Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

India-Pakistan

'Now, ceasefire will be on our terms', says Hamir Mir

2025-05-08

[GEO.TV] In a post on X, senior journalist Hamid Mir said that India initiated the water aggression against Pakistan and also initiated the targeting of the civilian population.

"It is not possible for India to attack whenever it wants and resort to a ceasefire whenever it wants. Now, the ceasefire will be on our terms. The ceasefire should be made conditional to the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty."

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India-Pakistan

JUI-F protests have nothing to do with May 9 mayhem: Fazlur Rehman

2024-05-08

[GEO.TV] Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one that was led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spent more time running his madrassah until his secretary rubbed him out in a jealous rage. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman

...Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty. Fazl seldom misses a meal and is now so large he has his own gravitational pull...
, who has been eagerly voicing for the Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree...
-founded Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
's (PTI) political rights these days, distanced himself from the former ruling party in connection with the May 9 riots.

Speaking on the Geo News programme Capital Talk, the JUI-F chief said: "Our Million March and Awami Assembly have nothing to do with the May 9 incidents."

The May 9 violence were triggered almost across the country after the deposed prime minister Imran Khan's arrest in the £190 million settlement case last year. Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders were put behind bars for their alleged involvement in violence and attacks on military installations.

During the protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The military termed May 9 "Black Day" and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.

In his fresh interview with Hamid Mir, Maulana Fazl said that his party had also staged a protest against the May 9 violence and the entire nation had taken notice of the attacks on the state property.

It is pertinent to mention here that Fazl, in March this year, announced launching a movement called "Awami Assembly" against the results of the general elections which he believes were "rigged".

The JUI-F chief, while lambasting the "establishment" for "constantly interfering" in politics, had announced million marches against the alleged rigging in the February 8 general elections. He had made the announcement while delivering his maiden speech in the National Assembly last month.

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India-Pakistan

The little prince

2023-11-29

[DAWN] FINALLY, there is a twist in the tale and we have some new political stuff to discuss. And for this, one has to thank Asif Ali Zardari (AAZ), whose candidness will allow us to spend a few days away from the usual conjecture over the PTI’s fate and PML-N’s honeymooning and what it will bring for different members of the Sharif family.

In a surprise interview to Hamid Mir on Geo, which stretched on for two hours, the former president spoke about all things politics, which ranged from the coming election to economic miracles that sugar and agriculture policies can bring.

But as I know very little about the latter, all I could focus on was the political stuff, especially his remarks about his heir and co-chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari (BBZ). The 30-something, who has been heading this party for 15 years and has travelled the world as foreign minister, needs more training said the father.

The party can try and spin it as much as it wants, but this is a snub, BBZ will not find easy to recover from.

Indeed, in those remarks lay the basic dilemma of both Maryam Nawaz and BBZ, struggling to grow in the shadow of their respective parents. And it appears the growth simply means being sunflower-like and to keep turning their gaze in the direction of their fathers.

So Maryam blows hot when her father is in trouble and is silent when he is basking in the glory of a fourth victory. That politics and public opinion do not allow for periods of fiery leadership followed by dutiful shadowing, is lost on all political parties.

It was a snub that Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will not find easy to recover from.

BBZ has been through similar phases of ‘now you see him now you don’t’, so much so that it has been hard for people to view him as an independent player, even when he gave up his part-timing for full-time politicking. And this image refuses to change because the party continues to treat him like a poster boy rather than the man in charge.

And I say this not because of his father’s assertion during the interview that he (AAZ) was the one who would decide the party tickets including the one given to Bilawal but also the manner in which the vote of no confidence played out in 2022.

Bilawal led a long march to Islamabad from Sindh, which was to culminate in the overthrow of Imran Khan

...aka The Great Khan, who isn't your heaviest-duty thinker, maybe not even among the top five...
. However, once he reached Islamabad, the big three (Shehbaz Sharif, AAZ and Maulana Fazlur Rehman) held a press conference and announced filing the no-confidence motion. And once that was done, few were interested in the speech BBZ gave as his rally reached the capital.

