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India-Pakistan
Abbasi, Sattar among former MNAs evicted from Parliament Lodges
2018-08-12
[DAWN] Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad police on Saturday launched an operation to free Parliament Lodges from former members of the parliament who were illegally dwelling in the government-owned facility, DawnNewsTV reported.

According to the authorities' list, 119 ex-politicians were illegally occupying the lodges, of which 30 have been evicted.

CDA today managed to free up the lodges allotted to former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former MQM-P convener Farooq Sattar, former federal minister Sheikh Aftab Ahmed, Qaumi Watan Party Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao as well as Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai.

Malik Asad Sikandar, Bilal Virk, Raza Hayat Hiraj and Syed Ali Hasan Gilani's governmental residences have also been evicted.

However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning...
Tallal Chaudhry and Abid Sher Ali ‐ both PML-N politicians who lost their seats in last month's polls ‐ have not yet vacated the lodges that were allotted to them when they were still members of the parliament.

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India-Pakistan
Terror and confusion
2016-08-11
[DAWN] ONE of the most insidious effects of terror attacks is the confusion that they sow, and the way in which they magnify the divisions within society. In part, this is the strategy of the terrorist, especially when the target is civilians.

But what happened in Quetta was calculated. Somebody hatched a plan to first assassinate the president of the Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
Bar Association, then have a jacket wallah wait at the hospital where the body would inevitably be taken, anticipating thon the lam numbers of lawyers would congregate there.

So the first question naturally arises: why target lawyers? Was it just to produce a large body count, or was there a specific reason why lawyers were selected for this gruesome deed?

Even before the bodies had been fully counted up and identified, an official narrative of sorts reared its head. This is a conspiracy against CPEC, hatched by RAW
... India's Research and Analysis Wing, Pakistain's equivalent of the Boogie Man...
. Following this claim, a tale follows: the idea is to destabilise the country and derail the budding partnership with China that Pakistain is so carefully nurturing.

But the official narrative, stated thus, makes little sense. First of all, how do they know that this act was perpetrated by RAW with the intention to derail CPEC? Considering the narrative emerged faster than the dust settled, was it driven by any empirical findings in the aftermath or was it simple surmising?

Second, how does targeting lawyers destabilise the country and contribute to the derailment of CPEC? Given how calculated the strike was, whoever carried it out would naturally also have calculated the impact it was going to have. And it’s hard to see how the impact could in any way contribute to the derailment of CPEC.

Another narrative emerged in parliament, and was echoed in a gathering of the legal fraternity held in Quetta on Wednesday. How could this happen given how saturated Quetta is with military presence, with intelligence operatives on every street, as parliamentarian Mehmood Khan Achakzai pointed out? The attack, regardless of who the perpetrators were, represented a failure of security and intelligence, which is largely in the hands of the military in Quetta.

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India-Pakistan
Senators tell army to stay within its constitutional limits
2015-11-13
Fat chance...
ISLAMABAD: Days after a corps commanders conference led by Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif expressed worries over government’s ‘inaction’ to match initiatives taken by the armed forces to secure long-term gains of the operations against terrorists, legislators in the Upper House of parliament on Thursday called upon all the institutions to work within their constitutional limits.

Speaking on points of order in Senate, the lawmakers recognised the sacrifices rendered by the security forces in the war on terror but maintained it was the responsibility of every citizen and institution of the country to protect the constitution.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar pointed out that government had backtracked on commitments regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC); abolished Ministry of Human Rights and was still unable to appoint Foreign and Defence ministers which spoke volumes about poor governance on part of the government. However, he questioned the aptness of the ISPR statement on the issue as well. “Whether the announcement of government’s poor performance should come after corps commanders meeting? Isn’t it itself an example of poor governance?” he asked.

Babar said that the military leadership should have conveyed their concerns in private. He said that poor governance was there in civil departments, judiciary and armed forces as well. He said that the way adopted by army commanders to raise the issue was wrong.

