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India-Pakistan

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2012-01-29

Indus commissioner flees to Canada Reported in Jang, Pakistan's Indus Waters Commissioner for two decades - as opposed to four by India - fled to India after it was discovered that he had colluded with India in the building of dams on Pakistani rivers - especially the Nimo-Bazgo dam - against the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty. His office in the water ministry was attacked by teams of investigators led by army officers.   Dr Baqir was a drug addict Reported in Jang, Dr Baqir Shah who was mysteriously shot to dearth in Quetta after, as police surgeon, he had reported that Chechen men and women were not killed by their own hand grenade as claimed by police but by bullets fired by Pakistani personnel, had been dubbed a drug addict by Balochistan government which has announced that his murder was owed to personal rivalries.   Wukla persons on the attack again Reported in Mashriq, a group of lawyers attacked an employee of the banking court of judge Naseer Ahmad and rendered him senseless. After the thrashing by aroused wukla the court employees at once locked up the banking court to avoid further damage at the hands of the lawyers.   Jamaat Ali Shah denies he fled country Quoted in daily Pakistan, former Indus Waters Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah said in Canada that he was surprised by news that he had run away to Canada after violating exit-control orders against him. He said he had come to Canada to look after his ill mother and despite retirement from his job he had informed the concerned authorities before departing Pakistan. He said he was available to answer any charges.   Democracy ill-suited to Pakistan Famous columnist and TV personality and distinguished civil servant Oria Maqbul Jan was quoted by Express as saying that democracy was not suited to Pakistan and only an Islamic Shura system would bring order in Pakistan.   Hashmi attacks Nawaz Quoted in daily Pakistan, Javed Hashmi who deserted PNLM to join Imran Khan's Tehreek Insaf said that Nawaz Sharif had made a deal with Musharraf before leaving his supporters for Saudi Arabia. He said he should apologise for the deal.   Give a billion dollars, take electricity! Famous nuclear scientist Samar Mubarak Mand told Mashriq that if the government gave him a billion dollars he will give Pakistan the electricity it needs for the next many centuries. He said he was already producing electricity from coal in Thar and was prepared to make even diesel if the government allowed him the money to do so.   After Aila Malik, God safe Imran Khan! Writing in his paper Jinnah, Chief Editor Khushnood Ali Khan stated that after the joining of Aila Malik of Q-League, Tehreek Insaf of Imran Khan had reached an extreme position. If Aila Malik and Samaira Malik are the support system of Tehreek Insaf then God support Imran Khan (Khuda hi hafiz).   PPP wants a weak Pak Army Famous foreign minister and son of General Ayub Gohar Ayub told daily Pakistan that the PPP was always determined to weaken the Pakistan Army. He said Bhutto tried to do it by creating federal security force as a counter. In the shape of a memo Zardari had asked for help from the army of another country against the Pak Army.   Dr Safdar Mehmood's new history Monthly Naya Zamana revealed that in a recent article that Pakistan's renowned historian Dr Safdar Mehmood had stated that late Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani had told him that a teacher of Usmani had appeared in his dream to ask him to repose trust in Jinnah. Dr Mehmood had written that former IG Police Balochistan Ch Fazlul Haq had told him that Maulana Usmani had told him that Jinnah had told him that Holy Prophet PBUH had appeared in Jinnah's dream and told him in the UK saying Jinnah go back to India and lead the Muslims. Usmani said that Jinnah has insisted that this dream of his should not be revealed to anyone.   Rehman Malik thanks Taliban too soon Reported in daily Pakistan Mullah Umar spoke as a leader of all Taliban - Pakistani and Afghan - and ordered that the Taliban should stop attacking Pakistan Army and Pakistan Taliban to concentrate more on attacks on the Americans. Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik thanked the Talban but soon the attacks restarted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; and Mullah Umar confirmed that he had not advised Taliban to stop attacks on Pakistani targets.   Pak Army attacks Pak Police Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in Jang that an ASI was doing duty at Secretariat Chowk in Islamabad when the Army Chief was scheduled to pass through. He was told by am army officer to move his men away from the spot which he did. After 15 minutes the same army officer returned with a posse of men and held him from the throat and took him and his men away in a truck and held them as hostages at another place. After release the ASI tried to lodge a complaint with the police station but was not allowed to do so.   Jamaat Ali Shah helped Indian Army at Siachen Reported in Jang Indus Waters ex-commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah facilitated the building of India's illegal Nimo-Bazgo dam so that Leh could get electricity which means that Indian soldiers at Siachen would get the benefit of more comfort through use of electricity.   Mengal warns Baloch rebels Quoted in daily Pakistan great Baloch leader Sardar Ataullah Mengal stated in Karachi that the Baloch rebels should think twice before revolting against Pakistan because it was not certain that they will thus get independent Balochistan. He said if there was no Pakistan there would be no freedom for the Baloch.   Syeda Abida on warpath Quoted in Jinnah PPP leader Syeda Abida Hussain said that to save Haqqani and the PPP Zardari had gambled away everything including the party tickets which were to be given to her and Fakhr Imam. The tickets for Jhang constituencies were to be given to Faisal Saleh Hayat and Raza Hayat. She said the decision to join Imran Khan had not yet been taken.   Akram Sheikh's male chauvinism Reported in Mashriq Asma Jahangir said that after its independence and restoration of judges the Supreme Court had not come up to the expectation and hopes of the people. She said clash of state institutions was not good for the state but it was not against the law to criticise the decisions of the Court. The Court had become limited to just a few cases. Many senior lawyers reacted to lawyer Akram Sheik's article in a newspaper criticising Asama Jahangir as an example of Sheikh's male chauvinism. They said Akram Sheikh as lawyer of Mansoor Ijaz had attacked Asma who was a respected lawyer of the Bar.   Double Shah gets 14 years Reported in Express, Double Shah the fraudster from Punjab who had defrauded hundreds of thousands of innocent people across the province of Rs 5 billion promising to double their deposits overnight has been sentenced to 14 years in jail. His victims still had faith in him. The Court also fined him Rs 5 billion.

