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Updates in Your Groups, November 15, 2011

2011-11-15T17:48:00.001+05:00

Updates in Your Groups
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talpurmir posted a file asiafarming-facebook.txt

Khairpur: then and now – a page from history

2009-08-22T19:01:00.000+06:00

A few years after the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan (1951), facing a brutishly aggressive government of Pakistan, the Mir, now at the age of 22, was forced to merge Khairpur with the One Unit of West Pakistan, a political reorganization designed to support dictatorship. Khairpur and Bahawalpur were the first states to be annexed in 1955 through a Merger Agreement which their rulers were forced to sign in 1954 on threat of military invasion. This threat was made by General Iskander Mirza (Dictator-Governor General 1955-1958) while his right hand man, General Ayub (Dictator-President 1958-1969) was the chief of the armed forces at the time. The Khan of Kalat who had simultaneously received this threat, refused to accept any such illegal agreement and this lead to a military invasion in 1958 causing a massacre in Kalat city along with various other human rights violations and atrocities throughout Balochistan.
In 1947, on the 15th of August, British paramountcy over the foreign affairs of the Princely States of India came to an end, leaving them fully independent but also surprised and unprepared. All sovereign rulers had the choice of remaining fully independent or accede to either dominions of India and Pakistan. The States were misled into believing that they would continue to exist in the same relations with the newly formed dominions as they did with the British Empire, if they acceded to either dominion. This they believed until the very last days before independence for India and Pakistan. It was this erroneous belief that led the vast majority of rulers to reject the proposal of a union of princely states such as the United Arab Emirates today, as put forward by the Nawab of Bhopal. After Accession however, the states lost everything except the Ex-Rulers' titles, privileges and a privy purse which was promised to them by an agreement. As India failed as a large centralized state in maintaining the higher quality of life that the former subjects of the princely states were used to, there came a great resurgence in the popularity of the princes and they began to participate in politics. In 1972 foreseeing certain defeat in the upcoming elections, Indhira Gandhi violated the agreement made with the princes and treacherously cancelled all the privileges and privy purses that were promised by her own father Nehru, the first prime minister of India. The princes were financially destroyed as most of them had not invested abroad during their reign. Suffering great economic hardships they were forced to abandon politics. In Pakistan too, in the same year, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto did the same to the rulers even though they had mostly stayed away from politics.In 1947 accession was the only feasible option because the states were given absolutely no opportunity to organize their independence and while many had excellent military forces; their defenses had been completely crippled due to fighting the powerful armies of Hitler and the axis-powers, in alliance with the British in the Second World War. Ironically, it was the British, under Labor Party control, that were arm-twisting the rulers to surrender to the new successor empires of Pakistan and India. (The Kingdom of Bhutan is the only Princely State that survives to this day).The Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had publicly declared that Pakistan was not going to coerce, intimidate or put any pressure on any State making its choice. But those States which wish to join the Pakistan Constituent Assembly will find us ready and willing to negotiate with them an agreement for the mutual advantage of both the parties. When India usurped the states Mr. Jinnah did not, although he did take over those functions of these states that might possibly have posed a threat to Pakistan in the future. These functions were foreign affairs, defense, and communications to some degree. It was a treaty called an "instrument of accession" signed by the rulers and Mr. Jinnah that permitted Pakistan to manage the above mentioned functions on the rulers behalf. However, the rulers were guaranteed sovereignty over all other matters. The instrument specifically promised no coercion to enter into any other agreement with or recognition of any constitution of Pakistan. Furthermore, by taking over the function of Defense from Khairpur for the sake of Pakistan's security it became incumbent on Pakistan to protect the sovereignty of Khairpur.The States that successfully acceded to Pakistan were; Khairpur, Bahawalpur, Swat, Dir, Amb, Chitral, and Kalat with its sub-states, while Junagarh and Manavadar were forcefully taken over by India on the grounds that the majority of their population was Hindu. Together, these states (not including Junagarh and Manavadar) contributed one third of Pakistan's area. (After Junagarh, Khairpur and Bahawalpur were the first States to accede simultaneously to Pakistan on the 3rd of October 1947. Khairpur was essential for Pakistan, because 1) The State bordered India; 2) Khairpur lay on the Indus River and India could easily nullify the Sukker Barrage had the State acceded to It. ( The boundary of Khairpur lies just 40 yards from the Barrage gates.) ; 3) The canals Nara and Rohri, that water southern Sindh pass through Khairpur; 4) The Railway and the Grand Trunk Road which connected the capital of that time (Karachi) with the military base in the north, passed through Khairpur).

The Eighth Sovereign of Khairpur, Mir Ali Murad Khan Talpur II (the present Ex-Ruler) acceded to Pakistan on the 3rd of October 1947 while in his minority through his Regent. Even before accession, Pakistan Day (14th August) was celebrated by Khairpur to discourage its considerable Hindu Minority. From 1947 till mid-1955, Pakistan was a soft amalgam of the paramount State with that of the dependent Sovereign States of the Princes who enjoyed the full support and friendship of the illustrious founders of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan. The States were part of Pakistan, although autonomous and sovereign. In other words they were not administered from the federal capital of Pakistan as the provinces are today.A few years after the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan (1951), facing a brutishly aggressive government of Pakistan, the Mir, now at the age of 22, was forced to "merge" Khairpur with the "One Unit" of West Pakistan, a political reorganization designed to support dictatorship. Khairpur and Bahawalpur were the first states to be annexed in 1955 through a Merger Agreement which their rulers were forced to sign in 1954 on threat of military invasion. This threat was made by General Iskander Mirza (Dictator-Governor General 1955-1958) while his right hand man, General Ayub (Dictator-President 1958-1969) was the chief of the armed forces at the time. The Khan of Kalat who had simultaneously received this threat, refused to accept any such illegal agreement and this lead to a military invasion in 1958 causing a massacre in Kalat city along with various other human rights violations and atrocities throughout Balochistan. Curiously enough, none of the other states, which had not introduced democracy, were asked to merge and surrender their sovereignty to the 'One Unit'. A fact about which most historians are unaware.
It should be noted that like other Princely States, Khairpur had also surpassed Pakistan in practically all fields of social development. Khairpur had made it its goal to match the economic development of the West and it had made more than sufficient advances towards this goal in the period after Partition, for example:
*The State had the first democratic elections based on universal adult franchise in Nov.1950, before they were held in Pakistan. Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, and a personal friend of the Mir of Khairpur inaugurated the Khairpur Legislative Assembly. The Mir protected this fledgling democracy from dominance by feudal forces. It was his support of Mr. Kizilbash a non-Sindhi yet progressive administrator that allowed for his election as chief minister. The young monarch even forced his own relatives to wholly follow the policies of Kizilbash. Soon afterwards, following Khairpurs example, the rulers of Bahawalpur and Kalat introduced democracy in their countries as well.
* The State provided better quality free health care for its citizens, far superior than that provided in Pakistan. Eminent foreign doctors were invited to train local doctors by performing operations with them.
*It had the highest per capita expenditure on education of all units that joined Pakistan. The state spent 22% of its budget on education. European teachers were employed to train local teachers of primary and high schools. The best and most qualified teachers were concentrated in Khairpur for college education. Primary education was compulsory while it was genuinely free up till metric, to all who came. The poorest students were provided with free books, housing, clothing and even food. After metric, scholarships were given generously. Many of these very students attained prominence not just in Khairpur but Sindh, and Pakistan and abroad. Indeed, some of these very students that received free clothing and food later became ministers, chief ministers, justices and chief justices. (Free education of dubious quality is just now being provided in the Punjab and still remains to become a reality in Sindh - 50 years later!). After the merger with Pakistan this education came to an end and the children had no choice but to join the oppressive child labor force of Pakistan.Adult education was given attention as well with the setting up of schools for grown ups. An industrial school for women was set up with a German lady as principal.
* Khairpur had a post partition (1947-1955) revenue growth of 310%. The highest of any area in Pakistan was the Punjab at 40%, while Sindh had only 13%.
* Despite having negligible taxes, its budget per capita was more than double than that of the highest found in Pakistan.
* It had an extremely low crime rate due to the expeditious disposal of criminal and civil cases, while there were widespread complaints about such in adjoining regions.
* The State had a swiftly growing industrial base, which formed the main part of its revenue. It was the state's heavy investment in its human resources through education that provided it with a concentration of skilled labor force technicians and engineers. This allowed for its industrial development as private enterprises began to invest in Khairpur as it provided the necessary workforce. Perhaps the greatest testimony of Khairpur's economic success was that there were negligible agricultural taxes such as dhull etc. despite it being deep in the rural interior of Sindh! Mir Ali Murad had personally toured Europe and chosen the machinery for industry. Khairpur had only built one industrial zone that had led to so much economic growth and welfare. It had developed a new 5 year program to build eight more industrial zones for which roads and power houses were already being built. Loans were being provided to private industry to set up in the new zones, plots of land were already taken over by private firms. God only knows what was in store for the next five year plan after that. But alas it was not to be.
With the merger of the State, all these developments were brought to an end, retarded into non-existence. To the corrupt military controlled government of Pakistan of that time, social and economic development of these states was seen as a threat, particularly because development of the provinces bordering the states was pathetic and this eventually would have led to unrest. Inside Pakistan, Khairpur was relegated to the backwaters. Virtually every promise of the merger agreement was broken. During the regime of general Ayub Khan, dictator of Pakistan, practically all the industrial units were shut down as soldiers marched into factories and stole their assets. The suddenly unemployed workforce, under great duress, fled to Karachi and Lahore, while many were reduced to starvation and begging. The Khairpur Welfare Trust was usurped and ruined. By 1985 the real income of this area fell to a 50th of what it was!! After the failure and end of the devastating "one unit" fiasco (July 1st 1970) that led to the genocide of a million Pakistanis of Bengal, the break up of Pakistan and the formation of Bangladesh, the provinces were allowed a mock existence. However, the States were not even permitted that. **
--
(Retrieved by Sindh WebSite www.sindh.ws from http://www.khairpursindh.org/historyContent.asp?ChapterID=3 )
They reveal an important phase in the history of Sindh, which had been almost erased due to propaganda or the 'official' version of history that has clouded the truth soon after the Khairpur State (which was at the time an independent & sovereign unit of Pakistan) was annexed by the Pakistan in 1955 in violation of the agreement that Khairpur had with the state of Pakistan. The owners & contributors of this site permit the free use of information and contents of the first three chapters to all especially for articles about Khairpur which may be published or broadcast without any charge.
Friday, 03 March 2006 Last Updated Wednesday, 08 March 2006

Generated: 21 October, 2008, 17:35

Deteriorating Sindh: PPP regime and our role

2009-05-23T16:27:00.002+06:00

From: Zulfiqar Halepoto

Deteriorating Sindh: PPP regime and our role

Dear Folks

I am writing these lines with great disappointment and anger on the state of affairs in Sindh in all sectors of governance and the conduct of present regime and especially the performance of PPP.
I have visited 18 districts of Sindh for a district level consultation to hear the voices of the people on six thematic issues education, health, food (agriculture, water and environment), housing, and natural resource management). This is an initiative of an international NGO. In the 1st phase I started my journey from Karachi, Thatta, Mithi, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Dadu, Larkana, Qambar-Shahdatkot, Sukkur and now meeting people in Khairpur. Though I am a very optimistic person but I have witnessed a great level of decline in Sindhi society in the following terms. This trip of mine in boiling heat and scratchy sun with 50+ temperatures was a trip of total frustration and regret in the following terms:

People are disillusioned and are still in shock of Benazir Bhutto's assassination
People are totally frustrated over the state of affairs of Sindh government and its so-called policy of reconciliation and alliance with MQM and the dying anti-people and anti-PPP feudal, which
tried to destroy Sindhi society and joined Musharraf to divide Sindh.

Deteriorating law and order situation, Jirga system, honor killing, unemployment, poverty, hunger, tribal feuds, decline in social services delivery and massive deterioration in infra-structure is the order of the day in Sindh under this so-called PRO PEOPLE REGIME

People are angry on massive corruptions, nepotism, favoritism, killing on merit and other authoritarian and unethical acts of the entire PPP Sindh based leadership.
Not a single minister or legislators from Sindh is clean in these areas of preferential treatment. Everyone is just blind and ruining the social cohesiveness of Sindhi society.
There is a great crisis of leadership in PPP and everyone is operating through its own cronies and favorites from presidency to CM house and to speaker house Badin. Everyone is treating Sindh as their PURCHASED SLAVE.
And especially those who were very active against Musharraf regime and stood shoulder to shoulder with civil society in the struggle of giving a new face of democratic values, plural socio-economic and moral coherent but on the contrary the society is declining fast to an anarchic society with no leadership.
On the other hand the major policy level issues of Sindh like NFC, water distribution conflict with Punjab, dams' construction, ownership of Karachi, issue of influx of Swat immigrants are washed away by the present regime. On the contrary PPP again is fighting the proxy war of military establishment and throwing peoples development agenda away from their priority.
Almost two years are gone only in exercise to transfers and postings of their favorites and cronies. Every legislator and minister from Sindh (in both Sindh and federal cabinet) are every day fighting over these tinny issues, killing merit and pushing Sindhi society towards a society of stone-age.
The days of Mr. 10% are gone, Due to price hike and financial crisis 10% is not a decent amount for them to cater their needs and now at least 30 to 40% commissioned is the order of the day.
Young, dynamic and brilliant youth of Sindh every day travel miles and miles to go to appear in the entry tests of various exams of different projects but next day a list of favorites comes from CM house and other influential for the replacement of meritorious people and youth is getting deprived of their rights.
Education department is the worst example of bad governance in Sindh. Other departments are also competing education department to win the race. In almost all the districts, the present education department managers including the minister were called a DISASTER.
Now my question to all and to myself is that…Are we still going to support them... I believe and confess that Sindhi middle class and especially the writers, intellectuals and technocrats and even
mediocre like me don't want to discontinue their social relations with these civilized feudal of PPP.
Sindh is going fast of the hands of Sindhis… now who us going to save our motherland…,People will not come from the sky…it is you and me to change or at least play our role.
Sindh is dying in hunger, poverty, unemployment and lake of justice in all fields. It is time to wake up and stand up

سورهيه بادشاهه جي مدفن وارو معاملو ۽ ڪجھه حقيقتون

2009-04-14T18:34:00.004+05:00

لکندڙ: نبي بخش شر/گرهوڙ شريف

(روزاني ڪاوش، حيدرآباد ـ 14 اپريل 2009)

سورهيه بادشاهه جي مدفن جي حوالي سان دوست نواز ڪنڀر ڪاوش ۾ جيڪو ڪالم لکيو آهي، انهيءَ ڪالم کانپوءِ ماڻهن ۾ ڪافي بحث هلڻ شروع ٿيو، ته سورهيه بادشاهه ڪٿي مدفون آهي؟ ان حوالي سان ٻه هنڌ مشهور آهن، هڪ ايسٽولا ٻيٽ ۽ ٻيو ڪراچي کان 7 ڪلاڪن جي سفر تي چرڻيو جبل، جنهن لاءِ مقامي ملاحن جو چوڻ آهي ته، انگريز سرڪار سورهيه بادشاهه جي ميت سندن وڏن ملاحن کي ڏني هئي ته اها ميت هو سمنڊ ۾ لوڙهي ڇڏين، پر انهن ملاحن سورهيه بادشاهه جي ميت سمنڊ ۾ لوڙهڻ بجاءِ کيس چرڻيو جبل تي دفن ڪري ڇڏيو ۽ جڏهن انگريز سرڪار کي ان ڳالهه جي خبر پئي ته انگريزن انهن 6 ملاحن کي ڦاسي چاڙهي ڇڏيو هو، جن جون قبرون به هو ڏيکارين ٿا. اڄ به هوڙهن ذريعي شڪار ڪندڙ ملاحن جو عقيدو آهي ته، جڏهن به سمنڊ ۾ طوفان ايندو آهي ته ملاح اهو چئي چرڻيو جبل ڏانهن ڀڄندا آهن ته هلو هلي سورهيه بادشاهه جي سام ٿيون ۽ پوءِ انهن ملاحن کي ڪجهه به ناهي ٿيندو، مون پڻ اهي قبرون ڏٺيون آهن، اتي اٽڪل 7 يا 8 قبرون آهن، جن مان هڪ سورهيه بادشاهه جي چئي وڃي ٿي، اتي هڪ مجاور به آهي، جنهن کي پاڻي ۽ کاڌو ملاح پهچائيندا آهن. 1998ع ڌاري ڪجهه دوستن جي مدد سان ايسٽولا ٻيٽ جي تحقيق ڪئي وئي، انهن دوستن ۾ ڊاڪٽر نرمل ڪمار مهراج، جاپان جو جاماري يامان ڪا ذوڪي، لعل محمد بلوچ ۽ جميل احمد بلوچ شامل آهن، انهيءَ تحقيق موجب بلوچستان جي شهر پسني کان ڏکڻ ۽ اوڀر جي ڪنڊ طرف اٽڪل 40 ناٽ، مطلب سامونڊي ڪلوميٽر لانچ ذريعي وڃڻو ٿو پوي، جتي ايسٽولا ٻيٽ آهي، جنهن کي بلوچ هفته لعل، سنڌي ست لعل ۽ هندي ۾ ساتا ديپ چوندا آهن، اسٽولا ٻيٽ جي ڪناري واري پاسي جتان ماڻهو مٿي ويندا آهن، انهيءَ کي مقامي ماڻهو بالادار چوندا آهن، بالادار جي سامهون جبل تي برٽش سرڪار پاران هڪ ٽاور لڳايل آهي، جنهن ۾ جهازن کي رستو ڏسڻ لاءِ بلب به لڳل آهي، انهيءَ بلب کي چيڪ ڪرڻ لاءِ هڪ ملازم به رکيل آهي، انهيءَ کي انهيءَ ٽاور تائين پهچڻ لاءِ ٽاور ۾ رسو به ٻڌل آهي، پر هن وقت پاڪستان جي حڪومت ڪجهه فاصلي تي رستو ٺاهي ڇڏيو آهي، جڏهن اسان انهيءَ ٽاور وٽ پهچداسين ته اتي ٽڪري ۾ هڪ غارآهي، جتي هندو ڌرم موجب ڪالي ماتا جو مندر آهي ۽ انهيءَ جا آثار به آهن. ان کان ٿورو ڏکڻ طرف هڪ تڪيو ملندو، جنهن لاءِ به اهو چيو ويو ته اتي لطيف سائين آيو هو، توهان جڏهن مٿي ويندو ته اتي بي بي حوا جي نالي سان هڪ مسجد ۽ حضرت خضر جي نالي مقبرو ملندو، جيڪي سمنڊ ۾ شڪار ڪندڙ ماڻهن ٺهرايا آهن، انهيءَ مسجد ۽ مقبري ۾ ٻيو ڪجهه به ناهي، اتي هڪڙي هنڌ قلندر لعل شهباز جو تڪيو به آهي ۽ ڪجهه مفاصلي تي هڪ مزار جو نشان موجود هو، مقامي ماڻهن جو چوڻ هو ته هي سنڌ جي وڏي پير جي تربت آهي. انهن جو مطلب شايد سورهيه بادشاهه ڏانهن هجي، اتي تحقيق لاءِ ويل دوستن جيڪي تصويرون ورتيون اهي به سرڪاري اهلڪار کانئن ڦري ويا هئا، پر پوءِ به جاپاني دوست جي گذارش تي ڪجهه نقشا ۽ تصويرون ڇڏيون هيائون، پر انهن تصويرن ۾ سورهيه بادشاهه جي مزار واري تصوير نه ملي هئي، پر جيئن ته ڳالهه اڄ به منجهيل آهي، ته هاڻ اسان اها مزار چوڻيو جبل واري مڃون يا ايسٽولا ٻيٽ واري؟ هاڻ اسٽولا ٻيٽ جو ڪافي ذڪر اچي ويو آهي، ٿوري معلومات هن ٻيٽ مطابق هيءَ ته هن جي ڊيگهه 3 ڪلوميٽر، ويڪر ڏيڍ ڪلوميٽر ۽ مٿان اهڙو سڌو آهي جهڙو هيلپيڊ هجي، هتي ڪو به ماڻهو مستقل نٿو رهي، باقي مڇي جي شڪار خاص ڪري گانگٽ يا جهينگو مڇي جا شڪاري هتي اچن ٿا، جن کان معلومات وٺي سگهجي ٿي، هن ٻيٽ جي هڪ طرف کان ڪارو سمنڊ آهي، جتي ڪو به جاندار نٿو وڃي ۽ ٻئي طرف کان سائو سمنڊ آهي، جتان ماڻهو سفر ڪن ٿا، هن ٻيٽ ۽ سمنڊ متعلق معلومات جاپان جي سياهه جا ماري يامان ڪا ذوڪي هڪ ڪتاب ۾ گڏ ڪئي هئي، پر اهو ڪتاب صرف ڪوئيٽا جي لائبريري ۾ موجود آهي، جيڪو جاپاني زبان ۾ آهي، هڪ ترجمو ٿيل انگريزي ۾ ڪتاب ڊاڪٽر مهراج نرمل ڪمار وٽ آهي ۽ ڪجهه تصويرون به.

Spike in the Soul - The Honor Dogs of Sindh and Balochistan

2009-04-07T05:18:00.002+05:00

Below are some of the feelings being expressed on Sanalist. Once again please go to the video given in the post. The innocent and the poor girl represents all those who have been killed or being tortured because of Shameless Cultures codified in some religion or religions. (Mazhar)

Injustice anywhere is threat to Justice everywhere... Martin Luther King.

--- In sanalist A. Sindhi wrote:

There was news about burying 5 women who were still alive in Baluchistan. They were first beaten by 17 honorable brave Balochs, and then hit by the speeding tractor with the blade in front. As if it were not enough, the shattered skulls women were then dragged by the tractor blade into a ditch, and buried alive.

Then there was news about barbarically throwing a woman in front of vicious dogs, they mauled her, and chewed her while the barbaric spectators mercilessly watched the horrified woman running helplessly fighting for her life, and dying. All this happened in the name of honor. All of the victims were accused of being "karis".

Atrocities to women in Pakistan are not a new thing. What the most disturbing is the fact that all those barbaric incidents against women are taking place under the watch of the so called champion of democracy and human rights, the PPP. Ironically, that was not enough, but all of those ugly incidents took place in the provinces that are run by none other than the PPP Jialas, the Sindh and Baluchistan.

Any act of violence against the women gone unpunished deepens the ugly scar on the face of the ruling junta. Thanks to Iftikhar Chaudhry, who has taken the suomoto action to the burial of 5 women alive in Baluchistan? This is the province that complains the most of human rights violations. I wonder if the Baloch human rights groups found this to be the violation of the human
rights as well. I even wonder if the so called U.S. based Pakistani human rights activists even noticed these atrocities against women in Sindh and Baluchistan.

I am deeply in pain. Ever since I watched this appalling video on BBC/Urdu.Com, I am restless. Does this fall under the human rights violation as well? Are there any American based Pakistani human rights activists, who feel the pain in their heart by every flog that landed on the back of this poor underage girl? Did those screams poke a spike into anybody's soul?

My heart throbbed with each of the strokes of the flog: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21-22 - 23- 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32 - 33 - 34... Is this the Islam? Would anybody issue decree of 100 lashes against those mullahs for publicly raping the humanity?

Maybe this girl is not a Sindhi, Punjabi, Mohair, Baloch, or Pathhan. Maybe she is a faceless feminine gender caught by some barbarians at a wrong time and at the wrong place. I am shocked and disgusted at the denial by the so called iron fist government of Pakistan that this incident ever took place in Swat. I am sure, most of you have already watched this video. Have it one
more time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/multimedia/2009/04/090403_swat_flogging.shtml

This act of naked barbarism is no match to the pain those poor women in Sindh and Balochistan endured before meeting their Maker. There are no words to describe the agony of suffering from the blows by the tractor blade, or being mauled and chewed by the vicious dogs. It's the human tragedy. Call it Islam, or call it honor. A woman in Pakistan has no refuge. If she is spared
by the barbaric Islamists in the tribal areas, she better be sure that the honor dogs of Baluchistan and Sindh will get her.

Women have been tortured, killed, maimed, raped, and burned all along in every government and in every times. However, we can no longer accuse the past governments, or the Musharraf regime, for that matter, for the ills of the country and society. The most powerful man in the PPP is at the helm of the government. We thought the change will come after the PPP takes over the
country. Indeed, the change did come. But, it came for the worst. (A. Sindhi)

On Sun, Apr 5, 2009 at 9:15 PM, arh.. <arh..@...> wrote:

The subject clip is part of documentary relayed on CBC network in Canada, the same documentary also showed public punishment of a man as well, which is equally condemnable.. The documentary also showed how Pakistani state has practically dissolved on ground in Swat area. The really shocking thing is the failure of state to prove totally ineffective in administration of law and order situation. It is very much true for Swat which is documented, also in punjab when state was trying to control Punjabi munda from coming to islamabad from lahore, whereas state can shoot at site people in Sindh and Baluchistan. So what does that mean? In my humble opinion, the state has started disintegrating and is bifurcated between winners and losers. I see the extremists and Punjabis as winners and Sindhis and Balochs as losers. (Asim).

Last night more than 2000 men and women, Hindu and Muslim participants of annual lokmela held at RahMoor near Nabisar road district Umar Kot Sindh Pakistan . ,passed unanimous resolution to condemend the barbaric action of mullas lashing young girl in sawat.this resolution was passed on a motion forwarded by women activists of GRDO who were there to participate this Mela on the invitation of HARI MAZDOOR TANZEEM(HMT) district umar kot (F. Shah, GRDO).

Akvopedia

2009-03-22T17:45:00.001+05:00

Akvo, an open-source water and sanitation web portal, is seeking partners and supporters to help provide its content in various languages.

"Akvo is targeting a large number of small drinking water and sanitation projects in developing countries to collect information about low-cost water and sanitation technologies there. We put them online on a website called akvopedia," Peter van der Linde, a co-founder of Akvo.org [http://www.akvo.org/] and its director for partnerships, told IRIN in Istanbul at the 5th World Water Forum (WWF) [see: http://www.worldwaterforum5.org/].

Akvo, which means 'water' in Esperanto [see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto], was set up six months ago with the aim of helping donors and activists fund thousands of new water and sanitation projects. In addition, the company manages Akvopedia [see: http://www.akvo.org/wiki], which is a platform for users to upload and edit water and sanitation-related information.

"Think of it as a Wikipedia, the strength of which is everybody can have an input," the Akvo co-founder said.

Van der Linde said the idea was to enable people in the water and sanitation business to share their relevant good or bad experiences so that the knowledge bank on the subject keeps growing and improving. However, the content on Akvo and Akvopedia is currently only in English, a limitation van der Linde said they are working hard to remedy.

Language barrier

"We are looking for support organisations and people who want to help us voluntarily. We are teaming up with partners in other countries, such as India where we have a strong partner and they've done great work in disseminating part of the content in several languages there. We need these sorts of partners to help us develop the content further," he said.

Margiet Samwel, water and sanitation coordinator for Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) [see: http://www.wecf.eu/] - a network of 100 women's and environmental organisations in 40 countries in Europe, the Caucasus region and Central Asia - is one of Akvo's partners. She told IRIN at WWF that from her experience of working with implementing partners, particularly in parts of the former Soviet Union, the issue of language was a crucial one.