He said that the army was fighting terrorism but there were questions which we never asked by anyone. “We never asked even about the names of foreign militants which the army every other day says it has killed in operations,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition Aitzaz Ahsan said he was the biggest critic of the government’s performance but would, along with other opposition parties, always stand by the government. He endorsed the allegation of poor performance by the government but said the ISPR did not have any right to criticise the prime minister in public.

The opposition leader noted that members from the ruling party were perhaps afraid as no one came from PML-N to raise voice in the National Assembly when Mehmood Khan Achakzai took up the issue.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani reiterated that all the institutions should work within their ambit. He once again advised the government to call an in-camera session of parliament to discuss the issues relating to foreign policy and the national action plan (NAP). And in case government does not want to hold a joint session of parliament, Rabbani suggested, a special session of the Upper House be called behind the closed doors.

Rabbani said that the institutions should work within their limits and adhere to rules of business in their ‘modes of communication’.

Nauman Wazir from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) said that government’s poor performance was evident and it had done nothing in FATA.

Professor Sajid Mir said that the army had always tried to rule from behind the scene and made efforts to control affairs of the government. Army should remain within its limits and try not to become ‘supervisor’ of the civilian government, he said.

Usman Kakar from the PkMAP said that the intelligence agencies were interfering in internal and external affairs of the country and the government should not compromise on supremacy of parliament.

Senator Mohsin Laghari said be it earthquakes or floods, army is called because civil institutions are not capable of fully shouldering their responsibilities. However, he said, army should not have talked about governance in the public.

The House also held discussion on the first biannual report on the implementation of National Finance Commission (NFC) award. Members emphasised the finalisation of new NFC award at the earliest. They said the new NFC award should transfer resources to the provinces not only on the basis of population and backwardness but also keep in view the sustainable development goals.

Senator Sherry Rehman said that it was unfortunate that one of the provinces had not nominated members for the NFC award so far.
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India-Pakistan
Pak-Afghan challenge
2014-06-21
[DAWN] PRIVATELY and largely away from the public gaze, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
has cultivated PkMap leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai as an interlocutor between Afghanistan's Caped President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
and the Pak political government. While such private channels can sometimes backfire and raise the suspicions of unelected powers-that-be in both countries, Mr Achakzai's personal standing and reputation appear to have given him some leeway to use his unofficial role for positive influence.

In addition, where PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari tried and failed to build a rapport with Mr Karzai, Mr Sharif appears to have been somewhat more successful, leading to opportunities even at this very late stage of the Afghan president's stay in office for working together on issues of mutual security interest between the two countries. With the recently held two-stage Afghan election and now a military operation in North Wazoo under way, there have certainly been immediate and practical grounds for security and intelligence cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistain. And yet, in true Pak-Afghan relationship fashion, perhaps the biggest challenges lie ahead.

To begin with, even at this late stage, there is little certainty about how and on what terms the Afghan government and the Afghan Taliban will be able to achieve reconciliation — meaning the post-2014 stability and the gains of the last decade still very much hang in the balance. Two factors above all else will determine whether Afghanistan remains relatively stable or plunges into chaos again: the line the Afghan Taliban take on reconciliation as foreign troops pour towards the exit door and the degree to which the incoming Afghan administration is able to establish a better, more legitimate and more credible government.

Here, the jury is still out on whether Pakistain — the sum of the army and civilian power matrix — is doing as much as it could to nudge those two goals along or whether the state's public pledge to adopt non-interference and non-intervention in Afghan affairs has meant not doing as much as it can. And while Mr Sharif has remained troublingly quiet on articulating a distinct, civilian-run policy on Afghanistan, how the prime minister's wider relationship with the army leadership develops in the months and years ahead will also surely affect what is and isn't achievable in the context of Pakistain's overall posture towards Afghanistan.

