New Delhi – The proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Canada is estimated to give an annual boost of $12 billion to the Indian economy, says Canadian Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan.
“We are quite excited about the agreement. It will be offering an annual benefit of $6-15 billion to our economy. The Indian economy will benefit $12 billion a year,” the minister told IANS in an interview. ….
Read more: Indiavision
November 25 is Sadhu Vaswani’s Birthday, which is also celebrated as an International Meatless Day since 1986.
By Nazir S. Bhatti
Lahore: November 23, 2010. (PCP) Her father was crying, her Mother was crying and her Siblings were crying on her tortured dead body in Jinnah Hospital Lahore, it was January 2010. But soul of Shazia Masih was smiling as confident victim that Justice will be ensured, her rapist will be punished and her murderer will be hanged to death also because many human right activists, media camera men, line of reporters and doctors were witnessing 27 wounds on her dead body.
Again on walking to her final eternal journey lying in coffin in Cathedral Church Lahore, her soul was satisfied because her Christian brother Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti was there, Provincial Minister for Minorities Kamran Michael was present, members of various political and religious parties and a large number of people from the Christian community were in her funeral ….
Read more : All voices
The festivities of 541 birthday of ”Baba Guru Nanak Devji”, the first Sikh Guru who spread the message of peace, equality, brotherhood and communal harmony has celebrated by tens of hundreds Sindhi male and female devotees at Swaminarayan Mandir, Karachi, Sindh by offering prayers. The participants were served with drinks, juices and sweets.
The procession of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji was remained within the premises of Swaminarayan Mandir. The Holy book of Guru Granth Sahib was beautifully decorated with flowers. Sindhi devotees danced on the beats of drums & they were chanting slogans Jo Boley So Nehal & Wahay Guru Gi Ki, Fateh. They recite the holy book Guru Granth Sahib in Gurmukhi but they recite bajans and threw light on the teachings of Baba Guru Nanak ji in Sindhi language and asked devotees to follow the teachings of Baba Guru Nanak Devji which are very relevant in these days. The strict security measures were taken by Sindh police to avoid any untoward incident.
For video and more details :- BBC urdu
Nice talk show by Naseem Zehra .. it was a pleasant surprise to have such discussion on TV… its not easy to speak truth in a ”junooni” (Pakistani) society. Blasphemy (Toheen) Law should be castoff because it is too easy in Pakistan to accuse anyone of Blasphemy to settle a score.
Courtesy: DunyaTV (Rana Sanaullah, Javed Akram Raja, Tahira Abdullah & Javed Ahmed Ghamdi join Naseem Zehra in Policy Maters 20 November 2010 program to discuss Aasiya Bibi’s death sentence under blasphemy law)
By Muhammad Zafar
QUETTA: Six bullet-riddled bodies were found from different parts of Balochistan during the three days of Eidul Azha.
According to sources, two bullet-riddled bodies were found from Kech Kaur near Hiruk area of Turbat on Thursday. They have been identified as Lala Hameed Baloch, president of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) and another Hamid Ismail. Hameed Baloch was a journalist and a member of the Gwadar Press Club. The bodies were taken to nearby hospital for autopsy.
A complete strike was observed on Friday in Gwadar, Pasni, Jiwani, Turbat and Hoshap condemning the killing of political opponents.
Another two bullet-riddled bodies were found in Kad Kocha area of Mastung, some 120 kilometers off the provincial capital. The bodies were identified as of Bashir Ahmed Lehri and Inayathullah who had been missing for more than two months.
Bashir was kidnapped along with Zahoor Baloch, a member of the Balochistan Students Organisation-Azad (BSO-Azad) in Ramazan. “The government functionaries are involved in the killings,” relatives alleged.
A bullet-riddled body of a student, Samiullah Mengal, was found near Ferozabad area of Khuzdar, some 300-kilometre from Quetta on Wednesday. Samiullah was BSO-Azad activist and had been missing for the last 45 days when he was returning to Khuzdar from Sasol.
Another body was discovered on Friday from Kapotu area of Kalat district and had been identified as Nasurrallah Baloch. ….
