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Mirza Aslam Beg

Mirza Aslam Beg

Learned Elders of Islam

Afghanistan/South Asia

20050723

Afghanistan

The consequences of Kunduz

2015-10-09

Gen (r) Mirza Aslam Beg [NATION.PK] Kunduz is a turning point of the conflict between the two opposing forces -- the Americans and the Taliban. The Americans having failed to achieve the objectives of war, have retreated, leaving behind a residual force of about 12,000, operating from five air bases in support of the Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... regime which controls mainly the urban areas of Afghanistan, whereas the Taliban control about 80% of the rural areas, where Shariah Law prevails. Thus, it is at Kunduz, where the strategies of the opposing forces now are at real test.

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India-Pakistan

Pakistani officials furious over country’s portrayal in ‘Homeland’

2014-12-27

[NYPOST] ... The biggest gripe is that the show depicts Pakistan as undemocratic and allied with terrorists. "Repeated insinuations that an intelligence agency of Pakistan is complicit in protecting the terrorists at the expense of innocent Pakistani civilians is not only absurd but also an insult to the ultimate sacrifices of the thousands of Pakistani security personnel in the war against terrorism," a source said. "E pur se muove." 'MALIGNING A COUNTRY THAT HAS BEEN A CLOSE PARTNER AND ALLY OF THE US ... IS A DISSERVICE NOT ONLY TO THE SECURITY INTERESTS OF THE US BUT ALSO TO THE PEOPLE OF THE US.' - Nadeem Hotiana "Our culture embraces Western society. Pakistan believes in the democratic system of voting in our presidents." We've seen that. Omar Saeed Sheikh hasn't been hanged. Hafiz Saeed is still in business, which involves blowing stuff up in India. Samiul Haq, the father of the Taliban, was the (failed) negotiator with them. The head of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi strolls in and out of court. You turned Swat over to a furry-faced holy man and his equally furry-faced son-in-law and then had to fight to get it back. Christians, Hindoos, Sikhs, and Shiites are bumped off regularly and Mullah Diesel is part of the government. Who's going to Lal Masjid every Friday? How about Hamid Gul? Mirza Aslam Beg? How many TNSM yokels made it home from the fighting in Afghanistan in 2001? Y'really wanna discuss a land of corruption and feudalism, over-seasoned with religious fanaticism? "Pakistanis never embraced the dictators who, in the past, ruled the country because they took over the presidency through violent means. Yeah. Nobody liked Zia-ul-Haq. Somehow his policies live on after he's decomposed. " 'Homeland' makes it seem that Pakistan has contempt for Americans and its values and principles. That is not true." Then his lips fell off.

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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

Aslam Beg's assertion

2012-05-12

[Dawn] AN army chief disowning the actions of his subordinate/s in the line of duty is an extraordinary phenomenon. In an application to the Supreme Court, which had asked him to clarify his role in what came to be known as Mehrangate, Gen (retd) Mirza 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 he had "knowledge" of the affair but was not involved in the disbursement of money to certain politicians to manipulate the 1990 elections. More astonishingly, the former army chief said he had no control over the ISI. He may be technically correct as officially the latter is under the prime minister, but the reality in Pakistain, as he knows, is different. An army's various formations are answerable to its chief. Were different units to operate on their own, the army would turn into a political party rather than be a fighting force. No army can operate in war and peace without the intelligence agencies serving as its eyes and ears. Thus for Mr Beg to attempt to dissociate himself from the ISI defies common sense and brings ridicule to the office of the chief of staff of one of the world's largest standing armies. Years before Assad Durrani, a retired ISI chief, submitted his affidavit to the SC, giving details of the money gifted to some politicians with a view to creating a pro-army, pro-Ghulam Ishaq Khan alliance, Mr Beg had gone public with his disclosure about the money illegally obtained from the now defunct Mehran Bank and given to some of Pakistain's most corrupt politicians to help create the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad to undermine Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... 's electoral chances. Hamid Gul The nutty former head of Pakistain's ISI, now Godfather to Mullah Omar's Talibs and good buddy and consultant to al-Qaeda's high command... , another retired ISI chief, also admitted that the establishment led by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan wanted to create "a balance of power" in politics by propping up an anti-PPP alliance. We now leave it to the court to decipher Mr Beg's rigmarole when he says he "only instructed" Mr Durrani to "maintain" accounts. The court must now also rule on the relationship between the army and ISI chiefs. Can an army chief be exonerated from the doings of its intelligence arm -- in military affairs or the dirty world of politics?