To be sure, not all the cards are in Pakistain's hands. Who wins the election in Afghanistan, whether an exiting American force means evaporating American influence in Afghanistan, how the TTP and the Afghan Taliban's relationship develops or deteriorates, whether the nexus between the TTP and the Afghan security establishment deepens, how the ongoing and deepening strife in the Middle East will shape Iran-Saudi-US ties — much is unknown and even unknowable. But as Mehmood Khan Achazkai and Prime Minister Sharif have demonstrated, whatever happens, it's better to talk than not to.
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India-Pakistan
PM, army chief in Balochistan; joint anti-terror strategy sought
2014-01-31
[DAWN] Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
on Thursday urged the civil and military leadership to devise a joint strategy for ensuring durable peace in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...

He arrived in the bustling provincial capital on a one-day visit and was accompanied by Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, National Party leader Mir Hasil Khan Bezinjo and Minister SAFRON Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch.

During his visit to Corps Headquarters at Quetta Cantonment, PM Sharif said security forces were playing commendable role for securing peace and tranquility in the province.

He called upon the military and civil leadership to adopt collective approach in this regard.

The Prime Minister said that Federal Government was committed to resolving the issue of Balochistan and put it on the track to prosperity.

He stressed the need to further accelerate development projects in the province to ensure relief for the masses.

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch and Governor Mohammad Khan Achakzai were also present on the occasion.

Commander Southern Command Lieutenant General Nasir Khan Janjua gave detailed briefing to the premier on the overall law and order situation in Balochistan.

Earlier, the prime minister laid a floral wreath at Yadgar-e-Shuhada (deaders memorial monument) to acknowledge the contribution of deaders of Army, FC and police who sacrificed their lives to defend the country.
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India-Pakistan
PM Sharif among billionaire lawmakers
2013-12-26
[DAWN] With his assets growing rapidly Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
has joined the list of a very few politicians who are billionaires, according to statements of assets and liabilities of parliamentarians for the year 2012-13 released by the Election Commission of Pakistain.

The net value of assets owned by Mr Sharif rises to Rs1.71 billion from Rs261.6 million he had declared at the time of filing nomination papers for the May elections.

He has put the current value of his six agricultural properties (over 1,700 kanals) in Lahore and Sheikhupura at Rs1.08bn and that of a house in Upper Mall, Lahore, at Rs250m. His wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, owns a bungalow on Hall Road in Murree worth Rs100m. She owes Rs1.75m to two individuals.

Prime Minister Sharif owns Abbas and Company, a business venture started with an amount of Rs10,000. The company's present value is shown as unchanged, but a loan of Rs84,485 is outstanding against it. He possesses shares worth Rs33m in nine industrial units. He has received Rs197.4m remittances from his son Hussain Nawaz.

Mr Sharif owns two Mercedes cars, a Land Cruiser and a tractor. He and his wife have Rs138m in 10 bank accounts.

The other billionaires in the National Assembly are Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and three members from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
-- Khial Zaman, Raja Amir Zaman and Sajid Hussain Tori.

Khaqan Abbasi has Rs900m shares in a private airline. The value of his inherited property is Rs100m. He has Rs2m in three bank accounts and Rs500,000 cash in hand.

Sajid Tori owns 10 properties and has described the market value of only one of them as "billions of rupees".

Khial Zaman has put the value of his assets at Rs2.35bn. He owns four properties abroad worth Rs1.2bn.

Amir Zaman owns nine properties amounting to Rs1.88bn. He owns a plaza in F-8 Islamabad worth Rs800m, a house in F-7 Islamabad (Rs600m), shops and flats in Rawalpindi (Rs350m) and shops in G-9 Islamabad (Rs120m).

BNP-Awami chief Mir Israrullah Zehri owns over 51,000 acres of land. He also owns bungalows 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...
and Quetta and has Rs1m in his bank account.

Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao owns assets worth little over Rs53m, 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 ...
Rs7.3m, Farooq Sattar of the MQM Rs3.6m, PML-Z chief Ejazul Haq Rs10m and Pir Sadruddin Shah of the PML-F Rs395m.

Mehmood Khan Achakzai has agricultural income of Rs20m a year. He has two bullet-proof cars and four rifles.