Read more : Daily Times
—–
For more details : Reporters without Borders
Matt Waldman, a fellow at Harvard University, is the author of a new report accusing Pakistan’s Spy agency of funding and training Taliban. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Waldman discusses his methodology and the reasons why Pakistan might view the Taliban as an ally.
Courtesy: Al Jazeera – YouTube Link
Once again, Muslims around the world have “sacrificed” millions of animals in a three day period during the month of Eid-ul-Adha to please God.
Sacrifice inherently means that you part with something that is very close to your heart and experience a certain degree of pain during the process.
Abraham proceeded to sacrifice his son who was very close to his heart and with whom had great attachment.
This act of Abraham can be seen as a spirit of true sacrifice.
Today, if I say that I sacrificed an old sofa for a greater cause, I will be laughed at, since the sofa doesn’t mean much to me. However, this hypothetical act of mine is not much different from someone slitting the throat of a goat to please God and call it a sacrifice, since the person has had no attachment to the goat except a few bucks that he would soon forget.
I am just wondering if that is what God had in his mind when he asked us to follow a path in remembrance of Abraham’s devotion to God. Today what we do on the streets of Karachi during the Eid-ul Adha is a mockery of Abraham’s devotion to God.
It is beyond my comprehension that our God, whom we regard as compassionate and merciful finds pleasure watching a helpless camel with one of his front legs tied off the ground and two of his hind legs so closely tied together that he becomes incapable of using those legs independently. And apart from that, his jaws are tied with a rope that he cannot even brawl. And then, a pious looking person sticks a knife into the camel’s throat. The camel bleeds for tens of minutes and suffers excruciating pain until he dies.
Here are some examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oIbT6Plio8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3R6qhjplHM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws8ub3wo_hM&feature=related
To read more : newageislam
…. But in 1991, all that ended abruptly with the smooth and peaceful split of the Soviet Union. The West painted the Soviet demise as its victory. But in fact, it was the biggest shock for the huge Western military and propaganda machine.
The Cold War mindset was not ready to accept the new change. The mysterious attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 and the subsequent ‘war on terror’ filled the enemy vacuum for the Cold War warriors, but it did not help an organization like NATO that was created on the concept of traditional warfare.
In the post-1945 era, despite their technological superiority and military and economic power, Western countries did not fight directly against powerful states. Proxy wars were the West’s preferred method throughout the Cold War period.
Nevertheless, in the 1990s, the West opted for military interventions and regime changes. Western countries acted as a pack of wolves and attacked small and weak states. The strategy provided an opportunity to lightweights such as Bush and Blair to imitate Churchill and Roosevelt and appear strong and victorious.
But the US defeat in Iraq and the NATO’s failed mission in Afghanistan have proven that military occupations and interventions are counterproductive and expose weaknesses of occupiers and aggressors.
Today, NATO is disillusioned and disoriented. It is demanding from its member states to allocate at least two percent of their GDPs to defense budgets. In a desperate effort to keep its large and bureaucratic structures and huge budget, NATO has been adding vague, unrealistic and ambiguous aims and objectives to its mission. It has committed blunders like Afghanistan but its commanders did not seem to have learned any lessons.
Regardless of the Lisbon rhetoric, not all NATO member states can afford ever increasing military budgets to counter open-ended threats and fight unspecified enemies. Weakening European economies need trade and investment rather than wars. They rely on energy but the energy sources are out of Europe. Skilled labor and markets are beyond the geographical sphere of the most NATO states. And most NATO countries certainly do not have the will and capacity for missions impossible, like the one in Afghanistan.
To read full article : Criticalppp
According to the statistics of Population and Census Organization, Government of Pakistan the percentage of people living in Islamabad based on mother tongue is: (Urdu 10.11), (Punjabi 71.66), (Sindhi o.56), (Pashto 9.52), (Balochi 0.06), (Saraiki 1.11), (others 6.98)
From these figures it is clear who gets high benefits from Islamabad? Wouldn’t it be fair that provinces give their share to federal institutes located at Islamabad based on their population? Are the people of Islamabad more poor to have highest number of public institutes and services as compared to rest of the populace of the country?