"We have some officers on the ground who speak English and Russian, but not many people from NGOs and the general public speak English, which means if there is some important information available online in English only, they can hardly make use of it. It would be very good to have the content of Akvopedia in other languages as well," she said.

As an interim measure, Samwel suggested prospective users try the free translation service by Google [see: http://translate.google.com/?hl=en], saying that it proved to be quite effective and accurate.

Aitzaz, pl. pull back; your role is over; let judges be the judges now

2009-03-21T19:45:00.001+05:00

By Aziz Narejo

The glorious lawyers' movement and their second "Long March" joined by political parties and civil society activists has finally achieved its objective as illegally and unconstitutionally deposed judges have been reinstated to their pre-November 3, 2007 position. Many people had earlier dismissed the lawyers' movement and had termed it a lost cause. Some others had suggested a "middle road". The people marching from Lahore last Sunday proved them wrong and forced the government to reverse the military dictator's draconian action against the judiciary. One must congratulate the lawyers, civil society activists and political parties that steadfastly supported the epic movement for the restoration of judiciary to pre-November 3, 2007 position.

Now as the Chief Justice is about to resume his work, it is reported in the press that Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan has taken it upon himself to hold a flag hoisting ceremony at the Chief Justic's house. Talking to media outside the CJ's house he said that political parties have been invited to participate in the ceremony while Naheed Khan, Safdar Abbasi and Shaharyar Awan (son of late lawyer leader Imdad Awan) are to hoist the flag.

It must be said that when military dictator attacked the office of the highest adjudicator in the country, it was the duty of all the citizens to stand up against the illegal and unconstitutional action of the usurper general. It must also be admitted that Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and other leaders of the lawyersâ€™ movement have played a heroic role in the struggle but now they must realize that their role is over. They have done their duty. The Chief Justice is back. Now they must go back to their normal working too.

It must also be mentioned here that after his reinstatement by the Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Ramday in July 2007, Justice Iftikhar Choudhry had declined to hear any cases against military dictator Musharraf. He had also declined to hear cases pleaded by lawyers' movement leaders like Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan. The Supreme Court under him had also decided not to call on government leaders and hold political appointments like acting governors, etc.

The reinstated judges including CJ must be commended for not participating in Zardari's farewell dinner for Dogar. It is a praiseworthy practice for the superior judiciary to stay away from higher official's meetings and socialization as was the case in the initial days. The CJ must extend such practice to all political figures inside or outside the government.

I hope, if these lines reach the CJ, he would stop the flag hoisting ceremony to be a political function.

P.S. This doesn't mean that the civil society should stop keeping an eye on the working of the judiciary or other branches of the government. But that is a separate issue.

Third Grade Citizens and Present Long march

2009-03-18T06:21:00.001+05:00

By Dr Mataro Hingorjo

Some days back, Pakistan was in chaos, because the real public of Pakistan was on roads, government authorities refused to control them, government, military and America bent before the ocean of people of Pakistan. Finally we got the decision which was desired by the all first, second and third grade citizens of Pakistan.

Geo TV it is continuously thanking various forces like military, government and America for the honour which they have paid to the people of Pakistan. Majority of justice loving citizens were form Punjab. I remember the days like 12th May,18th October and so many other days when there were the huge crowds of people even two fold than the last two days gatherings. They were not honoured but they were bathed with blood by the same Establishment which is too much polite today! I don't find the reason except they are third grade citizens not so heavier as the current were, nobody of them was the relative of any personnel of Establishment, so Establishment troops were free of any hesitation to fire at any body who comes in the way of their guns' barrels.We are the third grade citizens, we need to suicide or stand up for the gross route revolution.

Federalism and Democracy - Pakistan’s Experience and Challenges

2009-03-17T20:13:00.001+05:00

From: Jami Chandio <JamiC@ned.org>
Date: Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 10:48 PM

Federalism and Democracy - Pakistan's Experience and Challenges

International Seminar Organized by: The World Sindhi Institute (WSI)

The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies

John Hopkins University, Washington, DC

Room#806, The Rome Building, 1619 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036-2213

Friday, March 20^th, 2009

12 Noon to 3:15 PM

Lunch Provided

Metro line guide: http://www..wmata.com/rail/maps/find_station.cfm

Embattled with poverty, lawlessness, environmental degradation, cross-boarder conflicts, and swelling population, Pakistan continues to operate under the pretext of state Islamization inspired by nuclear empowerment, state militarization, and US Aid guarantees. Corrupt and undemocratic mode of governance engineered by military and civil-bureaucracy with little to no regard for its founding principles of constitutional democracy, secularism, rule-of-law, provincial autonomy, and basic human rights, the state is once again at the brink of social and political debacle.

· Is Pakistan ready for constitutional democracy and embrace secularism?

· Can centralization be replaced by provincial Autonomy and sovereignty?

· Can judiciary be independent and the rule of law be restored?

· Can there be a development-path which is sustainable, and accessible to all people and all regions of Pakistan?

The seminar is design to invoke a meaningful dialogue among students, academics, scholars, and activists alike who are particularly concerned about the future of Pakistan and its relationship with the international community.

Panelists

Zahid Makhdoom

Member World Sindhi Institute's Board of Directors is based in Vancouver, Canada, where he works as a Justice at the Provincial Court of British Columbia. Born in Sindh, Makhdoom has persistently struggled for human rights of people of Sindh, for which he was imprisoned in 1971-72 for ten months. Zahid Makhdoom is an extremely engaging and dynamic speaker, with extensive knowledge of politics and culture of South Asia, particularly Sindh, Pakistan. His subject of interest is indigenous people all over the world and their political relations with states.

Selig S Harrison

Selig S Harrison is a director of the Asia Program at the Center for International Policy and a senior scholar of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He has specialized in South Asia and East Asia for fifty years as a journalist and scholar. He is the author of five books on Asian affairs and U.S. relations with Asia and has co-authored and edited many books.

Jami Chandio

Jami Chandio is executive director of the Center for Peace and Civil Society (CPCS), a think tank based in Pakistan's Sindh province. He edits CPCS' quarterly journal Freedom. One of Pakistan's most celebrated journalists, Mr. Chandio is the former editor of Ibrat, Pakistan's largest Sindhi-language daily newspaper, a former anchor on Sindh TV and KTN, and former chair of the Liberal Forum of Pakistan. He has worked with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Pakistan as a political expert since 2004. During his fellowship, Mr. Chandio is studying the problems of federalism and prospects for provincial autonomy, including constitutional mechanisms that can be used to prevent, manage, and resolve intra-state conflict in Pakistan.

------

"The breakup of Pakistan would be a costly and destabilizing development that can still be avoided, but only if the United States and other foreign donors use their enormous aid leverage to convince Islamabad that it should not only put the 1973 Constitution back into effect, but amend it to go beyond the limited degree of autonomy it envisaged. Eventually, the minorities want a central government that would retain control only over defense, foreign affairs, international trade, communications and currency. It would no longer have the power to oust an elected provincial government, and would have to renegotiate royalties on resources with the provinces."

Selig S Harrison, New York Times, February 1, 2008.

"Radical Islamic groups, which portray themselves as the guardians of Pakistan's ideology, have had a special status conferred on them by the military and civil bureaucracy that normally governs Pakistan. The Islamists claim that they are the protectors of Pakistan's nuclear deterrent capabilities, as well as the champion of the national cause of securing Kashmir for Pakistan. Secular politicians who seek greater autonomy for Pakistan's different regions or demand that religion be kept out of the business of the state have come under attack from the Islamists for deviating from Pakistan's ideology."

Husain Haqqani, "The Role of Islam in Pakistan's Future", The Washington Quarterly, Winter 2004-05.

The World Sindhi Institute (WSI) § 6965 S Craig Ct., Franklin, Wisconsin § 414.235.3610 §

local contact: 703-801-8519

www.worldsindhi.org

What got Geo in trouble. Links to Watch Geo Online

2009-03-16T20:49:00.001+05:00

From: jami chandio

All the videos have been saved on multiple locations and can be seen by anyone. Feel free to circulate them

official anthem : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiwPotaS_4s
farooq naik : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aQh1oP5qZI
Waadae : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSPpIjr_FSg
Tahira abdullah : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZpbHLsOuuA
Benazir Baghi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQGX8OzFS9U
Insaf : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m5AZFF1O_g
Jinnah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W62F5JpGsxo

To watch GEO online, use the following links.

IN PAKISTAN ONLY:
http://www.geo.tv/geoip/

All over the world:
mms://stream.wmlivesvc.vitalstreamcdn.com/live_stream_geo_tv_GEOVIDEO
http://94.75.220.137/idesitv.com-geonews-333jdd223
http://www.paktvlive.com/geonewslow.html
http://94.75.220.137/idesitv.com-geotv-30ddn3ns

The Black Widower

2009-03-04T09:34:00.002+05:00

From: Jami Chandio

Date: Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 12:23 AM
Subject: The Black Widower: Our not-so-strongman in Pakistan, Nicholas Schmidle, The New Republic, Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Black Widower

Our not-so-strongman in Pakistan.

Nicholas Schmidle, The New Republic Published: Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Asif Ali Zardari (Credit: Aaron Huey)

Last fall, during Asif Ali Zardari's first foreign trip as head of state, the Pakistani president met with Sarah Palin in New York City. The meeting occurred amid Palin's other campaign cameos with U.S.-friendly world leaders, most of whom could manage little more than an awkward grimace amid the onslaught of flashbulbs. (Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo reportedly flat-out refused to meet her.) But Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto and oft-described playboy, looked delighted as he greeted--and then charmed--the vice-presidential candidate. Zardari, who wore fashionable wire-rimmed glasses and a broad grin, called Palin "gorgeous" and then added, "Now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you." Palin blushed. When a handler asked Zardari and the Alaskan governor to continue shaking hands, Zardari gestured in the photographer's direction while still staring at Palin and quipped, "If he's insisting, I might hug."

Zardari's comment created a stir back home. Stories about the incident splashed across the front pages of Pakistani newspapers. Pakistani Facebook subscribers formed a group sarcastically titled, "Zardari should marry Sarah Palin for the sake of world peace!!!!!" and railed against their president's boorishness. The imam of the Red Mosque in Islamabad, the site of a pro-Taliban rebellion in the summer of 2007, issued a fatwa against Zardari, claiming that his behavior was un-Islamic and inappropriate for the leader of a Muslim state. One could argue that it was particularly inappropriate for the leader of one of the world's least stable states. After all, this was Zardari's maiden presidential tour abroad--a time to shore up Pakistan's and America's confidence in him. His flirtation with Palin seemed to cast further doubt on his capacity to rule.

Zardari's clumsiness presents a serious problem, not only for his country but for the United States. Since 2001, Washington's approach to Islamabad has been less a matter of international relations than personal diplomacy, focused narrowly on the country's head of state. This is partly a matter of necessity: Pakistan lacks the civil institutions and governmental continuity that make deeper relationships possible. And, as Bush officials geared up for war in Afghanistan, they cherished their newfound, one-call-can-do-it-all ally, Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf promised to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda on the Afghan border and showed that he was trying to normalize relations with India to boot. When, by late 2006, the Taliban was stronger than ever and Al Qaeda had reconstituted itself inside Pakistani territory, Washington began looking for someone new. The pro-American Bhutto seemed just the person, despite her previous, less-than-successful turns as prime minister. But those plans crumbled when Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007. Then Musharraf resigned last summer, effectively leaving Zardari, at least in the eyes of many American officials, as the last, best hope for the United States.

It's an enormous responsibility and one that few expected Zardari ever to assume--not least because he had spent eight of the last eleven years in jail. He had been charged with corruption, money-laundering, murdering his brother-in-law, and evading taxes on a bulletproof BMW. Once, he allegedly attached a bomb to a businessman's leg and ordered him to withdraw his money from the bank. When Bhutto was prime minister, Zardari earned the nickname "Mr. 10 Percent" for the cut he purportedly took on government contracts. He was ultimately cleared of all the charges against him, but Zardari has often behaved more like a don than a democrat.

That will matter little to the United States if he proves to be a capable leader. But it's worth considering just how many U.S. interests are at stake in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed, Taliban-infested, economically desperate nation of 170 million people. Washington urgently needs Islamabad's help in fighting Al Qaeda and restoring stability to Afghanistan. And, as questions grow about Pakistan's complicity in November's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the United States craves a leader who can prevent full-scale war with India. Accomplishing all this would tax even the most gifted politician. Is the man who flirted with Sarah Palin up to the task?

I met Zardari in Islamabad on August 18, perhaps the most significant day of his political career. For weeks, he had been spearheading impeachment proceedings against Pervez Musharraf, whom he blamed for failing to protect his wife. Just a few hours before I arrived at the headquarters of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which had been founded by Bhutto's father in 1967, Musharraf had announced that he was resigning under the pressure, leaving Zardari as the most powerful political figure in the country. A banner, staked into a slice of grass in front of the building, read: "CONGRATULATIONS TO ASIF ALI ZARDARI FOR LEADING THE MOVEMENT TO FIGHT THE WORST DICTATORSHIP." Inside, Zardari was shaking hands and slapping high-fives with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other anti-Musharraf politicians.

To get in the building, I had pushed through a throng of local journalists and celebrating PPP supporters crowded near the entrance. Owing to the security hazards of living near the PPP nerve center, most of the other houses in the neighborhood had erected blast walls, some 40 feet tall. PPP-hired security guards led me through two metal detectors and into a waiting room. Top politicians from other parties milled around the hallways, hoping for a brief, private word with Zardari. Finally, an aide cleared the room of these high-profile characters, leaving only me. Zardari charged through a door. He apologized for being late, ran his hand through his hair, and fell onto a sofa. "I am half-exhausted, so if my answers aren't up to your standard," he said, "please forgive me." A framed photograph of Bhutto stood on a glass table to one side. A picture of her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, rested on another. Zardari blinked forcefully once or twice, as if trying to wake up, and then flashed a pleasant, if forced, grin and told me how it was his life had come to this.

Zardari was born into the world of landed gentry, where acting haughty and debonair was expected. "Our name 'Zardari,'" he explained to me, "means 'people with wealth.'" His father, Hakim Zardari, was a middling feudal--middle class along the spectrum of landholders in the Pakistani province of Sindh--who combined a sense of entitlement with raw, urban grit. Hakim built and ran a cinema in downtown Karachi called the Bambino. The vertical sign that fronted the cinema showed a flapper, her arms outstretched as if frozen mid-jig, swinging her hips inside the top "B" of "BAMBINO." As a kid, Zardari and his friends loitered around the box office, gawking at passing girls and occasionally fighting over the finer ones. He recalled watching El Cid and Cleopatra on premier nights and humming the songs from South Pacificfor months.

In the mid-1980s, Benazir Bhutto, who had taken over the PPP between her father's overthrow (in 1977) and hanging (in 1979), asked her mother to find her a suitable husband. Unmarried women in Pakistan attracted scandal, and Bhutto needed to be able to meet with male party workers at night without creating a controversy. Meanwhile, Zardari's parents had been shopping around their son, Asif, who was assisting with the family construction business at the time.

The Bhuttos and the Zardaris were not exactly cut from the same cloth. While the Bhuttos represented a political dynasty and were amongst the biggest landholders in Sindh, the Zardaris were, in the words of The Guardian, "looked down on as Johnny-come-latelies." (Hakim's feudal peers considered his cinema business a plebeian endeavor.) Bhutto was ultimately willing to overlook the social stigma of "marrying down." She was reportedly attracted to Zardari's sense of humor and open-mindedness. Yet, when asked in 1987 if her impending marriage would affect her career, Bhutto sniped, "[Asif] will not be involved in my political career at all, and I have no intention of visiting his cement works in Karachi." The two married on December 18 of that year.

I asked Zardari if he ever felt that Bhutto was out of his league. "I imagined myself as a knight in white armor," Zardari said. (He habitually muddles cliches.) He wore black slacks with a cream-colored shirt, and, though he no longer styles his mustache in the handlebar fashion, he keeps a neat chevron trimmed close to his upper lip. Soon after taking a seat, he unfastened the top two buttons of his shirt, reached in, and twisted a tuft of chest hair. "I don't think I fathomed what she was until I married her. I just couldn't grasp the ... giganticness of her personality," he added. "There is a saying in my language: 'The camel only finds out that there is something taller than him when he comes beneath a mountain.'"

In June 1989, six months after Bhutto was sworn in as the first female prime minister of Pakistan, she and Zardari came to Washington. President George H.W. Bush had invited Bhutto for an official visit to discuss the waning cold war. As Bhutto and Zardari sauntered with George and Barbara through the Rose Garden, they struck quite a collective pose: the president in a tuxedo, Barbara in a bubble-gum-colored evening gown, Bhutto decked out in green (the color of Islam and Pakistan) with a dupatta balanced precariously on her head, and Zardari in all white, sporting a bulky turban. Despite wearing clothes that flaunted his Sindhi, swashbuckling roots, however, Zardari behaved obsequiously around Bhutto, as if a clause in their marriage contract required deference to her in public. "He didn't know what to do," recalls Stephen Cohen, a Pakistan expert at the Brookings Institution who attended a dinner with Bhutto and Zardari during this visit. "She told [Zardari] to 'Go stand over there,' and he did. ... He looked totally out of his element."

In the ensuing years, Zardari seemed to settle into his role as Bhutto's number two. He stabled his horses at the prime minister's house and spent his time doing business, bolstering his unctuousness with her political influence. Shaheen Sehbai, a reporter who covered the parliament during those years and who is now an editor of the English-language newspaper The News, remembers Zardari as someone who could be "warm and dapper" in public, and a "very ruthless Mafioso type" in private. Rumors of Zardari's glad-handing and arm-twisting swirled around the parliament soon after Bhutto first took power in 1988, according to Sehbai: "We used to hear all the time that Zardari was on the take." It was Sehbai who later dubbed Zardari "Mr. 10 Percent."

In August 1990, Bhutto's government was dismissed on charges of corruption and abuse of power, and Zardari was thrown into jail. He stayed there until 1993, when Bhutto returned to power, bailed out her husband, and named him minister of the environment and, later, minister of investment. In seesaw fashion, Bhutto's government was again dismissed in November 1996 on corruption allegations, and Zardari was, once again, put in prison. In 1998, Bhutto went into exile in Dubai, facing the threat of her own incarceration.

Zardari, meanwhile, languished in Karachi Central Prison, where he was tortured--beaten with a rifle butt and slashed with shards of glass. Today, he has a sickle-shaped scar on his tongue and a scar across his neck. "This is my jugular vein," Zardari said to me, pulling down the collar of his shirt. "They cut it open and said, 'We are going to kill you.'" I asked him what kind of information his torturers hoped to extract. "Basically, they were trying to break me. They had tried everything [to defame Bhutto] but it hadn't worked," he said. His jailers offered to let him go if he could guarantee that Bhutto wouldn't return to Pakistan, a proposition he refused. Said Zardari, "They simply didn't want us to be the leaders of the PPP."

In late 2004, Zardari was finally released from jail. He flew to the United States to seek medical care for diabetes and back and heart trouble, conditions exacerbated by the torture. In 2007, 18 years after their first trip, Zardari and Bhutto were back in Washington, courting the next generation of Bushes. Though George W. Bush's administration strongly backed Musharraf, political instability and the growing pro-Taliban insurgency in Pakistan won Bhutto receptive audiences. Armed with lobbyists, she tirelessly ran the think-tank circuit and cultivated officials, arguing that a power-sharing arrangement between her and Musharraf would offer the best hope for quelling the country's problems.

The Harvard-and Oxford-educated Bhutto enchanted Washington. Policymakers, regional experts, and influential columnists seemed willing to overlook her two ineffective terms as prime minister, her dubious distinction of having supported the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and her husband's reputation as a crook. But Zardari kept a low profile. When they were together, he deferred to Bhutto, staying out of her way and calling her "The Boss."

Zardari and Bhutto eventually returned to Pakistan in October 2007, after the government waived their outstanding corruption cases. The night Bhutto arrived, after eight years in exile, suicide bombers attacked her procession, killing more than 140 people. Bhutto narrowly escaped. Just two months later and only a week after her twentieth wedding anniversary, terrorists targeted Bhutto again, this time successfully. Pakistan burned for days. The worst rioting occurred in Bhutto and Zardari's home province of Sindh. When Bhutto's family and supporters buried her, Sindhis chanted, "We don't need Pakistan! We don't need Pakistan!"

Soon after, the PPP produced Bhutto's handwritten will at a press conference. In it, she had written: "I would like my husband Asif Ali Zardari to lead you in the interim period until you and he decide what is best. I say this because he is a man of courage and honour. He spent 11 1/2 years in prison without bending despite torture. He has the political stature to keep our party united. " Having inherited Pakistan's most powerful political organization, Zardari faced a monumental choice: call the PPP into the streets to avenge his wife's murder, and possibly plunge the country into civil war; or sound a conciliatory tone in the hopes of defusing the crisis. Surprising everyone with his maturity, restraint, and leadership, Zardari chose the latter. Speaking in Sindhi at a press conference just days after Bhutto's assassination, Zardari repeated, "We want Pakistan. We want Pakistan." At one of the most volatile and dangerous moments in the country's history, Zardari led Pakistan away from the brink.

Zardari had always believed that he could flourish in a larger role, even while he kept up the appearance of being content at Bhutto's side. Like Bhutto, who watched and learned from her father before she assumed power, Zardari spent years watching and learning from his wife. His style, however, couldn't be more different than Bhutto's. Whereas she relied on intellect and charisma, Zardari relies on street smarts and cunning, qualities honed by a childhood scrapping on the steps of the Bambino and more than a decade in prison.

Consider how he rose to power this year. In the aftermath of Bhutto's December 2007 assassination, Musharraf had delayed parliamentary elections more than a month. When they were finally held in February, the PPP sailed into power, buoyed by what some called a sympathy vote. Zardari didn't run for a seat. He preferred to stay behind the scenes and play kingmaker. His detractors predicted that Zardari would fail, owing to his checkered past. Yet he soon formed a national government and four provincial governments by cobbling together alliances with partners that Bhutto, had she been in power, would likely have eschewed, including the party headed by Nawaz Sharif, Bhutto and Zardari's arch-rival. Zardari rose above deep ideological differences and years of backbiting to achieve some consensus across the political landscape. He employed his personal touch--invitations to his home, photo ops, and promises--and in the end he secured enough support to win the presidential election.

But sometimes Zardari's charm hasn't been enough, and his penchant for back-room dealings has shown a darker side, too. He doesn't handle dissent well. His political opponents and even some within the Bhutto family accuse him of murdering Benazir's brother in September 1996 to remove potential rivals within the PPP. And, shortly after the PPP's recent return to power, he sought to stifle criticism in the press by offering prominent journalists lucrative jobs in government. Beyond co-opting the media, Zardari has surrounded himself with jailhouse pals, business partners, and former exiles. Several of Zardari's fellow inmates now occupy cabinet-level posts in his government-by-friend. He tapped one of his doctors to run the National Reconstruction Bureau, an office tasked with implementing local governance schemes. (The doctor now runs the oil ministry.) Another, Dr. Qayyum Soomro, who treated Zardari in jail during his torture, is now one of his closest aides.

While the torture nearly broke Zardari physically, the more lasting consequence has been his deep mistrust of those who've not experienced the same, even people within his own party. Zardari suspects many PPP members of being on the payroll of the state's spy agency, the ISI. "These intelligence scoops work in a very subtle manner," he told me (presumably meaning "spooks") as his eyes darted around the room. Zardari has demoted some of Bhutto's former top aides to make space for his prison buddies. I mentioned that some believed he only trusted those people who have spent time, in some capacity, in jail. Zardari acknowledged as much. "When we are making decisions," he replied, "we prefer to take people who have been through the mill, because there is a constant process of trying to break us."

That process has only grown in scope now that Zardari is president. Even before the global economic meltdown this fall, the value of the Pakistani rupee had dropped sharply and foreign exchange reserves had dwindled, leaving Islamabad with no cash to buy energy or even food. (In November, the International Monetary Fund finalized a $7.6 billion loan to Pakistan to save the country from bankruptcy.) Weeks after Zardari took power, and just hours after he addressed parliament for the first time, terrorists bombed the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, killing more than 50 people; and, in November, gunmen based in Pakistan went on a rampage in Mumbai, bringing India and Pakistan to the brink of war. It would be easy to conclude that Pakistan, never the most stable place even in the best of circumstances, had come unglued. That seemed to be the clear sense of the Obama administration, which has launched Predator strikes within Pakistani territory. The war against Islamic militants has gone so badly, in fact, that Zardari's government recently relented to Taliban demands and agreed to the imposition of sharia law in the Swat Valley.

When I visited Zardari in his office on the night of his great triumph, I tried to elicit his master strategy for managing the multiple crises unfurling around him. "What comes next?" I asked.

Zardari paused and stared at the ceiling. "I was sitting in prison, looking at the poverty, looking at the problems of the nation, and thinking, 'How are we going to bring the country out of this mess?'" His eyes still fixed upward, he told me that he considered the problems he inherited even worse than conventionally portrayed. "I know that the figures are all wrong," he said. Then, speaking with the conviction of a man who felt that ruling Pakistan had always been his destiny: "You see, I know where the state is going." The rest of us, apparently, must wait to find out.

Nicholas Schmidle is a fellow at the New America Foundation. His first book, To Live Or Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years In Pakistan, will be published in May.