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India-Pakistan

Asghar Khan petition: Beg opposes commission, IB told to submit report

2012-04-24

[Dawn] The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of Air Martial (retd) Asghar Khan's petition to April 25, DawnNews reported. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez heard the case. Asghar Khan had filed the petition in 1996, accusing the ISI of financing several politicians during the 1990 elections to create the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) and prevent Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... 's PPP from winning. The ISI allegedly dished out Rs140 million for the purpose. The petition was based on the affidavit of former ISI chief Asad Durrani. During the hearing, the court directed the attorney general to summon secretary interior and secretary law in his office and obtain information on a 17-year-old report regarding Mehran Bank and Habib Bank. The court also summoned records of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases against Younus Habib, one of main characters behind the controversy and a former head of the now defunct Mehran Bank. The chief justice in his order again directed that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to submit its report regarding the distribution of secret funds. The IB had submitted a reply to the court on the case earlier today. Also during the hearing, former army chief Gen (retd) Mirza Aslam Beg's ...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.. counsel, advocate Akram Sheikh, submitted his client's reply. "Yez got nuttin' on me client, coppers! Nuttin'! Da witnesses is all dead!" The reply opposed the idea of forming a judicial commission to probe the distribution of secret funds to politicians and accused Habib for wanting to prolong the matter by forming the commission. Beg's reply further stated that Habib was accountable to the NAB and that he had to pay 115 crore (1150000000) rupees to NAB. Earlier, a petition was filed by Habib to form a judicial commission to recover the money disbursed to politicians.

