ASIA/PAKISTAN - “Blasphemy law” at the centre of Human Rights Day

ASIA/PAKISTAN - “Blasphemy law” at the centre of Human Rights Day
 

2010-12-09

http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=27970&lan=eng

Karachi (Agenzia Fides) - “Human Rights Day 2010 is an opportunity to focus attention on the sections of the Penal Code that constitute the so-called blasphemy laws. The law is a blatant violation of human rights, permitted and legitimized by the State. It is a measure that allows and justifies injustices, discrimination and persecution. It is a law to abolish,” stated Father Mario Rodrigues, director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Pakistan, to Fides, on the eve of World Day for Human Rights, sponsored by the UN and celebrated tomorrow, 10 December. This Day, the director told Fides, “comes at a time of great tension in the Country, due to the echoes of Asia Bibi's case, a Christian woman sentenced to death exactly as a result of the blasphemy law. The uncertainty and threats from terrorist groups are a real nightmare for all those who defend the woman.”

“The blasphemy law, said Fr Rodrigues, “openly contradicts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Pakistan is a signatory. It is a law promulgated by the dictator Zia and never approved by any Parliament. Laws are made to protect citizens, not persecute them,” he added.

The law affects religious minorities, but not only them: “Many Muslim faithful are also victims,” he said. “So I would remind people what prominent moderate Muslim leaders say: the law also represents a betrayal of Islam, as it is not contained in the Koran, and the Prophet Muhammad certainly would not want violence and murder to be committed in his name. As Christians of Pakistan, we believe it is important for justice and civil society that the law be abolished, and we support any proposed revision,” he continued.

Human Rights Day 2010 is dedicated by the UN particularly to all those activists who are committed to defending and promoting human rights. Father Rodrigues remarked: “Thinking of the history of Pakistan, I would like to dedicate this Day to Bishop John Joseph, who 20 years ago launched a major campaign for the respect of human rights and religious minorities in our Country. We are all heirs and debtors to his battle and his courage. I should mention, also, two campaigners for human rights who today continue this work: Father Emmanuel Mani and Peter Jacob, Director and Executive Secretary respectively of the National Commission for Justice and Peace mission of the Bishops of Pakistan. These are two people with the courage of truth, defending the victims of abuses of human rights, belonging to any religious community.” (PA) (Agenzia Fides 09/12/2010)

ASIA/PAKISTAN - Islamic radicals: a Christmas protest against Asia Bibi, for “the honour of the Prophet”

ASIA/PAKISTAN - Islamic radicals: a Christmas protest against Asia Bibi, for “the honour of the Prophet”

2010-12-16

http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=28013&lan=eng

Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) - It promises to be a difficult Christmas for the Christian community in Pakistan. An alliance among radical Islamic groups - which includes religious parties, Islamic movements, organizations allied with terrorist groups - has called a large mass national demonstration entitled Namos-e-risalat, that is, defending the honour of the Prophet Muhammad on 24 December, after Friday prayers, to say “no” to the release of Asia Bibi and any changes to the blasphemy law. The alliance has called on the “ummah” (Islamic community) in all the world, demanding universal support in the defence of the Prophet. Moreover, the radical leaders say: “Asia Bibi is a blasphemous woman and should be repudiated by Christians. Anyone who defends her, an ordinary citizen, politician or Minister, is guilty of blasphemy along with her.”

Local sources speaking to Fides referred to the fear that the initiative, obviously provocative, may degenerate into open violence and attacks against Christians. The Commission for Justice and Peace of the Bishops of Pakistan expressed to Fides “great concern at the increasing tension, at the possible outcomes of the protest and the situation in which religious minorities may be, especially Christians.”

“It touches upon one of the most sensitive keys to the Islamic religion, a matter of great emotional impact: to interpret the desire for the revision of the blasphemy laws as an attempt to dishonour the Prophet means to foment hatred and religious conflict. Christians have repeatedly stressed the desire for harmony and peace, and the desire to avoid the abuses that this legislation permits” explain Fides sources.

Worrying religious minorities above all is the newfound unity of many political parties and Islamic movements, which have recalled their militants. Among the promoters are “Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-F” (left out recently by the team of Government) with leader, Fazl-ur-Rehman, “Jaamat-e-Islami,” “Jammat Ahle Sunnat”, but also “Jamaat ul Dawa”, the Islamic humanitarian organization, expression of the terrorist group “Lashakr-e tayyba” and many other smaller groups.

The event will also put pressure on the Federal Parliament, which in those days could examine the parliamentary motion presented by Sherry Rehman, who is proposing substantial changes to the blasphemy law (see Fides 26/11/2010). Following afterwards will be a general strike on 31 December - on which all workers of Islamic faith will be called to stop work - and a public meeting in Karachi on 9 January, 2011.

Fides sources explain that during the time of Christmas, the climate in the Islamic community is already tense, falling a few days after the “ashura”, the holy day which commemorates the martyrdom of the imam, Hussein, grandson of the Prophet. The day - a celebration for the Sunnis, mourning for the Shiites - is often a harbinger of clashes between the two communities. It is likely now that the latent aggression may be directed toward Christians, who are waging a campaign for legality, human rights and religious freedom.

Meanwhile, the Christian Pastor, Samson Dilawar, who visited Asia Bibi in jail in recent days to bring her assistance and spiritual comfort, has received death threats and has confirmed to Fides that Asia “is in grave danger for her life in prison.” (PA) (Agenzia Fides 16/12/2010)

Pakistan: radical Muslims plan mass protest in defense of blasphemy law

Pakistan: radical Muslims plan mass protest in defense of blasphemy law

December 17, 2010

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=8612

Radical Islamic groups in Pakistan are planning a mass protest on December 24 to urge the nation’s government not to release Asia Bibi from prison or to change the nation’s anti-blasphemy law. Bibi, a Christian mother who refused to convert to Islam, is in prison awaiting a death sentence for blasphemy.

The Pakistani bishops’ commission for justice and peace is expressing “great concern at the increasing tension, at the possible outcomes of the protest, and the situation in which religious minorities may be, especially Christians.”


Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
Islamic radicals: a Christmas protest against Asia Bibi, for “the honour of the Prophet” (Fides)

Wen Jiabao under pressure to okay another PoK project during Pak tour by Saibal Dasgupta, TNN

Wen Jiabao under pressure to okay another PoK project during Pak tour
by Saibal Dasgupta, TNN,
 

Dec 17, 2010, 08.38pm IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/Wen-Jiabao-under-pressure-to-okay-another-PoK-project-during-Pak-tour/articleshow/7118962.cms

BEIJING: Chinese premier Wen Jiabao will have to make an important call concerning China's relationship with India as he goes about meeting Pakistani leaders in Islamabad on Saturday. Islamabad is expected to offer the proposed $1.1 billion Kohala hydro power project in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to a Chinese company.

Wen will have to decide if he wants to stroke India's worries by accepting the offer, which would make infrastructure a major point of conflict involving the three countries. The Kohala project, located in Muzaffarabad district of the disputed PoK, will be discussed during Wen's visit to Islamabad, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported on Friday.