For more details : statpak.gov.pk
Panel of journalists discussing Conversation Saif-ur-Rehman Justice Qayum, Shehbaz Shareef and others about buying Lahore Hight Court’s judges against Asif Zardari in programme Sawal Yeh Hai with Dr. Danish. How much the Pakistani judiciary is corrupt, its not even easy to imagine!?
Courtesy: ARY News (Sawal Yeh Hai with Dr. Danish, Novermber 21, 2010)
Shahbaz Sharif’s Conversation with the Judge of Lahore High Court (LHC) to buy Justice.
Shabaz Sharif (SS) is saying that Nawaz Sharif (NS) ( Mian Saheb) asking MEHARBANI for Chaudhry Serwar. Qauum Said…..Mian Saheb ( Nawaz Shareef ) Nay Kaha Hay To Gul Qatum Ho Gaee Aae.
Courtesy: ARY News (Sawal yeh Hai with Dr. Danish, November 19, 2010)
Via – Siasat -> YouTube Link
A sitting Judge i.e. Malik Muhammad Qayyum [2nd Government of Nawaz Sharif]discussing the “Sentence and Punishment” against Zardari and Benazir Bhutto with Senator Saif ur Rehman. Faisal Raza Abdi presents in Sawal Yeh Hai with Dr. Danish. November 19, 2010 programme.
Courtesy: ARY News (Sawal Yeh Hai with Dr. Danish, guest Faisal Raza Abdi and Saif ur Rehman)
The more you hear the song .. the more you love the song!
Courtesy: GeoTV, via ZemTV -> YouTube Link
THE MAN WHO KNEW THE FUTURE
by Shorish Kashmiri, Matbooat Chattan, Lahore
Congress president Maulana Abul Kalam Azad gave the following interview to journalist Shorish Kashmiri for a Lahore based Urdu magazine, Chattan, in April 1946. It was a time when the Cabinet Mission was holding its proceedings in Delhi and Simla. Azad made some startling predictions during the course of the interview, saying that religious conflict would tear apart Pakistan and its eastern half would carve out its own future. He even said that Pakistan’s incompetent rulers might pave the way for military rule. According to Shorish Kashmiri, Azad had earmarked the early hours of the morning for him and the interview was conducted over a period of two weeks. This interview had published Kashmiri’s own book Abul Kalam Azad, which was printed only once by Matbooat Chattan Lahore, a now-defunct publishing house. Former Union Cabinet Minister Arif Mohammed Khan discovered the book after searching for many years and translated the interview in English.
Excerpt :
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: The Man Who Knew The Future Of Pakistan Before Its Creation
Muslims must realise that they are bearers of a universal message. They are not a racial or regional grouping in whose territory others cannot enter. … But today the situation is worse than ever. Muslims have become firm in their communalism; they prefer politics to religion …
The factors that laid the foundation of Islam in Indian society and created a powerful following have become victim of the politics of partition….
Read more : Scribd
Courtesy: Following article has appeared in the ‘Femina’, ‘Bharat Ratna’, ‘Amil Samchar’ and in the Hindvasi (Translated into Sindhi)
A TRIP TO SINDH-A JOURNEY TO MY ROOTS
By Shakun Narain Kimatrai
Mid– 1986 – The Kimatrai Building still majestically stands in Hyderabad Sindh
We finally made it! To Hyderabad Sindh that is! My husband Narain and myself finally left on a trip that would make us set foot on the very soil that we had left 39 years ago.
When I told my Sindhi friends in Bombay that I was leaving for Pakistan, they showed a lot of interest-in fact more interest than had I told them that I was going to London, New York or to Timbuktu for that matter. But why was I surprised at their reaction? After all I was going back to the land of our birth, to the land and houses which we had left reluctantly with tears in our eyes and to which we had been denied access for so many seasons.
Those friends to whom I told about my trip to Pakistan, not only showed interest but a variety of emotions.
I sensed in them envy, apprehension and fear for my safety—as a matter of fact a friend of mine asked: “Going to Hyderabad Sindh, Shakun, are you sure you will be back?