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India-Pakistan

ISI exposed

2012-03-19

[Bangla Daily Star] A recent hearing on a petition against an illegal disbursement of money to politicians and individuals brings to light the dirty role of Pakistain's controversial spy agency ISI. The petition was filed by Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan against money doling up to anti-Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... politicians in 1990 allegedly from the establishment through the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). It came up for hearing before the Pakistain Supreme Court on February 29. The case was, however, adjourned because of the absence of certain key witnesses, the Dubai-based Khaleej Times reported in its issue of March 3. The chief justice said notices must be issued to former ISI chief Gen Asad Durrani and former chief of Mehran Bank Younus Habib to appear before the court at the next hearing on March 8. The report based on earlier court statements says Durrani, by his own admission, had directly delivered the money to politicians and groups as ordered by the "boss" -- the then army chief Gen Mirza Aslam Beg. In turn, Gen Beg had named the "chief executive" (former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan) for "supervising the entire exercise", the newspaper writes. "Its sinister purpose was to defeat the Pakistain People's Party (PPP) under Benazir Bhutto in the 1990 elections. A total of Rs 140 million was disbursed after Mehran Bank illegally advanced it to the ISI account." The events combined, in which millions of Pak rupees were paid to politicians and political parties using the spy agency, is widely known as the Mehran bank scandal, also Mehrangate. "Another Rs 50 million was allegedly paid to Bangladesh's Khalida Zia to help her in polls against Hasina Wajid's Awami League generally perceived by Pakistain's security establishment as pro-India," the Khaleej Times adds. The exact text of any court statement of the ex-spy boss was not available and The Daily Star could not verify whether BNP chief Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... had received money from the ISI. However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... the Pak media elaborately wrote about Pak politicians and professionals who received ISI money. Durrani in his testimony gave details of amounts given to each leader. The Pak news service, News Online, said former DG ISI Asad Durrani in an affidavit submitted before the apex court recently admitted to having disbursed money to Mian 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... (Rs 3.5 million), Lt General Rafaqat, who was head of ex-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan's election cell (Rs5.6 million), late Mir Afzal Khan (Rs 10 million), ex-PM late Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi (Rs5 million), late Jam Sadiq Ali (Rs 5 million), late ex-PM Mohammed Khan Junejo (Rs 2.5 million), late Pir Pagaro (Rs 2 million), lawyer Abdul Hafeez Pirzada (Rs 3 million), ex-governor Sindh Yusuf Haroon (Rs 5 million) which he confirmed having received for Altaf Hussain of the MQM, Muzaffar Hussain Shah (Rs0.3 million), Syeda Abida Hussain (Rs 1 million), Humayun Marri (Rs 5.4 million) and 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 close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. 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... (Rs 5 million), among other individuals and groups. Most of these individuals and political parties have denied receiving any money from the ISI. "No, no! Certainly not!" On March 8, Mehran Bank chief Younus Habib made a statement before the Supreme Court, saying he was forced by former president late Ghulam Ishaq Khan and former army chief Aslam Beg to arrange Rs 340 million in the "supreme national interest", the leading Pak daily Dawn reports. According to Habib's statement, Rs 140 million was paid through Gen Aslam Beg to politicians -- Rs 70m to former Sindh chief minister Jam Sadiq Ali who was provided another Rs 150m (from Mehran Bank's funds) for arranging licence to set up Mehran Bank, Rs 15m to Pir Pagaro through Jam Sadiq, Rs 70m to Younus Memon on the instructions of Ishaq Khan and Gen Beg for the politicians who wished not to receive the money directly from the ISI. Some of the money was also dished out to the Army Welfare Trust. Also on March 8, in his latest statement submitted before the apex court, Durrani said he had used the Military Intelligence (MI) for the disbursement of the money deposited by Younus Habib, according to The News International, Pakistain. In his original affidavit of 1994, Durrani had revealed, "In September 1990 as DG ISI, I received instructions from the then COAS General Mirza Aslam Beg to provide 'logistic support' to the disbursement of donations made by some businessmen of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... to the election campaign of IJI [Islami Jamhoori Ittehad]. I was told that the operation had the blessings of the government." Now after 18 years of his initial affidavit, Durrani in his two-page statement submitted before the apex court on March 8, said, "Mr Yunus Habib did deposit Rs 140 million in various branches in the accounts opened, on my orders..." The Supreme Court bench had taken up the 1996 petition of Tehrik-e-Istiqlal chief Asghar Khan accusing the ISI of financing several politicians during the 1990 elections to create the IJI and prevent Benazir Bhutto's PPP from winning. On March 8, two sealed documents, one comprising a report by a commission tasked to review the working of security and intelligence agencies, were opened in court. The other document contained two audio-cassettes and unsigned statements/cross-examination of Maj-Gen (retd) Naseerullah Babar and Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani recorded during an in-camera session of the court. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez accepted Younus Habib's sworn handwritten statement that he read loudly in open court. Younus Habib said Gen Beg and ISI's Brigadier Hamid Saeed had provided a number of certain accounts in certain banks for depositing the amount while the counterfoil of the deposit slip had been handed over to one Colonel Akbar. Both Gen Beg and Asad Durrani were in court, quietly listening to Habib's affidavit, the Dawn reports. "In all I was asked to arrange Rs 350 million by the former president and the army chief before the 1990 general elections," said Habib while reading out the affidavit. Habib said he had told them that arranging such a huge amount was not possible through legal means for which he had to manipulate the system. At this, Ishaq Khan told him that he would have to do whatever he could for the "national cause". Habib submitted a photograph, along with his affidavit, in which he is seen with former president Ishaq Khan and a uniformed army officer having conversation with Gen Beg. The court made the photograph part of the record. The March 3 report of Khaleej Times says the ISI brought together various conservative and religious parties and groups under the banner of IJI to collectively face the PPP. It effectively checked the Benazir tide in 1988, denying her an absolute majority. Former ISI chief Gen Hamid Gul The nutty former head of Pakistain's ISI, now Godfather to Mullah Omar's Talibs and good buddy and consultant to al-Qaeda's high command... unabashedly takes credit for fathering the IJI in 1988 to stem Benazir's tide. "She would have swept the polls," he once admitted. A weak coalition under Benazir became an easy prey for Ishaq Khan to be sent home packing within less than two years. The 1990s saw similarly fragile arrangements alternating after every two years and being dispensed with by the president in collaboration with the army chief. Democracy was thus not allowed to take firm roots and was given a bad name for incompetence and corruption.

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India-Pakistan

'Using public funds to undermine democracy akin to treason'