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India-Pakistan

The Balochistan conundrum

2012-01-16

[Dawn] THE military handling 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... is pushing Baloch nationalists into the separatist camp. All the apparent `kill and dump` policy is achieving is to kill any possibility of reconciliation and dump any chance of peace. The real problem lies in the mindset underpinning the approach to handling the Balochistan crisis the frame of mind created by the national security paradigm that gives the security and intelligence agencies a greater role. Only if this mindset is changed can the disgruntled youth of Balochistan be brought back into the national mainstream. Balochistan has always remained on the country`s political periphery. Over-centralism, a unitary type of governance and the arbitrary nature of the decision-making process in Islamabad have alienated the young of Balochistan. A province, already at the receiving end, is now receiving the bullet-riddled bodies of its people. The `mysterious kidnappings of political activists and extra-judicial killings are only fanning anti-federation flames. Four insurgencies have previously been witnessed in Balochistan: in 1948, 1958, 1962 and 1973. Four military operations were undertaken but these only resulted in a worse mess and in deepening the sense of deprivation, alienation and frustration in the province. Now, the province is facing another insurgency backed by separatists operating under different names including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF). Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, the radioactive tadpoles grown into frogs. Really big frogs, in fact... the restive province is effectively under the control of the security establishment. The killing and abduction of young Baloch men indicate that the establishment is again trying to resolve the situation through the barrel of a gun. Theresult is that the Baloch feel even more oppressed, repressed and suppressed. It is possible to argue that a military operation for restoring or establishing the writ of the government in an area of conflict is somewhat justified but imposing the `will` of the establishment, masquerading in a national security state as the writ of the government, cannot be justified. In Balochistan`s case, the will of theestablishment has been against the will of the people which is for a social security or welfare state. There will be no improvement in Balochistan`s situation until the mindset of the decision-makers changes. It is this that has alienated the Baloch youth. Veteran nationalist leader Sardar Ataullah Mengal believes that the Baloch have reached the point of no return; that they consider the slow unfolding of large-scale killings justification enough for going their separate way. The question, then, is: what led to this point of no return? Gen Musharraf once presented the rationale behind military action in Balochistan: to get into a `position of strength` so that the weak enemy was forced to agree to terms for the resolution of the conflict. Whilst at war, this could be a prudent military strategy against an enemy. But is it justified against disgruntled and frustrated citizens of Pakistain? There is irony to be found in the death of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, who was targeted and killed in 2006. Immediately after, the official media announced the killing probably thinking that the impact would be an insurgency sapped of its strength. In actual fact, the province slid into renewed violence as the news of Bugti`s death circulated. The killing revived and ignited Baloch nationalism, giving it a martyr while providing new young recruits to separatist and cut-thoat organizations. Now, the separatists are fighting for an independent Balochistan against Pakistain`s armed forces and law-enforcement personnel. The light at the end of the tunnel lies in delineating and marginalising separatists from the nationalists, who have been fighting for political and economic rights as enshrined in the 1973 constitution. The killing of nationalists is diminishing any prospects of peace and pushing more young Baloch into the separatist camp. The `national security paradigm` has got Balochistan hamstrung, with even efforts towards development confined within it. A state version of the development of the province`s natural resources was put in place in which local needs and demands were imposed. Mega projects worth billions of rupees were launched under the Musharraf administration, but they were accompanied by proposals to establish military cantonments at Khuzdar, Gwadar, Dera Bugti and Kohlu. While they were probably meant to protect the projects under way in `enemy zones`, the impression created was that development was to be achieved at gunpoint. Then in 2009, the federal government presented the Aghazi-Hugooq-i-Balochistan package. But Baloch leaders rejected it on the grounds that the government had not even mentioned a date for the cessation of military operations or the recovery of `missing` persons. True, the package addressed some of the genuine grievances of the province; but how good was that when the Baloch continued to pick up the mutilated and bulletriddled bodies of their compatriots? One recalls US president George W. Bush`s comments when his country launched aerial attacks against Afghanistan: he boasted of American generosity and said that American planes, while bombing Afghanistan, also dropped food for the poor and hungry. Military offensives and political initiatives cannot go together. Economic packages to compensate for the destruction caused by military action will not be acceptable to the Baloch. The authorities must immediately halt the military operation in the province, and make efforts to bring Baloch nationalists to the negotiating table. Credible assurances must be given regarding a fair investigation into the killing of political activists and the recovery of `missing` persons. A political process engaging all nationalist forces and tribal elders is the only silver lining.

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Home Front: WoT

Limits to Imran's magic

2011-12-28

[Dawn] SPEECHES made at the Pakistain Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) rally in Bloody Karachi on Dec 25 were a perfect "motley mixture of high-sounding phrases ... [and] adherence to the old routine". It will hardly endear Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... and his party to ordinary Sindhi and Baloch publics. "Speechwriter! More stock phrases! Let's throw them all against the wall, and see what sticks!" The issues speakers zeroed in on and the topics they did not touch upon offer an interesting insight into the ethos of the PTI and how out of touch it is with the Sindhi and Baloch political pulse. Both in terms of content and form there was little on offer for Sindhis and the Baloch in the vicinity of Jinnah`s mausoleum. Start with what Imran Khan had to say about 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 quite correctly, and I am assuming sincerely, apologised to the Baloch for the wrongs done to them. Who was he apologising as? Was he doing it as a Punjabi? If so, he did not make it obvious. 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... did the same in a meeting with Sardar Ataullah Mengal only a few days back. Instead of echoing what Nawaz Sharif had said to Sardar Mengal, Imran Khan should have paid attention to the veteran Baloch leader`s response in which he considered such apologies hollow and minced no words in conveying to Mr Sharif that the Baloch youth viewed the army as a Punjabi army and not a national one. Unless politicians from Punjab are willing and capable to rein in the army there is little hope of winning over the hearts and minds of the people of Balochistan. Imran Khan`s answer to Baloch alienation is to bring `development` to the province. Mention `development` to a Baloch and she/he immediately thinks of boots on the ground and men in khaki hunting down Baloch nationalists. `Development` in the Baloch perception means systematic exploitation of Balochistan`s natural resources and a denial of political rights spanning half a century. Imran Khan quite naively invoked West Germany`s example of helping East Germany in the reunification of the two. He wants to play West Germany to Balochistan, conveniently forgetting that it was the East Germans who brought the Berlin Wall down to be one with their West German brothers. In the case of Balochistan, the situation is almost the exact opposite where there is an ever-increasing aspiration to get out of Pakistain instead of an urge to be part of it. When it comes to Sindh, the PTI bowled, to use Imran Khan`s favourite cricketing analogy, a wide on Sindhis in both form and content. topi Let us look at the form first. The team that Imran Khan chose to surround himself with on the stage did not even have a token Sindhi among them. Sindhis have not patented the Sindhi (cap) and it would have done no harm to adorn one when attempting to put up a mega political show in Sindh. If you are going to punctuate speeches with songs then not having any Sindhi song on the playlist only sends a wrong message. Whether or not you appreciate Shah Abdul Latif`s poetry, it is customary to pay tribute to Latif when politicking in Sindh. `Tsunami` may be a nice and thunderous word elsewhere but in the coastal areas of Sindh people associate it with misery not merriment. The list of such symbolic follies is too long for a newspaper column. In terms of content there was little that Sindhis could identify with but a lot that would keep the PTI on the political margins in the province. Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi`s speech was, again using cricket analogy, akin to Misbah-ul-Haq`s innings against India in the 2011 World Cup semi-final. Misbah scored only 17 runs during the first 42 balls he faced thus contributing to the cost incurred by Pakistain. Qureshi did the same for Imran Khan in Bloody Karachi as far as PTI`s immediate fortunes in Sindh are concerned. Qureshi chose to play the nuclear nationalism card and accuse President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... of being not as strong a nuclear nationalist as an ideal Pak president should be. He went on to educate, or rather bore, those attending with concepts such as no-first-use, Cold Start and asymmetric warfare. The speech sounded more like a pitch to secure the slot of foreign minister in any future government than connecting with the masses in Sindh. Simply put, you don`t talk about that stuff in public rallies in Sindh. It finds little resonance with Sindhis. Imran Khan was equally off the mark if one purpose of the show was to win the support of Sindhis. His road map was a motley of generalities guided by political naivety that made him look up to England as a model welfare state when he first set foot there as a teenager. His solutions to complex socioeconomic and political issues are sought in simple steps like computerising the land records because a computer does not accept bribe or aspiration to provide free legal advice to 80 per cent of the population. And no such talk is complete without customary tribute to Lee Kuan Yew`s ways of `developing` the tiny island of Singapore. These propositions resonate with the urban middle classes of Punjab and possibly Bloody Karachi but have little to do with various segments of the Sindhi population. For Imran Khan the only hurdle in the way of exploiting coal deposits in the desert Sindh may be the law and order situation in Bloody Karachi but for Sindhis the issue is more complex and requires provinces having a greater say and decision-making powers when it comes to natural resources. Imran Khan and his party have an attractive platform for the urban middle classes of Punjab but his slogans have little appeal where the Baloch and Sindhi political path is concerned, at least for now.