Though I was a little apprehensive myself I was not really afraid. After all of whatever kind may have been the frenzy during partition-I had the confidence on the fact that we Sindhis having drank from the same Indus Sindhu water for centuries prior to the sad separating event, they would welcome us with the age-old ‘Sikka’ (affection) of the Sindhis.
From Bombay, we first landed at Lahore where the hotels are comparable to any other good 5-star hotel elsewhere in the world.
Whenever one goes out of India, one is midst strangers from a different land, so to speak-one looks different and talks a different tongue. While in Lahore, what struck me was that no-one could tell that I was a foreigner there-we looked alike and spoke the same language. Then why? Why did one have to go through customs and immigration at the airport like an outsider? I felt sad.
Amongst the elite, the ladies do not practice purdah as a rule. They wear salwar kameezes made in the latest style. The people of Pakistan enjoy good food, though alcoholic beverages are at least visibly absent.
My charming Pakistani hostess took me around sight-seeing and shopping and she proudly presented me everywhere around as her Indian friend from Bombay. Her friends and the sales people generally welcomed me warmly and even courteously gave me discounts on their goods.
Amongst the common citizens of Pakistan whom I met, I felt that there was competition with India as far as Economical progress or a game of cricket was concerned-which according to me is healthy and natural of any set of neighbors.
At a couple of parties that I attended and where my host learned that I enjoyed singing, they requested me, not to sing a ghazal or a film song, but a ‘Bhajan’! Is it possible that they subconsciously miss the Hindus and their culture in their midst?
I myself having lived in Bombay in cosmopolitan surroundings almost all my life, did feel rather restricted being surrounded by only Muslims in their country.
From Lahore we flew to Karachi from where it was a mere 2 hours drive to my birth-place Hyderabad in Sindh.
It was unfamiliar seeing the Arabic Sindhi script strewn all over on hoardings and advertisements and the milestones on the road ; though odd, the feeling was pleasant.
Once we approached Hyderabad I found my husband’s voice getting more emotional. He remembered the roads, as he was 9 years old when he had to leave his home-town. He instructed our friend who was driving to take us to a certain spot, to stop; after which he wanted to find the way up to his old house himself.
By Ali K. Chishti
Daily Times can confirm that Siraj Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani Network, who had earlier been moved from Miranshah, North Waziristan to Kurram Agency, has been moved to a secure “safe house” outside FATA. The decision was taken after the September 27 NATO incursion near the village of Mata Sanger, which left two Pakistani FC guards dead.
“Apparently, Siraj Haqqani was pretty close at a safe-house when the NATO incursion at Kurram took place,” confirmed a top Western diplomat. It should be noted that Siraj Haqqani was earlier moved to Kurram Agency from Miranshah in North Waziristan after his brother, Mohammed, was killed in a US predator strike and another military commander, Saifullah Haqqani, was killed earlier this year.
The Haqqani network, which is considered as a ‘strategic asset’ by the Pakistani security establishment due to their considerable influence in Afghanistan, had first been moved to Kurram Agency where a new operation centre had been set up to intensify attacks in Afghanistan in co-ordination with a break away section of the Lakhkar-e-Tayyaba and other groups. It is now reported that the Shia tribes that make up most of the base for the Frontier Corps, who had earlier given most of the resistance to Gubuddin Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami in Spina Shaga, have turned against the Haqqani network, who they see as an ideological threat to their existence. While most of the Pakistani mainstream media reported the recent clashes in Kurram Agency as ‘water wars’ between various tribal groups where more than 70 militants had been killed in strikes, it was in reality a section of the security establishment’s supporting pro-government tribal killings to pave a way for the Haqqanis. Daily Times can now confirm that it was a story to cover and allow the military to intervene on behalf of the Haqqanis, who are viewed as ‘strategic assets’ and ‘good Talibans’. ….
Read more : Daily Times
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: While Musharraf continues to embarrass Pakistan and its authorities, including the Pakistan Army, an important source has revealed that the General Headquarters (GHQ) and its most vital arm, the Military Operations Directorate, was bypassed by the former dictator, both in the Lal Masjid operation and Bugti killing.
