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It can be debated, but Nawaz Sharif is much changed leader now. Maybe he needs to be ‘polite’ with Establishment/Army, and ‘cunning’ with US, to avoid a situation like what happened in 1999. Otherwise, at least he can feel the pulse of change. One more thing is to keep evolving the resources that PML (N) has, and get hid of ‘seasoned’ politicians and bring in talented new blood.
Thanks for the column writer for writing the following
article in national newspaper.
MQM leader Altaf Hussain was congratulated by ex-President Musharraf for ‘managing’ Karachi in a manner that it is ranked second in global cities of the world.
It was a news yesterday. It has become a controversy now. On of the main players highlighting this controversy are people from PKPolitics. They suggest the following and present an email conversation as a proof.
One of the most highlighted news by several media entities reported the nomination of Mustafa Kamal as the World’s Second Best Mayor by the Foreign Policy Magazine.
Based on a quick investigation, it was revealed that this story was a misleading and was actually fabricated to be used as a propaganda tool by MQM. In fact, Karachi has been ranked at 57th out of 60 global cities by the Foreign Policy Magazine at their website.
Please also note that Mustafa Kamal’s name was only mentioned as the “Mayor of City Ranked at 57″ in the world and there was NO ranking of any Mayors by the the FP Magazine.
After a ballistics of biased and burning comments on the politics of MQM and Altaf Hussain, one comment seemed to be neutral and balanced:
The best example of our thinking process. Actually, matter of fact is that we don’t think as a Pakistani. It’s very clear that we use to think as Punjabi, Sindhi, Muhajirs, Pukhtoons, Baloch.
If Aitizaz’s & CJ’s movement/actions is supported by rest of the world, its good. On the other hand, if the same world admits City Nazim Karachi’s hard work, “oh no. it’s fake and some thing like that”. It becomes our tradition now.
Believe me or not, I was just wondering till now that if Mayor’s news would also be reported on this Punjab dominant website or not…. And here is what we get.
As a neutral person, one should speak against the wrong deeds of MQM, I agree. But, for God Sake, plz also learn to admit the good work by the same party.
I don’t think that no one can deny the massive development in Karachi during the last two or more years and we don’t need any certification. Even the Pukhtoon TV took the interview of Mayor and admits his hard work.
But we are so use to of the culture that if one party is bad and we never expect something good for them, and one party is so good therefore never expects anything wrong from them.
Some days back, I saw the same type of story regarding ANP Leader and the comments by the members were really astonished me. Why do we have such a huge hate amongst each other??? Someone is definitely working on it and most of us are following their agendas.
Plz I request you all, that we all should be very proud of being Pakistani and nothing else. Otherwise, the movements like “Greater Pukhtoonistan”, “Greater Balochistan”, “Greater Sindh” or “Greater Karachi” would become popular in public. And it would be the result of hate that is also propagating through this website.
The time has come now that we should start respecting each other being a Pakistani, nor we only respect or prefer people belongs to our same ethnic/regional group. It’s the time to give equal rights or share to all Pakistani. Otherwise, our enemies have huge funds and ambitions that would really hit us very badly.
This was followed by a counter but a good comment from other side:
I think the point of the article is not whether Mustafa Kemal is the “World’s Second Best Mayor” or not but that “this story was a misleading and was actually fabricated.”
Of that there is no doubt — “here was NO ranking of any Mayors” is a statement of fact. Claiming him as “World’s Second Best Mayor” is indeed a fabrication.
Here is the complete text of the sidebar that contains the only mention of him:
The Mayors of the Moment
No city globalizes on its own. But with shrewd investments and smart urban planning, a mayor can help turn a regional player into a global powerhouse. Here’s how three of the world’s top mayors are climbing the ladder:
Klaus Wowereit Mayor of Berlin (#17) …
Syed Mustafa Kamal Mayor of Karachi (#57)
The new mayor of Karachi is an unlikely poster child for innovative urban planning. The 36-year-old Syed Mustafa Kamal governs a city that’s more often in the news for religious violence than cosmopolitan ways. But the hard-charging Kamal is looking to change all that. He’s courting foreign investment, encouraging international ties, and boosting the city’s tourism. Kamal isn’t shy about his goals: He has said he wants to turn Karachi into the “next Dubai.” His Green Karachi project aims to plant thousands of trees in the city. No stranger to Karachi’s bare-knuckled politics, Kamal isn’t letting anything stand in the way of his grand plans: He has threatened to arrest anyone who tries to cut down the new saplings.