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India-Pakistan

Nawaz vows to resolve Balochistan crisis

2011-12-20

[Dawn] Eminent Baloch leader, Sardar Ataullah Mengal said that the Pakistain Army has taken 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... to the point of no return and if 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... was able to resolve the Balochistan crisis he will no longer live in exile. Mengal was talking to the head of PML-N, Nawaz Sharif at his residence in Bloody Karachi. Talking to media persons, Nawaz Sharif vowed to fight for the case of Balochistan on all fronts and said that there will be no progress on the issue if the killers of Nawab Akbar Bugti were not locked away. Nawaz Sharif also admitted that Balochistan is facing cruelty. Mengal added that past mistakes should not be repeated in Balochistan. He stressed the need for accountability of those involved in atrocities in the province.

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India-Pakistan

Blustering in the 21st century

2006-04-03

Every day a couple of bombs go off somewhere in Balochistan destroying a bridge, a culvert, a railway track, an electricity tower or a gas pipeline. The insurgents have become so audacious that even the chief minister’s house isn’t safe from mortar attacks anymore. Every day army convoys and outposts in Waziristan are attacked and the death toll of soldiers and local collaborators is rising. Even the interior minister has conceded that Al-Qaeda/Taliban have spread “trouble” in the neighbouring districts of Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and Tank. So what’s the Musharraf regime doing about this? Its strategy in Balochistan is simplistic. Since the insurgents don’t have a visible face or front, and since the Balochistan puppet provincial parliament isn’t too pushed about the issues of rights raised by the insurgents, there is no one with whom the federal government can negotiate the problem. Meanwhile, Sardar Ataullah Mengal is always ready to denounce the “army action” in Balochistan but refuses to act as a spokesman of the Baloch Liberation Army, or whatever. Nawab Khair Bux Marri is 80+ and still as silent and intransigent as ever. And Nawab Akbar Bugti, the trade unionist from Dera Bugti, is languishing in his “secret” cave hideout and giving interviews to foreigners reclaiming his rights as a Baloch “nationalist” after having spent the last thirty five years slamming Messrs Mengal and Marri. Under the circumstances, the federal government, governor, corps commander and IG-FC have jointly determined to run the show with the advice of Military Intelligence. This is based on trying to “win hearts and minds” with “development projects” and promising employment prospects (30,000 new jobs will come online, says the prime minister) and propping up political and tribal opponents of the three rebellious sardars and nawabs (thousands of Kalpar Bugtis ousted by Akbar Bugti from their homelands years ago have been encouraged to return, dig their heels in and lend a helping hand against the insurgents). In Waziristan, too, steps are being taken to reclaim the initiative. Along with resolute military action, the government is developing plans to buy off and disarm the rebels. The US has pledged money for suitable “development projects” so that strong pro-government vested interests are created. At the same time, the government intends to call a “grand jirga” in the tribal areas consisting of elders, clerics, local councilors and government officials and entrust it with the job of identifying “anti-state elements” and persuading rebellious tribesmen not to shelter foreign militants.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2005-05-14