Remembering Shaikh Ayaz: Legend of Sub-Continent

2009-03-01T17:45:00.001+05:00

Remembering Shaikh Ayaz: Legend of Sub-Continent
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Remembering Shaikh Ayaz: Legend of Sub-Continent Invitation of celebration of Birth Day on March 2nd, 2009 at Karachi Arts Council main auditorium at 3.30 PM Programme includes: Papers and Speeches- Book Launch and Music This is an open Invitation for all He sangram! samhoon Aa Narayan Shayam! -
http://groups.google.com/group/sindh-politics/t/0a37191772160af2?hl=en

Photos of Shaheed Hemu Kalani's home

2009-03-01T17:44:00.001+05:00

Photos of Shaheed Hemu Kalani's home
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21st January was the 66th anniversary of our great hero Shaheed Hemu Kalani. Few days ago I visited his home at Mirki line old Sukkur on the request of his brother Mr. Tekchand Kalani who is a building material supplier and lives in Chambur Mumbai and took some photos.

http://groups.google.com/group/sindh-politics/t/9f91c216cf3a8b27?hl=en

Zardari, Tara Masih to democracy, plunges country into another crisis

2009-02-27T14:37:00.001+05:00

(How can Yousuf Gilani advise Asif Zardari to impose governor's rule in Punjab dislodging the PML-N led provincial government when he had assured Shahbaz Sharif only a couple of days ago that no such action will be taken? Why this treacherous deceit and duplicity? Even if the fake judges had unseated Shahbaz, the Punjab coalition could have elected another CM. Why this attack on
democracy and the provincial rights?) - Thurs, Feb 26 2009 1:23 am

http://groups.google.com/group/sindh-politics/t/28ab89fd4b89d0c4?hl=en

Who rules Sindh; Bhutto Factor & more

2009-02-17T19:27:00.003+05:00

The relevance of the Bhutto factor
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The relevance of the Bhutto factor By Sherry Rehman If Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto were alive today, he would have celebrated his 81st birthday on January 5, 2009. The enthusiasm his followers demonstrate on every birth anniversary of the Shaheed leader, thirty years after his judicial murder, remains a challenge for those looking for an academic understanding of the phenomenon of 'Bhuttoism'. Perhaps the reason leaders like Shaheed Bhutto continue to live in the national memory is because of the dedication they commit to their cause. For Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, people's empowerment was a cause so important that he refused to make any compromises even when his life was at stake. - Tues, Jan 6 2009 3:12 pm 1 message, 1 author

http://groups.google.com/group/sindh-politics/t/8545dd18294200dc?hl=en

Who Rules Sindh? Resolutions of SDF Dialogue - 1 new
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Saeen; As you were not there so probabaly you are mistaken. One wishes that title could have been as you wrote but it was Dialog on Sind's issues. The responsible perons should take serious notice of this strage modification ( deliberate or due to carelessness) in already announced title so that it is not repeated in future. - Sun, Feb 15 2009 8:33 am
1 message, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/sindh-politics/t/3fb013f4f118bace?hl=en

Sindh's share in Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) - 1 new
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[link] سنڌ جي 36 ترقياتي رٿائن لاءِ پهرين ڇهه ماهي دوران رپيو به جاري نه
ٿيو،وفاقي سرڪار سان رابطي جو فيصلو ڪراچي (رپورٽ: اختيار کوکر) وفاقي سرڪار
هلندڙ مالي سال جي ترقياتي پروگرام (پي ايس ڊي پي) ۾ رکيل سنڌ جي 56 رٿائن مان 36
رٿائن لاءِ مالي سال جي پهرين ڇهه ماهي دوران هڪ رپيو به جاري نه ڪيو. وفاقي
سرڪار کي سنڌ جي رٿائن لاءِ بجيٽ ۾ رکيل 18 ارب 48 ڪروڙ 64 لک رپين مان جولاءِ
2008ع کان 31 ڊسمبر 2008ع تائين 9 ارب 24 ڪروڙ 32 لک رپيا جاري ڪرڻا هئا پر انهي
عرصي دوران صرف 2 ارب 87 ڪروڙ رپيا جاري ڪيا ويا. جن رٿائن لاءِ هڪ رپيو به جاري
نه ڪيو ويو آهي. انهن لاءِ بجيٽ ۾ 6-ارب 52 ڪروڙ 35 لک رپيا رکيل آهن. سنڌ حڪومت
فيصلو ڪيو آهي ته سنڌ جو وڏو وزير ناڻي واري وفاقي صلاحڪار ۽ وفاقي - Fri, Feb 13
2009 1:47 am
1 message, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/sindh-politics/t/f72bd10bca53a0ec?hl=en

Sindhis want autonomy - 1 new
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Sindhis want autonomy: JunejoBy ZAMIR SHEIKH submitted 22 hours 52 minutes ago

KARACHI - �Helplessness and hopelessness in Sindh has reached the breaking point and there is a serious demand for change in the democratic set-up as people in the province have started thinking that under the present political dispensation they would not get their legitimate rights�, said Abdul Khalique Junejo, Chairman Jeay Sindh Mahaz, in an interview with The Nation.� - Fri,
Jan 16 2009 1:42 pm
1 message, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/sindh-politics/t/62444e983d92dbfd?hl=en

12 months of PPP Government - No Releif, Jobs or Mega Projects for Sindhis

2009-02-16T19:30:00.002+05:00

By: Asma Lashari
Date: Feb 16, 2009 4:31 AM

If its all true, then it catastrophe for Sindh
A. Baloch

"Sindhi Nation-Big-INFO" wrote:

12 months of PPP Govt.. No Releif, Jobs or Mega Projects for Sindhis.

For the last 12 months Pakistan Peoples Party (PPPP) has been in Power with full representation and control in all corridors of POWER. They have their president, prime minister, favorite chief of army staff, Chief Justice of SC, CMs, Chairman in Senate, Governors of choic and overwhelming majority in NA.

People of Sindh who have been voting for PPP & great Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Sahiba unanimously for the last 38 years and have costed 90% of their votes to PPP candidates on 18th February 2008, now they ask what will they get in return? It is time to speak up and let our views be known to the government of PPP and to worthy Mr Asif Ali Zardari, Mr. Bialwal Bhutto Zardari, Yousif Raza Gilani, Qaim Ali Shah, Rehman Malik, Fahmeeda Mirza, Naveed Qamar, Agha Siraj Durani, Shery Rehman, Khursheed Shah, Zulfiqar Mirza, Peer Mazhar ul Haq, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Farook Naik, Murad Ali Shah & all others federal and provincial Ministers. Please Raise your voice and tell them that the 40 million people of Sindh are still waiting for some relief. We have noted that one year has passed but:

1. No mega Project in Thar, Gorakh, Daharki, Khipro, Nooriabad, Keti Bander, Matli or Shikarpur has been announced. Sindh / Thar Coal Authority has not yet been returned back to Sindh Government & project has not been launched formally.

2. DOW Medical College rejected the orders of CM for admissions of Sindhis & no action has been taken against them & Sindhi student are not being allowed to study in DMC, KU and NED
Karachi.

3. No administrative action has been taken so far by Board of Revenue to regularize Sindhi villages of Karachi, Hyderabad & Sukkur. Goth Abad Act-1987 has not been implemented. No plan to shift and establish low-cost residential areas for rural Sindhis in their own capital Karachi has been materialized .

4. 5000 illegally employed MQM workers of Water Board & 18000 terrorists working in Community Police of Karachi have not been sacked yet. Thousands of MQM Doctors appointed by former govt without any merit have not been terminated.

5. No formal enquiry conducted and action taken to punish the criminals & terrorists involved in massacres of 12th may & 18th oct 2007 & 9th April 2008. 5200 Cases withdrawn against terrorists of MQM in past and 4800 cases withdrawn under NRO in April 2008 (under PPP govt) have not been re-opened and pursued yet.

6. Work on Thal canal is still continuing, no action taken to stop it. The theft of Sindh's water is continuing unabated & illegal flow in CJ & TP link canals is causing drought and water famine in Sindh.

7. Every week the Federal Minster of Power & CM Sindh are issuing contradictory statements and no formal resolution has been brought in NA to shelve-off the Kalabagh Dam permanently.

8. Dictator Musharraf violated the Constitution, compromised sovereignty of the country, destroyed institutions, waged war on own people, murdered political leaders and innocent citizens, caused disharmony among provinces, created divisions among the people and ruined the economy but he has been given safe passage and indemnity & no action has been taken against him and his Q-league-MQM-Functional-League Team so far.

9. No measures have been taken to stop hunger & suicides in Sindh. People in villages can not afford to buy flour, rice, gas, electricity, medicines & petrol. Everyday dozens are committing suicides and women are selling their beloved kids. Share of entire Sindh's electricity is given to Karachi and 4 to 8 hours load shedding in Sindh has not been stopped yet.

10. Non-Sindhi terrorist Governor Ishrat ul Ibad, Chief Secretary & IG of Sindh & Dummy Chief Justice Dogar all are still in offices & not removed yet and PPP has agreed on expanding the power sharing in province and federal government level with MQM. Half of the ministries in Sindh have been given to them & Urdu speaking unelected PPP leaders. A Political Party that represents less than 5% of population in country is having more than 27% power share at federal level & 45% in Sindh. Non-Sindhi Federal Law Minster and Information Ministers are appointed as representatives of Sindh. Tenure of Local govt was supposed to end in beginning of this yea but for the want of MQM it is still continuing and MQM has been given the ministry of Ports & Shipping so that they can bring weapons through port.

11. Corruption is at new heights in Sindh, Punjab, NWFP and Balochistan. In Sindh MQM & PPP ministers of health, education, excise & taxation, forest, communication, fisheries, culture irrigation, revenue, local govt, food etc & in federation WAPDA, Finance, Defense ministries have broken all past records of corruption and bribery. Ministers are openly negotiating 1 to 5 million bribes for lucrative transfers & postings and General, Brigadiers, Colonels & Majors are freely getting, forest, highway and riverrine lands, permits, plots and contracts through ministers

12. There is no foreign policy at all, on one hand Nawaz Shareef, Imran Khan and Jamait Islami are playing in the hands of jihadee extremists and on the other hand PPP, MQM, ANP & JUI have mortgaged the national sovereignty with NATO countries.

13. Thousands of Sindhis affected in Larkana-Dadoo rains and floods & cyclone in Badin and Thatta are still shelter less, without food and medical help. Fishermen and framers are still homeless, jobless, foodless and their children are without food, education and medicines.

14. Division of District Hyderabad has not been annulled, Maleer, Hyderabad and Lyari Districts have not been restored, terrorist Dist Nazims Sayed Mustafa Kamal and Kunwar Naveed Jameel are enjoying more powers than ordinary PPP ministers, MNAs and MPAs.

15. Abuses to women, minorities, children, harees and weaker sections of the society are continuing & no administrative or legislative action has been taken yet. Jirgas, SANG CHATEES, CHAR BHETA, BADO, Karo Kari are being supported by Sindhi Waderas of PPP, PML-N, PML-Q and Functional League unanimously.

16. Stock market has crashed, electricity, gas, diesel, kerosene and CNG prices have touched the new heights, Dollar became Rs. 79 from 61 in just 12 months. Pakistan is struggling under its biggest budget deficit in a decade, $21 billion; inflation that hit a 30-year high, 24.3 percent.

17. Judiciary & the brave son of all the four provinces Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammd Chodhri has not been restored yet. PPP has recently re-appointed 9 justices in Sindh and out of them just 1 is a native Sindhi and 8 are Muhajirs, which brings the number of Muhajir Justices to 24 out of 29 in Sindh High Court. The MQM representative corrupt muhajir Judge Anwer Zaheer Jamali has stopped the promotion of majority of Sindhi session & civil judges. 50 percent of newly proposed judges announced in daily Kawish are also muhajirs.

18. No provincial autonomy introduced & no initiative has been taken for new NFC award. Highways of Sindh, islands and coastal, Clifton & defence lands taken by Federation have not been returned to Province, Concurrent list remains intact, the sales, toll, and excise taxes are not yet been declared provincial revenues.

19. No Truth & Reconciliation Commission formed yet, no probe into assassinations of great Sheed Benazir Bhutto sahiba, Nawab Akber Bugti, Balach Maree, Munawer Suharwardi, Abduallah Murad Baloch, Meer Murtaza Bhutto & thousands of other Sindhis & Balochs.

20. In Sindh, Seraiki & Balochistan fast-rising unemployment is creating disaster, it is projected to reach 6.6 percent in 2009. Jobs of teachers, doctors, engineers clerics, nurses and policemen are being given for 1 to 15 lacs bribe. Overnight the middles class PPP , MQM, ANP, JUI & PML-N ministers have bought PRADOs, LEXUS, Range rovers, Land Cruisers. Civics, Corollas and Mark-11. They are living a lavish life in 1000 to 1600 yard lavish Bungalows in Karachi and their voters are left alone foodless, jobless and shelter less under the hot sun.

21. Crimes in Sindh province are increasing rapidly, MQM has established a new division to extort money through theft of mobile phones, car snatching & robberies, jihadees are committing bank robberies and the dacoits patronized by Sindhi feudal, police and intelligence agencies have made the life of Sindhi villagers miserable. Everyday 5/6 small growers, Hindu Sind businessman and low-grade govt officer are being kidnapped for ransom in rural areas.

22. PPP and MR Zardari are also planning to sell the valuable energy asset The Qadirpur gas field, second-largest natural gas reserve in country of 2.9 trillion cubic feet in the Indus River flood plain, it is may be one of the first big-ticket sales, Pakistan Railway, SSGC, Steel Mill & PIA are also in the queue for sale.

23. Sindh is being ruled by just 7 families of: 1-Mr Zardari, Mrs Azra Pechuho & Mrs Faryal Munawer, 2-Mr Altaf Hussain, 3-Peer Pagara, Yousif Raza & Saddarudin Shah, 4-Mr Zulfiqar Mirza, Mrs Fahmeeda Mirza, Peer Mazhar ul Haq, Qazi Asad Abid & Jam Saifullah Dharejo, 5-Agha Siraj Durani & Khursheed Shah, 6-Naveed Qamar, Sayed Qamar Zaman Shah & Sherry Rehman, 7-Sayed Qaim Ali Shah, Nafeesa Shah, Mr Durani, Asad Shah and Naheed Shah and 40 million people have no direct or indirect access to jobs, education, health an opportunities.

24. Sindhi and Bloch Prisoners are still in jails, people are still missing and operation in Balochistan continues. The prison conditions in Sukkur, Khairpur, Larkana, Hyderabad, Quetta and Mach Jails are dreadful and every day there are riots in Jails.

25. Everyday one can find a number of announcements made by PPP ministers, MNAs and MPAs and the very next day they forget what they said earlier and announce a new plan. Speeches and announcements have become a mockery of democracy.

26. Sindhi language has been forcibly driven out of Karachi and Latifabad delivering a near death blow to Sindhi language. None of the private Schools in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur are teaching Sindhi Language in classes 1 to 5.

27. Except just one posting in UAE no Sindhi has been appointed as Ambassador / Consul General to any Country yet. No action has been taken or policy made for promotions of Sindhis as Generals, Brigadiers, Admirals and Air Martials. No Sindhi has been appointed as Chief of any Government owned Corporation.

28. Massive illegal immigration across the border from India & Afghanistan, from FATA Northern Areas and from distant lands and other provinces of Pakistan is exerting a fatal stress on the resources of Sindh. Biharis, muhajirs and Afghans have controlled all the entry and exit points of Karachi, Habb, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Sukkur. The remaining poetions of the govt lands have been occupied by PPP ministers, MNAs, MPAs, office bearers and their business
partners.

29. No quota of 75% or 80% has yet been fixed and implemented for the purpose of employment of indigenous Sindhi people in all private businesses, industries & multinational corporations.

30. Nationalists and writers like Gul Muhammad Jakhrani, Mahar Hussain Shah, Jalal Mahmoo Shah, Yousif Leghari, Zameer Ghurmo, Jam Saqi, Amar Sindhoo, Fatah Malik, Abrar Qazi Hameed Sindhi, Kazi Kahdim, Qasim Bughio, Qamar Shahbaz, Javed Leghari, Suleman Shaikh have either joined the ranks of govt or supporting them for tiny interests.

31. Clean and germ free drinking water is not yet been supplied to different districts & no action taken and or crash program launched to build farm to market roads and bridges connecting the taluka and district headquarters. Despite demands bridges for connecting Kandh kot wit Ghotki, Khairpur with Larkana and Sakrand with Manjhand are not yet built or even conceived. No new industries launched or proposed to be established in rural Sindh.

32. No new TV or radio station or new school, college or university are being announced for any remote district or taluka of Sindh. Jacobabad, Mithi, Qamber, Thatta, Sanghar, Badin, Umer Kot and Dadu still need new Universities & technical colleges but PPP is only busy in changing the names of existing institutes and towns and earning under MUFAHAMATI (reconciliation) policy.

33. First time in history of Pakistan only 3 Sindhi senators have elected out of 11 senators. An ut of 8 non-Sindhi Seneatos 5 have been nominated by PPP and 3 by MQM. Senator Islam u Din Shaikh and Senator Gul Mohamad Laat are openly claiming that they have given 15 crores each through Peer Mazhar, Sharjeel Memon, Ayaz Soomro and Khursheed Shah.

34. When development is continuing in Punjab under CMship of Shahbaz and Pakhtoon an Baloch representatives are raising their voice against hunger, poverty and atrocities, none of the Sindhi Ministers, MNAs, MPAs, Senators, Party Office Bearers, Nazims or any PPP leader has so far publicly raised any disagreement with Party leadership for the general Cause of Sindh, None of them has objected on any Anti Sindhi Policy or for lack of opportunities, jobs or Postings ad projects for rural Sindh and above all they have not brought forward any legislation for the benefits of public at large.

Dear elected representatives of PPP, Distinguished Sirs & Madams,, we the 40 million Sindhis respect your mandate and appreciate the sacrifices made by Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Sheed Benazir Bhutto sahiba & Meer Murtaza Bhutto but we have also suffered a lot, we have lost of sons and daughters under the dictatorships and tyrant rule of Yahya, Zia, Musharaf and Altaf Hussain and we are still waiting for some relief, please we should not be taken for granted, please reciprocate.

Sindhi People & Civil Society of Sindh

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~

محنت، مثبت سوچ ۽ روين جي غربت

2007-09-16T03:10:00.000+05:00

محنت، مثبت سوچ ۽ روين جي غربت

سيد عرفان علي شاهه

ڪجهه عرصو اڳ مون کي هڪ واقفڪار پاران هڪ اي ميل ملي، جنهن ۾ غريب ۽ امير ملڪن جي وچ ۾ فرق واضح ڪيو ويو هو. ڄاڻايو ويو هئو ته ترقيءَ جو تعلق ڪنهن ملڪ وٽ زمين جي هجڻ، نه هجڻ سان نه آهي. جپان جي اڪثريتي آبادي پهاڙن تي مشتمل آهي، پوءِ به هو دنيا جو ٻيو نمبر اقتصادي طور تي مضبوط ملڪ ليکيو وڃي ٿو. ترقيءَ جو راز ڪنهن ملڪ جي قديم هجڻ سان به واسطو نٿو رکي. انڊيا ۽ مصر ٻه هزار سال قديم آهن، پوءِ به اڄ تائين غير ترقي يافته آهن. جڏهن ته 0 5 1 سال آڳاٽا ملڪ ڪيناڊا، نيوزيلينڊ ۽ آسٽريليا ترقي يافته چورائن ٿا. رنگ يا نسل سان به ڪو امير يا غريب ناهي ٿيندو. پنهنجي ملڪن ۾ سست ۽ بيڪار چورائيندڙ امير ملڪن ۾ وڃي، ان جي پيداواري قوت بنجي ويندا آهن. ان صورت ۾ سوال اهو ٿو پيدا ٿئي ته نيٺ به اصل فرق ڪهڙو آهي؟ دراصل ڪيترن سالن کان انهن ملڪن جي مقرر ڪيل تعليم ۽ ڪلچر سبب پيدا ٿيندڙ ذميوارانه روين جو فرق آهي. امير ملڪن ۾ گهڻا ئي انهن ماڻهن جي آهي، جيڪي ايمانداري، ذميواري، قانون جو احترام، پنهنجي شهرين جي حقن جو احترام، ڪم ڪرڻ جو شوق ۽ وقت جي پابندي ڪندا آهن ۽ غريب ملڪن ۾ انهن اصولن تي فقط ٻه يا ٽي سيڪڙو ماڻهو عمل ڪندا آهن. اسان غريب ان ڪري نه آهيون ته اسان وٽ وسيلا نه آهن يا قدرت اسان تي مهربان نه آهي، پر اسان پنهنجي روين جي ڪري غريب آهيون.

ويجهڙائي ۾ پارٽي جي ميٽنگ ۾ شريڪ ٿيڻ لاءِ لنڊن وڃڻ جو اتفاق ٿيو. ايئرپورٽ ۾ داخل ٿيس ته ڪسٽم آفيسر پڇيو ته ڪيڏانهن پيا وڃو؟ مون وراڻيو ته لنڊن. چيائين: ڇو؟ مون چيو ته پارٽي ميٽنگ آهي. جڏهن کيس سڌ پئي ته مان صوبائي اسيمبليءَ جو ميمبر آهيان، تڏهن هن منهنجو تمام گهڻو خيال ڪيو ۽ بورڊنگ ڪارڊ وٺي، اميگريشن ڪائونٽر تان اسٽيمپ لڳرائي، مون کي اندر ڇڏي آيو. مون سوچيو ته سڀاڻي جيڪڏهن مان ايم پي اي نه رهندس، تڏهن به منهنجو ايترو خيال رکيو ويندو؟. ۽ ڇا هو عام ماڻهن سان به ايئن ئي پيش ايندو هوندو؟.

لنڊن پهتاسين ته دل کي خوف ورائي ويو ته پاڪستاني پاسپورٽ هجڻ جي ڪري تنگ نه ڪن، پر ڪجهه سوال پڇي، هنن آسانيءَ سان وڃڻ ڏنو. لنڊن ۾ زير زمين ريل هلندي آهي، جنهن کي ٽيوب ٽرين چوندا آهن. اها سڄي شهر ۾ هلندي آهي. هڪ سئو سال اڳ ڪنهن ڪمپني ڪوئلي جي کاڻ خريد ڪئي هئي ۽ ڪوئلي کي ڪڍڻ لاءِ انهيءَ ڪمپنيءَ هڪ سرنگ ڪڍي هئي. ڪنهن کي خيال آيو ته ڇو نه هيٺ موجود خالي سرنگ ۾ ٽرين جي وڇايل پٽڙي کي پئسينجر ٽرين هلائڻ لاءِ استعمال ڪيو وڃي. اڄ ڏسي سگهجي ٿو ته لنڊن ۾ زير زمين ڪيترا ئي پليفارم ۽ شهر آباد آهن ۽ پئسينجر ٽرينون گذري رهيون آهن، جن ۾ ڏهاڙي هڪ لک کان وڌيڪ ماڻهو سفر ڪن ٿا. ٻئي پاسي اسان آهيون، جيڪي ڇهن فوٽن جو گٽر يا ڪا نالي به ٺاهڻ کان لاچار آهيون. سڄو ڏينهن ڪم ڪرڻ کان پوءِ جڏهن ماڻهو گهرن ڏانهن واپس وڃڻ لاءِ ٽرين ۾ ويهندا آهن ته هر شخص وٽ ڪجهه نه ڪجهه پڙهڻ لاءِ ضرور هوندو آهي. هو آفيس کان گهر تائين جي سفر کي پڻ لاڀائتو بڻائيندا آهن. ڪو به ڪنهن جي باري ۾ ڪجهه به ڄاڻڻ يا خبر چار رکڻ لاءِ بيقرار نه هوندو آهي. هر ڪو پنهنجي زندگي جيئندو آهي. هر شئي طئي ٿيل آهي. جيڪڏهن هو چوندا ته ڪنهن جڳهه تي ڏهن منٽن ۾ پهچڻو آهي ته ڏهه منٽ ئي لڳندا. هيءَ هڪ سوچ آهي، هڪ رويو آهي، جيڪو ئي امير بڻائي ٿو. هتي ٽيهه سال کن اڳ روزگار جي سلسلي ۾ آيل پاڪستاني ۽ هندستاني اڄ امير ترين ماڻهو سڏجن ٿا. هتي ماڻهوءَ جي روزمرهه جي استعمال جون شيون هڪ ئي قيمت تي ملنديون، هتي اوهان جي آئيڊياز کي اهميت هوندي آهي.

ان جي ابتڙ اسان پنهنجن روين تي ويچار ڪريون ٿا ته اسان کي خبر ئي نٿي پوي ته اسان ڇا آهيون ۽ ڇا پيا ڪريون. اسان وٽ ترقي جو راز محنت يا تعليم نه آهي، ذاتي تعلقات آهن. هر شخص پنهنجي حيثيت مطابق تعلقات وڌائي رهيو آهي. ڪنهن کي نوڪري کپي، ته ڪنهن کي ٺيڪو، ڪنهن کي اليڪشن ۾ سيٽ، ڪنهن کي وزارت، ڪنهن کي بئنڪ کان قرض کپي ته ڪنهن کي بئنڪ کان قرض معاف ڪرائڻو آهي. اسين مختلف زبانن ۾ ورهايل آهيون ۽ ڪي وري فرقن ۾. جيڪڏهن سڀ سنڌي آهيون ته پوءِ جتوئين ۽ مهرن ۾ ورهايل آهيون. مون کي وڏي شڪايت انهن ماڻهن ۽ ادارن سان آهي، جيڪي ماڻهن جي اهڙي ذهينت جوڙين ٿا. اسان سڀ زهر اوڳاڇيون ٿا. لکون، پڙهون، ٻڌون ۽ ڳالهايون به زهر ٿا. هڪ گدلاڻ اها آهي، جيڪا دونهين ۽ دوائن جي فيڪٽرين جي ڪيميڪلز سان اسان جي ماحول، وراڪ کي خراب ۽ زهريلو ڪري رهي آهي ته ٻي گدلاڻ اها آهي، جنهن سان اسان سڀ پنهنجي ماڻهن جي سوچ کي گدلو ۽ زهريلو بڻائي رهيا آهيون. ڪو به سياستدان حق سچ جي ڳالهه ڪرڻ لاءِ تيار نه آهي ۽ ڪو به لکندڙ پنهنجي معاشري کي آرسي ڏيکارڻ لاءِ تيار نه آهي.

ڪجهه ڏينهن اڳ ۾ مون هڪ شخص کي چيو ته تون پنهنجي ڳوٺ واري اسڪول جي استاد کي ڇو نه ٿو چوين ته هو ڏهاڙي اسڪول اچي؟ هن جواب ڏنو، مائٽ آهي، سڀ مائٽ ناراض ٿيندا. مون کيس چيو ته هي ٻارڙا اوهان جا نه آهن؟ ڇا هنن سڀني جي مستقبل کان وڌيڪ تولاءِ هڪ شخص جي ناراضگي اهم آهي؟ تنهن تي چوڻ لڳو ته سائين مون کيس هڪ ڀيري چيو هو، ته چيائين، ”تو ڪڏهن پهرين ته نه چيو آهي. جڏهن کان موٽر سائيڪل ورتي اٿئي، تڏهن کان شڪايتون ڪرڻ لڳو آهين“. اهو به هڪ رويو آهي. سماج ۾ تعليم تي ڳالهه ٻولهه ڪرڻ لاءِ ڪير به تيار نه آهي، هر شخص سياست تي ڳالهائڻ چاهي ٿو. هر هوٽل هر اوطاق تي فقط اهو بحث آهي ته ڪير ڪنهن جي سامهون بيهندو؟ ڪير اليڪشن کٽيندو؟ ڪير هارائيندو؟ هن جا تعلقات هن سان سٺا آهن، هن جا هن سان خراب آهن. هڪ ڏينهن اسيمبلي ۾ ته همت ڪو نه ٿيم، پر ٻاهر اچي دوستن کي چيم ته شاهه عبداللطيف ڀٽائيءَ جي عرس مبارڪ تي اسڪولن کي موڪلون ڇو هجن؟ ته سڀ مون تي ڏاڍا ناراض ٿيا. مون چيو ته ڇا اهو سٺو نه ٿيندو ته ان ڏينهن سمورا اسڪول کليل هجن ۽ فقط شاهه عبداللطيف ڀٽائي بابت ٻارن کي پڙهايو وڃي، موڪل سان ته ڪجهه به حاصل نه ٿيندو. اسان جو ڪلچر، عقيدو ۽ علم ايترو ته پڪو ٿي ويو آهي، جو اسان ٻيو ڪجهه ٻڌڻ لاءِ تيار ئي نه آهيون. اڄ جيڪڏهن مان چوان ته ادا اوهان سڀ علم حاصل ڪريو، سڀاڻي جيڪڏهن مون کي موقعو مليو ته مان توهان کي ميرٽ تي نوڪري ڏيندس، ته ڪير به مون کي ووٽ ڪو نه ڏيندو. جيڪڏهن مان چوان ته فرد واحد بجاءِ مان ادارن ٺاهڻ کي ترجيح ڏيندس ته سنڌ ۾ مون کي هڪ بيڪار سياستدان سمجهيو ويندو.