Retired Captain Safdar, son-in-law of Prime Minister Sharif, has also mentioned in his assets a BMW car gifted to his wife by someone in the UAE.
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India-Pakistan
Sardars, nawabs continue to dominate Balochistan cabinet
2013-10-15
Also maliks, effendis, sahibs and other Enormities...
[Dawn] Deadlock over formation of the cabinet ended with the induction of 11 new ministers in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
cabinet on Monday.

Hereditary politics remained entrenched in the formation of the new cabinet. In the 14 member cabinet, 11 strong tribal chieftains and fuedals were sworn in as ministers. Almost all influential families retained their positions.

Governor Balochistan Muhammad Khan Achakzai took oath from 11 ministers belonging to Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and National Party.

When asked about the presence of more than 80 per cent tribal chieftains in the cabinet, the Chief Minister Balochistan, Dr. Malik Baloch said, "It is not my fault, the names were provided by coalition partners".

The new ministers include Nawabzada Changaiz Marri, Sardar Sarfaraz Domki, Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, PML-N's Mir Izhar Hussain Khosa, Nawab Ayaz Jogezai, Sardar Mustafa Tareen and Hamid Khan Achakzai from PkMAP, Sardar Aslam Bizenjo, Mujeeb ur Rehman Muhammad Hassani and Rehmat Baloch from National Party.

Chief Minister Balochistan, Dr. Baloch, while defending the decision of his coalition partners, said that his government will address grievances of the masses without creed, color and religion.

"It is not a matter of class rather we all are determined to address the problems of the people," he said.

Besides induction of majority of tribal chieftains, for the first time in the history of Balochistan women, minorities and settlers were not given any representation.

The chief minister explained that the names were provided by PkMAP Chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Sanaullah Zehri of PML-N.

"I had nothing to do with their names," he added.
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India-Pakistan
Govt to convene counter-terrorism APC on Sept 9
2013-09-06
[Dawn] In a bid to evolve consensus on national counter-terrorism strategy, the Pakistan government has at last decided to convene a multi-party conference on September 9, DawnNews reported.
Good symbolism. The 12-year anniversary of the assassination of Ahmed Shah Masood.
Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Thursday night contacted all key political leaders of the country and officially invited them to attend the important meeting.
Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamaat-e-Ulema Islam (all branches) might present a problem, since they're sponsors and enablers of terrorism.
PTI chief Imran Khan
... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree...
, Opposition Leader in NA Syed Khurshid Shah of PPP, MQM's Dr Farooq Sattar, 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 ...
, Mehmood Khan Achakzai of PKMAP, JI chief Syed Munawar Hassan,
... The funny-looking leader-for-life of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. He joined the National Students Federation (NSF), a lefty student body, and was elected its President in 1959. He came into contact with the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) Pakistan and studied the writings of Mawlana Syed Abul Ala Maududi, The Great Apostasizer. As a result, he joined IJT in 1960 and soon he was elected as President of its University of Karachi Unit and member of the Central Executive Council. He was Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistain in 1992-93, and became Secretary General in 1993. After years of holding Qazi's camel he was named Amir when the old man stepped down in 2009...
Mir Hasil Bazinjo and Allama Sajid Mir were among those who were invited by the interior minister.
So you know they're gonna accomplish something substantive.
The moot was initially scheduled to take place on July 12. However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken...
it was delayed because the government wanted to further fine tune the draft of its national security and counter-terrorism policy before tabling it at the conference.
There it can be contemptuously dismissed as an instrument of American imperialism.
The political leadership of Pakistan is expected to decide in the meeting whether to negotiate with Taliban militants or to use force to eradicate the menace of terrorism facing the country.
I'm guessing they're going to go for the negotiations route. That will put them on the back burner until the Americans are out of Afghanistan, at which point the Taliban wil take over to Obama's surprise, and the guys with turbans can then swarm across the LOC. They can have another war over Kargil or Siachen or someplace like that. Hafiz Saeed will howl for the use of nuclear weapons to avenge the blood of Moslems. Maybe they will this time and both Islamabad and Muzzafargah will be vaporized, the blood of their inhabitants along with them. Maybe Peshawar. Pakistain will lose the war. The turbans will return to plotting the next one.
Speaking to a press conference on July 4, Chaudhry Nisar said Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani
... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
and DG ISI Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam would brief the party heads on security situation in different parts of the country in the conference, officially called by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
earlier on the same date.
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India-Pakistan
Nuggets From The Urdu Press
2013-01-27
These nuggets are culled from the Urdu press. They are summarised here without comment. Absurd or ridiculous, tft takes no responsibility for them
In which a blockbuster is sold, women are paid, a handsome bribe fails...and the Imran factor is declared dead. Sing loudly hosannas, dear Reader, for all that is good on this final Sunday in January.
Orya Maqbul Jan on democracy
Writing in Dunya famous columnist and intellectual Orya Maqbul Jan said that interest-based economy and democracy were two evils that looked pretty on surface but were ugly in essence. Their exterior was magical but their interior was blood-stained, savage and disgusting. They rode together and could not last without each other's help. The media, which is the bought slave of these two wolves, presents itself as a sheep to the nation but in fact it was a Dracula clad in fine attire. The people became ensnared in their magic and fell victim to their bloody fangs. Under democracy the evil of trickle-down effect spread by capitalism fills the coffers of the rich who are then supposed to throw some crumbs to the populace.
Sounds like a blockbuster film proposal -- but we definitely want a Marianne type to play Democracie.
Tahirul Qadri bribed women with Rs 2,000 each
Quoted in Dunya Sajid Mir leader of Markazi Jamaat Ahle Hadith stated that Tahirul Qadri was put forward as a pawn by the US and UK while the military and the establishment were trying to damage the political base of Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
in Punjab. His long marchers were propelled by bribe. He gave Rs 2,000 each to all women who attended his rally in Lahore. He added that MQM and PMLQ were also filling Qadri's treasury with their funds so that he can go on disrupting politics. After the death of 'Imran factor' Qadri was the new pawn placed in the field of politics.