The source said that none of these extremely controversial operations, which sowed the seeds of terrorism in Balochistan and the rest of the country, were the brainchild of the MO Directorate.
The source said that in both these military operations, the GHQ and concerned field command were not directly involved. “In both the cases, General Musharraf bypassed the GHQ and its MO Directorate, and gave direct orders to the relevant field commanders,” said the well-placed and well- informed source.
Ideally and as per the military’s established rules, no such operation could take place without being conceptualised and cleared by the MO Directorate. However, Musharraf, the all powerful dictator that he was, did not engage the MO Directorate.
In the case of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti’s killing, the source said, General Musharraf involved the then Military Intelligence chief Major General Nadeem Ejaz and the top command of 12 Corps.
In a briefing on Balochistan issue by the then DGMO and much before the killing of the Baloch Nawab, General Musharraf once talked about the idea of killing Bugti but the idea was not agreed to by the DGMO, who warned that it would lead to unrest. Later, Musharraf never engaged the GHQ and executed his plot to kill Bugti through the MI and the Commander of the 12 Corps.
After the Bugti killing, some key generals in the GHQ in their in-house interactions expressed their dismay over the Kohlu military operation. The Lal Masjid operation, which killed over a hundred persons and led to the escalation of terrorism cases manifold, was no different from that of the military operation aimed at killing Bugti.
The source said that the planning of the Lal Masjid operation was done by Commander 10 Corps Tariq Majid on the direct instructions of the ousted dictator.
“The GHQ and its MO Directorate were not involved in any such planning,” the source said, adding that a day after Lieutenant Colonel Haroon became the first casualty of the pre-Lal Masjid operation, Musharraf convened a meeting of top political and military authorities and given his mind that a full-fledged operation had to be carried out. …
Read more : The News
Karachi Turns Deadly Amid Pakistan’s Rivalries – By JANE PERLEZ
KARACHI, Pakistan — This chaotic city of 18 million people on the shores of the Arabian Sea has never shrunk from violence. But this year, Karachi has outdone even itself.
Drive-by shootings motivated by political and ethnic rivalries have reached new heights. Marauding gangs are grabbing tracts of land to fatten their electoral rolls. Drug barons are carving out fiefs, and political parties are commonly described as having a finger in all of it. …
Read more : THE NEW YORK TIMES
Islamabad : Pakistan will buy Chinese air-to-air SD-10 missiles and avionics to arm its 250 JF-17 Thunder fighter fleet, the country’s air force chief has said, amid signs that the French had spurned offer to equip them. “Islamabad is seeking to deepen military cooperation with Beijing”, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman Chief of the Pakistani Air Force told the Global Times revealing that his country may also opt to acquire other advanced defence missile systems including Chinese Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) systems. …
Read more : Wichaar
Swiss Banking Association report, details bank deposits in the territory of Switzerland by nationals of following countries:
Top five: India—- $1,456 billion (Public loot since 1947), Russia —$ 470 billion, UK ——-$390 billion, Ukraine – $100 billion, China —–$ 96 billion
According to Global Financial Integrity Indian politicians, IAS, IRS, IPS and people from entertainment and sports industry have deposited $ 325 billion in last five years in Swiss accounts (say Jay Hind).
This may be the picture of deposits in Swiss banks only. What about other international destinations? There are presumably more than 70 Tax havens in the world. Indian wealth could be more in Switzerland and various British /US islands. At least forty countries market themselves aggressively as tax havens.
After Bharat mahan the second best Russia has 4 times lesser deposit in Swiss accounts. US is not even there in the counting in top five !! India has more money in swiss banks than all the other countries combined.
Interestingly Swiss government agreed to disclose the names of the account holders only if the respective governments formally asked for it but Indian govt. is not asking for the details. Annually more than 100,000 Indians travel to Switzerland, of whom 35,000 travel very frequently.
A few corrupt Indians have 1.5 trillion dollars of black money on other hand daily 3000-4000 children die from malnutrition in India and 1000 pregnant women die every day in India (say Jay Hind). More than 70% of population is anemic (In simple maths after 50 years there will be no Indian in India.) India got the gold medal in black money but they are competing with Angola and Congo in GHI (global hunger Index).