دنيا ۾ قانون سخت ۽ نافذ ڪرڻ وارا نرم هوندا آهن. جڏهن ته اسان وٽ قانون نرم ۽ نافذ ڪرڻ وارا سخت پئي رهيا آهن. اسان وٽ اختلاف راءِ کي دشمني سمجهيو ويندو آهي. جيڪڏهن اسان هڪ ٻئي جي راءِ سان متفق نه آهيون ته ڄڻ دشمن ليکباسين. هڪ ٻئي جي ڳالهه کي ڪٽي، بلند آواز ۾ ڳالهائڻ کي هميشه سوڀ جي شاني سمجهيو ويندو آهي. تمام وڏا لکندڙ پنجن ڏينهن جون پراڻيون اخبارون پڙهي، تجربا لکي وٺندا آهن. ماڻهن ۽ انهن جي مسئلن تي ڪو به نه لکندو آهي. سوچي ڪير به ڪو نه ٿو، ڪو به خواب ڏسندڙ نه رهيو آهي. شهيد ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو چوندو هو ته مان هڪ آئيڊيا آهيان، هي ماڻهو مون کي مارڻ نه پر هڪ آئيڊيا کي مارڻ چاهين ٿا. شايد دشمن جي چال سگهاري هئي، جو ان کان پوءِ اسان سوچڻ ڇڏي ڏنو آهي. اڄ تائين مون کي ياد نه آهي ته ڪنهن عام ماڻهو يا صحافيءَ مون کان اهو پڇيو هجي ته اوهان جي پارٽيءَ جو منشور ڇا آهي؟ بيروزگاري ڪيئن ختم ڪري سگهجي ٿي؟ نوجوانن ۽ ٻارڙن جي تعليم لاءِ اوهان وٽ ڪهڙي پلاننگ آهي؟. اسين بيمار ٿيون ته اسان لاءِ اوهين ڇا ڪندا؟ اجتماعي سوچ جي ڪمي آهي. هر ڪو پنهنجي ذات تائين محدود آهي. اسان سڀني گڏجي، فرد واحد کي مضبوط ڪيو آهي ۽ ادارن کي ڪمزور. هڪ شخص پنهنجي شخصي واسطن جي بنياد تي ڊي پي او بڻجي وڃي ٿو، پر هڪ محنت ڪندڙ ماڻهو فقط ڪلارڪ ئي رهي ٿو. اڄ به وڏن وڏن آفيسرن جو سمورو ڪم ڪلارڪ ئي ڪندا آهن. انهن کي سڀ ڪجهه ڪرڻ ايندو آهي. وڏا آفيسر صرف پنهنجو نوٽ لکي، فائيل موڪلي ڏيندا آهن. اڄ به هڪ فرد واحد اسيمبلين جي اجلاسن کي سڏائڻ ۽ نه ڏائڻ جو اختيار هٿ هيٺ رکيون ويٺو آهي ۽ اڪيلي سوچ کي اسان مٿان مڙهڻ جي ڪوشش ڪري رهيو آهي. سوال اهو آهي ته اسان کي نيٺ ڇا ڪرڻ گهرجي؟

منهنجي ويچار موجب سڀني ادارن جهڙوڪ سياسي پارٽين، ميڊيا، انصاف جو ادارو وغيره کي پهرين پنهنجن ماڻهن سان ويهي، پنهنجو احتساب ڪرڻ گهرجي، پنهنجين غلطين کي قبول ڪرڻ گهرجي ۽ ماڻهن کي اهو ٻڌائڻ گهرجي ته اسان ان ڪهڙيون ڪهڙيون ۽ ڪٿي ڪٿي غلطيون ٿيون آهن. اسان ڪٿي اوهان سان ڪوڙ ڳالهايو، غلط معلومات فراهم ڪئي ۽ ڪهڙا فيصلا ڪيا. اهو به ٻڌائڻ گهرجي ته اڳتي ڪڏهن به ائين نه ٿيندو. ميڊيا اهو ٻڌائي ته سماج ۾ فقط ڪاروڪاري ۽ خونريزيءَ جا واقعا نه پيا ٿين، پر ڪجهه ۽ ڪٿي چڱا ڪم به ٿي رهيا آهن. انصاف جا ادارا هڪ مهيني اندر هر ڪيس جو فيصلو ٻڌائين. هر شهريءَ کي اهو حق هجڻ گهرجي ته هو واپڊا سان لاڳاپيل ڪنهن به آفيس ۾ درخواست ڏئي ۽ ان جي بجلي لڳي وڃي. هر گهر کي پيئڻ جو صاف پاڻي ملڻ گهرجي. ايم پي اي ۽ ايم اين اي کي ترقياتي اسڪيمون ڏيڻ بجاءِ انهن اسڪيمن لاءِ قانون سازي ڪجي ۽ انهن جي نظرداري به ٿيڻ کپي. سماج ۾ صاف سٿرن ترقياتي ڪمن کي ميڊيا ۾ جاءِ ملڻ گهرجي. ماڻهن کي ٻڌايو وڃي ته سندن حقن سان گڏ سندن ڪهڙيون ڪهڙيون ميواريون آهن. هر اداري ۾ وقت جي پابنديءَ کي يقيني بڻايو وڃي. جيتوڻيڪ مٿيان سڀئي ڪم اسان جي سوسائٽي ۾ مشڪل ضرور آهن، پر ناممڪن نه آهن. صحتمند ٿيڻ لاءِ ڪڙي دوا ته پيئڻي پوندي. نه اسان وٽ وسيلن جي کوٽ آهي ۽ نه اسان جي ماڻهن ۾ قابليت جي ڪمي آهي. فقط حوصلي افزائيءَ جي ڪمي آهي. اسان کي پنهنجا ٻنيون ٻارا به آهن، ته صحرا به، ثقافت به آهي ته لوڪ گيت به ۽ تاريخي ورثو به آهي. فقط هڪ بهتر رويي جي ڪمي آهي، جنهن سبب اسان غريب آهيون.

ڪهاڻي مرديڪا جي

2007-08-31T17:02:00.000+05:00

ڪهاڻي مرديڪا جي

آگسٽ2007 جي شروعات ۾ سنڌ وڃڻ ٿيو جتي دوستن ملائيشيا جي حال احوال کان واقف ڪرڻ لاءِ زور ڀريو. ان کان اڳ ۾ به سوچيم ته ڪجهه سنڌي ۾ لکجي پر مصروفيت ۽ وقت جي گهٽتائي جي ڪري همٿ نه پئي ٿيئ بحر حال هاڻ ڪجھه وقت ڪڍي سنڌ جي ساٿين لاءِ ڪڏهن ڪڏهن هتان جو حال احوال هن بلاگ تي لکبو۔

اڄ 31آگسٽ 2007 تي ملئيشيا پنهنجو پنجاه ساله جشن آذادي ملهائي رهي آهي. جنهن جا جشن ڌوم ڌام سان ملهايا پيا وڃن. ملاڪه ۾ به جشن آزادي يا "مرديڪا"جا رنگ هر طرف وکريل نظر اچن ٿا . آزاد ٿئي ملئيشيا کي هاڻ پنجاه سال پورا ٿيا آهن. انهن پنجاه سالن ۾ ملئيشيا جيتري ترقي ڪئي آهي، سا سنڌين لاءِ هڪ مثال آهي. هتي جي ترقي ڏسي ذهن ۾ اهيو سوال ضرور اٿي ٿو ته آخر سنڌي ماڻهو ڇو اها ترقي نه ڪري سگهيو آهي جيڪا هتي جي چينين ۽ ملئي ماڻهن ڪئي آهي. هتي به مسئلا آهن، نسلي فرق ۽ تضاد آهن، پر تنهن هوندي به معاشي ميدان ۾ سڀ قومون پنهنجي معاشي ترقي کي اوليت ڏينديون رهيون آهن. معاشي ميدان ۾ چيني ڪافي تيز آهن. ملئي ڪافي پوئتي پيل آهن پر آزادي وقت هنن سندن آئين ۾ اهڙا تحفظ رکي ڇڏيا جن سان هنن کي ملڪ ۾ خاص "ڀومي پُترا“ اسٽيٽس حاصل آهي. ملئيشيا جي ٻين رهواسين کي اهڙي خاص حيثيت حاصل ناهي۔

چينين ۽ انڊين تاملن کي جيتوڻيڪ ملئي اڪثريت رکندڻن جو اهيو آئيني تحفظ ڪجهه ناپسند آهي، تنهن هوندي به هو ان ڳالهه سان اتفاق ڪن ٿا ته آئين جون اهي شقون جيڪي ملئي ماڻهن کي ڀومي اسٽيٽس ڏين ٿيون، انهن ملئي نسل جي ماڻهن لاءِ ضروري به آهن جو هو ڪافي پوئتي پيل آهن. سنڌي ماڻهن کي به پاڪستان ۾ اهڙي قسم جي تحفظ جي ضمانت ڏيندڙ آئيني گيرينٽي جي ضرورت هئي مگر ايئن نه ٿيو. ملئي قوم جي"ڀومي پُترا"حيثيت ۽ گهڻ مذهبي، گهڻ ثقافتي سماج جي باوجود هن ملڪ جي شاندار ترقي جي ڪهاڻي لاءِ ضروري آهي ته ملئيشيا جي آزادي جي تحريڪ ۽ هن جي ڊيموگرافي ۽ سلطنت ملاڪه کان ملايا ۽ پوءِ ملئيشيا ٿيندڙ ملڪ بابت ڪجهه ڄاڻ حاصل ڪجي۔

هن مضمون جو باقي حصو پڙهڻ لاءِ هتي ڪلڪ ڪريو۔

Sulaiman range - No water, to drink, no livestock, no school, no health

2007-05-30T20:20:00.000+05:00

Posted by: Wasim Wagha

The tribals of Suleiman Mountains - No water to
drink, no vegetation for livestock, no school, no health

Dear Mushtaq

Absolutely right. Extraction of Uranium is a
huge threat to people's health, a health problem
which would in fact affect the generations. It
is a threat which would seep to next
generations. The indigenous and tribal peoples
the world over are campaigning against Uranium
extraction like the aboriginals in Darwin (Australia).

But the question remains 'what can be done' against this.

Wasim Wagha

Centre for Indigenous Peoples of Indus (CIPI)
DAMAAN Development Organization

Mushtaq Gaadi wrote:

Dear Wasim,

Thanks for sending this brief note on the
problems of tribal people living in Suleiman
mountains. I would just like to mention the acute
public health problem related to the vast
operations of the extraction and processing of
uranium in the area. As this is considered the
matter of national security, the government don't
allow to undertake any research and documentation of this problem.

Regards,

Mushtaq

Wasim Wagha wrote:

Dear friends

When the Baloch from Balochistan province
struggle against the brutal exploitation of their
natural resources, and at least their demands are
well known nationally and internationally, the
exploitation of other Baloch tribes, Buzdars and
Qaisranis, in the Suleiman Mountains go unchecked
and un-challenged. The area is being exploited
and deprived of very basic facilities just as if it is a 'foreign land'.

A local weekly newspaper 'Al-Manzoor' of Taunsa
Sharif (District D G Khan) has published a
detailed story of their sufferings (16-23 May
2007). Below are some highlights:

i. Drinking water: In papers,
fifty water supply schemes have been constructed
with millions of rupees, but on ground not a
single one exists. The people and animals drink
water from the wells and ponds together.
ii. Education: There are few
high, middle and primary schools but without
staff / teachers – the buildings look like 'bhoot-bangley' – ghost places.
iii. Health: There are only
three basic health centres but without doctors;
the doctors reside in cities and run their
private clinics. Women and the worst victims of
non-availability of health services; they have to
come all the way down from mountain to Taunsa city.
iv. No water / No Livelihoods:
Diverting the hill-torrents into drains, to save
newly constructed Chashma Right Bank Canal in the
plains, has further dried the area – no water, no
vegetation. This is adversely affecting their
major livelihood of livestock rearing.
v. Identity: The National
Database Regulatory Authority (NADRA) mark their
area, on identity cards, as 'Ilaqa-e-gher', - an
Urdu word which means 'foreign land'.

This is only of tip of iceberg. The exploitation
and discrimination dates back to partition
times. Against their will, at the time of
partition (1947), they and their tribal area were
included in Punjab province (district D G Khan)
as "De-Excluded Area". This decision resulted in
a series of endless discrimination e.g. on
National Identity Cards (NICs), instead
of writing 'tribal area', their area is marked
as 'Ilaqa-e-gher', - an Urdu word which means
'foreign land'. The area is rich in minerals like
oil, gas, gypsum, Uranium, fuller-miti and many
more, and the government is extracting these
resources without any royalty to them.

Wasim Wagha

Centre for Indigenous Peoples of Indus (CIPI)
DAMAAN Development Organization

'Last of Mohicans' to participate in SANA Convention

2007-05-30T15:57:00.001+05:00

Posted by: Aziz Narejo

Indigenous Peoples' Rights: "Last of the Mohicans" Coming to SANA Convention

"Red-Indianization" has not ended with the
colonization of the Americas, Australia and News
Zealand. Millions of indigenous people around the
world continue to be threatened with losing their
land, basic human rights, identity, language,
culture and heritage. Globalization, large-scale
population movements, discrimination, loss of
political power and living under the hegemony of
powerful and unscrupulous majorities have
dispossessed, marginalized, intimidated and weakened many people.

This sounds very familiar if one looks at the
miserable condition of Sindhis who have suffered
immensely as a result of the partition of the
Indian sub-continent and the unprecedented
migration that has continued unabated since. They
have lost control over their resources, their
land and the decision-making in their own
province. Their language and culture have been
under constant attack and conspiracies have been
afoot since long to bring demographic changes
turning them into a minority in their own land.

Siraikis and Baloch also face similar threats in Pakistan.

I think it is important that the issue is
internationalized and effectively taken up at
different forums. It is necessary to establish
contacts between indigenous people around the world.

Keeping that in view, we have invited the
greatest living American Indian leader, Russell
Means to be the keynote speaker at the
forthcoming SANA Convention to be held in
Orlando, FL June 29 – July 2. I am glad to inform
you that he has graciously accepted the
invitation and would be delivering the keynote
address during our annual banquet. He will speak
on the 'empowerment of indigenous people,
activism of indigenous people and inherent rights
of the indigenous people on world stage'.

I had been in contact with him since last couple
of years and had invited him for our Sindh
Convention but he could not get Pakistani visa in
time and couldn't attend our convention held in Karachi in December 2005.

Russell Means is said to be the most famous
American Indian leader since Crazy Horse and
Sitting Bull. He was among the Indian activists
including his father "Hank Means," who occupied
San Francisco's Alcatraz Island in 1964 lasting 19 months.

He became first national director of the American
Indian Movement in 1970 and has been active in
the American Indian movement/activities since.
"Later that year, Means was one of the leaders of
AIM's takeover of Mount Rushmore. In 1972, he
participated in AIM's takeover of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs office in Washington, DC, and in
1973 he led AIM's occupation of Wounded Knee,
which became the group's most celebrated action" (Wikipidia).

In occupying the Wounded Knee site of a 1890s
massacre of Indians by US cavalry, AIM was
attempting to regain lands granted to the Lakota
in the 1868 Laramie treaty. Both events brought
worldwide attention to the injustices and
privation faced by American Indians past and present.

Russell Means is also a famous Hollywood actor.
He started his acting career in 1992 playing the
title role in the film: "The Last of the
Mohicans" (1992). He has starred in several
movies after that. He is an author, an artist and a music writer too.

Means and his wife Pearl are currently building
"Treaty Total Immersion School" on the Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation. Through "total immersion" in
the Lakota way of life, children will be
instilled with the pride and confidence to face any challenge.

You can read about him at:

http://www.russellmeans.com/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0575184/
http://cdbaby.com/cd/russellmeans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Means

Friends, it is our sincere effort to make the
SANA conventions most meaningful for our
community in North America and our people in
Sindh and elsewhere. I hope this will be a
significant effort in that direction. I would
request all of you to please attend the SANA
Convention and hear this great leader of the indigenous people.

Best regards,

Aziz Narejo
TX

__._,_.___

"I am not well" says Ali Nawaz Memon

2007-05-27T20:02:00.001+05:00

From: Ali Nawaz Memon
Date: Sun May 27, 2007 10:50 am
Subject: I am not well

Dear Friends

I have not been well for past several weeks. It has made me realize how fragile I am. It has made me realize how little time we, the human beings have on this earth. I has also made me realize that we have no time to waste.

If we have a mission or even a desire to do something, we cannot afford to wait until tomorrow because indeed, tomorrow may never come.

I cannot say that I have a mission. I only have a few desires. Since my childhood I have wanted justice for all. I have wanted simple but clean fresh food for all. I have wanted a small but clean home for all.

Looking at Sindh, Pakistan and many other places, I know that justice is critical for my and every one else's existence. To me justice means protection from a bully at school play ground. It means protection from a tyrant wadera. It means protection from corrupt police. It means becoming strong individually and collectively. It means honest judges, people oriented parliaments, devoted ministers and presidents. It means rule of just laws. Not just rule of law but rule of just law.

I have learnt over years that fresh food and clean home become possible with a job for every one. For a reasonable job, education and skills for every one become important.

In short, I desire rule of just law, education and job for every human being. Specially, I want it for my family members. And, I consider all of you as my family members.

Yes, these are simple but tall orders. So far, we have been talking about more or less the same things. How to get rule of just law, education and job for all? Obviously, we must continue our individual struggle and effort. Every student must study. Every one must seek skills which will make life easier for the family.

In parallel, we must work collectively to make the whole existence easier for each other. I like to think that despite my wordly ways, I am a religiously and spiritually oriented person like most of you. We need help of the supreme creator--Allah, God, Ishwar or whatever name we have. Nevertheless, I truely believe that democracy is very imortant for us. If we can regularly elect people who are also committed to providing us rule of just law, education and jobs, then life will get better.

I do not know, how much time I have. At age 65, probably I do not have much. On top of that I may not be able to use my remaing time wisely. So why am I telling you all this? Because, I like to share my desires with you. Because, may be your desires match some of mine. May be you will like to dedicate some of your time working towards achieving rule of just law, education and jobs for every one.

I have no set way of achieving rule of just law, education and jobs. Please do it your own way. Just remember that these are worth while things for our existence. Please get these things for yourselves and for every one else.

God bless you all.

Your input and help towards development of Sindh is always welcome.

Ali Nawaz Memon

Sindh Development Institute
7204 Antares Drive Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA 20879

Dawn Invites Musharraf to Launch TV Channel: What a Shame!

2007-05-26T13:16:00.001+05:00

From: Aziz Narejo <anarejo@yahoo.com>
Date: May 26, 2007 2:54 PM
Subject: Dawn Invites Musharraf to Launch TV Channel: What a Shame!
To: sindh-politics@yahoogroups.com

Dawn Invites Musharraf to Launch TV Channel: What a Shame!

Doomed are the people that acquiesce to military dictatorship.

Dawn calls itself an independent newspaper. In its editorials, it speaks of democracy and calls for an end to military rule, independence of judiciary and freedom of media but it invites a military general - who came to power through a coup d'etat and is behind blatant attacks on judiciary and media - to launch its TV news channel!

( http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/26/top4.htm )

What a shame! What a doublespeak!

Hypocrisy, submissiveness, corruption, terrorism, lies and advancing own interests at ANY cost have become fair game in Pakistan. No wonder the country remains mired in the troubled waters. It faces crisis after crisis. Peoples' sufferings never end while elite and opportunists continue to prosper.

There could be no hope until each and every citizen stands up and says NO to the military dictator and his accomplices. There has to be a complete boycott of the military dictator. No compromise – no middle road – no dialogue with the dictator no matter if he is in uniform or not. The other road leads to eventual destruction of all.

The only ray of hope at present is the heroic stand of CJ and the lawyers' resolute movement.

Aziz Narejo

__._,_.___

Impact of unfairness on health of Sindhi people

2007-05-20T09:57:00.000+05:00

Posted by Mir Atta Muhammad Talpur

Nobody is unaware of the sufferings of Sindhi people and injustice and unfairness they face in every walk of life. The main reasons for unfairness and injustices are due to multiple known and unknown factors. The most important factors, among others, are arbitrary military rules, exploitation of Sindh's natural resources, corruption and its feudal society. All these factors, have contributed towards sense of deprivation, unfairness, injustice and to some extent in sense of alienation. It has now come to be known that unfairness and injustices have serious health impacts as well. So far no study has been conducted to find out the health impact of injustices meted out to Sindhi people during different periods. Such studies are costly and take long time to find results. There is definitive need for starting such a prospective study. This has become more important now because of two reasons. 1. The magnitude of injustices and unfairness to Sindhi people have seen sharp increase in more recent times, and 2. Another study, conducted elsewhere on a different sample of population has proved that there is definitive impact of sense of deprivation, injustice and unfairness on health, especially on causation of heart diseases. The findings of that study can be extrapolated to Sindhi population to some extent. However, to find out impact of injustices and unfairness meted out to Sindhis in more precise quantitative and qualitative terms, a separate specific study is required. We have all the expertise and are able to conduct such a credible unbiased prospective study spanned over 5, 10 or 15 years but we lack financial resources. In any case, until we are able to conduct our own studies and research, let us accept the results of study conducted by others (see below) and extrapolate it to our Sindhi society.

Sense of injustice causes heart disease

15 May 2007

A team of researchers from UCL Epidemiology & Public Health have shown that people who feel they are treated unfairly are at heightened risk of experiencing heart problems.

5726 men and 2572 women from 20 civil service departments in London participated in the research as part of the long-term Whitehall II study.

The findings, published in the current issue of the 'Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health', show that repeated experiences of injustice in different areas of life family, the workplace or society in general may produce negative stress-related reactions that, in the long term, increase the risk of a heart attack.

The participants were asked to score their responses to the statement: "I often have the feeling that I am being treated unfairly" on a scale of one to six, with one being 'strongly disagree' and six being 'strongly agree'.

Their mental and physical health was tracked for an average of 11 years, using validated health and quality-of-life surveys and data on ill health and death.

During the monitoring period, there were 528 new cases of fatal and non-fatal heart attack and angina in people who had had no signs of heart disease when the study began.

Just under 3,000 people felt they were unfairly treated, and when all the figures were adjusted to take account of traditional coronary risk factors, gender, age, socioeconomic position, chronic work stress and unfair treatment at work the results showed that a heightened sense of injustice directly corresponded to risk of a heart attack or angina.

People who scored five or six were 55 per cent more likely to have serious heart disease as those who did not feel they were unfairly treated and twice as likely to have it as those who scored one or two. Participants in lower socioeconomic positions and women were more likely to be exposed to everyday acts of injustice.

Lead author Dr Roberto De Vogli (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health) commented: "Although people may consider fair what is unfair and vice versa according to some subjective expectations, adjustment for a personality characteristic such as hostility did not reduce the effect of unfairness on heart disease. I understand that this is a long shot, but the key message is that we must try to promote fairness in society."

---

Full text of the study is available at http://jech.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/61/6/513

---

Mir Atta M. Talpur

Security of Sindhis

2007-05-17T18:03:00.000+05:00

From: Zulfiqar Halepoto
Date: Thu May 17, 2007 4:51 pm
Subject: Security of Sindhis

Mushtaq Mirani wrote:

Dear All

Tragic events generate fundamental questions to reshape the nation. The Karachi carnage of 12 May hammers our minds to ask the following questions:

How long Sindhis can live on borrowed time in Karachi?

How Sindh can develop economically and socially when its capital is hostage to alien people?

How Sindhis can claim ownership of Sindh in the global community when its demographic stability is threatened by a large scale migration to Sindh?

How democracy, good governance and rural of law can be established in Sindh when fascists control the Sindh assembly and the Sindh government?

The debate on these questions will produce answers to obtain permanent security of Sindhis in Karachi and re-engineering of Sindh to make it secure, democratic and prosperous nation.

Emotional, incompetent and personalized politics of Sindhis has brought Sindh to this stage where today we are living like Polish people under Nazi occupation.

I hope that Sindhi thinkers, politicians and civil society activists will start a serious debate on the issues I have raised.

Regards,

Mushtaq Mirani

Rafi Chandio wrote:

Dear all

Mirani sahib has invited an important discussion about the security of Sindh? I would like to express my concern about the recent show down in Karachi. Regarding questions asked by Mirani sahib I have fundamental problem with this approach. We have always seen problems from an illusionary perspective, for instance the question of ownership of Karachi? What do we mean by this ownership ?

Who is owner of Mombay, London, New York and other mega cities, if Sindhi's are not the masters of Karachi no body else can claim the sole ownership of Karachi lets us go further deep in this issue.

Concept of ownership is not related to cities and specially mega cities of to days global age, rather it is an issue of disadvantaged groups and their participation in the these cities.

Nationalistic sentiments are not serving the purpose of social development of Sindh, indeed it failed to materialize any socio-political solution to the commons of Sindh.

W.W Rostow in his "stages of growth" mentioned that for the fourth and most important stage of growth which he termed as take-off stage, it must be supported by mature socio- political conditions, emergence of a political party is a must to facilitate growth and development.

Lack of a mature political party is not only problem of Sindh but it is same with all over Pakistan including Karachities.

Parties like MQM,Muslim league (many groups) are not true representatives while PPP is facing institutional crisis. lack of political set up is the primary cause of underdevelopment, it becomes more serious with rural areas where representation is sought on weaker negotiation terms. These weaker negotiations are outcome of parallel power structure which is equally present in rural as well as in urban cent res of country. This collective bargaining capacity of commons has an explicit opportunity cost of provision of social goods.Which simply means that poor is forced to buy these social goods from market.

Intensity of such problem is more severe in rural areas because rural inhabitants income is not matching the purchasing power of urban commons.

The nationalists do blame masses "because they did'nt vote them in power so they are the culprits". a common complain by the nationalist organizations of Sindh.

These parties have been influenced heavily by socialist ideas, They don't accept any concession less than complete revolution, now there is the trade off between nationalist political parties and public needs. there voice has never ever represented their needs rather they have always been raising voices for their internationalist theoretical affiliations.

People are more interested to have public goods like health , education, human rights and other factor which may help them to enhance their capacity to get rid of poverty but nationalist parties try to make them apart from the rest of country by scaring them. reason why PPP won the elections on and on was that they have at least raised the slogan of their and addressed their concerns. we must come up with better ideas for Sindh a political party with a genuine ideas and sectoral development approach will only deliver to the Sindh. In fact the real issue is to fill up the development gaps between Pakistan nationalist parties must develop pressure on both governments to invest and adapt more friendly policies in rural areas of country with a clear goal to transform the agrarian society of Sindh but our political parties must know what they are up to .

In order to generate health polemics criticism is more than welcome. Thanks and kind regards

Rafi Chandio

I see a movies couple of years back and still remember the following scene

�One schoolboy was curious for every thing in the class, the entire staff and teachers were annoyed of his every minute questions. He kept on talking and questioning many things differently.