Wang Hongju Mayor of Chongqing (#59)…
There should be no doubt in the authenticity of the comments from both sides, if mentioned in a decent manner like above. But we should not spread hatred against other communities.
We can be critical to the politics of MQM, but we should respect it being representative of people. If someone has appreciated efforts of their Mayor, we should be proud of it. Although MQM should have been realistic in announcing about ranking, but whether ranked or not, the efforts of Karachi are appreciated.
I am a big fan of PKPolitics for its devotion for democracy and judiciary. But on this issue, their efforts to negate the claim is nothing but opening of a Pandora box of hatred. I hope they would play neutral in future.
By linking the following information, I do not intend to discredit or humiliate anybody. In fact I am myself impressed by Zaid Hamid. But the contents presented here have weight. Wallah Alam.
http://kadnan.com/blog/2008/10/01/zaid-hamid-about-baitullah-mehsud/
Another face of the ISI mouth piece and Musharraf’s sympathiser – Mr Zaid Hamid
by N. Shahrukh
Ghalib’s verse which later became a proverb “Hain kawakib kuchh, nazar aatay hain kuchh” is true for Mr Zaid Hamid, the fiery young expert of strategic issues and Jihad who has shot to fame in a few months through a programme Brasstacks on TVone.
Yes, Zaid Hamid is really IMPRESSIVE and he is taking the simple idealistic people of Pakistan, especially youth and women by storm. Had I not known him for the last 20 years, I would, too, have been all praise for this ‘new’ bright face on the TV talking about Zionism, Muslim conquests, Afghan Jihad, good and bad Talibans, and what not through his self-sponsored TV programme.
Just a REMINDER and WARNING to all my friends who trust my words:
If you guys remember the Pakistan false prophet, YUSUF ALI, who was arrested and sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court and then murdered in Kot Lakhpat jail by a fellow prisoner – this guy Zaid Hamid was known as Zaid Zaman at that time and was the Khalifah of that Kazzab. Zaid is still leading that cult which belongs to the firqah batinyah of sufism and they have a different aqeedah altogother which they only profess within their inner core. Many of my personal friends fell prey to his charisma in the 1990s, some of them reverted back to Hidayah and were instrumental in filing a case against Yusuf Ali which ultimately lead to his death sentence and the cult members dispersed for a few years.
All of the followers of Yusuf Kazzab are now gathering once again in Islamabad and after 11 years Zaid Zaman has reappeared as Zaid Hamid.
I first came to know about Zaid Hamid when he acted as a translator to Hekmatyar in 1989 during his visit to Karachi. I was really impressed by the bright faced young engineer from NED University who spoke excellent Persian, Pashto, Urdu and English. Later, I came to know that the training centre for Pakistani mujahideen in Posta Fez, Jalalabad was run by this man.
I soon got introduced to new friends who were part of his team in Afghanistan. I even tried to run away from home in 1991 at the age of 14 to go to Afghanistan but was some how caught and persuaded by my family to refrain. In the same year I distributed several cassettes of a documentary – Qasasul Jihad – produced by Zaid Zaman, which showed live scenes of combat between Afghan mujahideen and Russian forces and was the first of its kind. For me Zaid Zaman and his team were like the re-incarnation of the heroes of Muslim medieval history.
However, soon Zaid Zaman was the centre of a scandal of misappropriation of funds of a large UK-based NGO, Muslim Aid, of which he was a representative in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also then parted ways with Hekmatyar and Haqqani and joined the ranks of Ahmed Shah Masood. Later he abandoned Jihad altogether and became a Sufi.