2012-03-11

[Dawn] The ruling Pakistain People's Party's (PPP) Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Saturday said that the use of public funds to undermine democracy was akin to treason, DawnNews reported. The federal minister was referring to the case being heard by the Supreme Court relating to the doling out of money to politicians by the ISI in the 1990s. "Conditions could never be bleak if institutions worked in accordance with the constitution," she said. "The Asghar Khan petition has brought out the truth from history. The handing out of money to political parties was an act of treason against the state." "The court has already unveiled the faces. It shall now punish them," she added. The information minister also requested the SC to make Roedad Khan a respondent in the case, saying Khan had forced Younus Habib, then head of Mehran Bank, to open fake cases against President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... The SC has said that the proceedings of the case, popularly dubbed by the media as the 'Mehrangate scandal', would now solely focus on the roles played by former army chief Gen (retd) Mirza Aslam Beg, former ISI chief Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani and Younus Habib. Habib has submitted a statement in court, saying that former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Aslam Beg, Durrani and Roedad Khan had forced him to arrange funds for anti-PPP politicians before the elections in 1990. An affidavit submitted in court by Durrani, which details the amounts of money handed out to different politicians, alleges the Pakistain Moslem League -- Nawaz (PML-N) chief 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... received Rs3.5 million from the then ISI head. Awan today also remarked that the Sharif brothers had a habit of frequenting the SC. "The Sharif brothers should also present themselves in the Supreme Court now and answer the allegations placed against them," she added.

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India-Pakistan

Our withering sovereignty!

2011-05-15

By General Retd Mirza Aslam Beg The Abbottabad episode of May 2, 2011, provides the opportunity to restore our national sovereignty and establish a new level of relationship with our immediate neighbours and countries beyond. It is a ‘blessing in disguise’ to restore national honour and dignity. In fact, the 2/5 episode was a hoax and a big lie, the same as the 9/11 episode was a big lie for an excuse to launch a crusade against the Muslim world. Osama’s look-alike prisoner from Bagram was picked up and brought to Abbottabad and killed in cold blood in front of his family members, who were living there. In fact, OBL had been killed in Afghanistan some time back and his body may still be lying in a mortuary in Afghanistan. They showed a bullet-ridden picture of Osama, which was two years old, and another photo that had no resemblance with him. His body was dumped into the sea to hide the crime committed in such a clumsy manner. The 2/5 episode was the finale of the 9/11 lies and was meant to achieve three main objectives: i With the mission accomplished, Obama was to gain political advantage in the forthcoming elections; i To find an excuse for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. i To defame the Pakistan government, its armed forces and the ISI. On all the three counts, the US President has gained and Pakistan now is reeling under pressure, blaming its own armed forces and the ISI for the failure to safeguard territorial sovereignty, not knowing that we ourselves have pillaged the country’s sovereignty as a matter of political expediency. It is a sad story, but needs to be remembered. With the first military takeover of Ayub Khan in 1958, the Americans entered Pakistan and established their tentacles, and got so entrenched that they were able to boot out Ayub Khan, when they found him getting too big for his boots. Ironically, a political movement was launched to replace him with Yahya Khan, who became the catalyst for the dismemberment of Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over as the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan. He was a visionary leader and statesman, and did not fit into the ‘American agenda of Great Game on the Global Chessboard’. Thus, he became an unwanted leader, because he opened the way to China; he asked King Faisal to assume the leadership of the Muslim world and also laid the foundation for Pakistan’s nuclear programme. Therefore, he had to be punished and “made a horrible example” at the hands of a military dictator and a compliant judiciary.

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India-Pakistan

US shifted TTP leaders to Afghanistan: Beg

2009-11-16

[The News (Pak) Top Stories] General (retd) Mirza Aslam Beg has alleged that the US has shifted Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud and the other Taliban leadership to Afghanistan. In an interview, Aslam Beg said when the Pakistan Army started the operation in South Waziristan, a helicopter flew from the Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan and shifted Hakimullah Mehsud and other militants to Afghanistan. He said Hakimullah Mehsud and other militant commanders were present in Afghanistan. He alleged that the US was backing the militants fighting against the Pakistan Army in South Waziristan Agency. He said that the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of India wanted to detach the tribal areas from Pakistan but it did not succeed in its designs. About the current wave of terrorism in the country, especially in Peshawar, he said these incidents could be a reaction to the Waziristan operation but possibilities of the US and other foreign actors' involvement could not be ruled out. Responding to a question about the operation Rah-e-Nijat, he said the people were talking about the difficulties in the operation and the possibility that the Army could be trapped in the area but due to an effective strategy, the military succeeded in clearing the area of the militants within a month and the remaining task would be completed soon. About the US efforts in Afghanistan, he said the US could neither succeed in Afghanistan nor could get a safe exit from the Afghan soil until it corrected its attitude with the Pakistan Army. Aslam Beg said only the Pakistan Army and the Taliban could give a safe exit to the US from Afghanistan. About the military action in Balochistan, he said there was no need for a military operation in the province.

