency. No deal has been made in Dara Adam Khel and Mohmand Agency because there has been no intense fighting in these areas. But Orakzai Agency, which does not share a border with Afghanistan, is close to North Waziristan and does not pose problems for militants moving across the border through North Waziristan.

Given the inter-tribal rivalries among the three militant leaders, there is astonishment at their decision to come together to work towards a common goal. Although there is kinship between the Wazir and Mehsud tribes, the latter had not been able to overcome their differences.

In the mid-1970s, tensions ran high when the Waziri ulema declared jihad against the Mehsuds after scores of Waziris were killed during a dispute. The main bazaar in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, was demolished resulting in the Waziris’ incurring losses to the tune of millions of rupees. Intermittently, the Waziris in North and South Waziristan launched a joint front against the Mehsuds in South Waziristan. These had been classified as tribal feuds.

The US invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent army operation in Waziristan gave power and direction to the otherwise small pockets of jihadis, instantly changing the social and political dynamics of the area. Jihadi warlords overpowered traditional tribal power centres by playing on the anger and zeal of the younger generation.

Although nurturing a common resentment against the ‘infidels’, until recently, the Waziris and Mehsud militants did not let go of their mutual rivalry and refused to make compromises to end tribal differences. Rarely did they spare each other when it came to settling old scores.

The same was true of Maulvi Nazir and Gul Bahadur, both warlords from the Wazir tribe and with centres of influence in South and North Waziristan respectively. However, they stuck to their tribal affinities and stood united against their rival Baitullah, representing the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan.

In 2007, Baitullah Mehsud embraced the Uzbek militants after the pro-government Maulvi Nazir flushed them out of his headquarters in Wana. Later, Baitullah Mehsud allegedly used the Uzbeks to inflict heavy damages on Nazir. In 2008, the Uzbeks killed 15 militants when they attacked the offices of Nazir in Shakai and Wana. Nazir received another blow when the Uzbeks killed his top aide, Haji Khanan. This led Maulvi Nazir to broker an alliance with Gul Bahadur against Baitullah in North Waziristan and also to seek support from the Turkistan Bitani tribe.

This tactical move cornered Baitullah. Geographically, the Mehsud warlord was de-linked from the Waziri-dominated strategic borders along Afghanistan in the south and northwest, while the routes via the eastern mainland were controlled by his opponents, the Bitani tribe. State agencies, also part of power politics in Fata, supported the Nazir alliance against Baitullah. Despite hard times, the shrewd Baitullah continued to fuel militancy in other tribal agencies through the areas controlled by the Davar tribe in North Waziristan, bypassing the Waziris in North and South Waziristan.

However, such deep-rooted differences between the Mehsud and Waziri warlords and their greed for power did not prevent the alliance that was formed in the short span of a month. As mentioned earlier, the formation of the alliance has been strongly influenced by the Taliban network in Afghanistan. This network has a considerable role in the power politics of Fata. But this hobnobbing is not limited to the tribal belt. Inner circles of the ANP also blame unknown elements for the ongoing developments in the conflict zones of the NWFP. It was under these compulsions, they said, that the NWFP government reached an agreement with the militants in Swat. Does the deadly game really cover so much ground?

Observers fear that if militants are united on both sides of the divide, it would be difficult to expect the allied forces to honour their commitment along Pakistan’s western boundaries. Predictably, Obama’s new strategy, if followed, would lead to a war in Pakhtun lands where an organised culture of militancy is ready to tackle the enemy.

The US needs to reflect on the policy before implementing it in Afghanistan. Eight years in Afghanistan has brought them no gains and they will not make any from a new misadventure. There will be only bloodshed and misery as there is no exit from this deadly war theatre. At least, that is what history has taught us so far.

shaukatkhattak@gmail.com, syedirfanashraf@gmail.com
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Hamid Akhtar: 'Soft Islamic revoluion' is a better approach to confront Talibanisation.

Express, 30-31 March 2009
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Mosharraf Zaidi: Counter-terrorism through the civil service

The attack on the Lahore police training facility yesterday, which as of the time of this article's writing had not ended, should wake Pakistan up. There is an existential monster that Pakistanis are unable to acknowledge because of the weakness of their Muslim faith. This weakness is exacerbated by the average Pakistani Muslim's dependence on unholy mullahs whose money-ing by General Zia, radical Saudis, and the joint efforts of the CIA and the ISI is now proving to be the single gravest threat to the sustainability of Pakistan as an operational entity.

The ostrich-like reaction to terrorism is driven by the average Pakistani's inability to debate the mullah, and an unwillingness to invest the effort and time required to tame that mullah. Abandoned and let loose by the "shurafa" that once were able to tame the mullah, and to speak his language, the mullah's new master--the comfort of Land Cruisers and bottled water--has no scruples.

In the long run, Pakistan cannot be saved until Pakistan's Muslims take back the mosque. This is not a call to start performing qawwalis in mosques. The faux religiosity of hashish-smoking rock-and-rollers pretending to be holier than thou is as much of a scam as the faux religiosity of mullahs insisting that they are the gatekeepers of Paradise. You cannot win the culture wars against orthodoxy with pseudo-Sufism, any more than the Dixie Chicks can win the culture wars against Mike Huckabee and the righteous American right. You can however beat the orthodoxy with the language of faith. There is, quite simply, no basis in Sharia for any of the violence that has been spawned, financed and executed by the monsters that the world's best intelligence agencies--whatever country they may be from--helped incubate. To expect those same agencies to somehow know how to conquer a monster to which they are beholden is ridiculous.

But how are Pakistan's Muslims supposed to take back the mosque when they are scared of going to them? This is the twisted core objective of the terrorists, to completely monopolise religion, and to use that space to pursue their real agenda. And what is their real agenda?

Watching video of Sufi Mohammed make his way from Swat to Peshawar in a jeep marked with the number plate "TSNM - 1" was instructive. The spectacle was only marginally comical. It provided the strangest of insights into Pakistan. The TSNM just wants the piece of pie that it has watched young ACs, DCs, DCOs, SSPs, MNAs, MPAs, DPOs and, yes, even NGOs enjoy to the fullest. It wants the full fruits of state protocol. It wants the flashing lights at the head of the convoy. It wants that the road should clear and traffic should split, in a manner reminiscent of the Prophet Moses parting the River Nile by the grace and kind mercy of the Good Lord. The TSMN just wants the same goodies that the Brahmin bureaucrats, cops and politicians have enjoyed from the comfort of their air-conditioned offices and cars for a long, long time. So we should really call what has happened in Swat, for what it really is. It's the Brahminsation of the shudra mullah. And that explains the outrage of the wannabe-elite bureaucrats at Pakistan's deteriorating security situation. At its heart beats insecurity. The shudras are trying to take away their black Corollas, their multiple mobile phones, and their vast caches of cash, lying at the bottom of the rent-seeking pyramid.

How do these merchants of fear and slaughter earn the legitimacy to demand and win such concessions, both from the people and from the state?

Largely on the back of the illegitimacy of those that have been enjoying state privilege and protocol. It does not take a genius for a local mullah to point the finger and demonise a twenty-something assistant commissioner, who is more enamoured by his Blackberry than the problems his "subjects" face, never attends the mosque, except Fridays, and is so genuinely sure of himself that he can't look the common folk in the eye. It does not take much to delegitimise an MPA whose road scheme only benefits the village he is from, and the farmland that belongs to his father. It does not take much to delegitimise a police official who is seen to be corrupt and in cahoots with troublesome patwaris. The rot at the bottom is gently and carefully nurtured by the top of the local administrative structures in this country.

Local administration is in fact a great example of the myopia that plagues Pakistan's bureaucrats. The real battle over decentralisation, tragically, is that retired one-time DCs and commissioners are so enamoured with their lifetimes of administrative failure that they want their heirs (both genetic and cadre-based) to retain magistracy powers. It is an unmitigated disgrace that crusty old retired bureaucrats somehow burrow their way into the right ear of political leaders to pursue the narrowest of personal agendas.

The separation of magisterial powers from the administrative functions of the district coordination officer (DCO) is a cause of searing pain for the District Management Group (DMG). It is the one thing Gen Musharraf did that was truly intolerable for the DMG and their predecessor CSP cadres. The General's demolition job on the Constitution does not bother a strapping young DMG lad as much as the taking away of judicial powers that were once vested in the twenty-something boy. This self-centred ethos of the Pakistani civil service, personified by the DMG, but shared across all occupational groups, is ripping the heart out of the state's capacity to deal with the demonic attacks on this country's people, such as the one in Lahore yesterday.

This is not to suggest that the bureaucracy is in any way not capable of doing its job. Quite the contrary, in fact. Even after the 1974 Bhutto reforms and their devastating effects on the perception of the civil services as a viable career option for Pakistan's best and brightest young people, civil servants tend to be tremendously resourceful individuals. Indeed, at the individual level, it is usually hard to find really mediocre people occupying really important civil-service positions. And perhaps that's just the problem. A Darwinian process of elimination pushes the best people to the top, or it flushes the best people right out of the system. Out of the system, trained civil servants end up serving the narrow interests of whichever donor is willing to pay them the most money. Within the system, the best civil servants spend 20 hours a day serving the strange and sometimes sordid needs of political masters who don't deserve to sit at the same table as some of their officers, to say nothing of ordering them around. By the time a capable, gold-plated, honest civil servant gets to a position where he can make a real difference, fatigue, cynicism and the competition for good officers between provinces, departments, ministries and the donors conspire to render them useful only in the narrow realm of administrative efficiency.

As bad as Pakistan's bureaucracy has behaved over the years, the irony is that it is the last line of defence for this country. If the terrorists are able to demoralise, demonise and destabilise the civil service backbone of this country, there will be little but the courage of ordinary citizens standing in the way of the Taliban. While the Taliban will be devastated at discovering just how much the Pakistani people possess of that elusive thing we call courage, we should expect more of our political leaders and their leveraging of civil servants.

President Asif Ali Zardari has once again fallen for his advisers' flights of fancy, proposing an 80,000-strong national force to counter terrorism. This is a divergent tactic that must stop. Pakistan doesn't need new structures. It needs the strengthening of structures that exist. There are, after all, capable and honest officers out there, from Azam Suleman Khan, to Tariq Khosa, to Suleman Ghani, to Fazalur Rehman, to Kaleem Imam. It is unbelievable that there aren't more of the same kind of civil servants out there. There are. Politicians need to stop playing games and start finding and investing in these officers. Time is running out.


The writer is an independent political economist www.mosharrafzaidi.com

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 (The News)
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Mehsud claims responsibility of Manawan attack

March 31, 2009

PESHAWAR: The chief of Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, on Tuesday took responsibility for an attack on a police academy in Lahore.

"Yes, we have carried out this attack. I will give details later," Mehsud, an al Qaeda-linked leader based in Waziristan tribal region told foreign news agency (Reuters) by telephone.

On Monday, Interior Advisor Rehman Malik in a press conference point out the involvement of Baitullah Mehsud in Manawan attack.




Why are the Ziaists in Pakistan, the supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami and Imran Khan, in a state of denial?

Pakistan under attack

Dawn Editorial
Tuesday, 31 Mar, 2009

It should be clear by now that we are at war with ourselves as the enemy within grows more audacious by the day. Yet there are educated people in this country who continue to blame American foreign policy and the ever-potent ‘foreign hand’ for the wave of terrorism sweeping the country. This argument is deeply flawed on several counts.

For one thing, the Pakistani state threw its weight behind America’s Afghan policy in the late ’70s and after 9/11, and as such we are equally responsible for the fallout. It is also common knowledge that Pakistani intelligence agencies once provided logistical support to militant organisations that could further our ‘strategic depth’ interests in Kashmir and across the Durand Line.

It is argued that those behind the storming of the police training centre in Lahore on Monday, and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team earlier this month, were so sophisticated in their methods that they must necessarily have had the backing of a foreign power. Such reasoning overlooks the fact that those who were freedom fighters a few years ago and are now labelled as terrorists were trained by the best in the business.

Let us assume for a moment, even if the truth lies elsewhere, that the terrorists who attacked Lahore on Monday were in the pay of an antagonistic neighbour. Does that absolve the Punjab government and the Pakistani state of the charge of gross negligence? Does it in any way disprove those who maintain that such incidents point to monumental intelligence failures and security lapses? It doesn’t matter who the paymasters might be.

What we have now are Pakistanis killing Pakistanis, Muslims killing Muslims. And while we are at it, let us discard once and for all the absurd notion that the people who carry out such dastardly acts cannot possibly be Muslims. They are Muslims. In fact, these terrorists and militants consider themselves to be far truer Muslims than those who oppose them.

The militants involved in Monday’s siege may have been overcome but it is time to hammer out a political and social consensus on this issue. It is time to show the kind of fervour the obscurantists demonstrate in abundance but the well-meaning couch in carefully chosen words. This is a fight and it cannot be won without throwing punches.

The country’s mainstream political parties need to draw a line in the sand and show the people, with no room for ambiguity, where they stand in this battle for the soul of Pakistan. The religio-political parties must also make their positions clear. President Obama says that US ground forces will not enter Pakistan. We would be well advised to not give them the chance. If we can’t do the job ourselves, others might do it for us. And that way lies disaster.

.....

حملوں ہم نے کیے ہیں: بیت اللہ محسود

ہارون رشید

بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، اسلام آباد

کالعدم تحریکِ طالبان پاکستان کے سربراہ بیت اللہ محسود نے لاہور میں پولیس کے تربیتی مرکز پر حملے کے علاوہ بنوں میں فوجی قافلے اور اسلام آباد میں سپیشل برانچ پر ہوئے تینوں حملوں کی ذمہ داری قبول کر لی ہے۔

لاہور کے نواحی علاقے مناواں میں واقع پولیس کے تربیتی مرکز پر پیر کی صبح سات بجے کے قریب متعدد مسلح افراد نے حملہ کیا تھا اور پولیس کمانڈوز ساڑھے آٹھ گھنٹے کے آپریشن کے بعد دہشت گردوں پر قابو پانے میں کامیاب ہوئے اور تربیتی سینٹر کی عمارت کو خالی کرا لیا گیا۔ اس آپریشن میں آٹھ پولیس اہلکار اور چار دہشت گرد ہلاک جبکہ سو کے قریب افراد زخمی ہوئے۔

کسی نامعلوم مقام سے بی بی سی سے ٹیلیفون پر بات کرتے ہوئے بیت اللہ محسود کا کہنا تھا کا ان کے گروپ کی کارروائیاں قبائلی علاقوں میں جاری امریکی ڈرون حملوں کا بدلہ تھیں اور آئندہ چند روز میں مزید ایسے حملے کیے جائیں گے۔

گّزشتہ روز لاہور میں پریس کانفرنس میں مشیر داخلہ رحمان ملک نے دعوٰی کیا تھا کہ گرفتار کیے جانے والے دہشت گرد سے کی گئی ابتدائی تفتیش سے یہ بات سامنے آئی ہے کہ اس حملے کی منصوبہ بندی بیت اللہ محسود اور ان کے نائب نے کی ہے۔

’ کچھ وقت لگے گا لیکن امریکہ کو میں خود سبق سکھاوں گا۔ انشا اللہ جب ہم انتقام لیں گے تو امریکہ کے اندر لیں گے۔ تاہم فل الوقت بات امریکہ سے نہیں پاکستان سے بدلہ لینے کی ہے۔‘

بیت اللہ محسود

رحمان ملک کا یہ بھی کہنا تھا کہ گرفتار کیے جانے والے دہشتگرد کا تعلق افغانستان سے ہے اور وہ پندرہ روز پہلے لاہور آیا تھا جہاں اس نے رہائش کے لیے ایک گھر کرایے پر لیا۔ ان کا کہنا ہے کہ دہشتگرد کے کچھ ساتھیوں کی شناخت ہوگئی ہے جبکہ دیگر کی شناخت کے لیے کارروائی کی جارہی ہے۔ ان کے بقول جس شخص کو حراست میں لیا گیا وہ اردو نہیں بول سکتا۔

ادھر لاہور شہر میں میں رات بھر مختلف مقامات پر پولیس کے چھاپوں کا سلسلہ جاری رہا اور پچاس کے قریب مشتبہ افراد کو حراست میں لے لیا گیا ہے۔

بیت اللہ محسود نے سکیورٹی فورسز کی جانب سے مناواں پولیس سینٹر کے قریب سے گرفتار کیئے گئے ایک افغان شخص ہجرت اللہ سے لاتعلقی کا اعلان کیا۔ ان کا کہنا تھا کہ اسے کہیں اور سے گرفتار کرکے وہاں لایا گیا ہوگا۔

چند روز قبل امریکی حکومت کی طرف سے بیت اللہ محسود کی گرفتاری میں مدد دینے والے کے لیے پچاس لاکھ ڈالر کی انعامی رقم کا اعلان کیا گیا تھا۔ اس اعلان کے بعد یہ ان کا پہلا بیان ہے۔

لاہور کے قریب مناواں پولیس کے تربیتی مرکز پر حملے میں چار حملہ آوروں کے علاوہ آٹھ پولیس اہلکار اور دو راہگیر ہلاک ہوئے تھے۔ بنوں میں سکیورٹی فورسز کے ایک قافلے پر حملے میں پانچ افراد مارے گئے تھے جبکہ اسلام آباد میں پولیس کے سپیشل برانچ دفتر پر حملے میں حملہ آور سمیت ایک پولیس کانسٹیبل ہلاک ہوئے۔

’جب تک جاسوس طیاروں کے حملے جاری رہیں گے اس وقت تک ہمارا انتقام بھی جاری رہے گا۔ اور اس کے آخر میں ایک ایسا حملہ ہوگا جو حکومت کے دل میں تیر ثابت ہوگا۔‘

بیت اللہ محسود

بیت اللہ محسود نے قبائلی علاقے خیبر ایجنسی میں جمرورد کی ایک مسجد پر حملے سے لاتعلقی ظاہر کی۔ ان کا کہنا تھا کہ وہ مساجد کو نشانہ نہیں بناتے۔ ’مسجدوں میں حملوں کی ہم مذمت کرتے ہیں۔ ہمارے علماء کی فکر کے مطابق مساجد میں فدائی حملے جائز نہیں ہیں۔‘

لاہور میں ہی اس ماہ کے اوائل میں سری لنکن ٹیم پر حملے کے بارے میں ایک سوال کے جواب میں ان کا کہنا تھا کہ وہ اس بارے میں کچھ نہیں کہہ سکتے ہیں۔

امریکی جاسوس طیاروں کے حملے نہ روکے جانے کی صورت میں ان کا لائحہ عمل کیا ہوگا، اس بارے میں کالعدم تنظیم کے سربراہ نے دھمکی دی کہ آئندہ چند روز میں دو تین فدائی حملے اور بھی ہوں گے۔

’جب تک جاسوس طیاروں کے حملے جاری رہیں گے اس وقت تک ہمارا انتقام بھی جاری رہے گا۔ اور اس کے آخر میں ایک ایسا حملہ ہوگا جو حکومت کے دل میں تیر ثابت ہوگا۔‘

تاہم انہوں نے ان حملوں کے مقامات یا وقت کے بارے میں مزید کچھ بتانے سے گریز کیا۔ ان کا کہنا تھا کہ یہ سرکاری سیکیورٹی اداروں کا امتحان ہوں گے۔

ایک سوال کے جواب میں کہ حملے تو امریکہ کر رہا ہے لیکن بدلہ عام پاکستانیوں سے کیوں لیا جا رہا ہے تو ان کا کہنا تھا کہ حکومت پاکستان نے امریکی صدر اوباما کی پالیسی کا خیرمقدم کیا ہے۔

’صدر زرداری کی پالیسی امریکہ کی پالیسی ہے۔ وہ زبانی طور پر تو ڈرون حملوں کی مخالفت کرتے ہیں لیکن خفیہ طور پر اس کی حمایت کرتے ہیں۔‘

ان سے دریافت کیا کہ وہ خود بھی مبینہ جاسوسوں کو ہلاک کرنے کے باوجود زمینی خفیہ معلومات کے امریکی نظام کو ناکام نہیں بناسکے ہیں تو بیت اللہ کا کہنا تھا کہ یہ تو ہر وقت ہوتا ہے کہ مسلمان کمزور ہوتے ہیں ان کے پاس وسائل نہیں ہوتے ہیں۔ ’یہ مسلمانوں کا امتحان ہوتا ہے اور آخری کامیابی انہیں کی ہوتی ہے۔‘

انہوں نے مناواں حملے میں ملوث افراد کے بارے میں کچھ بتانے سے انکار یہ کہتے ہوئے کیا کہ اس سے ان کے قبائل کے لیئے مشکلات پیدا ہوتی ہیں۔

امریکی کی جانب سے ان کی گرفتاری میں مدد پر پچاس لاکھ ڈالر کی انعامی رقم کے بارے میں ان کا کہنا تھا کہ امریکہ سے وہ خود نمٹیں گے۔ ’ کچھ وقت لگے گا لیکن امریکہ کو میں خود سبق سکھاوں گا۔ انشا اللہ جب ہم انتقام لیں گے تو امریکہ کے اندر لیں گے۔ تاہم فل الوقت بات امریکہ سے نہیں پاکستان سے بدلہ لینے کی ہے۔‘

ان کا دعوی تھا کہ انہوں نے امریکی انعام کے اعلان کے بعد اپنی نقل وحرکت میں کوئی تبدیلی نہیں کی ہے بلکہ اس میں اضافہ کر دیا ہے۔

ٹیلیفون پر انٹرویو کے دوران کہیں بھی بیت اللہ محسود کی آواز سے کسی دباؤ کا کوئی تاثر نہیں ملا بلکہ بعض سوالات کے جواب میں تو وہ کھل کر بات کرتے رہے۔

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2009/03/090331_bait_accepts_rza.shtml

Some relevant comments:

Kashif said:

Oooppsss!!!!!! Its not just Rehman Malik, now Bait Ullah Masud himself accepted the responsibility of yesterday’s attacks. All Taliban well wishers please condem him and Tehrik Taliban Pakistan with same intensity that you had yesterday against RAW, RM, Taseer etc

democrate said:

Taliban supporter, how soft are you for talban and terrorists and how harsh are you for government.show just one statement where u criticized talban with harsh manners.plz back the government not undermine the goverment.remmember how american citizens supported thier worst president after 9/11 incedent.

Kashif said:

NRO, Judicary, COD, elite corruption, dis-functional institutions etc etc are all our domestic issues Talibanization is not. Talibanization is a war between west and middle east we are merly providing them the fertile battle ground. We do not have any disagreements on domestic issues its the laundry list that IK, NS, SS, etc etc repeats every single day.

What is your solution to Talibanization? IK, JI, Hamid Gul say negotiate with them. Americans tried to negotiate with Taliban before attacking Afghanistan people like Hamid Gul backed Taliban not to hand over Osama. Nuts like Hamid Gul have a wiered agenda they want to bring down west. I have absolutely no problem with that as long as they have means to do that. American supermacy will be successfully challenged oneday by countries like China, Japan, Germany or some alliances that have resources to challenge them on multiple fronts. Countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan can not survive one year w/o western aid. Middle east which has oil weapon (I don’t know for how long) they don’t challenge west. We can not bring the western civilization down but if we continued our existing path we will bring African style civil wars in south Asia.

“I have never defending the Taliban but have stated that they are a symptom of a greater problem which is systemic in this society. ” Thats what your leader IK also says he doesn’t justify he just expalins Talibanization and susidal attacks.

All of you first attempt to sell their philosphies (nizam e adal and all BS) but when you are pushed to defend suside attacks, woman rights etc you down grade your status from staunch supporter to political commentator.

There is social injustice (that you think is the root cause of Talibanization) in every part of the globe. Before Mushraaf we had Zia and Ayub as distators and ZAB, BB and NS era which were far from true democracies. But there were no suside attacks to over come that. This present wave of violence which is threatning very existence of our Pakistan is not because of our social disorders (dis-functional institutions, corrupt elite class, economic disparity etc etc) the source is nuts like Osama and Hamid Gul who think they can bring west down using our land, our people and very very limited resources. Our dis-coharent social fabric is providing some fuel to their crazy dreams but it is not the root cause. Like rest of the developing and develop world we can over come our issues one by one provided we are not vanished from the face of the earth thanks to these few “beautiful” minds.

MalangBaba said:

I am shocked at the latest terrorist attack in Lahore, Pakistan. When will the intelligentsia of the country realize, the main threat to the country is not from India, Israel or the US, but the cancer of Jihadi Islamism that it’s military has nurtured within its bowels to serve the interests of Zionism and imperialism.

Those who are born after 1970 probably have not seen the time of Zia when Qazi Hussain, Hameed Gul and US FM George Schulz used to chant ALLAH-O_AKBAR in Afghan camps by joining and raising their hands and fists together.

This nation needs to unite against these terrorists. Hiding our heads in sand and blaming RAW or Israel is not going to eliminate the danger. We have no choice but to choose either Algeria or Somalia model. Do we want to see Lahore a next Mogadishu? If not then, political difference aside all nation should support the government in its efforts to eliminate these militants by using brutal force or by dividing the enemy.

Biggest responsibility rests with media that needs to restrain those anchors and observers who portray these terrorists as ‘innocents’ or RAW agents contradicting the clear proof. If these terrorists succeed they will do same to Sharifs what they did to Bhuttos, do the same to Qazi and Munawwar Hasan what they did to Hikmat Yar, and will treat Imran Khan the same way they treated Ahmed Shah Masood. Don’t forget Talban and AlQaida are the most savage beasts under the sun.

Rashid said:

@afzaalkhan said:

best was when baitullah mehsood was contacted by hamid gul and safdar abbasi on order of benazir and he goes BB i have no quarrel with u why would I plan to kill u?
———————————————————————————

So you think, baitullah mehsood being a “good muslim brother” would not lie and he would accept if he is really involved in the killing of BB? WTF? This is your logic??? the word of that MF terrorist is more believable to you than what is obvious???

MalangBaba said:

@
“Rehman Malik said these terrorist belong to Mahsood, he took less time to decalre this than India took after Mumbai attacks.”

In both cases some terrorists were captured alive. despite all the denials and false claims by some in media now it is proved that Mumbai terrorists belonged to Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and were Pakistani. Nawaz Sharif was the first one to admit that those terrorists were from Pakistan. Denial is no solution.

fanaticmulla said:

@

kashif

we condemn this attack if India, Israel and USA did that but we support it if they are done by beardos ..this is the logic these MF beardos have ….

after this attack even rightist in media are condemning beardos and you rightly quoted MM..

all the day these MF beardos were raising slogans and now their brother SOB beardos in Wazirstan have claimed responsibility and now they are start crying and abusing ..you MF beardos can abuse as much as you can ..in the end every Pakistani will be against your terrorist activities

MF morons

Source: pkpolitics

Read more...

Amir Mir: Punjabi and Pushtun militants behind Manawan attack

Monday 30 March 2009

LAHORE: The Pakistani authorities investigating the 30/3 bloody assault on the Police Training School in Manawan on the outskirts of Lahore believe the highly trained and equally equipped terrorist squad involved in the Monday attack most likely belonged to the same group of the Punjabi militants and are backed by their like-minded Taliban jehadis from South Waziristan which had targeted the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team on March 3 at the Liberty Chowk in Lahore.

The attackers killed eight police cadets before being overwhelmed by a massive counter operation jointly carried out by the Pakistan Army, Rangers and Police. Four militants died during the assault, while three suspects have been captured. The investigators say they have solid evidence to suggest that the Manawan raid was a coordinated operation carried out by the Punjabi Taliban with the logistic support of the South Waziristan-based Tehrik-e-Taliban ameer Baitullah Mehsud which had earlier attempted to target the Sri Lankan cricket team on March 3 in Lahore. They say the attack on the police academy was possibly a retaliatory act by the Punjabi and Pushtun militants against the Pakistan government’s growing cooperation with Washington in hunting down the Pakistan-based Al-Qaeda and Taliban linked jehadi leaders.

According to the investigators, an aide of the Manawan attackers, Hijrat Ullah alias Nadeem Asghar, who was captured alive from outside the police training centre during the operation, has already confessed having been sent by Baitullah Mehsud. The attack was carried out four days after the US State Department had authorised a reward of up to $ 5 million for information leading to the location, arrest, and/or conviction of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s leader Baitullah Mehsud who is being regarded by the Americans as a key Al-Qaeda facilitator in the lawless tribal region of South Waziristan.

The investigators point out that the Manawan attackers had many features in common with the assailants of the Liberty assault and there was a possibility that those involved in the 3/3 episode had also taken part in the 30/3 attack since none of them had been arrested either during or after the gruesome operation that killed half a dozen policemen. Although the Manawan attack came three weeks after the Liberty ambush on the Sri Lankan cricket team, the authorities have so far avoided naming any particular group, amidst contradictory media reports regarding the involvement of the Indian intelligence agency, the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

As far as the similarities between the appearance and tactics of the Liberty and the Manawan attackers are concerned, the investigators say those involved in the Monday attack too carried backpacks stuffed with highly sophisticated arms and ammunition, as well as bottled water and dried food items, showing that they had actually anticipated a protracted siege. The second common feature was that the attackers had acted under a well-researched and equally organised strategy after getting prior information about the ins and outs of the Manawan building. The third common feature was the use of hand grenades by the terrorists at the police training centre to begin the operation, followed by erratic firing at police jawans with the sole aim of killing them, as had happened in the Liberty attack.

Asked about the identity of those involved in the Manawan attack, Advisor on Interior Rehman Malik said the assault was similar to the Mumbai terror strike. He told Geo TV that the terror strike in Lahore was similar to the 26/11 carnage in Mumbai that left 170 people dead. Malik hinted that home-grown militant groups were involved in Monday raid. “Who is supporting them? Who is giving them weapons? Everyone knows these banned groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad”, he added. A few hours later, having reached Lahore after the operation came to an end, Rehman Malik told newsmen that the agencies had prior information about such an attack on a police training installation.

Asked if any of the attackers had been arrested alive, Malik said while most of them had been killed by the security forces during the operation, three of them blew themselves up before being arrested. However, he added that an alleged companion of the attackers had been arrested from outside the building of the police training school who is being interrogated by the authorities to ascertain if he belonged to the same group. Asked about the findings of the Liberty attack investigations, the advisor on interior said the authorities have already obtained solid evidence about those involved in the 3/3 attack and that they are about to expose them.

To recall, six policemen and a Pakistan Cricket Board van driver lost their lives when a group of a dozen terrorists ambushed Sri Lankan cricketers’ convoy near the Liberty roundabout in Lahore on March 3, 2009. Six of the Sri Lankan players suffered injuries. A four-member police team, headed by Punjab’s Additional Inspector-General of Police (Investigation) Salahuddin Khan Niazi, and another joint investigation team comprising officials of the Federal Investigation Agency, Inter Services Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau, was subsequently established by the ministry of interior to investigate the matter and submit a report to the federal government.

Well placed sources in the country’s security establishment say despite having acquired solid evidence regarding the involvement of Punjab militants in the 3/3 terrorist attack, the Pakistani authorities are reluctant to formally name the group for unknown reasons. After preliminary investigations into the Liberty assault, the authorities had first suspected the Lashkar-e-Toiba, saying the attack on the Sri Lankan team might have been an attempt to take the players hostage and to demand the release of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the chief operational commander of the LeT who had been arrested by the Pakistani authorities in December 2008 and is presently being tried in Rawalpindi by an Anti Terrorist Court (ATC) for his alleged involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. But the LeT has strongly refuted its involvement in the attack.