In 1994, when I was in aitikaf in Ramazan, one of Zaman’s close associates, who was also a very close friend of mine, came to meet me and started talking strangely about the “real” meanings of Islam denouncing each and every known Islamic scholar. He said that all translations and commentaries of Quran till date were blasphemous. He also said that every century has an ‘Imam-e-zamana’ who we should take bayah (oath of allegiance) of and he would soon arrange my meeting with that Imam.
Alhamdulillah, because of my strong beliefs I never ever met that so-called Imam-e-zamana but many of my friends fell into the trap. Soon, Yusuf Ali was being invited to dinner parties in many of my friends’ homes who were seen holding beads (tasbeeh) in their hands and preaching zikr and sufism here and there.
I lost many of my closest friends as I felt very uneasy with their beliefs and discussions. The basis of their belief was a ‘maudhu’ hadith that Allah (SWT) created the noor of Muhammad (SAW) before the creation of the Universe. That ‘noor’ will remain till eternity and even if the Prophet (SAW) is physically not with us today, his noor is present in the ‘Imam-e-zamana’ and hence he should be followed as the Prophet (SAW) was by his companions. Na’aauzubillah!
Meanwhile, Muhammad Tahir of Weekly Takbeer broke the news of Yusuf Ali and his cult quoting statements of some of the defectors who realized what was wrong and were ready to go to court against this fitnah. Yusuf Ali was accused of claiming to be a false prophet, immoral practices including sexual abuse of his women followers and homosexuality. Soon, a case was filed against him and the Tahaffuz Khatme Nabuwwat people also became a party.
Yusuf Ali was sentence and sentenced to death based on irrefutable evidence of his misguided beliefs including the claim of false prophethood.
Click to the link below to read a BBC report by Zafar Abbas on the death sentence of the Pakistani false prophet Yusuf Ali:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/867449.stm
The Tahaffuz-e-Khatm-e-Nabuwwat office at Numaish, MA Jinnah Road and journalist Muhammad Tahir still has the record of that case and clippings of related news reports containing statements of witnesses who were once part of the cult themselves.
The name of Zaid Zaman Hamid also appeared in several of the news reports appearing in those days in Takbeer, Ummat, Khabrain, Jasarat, etc as he was the key promoter and khalifa of Yusuf Kazzab and the witnesses during the court proceedings and the press statements mentioned his name.
According to my knowledge, Zaid Hamid is still leading that cult in Islamabad and sources close to him confirm that he still proclaims the same beliefs of Yusuf Kazzab. It is not confirmed, tough, whether the new “Imam-e-zamana” is Zaid Zaman himself or some other person.
The controversy of ‘President’ Asif Ali Zardari’s meeting with Sarah Palin can be ignored if he ‘behaves’ like a President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan in matters which matter the most. But unfortunately he proved to be the real ancestor of Musharraf.
Maybe to keep Palin’s touch sensations intact in his hand, he hugged Manmohan Singh (twice) saying “You are the leader of modern India.” In response Mr. Singh congratulated him on election and “the victory of democracy in Pakistan.” No comment. Its pretty obvious.
Then the real issues; Kashmir and Terrorism. In the joint press statement after meeting, look at the contradictory level of intensity in two paragraphs below (not to talk of the reversal or order).
Severe action would be taken against any elements directing or involved in terrorist acts. President Zardari reassured Prime Minister Singh that the Government of Pakistan stands by its commitments of January 6, 2004.
Both leaders agreed that the forces that have tried to derail the peace process must be defeated. This would allow the continuation and deepening of a constructive dialogue for the peaceful resolution and satisfactory settlement of all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.
In listed section pasted below, there is no mentioning of Kashmir at all.
The two leaders agreed that:
* The Foreign Secretaries of both countries will schedule meetings of the fifth round of the Composite Dialogue in the next three months which will focus on deliverables and concrete achievements.
* The ceasefire should be stabilized. To this end, the DGMOs (Director General Military Operations) and Sector Commanders will stay in regular contact.
* A special meeting of the Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism will be held in October 2008 to address mutual concerns including the bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul.