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India-Pakistan

Nuggets from the Urdu Press

2009-10-09

Musharraf and US killed Benazir! Columnist Nazir Naji wrote in Jang that Musharraf and the US together killed Benazir in 2007. After the bomb attack on her in Karachi she sent Zardari to Washington to meet State Department official Richard Boucher and tell him that the security promised by the US was not given to her by Musharraf. Zardari called Boucher but Boucher feigned upset stomach and did not meet him. Musharraf and the US killed Benazir in Rawalpindi. A clash of extremes Ex-amir of Jamaat Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmad wrote in Jang that in Pakistan there were two types of people: those who went to English schools, shaved and wore jeans and spoke English at home; and those who went to traditional schools and had beards, some adopting the extreme brand of Islam of the Taliban. Unless moderation is exercised by both there is bound to be a clash between the two. Liaquat murdered for Objectives Resolution Writing in Jang Dr Israr Ahmad stated that after Liaquat Ali Khan passed the Objectives Resolution in the parliament to make Pakistan an Islamic state international Zionists plotted his death and killed him in 1951. And then when their man General Ayub took over and got rid of parliament he was patted on the back by Washington. Governments criminal act Talking about giving Americans several acres of additional land in Islamabad, Hafiz Saeed was reported by Nawa-e-Waqt as saying that political and religious parties should unite to prevent the giving of adda (base) to America. He said the criminal silence of the government over the issue was a sign of extreme slavery. Ambassador Haqqani and visas Chief Editor Jinnah wrote that American spies are caught in Pakistan and deported but once back in America they get visas from Ambassador Hussain Haqqani and return to spy in Pakistan. This happened in two cases, once in the case of a man named Schmiddle Schmiddle? Seriously, where did the chief editor see a name like that -- a novel by Charles Dickens? who was caught visiting sensitive places and was deported. He returned on a visa given by Ambassador Haqqani. Imtiaz Billa and wealth Writing in Nawa-e-Waqt Rana Abdul Baqi stated that ex-ISI officer and IB chief Imtiaz Ahmad alias Billa had asserted that he had served the country for many years and seen a lot of people getting rich, but could Mr Billa also explain how so much wealth reached his home? 'I hate Americans! Famous chief reporter Ansar Abbasi wrote in Jang that once he met an American under secretary lady in Islamabad and told her, 'We hate you Americans; and that, 'You are cruel (zalim), savage (wehshi) and merciless (bereham) and have no respect for human lives. But he was grieved to find that she went back and misquoted him in The New York Times. Typical. He was abominably rude to a lady, then expected her to remember his cruelty verbatim. She probably heard it as zelam, wachy and beerham, and now Mr. Abbasi's wife is furious. I would be too, if Mr. Wife said such things to another woman. Hasan Nisars wisdom Columnist Hasan Nisar in Jang: One blessing of loadshedding is that all mosque loudspeakers go dead too and one is saved from listening to the makruh (unholy) sounds that emanate from them. But, but President Obama said it's the most beautiful sound on earth! More 'Aslam-Begisms Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt ex-army chief Mirza Aslam Beg said that General Zia had sworn inside the Kaaba that he would not hang Bhutto but he did not keep his word. America used Musharraf against the Taliban. Later America bought Baitullah Mehsud, Sufi Muhammad and Ajmal Kasab to fulfil its designs in the region. He said army was no obstacle in indicting Musharraf, but the government was not sincere. The worst sin being insincerity. Honestly! Hamid Gul did the trick! According to Khabrain a general who wished to remain anonymous said that in 1990 President Ghulam Ishaq Khan had just asked Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi to form government when ISI chief Hamid Gul rang up to say that the ISI wanted Nawaz Sharif as prime minister. President Khan changed policy and asked Nawaz Sharif instead. The president had thought that Gul was conveying the armys message but when he discovered that it was Gul himself he later got rid of him as ISI chief. More 'Hamid-Gullianisms Ex-ISI chief Hamid Gul was quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt as saying that Indian investment in Afghanistan was against Pakistan. Clever man .He said ex-army chief General Jehangir Karamat had studied at a Jewish university (Stanford) after his retirement. No, no Dr. Gul (one must have a PhD to achieve rank, after all) -- Stanford is in America, which makes it an American university. Perhaps you are thinking of the Technion in Israel. And that Holbrooke did not want democracy to flourish in Pakistan. He said Ahmad Shah Abdali was Pakistans hero. Pameela Khan predicts Famous palmist Pameela Khan was quoted in Daily Pakistan as predicting that the killers of Benazir would be captured but the PPP will have to pay the price of mid-term elections. All this, while the star of Nawaz Sharif will keep on rising. Musharrafs star in 2009 will be in decline and he will go through tough times. Indias loadshedding Well-known lady of letters Kishwar Naheed wrote in Jang after her return from India that despite the fact that India had diverted Ravi, Beas and Sutlej Rivers it was suffering from loadshedding. In Amritsar, factories remained shut for three days for lack of power. In India that's a sign of prosperity, unlike in Pakistan, Ms Naheed. Columnist surprised After writing columns about doubts expressed about the authenticity of 9/11, Ataul Haq Qasimi confided to Jang that he was forced to close his inquiry into how the Americans had deceived the world about 9/11 because of the massive stream of more evidence provided by provoked Pakistanis who wanted to disclose the deception of the US in accusing Al Qaeda of the deed. I'm sure that sentence makes sense to someone, but I can't parse it. American pressure is mounting Columnist Salim Yazdani revealed in Jang that the people of Pakistan were outraged at the signs that America was increasing its influence in Pakistan. The presence of 2,000 marines in Islamabad and the news of changes inside the ISI had actually worsened this outrage. Baitullah killed Benazir Reported in Khabrain Benazir Bhutto was killed by Baitullah Mehsud through killers who did it with Rs 4 lakh that he gave them. One night before the assassination mastermind Hasnain Gul alias Ali was made in charge of getting rid of Benazir 'because she was sent by America. He sat on the stage of Liaquat Bagh venue to make sure that the target would not escape. Hasnain Gul handled two suicide-bombers Ikramullah (jacket) and Bilal (pistol). In praise of Hafiz Said Chief Editor Khushnood Ali Khan wrote in Jinnah that India was after Hafiz Saids blood but so are CIA and Mossad because they are scared of the great Muslim warrior. The followers of Hafiz Said have always been the scourge of India which sees him in its nightmares. He is the father of thousands of martyrs. But Black Water is here to uproot Islam and Muslims. Oh my goodness. How do they get through the day without a nervous breakdown? Mastermind killer of Benazir According to Khabrain the mastermind Punjabi terrorist who organised the killing of Benazir in Rawalpindi was Hasnain, a graduate of the madrassa of Akora Khattak after which he went to Miranshah for training in terrorism. A friend of his got killed in Lal Masjid operation after which he swore revenge and was used by Baitullah Mehsud. Qari Ismail of Akora Khattak told him that orders had come from on high (oopar sai) to kill Benazir.