However, while changing tack, the Pakistani advisor on interior Rehman Malik had ruled out the involvement of the Lashkar-e-Toiba in the Liberty attack in the second week of March while talking to newsmen in Islamabad. His statement was followed by some media reports, quoting official sources and saying that the 3/3 operation was actually carried out by an al-Qaeda-linked Sunni sectarian banned terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). These reports had named an al-Qaeda linked LeJ leader Matiur Rehman as the mastermind of the attack, adding that it was actually planned with the coordination of Baitullah Mehsud led Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

As Pakistan shared with Sri Lanka the findings of preliminary investigations into the attack on its cricket team on March 25, without naming any particular group, a section of the Pakistan media accused India for the assault, saying the rocket-launchers and explosives used during the terrorist operation on the Sri Lankan cricket team are in the use of Indian forces. These reports cited a forensic report prepared by the Pakistani experts and saying that the four rocket-launchers and nine explosives seized from the crime scene are factory-made and used by Indian forces. According to the findings by Pakistani authorities, 40 grenades, 10 sub-machine guns, five pistols, 577 live rounds of SMGs and 160 bullets of pistols were also found from the site.

The Pakistani authorities point out that the Manawan attack came hardly three days after the American military leadership claimed to have acquired evidence that elements within Pakistani military intelligence, the ISI, continue to provide support for the Taliban. The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said in a CNN interview on March 27, 2009 that the ISI had links with militants on both the Pakistani borders with Afghanistan and India. “Fundamentally, that is one of the things that has to change”, he said. In another interview to the PBS the same day, the head of US Central Command General David Petraeus, said some of the militant groups had been established by the ISI and that their links continued.

Petraeus said there was evidence that in the fairly recent past, the ISI had tipped off militants when their positions were in danger. “It is a topic that is of enormous importance, because if there are links and if those continue and if it undermines the operations against Islamic militants, obviously that would be very damaging to the kind of trust that we need to build”, said General Petraeus. These statements were followed by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates’s March 29 remarks: “What we need to do is try and help the Pakistanis understand these groups are now an existential threat to them and we will be there as a steadfast ally for Pakistan”.

amir.mir1969@gmail.com

Source: Middle East Transparent

Also read:

Lahore terror attack: The ISI's chickens come home to roost?

Read more...

Lahore terror attack: The ISI's chickens come home to roost?

A Pakistani police officer carries his injured colleague to an armored car in the compound of a police training school on the outskirts of Lahore. AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary.

Almost 150 years ago, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, a Sufi poet, wrote:

"Neechan di ashnayee kolon faiz kisay na paya,
kikker te angoor cherhaya her guchha zakhmaya"

Translation: You will gain nothing from your friendship with a person of lowly character. You will be foolish to plant a grape vine on a keekar (acacia) tree.

Pakistani security officials arrest a suspected militant (R) near the site of a police training center in Lahore. AFP Photo/Sameed Qureshi.

ہر گچھا زخمایا

وسعت اللہ خان

بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، اسلام آباد

سری لنکا کی ٹیم پر حملہ تیس منٹ تک جاری رہا اور پھر حملہ آور اطمینان سے اپنا اسلحہ و بارود چھوڑ کر غائب ہوگئے

نائن الیون سے پہلے پاکستان میں دہشت گردی کی نوعیت بنیادی طور پر نسلی اور فرقہ وارانہ نوعیت کی تھی اور بنیادی ہتھیار کلاشنکوف تھا۔ لیکن جب نائن الیون کے بعد ہم القاعدہ - طالبان دور میں داخل ہوئے تو دہشت گردی کے ہتھیاروں میں خودکش بمباروں کا بھی اضافہ ہوگیا۔

پھر یہ رجحان اتنا بڑھا کہ صوبہ سرحد اور شمالی پنجاب میں پچھلے پانچ برس کے دوران بالعموم اور لال مسجد اسلام آباد کے واقعہ کے بعد بالخصوص دہشت گردی کی جتنی وارداتیں ہوئیں ان میں اسی فیصد کے لگ بھگ خودکش بمباروں نے کار بم، ٹرک بم اور انسانی بم کی شکل میں کیں۔اور پھر یہ وبا شمالی پنجاب سے ہوتی ہوئی وسطی اور جنوبی علاقوں تک پہنچ گئی۔

لاہور میں گذشتہ برس تیرہ مئی کو وفاقی تحقیقاتی ادارے ایف آئی اے کے کثیر المنزلہ دفتر پر حملہ ہو یا چھ اکتوبر کو مغربی پنجاب کے ضلع بھکر میں مسلم لیگ نواز کے ایم این اے رشید اکبر نوانی کے ڈیرے پر حملہ یا پھر نو اکتوبر کو پولیس لائنز اسلام آباد پر حملہ، ان سب میں جو بھی بھاری جانی نقصان ہوا وہ خود کش حملوں کے سبب ہوا۔

لیکن اس سال سات فروری کو پنجاب کے شہر میانوالی میں قدرت آباد پولیس چیک پوسٹ پر فائرنگ اور بموں کے استعمال سے آٹھ پولیس والوں کی ہلاکت نے دہشت گردی کے ایک نئے پیٹرن کا پتہ دیا۔ یعنی دہشت گردی خودکش حملے کے ساتھ ساتھ بھاری اور ہلکے ہتھیاروں اور دستی بموں کے کمانڈو سٹائل استعمال کا مرکب بننے لگی۔

لیکن اس سال سات فروری کو پنجاب کے شہر میانوالی میں قدرت آباد پولیس چیک پوسٹ پر فائرنگ اور بموں کے استعمال سے آٹھ پولیس والوں کی ہلاکت نے دھشت گردی کے ایک نئے پیٹرن کا پتہ دیا۔ یعنی دھشت گردی خودکش حملے کے ساتھ ساتھ بھاری اور ہلکے ہتھیاروں اور دستی بموں کے کمانڈو سٹائل استعمال کا مرکب بننے لگی۔

اس تبدیلی کا سب سے بڑا مظہر تین مارچ کو لاہور میں دن دھاڑے سری لنکا کی ٹیم پر دستی بموں، راکٹوں اور کلاشنکوفوں سے حملہ تھا۔ تقریباً درجن بھر حملہ آوروں نے تیس منٹ تک کارروائی جاری رکھی۔ اور پھر اطمینان سے اپنا اسلحہ و بارود چھوڑ کر غائب ہوگئے۔

اس تناظر میں اگر خود کش بمباری کا طریقہ القاعدہ - طالبان سٹائل سمجھا جائے تو پھر کمانڈو طرز کی دہشت گردی کو اِنڈو۔جہادی پیٹرن کے طور پر دیکھنا ہوگا۔ اس کی دلیل یہ ہے کہ سری لنکا کی ٹیم پر حملہ ہو یا لاہور میں مناواں پولیس ٹریننگ سینٹر پر تیس مارچ کا حملہ دونوں کا انداز کم و بیش وہی ہے جس کا آغاز بھارت کے زیرِ انتظام کشمیر سے ہوا۔

سنہ نوے کے عشرے میں کشمیر میں بھارت کے فوجی و نیم فوجی مراکز پر فدائین حملوں کا آغاز ہوا۔ یعنی دو سے بارہ تک شدت پسند کسی اہم عمارت یا مرکز میں گھس کر اس وقت تک لڑتے رہتے تھے جب تک مرنہ جائیں۔

اس طرح کے بڑے حملوں میں تین نومبر انیس سو ننانوے کا وہ حملہ بھی ہے جب دو فدائی سری نگر میں بھارت کی پندرہ کور کے فوجی ہیڈ کوارٹر میں گرینیڈز اور کلاشنکوفیں لے کر گھس گئے۔ اس آپریشن میں چھ فوجی ہلاک ہوئے اور فدائین خود بھی مارے گئے۔

خود کش بمباری کا طریقہ القاعدہ-طالبان سٹائل سمجھا جائے تو پھر کمانڈو طرز کی دھشت گردی کو اِنڈو۔جہادی پیٹرن کے طور پر دیکھنا ہوگا

سولہ جنوری دو ہزار ایک کو فوجی یونیفارم میں چھ شدت پسند ایک اغوا شدہ سرکاری جیپ میں بیٹھ کر سری نگر ائرپورٹ میں گھس گئے۔ اس مہم میں حملہ آوروں سمیت گیارہ افراد ہلاک ہوئے۔

تیرہ دسمبر دو ہزار ایک کو دلی میں انڈین پارلیمنٹ کے احاطے میں اسی طرح کا کمانڈو ایکشن کیا گیا جس میں حملہ آوروں سمیت بارہ افراد ہلاک ہوگئے۔ پانچ اکتوبر دو ہزار چھ کو سری نگر میں سنٹرل ریزرو پولیس کے ہیڈ کوارٹر پر گرینڈز اور رائفلوں سے مسلح افراد نے حملہ کرکے تین پولیس والوں کو ہلاک اور دس کو زخمی کردیا۔حملہ آور فرار ہوگئے۔چھبیس نومبر دو ہزار آٹھ کو ممبئی میں ایک ٹرین ٹرمینل، دو ہوٹلوں اور ایک نجی مرکز پر درجن بھر لوگوں نے کمانڈو ایکشن کرکے ڈیڑھ سو سے زائد افراد کو ہلاک کردیا۔

اس طرح کے فدائی حملوں کی ذمہ داری کبھی لشکرِ طیبہ نے قبول کی کبھی جیشِ محمد نے کبھی حزب المجاہدین نے تو کبھی نامعلوم یا نووارد مجاہدین نے۔

ان جہادی گروہوں پر فروری دو ہزار دو میں مشرف حکومت نے پابندی لگادی لیکن اس کے بعد بھی ان کا نیٹ ورک برقرار رہا۔ ان میں سے کچھ نئے ناموں سے ابھر آئے تو دیگر زیرِ زمین گروہوں کے اتحادی بن گئے یا ان میں ضم ہوگئے۔

اب اگر اس طرح کے زیرِ زمین کمانڈو ایکشن کے عادی گروہوں اور خودکش بمباری کے حامیوں میں ایک وسیع تر مقصد کو اپنے اپنے انداز میں آگے بڑھانے کے لیے کوئی اتحاد ہو چکا ہے تو پاکستانی سیکورٹی ایسٹیبلشمنٹ کے لیے اس سے زیادہ بری خبر نہیں ہوسکتی۔

میاں محمد بخش نے بہت بہت پہلے پاکستانی سیکورٹی اسٹیبلشمنٹ کو یہ کہہ کر خبردار کرنے کی کوشش کی تھی کہ

کِکر تے انگور چڑھایا، ہر گچھا زخمایا

لیکن اب پشتاوے کیا ہوت جب چڑیاں چگ گئیں کھیت

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2009/03/090330_attack_pattern_rh.shtml

...

Terrorists risk Pakistan's future

March 31, 2009

Article from: The Australian

KARACHI: The assault yesterday on a police school and a wave of spectacular attacks underline Pakistan's weakness and the danger posed by Islamist militants to the future of the nuclear-armed nation.

The commando-style assault on the training ground transformed a normally peaceful commuter belt near Pakistan's cultural capital of Lahore into a war zone, leaving as many as 35 people dead in pitched battles with the security forces.

Analysts said the attack was a defiant message to US President Barack Obama, who has put Pakistan at the heart of the fight against al-Qa'ida, tripling US aid in a strategy that is aimed at reversing the war in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Such is the scale of violence in the Muslim nation that Mr Obama called al-Qa'ida and its allies "a cancer that risks killing Pakistan from within", and he urged Islamabad to demonstrate its commitment to eradicating the extremists.

Mutahir Shaikh, an international relations expert at the University of Karachi, said the wave of attacks were a response to the US stand.

"The terrorists want to tell Obama and his Western allies they cannot be contained as Obama desired, and are still as powerful and strong as they have been for years now," Professor Shaikh said. "The attack proves the weakness of the state institutions and shows that a mere half-a-dozen professionally trained terrorists can take anyone hostage and occupy any establishment they like.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25267756-25837,00.html

...

Time to Push Forward

It is back to business as usual in Pakistan. The assertion of popular will that saw the reinstatement of Justice Iftikhar Choudhary has been
shown to be an interregnum. With the suicide bombing of a mosque in Jamrud and the audacious assault on a police training centre in Manawan on the outskirts of Lahore, the Taliban-terrorist nexus has reimposed its warped vision of political discourse in emphatic fashion. That this has come so soon after President Barack Obama's unveiling of his new Af-Pak policy is, in all likelihood, no coincidence. The insurgent forces crippling Pakistan and Afghanistan are sending a clear message. Obama's response must be to push through his outlined strategy; its two-pronged approach has the potential to finally turn the tide.

The first of these is an unprecedented internationalist approach to the Af-Pak problem. The Contact Group that includes India, Russia, China and Iran has the scope to achieve far more than a go-it-alone approach by the US. India, of course, has a vital interest in stabilising the region while Russia's role as both alternate supply route and interlocutor with vital Central Asian nations is likely to be an important one. As Pakistan's most powerful backer, China's cooperation will be even more so. But the true advance has been bringing Iran on board. As Afghanistan's neighbour, it has a twin interest in seeing the country stabilised; from a security standpoint and in order to counter Saudi influence in the region. That Obama has been able to initiate this process despite US-Iran animosity is heartening.

The second facet of the Af-Pak policy is a long-overdue course correction in dealing with Pakistan. US officials led by chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff Admiral Mike Mullen have minced no words in stating that the ISI continues to maintain links with the Taliban and al-Qaeda that must be cut. Neither has Obama pulled his punches in calling for a far greater level of cooperation from Pakistan, linking the civilian financial aid that is necessary for the country to survive with verifiable action against the insurgents. As it stands, the Pakistani approach is a smoke-and-mirrors game. So far, it has insisted on differentiating between various elements of the Taliban in order to pursue a policy of strategic depth in Afghanistan vis-a-vis India. This is no longer sustainable witness the compact between Mullah Omar and Baitullah Mehsud not least because of the corrosive effect it has had on Pakistan itself.

This is a vital stage of the battle for Af-Pak. All thoughts of political settlement must be tempered by the knowledge that this is the same Taliban that harboured the men responsible for 9/11. Obama has shown that he has the vision to deal with the problem. Now he must deliver on it. (Editorial Comment, TOI, 31 March 2009)

...

The Long War Journal's Report

Lahore Police Academy attack is the latest in a series of military-styled terror assaults

Today's attack is the latest in a series of military-styled terror assaults that have been launched by the Taliban, al Qaeda, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, and other allied terror groups. These groups have conducted similar strikes in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.

The last such attack took place in Lahore on March 3. A terrorist strike team estimated at about 12 men ambushed the Sri Lankan cricket team as it traveled to a sports stadium in Lahore. Five policemen and two civilians were killed, and dozens were wounded, including some cricket officials.

In February, an assault team assembled by the al Qaeda and Taliban-linked Haqqani Network aattacked the Justice and Education ministries as well as the Prisons Directorate headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghan security forces killed the attackers after several hours of fighting, which largely took place at the Justice Ministry. Nineteen people were killed and more than 50 were wounded.

In November 2008 a terror assault team attacked Mumbai, the financial capital of India. The well-armed, well trained assault squad from the Lashkar-e-Taiba closed down the city for more than 60 hours before Indian forces killed all but one of the terrorists. More than 170 Indians and foreigners were killed during the battles, and hundreds more were wounded.

The Taliban, al Qaeda, the Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, and a host of Pakistani jihadi terror groups have joined forces to battle both the Pakistani military in the Northwest Frontier Province and the NATO and Afghan forces in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda has revived its paramilitary army, formerly known as the 055 Brigade and now known as the Lashkar al Zil, or Shadow Army. The Shadow Army contains fighters from each of these terror groups, and trains in camps in the Northwest Frontier Province and the tribal areas.

Lahore attack follows a blood week in Pakistan

The Taliban, al Qaeda, and allied terror groups have stepped up their attacks on Pakistani security forces nationwide, despite a peace agreement that ceded more than 1/3 of the Northwest Frontier Province to the Taliban.

The assault on the Lahore police academy caps a bloody week of fighting and attacks throughout Pakistan, and was not the only deadly attack against security forces today.

Today in Bannu a suicide car bomber rammed into a military convoy, killed four soldiers and wounding several others.

Yesterday, a Taliban unit surrounded a police outpost in Khyber and took 12 policemen hostage. On March 28, Pakistani security forces claimed it killed 26 Taliban fighters during an operation in Mohmand, a region it claimed was secured and Taliban-free just four weeks ago.

On March 28, a large Taliban force attacked a trucking terminal outside of Peshawar and destroyed NATO vehicles and equipment.

On March 27, the Taliban temporarily shut down NATO's supply route into Afghanistan after destroying a bridge in Khyber. That same day, a suicide bomber killed more than 70 Pakistanis after detonating in the middle of a mosque.

In the past, al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri and spokesman and ideologue Abu Yahya al Libi have advocated for Pakistanis to revolt against the state and overthrow the government. The al Qaeda leaders have urged the military to turn on the government and join the jihad.

Information in this report was compiled from reports at AFP, The Times of India, Geo News, and the Associate Press

....

Terrorists were speaking in Urdu and Punjabi.

The arrested man has been identified as Hijratullah, a resident of Miranshah, the center of North Waziristan. Earlier local TV channels identified the man as Gul Khan, a Pashto speaking man from the tribal region.

Police sources said that Hijratullah had arrived in Lahore one month ago. An arms license was recovered from his possession, which carries the name of Nadeem Asghar, a resident of Sheikhupura in Punjab.

...

Some relevant comments:

Hasan:

salam
Its all started in 1970’s when our Gen Zia done collaboration with Afghans & become a slave (partner) of US to defeat Russia & all leaders after him followed his footsteps, while history has proven that all the US allies are in deep trouble, they will never to secure internally rather external threats.
It’s a chain of one-sided benefits, which start & end to secure US interests.
Aim behind current kiosk is to attain Pak’s nukes to secure Israel by claiming on media that our land is not secure enough to defend Taliban, & they will access to nuke one day, while Pakistan was never be a threat to Israel, we should learn from Iran the striving nation with threats from all corners but these threats are just from cowards, I wish our leaders should learn and break the joint venture they done to secure US by staking their own homeland.
US motive is to create kiosks and divide our nation not just mentally but physical division on land as well.

Kesar Saleem:

It is time that the people of Pakistan realised that the prime enemy facing Pakistan is the Taliban. They can not keep blaming the Americans; it were the muslims whos pulled the triggers on the innocent muslims. Not until the people get rid off the soft spot thay have for these depraved religious zealots, the slow death of Pakistan is inevitable.
As a first measure, we must admit that it is our own problem and will not go away simpliy if the Americans leave the region (Swat is an example). Secondly, we must close down all madrassas and any imam or preacher that advocates hatred of others must be dealt with sternly. Thirdly, there must be national campaign to discredit the teachings of the Talibans and their like minded collaborators in civil and political life.

Ahsan:

I live 4 km away from the academy. Heard about the attack at around 8:30. At around 10.00, I began to realize the seriousness and intensity of the attack. Hurried to pick my son from school which is hardly 2 km from the academy. The shrine of great Sufi Saint Madhoo Lal Hussain is hardly 2 km away from the academy. Today is the third day of Lal Hussain Urs. Devotees were busy going towards his shrine, thronging the already congested G.T.Road and oblivious of the mayhem carried out 2 km away. I thought about the message of peace and universal brotherhood which Lal Hussain preached in this city of saints and gardens.

I dont know why we failed to stop the violation and plunder of our great city. Violation of its traditions of hospitality and tolerance. I can not figure out why we continue to tolerate these violater and plunderers amongst us. Sitting on the pulpits of bone and flesh, they continue to spread their message of hate and bigotry. Tonight I am going to the shrine of Lal Hussain to lit “chiraghs and diyas” for all the innocent blood that was spilled. I will sit amongst my brothers to drink bhang, smoke pot and shout a rebel yell in defiance of the mullahs of this land.

Tariq Mehmood:

1. Send all Afghan Refugees back to Afghanistan.
2.Restrict the people of FATA to their own areas.
3. People of WAZIRISTAN should not be allowed movement outside WAZIRISTAN.
4. ORDER ALL LAW ENFORCING agencies “SHOOT TO KILL” on siting any one with a weapon.
5. Close all madaris for six months.

Albert Pinto:

This is a very sad situation in Pakistan. It is turning into another Iraq now. Every week terrorists attacks are taking place if not everyday. My deepest condolences to the family members of those innocents who have died in today’s attack on Loahore. Its high time for Pakistan to mend its ways now and act tough against terrorism. In my opinion they must do the following to curb terrorism in their own country and the world:
1. Shut down all Madarsas.
2. Stop ISI and army from supporting terrorism of any nature.
3. Shut down all terrorists training camps running in Pakistan.
4. Cooperate with other countries in eliminating terrorists from Pakistan.
5. Utilize funds received from US and other countries on welfare schemes and employment generation.

I hope and pray to God from across the border that some day terrorism will be eliminated from Pakistan and the entire world will live with peace of mind.

Mansoor:

I am in serious shock and i believe we are the victims of the so called jihadees in the 80s. Hence as one reader wrote, have the army and paramailitary forces always on the check inside the country. Also have a masive cleanup of the tribal areas (use force to the maximum) to get rid of the anti Pakistan elements at all. Even use heavy bombings and clean Pakistan.

Ali Khan:

The root of this problem lies in the misguided policies of our military establishment. It is no secret that elements in the ISI have been indoctrinated by the extremists and continue to help taliban and other like-minded terrorists rape and murder ordinary pakistanis in an attempt to destabilise the government. If we are to win this fight, two things need to happen at the very least.

P Sinha:

I believe Pakistan, in its haste to find “strategeic depth” in Afghanistan, has long betted on the wrong genie. Now, the genie is out of the bottle. The genie is just doing what it does best- kill.
When will Pakistan start looking at things independent of “the Indian angle”?

Omar:

These are mercenary groups which where funded by US and Pakistan in the 80’s not they are the hired guns for who ever is the highest bidder and we all know the Highest bidder against Pakistan is. Now coming to the points you raised, Lahore is the target because it has the least paramilitary presence as compared to other Provincial Capitals, Making the local police (easy targets) against these well trained mercenary outfits (hired by you know who). Secondly we can say that political situation is diverting the attention of the security agencies from the real problem. We should resolve the disputes as nothing should be before the interest of Pakistan and Pakistani People.

Shabbir:

We can have a peaceful country if we abolish all our law enforcing agencies and particularly the secret/intelligence ones. I believe, these agencies, if not directly involved in most of what is happening in Pakistan (and may be outside), are totally incapable, useless and far from the capabilities that we poor Pakistani expect of them. I hope we all realize soon that the real threat is not RAW, CIA or Mosad, its our own secret agencies that will cause the maximum damage to Pakistan.

Moshin Naqvi:

I would partially agree with Mr. Omar but like to add that public opinion in Punjab with regards to the war on terror is not very clear. This is because of the leadership of Punjab, which constitutes one major political party of the country, hasn’t taken the clear stance in this regard. In Punjab most people are still thinking that this is not their war. But what they failed to realized is that they have to fight, whether to Al Qaeda/Taliban or the west. Both are bends upon to fight their war on Pakistan’s soil. Cant we see??? the attackers are in the streets as well as in the skies of Pakistan but we as a nation are in deep slumber and still thinking that it is not our war.

I appeal to the leadership of this poor country to set-aside their differences and come up with the joint strategy to cope up the growing menace of terrorism and extremism. Sooner it would be better may be the outcome and delay will strengthen the devils.

1. The ISI must be purged of all jihadi supporters. These people have helped their terrorist proxies plan and execute plots and as such must be brought to justice. They have the blood of innocent pakistanis on their hands.

The Army must understand that these extremists and their supporters in the ISI are not only an existential threat to ordinary civilians and civlian state institutions, but also to the Army itself.

2. The extremist’s wahhabi ideology indoctrination centers must be destroyed, and all jihadi training centers masquerading as schools must be shut down.

swali said:

First gift by Jamat-e-Ghair Islami by their new ameer Munawwar Hassan, the chief terrorist to for the innocent people of Pakistan. Ban Jamat, terrorism will finish, ban PTI, there will be no zina in the society. Down with both. We share the grief with the people of Lahore for this heinous act of terrorism.

wiqi said:

Plan was made in Waziristan. Baitullah Mehsood is directly involved in matter. Few jerks won’t listen to me anyway but again i would say, these talibans are threat to sovereignty of Pakistan. These devils are serving the purpose of Pakistan’s enemies.
May Allah show them and their supporters the straight path, the right path. (Amin)

بہت افسوسناک اورسخت قابل مذمت ہے۔دو سابق ڈکٹيٹرز جنرل ضياءالحق اور پرويزمشرف کی پاليسيوں کی وجہ سے پڑوسی ملک میں مداخلت کے نتائج آج پوری قوم بھگت رہی ہے۔ دعا یہی ہے کہ رب کائنات ہمارے ملک اور قوم کی حفاظت فرمائے آمین۔ سيکورٹی اہلکاروں اور سويلين مقتولين جو آئے روز لقمہء اجل بن رہے ہیں ان کے لیے بہت دکھ اور صدمہ ہے اللہ ان کے لواحقين کو صبر جميل عطا کرے

Muhammad ASIF، DUABI-UAE

اس ملک کو بنے ہوئے کتنے سال بیت گئے ہیں مگر ہماری عظیم قوم شعیبت، وہابیت پر الجھے ہوئے ہیں۔سعودی عرب کی مثالیں دے کر واضح کر رہے ہیں کہ کچھ عقل اور ہوش کے ناخن لیں ملک جاہل مولویوں کے ہاتھوں میں جا رہا ہے اور چین کی بانسری بجا رہے ہیں۔۔ اسلام ڈنڈے کے زور پر نہیں پھیلتا ۔اسلام کی الف ب سے بھی واقف ہیں ۔ اسلام دل میں ہوتا ہے۔

عبدالوحید خان، Birmingham، برطانیہ

سعودی عرب میں اسی وہابيت كی وجہ سے امن اور رزق میں بركت ہے۔
Abdul Basit،

سعودی عرب
رزق میں برکت تو ہو گی امريکی اور عربی مل کر جو کھاتے ہیں جسکو وہابيت سے بہت پيار ہے سعودی عرب جا کے شوق پورا کرے پاکستان قاعدِاعظم نے مزاروں پر حملوں کے ليے نہیں بنايا تھا۔

ando pando، karachi، برطانیہ

سب سے پہلے تو سيکورٹی فورسز کو سلام اور ڈھيروں مبارکبادیں کہ انہوں نے انتہائی بہادری اور بے مثال پيشہ وارانہ مہارت سے ان دہشت گردوں پر انتہائی کم وقت میں قابو پايا ہے۔ جہاں تک اس واردات کا تعلق ہے تو ان لوگوں کو اپنی سوچ پر غور کرنا چاہيے جو يہ کہتے ہیں کہ قبائلی علاقوں میں فوج اپنے لوگوں کے خلاف لڑ رہی ہے۔ اپنے لوگ ايسے ہوتے ہیں کیا؟

ظہير چغتائی

طالبان کبھی ختم نہیں ہو سکتے جب تک کہ انکی پيٹھ تھپکنے والون کی بيخ کنی نہ کی جائے يہ لوگ سعودی عرب والی وہابيت يہاں رائج کرنے کے ليے ايک ايک پاکستانی کو ذبح کر ديں گے۔ میں دعوے سے کہتا ہوں اگر آج قائد آعظم زندہ ہوتے تو يہ منافق انہیں بھی راستے کا پتھر جان کے شہيد کر ديتے۔

rashid suhail، leeds، برطانیہ

پہلے ان کی ان وارداتوں کے جواز تلاش کرنے والے عام لوگوں سے ليکر سياستدانوں ، چپ رہنے والے يا مذمت نہ کرنے والے مذہبی رہنماؤں اورٹی وی چينلوں میں جھاگ اُڑاتے ريٹائرڈ فوجی جرنلوں اور دوسرے خودساختہ ماہرين کو پکڑنا ہوگا۔ اس کے علاوہ کوئی چارہ نہیں مزيد تاخير کی کوئی گنجائش نہیں ہے!!!

وحید عبدالوحید

سادا سا اصول ہے کہ سرپرستی ختم ، دہشتگردی ختم۔ قصور تو سرپرستی کا ہے جو ہر سطح پر اور ہر انداز میں ہو رہی ہے۔

مزمل خان

جو ایسی دہشت گرد کاروائیوں کے واسطے سب سے زیادہ ’مجاھدین‘ پیدا کررہے ہیں وہ سر پرست اعلٰی ہیں وہ تو ہر حکومت کا حصہ ہوتے ہیں ان کے خلاف کون کاروائی کرے گا۔

علی احمد، برطانیہ

جب سوات اور وزيرستان ميں دہشتگردوں کے آگے ہتھيار ڈال ديےجائیں گے تو پھريہی ہونا ہے جوآج ہوا ان لوگوں کو ضرور پکڑنا چاہئے جونام نہاد لانگ مارچ کے دوران پنجاب کو سوات بنانے کی سرعام دھمکی ديتے رہے ہیں۔ اب يہ واردات بھی بھارت کے کھاتے میں ڈال کر دہشتگردوں کے سرپرست اور ہمدرد عوام کو بيوقوف بنانے کی کوشش کريں گے۔ سادا سا اصول ہے کہ سرپرستی ختم ، دہشتگردی ختم۔ قصور تو سرپرستی کا ہے جو ہر سطح پر اور ہر انداز میں ہو رہی ہے۔

مزمل خان

اس ملک کی عوام طالبان اور طالبان نما بنیاد پرستوں کی دہشت گردی سے ہرمحاذ پر پِس رہے ہیں ۔۔ کہیں گولیوں کی بوچھاڑ ہے اور کہیں بم دھماکوں سے مر رہے ہیں۔ میڈیا اور انٹر نیٹ پرچند متعصب لوگ طالبان کو فرشتہ ثابت کرنے کی کوشش کر رہے ہیں۔ نجانے کب تک ہم ان جہادیوں اور ملاؤں کے ہاتھوں یرغمال بنے رہیں گے ۔

علی زین

جب پاکستان کی عوام کسی بھی دہشت گردی کے سانحے کے بعد یہ سوچ کر چپ ہو جاتی ہے کہ اس سے برا اور کیا ہوگا تو ایسے میں یہ دہشت گرد کوئی نہ کوئی انوکھا منصوبہ لے کر آجاتے ہیں۔لاہور میں جو کچھ ہوا بہت ہی زیادہ قابل مذمت ہے ۔اب تمام سیاسی جماعتوں کو ’یا حکومت ، یاحکومت‘ کا ورود بند کرکے اور اپنے تمام اختلافات کو با لائے طاق رکھتے ہوے بنیاد پرستسی اور دہشت گردی کو جڑوں سے اکھاڑنے کی پالیسی مرتب کرنا ہوگی ۔

علی احمد، برطانیہ

Source: BBC Urdu dot com, PK Politics, Dawn Blog

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Terrorists strike at Lahore police training centre

LAHORE: More explosions were heard inside the police training academy in the Manawan area on the outskirts of Lahore where terrorists used machine guns and grenades to launch a savage attack, leaving at least 13 policemen dead and over 90 wounded, Dawn News reported. Two militants have also been killed, Rangers personnel said. The attackers may have blown themselves up in the building this time, police said. Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said 52 police were wounded in the attack but gave no word on the number killed.Punjab Governor Salman Taseer said the authorities had reports of four people confirmed killed, though television news channels put the number of dead at 20.A passerby was also killed during the exchange of fire, a Dawn correspondent said.Army and paramilitary troops laid siege, firing from rooftops of surrounding buildings, while the gunmen returned fire and threw grenades to keep security forces at bay.'Our elite squad has surrounded the area. God willing, now we will get into the building,' Mushtaq Sukhera, a senior police official, told journalists at the scene.'I have counted 12 bodies but I don't know exactly how many have been killed,' said Mohammad Raza, another police officer.Governor Taseer said up to 10 gunmen carried out the assault, though one wounded policeman told a news channel there were up to 20 gunmen in the compound. Over 400 police trainees have been taken hostage, Dawn News reported. The attackers are on the second and third floor of the building, Dawn News quoted a hostage as saying. The assault came less than a month after a dozen gunmen attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team in Lahore, killing six police guards and a bus driver. Those gunmen escaped.The training centre is on the outskirts of the city, on the road to the nearby border with India.'It's a continuation of the series of attacks carried out by the terrorists,' Taseer told journalists, adding that a curfew has been imposed in the area.ATTACKED DURING MORNING DRILLPolice official Sukhera said around 850 young cadets attended the training centre but police were unsure how many were inside at the time of the attack, which began at around 07:30 a.m.Television channels said several hundred trainees were at the centre when the attackers, some dressed as policemen, struck. Taseer said some were in civilian clothes and wore masks.An eyewitness told Reuters the gunmen attacked in groups of three or four from four sides, and lobbed grenades before opening sweeping fire on cadets assembled on the parade ground.The attack came as the police recruits were doing their routine morning drills, said a police officer.A police armoured personnel carrier (APC) entered the compound and an exchange of fire, including what appeared to be a grenade explosion, broke out, a Reuters photographer at the scene said. The APC then withdrew.One television station showed about a dozen police lying on a parade ground. Some appeared lifeless while others were crawling to cover.An army helicopter circled overhead, and police and soldiers were seen carrying wounded to ambulances.Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said our police is not trained for such encounters, adding that the possibility of foreign involvement cannot be ruled out.President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack and have ordered an investigation into the incident, Dawn News reported.
TWO SUSPECTS ARRESTED Police appear to have captured two of the suspected gunmen in the attack, Dawn News reported.Separately, an Associated Press photographer saw police take away a single suspect at the academy.Television footage also showed police and other security forces surrounding the man and kicking him in a field outside the compound.INDIA CONDEMNS ATTACK
Indian officials condemned the attack saying it threatened security across the region.'We are deeply concerned. We condemn these terror attacks, we condemn all terror attacks and we offer our sympathies to the government and the people of Pakistan,' Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi.The Indian army's second-in-command Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj told the NDTV news channel that the military was 'watching the situation very carefully.''Indian armed forces are prepared at all times should there be a spill-over' into neighbouring India, he said.