Tahirul Qadri enemy of democracy
Quoted in Jang Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan stated that Qadri had entered Pakistain as an enemy of democracy. Fazlur Rehman of JUIF said that Qadri was a doctor who had come to cut up the belly of democracy but he (Fazl) will not allow him to do that.

Story of two Tahirs
Writing in Dunya Nazeer Naji stated that once adviser to governor Punjab under Musharraf, Allama Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi went to see his namesake Allama Tahirul Qadri to tell him that General Musharraf looked at Qadri with kindness after receiving a gracious letter of extreme unction from Allama Dr Qadri. The meeting was most propitious because when Ashrafi came to his car his drivers had received expensive cloth for their suits and large bundle of gifts for Ashrafi had already been placed in his car. After this, letters were exchanged between Musharraf and Qadri but after some time Musharraf turned his attention elsewhere, whereupon Qadri wrote to him saying he would not mind becoming head of the Council of Islamic Ideology. But Musharraf did not show any reaction.

Qazi Hussain Ahmad great man
Columnist and anchor Hamid Mir wrote in Jang that Qazi Hussain Ahmad
... third president (1987--2009) of the PakJamaat-e-Islami. Qazi was also head of the Muttahidah Majlis-e-Amal until his ego became bigger than the organization. Qazi is what is known as a fiery preacher, which means he has lots of volume, a good delivery, and not a lot of reverence for coherence. He was the patron of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Rasool Sayyaf and Osama bin Laden during the war against the Soviets. He used to recommend drinking camel's urine to maintain good health before his kidneys started to go...
was the greatest Jamaat Islami leader after Maulana Maududi. His moderation was so touching that journalist Suhail Warraich, who was critical of Jamaat, got Qazi Hussain Ahmad to solemnize his marriage. After Musharraf fired Nawaz Sharif's government, he called on Qazi to join him but Qazi was not forthcoming with enthusiasm. In 2001 Hamid Mir went to Tehran with Qazi and met Hekmatyar who was then staying there. Qazi was critical of Hekmatyar who defended himself with deference. Qazi told him that it was wrong to start infighting among mujahideen and it was important to reach out to Northern Alliance. Qazi declined to become chief of the Jamaat for the fourth time in 2008.