NGOs foreign curse Columnist Irshad Arif wrote in Nawa-e-Waqt that the NGO mafia was active in Pakistan on the basis of dollars and pounds sent from abroad. Yet human rights had to be protected by Pakistanis. In the Mukhtaran Mai case the culprit was not arrested although the concerned MPA held a conference in Dera Ghazi Khan. The columnist wondered why was it not possible to care for human rights without the NGOs. He asked why there was no organisation other than the NGOs to do the job. Wise decision on 'mazhabi khana' Writing in Jang, Abdul Qadir Hassan wrote that the government had made the wrong decision to remove the reference to religion in the passports. The people wanted it back and there was a time when it was feared that the government might give in to foreign pressure. But a wise decision was taken to undo the mistake made earlier. The people would now be happy with the government. Jang also reported that the Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Movement that had opposed the removal of the mazhabi khana stated that their job was not yet done, more should be done by the government to target the Qadianis and the passports issued without the khana should be recalled. The Minorities Commission of Pakistan in Lahore warned that if the government reinstated the reference to religion in the passport they would start agitation against it. The PML cabinet that approved the reinstatement of mazhabi khana had dissenting votes from nine ministers. Musharraf and mullahs Columnist Nazeer Naji wrote in Jang that so far people were thinking that Musharraf might have a hidden nexus with the mullahs of the MMA. Then the MMA took up the cause of mazhabi khana and they thought that Musharraf would stand firm. Musharraf began to be supported by the people of Pakistan who wanted the threat of the clergy to subside. But after getting their support, Musharraf simply surrendered to the mullahs by giving in on the mazhabi khana. Thus people were bound to lose hope in the promise of moderation and would be forced to accept the extremism of the clergy. A politics of splits Columnist Iftikhar Ali wrote in Jang that splits were appearing in all the opposition parties. In March 2005, the ARD mainstream parties the PPPP and PMLN were not able to agree with the MMA on its 'million march'. At the same time the PMLN was angry over the PPPP for holding secret talks with the government for a share in power. The MMA itself was split along personalities and Qazi Hussain Ahmad was heard privately to criticise Maulana Fazlur Rehman for ploughing a separate furrow. In the NWFP ANP was split with its ruling family, the Wali Khans. Ijazul Haq opposed religion 'khana' According to Sarerahe in Nawa-e-Waqt, religion minister Ijazul Haq — who had gone public with his support to the campaign for the restoration of an entry of religion in the national passport — actually voted against it during the cabinet session in which 8 other ministers also opposed it. Sarerahe thought that Ijazul Haq as the son of the Islamic dictator General Zia had now decided to abandon his father's ideology to stand together with a secular education minister, General (Retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi. Khabrain quoted Ijazul Haq as saying that there was no disagreement in the cabinet on restoring the religion khana in the passport. 'Mullahs hold nation at ransom' Speaking to Khabrain, Abdus Sattar Edhi stated that the clergy in Pakistan was holding the people of Pakistan to ransom in the name of Islam. He added that Musharraf was a man of open mind and had given unprecedented freedom to the media. He said that the people of Pakistan were simple and not given to extremes. Adam spoke Pushto According to Khabrain Prof Pareshan Khatak told an audience in Peshawar that according to his research the first man, Hazrat Adam, spoke Pushto after his creation by Allah. He was answering the charges of those who said that Pushto was the language of Hell because of its hard accent. Hew said the language of Paradise was Pushto. Wrong soldiers! Writing in daily Din, Hafiz Shafiqur Rehman said the wrong soldiers were those who entered the army dreaming about seven star messes, starched uniform and kanals and kanals of residential plots in 'posh' defence societies, after which perhaps to conquer Islamabad after receiving a certain high rank or go into property dealing with the advantage of good contacts in the cantonments. Tipu Sultan and nine unwanted women Biannual journal of Quaid-e-Azam Library Lahore Makhzan (number four 2004) informs about a book by Tipu Sultan titled Bahr al-Munafeh. Tipu describes nine types of women he would not go near: 1) A woman who is of ill-repute; 2) An adolescent woman who would take to fornication and become fahisha (coitus-lover); 3) A woman who is irritable and loves coitus; 4) A mad woman; 5) A woman with a hairy body; 6) A red-headed woman; 7) A black-faced woman; 8) An excessively tall woman; 9) A woman with tough hands and feet. Ataul Haq Qasimi wrote in Jang that May 2005 was the month of Tipu Sultan's birth anniversary. 'Churails' lift young student Reported in daily Pakistan, the house of one Muhammad Siddiq of Sangla Hill was attacked by three very beautiful churails (witches) and when he hired aamils to cast a spell on them they also thrashed the aamils till they ran away. Then the beautiful churails picked up Talat, his son, a student of 8th class, and took him to the canal where he was found badly bruised. The churails came to Siddiq's house and threatened him with dire consequences, then simply dissolved into thin air. 'I don't want another Karachi!' Columnist Fawad Hussain revealed in Jang that Baloch leader Sardar Ataullah Mengal told the BBC that 50 years ago Karachi had only indigenous population of 5 million. Now the population of Karachi was 14 million and 90 percent of it was non-Sindhi. Now Balochistan too had a population of 5 million but if it was converted into another Karachi (through Gwadar?) the Baloch would become a minority in their province. Goose step at Wahga Writing in Jang, Mehmood Sham stated that when he was last at the Lahore Wahga border outpost with India he was fascinated by the ceremony of furling the flag by Indian and Pakistani border guards at sunset. He was forced into sentimental tears by the goose-step used by Pakistani soldiers who brought their foot higher than their heads while taking down the flag. There were shrieks of Allah Akbar and Zindabad from the Pakistani side where people sat on a viewing stand. A Pakistani citizens too came every day to the post, raised the flag, faced India and raised the takbeer. Defeat the West! Columnist Irshad Haqqani quoted in Jang a letter from a reader saying that it was useless in Pakistan to suggest any solution to problems because the West was dominant and was inflicting injustice on the Muslims. The only way any solutions could be successful if they were enforced from a position of dominance. Therefore Pakistan had to defeat the West, get into a position of strength and then think of solutions.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Nuggets from the Urdu Press