Source : Dawn

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/home/

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Irfan Hussain: The Zia-ist mindset, Pakistani media and the support of the right wing

"My personal theory is that their lack of a grounding in politics, economics and current affairs is a direct result of the poor education they have received. Without wishing to be lofty or patronising, I can safely point to the poisonous brainwashing an entire generation has been subjected to during the Zia era. Already reeling from Bhutto’s nationalisation of education, millions of Pakistani children then had years of religious studies rammed down their throats by Zia. This was supplemented by reactionary propaganda aired by state television and radio. In those days, there were no private channels to break this monopoly of the airwaves.

The current generation of Pakistanis reaching positions of authority and influence is the product of this brainwashing. Of course many have escaped its worst effects, but unquestionably, public discourse in Pakistan has moved to the right, and we now wear religion on our sleeves to a greater extent than ever before. Secularism is now a label few are willing to accept, even though many privately agree that it’s the only way Pakistan can rejoin the rest of the world.

When private channels first began operating in Pakistan’s stultified environment, I had hoped it would be a liberating force, opening a window to the world for millions of Pakistanis. In reality, it has worked to serve the opposite end by reinforcing existing prejudices, rather than challenging them. Owners of channels have their own concealed agendas, and poorly educated producers and hosts do little to separate opinions from facts."

....

Zia’s revenge

By Irfan Husain
Saturday, 28 Mar, 2009

Many talking heads are allowed to get away with espousing extreme viewpoints - File photo.

ON my all-too-brief visit back to Pakistan, I have been flipping local channels to catch up on events. I have found new ones to watch, although not necessarily for any length of time, given the generally low quality of the fare on offer.

The other evening, I caught a panel discussion featuring a gentleman who used to be in the foreign service, together with a couple of other talking heads. The discussion was about last November’s lethal terrorist attacks in Mumbai. When I switched on my TV, the gentleman was confidently asserting that the knowledge of downtown Mumbai the terrorists seemed to possess made it clear that they could not have been Pakistanis. From this shaky theory, he leaped to the conclusion that they must have been Indians who had been trained in their country, and then brought to Pakistan before being put on a boat that took them to Mumbai.

I had scarcely managed to digest this brilliant argument before another panellist, a senior lawyer, chipped in with his stunning contribution. According to him, the killers could not possibly have been Pakistanis because had they been, they would not have attacked Mumbai, but would have gone for Delhi’s Red Fort. 'Why would young Muslims from Pakistan be interested in Mumbai?' he demanded. 'They don’t know the language there, and surely they would not have gone there to ogle Bollywood actresses.' Both expressed their outrage that our government had accepted that the attacks had been launched from Pakistan.

In one discussion on minorities, a Pakistani Sikh guest told the audience how he had once been forbidden by a local maulvi from dangling his feet in a stream as Muslims downstream might use the water to perform their ablutions before they prayed. He also complained that he was not served tea at roadside dhabas because other customers might object to drinking from cups that had been used by a non-Muslim. An angry maulvi on the panel tried to reassure the poor Sikh that Islam enjoined its followers to treat minorities well.

On another evening, I caught a bit of a solo discourse by a gent who thundered: 'Allah’s curse be on those who criticise Pakistan! I want to tell all Pakistanis that before long, their current trials will be over, and we will soon re-conquer India!'

During such surreal discussions, many anchors fail to challenge the outlandish views being expressed by their guests, or ask them to produce evidence for their assertions. On the contrary, they are invited to explore their bizarre notions at length.

I have begun to realise the extent to which our media has become an active player in Pakistani politics and society. During the recent movement to restore the chief justice, millions of viewers across the country were mesmerised by the sight of the black-coated lawyers poised to take on the power of the state.

The problem with this kind of in-your-face TV journalism is that moving the camera into the action makes the crowds seem much bigger than they are. Also, in a competitive, pressured environment, there is little time to reflect on events and what they mean: the audience wants to know what’s happening every minute of every day. And to offer opinions, there are armies of pundits waiting to get invited to TV studios to hold forth. Most of them are retired diplomats, generals, judges and civil servants who are happy to leave the tedium of their lives for the glare of publicity. Unpaid, and with no professional reputation to protect, many can (and do) get away with the most absurd views.

In most cases, we do not really know who is behind which channel. Judging from the extreme views being pushed on many of them, the source of funding takes on a slightly sinister overtone. For years, question marks have hung over several journalists, and whispers have done the rounds tying them to our ubiquitous intelligence agencies. Given the role of these organisations in Pakistani politics over the years, I would not be surprised to learn that they are financing some of the channels that have proliferated recently.

Another problem is to do with the qualifications of the anchors and hosts of the many talk shows on offer. Selected for their looks and fluency rather than for their knowledge and education, they are ill-equipped to challenge their loud and self-confident panellists. When somebody voices an opinion as a fact, the anchors let him get away with it because they just do not know any better.

My personal theory is that their lack of a grounding in politics, economics and current affairs is a direct result of the poor education they have received. Without wishing to be lofty or patronising, I can safely point to the poisonous brainwashing an entire generation has been subjected to during the Zia era. Already reeling from Bhutto’s nationalisation of education, millions of Pakistani children then had years of religious studies rammed down their throats by Zia. This was supplemented by reactionary propaganda aired by state television and radio. In those days, there were no private channels to break this monopoly of the airwaves.

The current generation of Pakistanis reaching positions of authority and influence is the product of this brainwashing. Of course many have escaped its worst effects, but unquestionably, public discourse in Pakistan has moved to the right, and we now wear religion on our sleeves to a greater extent than ever before. Secularism is now a label few are willing to accept, even though many privately agree that it’s the only way Pakistan can rejoin the rest of the world.

When private channels first began operating in Pakistan’s stultified environment, I had hoped it would be a liberating force, opening a window to the world for millions of Pakistanis. In reality, it has worked to serve the opposite end by reinforcing existing prejudices, rather than challenging them. Owners of channels have their own concealed agendas, and poorly educated producers and hosts do little to separate opinions from facts. (Daily Dawn)

irfan.husain@gmail.com

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Can Mehsud be captured now? Rahimullah Yusufzai

By Rahimullah Yusufzai

Baitullah Mehsud, a larger-than-life figure from the tribal region of South Waziristan, continues to draw attention on the world stage. Recently, Time magazine named him in its annual list of the 100 most influential persons in the world. And a few days ago, the US announced a reward of $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

In a way, the reward is an indictment against Pakistan for its inability to bring to justice a wanted Pakistani. Now that a precedent has been set, it is possible that more Pakistanis will be placed on the most-wanted lists internationally and monetary rewards announced for their arrests.

Ironically, the government of Pakistan hasn't offered any such reward for Mehsud's arrest, even though he and his outlawed organization, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is routinely blamed by authorities for most of the suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks in the country. He has been charged in some police cases but has yet to be tried in a court of law or convicted.

It is possible that the US government took Pakistani authorities into confidence before announcing the cash reward for Mehsud's capture. In fact, government functionaries in Pakistan have been privately complaining and using certain media outlets to highlight the issue of lack of cooperation from the US in targeting and eliminating people like Mehsud. They have pointed out that US drones failed to attack Mehsud and his hideouts even when intelligence information about his possible location was shared with American military commanders. One such occasion was a largely-attended press conference that Mehsud addressed in a government school in a part of South Waziristan inhabited by his Mehsud tribe and was widely reported in the media. By announcing a reward for Mehsud's capture under its Rewards for Justice programme and including his name in its most-wanted list of Al-Qaeda facilitators, the US appears keen to address Pakistan's concerns and at the same time further enlist its cooperation in achieving American objectives in its "war on terror."

After being discarded by the UK, the term "war on terror" has now been abandoned by the US due to the belated realisation that it was misleading and was provoking large sections of the world's Muslim population who believed it was a war against Islam. However, mere change of wording is unlikely to have the desired effect. Instead, the Western powers would have to change their policy of using unbridled force against those with a different worldview and pursue dialogue while resolving contentious issues. Also, there is need for change in the unconditional American and Western support for Israel and the neglect of Palestinian suffering, their backing for snon-representative rulers in Islamic countries and their urge to replace unfriendly governments in Muslim nations with those behaving as puppets.

It is interesting to note that on the day the reward for Mehsud's capture was announced, the US State Department also made public two cash awards for those who could help in the arrest and conviction of an Afghan, Sirajuddin Haqqani, and a Libyan, Abu Yahya al-Libi. The fact that the US added a Pakistani, an Afghan and a Libyan to its list of most wanted people showed the trans-national character of the enemies of America. Also, all three are young, Mehsud being the oldest at about 35; Haqqani and al-Libi are under-30. This explains the transition taking place in Islamic militant organisations like Al-Qaeda and Taliban with younger people taking centre-stage in place of the older generation of militants. More importantly, the new generation of militants seems to be more radical and better organised. This also shows that killing or capturing older militants such as Osama bin Laden, Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mulla Mohammad Omar is unlikely to greatly damage their organisations as younger and equally determined Al-Qaeda and Taliban members are ready to take over the moment the pioneers of these groups are eliminated or apprehended.

The $5 million reward for Mehsud's capture places him just below Mulla Omar in terms of his importance to the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The reward for the latter's arrest is $10 million and that for bin Laden and Zawahiri $25 million each. Mehsud he has time and again declared that his leader is Mulla Omar, who is Afghan.

The US charge-sheet against Mehsud is rather weak. The State Department statement announcing the reward for his capture noted that Mehsud is "regarded" as a key Al-Qaeda facilitator in South Waziristan and that Pakistani authorities "believe" that the suicide attack against Marriott Hotel in Islamabad was staged by militants loyal to him. The statement also says that "press reports also have linked Mehsud to the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the deaths of other innocent civilians." Further, the US government pointed out in the statement that Mehsud had stated his intention to attack the United States. He was accused of conducting cross-border attacks against US forces in Afghanistan and posing a clear threat to American citizens and interests in the region. It is doubtful if all this would be enough to persuade independent judges to convict Mehsud in a court of law.

The reward for Haqqani's capture is an acknowledgement of the Afghan Taliban commander's hitherto underestimated power and influence. Earlier, the reward for his arrest was $200,000. It shows the US has finally recognised the threat the so-called "Haqqani Network" poses to the American, NATO and Afghan forces in Afghanistan. His father, Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani, was one of the most powerful Afghan Mujahideen and Taliban commanders in the 1980s and 1990s. The younger Haqqani, reverentially referred to as Khalifa by his followers, has built a bigger reputation by spearheading a relentless resistance campaign against the NATO and Afghan forces in southern Afghanistan and Kabul and inflicting heavy losses on them. Most attacks, including the daring suicide bombings taking place in Kabul, are reportedly organised by Haqqani's fighters.

The State Department statement doesn't provide much grounds to seek his conviction in a court. It refers to an interview that he gave to an American news organisation in which he admitted planning the Jan 14, 2008, attack against the Serena Hotel in Kabul that killed six people, including American citizen Thor David Hesla. He is accused of coordinating and participating in cross-border attacks against US and coalition forces in Afghanistan from his hideout in Pakistan's tribal areas and of maintaining close ties to al-Qaeda.

The same holds true for al-Libi, who is referred to by the State Department as an Islamic scholar and a prominent member of Al-Qaeda. The reward for his capture is $1 million. The statement recalls that al-Libi was captured in 2002 and imprisoned at the US airbase at Bagram in Afghanistan. It doesn't say that al-Libi and three other Arab fighters escaped from the heavily-guarded prison in Bagram in what was undoubtedly an unprecedented security lapse. The four Al-Qaeda fighters led by Abu Nasir al-Qahtani issued a videotape after their escape and described in detail their miraculous getaway from the maximum-security jail.

The Rewards for Justice programme hasn't been very successful in netting the wanted men in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. The cash awards are huge but not tempting enough to lure those who may have information that will lead to the capture of bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, Mulla Omar and the 20 or so Asl-Qaeda and Taliban figures on the most wanted US list. Ramzi Yousaf and Aimal Kansi were apprehended in Pakistan with the help of informers who were tempted by the cash reward offered by the US. Certain other low-key, unimportant and, in a number of cases, innocent people were also captured, and according to General Pervez Musharraf's book, delivered to the US in return for monetary prizes starting from $5,000. Most beneficiaries of the cash rewards were apparently personnel of Pakistan's security and law-enforcement agencies.

In Mehsud's case, there would be greater chances of netting him compared with figures like bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, Mulla Omar and Haqqani through the offer of cash reward. Unlike the others on the wanted list, his location and hideouts are known and confined to a limited area in South Waziristan and, occasionally, in North Waziristan. Besides, he has earned the enmity of both Pakistani security establishment and rival groups of militants. The suicide attack by one of his suicide bombers against the rival militant group led by Haji Turkestan in Jandola, the gateway to South Waziristan, on March 26 shows the intensity of his battle with militants and tribes that are standing up to him, reportedly at the behest of the government. However, the public announcement of the $5 million reward for Mehsud's capture would alert him and make him even more careful about his movements. The lure of money is surely a powerful incentive and one comes across bounty hunters who come to our part of the world in the hope of finding bin Laden and his associates. But it seems the people who know the hideouts of these wanted militants are so committed to their cause that no amount of money could tempt them to give away the location of the wanted al-Qaeda and Taliban figures. (The News, March 28, 2009)

The writer is resident editor of The News in Peshawar. Email: rahimyusufzai @yahoo.com

بیت اللہ محسود سے بدلہ لیں گے

ہارون رشید

بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، اسلام آباد

اس گروپ کی قیادت زین الدین محسود کر رہے ہیں

پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقے جنوبی وزیرستان میں ایک مسلح گروپ نے دھمکی دی ہے کہ وہ بیت اللہ محسود سے جنڈولہ میں گزشتہ دنوں ہوئے خودکش حملے کا بدلہ ضرور لیں گے تاہم عام قبائلیوں کو کچھ نہیں کہا جائے گا۔

کسی نامعلوم مقام سے ٹیلیفون پر بات کرتے ہوئے اپنے آپ کو عبداللہ محسود گروپ کا ترجمان قرار دینے والے شخص طوفان محسود نے الزام عائد کیا کہ بیت اللہ محسود گروپ کے مساجد پر حملوں اور قرآن کو مبینہ طور پر نظر آتش کرنے کے ان کے پاس ثبوت موجود ہیں۔

اس گروپ کی قیادت زین الدین محسود کر رہے ہیں اور یہ کچھ عرصہ قبل قائم کی گئی تھی۔ اس میں ترکستان بیٹنی نامی شخص بھی شامل ہے جس کو ہلاک کرنے کی بیت اللہ گروپ کئی مرتبہ کوشش کر چکا ہے۔

بیت اللہ محسود کی کالعدم تحریک طالبان پاکستان نے جنڈولہ حملے کی ذمہ داری قبول کی تھی۔

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2009/03/090328_baitullah_revenge_ra.shtml
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Pakistan must de-couple from the Taliban express

Shadowlands Saturday, March 28, 2009 The relationship between our security services and the various iterations of the Taliban over the last fifteen years has recently been described as 'ambiguous' by an American Senator – which understates the case by several orders of magnitude. There is no doubt and it is well-enough documented that Pakistan (urged on by the American CIA) gave support to the Taliban in their formative years as a tool to dislodge the Russians from Afghanistan. There emerged a group that eventually held the governance of most of Afghanistan. Pakistan was one of a handful of nations to recognize the Taliban government. No western nation ever did and the Taliban government in Afghanistan existed in a diplomatic limbo, which may now be seen as a significant lost opportunity. Relationships could have been built then that would have served us all well now, but they were not and the post 9/11 Taliban have emerged as the ultimate loose cannon – powerful, destructive and difficult to predict. Today there are credible reports that the various Taliban groups are coming together in anticipation of the US troop surge to fight the American and NATO forces. If they do they will be formidable indeed. In this shadowy world of unacknowledged relationships and covert alliances the intelligence agencies of all the player-nations are busy with their dark agendas – including our own. By their very nature secret agencies will willingly say little or nothing of what they do and when and where they do it and who they do it with. It is usually the media who ferret out what secret agencies are up to, and this week the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal carry reports that 'S division' of our own ISI are involved in supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan and by extension supporting them here as well. These reports are of course immediately denied and waved away, our government assuring us that we have no part in this meddlesome business. Then there is a quiet caveat…if any of our people are involved it must be rogue officers, men of junior rank operating on their own and without official blessing. Beyond the pale. It is the sotto voce caveat that gives the confirmation, sows the seeds of doubt and gives credence to the reports in the NYT and the WSJ. By the time these words are read we will know the details of the new American strategy, the Af-Pak plan. There is money in there for both countries – but it is going to be closely linked to performance indicators. Richard Holbrooke as recently as March 23 has spoken of the possibility of extending the war from FATA into other areas, specifically Quetta. He spoke of the need for tighter control of the Afghan-Pakistani border and linking aid to Pakistan's willingness and actual performance against extremist forces. He even hinted that the US-led coalition would not hold back if targets were found anywhere in Pakistan. With America in aggressive mode and demanding results, our own agencies may find themselves in some difficulty if they are indeed supporting Taliban figures and groups. What would be the American response if they could credibly demonstrate that on the one hand we appeared to be fighting alongside them towards shared goals; whilst on the other we were supporting the very elements that we were supposed to be fighting against? The trilateral relationship that has begun to develop between Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US, and the more inclusive and consultative position of the Obama administration, could be threatened were such found to be the case. Worse still, our own secret agencies could themselves become targets – and it is clear that the US is going to have few scruples about hitting them. This is not the time for ambiguity. We need clarity and, within the bounds of necessary secrecy, a little more transparency and accountability from our secret agencies. De-coupling from the Taliban Express is a job better done by ourselves – but if we don't do it then Uncle Sam may well do it for us, and hang the consequences. (The News, 18 March 2009)

Avoiding a collision course in US-Pakistan relations

Saturday, March 28, 2009

By Lisa Curtis The long-awaited new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan that President Barack Obama will be in the process of unveiling by the time this comes into print is the clearest signal yet that the Obama administration intends to dedicate the time, resources, and US leadership necessary to stabilise the region and contain the terrorist threat in South Asia. The new plan will likely reflect a shift in US strategy towards more regional diplomacy and civilian aid to both countries, but less tolerance for the continued existence of militant sanctuaries on the Pakistani side of the border. The re-doubling of US efforts in Afghanistan should help convince Pakistanis that America won't repeat its past mistake of turning its back on South Asia like it did in the early 1990s. This fateful decision still haunts US-Pakistani relations and perpetuates a debilitating distrust between our two countries. But leaving the past behind also requires Pakistan to put its faith in a new strategic view of the region that involves greater integration and cooperation with its neighbours and zero tolerance for terrorist groups that threaten the peace. Without a shift away from Pakistan's dual policies of fighting some terrorists and supporting others, US-Pakistani ties will be destined for a collision course. The front-page news story on continued Pakistani links to the Taliban and other terrorists targeting coalition forces in Afghanistan that ran in March 26's New York Times indicates the enormous challenge the US faces in seeking a counterterrorism partnership with Pakistan. US officials have long been aware that Pakistani security officials maintain contacts with the Afghan Taliban and related militant networks. Pakistani officials argue that such ties are necessary to keep tabs on the groups. There is growing recognition in Washington, however, that Pakistan's contacts with these groups involve much more than merely 'keeping tabs' on them. There is mounting evidence that Pakistani security officials support, and even guide, the terrorists in their activities. This disturbing fact was brought home last spring when US intelligence agencies apparently intercepted messages in which Pakistani army chief General Kayani referred to Afghan militant commander Jalaluddin Haqqani as a 'strategic asset'. Jalaluddin Haqqani is a powerful independent militant leader who operates in the border areas between Khost province in Afghanistan and North Waziristan agency of Pakistan's tribal border areas. He has been allied with the Taliban for nearly 15 years, having served as tribal affairs minister in the Taliban regime in the late 1990s. The Haqqani network has reportedly been behind several high-profile attacks in Afghanistan, including a truck bombing that killed two US soldiers in Khost province in March 2008 and the storming of the Serena Hotel in Kabul during a high-level visit by Norwegian officials in January 2008. Credible media reports, quoting US officials, further reveal a Pakistani intelligence link to the Haqqani network's planning and execution of a suicide bomb attack against India's embassy in Kabul last July that left over 50 Afghan civilians and two senior Indian officials dead. So while Pakistani military leaders may consider Haqqani a 'strategic asset', the international coalition considers him a ruthless terrorist enemy of the Afghan people and the international coalition forces fighting to protect them. What does all this mean for prospects for partnering with Pakistan in fighting terrorism? On the face of it, the signs are not encouraging. The Obama administration is clinging to the hope that Pakistan's military will awaken to the dangers these same terrorist elements pose to Pakistani society and the stability of the state. Continued links between extremists and elements of the Pakistani security establishment have led to confusion about the genuine threat to the nation. In turn, this ambivalence towards extremist groups within the security establishment fuels conspiracy theories against outsiders (mainly either India or the US) that get aired in the Pakistani media and lead to a public discourse that diminishes the threat from terrorists. To end this vicious cycle, the Pakistan army must fully break its links to terrorist groups and recognise that its own interests as a unified and stable institution will ultimately be jeopardised unless it reins in individuals who are pressing an extremist agenda. President Obama's speech is likely to reflect his commitment to building a partnership with Pakistan. But it will do so on terms that set benchmarks on Pakistan's performance against the terrorists that threaten stability in Afghanistan and the safety of the international community. Obama has already proved he is committed to his presidential campaign promise to target Al Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal border areas by continuing the use of Predator drone strikes against terrorist targets in the region. Recent reports about expanding drone attacks into Balochistan, however, likely represent veiled threats to Pakistani leaders to take decisive action against Taliban leaders in the provincial capital, Quetta. Predator strikes in populated areas like Quetta, where civilian casualties would be inevitable, would fuel enormous rage against the US that would push the US-Pakistan partnership to a breaking point. The increase in drone attacks in the tribal border areas over the last eight months is a reflection of the increasing frustration in Washington over Al Qaeda's and the Taliban's ability to maintain a safe haven in the region. The US resisted relying on unilateral strikes in these regions for several years in hopes that Pakistani efforts to deal with the terrorists would bear fruit. Drone attacks do not provide a long-term solution to the terrorist problem in the region, even as they have proved effective in causing disarray among the senior Taliban and Al Qaeda leadership. Signs of stronger Pakistani commitment to dealing with the terrorists decisively in this region would obviate the need to rely on drone attacks. Strengthen democratic forces Even as the Obama team sets benchmarks to gauge the Pakistani military's commitment to uprooting terrorism from the region, it needs to promote civilian democracy and demonstrate its support for the common Pakistani. In the current environment of extremism and terrorism, Pakistani politicians are often powerless to bring change for fear of violent retaliation. The assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007, is a stark example of the dangerous forces at play in Pakistan. The capitulation of the Awami National Party-led government of NWFP to the pro-Taliban forces in the Swat valley is another example of the violent intimidation of the secular forces in the country. Prior to the Swat valley agreement, several ANP politicians, including ANP party leader Asfandyar Wali Khan, were targeted for assassination. Until the security situation improves in Pakistan, it will be difficult for civilian politicians and civil society leaders to make bold policy moves towards building civil society and democratic institutions. Pakistani civilian leaders need and deserve US assistance. Legislation before the US Congress to potentially triple non-military assistance to Pakistan is a critical component of bolstering the Pakistani state against the forces of extremism. Pakistan is at a critical juncture. The Obama administration is demonstrating a willingness to invest significant resources (even amid a serious global economic downturn) into helping the country develop into a prosperous, peaceful and thriving state. But achieving this goal requires Pakistan's leaders to adjust their own regional security perceptions and to view the internal terrorist threat as urgently as their counterparts in Washington do. Only through a strong and trusting US-Pakistan partnership can Pakistan stabilise its economy and face down extremists who wish to destroy its tolerant traditions, retard its growth and development, and isolate the country from the global community. (The News) The writer is a senior research fellow on South Asia in the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation and wrote this exclusively for The News. Email: lisa.curtis@heritage.org

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Zahida Hina: From Sufi-ism to Taliban-ism

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Shariat, Swat and Unemployed Lawyers: Tanvir Qaiser Shahid,

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Muslims can't commit suicide-bombings in mosques: Claim right-wing politicians !

Jamrud Mosque attack: read the message!

A mosque housing nearly 300 people who were saying their Friday prayers was attacked by a suicide-bomber, killing 70 and crippling 125. The reaction of the political agent of Khyber was that “the attackers could not be Muslims because Muslims would never attack a mosque and that a Muslim would never spill the blood of a Muslim, especially when he was saying his namaz”. This statement flies against the worldwide evidence of Muslims at sectarian and national war with and against each other in many different places and at different times in history. Most regrettably, the conclusion thereafter drawn by some TV anchors was that a “foreign” non-Muslim power had staged the attack to destabilise Pakistan. Of course, one can only read “India” into this allegation, which is not very original.

The political agent said something else of interest without making the necessary connections himself, possibly for reasons of simplicity of mind or just fear. He said the attack came because the mosque was next to the checkpost of Baghiari and that among the people killed were many “khasadars”, or local levies, standing guard at the checkpost, a number of whom had been killed in the attack while praying. Later, a government official, who was less opaque about what had happened, clearly accused the Taliban of having done the job in retaliation against a recent operation by the khasadars and other security personnel targeting a militant group in Khyber that owed allegiance to Baitullah Mehsud, the self-proclaimed leader of the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan.

When Pakistanis say that “Muslims can’t do this or that” in or out of Pakistan, they are being hypocritical. There are all sorts of Muslims, moderates and extremists, Sufis and Wahabis, and so on. The fact also is that some sorts of Muslims have been killing other sorts of Muslims from Algeria to Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan for the past two decades. They dynamite sacred mausoleums, they blow up mosques and routinely kill other Muslims in the act of praying. What is happening in Pakistan today is serious violence against the state of Pakistan by local warlords who are affiliated with the Taliban who in turn are linked up with Al Qaeda. We may have weak resolve to take on the enemy but there is no validity in the assertion that we don’t know who is killing us. (Daily Times, 29 March 2009)

....




A young Pakistani would-be suicide bomber.
This boy was caught at a security check-post in NWFP's city Nowshera.

Pakistani paramedics give treatment to injured suicide blast victims at a hospital in Peshawar on March 27, 2009. A suicide bomber attacked a packed mosque in northwest Pakistan at prayer time, killing 48 people and wounding dozens more.

Source: Daily Express 28th March

One can find following statements in the attached news report of Daily Express

*Shareef Brothers said “No Muslim or Pakistani can play Holi with innocent Muslims’ blood in a mosque”.
* Leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami Qazi Hussain and Munawwar Hassan said “those who blew up mosques and religious seminaries can never be Muslims and hidden hand of Pakistan’s enemies must be involved in this incident”.
* Moulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and a federal minister Azam Khan Swati “blamed American CIA for this suicide bombing”.
* Imran Khan said that “No Muslim can commit such a heinous crime”.
* Tahir-ul-Qadri claimed “Terrorists are enemies of humanity and they have no religion”

After every suicide bombing we hear and read such statements of our right-wing politicians and mullahs.

While our own indigenous terrorist organizations such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi have claimed responsibilities of several suicide bombings, it is really shameful on part of our politicians and mullahs that they instead of condemning those who have been actually claiming responsibilities of suicide bombings and running training camps for the training of terrorists and suicide bombers, they always point fingers towards “some hidden hand”, “agents of RAW or CIA”, “enemies of Islam and Pakistan” and “ Christian crusaders and Jews”.

Why don’t our right-wing politicians and mullahs simply condemn Talibans and their associate terrorists and sectarian organizations who have been claiming responsibilities of suicide bombings???

Why don’t our right-wing politicians, mullahs and even so-called civil society activists mobilize masses and organize rallies and public meetings for the condemnation of crimes against humanity by Taliban terrorists and their associates terrorists of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi?
Shame on our right-wing politicians and mullahs ! (Socrates)

Following is a relevant Letter to the Editor Dawn dated: 29th March, 09

Terrorists have no religion

By ALI IRTIZA RIZVI

‘People-sans-religion’ have yet again struck. So far 70 people are feared dead in the Khyber Agency suicide attack. I am sad, but what makes me sadder as well as pessimistic is that a majority of Pakistanis are yet again bent upon avoiding the main point: instead, they are justifying the act and blaming the ‘enemies of Pakistan and Islam’ for the act. The immediate statements that are repeated in the media after such heinous acts speak of ‘an unknown suicide bomber’, the ‘enemies of Pakistan’, the ‘enemies of Islam’, ‘such people cannot be Pakistanis’, ‘such people cannot be Muslims’, so on and so forth to be behind the crime. Many political analysts after much deliberation and contemplation tend to reach the same, and oft-repeated, conclusion that India, Israel and covertly America are on a crusade against Pakistan. The people of Pakistan have nothing to do with terrorism, they say. Not a single Pakistani has been identified as a terrorist. Pakistan has itself been a victim of terrorism. This to me is nothing but rubbish. The painful realisation is that when the self-proclaimed divine soldiers bomb a mosque or kill innocent civilians, they are given a clean sheet. The aforementioned vague statements are issued in order to create ambiguity or to cover up the identity of the terrorists. But when the same people force the government to bow down to their demands for the implementation of their version of the Shariah, it is celebrated as the victory of Islam. However, when military action is initiated against such elements, the pro-Taliban media, especially anchor persons and so-called analysts, and the religious parties create an uproar and an environment of uncertainty for the masses who succumb to the propaganda. If these suicide attacks are seen in the light of a foreign hand that is determined to make Pakistan unstable, that foreign power is probably using these religious fanatics to fulfill its malicious designs, which plausibly make these religious fanatics (Taliban, Al Qaeda, or the many Lashkars and Hizbs) Indian allies, and foes of Pakistan. Why is it that when the government of Pakistan carries out military action against these elements that are allegedly Indian agents in Pakistan, considering the action to be in the best interest of Pakistan and guaranteeing Pakistan’s survival, there is an uproar from the religious and some political parties and media personnel against it? Should we assume that the religious parties in Pakistan, and their allies and friends, from the politicians to mullahs and the military to the media, are all Indian agents or at least the enemies of Pakistan? Why do such conspiracy theories fascinate us? There is always a need to put the record straight. The simple chronology of events in this regard is that under the US cover, taking advantage of its involvement during the Soviet invasion, Pakistan bred these terrorists and used them on either side of the border. This continued even in the post-9/11 period, and the same flawed ideology and strategy are being applied even today. It needs to be admitted that this is a problem created by Pakistan itself, supported by its ideological allies, and the pawns used in this game have been Muslims. The suicide bombers and their cohorts are also Muslims, and mostly Pakistanis. We should admit our mistakes. Though this may not solve the problem, the problem should be identified at least.