When his inquisitiveness (as conceived by the school management) crossed the limits, he was isolated for time being. After some time he was again reinstated and was called by the principal of the school in his office and granted time to explain that: -

What was wrong with him?
Why he is so curious about every thing?
Why he saw every thing against the conventional norms?�

He gave a very simple reply: -

�People see the things as they are and ask why?
I see the things as they might be and asked why not�

Cheerz
Zulfi

Father Disowns MQM MPA after May 12 Karachi Killings

2007-05-16T19:05:00.001+05:00

From: Mushtaque Ahmad

Sindhi Newspaper Daily "Awami Awaz: and "Ibrat" have reported today (Wednesday May 16, 2007) that Dr. Dino Mal, father of MQM MPA Dr Shankar Lal, has disassociated himself with is son and has called for social boycott of his son from Hindu community.

Dr Dino Mal had arrived at home of late Nawaz Kanrani in Thul city of Jecobabad district to condol his murder with his family, who was shot dead during rally on May 12 in Karachi while raising sologans in Awami Tahreek's rally (Awami Tahreek is led my Rasool Bux Palejo). The family of Shaheed Nawaz refused to accept condolence of Dr. Dinomal, and accused him of supporting and harboring terrorists. Dr Dinomal, tears in his, cried before the hundreds of people and grieved family apologized behalf of his son and assured the family of late Nawaz that he has nothing to do with his son.

Dr. Dino Mal termed MQM a terrorist group and his son Dr. Kirshan Lal as fifth columnist (Gadhar) of Sindhi people.

Details are available in the below link

http://www.dailyibrat.com/

Sunset at DAWN?

2007-05-15T16:40:00.001+05:00

From: Zulfiqar Halepoto
May 11, 2007

Sunset at DAWN?

By HAMEED HAROON
May 11, 2007; Page A11

A critical point has been missed in much of the reporting on recent unrest in Pakistan: The people protesting in the streets are liberals, not religious extremists. The "rainbow coalition" opposing President Pervez Musharraf's infringement of judicial independence is composed of lawyers' associations, journalists' unions and other mainstream groups striving to bring Pakistan under the rule of law. It's a marked departure from the post-9/11, pro-bin Laden marches by right-wing religious extremists. But what is the rest of the world going to do to support today's protesters? Unfortunately, it looks like the answer is, "not much." Western countries have relied on Mr. Musharraf's authoritarian regime to help fight the war on terror. For the past three years, the influential English-language publication group I manage -- which includes our flagship daily, DAWN, its sister the Star, and a newsmagazine, the Herald -- has been a victim of Mr. Musharraf's crackdown on the remnants of Pakistan's liberal, independent press. We have come under fire precisely for exposing his failure to firm up the country's security situation. We have reported on the ongoing pattern of ad hoc deal-making between the Pakistani government and pro-Taliban militants along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, not to mention the government's continued covert support for Kashmiri militants.

Matters came to a head in early autumn last year, when DAWN reported on leaked cease-fire agreements reached with pro-Taliban militants in the troubled western province of Balochistan. Senior officials from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting made a series of visits to newspaper offices and television channels throughout the country, demanding a blackout of additional reporting on security crackdowns in the troubled area. Newspapers were threatened with the total withdrawal of government advertising, which constitutes between one-third and one-half of all advertising revenues. (Government advertising in Pakistan includes commercial advertising by the public sector and by government ministries as well as regulatory notices issued by government departments and public utilities.)

DAWN was faced with the prospect of an overnight loss of approximately 15% of its advertising revenues. For the vernacular print media, losses could average anywhere between one-third and one-half of advertising revenues. For existing television news channels, the probable consequences of failure to comply are even grimmer: A cancellation of temporary television uplinking permission, coupled with a boycott by government-regulated cable operators, would result in permanent closure.

Add to this the specter of government levers deployed frequently against the press in the past -- such as the harassment of dissenting journalists, the cutoff of imported newsprint supplies and the cancellation of a newspaper's permission to publish under emergency public order laws -- and the vast majority of newspapers and TV channels concluded they had little choice but to comply with the government's requests, although we at DAWN have stood firm in the face of this intimidation.

Mr. Musharraf's government took the news of our reluctance badly. In late December, the volume of government advertising in DAWN suddenly declined by around two-thirds of its normal volume. Financial conditions within DAWN worsened when the television license for an upcoming news channel in English (which already had 350 journalists and technicians on its payroll) was turned down by the government regulatory authority for electronic media. This despite a landmark ruling by a superior court that earlier ordered the grant of a license to DAWN, and by implication to any affected newspaper that might apply to the court for relief.

The government's regulatory authority and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had both consented in court to the grant of this license, and with the passage of 60 days have lost the right to appeal against this judgment. At first the government continued to prevent its officials from implementing the court's orders. Then a decision was made to issue DAWN a temporary uplink permission valid until the end of May, in lieu of a license.

Privately, senior officials in government advise us that the DAWN "matter" will soon be rectified by direct presidential intervention, given that the government has no legal options left to reverse the court's ruling. The argument runs thus: What Mr. Musharraf's government cannot withhold legally, it may as well grant gracefully.

It is increasingly difficult, however, for us to accept private assurances when publicly the rule of law is more about words than action. Government machinations against us are steadily increasing the risk that my corporation could face an uncertain future before we receive a valid permanent license to which we are legally entitled. We are forced to spend money preparing to broadcast beyond May so that we are ready if and when such a license arrives. But if we aren't given our due soon, justice delayed will become justice denied.

And if we go, who will fill our shoes? Societies in this region are trapped in a vise between militant religious extremists on one hand and military-dominated authoritarian regimes on the other. Space for civil society has been reduced to a minimum.

We and others like us represent the ideals that supposedly animate the Western governments fighting the war on terror. Yet we are becoming collateral damage stemming from Western support for authoritarians like Mr. Musharraf. Victory in the war on terror will depend in no small part on our ability to reshape the Middle East and Central Asia in a way that allows Western-style liberalism to triumph over religious extremism. Support for authoritarian regimes is at best an imperfect means to that end, but should never become the end in itself.

Whatever the level of Mr. Musharraf's cooperation in the short-term battles of the war on terror, he should not get a free pass for subverting the conditions -- like a free press -- that will ultimately sustain true democracy in Pakistan.

Mr. Haroon is the publisher of the DAWN group of newspapers in Pakistan.

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117884502325099385.html

Ode to Karachi

2007-05-13T19:36:00.000+05:00

By Maqbool H H Rahimtoola

The morning mist settles
To the sound of wailing.
The young and the old,
All there in white,
Lifted towards their burials.

A war, a plague ?
No, just Karachi

To the sound of bullets,
The smell of death
Slowly walks this city.
But who cares ? No one.
More deaths, more suffering
The hospital beds are full.

A war, a plague ?
No, just Karachi.

The faithful come to pray,
Bombs explode and body
Parts fill our mosques.
Killed by brother Muslims,
Islam's Umma stands confused.

A war, a plague?
No , just Karachi

Fear in their eyes,
Dryness in their mouths,
Children tread these roads.
People leave for work
Who will return alive?
Random bullets fill our roads.

A war, a plague?
No, just Karachi

The gunmen move about,
With the message of death
Yet, remain untouched , un noticed
And invisible to the agencies.
Blind to the causes, the city buckle's
Confused and un cared for.

Will it ever stop?
Who cares,

Its just Karachi!

---

General Strike in Sindh

2007-05-13T15:26:00.000+05:00

From: awakenings
Date: May 13, 2007 5:18PM
Subject: General Strike in Sindh

On a general strike call given by Awami Tahreek's (Peoples Movement) Central Leaders Rasool Bux Palijo, Wishnoo Mal, Sayed Alam Shah, Ayaz Latif Palijo, Mohammad Khan, Bhurgri, Hakeem Zangejo, Javed Rajpar and Qadir Ranto complete shutter down general strike is being observed in all major cities and small towns of Sindh ( Province Pakistan). The strike call was given by Awami Tahreek on brutal murder of its central leader Nawaz Kanrani by MQM terrorists near Karachi Airport yesterday.

According to KTN, Sindh TV and Aaj Tv reports general strike, sit-ins and protest rallies are carried out in different major cities and thousands of party workers of Awami Tahreek and its women and students wings (Sindhiani Tahreek and Sindhi Shagird Tahreek SST) and common citizens of Sindh have come on roads in different cities and towns of Sindh.

According to TV reports complete shutter-down strike is being observed and rallies, marches and sit-ins have been arranged in Thul, Daro, Shahpur Chakar, Qasimabad, Gharo, Mehar, Kotri, Thatta, Talpur Wadda, Badin, Dokri, Mirpurkhas, Maleer Karachi, Chor, Sanghar, Dadu, Nasim Nagar Chowk Hyderabad, Wahi Pandhi, Baldia Collony Hyderabad, Sakrand, Koreja, Bozdar, Makli, Khairpur, Johee, War, Chambar, Ranipur, Tando Wali Mohammad Hyderabad, Ghulam Ullah, Shahdadpur, Hatri, Lakhat, Bhan Saeedabad, Faiz Ganj, Halani, Jacobabad, Matiari, Sobho Dero, Gulshan-e-Hadeed Karachi, Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Shahbander, Sultani Wah, Thoree, Moro, Noshehroferoz, Khesana Moree, Kandhkot, Matli, Tando Jam, Khairpurnathan Shah, Khanpur, Banon, Bathoro, Ghotki, Johi, Sindh University Colony, Shikarpur, Qambar, Warah, Sukkur, Garho, Tarai, Ibrahim Haidri Karachi, Dahon Mail Mori, Gupchani, Kakar, Dhabechi, Deaee, Chodughee, Nawabshah, Khadro, Soomar Chanar, Suhrab Goth, Dadharko Farm, Khorwah, UmerKot, Larkana, Mithi, Jungshahi, Nao Kot, Bhirya, Jam Sahib, Tharoo Shah, Moya, Wahi Pandhi, Seree, Jamshoro Phatak, Pano Aqail, Liyari Karachi, Tando Bago, Sakro, Bozdar, Makli, Johee, Hussainabad Hyderabad, War, Ranipur, Ghulam Ullah, Shahdadpur, MirpurMathelo, Bhan Saeedabad, Khuda Kee Basti, Hala, Rato Dero, Tando Mohammad Khan, Wahdat Collony Hyderabad, Gambat, Mirpur Sakro , Dighri, Golarchi, Tando Allahyar, Nasarpur, Nangarparkar, Jhudo and other cities and towns Sindh.

Thousands of Worker of Awami Tahreek and Sindhiani Tahreek with their RED & BLACK Flags marching in Hyderabad, Jacobabad, Larkana, Badin, Thatta and Dadu. More than 340 workers have been arrested in different parts of Sindh. According to KTN reports the City Police has just arrested 32 activists of SST (student wing) and Awami Tahreek near Gul Centre Hyderabad.

While addressing the rallies and marches the speakers said that the government was blatantly violating the fundamental rights and constitutional provisions and MQM (Ruling Party Mutahida Qomi Movement) has broken all its past records of brutality. They said under the directions of General Musharaf they are working for Emergency and Martial Law and deliberately the local police in front of armed terrorists was given only lathees. They said we salute the courage and firmness of Justice Iftikahr. They said Sindh and Federal Governments are responsible for this massacre of innocent Sindhis, Pakhtoons, Balochs and Punjabis and Supreme Court should take notice of this savage brutality as this entire episode has been planned by Mr. Musharaf, MQM and ML Q.

The strike and rallies were headed by Mohammad Khan Bhurgri, Wishnoo Mal, Ayaz Chandio, Mazhar Rahoojo, Gul Hasan Keerano, Rasool Bux Brohi, Haidar Mallah, Deewan Aroo Mal, Ghani Josh Palijo, Mustafa Leghari, Tahir Soomro, Deedar Sagar, Sahib Dinon Samon, Darya Khan, Latif Brohi, Ghafar Malik, Haee Bhutto, Dr. Ubed, Sartaj Chandio, Manzoor Marfani, Niaz Haidri, Khadim Tunio, Rajab Gaincho, Karim Bux Brohi, Akbar Mangnhar, Niaz Jattoi, Asghar Shah, Luqman Sethar, Manzoor Lahar, Akbar Jattoi, Shani Soomro, Muhammad Ali Junejo, Zulfiqar Phulpoto, BAnoo Umrani, Jalal Khan Chandio, Subhani Dahri, Ali Ahmed Bhano, Saiqa Mangnhar, Hakeem Zangejo, Aajiz Samon, Nagji Maharaj, Chothchand, Arbab Jinjh, Khalid Hussain, Ayaz Latif Palijo, Qadir Ranto, Fahim Soomro, Noor Nabi Rahojo, Hasan Ali Bapar, Bilawal Lashari, Roshan Ali, Rasool Bux Khaskheli, Javed Rajpar, Meer Hassan, Gulzar Otho, Hakeem Halepoto, Krar Rebari, Syed Jalal Shah, Shama Bhatti, Abdul salam Soomro, Javed Larak, Najam Jogi, Advocate Hadi Bhut, Mumtaz Naich, Ali Nawaz Dahri, Anees Khaskheli, Tairq Mehmood Khoso, Dedar Kandrani, Inyat Aarbani, Syed Lal Shah, Abdul ur Rehman Palijo, Anwar Rind, Arif Jhatyal, Nazeer Qureshi, Abdul ur Rehman Samoon, Mama Peeral Bhanoo, Lal Jarwar, Mamoon Detho, Nazeer Rajpar, Abbas Khoro, Agha Quban, Arif Junejo, Sohail Chanar, Kalim Malik, Nisar Buriro, Rashid Daoodpoto, Rehman Dahri, Riaz Pechooho, Sattar Mahar, Shafik Shahani, Sidiq Otho, Urs Jogi, Ismail Khaskheli, Zahid Mallah and others.

According to sources followed by the shameless attack on Aaj TV, MQM and Agencies once again have issued directions to Karachi based TV channels and Urdu media to not to cover General Strike News and Awami Tahreek Protest Day activities.

Brutal mass killings in Karachi

2007-05-13T08:19:00.000+05:00

From: "awakenings"
Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 15:23:11 +0500

Chief Justice Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar in Karachi. 24 killed by terrorists

NEWS ALERT: -Thousand of activists of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muslim League Nawaz (ML-N), Awami Tahreek (AT), Jamaait Islami, Sindhiani Tahreek, Awami National Party (ANP), Tahreek Insaf, Jamiat Ulmai Islam (JUI), Jamiat Ulmai Pakistan, Sunni Tahreek, PSF, SST, Members and Office bearers of Malir Bar Association and Karachi Bar Association have been attacked here in Karachi today by the terrorists of MQM (Mutahida Qomi Movement. (Aaj TV, Sindh TV, GEO, KTN & ARY).

- Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chodhri arrives in Karachi and refuses to travel to High Court in Government Helicopter. I will go with Lawyers by Road (Justice Chodhri) 12Noon. ARY, GEO, KTN

-Police, Rangers and Civilian Terrorists have tried to kidnap Chief Justice from Airport. (Aitzaz Hasan Adv, Ali Ahmed Kurd Adv, Munir Malik Adv).

-Sindh High Court takes suo-moto notice of manhandling of lawyers and road blocks. Home Secretary undertakes to provide safe-passage to Chief Justice. Sindh TV & KTN

-A procession of Peoples Party (PPP) led by Sayed Qaim Ali Shah, Nisar Khoro, Raza Rabbani, Dr. Fahmeeda Mirza, Sheeri Rehman heading towards Airport has been attacked near Natha Goth, straight firing by MQM terrorists, 11 injured. ARY, KTN

-A procession of Awami National Party led by Shahi Sayed under attack at Shah-e-Rahe Faisal, 2 Pakhtoon workers killed by terrorists of MQM. Aaj TV 12-35 pm.

-MQM has broken all its past records of brutality. Under the directions of Musharaf they are working for Emergency and Martial Law. (Abrar ul Hasan Adv, Noornaz Agha Adv, Rashhed Rizvi Adv)

- Firing in Maleer, Abbasi Shaheed, Gujjar Nala & Gulbahar areas led to the killing of two Pakhtoons and one Punjabi speaking worker of opposition. Continuing violence on Shah-e-Rahe Faisal. 62 persons injured. Police & Rangers disappear. Aaj TV, Sindh TV 11-42 pm.

-Clothes of Sindhiani Tahreek workers have been torn apart by MQM workers near Nursery. ( Sindhiani Tahreek leader Saiqa MAngnhar) KTN 1-37 pm

-A procession of JUP attacked by MQM near I.I Chudrigar Road. (JUP)

-Hospitals have not been spared by armed terrorists. MQM gunmen firing at the hospital for about one hour from the roofs of adjoining buildings injuring few patients & several visitors. A hospital staff member said, "We were lying on the ground to avoid getting injured."

-We have just been given lathees and terrorists are fully armed. This is a deliberate high level conspiracy. (DIG Mushtaq Shah and Pashtoon, Sindhi and Punjabi Police Constables) KTN 1-47 pm.

-Tahreek Insaf rally under attack by MQM, two workers carrying portraits of Chief Justice and Imran Khan injured near II Chudrigar Road. (JUP) Aaj TV -12 40 pm.

- MQM leaders say that the anti-Mohajir policy of Aaj, ARY, GEO, KTN and Sindh TV would be fully resisted. ARY

-Five dead bodies of lawyers and oppositions workers just discovered by GEO Tv. 1-21 pm

-Awami Tahreek workers attacked on Shah-e-Raah Faisal. Aaj Tv 1-14 pm

-Two workers of Jamaait Islami killed by terrorists. Sindh TV. 12-55 am.

-Awami Tahreek rally led by Rasool Bux Palijo reaches to High Court Bar. This entire brutal episode has been planned by Mr. Musharaf. (Awami Tahreek Chief Rasool Bux Palijo)

- 11 persons lost lives during ghastly manslaughter in different areas by MQM. According to TV, the entire Malir Halt and Shaherai Faisal Township had passed into the hands of a group of klashnikov-weilding young terrorist.

-Sindh and Federal Governments are responsible for this massacre of innocent people, Sindh High Court and Hon Supreme Court should take notice of this savage brutality. (Naeem Qureshi General Secretary Karachi Bar, Ayaz Latif Palijo Advocate of FRJP, Imdad Aiwan of PBC and Yousif Legahri of Pakistan Bar Council)

-Two Sindhi and Punjabi speaking lady lawyers kidnapped by MQM teoosrists near Maleer. Aaj

-Reporters and cameramen of KTN, Aaj TV and Sindh TV attacked in MQM areas. Aaj TV.

-MQM is involved in massacre in Karachi, why Govt is not taking any action? ( Sheree Rehman, Qaim Ali Shah, Zafar Iqbal Jhagra, Sardar Raheem, Liaqat Baloch, Syed Alam Shah and Asfandyar Wali) GEO, Sindh TV 1-25 pm

-We are peaceful. PPP, Jamait Islami, JUP, Suni Tahreek, Punjabi Pakhtoon Itehad, ANP and Nawaz League and Sindhi and Baloch Nationalists are attacking our workers. MQM Rally is heading towards Mazaar-e-Quaid & Tibert Centre. (MQM leaders Nasreen Jaleel, Babar Ghori, Dr. Faruq Sattar)

-Men, women and children carrying the flags of PPP, ML-N, ANP, Awami Tahreek, MMA are heading towards Airport. ARY 1-47 pm.

-24 Workers of Opposition have been killed. (Zafar Jhagra of ML N)KTN 2-08 pm.

-Properties of Balochs, Punjabis, Sindhis and Pakhtoons have been attacked by Muhajirs. (Punjabi Pakhtoon Itehad) GEO

-Firing on rallies of PPP and Jamaait Islami. Baloch workers coming out from Liari and Ibrahim Haidri attacked by MQM near Civil Hospital and Korangi Road. Aaj TV. 1-53 pm

-Pakistan Bar Council calls upon all lawyers of Pakistan to hold rallies and sit-ins for release of Chief Justice from Airport Lounge. (PBC & SBC)

-Chief Justice will have to go back to Islamabad. (MQM Minister Wasim Akhter) ARY TV. 1-55

-Entire Shah-e-Rahe Faisal is under attack by terrorists. Buses and cars are burning. (Aziz Jan of Sindh Tv and Manzoor Shaikh of KTN) 1-50 pm.

-PPP, ML N and MMA leaders say that the people of Sindh, Punjab, NWFP, Balochistan and Seraiki support the integrity & courage of the Chief Justice.

-Women Rally of Muslim League Nawaz, PPP and Sindhiani Tahreek attacked by terrorists. KTN 2-11 pm

- Dead bodies of lawyers and Opposition workers are lying in different areas. 3 dead bodies found in TNT colony, 2 near security printing press and 2 near kala board. (Arbab Chandio of KTN) KTN, ARY and Sindh Tv.

-2 workers of Nawaz League killed by MQM. (Zafar Iqbal) 2-13 pm.

-6 workers of MQM have been killed by ARD and MMA workers, new reference be filed against Chief Justice. (Wasim Akhter of MQM)

-Trains and Buses coming from interior Sindh attacked by MQM workers. Aaj Tv

-Jinnah Airport is under siege (Dodo Chandio of KTN) 2-18 pm

-Sunni Tahreek leader Sohail Qadri killed by ruling party Mutahida (MQM) terrorists. Aaj & TV-1 2-30 pm

-KTN reporter Hadi Sangi attacked. KTN 2-12 pm

-Edhee Centre driver killed by terrorists. ARY, GEO TV 2-10 pm

-Bomb blast near Maleer. KTN 2-22 pm

-Karachi is ours. PPP, ML-N, ARD, MMA, PONM, Awami Tahreek, Jamaait Islami, JUI, JUP, Sunni Tahreek, Tahreek Insaf and ANP are united they will not bow before terrorists. ARY & Aaj Tv 2-33 pm

-PPP workers Fahad Khan and Aslam and Jamaait worker Shujait and Sindhi labour Rahmatullah Buriro murdered by MQM terrosits. Aaj TV and KTN 2-40 pm

-Awami Tahreek Central Leader and President of Jacobabad Nawaz Kandrani murdered by MQM terrorists near Karachi Airport. Firing on Awami Tahreek Rally. Rasool Bux Palijo, Wishnoo Mal, Sayed Alam Shah, Mohammad Khan Bhurgri, Qadir Ranto and Sindhiani Tahreek leaders give strike call for tomorow. Aaj, KTN & Sindh TV 3-04 pm

---

Protest messages.

From: Sassui Palijo
Date: May 13, 2007 2:27 AM
Subject: Strongly condemn the brutal mass killings
To: sindh-politics@yahoogroups.com

We strongly condemn the brutal mass killings by the armed terrorists of Sindh government. We urge the supreme court of Pakistan to take sou moto notice of those innocent killings of PPP workers and others in Karachi and take action against those state sponsored terrorists. The Pakistan people's Party will observe black day tomorrow on May 13. Once again we would like to make it clear that we are not afraid, we will stand firm and will keep struggling against all sorts of oppressions and will keep fighting against those who are the most potent threat to country's internal security.

Sassui Palijo
MPA PPPP

---

Mohtarma Bhutto condemns killing of PPP workers and others in Karachi

Islamabad May 12, 2007: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has strongly condemned the civil war conditions created by the ruling party in Karachi. This resulted in the murder of 14 PPP workers and injuries to scores of people.

"The sight of the sons of Pakistan bleeding to death in the street of Karachi is a shocking insight into the cruelty of the present regime", the Former Prime Minister said in a statement today. The PPP received reports that its rallies were surrounded by trucks and buses to besiege them. Then firing was started by MQM workers, police, law enforcement and men in plain clothes and masks with intent to injure and kill.

At least fifteen people and wounded nearly sixty people according to reports thus far.

Motharma Bhutto said the democratic and constitutional right of the lawyers to welcome the Chief Justice who was to address the Karachi bar was punctured by government sponsored shooting with dead bodies lying in the roads and blood flowing on the streets.

She expressed the concern that coalition members of the regime were creating civil war conditions to impose emergency to strengthen dictatorship and prolong the unrepresentative anti people forces that emerged from the rugged elections of 2002.

She condoled with the families of the deceased and said that her heart went out to those who had lost their loved ones. The former Prime Minister commiserated with the wounded and added that their sacrifices would not go in vain.

Called upon the Supreme Court to take suo moto notice of the incident, registration of criminal cases against the law enforcement and MQM members involved, their arrest and prosecution.

Mohtarma Bhutto directed the Party leadership to visit the bereaved family members of the Party workers who lost their lives and look after injured.

She also directed the Party�s lawyers� wing to provide legal support to the Party workers.
---

From: Aziz Narejo
Date: May 13, 2007 7:10 AM
Subject: SANA condemns massacre in Karachi, demands govt. resignation
To: sindh-politics@yahoogroups.com

SANA condemns massacre in Karachi, demands govt. resignation

Sindhi Association of North America (SANA) has strongly condemned the massacre of peaceful citizens and civil society activists in Karachi and has demanded an immediate resignation of the government. SANA president Aziz Narejo in a statement issued in Houston, Texas also expressed grief and sorrow at the loss of life as a result of the terrible violence and held the government and its coalition partner MQM directly responsible for the tragedy.

He said the massacre was carried out in a planned way to sabotage the reception of the Chief Justice of Pakistan who had flown to Karachi to address the Sindhi High Court Bar Association. He said the Chief Justice had earlier visited Rawalpindi, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Peshawar and Lahore and a large number of lawyers and citizens had gathered at those places and on the roads to welcome him but all the meetings and rallies had remained extremely peaceful. The situation worsened when MQM announced to hold a rally in Karachi to coincide with the lawyers� rally, which was previously announced to receive the Chief Justice.

SANA president said that the popularity of the Chief Justice has unnerved the military regime and its collaborators, PML-Q and MQM, and as they see the power slipping out of their hands, they have resolved to go to any length to continue their rule. Prior to the lawyers� rally in Karachi, the government tried to intimidate the lawyers and the opposition parties, arrested hundreds of activists and stopped the people from participating in the rallies. As reports say the armed MQM men had occupied some overhead bridges and several other strategic locations overnight in Karachi. They started direct firing on the people as they were on their way to the airport to receive the Chief Justice.

Aziz Narejo said that the government and its allies are sadly repeating the history and using fascist tactics as they did in 1971 when they formed outfits like the �Al-Shams� and �Al-Badar� in the Eastern wing of the country and inflicted, insult, injury and violence to the people in the majority province demanding justice in the country. He said the policies pursued by the present government and its allies would cause similar situation if not stopped in time.

He demanded immediate resignation of the government as its policies were leading the country to civil war like situation, which would be very harmful for the country. He said a neutral set up should hold free and fair elections to take the country out of the mess created by the illegitimate government.

Aziz Narejo
President, SANA
(Sindhi Association of North America)
---

From: Mashooq Talpur
Date: May 12, 2007 6:32 AM
To: sindh-politics@yahoogroups.com

The rallies by political parties in support of government, make no sense, when you are already in office to whom what are you demanding, just to show political muscle indicate's that still our political parties needs more dictatorship rule in this country , and still we are immature with zero tolerance. It is not your right to come to street when you are sitting in Governor house and ministerial offices.

Karachi needs peace but the party who have mandate of people, what a shame to its leader's when people of Karachi are suffering from load shedding, they don't come to streets but when our Honorable Chief Justice comes to address 50th anniversary celebration, they come out with rally and block Karachi roads to show the muscle of power...