China recently sent a delegation of journalists from the State-run media to PoK, who met its prime minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan. Khan discussed several projects including a proposed 700 km long highway in the hope that Beijing would extend financial and construction support. Thanking China for the development of the region, he listed other projects in the pipeline like a tourist tunnel, cable car and helicopter services in the Neelum valley.

India has earlier expressed its unhappiness over Beijing's move to support the Kohala project in the disputed area. The latest move will cause a lot of heart burning in New Delhi, which has been disturbed by the construction of the Mangla dam in PoK by China International and Electric Co. Two other Chinese companies, China Gezhuba Water and Power Company and China machinery Export Corporation, are executing the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project, which is in the vicinity of Muzaffarabad in PoK.

The Chinese foreign ministry has all along said that the country's relationship with Pakistan has nothing to do with its dealings with India. But the People's Daily, the official organ of the Communist Party of China, carried an article for a senior official saying that the two issues were indeed inter-related.

Discussing the challenges in the China-India relationship, Hu Shisheng, deputy director of the State-run Institute of South Asia Studies said: "These issues are rather tough, including the Sino-Indian border issue, the issues regarding China-India-Pakistan ties and on the Kashmir and the trans-border water issue, and the Tibet issue, etc."

It would not be possible to resolve the differences between China and India overnight, but the "leaders of the two countries will gradually amass consensus, dilute difference and ultimately find a solution," he said.
Tags:
Wen Jiabao|PoK project|Kohala hydro power project|Hu Shisheng|China - India

PAK TRUTH

PAK TRUTH

http://tribune.com.pk/story/56578/lhc-upholds-death-for-blasphemy-accused/

http://tribune.com.pk/story/56578/lhc-upholds-death-for-blasphemy-accused/

LHC upholds death for blasphemy accused
Rana Tanveer
The Express Tribune

September 30th, 2010.

courtesy: http://tribune.com.pk/story/56578/lhc-upholds-death-for-blasphemy-accused/

LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday confirmed the death sentence handed down to a blasphemy convict and ordered that he be hanged till death.

This is the second case of its kind in the country when the death sentence of a blasphemy accused has been confirmed by the LHC since inception of the blasphemy law.

An Additional District and Sessions Judge Lahore on May 27, 2002 had awarded Wajihul Hassan death sentence for allegedly uttering blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and other prophets. He was also accused of hurting religious sentiments of the complainant – Senior Advocate Muhammad Ismail Qureshi.

Allam Iqbal Town Police registered an FIR against Hassan under sections 295-C (use of derogatory remarks in respect of Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), 295-A (malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) and 298-A (use of derogatory remarks in respect of holy personages).

The session judge had awarded him death sentence and Rs0.2 million fine under section 295-C, 10 years’ imprisonment and Rs50,000 fine under section 295-A and two years’ imprisonment and Rs20,000 fine under section 298-A.

According to the complainant – Advocate Muhammad Ismail Qureshi – who had got Ahmadis declared non-Muslims by the Supreme Court, some unknown persons had been wiring him frequent letters carrying blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and other prophets.

In the FIR he alleged that although the letters did not contain names of the senders, he was sure that Wajihul Hassan was behind these letters. He alleged that Wajihul Hassan was a Muslim but later converted to Christianity and was using derogatory remarks against the Holy Prophet (pbuh). The complainant could not produce any of these letters before the police and mentioned in the FIR that he had burnt all the six letters.

During the course of investigation, however, he handed over seven such letters to the authorities attributing them to accused Hassan. He also said that Nawaz Butt and Hassan are names of the same person.

During the trial, the complainant produced 10 prosecution witnesses to buttress his case against the accused. The witnesses said they had seen Hassan uttering blasphemous remarks.

Counsel for Hassan, Advocate Parvaiz Aslam Chaudhry, strongly rejected the prosecution story, saying that on the basis of extra-judicial confession of witnesses before the trial court, an accused could not be awarded death sentence.

He told The Express Tribune that in his statement under section 342 of CrPC his client had denied uttering any blasphemous remarks. He quoted Hassan as saying that he was a Muslim and believed in the last Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and never dared to utter or write any blasphemous remarks.

He said by birth he is a Muslim and never converted to Christianity. He said the complainant deliberately named him as Murshad Masih to strengthen his stance but it was not his name. They intend to file an appeal against the LHC order before the Supreme Court.

Advocate Chaudhry claimed that the motive behind registration of FIR was that complainant Qureshi had a grudge against former Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) chairperson Asma Jahangir.

Hassan and his father Safdar Hussain were employees at the office of Asma, he claimed, adding that Qureshi tried to use Hassan against Asma but over his refusal he implicated him in the case.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) chairman told The Express Tribune that the commission was against the capital punishment at first place, adding that blasphemy laws have long been misused in Pakistan.

He said, “Blasphemy laws have always been controversial. People have been using them to penalise their opponents and minorities. HRCP and other organisations have long been demanding that the blasphemy law should be repealed”.

He said that this government was considering abolishing capital punishment but hasn’t implemented it yet.

Asma Jahangir denied having any link with accused Hassan. She said he never had been her employee.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2010.


September 30, 2010

Pak trained terrorists to fight India: Musharraf by Indrani Bagchi

Pak trained terrorists to fight India: Musharraf

by Indrani Bagchi

, TNN, Oct 6, 2010, 12.40am IST

courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pak-trained-terrorists-to-fight-India-Musharraf/articleshow/6694651.cms

NEW DELHI: It's hardly a candid confession but it still has the power to shock.

Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf admitted what India and the world have known for a while now -- that the Pakistan government trained terrorists against India and pushed them into Jammu and Kashmir.

In an interview to German magazine Der Spiegel, Musharraf said, "(Militant groups) were indeed formed. The government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir."

Official sources here said this admission was "no surprise". "We have known of the close links between Pakistan government and terror groups for a long time." But even though this is a known fact, this would be the first time such an admission has been made by a former head of state.

Questioned about Pakistan security forces training these terrorists, Musharraf said, "The west was ignoring resolution of the Kashmir issue, which is the core issue of Pakistan. We expected the west -- especially the United States and important countries like Germany -- to resolve the Kashmir issue."

Significantly, despite growing evidence that Pakistan's use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy has boomeranged, leading to mushrooming of terrorism within Pakistan, Musharraf did not regret starting the terror train against India. Asked whether the "neglect" of the Kashmir issue gave Pakistan the right to train underground fighters, he said, "Yes, it is the right of any country to promote its own interests when India is not prepared to discuss Kashmir at the United Nations and is not prepared to resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner."

Musharraf is planning a political comeback to Pakistan. So, the question analysts are asking is, why would he be making these admissions that is embarrassing to Pakistan now?

The defiant tone on using terror to force India to discuss J&K will obviously play well with the domestic audience.

But there could be other reasons as well for the candour. It's possible that Musharraf, who is known to be a strong "tactical" player, might be using this to embarrass his successor, General Pervez Kayani. While Kayani has laid bare his "India-centric" outlook, the automatic conclusion that Kayani in his previous job of DG-ISI would have overseen the training of terrorists against another country cannot but be embarrassing to him.