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If Obama wants to defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda, he will need to 'handle' the following resource persons of the ISI in Pakistan.

US warns Pakistan on Taleban link

Pakistan's Inter-Services Agency (ISI) has been widely accused of refusing to sever its links with Islamist groups that date back to the Cold War and the US-backed fight against Soviet forces in Afghanistan.

President Obama says: "Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out Al-Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders."

Imtiaz Gul, head of the Centre for Research and Security Studies, told AFP that Obama has made it clear US forces are going to chase the Al-Qaeda leadership "wherever it is."

"The US wants a result-oriented operation. Success in the war on terror is only possible if all the domestic problems which Pakistan is facing nowadays are resolved," warned retired lieutenant general Naseer Ahmad.

The top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, said Friday there were "indications" that elements of Pakistan's intelligence service are lending support to Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

Pakistan spies under heat in new US strategy

2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States has vowed to put the heat on Pakistan's spies in its new regional strategy, with top officials openly accusing elements in powerful intelligence agency of abetting Al-Qaeda.

President Barack Obama on Friday unveiled a plan to root out extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan by boosting troops and drastically increasing civilian personnel and aid to the region.

Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to the region, said he would visit Pakistan again next week to follow up on the plan. Of all issues, investigating the nuclear-armed nation's spy network "is the most important," he said.

"The issue's very disturbing," Holbrooke told public television's "Newshour with Jim Lehrer," when asked if Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was assisting Al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists.

"We cannot succeed if the two intelligence agencies are at each others' throat or don't trust each other and if the kind of collusion you referred to is factual," Holbrooke said.

General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, did not dispute that ISI elements have tipped off extremists to let them escape US-led forces.

"There are some cases that are indisputable in which that appears to have taken place," Petraeus told the same program.

During the Cold War, the ISI worked with the CIA to arm Islamist groups that fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan. The ISI later backed the Taliban, which imposed an medieval brand of austere Islamic rule on the war-torn country.

Pakistan switched from top Taliban backer to frontline US ally after the September 11, 2001 attacks. But the ISI has long faced allegations of insubordination to Pakistan's government, now led by US-friendly civilian President Asif Ali Zardari.

The New York Times reported Thursday that US officials had found evidence that ISI operatives offered money, military supplies and even strategic planning to Taliban commanders.

Links between the Taliban and ISI "are very strong and some unquestionably remain to this day," Petraeus told public television. "It is much more difficult to say at what level."

Such open criticism of the ISI will be music to the ears of India, which accuses Pakistani intelligence of plotting attacks in divided Kashmir and involvement in last year's bloodbath in Mumbai that killed 165 people.

Admiral Mike Mullen, the top US military officer, told CNN there were "certainly indications" of ISI involvement with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

He voiced hope that the new US "regional approach" would try to reduce tensions over Kashmir, allowing Pakistan to re-deploy troops away from arch-enemy India and to Afghan border areas.

Obama branded Al-Qaeda a "cancer that risks killing Pakistan from within," calling the extremists responsible for thousands of deaths and waves of destruction against Pakistanis.

He offered a major boost in aid and training to Pakistan but also issued a veiled warning.

"Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out Al-Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders," Obama said.

"And we will insist that action be taken -- one way or another -- when we have intelligence about high-level terrorist targets," Obama said.

Obama has continued George W. Bush's policy of unmanned drone attacks inside Pakistan, which are said to have killed high-level extremists but also civilians -- inflaming Pakistani public opinion.

Pakistan has urged the United States to let it carry out the drone attacks, but US officials have feared that elements within the ISI would warn the extremists.

Holbrooke acknowledged frustrations, calling the fight to bring stability to Pakistani border areas "the most daunting challenge" of the new regional plan because Pakistan had imposed a "red line."

"The red line is unambiguous and stated publicly by the Pakistani government -- no foreign troops on our soil," Holbrooke told reporters.

"You can have a great government in Kabul -- a government that fulfills every criteria of democratic governance -- and if the current situation in western Pakistan continues, the instability in Afghanistan continues," Holbrooke said.

"We all know that."

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5huAamvHl0zuzifEJ-fhWeGNHfxNA

Pakistani intelligence backing Al-Qaeda, Taliban

11 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — There are "indications" that elements of Pakistan's intelligence service lend support to Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, the top US military officer said on Friday.

"There are certainly indications that's the case," Admiral Mike Mullen told CNN when asked if elements of Pakistan's spy agency were backing the Al-Qaeda network and its Taliban allies.

"Fundamentally that's one of the things that has to change."

Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been widely accused of refusing to sever its links with Islamist groups that date back to the Cold War and the US-backed fight against Soviet forces in Afghanistan.

After the September 11 attacks, Washington demanded that Islamabad ensure the ISI cut its ties with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, but there have been persistent reports that some members of the spy service remain in league with the extremist networks.

India has directly accused the powerful military intelligence agency of involvement in last year's Mumbai attacks that killed 165 people.

Pakistani officials have denied the government has links to the Mumbai attackers or to Al-Qaeda and its allies.

Mullen's comments came as President Barack Obama unveiled a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, in which he called for Islamabad to crack down on insurgents operating within Pakistan's borders.

The admiral earlier told reporters that Pakistan's role posed a major challenge to the war in Afghanistan, although he acknowledged that Islamabad had made some progress in fighting insurgents on its border with Afghanistan.

"They've moved dramatically over the last seven, eight months with their Frontier Corps who's had a big impact," Mullen said, referring to Pakistan's troops on the western border.

"It's dramatically improved" compared to two years ago, he added. "They've done pretty well, they've done a lot."

Larger numbers of Pakistan regular army troops were also now operating in the border area in recent months, he said.

Mullen expressed hope for more progress but said there was a "trust deficit" between Pakistan and the United States that he and other government officials were working to overcome.

A crucial part of the new strategy for Afghanistan was a "regional approach" that would try to reduce tension on Pakistan's eastern border with India over the disputed territory of Kashmir to free up Pakistani troops to counter militants on the western border, Mullen said.

"One of the reasons the regional approach is so important is to de-tension the Kashmir border so that the Pakistani military is not completely tied up on that border, and they are able to train, equip and fight on the western border in the counter-insurgency effort," he said.

Pakistan sees itself as fighting a "two-front" war, in Kashmir and against Islamist insurgents in the northwest, he added.

Asked about what leverage the United States had over Pakistan, Mullen suggested that aid Washington was offering might be linked to progress in fighting insurgents.

"There are linkages between support, aid, whatever the case might be, that I think we need to evaluate in terms of that assistance," he said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jhO2_r-PUVoNPChd4EFxia7s90Yg
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Mela Charaghan (Festival of Lights) in Lahore: Life and Poetry of Madhu Lal Hussain

Madhu Lal Hussain said,
"Be never engaged at all
in arguments so long
but ponder over your end
so says Hussain Faqir."



Mela Chiraghan or Mela Shalamar ("Festival of Lights") is a three day annual festival to mark the urs (death anniversary) of the Punjabi Sufi poet and saint Shah Hussain. It takes place at the shrine of Shah Hussain in Baghbanpura, on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, adjacent to the Shalimar Gardens. The festival used to take place in the Shalimar Gardens also, until President Ayub Khan ordered against it in 1958. The festival used to be the largest festival in the Punjab, but now comes second to Basant.

Poetry / Kafis of Shah Hussain

Hussain’s poetry consists entirely of short poems known as "Kafis", usually 4 to ten lines, designed for musical compositions, to be interpreted by the singing voices. The rhythm and the refrain are so balanced as to bring about a varying, evolving musical pattern... folk songs that draw on the emotional experience of the community.... record the reactions to the cycle of birth and the play of desire against the rhythms of hope , despair, exultation and nostalgia.

Today most of these Kafis are sung, by well know singers and some have even been used as songs in the Indian Film Industry.

All translations are from Najam Hosain’s book quoted below.

Life’s Journey - limits & boundaries

Main wi janan dhok Ranjhan di, naal mare koi challey
Pairan paindi, mintan kardi, jaanan tan peya ukkaley
Neen wi dhoonghi, tilla purana, sheehan ney pattan malley
Ranjhan yaar tabeeb sadhendha, main tan dard awalley
Kahe Husain faqeer namana, sain senhurray ghalley

Travelers, I too have to go; I have to go to the solitary hut of Ranjha. Is there any one who will go with me? I have begged many to accompany me and now I set out alone. Travelers, is there no one who could go with me?

The River is deep and the shaky bridge creaks as people step on it. And the ferry is a known haunt of tigers. Will no one go with me to the lonely hut of Ranjha?

During long nights I have been tortured by my raw wounds. I have heard he in his lonely hut knows the sure remedy. Will no one come with me, travelers?

On separation

Sujjen bin raatan hoiyan wadyan
Ranjha jogi, main jogiani, kamli kar kar sadian
Maas jhurey jhur pinjer hoyya, karkan lagiyan hadiyan
Main ayani niyoonh ki janan, birhoon tannawan gadiyan
Kahe Husain faqeer sain da, larr tairay main lagiyaan

Nights swell and merge into each other as I stand a wait for him.
Since the day Ranjha became jogi, I have scarcely been my old self and people every where call me crazy. My young flesh crept into creases leaving my young bones a creaking skeleton. I was too young to know the ways of love; and now as the nights swell and merge into each other, I play host to that unkind guest - separation.

Female freedom

Ni Mai menoon Kherian di gal naa aakh
Ranjhan mera, main Ranjhan di, Kherian noon koori jhak
Lok janey Heer kamli hoi, Heeray da wer chak

Do not talk of the Kheras* to me,

Oh mother do not .
I belong to Ranjha and he belongs to me.
And the Kheras dream idle dreams.
Let the people say, "Heer is crazy; she has given her-self to the cowherd." He alone knows what it all means.
O mother, he alone knows.
Please mother, do not talk to me of Kheras.

*The Kheras were a wealthy family.

Mai ni main kinon akhan
Dard vichoray da haal ni

Dhuan dhukhay mere murshad wala
Jaan pholan taan laal ni

Jungle belle phiran dhondendi
Ajay na payo lal ni

Dukhan di roti, solan da salan
Aahen da balan baal ni

Kahay hussain faqeer nimana
Shoh milay tan thewan nihal ni

Mai ni main kinon akhan
Dard vichoray da haal ni

Kafian Shah Hussain http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/shah/shfront.html

MAI NEE MEIN KINNO AKHAAN, Hamid Ali Bela




Rabba mere haal da mehran tu - Abida Perveen





Picture Gallery

Mela Chiraghan is one of the most cultural events in the city when

Darvesh come from all over the country and join the three days celebrations. Their ash covered faces, colorful dresses and expressions attract a lot of people.

Darvesh at shrine of Madhu Lal

Originally uploaded by Max Loxton

Mouth Watering Andarassas , Mela Charaghan, Lahore

Qatlamma قتلمہ Mela Charaghan, Lahore

Pakistani Muslim devotees gather around the fire at the shrine of Muslim Sufi Saint Madhu Lal Hussain in Lahore on March 29, 2008 on the saint's409 death anniversary. The three-day annual festival of Hazrat Madhu Lal Hussain started at his shrine with full devotion on 29 March. The festival celebrations were also famous for the Mela Charaghan in which a large number of people from all over the country participate.

Devotee: A Muslim celebrates at the shrine of Saint Shah Hussain during the first day of the annual religious festival in Lahore on Saturday. The three day festival of the prominent Sufi poet and spiritual leader Madhu Lal began at the shrine on Saturday. Arif Ali, AFP

I just watched a More 4 documentary (A Jihad for Love - heartbreaking stuff) and briefly it covered the story Shah Hussain, the sufi poet saint, and Madho Lal his Brahmin male lover. Apparently their love story is renowned and celebrated annually by followers of the Sufi religious branch. Did any of you know about this/ hear about this before? Their tombs lie side by side and their names have even been merged when referring to just Shah Hussain, Madho Lal Hussain i believe.

Dhamal at the urus of Madhu Lal Hussain (R.A) Lahore

Biography of Shah Husayn (Madhu Lal)

Shah Husayan (1538-1599) is commonly known as Madhu Lal Hussain, the story being that he adopted his Hindu friend Madhu Lal's name to immortalise their friendship. He was around during the time of the Mughal emperors Akbar and Jehangir. Though of a poor family, Hussain was highly educated.

His poetry is full of symbolism. Some of his most famous kafis feature the Charkha, as in those days foreign merchants used to sell cotton to Lahore, which the poor later weaved into cloth.

Hadrat Shah Lal Husayn of Lahore, a disciple of Bahlul Shah Daryai. His mother was a Rajput woman of the Dhadha tribe, and his paternal ancestors were known as Kalsarai. Thus Lal Husayn's own name was originally Dhadha Husayn Kalsarai. The first of his ancestors to accept Islam was a man named, Kalsarai who became a Muslim during the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlag, and was appointed by him to be Shaykhul-Islam. The family name, Kalsarai, dates from that time. Lal Husayn showed, even as a child, a marked preference for clothes of saffron and red colour, hence the epithet Lal added to his name. Very early in life it became clear that he possessed a religious disposition, and while still only ten years' old he was initiated into the Qadiri Order by Bahlul Shah Daryai.

For twenty-six years he strictly followed the rites and practices of Islam, and led a life of real austerity. But on reaching the age of thirty-six, it is said that while studying a commentary on the Quran under a certain Shaykh Sa 'du'llah in Lahore, he came one day to the verse; "The life of this world is nothing but a game and sport." (vi. 32). He asked his master to explain this to him, but when the usual meaning was given he refused to accept it, saying that the words must taken literally, and that henceforth he himself would pass his life in sport and dancing. This incident proves to be a turning point in his career and from that time he sought to express in life the extraordinary views he held.

In consequence he abruptly left the madras and went about shouting and dancing in public. He never returned to his student life and religious practices. One of his first acts on leaving his studies was to throw his book. Maddrik, a commentary on the Quran, into a well. His fellow-students, grieved at the loss of so valuable a work began to chide him, whereupon he turned and addressed the well as follows: ""O water, return my book, for my friends are anxious to have it;" on saying this he drew it out unsoiled.

He now gave himself up to the life of a libertine and spent so much of his time in drinking, dancing and music that he became, in the language of the Sufi malamati, blameworthy. It is said that his pir Bahlul Shah Daryai. hearing of the change in his disciple came to see him and, strange to relate, in spite of the freedom from restraint which he himself witnessed in Husayn's manner of life he expressed himself satisfisfied with the hidden sanctity of his disciple, and thereupon confirmed him in his position as his vicegerent in` Lahore.

Hassu Teli, famous as the saint of oilmen, was a contemporary of Lal Husayn. He kept a shop at Chawk Jhhanda near the Mori gate. At first he used to sell corn but later at the direction of his Pir, Shah Jamal ((whose tomb is in Ichhra) he started selling oil.

Lal Husayn, who was in the habit of visiting the tomb of Data Ganj Bakhsh, would stop on his way at the shop and spend some time in dancing and shouting. One day Hassu Teli teasing him said, O, Husayn, why this dancing and shouting? You have no cause for such ecstasy, for I have never seen you in the court of the Prophet." But on the following day, when Muhamad held his court in the spirit world, with all the prophets and saints in attendance including Hassu Tell as one of the representatives of the living saints on earth, a child appeared who first went to the lap of the Prophet, and was then passed from one to the other, finally coming to Hassu Teli. While playing on the latter's knee he plucked out some hairs from his beard. When next Husayn stopped at the oilman's shop Hassu repeated his taunt that the man was not worthy of being admitted into the Prophet's court. For reply Lal Uusayn quietly produced the hairs which he had plucked from Hussu's beard! The oilman was at first thrown into great consternation, but recovering his equilibrium retorted after a moment's silence: "So it was you, was it ? Ah well, it was as a child that you got the better of me!"

Lal Husayn's name is popularly associated with that of another person called Madhu, and in fact, the two are so constantly thought of together that the saint commonly goes by the name of Madhu Lal Husayn as though the master and this disciple of his were one person. Madhu was a young Hindu boy, a Brahmin by caste, to whom Lal Husayn was, one day, irresistibly attracted as he saw him pass by. So strong indeed was the fascination he felt for the boy, that he would rise in the middle of the night and, going to his house, would walk round it. In time Madhu himself felt the attraction of Lal Husayn and, coming under the spell of his fervent love, began to frequent his house, and even joined him in drinking wine. Such intimate connection between a Hindu boy and a Muslim faqir of questionable character very soon become the talk of the place. Madhu's parents feeling it to be a disgrace to their family tried their utmost to dissuade the boy from going to Lal Husayn, but in vain.

So far Madhu, though the bosom friend of Lal Husayn, had not yet renounced Hinduism. It was, we a told, a miracle wrought by LAl Husayn that finally led him and his parents to the conviction of the truth of Islam. The story goes that once when Madhu's parents were going to Hardwar to perform the bathing ceremony they desired to take their son with them. Lal Husayn however, would not let him go, though he promised to send him later. When the parents had reached Hardwar Lal Husayn made Madhu shut his eyes and then, after striking his feet upon the ground, to open them again , Madhu did as he was told and was greatly astonished on looking round to find himself in Hardwar! His surprise was shared by his parents, who marveled at his arrival from such a distance within so short a space of time. Impressed by this miracle, Madhu and his parents on their return to Lahore accepted Islam at the hands of Lal Husayn.

The latter died in 1599 A. D. at the age of 63 and Madhu who survived him for forty-eight years was buried in a tomb next to that of his pir, in Baghanpura, in Lahore. The shrine containing their tombs continues even to this day to attract dense crowds of people of classes. The urs used formerly to be celebrated on 22nd Jamdi 'th-thani, i. e. the anniversary of Lal Husayn's death; but later, in order to avoid any inconvenience through the date for the celebration falling in the heat of summer, it was agreed to make the festival coincide with the advent of spring so now the 14th Baisakh and the last Sunday in March are the recognized dates for its celebration.

Lal Husayn had sixteen Khalifas, four of them were called Khaki, four Gharib, four Diwan, and four Bilawal. After his death four of them, viz. Khaki Shdh, Shdh Gharib, Diwan Madhu, and Shah Bilawal took up their abode at his shrine, and were eventually buried within its precincts.

http://www.abntv.com/festivals/mela_charagan.html

Documentary on Madhoo Lal Hussain



..

SHAH HUSAIN
By: Najm Hosain Syed

From his book: Recurrent Patterns In Punjabi Poetry

In the new Lahore lies buried Shah Husain and with him lies buried the myth of Lal Husain. Still, at least once a year we can hear the defused echoes of the myth. As the lights glimmer on the walls of Shalamar, the unsophisticated rhythms of swinging bodies and exulting voices curiously insist on being associated with Husain. This instance apparently defies explanation. But one is aware that an undertone of mockery pervades the air - released feet mocking the ancient sods of Shalamar and released voices mocking its ancient walls. Husain too, the myth tells us, danced a dance of mockery in the ancient streets of Lahore. Grandson of a convert weaver, he embarrassed every one by aspiring to the privilege of learning what he revered guardians of traditional knowledge claimed to teach.

Then again, fairly late in life, he embarrassed every one by refusing to believe in the knowledge he had received from others, and decided to know for himself. He plucked the forbidden fruit anew.

The myth of Lal Husain has lived a defused, half-conscious life in the annual Fare of Lights. The poetry of shah Husain which was born out of common songs of the people of the Punjab has kept itself alive by becoming a part of those very songs. In recent past, the myth of Madhu Lal Husain and the poetry of Husain have come to be connected. But the time for the myth to become really alive in our community is still to come.

Husain s poetry consists entirely of short poems known as "Kafis." A typical Husain Kafi contains a refrain and some rhymed lines. The number of rhymed lines is usually from four to ten. Only occasionally a more complete form is adopted. To the eye of a reader, the structure of a "Kafi" appears simple. But the "Kafis" of Husain are not intended for the eye. They are designed as musical compositions to be interpreted by the singing voice. The rhythm in the refrain and in the lines are so balanced and counterpointed as to bring about a varying, evolving musical pattern.

It may be asserted that poetry is often written to be sung. And all poetry carries, through manipulation of sound effects, some suggestion of music. Where then lies the point in noticing the music in the "Kafis" of Shah Husain? Precisely in this: Husain s music is deliberate - not in the sense that it is induced by verbal trickery but in the sense that it is the central factor in the poet s meaning.

The music that we have here is not the vague suggestion of melodiousness one commonly associates with the adjective "lyrical : it is the symbolic utterance of a living social tradition. The "Kafis" draw for their musical pattern on the Punjabi folk songs. The Punjabi folk songs embody and recall the emotional experience of the community. They record the reactions to the cycle of birth, blossoming, decay and death. They observe the play of human desire against the backdrop of this cycle, symbolizing through their rhythms the rhythms of despair and exultation, nostalgia and hope, questioning and faith. These songs comprehend the three dimensions of time - looking back into past and ahead into future and relating the present to both. Also, these songs record the individual s awareness of the various social institutions and affiliations and clinging to them at the same time - asserting his own separate identity and also seeking harmony with what is socially established.

Through this deliberate rhythmic design, Shah Husain evokes the symbolic music of the Punjabi folk songs. His "Kafis" live within this symbolic background and use it for evolving their own meaning.

By calling into life the voice of the folk-singer, Husain involves his listeners into the age-old tension which individual emotions have borne it its conflicts with the unchanging realities of Time and Society. But then, suddenly one is aware of a change. One hears another different voice also. It is the voice of Husain himself, apparently humanized with the voice of the folk-singer, and yet transcending it. The voice of the folk-singer has for ages protested against the bondage of the actual, but its fleeting sallies into the freedom of the possible have always been a torturing illusion. The voice of the folk-singer is dragged back to its bondage almost willingly, because it is aware of the illusory nature of its freedom and is reluctant run after a shade, fearing the complete loss of its identity. The voice of Shah Husain is transcending folk-singer s voice brings into being the dimension of freedom - rendering actual what had for long remained only possible:

Ni Mai menoon Kherian di gal naa aakh
Ranjhan mera, main Ranjhan di, Kherian noon koori jhak
Lok janey Heer kamli hoi, Heeray da wer chak

Do not talk of the Kheras to me,
O mother, do not.
I belong to Ranjha and he belongs to me.
And the Kheras dream idle dreams.
Let the people say, "Heer is crazy; she has given her-self to the cowherd." He alone knows what it all means.
O mother, he alone knows.
Please mother, do not talk to me of Kheras.

At first , the little "Kafi" deftly suggests the underlying folk-song patter. The usual figures in the marriage song - the girls, the mother, the perspective husband and the perspective in-laws are all there. And the refrain calls the plaintive marriage-song address of the girl to he mother on the eve of her departure from the parents house.

But the folk-song pattern remains at the level of an underlying suggestion. The mother and the daughter in the folk-song were both helpless votaries of an accepted convention, bowing before the acknowledged power of an unchanging order. Here in the "Kafi" the daughter assumes the power of choice and rejection. She stands outsides the cycles of time and society. The mother continues to represent the social order and the accepted attitudes according to her convictions, the Kheras offer the best possible future for her daughter because they assure mundane security and prestige, within a decaying order. But the daughter I snow determined to go beyond this order and seek further inner development. To her the Kheras, her unacceptable in-laws, represent the tyranny of the actual forced on the individual. To her, Ranjha, the socially condemned cowherd, represents the consummation of her revolt, promising a union which is the real inner fulfillment. The accepted attitudes are based on a superficial vision,

which takes appearance to be the only reality. Ranjha, who always hides his real self behind the shabby garb of a jogi or a cowherd can never be understood and can never be preferred to the wealthy Kheras. His real identity is a mystery that can be realized only in Heer s individual emotions. And for such a realization, a conscious break with the order of appearances is a prerequisite. Husain s triumph is achieved, not by evading the bondage s of the actual but by suffering them and finally transforming them. The mother remains a part of the daughter s consciousness - in addressing her she addresses herself. But this part of her consciousness is now subjected to more vital individual self. In the refrain:

Ni Mai menon Kherian di gal naa aakh

there is a tone of confidence - a mixture of earnest protestation and assured abandon.

Here is a "Kafi" presenting a different emotion:

Sujjen bin raatan hoiyan wadyan
Ranjha jogi, main jogiani, kamli kar kar sadian
Mass jhurey jhur pinjer hoyya, karken lagiyan hadyan
Main ayani niyoonh ki janan, birhoon tannawan gadiyan
Kahe Husain faqeer sain da, larr tairay main lagiyaan

Nights swell and merge into each other as I stand a wait for him.
Since the day Ranjha became jogi, I have scarcely been my old self and people every where call me crazy. My young flesh crept into creases leaving my young bones a creaking skeleton. I was too young to know the ways of love; and now as the nights swell and merge into each other, I play host to that unkind guest - separation.

The slower tempo of the refrain sets the mood of the "Kafi." The voice of the singer stretches in an ecstasy of suffering along the lengthening vowel sounds. The vowel sounds initiated by the refrain are taken up by rhythms and several other words.

The Heer-Ranjha motif is used here in a different emotional background. The intense loneliness here contrasts sharply with the confidence of fulfillment shown in the earlier "Kafi." Here people s preoccupation with appearances is not treated with indifference;

Ranjha jogi, main jogiani, kamli kar kar sadian

instead it adds to the plain. But in the notes of suffering, there is a strange quality of single-mindedness. One is not aware of any fidgety second thoughts. The plain does not evince any desperation: in fact there is an air of contemplative pose, born out of the awesome finality of commitment.

In another "Kafi" using the Heer-Ranjha motif, we are taken back to a still earlier stage of the poet s emotional Odyssey:

Main wi janan dhok Ranjhan di, naal mare koi challey
Pairan paindi, mintan kardi, janaan tan peya ukkaley
Neen wi dhoonghi, tilla purana, sheehan ney pattan malley
Ranjhan yaar tabeeb sadhendha, main tan dard awalley
Kahe Husain faqeer namana, sain senhurray ghalley

Travelers, I too have to go; I have to go to the solitary hut of Ranjha. Is there any one who will go with me? I have begged many to accompany me and now I set out alone. Travelers, is there no one who could go with me?

The River is deep and the shaky bridge creaks as people step on it. And the ferry is a known haunt of tigers. Will no one go with me to the lonely hut of Ranjha?

During long nights I have been tortured by my raw wounds. I have heard he in his lonely hut knows the sure remedy. Will no one come with me, travelers? <

The folk-song locale is present here in the shape of a river, a ferry and a batch of travelers. The travelers gather to set off to remote places for business, duty and other reasons. And there is the self conscious girl who comes daily to hear some chance gossip drop a word about her friend. The river for centuries has flowed between desire and fulfillment. No one knows where it goes; it has no beginning and no end. The river is ancient and unfathomable - holding mysterious dangers. It causes both life and death but shows a fascinating indifference that compels awed men and women to kneel and worship the river. There is another reason for this homage. The river bounds the village. It limits and defines the known and tried capacities of humanity. The girl s father has no possessions beyond the river. What she was born with lies placidly marked this side of the river. What is beyond, is vaguely threatening. But this hazardous unknown fascinates the girl and seeks to lure her out of the complacent peace she was born with.

But the girl in the "Kafi" differs from the girl in the folk-song in one vital respect. The girl in the folk-song has for ages, waited on this side of the river. She visits the ferry and moves among the travelers with questioning looks. But in her words and looks there lurks the knowledge of perpetual impossibility, the acknowledge that desire is never more than a wish is often less than it. The girl in the "Kafi" is prepared to bridge the gap between desire and attainment. She too is aware of the hazards of her ways but for her he imperative need to set out has become the supreme fact.

The image of a patient, desperately looking for a last remedy contains subtle implications. When Heer fakes illness in the house of her in-laws, Ranjha the fake jogi was approached for some magic cure. Heer was cured in a way the people did not foresee and her illness turned out to be of an unexpected nature. Those believing in appearances as the only reality were given a dramatic lesson. Here in the "Kafi", the metaphorical background is recreated. The girl earnestly wishes to align herself with ordinary motives and measures. But the uncommon purpose of her journey and the uncommon destination still stand out among the group of travelers. Her request for some one to accompany her only throws into stranger relief her unique loneliness.

The ecstatic rhythm brings to the refrain a tone of finality, a finality comparable to that of death. The journey across the river is a transition as radical as death. The two worlds of experience are as different from each other as the familiar life and the unknown beyond. (1959)

...

Sufis - Wisdom against Violence
by Salman Saeed

Madho Lal Shah Hussain [1538 - 1599]

The story goes that Madho Lal [a Hindu Brahmin] and Shah Hussain [a Muslim Sufi] were great friends and to immortalise the friendship between the two, Shah Hussain decided to call himself Madho Lal Hussain.

Outside the walls of the Shalamar Gardens in Lahore, there is held an annual festival at the time of Spring harvest called "Mela Chiraghan" or the Festival of Lights, close to the grave of Lal Hussain. In the songs of the village minstrels and the dancers' movements, the myth of Lal Hussain once again is reborn. Grandson of a convert weaver, Lal Hussain embarrassed everyone by aspiring to the privilege of learning.

...

A Victim of Apathy

Shafqat Tanvir Mirza

The News, March 29, 2005

LAHORE has two festivals, Basant and Mela Chiraghan, which are cultural and secular in nature.

Mela Chiraghan or the Urs of Madho Lal Husain has long been thrown out of the Shalamar Gardens and the streets which lead to the mazar of the sufi poet have been encroached upon, courtesy the Qabza group.

Mela Chiraghan is closely associated with peasants, and the Mughals, the Sikhs and the British administrations used to observe their festival officially. During the Sikh period, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh used to lead the procession from the Lahore Fort to the mazar.

After the annexation of the province by the British, the festival was announced open to the peasantry from all over Punjab. It was then that the festival was given the name of Mela Shalamar or Mela Chiraghan. Before that it was simply known as the Urs of Madho Lal Husain - a name representing both Muslims and non-Muslims. Ranjeet Singh paid much respect to the sufi poet and saint.

After independence the festival continued as it was designed during the Raj. It used to be the biggest festival of Punjab on which doors of the Shalamar were flung open to the public. But the centre of the festival, Shah Husain, was lost as a poet. There was a time when Shah Husain's poetry was used to train young classical singers. Among the last generation of such singers was Inayat Bai Derowali.

This tradition was also lost till much later when it was revived by singers like Hamid Ali Bela.

He made Husain's verses popular under the banner of the Majlis Shah Husain, formed in 1964.

Husain thereafter has been remembered as a poet.