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India-Pakistan

Eliminating militants from Swat

2009-05-10

By General Retd Mirza Aslam Beg There is a deliberate effort on the part of very responsible personalities in USA to pressurise Pakistan to "use every possible option to eliminate Taliban and secure Pakistan." It has also been claimed that Taliban will reach Islamabad and that Pakistani nuclear assets would fall into their hands. Sequel to such statements some of our political leaders are also warning the Pakistanis of the eminent danger that the nation faces on account of Taliban. In the context of these statements, let us discern what reality lies behind the orchestration of these views, which Dr S.M. Koreshi, has rightly called this psychological warfare, as the process of "dehumanisation, demonisation and destabilisation." I would add one more to it: denuclearisation. First of all, we must understand the dynamics operating behind the phenomenon called Taliban. The western media, as well as we ourselves, have created such 'constructs' and have become their victim. For example, 'War on Terror' was one such construct. The reality however is that these are 'Wars of Liberation' and America has not been able to win any of these wars and has been humiliated as a consequence of the self-created construct, and now has abandoned the use of the term - War on Terror. The stark reality is that the people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Kashmir, are fighting for their freedom, yet their armed resistance against aggression is being demonised as terrorism. The Taliban in Afghanistan are the real Taliban called mujahideen, when fighting the Soviets, now relentlessly struggling against the occupation of Afghanistan by USA and their allies. They do get help from our tribal areas and enter our borders, but soon return to fight the occupation forces. We have around a hundred thousand soldiers protecting our western frontiers, yet they have not been able to stop them, Why? The western media in general and the people of USA in particular, are phobic about Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda - another construct. Every Islamic Resistance is being termed Al-Qaeda. Mullah Omar's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, explains the difference between Taliban and Al-Qaeda: "They are global, we are regional. We two are separate. We don't fight under their command. Recently we have welcomed some of their fighters," under the banner of the Shadow Army. As a result of this misconception, neither the Taliban have been eliminated nor Al-Qaeda has been defeated. General Musharraf launched military operation in 2004, against our tribals in Waziristan, "to catch the master-mind." The tribals retaliated, creating serious security problems. Erroneously, we started calling them Taliban, whereas they are our tribals. If we had dealt with them, with compassion, these very people could have turned into our vital force. However this is also true that within them there are a whole lot of foreign infiltrators and agent saboteurs, who are instigating the local people to fight against our government. These very tribals, prior to 2004, had never turned their guns on Pakistan, but they did react when they were subjected to attack. The strategy adopted by the NWFP government was to win over the hearts and minds of our estranged tribals, who responded positively. Mirza Aslam Beg was Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army