Particularly at a time when Wikileaks and a new book by Bob Woodward both clearly point to the Pakistan army-ISI duo in training and promoting international terrorism.

Second, Musharraf's admissions also reach an old political adversary of his -- Nawaz Sharif. After all, Sharif was PM during the worst of the Kashmir terrorism in the 1990s. Sharif and his PML(N) would be automatic adversaries for Musharraf. Sharif is also known to be very close to both the ISI and Pakistan's maverick chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhary. Neither of them would welcome Musharraf back to Pakistan.

Third, Musharraf could also be peddling his "acceptability" quotient to the west, whose support he will need to return to Pakistan. Just like Benazir Bhutto before him, Musharraf might be thinking that verbal acknowledgement of a dark past might show that he's willing to turn a new leaf. Bhutto played a similar game when she was plotting her return to Pakistan.

The Pakistan foreign office and Sharif have both denied Musharraf's confessions.

During the interview, on Afghanistan as well, Musharraf went against the established Pakistani line that the Haqqanis and Hekmatyars and Taliban could be reconciled and brought into the Kabul power structure. While Pakistan may have convinced some westerners of this, Musharraf openly scoffed at such a plan. "After 9/11, they (the US) fought the Taliban instead of strengthening the Pashtuns who could have taken on the radical Taliban.

Now, you try to negotiate with so-called `moderate Taliban', but there is no such thing as a moderate Taliban. There are Taliban and Pashtuns. But as I have always said: All Taliban are Pashtun, but not all Pashtun people are Taliban. Again, you should reinforce the ancient Pashtun clans who are not ideologically aligned with the Taliban to govern Afghanistan and to fight the Taliban. That's my strong advice."




A cat has come out of bag itself. What else world needs to know? The interview has said most about Kashmir. To address this issue, India need to manage people's psychology rather than people in Kashmir. Multicultural society has always proved to be more progressive and peaceful as compared to single community and no diversity. Why Indian philosophers are not aware of these facts and not working towards this? Is it, not wanting to contribute, lack of desire to do or simply ignorance for some reason? Kashmiri youth needs to be shown strengths and benefits of of being Indian and Kashmiri as opposed to being Just Kashmiri or like those in neighbouring country. Kashmiries need understand their family tree from pre Mougal period to understand their historic circumstances. This should help them dissociate from countries like Pakistan. They need to understand ulterior motive of hostile and incapable neighbour in using youth of Kashmir to unsuccessfully overcome Pakistan's own political shortcomings. Do Kashmiries want to be tool for selfish neighbour and ruin their present and future or they want to march ahead with their own country India to well-beings, prosperity and happiness? They need to be told simple stories like ''A Fox and Two Strong (friend) Bulls.'' Once Kashmiri youth realise ulterior motives, should divert their energy to protect themselves against divisive forces rather than their very own state police, CRPF and Army. Initiative must come now from you Kashmiri Indians.

Truth is out officially from Pakistan.Pakistan is blatantly supporting terror to annexe Kashmir.Partition of India is a blunder committed by Congress. Congress does not have guts and spine to strike Pakistan for fear of losing Muslim votes so important for them to loot the country.

Concerns no one else in the west, east, north and south. Kashmir was, is and will be part of India. The problem Pakistan has with Kashmir will solve itself when Pakistan destroys itself and they are on rapid pace to do so. Why do we talk to Pakistan any way? Bunch of puppets dancing in the shadow to the will of their puppet masters.

Hugh on Pakistan

Hugh on Pakistan

September 30, 2010
 

"We will have to see whether we are allies or enemies," Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said of the border incident, without mentioning the blockade...."

It is the Americans who have over the past half-century deluded themselves into thinking that Pakistan, a Muslim country created of, by, and exclusively for, Muslims, and whose reason for being is the re-conquest of Kashmir and then of other parts of formerly Muslim-possessed India (its military has no other goal, no other mission, but to make war on Infidel India), could ever be an ally. The same mistake is made, in greater and lesser degrees, with other Muslim countries. Thus we routinely hear about "American allies in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan." This is nonsense. 

It is nonsense to those who bother to find out about the Islamic worldview, and who do not make the mistake, as a consequence, of confusing the occasional inveiglements and sweet-nothings of those who want our material aid (Jordan, Egypt) or who -- Saudi Arabia, and various Gulf statelets -- who want American military protection against certain Muslim enemies foreign (Iraq, Iran) and domestic (those who oppose the local kleptocratic rulers and necessarily frame their disgust with the corruption and theft in terms that require them to turn to local succursales of Al Qaeda).

Pakistan was not an "ally" during CENTO's brief existence. It was not an ally when it took American military aid and made war on India. It was not an ally when it used American aid to fund its nuclear project, based on Western secrets stolen by a metallugrist, A. Q. Khan. It was not an ally when it transferred, or sold, some of those nuclear secrets to North Korea, to Iran, possibly to Libya and others, too). It has not been an ally at all, as Senators Glenn and Pressler understood -- google "The Pressler Amendment." 

It was not an ally when Pakistan gave birth too, nurtured, and then helped establish as the rulers of Afghanistan, the Taliban. It has not been an ally during the last nine years of farcical efforts in "Af-Pak." It never will be, it cannot be, an ally of the Infidel Americans. This is very hard for the American government to allow itself to understand, just as it cannot as yet allow itself to understand that the presence, and growth, of the Muslim popoulation in the countries of Western Europe, of NATO, constitutes a permanent threat to the West, and to the United States, and that instead of supporting Turkish entry into the E.U., we should be firmly against it, and instead of discouraging those who, such as Geert Wilders, recognize the meaning, and thus the menace, of Islam for non-Muslims, we should do nothing to oppose, and a lot to encourage -- just as during the early years of the Cold War we encouraged those who in Europe recognized,against powerful local Communist parties the menace of Soviet Communism and its propaganda -- Wilders, Magdi Allam, and all others who in Western Europe are helping others to come to their collective senses.

Likes of Zaid Hamid had been advocating this(Cutting the NATO Supply Line) for a long time. Now, Pakistan has done it. It once again proves Mark Steyn's point that America is now perceived as a weak enemy, and can be easily arm-twisted into submission. There is hardly any evidence that the USA wishes to change this perception, and hence one can see the future quite clearly.

Obama or Clinton shall speak to Pakistan Army Chief, who runs the show in Pakistan, apologise for the NATO helicopters crossing the line, and killing the Pakistani soldiers, and promise to behave more responsibly in future. Pakistan will agree to re-open the supply line after USA promises to double its aid.


And the show will go on.
 

Islamabad is Ready - India, US, & Israel!

India ready to discuss all issues with Pak: Krishna - Hindustan Times

India ready to discuss all issues with Pak: Krishna - Hindustan Times

India ready to discuss all issues with Pak: Krishna
Press Trust Of India

 
New York, September 25, 2010
First Published: 11:00 IST(25/9/2010)

courtesy: http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/americas/India-ready-to-discuss-all-issues-with-Pakistan-Krishna/Article1-604356.aspx

Brushing aside recent stepped up rhetoric from Pakistan, India on Friday said it was ready to discuss all issues with Islamabad, including Kashmir. "Everything that they want to discuss and everything we want to discuss with them will be discussed" during Pakistan

He was reacting to questions on recent Pakistan Foreign Office statement that there can be no result-oriented discussions with India on Kashmir unless it stops treating it as its integral part and Qureshi's remarks seeking US intervention on the issue.