The Majlis conducted research on the text of Shah Husain's works, got it translated into English and published Haqeeqatul. Fuqara, biography of Shah Husain in Persian. It arranged national seminars, mushairas, book exhibitions and concerts at the Urs. The three-day celebrations were attended by Bengali, Sindhi, Pushto and Urdu writers besides Punjabi writers and poets.

The Majlis also prepared a project for building a Shah Husain cultural centre, but the One-Unit provincial government was not in a mood to honour this 16th century Punjabi poet.

Shah Husain was the pioneer of the kafi. His poetry had influenced the great Sindhi poet, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, on whose Urs the Sindh government declares a holiday. The original manuscript of Bhitai's work also included kafis of Shah Husain. It was this genre which was further developed by Bulleh Shah and Khwaja Farid. Shah Husain's language, images and symbols were frequently used by later kafi writers.

The most striking feature of the language used by Shah Husain was its representation of all dialects spoken in Punjab and adjoining areas. The standard dialect thus united all subdialects.

Kartar Singh Duggal, a prominent writer, says: "Shah Husain wrote in impeccable central Punjab idiom and can claim to be one of those writers who have brought mediaeval Punjabi closest to modern usage." In the light of the comment offered by Duggal, Shah Husain's language can serve as a role model for all books to be written and taught in Punjab. A resolution to this effect is scheduled to be tabled in the Punjab Assembly on April 7.

Another Sikh scholar, Dr Mohan Singh Diwana, who had compiled the verses of Shah Husain in the Persian scrip in the early 1940s, writes in his History of Punjabi Literature, (1932): 'The religious love song found its sweetest singer in Shah Husain whose 60 or so scattered kafis in various manuscripts ... are perfect little gems in their simplicity, music, eternal and changeless love vocabulary, and their elemental passion and saintly spontaneity. Written about 350 years ago, they are as easily intelligible today as then and their lyrical charm has the same glister and perfume as it ever had.' Though Mohan Singh calls these kafis "religious love songs", the Punjab government under bureaucratic influence of the culture ministry has refused to acknowledge the anniversary of the non-conformist poet. Not a single function. has been arranged by any state-run educational or cultural institution. Even the newly-established Punjab Institute of Language, Arts and Culture, headed by a bureaucrat-cum-kafi writer has shown no interest. It is worth noting that the institute in the recent past arranged a function in Multan to pay homage to Khwaja Farid.

The unfortunate aspect of this affair is that the government has not so far considered it proper to arrange visits of foreign cultural delegates to the mazar of this 16th century poet and saint.

Shah Husain continues to be a victim of apathy on the part of the World Punjabi Congress, the Pakistan Punjabi Adabi Board and the Academy of Letters. In the sufi poet's own words: Maaen ni mein kinnun aakhan.

....

Hamid Akhtar, Express, 28 March 2009

Read more...

Death toll in Pakistan mosque blast may reach 70

The Taliban and their jihadi and sectarian associates attack mosques, imambargahs, funerals, schools, army, police, political leaders alike.

Sometimes they openly claim the responsibility of their heinous crimes. On other occasions, they remain silent for their own strategic gains.

While they remain silent, we have their supporters abound in Pakistan and abroad who keep justifying Taliban's atrocities on one pretext or the other.

One thing is for sure, Taliban are the enemies of Islam and Pakistan. They are being used by our enemies to ruin both Islam and Pakistan.

Their forefather Zionist agent General Zia-ul-Haq Yazid killed 25,000 Palestinians. These bastard children of General Zia are killing whatever iota of nobility is left behind in the "Islamic Republic".

Deadly blast hits Pakistan mosque

A bomb has exploded at a mosque near the town of Jamrud in the Khyber agency in north-west Pakistan, killing at least 50 people, officials say.

The top administrator in the Khyber region, Tariq Hayat, said he feared the death toll could rise to 70.

Officials say the attack was a suicide bombing and the mosque has collapsed.

North-west Pakistan has witnessed a number of suicide attacks linked to the Taleban insurgency and also to the Shia-Sunni sectarian divide.

The attack in the village of Baghiani, about 30km (20 miles) from the Afghan border, took place as Friday prayers were beginning.

More than 70 people have been hurt.

Rescuers were at the scene digging through the rubble, pulling out bodies and injured survivors who were rushed to hospital.

'Caught fire'

The mosque was next to a tribal police checkpoint, says the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad, and was crowded with about 250 worshippers, including many police.

In pictures: Mosque collapse

Television pictures showed that the mosque had been blown to pieces.

Noor Mohammad, a policeman in the tribal region, told the BBC: "The blast took place just before the prayer leader announced the start of prayers.

"I was standing on the verandah outside the mosque because I was late and could not find space inside. After the explosion, the doors into the mosque caught fire. Moments later, the mosque collapsed."

The attack came just hours before US President Barack Obama was due to unveil details of a new strategy to fight militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistan's security officials have recently concentrated forces in the Khyber region, and especially the Jamrud area, to fight militants attacking convoys carrying supplies for the Nato forces in Afghanistan.

Some reports say the operations have been co-ordinated by US intelligence officials, and security forces say they have captured or killed several al-Qaeda members in the operations.

The Khyber administrator, Tariq Hayat, said people in the area had been co-operating with security forces.

No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which could also be linked to disputes between local tribal militias, says our correspondent.

On Thursday, at least 10 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Jandola in South Waziristan.

That attack, at a restaurant, was blamed on rivalry between militant factions.

Officials said a group of militants opposed to Pakistan's top Taleban commander had been in the restaurant.

At least 25 people were killed last month in a suicide bomb attack on a funeral procession in Dera Ismail Khan, a town in North-West Frontier Province, close to the semi-autonomous tribal area.

The bomber targeted the funeral of a Shia Muslim cleric who had been gunned down the day before.

The town has a history of sectarian violence between its Sunni and Shia Muslim communities.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7967594.stm

Pictures: BBC Urdu dot com

'Enemies of Pakistan'

Tariq Hayat Khan, the most senior administrator in the Khyber region, told reporters the death toll could rise, perhaps to 70.

About 70 wounded had been taken to hospitals, he said.

"It was a suicide attack. The bomber was standing in the mosque. It's a two-storey building and it has collapsed," he said.

Khan accused pro-Taliban fighters of carrying out the bombing after a recent offensive aimed in part at protecting a supply route for Nato and US troops operating in Afghanistan.

"Residents of this area had co-operated and helped us a lot. These infidels had warned that they will take revenge," Khan said.

"They are the enemy of Pakistan. They are the enemy of Islam."

Zeina Khodr, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Islamabad, said many of those killed were members of the security forces.

The mosque is near a police checkpoint and "people in that checkpoint usually pray in this mosque", she said.

"But the political agents are saying that, and I quote, 'no Muslim could carry out such a crime suggesting that foreign hands were responsible'."

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/03/2009327101924713636.html

Must read:

Saleem Safi: Confessions of an ex-Jihadi: Afghan Jihad, Taliban, ISI and Our Hypocrisy

.....

Some relevant comments: Debate between some critical thinkers and the Taliban apologists who are in a state of denial

Mutazalzaluzzaman Tarar said:

my congratulations to all Taliban supporters on this great success. you guys really showed them evil Namazis who had been persecuting the poor, innocent Taliban so viciously…

Nonaligned said:

Shocking loss of precious lives in Jamrood, hundreds of our brothers who went for prayer were killed and injured in a mosque.
Where are now these friends of Taliban: Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Imran Khan and Ret Gen Hamid Gull who always praised Taliban and never condemned their evil acts?
May be it is time for our news-media to challenge all these associates of Talibans to publicly condemn suicide bombing.

shoaib aslam said:

I would strongly advice all the pk`s that please do not create your opinons on the basis of fall western media influence. How could you even think a good muslim can destroy a mosque? My mind does not accept that… and with ref to talib`s philosophy they woudnt want to damage the sympathy they get from the ordainary people in these critical times.

fanaticmulla said:

Taliban attacks everyone everywhere who does not agree with their islam or who they think is hurdle in their ambitions of Taking control of whole NWFP.

Actually Taliban lovers deep in their heart knows that it is done by one of their brother, so they will not condemn this act ..and they will be happy with the performance of suicide bombers..–these Talibans will destroy Pakistan

“KionkayPakistan Islam Kay Naam Pay Banaya Tha is liye isse Islam Kay Naam Par Hi Torein Gay”

Adonis said:

It is so unfortunate to see that most people and much of the media as well lump every armed group as taliban. This is height of ignorance.

The fact of matter is that there are several different armed groups active in FATA, each with it own particular aim, several not fighting against Pakistani forces and many of them are fighting with each other.

In Khyber agency, the group being targeted by the armed forces and the one suspected of today’s atrocity is Lashkar-i-Islam headed by Mangal Bagh which is an extremist deobandi group that has nothing to do with taliban or war in Afghanistan. The conflict in Khyber agency is basically sectarian where the deobandis were initially fighting pockets of shias. But then about five years ago Lashkar-i-Islam cam einto being led at that time by an extremist cleric Maulvi Shakir who used FM radio to brand everyone not agreeing with his extremist views as non-muslims. This prompted barelvi sunnis to form their own organization Ansar-i-Islam which was then led by Pir Saifullah. Both parties started attacking each other first verbally and then physically.

All that time musharraf and his government stood silent because none of the parties was threatening US supply rouutes and “logistics” support.” They were merely killing each other.

Lashkar-i-Islam, whose leadership was later taken over by Mangal Bagh,with its better weapons managed to dislodge Ansar-i-Islam from many of is strongholds and Pir Saifullah left Khyber agency. Still Lashkar is attacking areas under control of Ansars to this day.

Mangal Bagh becane so powerful that in 2008 elections he forbade campaigning by any candidate in khyber agency. Instead all candidates were called to a meeting held by Mangal Bagh where all candidates made a speech about their election manifesto and that was the whole campaign.

Mangal’s men were also accused of attacking another group “Amr bil maroof ….” of Haji Namdar. Haji Namdar was later killed in a suicide attack.

Military only started action against mangal bagh wheb he tried to extend his writ to Peshawar city proper. In response to this action Mangal Bagh started attacking supply convoys going to Afghanistan. Todays attack also seems to be a part of that.

The bottom line is that not all the armed groups operating in the area are taliban. We need to analyze what the aim of each group is and then tackle them accordingly.

Simply lumping all the armed groups together as taliban and parroting that this so called war on terror being perpetuated by americans is our war is utter nonsense.

savage said:

thousands of innocent pakistanis, mostly muslims, have been killed in this bloody play, but it is more painful to see lots of people are glorifying these butchers.

wiqi said:

Taliban lovers, why not support this event? after all, they love Islam so they are dispatching Muslim brothers to heavens here and now. shameless cowards! They are not even Muslim. They are just dacoits and looters nothing else!

Traffic said:

either that or it could be the work of Mangal Bagh’s group as @Adonis suggested. and lets not forget the Indian consulates lined upon our border with Afghanistan. whoever it is, it definitely CANNOT be the Taleban, they would never bomb a mosque, this kind of stuff the Americans or the napak army does.

pakcitizen said:

Our dear sweet Taliban would never do this, oh no, no way…what a load of crap! There is a limit to being delusional…

Why the hell would the army do this? Why the hell would the government do this?

Have these idiots not attacked funeral processions before? But no, the Taliban would never do that…

And those of you talking about the army killing people, give me figures…I know people on the front lines, and I know for a fact that the casualties the army has suffered is because of the cowardly tactics of there terrorists, and where the army has had to restrain itself because of civilians…you talk about collateral damage, it is sad but a very small fraction compared to the havoc these barbarians have unleashed…and for all of you bad mouthing the army, they have also paid the ultimate price…keep that in mind…

TALIBAN LOVERS GO FUDGE YOURSELVES! And take Hamid Mir, Imran Khan, Qazi and the whole lot with you.

These murderers need to be killed off…no questions asked…the State of Pakistan will not bow before anyone…

And yes I am a Baboo, I wear Calvin Klein, and the package is impressive…deal with it!

pakcitizen said:

Oh and before I forget, I also remember Dec 27, 2007. It happened to be Eid-ul-Azha. There was a suicide attack at Jamia Masjid Sherpao in which over 50 innocent people were killed (Gob Bless their souls), and over a 100 were injured…who did that?

Ofcourse, since the target was Sherpao, it was justified right?

Taliban would never attack mosques my a$$…WAKE UP!

Shirkuh said:

@nota & @Traffic

These baboo(n)s are making ridiculous claims about crimes committed under the disguise of religion. It would be like if I made a claim that prevalence of certain crimes in the West was purely a result of western way of life.

Do I need to refer to:

- Mass killings in the schools of USA & Germany

- The utterly ugly incest committed by Josef Frietzl (Austria), who r@ped his own daughter for 25+ years. The Italian “Josef Frietzl), who r@ped his own daughter for 24-25 years. Incest affairs are not that in the Western society. There are frequent stories about such incidents committed against own children and stepdaughters.

- And many more diseases.

One could with reason say that the above mentioned diseases are a product of Western lifestyle and the so much appreciated “freedom”, but IMO nevertheless these actions are still non-acceptable to Westerners too. Likewise “Muslims” (Taliban, Beardos etc.) also commit criminal acts, but nevertheless these actions are widely disliked and condemned by other Muslims!

fanaticmulla said:

@pakcitizens

“Kionkay Pakistan Islam Kay Naam Par Banaya Tha, Is Liye Issay Islam kay Naam Par Hi Torein Gay”

this is the moto of Beardos

As you mentioned just in last year there talibans attacked even Funerals in D.I.Khan and other cities ..

That attack on Sherpao in Mosque another example , where they themselve took responsibility ..

but beardos cant accept that facts , instaed of condemning these attacks they start quoting some examples that someone f**ke d his daughter in Austria ,what the hell that example has to do with Beardos suicide attacks in Pakistan …it is nonsense at its best

By the way Beardos know deep inside thier heart that this attack is done by one of their brother so you will not see a singlw word to condemn that attack rather you will see only nonsense examples …Beardos come on and write five time with a heavy heart

I CONDEMN THIS ATTACK

I know it would be really hard for you but just try

pakcitizen said:

My problem is not that it could not have been India or the US. My problem is why couldn’t it have been the Taliban…why are we defending them? Are they angels? Have they not attacked funeral processions and mosques before? Have they not blown up schools?

And overall, tell me this…the TTP that has declared war on the state of Pakistan, should they not be destroyed?

pakcitizen said:

I have a general question. Consider for a minute that the TTP is not behind this act. Does that make the TTP more acceptable or less of a menace? Do we not consider the TTP as a terrorist organization that is waging war against the State of Pakistan? Should the TTP not lose against the State of Pakistan?.....I’m talking about the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan). It is a well defined organization headed by Baitullah Mehsud. Forget even the peripheral groups that operate under the TTP umbrella. Let’s just talk about the core TTP headed by Baitullah Mehsud. Do we consider it a terrorist organization?

Traffic said:

it is the state of pakistan that has declared war on them at the behest of their foreign masters. these people (Taliban) have always been the most loyal to Pakistan. it wasnt ur pak army which gave you azad kashmir, it was these tribals who got it from the bhindians. and when india was threatening pakistan after mumbai attacks, the same Taleban said that they would fight alongside pak army against india. it is only a few generals and NRO beneficiaries who are intent on fighting this American war otherwise this is not our war. tell the americans to leave afghanistan and there will be peace.

shimatoree said:

@ pakcitizen

“And overall, tell me this…the TTP that has declared war on the state of Pakistan, should they not be destroyed?”

Let us accept your assertion that they should be destroyed. And then think as to how ?

1. How do you identify THEM ?

2. They are determined and committed people

3. The military people at all levels some whom I know and some are my family members say that what you say is NOT POSSIBLE. They say the solution is and can only be political.

4. OK you destroy all the Talibs in Pakistan- what percent of the population will you have to kill in order to achieve your FINAL SOLUTION and if you look at what the Germans tried to do in the 40’s - you will still fail. And I shall also point out that by capabilities you do not have the organsiational or administrative capabilities of the Germans.
And even if you succeeded- what will you do when the Afghan Pushtoons come after you and your types as they certainly will just like thee Pakistani Pushtoons are going after the Western Forces in Afghanistan to help their bretheren across the border.

5. And do not forget the Logistics of your planned operation.

shandana said:

@shimatoree

Since talibans are strong so we even don’t condemn them………

Isn’t the same strategy adopted by Mush aagainst Bush…….

Wow new code of Pakhtunwali.

afzaalkhan said:

@shandana

Hello broken record lol so which Talibaan u want me to condemn. Surely not the one in Afghanistan, So I am assuming u mean TTP? Which group of TTP? Or the whole TTP? and condemn them 4 wat? For defending Pak for so long, for geting us AZad Kashmir or threatening India after Mumbai Attacks?

shandana said:

@afzaal

oh come on!

This thread is about to condemn the killings of these 70 people done by any monster, be it is yankees, be it is taliban or be it is indians.

Just condemn it for God sake….don’t do this crap of but, if , since………….

Point of all beardos(thasnks to TK) is

We condemn it if done by US/Indians…………

There must be a reason if done by TTP as killing is justified for them since they must have some reason……….cuz they are angels. ………

fanaticmulla said:

Look at logics given by Taliban lovers to justify this mosque attack

Taliban are strong

Taliban have given us Azad Kashmir (stupidity at its peak)

Taliban will send suicide bombers to India

none of the beardo has the Courage to say that We condemn this Mosque attack

this is the leval of the morality who consider themselves as true muslims and issuing fatwas against others

fanaticmulla said:

@shandana

you know why they r not condemning it because they know it is done by some of their beardo brother so they will quote all crap to justify this attack…

pakcitizen said:

@ Traffic @nota
Let’s break this down.

First, I am glad to learn that Baitullah Mehsud is not a terrorist but infact a savior.

‘hundreds of thousands of suicide bombers’ are ready to defend Pakistan in case of war with India.

Let’s see. The population of FATA is probably around 6 million people by now. The strength of the TTP is estimated to be 40K.

So the potential base from which the TTP can recruit fighters is probably 3 million roughly (I’ve excluded women and elderly). Our savior does consider children fair game, as we have seen 10 year olds slitting throats, and 16 year old suicide bombers.

So the TTP is 1.5% of the eligibile population of FATA. I say increase this percentage for the sake of argument to a whopping 5% of the population. Even then, 95% of the people living in FATA have nothing to do with the TTP.

First, what should be plain at this point is that the TTP is a miniscule minority in FATA. As we saw during the Bajaur operation, almost the entire town cleared out instead of staying back to fight the State of Pakistan. So the TTP or for that matter Baitullah Mehsud do not represent the aspirations of the people of FATA. The state of Pakistan is fighting this 5%, not the other 95%.

Second, with an approximate strength of 40K, how on earth is Baitullah Mehsud committing to send hundreds of thousands of suicide bombers. These are lies, and bravado to capture the imagination of impressionable ones. I have no doubt that the loyal citizens of FATA will stand by Pakistan should the moment arrive, but not on Baitullah’s instructions. Moreover, this statement also has a historical context where traditionally, rivalry and feuds between tribes have been going on for generations, yet at the first sign of a foreign invasion, all differences are forgotten, and the focus shifts to fighting the occupying force. Once that matter is settled, the fighting resumes. We do not need to go far. After the Soviets vacated Afghanistan in 1988, civil war raged in Afganistan amongst warlords for the next 8 years until the Taliban came into power.

And this brings me to the next point.

“tell the americans to leave afghanistan and there will be peace.”

On what basis are we assuming this? As I mentioned, it took 8 years of brutal fighting after the soviets vacated for one group to emerge victorious. Do you think the Northern Alliance is going to allow its gains to be run over by the Taliban like before? There will be intense fighting once more. Not only that, after the Americans leave, the battle for control of Afghanistan will also degenerate into a proxy war between India and Pakistan and God knows where that is going to take us. Also, a related point, isn’t the US widely blamed for the mess in Afghanistan in the first place? Not because it fought a proxy war against the Russians, but because it lost interest in Afghanistan after the soviets were evicted. I remember a young BB in one of her earliest speeches as PM (we may disagree with her politics, but she was a woman of vision), imploring the US and the western world not to lose interest in Afghanistan (maybe it was her inaugral speech, I forget). The idea was for the US and allies to help rebuild a war-torn Afghanistan. But they messed it up. So please explain to me, how is there going to be peace once the Americans leave? If at all, the Americans need to help rebuild Afghanistan and the Obama-Biden approach is correct in this respect.

Finally, it is inconceivable for the State of Pakistan to lose territory to a handful of irritants. If that is what we wish, then we are inviting chaos and anarchy. If this hideous precedent is allowed to be set, then there is nothing to stop other groups from taking up arms against the state in the future and expect the state to bend over backwards. Mistakes have been made. Sending the army to FATA was a huge mistake, but that time has now passed. Too many innocent lives have been taken by these savages, too savagely has the writ of the state been challenged, our lives and the lives of our families have been endangered by these people, and in my opinion the State must fight back and win. That is the only painful course forward, for if the alternative is adopted, the state will pay a heavy price.

afzaalkhan said:

@pakcitizen

Ur right we can’t let any group to dominate the state. The argument from nota, traffic and etc is not that we let them is how to deal with them. Ur solution is forced we were against it when it started and after 8 yrs we stand correct. More force not gonna help it will only bring more recruitment for TTP and like minded groups that add with Pushtoons revenge factor and its never ending cycle. Some of the bomb blasts were revenge for lal masjid operation, which has nothing to do with TTP stated goal of sharia and like CM of NWFP said in recent interview the kidnappings r been done by criminal elements who they sell the kidnapped to TTP and other groups.

Now, how to defeat that, we can use the model used by Saudi Arabia which has shown a lot of success, which is using the mosques, religious scholars and teachers to flood the area using tv, newspapers, mosques and influential society persons to show the true face of alqaeda and explaining its not only wrong but its Haram. Using Quran and ahadith to drive the point a well oiled intelligently planned information and education drive, and then identifying the masterminds and dealing them blows by not killing them indiscriminately but arresting and gathering intelligence. Where they had found resistance they tried to negotiate 4 the surrender of the culprits upon failure of negotiation they crushed them.

Why it succeeded?

1 - King Abdullah ordered it from top. Citizen not only like King Abdullah but also respect him. in translation they trusted their govt.
2 - Most saudis know in their hearts that Alqaeda’s Islam is not the true Islam thus they were more inclined to listen.
3 - In prison the arrested were reeducated and then used to counter thier old allies. So instead of just punishment KSA rehabliated them.
4 - KSA said no to USA and devised their own policy and as much King Abudllah is loved he is seen an ally of USA, so he used Prince Naif, whom the west hate and considers a radical, as interior minister. Prince Naif has a great standing in the religious and conservative section and when he came out Al-qaeda they listened and followed.

Now compare to Pak, we started this mess by making it USA war, then we killed our own ppl indiscriminately thus giving the insurgents a sympathy factor. We all talk abt TTP and all the mess yet we forget what is happening in Baluchistan, can u blame that on Taliban.

That’s why I proposed in other posts that we need national policy but 4 that to succeed we need leadership. We can’t stop drone attacks, we have our own pop made refugee in our own countries. How we gonna defeat Taliban or all other insurgents just by force when majority of Pakistanis don’t support the use of force. [add here the covet support provided by Pakistan's ISI to hard-core elements in the Taliban].

Furthermore Army can’t defeat them we need small army special groups, we need paramilitary to do the day to day crap to deal with them and special army units to go in and do the commando wipe out. How many Pakistani Army javans have been killed and how many policemen yet all we get is crap fro usa. That's why we say get rid of USA and start our own way. USA will not help us its not in their interests to have stable strong Pakistan. Cuz their allies India and Israel dun want it.

Traffic said:

@ afzaalkhan

give me a break. are we now going to follow saudi arabia as a model? who told you that king abdullah “is loved” in saudi arabia? saudi regime is one of the most repressive and CORRUPT regimes in the world. try to hold a small protest there and you wont be seen again. and dont even get me started on their Islam, the “scholars” who please the King most with their fatwas get the highest positions. case in point when saudi mufti termed it a “fitna” to PROTeST against Israel’s recent aggression on Gaza. do you know what the penalty for committing “fitna” in saudi is? THINK before praising saudi or any other arab regime next time, they are the worst of humanity, and they are aiding the kuffar in occupying Muslim lands and killing Muslims.

savage said:

@afzaalkhan

“dude i think we all agree killing is wrong done by anyone watever the cause, I think nota has mentioned that b4″

That is what I’m not able to understand, if most of the anti-taliban’s bashers don’t support these acts of killing (as they say) why label others like liberal fascists or baboos who condemn these acts openly. Not only that, their excuse “Oh army and americas are doing the same thing”, does this by default give them license to kill too?? I damn anyone who is killing innocent people including these khuwarjits, glorified as taliban. I also strongly believe that unless army is supporting them they can’t operate this openly. My reasoning, not even a single [top] leader has been captured or killed knowing the fact that if the army wants it could hit at their as they have lot more resources, example the “Bhugti murder”.

savage said:

@nota

Suicide bombers ready to defend Pakistan:TTP
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud said on Wednesday that ‘hundreds of thousands of suicide bombers’ are ready to defend Pakistan in case of war with India. According to a statement, he said, “Despite our differences with the government, the protection of Pakistan and its people is as much our duty as it is of the armed forces.” “The armed forces and the nation do not need to worry about the western borders in case of an Indian attack,” he added….

Until India attacks Pakistan lets keeps practicing on our own Pakistani brothers, practice makes perfect.

Source: pkpolitics

Also read:

Grand Trunk Road: Imran Khan, hurry up, we are waiting for your statement

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Is ISI funding Taliban in Swat through emerald mines?

Taliban take over Swat’s emerald mines

The Taliban take one-third of the yield from all miners and the costs are shared equally by the Taliban and the miners. - Reuters/File photo.

TALIBAN in Swat have taken over emerald mines in the area and are operating the business. The mines produce emeralds of international quality and had been under the control of the Pakistani government in the past.

Taking advantage of the recent ceasefire between militants and the government in the region, the Taliban have taken over these mines.

The mines in the Pak-Afghan border region are said to hold the largest known deposits of emeralds in sub-continent of South Asia.

A senior Taliban commander told the BBC that ‘it is for the benefit of the public that we have reopened the mines.’ The commander added that the mines were open for anyone to work in provided they follow the rules laid down by the Taliban.

The emerald mines of Swat are located in the mountains that surround the main town of Mingora and cover an area of nearly 8 kilometers.

Despite the high prices of these stones in the international market, workers at the site told the BBC their average daily wage was only about 400 rupees ($5) per person because the Taliban also took a cut for themselves out of the workers’ wages.

Some workers said that it was still a very good deal because all these resources were going to waste earlier.

Taliban commanders also see this as a positive move in light of the benefits it offers to the local workforce. A Taliban commander said that it was a wonderful opportunity for the unemployed and poverty stricken people of the area.

According to the terms of the deal, the Taliban take one-third of the yield from all of the miners and the costs are shared equally by the Taliban and the miners.

However, the Taliban say that they are not directly involved in the mining operations themselves.

So far the government has not contested the Taliban control of the mines despite the fears that the funds from emerald mining are likely to give a massive financial boost to the Taliban.

Wednesday, 25 Mar, 2009 (Dawn)

....

Taliban tap into Swat’s emeralds

LAHORE: As the NWFP government struggles to get approval for a peace deal from the centre – the Taliban in Swat have taken over operations in the valley’s emerald mines, which produce jewels of international quality and were previously controlled by the government. Located in the mountains that ring Mingora, the mines – along with the Panjshir mines in Afghanistan – hold the largest known deposits of emeralds in South Asia. BBC News has reported that the Taliban overtook operations four months ago. “It is for the benefit of the public that we have reopened the mines,” a senior Taliban commander told the BBC. “They are open to anybody who wishes to mine them as long as they follow our rules.” When fully operational, the mines yielded a quarter of a million carats of emeralds between 1978 and 1988. The last official estimate put the projected yield at about 13.2 million carats. Gemstone dealers say that most emeralds range from just under one carat to just over five. Prices range from $1,000 to more than $100,000 for a cut stone. However, workers at the site told the BBC their average daily wage was only about Rs 400 per person. “It’s still a good deal as previously all this was going to waste,” said one worker. Taliban commanders too are positive about its benefits. According to the terms of the deal, the Taliban take one-third of the yield of each set of miners. The costs are shared equally by the Taliban and the miners. The group says it is not directly involved in the operations themselves. But the rules, which include amputation for theft and strict adherence to sharia, mean only those with strong Taliban sympathies are allowed to operate. So far the government has made no move to contest the Taliban’s control of the mines. daily times monitor (25 March 2009)

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Imtiaz Gul: Expansion of war theatre

In an interview with The Washington Post, Kilcullen warned that if Pakistan went out of control, it would ‘dwarf’ all the crises in the world today. “Pakistan. Hands down. No doubt,” he said when asked to name the central front in the war against terror. This warning comes days before Richard Holbrooke, special envoy for the region, formally unveils his report to President Barack Obama and shares it with Nato members at the organisation’s summit in Brussels next month.

Also in Brussels, where he attended the Marshall Fund security conference recently, Holbrooke brought Pakistan into sharper focus by projecting it as the problem. “The heart of the problem for the West is in western Pakistan but there are not going to be US or Nato troops on the ground in Pakistan. There is a red line for the Government of Pakistan, and one which we must respect.”

Speaking to US papers and BBC on March 22 and 23, Holbrooke also alluded to some of the broad contours of the policy papers that he and Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official and currently the head of an Afghan-Pakistan Review Committee, have prepared for Obama. In the BBC interview, Holbrooke was more specific. “Quetta appears to be the headquarters for the leaders of the Taliban and some of the worst people in the world,” he said, including Baitullah Mehsud’s name in this categorisation. He said that more attacks were being planned on the West.

This way Holbrooke indicated clearly as to what awaits Pakistan in the months to come i.e. extension of the war theatre beyond Fata into Balochistan, tighter control of the Afghan-Pakistani border and linking aid to Pakistan’s willingness and actual performance against extremist forces. The special envoy hinted that the US-led coalition would not hold back if targets were found anywhere in Pakistan. It is worth recalling that the US intelligence establishment has for long been talking of the ‘Quetta Shura’ of the Taliban.

The new strategy, Holbrooke said, will attempt to involve all regional players, including Iran and China. The goals of Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush, “were less defined, like pluralism, prosperity or freedom,” said Afghanistan’s ambassador to the US, Said Jawad, to the Christian Science Monitor in Brussels, after being briefed on the general outlines of the plan. “Now they’re making the goals more concrete and the strategy more tactical: how long does it take, and what does it take, with more realistic expectations of all the different actors to deliver,” Jawad said.

President Obama is searching for a new strategy that will change the course of the Afghan conflict by taking the following steps: helping Afghanistan and Pakistan become self-sufficient in countering extremism; providing some hope that US military commitment there will eventually end; gradually shifting the burden for the country’s security away from the US and Nato; neutralising Al Qaeda wherever its leaders are — in Afghanistan or Pakistan; and providing accelerated economic assistance to both countries.

The promised 17,000 US troops for Afghanistan and the proposed $1.5bn Kerry-Lugar non-military assistance bill for Pakistan also underscore the new thinking which combines military muscle with money for achieving targets in both countries. Another important element of the new strategy revolves around a renewed and aggressive focus on greater investment in agriculture to wean Afghanistan away from poppy cultivation for opium production that finances the Taliban insurgency. Holbrooke also stressed the need to eliminate havens for extremists in the border region.

Is Pakistan in the eye of the storm? “You can’t succeed in Afghanistan if you don’t solve the problem of western Pakistan,” Holbrooke told the Marshall Fund security conference in Brussels. This assessment makes it abundantly clear that the new US AfPak strategy considers Pakistan as the key to the resolution of the Afghan conflict. “The draft plan suggests raising US non-military assistance to Pakistan, especially for job creation aimed at those drawn to militant action for money, while conditioning military help on measurable cooperation against extremists in the border province of Balochistan and Fata, where the Taliban have regrouped.”