Believe me Pakistan needs 'Imam Khomeini' to clean up all the mess, we talk about democracy, but we must learn the lesson from UK political happening where a sitting Prime Minister leave the office with dignity and honor ,and we are sorry to say we can't tolerate a Chief Justice of our superior court, who has at least done at least save our one and the only Steel Mill which is running in profit and providing thousands of jobs to people of Pakistan. How many jobs have government given? I salute to Chief Justice, because he is at least fighting for justice which he may not get, our history shows but at least shown to peoples of Pakistan, that Pakistan will be rule one day with rule of law &... those who choice the path of Justice, ALLAH ALMIGHTY HELPS THOSE PEOPLE... at least I have faith and believe in that ....

Mashooq Talpur
---

A rejoinder to Mirza Aslam Beg

2007-05-11T16:36:00.000+05:00

Posted by: Mansoor Hallaj
Thu May 10, 2007 4:53 pm

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sindh-politics/message/7742

A rejoinder to Mirza Aslam Beg:

Pakistan lays down the agenda for the US By Seema Sirohi Dec 25, 2004

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FL25Df01.html

Meanwhile, what surprised some was Karamat's dismissive tone about the A Q Khan affair, which he labeled a "proliferation episode" while denying any government complicity in it. "There was no government sanction, approval, or any kind of government connection with what went on," he said flatly. But Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, in his 11-page confession reported in the US press in February, named Karamat, former chief of army staff General (retired) Mirza Aslam Beg and President General Pervez Musharraf as the men on top who were aware of what was going on. As the chief of army staff from 1996-98, Karamat was directly responsible for the safety and security of the nuclear program.

It was Hameed Gul who briefed Zia against the Geneva Accords and got the ISI to badmouth Yaqub Khan who was right once again (after East Pakistan) in siding with prime minister Junejo who had accepted the Geneva Accords. The vision is in fact a one-track mind that exploits Islam and prescribes an isolationist course of action that appeals only to the jihadi clergy and the Urdu press. [1]

This advise of General Gul lateron culminated in Junejo Government's dismissal by General Zia [Late Muhammad Khan Junejo was handpicked by General Zia on the request of Peer Pagara, like Musharraf picked Zafarullah Jamali, Chaudary Shujaat Hussain and Shaukat Aziz and yet Musharraf has the audacity to declare that Democratically Elected government is working up to the mark as per Democratic and Parliamentary norms.

Theses advices of General Hameed Gul later on culminated in a bloody and nasty civil war 'amongst Muslims' in Afghanistan and a long one too from 1989 to 1996 [What kind of a Jihad was that which was fought amongst Muslim Afghan Warlords who were on the payroll of US CIA/ISI/and Saudi Mukhbarat].

These adivces of Hameed Gul corrupted the already rotten political atmosphere in the country [Courtesy Mehran Bank Scandal a brainchild of Hameed Gul] and that was just to stop the PPP from coming into power. Shame on you Mr. Hameed Gul as you encouraged Mr Nawaz Sharif [the former PM of Pakistan] to use slogans like 'Jag Punjabi Jag Teri Pag Nu Lag Gaya Dagh. But PPP, Jamat-e-Islami, PML-N and ANP has no shame neither their leaders to have the courage to invite this anrchist i.e. Mr. Hameed Gul in their party meetings.

GEO TV (December 18, 2005) Iftikhar Ahmad in his Jawabdeh programme questioned General (r) Hameed Gul on his interference in the political process of the country. Gen Gul admitted that he had interfered through putting together the IJI to oust the PPP from power in 1990, but he was not willing to disclose the names of the politicians who approached him for this. [1]

Well Mr. Hameed Gul think that if he wouldnt tell then nobody wouldnt know the details are published in Daily Dawn Karachi in several of its columns by Ardeshir Cowasjee

Detail are as:[2]

"QUOTE" [2]

Naseerullah Babar, had disclosed in the National Assembly in 1994 how the ISI had disbursed funds to purchase the loyalty of politicians and public figures so as to manipulate the 1990 elections, form the IJI, and bring about the defeat of the PPP.

Have all our generals been upright men and played it right? Of course, yes. Otherwise would they have ended up the way they did? Ziaul Haq? Governor, rich General Fazle Haq? How about dubious politician, rich General Aslam Beg, Lt General Javed Ashraf Kazi first chief of the MI and then of the ISI, Nawaz's ISI chief, General Javed Nasir, sacked by General Waheed Kakar, General Asad Durrani of MI and ISI fame, summarily sacked by General Kakar, rewarded and re-employed by Benazir as her ambassador in Bonn, and dangerous politician, the firebrand fundo General Hamid Gul.

On April 25, 1994, [Daily Dawn] carried an editorial entitled 'Our secret godfathers', which opened up: "Two basic points emerge from General Aslam Beg's admission that in 1990 he took Rs 14 crores from the banker Younus Habib and that part of this money was spent by the ISI during the elections that year . . . . . ". And closed, saying ". . . it is time now for some sort of check on the rogue political activities of our intelligence agencies . . .". It was not time, and apparently it is still not time.

In 1996, Air Marshal Asghar Khan filed a human rights petition in the Supreme Court against General Mirza Aslam Beg, former chief of army staff, Lt General Asad Durrani, former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence, and Younus Habib of Habib Bank and then Mehran Bank, concerning the criminal distribution of the people's money for political purposes (HRC 19/96). In this case, Lt General Naseerullah Babar filed an affidavit in court supported by copies of various documents and a photocopy of a letter dated June 7, 1994, addressed by Durrani to the then prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, who, during her second term in office, appointed him as her ambassador to Germany.

Those who took money:

The recipients included Khar 2 million,

Hafeez Pirzada 3 million,

Sarwar Cheema 0.5 million

Mairaj Khalid 0.2 million

5,05,680" (advocate Mirza Adil Beg, Aslam Beg's nephew, the then president of the KBA, confirms that the KBA received the money)

In January 1992 USD 20,000 was sold @ 26.50 and 5,30,000 was credited to the account. Thereafter all debits: "Arshi c/o Gen. Baig (sic.) 2,90,000; Cash paid to Gen. Shab 2,40,000; Cash Friends 1,00,000 [Aslam Beg's organization, FRIENDS, Foundation for Research on National Development and Security]; Cash TT to Yamin to pay Gen. Shab 3,00,000; Cash TT to Yamin Habib 12,00,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash paid through YH 10,00,000 ; Cash Friends TT to Salim Khan 2,00,000 ; Cash 1,00,000 ; Cash Towards Friends 5,00,000 ; Cash Asif Shah for Benglow 35,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000 ; Cash TT through Yamin for Friends 1,00.000 ; Cash paid to Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim 2,00,000 [he confirms having received the money from General Beg as fees and expenses for defending him in the contempt of court charge brought against him - PLD 1993 SC310] ; Cash paid through TT to Yamin for Friends ; Cash paid to Fakhruddin G Ebrahim 1,28,640 [he confirms receipt for fees/expenses for contempt case] ; Cash Guards at 11-A 10,500 ; Cash TT for USD 240,000 Fav. Riaz Malik to City Bank (sic.) New York 68,76,000 ; Cash Friends 1,00,000; Cash Guards at 11-A 10,500 ; Cash Mjr. Kiyani 10,000; Cash mobile phone for Col. Mashadi 28,911 ; Cash TT fav. Qazi Iqbal and M Guddul 3,00,000 ; Cash Mjr. Kiyani 10,000 ; Cash TT to Peshawar 3,00,000 ; Cash deposited at Karachi A/C EC [Election Commission] 3,00,000 ; Cash Guards 24,000 ; Cash TT to Quetta 7,00,000 ; Cash mobile bill of Col. Mashadi 3,237 ; Cash TT to Peshawar Br. 4,00,000 ; Cash deposited at Karachi Br. 4,00,000 ; Cash Guards 11,520 ; Cash TT to Peshawar for EC 2,00,000 ; Cash TT to Quetta for EC 2,00,000 ; Cash Guards 5,760 ; Cash Mjr. Kiyani 5,000 ; Cash A/C Guards 8,640 ; Cash th. YH 2,00,000 ; Cash A/C Guards 5,760 ; Cash TT to Salim Khan 1,00,000."

Nawaz Sharif received (in rupees) 3.5 million,
Lt General Rafaqat [GIK's election cell] 5.6 million,
Mir Afzal 10 million,
Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi 5 million,
Jam Sadiq Ali 5 million,
Mohammed Khan Junejo 2.5 million,
Pir Pagaro 2 million,
Abdul Hafeez Pirzada 3 million,
Yusuf Haroon 5 million [he confirms having received this for Altaf Hussain of the MQM],
Muzaffar Hussain Shah 0.3 million,
Abida Hussain 1 million,
Humayun Marri 5.4 million.
Jamaat-i-Islami Rs 5 million,
Altaf Hussain Qureshi and Mustafa Sadiq Rs 0.5 million,
Arbab Ghulam Aftab Rs 0.3 million,
Pir Noor Mohammad Shah Rs 0.3 million,
Arbab Faiz Mohammad Rs 0.3 million,
Arbab Ghulam Habib Rs 0.2 million,
Ismail Rahu Rs 0.2 million,
Liaquat Baloch Rs 1.5 million,
Jam Yusuf Rs 0.75 million,
Nadir Magsi Rs 1 million,
Ghulam Ali Nizamani Rs 0.3 million,
Ali Akbar Nizamani Rs 0.3 million.
General Mirza Aslam Beg Rs 140 million;
Jam Sadiq Ali (the then chief minister of Sindh) Rs 70 million;
Altaf Hussain (MQM) Rs 20 million,
Advocate Yousaf Memon ( for disbursement to Javed Hashmi, MNA, and others) Rs.50 million;
1992 - Jam Sadiq Ali Rs 150 million;
1993 - Liaquat Jatoi Rs .01 million;
1993 - chief minister of Sindh, through Imtiaz Sheikh Rs 12 million;
Afaq of the MQM Rs 0.5 million;
1993 chief minister of Sindh, through Imtiaz Sheikh, Rs. 01. million;
1993 - Ajmal Khan, a former federal minister, Rs 1.4 million;
1993 - Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister, Rs 3.5 million;
27/9/93 Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister, Rs 2.5 million;
26/9/93 Jam Mashooq Rs 0.5 million;
26/9/93 Dost Mohammad Faizi Rs 1 million;
Jam Haider Rs 2 million;
Jam Mashooq Rs 3 million;
Adnan, son of Sartaj Aziz, Rs 1 million;
Nawaz Sharif and Ittefaq Group of Companies Rs 200 million
Sardar Farooq Leghari 12/12/93 (payment set/off) Rs 30 million - 6/1/94 Rs 2.0856 million - 19/3/94 Rs 1.92 million."

"UN-QUOTE" [2]

He said the Americans killed General Zia but they got the Pakistanis to do the job. He said the campaign against foreign minister Yaqub Khan originated in the reaction among the mujahideen who did not want to listen to him talk endlessly about the Geneva Accords, which they did not want. He said the Foreign Office compromised at the international level as that was diplomatic, but he believed in achieving the maximum advantage as in the field of battle. To the allegation that the Saudis spent $25 million to bribe the mujahideen at the time of the formation of the government in exile in Peshawar and keeping the Shia militias out of it, Mr Gul said it was totally false. He said he was not involved in the decision to liberate Jalalabad. The decision was taken by Ms Bhutto in a meeting, which the American ambassador Robert Oakley was also allowed to attend, to which he had protested. [1]

SO-CALLED ANTI-AMERICAN JIHADI GENERAL:

Former Director General (DG) of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant General (Retd) Hameed Gul's anti-American rhetoric in post-retirement phase makes headlines off and on in national news media/even on ARY {THE LATEST WAS on 8th September 2004}. It is interesting that when he was DGISI, US ambassador attended the meetings of Afghan Cell of Benazir government. In fact the major decision of Jalalabad offensive in 1989 was made in one of those fateful meetings. To date there has been no evidence (no statement by any other participants of those meetings or by General Hameed Gul himself) that Mr. Gul made any objection to the presence of US ambassador in these meetings, which had wide ranging impact on national security. It is probable that Mr. Gul was at that time a top contender for the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) race, therefore he didn't wanted to be on the wrong side of the civil government. When he was sacked, then he found the gospel truth that US was not sincere. Another example is of former Chief of Afghan Cell of ISI, Brigadier (Retd) Muhammad Yusuf. For five long years, he was a major participant in a joint CIA-ISI venture of unprecedented scale in Afghanistan. During this time period, he worked with several different levels US officials and visited CIA headquarters in Langley. In his post-retirement memoirs, he tried his best to distance himself from the Americans. His statements like, 'Relations between the CIA and ourselves were always strained', 'I resorted to trying to avoid contact with the local CIA staff', 'I never visited the US embassy' and vehement denial of any direct contact between CIA and Mujahideen shows his uncomfortability of being seen as close with the Americans. "Pakistan's former foreign minister Agha Shahi in a conversation with Robert Wirsing said that in 1981 during negotiations with US, he gave a talk to a group of Pakistani generals on the objectives of Pakistan's policy toward US. He stressed the importance of non-alignment and avoidance of over dependence on superpowers. Few days later one of the generals who attended Shahi's briefing met him and told him that Americans should be given bases in return for the aid. "General Zia and DGISI Akhtar Abdur Rahman had very cordial relations with CIA director William Casey. To offset that uncomfortable closeness with Americans, Zia and Akhtar were portrayed as holy warriors of Islam and modern day Saladins. According to one close associate of Akhtar, They (Casey and Akhtar) worked together in harmony, and in an atmosphere of mutual trust'. Brigadier Yusuf made the most interesting remarks about the death of CIA Director, William Casey. He states that, "It was a great blow to the Jehad when Casey died". He did not elaborate whether by this definition one should count Casey as Shaheed (warrior who dies in battle in the cause of Islam). It will quite be amusing for Americans to know that one of their former CIA director is actually a martyr of Islam."

[Reference: Tale of a love affair that never was: United States-Pakistan Defence Relations Columnist Hamid Hussain analyses an ON and OFF affair]

http://www.defencejournal.com/2002/june/loveaffair.htm

He told Zia about his experience the previous year when the Israelis had shown him the vast stores of Soviet weapons they had captured from the PLO in Lebanon. The weapons were perfect for the Mujahideen, he told Zia. If Wilson could convince the CIA to buy them, would Zia have any problems passing them on to the Afghans? Zia, ever the pragmatist, smiled on the proposal, adding, "Just don't put any Stars of David on the boxes" {Page 131-132}.

In 1989, just weeks after the Red Army's withdrawal, when Gulbuddin's commanders in the Helmand Valley would trick a delegation of Massoud's warriors into negotiating. They guaranteed them safe passage them passage, even swearing on a Koran that they would honor this commitment. But once the trusting Tajiks came into the Pashtuns' territory, they were set upon, tortured, and killed. {Page 225}.

There were frightening posters and official briefings from the moment the soldiers got off the transport planes at Bagram Air Base, whispers about what had happened to their colleagues. They all knew about the fanatic Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's practice of leaving armless and legless Soviet soldiers on the road. {Page 288-489}.

Hart {Station Chief of CIA in Pakistan in Afghan War days} himself, however, was deeply suspicious, even angered by Massoud's refusal to move on the Salang Highway. He passed on his doubts to Langley, along with the ISI's crude joke about the unmanly nature of Massoud's Tajik: "When a Pashtun wants to make love to a woman, his first choice is always a Tajik man." {Page 199}.

In London, Avrakotos asked for a personal meeting with MI6 {British Intelligence}'s Massoud expert. He turned out to be a young, blond SAS guerilla-warfare expert with the peculiar nickname of Awk, a name said to vaguely resemble the grunting noise he would make on maneuvers. Awk had just returned from three months inside the war zone. It was about a two-week journey in those days, walking north from the Pakistan border through Nuristan and the Hindu Kush to reach Massoud's valley. Awk had gone in with two other SAS commandos. Their report had astonished Avrakotos. "There was one passage in there that really got me," remembers Avrakotos. "This guy was sleeping with a couple of his buddies and he said he awoke one night and heard horrible groans. He didn't get up but was able to put on his night-vision goggles and saw a group of Massoud's guy literally cornholing a Russian prisoner." {Page 199}.

At MI6 headquarters Awk told Avrakotos that watching that man die had made him finally understand the Afghans, ancient code: "Honours, hospitality, and revenge." Raping an infidel was not the atrocity it would be in the West; it was simply revenge. {Page 199}.

To begin with, anyone defecting to the Dushman {enemy} would have to be a crook, a thief, or someone who wanted to get corn holed everyday, because nine out of ten prisoners were dead within twenty-four hours and they were always turned into concubines by the mujahideen. {Page 332}.

At one point Avrakotos {CIA officer responsible for Afghan Jihad} arrived for one of these White House sessions armed with five huge photographic blowups. Before unveiling them he explained that they would provide a useful understanding of the kind of experience a Soviet soldier could expect to have should he surrender the mujahideen. One of them showed two Russians sergeants being used as concubines. Another had a Russian hanging from the turret of a tank with a vital part of his anatomy removed." {Page 333}.

The CIA found itself in the preposterous position of having to pony up $ 50, 000 to bribe the Afghans to deliver two live ones {Russian Prisoners}. "These two guys were basket cases," says Avrakotos. "One had been ****ed so many times he didn't know what was going on" {Page 333}.

Where as General Zia and his toady Mufti/Mullahs were playing havoc with the lives of common citizens of Pakistan through exploiting Islam particularly the weaker section of society i.e. Women, Labour, Minorities but Pseudo Commander of the Faithful General Zia ul Haq appointed a 'Society Lady' Joanne Herring as Pakistan's honorary Consul in Houston, Texas USA, earlier her husband Bob Herring was offered the post but he declined and gave his wife's name.

She was Zia's most trusted American adviser, as per Sahibzada Yaqub Khan, She absolutely had his ear, it was terrible," "Zia would leave cabinet meetings just to take Joanne's calls. "There was no affair with Zia," Wilson recalls, but it's impossible to deal with Joanne and not deal with her on sexual basis. No matter who you are, you take those phone calls." {Page 67-68}.

On page 503 in Charlie Wilson's War, the author quoted but it was losing Zia that crushed Charlie. At the state funeral in Islamabad, with a million Pakistanis and Mujahideen crowding up to him, Charlie made his way to Akhtar's successor, Hamid Gul, and broke into tears. "I have lost my father on this day," he said.

[Reference: Charlie Wilson's War The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile]

One of the leaked reports of CIA says, "A significant amount of the leaking was (as it still is) coming from within Pakistan, where corrupt government and rebel officials have suddenly become quite rich. Pakistani General Akhter Abdul Rehman, head of ISID up to 1987, and his successor, General Hamid Gul, are suspected to have been prime benefactors of the pipeline. They and their subordinates within the ISI's National Logistic Cell (NLC) could easily have made fortune off CIA supplies. [Never-Ending Flow: The Afghan Pipeline by Steve Galster, Covert Action 59, Number 30 (Summer 1988)]. In one of his book Silent Soldier by Brigadier Retd. Muhammad Yousuf had done great injustice to General Zia and General Hamid Gul. General Zia for his intellectual dishonesty and political expediency for removing General Akhter from ISI under US pressure and to General Hamid Gul for his professional incompetence and failure from taking on from where General Akhter had left. After the demise General Ziaul Haq, the DG ISI of the time suddenly became all-powerful and played a predominant role in manipulating the political future of Pakistan. General Hamid Gul and some of his close associates tried to carve out the political destiny of Pakistan by clubbing together nine political parties into IJI; a political front to confront the PPP.Judged purely from the standpoint of professionalism, the role of a 'king maker' assumed by General Gul and a couple of his colleagues tantamount to betrayal of the trust reposed in them by the nation. They played a partisan role and violated the charter of ISI duties. In fact, they must be held responsible for leading this sensitive and important institution on its death knell. The IJI-PPP confrontation so orchestrated by his group was purely for limited selfish motives and without any moral, ethical or professional justifications. The ISI as a principal intelligence and security agency, instead of being objective and realistic at that crucial juncture of history, played the role of a political broker. As a result of that time's shortsighted policy, today the whole nation from a sepoy to an IG Police and from a naib qasid to a secretary stand polarized and politicized. This political divide has assumed such alarming proportions that no political party is prepared to tolerate the other. Bravo General Gul. This attitude of DG ISI also set a chain reaction of fissiparous tendencies, which led to a political divide in the ISI as well. An institution, which, by its very character, must remain immune to diverse political or other influences, lay open for its personnel to exercise their individual choices of political alignment and loyalty. Obviously, while the DGI played partisan, he could not stop other members of the ISI from rendering personalized services to a party or a leader of their choice. To crown it all, General Mirza Aslam Baig also gave this good news to the nation and to the world at large that as Chief of Army Staff he had also made his contribution to further corrupting the ISI by contributing Rupees 140 Million to their secret funds to influence the national elections of 1988. General Baig further added that this money was ill gotten from an infamous character Younus Habib of Mehran Bank. We only await what the Americans have to say how much money they had contributed, through the ISI, towards Afghan War and who all have eaten that away.

[Reference: Profiles of Intelligence by Brigadier Syed A. I. Tirmizi, SI (M)]

Gen Gul said that he owned only two plots and two squares of land. As for Dr Farooq Sattar's accusation that he had grabbed 13 squares of land, he denied it, saying he got those squares in 1964 and the High Court had cleared him, and he had got himself cleared from NAB too. He is in denial about the correct dimensions of the land he has acquired which he says was allowed by the High Court and NAB, both suspect in the eyes of the people, one for being scared of the ISI, and the other simply not willing to knock an ex-army type. [1]

SO-CALLED HONEST HAMEED GUL:

Varan Bus Service was established with millions of rupees loaned to the daughter and son-in-law of a former ISI chief, General Hameed Gul, now the most right wing spokesman of Islamic fundamentalists of Pakistan. His politics of course started after he had secured the financial and economic interests and for his family, using his General's uniform as the password.

Here is the story which tells numerous tales of how the Generals would not let any business opportunity slip by. Despite the ideological rhetoric and slogan mongering, facts in this story will shake up readers:

"Situated in and around the federal capital, the Rawalpindi/Islamabad district is politically critical because of its proximity to the heart of all government operations. Last summer the CMKP began to reorganize its wing in the area, placing special emphasis on attracting working class youth to the party ranks.

Among other issues, cadres began efforts to develop political consciousness in workers in the Varan city bus service. These efforts have resulted in increased police surveillance and repression of the party and its supporters. This is how the struggle of CMKP started in the district of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Varan city bus service is a private company that provides urban bus transport in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The company is headed by politically powerful shareholders who enjoy very strong connections with the establishment. Its owner, Uzma Gul, is the daughter of the former Director General of the ISI (Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence Agency), Hameed Gul, who some people might remember as the man who headed the anti-communist campaign in Afghanistan, and as a major patron of all right-wing groups in Pakistan.

In addition, 10 or 11 Army Generals are also shareholders in the company. Using its connections as leverage, Varan has acquired special concessions from the Pakistan Government. For example, it has exclusive public transport rights within the city. No other transport company is allowed to operate within city limits, giving Varan a monopoly over transport in certain areas. This company is so powerful that even the Traffic Police is afraid of challenging its operators over traffic law violations.

[Reference: The Generals' Monopoly Bus Service Faces a Rough Route in Islamabad By M T Butt]

http://www.satribune.com/archives/200502/P1_varan.htm

Notes and References:

SECOND OPINION: Hameed Gul: strategic overcompensation' —Khaled Ahmed's TV Review Tuesday, February 07, 2006 [1]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C02%5C07%5Cstory_7-2-2006_pg\ 3_3

We never learn from history By Ardeshir Cowasjee [2]

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020721.htm

We never learn from history-2 By Ardeshir Cowasjee [2]

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020804.htm

We never learn from history-3 By Ardeshir Cowasjee [2]

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020811.htm

We never learn from history-4 By Ardeshir Cowasjee [2]

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020818.htm

We never learn from history-5 By Ardeshir Cowasjee [2]

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020825.htm

General Gul says that USA killed General Zia but read what he says to a journalist and calculate that if it was USA then USA was not alone there was somebody else as well and guess who:

"QUOTE"

But this was as far as the Board of Inquiry could go. It had not had autopsies done on the remains of the crew members to determine if they were poisoned. It acknowledged in its report that it lacked the expertise to investigate criminal acts. What was needed was criminal investigators and interrogators. It thus recommended that the task of finding the perpetrators by turned over to the competent agency, which meant, as one of the investigators explained to me, Pakistan's intelligence service--the ISI.

When I got to Pakistan in February and called upon General Hamid Gul, the Director General of the ISI, I found out that political events had apparently overtaken this mandate. He told me that his agency had called off its investigation at the request of the government and had transferred the responsibility for it to a "broader based" government authority headed by a civil servant called F.K. Bandial. It was not using the resources of his intelligence service and, as far as he knew that committee had not begun the work. His tone suggested that, he did not expect any immediate resolution of the crime.

Who Killed Zia? (Page 2) VANITY FAIR September 1989 by Edward Jay Epstein

http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/zia.htm

http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/zia2.htm

http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/zia3.htm

On October 17th, 2006, the Carnegie Endowment hosted Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani, the former Director-General of Pakistan military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Bureau. While Visiting Scholar Frederic Grare served as the Moderator, Lt. Gen. Durrani spoke on Disengaging Military from Politics in Pakistan," commenting on the phenomenon of military takeovers and suggesting how Pakistan's military could be disengaged from the political sphere. Lt. Gen. Durrani started by attempting to explain why and under what circumstances the military takes over. [1]

Would Mr Asad Durrani like to tell us all as to what he was doing when he headed the ISI and as per a book by late. Azher Sohail [Agenciyon Ki Hukoomat by Jang Publications], the same Asad Durrani, Hameed Gul, Javed Nasir and Ghulam Jeelani Khan [All Generals] used to claim that Mian Nawaz Shareef was their invention. Mr Asad Durrani has the audacity to lecture all and sundry in the USA and Pakistan as well on "Military must not have any role in Politics". I will ask Mr Durrani a question [questions are based on News Article and Columns] to define his role in Politics when he was in Government Service and I would also like to ask as to why he served as an Ambassador of Pakistan in Saudi Arabia under Mr Musharraf Governement whereas nowadays he sometimes become Champion for the Rights of Smaller Provinces [on Private TV Channels particularly Sindhi and Urdu Channels] and he is totally a different man when talking to Fascist Urdu Newspapers like Jasarat and Ummat [backed by MMA AND JAMAT-E-ISLAMI]. Whereas from the podium of so-called Think Tank of old toadies he writes letters to President on Uniform and Office of the President should not be together, tell us which Asad Durrani is the real one and please also tell us about the below mentioned dark chapter of your career:

"QUOTE"

Old habits die hard. In the 10-year span mentioned by Gen Musharraf, the ISI was headed by Lt.-Gen Ghulam Jilani (1974-1980), who as governor of Punjab let loose Mr Nawaz Sharif as a politician on an unsuspecting Pakistani public; Gen Akhtar Abdur Rahman (1980-1987); and Lt-Gen Hameed Gul (1987-1989); and for part of 1989, Lt-Gen Shamsur Rahman Kallue (names and dates from Wikipedia website). In a rebuttal, which is neither here nor there, Gen Gul has said that the Taliban surfaced in 1994, five years after his tenure ended as ISI chief. However, his political activities prior to his retirement, including the rousing tour of Punjab in support of Mr Nawaz Sharif and the IJI after the dismissal of the Junejo government, are well known, and the ideological thrust of his views well established. A few days ago, another ISI chief (1990-1991), Gen Asad Durrani, said in a private TV channel interview that he was asked to receive money given for the IJI in what is known as Mehrangate. The money was duly passed on and the general candidly confessed that while it was wrong in principle for him as ISI chief to have undertaken the mission, in his personal capacity he believed that the change that this might augur would be good for the country. So we have army generals and ISI chiefs who meddle in politics, face no accountability and presumably continue to get their pensions and other post-retirement privileges. Most of them seem to be more knowledgeable about our ideology and collective good than are ordinary mortals or elected politicians. Their political instincts also for the most part are clearly honed in a particular right-wing direction. Isn't this another mess that requires to be cleared? [2]

"UN-QUOTE"

Contradictions & anomalies By Tahir Mirza [2]

http://www.dawn.com/2006/10/06/op.htm

The kind of loyalty we are showing with our country is like the Pseudo Nationalism like RSS/VHP AND BAJRANG DAL people show for India. Musharraf in an interview in the USA alleged that the retired officials are behind the present so-called insurgency but he didn't name anybody but guess what? The very next day General Hameed Gul and Asad Durrani [IN DAILY DAWN] and General Ali Kuli Khan [IN THE NEWS INTERNATIONAL] and Former Army Chief Mirza Aslam Baig on ARY ONE TV condemned Musharraf for the truth he divulged on US Electronic Media. The article below will help you a lot to understand the dirty tricks of establishment within the Pakistan.