Krishna, who is here for the UN General Assembly session, said he looked forward to hosting Qureshi in India. "Well I was in Islamabad and we did talk and I have invited Excellency Qureshi to come to India and he has very graciously accepted my invitation," Krishna said. "I am looking forward to hosting him in Delhi... and the dates have to be worked out."

Qureshi, who is also here, has raised the issue of Kashmir several times during the past few days and called for international intervention.

Addressing a small gathering at the Asia Society, the Pakistani Foreign Minister described Kashmir as a "festering sore of South Asia."

"The United States, as the world leader, has special responsibility towards finding a just and peaceful solution of Kashmir," the minister said.

However later in the day, Qureshi appeared to tone down, noting that the US could play a "facilitating role." "I know India is allergic to third party intervention," he said. "They (US) can play a facilitating role but ultimately ... we have to see what Kashmiris want," he said.

Rebuffing Pakistan's attempt to involve the international community in resolving the Kashmir issue, India has categorically said there is "no scope" of third party mediation on Kashmir which is an integral part of the country.

Krishna, however, underlined that despite these recent remarks by Pakistan, talks would continue. "India wants to keep Pakistan engaged in talks because we do not see any other alternatives...talks are the only way to take this forward," the Indian minister said.

"I think India has already reacted to whatever Foreign Minister Qureshi has said and I do not have to repeat...," he said in response to a question.

Qureshi and Krishna had a "chance encounter" on Thursday at the UN, where they greeted each other warmly and talked about the floods in Pakistan.

At this stage, Indian diplomats have not confirmed any bilateral meeting between the two ministers here on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, but a senior diplomat from Pakistani claimed that a meeting had been cleared by both ministries and was expected to take place early next week.

Krishna is in New York till September 29 while Qureshi till September 30.
 

'China should be stopped from building N-reactors for Pak' - Hindustan Times

'China should be stopped from building N-reactors for Pak' - Hindustan Times

'China should be stopped from building N-reactors for Pak'
Press Trust Of India
Washington, September 25, 2010
First Published: 13:17 IST(25/9/2010)

 

courtesy: http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/americas/China-should-be-stopped-from-building-N-reactors-for-Pak/Article1-604401.aspx

China should be stopped from going ahead with its move to transfer new atomic reactors to Pakistan which is "not a responsible nuclear power," a top American Congressman has said. "Pakistan greatly damaged global security by allowing this rogue (nuclear scientist AQ Khan) free reign in that India takes note of Chinese move on N-reactors in Pakcountry. 

China's plan to build another two nuclear reactors in Pakistan violates Nuclear Suppliers' Group rules. It should be stopped," Congressman Ed Royce said at a Congressional hearing.


He recalled that years ago, he had raised the issue of the "ring magnets" that China was transferring to Pakistan "to develop a nuclear weapon, that was obviously what was intended on the part of Pakistan."

Royce, who is co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, said at the hearing on nuclear cooperation and non-proliferation: "Now we know that China's irresponsibility in proliferation ... gave rise to the capability of Pakistan, which subsequently trumped China's irresponsibility with its own, because that knew no limits in terms of AQ Khan's ability to proliferate."

"So the fact that AQ Khan, supposedly Pakistan's most popular man, two weeks ago went on Pakistani television and spoke about his future as the nation's president that should be more than troubling to us in terms of Pakistan and the future. The government there just is not a responsible nuclear power. That needs to be addressed," Royce said.

Participating in the Congressional hearing held by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, several other US lawmakers also expressed concerns about the latest Chinese move to build two nuclear reactors to Pakistan.

"If China proceeds with the sale of the two new reactors to Pakistan, what is the likely impact on the Nuclear Suppliers Group? Should the US attempt to persuade the NSG to disapprove the sale? Should China be expelled from the NSG? What is the cost of doing nothing?" Congressman Joe Wilson asked.

Here's what is happening in India Capital suggestion By Dr Farrukh Saleem

Here's what is happening in India

Capital suggestion By Dr Farrukh Saleem

courtesy: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=134761546566747

Indians and Pakistanis have the same Y-chromosome haplogroup. We have the same genetic sequence and the same genetic marker (namely: M124).We have the same DNA molecule, the same DNA sequence. Our culture, our traditions and our cuisine are all the same. We watch the same movies and sing the same songs. What is it that Indians have and we don't? INDIANS ELECT THEIR LEADERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And also to mention: They think of Construction of own nation, unlike other nations who are just concerned with destruction of others... Simple answer to why the Indians fare better than the Pakistanis - They don't focus on religion all the time and neither do they spend time and money in devising ways to kill their own and everyone else over religion.

The two Ambani brothers can buy 100 percent of every company listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and would still be left with $30 billion to spare. The four richest Indians can buy up all goods and services produced over a year by 169 million Pakistanis and still be left with $60 billion to spare. The four richest Indians are now richer than the forty richest Chinese. In November, Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex flirted with 20,000 points. As a consequence, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries became a $100 bill ion company (the entire KSE is capitalized at $65 billion). Mukesh owns 48 percent of Reliance. In November, comes Neeta's birthday. Neeta turned forty-four three weeks ago. Look what she got from her husband as her birthday gift: A sixty-million dollar jet with a custom fitted master bedroom, bathroom with mood lighting, a sky bar, entertainment cabins, satellite television, wireless communication and a separate cabin with game consoles. Neeta is Mukesh Ambani's wife, and Mukesh is not India 's richest but the second richest.

Mukesh is now building his new home, Residence Antillia (after a mythical, phantom island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean ). At a cost of $1 billion this would be the most expensive home on the face of the planet. At 173 meters tall Mukesh's new family residence, for a family of six, will be the equivalent of a 60-storeyed building. The first six floors are reserved for parking. The seventh floor is for car servicing and maintenance.. The eighth floor houses a mini-theatre. Then there's a health club, a gym and a swimming pool. Two floors are reserved for Ambani family's guests. Four floors above the guest floors are family floors all with a superb view of the Arabian Sea On top of everything are three helipads. A staff of 600 is expected to care for the family and their family home.

In 2004, India became the 3rd most attractive foreign direct investment destination. Pakistan wasn't even in the top 25 countries. In 2004, the United Nations, the representative body of 192 sovereign member states, had requested the Election Commission of India to assist the UN in the holding elections in Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah and Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan. Why the Election Commission of India and not the Election Commission of Pakistan? After all, Islamabad is closer to Kabul than is Delhi . Imagine, 12 percent of all American scientists are of Indian origin; 38 percent of doctors in America are Indian; 36 percent of NASA scientists are Indians; 34 percent of Microsoft employees are Indians; and 28 percent of IBM employees are Indians. For the record: Sabeer Bhatia created and founded Hotmail. Sun Microsystems was founded by Vinod Khosla. The Intel Pentium processor, that runs 90 percent of all computers, was fathered by Vinod Dham. Rajiv Gupta co-invented Hewlett Packard's E-speak project. Four out often Silicon Valley start-ups are run by Indians. Bollywood produces 800 movies per year and six Indian ladies have won Miss Universe/Miss World titles over the past 10 years. For the record: Azim Premji, the richest Muslim entrepreneur on the face of the planet, was born in Bombay and now lives in Bangalore.India now has more than three dozen billionaires; Pakistan has none (not a single dollar billionaire).