According to CSM, the administration officials and diplomats also presented another recommendation to President Obama — “increase intelligence-sharing between Pakistan, the US and Afghanistan and boost surveillance, using US technology, of the porous border at ‘coordination centres’ such as the one opened at the crossing at Torkham in Pakistan”.

If these suggestions in the proposed US strategy are an indicator, the US is about to unleash a two-pronged strategy on Pakistan; based on the presumption that Al Qaeda has fanned out in the country and is using smaller hideouts in places like Quetta, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat and Karachi. The CIA is gradually extending its drone attacks into areas where it finds traces of Al Qaeda. Come what may, we will eradicate them, is the message.

For the first time, the US seems focused on the need for Pakistan’s economic stability and political peace. American leaders, led by Vice President Joe Biden, have been talking of the need of additional and adequate funding for education and critical infrastructure development to employ millions of jobless youth, and prevent them from falling into the hands of militants and criminals.

In the months to come, the Pakistani leadership would have to walk a tightrope because of the problems arising from missile strikes on suspected Al Qaeda hideouts in various parts. They will be caught between the American carrot-and-stick policy on the one hand and an outraged political right on the other — a very difficult balancing act indeed that would require harmony among all tiers of the political and military leadership. They will have to exhibit extraordinary communication skills to explain the geo-strategic compulsions that the current international environment places on Pakistan.

Friday, 27 Mar, 2009 (Dawn)
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How Saudi Arabia has stayed immune from terrorist attacks all this while?

An expat’s question

By Muhammad Ali

Pakistan's dictators have never been as brutal as those in other parts of the world - File photo.

MUNA Khan, a former Dawn hand, now abroad and working for a news agency, emailed the following question to me: ‘One thing that has struck me as odd is how Saudi Arabia has stayed immune from terrorist attacks all this while. What security measures do they have in place that act as deterrents?’

Her question deserves a doctoral thesis, but what is needed is a short and focussed response germane to the question. A cogent remark by a British journalist deserves attention in the context of the war on terror. He said Pakistan was neither a democracy nor a dictatorship. This was said in the summer of 2007 when, during the Musharraf era, two crises were running simultaneously: the Lal Masjid rebellion and the lawyers’ movement.

Pakistan has never been the barbaric dictatorship that Latin America and many parts of Southeast Asia had been and which the Middle East continues to be. Even in Ziaul Haq’s days — when Pakistan came nearest to being a barbaric dictatorship — the military regime had to have regard for basic notions of constitutionalism. He might have said that the constitution was nothing but a piece of paper he could tear up any time, but even Zia had to have his takeover approved by the Supreme Court and to rely on pseudo-constitutional nostrums to perpetuate his tyranny. Even for Bhutto’s ‘judicial murder’ (Dorab Patel’s words) he had to go through the charade of a trial. No such compulsions existed for tyrants in Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

One of Pakistan’s major problems has been lack of continuity of the political system. Even if a dictatorship lasts — notwithstanding the phut that comes later — certain advantages do accrue. Ayub’s decade of development wasn’t all fraud. The foundations of industrialisation were laid, the middle class expanded, and the world, from Beijing to Washington, respected Pakistan. Ziaul Haq’s tyranny was a disaster domestically, but the world knew who was minding the store. As for Musharraf, the US dealt with him as did India because they knew who was in charge. More important, under Musharraf the media was quite free (till the curbs in his final days in office). This had a direct but negative bearing on questions relating to the war on terror.

Let us now note some of the major differences between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the context of the war on terror. One, the desert is not guerilla-friendly. On a moonlit night you can spot a moving object miles away. Two, Saudi Arabia does not have a terrain where three of the world’s mightiest mountain ranges — the Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindukush — meet. For that reason it does not have those valleys and canyons and dry rivers-beds and hundreds of thousands of caves which provide sanctuary to terrorists armed to the teeth.

In Pakistan, arms for terrorists come from the tribesmen’s own improvised arms industry or are bought from the global market with drug money. The Saudi kingdom wouldn’t tolerate a semi-autonomous arms manufacturing industry which would flood Saudi Arabia not with delicious dates but a variety of arms ranging from a ‘toy’ like the Kalashnikov to the rocket launcher.

Three, in Saudi Arabia the government controls the ulema, who are not in a position to bully the officials. A slight deviation from the government-authorised version of the Friday sermon, and the imam is in trouble. In Pakistan, the so-called ulema — most of them semi-literates — bully the government and society and are a source of social anarchy. Well-armed and well-funded, Pakistan’s religious parties and institutions are the biggest hindrance in the war on terror and extremism.

Let us note the difference between how Islamabad handled the Lal Masjid rebellion and how the Saudis tackled the failed bid to take over the Grand Mosque and take the royal family hostage. While the Musharraf government acted late and half-heartedly against the Aziz–Rashid duo, let us see the ease — or, if your prefer, the ruthlessness — with which the Saudi government dispatched the rebels

Three decades after the failed takeover of the Grand Mosque in Makkah in November 1979 we do not know the details of how the mutiny was crushed. The Saudis called in French legionnaires to flush out the dissidents. Most rebels died fighting or were later captured and executed. Even encyclopaedias till today have no clue as to the number of the dead. Some accounts say the Grand Mosque was flooded with water and electric current released.

In our case, what do you do if half a dozen terrorists hide in a Swat or Fata village of 20,000? Do you order the army and air force to take out the village? Can any government in Islamabad do what Israel did in Gaza and Lebanon?

Far from taking out the village, even if Pakistani security forces seal off the village for a fortnight, within no time Pakistan’s human rights’ organisations and the pro-Taliban media would be up in arms, with lurid stories about babies dying for want of milk and pregnant women without healthcare in the biting cold. The government would retreat, and the terrorists would be the gainers. Neither Pakistani liberals nor aid-givers understand this point.

Pakistan has taken every imaginable step possible so far as security measures are concerned for tackling the rebellion in Swat and Fata. But Pakistan doesn’t enjoy the support of the liberals, who live in a world of their own, and seem to forget that their theoretical sermons on constitutional and liberal values may sound fine in Scandinavia, but help the Taliban and their supporters in the media and politics over here.

Friday, 27 Mar, 2009 (Dawn)

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Shia in Saudi Arabia: Reports by BBC and the Financial Times

Saudi Arabia's Shia press for rights

By Anees al-Qudaihi BBC Arabic Service

Underlying tensions between Sunni and Shia in the Middle East have escalated to full-scale crises in the past few years in countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, and, most recently, in Saudi Arabia.

Wahhabism, the dominant Saudi school of Islam, views the Shia as heretics

Although they only represent 15% of the overall Saudi population of more than 25 million, Shia are the dominant population, according to the International Crisis Group, in key towns such as Qatif, Dammam, and al-Hasa, which are home to the largest oil fields and processing and refining facilities.

In February, clashes between Shia Muslims and the religious police in Madina, Islam's second holiest city, triggered a wave of unrest, resulting in the arrest of dozens of people.

Tensions were eased by King Abdullah's decision to release all the detainees but the situation remains volatile.

Many Shias in Saudi Arabia relate far more to fellow Shia in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Bahrain, than with fellow Saudis who follow the puritan Wahhabi school of Islam. Wahabbis often class the Shia as heretics, or even to have left the faith entirely.

And at a time when many Arab officials point to the predominantly Shia Iran as the most serious security threat they face, there is a general attitude in the Arabic media that suggests Saudi Shia are somehow led by or follow an Iranian agenda.

But Saudi Shias deny this and say they face unfair discrimination.

Accusations of discrimination are backed by many western governments, led by the United States, which repeatedly express their concerns about religious freedom in Saudi Arabia.

Activity by the opposition both at home and abroad are clear indications of the need for change and for an end to deeply rooted grievances which the Shias have suffered Fouad Ibrahim Saudi opposition activist based in London

In 1913 King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, founder of the kingdom, promised Shia safety and freedom of worship when their representatives swore allegiance to his government.

But Tawfik al-Saif, a Saudi political activist, told the BBC that he does not think the promises were honoured.

"There are lots of problems each of which has the potential to trigger unrest. However, the Saudi elite, both the Shia and Sunni, is determined to stop public disorder whether motivated by internal or external agents."

Mr Saif believes that only if the government introduces wide-reaching political and social reforms can long-term stability be achieved.

Shias want equal opportunities in government and the military as well as freedom of worship.

They want to be able to build their own mosques, have their civil courts granted more power and to print their own religious books.

Regional instability

The Shia of Saudi Arabia have not been able to avoid the effects of instability in the region.

In 1979, the leaders of Iran's Islamic revolution called for change across the Middle East.

King Abdullah is believed to favour more integration for Saudi Shia

The calls lead to Shia protests Qatif, and dozens of people were killed.

During the 1980s, sectarian tensions led many Saudi Shia to go into exile, mainly to Iran, Syria, the UK and the United States.

The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 which brought that country's majority Shias to power, resulted in calls for equality in many countries in the Gulf.

Shia liberals, including left-wing intellectuals, are a relatively small minority within their community and are far less organised than the Islamists.

Nevertheless, religious activists have combined with their liberal coreligionists, as well as Sufis, to call for more respect for human rights in Saudi Arabia.

In its report, entitled The Shia Question in Saudi Arabia, the International Crisis Group said that King Abdullah, widely believed to have been at the forefront of efforts to engage Shia and promote their integration, may now be in a position to effect greater change.

But the leaders of a newly established opposition movement, Khalas (Deliverance), say that during the past 15 years there have been plenty opportunities for the government to reform its policy towards the Shia but they have been found wanting.

Dr Fouad Ibrahim, a Saudi activist based in London, says the recent murmurings in the Eastern Province could be described as a manifestation of disappointment among Shias who have waited for promised reforms for so long.

"Activity by the opposition both at home and abroad are clear indications of the need for change and for an end to deeply rooted grievances which the Shias have suffered," Dr Ibrahim told BBC.

Dr Ibrahim says the Saudi government has failed to integrate the Shia with other minorities, including the Ismaili community in the South and Sufis in the Hijaz.

But Mr Saif believes that while the Shia want an end to discrimination they are committed to negotiating a settlement to their grievances.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7959531.stm

.....

Frustrated Shia on the margins in Saudi Arabia despite reforms

By Abeer Allam in Riyadh

Published: March 26 2009 02:00 | Last updated: March 26 2009 02:00

The hopes of Saudi Arabia's Shia minority for greater representation were dashed last month when the country shook up its government and religious establishment.

King Abdullah appointed reformers to strategic posts in government and the first female deputy minister, and opened the door for diversity within the senior ulema council, which shapes religious and legal discourse. But although Sunni Muslims were invited to advise the council for the first time, Shia clerics were not invited.

Analysts say marginalisation of the estimated 1.5m to 2m Shia living in the oil-rich Eastern province fuels tensions in the region - with majority-Shia Iran across the Gulf and majority-Shia Bahrain across a causeway, and a newly installed Shia government in Iraq. They believe that the kingdom can no longer afford to ignore the issue.

Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz, the interior minister, told Okaz, a local newspaper, at the weekend he believed all citizens had "equal rights and duties". "Foreign parties seek to cause an escalation [in tensions], but we are capable of preventing any interference in the internal affairs of the country."

However, last month about 18 Shia pilgrims were arrested after clashes with religious police and security forces at the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed in the holy city of Medina. The religious police had arrested the pilgrims when they tried to visit the tomb and they were released only after King Abdullah intervened.

The incident sparked protests and rallies in the Eastern province, the principal headquarters for Saudi Aramco and the centre of the world's biggest oil exporter's energy industry. Activists and police statements confirm several further arrests and checkpoints have been installed in the region to restore order.

Perhaps the gravest threat came from Nimr al-Nimr, a radical preacher in al-Awwamiya on the outskirts of the eastern city of Qatif. He warned during Friday prayers that the kingdom's Shia community might seek to secede from Saudi Arabia if the abuse continued.

The preacher went into hiding but at least 12 followers were arrested, according to Shia activists and Amnesty International. The police confirmed the arrests.

The Shia community says the government's position has been inconsistent. "The king defused tensions when he ordered the release of the pilgrims, but other government officials are acting erratically, compounding the problem,'' says Jafar al-Shayeb, a Shia activist in Qatif.

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of meddling in the affairs of Arab countries and some foreign observers agree that Shia Iran could be increasing the tension.

But Shia intellectuals and activists play down any Iranian influence - most Shia minorities in Arab Gulf states say their nationality trumps any interest in Iran.

"The anger is more an outgrowth of frustration with official indifference toward Shia concerns," says Mr al-Shayeb. "We need a gesture from the king, a political appointment, to demonstrate that they are part of this country. But of course Iran can exploit the issue."

After King Abdullah took the throne in 2005, he initiated a national dialogue that included Shia participation for the first time and led to a reduction in discrimination against the community. Several Shia clerics were released from prison and members of the religious minority obtained wider access to jobs and education.

But while the king pressed for more opportunities to be given to Shia in university and government appointments, activists say middle managers have blocked promotions for Shia teachers.

Khaled Al-Dakhil, a professor of sociology and a political activist, says the problem is not only about the Shia, who represent about 15 per cent of the 17m population, but rather a need for greater equality in Saudi Arabia, regardless of gender, tribal background or religion.

"Sunni women are oppressed, and even some Sunni sects are oppressed, so it isn't just the Shia. The problem is each group speaks for themselves. All Saudis should focus on equal treatment for all citizens,'' says Mr Dakhil.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2cba0758-19a7-11de-9d34-0000779fd2ac.html

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Hamid Mir: Who broke Pakistan?

The grandson of late Bengali leader Abul Hashim wrote me a letter about my last article on Lahore Resolution published in this newspaper on March 23. Abul Hashim was the Secretary General of Muslim League in United Bengal before the partition of India. I wrote in my article that Abul Hashim and Hussain Shaheed Suharwardi tried to stop the division of Bengal with the help of a Hindu leader Sarat Chandra Bose in 1947 but they were failed and the division of Bengal was a violation of Lahore Resolution. I also wrote that Pakistan was created through a political struggle but after the death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah some military dictators destroyed the democratic institutions in the newly born state and that was why the majority of Bengalis turned against Pakistan.

Mr Ibrahim Khan, grandson of Abul Hashim in a mail sent to me from Dhaka endorsed my position and wrote that "the utter failure of the Pakistani rulers in terms of political knowledge, patriotism and respect for democracy shattered the hopes and aspirations of the new-born nation. Only the Lahore Resolution could have made the Pakistan a state where the Muslims as well as the non-Muslims would enjoy the freedom of their individual national culture and religious practice."

I have received lot of other mails not only from Bangladesh but also from different cities of Pakistan. It was a great surprise that most of the Bangladeshis and Pakistanis now agree that Lahore Resolution was not implemented properly, pro-American military dictators mistreated Bengalis and that was the reason for the division of Pakistan. Only one reader declared me a traitor and I was mentally prepared for that allegation. Many readers want some more information about the efforts for the creation of a United Bengal by some Muslim Leaguers who had support from Jinnah. Some students asked me who was actually responsible for the breakup of Pakistan? They asked me this question because there is no answer in their textbooks.

It is a historical fact that Bengali leaders of Muslim League and some Hindu elders of Congress tried their level best to stop the division of Bengal between March 1947 and June 1947. Congress President Acharia Kripalani was demanding the division of Bengal. It's a historical fact that Bengali leaders of Muslim League and Congress formed a six-member committee to stop the division of their province. This committee included Suharwardi, Abul Hashim and Khawaja Nazimuddin from Muslim League and Sarat Chandra Bose, Kiran Shankar Roy and Satya Ranjan Bakshi from Congress. This committee contacted both Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi and started their efforts after getting the blessing from both of them on May 12, 1947. This six-member committee reached an agreement for the creation of a united Bengal state within one week.

Sarat Chandra Bose informed Gandhi about this agreement by a letter written to him on May 23, 1947, but surprisingly Gandhi changed his position. He responded back to Bose in a letter on June 8, 1947, that Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel are opposing your scheme. In retaliation Sarat Chandra Bose tried to win the support of other Congress leaders by saying that only Brahmins were supporting the division of Bengal not low caste Hindus. He reminded the mistreatment given to his late elder brother Subhash Chandra Bose by Brahmin leaders of Congress, who was thrown out of the Congress. Abul Hashim successfully won the support of Communist Party for United Bengal. Jinnah continued also his support for the United Bengal because he also wanted to stop the division of Punjab. Ultimately all these efforts to stop the division of Bengal failed because Lord Mountbatten was on Nehru's side.

Division of Bengal was a big blow to the Bengalis. They were 56 percent of Pakistan even after the division of Bengal. They would have been more than 65 percent of Pakistan in case of a United Bengal. Developed and industrial cities like Calcutta became part of India and most of the areas in eastern part of Bengal were poor and under-developed. It was easy for military dictators like General Ayub Khan to exploit both East and West Pakistan by using military power. Media was very weak at that time and common man in the West Pakistan was not aware about the feelings of East Pakistan. If anybody today wants to know the historical truth about the disintegration of Pakistan he must read the book of a retired chief justice of Pakistan, Muhammad Munir From Jinnah to Zia. Justice Munir was the law minister of Ayub Khan.

He wrote on page 92 of his bookL "When I joined Ayub's cabinet in 1962 I found that no constructive work was being done by the Assembly. Everyday was spent in listening the long speeches of Bengali members about exploitation and about the step-motherly attitude of West Pakistan. Ayub used to listen to these speeches and was bored. I spoke to Ayub and suggested that there could be no fusion or common goal between the two provinces and asked him whether it would not be better that instead of putting up with nonsense, we must ask East Pakistan to take their affairs in their own hands. He suggested to me that I should talk about it to some influential Bengali leader. One day I spoke to a Bengali minister from East Pakistan, Ramizuddin. He asked me whether I was suggesting secession. I said yes or something like it as confederation or more autonomy. He said we are the majority province and it is for the minority province to secede because we are Pakistan."

This book was published in 1979 in Pakistan but General Zia-ul-Haq banned the book. I still have a copy of this banned book. This book is evidence that a military dictator actually tried to break Pakistan in 1962 through his law minister but Bengalis refused to break Pakistan. Bengalis were forced to take up arms against Pakistan when another military dictator General Yahya Khan tried to silence their voice by tanks and guns in 1971. Military dictators, their crony judges like Justice Munir and some corrupt politicians of West Pakistan broke Pakistan, not Bengalis. We must learn lesson from history. March 26 is the independence day of Bangladesh. Military takeovers were always bad for Pakistan as well as for Bangladesh. May Allah save these two nations from the military dictators forever in the future.

The writer works for Geo TV. Email: hamid.mir@geo.tv

Thursday, March 26, 2009 (The News)


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In the aftermath of the Long March "revolution" in Pakistan

Asadullah Ghalib, Express, 26 March 2009

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Nazir Naji, Jang, 26 March 2009

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Storming the Supreme Court with litigation

Hardly had Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry resumed his office at the Supreme Court than “constitutional” petitions were filed before the court charging 38 judges who had taken oath under the PCO with contempt and challenging appointments of judges done without Justice Chaudhry’s “consultation”. Yet another petition has sought action against Pervez Musharraf for his “admittedly” unconstitutional actions of November 3, 2007 in subversion of the constitution, as outlined in Article 6 on treason.

People with a strong “retroactive correction” in mind want punishment to descend on all and sundry. In non-legal language, they want to pillory all those who took the view opposite to theirs, but if the cases go the way they want them to go, the country’s judicial system will be seriously undermined. The difficulty arises in the convergence of the legal-constitutional and the political-electoral in these cases. Which PCO was more lethal, the one “indemnified” by parliament or the one not “indemnified”?

If a moderate but honest judge quietly in disagreement with Justice Chaudhry’s hair-trigger activism chose not to leave with him, should he be punished today? What should be made of an elected government treating the PCO judges as normal judges and not bringing back the old ones after the Murree Agreement? The lawyers’ stand was that the political parties should not take part in the elections of 2008. It was a legal stand because the general who had done the misdeed of November 3 was now holding them. Elections indirectly legitimised him.

The act of election has its own indemnifying aspects. The fact that the political parties did not abstain from elections, and the fact that the people did not heed the lawyers’ call and voted with an impressive turnout should count for something. If the PCO judges have sat in judgement on cases that have been accepted as jurisprudence then how can they now be forced to leave? If a de facto capacity is allowed to these judges then what stops the “reinstated” court from making them de jure automatically? What is important is to realise that excessive backward-looking litigation is not going to benefit Pakistan. (Daily Times, 26 March 2009)
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"Let us build Pakistan" supports the "Preventing Violent Extremism" program.

No matter which way we turn in these troubled times it seems there is always somebody pointing an accusatory finger at us. Today it is the turn of the British, the country with which we have perhaps the closest ties. Britain is home to a large Pakistani population that contributes to its ethnic and cultural diversity and has roots that go back generations before partition. Britain also has a significant problem with some people of Pakistani origin who live there, because of their links to terrorism. This is not some half-heard tale, some over-boiled conspiracy theory, there is a real and present threat to the UK, its people and its institutions from people who have their origins here, receive training here and are operationally tasked from here.

The UK has just updated its counter-terrorism strategy and it was introduced to the wider world last Tuesday. In the press conference at which the report was launched British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith expressed serious concerns over the impact in Britain of the situation in Pakistan where Al Qaeda and groups affiliated to the Taliban are rapidly gaining influence in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. She said the strategy had noted that in some cases terror cells in the UK had received training and direction from Pakistan-based groups, and in many of the important attempted operations (as in operations that had been detected) conspirators had travelled to and from Pakistan as part of preparations. The updated strategy says that changing technology has meant that the prospect of a chemical or biological terrorist attack on Britain was now more real. Terrorists of all nationalities move with the times, and the modern terrorist is a master of new technologies and weaponry.

An interesting aspect of the new strategy is called the Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) programme. The government intends to challenge radical views that "reject and undermine our shared values and jeopardise community cohesion". Smith said that the government had no intention of outlawing such views or criminalising those who held them, but she added: "We will not hear these views in silence. We should all stand up for our shared values and not concede the floor to those who dismiss them." The document defined those who rejected "shared values" as scorning the institutions and values of parliamentary democracy, dismissing the rule of law, and promoting intolerance and discrimination on the basis of race, faith, ethnicity, gender or sexuality. Here, we have no shortage of people who reject democracy, live above the law and promote intolerance and discrimination. The difference between the British government and ours is that they have put their foot down, said 'enough is enough' – whereas our own government is happy to do deals with those whose bitter prejudices and iconoclasm threaten the very fabric of the state itself. 'Enough' is not something our government is going to be saying any time soon, and the British have every right to be worried. (The News, 26 March 2009)
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Mapping the Madrasa Mindset: Political Attitudes of Pakistani Seminaries

Muhammad Amir Rana
24-3-2009

Pakistani madaris are perceived as a catalyst factor promoting orthodox views. Many analysts
view that their role in shaping the views of the masses and their students is a serious concern for
many. Their affiliation with political, sectarian and militant organizations is also a major cause of
concern.

Madrasa teachers are a major determinant in shaping views of the students. This study is based
on interviewers of and a survey administered to madrasa teachers. Main purpose of the survey was to determine the political attitudes of the clergy that controls madaris. Their replies vary from sect to sect, area to area and with respect to their political affiliations. Within the sects, variations are very narrow, underlining a near unanimity of responses.

Contrary to the common perception, the survey finds out that 172 out of 251 (62%) madaris
have political affiliations out of which 59 percent are affiliated with religio-political parties and 3
percent with other mainstream parties. At the same time, 18 percent are affiliated with sectarian or jihadi parties. The majority’s political affiliation indicates that madaris are eager to play a prominent political role in the country.

The survey showed that Deobandi and JI madaris are more inclined towards politics as 82% of
Deobandi and 100% of JI madaris have political affiliations. It is understandable about JI madaris that they are under the patronage of a political party but for the deobandi madaris it can be a matter of their tradition. The Barelvies do not focus much on their political tradition. The survey finds out that only 27 percent of the Barelvi madaris have political affiliations including mainstream political parties. Seventy percent of Ahle Hadith and 48 percent of Shia madaris have political affiliations but mostly to safeguard the interests of their schools of thought. Only 20 percent said that it is a religious obligation.

Field researchers found that madaris administration was reluctant to disclose their sectarian
and militant affiliations. Only 18% owned up their affiliation with sectarian outfits. As a matter of
principle, most of the responding madrasas condemned terrorism as an evil. Fifty-seven percent of the madaris, view the war on terrorism as directed exclusively against Islam and Muslims.
One hundred and three out of the 115 madaris oppose the military operation in tribal region.
Thirteen percent of the respondents agreed that Pakistan should be a part of international campaign against terrorism while 77% disagreed. At the same time, 70 percent of Shia madaris consider that Pakistan should not be a part of global campaign against terrorism. Almost half of the 69 Barelvi madaris believe that what is called terrorism is a product of America’s Cold War policies against the Soviet Union. Eleven of the fourteen JI madaris think that War on Terror is designed to target Islam and Muslims. All of the JI favor that Pakistan should not be a part of global campaign against terrorism and oppose the military operations in tribal areas against Taliban. Similar views were found among Ahle-Hadith madaris with a minor difference. Most of the Deobandi madaris suggest that Pakistan should deal with the issue on its own without taking ‘dictation’ from the West. More than 90 per cent of the respondents were clear in their opinion against the suicide attacks inside Pakistan.

The survey shows that 57% of the madaris believe that the presence of foreign troops in
Afghanistan is a main reason behind the suicide attacks in Pakistan and 22% think it is because of Pakistan’s partnership in the war against terrorism.

The survey findings show two facets of the madrasa mind. One, they consider themselves and
their profession as superior to worldly pursuits and, two, they suffer from a siege mentality and think of themselves as targets of a conspiracy by the West and its allies in Pakistan. Majority of the madaris favors democratic process in the country as 73% agreed that democracy is the solution to many issues in the country. Around 90% were in favor of a peaceful solution of the Kashmir problem. Only 9% believe that jihad is a solution to the dispute. Similarly, on Afghanistan issue, only 6% supported the solution through jihad but a majority (82%) linked it with the exclusion of foreign forces from Afghanistan.

(The complete paper is included in PIPS research journal Conflict and Peace Studies, Volume 2,Number-1 Jan-Mar 2009.)

http://san-pips.com/

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Jaish madrassa operates in Bahawalpur despite ban

* Former Jaish member says would-be jihadis practice martial arts, archery and horse-riding skills
* Police officer says hard-line madrassas in Bahawalpur recruit teens and young men for jihad in FATA or in Afghanistan

BAHAWALPUR: The compound bore no sign. Residents referred to it simply as the school for "jihadis," speaking in awe of the expensive horses stabled within its high walls - and the extremists who rode them bareback in the dusty fields around it.

In classrooms nearby, teachers drilled boys as young as eight in an uncompromising brand of Islam that called for holy war against enemies of the faith. Sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Darul Uloom Madina school, they recited verses from the holy Quran.

Both facilities are run by an Al Qaeda-linked terror network, Jaish-e-Muhammed, in the heart of Punjab. Their existence raises questions about the government's pledge to crack down on terror groups’ accused of high-profile attacks in Pakistan and India.

Jihadis: There, would-be jihadis practice martial arts, archery and horse-riding skills and get religious instruction, according to a former member of Jaish-e-Muhammed, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"You can say Jaish is running its business as usual," said Amir Rana, from Pakistan's Institute for Peace Studies, which tracks militant groups. "The military wants to keep alive its strategic options in Kashmir. The trouble is you cannot restrict the militants to one area. You cannot keep control of them."

Recruit: A top police officer said the madrassas in the area were used to recruit teens and young men for jihad in the NWFP or in Afghanistan. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

A guard wielding an automatic weapon stood at the gate of the Usman-o-Ali school and turned a visiting journalist team away. But the head teacher at nearby Darul uloom Madina allowed the group a tour and an interview.

Attaur Rehman said none of the students were allowed to be recruited for jihad while studying there, but added that he could not stop them joining up after they graduated.

"Pakistani citizens, and especially Punjabis, are the Taliban trainers in the area for bomb-making," said Asadullah Sherzad, police chief in Afghanistan's insurgency-wracked Helmand province, adding there are around 100 Punjabis at any one time in that area of Afghanistan.

A police officer in Bahawalpur said Jaish members were not believed to be training with weapons in the town's schools and other facilities, adding that law enforcement agencies had infiltrated the group. He spoke on condition of anonymity because sections of the government and security agencies disagreed on the need to crack down on the group.

Jaish is believed to have been formed in 2000 by hard-line cleric Masood Azhar after he was freed from an Indian prison in exchange for passengers on a hijacked Indian Airlines flight that landed in southern Afghanistan the same year.

Azhar was born in Bahawalpur, though the government says his current whereabouts are not known. A small stall outside the Usman-o-Ali school sells his speeches and writings. ap (Daily Times, 25 March 2009)

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مدارس کی نئی سوچ

وسعت اللہ خان

بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، اسلام آباد

نو فیصد اساتذہ کا خیال ہے کہ مسئلہ کشمیر جہاد کے بغیر حل نہیں ہو سکتا

پاکستان میں تہتر فیصد مذہبی مدراس کے اساتذہ جمہوریت کے حق میں ہیں اور ان کا خیال ہے کہ جمہوریت کئی قومی مسائل کا حل ہے۔

اسلام آباد کے ایک سرکردہ تحقیقی ادارے پاکستان انسٹی ٹیوٹ فار پیس سٹڈیز ( پائپس) نے ملک کے مختلف علاقوں میں مختلف مکاتبِ فکر کے دو سو اکیاون مدارس کے اساتذہ کی آراء پر مبنی سروے سے یہ نتیجہ اخذ کیا ہے کہ باسٹھ فیصد مدارس کسی نہ کسی مذہبی و سیاسی تنظیم یا گروہ سے وابستہ ہیں جبکہ اٹھارہ فیصد مدارس کا جھکاؤ کسی نہ کسی فرقہ وارانہ یا جہادی تنظیم کی طرف ہے۔

سروے کے مطابق جماعتِ اسلامی کے سو فیصد ، دیوبندی مکتبِ فکر کے بیاسی فیصد ، اہلِ حدیث کے ستر فیصد، اہلِ تشیع کے اڑتالیس فیصد اور بریلوی مکتبِ فکر کے ستائیس فیصد مدارس کا جھکاؤ کسی نہ کسی مذہبی و سیاسی جماعت یا تنظیم کی طرف ہے۔

سروے کے مطابق زیادہ تر مدارس اصولی طور پر دہشت گردی کے رجحانات کی مذمت کرتے ہیں تاہم ستاون فیصد مدارس کے اساتذہ کے خیال میں دہشت گردی کے خلاف جنگ کا نشانہ اسلام اور مسلمان ہیں۔ تقریباً اسی فیصد مدارس قبائلی علاقوں میں فوجی آپریشن کے خلاف ہیں جبکہ ستتر فیصد مدارس کے خیال میں پاکستان کو دہشت گردی کے خلاف عالمی مہم کا حصہ نہیں بننا چاہیے۔ ان میں شیعہ مدارس کا تناسب ستر فیصد ہے۔

ستاون فیصد مدارس کے خیال میں پاکستان میں خودکش حملوں کا بنیادی سبب افغانستان میں امریکہ سمیت غیرممالک کی فوجی موجودگی ہے جبکہ بائیس فیصد مدارس کے خیال میں خودکش حملوں میں اضافے کا بنیادی سبب دہشت گردی کے خلاف جنگ میں پاکستان کا کردار ہے۔

تیرہ فیصد مدارس کے خیال میں پاکستان کا عالمی مہم میں شریک ہونا درست ہے۔ پچاس فیصد بریلوی مدارس کے اساتذہ کا خیال ہے کہ دہشت گردی کی موجودہ لہر کے ڈانڈے امریکہ اور سابق سوویت یونین کی سرد جنگ کے زمانے سے ملتے ہیں۔ جماعتِ اسلامی، اہلِ حدیث اور دیوبندی مکتبِ فکر کے مدارس کی بہت بڑی اکثریت کا خیال ہے کہ پاکستان کو دہشت گردی سے نمٹنے کے لیے مغربی دنیا سے ڈکٹیشن لینے کی بجائے اپنی پالیسی آزادانہ طور پر وضع کرنی چاہییے۔

جہاں تک خودکش حملوں کے بڑھتے ہوئے رجحان کا معاملہ ہے تو ستاون فیصد مدارس کے خیال میں پاکستان میں خودکش حملوں کا بنیادی سبب افغانستان میں امریکہ سمیت غیرممالک کی فوجی موجودگی ہے جبکہ بائیس فیصد مدارس کے خیال میں خودکش حملوں میں اضافے کا بنیادی سبب دہشت گردی کے خلاف جنگ میں پاکستان کا کردار ہے۔

نوے فیصد مدارس مسئلہ کشمیر کا پرامن حل چاہتے ہیں جبکہ نو فیصد مدارس کے اساتذہ کا خیال ہے کہ مسئلہ کشمیر جہاد کے بغیر حل نہیں ہوسکتا۔ بیاسی فیصد مدارس کا خیال ہے کہ اگر غیرملکی فوج افغانستان چھوڑ دے تو مسئلہ کا پرامن حل ممکن ہے۔جبکہ چھ فیصد مدارس کے خیال میں افغان مسئلے کا علاج مسلح جہاد ہے۔

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2009/03/090324_madarsa_wusat_zs.shtml

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NYT: Pakistan spy agency ISI supporting Afghan militants

Afghan Strikes by Taliban Get Pakistan Help, U.S. Aides Say
By MARK MAZZETTI and ERIC SCHMITT
Published: March 25, 2009

WASHINGTON — The Taliban’s widening campaign in southern Afghanistan is made possible in part by direct support from operatives in Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, despite Pakistani government promises to sever ties to militant groups fighting in Afghanistan, according to American government officials.