Chennai, The Switzerland government has not received any request from the Indian government for sharing the names of tax evaders who have stashed away their illicit money in Swiss banks, the Swiss Ambassador to India Philippe Weiti said Wednesday. …
Read more : Wichaar
More details : BBC urdu
by Dr. Mohammad Taqi
…. It is important not just for the US to hold the Pakistani Army’s feet to fire but for the Pakistani politicians to clearly state their position on the subject of drone attacks in FATA. Americans have the luxury to pack up and leave but most Pakistani politicians do not. They must seek a formal and public state policy on the drones operations preferably through the parliament. With the Pakistan Army’s reluctance to move against the jihadists holding the FATA hostage, the Predator drones remain the most viable option against terror. Only a bold political stance can clear the fog over the FATA skies; the politicians must speak up to regularize the drone campaign.
To read full article : ViewPoint
KAMBER SHADADKOT DISTRICT, Pakistan, November 18 (UNHCR) – When floods swept through their village in southern Pakistan’s Sindh province earlier this year, Mumtaz Ali and his pregnant wife lost their seven-year-old son. Weeks later, a weakened Zulekha gave birth, but the baby died soon afterwards.
On top of these tragic losses, the floods have destroyed the tenant farmer’s crops, costing him 150,000 Pakistani rupees (US$1,800). “My landlord will ask for money, but the rice crop was destroyed,” he said: “I will bear the brunt.”
And the family’s ordeal shows no sign of easing in the near future because winter is approaching and their village in Sindh’s Kamber Shadadkot district remains underwater. …
Read more : UNHCR
by B. R. GOWANI
Life has really changed in one decade! In 2000 the then President Bill Clinton, paid a five-hour visit to Pakistan (in an unmarked plane) where he lectured the citizens live on the national TV. In India, he spent five days. This was pre 9/11. Clinton’s visit to South Asia then seemed like Gora Bapa was in the land of Kali Mata, i.e., White Father in the land of (goddess) Mother Kali. …
…. Now India wants to be the Super Power with US as its role model. The positive factors for this status include: India’s territorial size, its population, the increasing pace of its technological advances, the entrepreneurship of its people, and the increasing interest of the west in its fashion and movie industry, particularly the Mumbai based Bollywood film industry …
To read full article : Globeistan
by Omar Ali
Within days of the arrest of some terrorists by the CID in Karachi, a group of terrorists was able to get together and attack CID headquarters with automatic weapons and a huge truck bomb. Obviously, these are not isolated disgruntled individuals taking revenge for the latest drone attack. They are well organized, well trained and well supplied with arms, ammunition, technical capability and intelligence. How did that come about? I had a Facebook exchange after the news which maybe relevant to the question and led to this article. …..
……. For proof of this, you need to look no further than Musharraf’s moronic interviews with Der Spiegel and, more recently, at the Atlantic council. In fact if you put this latest interview together with Admiral Fasih Bokhari’s article you can see that the generals who are America’s great white hope in Pakistan are perhaps more dangerous and deluded than the illiterate and corrupt gangsters that give the civilian political parties a bad name. But, military men being military men, no Pentagon general seems to be able to resist the sight of a man in a finely starched uniform, especially if he also likes whisky (the one sure sign of “enlightened moderation”, if the diplomatic reports of the US embassy from the last 50 years are any guide).
Unless we can wean the army off these twin ambitions (alliance with the mullahs in domestic politics and anti-Indian hatred as an organizing principle), we are in for much worse than this.
– [Omar Ali is a Pakistani-American physician who also moderates the “Asiapeace” discussion group on the internet.]
To read full article : OutLook
LONDON: Pakistan is in the second spot in the world terrorism risk index (TRI), said a risk-advisory firm report that places Somalia at number one.
Global risks advisory firm Maplecroft prepared the index after assessing the frequency and intensity of terrorist incidents in 196 countries.
The report places 16 countries in the “extreme risk” category. While Iraq is placed third, Afghanistan is number four. …
Read more : THE ECONOMIC TIMES
Indus Asia Online Journal (Click here to go to home page)