The other amazing aspect is the rapid pace at which India is creating wealth. In 2002, Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh and Anil Ambani's father, left his two sons a fortune worth $2.8 billion. In 2007, their combined wealth stood at $94 billion. On 29 October 2007, as a result of the stock market rally and the appreciation of the Indian rupee, Mukesh became the richest person in the world, with net worth climbing to US$63.2 billion (Bill Gates, the richest American, stands at around $56 billion). 

Indians and Pakistanis have the same Y-chromosome haplogroup. We have the same genetic sequence and the same genetic marker (namely: M124).We have the same DNA molecule, the same DNA sequence. Our culture, our traditions and our cuisine are all the same. We watch the same movies and sing the same songs. What is it that Indians have and we don't? INDIANS ELECT THEIR LEADERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And also to mention: They think of Construction of own nation, unlike other nations who are just concerned with destruction of others... Simple answer to why the Indians fare better than the Pakistanis - They don't focus on religion all the time and neither do they spend time and money in devising ways to kill their own and everyone else over religion.

every muslim thinks that he is on a higher moral ground than other non muslims on the basis of his religion and thats the root cause of their problems...

Musharraf eyes return to Pakistan politics

Musharraf eyes return to Pakistan politics

Musharraf eyes return to Pakistan politics

Bureau Report

Updated on Wednesday, September 15, 2010, 14:19

courtesy: http://www.zeenews.com/news655228.html

Hong Kong: Former Pakistan military ruler Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday he is gearing up for a return to politics and will launch a new party next month — two years after he stepped down as president after nationwide protests and left the country.

Speaking on the sidelines of an investor conference in Hong Kong, Musharraf expressed confidence he could regain popularity and would return to Pakistan for the next national elections, scheduled for 2013. He said he will announce the establishment of the All Pakistan Muslim League in London on Oct. 1 and outline his political platform.

Musharraf stepped down from office in August 2008 after months of protests and a heavy election defeat for his supporters. He now spends most of his time in Britain.

If he returns to Pakistan, he could face legal scrutiny over the bloodless coup in October 1999 that brought him to power and the subsequent nine years of military rule — particularly a state of emergency declared as protests against him mounted in late 2007.

"My going back is dependent certainly on an environment to be created in Pakistan," Musharraf said, but added, "I would say with certainty in the next elections, whenever the signs of the next elections come up, I will be there in Pakistan."

Despite serving as army chief and dominating his volatile country for years, it remains unclear if Musharraf, 67, would now wield much political clout.

While he retains links to the country's army elite, he lacks a solid political constituency. During his rule, he was widely perceived as subordinate to Washington for supporting its fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan, which could also hurt his standing among a largely anti-U.S. public.

Musharraf acknowledged he had lost popularity in Pakistan, especially after firing the chief justice — who has since been reinstated — and the subsequent state of emergency. But he said he was confident he can rebuild a support base rooted in Pakistan's youth and others disillusioned with politics. He noted that more than 75 percent of his 295,000 followers on Facebook are between the ages of 18 and 34.

"Therefore I know that it is the youth that is yearning for change. It's the youth that is demoralized today. And I know that they can be awakened and brought out to introduce a new political culture into Pakistan," he said.

Musharraf said he isn't aware of any pending legal actions in Pakistan against him stemming from his presidency but is prepared to face any that emerge.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the state of emergency was unconstitutional, but Pakistan's current prime minister has ruled out bringing treason charges against Musharraf unless Parliament passed a unanimous resolution requesting them.

"I'm prepared to face that for the sake of Pakistan. And I know since whatever I did has all the legal backing and legal cover, I'm very confident that nothing can happen legally against me," he said.

Bureau Report

Kashmir News - People of Gilgit Baltistan resist Pakistan's militarisation

TheKashmirNews | April 06, 2010

Gilgit,April 06:Gilgit Baltistan today is going through a phase where protests and rallies are rising by the day.From Diamer to Gizer people are rising against Pakistan and its army. While some are raising their voice against military atrocities,some are rallying against the radicalization of the younger generation.

Kashmir News - Poor health facilities exacerbate Gilgit Baltistan situation

TheKashmirNews | April 13, 2010

Gilgit, April 13: The people in Gilgit Baltistan, the northern most part of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, are facing severe health problems due to lack of basic facilities, especially in the far flung areas of the mountainous region. Outwardly, the region ranks among the most beautiful places in the world, but beneath it is an expanse of the most enduring oppression and despair.

Kashmir News - Kashmiri leaders renew call for complete autonomy in Paki...

TheKashmirNews | April 28, 2010

Muzaffarabad, APRIL 27: Pakistan Occupied Kashmir appears to have been finally caught in a mess of the making of its leaders. Though called Azad or independent Kashmir, the region stills finds itself under the tight grip of Islamabad and in a neglected state with basic human rights and development a far cry.

Kashmir News - People of Gilgit Baltistan want to remain a part of Jammu...

TheKashmirNews | May 04, 2010

Gilgit, May 04: Terming the 2009 Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment Ordinance as a colonial-type package, nationalist leaders of Gilgit and Occupied Kashmir has said the reforms are a move designed to divide Kashmir.

Kashmir News - Ethnic and Religious Divide deepen in Pakistan occupied K...

TheKashmirNews | June 01, 2010

Muzaffarabad, June 01:The identity factor has marked the political history of pakistan in the last sixty years.Much like the early colonizers, Islamabad continues to exploit the religious differences to oppress and rule occupied Kashmir and its people.

Kashmir News - Pakistan continues to export terror to Kashmir

TheKashmirNews | June 08, 2010

Muzaffarabad,June 08: A two-decade-old long insurgency may not end in Jammu and Kashmir unless Pakistan stops arming,training and sending militants to the Himalayan state,security analysts have said.

The Pakistani government has pledged to not allow the use of its soil for any terrorist activities and to rein in the militant outfits, but much of the terror infrastructure in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir has remained intact.

India has long accused Pakistan and its main spy agency the ISI of sheltering, training and arming these militant groups and has become another sore point in bilateral relations.

Kashmir News-Survey debunks Pakistan's propaganda on Kashmir

TheKashmirNews | June 15, 2010

Muzaffarabad,June 15:Despite being the flash point of the dispute between India and Pakistan for over six decades,the political stalemate over the Himalayan region of Kashmir is far from over.

A latest independent survey has also indicated that 98 percent of Kashmiris are against joining Pakistan and a plebiscite is no longer an option in the Valley.