The attention and focus had shifted; if BBZ was really the man around whom the party revolved, this would not have happened.

The more public and direct snub by the father in the Geo interview is simply more of the same, in a way. And as South Asia happens to be a place where the children rarely ever break away from their parents, chances are BBZ will not defy this tradition (the Mughals proved an exception).

But there is a second aspect to the notion that the father and son are not always on the same page. Indeed, it is not a new phenomenon. Back in 2013, it was reported that BBZ had stormed off to Dubai because he didn’t see eye to eye with his father and his aunt, Feryal Talpur on ticket distribution.

This time around, it appears AAZ’s comments about his son needing more training were partially due to the latter being aggressive and vocal about the facilitation being provided to the PML-N and Nawaz Sharif. While the jury is still out on whether this is a serious rift or simply a good cop bad cop routine (which Hamid Mir brought up), this has to be seen in the larger political context.

The PPP has two distinct views within; while most of those from Sindh are satisfied with the party’s focus on palace intrigues, those who were part of the party in Punjab — and the few who continue to still be around — felt it needed to be more aggressive, especially in confronting the PML-N, the dominant power in the province.

However, this never became party policy and as a result, the entire anti-PML-N space was captured by the PTI, as Imran Khan proved indefatigable in taking them on. Be it voters or politicians who are not in the PML-N camp, they flocked to the former sportsman and his party.

This lack of aggression is a major reason the PPP stopped being a contender in the province.

However, the voices within the party which wanted BBZ to play a role closer to Khan’s were never completely silenced; especially as the party also saw the utility of using this opposition to PML-N whenever needed.

What we witnessed in recent days was perhaps a mix of both the subdued voices within the party plus the cynicism the party has become known for. And for reasons only he is aware of, AAZ decided it was a good moment to send a message to the right quarters by pooh-poohing his own party’s stand, embarrassing his son in the process.

That this snub will simply add to the struggles of Bilawal in the eyes of the voters, perhaps does not bother those who think palace intrigues and jorr-torr are easier ways of doing politics.

Politics is a ruthless game but who would know this better than the Bhutto family, which has paid a very high price for this.

If the past is any guide, the rift will be addressed and the family will soon be crooning ‘hum saath saath hain’. The picture Bakhtawar Bhutto tweeted of herself along with the father and son was a step in this direction — it is to be noted, however, that the picture included the former president’s sister and not the former prime minister’s sibling, who is also in Dubai if reports are to be believed.

Blood is not thicker than power. And who knows this better than the dynastic families of Pakistan.

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India-Pakistan

Ex-COAS Bajwa's statement on combat worthiness against India misquoted: ISPR

2023-04-29

[GEO.TV] The military’s media wing on Friday clarified that the former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa’s statement on "combat worthiness" was "quoted out of the context".

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued the statement after discussions in the media on "Pakistain Army’s combat worthiness in view of the condition of certain weapon systems on its inventory".

"To this end, views of former army chief on the future threat to Pakistain, which he shared with media persons in an off-the-record interactive session, have been quoted out of the context," said the ISPR.

The military’s media wing assured the people that the army will always take pride in its "operational preparedness and utmost combat worthiness".

"Pakistain’s Armed Forces always did and will continue to keep their weapons, equipment and battle-hardened human resource ever ready for the defence of the motherland," said the ISPR.

The statement comes after journalist Hamid Mir revealed in a TV show that General (retd) Bajwa in a meeting with 20-25 journalists had stated that Pakistain was not in a condition to fight a war with India.

Mir's statement was picked up by Indian media and reported by major news outlets.

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India-Pakistan

'Mr Ten Percent' should put country first and honour BB's legacy: Zalmay Khalilzad

2023-04-17

[GEO.TV] Former US envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad on Saturday slammed former president and Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari
Asif Ali <q>Ten Percent</q> Zardari

...former president of Pakistain, husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in...
, calling him "Pakistain’s Mr 10 Percent".