* The expansion of people to people contacts, trade, commerce and economic cooperation provides an effective platform to develop and strengthen bilateral relations. Towards this end it was decided to:
* Open the Wagah-Attari road link to all permissible items of trade
* Open the Khokrapar-Munabao rail route to all permissible items of trade.
* Continue interaction between the Planning Commissions of both countries to develop mutually beneficial cooperation including the energy sector.
* Commence cross-LoC trade on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot roads on October 21, 2008.
* Modalities for the opening of the Skardu-Kargil route will be discussed soon.
And then after the meeting President says we did talk on Kashmir. link
Clearly, the U.S. is stung by Pakistan discovering who is the real enemy. Pakistan has decided to liquidate the TTP and is succeeding with popular support. The U.S. should have been satisfied that the Pakistan Army is pursuing the TTP, but it is not. Clearly, the TTP is the excuse not the target. The American objective is to destabilize Pakistan.
Yet another similar point of view of USA behind the Marriott Hotel incidence.
When Gen. Musharraf submitted to U.S. pressure after 9/11 and ditched the Taliban in Afghanistan, he provided air bases as well as logistics support and shared intelligence with CIA. He allowed CIA and FBI to recruit agents in FATA and other places and to establish their outposts. The focus of ISI and other agencies was shifted towards hunting and nabbing so-called terrorists all over the country, in monitoring dissident elements within the army and in political wheeling and dealings. The CIA acquired all the links ISI and MI had both sides of the Pak-Afghan border and gradually took most agents on ISI payroll within its fold. By virtue of having better technology and means the CIA was able to take over intelligence acquisition and dissemination system. As a consequence the troops operating in FATA became entirely dependent upon CIA inputs. Taking advantage of complete liberty of action, CIA succeeded in buying the loyalties of many tribal chiefs and notables in FATA by doling out dollars in sacks since it knew that the Pashtun could not be crushed by force but could be purchased. Those not falling in line were got killed.
In FATA, Nek Muhammad was first cultivated and provided logistic support. When he entered into a peace deal with Pak Army in July 2005, he was killed using precision guided missile. Abdullah Mehsud, an Afghan war veteran who had also fought the Northern Alliance in October-November 2001 was captured and brainwashed during his two years internment in Guantanamo Bay. He was released after agreeing to work on terms dictated by CIA and he soon was able to takeover the leadership role. His death at Zhob at the hands of Pak security forces was a loss for CIA.
Baitulah Mehsud and Fazlullah had not taken part in Afghan jihad and do not qualify to head Taliban; yet 30 year old Baitullah has managed to create Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Fazlullah calls the shots in Swat. Mulla Omar had never shown interest in establishing any links with Pakistani Taliban and had warned Nek Muhammad not to operate under the brand name of Taliban. It is being questioned as to how come Baitullah, Fazlullah and their spokesmen desperately wanted by Pakistan security forces have escaped the hawk eye of USA, particularly after they have been seen giving detailed interviews to media and using their cell phones? ISI had once given six figure coordinates of Baitullah and yet no Hellfire missile was fired on his hideout by CIA. The TTP that has spread its influence in all the seven agencies of tribal belt and in neighboring settled districts of NWFP has succeeded in making inroads into Punjab, particularly southern Punjab. Large number has been recruited from Chiniot, Bahawalpur, Dera Nawab, Bahawalnagar, Faisalabad, Sialkot and other places.
After Shakai peace deal with the militants in South Waziristan in July 2005, Pakistan was subjected to a calculated slander campaign. Having pushed more than one hundred thousand troops into the furnace of FATA it was scoffed at for not doing enough to control militancy in FATA. Pakistan was also accused of nuclear proliferation and IAEA kept up the pressure to hand over AQ Khan for interrogation. Musharraf accepted the charge and forced AQ Khan to make a confession to defuse the heat. The religious extremist threat was blown out of all proportions and it was repeatedly stated that Pakistan’s nuclear assets had become unsafe. Musharraf accepted this charge as well and promised to fight extremism and terrorism with full force.