Kashmir News - LSE report exposes Pakistan's links with Taliban

TheKashmirNews | July 06, 2010

London, July 06: Islamabad has always been in a constant state of denial over its linkages with the Taliban and other militant groups. Pakistani military intelligence not only funds and trains the dreaded militia but is officially represented on the Taliban's leadership council, a London School of Economics report has said. The Pakistan government's apparent duplicity could have enormous geo-political implications in the region.

Kashmir News - Pakistani mafia tightens hold on LoC trade

TheKashmirNews | July 13, 2010

Muzaffarabad, July 13: For the people of the Kashmir Valley locked as they are into an isolated region surrounded by high mountains, the opening of trade routes with Jammu and Kashmir in 2008 was a huge relief. But ever since, a cartel of Pakistani bureaucrats and traders has exploited the transit routes to meet their own ends.

Would like see some facts from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (Azad Kashmir). Last 60 years it is with Pakistan it has no development at all. Though it is called as Azad Kashmir by some people, Pakistan shows it as it's own.

Unemployed Youth Seething with Anger in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

TheKashmirNews | July 20, 2010

Muzaffarabad, July 20: Unemployment among the educated youth in Pakistan occupied Kashmir has touched new heights with several thousands of candidates applying for a few hundred posts advertised by the local authorities.

Kashmir News - Anti-India Terror Camps Mushroom in Muzaffarbad

TheKashmirNews | August 24, 2010

Gilgit,August24.Even though the Pakistani government has pledged to not allow the use of its soil for any terrorist activities, the terror infrastructure in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir has remained intact.These groups continue to recruit foot soldiers for jehad from the numerous seminaries they have established in the region.

In the areas closer to LoC, the Line of Control these militants are controlling matters. So people living in this area their human rights… where are their human rights if these militants here? These militants only know to kill.

For all the years of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad has been the hub of terrorist activity, where militants from across Pakistan regroup and rearm before trying to infiltrate into Indian territory.

In the absence of a genuine democratic setup, Muzaffarabad has continued to play according to the dictates that come from Pakistan and its all powerful military, who are known to have formed many of these terror groups in the eighties and nineties for waging a proxy war against India.

Kashmir News - People of Gilgit Baltistan Demand Complete Independence

TheKashmirNews | July 27, 2010

Gilgit,July 27: Legally and constitutionally Gilgit Baltistan is part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir,but practically Pakistan has annexed these areas.Irony is Islamabad still presents itself as a champion of Kashmiri people's right to self determination,even as it

suppresses the same in the part it occupies.

In a region ruled by a puppet government and a corrupt bureaucracy, life has always been a struggle for the two thirds of the population that lives below the poverty line.

And nationalist’s seven parties were even NOT allowed to participate in the elections.

The election held was total fraud. Those who were pro- Pakistanis, those in Pakistani parties, they participated in the elections and they were allowed to win.

Kashmir News - Pakistan destroys Gilgit Baltistan's heritage

TheKashmirNews | August 03, 2010

Gilgit,August 03: Gilgit Baltistan in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is a treasure trove of ancient history.But rampant smuggling of its ancient artifacts and a proposed dam which will inundate the area is likely to destroy the rare heritage of the Himalayan region.

Gilgit Baltistan which spans over an approximately 27,000 sq mile area is a treasure trove of ancient history.

An incredible 50,000 rock carvings and 5,000 inscriptions in as many as 39 different scripts have been discovered here so far, dating back to the 9th and 8th millennium BC.

Kashmir News - Kashmiris in Pakistan occupied Kashmir Observe October 22...

Muzaffarabad, November 03 (ANI): It was on 22nd October 1947 that the Pakistan army in the guise of tribals invaded a part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiris have since suffered the worst- facing repression, death and destruction, all for a cause that has been misguided and distorted to match the expansionist policies of Islamabad.

October 22nd continues to be observed as a 'Black Day' by Kashmiris across the world.

Kashmir News - Protests against Pakistans Gilgit Package

Gilgit, November 17 (ANI): Despite strong and wide spread opposition to the Presidential Ordinance by Pakistan titled Gilgit Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order 2009, election was induced on November 12 in the long suppressed and exploited region of the divided Kashmir state. The reforms package promises to give full internal and political autonomy to Gilgit Baltistan by restructuring the existing legislative set-up which critics say is an old wine in a new bottle.

Although Gilgit-Baltistan does not have representation in the national assembly and Senate, that did not stop the government of Pakistan from collecting direct and indirect taxes from the people, without taking enough care to plough these resources back for development of the region.

protest aganest Gilgit Baltistan Self Governance Ord in rawalakot ajk

Check out Political Autonomy for Gilgit Baltistan a Distant Dream

Check out Political Autonomy for Gilgit Baltistan a Distant Dream

Political Autonomy for Gilgit Baltistan a Distant DreamGilgit, September 14: The Gilgit Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Ordinance promulgated in August 2009 was directed towards granting internal political autonomy to Gilgit Baltistan. The...

Pakistan: A land left to drown by the ‘timber mafia’

Pakistan: A land left to drown by the ‘timber mafia’

courtesy: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/world-news/a-land-left-to-drown-by-the-timber-mafia-1.1051230

29 Aug 2010

The warnings regularly given by all manner of experts had been ignored for decades.

If Pakistan’s authorities continued to allow the country’s timber mafia and a benighted and oppressed peasantry to strip the country’s forests at a faster rate than anywhere else in Asia, as is happening, floods of Biblical proportions would be inevitable. They would not be acts of God. They would be man-made catastrophes.

And so it came to pass – as August began – that heavier than usual, but not unprecedented, monsoon rains fell on the largely forest-denuded northwest Himalayan, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains and foothills, swelling the mighty 2000 mile-long Indus river, originating in Tibet, and others such as the Jhelum, Swat, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and their many tributaries.

What then happened, reports by Pakistani journalists and environmental campaigners have steadily established, was truly terrifying.

Trees felled by so-called illegal loggers – an infamous “timber mafia” that has representatives in the Pakistan Parliament in Islamabad and connections right to the top of government and the military – are stacked in the innumerable nullahs [steep narrow valleys], gorges and ravines leading into the main rivers. From there they are fed into the legal trade, earning the mafia billions of dollars yearly. “Other than landslides, soil erosion and the occasional homes and crops being swept away, it [the forest denudation] was not considered a disaster and hence didn’t make the headlines,” wrote Ayesha Tammy Haq, a columnist with the Pakistan daily Express Tribune newspaper.

These forests used to absorb the ferocity of the floodwaters, Tahir Qureshi, forestry expert

But the deforestation and other actions of the timber mafia were ticking time bombs waiting for a trigger to set off explosions.

This year’s monsoon lashing northern Pakistan with unusual intensity would historically have been absorbed by extensive forests, much like multiple layers of blotting paper, allowing the rains to run off more sedately than in modern times.

But this month the mud and water deluge cascaded off the tree-bare mountains and hills with exceptional force and barrelled down towards the plains in mammoth fury. In a trade-off, the timber mafia had allowed the mountain poor to raid the logs stacked in the nullahs to make doors, window frames and furniture for their homes. But, propelled by the force of the run-off, the logs turned into instruments of destruction, smashing all in their wake. Rivers and dams turned black with timber. Relief workers said bridges, homes and people were destroyed and swept away by the hurtling and swirling logs before the waters spread on to the plains below, engulfing an area of more than 60,000 square miles, more than twice the land area of Scotland.