What is Minhajul Koran?
Daily Jang published a profile of Tahirul Qadri's organization Minhajul Koran saying Tahirul Qadri and six of his family controlled it. Out of the Board of Directors three were approached but they were not aware they were members of the Board. Justice (Retd) Sheikh Riaz Hussain said he was a member a long time ago and Prof Humayun Ehsan said he did not know that he was on the Board. MNA Farooq Amjad Mir of Tehrik Insaf said he had resigned from the Board of Minhaj but did not know he was still a member. Qadri's two sons Hasan and Husain Muhiuddin hold important offices in Minhaj. Muhiuddin was the name of the famous mystic Abdul Qadir Jilani.

CM Hoti and fourth marriage
Reported in Dunya Chief Minister Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
Amir Azam Hoti had married his fourth wife Humaira without the permission of his third wife Shamim Kayani
... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
who had demanded payment of Rs 11 crore. In one court Hoti had pledged to pay Rs 11 crore to Shamim Kayani and give her a house in Islamabad in six months while in another court he had denied that he was married to her. Meanwhile Shamim Kayani has told the court that she fears for her life.

Hameed Gul says India about to fall
Reported in Dunya an organization called Kashmire Liberation Front was demonstrating in front of the Islamabad Press Club demanding liberation of Kashmire from India and its revival as a sovereign state. During the demonstration retired ISI boss Hameed Gul passed by, at which the protesters raised slogans against Pakistain too. Hameed Gul went into the crowd and advised them to raise the slogan of joining Pakistain because India was about to fall.

Only relationship with India: enmity!
Daily Dunya reported that retired generals of Pakistain army said rude things about India. Aslam Beg
...occasionally incoherent retired four-star general who was the Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army, succeeding the creepy General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, after the latter was rubbed out died in an air crash in 1988. The general was involved up to his hairy ears in the Mehran bank scandal, shuffling millions in public money to buy or lease politicians, and is believed one of the prime movers in the sale of Pak nuclear technology to Iran. He ranks second only to Hamid Gul in the volume and flavor of his anti-Western vitriol..
said if India was feeling indisposed then Pakistain had the right medicine for her cure (tabiyat theek kar dain gai). The generals said India had two sets of teeth, one for showing and one for eating and that it had not accepted Pakistain as a state. Mirza Aslam Beg said India was shooting our soldiers across the border while some Paks were doing japhian (embraces) of amn ki asha (hope for peace) with Indians. He said Pakistain could accept not India as a Most Favoured Nation because India still had to decide the issue of Kashmire. Hameed Gul said the only rishta (relationship) with India was that of enmity.

PMLQ richest, PPP poorest!
Reported in Jang the Election Commission made public the funds notified by the political parties. PMLQ was the richest with 5 crore in the bank, the PPP poorest with only Rs 4 lakh. PMLN had Rs 3 crore, MQM and Insaf had one crore each.

Balochistan as two-nation province
Quoted in Dunya leader of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Mehmood Khan Achakzai stated that Pakistain must accept the prior right of the Baloch over all natural resources of Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
. He said the Balochistan issue would be resolved when the existence of two nations - Baloch and Pashtun - was accepted there through a constitutional arrangement. He said the chief minister's post should alternate between the two nations.

Leftist Pervaiz Rasheed and the Quaid
Writing in Dunya famous columnist Haroon Rasheed stated that Senator Pervaiz Rasheed of PMLN was an old leftist who had found a niche in Nawaz Sharif's party while forgetting that Moslem League is a party of Quaid-e-Azam whom he never quotes. He was pulling the PMLN in the direction of liberal-leftists while more loyal Moslem Leaguers like Raja Zafrul Haq had receded to the background. Now the latest lesson Pervaiz Rasheed had taught Nawaz Sharif was that he should get the old leftists on board to benefit from their strength. When the traditional voters of PMLN discover that the party has compromised on its fundamental values they will stop supporting it.
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India-Pakistan
Opposition parties united against 'conspiracies to derail democracy'
2013-01-17
[Dawn] Pakistain's opposition parties have vowed to stay united to protect democracy in the face of "conpiracies being hatched to derail the democratic process."