2005-04-08

Pakhtunkhwa not allowed! According to Nawa-e-Waqt, senator from the NWGP Ilyas Bilour kept naming his province as Pakhtunkhwa during his speech at the Senate. After some time leader of the house Waseem Sajjad got up and remarked that no province of that name existed in Pakistan and if he wanted to talk about another province he should go to the country where it existed. After this there was pandemonium in the house and the session had to be postponed sine die. An Urdu purple patch Columnist and Urdu stylist Irfan Siddiqi wrote in Nawa-e-Waqt: 'May your boards creaking under viands meant to regale foreign guests be blessed, but tell me if we are the vanguard of America's crusade and have made sacrifices for it, and have willingly populated the cages of Guantanamo Bay, if Mullah Umar is going from pillar to post because of our loyal swordsmanship, if we have given everything on lease, from our military bases to our faith and spiritual belief, if we have stuck this policy of shame and humiliation on our helmet like a panache, then why are the whiplashes applied to our bare backs? Why are our heroes describes as villains and why are nuclear assets looked at with the eye of suspicion and ill-will? Can these courtier spokespersons of the magic tongue apply the balm of comfort on our lacerated breasts? Will the bud of truth burst forth from the bough of the tongue of anyone?' India wants Pakistan as 'mandi' Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt Baloch Sardar Ataullah Mengal said that that India didn't want Pakistan as its friend, it wanted to convert Pakistan into its mandi. He said Hindu banya was carrying a scale (tarazoo) in his hand while negotiating friendship with Pakistan. CIA arranged Shehbaz's marriage Daily Insaf reported that the marriage of Shehbaz Sharif and Tehmina Durrani was organised through intrigue and international spying in 2003 by CIA and Pakistani intelligence agencies. The aim was to separate Shehbaz from the Sharif family and make him available to Musharraf as an ally. Shehbaz himself was increasingly isolated within the Sharif clan and wanted a place in politics for himself. The Sharif family is shaken by the development and is very upset. Those who favoured the marriage could be Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan who was put off by Nawaz Sharif's decision to keep Javed Hashmi as the chief of the party in Pakistan. He wanted the job for himself and was also close to Shehbaz. Shehbaz himself did not get along with other PMLN members: Zulfiqar Khosa, Tahmina Daultana, Saad Rafiq, etc. Tehmina Durrani was a linked to the intelligence agencies and had earlier liaison with Shehbaz Sharif. Nawa-e-Waqt quoted Shehbaz Sharif as saying that his brother Nawaz was his murshid (spiritual leader) and that he wouldplay a role in lowering military dictatorship in its lehed (grave). More corruption under Musharraf Secretary Information of PMLN said to Nawa-e-Waqt that contrary to the claim of President Musharraf corruption at the upper levels had increased which included corruption inside NAB. He said railway minister General Javed Ashraf incurred a loss of Rs 26 billion to the railways while references against him were set aside. Nawaz Sharif as prime minister spent Rs 16 crore on the PM House while now the expenditure was Rs 85 crore. He said if were made chief of NAB he would extract Rs 30 billion from former rulers and ministers in three months. Weapons came from the army depots! Daily Khabrain quoted Nawab Akbar Bugti as saying that the government should prove that he was receiving Rs 12 crore annually as rent from the Sui lands. He said weapons that were used against the Sui fields were worth 50 crore and were not bought by the Baloch but came from the army depots. Who killed Prof Azizul Haq? Writing in Khabrain, Raja Anwar revealed that during a Punjab university election one Barkaat was killed and the responsibility for the killing was wrongly placed on Jamiat and its leader Javed Hashmi. The murder was actually committed by Prof Azizul Haq, an ex-employee of Atomic Energy Commission, who thought he could become the Mao Tse Tung of Pakistan through a violent revolution. He got two members of his Young People's Front, Arif Raja and Javed Ali Khan, to open firing during the counting of the vote. Four months after Barkaat's murder, Prof Aziz was killed by one Saeed for having illicit relations with his wife. According to the writer, Prof Azizul Haq was a jinsi mareez (sexually obsessive) whose death was described as naqabal-e-talafi nuqsaan (irreparable loss) by PPP's Maulana Kausar Niazi. Who is Imtiaz Sheikh? According to Khabrain, the Sindh minister Imtiaz Sheikh whom his chief minister Dr Ghulam Raheem fired was the son of a poor farmer of Shikarpur. In 1978 he qualified in the CSS exam and became assistant commissioner in the province. He was transferred to Punjab for some time but was assistant collector Jacobabad in 1989. His quality of life changed and when he became deputy commissioner in Dadu and Nawabshah, he looked positively prosperous. He was later additional secretary in Sindh and in 1990 was secretary to chief minister Jam Sadiq who had betrayed his party, the PPP. He got many papers signed from Jam Sadiq at his deathbed and gave lucrative jobs to his relatives and friends. He acquired 6 kanals of precious land in Karachi. After Jam Sadiq, Imtiaz Sheikh got his promotions and became secretary health of the province. In 1997 he resigned and entered politics. At that time he was known as a billionaire. In 2002 he fought election from his party Democratic Alliance but was defeated in Nawabshah. Then he joined PMLQ and was returned in a by-election in Ghotki and was taken as revenue minister in Sindh cabinet. The chief minister's report against him shows him gaining in wealth at each stage in his career. Pak generals and wealth Writing in Nawa-e-Waqt, historian Dr Safdar Mehmood stated that an American agency has published a report that a Pakistani general was worth Rs 20 crore while a Lt-Gen got Rs 15 crore as personal 'assets'. The writer thought it was too little and therefore insulting. He recalled that in 2004 a former corps commander flew into Lahore from Karachi and sold his plot of land for Rs 3.5 crore and flew back the same day. Two books two stories Author and columnist Raja Anwar wrote in Khabrain that two books had recently come into print. Javed Hashmi's Haan main Baghi hun and Tariq Khurshid's Sue-e-Dar. Both were students at Punjab University. Javed Hashmi was a Jamiat leader and a follower of Maulana Maududi while Tariq was associated with the Left. Tariq was sent to Libya by vice-chancellor Islamabad University Kaniz Yusuf after the fall of Bhutto, but when he returned after 8 years he was sent to jail by Zia for the Libya Conspiracy Case. Javed Hashmi was in jail under General Musharraf. After the fall of Bhutto he became a minister in General Zia's cabinet which he now confesses to have been his mistake. In his book he has refrained from attacking anyone but Ghulam Mustafa Khar whom he has flayed alive. Was Pakistan made to collect transit fee? Columnist Abdul Qadir Hassan wrote in Jang that some people were saying that opening trade routes with India would give Pakistan the opportunity to collect transit fee but Sardar Mengal was saying that Hindu banya was merely trying to snap up Pakistan as a home market (ghar ki mandi). Was Pakistan created to collect rahdari (transit fees)? There is an honourable way of doing business. Friendship with India would be just like friendship with America, exploitative and coercive and against the interests of Pakistan. PPP is too tough on MMA Talking to Nawa-e-Waqt, PMLN MNA Mr Saad Rafiq said that the PPP was not giving a good impression through its contacts with Musharraf. PPP should soften its hard approach towards the MMA, he said. PMLN was not being organised in accordance with the wishes of Nawaz Sharif and that Zulfiqar Khosa's view that Nawaz Sharif had not acted correctly in 1999 by dismissing Musharraf was wrong. 'Pakistanis' in Bangladesh Reported in Jang magazine, there were 2.37 lakh 'Pakistanis' in Bangladesh in 66 scattered camps who are at times called Biharis because they speak Urdu. They are still loyal to Pakistan and want to be sent to Pakistan although some would like to take Bangladesh nationality and become normal citizens. They say that they were 9 million to begin with but after 1971 half a million fled to India and Pakistan while fully 8 million are unaccounted for. They said that 3 million were massacred and are buried under the monument in Dhaka that says 3 million Bangladeshis killed by Pakistan army were lying underneath. The 'Pakistanis' living in the camps said that money was collected in Pakistan for them but no progress had been made to repatriate them.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Nuggets from the Urdu Press