After declaring Pakistan as the most dangerous country, FATA was declared as the most dangerous place on earth. Pakistan was blamed for growing turbulence in Afghanistan since in the view of U.S. military leaders and Karzai Pak army was not doing enough to control militancy. The phenomenon of missile attacks by drones commenced in January 2006 when a suspected target in Damadola was attacked killing scores of innocent civilians. Another deadly missile attack was launched on a Madrassa in Bajaur in October that year killing 80 students. Ever since, this phenomenon continues unabated.
Once the ISI was freed from the wild goose chase of so-called terrorists and came under pressure on account of missing persons, it started to concentrate on its primary task in the troubled spots. To its horror it found far too many militant groups and criminal gangs operating under the guise of religious militants and cultivated by foreign agencies.
They were the ones involved in carrying out gruesome beheadings of security personnel and torching girls’ schools to defame the real Taliban who had a peaceful agenda. Besides CIA and RAW, even Iran and Uzbekistan had developed their tentacles in Balochistan, Swat and Kurram Agency. Most of the pro-Pakistan groups had been purchased or neutralized and those not coming to terms were eliminated by groups sponsored by CIA. Things had gone topsy-turvy and ISI found itself at a loss how to differentiate between friend and foe.
It is when the ISI began to recover the lost ground and renewed its old contacts in FATA and started to expose and block clandestine activities of CIA, RAW and RAM that all hell broke lose on ISI. Instead of feeling ashamed of what they were doing, USA had the cheeks to start making hue and cry that ISI was linked with the Taliban and that it must be emasculated. The three colluding partners lost their cool when the Indian Embassy in Kabul was subjected to a suicide attack on 7 July 2008. The trio fumed with anger and blamed ISI without even carrying out preliminary investigations. It was alleged that the perpetrator of suicide attack belonged to Gujranwala. Adm. Mike Mullen and Deputy Director CIA Stephen Kappes came huffing and puffing to Islamabad on 12 July and expressed their concern in strong words. Both Gen Tariq and Gen Kayani were told to bring the ISI to heel and to control militancy on their side of the border. The details of suicide bomber provided by the visitors proved false. It transpired later on that it was a bomb planted in a parked jeep which was detonated with the help of a remote control and was masterminded by Mossad.
The month of September saw intensification of missile attacks and each attack resulted in loss of innocent lives. The idea was to antagonize pro-government Waziris and also to force them to migrate as had happened in case of Bajaur. To further up the ante, Pakistan was declared as a battleground and a first ever ground attack was carried out by U.S. troops on the night of 3 September at Angoor Adda killing 15 men women and children. A deadly missile attack was conducted on pro-Pakistan Jalaluddin Haqqani house in North Waziristan on 8 September killing 25 inmates mostly women and children. He was blamed for carrying out attack on Indian Embassy.
The intruding drone was forced to beat a hasty retreat on 12 September when Pakistani jets got airborne and started to track it. A ground attack on 15th was also thwarted by the troops and locals. So far, 62 border violations have been carried out by U.S.-ISAF forces including 36 after the takeover by PPP government in March 2008. So far 30 missile attacks have been made killing innocent people. In none of the attacks any Al-Qaada operative or militant Taliban was killed.
The nexus in Kabul is working upon a scripted plan to make FATA lawless and beyond the control of security forces, push militancy into settled areas and then into major cities and thus create a civil warlike situation to prove their contention that Pakistan was the most dangerous country in the world and that the extremists were on the verge of taking over power and nuclear weapons. After inflaming South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Mohmand Agency, Khyber Agency, Darra Adam Khel, Kurram Agency, Hangu and Swat, Bajaur Agency was built into a stronghold of militants where huge cache of arms and ammunition was dumped. By virtue of being located at the crossroad of the tribal belt and also linked with Dir, Swat and Afghanistan, it was to act as bulwark and a launching pad to provide reinforcement to other areas.