At least 25,000 people are estimated to be taking part in the largest rally in the capital since the current government took office in 2008 and leader Tahir-ul Qadri, who has called for the government's immediate resignation, on Wednesday urged mainstream politicians to support his cause.

But the leader of Pakistain's opposition, Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
, announced after consultations with main opposition parties that they would not be joining Qadri in a move that appeared to isolate the populist holy man.

"This meeting demands from the government that an election schedule and caretaker set-up should be announced without any delay and dates for these events specified forthwith," Sharif, who was unseated as prime minister by a military coup in 1999, announced at a news conference in Lahore.

The joint consultative meeting of all major opposition parties expressed the resolve to hold general elections on time and to not accept any delay in the polls.

The session vowed to continue upholding the rule of the law and the Constitution at all costs.

Qadri wants parliament dissolved now and a caretaker government set up in consultation with the military and judiciary to implement reforms such as setting up a new election commission and banning corrupt candidates.

But Sharif defended the current election commission, saying: "People should refrain from making any demands which are not in the ambit of the constitution."

Addressing the session, Sharif, who heads the Pakistain Moslem League -- Nawaz (PML-N), the main opposition party in the National Assembly, said that his party was not working for power but for democracy.

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 ...
, chief of the Jamaat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) said that all parties would collectively condemn any unconstituitional step. He said that, instead of delaying polls, the government should immediately announce date for general elections.

Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
(JI) chief Syed Munawwar Hassan said that non-democratic forces should not be given any chances. Mehmood Khan Achakzai of the Pakhtun Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) remarked that politics had no room for 'clowns'. The session was also attended by Talal Akbar Bugti, Hamid Nasir Chattha, Haroon Akhtar, among other opposition leaders.

A statement was issued from Prime Minister office later on Wednesday, with PM Raja Pervez Ashraf welcoming the opposition parties' position.
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India-Pakistan
Bilour laid to rest in Peshawar
2012-12-24
[Pak Daily Times] Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, KP Governor Masood Kausar, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti, Interior Minister Rehman Malik
Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship.
, Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Ahmed Khan, Mehmood Khan Achakzai of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of the PML-Q and other senior politicians attended the funeral prayers of Bilour at Army Stadium.

Strict security measures were adopted around Army Stadium as hundreds of police commandoes and other security forces were deployed to guard the high-profile funeral of Bilour.

Bilour was among nine people killed in the suicide kaboom on the ANP's public meeting in Dhaki Nalbandi near historical Qissa Khawani bazaar.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain grabbed credit for the attack.

Meanwhile,
...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck reached for the green sauce...
police registered an FIR against unidentified people for carrying out the suicide attack. According to a police front man, the FIR was lodged in Khan Razaak Police Station.
Link


India-Pakistan
APDM expels PML-N, JUI-F
2007-12-11
The All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) component parties having consensus on boycott of the January 8 elections formed a new faction of the APDM sans the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Awami National Party (ANP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), and Muttahida Jamiat Ahle Hadith (MJAH).

After a meeting of the APDM parties favouring polls boycott, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan said on Monday that the above mentioned parties were not part of the APDM.

Achakzai replaces Zafar: The 12 APDM component parties favouring boycott also dismissed alliance’s convenor Raja Zafarul Haq, and appointed Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai as the new convenor. Imran said a national conference was being convened in Islamabad on December 18 to chalk out a strategy for a mass movement against the polls.

Withdrawal of nomination papers: Qazi Hussain Ahmed said the candidates of the new APDM would withdraw their nomination papers on December 15. About the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Qazi said it was no more an election alliance, adding that he being the MMA president would not allow anyone to use the alliance’s election symbol, book, without his consent.

The leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), PTI, PkMAP, National Party, Khaksar Tehreek, Sindh Tarakipasand Party (STP), Balochistan National Party (BNP), Awami Tehreek, Tehreek-e-Ittehad, National Workers Party (NWP), Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP) and Tehreek-e-Istaqlal attended the meeting.
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