The United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that some 8000 schools were either destroyed or partially destroyed by the torrents.

It is not only the mountain forests that have been devastated. When Pakistan became independent from Britain and separated from India in 1947, thick riverine forests lined the Indus on its thousand mile journey across the plains.

“These forests used to absorb the ferocity of the floodwaters,” said Tahir Qureshi, a Pakistan-based forestry expert for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

“The riverine forests were the first line of defence against the raging floods [which have inundated the plains annually for thousands of years]. They have been cut everywhere from Murree [a hill station on the Jhelum River before it fans out onto the plains] to lower Punjab [in the heart of the plains] to upper Sindh [the province where the Indus flows into the Arabian Sea via a massive delta].”

Just before this year’s monsoon broke over Pakistan, local journalists reported that a landlord, a leading member of the plains branch of the timber mafia, had sent in hundreds of employees, equipped with guns and heavy machinery, to chop down thousands of trees in one of the most important remaining riverine forests in Sindh, the Khebrani and Rais Mureed Forest along the banks of the Indus.

Despite a ban on the cutting down of forests, local journalist Salam Dharejo reported that the landlord, with support from top forestry and environmental protection officials, established a camp for his labourers “and within two nights cleared 180 acres of forest land by chopping down 90,000 trees”.

Dharejo continued: “As a consequence of political interventions, the corruption of forest officials and the nexus between land grabbers and the timber mafia over the last 25 years, the riverine forests of Sindh are on the verge of extinction … They have been ruthlessly exploited by the law enforcement agencies, politicians and bureaucrats for their own vested interests. Policemen took bribes from the timber mafia in return for allowing them to fell trees.”

Dharejo quoted a forest department official as saying of the Pakistan government’s much trumpeted reforestation strategy: “You will not find a single fresh forest. The reforestation exists only on paper, while on the ground you will find ruthless deforestation. Forestry officers are involved in unauthorised wood-cutting and issuing of unauthorised passes for the transportation of forest wood and disposal of government machinery.”

Ghulam Hussain Khoso, a cattle herder resident within the Khebrani and Rais Mureed Forest, said: “I have been born and brought up here. Over time I have seen the rapidly decreasing size of the green patches. I do not trust that the forest department will ever improve forest conditions. The dacoits [traditional fabled bandits] were better custodians of the forest than the forest department itself. The thick forests served as a hideout for the dacoits: therefore they protected them and did not allow anyone to destroy them.”

Dawn, Pakistan’s most widely circulated English language daily newspaper, said 80 million trees had been chopped down in the “protected” Khebrani and Rais Mureed Forest in the three years before the floods inundated the plains this month. In just 36 months the forest had shrunk from nearly 20 square miles to barely three square miles, causing serious damage to the environment and hurting the livelihoods of local herders, like Ghulam Hussain Khoso, whose ancestors had grazed their livestock in the woodlands for generations without devastating the ecosystem.

“The claims and slogans of officialdom are completely divorced from reality,” said Dawn in an editorial. “The government is promoting ‘Green Pakistan’ even as trees continue to be slaughtered across the country in the name of development. The timber mafia is denuding the country’s woodlands. The situation is desperate and is deteriorating by the day.”

Some 900 miles to the north, in the mountains north of Murree, the story is similar. In the Ayubia National Park – legally a government-protected forest – the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported, before the current flooding happened: “The forest is disappearing fast, threatening the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people.”

A forest official, quoted by the UN agency on condition of anonymity, said government officials were encouraging the forest mafia to extract trees from the Ayubia Park. “The first major illegal tree-felling took place in 1988,” said the official. “About 400,000 cubic feet of forest wood was illegally cut in that year, and one million cubic feet was extracted illegally in the next three years. Huge fellings continue.”

The official said the government allowed the illegal timber to be exported to other provinces without a fine, which encouraged the timber mafia to cut down ever more trees knowing it had political clout. “The government did begin to fine fellings, but the fine was so small that it encouraged the timber mafia instead of discouraging them,” the official added.

By 2005 Pakistan had lost 25% of the forest cover that existed in 1990. Experts predict at current rates of exploitation – more than 100 square miles of trees clear-felled annually – the remaining forests will all be gone by 2010. It means this year’s catastrophic floods will be repeated again and again, and all the aid in the world will do little good until someone, somehow, begins a reforestation programme. As John Muir, the great Scottish naturalist, once said: “God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.”

Response to Ahmadiyya Mosque Attacks in Lahore, Pakistan

An Ahmadi Muslim responds to the attacks on two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore. The root cause of this terror against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community lies in the anti-Blasphemy laws which are part of Pakistan's Constitution.

'Mumbai II could spark off full blown Indo-Pak war' - Hindustan Times

'Mumbai II could spark off full blown Indo-Pak war' - Hindustan Times

'Mumbai II could spark off full blown Indo-Pak war'

Press Trust Of India

Washington, September 11, 2010First Published: 08:07 IST(11/9/2010)

Last Updated: 10:45 IST(11/9/2010)

As US observes the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, a reputed Washington-based research group today warned that a repeat of 26/11 may lead to a full blown Indo-Pak war. Preventing Mumbai-II from occurring remains a major foreign policy challenge for the US, the report said.

"One of the more predictable foreign policy challenges of the next years is a 'Mumbai II': a large-scale attack on a major Indian city by a Pakistani militant group that kills hundreds," said the 42-page report from the Bipartisan Policy Centre's National Security Preparedness Group, a Washington based research group.

Authored by Peter Bergen and Bruce Hoffman, the report "Assessing the Terrorist Threat" appreciated the considerable restraint shown by India in its reaction to the provocation of the Mumbai attacks in 2008.

"Another such attack, however, would likely produce considerable political pressure on the Indian government to 'do something'. That something would likely involve incursions over the border to eliminate the training camps of Pakistani militant groups with histories of attacking India," the report said.

"That could lead in turn to a full-blown war for the fourth time since 1947 between India and Pakistan," it said. "Such a war involves the possibility of a nuclear exchange and the certainty that Pakistan would move substantial resources to its eastern border and away from fighting the Taliban on its western border, so relieving pressure on all the militant groups based there, including al-Qaeda," said the report.

Over a three-day period in late November 2008, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) carried out multiple attacks in Mumbai targeting five-star hotels housing Westerners, as well as a Jewish-American community centre, it noted. Additional incidents involved the Pakistan-born US citizen David Headley (who had changed his name from Daood Sayed Gilani).

Headley's reconnaissance efforts on behalf of LeT were pivotal to the attacks in Mumbai, the report said. "Last year he also planned an operation to kill those responsible for the 2005 publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, which many Muslims had deemed to be offensive," the report said.

The Hindu : News / National : “To engage Pakistan does not mean surrender”

The Hindu : News / National : “To engage Pakistan does not mean surrender”

“To engage Pakistan does not mean surrender”

SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN

NEW DELHI, September 7, 2010

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article617940.ece

Stoutly defending his decision to resume talks with Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday that India must engage with its neighbour “regardless of the complexion of the set-up in Islamabad” and that “engagement does not mean surrender.”