You should all read the above news and columns in the light of this:

Common "civilians" in Pakistan can be picked up from anywhere without any cogent reason and can be detained for months [without producing them in the Court of Law] if not years without a trace and incommunicado too. You can slap, oust, try, imprison, torture, insult and discredit them through media trial and even hang the elected representatives of the people but when the real test comes those who are entrusted with the responsibility of defending the country always show you clay feet, read and lament about the mysteries regarding jittery Retd General Mirza Aslam Baig and his interviews to ARY VIEWS ON NEWS, more loyal than the king to the interests of smaller provinces Retd General Asad Durrani, born again Democrat and Progressive General Retd Hameed Gul and his sudden discovered Love for Democracy and Constitution and their letters to Mr Musharraf advising him to quit. Their hands are tainted with the blood of Pakistani people, yet they have the audacity to participate in the political meetings of PPP, PML-N, MMA and ARD. Shame on all of you who invite such monsters in their party meetings to discuss the restoration of democracy in Pakistan, particularly shame on Benazir and Nawaz to tolerate Hameed Gul amongst their meetings. When General Zia died in 1988 plane crash and power came into the hands of Lt. General (Retd) Aslam Beg, Lt. Gen (Retd) Hameed Gul and of course Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the then Federal Finance Minister Dr. Mehboobul Haq [a toady of World Bank/IMF who served General Zia, IMF and World Bank very well] signed several accords with the IMF and World Bank and he signed these accords when there wasn't any representative elected government in the country, to be precise Dr Mehboobul Haq enslaved the people of the Pakistan through this accords. Comes Benazir Bhutto as the first elected Woman Prime Minister of Pakistan and she was told by the three above and Robert Oakley the then American Viceroy of Pakistan that she will have to accept and honour the Accords signed by Mehboobul Haq with the IMF, and many other things like accepting Sahibzada Yaqoob Khan as Foreign Minister and Ghulam Ishaq Khan as the President and the so-called Daughter of the East Ms. Bhutto accepted all the demands to be ousted from power from the same group in August 1990 and now General Beg and General Hameed Gul have the audacity to lecture all of us about Islam, Democracy, Pakistan and Loyalty. The most sad thing is this that those who served under General Musharraf from 1999 to 2005 are nowadays addressing letters to him to quit [in my humble opinion General Musharraf should remain in power for at least 25 years] e.g. Javed Jabbar [Musharraf's Former Infromation Minister] , Lt General Retd Moeenuddin Haider [Musharraf's Former Interior Minister], Lt. General Retd. Tanveer Naqvi [Musharraf's National Reconstruction Bureau's Planner (BBC's Tim Sebastian had ruined Tanveer Naqvi and his so-called Devolution Plan in one of his program Hard Talk], Lt. General Retd Mohammad Asad Durrani [Musharraf's Former Ambassador in Saudi Arabia] etc.etc I wonder why all of a sudden the former cabinet members are so worried that they started writing letters to General Sahab. They have got what they had always wanted the complete Militarization of Pakistani society.

"QUOTE"

In September of 1994 Kamran Khan of The News and The Washington Post came calling. He told me how earlier that year he had asked for an appointment with the then leader of the opposition, Nawaz Sharif, to interview him on his relationship with the army and the security services whilst he was prime minister. He was asked to go to Lahore and meet the Mian. When on May 16 Kamran arrived at Nawaz's Model Town house, there was an army of men equipped with bulldozers demolishing the security fences and structures Nawaz had built on adjoining land, not his to build upon (akin to those built around Karachi's Bilawal House). The breakers had been on the job since dawn. Kamran found Nawaz angry but composed. He was amply plied and refreshed with 'badaam-doodh' and Nawaz, his information wizard Mushahid Hussain and he settled down to talk and continued to do so until late afternoon when Kamran left to fly back to Karachi.

Nawaz opened up by congratulating Kamran on his Mehrangate exposures which had recently appeared in the press, asking how the inquiry was progressing, and giving his own views. They exchanged information, each believing the other was being informed. They talked about how COAS Aslam Beg (sporter of shades in the shade) managed to get Rs 14 crore (140 million) from Yunis Habib, then of Habib Bank. This was deposited in the 'Survey Section 202' account of Military Intelligence (then headed by Major-General Javed Ashraf Kazi). From there Rs 6 crore was paid to President Ghulam Ishaq Khan's election cellmates (General Rafaqat, Roedad Khan, Ijlal Hyder Zaidi, etc.), and Rs 8 crore transferred to the ISI account. After lunch, Nawaz brought up the subject of how Aslam Beg early in 1991 had sought a meeting with him (then prime minister) to which he brought Major-General Asad Durrani, chief of the ISI. They told him that funds for vital on-going covert operations (not identified by Nawaz) were drying up, how they had a foolproof plan to generate money by dealing in drugs. They asked for his permission to associate themselves with the drug trade, assuring him of full secrecy and no chance of any trail leading back to them.

Nawaz remarked that on hearing this he felt the roof had caved in on him. He told them he could have nothing to do with such a plan and refused to give his approval. The Washington Post had just broken Kamran's story and when I asked why it had not broken earlier, he told me how they check and recheck, and that in the meantime, he had been busy with the Mehrangate affair on which, between May and August, he had filed seven stories. We must again ask: was Nawaz capable of saying what he did? Yes. Did Kamran invent the whole thing? Not likely. Is The Washington Post a responsible paper with credibility? Yes. Everybody who is anyone in Washington reads it over breakfast. Has it ever made mistakes? Yes.

What is so earth-shattering about using drugs to make money? Drugs have been trafficked and used for covert operations for ages, by warlords, statesmen, chieftans and generals, used to gain territory, to buy or to harm the enemy. Remember how the staid Victorians of the British empire used opium to China's detriment. Remember the Americans and how they traded drugs in Vietnam, and the Iran-Contra affair. Can we believe Aslam Beg? Judging by his behaviour and record, no. Are we expected to believe Asad Durrani, a clever professional spook? Of course not. Have all our generals been upright men and played it right? Of course, yes. Otherwise would they have ended up the way they did? Ziaul Haq? Governor, rich General Fazle Haq? How about dubious politician, rich General Aslam Beg, Lt General Javed Ashraf Kazi first chief of the MI and then of the ISI, Nawaz's ISI chief, General Javed Nasir, sacked by General Waheed Kakar, General Asad Durrani of MI and ISI fame, summarily sacked by General Kakar, rewarded and re-employed by Benazir as her ambassador in Bonn, and dangerous politician, the firebrand fundo General Hamid Gul.

How did Ejazul Haq, son of the pious General Ziaul Haq, and Humayun Akhtar Rahman, son of the powerful General Akhtar Abdul Rahman, become tycoons overnight? The story related above was printed in Dawn in my column of September 23 1994, and was never repudiated by any of the honourable gentlemen mentioned. Kamran Khan is still writing and when Nawaz Sharif returned as prime minister in 1997, Kamran was awarded the presidential Pride of Performance medal for journalism which was pinned upon his chest by none other than Rafiq Tarar, former justice of the Supreme Court and then head of state.[3]

We never learn from history By Ardeshir Cowasjee [3]

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020721.htm

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020804.htm

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020811.htm

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020818.htm

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020825.htm

Two ex-ISI chiefs refute president's statement By Iftikhar A. Khan [3]

http://www.dawn.com/2006/10/03/top3.htm

Pakistan's shadowy secret service Mahmud Ali [3]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6033383.stm

Can the ISI change its spots? By Akhtar Payami [3] October 07, 2006 Daily Dawn Encounter.

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/encounter/20061007/encounter4.htm

"UN-QUOTE"

"QUOTE"

This conclusion was reinforced when an analysis of chemicals found in plane's wreckage, done by the laboratory of Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco in Washington, found foreign traces of pentaerythritol tertranitrate (PNET), a secondary high explosive commonly used by saboteurs as a detonator, as well as antimony and sulfur, which in the compound antimony sulfide is used in fuses to set off the device. Using these same chemicals, Pakistan ordinance experts reconstructed a low-level explosive detonator which could have been used to burst a flask the size of a soda can which, the Board suggested, probably contained an odorless poison gas that incapacitated the pilots. But this was as far as the Board of Inquiry could go. It had not had autopsies done on the remains of the crew members to determine if they were poisoned. It acknowledged in its report that it lacked the expertise to investigate criminal acts. What was needed was criminal investigators and interrogators. It thus recommended that the task of finding the perpetrators by turned over to the competent agency, which meant, as one of the investigators explained to me, Pakistan's intelligence service--the ISI. When I got to Pakistan in February and called upon General Hamid Gul, the Director General of the ISI, I found out that political events had apparently overtaken this mandate. He told me that his agency had called off its investigation at the request of the government and had transferred the responsibility for it to a "broader based" government authority headed by a civil servant called F.K. Bandial. It was not using the resources of his intelligence service and, as far as he knew that committee had not begun the work. His tone suggested that, he did not expect any immediate resolution of the crime. [4]

Who Killed Zia? (Page 2) VANITY FAIR September 1989 by Edward Jay Epstein [4]

http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/zia.htm

http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/zia2.htm

http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/zia3.htm

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Everybody condemns Musharraf for being too Pro Indian whould anybody like to define as to why Aijaz ul Haq [Religious Affairs Minister] who nowadays wears "HINDU TILAK" on his forehead to appease Indians whereas his Father The Rampant Ziaul Haq made living hell the lives of common Pakistanis but wait read the news Zia had adopted BJP [The cohorts of RSS/BAJRANG DAL & VHP] Activist and Film Actor Shatrughan Sinha. Why dont the Qazi Hussain Ahmed and his MMA condemn General Zia for this? Is it because that Former Ameer of Jamat-e-Islami Mian Tufail is a Father in Law of General Ziaul Haq.

"QUOTE"

Top Indian actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, in an interview to The News, recalled unfading memories of his eight-year association with the former Pakistani President, General Ziaul Haq. Shatrughan is in Pakistan these days to attend the birth day ceremony of Zain Zia, special daughter of late General Zia. He recalled that even military tension between the two countries on several occasions could not break his ties with the Zia family. Shatrughan whose name became household in Pakistan after he was declared a state guest by General Zia recalled that how Zia used to receive him with great affection. Giving details of his first meeting with General Zia, Shatrughan said he was on a personal visit to Karachi in 1981, when he received a message that the president of Pakistan wanted to meet him in Islamabad. He was greatly surprised to receive this unusual invitation, he said. Shatrughan said he came to Islamabad where he was given a royal reception by General Zia whose daughter Zain turned out to be his big fan. He said Zain loved his acting and had asked her father to arrange a meeting with him. Zia returned after performing Umra the same day and could not meet the Indian actor. The next day, General Zia took Shatrughan to his family where the latter was surprised to see the passions of a small girl, Zain, for him. Shatrughan said being so close to Zia, he had played a major role in removing many misconceptions between the two countries and their people as he used to tell his friends and media men in India about many positive things of Pakistan. He recalled that he was given special treatment by General Zia. He said once he with his family was riding in a car and being escorted by military and police motors and people standing on roads thought he was perhaps arrested in Pakistan. He said even General Zia was taunted for spending hours with an Indian actor. But, he said Zia never compromised his relations with him. He said once his kids lost their pet black cat named 'Michael Jackson' in Bombay. When they came with him at the Army House, Rawalpindi, to meet the Zia family, they spotted a black cat in the lawn and rushed to capture it shouting they had found their ÔMJÕ. He said to his great astonishment, General Zia also stood up and rushed behind his children to ensure that they did not fall on the ground. He said he could not forget those unusual moments in his life watching Zia running after his kids. He said when Dr Anni, daughter of General Zia, got married he was one of the few privileged people who were invited. ÒRather I was the host at this wedding as I was deputed to receive and see off guestsÓ, he said. He said when General Zia came to India to watch Pakistan-India cricket match in Jaipur state as part of cricket diplomacy, he received a telephone call from Zia himself to accompany him to watch the match. [5]

Shatrughan cherishes memory of friendship with Zia Rauf Klasra [5]

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/aug2005-daily/03-08-2005/main/main28.htm.

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Retd. Brigadier Mohammad Yousuf of so-called Afghan Jihad is Information Secretary in Millat Party of Former President of Pakistan Sardar Farooq Laghari, who says that Nawaz, Benazir should quit politics.

Lets examine the unsavory character of Laghari's Information Secretary:

SOME TRUTH ABOUT BRIGADIER YOUSUF:

Former Brigadier of Pakistan Army Muhammad Yousuf {Afghan War Veteran} had said that he kept him away from the CIA and American during "Afghan Jihad" but the history tells us something else:

Just how vicious a campaign the CIA was sponsoring is suggested by the Pakistan Brigadier Mohammed Yousuf, who directed the training with and distribution of CIA weapons at that time. In a matter-of-fact passage in his memoirs, he describes the range of assassination tactics and targets he was preparing the mujahideen to take on in Kabul. They ranged from your everyday knife between the shoulder blades of a Soviet soldier shopping in the bazaar" to "the placing of a briefcase bomb in a senior official's office." Educational institutions were considered fair game, he explains, since they were staffed by "Communists indoctrinating their students with Marxist dogma."

{Page 335 Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story Of The Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile}.

On a CIA sponsored trip to Washington that year, the proud ISI Brigadier was deeply insulted when he was led, virtually blindfolded, to the Agency's "sabotage school" in North Carolina. Vickers {CIA Official foe Afghan "Jihad} escorted the burly Pakistani Brigadier in a plane whose windows were blacked, then in a car with its shades drawn. Yousuf, who suffers the chip on the shoulder of many proud Third World types, was deeply offended at this slight. He reasoned that if he was trusted enough to be permitted to run the CIA's operation in Pakistan, why was the Agency treating him as if he were about to reveal the location of the sabotage school? Later Vicker and Avrakotos {CIA Officials for Afghan "Jihad"} take Yousuf and one of his colleagues out for a fancy dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, USA.

{Page 351 Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story Of The Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile}.

Brigadier [Retd.] and his Chief Mr Laghari should quit politics and should adopt silence.

The same Brigadier Yousuf in his book The Bear Trap wrote about our Ambassador in USA Major General Retd. Mahmood Ali Durrani [who was Military Attache in USA from 1978-1982 the so-called Islamic days of General Zia and he is again there during the [as per MMA the Secular-Infidel Present Government].

"QUOTE"

THE LEGENDS NEVER DIE

(Excerpts from The Bear Trap) WHIRLPOOL OF TERRORISM (Excerpts from The Bear Trap) [6]

Brig (Ret) Mohammad Yousaf

http://www.sovietsdefeatinafghanistan.com/editorial/07.htm

It was 17 August 1988. Moments before Hafiz Taj Mohammad, who was walking towards his field near the village of Dhok Kamal, near the Sutlej River eight miles north of Bahawalpur, heard the roar of engines and looked up. He watched incredulously as the lumbering plane, which was still rising steadily through 5000 feet, suddenly dropped its nose to fly almost straight at the ground, before, with some superhuman effort, it climbed again. Then, as though its strength had finally gone, it plunged down to extinction. To the man below there was no outward reason, no missile, no mid-air explosion, no fire, no engine trailing smoke, nothing to forewarn of such a disaster.

Dead were the President of Pakistan, General Zia-ul-Haq, and the man who might have succeeded him had he survived, General Akhtar Abdul Rahman Khan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Gone were the two most powerful men in Pakistan, the head of state and the man who for eight years until 1987, and headed the ISI. At a stroke the Afghan resistance fighters, the Mujahideen, had lost their two most influential champions. Dead were the US Ambassador, Mr. Arnold Raphel, who had known the President for twelve years, and Brigadier-General Herbert Wassom, the US Defense Attaché in Islamabad. Dead also were eight Pakistani generals with their staff, and the crew - thirty-one persons in all.

Disquietingly, neither President Zia nor General Akhtar should have been abroad the plane. Both had been persuaded against their wishes to attend a demonstration of a solitary American M-I battle tank, which the US was keen to sell to the Pakistan Army. It was not a function that required their presence. Such a comparatively low-level event would normally have been handled by the Vice Chief of Army Staff, General Mirza Aslam Beg. It was the first time Zia had left the heavy security of his official residence since he had dismissed the government of Prime Minister Junejo three months before.

It was only on 14 August that Zia had finally given in to the pressure from his former military secretary and Defense Attaché in Washington, Major-General Mehmood Durrani, now commanding the armoured division. He insisted that the President's presence was diplomatically desirable, and would give added weight to the Pakistani delegation. After all Zia had retained the post of Chief of Army Staff. Against his better judgment he agree to go.

Similarly, General Akhtar had no intention of going to Bahawalpur until a mere twelve hours beforehand. His change of mind was brought about by the persistent phone calls of a former director in ISI, to the effect that Zia was about to make some controversial changes in the military hierarchy about which Akhtar should know. Akhtar consulted with the President, asking for an urgent meeting. Zia, who was then committed to the tank demonstration trip, suggested Akhtar accompany him as they could discuss things on the aircraft. The fate of both was sealed. The call sign of the President's plane was PAK 1, but the actual aircraft he would use was not selected until shortly before the flight. Usually two of the C-130s based at the Air Force base at Chaklala, a few miles from Islamabad, were earmarked. Then, once the decision was taken, the VIP passenger capsule could be rolled into the aircraft and secured shortly before take off. This was a 21-foot-long by 8-foot-wide plywood and metal structure weighing 5000 pounds, which was fitted out to give some comfort, including an independent air conditioning and lighting system, to an otherwise notoriously uncomfortable aircraft interior. The second aircraft, PAK 2, would follow PAK 1 as a backup. There was routine security search of both planes prior to departure. For this flight there was a problem. The airstrip at Bahawalpur was small and could only accommodate one C-130, so PAK 2 would land 150 kilometers away at Sargodha. Once the President left Chaklala there was no possibility of his changing aircraft.

There would, however, be two other smaller planes on the airfield. The first was the Cessna whose task was to circle the vicinity of the airport as a precaution against missile-armed terrorists. This had been routine practice since an unsuccessful missile attack six years earlier. Then there was the eight-seater plane of General Beg who, as the official host, had to get the small jet that would take him and the ambassador south would be parked at Multan. If the crash was sabotage the two Americans were not part of the target. The actual demonstration, in front of so much Army brass, was a big embarrassment to the Americans. The much-vaunted Abrams tank failed to score many hits and the billion-dollar deal evaporated in the enervating heat.

While the President and the senior officers ate lunch at the officer's mess PAK 1 sat on the tarmac, baking in the sun. An armed military guard was on duty around the aircraft, but there had been a minor fault with a cargo door so the seven-crew technicians worked on it. The pilot, Wing Commander Mash'hood Hussan, who had been personally selected by Zia, together with his co-pilot, navigator and engineer, arrived back at the plane for pre-flight checks in advance of the passengers. These four men would be seated on the elevated flight deck, which was separated from the VIP capsule by a narrow door at the top of three steps, on the left side of the aircraft. Zia, with his party, arrived at around 3.30 p.m., and knelt towards Mecca before saying his farewells. He had persuaded both the senior US officials to join him for the return flight. They did so with no apparent concern. General Beg made excuses when the President tried to prevail upon him to board PAK 1. He would use his own plane as he had business to attend to at Lahore. It was a known practice of Zia's to fly with the maximum number of top generals or officials to minimize the risks of a sabotage plot. Shortly before departure two crates of mangoes arrived for the VIPs, which were loaded in the rear without any check, together with a case of model tanks.

Strapped into the sofa and easy chairs inside the VIP capsule were Zia, Akhtar, Afzaal (Chief of the General Staff), Raphel, Wassom, and the President's military secretary, Brigadier General Najib Ahmed. Zia, Raphel and Akhtar sat close together so they could chat during the flight, although conversation is difficult as the C-130 is an excessively noisy aircraft. At 3.46 p.m. PAK 1 lifted off after the Cessna security plane reported nothing untoward. On the flight deck the take off routine had been uneventful, with clear communications to the control tower. The fact that the aircraft lacked either a black box flight recorder or a cockpit voice recorder would later be the subject of censure, but at lift off none of the crew or passengers had the slightest hint of the catastrophe that was little more than two minutes away. Mash'hood gave his arrival time at Islamabad over the radio as the plane pulled up onto the sky and began to turn on to its correct course. On the ground General Beg's pilot was preparing to take off; at Sargodha PAK 2 was airborne, as was the Cessna. All were on the same radio frequency as PAK 1, so all heard the ground controller request PAK 1's estimated position, and the response, 'Stand by'. Then nothing, no mayday call, total silence, despite the increasingly frantic calls from the control tower as it was realized that something was radically wrong.

To the passengers the horror of the sickening plunge, with bodies hanging by their safety belts, unable to move, screams drowned by the uninterrupted roar of the engines, was indescribable. Then, the sudden, few fleeting moments of relief as the plane seemingly came under control and started to climb again, with the occupants lolling in the opposite direction or jammed hard back into their seats. But, finally, yet another terrifying dive as PAK 1 gave up the struggle to survive. In Judicial terms it was either misadventure or murder. When the news broke, the chances of finding any Pakistani who believed it was an accident were a million to one against. Zia was a man with umpteen enemies. There has been at least six previous attempts at assassination, including a near miss by a missile fired at his plane. Probably his most uncompromising opponents within Pakistan were the Bhutto family. Zia had, despite the international outcry to commute it, confirmed the death sentence on the present Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's father -- this, to the man who, as prime minister, had personally picked Zia, then the most junior lieutenant-general, for promotion of Chief of Army Staff over the heads of his seniors. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had made a decision that, three years later, he would pay for with his head. On 4 April, 1979, he was hanged in Rawalpindi jail. Thereafter the family feud was unrelenting.

Zia imprisoned Benazir Bhutto and her mother, banned Bhutto's political party, and had his sons Shah Nawaz and Mir Murtaza convicted of serious crimes in absentia. In exile Mir Murtaza established an anti-Zia terrorist group named Al-Zulfikar (The Sword) in Kabul, where it shared offices with the PLO. From there, and Damascus, it carried out a campaign of killing and sabotage which, in 1981, included the hijacking of a Pakistan International Airlines passenger jet. Then, in 1985, Shah Nawaz died a painful death in sinister circumstances in Paris, it being rumoured that he had been poisoned by Zia's agents. There was, and still is, an implacable hatred between these two families. Benazir Bhutto claimed the crash was 'An act of God', before going on to win the general election three months later, to become Pakistan's first woman prime minister.

Zia was a military man who, along with Akhtar, was the last officer to have been commissioned from the Indian Military Academies just before the partition of India in 1947. Once in politics he would often boast that 'The Armed Forces are my constituency' and he never vacated the post of Chief of Army Staff that Bhutto had given him. But even within the military he had few friends. He quickly developed an uncanny knack of spotting potential rivals for power. These were removed from the scene by sacking, or posting to positions well away from the political centre at Islamabad. His only role as Chief of Army Staff had been to vet the promotions and postings of all officers to the rank of major general or above. Numerous disgruntled Service chiefs were secretly delighted that Zia was dead. Potential assassins were not restricted to Pakistanis. Ever since Zia had backed the Mujahideen in their struggle against the Soviets and their Afghan allies, Pakistan had been swamped with KHAD agents bent on undermining his government by a terror campaign of bombing civilians. KHAD is the Afghan secret police organization, trained and advised by the KGB. At the top of its hit list was President Zia, closely followed by General Akhtar. The Soviets were withdrawing from Afghanistan solely because Zia and given sanctuary to the Mujahideen and had, for nine years, been arming, training and advising them in a bloody guerrilla war that had cost the Soviet military 13,000 lives.

The USSR blamed Pakistan for continuing to encourage and supply the Mujahideen in their attacks during the withdrawal, which was half-completed at the time of the crash. It had gone so far as to warn Pakistan, through the US Ambassador in Moscow, that it intended to teach Zia a lesson. Then there was India. Pakistanis and Indians had slaughtered each other on three separate occasions, in 1947, 1965 and 1971. India's Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandhi was convinced that Zia was supplying weapons to Sikh terrorists. They had murdered his mother, and now several thousand armed Sikh insurgents were active in India. Zia was accused of meeting their leaders, and giving shelter and training to the guerrillas inside Pakistan. To counter this, Delhi had established a special branch of its Intelligence Service, with the unpretentious title of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), specifically targeted on Pakistan.

Even the US government shed few genuine tears at Zia's death. It was the State Department's belief that Zia had outlived his use fullness. With the Soviets leaving Afghanistan, the last thing the US wanted was for communist rule in Kabul to be replaced by an Islamic fundamentalist one. American officials were convinced that this was Zia's aim. According to them his dream was an Islamic power block stretching from Iran through Afghanistan to Pakistan with, eventually, the Uzbek, Turkoman and Tajik provinces of the USSR included. To the State Department such a huge area shaded green on the map would be worse than Afghanistan painted red.

On the very day of the disaster the Pakistan Chief of Air Staff ordered a Board of Inquiry set up to inquire into the circumstances of the crash, assess damage and costs, apportion blame (if any) and make recommendations to avoid similar occurrences in the future. Air Commodore Abbas Mirza presided, with three other senior Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officers sitting as members. To provide technical advice and expertise six USAF officers were hurriedly flown from Europe to join the inquiry. They were led by Colonel Daniel Sowada. For two months the Board deliberated and sifted evidence. Witnesses were interviewed, while exhaustive laboratory tests were carried out regarding the aircraft structure, instruments engines, propellers, and flight controls, both in Pakistan and the USA, with the full cooperation of Lockheed, the aircraft's manufacturers. One after another possible causes of the crash were eliminated with meticulous care. Crew fitness, fatigue and stress were ruled out. There had been no pilot error. Adverse weather was not a factor, nor was fuel contamination. No in-flight fire had occurred prior to impact; the aircraft was structurally intact when it hit the ground; there was no metal fatigue; engines and propellers were functioning normally, as were hydraulic fluid, electrical power and control cables. No evidence of a high-intensity internal explosion was found. Finally, no missile or rocket had been used to down the plane. The inevitable conclusion -- a criminal act of sabotage had killed thirty-one people. The board was of the opinion that the crew in the cockpit had been instantaneously and simultaneously incapacitated by the use of a chemical agent such as fast-working nerve gas. The presence of an odourless and colourless gas would not alarm the crew, so they would not don helmets and masks to breathe oxygen. It was established that none of the flight crew was wearing helmets at the time of the crash. The Board commented that such a chemical agent could have been packed in a small innocuous container such as a drink can, thermos flask or gift parcel, and smuggled onboard without arousing suspicion.