2005-03-26

'Why is America after our virginity?' Writing in Nawa-e-Waqt Irfan Siddiqi asked why was America bent upon violating our ismat (virginity) and abroo (honour). Why was it playing with our virginity every day? What spell had been cast on Pakistan? What had robbed Pakistan of its power of speech? Was our cooperation in American Crusade meant to sell our domestic assets as honour for sale in the market (jins-e-bazari)? Pushtun 'invasion' of Balochistan Quoted in Jang, ex-chief secretary of Balochistan Sherdil Khan stated that Balochistan went through a major demographic change during the Afghan war. One million Afghans stayed in the Pushtun areas and many Afghans acquired properties in Quetta, Pishin, Loralai and Qila Abdullah areas, got ID cards made and acquired Pakistani passports. They also became registered as voters. Big American money was distributed via the ISI and much of it went into the wrong hands. The Pushtun became prosperous but the Baloch nation became unhappy and poor. A school in Narang Mandi According to Nawa-e-Waqt a village near the border town of Narang Mandi in Punjab had a school which had been rendered a ghost school. When an inspection team went to the school it found that out of the ten lady teachers at the girls' school only two were present. Even the head mistress was absent and the children were playing around instead of studying. The villagers told the team tha at the state-owned school teachers came and marked themselves present in the register, then went away. A dozen other schools in the area were also without teachers in similar fashion. Mira slaps Indian actor According to daily Pakistan, famous Pakistani actress Mira presently acting in Indian movies slapped Indian actor Sunil Shetti during a party in Bombay. It happened after the Indian actor tried to get fresh with her (izhar-e-muhabbat). When the incident developed into a quarrel between the two, host Salman Khan threw the Indian actor out of his party. Balochistan and Pakistan Daily Jang quoted ex-chief secretary Balochistan Sherdil Khan as stating that after 1947 the tribes and jirgas of Balochistan accepted Pakistan except for the Khan of Kalat where Pak army's raid was resented. In other areas Punjabi school teachers and other functionaries were accepted. In 1970 there was no resentment in Balochistan but in 1973 Bhutto lit the fire by dismissing the Mengal government without valid reason. Discovery of Iraqi arms from the embassy was a false allegation after which Sardar Ataullah Mengal was arrested and kept in Sargodha jail. Bhutto sent troops into Mengal and Marri tribes on a signal from Shah of Iran after making Nawab Akbar Bugti governor of Balochistan. The operation lasted till 1977 at the fall of the Bhutto government. The Baloch had a tough time during this period and became alienated because of lack of development. General Zia freed Mengal but he went into a long self-exile in London. Sardar Akbar and the Kalpar Bugtis According to Sherdil Khan in Jang, Sardar Akbar Bugti was a great administrator and did a great deal for Balochistan during his governorship, but in his area of Sui the PPP became powerful and got the rival Bugti sub-tribe of Kalpars to stand against him in elections. This led to a blood feud wherein Akbar's son was also killed. He began crushing the Kalpars who were forced to flee into Punjab. After 1993 Ms Bhutto and her interior minister gave Kalpars money as compensation but it was covertly meant as assistance. The Kalpars bought weapons with it to confront Nawab Bugti. Khair Baksh Marri and Marxism According to ex-chief secretary Sherdil Khan in Jang, Sardar Khair Baksh Marri was influenced by Marx and Lenin in his student days and was a partisan of the October Revolution. During the Afghan war he went with his tribe to Afghanistan to fight on the side of Afghan communists. But after the Soviet defeat he and his tribe suffered greatly and were called back after chief minister Taj Jamali requested Ghulam Ishaq Khan to bring the sardar back in a C130 plane. Marri tribe was also allowed to return to Balochistan but this incident made Khair Baksh even more extreme in his views, given the current situation. Robbers fought like commandos According to Jang, three dacoits were killed in a police encounter near Gujranwala. The dacoits killed three police officials too before they were shot. The police said the high official casualty was because of the trained way in which the dacoits faced the police. They said that the three seemed to be trained guerrillas who had come out of jihad and turned to robbery.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Nuggets from the Urdu Press

2005-03-05

General Zia killed Mengal's son Writing in Jang Hamid Mir stated that Sardar Ataullah Mengal was alienated from Punjab because he thought that it remained passive when the Baloch were being persecuted. He told the columnist that when in 1958 old friends Iskander Mirza and Ayub Khan fell out, the former asked the Khan of Kalat to revolt against the army, but Mengal was of the view that now that Pakistan had come into being the Baloch sardars should accept it. The columnist recalled that Mengal's son was killed by General Zia when he was army chief under Bhutto. He did a commando operation in Karachi at Mir Balakh Sher Mazari's house to capture him for investigation but the boy got killed during exchange of fire. Later when Bhutto was accused of killing Asad he wrote in his prison memoirs Facts and Fiction that it was actually General Zia who had done it and then asked him to hush it up. Mengal did not know where his son was buried. Be tough with non-Muslims! Writing in Nawa-e-Waqt Dr Hussain Ahmad Paracha said that the Quran had ordained that Muslim (Momin) should be kind to the Muslim but hard with non-Muslim. After that Allama Iqbal too had written his couplet that had asked the Muslims to be smooth as silk to other Muslims but hard as steel to non-Muslims. But today in Pakistan 'enlightened moderation' meant being hard on the Muslims and soft on the non-Muslim outsiders. Lack of wisdom of clerics Writing in daily Pakistan, Dr Israr Ahmad stated that the movement of reshami romaal (silk kerchief) of Sheikhul Hind Maulana Mehmoodul Hassan, leader of Deobandi Muslims, failed like many other movements led by clerics because of their lack of realism. Abul Kalam told Sheikhul Hind that he should fight against the British inside India but he thought he could go to the Turks and ask them to attack India as Darul Harb (home of war). He went to Arabia and met Sharif of Mecca who captured him and handed him over to the British. He was sent to Malta as a prisoner and the movement collapsed. After returning from Malta, Sheikhul Hind admitted that Abul Kalam was right and he was wrong. Thus spake Mufti of Kaaba Sarerahe praised the khutba of hajj of Mufti of Kaaba in Nawa-e-Waqt which said that Muslims had allowed the Christians (ahle tathlith) to become their masters. The Christians had become a torture (azaab) and the Muslims had forgotten the Message. The khateeb said that dajjals were assaulting the Muslims like locust swarms. Instead of being model to the world which was their mission Muslims had become the lowest of the low. Women can't be president in Iran Writing in Jang Irshad Haqqani stated that recently Tehran appeared to be in favour of letting women run for the post of president in the coming election, but the Guardian Council soon clarified that this was not possible. The clergy based its reasoning on the word rijl meaning man but many other clerics say that rijl can mean man and woman both in certain contexts. The columnist thought that Iran could show independent thinking and remove the word rijl from the constitution and make it possible for women to run for the office of the president. Taliban caught in Quetta According to Jang, 23 Taliban were caught by the police in Quetta, including deputy governor of Helmand province Mullah Khushdil and IG police Kabul Mullah Ibrahim. The other big personalities were Mullah Abdur Razzaq and Mufti Rahmatullah. Spies versus Pakistan Columnist Irfan Siddiqi wrote in Nawa-e-Waqt that an Indian consulate had opened across the Chaman border in Kandahar. Additionally, Donald Rumsfeld had created a new spying agency which was spreading its wings in Afghanistan. In tandem with it, KHAD and MOSSAD were active against Pakistan, while America was sharpening its teeth to attack Iran. Marathon against Islam Quoted in daily Insaf, Punjab Jamaat Islami leaders Liaquat Baloch and Farid Paracha said that Lahore's international marathon on January 30 was against Islam because women were allowed to run in it together with men in public view. Women and men running together was against Islam. Also women running in public without proper hijab was against Islam. What happened in Balochistan Historian Raja Anwar wrote in Khabrain that Khan of Kalat gave Jinnah funds after weighing him in silver because he wanted to remain free in Balochistan while accepting Pakistan's suzerainty. Eleven years after partition Balochistan was attacked and 'conquered'. General Ayub brought a law that enabled him to depose and appoint Baloch sardars. He removed Ataullah Mengal and replaced him with his uncle but the Mengal tribe beheaded the new incumbent. General Ayub hanged the family of Sardar Nauroz Khan Zehri and thus bought the hostility of the Zehri tribe. After 11 years, General Ayub called off the army and sent in police and rangers who were cut down by the Baloch like gajar mooli (carrots and radishes). In 1973 started another operation in Balochistan after taking into confidence Sardar Bugti, the Khan of Kalat, the Raisanis of Sarwan, the Magsis, Sardar Doda Khan Zehri of Jhalawan, Jam of Las Bela and Abdus Samad Khan Achakzai. After overthrowing Bhutto, General Zia had dinner with the Baloch sardars Bhutto had jailed in Hyderabad and killed Bhutto after two years. Suicide bomber identified According to Jang, the suicide bomber who tried to kill prime minister Shaukat Aziz last year at Fateh Jang was one Muhammad Irfan from Shish Mahal Road Lahore. He was the son of a tailor master and had taken his early training in a religious seminary. He passed his B. Com and then started working at a four-star hotel in Lahore. He was recruited by one Zeeshan Mehmood of Anarkali Lahore. Zeeshan had been to Afghanistan to train with Al Qaeda and was an accused in the attempt to kill President Musharraf in the tutelage of the key Al Qaeda agent Amjad Farooqi since killed in Hyderabad. Zeeshan got Irfan to meet Amjad Farooqi who brainwashed him and got him to blow himself up next to the car of the prime minister near Attock. Daily Insaf recorded the reaction of 'Hafiz' Irfan's neighbours and relatives. Everybody vowed that he was a most peace-loving and God-fearing person and was killed by the government unfairly. (Irfan's father later identified his severed head and owned up the act. The family was asked to approach the court for getting possession of the head, the only remaining part.) According to Jang, the head of Hafiz Irfan was brought to his family by the police in a bucket. His neighbours did not accept that he was a terrorist as he used to lead the namaz at the local mosque. His funeral at Data Sahib was attended by a mammoth crowd Daily Pakistan reported that he had told his family before disappearing that the police would kill him. Confusion over Balochistan Writing in daily Pakistan Abdul Quddus Minhas stated that in Balochistan the political parties were behaving in a confused fashion. While the MMA was opposed to military operation in the province, its ministers were present in the Quetta cabinet meeting in which the provincial government asked the centre to deploy troops in Sui. The PPP was opposed to the military operation but its real worry was about the gathering strength of the Baloch nationalists. PMLQ and MQM were opposed to the military operation but were present in the cabinet session in which action in Balochistan was decided.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Nuggets from the Urdu Press