Dr. Singh also said the leaderships of India and China were committed to the peaceful resolution of all outstanding differences, even if the bilateral relationship was a mix of both competition and cooperation.

He was speaking to a group of editors at his residence. “Engagement is necessary in order to convey our concerns to Pakistan. Conveying our concerns through the media or harsh statements in public or statements in Parliament is not as effective as talking face to face with the regime that may be in power in Pakistan,” he said.

The dialogue process came to a halt after 26/11 because Indian public opinion demanded that “Pakistan [be held] to account for this tragedy.” India had hoped that this would give India leverage “to coerce Pakistan to pay greater attention to our concerns but unfortunately that has not happened,” he said. “I think Pakistan has acquired a greater amount of leverage in dealing with the United States and others and [so] the results were not as expected.” That is why at Thimpu “my effort was to find ways and means of getting the two countries once again back on the path to a dialogue,” the Prime Minister said.

Acknowledging that things had not moved smoothly since then — in India-Pakistan relations there are always mishaps, uncertainties, some things happen like what happened at the two Foreign Minister meetings — Dr. Singh said it was his sincere belief that the process of engagement had to continue regardless of the government that was in power there. “But that does not mean Pakistan will change its thinking vis-à-vis India, that it would cease to regard an India-centric policy as its number one priority. We have to be realistic enough to take account of all the uncertainties that have been our bedevilling relations for nearly 60 years. But at the same time, if we don't want to go to war then engagement and dialogue are the only way forward,” he added.

Asked how the process was likely to be carried forward, Dr. Singh said he hoped Pakistan's Foreign Minister S.M. Qureshi, “accepts the invitation of our Foreign Minister and visits us.”

On Afghanistan, he said, India was committed to assisting the people of that country in their efforts to develop as well as to maintain their democratic system and independence. This was a commitment India would abide by even after the U.S. and other foreign forces left Afghanistan, he added.

Keywords: India-Pakistan relations, Mumbai terror attacks, Manmohan Singh

DAWN.COM | Islamabad | Meat prices set to go up by 20 per cent

DAWN.COM | Islamabad | Meat prices set to go up by 20 per cent

Meat prices set to go up by 20 per cent

By A Reporter

Sunday, 15 Aug, 2010

ISLAMABAD, Aug 14: The local meat sellers are planning to increase the price by Rs50 on the pretext that the country is facing shortage of animals due to floods, Dawn has learnt.

This is despite the fact that the villagers are willing to sell animals at lower than market rates.

Meat sellers want to increase price by Rs50 per kilogram for mutton and around Rs30 per kilogram for beef, claming that large number of animals were killed in the floods and the remaining were not enough to meet the requirement.

“The situation is serious and we expect that meat prices would increase by up to 20 per cent in two weeks,” said Khursheed Qureshi, Chairman Jamiat–ul-Quraish, meat welfare association.

The authorities, including the international donors, estimate that around 450,000 domestic animals—goats, sheep, cattle, and loading animals—might have perished in the floods.

The meat merchants claim they were facing problems in purchasing animals from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and western and southern Punjab as weekly animal markets have not been held. “Unfortunately most of the cattle and goat rearing areas like Mianwali, Bhakhar, Layyah, Kot Addu and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been hit by floods,” Mr Qureshi said.

This situation has created a new crisis for animals sellers. “There is no grass around, and the straw stored in the open and fields for animals has been swept away,” said Akram Burq, a resident of Khushab district, whose village has been inundated. “A young cow having a market value of Rs40,000 is being sold only for Rs25,000,” he added.

Many villagers are selling livestock at lower prices, as they cannot feed their cattle and fear that animals would die of disease and weakness.

“Actually it’s a balancing act to get away with some of the animals to save others,” said Asfandyar Khattak, who lives in a village near Nowshera. He said the older cows and buffaloes that give milk are costlier and people try to save such animals.

Mr Qureshi, who is also a director of the Dairy Development Board, acknowledged that livestock rates have declined in flood-hit areas.

“But the real benefit is being bagged by the middleman,” he said, adding that the devastating flood was hindering transportation of animals to main cities. He said the only way out of the situation is to import fodder to feed the surviving livestock.

Nineteen killed in Lakki Marwat terror attack By Ghulam Mursalin Marwat

Nineteen killed in Lakki Marwat terror attack

By Ghulam Mursalin Marwat 

Tuesday, 07 Sep, 2010

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/schoolchildren-among-19-killed-in-lakki-marwat-terror-attack-790

LAKKI MARWAT, Sept 6: A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a police station here on Monday, killing 19 people and injuring 57. 

Four schoolchildren, aged between nine and 10, a schoolteacher and nine policemen were among the dead in the early morning blast, police said. 

(According to Reuters, Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack and warned the government not to use lashkar to fight the group.) 

An official said the bomber detonated about 500 to 600 kilograms of explosives in a land behind the police station at around 7 am. The explosion destroyed or damaged adjoining buildings, shops and a mosque. 

The official said that policemen were inside the building while local people, including schoolchildren, were passing by when the bomber struck. Several policemen were trapped in the debris. 

A rescue operation was launched to pull out the dead and the injured from the debris. The bodies of nine policemen were retrieved from the wreckage. 

DCO Muhammad Ayaz Mandokhel, DPO Gul Wali Khan and SSP Investigation Qayyum Jan Marwat supervised the rescue work. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told reporters that 19 people had been killed in the bombing. 

“The militants are taking advantage of the flood situation. They know that we are busy in relief and rescue work,” Mr Hussain said. “We are not going to lower our guard. We need a relentless, comprehensive and effective strategy to chase and hunt them down in their tribal sanctuary. These terrorists can no longer deceive the people in the name of Islam,” said Mr Hussain whose only son was killed recently by terrorists outside his home in Pabbi area. 

Government officials insist that while back of militancy has been broken, the scourge is yet to be eradicated.“It will take years,” said a security official. “We will have to live with these attacks for quite some time.” 

A security official claimed that the bombing was in retaliation for a raid to capture the mastermind of Shah Hassankhel suicide bombing last year. The mastermind, Sanadullah, alias Sanad, blew himself up when security forces raided his house. 

In January a suicide bomber killed 99 people when he drove an explosives-laden car into a crowd of men, women and children watching a volleyball match in Shah Hasan Khan village.

Agencies add: There were some 45 policemen inside the building when the bomber struck the building. 

Doctor Ghulam Ali, medical superintendent of Lakki Marwat’s main hospital, said that 17 bodies and 45 wounded had been brought to his hospital, which was also damaged in the blast. 

“Three schoolboys and a girl waiting for their school van also died in the bombing,” district police chief Gul Wali Khan said. 

The information minister said that terrorists were regrouping and they needed to be hit hard. 

“We are standing on a powder keg and if an effective action is not taken, it will be a failure of the government,” the minister said. 

“It goes to show that the terrorists have no creed except bloodshed and chaos, and are desperately carrying out their agenda regardless of the precarious conditions,” Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani told a meeting of provincial officials.