The former US envoy said that the PPP co-chairman should "put the country first and honour the legacy of BB [Benazir Bhutto
... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in...
In an interview with senior journalist Hamid Mir on the Geo News programme "Capital Talk" on Friday, the former president had said Khalilzad is a "double agent" who was on "a payroll".

During the interview, Zardari was questioned regarding the support Khalilzad had shown to the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI) — the former ruling party led by Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality disorders...
In response, the former president said that Khalilzad was a salaried person. "He is in a lobby and an agent. A double agent of CIA [Central Intelligence Agency]."

When asked about the negative things Khalilzad had written about Zardari in his book, he said: "Of course, why would he write anything good about me? They can’t tolerate anyone who has roots in the country, can save the country, or loves it. Obviously, he won’t write anything nice."

In response to this, the former US envoy took to Twitter and wrote: "Responding to Pakistain's "Mr. 10 Percent": I do not lobby for anyone or any country and am no one's agent. I have shared my sincere concern about Pakistain's triple crisis, which unfortunately is intensifying, and have suggested what should be done. "Mr. Ten Percent" should put country first and honor BB's legacy, to preclude a meltdown that will hurt the 220 million people who — unlike him and others like him, do not own posh homes in several countries that they can run away to. The Pak establishment and the country's politicians must commit to rule of law, starting by not splitting the Supreme Court, but instead, implementing its decisions."

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India-Pakistan

ISPR chief says Pakistan to respond with full might to any of India's misadventures

2020-06-04

[The News (Pak)] Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar on Wednesday warned India that Pakistain will respond with full might to any misadventure and that it should "not play with fire".

Talking to Geo News anchorperson Hamid Mir on "Capital Talk", the military spokesperson said Pakistain is ready for any military adventurism and there will be "uncontrollable and unintended consequences".

Maj Gen Iftikhar said the Pakistain army's capability was demonstrated in its response last year. "Do not play with fire," he warned the Indian side.

He also rejected the Indian allegations of so-called launchpads and said UN military observers are free to go anywhere here but India has never allowed international media and observers on its side of the border.

"Things can become clear if the Indian side also allows access to the UN military observer group."

The ISPR chief said the situation at the Line of Control is very serious where seven civilians have embraced martyrdom in unprovoked firing by Indian forces this year alone.

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India-Pakistan

Hamid Mir booked in kidnapping case

2017-11-06

[DAWN] Police on Saturday started the paperwork but haven't done much else against senior journalist and TV anchor Hamid Mir on kidnapping charges, Dawn has learnt through sources.

The case has been registered in the light of the decision of the Islamabad High Court. The court had issued the order a few days ago on a petition filed by Shamama Malik, the widow of Khalid Khawaja, who had allegedly been kidnapped from his house in Islamabad’s G-10/2 sector in March 2010.

The FIR has been registered at the Ramna cop shoppe of the capital in response to the complaint lodged by Ms Malik in which she had alleged that Hamid Mir and Usman Punjabi with the help of their "hooligans" had kidnapped her husband Khalid Khawaja.

Later, Mr Khawaja was taken to North

Wazoo, it stated, adding that on April 30, 2010, his well perforated carcass was found in Karam Kot. The body was brought to Islamabad but autopsy was not conducted, the complainant states, adding: "my son lodged a complaint at Shalimar cop shoppe over the incident, but no action was taken, except registration of a report."

"The police also did not record the version of my son," Ms Malik alleges in her complaint. She claims that her deceased husband and Hamid Mir had differences over the Lal Masjid
...literally the Red Mosque, located in Islamabad and frequented by all sorts of high govt officials. The proprietors, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, unleashed their Islamic storm troopers on the city, shutting down whorehouses and beating people up who weren't devout enough. The Musharraf govt put an end to the nonsense by besieging the place. Abdul Aziz Ghazi was nabbed while he was trying to escape dressed up like a girl. BBC reported that the corpse count at 173, but other claims, usually hysterical, say there were up to 1000 titzup. Among their number was Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Everyone then said tut-tut and what a nice guy he had been...
operation.