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India-Pakistan

Pakistan's Probe Finds Local Links To Attacks On Mumbai

2008-12-31

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's own investigation of terror attacks in Mumbai has begun to show substantive links between the 10 gunmen and an Islamic militant group that its powerful spy agency spent years supporting, say people with knowledge of the probe. At least one top leader of militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, or "Army of the Pure," captured in a raid earlier this month in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, has confessed the group's involvement in the attack as India and the U.S. have alleged, according to a senior Pakistani security official. The disclosure could add new international pressure on Pakistan to accept that the attacks, which left 171 dead in India, originated within its borders and to prosecute or extradite the suspects. That raises difficult and potentially destabilizing issues for the country's new civilian government, its military and the spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence -- which is conducting interrogations of militants it once cultivated as partners. Pakistani security officials say a top Lashkar commander, Zarar Shah, has admitted a role in the Mumbai attack during interrogation, according to the security official, who declined to be identified discussing the investigation. "He is singing," the security official said of Mr. Shah. The admission, the official said, is backed up by U.S. intercepts of a phone call between Mr. Shah and one of the attackers at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, the site of a 60-hour confrontation with Indian security forces. A second person familiar with the investigation said Mr. Shah told Pakistani interrogators that he was one of the key planners of the operation, and that he spoke with the attackers during the rampage to give them advice and keep them focused. The person said Mr. Shah had implicated other Lashkar members, and had broadly confirmed the story told by the sole captured gunman to Indian investigators -- that the 10 assailants trained in Pakistan's part of Kashmir and then went by boat from Karachi to Mumbai. Mr. Shah said the attackers also spent at least a few weeks in Karachi, a crowded Arabian Sea port, training in urban combat to hone skills they would use in their assault. Mr. Shah was picked up along with fellow Lashkar commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi during the military camp raids in Kashmir. The Mumbai attacks have stoked tensions in India and Pakistan, producing allegations and counterallegations that have both countries headed toward conflict. Pakistan recently redeployed some troops from the fight against Islamic militants toward the Indian border, and India warned its citizens not to travel to Pakistan. India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed, have fought three wars since their independence in 1947. The probe also is stress-testing an uncomfortable shift under way at Pakistan's spy agency -- and the government -- since the election of civilian leadership replacing the military-led regime earlier this year. Military and intelligence officials acknowledge they have long seen India as their primary enemy and Islamist extremists such as Lashkar as allies. But now the ISI is in the midst of being revamped, and its ranks purged of those seen as too soft on Islamic militants. That revamp and the Mumbai attacks are in turn putting pressure on the civilian leadership, which risks a backlash among the population -- and among elements of ISI and the military -- if it is too accommodating to India. "The ISI can make or break any regime in Pakistan," said retired Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg, a former army chief. "Don't fight the ISI." The delicate politics of the Mumbai investigation have given the spy agency renewed sway just when the government was trying to limit its influence. A Western diplomat said the question now is what Pakistan will do with the evidence it is developing. The big fear in the West and India is a repeat of what happened after a 2001 attack on India's parliament, which led to the ban on Lashkar. Top militant leaders were arrested only to be released months later. Lashkar and other groups continued to operate openly, even though formal ISI connections were scaled back or closed, the diplomat said. "They've got the guys. They have the confessions. What do they do now?" the diplomat said. "We need to see that this is more than a show. We want to see the entire infrastructure of terror dismantled. There needs to be real prosecutions this time." A spokesman for new president Asif Ali Zardari, Farhatullah Babar, said Tuesday that he wasn't aware of the Pakistani investigation yet producing any links between Lashkar militants and the Mumbai attacks. "The Interior Ministry has already stated that the government of Pakistan has not been furnished with any evidence," he said. The Pakistani security official cautioned that the investigation is still in early stages and a more full picture could emerge once India decides to share more information. Pakistani authorities didn't have evidence that Lashkar was involved in the attacks before the militants' arrest in Kashmir, the security official said; they were captured based only on initial guidance from U.S and British authorities. Vishnu Prakash, a spokesman for India's Foreign Ministry, said in a telephone