2004-10-16

'Chaudhrys were after me!' As reported by Insaf, ex-PM Mir Zafarullah Jamali stated that he used to receive lists of appointees to the cabinet from the president. Jamali was inducted to keep the Punjabis out of contention for the PM's job. He was threatened from the start that if he did not do as directed he would be sacked. The order for the appointment of Faisal Saleh Hayat, Naurez Shakoor, Rao Sikandar, Raza Hiraj and Major Tahir Warraich came directly from the president. Jamali said a Gang of Four in the Chaudhry circles got Kabir Wasti to write a letter of accusations about him to the president. Jamali went to Chaudhry Shujaat and told him to get this shatoongra (small Satan) off his back or he would sort him out. President Musharraf would lose his temper on the MMA and delivered long lectures. Nazeer Naji wrote in Jang that President Musharraf had given a chit to Ijazul Haq for the ministry of overseas Pakistanis, but Mr Jamali gave him religion ministry instead. This had offended the president. Absconding 'naib khateeb' threatens 'fatwa' According to Jang, the absconding naib khateeb of Lal Masjid Islamabad had sent a video message to a gathering of Imran Khan's Tehreek Insaf saying that he had absconded because he was not willing to be arrested and kept in custody. He said allegations against him of being linked to Al Qaeda were false. He said the other person implicated in the case, Maulana Abdul Aziz, khateeb of Lal Masjid had only issued a fatwa against the Wana Operation. He said MMA's Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Tehreek Insaf's Imran Khan should sit down and analyse the statements issued by the three ministers accusing him of being an agent of Al Qaeda. Ahle Hadith have nine splinters According to Khabrain, a 9th splinter in the wahhabi religious party Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith had appeared after one leader Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer quarrelled with the big MMA leader Prof Sajid Mir and decided to start up his own new party. Mengal's rebellion Writing in Jang, Irshad Haqqani stated that while the Senate Committee would do well to discuss the Balochistan issue with Sardar Ataullah Mengal, it should keep in mind that he has recently demanded Balochistan's autonomy not under the 1973 Constitution but in the light of the 1940 Muslim League resolution asking for 'sovereign states'. Mengal also wanted the Balochistan projects like the Gwadar port handed over to Balochistan. He also wanted all revenue handed over to Quetta and then negotiated for the central share from it. He did not want non-Balochistan domiciled citizens of Pakistan to have the right to vote in Balochistan. Sacred name on 'zanana' cloth According to daily Pakistan, the people of Alipur Chaththa were outraged when one cloth merchant sold a piece of ladies' cloth with the name of the Holy Prophet PBUH on it. A wave of anger (leher daur gayi) ran through the markets and the people came out to protest this latest occurrence. One honourable cleric said that this was a conspiracy of the yuhud-o-hunud (Jews and Hindus) and the government should at once uncover the culprits behind the printing of the cloth. The public protested on the roads for some time. Hameed Gul admits wrong Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt, ex-ISI chief General (Retd) Hameed Gul said that he was wrong when he condemned Nawaz Sharif for opposing the Kargil Operation. The Kargil Operation was wrong (jhak mari gayi) but Nawaz Sharif was in no position to stop it. He said Pakistan should stick to the Kashmir position and not be too scared of offending the Americans. Liaquat's problems with Jinnah Former chief secretary Punjab, SK Mehmood, told daily Pakistan that prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan developed problems with governor general Quaid-e-Azam after 1947 on the question of settling refugees from India. He said there was an over all policy for settling them agreed at the top, but Liaquat Ali Khan wanted his own constituency carved out in Karachi by giving them special attention. The Constituent Assembly constituencies were mostly located in India. Because of these bad relations the Quaid was not looked after when he travelled from Balochistan to Karachi and died on a road in Karachi. He said Bhutto was partly to blame for the fall of Dhaka. He was unfairly hanged after Punjabi judges on the Supreme Court bench wanted him hanged and the non-Punjabi judges were opposed to hanging him. He said Bhutto was not bodily harmed before his hanging. Kenya doesn't love Pakistan Writing in Khabrain Wajahat Ali Khan stated that when he checked for Pakistani books in Kenya's biggest library he found that there was not a single book on Pakistan or from Pakistan in the library while there were 35 books on and from India. He added that there was not a single copy of the Holy Quran in the library. ARD plays clever card Writing in Jang Nazeer Naji stated that by nominating PMLN's Makhdoom Javed Hashmi as its candidate for premiership against Mr Shaukat Aziz, the ARD had cleverly challenged the MMA. It was apparent that the real foe of the clergy was the PPP and not the party of Nawaz Sharif. ARD had played a clever card by challenging the MMA to oppose Makhdoom Javed Hashmi. Haroonur Rasheed wrote in Jang that Makhdoom Javed Hashmi came from a middle class family with divine origins. His forefather was a nobleman of Multan who married a daughter of Muhammad Tughlaq, the ruler of Delhi. His father Muhammad Shah owned only five squares of land. Hashmi was a brave man who started with a religious party and like Liaquat Baloch was for a time an admirer of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Musarrat Shaheen was PAT member According to Khabrain, Pakistan Awami Party (PAT) of Allama Tahirul Qadiri revealed that film actress Musarrat Shaheen was a member of PAT but it was not greatly disturbed by the fact that she had now joined PML. Ms Shaheen had announced at the time of offering herself to the PML that she was not a member of PAT. The party also published a photograph of the great actress submitting her party membership form to Allama Tahirul Qadiri. Muhammad and India Writing in Nawa-e-Waqt, Hamid Sultan stated that in all the libraries of the world the name of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH was written with the required words of reverence but not in India. At first India too followed the practice of showing reverence but now India used Muhammad simply without any show of reverence like PBUH. In India people who have visited the railway stations have noted that drinking water is designated as 'Muslim water' and 'Hindu water', which means that Muslims are not allowed to drink the same water as the Hindus. Many Pakistanis are misguided when they propose friendship and trade with India. Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and Dr AQ Khan Writing in Nawa-e-Waqt, Irfan Siddiqi stated that in an American book on Pakistan's nuclear programme it was revealed that Dr Qadeer Khan's smuggling of nuclear secrets was revealed by Al Qaeda mastermind Khalid Sheikh Muhammad after his arrest in Pakistan and his handing over to the United States. Khalid Sheikh revealed that AQ Khan was involved in international nuclear smuggling. Oil on water colours, Pakistani style Writing in Khabrain, Khalid Masood Khan stated that when he was in Manchester he had occasion to attend a function celebrating August 14. Pakistani painter Agha Nisar was exhibiting his water colours when the meal was served. The Pakistani crowd rushed to the dishes and one Pakistani resident lady took down a painting, laid it face down on the table, and put her dish of oily chawal on it. The white mayor of the town went up to her, took her aside and rescued the painting. In another function the announcer kept alive the audience's interest by announcing that food would be served soon. When the lunch boxes were served in their seats the resident Pakistanis snatched more lunch boxes than their share from the trays. Some residents grabbed a lot of lunch boxes and were found gorging themselves. Some British Pakistanis saw that the lunch boxes wee being raided and went for the kitchen instead and began eating there. The columnist observed that in the UK the white citizens observed the principle of lining up for their turn. But Pakistanis were still following the wild tradition of back home. To break Pakistan Daily Nawa-e-Waqt editorialised that retired Indian General Murli Dhar should be praised for speaking the truth when he said after crossing into Pakistan that in his 38 year career in the Indian army he was busy discussing with Indian politicians ways and means to break Pakistan. The general said that India had killed 70 thousand people in Kashmir and if there was an Indo-Pak war the two countries would be destroyed in quick time by atom bombs. Pakistani Laila in Indian film Daily Khabrain stated in its film column that Pakistani actors were now attracting publicity by saying that they had been invited to act in Indian films and were no longer proud of acting in Pakistani films. On a Lahore set, famous Pakistani actress Laila was acting in Wehshi Haseena (Savage Beauty) when she said that she would soon be going to London to act in an Indian movie. She said she was going to London instead of Bombay because the part required shooting in London.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2004-05-07

Our jawans are for khilafat According to daily Pakistan, Major General (Retd) Zaheerul Islam Abbasi told an audience at Jama Masjid Ghulam Rasul in Gujranwala that there was no organisation named Al Qaeda and no one named Osama bin Laden. They existed only in the CNN. He said that khilafat did not exist in any Islamic state but if the people sided with him and his party Azmat Islam Movement then he had no doubt that it would come. He said he was court-martialled for having worked for khilafat. He said the Taliban were brave and did not lay down arms like General Niazi in East Pakistan. He added that today the army officers were all secular but the jawans (soldiers) were for khilafat. General Zaheerul Islam was caught and punished for treason in 1995. His party Azmat Islam was earlier called Hizbullah. Nargis did not dance! According to Khabrain filmstar and dancer Nargis did not dance during a play in a local theatre in Lahore. The audience had bought tickets for Rs 500 and Rs 1000 in the expectation that she would break into dance during the scenes. When she did not take the floor, the house became angry and started breaking the furniture. Nargis was actually to dance on four songs but the government had sent in a team of inspectors to see that no dance would take place. Every time there was a song the audience called out for her to dance but when she did not they resorted to violence. Many people saved their lives by running away. Protest with ‘heejras’ and donkeys According to Nawa-e-Waqt, the Cricket Welfare Association of Sant Nagar in Lahore took out a procession to protest the defeat of the Pakistani team in matches against the visiting team. The Association was of the opinion that Pakistan Cricket Board had not been able to stop the national team from being defeated through a conspiracy. The procession was spearheaded by heejras (eunuchs) and donkeys to show the low regard in which the protesters held the Cricket boards. Blasphemer turns wild According to Nawa-e-Waqt, in Dhariala Jalib near Pind Dadan Khan a PPP leader Diwan Hashmat first blasphemed against the Holy Prophet PBUH during a gathering in a mosque in Pindi Syedan then farted made foul noises in the presence of pious citizens. On this one Bashir Jindran went to the police and registered a case of blasphemy against him. On this Hashmat became an absconder and later went to the village Dhariala and fired upon Bashir Jindran and killed him. Hashmat was later caught by the police after an encounter. "Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Da witness is dead!" Baloch nation won’t allow Gwadar Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt, chief of Balochistan National Party Sardar Ataullah Mengal said that if investment in Gwadar was against the wishes of the Baloch the investors would not go back alive. He said Gwadar was being made for the Americans. The Americans would run away but the Punjabis would be unable to flee. He said the Punjabis were determined to convert the Baloch into a minority in their own province. The Baloch would not allow their identity to be destroyed in the name of investment, he said. "We don't want a port! Prosperity would bring them dang furriners, sniffin' 'round our wimmin!"

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