The support consists of money, military supplies and strategic planning guidance to Taliban commanders who are gearing up to confront the international force in Afghanistan that will soon include some 17,000 American reinforcements.

Support for the Taliban, as well as other militant groups, is coordinated by operatives inside the shadowy S Wing of Pakistan’s spy service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, the officials said. There is even evidence that ISI operatives meet regularly with Taliban commanders to discuss whether to intensify or scale back violence before the Afghan elections.

Details of the ISI’s continuing ties to militant groups were described by a half-dozen American, Pakistani and other security officials during recent interviews in Washington and the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. All requested anonymity because they were discussing classified and sensitive intelligence information.

The American officials said proof of the ties between the Taliban and Pakistani spies came from electronic surveillance and trusted informants. The Pakistani officials interviewed said that they had firsthand knowledge of the connections, though they denied that the ties were strengthening the insurgency.

American officials have complained for more than a year about the ISI’s support to groups like the Taliban. But the new details reveal that the spy agency is aiding a broader array of militant networks with more diverse types of support than was previously known — even months after Pakistani officials said that the days of the ISI’s playing a “double game” had ended.

Pakistan’s military and civilian leaders publicly deny any government ties to militant groups, and American officials say it is unlikely that top officials in Islamabad are directly coordinating the clandestine efforts. American officials have also said that midlevel ISI operatives occasionally cultivate relationships that are not approved by their bosses.

In a sign of just how resigned Western officials are to the ties, the British government has sent several dispatches to Islamabad in recent months asking that the ISI use its strategy meetings with the Taliban to persuade its commanders to scale back violence in Afghanistan before the August presidential election there, according to one official.

But the inability, or unwillingness, of the embattled civilian government, led by President Asif Ali Zardari, to break the ties that bind the ISI to the militants illustrates the complexities of a region of shifting alliances. Obama administration officials admit that they are struggling to understand these allegiances as they try to forge a strategy to quell violence in Afghanistan, which has intensified because of a resurgent Taliban. Fighting this insurgency is difficult enough, officials said, without having to worry about an allied spy service’s supporting the enemy.

But the Pakistanis offered a more nuanced portrait. They said the contacts were less threatening than the American officials depicted and were part of a strategy to maintain influence in Afghanistan for the day when American forces would withdraw and leave what they fear could be a power vacuum to be filled by India, Pakistan’s archenemy. A senior Pakistani military officer said, “In intelligence, you have to be in contact with your enemy or you are running blind.”

The ISI helped create and nurture the Taliban movement in the 1990s to bring stability to a nation that had been devastated by years of civil war between rival warlords, and one Pakistani official explained that Islamabad needed to use groups like the Taliban as “proxy forces to preserve our interests.”

A spokesman at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington declined to comment for this article.

Over the past year, a parade of senior American diplomats, military officers and intelligence officials has flown to Islamabad to urge Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders to cut off support for militant groups, and Washington has threatened to put conditions on more than $1 billion in annual military aid to Pakistan. On Saturday, the director of the C.I.A., Leon E. Panetta, met with top Pakistani officials in Islamabad.

Little is publicly known about the ISI’s S Wing, which officials say directs intelligence operations outside of Pakistan. American officials said that the S Wing provided direct support to three major groups carrying out attacks in Afghanistan: the Taliban based in Quetta, Pakistan, commanded by Mullah Muhammad Omar; the militant network run by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar; and a different group run by the guerrilla leader Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, recently told senators that the Pakistanis “draw distinctions” among different militant groups.

“There are some they believe have to be hit and that we should cooperate on hitting, and there are others they think don’t constitute as much of a threat to them and that they think are best left alone,” Mr. Blair said.

The Haqqani network, which focuses its attacks on Afghanistan, is considered a strategic asset to Pakistan, according to American and Pakistani officials, in contrast to the militant network run by Baitullah Mehsud, which has the goal of overthrowing Pakistan’s government.

Top American officials speak bluntly about how the situation has changed little since last summer, when evidence showed that ISI operatives helped plan the bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, an attack that killed 54 people.

“They have been very attached to many of these extremist organizations, and it’s my belief that in the long run, they have got to completely cut ties with those in order to really move in the right direction,” Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said recently on “The Charlie Rose Show” on PBS.

The Taliban has been able to finance a military campaign inside Afghanistan largely through proceeds from the illegal drug trade and wealthy individuals from the Persian Gulf. But American officials said that when fighters needed fuel or ammunition to sustain their attacks against American troops, they would often turn to the ISI.

When the groups needed to replenish their ranks, it would be operatives from the S Wing who often slipped into radical madrasas across Pakistan to drum up recruits, the officials said.

The ISI support for militants extends beyond those operating in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan. American officials said the spy agency had also shared intelligence with Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based militant group suspected in the deadly attacks in Mumbai, India, and provided protection for it.

Mr. Zardari took steps last summer to purge the ISI’s top ranks after the United States confronted Pakistan with evidence about the Indian Embassy bombing. Mr. Zardari pledged that the ISI would be “handled,” and that anyone working with militants would be dismissed.

Yet with the future of Mr. Zardari’s government uncertain in the current political turmoil and with Obama officials seeing few immediate alternatives, American officials and outside experts said that Pakistan’s military establishment appears to see little advantage in responding to the demands of civilian officials in Islamabad or Washington.

As a result, when the Haqqani fighters need to stay a step ahead of American forces stalking them on the ground and in the air, they rely on moles within the spy agency to tip them off to allied missions planned against them, American military officials said.

Mark Mazzetti reported from Washington, and Eric Schmitt from Washington and Islamabad, Pakistan.

A version of this article appeared in print on March 26, 2009, on page A1 of the New York edition.



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Targeting Taliban commander Siraj Haqqani

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US offers $5m reward for Baitullah Mehsud

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday offered up to $11 million in rewards to find and capture three Al Qaeda terrorists, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud. The US announced a $5 million bounty for the location or arrest of Mehsud. The other two terrorists named in the list were Sirajuddin Haqqani and Abu Yahya Al-Libi. Washington is offering $5 million for Haqqani, a suspected leader of the Haqqani terror network founded by his father, and $1 million are being offered for Al Qaeda member Al-Libi. afp (Daily Times, March 26, 2009).

بیت اللہ پر پچاس لاکھ ڈالر کا انعام

بیت اللہ محسود تحریِک طالبان پاکستان کے سربراہ ہیں

امریکہ نے بیت اللہ محسود سمیت تین طالبان اور القاعدہ رہنماؤں کی گرفتاری میں مدد پرگیارہ ملین ڈالر انعام کا اعلان کیا ہے۔

امریکی سٹیٹ ڈپارٹمنٹ کی ویب سائٹ پر موجود ایک بیان کے مطابق بیت اللہ محسود اور سراج الدین حقانی کی گرفتاری میں مدد دینے یا ان کے ٹھکانے کی نشاندہی پر پچاس پچاس لاکھ ڈالر جبکہ ابو یحیٰی اللبی کی گرفتاری میں مدد پر دس لاکھ ڈالر انعام مقرر کیا ہے۔

سٹیٹ ڈپارٹمنٹ کے مطابق ’ بیت اللہ محسود پاکستان میں سرگرم طالبان کی تنظیم تحریکِ طالبان کا کرتا دھرتا اور پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقے جنوبی وزیرستان میں القاعدہ کا مرکزی مددگار ہے‘۔

بیت اللہ محسود کا نام پاکستان کی سابق وزیراعظم بینظیر بھٹو کے قتل کے سلسلے میں بھی لیا جاتا رہا ہے اور پاکستان میں اس قتل کے الزام میں ان کے وارنٹ گرفتاری بھی جاری کیے جا چکے ہیں۔ خیال رہے کہ پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقے جنوبی وزیرستان میں بیت اللہ کا مضبوط گڑھ سمجھا جانے والے علاقے مکین میں بدھ کو ہی ایک مبینہ امریکی جاسوس طیارے کے حملے میں سات عرب باشندے ہلاک ہوئے ہیں۔

سٹیٹ ڈپارٹمنٹ نے افغان مجاہد رہنما جلال الدین حقانی کے بیٹے سراج الدین حقانی کی گرفتاری میں مدد دینے یا ان کے ٹھکانے کا پتہ فراہم کرنے پر بھی پچاس لاکھ ڈالر کا انعام رکھا ہے۔ پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقے میں واقع مولانا جلال الدین حقانی کے مدرسے اور گھر کو گزشتہ برس میزائل حملوں کا نشانہ بنایا گیا تھا جس میں متعدد افراد ہلاک ہوئے تھے۔ جلال الدین حقانی اور سراج حقانی کو کابل میں بھارتی سفارتخانے پر ہونے والے خودکش حملے کا ذمہ دار بھی قرار دیا جاتا رہا ہے۔

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2009/03/090325_baitullah_headmoney_zs.shtml

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US airstrike kills 8 in Baitullah Mehsud's hometown

By Bill RoggioMarch 25, 2009

US Predators killed eight terrorists, including "foreigners," in an attack on a Taliban convoy in South Waziristan.

The attack took place in Makeen, the hometown of Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan.

"Two missiles struck two vehicles carrying militants and from information we have received, some guests were among the dead," a Pakistani intelligence official told Reuters, who did not specify the identity or the nationality of those killed. Geo News reported eight were killed, including "foreigners," a term commonly used to describe al Qaeda operatives.

Baitullah sheltered in a safe house in Makeen run by Anwar Shah at the end of December 2008 after claiming credit for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination.

Today's strike is the sixth recorded attack against camps and compounds in Baitullah's tribal areas. The last attack in Baitullah's territory took place on March 1. Eight terrorists, including Arabs and Uzbeks, were reported killed in the March 1 attack.

Although The New York Times reported that a Predator strike on Feb. 14 was the first such attack against Baitullah Mehsud and signaled an expansion of the air war, the report is incorrect. There were three US strikes in Baitullah's tribal areas between July 2008 and January 2009.

In mid-June 2008, a strike hit a Taliban safe house in Baitullah's hometown of Makeen. In mid-October 2008 , a Predator strike took place in the village of Saam in the Ladha region. And on Jan. 2, 2009, another strike took place in Madin, also in the Ladha region.

Today's strike is the tenth inside Pakistan this year and the first since March 15, when US Predators conducted an attack in Bannu, a frontier region outside of Pakistan's tribal areas. Bannu borders the Taliban-controlled North and South Waziristan tribal areas to the east.

Source: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/03/us_airstike_kills_8.php

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Head-hunting

Friday, March 27, 2009 Hiding in plain view is something that occurs in nature all the time – creatures camouflage themselves either for protection from a predator – no pun intended – or as predators in hiding and waiting for prey. We have a fine example of the technique here amongst us, a certain Mr Baitullah Mehsud, who is visible to millions via the medium of television, but apparently invisible to those agencies searching so diligently for him. So visible is he that he recently gave a press conference that was attended by numerous print and electronic media journalists who had presumably arrived at his location by conventional means; and were not tele-ported in as we see travellers move around space and time in science-fiction films. All these media persons were presumably in possession of that essential adjunct to modern life – a mobile phone. Mobile phones emit tracking signals, signals which are regularly followed by intelligence-gathering agencies when they are hunting for the bad guys. Journalists are chatterboxes by nature – surely one of them must have made a call either from Mehsud's location or en-route to it? No? It stretches our credulity far beyond snapping point that no agency with an interest in the whereabouts of Mr Mehsud was apparently aware of this tête-à-tête. Had it simply escaped their notice, busy as they are with so many other things? Or did it just happen that they were distracted momentarily and looked in another direction? The mystery of the invisible Mehsud is all the more perplexing when viewed in the light of the generous bounty recently offered by the American government for his capture. The United States has offered $5 million for information leading to the capture or death of Baitullah Mehsud. The US has offered large cash rewards for terrorism suspects in the past, but until recently they regarded Mehsud mainly as a threat to Pakistan and unworthy of their attention. Previous US drone attacks had avoided targeting Mehsud's hideouts but this changed earlier this month when US drones also began to target Mehsud and his men. The US State Department has identified Mehsud as a key leader of the Pakistani Taliban and an Al Qaeda 'facilitator' in South Waziristan. He is also fingered as a suspect in the killing of Benazir Bhutto and the Marriott bombing, plus he has made no bones about his intention of attacking the US if he can – and he probably can. All of this should qualify him for an early visit by Mr Predator and Mrs Hellfire -- if only he can be found, that is. It should not be difficult to find Baitullah Mehsud, any number of media persons knows where he is and so do others. Five million dollars is a lot of money and head-hunting via a bounty has loosened tongues in the past, so the technique is proven and the five million is peanuts as far as the US is concerned. It remains to be seen just how long hiding in plain view is an option for the elusive Mr Mehsud. (The News, 27 March 2009)

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Asif Zardari, Journalists, Terrorists and Ansar Abbasi

Tahir Sarwar Mir, in the following op-ed, seems to offer an advice to Ansar Abbasi (and his likes) based on Habib Jalib's poetry.


Tahir Sarwar Mir - Express 21 January 2009
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Shafeeq-ur-Rahman: the inimitable humorist

By Rauf Parekh
Tuesday, 24 Mar, 2009 (Dawn)

Despite having not written for such a long time, Shafeeq-ur-Rahman did not fade out and new editions of his books were published every few years. –File Photo

Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi, one of the most celebrated humorists of the Urdu language, said in an interview early in his literary career that he had decided to quit writing humour. Reason? He thought it was useless to write humour if one could not write it the way Shafeeq-ur-Rahman did. (Though, luckily enough, Yousufi Sahib later decided that he could write humour the way he himself did.)

Such was the influence of Shafeeq-ur-Rahman, a humorist who ruled the world of Urdu humour for about 60 years, and is still doing so.

Shafeeq-ur-Rahman began writing and established himself in the pre-independence era like his contemporaries, such as Ibrahim Jalees, K.L. Kapoor, Krishan Chandr, Shaukat Thanvi and Rasheed Ahmed Siddiqi.

His first book ‘Kirnen’ (1942) was a collection of quasi-romantic and quasi-humorous short stories. His early stories did not show any signs of a great humorist. But in his second book, ‘Shagoofe’ (1943), romanticism gave way to humour and it was his later books, ‘Lehren’ (1944) and ‘Parwaz’ (1945), which established him as a pure humorist. ‘Himaqaten’ (1947) and ‘Mazeed Himaqaten’ (1948) earned him more accolades but the flow of his books shrank to a trickle of articles and then for almost 25 years he wrote nothing.

Zameer Jafri, in one of his columns titled ‘Kuchh na likhne ki silver jubilee’, ‘commemorated’ in his peculiar style Shafeeq’s literary hibernation.

Some believe that for writers it is a must to keep on writing or run the risk of being forgotten and that the adage ‘publish or perish’ is not true of publishers alone, but of writers as well. (In my personal opinion, most of the writers of our times ‘publish and perish’.)

Strangely enough, despite having not written for such a long time, Shafeeq-ur-Rahman did not fade out and new editions of his books were published every few years. The copies of his books that I preserve like a treasure were published mostly in the early 1970s.

So, what are the factors that have kept him very much ‘in’ for such a long time? First, his humour has such a vigour and freshness that it has not wilted even today. Some of his essays in his early books are timeless. His wit and repartee put him way ahead of some of his contemporaries who, for example Shaukat Thanvi, depended more on playfulness or situational comedy.

Azeem Baig Chughtai (though hardly his contemporary, as he died in 1941), like Shaukat Thanvi, relished pranks and his humour consists largely of cheery boisterousness.

Though Shafeeq Sahib’s humour is not shy of practical jokes, he uses it sparingly and his playfulness stops just in time to save the humour from becoming tragedy, which sometimes is the case with Chughtai.Secondly, Shafeeq is the master of parody.

Hardly any humorist in Urdu can match his satire and bubbling wit when it comes to parodies. His five parodies — ‘Qissa-i-chahaar dervesh’, ‘Qissa-i-Hatim Tai bai tasweer’, ‘Qissa Professor Ali Baba ka’, ‘Tuzk-i-Nadri urf Siyahat nama-i-Hind’ and ‘Safar nama Jahazbad Sindhi ka’ — are fine satires on our history and culture.

For instance, in his ‘Tuzk-i-Nadri’, probably the most successful of all parodies in Urdu, he not only mocks the kings and their ‘tuzks’ (memoirs), but our political system is also his target when he writes (in the words of Nadir Shah) that: ‘In those days Delhi was in the grip of election fever. Ulloo Shanaas submitted that I had become so popular in Delhi that I could win election from any constituency, no matter on whose ticket I contest it…Out of my seven opponents, two withdrew when they were presented with large amounts of cash, the third was coerced into withdrawal, the fourth had to be made an ambassador to a country, two turned out to be a bit too obstinate and one of them had to be beaten black and blue and the other died in mysterious circumstances. When polling began, the entire population of the city was invited for a feast and presented with money and valuables. And if there happened to be any impudent voter who did not admit to my popularity, he was made to accept it with the help of a stick.’ (Mazeed himaqaten, p37).

Another factor that contributed a lot to Shafeeq Sahib’s public acclaim was his popularity among the adolescent. The main character in most of his humorous short stories is a young and witty college boy who is fond of cricket and movies.

Also, Shafeeq often portrays infatuations. This gives the youth a vicarious feeling. And his characters appear kind of flirtatious, too. His most famous character, Rufi alias Shaitaan, once quips: ‘Sonny! Don’t be sulky if you miss a bus or a girl, another one will be just round the corner.’ (Himaqaten, p121).

Then he often philosophises about joys and sorrows, sweeping the young readers with the bouts of optimism and pessimism, giving semi-philosophical, semi-romantic explanations to the queries that haunt the youth.

In addition, his many essays are nothing but a collection of jokes and the essay itself is only the thread that binds them together. His characters, novel and funny, such as Rufi or Shaitaan, Maqsood Ghora, Hukoomat Aapa and Buddy, make reading joyful.

All this put together is enough to hook young readers. I don’t know exactly which way the wind is blowing these days, but in my late teens and early twenties, I had read each and every book by Shafeeq-ur-Rahman many times over.
Shafeeq-ur-Rahman was born on Nov 9, 1920, in a small town near Rohtak. He was educated at Bahawalpur, as described by Muhammad Khalid Akhter, Shafeeq’s classmate at Sadiq Dean High School and a humorist in his own right.

Shafeeq-ur-Rahman did his MBBS in 1942 from Lahore’s King Edward Medical College. Having joined the Indian Medical Service as a lieutenant, Shafeeq-ur-Rahman was posted, according to Khalid Akhter, at different war fronts during the Second World War.

He then joined Edinburgh University and London University to further his education. It certainly broadened his perspective. But both Shafeeq-ur-Rahman and Khalid Akhter were already immersed in English literature and it had definitely influenced their writings.

On Shafeeq’s style one can trace the influence of western humorists such as Stephen Leacock and Mark Twain, but he is among those writers of Urdu who are well-grounded in their own literature and culture and have a peculiar style of their own.

After independence, Shafeeq-ur-Rahman held high positions in the Pakistan Army and Navy and in December 1980 was made chairman of the Pakistan Academy of Letters, a post he held till December 1986. His other books include ‘Madd-o-jazar’ (1946), ‘Pachhtawe’ (1948), ‘Dajla’ (1980) and ‘Dareeche’ (1989).

The irreplaceable and inimitable Shafeeq-ur-Rahman died in Rawalpindi on March 19, 2000.

drraufparekh@yahoo.com

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The Legend That Was Shafiq-ur-Rehman

By Dr. Zeba Hasan Hafeez

Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehman was one of our most illustrious writers of extraordinary humor. Like P.G. Woodhouse he has given enduring pleasure to his readers. The similarity between him and Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi, is also striking. Both did justice to their careers, the former serving in the armed forces and the latter in the banking sector, and also reached the heights of literary excellence.

Early in his career as a writer, Shafiq-ur-Rehman became a household name. I recall the words of Akhtar Mahmud Faruqui, a former assistant editor of Dawn: “My dear father had wanted me to become an engineer but I used to spend most of my time reading Shafiq-ur-Rehman and learning his afsanas by heart. That was also true of my cousins and college friends. Even ahmaq in Maddojazar fascinated us and we readily identified ourselves with the character. I was entranced by his writings when I was 15. I found his afsanas equally absorbing forty years later. Perhaps more. Pachtawaey sounded so familiar. So did Himaqataen. ‘Shaffoo bhai’ (Kirnaey or Shagoofae?) was, of course, my ideal, my hero.”

Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehman began writing humorous stories during his school days. His stories were published in a literary monthly magazine called Khayyam. Kirneyn was completed before he joined the medical college and was published in 1938 while he was still a medical student. It was followed by Shagoofay , Lehrain, Maddojazar, Parvaaz, Himaqatain, Mazeed Himaqatain, Dajla (a travalogue), Insaani Tamasha (a translation of “a human comedy”) and lastly Dareechay. His unforgettable characters include Razia, Shaitaan, Hukoomat Aapa, Maqsood Ghora, Buddy, Nannha and others. His work added a new dimension to humor in Urdu literature. He created a world for us that was very real with all its joys, pains and anguish. It was an affirmation of life and of human values: empathy, compassion and respect. Even the seemingly frivolous and trivial situations had hidden meanings that probed deep into the human psyche. His language was simple, spontaneous and expressive.

After passing his MBBS in 1942, Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehman joined the Indian Army Medical Corps. He completed his post-graduation in tropical medicine and public health from Edinburgh, in 1952.

As his niece, I had the rare pleasure and privilege of being close to him. He was always my hero. I found everything about him extraordinary: his literary genius, his conversation, his stature, his handsomeness, his handwriting… I don’t think, I have seen anyone more becoming in an army or naval uniform. We all called him uncle. There was an ancient timepiece on the sideboard in the dining room which he only was able to adjust. When I met my aunt recently, she sadly said that no one manipulated it now. They had many common interests and a great companionship. Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehman was a friend of her brother, Shaukat Hasan. They were classmates at King Edward Medical College, which was the beginning of a life-long friendship. In Barsaati, the “friend” accompanying the author in Spain, is him. Lieutenant General Shaukat Hasan has served as consultant surgeon to the Pakistan armed forces for about twenty years.

Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehman had many nieces and nephews. He had committed to memory some act or conversation of each child in the family. Whenever he met me after an interval, he would say that years ago, I had asked him to wear a suit for an occasion and he had found my suggestion so appropriate that he had quickly gone in and changed. I always felt important when he mentioned this incident. Our families had the opportunity to spend a lot of quality time together in Karachi, from 1972 to 1975 when he was posted as Director Medical Services, Navy with the rank of commodore and later as rear admiral. When he reverted to the army, he became Major General. My aunt took a long leave from her post as professor of English at the Government College, Rawalpindi to join him. He adored his sons and spent a great deal of time with them, playing cricket, swimming and engaging in other activities. Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehman was very much of an outdoor person. He was tall, athletic and slim; strenuous exercise being a daily ritual for him. Every Sunday, he would wear his hat and go for a long walk to the bazaar of used books. He returned with an interesting assortment and gave each one of us a book to read .

Whenever we went to Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehman’s house, we knew that depending upon the time, he would either be at work, outdoors for his daily exercise or in his study. If it was one of the meal times, we would have the memorable opportunity of being in his company. I always felt honored to sit at the dining table with him. He spoke most of the time and we listened, mesmerized. He had an amazing memory and his conversation would mostly be about books, poetry and jokes. His jokes were endless and he never repeated a single one. He had a special way of telling a joke which threw us all into fits of laughter while he sat with a straight face. Later, I found out that most people who had met him shared this impression. It was an unwritten law in their house that meal times were a reunion of the family and that anything unpleasant, including illness, was not to be discussed.

Every time I visited the family in Rawalpindi, my aunt and I took turns in reading out passages from his books. She told me the background of many situations too. I always made it a point to go through all their old picture albums. Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehman was very fond of photography. Each photograph seemed to have a historical perspective to it. My aunt had a story to tell about each one. They seemed to open a gateway to a dreamland of romanticism, youth; a glimpse into life, as he had lived it and as it had inspired him. His room was quite bare. He was an extraordinarily simple and private person. I sometimes caught a glimpse of him while he worked. There was a newspaper stand in his room where he stood for hours, barefoot, reading. He even wrote while standing. His library comprised thousands of books. These were all stacked neatly in steel trunks which were kept locked. He seemed to have a working catalogue in his mind and knew where each book was placed, even the pile and row down to the last detail.

Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehman had given me an autographed set of his books. Somehow Mazeed Himaqatain was missing from this collection. When I went to Rawalpindi after his passing away, I requested my aunt to autograph it for me. She wrote,

Barey shauq saye suun raha tha zamana

Hameey soo gayae dastaan sunaatey sunaatey.

I have tried to translate a few lines from Barsaati that have always moved me. “Alhamra seems like the home of fairies. Every pillar, arch, wall and their beautiful engravings, every inch seems magical. In this solitude, the only sign of life seems to emerge from the sound of these fountains. These springs have never been silent. They have been flowing since the era of the Arabs. The limitedness of human life, the vicissitudes of time, philosophy, creation and destruction; all seem to have become absorbed into the sound of these fountains.”

After retiring from the army, General Shafiq-ur-Rehman, served as Chairman of the Academy of Letters from 1980 to 1985. During his tenure, the Academy of Letters acquired a new dimension as a prominent literary institution of Pakistan. He continued to write till his end in March 2000. He was the only Major General to be awarded the Hilal e Imtiaz for his military and civilian services. He was bestowed the latter honor after his death and his son, Atiq-ur-Rehman, received it on his behalf on 23 March, 2001.
Dr Shafiq-ur-Rehamn is a legend in Urdu literature and lives on in our hearts. His books have been appreciated and read so widely that had he belonged to any other country, he would have been a millionaire. However, he never asked for any royalties and never made any kind of monetary agreement with his publishers. His lifestyle was always simple. On an occasion, a thief tried to break into their house and in the process damaged a door whose repair caused the family considerable inconvenience. I recall uncle saying that a sign should be posted outside for thieves, “The door is open, you don’t have to break it.”

http://www.pakistanlink.com/letters/2002/Dec/06/04.html

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An excerpt from Shafiq-ur-Rehman’s ‘lehreN’
Owais Mughal

Following ‘azad’ poem is by one of my favourite writers, Shafiq-ur-Rehman and it comes from his book ‘lehreN’. The poem is actually a satire on modern day poets who write ‘azad’ Urdu poem by using all the ‘azadi’ they can get. The poem describes a situation of fighting cats in a garden. I hope it brings a smile to you just like it has been bringing smiles to me for the past 20 years.

Here is my attempt at an approximate translation for our English readers:

Cats are fighting
Oh Cats
Caaaa…
…tsss
May be cats are fighting in garden now
There is the haze of dusk
It is time to rest
to work
to
get rewarded
And cats are fighting
May be they are 4 in number
or may be 3
But this little doubt has made house in my heart
that the cats are 5 in number
and definitely they cannot be 6
and the night is glowing in moonlight
and the moon is shining bright
and the moonlight is ubiquitous
and this moonlight will only last for a little while
and then there is a pitch dark night ahead
What was i saying?
Aah, it just slipped out of my mind
What happened to my memory?
Only God can fix it
Oh Yes, I just remembered!
the cats are fighting
Cats are probably finghting in the garden now!