interview that all India's evidence will be shared with Pakistan soon, when the investigation is complete. But Mr. Prakash expressed doubt Pakistan would act, based on what he said was its investigative track record: "Whenever actionable intelligence is given, our friends make sure it is neutralized, and then it cannot be acted upon," he said. In the nearly four months since Mr. Zardari was elected, civilian and military leaders have been working to remake the role the ISI plays in the country's affairs, and take aim at an intelligence apparatus that diplomats and analysts suspect still hasn't fully severed links to extremist groups such as Lashkar. New agency chief Lt. General Ahmed Shuja Pasha and army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani have flushed out top and mid-level hard-liners associated with the agency's murky past dealings with terrorist organizations. Two deputies under Gen. Pasha's predecessor were removed and dozens of other lower-level officials sacked. The agency's political cell, which monitored the country's own politicians and parties and helped make it a political kingmaker, has been closed, its operatives dispersed through the agency. In a televised remarks Tuesday, Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said Pakistan offered to send a high-level delegation to New Delhi to help investigate the Mumbai attacks. "Traditionally there has been a sort of disconnect between the political leadership and the leadership of the security establishment," said Mr. Babar, the spokesman for Mr. Zardari. Under the new regime, he said, "There is harmony." There also have been increasing tensions. Mr. Zardari -- who replaced his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, as their party's candidate to lead the country after her assassination last year -- has faced frequent reminders that the military's step back from political control has its limits, and could be reversed. Mr. Zardari initially offered to send Gen. Pasha himself to aid India's investigation into the Mumbai attacks, then had to rescind it when the military objected. He surprised the military this month by announcing Pakistan would never hit India with a first-strike nuclear attack. Two months before his election, Mr. Zardari as party chief mounted an attempt to wrest the control of the ISI from the military and place it under a close political adviser. Word spread through a wedding attended by Pakistan's top army brass. "I was certainly not consulted," a grim-faced Gen. Kayani told another guest. Top army officials started working the phones. The next day, July 27, the government announced that its original notice had been "misinterpreted." It later withdrew the notice entirely. ISI's headquarters, surrounded by manicured lawns and fountains, sits behind unmarked walls and armed checkpoints in the heart of Islamabad. Founded in 1948, the ISI moved into politics during Pakistan's military governments of the 1960s. It formally established its political cell under a civilian prime minister -- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, father of Mr. Zardari's murdered wife. But over the years the spy chiefs -- the agency leadership is all active military officers -- often proved more loyal to the military than the government. During the Soviet Union's occupation of neighboring Afghanistan in the 1980s, Pakistan's spies became partners with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, which cultivated the same insurgent groups at the time. In the 1990s, the ISI helped fashion Lashkar into one of the most potent Islamic militant forces battling Indian troops in Kashmir. The Indian government blamed the ISI for helping plot the 1993 Mumbai bombings, which killed hundreds of people. The agency and Pakistan government still deny ISI involvement. The ISI purged scores of extremist officers from its ranks. But Pakistan continued to support anti-India militants in Kashmir and the ISI maintained extensive links to the Taliban, according to Western and Indian security officials. Current and former ISI officials acknowledge the ISI maintained extensive links to the Taliban. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S., Pakistan's military-led government signed on as an ally in the global battle against Islamic terrorism, and the ISI helped coalition forces rout the Taliban. According to a former ISI officer, hundreds of ISI operatives involved with the Afghan cell were removed from ISI. In recent years, Lashkar and other groups have turned to waging global violence against largely civilian targets, putting Pakistan under rising pressure from its allies and complicating peace negotiations with India. The groups also are striking targets within Pakistan. They have become, said the ISI official, "a monster we've created that we can't put back in the box." Pakistan banned Lashkar under pressure from the U.S. and India in 2002 but did little to curtail its activities until earlier this month, when it enforced a new United Nations resolution banning its charitable front, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and arrested senior leaders of both organizations. The current revamp of the ISI began in September when President Zardari and Gen. Kayani replaced the agency's chief, Lt. General Nadeem Taj, who was seen as not aggressive enough toward militants. The new chief, Gen. Pasha, has overseen major offensives against al Qaeda-supported militants in Pakistan's tribal regions.

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