Due to the same reason, Hamir Mir and Usman Punjabi got Khawaja kidnapped and murdered, the FIR alleges. An audio conversation allegedly between Hamid Mir and Usman Punjabi over the issue has also been made part of the record at the Shalimar cop shoppe.

When contacted, Hamid Mir said it seemed to be a politically-motivated case aimed at blackmailing him. He complained that the court had issued the orders to the police without giving him an opportunity to present his viewpoint.

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India-Pakistan

Doubling down on new foreign policy direction, Asif terms Narendra Modi a 'terrorist'

2017-10-04

[DAWN] Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, in an interview on Monday, termed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "terrorist" and said the Indian government was being run by a "a terrorist party".

Asif made the remarks in an appearance on Geo TV's Capital Talk show in response to Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
General Assembly (UNGA) speech, in which she had accused Pakistain of "producing and exporting terrorism".

"Why is it today India is a recognised IT superpower in the world, and Pakistain is recognised only as the pre-eminent export factory for terror?" she had said at the assembly. "We produce scholars, doctors, engineers. What have you produced? You have produced terrorists," she had accused.

Asif, while talking about the many Kashmiris who have been killed in India-held Kashmire and touching upon civilian casualties in cross-border firing along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, recalled those allegations on Monday.

"A terrorist is their [India's] prime minister at this time: one whose hands are stained with the blood of the Moslems of Gujarat
...where rioting seems to be a traditional passtime...
," he countered. "A terrorist party is ruling them [India] ─ the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) is ruling them. The Bharatiya Jannata Party (BJP) is like its subsidiary organization," he said.

"But Narendra Modi," Hamid Mir, the show's host, reminded Asif, "is an elected 'terrorist'."

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India-Pakistan

Pakistan captures one Indian soldier at LoC, several others killed

2016-09-30

[DAWN] MUZAFFARABAD: An Indian soldier has been captured by the Pakistain army, while Indian soldiers have also been killed in the episode of firing across the Line of Control, it emerged Thursday.

Confusion over the capture of the soldier persists as neither Indian nor Pak officials are issuing any official statements on the matter, as yet.

An Indian army official based in New Delhi said, "It is confirmed one soldier from 37 Rashtriya Rifles with weapons has inadvertently crossed over to the Pakistain side of the Line of Control".

Avoiding connecting the capture to today's firing incident, he said such incidents of people including civilians crossing the frontier by mistake have happened in the past from both sides.

Building a case in favour of India, he added that those who strayed are returned.

"Pakistain has been informed [of the soldier's crossing] through the DGMO on hotline," ANI News quoted Indian Army sources as saying.

On Pakistain's side, two officials based in Chhamb sector said the Indian soldier with weapons was captured at 1330 local time on Thursday.

Separately, security sources confirmed the same to Dawn.com. The sources said a 22-year-old Indian soldier by the name Chandu Babulal Chohan was taken into custody by Pak forces.

They added that at least eight Indian soldiers were killed. The bodies of the Indian soldiers have not been recovered by the Indian Army from the site of the skirmishes at the LoC. Security sources claim an attempt to recover the bodies by the Indian Army has not been made yet as they fear coming under fire from Pakistain Army troops.

In his show Capital Talk on Geo News, Hamid Mir said that 14 Indian soldiers were killed in two sectors. Defense analyst Major General (Retd) Ijaz Awan, who was on his show, confirmed his claim.

More from The Nation: 14 dead
At least 14 Indian soldiers have been killed in retaliatory firing by Pakistani forces in response to Indian aggression along the Line of Control (LoC), security sources said on Thursday.

Defence analyst Major General (retired) Ijaz Awan said that 14 Indian soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire between armies of Pakistan and India along LoC.