10,000 Indian troops are stationed in Afghanistan under the garb of supervising construction of road Jalalabad-Port Chahbahar project that has now been completed. Whereas India has officially declared 14 Indian consulates in Afghanistan, on ground they have 107 in which 20 intelligence units are burning their midnight oil to destabilise Pakistan. Many mercantile shops run by Indians have an intelligence office in the rear. In Wakhan, a religious Madrassa run by Indian Muslim clerics is functioning since 2002 under the patronage of Indian RAW and Israeli Mossad. Very young boys, mostly orphans, destitute or homeless are recruited. Recruits are mostly Afghans, Uzbeks, Tajiks and Caucasians. The latter being fair skinned and resembling Europeans are trained to hit targets in Europe or in USA to once again create a 9/11 like situation.
Reportedly, 10,000 ideologically motivated terrorist and suicide bombers have been trained. Besides receiving military training, they have also been made to learn Pashto and customs of the Pashtun. They are regularly infiltrated into troubled spots of Pakistan. Posing as volunteers they join the rank and file of militants to fight the army. They are the ones who are destroying schools, CD shops, bridges and other installations and carrying out brutal beheading of captured personnel. The idea is to create chaos and confusion and also to defame the real Taliban that have not come under their influence. They are also responsible for creating cleavages within the people of FATA and in disrupting peace deals. In Kurram Agency, Afghan officers and soldiers are actively involved in the sectarian conflict by way of providing arms and ammunition to Shias belonging to Tori tribe and physically participating in duels with Sunnis. In Swat, Fazlullah led militants are supplied with war munitions as well as fighters.
Likewise, dissident tribal chiefs in Balochistan including late Akbar Bugti were also taken on board. The CIA helped in reincarnating BLA and providing all sorts of war munitions to Baloch militants belonging to Bugti, Marri and Mengal tribes and establishing over 60 Farari camps in Balochistan. Shamsi airbase that was handed over to USA in October 2001, houses Blackhawk helicopters primarily engaged in monitoring the entire length of Iranian border. CIA has cultivated Sunni Iranian Baloch Jandullah group (not the one that had operated against 5 Corps commander). It is anti- Iranian regime and was utilized by CIA to carryout acts of sabotage in Iran through Zahidan. Iran has now constructed a stone wall all along its border to prevent cross border terrorism from Baluchistan. It has clouded Pak-Iran relations since the latter feels that such activities could not have been undertaken without the blessing of Pak government.
It is now clear that our so-called friends have been playing a double game. Now that USA has bared its teeth and let its intentions known, to pretend that it would stop short of achieving its objectives will be like living in fools’ paradise. It is simply degrading to unashamedly say that we cannot fight the Americans. It is also preposterous to assume that Pakistan may not survive without American support. Pro-American elements within Pakistan on U.S. payroll have been parroting this theme since creation of Pakistan to safeguard their vested interest. North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Iran, Somalia are living examples who have survived despite adopting hostile posture against USA. It is high time that we gird up our loins and put our act together to face up to the challenge boldly.
The army under Gen. Kayani has expressed its resolve to confront the threat and safeguard country’s sovereignty irrespective of the consequences. It is now up to our week-kneed rulers oblivious of the ominous threat and still busy in power game as to how they stand up to the test. It will be naive to expect that the threat will be warded off with diplomacy alone. We must make USA realize that it will become exceedingly difficult for U.S. led allied troops to operate in Afghanistan if Pakistan opts out of fighting U.S. war of terror and refuses to provide transit facility to carry oil and food supplies to its troops in Afghanistan. The magnitude of dependence can be gauged from the fact each day over 400 containers ply from Karachi and Quetta to Afghanistan transporting food, munitions and 300 million gallons of fuel for U.S.-Nato troops in Afghanistan. We may also consider bridling CIA’s unchecked activities and closing down four bases in control of USA.
So thats why we say that you can see nothing if your eyes-lids are forced a closure due to excessive blubber. First it was the great British empire, then came the mighty Russians and now its the turn for super power USA…
Click here for complete story.
Govt. strips off few rupees instead of substential decrease in oil prices in world market.
The newspaper headlines in the mainly Muslim valley in India-administered Kashmir say it all. ‘Freedom is sweet, no matter how it comes’, says one. ‘People pray for freedom,’ chimes another, reporting on Friday prayers in the valley.[BBC News]
This time how can India blame Pakistan for all.
Click here to read full story.
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