Photo Credits: Flickr.com

Source: http://pakistaniat.com/2008/02/09/billi-cat-pakistan/

List of his books

• Kirnein (Rays of Light)
• Shagoofey
• Lehrein (Waves)
• Maddojazar (Ebb and Flow)
• Parvaaz (Flight)
• Himaqatain
• Mazeed Himaqatain
• Dajla (a travalogue)
• Insaani Tamasha (a translation of “a human comedy”)
• Dareechay
• Pachtaway (Regrets)

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Cricket, Pavilion and Punjab - Tahir Sarwar Mir's analysis of the Long March and Nawaz Sharif's politics

Express, 25 March 2009


The frustrated of the long march - Latif Chaudhry
Express, 25 March 2009


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Long March 2009 and Sauce for the Goose: Zafar Hilaly

Sauce for the goose

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 Zafar Hilaly The ongoing auction for votes in the Punjab Provincial Assembly, so soon after the restoration of the judges, is further proof that the federation is dysfunctional. As the politicians squabble, officials disobey "illegal" orders and soldiers refuse to take on fellow Muslims in the borderlands (curiously, no such hesitancy was evident in East Pakistan). The refusal by some brigadiers to obey orders to fire on an opposition crowd in Lahore in 1977 was a trendsetter; earlier the police strike in Lahore continued this trend and last week's defiance of the police to arrest or confine opposition politicians, again in Lahore, suggests that what is presently an infection may become a contagion. Politicians should pause to ponder the consequences of promoting indiscipline and brazen flouting of authority. Identical "illegal" orders for the arrest of popular Sindhi leaders, for example, were never challenged. No one balked at carrying out the edict of a soldier usurper for the arrest of Z A Bhutto. Not a leaf stirred uniformed conscience was pricked when he was murdered at the behest of the dictator. It was noticeable that none of the hundreds of police officials surrounding BB's residence in Lahore in November 2007 refused to abide by what were manifestly "illegal" orders from yet another soldier dictator. Similarly, there is no record that the soldier or airman ordered to terminate the aged, infirm, cornered and defenceless Akbar Bughti stood down because the use of excessive force is a crime. Such memories linger and rankle. Mujibur Rahman trotted out examples of discrimination against Bengalis to fan his secessionist agenda and it worked. Nawaz Sharif's appeal to his fellow Punjabis to follow where he leads was a powerful reminder that Pakistan is less a nation state than a state of nations, three stood excluded from his call. Whipping up Punjabi chauvinism could prove lethal. The 1973 Constitution posited a federal arrangement for Pakistan. But very quickly the spirit of that the Constitution was violated and the document itself trashed by successive military regimes. And as people lose hope that it will ever be implemented so demands for the promised autonomy have been replaced by those for outright independence. Hence, the current insurgency in Balochistan was preceded by a declaration of independence. The recent fracas over the "desecration" of Benazir Bhutto's pictures and epithets directed against Sindh; the threat by the MQM to quit the coalition unless appropriate apologies were received; the incensed reaction of PPP workers in Sindh are vivid reminders that key segments of civil society are fretting, angry and losing hope that the promise of a truly federal structure will ever be redeemed. Sindh, in particular, comprising 30 percent of Pakistan's population while contributing as much as 60 percent of the national wealth and 70 percent of Pakistan's oil and gas requirements, feels especially short-changed. Looking towards Islamabad for its developmental needs is galling when they can be easily met from Sindh's own revenues. A Sindhi often asks why the sins of one province should be visited on another; why his development should be withheld to fund those of another provinces; why Sindh's courts should be manned by judges from another province; why the policeman or Ranger deployed in his province should be recruited from another province; why most bureaucrats manning the provincial secretariat be domiciled in another province, etc., etc. And whereas he will readily concede that Sindh's parochial interests cannot alone decide the nation's foreign and defence policies, he does wonder why some dictator plays truant with his rights; and why Islamabad is allowed by law to stake his prosperity, peace of mind, security and future on wholly avoidable wars. This has been Sindh's fate thus far, but it need not be. If elusive justice can be obtained by a long march so can equally elusive self-rule, of course, within the ambit of Pakistan. Indeed, Mr Zardari can reclaim much of the respect and affection he has squandered by his antics during the judges matter by leading the next long march for the rights of the other nations which comprise Pakistan. And if, by some miracle, he decides to emerge from his bunker to do so, Mr Nawaz Sharif is best placed by his recent experience to advise him how to ensure success, beginning with a stirring call to Sindhi nationalism, followed by threats of all kinds and finally a warning to the federal authorities to lay off or face revolt. Nobody could object, after all what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. (The News) The writer is a former ambassador. Email: charles123it@hotmail.com

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Imran Khan is a Liberal just like Quaid-e-Azam M.A.Jinnah !! : An Interesting Debate on PTI's Blog

Below is an interesting debate copied from PTI's blog. The purpose of posting this debate is to expose real character of PTI which is infested with ex-JI workers and leaders.
What we can see below is that supporters of Imran Khan poorly failed to defend their leader through rational argumentation and instead they resort to Ad Hominem frequently which is hallmark of all right-wing politicians and their supporters ! (Socrates)

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Saturday, March 14, 2009
In defense of Imran Khan: Who is a Liberal?
By khawar Hassan 539 Views 19 Comments


“If you wish to converse with me”, Voltaire said, “Define your terms”. Pakistan is a funny country where we excel at changing the meaning of the words to use them for our own benefit. Business is now the equivalent of fraud and scams. Intelligence is the ability to lie and cheat. Integrity and honesty are equivalent to naivety and foolishness. Politics is just another name for raw, crude and naked opportunism.

As a result we have politicians claiming religion and espousing policies totally anathema to it and liberals who don’t know what liberalism means. First of all it is a matter of context, the term liberal in a university setting could mean different than when used in a talk show or political rally.

Mr. Najam Sethi has taken a swipe at Imran Khan for lambasting the “liberals” in his speech at the Rawalpindi Bar on March 7th. Mr. Sethi forgot to mention that Imran Khan also lambasted Maulana Fazal ur Rehman by name, and other politicians who pedal religion in general. Leaving that aside for a moment, lets delve into who is a liberal and what it means to be a liberal.

A liberal, according to Alan Wolfe, is some one who stands for personal freedom, rule of law, free but responsible markets, mutual toleration and equal concern for all. Even the most disgruntled critics of Imran Khan have to agree that he and his party, PTI, are most law abiding, peaceful and not having any goon squads. He has shown equal concern for all, including the missing persons, abused women and minorities.

Please some one explain how can any one call themselves liberal when they are rooting for killing “terrorists of Lal Masjid” without affording them due process of law? How can one call themselves liberal and support indiscriminate aerial bombing against one’s own countrymen? No matter what their crimes, they all deserve their day at the court to defend themselves. A state cannot react to vigilante squads by engaging in vigilante behavior itself. Rule of law must be upheld, and that is what Imran Khan has supported.

Please some one further explain that how can anyone call themselves liberal while supporting the most rightwing conservative policies of the Bush neocons? The same policies and wars that were opposed by true liberals in all Western countries. What would you call George Calloway, Imran Khans’ biggest supporter in UK? Or Barak Obama?

Mr. Sethi, I think a rethink is on. Please do not equate supporting US policies with liberalism. Just like Islam is being misused by the Al-Qaida and their ilk for their purposes, Liberalism is being misused by the Maghrebzadehs.

I can understand your and other journalist’s confusion regarding Imran Khan. He cannot be labeled and pigeon holed because he is his own man. He ponders over an issue and takes a stand based on what he thinks is right. It might be right of center some time and left of center at other times. It might be politically incorrect at the time as well.

The reason that Imran Khan is still popular with the liberals is because they recognize that he is a true liberal at heart. Like Mohammad Ali Jinnah, whose politics was principle based and issue oriented. Like Allama Iqbal, whose interpretation of Islam earned him fatwa of kufr. That is why he is popular with liberals like me because his politics is based on right and wrong, not right and left.


By: Khawar Shamsul Hassan

Orlando, Florida, USA

PTI Coordinator.

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Comments
By Irfan Shah @ Sunday, March 15, 2009 1:12 AM (irfanshah)
Great insight Khawar Sahib.
Thankyou very much for writing something which was really needed.
I do think that there may not be as many liberals believing in Imran Khan as we like to assume there are. But I am sure with articles such as this one, it would remove some of the misconceptions about Imran Khan.
I would suggest you to get the article in major newspapers as well.

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By Irfan Shah @ Sunday, March 15, 2009 3:13 AM (irfanshah)
Btw, I have published your piece on my blog.
Link: http://cli.gs/HJrRmP

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By safdar @ Monday, March 16, 2009 11:07 AM (sescohk)
http://www.ourbeacon.com/cgi-bin/bbs60x/webbbs_config.pl/page/1/md/read/id/30803

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By Sikandar Bilal Khattak @ Tuesday, March 17, 2009 1:10 AM (Sikandar Bilal Khattak)
such replied to be posted on real platform. here mostly Insafian comes some other forums . :O

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By Mullah Omar @ Wednesday, March 18, 2009 2:35 PM (Mullah Omar)

"he is a true liberal at heart. Like Mohammad Ali Jinnah, whose politics was principle based and issue oriented." ---- this really strange becoz Mr. Imran Khan wants to impose shariah laws once he is in power, whereas Mr. Jinnah was a secular person and for him Pakistan was not going to be a theocratic state where mullahs rule, but for Jinnah Pakistan was supposed to be secular state where everyone would be equal citizen irrespective of his/her caste or creed !!

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By Mullah Omar @ Wednesday, March 18, 2009 3:07 PM (Mullah Omar)

"Mr. Sethi forgot to mention that Imran Khan also lambasted Maulana Fazal ur Rehman by name, and other politicians who pedal religion in general."

Why Imran Khan voted for Mullah Fazal ur Rehman ????

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By Paki @ Thursday, March 19, 2009 11:06 AM (Pakiza)

Mr Mullah Omer
one thing I can say is you need to know the fact.Imran voted for Amin Fahim when he was competing Fazal and Shaukat Aziz.
You seem to be either a lier or uneducated.

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By Paki @ Thursday, March 19, 2009 11:09 AM (Pakiza)

I have got a question for Mr Omer.
Quaid was laeding the party "Muslim League" but he did form his own party which would have been called "secular league" or why did not he change the name of the party?
Why Quaid said that Pakistan doesn't need any constitution as Quran is the constitution of Pakistan?
Mr Omer you have got your own opinion but what if you are uneducated?

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By Mullah Omar @ Thursday, March 19, 2009 8:32 PM (Mullah Omar)

Imran Khan voted for Fazal Rehman

"Once in office, Khan voted in favor of the pro-Taliban Islamist candidate for prime minister in 2002, bypassing Musharraf's choice."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imran_Khan


http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/658vhcpk.asp?pg=1

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By Mullah Omar @ Thursday, March 19, 2009 8:34 PM (Mullah Omar)

Mr. Jinnah was secular and he wanted a secular muslim state.
His model was modern Turki of Kamal Ata Turk !
Mr. Jinnah was not a mullah and he even got married with a parsi lady. For him religion was no the business of state it was rather eferyone' personal matter.

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By Moiz Masood @ Friday, March 20, 2009 2:06 AM (distinctmoiz)

All of you MUST check this...
http://cyclewalabanda.blogspot.com/2007/09/pakistan-ka-matlab-kya-pakistan-jinnah.html

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By Mullah Omar @ Friday, March 20, 2009 12:32 PM (Mullah Omar)

@ Khawar

You wrote "The reason that Imran Khan is still popular with the liberals is because they recognize that he is a true liberal at heart. Like Mohammad Ali Jinnah, whose politics was principle based and issue oriented."

Imran Khan is Liberal !!!
You people first need to know what actually Liberalism means.
According to Wikipedia

"Liberalism is a broad class of political philosophies that considers individual liberty and equality to be the most important political goals."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism

Imran Khan wants imposition of Sharia in Pakistan.

http://letusbuildpakistan.blogspot.com/2009/01/imran-khan-demands-imposition-of.html

So you people see Imran Khan is not a liberal person at all as IK likes to impose Shariah and hence non-muslim citizens of pakistan which are around 6 million will become second class citizens.

Moreover, Imran Khan also supports Talibans who are against individual liberty and equality.
And still you guys think that IK is liberal !!!

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By Mullah Omar @ Friday, March 20, 2009 12:52 PM (Mullah Omar)

@Tahir Naqash

--"I have got a question for Mr Omer.
Quaid was laeding the party "Muslim League" but he did form his own party which would have been called "secular league" or why did not he change the name of the party?"

First you need to know the meaning of secularism in order to understand that Mr. Jinnah firmly believed in secularism and he actually wanted Pakistan to be a secular state.
According to Wikipedia
"Secularism is the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs."
Therefore, a person can be a secular muslim just like Mr. Jinnah who believed that all the citizens of Pakistan will be equal citizens i.e. even non-muslim can become President or PM of Pakistan just like India where muslims have become presidents and present PM is a sikh !
----"Why Quaid said that Pakistan doesn't need any constitution as Quran is the constitution of Pakistan? " ---- give me the source when and where Mr. Jinnah said this.
----"Mr Omer you have got your own opinion but what if you are uneducated?' ------ LOL :) yes i'm uneducated and only members of PTI are educated !!

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By Paki @ Sunday, March 22, 2009 3:59 PM (Pakiza)

@Mulla Umer

Someone once asked Quaid e Azam what he thinks of the constitution of Pakistan.To which,Quaid said pakistan has got constitution in the form of Quran.That't why he never came up with any constitution and did not ask Liaqat Ali Khan and other leaders to come with man made constituion.
My question to you should be,why Quaid did not come up with any constitution?
Well,both Imran and PTI don't support Taliban at all.What we say is ,we are against war against terror as it has been drifting Pakistan and Afghanistan to civil war.Hence we are against the strategy being adopted to curb terrorism and secondly War against Terror is being fought on Americn terms.
Now my question to you should be,
when did Imran say that we support Taliban?hs Imran ever supported Taliban finacialy?To get the answer to this question,you had better watch 'JawabDeh' which was shown on Geo Tv in the last weak of Feb 2008.
Imran clearly says that Taliban did not server Islam and that clealy shows that we are against the kind of Islam adopted by taliban.
In fact the problem with you is,you are rather driven by anti Imran camp which is trying to portray him as Pro-Taliban which is based on lies and ignorance.

Sharia means Islam is the law of the land.Noone can deny the fact that man made laws are inadequate and don't fulfill the purpose.Islam promotes equality and justice.I just would narrate an incident which happened in Holy prophet life.
"Once Holy Prphet was sitting with one of his fellows and suddenly some jews were going to their graveyard for the funeral of a jew.When Holy prophet saw them he stood up in respect and his fellow asked him why you stood up for the funeral of a jew.Holy prophet replied that Islam teaches us to respect eveyone.
You defined Liberalism correctly but you failed to come up with any conviction that what makes PTI and Imran against liberalism.freedom of any person is one thing but law has to be supreme.If by Liberalism you mean that any one can commit sins and there should be no law for him then you had better first educate yourself.
We support personal liberty to the extent unless it affects someone else.Personal Liberty means for example you can get education of your choice and we support that.But we don't support: corruption one commits with his choice,drinking publicly and teasing women publicly etc.
This all needs to be defined and as I said Law has to be supreme.


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By Mullah Omar @ Tuesday, March 24, 2009 3:12 AM (Mullah Omar)

@Tahir Naqash aka Paki

You said "Someone once asked Quaid e Azam what he thinks of the constitution of Pakistan.To which,Quaid said pakistan has got constitution in the form of Quran." Could you please advise me source. And by the way who was "somone" and why there is "once" instead of exact date !
"My question to you should be,why Quaid did not come up with any constitution?" Why you people try to pose yourself as expert ? and in reality you know nothing about constitutional history of Pakistan. Mr. Jinnah was elected first president of Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11th August 1947. If Mr. Jinnah thought Pakistan has got Quran as a constitution then why did he formed Constituent Assembly whose primary responsibility was to form a constitution of Pakistan. He also delivered his famous speach on that day, wherein he clearly said that "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the State."
and he also said " We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State. "
He further said " Now, I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State."

http://pakistanspace.tripod.com/archives/47jin11.htm

You further said “Well,both Imran and PTI don't support Taliban at all.What we say is ,we are against war against terror as it has been drifting Pakistan and Afghanistan to civil war.Hence we are against the strategy being adopted to curb terrorism and secondly War against Terror is being fought on Americn terms.” Hmmm Imran Khan actually impilicitly supports Talibans by terming their brutal actions against innocent Pakistanis as a reaction of American-led war on terror. Could you please tell me why your leader doesn’t condemn Talibans’ actions unconditionally ? Why IK justify Talibans’ heinous crimes ?
What are American terms ? What are Pakistani terms ?

You also asked “Now my question to you should be,when did Imran say that we support Taliban?hs Imran ever supported Taliban finacialy?” Support to Talibans can be of two types explicit or implicit. Sometimes I’ve heard Imran as saying that Talibans brought peace to Afghanistan, by this way he explicitly supports former Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which was very repressive, undemocratic, and during which thousands of people belonging to Hazara tribes massacred, women were treated very harshly and were even not allowed education. And still IK praises Talibans ! Sometimes IK supports Talibans by justifying their heinous crimes. Now you answer my following questions

1- When did PTI organized a rally led by IK to condemn Talibans crime against humanity in Pakistan ? Please tell me place and date.
2- When did IK arrange a press conference, whose sole purpose was to condemn Talibans? Date and place please.
3- When did IK visit Fata and Swat to show solidarity with victims of Talibans there? Tell me date please.

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By Mullah Omar @ Tuesday, March 24, 2009 7:32 PM (Mullah Omar)

@Tahir Naqash aka Paki + all members of IK internet fan club

Come on guys, you need to defend IK !!

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By Ahsan Mansoor @ Tuesday, March 24, 2009 11:21 PM (ahsan)

Mullah Omar,

what exactly is your problem with Shariat? Yes we want to bring Shariat in this country which means a society based on justice, judicial, social and economic justice. Our whole manifesto is based on shariat. This is not a secular party so if you had problem with basic ideology of PTI, you shouldn't be here at the first place.

Answering your questions,

1- When did PTI organized a rally led by IK to condemn Talibans crime against humanity in Pakistan ? Please tell me place and date.
2- When did IK arrange a press conference, whose sole purpose was to condemn Talibans? Date and place please.
3- When did IK visit Fata and Swat to show solidarity with victims of Talibans there? Tell me date please.

Why would we protest against them? They are mere reactionaries to the government policies. IK has condemned them at a number of places (I can provide reference to video interviews), but why solely target them? They never were there before 2004 when government sent its forces to bomb its own people in return of getting salary from their masters in Washington. They are like mushrooms popping up on waste produced by the government. Clear the waste, reactionaries will die down themselves.

----

P.S. You are also warned for trolling on this website with a fake ID. Either you update your profile to start looking like a real member, or you should unregister yourself. From your posts, it is quite obvious that you aren't really a member of PTI who believes in its ideology. FYI, this website is for members of PTI only who have signed the affidavit:

"I agree to join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf having full confidence in its manifesto, and as a member of the party I will abide by its rules and constitution. I will support Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf by voting for its candidate or helping the party in other ways."

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By Mullah Omar @ Wednesday, March 25, 2009 3:31 AM (Mullah Omar)

@ Ahsan Mansoor

You asked me---- "what exactly is your problem with Shariat?" ---- well, I am not a mullah and I don't want Shariah laws in Pakistan, whose founder was a secular person. Mr. M.A.Jinnah was himself Shia but he considered religion as one's personal matter and he never behaved like a religious bigot. As a follower of Quaid-i-Azam I also believe in secularism and I have a right to defend my leader. I can't tolerate if someone tries to malign my leader.

You also said--- "Our whole manifesto is based on shariat. This is not a secular party so if you had problem with basic ideology of PTI, you shouldn't be here at the first place." ---- hmmm now cat has come out of bag ! It's pity that IK has been reduced to a mullah's level ! Now whose Shariat you are talking about ? Hanafi, Malaki, Shafai'i, Hanbali, Brelvi, Deobandi, Wahabil, Salafi, Ahl-e-Hadith, Ahmadi, Ismaili, Bohri, Shia, Talibani, etc etc ad infinitum !
And BTW instead of imposing your ideology on others why can't you defend your leader and party rationally ? Don't you think it would be better for you to defeat me logically and prove that PTI has got persons like you on whom Pakistani nation can rely and depend for their betterment ?

You further said ---- "Why would we protest against them (Talibans)? They are mere reactionaries to the government policies."---- very well said indeed!
Dear two wrongs can't make a right ! First of all Talibans are not mere reactionaries they've got their own agenda. According to that agenda they want to impose their brand of Shariah on others by force. Talibans have so for killed thousands of innocent people through suicide bombings, target killings and beheading and still you are terming them as "mere reactionaries" !! Talibans have destroyed more than two hundred schools in Swat and Fata and still people like you term them as "mere reactionaries" !!
Talibans are enemies of culture and have destroyed hundreds of music and barbar shops and still you term them as "mere reactionaries" !!
Talibans have accepted responsibilties on attacks on hosipatal in Dera Ismail Khan and attack on POF in Wah and still you term them "mere reactionaries" !! Talibans have recently destroyed tomb of famous poet Rehman Baba and still you term them as "mere reactionaries" !!

You move on to say that-----"They never were there before 2004 when government sent its forces to bomb its own people in return of getting salary from their masters in Washington. They are like mushrooms popping up on waste produced by the government. Clear the waste, reactionaries will die down themselves." ----- First of all Talibans were there before 2004 in their safe havens from where they used to mount attacks on ISAF troops stationed in Afghanistan. Moreover, Pakistani state had to start operation in FATA in 2003 as Talibans have challenged writ of the state there. BTW there wasn't any operation in Swat why Talibans played havoc there ?? Talibans have killed hundreds of Brelvis in Khyber Agency and hundreds of Shias have been killed in Kurram Agency by the Talibans. Talibans even killed dozens of millitants belonging to Ahl-e-Hadith sect in Mohmand Agency. Do you have any idea why are they killing people of other sects? The answer is very simple Talibans believe in a hate ideology and according to them everyone is heretic who doesn't believe in their brand of Shariah and he/she should be beheaded ! Now what we are witnessing in Swat should be eye-opener for you people. Talibans have banned judges to attend their courts and in spite of peace agreement they are still busy in kidnapping government officials and killing security personnels ! Talibans don't understand language of peace they only believe in use of force as we are witnessing in Swat !

As you were unable to defend your leader and answer my three following questions

1- When did PTI organized a rally led by IK to condemn Talibans crime against humanity in Pakistan ? Please tell me place and date.
2- When did IK arrange a press conference, whose sole purpose was to condemn Talibans? Date and place please.
3- When did IK visit Fata and Swat to show solidarity with victims of Talibans there? Tell me date please.

what you wrote is very interesting indeed and should be an eye-opener for any person who believes in rational dialogue ---- " P.S. You are also warned for trolling on this website with a fake ID. Either you update your profile to start looking like a real member, or you should unregister yourself. From your posts, it is quite obvious that you aren't really a member of PTI who believes in its ideology. FYI, this website is for members of PTI "----

Thanks anyway for your comments !

Bye and peace for all !

© 2008 by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

Source: http://insaf.pk/Media/InsafBlog/tabid/168/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1981/In-defense-of-Imran-Khan-Who-is-a-Liberal.aspx

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Kashif said:

I voted for IK when he contested first time. Well I didn’t vote for him personally but I voted for PTI candidate. On social issues I am still onboard with him like you. I don’t have words to appreciate his efforts on Shauket Khanum. But on political front I am very disappointed. My biggest disappointment is his extreme right views. I am center left and center right like NS is still OK but extreme right especially when Pakistan is going through this phase is unimaginable. I do remember Hamid Gul’s comments those were his good days. Instead of confronting right Imran drifted towards right.

I said in one of the earlier posts that after BB and the way ardari is going politically Imran’s best bet is to target left. Right is still very satisfied with NS. But looking at Imran’s history he never confronted populist wave. He opposed BB & NS when they were in gov and unpopular. He was with Mushraaf until he was popular. I won’t be surprised if he starts opposing Taliban and Alqaeda once public starts hating them. He is very suttle on NS as he knows NS is very popular these days. I still remember his statements where he repeatedly termed him ‘loha chor’. I am sure he will start his and SS’s opposition once he sees his graph going south. In cricket field IK was a leader who lead from front but in politics he follows a populist wave. Nevertheless I will start supporting him once he comes on right side of the fence, in my view. As you know we don’t have much choice. In politics we don’t choose best person we go for lesser evil. If he detaches himself from right and grow some roots in masses (at this point he can’t win from Lahore or Islamabad w/o NS’s suport) he ‘d certainly be a lesser evil comapre to NS/SS.

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Quetta appears to be Taliban headquarters: Holbrooke

Peshawar, Mar 24 (ANI): US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has said that Quetta, the capital of Pakistans Balochistan province, appears to be the Talibans headquarters.

Holbrooke made it clear that the number one problem in stabilising Afghanistan were Taliban sanctuaries in western Pakistan, including tribal areas along the Afghan border and cities like Quetta.

Quetta appears to be the headquarters for the leaders of the Taliban and some of the worst people in the world, he said adding that it includes the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud.

As we speak, they are planning further attacks on the West and the region itself. Its tough. You cannot send troops into Pakistan. That is a red line, Holbrooke told the BBC on Monday.

He refused to confirm or deny reports that Washington is now considering an expansion of its covert war into areas around Quetta.

Asked about persistent reports that elements in the Pakistani military may be playing a double game by supporting elements of the Taliban, Holbrooke said: We have heard these charges. We have talked to Pakistani leaders about them. Obviously, to the extent there is truth to them, we would be very, very concerned.

Washingtons much anticipated strategic review of its Afghanistan and Pakistan policies is now on President Barack Obamas desk and is expected to be made public in the coming few days. It will send the clearest signal yet of how the new administration would tackle what it views as its biggest security threat.

I can guarantee you that this administration will do everything it can to succeed in one of the most difficult situations in the world, Holbrooke emphasised.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/south-asia/quetta-appears-to-be-taliban-headquarters-holbrooke_100170505.html

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کوئٹہ طالبان کا ہیڈکوارٹر ہے: ہالبروک

ہم نے بھی پاکستان ایجنسیوں کی ڈبل ڈیل کی باتیں سنی ہیں۔ اگر ان میں ذرا بھی سچ ہے تو یہ بڑی تشویش کی بات ہے: ہالبروک

افغانستان اور پاکستان کے بارے میں امریکی صدر کے ایلچی نے کہا ہے کہ افغانستان میں امن کی راہ میں سب سے بڑی رکاوٹ پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقوں اور کوئٹہ میں طالبان کی محفوظ پناہ گاہیں ہیں۔

بی بی سی کے ساتھ ایک انٹرویو میں رچرڈ ہالبروک نے کہا کہ کوئٹہ طالبان اور دنیا کے بدترین لوگوں کا ہیڈکواٹر ہے۔ بدترین لوگوں میں بیت اللہ محسود ایک ہیں۔

انہوں نے کہا ’اس وقت بھی کوئٹہ میں مغرب اور علاقے میں حملے کرنے کی منصوبہ بندی ہو رہی ہے۔‘

پاکستان میں امن عامہ کی بگڑتی ہوئی صورتحال کے بارے میں رچرڈ ہالبروک نے کہا:’یہ انتہائی خراب ہے لیکن آپ پاکستان میں فوجیں نہیں بھیج سکتے ہیں۔ یہ سرخ لائن ہے۔‘

امریکی ایلچی نے ان اطلاعات کی تصدیق یا تردید کرنے سے انکار کیا کہ امریکہ ڈرون حملوں کا دائرہ کوئٹہ تک وسیع کرنے کے بارے میں سوچ رہا ہے۔ ابھی تک امریکی ڈرون حملے پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقوں تک محدود رہے ہیں۔

پاکستانی ایجنسیوں کی ڈبل گیم کے بارے میں ہم نے بھی سنا ہے۔ ہم نے پاکستانی حکام سے بات بھی کی ہے۔اگر اس میں کسی حد تک بھی سچائی ہے تو یہ بہت تشویش ناک بات ہو گی۔‘رچررڈ ہالبروک

رچرڈ ہالبروک نے پاکستان ایجنسیوں کی مبینہ ڈبل گیم کے بارے میں کہا ’ہم نے بھی اس بارے میں سنا ہے۔ ہم نے پاکستانی حکام سے بات بھی کی ہے۔اگر اس میں کسی حد تک بھی سچائی ہے تو یہ بہت تشویش ناک بات ہو گی۔‘

طالبان سے بات چیت کے بارے میں امریکی سفیر نے کہا کہ انہیں متضاد اطلاعات ہیں کہ ملا عمر بھی بات چیت کو زیادہ اہمیت دیتے ہیں۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ وہ اس کے بارے میں مزید معلومات حاصل کرنے کی کوشش کر رہے ہیں۔

افغانستان میں طالبان کی جیت کے حوالے سے امریکی ایلچی نے کہا کہ طالبان شہروں پر کنٹرول نہیں کرسکتے جس طرح افغان حکومت دیہاتوں میں زیادہ موثر نہیں ہے۔’نہ تو طالبان جیت رہے ہیں نہ ہی نیٹو۔‘

انہوں نے افغانستان میں نیٹو فوجیوں کی کارروائیوں کے بارے میں کہا کہ یہ ایسے ہی ہے کہ اپ پانی میں مکا ماریں اور جب مکا پانی سے باہر نکالتے ہیں تو پانی دوبارہ اکٹھا ہو جاتا ہے۔

امریکی سفیر نےافغانستان میں انتخابات کے بارے میں امریکہ کے غیر جانبدار رہنے کا عندیہ دیا ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا ’ہم افغان انتخابات میں سب کے لیے برابری کے مواقع چاہتے ہیں۔ پچھلے انتخابات میں امریکہ نے صدر حامد کرزئی کی حمایت کی تھی۔

افغانستان اور پاکستان کے بارے میں امریکہ کے خصوصی ایلچی رچرڈ ہالبروک نے کہا ہے کہ افغانستان کے بارے امریکہ کی تازہ پالیسی تیار ہو چکی ہے اور وہ صدر براک اوباما کی میز پر موجود ہے۔

امریکہ کے افغانستان آپریشن کو کم کرنے سے متعلق ایک سوال پر رچرڈ ہالبروک نے کہا کہ یہ صرف صحافتی اصطلاح ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا ’ماضی میں افغانستان سے غفلت برتی گئی جو اب نہیں ہو گی۔‘

رچرڈ ہالبروک نے زور دے کر کہا کہ افغانستان میں مزید فوجیں بھیجی جائیں گی اور مزید وسائل درکار ہوں گے

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/world/2009/03/090323_holbrooke_lyse_ra.shtml

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From Jamea Hafsa to Rahman Baba: Farhat Taj

Attack on Pakhtun culture

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Farhat Taj

In February this year someone circulated an email on one of the email lists I am a member of and was talking about the possibility of any attacks by extremists on shrines in NWFP, especially that of Khushhal Khan Khattak. The email said that we should all ask the provincial government to provide protection and predicted and reasoned that the attack was likely because the Taliban were bent on destroying all symbols and icons of the Pakhtun culture. Khushhal Khan is symbolic of Pakhtun nationalism. His poetry is nationalist in tone and he is a symbol of Pakhtun identity.

As recent events have shown, the concern expressed in the email was neither alarmist nor misplaced because a couple of weeks later, on March 5, the Taliban bombed the shrine of Rehman Baba. Like Khushhal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba is also widely respected among the Pakhtun. People across the Pakhtun area know his poetry despite a high level illiteracy. Foreign scholars have commented that the reception of the poetry and teachings of Rahman Baba transcends differences and tribal schisms found in Pakhtun society and that he is widely read, listened to and respected.

Unlike the Pakhtun nationalism that Khushhal Khan embodies, the message of Rahman Baba is universal love and tolerance – the very antithesis of the message of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

And now a story I would like to narrate. In Nov 2006 I went to Jamia Hafsa. Many of the girls that I met there were from FATA and various parts of NWFP. We engaged is a discussion on Islam and Pkahtunwali. Some of the girls referred to some verses of Rehman Baba to prove that their extremist and violent understanding of Islam is the same as the mystic poet’s. For me this understanding of Rehman Baba was no less than a cultural shock that my own fellow Pakhtun gave me.

On my way back home I was thinking Rehman Baba has been hijacked by the extremists among us. Nothing can be more unjust to the poet and his message. Between then and now the extremist have raised their public levels of intolerance. Now they cannot tolerate Rehman Baba. They bombed his shrine. I heard some pro-Taliban people in Pakistan justifying the bomb attack on the shrine. They say that his shrine had become refugee of ‘undesirable’ social elements, like drug abusers. What a strange argument! Is the only method to deal with the drug abusers is to bomb the shrine? Will that get the society rid of drug abusers and other ‘undesirable’ social elements?

Attack on Rehman Baba’s shrine is part of the agenda to annihilate the Pakhtun culture. The agenda includes destruction of schools in the area, attacks on music shops and singers, violent expressions of misogyny through attacks and restrictions on women, assaults on Buddha statues in Swat and so on. The aim is to write off the cultural memory of the Pakhtun and force them to become foot soldiers for global jihad. The Taliban and Al Qaida have occupied FATA. Swat has been surrendered to them by the provincial and federal government. But They will not stop there.

The attack on the shrine of Rehman Baba should be seen as an attack on cultures on both sides of the River Indus. One of the similarities in the cultures on both sides of Indus is the message of the sufi poets. The message of peace and love is also the message of Shah Latif, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Bulleh Shah and Waris Shah. It is now the responsibility of the wider society to conveys to the Taliban that their alien ways of life are not acceptable. (The News)

The writer is a research fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Research, University of Oslo, and a member of Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy. Email: bergen34@yahoo.com
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Examination paper for "Long March 2009": Tahir Sarwar Mir