“There have been eight casualties in one sector and six in the other. According to my sources the bodies of eight Indian soldiers have not been picked up from Tatta Pani Sector," said Awan.

The development comes in wake of cross-border firing between armies of the two countries, along the de facto border in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir on Thursday.

The exchange of fire took place in the Bhimber, Hot Spring, Kel and Lipa sectors in Azad Kashmir, and lasted about six hours, ISPR said in a statement.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa also confirmed the deaths of two Pakistani soldiers in the exchange of fire.

Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt-Gen Ranbir Singh claimed Indian Army had conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads along LoC.

Pakistan, however, refuted the Indian claim. “The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorist bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by Indian to create false effects,” ISPR said.

Tension between Pakistan and India has been high since an Indian crackdown on dissent in Kashmir following the killing by security forces of Burhan Wani, a young separatist leader, in July.

Both the South Asian rivals claim Kashmir in full, but govern separate parts, and have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

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India-Pakistan

Taliban leader treated at cancer hospital in Pakistan's Lahore city

2016-01-01

[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A leader of Afghan Taliban has received medical treatment at Pakistain's largest research-oriented cancer specialized hospital and radiation oncology centre located in Lahore city, Geo News reported on Thursday.

Chairman of Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI) Imran Khan

... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems...
who heads Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) has told Geo's Hamid Mir during its program 'Capital Talk' that he was unaware of it until he received an appreciation letter from Taliban.

Imran Khan has not revealed name of the Taliban leader.

SKMCH&RC was formed by the cricketer-turned politician after his mother died fighting cancer.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Sanctions removal unlikely to help Iran’s economy

2015-12-31

Despite the expectations for the removal of international sanctions against Tehran, leading indexes like the Tehran Stock Exchange Index (TEPIX) don’t predict optimistic future for business conditions in Iran, says Hamid Mirmoeini, an Iranian market expert.

As 70 percent of economic activities in Iran is undertaken by the government, and given the fact that most of the government’s revenues depend on oil income, the sharp decline in oil prices has caused economic difficulties in the country, Mirmoeini told Trend Dec. 29.

The expert explained that although the removal of sanctions may increase the volume of Iran’s exports, it won’t have a considerable impact on the country’s income as the prices have fallen dramatically. Mirmoeini believes the plunging oil revenue will have a crippling effect on the government’s development projects, resulting in general slowdown in economic activities and finally worsening the recession.

President Hassan Rouhani, after assuming office in August 2013, pursued contractionary policies to bring down the 35 percent inflation in Iran.

“Apparently the government will continue its contractionary policies in the near future aimed at combating inflation,” said Mirmoeini.

“However, it is difficult to estimate how it [the release of frozen assets] will impact the economy as the value of the assets remains unclear and the government hasn’t announced any plan on spending them,” he added.

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India-Pakistan

Tipping point in Karachi

2015-08-13

[DAWN] EITHER we are approaching some sort of tipping point in the city, or the theatre is about to get a little more absurd. Until the resignations given by the MQM are formally accepted by the speaker of the Assembly and chairman Senate, we will have a situation where there is a parliament of 342 members with 56 having submitted their resignations. How long can they keep going like this? And how many more resignations will come before the next general elections?

In any case, there is palpable fear in the business community in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, particularly amongst manufacturers who fear that a time of great uncertainty is coming. What exactly is the MQM's game here, people are asking. Have they resigned as a sign of weakness, to signal to the establishment that they are willing to withdraw from the game in return for some assurance that they will not be targeted any more? Or are they gearing up to fight back in the streets?

If it is the former, we would probably not have seen the kind of combative rhetoric like we saw coming from Farooq Sattar's presser outside the National Assembly. We also would not have heard the increasingly roundedAltaf Hussain
..The head of MQM in Pakistain, who has lived in London and hasn't laid eyes on Pakistain since Caesar made corporal. Judging from the size of him,he may be a Hutt...
tell Hamid Mir that the country has to choose, "who is going to be on top, parliament or the military?"

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