It was not possible to substantiate the type of gas used as 'no proper autopsies on the flight deck crew were carried out'. Only the body of Brigadier Wassom was examined before the authorities at the military hospital at Bahawalpur were ordered not to perform autopsies. He had been in the VIP capsule, not on the flight deck, and all that could be deduced was that he had not suffered injuries from any explosion prior to impact. Neither had he breathed in any toxic fumes, as would have been the case with a fire before the plane hit the ground. The instructions not to perform autopsies came as a shock, as it was a routine procedure. Later, it was stated that all the bodies had been completely destroyed in the fire, rendering autopsies impossible. When General Akhtar's family wanted to see his body before burial, they were refused, on the grounds that it was totally disintegrated, with nothing of any substance left. The reason was not believed. Witnesses at the crash site said that, while the passengers at the rear of the aircraft were virtually totally destroyed, this was not the case with the senior officers in the capsule or the crew in the cockpit. The condition of Wassom's body did not prevent thorough examination. Zia's Holy Koran survived, charred but easily recognisable, as did Akhtar's uniform cap, together with his personal file cover with its crest, and the words 'CHAIRMAN JCSC' still clearly readable. A US official was to announce that the bodies were not available for autopsy as Muslim custom requires burial within 24 hours. While this is true in normal circumstances, it never applies within the Services, as shown by the Army medical staff at Bahawalpur when they automatically made preparations to proceed.

The Board had no members qualified to undertake criminal investigations, but they did record that, 'although 31 death certificates have been received no physical body count was carried out at the wreckage site or in the hospital. The possibility of someone not boarding the aircraft at Bahawalpur cannot be ruled out'. Although the ISI was initially tasked with investigations, its efforts appeared less than enthusiastic. Service personnel at Bahawalpur were surprised that they were not subjected to rigorous interrogation. The discovery of a murdered policeman nearby was not successfully investigated, while the efforts of interrogators to extract a confession from the pilot of PAK 2 were bizarre, as well as unrewarding. A recent killing of a Shiite leader had been blamed by his followers on Zia. Both the pilot of PAK 2 and co-pilot of PAK 1, Flight Lieutenant Sajid, were Shiites, so it was suggested that the PAK 2 pilot had persuaded Sajid deliberately to crash the plane in a suicide mission. Only when the Board of Inquiry showed that such actions would have been physically impossible was the unfortunate man released. So it was an act of mass murder. The likely method was pinpointed by the Board, although the culprits remained unidentified. As explained above, many people, organizations, even nations, had powerful personal or political motives for wanting Zia removed.

The State Department would have much preferred an accident, some sort of technical failure, pilot error, anything rather than sabotage. If it was a murder of two high-ranking US officials then the American public would expect, indeed demand, to know the culprits. For such an outrageous act of terrorism the outcry against the perpetrators would be loud and long. The government would probably find it impossible to silence the clamour to exact retribution. Depending on who had done it, exposure could mean the ruin of US policy objectives in the area, and elsewhere in the world. Supposing the KGB, or their surrogates in KHAD, were responsible, how would revealing the USSR as the organizer of mass murder, of the assassination of a head of state, affect the build-up of goodwill between East and West? How could the US avoid a major outbreak of hostility between themselves and the USSR? Almost certainly the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan would be reversed. The implications of Moscow being to blame were unnerving.

Similarly, the dilemma was almost as serious if the plotters were within the Pakistan military. If investigation uncovered a clique of anti-Zia generals the American people would be outraged that, after all these years of massive support to the Pakistan Armed Forces and the Mujahideen, they had killed a US ambassador and a brigadier-general. It would be futile to say they hadn't intended to! US-Pakistan relations would be in ruins. Aid would have to be curtailed, the military might be forced into prolonged presidential rule, the democratic elections scheduled for November would be abandoned, and with them the prospect of the more acceptably moderate Benazir Bhutto becoming prime minister. As I have said earlier, the US was not sorry to see Zia go. The State Department was happy to see the Soviets out of Afghanistan, but decidedly unhappy with the likelihood of, as the US perceived it, Zia backed fundamentalist's talk over in Kabul. Nor did it like his determination to have nuclear weapons. By mid-1988 Zia was becoming a liability rather than an asset to the US. Though unlikely, it was conceivable that some minor political faction or terrorist group. Like Al-Zulfikar, had somehow achieved the impossible. The problem was, once serious investigations started there was no knowing what unwelcome worms might emerge from the can as the lid was lifted.

Testifying before the House of Representatives Judiciary Sub-Committee on Crime in June, 1989, Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Armitage justified the lack of any serious investigations into the sabotage by claiming, '[we were] hopefully moving Pakistan in a more democratic manner.... The military in Pakistan as well as their presidency just being decapitated, we were very alarmed there might be some backsliding'. In other words they were quite prepared to write off Ambassador Raphel and Brigadier Waskom's murders if that meant not rocking the boat. None of this soul-searching would have been necessary if no Americans had died -- particularly such senior ones. The whole business was complicated by the fact that as recently as 1986 Congress had passed a law that gave the FBI the legal right, indeed the duty, to inquire into terrorist acts overseas that involved attacks on US citizens. It is often referred to as the 'Long Arm' law. The State Department did four things immediately after the crash which, taken together, point unerringly at a cover-up. First, within hours, it sent a team of purely technical air force advisers to assist the PAF Board of Inquiry. Secondly, it did not insist, through its embassy, on autopsies on the bodies of the victims, particularly the crew, but rather allowed them to be buried knowing that essential evidence as to how the crash was caused was being buried with them. Thirdly, it sent a Deputy National Security Adviser, Robert Oakley, to take over Raphel's post. He could be relied upon to sit on the lid of the can. Later, in June, 1989, he told a highly skeptical sub-committee that when he attended the National Security Council meeting to decide on the US response to the crash, he simply forgot all about the 'Long Arm' law. This, despite the fact that he had personally lobbied hard to get it passed. Fourthly, and most importantly, it vetoed the FBI's request clearance and on 21 August had been given it verbally, but, within hours, it had been withdrawn -- probably on the instructions of Oakley, who was by then in Islamabad. General Beg, who had just avoided dying with his President, had circled the burning wreckage in his own aircraft before flying straight to Islamabad. There troops were alerted, key points protected, and a crisis cabinet meeting called. But there was no military takeover. Beg accepted immediate promotion to Zia's old post of Army Chief of Staff, while the civilian chairman of the Senate, the 73-year-old Ghulam Ishaq Khan, took over as head of the interim government.

The November election would go ahead. Almost certainly the military authority that halted the autopsies will never be named, nor will the details of the collusion that must have taken place so swiftly between the Pakistani authorities and the US Embassy in Islamabad. It was not until ten months later that congressional pressure finally forced the State Department to allow three FBI investigators to go to Pakistan. As Congressman Bill McCollum (R. Fla.) said, 'At this late date, can the FBI find out what actually happened in Pakistan? I don't know. But we intend to find out what happened at the State Department'. The FBI team seemingly lacked enthusiasm for the task. It was reported that 'awkward' questions were not asked; the agents appeared disinclined to investigate evidence that conflicted with the statement that the bodies were too badly burned to permit autopsies and, with their schedule arranged by the Bhutto government, were apparently more interested in sightseeing than cross-questioning witnesses. According to a Washington Times source they only left Islamabad for tourist trips. Their attitude made it quite clear that they were following instructions not to stir the pot. There was genuine sorrow and foreboding among the three million Afghan refugees encamped just inside the Pakistan border. There was a great sense of loss among the Mujahideen, for Zia and Akhtar had been the architects of their successes in the field. [6]

"UN-QUOTE"

INTRODUCTION OF MAJ. GENERAL (RETD) MEHMOOD DURRANI. [7]

George Tenet, CIA (Part 2)

What can you tell us about your meetings with the Government of India, Maj.Gen. (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani, who like Gen.Musharraf, was a blue-eyed boy of the late Gen.Zia-ul-Haq and who is now a close confidante of the self-styled Chief Executive?

Maj.Gen.Durrani had in the past served as the ISI station chief in Washington and was responsible for the ISI's liaison with the CIA and the FBI. Last year, Jamaat-e-Islami circles in Pakistan had alleged that he had, at the instance of the CIA, played a role, in consultation with Gen.Musharraf, in persuading the Hizbul Mujahideen to agree to a cease-fire." Why did the NSA have been destroying data collected on Americans or US companies since the Sept. 11 attacks?

Why did the CIA or Pentagon trust a document about nuclear bombs in a house in Kandahar, which has been proved as a parody from 1979, which also the NY Times reported?

Who do you think put that fake document into the house or do you think, That even Al-Aqueade didn't realize that the documents have been useless? Did you ever investigate in the death of Vladimir Pasechnik, former director of the Institute of Ultra Pure Biochemical Preparations, a component of the Soviet biowarfare establishment, Biopreparat in November 2001? [7]

Why? - An Extraordinary Series Of 911 Questions

From American Patriot Friends Network APFN@apfn.org 4-27-2 [7]

http://www.rense.com/general24/why.htm

India and Pakistan: Cost of Conflict & the Benefits of Peace DESCRIPTION [7]

"General Durrani, by his own admission, started out as a fire-breathing soldier, and his slow conversion to the cause of political engagement as the only way forward is all the more telling for that." - Salman Haider, Senior Fellow of Centre of Research in Rural and Industrial Development, Chandigarh, India

"This is the first time that a highly decorated Pakistani military officer has written about the need for peace and reconciliation with India." - Rifaat Hussain, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

"If this book leads to formation of peace lobbies in India and Pakistan, I can say General Mahmud has achieved much." - Wasim Sajjad, former Chairman, Senate of Pakistan

http://www.dukandar.com/indiaandpakcost.html

VICISSITUDE OF CBMS AND NRRMS BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN [7]

Major General Mahmud Ali Durrani, retired, "India and Pakistan: The Cost of ... Nuclear Terrorism in South Asia" (Washington, DC: Presented at the Brookings)

http://www.stimson.org/southasia/pdf/nrrcsouthasia.pdf.

"UN-QUOTE"

NOTES:

This event report was prepared by Anirudh Suri, Junior Fellow in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. [1]

http://www.carnegieendowment.org/events/index.cfm?fa=eventDetail&id=925&&prog=zg\ p&proj=zsa

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Writing On The Wall For The Military Regime & Its Collaborators

2007-05-09T16:45:00.001+05:00

By Aziz Narejo

This is the time to back off – not to insist on prolonging the wrong – the military occupation of the country that can only destroy the country – as rightly said by the Chief Justice during his address to the Lahore Bar Council. The people have given their verdict. They want the reinstatement of the Chief Justice and the removal of the present illegal and unconstitutional set up. The people welcoming the Chief Justice during his trips from Sukkur to Hyderabad, Islamabad to Peshawar and Islamabad to Lahore have spoken.

The country belongs to the 160 million citizens – not only to the military establishment and its supporters in PML-Q and MQM. Yes, I insist, the country belongs to the people and it should be given back to them. Illegal and unconstitutional usurpation of authority must end. The military regime must quit. It should hand over power to a neutral set up formed with the sole objective of holding free and fair elections in the country.

The regime and its collaborators must understand that they can't fool the citizens any longer. Their game is over. Any longer they continue, closer they will bring the country to an unimaginable disaster. It is being widely said in the country that the military regime, the PML-Q and MQM don't give damn to the country and its future. They just want to perpetuate their rule to achieve their ulterior motives. They must realize that their game stands exposed. They don't have a chance to succeed. They will only create a bigger mess if they continued.

The best course today is for the military to pull back – go back to the barracks – leave alone the country and the civilian society. Both have suffered enormously at the hands of the military establishment and its collaborators like PML-Q, MQM and the religious right. Enough is enough – or else.

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Provincial ownership of oil and gas resources

2007-05-08T20:12:00.001+05:00

Provincial Autonomy and Provincial Ownership of Oil and Gas Resource

Posted by: Khalid Hashmani
Sun May 6, 2007 8:19 am (PST)

Piyara Dosto,

Enlivened by Naseer Memon's article in May 3 edition of Kawish, I drilled down deeper into how oil and gas revenues are distributed among federal and provincial governments in Canada and Pakistan. I was not surprised that the Canadian provinces get more than twice the royalties from oil than Sindh and Baluchistan get - 30.2% in Canada versus 12.5% in Pakistan. This disparity clearly points out a case of terrible exploitation of Sindh and Baluchistan. The rural populations of these two provinces suffer highest poverty rates in South Asia. Instead of instituting urgent and major programs to reduce poverty in the rural areas of Sindh and Baluchistan, the Federal government in Pakistan continues to take loin's share of the revenues from the natural resources that rightfully belongs to the provinces.

Both Canada and Pakistan are federations where people strongly desire for provincial autonomy and where some provinces want to preserve and advance their languages is as in some of the provinces of Pakistan, particularly in Sindh. However, unlike Canada, where the oil producing provinces and the Federal government negotiated the percentages of royalties, the central government unilaterally decides on the provincial shares. It is ironic that the "dictating" nature of federal government in Pakistan has been perpetuated in spite of the founding principles of "Autonomy" and "sovereignty" enshrined in the 1940 Resolution, which laid the basis for the creation of Pakistan.

I hope that patriotic people of Pakistan will realize to this historic injustice and force the federal government to negotiate a fair percentage of royalties to oil and gas to producing provinces and local areas.

Thanks,

Khalid Hashmani
McLean, Virginia, USA

SYNOPSIS FROM ARTICLE BY NASEER MEMON IN MAY 3 ISSUE OF KAWISH
----------------------------------------------------------

http://www.dailykawish.com/Archives/Thu_Arc/index.html

The issue of the ownership of natural resources has been a bone of contention between the central government and provinces since the beginning of Pakistan. All decisions that impact the welfare of provinces are in the hands of the federal government. Now, when the federal government is talking about provincial autonomy, no one has indicated whether the ownership of the natural resources is part of those discussions and negotiations or not.

The oil and gas resources are extremely important for the economic welfare of Sindh and Baluchistan. The people, politicians, and civil society leaders of these provinces are unanimous in demanding a direct role in the management of the natural resources located in their provinces and consider the present arrangements unjustified and unfair.

Unfortunately, according to the 1973 federal constitution, the oil and gas resources of the country have been declared as a "federal" matter and are managed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources. The ministry negotiates with Petroleum exploration companies and leases lands under what is called "Petroleum Concessions Agreement". The ministry sets the rates, rules, and regulations that govern the natural resources of provinces. The provincial governments are not allowed to have any say in the matters pertaining to the oil and gas resources located in their provinces. Generally provinces are given a royalty of 12.5 % with 87.5% share retained by the Federal government. The revenue from the natural resources is not an insignificant amount and would increasingly become more important as the world energy prices increases. The current budget of Sindh has a figure of 38 arb rupees being earned from oil and gas royalties.

The employment of the native Sindhis and Baluchis in the gas and oil fields is also meager. At the present time, Sindh produces about 65% of oil and 70% gas of total Pakistani production. In the Question-Answer session in Pakistan's National Assembly on April 14, 2006, the federal Minister of Petroleum Mr. Amanullah Judon gave the following employment figures about the Sui Southern and Sui Northern companies:

Total Employment = 11,613
Employees from Sindh = 3,613 (of which 1,960 are for urban domiciled)
Employees from Punjab = 5,454
Employees from Baluchistan = 353

The most unfortunate fact is that the national Petroleum policy does not even mention about any revenue allocations for the welfare of the local areas and districts surrounding oil and gas fields. Take the example of the Badin district, it is one of the highest oil and gas producing districts of Pakistan and yet remains one of the poorest district in Pakistan. The same type of the contrast is true for the "Naro" area of Khairpur district and the "Kohistan" area of "Dadu" district.

On April 11, 2007, the Prime Minister of Pakistan announced the 2007 Petroleum policy. This policy mentions an allocation of 2.5% for the welfare of the local areas/districts surrounding the oil and gas fields. However, it has not been clarified if this 2.5% share will come out of the already meager provincial share or it would come from the hefty 87.5% share of the federal government.

According to the April 25, 2007 issue of Kawish, a federal governments Finance Adviser Mr. M. A. Jalil has strongly opposed allocating any of the royalties from the natural resources to specific districts. The question is why government officials are issuing public statements against this much awaited decision after the Petroleum policy has been officially announced. It must be noted that Mr. Jalil is belongs to the same organization that recently engineered a resolution that demanded that the persons having the domicile of Karachi should have the first right of employment in the industries located in the Karachi district.

A news item in the April 29, 2007 issue of Kawish states that the governments of Sindh and Baluchistan for the first time officially demanded from the Federal government to declare that the provinces are the owners of all natural resources located in their provinces. This is not a unique demand as this principle is operative in most countries.

The Pakistan government must learn lessons from the situation that developed in Niger Delta and Nigeria, where the local people were once denied any rights to benefit from the natural resources located in their areas. The economic deprivation and dissatisfaction ultimately gave birth to gross root movements such as the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) and Movement for the Survival of Ogoni (MOSOP). These movements were born to fight injustice of denying local people to benefit from the local natural resources. This shows that wrong policies and denial of the rights to the local populations ultimately leads to extremism and violence.

It is imperative that the government respect the rights of local people with respect to the natural resources produced in their areas and they should not be denied benefits from those resources. The talk of provincial autonomy would be just empty without the willingness to recognize the rights of provincial ownership of natural resources.

----------------------------------------------------------

Return to The Oil and Gas Frontier in Canada
1913-Present

Calgary & Southern Alberta / The Applied History Research Group / The University of Calgary Copyright ? 1997, The Applied History Research Group

http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/calgary/energycrisis.html

In addition, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau?s Liberal Party established a federal oil export tax to capture increased revenues, and it denied resource companies the right to deduct provincial royalty charges before computing federal taxes. By 1975, the two governments reached an impasse: both levels of government shared the wealth.

Despite this impasse, the nature of Alberta?s relationship with the federal government had changed. Unlike the Social Credit Party, the Progressive Conservative Party was no longer content to leave exploration and development to resource companies while the government reaped the profits. Rather, the government was now trying to control the industry ? production, marking, and pricing. The Lougheed government ? like most western Canadian provincial governments in this period ? believed that the resource boom could provide the region with a basis for economic diversification and revenue. Consequently, Lougheed established the Alberta Heritage Trust Fund to aid diversification and to ensure the province?s financial survival when resources depleted.

Federal and provincial relations deteriorated further when Trudeau declared his intention to repatriate and amend Canada's constitution with only Ontario and New Brunswick's support. The Lougheed government viewed Trudeau's initiative as an attempt to increase federal powers at the provinces' expense. Western Canadians widely believed that the NEP and the repatriation of the constitution was yet another effort to make the Ontario perspective of Canada the national one. As a consequence, western Canadian separatist parties began to dot the region. In March 1981 Alberta cut the flow of oil to eastern Canada by five percent. Lougheed increased the percentage to ten percent in June. A poll conducted in 1981 showed that forty-nine percent of Albertans supported separation from Canada.

In September of 1981 the two governments finally reached an agreement that would take effect in 1986. Alberta agreed to accept a slightly modified NEP. Lougheed also agreed that the Canadian price of oil would never rise above seventy-five percent of the world price. In exchange, Alberta earned substantial price hikes for oil and the federal government promised not to tax oil and gas exports to the United States. While the provinces would receive 30.2 percent of oil and gas revenue, the federal government would receive 25.5 percent.

Proposed Bhambhore district - a conspiracy?

2007-05-07T17:27:00.001+05:00

By Khalid Hashmani

Please read the e-mail below from Sassui Palijo about yet another serious attack on the rights of native. This plan has "conspiracy" written all over it as it will eventually facilitate breaking of Sindh.

I hope this time we Sindhis will not stop at half-hearted protests but unify to create unmatched non-violent movement to stop this and other conspiracies against the interests of native Sindhis in their tracks.

Khalid Hashmani
McLean, Virginia, USA

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From: Sassui Palijo
Date: Sat, 05 May 2007 22:17:49 +0000

The present authoritarian regime is following a divide and rule policy in Sindh. The proposed division of Thatta district is the latest example of how to systematically break yet another provincial district of historical and strategic significance.

The division is blatantly against the wishes and the core interests of the people of Sindh. We believe it is a conspiracy that will eventually lead to disintegration of the province. The provincial government continues to act on the dictates of its coalition partner in Sindh, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. This malicious proposal for the bifurcation of Thatta has also been forwarded by MQM.

But this time around the district under the hammer is not a banal one and neither are the reasons behind such division administrative oriented. The proposed division is not a simple case of creating a new district, it is an old political ambition of the Muttahida, which wants to control Thatta�s oceanic border, its coastal belt and precious land of its indigenous people.

In this years World bank report yet again the most down trodden poverty stricken region of the country shown are the coastal belt areas of Badin and Thatta namely Keti Bandar, Shah Bandar, Ali Bandar, Ghora Bari, Kharo Chaan and several others where the common man satiates his hunger and thirst by drinking black tea and contaminated water giving rise to epidemic of water borne diseases and ulcers.

However if we were to look closely, Thatta is blessed with minerals, stone, coastal belt, delta and an all important border with the Indian waters which makes it a district of immense strategic importance which like Badin has vast reserves of untapped natural gas and oil.

According to one source the oil reserves of Thatta would dwarf those of the neighbouring Badin and on the other hand groundwork is being prepared for developing Keti bandar port in the same breadth as that of Gwadar. Despite all these potentials, the indigenous man here is living in abhorrent conditions which are worse then even those of the red Indians of north America.

On one side coastal belt natives are already facing the challenges of natural catastrophes whereas man made crises are being forced upon them on the other side which is gradually pushing these people back to the stone age. These natives have never been consulted regarding any mega projects like RBOD or the building of the big dams like the highly controversial Kalabagh dam which could directly affect this lower riparian region.

The districts strategic significance coupled with, the design to accommodate the outsiders and turn the locals into an insignificant minority , is raising several doubts and it has lead us to having serious reservations that this may as well be the beginning of a great scheme of things which would culminate with the province of Sindh being broken and divided.

It should not be forgotten that even in the black rule of general Zia, there was an open admittance of the intent to cut the region from Sindh�s coastal belt to Balochistan area of Jiwani Makran. The present Government is also following the same formula to divide Sindh but we refuse to allow such malicious division of the Thatta district. However this time round the establishment would face unparalleled resistance.

We strongly deplore such conspiracy to divide our land .We will continue to resist and defend the legitimate and historical boundaries of the district.

Sassui Palijo
Thatta

From: G H Khwaja
Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 15:16:13 +0500

Dear All,

Government of Sindh has is planing to create a new coastal district comprising over 10 Union Councils of Bin Qasim including Ibrahim Haidri, Reri Miyan , and three coastal tehsils of District Thatta , i.e; Mir Pur Sakro, Keti Bundar , and Kharochan.

Conspiracy to occupy and deprive Sindh from its coastal belt, historical Bhambhore ruins, was already devised. Yet district is to announced officially in next few months. Planning to deprive Sindh from its coastal area has been finalized.

In past MQM had welcomed the chief minister�s decision to create more District in Sindh Province, by creating four districts Tandoallayar, Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan and Matyari . That was termed as significant improvement in the administrative structure Dr. Arbab Rahim CM Sindh has brought about.

Being a Sindhi kindly raise your voice over issue .

Hussain
Thatta

Mush-PPP Deal Vs Mush-CJ Deal

2007-05-04T05:26:00.001+05:00

Posted by: Aziz Narejo
Wed May 2, 2007 10:22 pm (PST)

Could any one imagine a deal (or an 'understanding') between the military regime and the Chief Justice of Pakistan at this point in time? It is unimaginable, isn't it?

The valiant stand by the Chief Justice has unquestionably raised the spirits and rekindled a ray of hope among the disheartened people. It has inspired the indifferent, downcast and depressed masses to stand up for one more time – may be for the last time - to end the military dictatorship. A Mush-CJ deal at this time would surely cause a severe blow to the present movement for democracy, rule of law and the independence of judiciary.

Such a deal will make the people lose faith in any good to ever happen in the country. It will give birth to inconceivable anguish, gloom, despair and desolation, which will result in a major catastrophe. There would be no winners in such a situation – only losers.

Why would then any one think that a Mush-PPP deal (or an 'understanding') will be less devastating for the wretched people of the miserable country?

Aziz Narejo

"Daughter of the East": a rejoinder

2007-04-29T20:03:00.001+05:00

From: Arif
Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2007 07:57:21 +0700
Subject: General Aslam Beg's rejoinder....

"Daughter of the East": a rejoinder

Benazir Bhutto has updated her book "Daughter of the East" which was first published years back. She has added a preface and a new chapter titled: "Prime Minister and Beyond," which contains some new revelations, with particular reference to Pakistan Army and the ISI. Extracts of these additions were published in the national dailies of Pakistan on April 7 and 8.

Referring to a briefing in the GHQ when I was the army chief, she says that I asked her to approve a new policy. "He said that if Islamabad went on 'offensive defensive', it could capture Srinagar. General Beg told me: 'Prime Minister, you just give the order and your men will take Srinagar and you will wear the crown of victory and glory'. I thought he had lost all sense of reality."

I would like to put the record straight. During the exercise Zarb-e-Momin, held in November/December 1989, Pakistan Army tested the new concept of offensive defence, whereas in Kashmir, on the outbreak of war, the army had orders to remain on the defensive and maintain the sanctity of the Line of Control. This policy had resulted into loss of territory in the 1965 war, including Kargil. Both in 1965 and 1971 wars, the army had launched unprepared offensives in the sensitive areas of Indian-held Kashmir, and failed miserably. I therefore suggested to the prime minister that the war directive might be amended and the mission might be changed, so that after the war the government of Pakistan would find itself in a better bargaining position.

After listening to the presentation, she asked: "Can you capture Srinagar?" I said: "Yes, if you place the resources at our disposal." She did not answer. I tried to look into her eyes to see if she was really serious, but she had lowered her gaze and offered no comments. Perhaps, her silence betrayed the feelings of guilt and shame she had suffered after the defeat of her offensive against Jalalabad, which she had launched in March 1989 without consulting the GHQ. In fact she wanted to get a feather in her cap for her march towards Kabul. But that was not to be. She got frustrated and distanced herself from the Afghan policy altogether. Later on she called me and assigned to me the responsibility to handle the Afghan mujahideen and work out a politico-military solution for transfer of power in Afghanistan. She placed at my disposal the services of competent persons from the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Afghan Cell, the ISI and the Joint Services Headquarters.

For four months, I laboured on this assignment, having long meetings with Afghan mujahideen leaders including Ahmad Shah Masood, and evolved a comprehensive plan which I handed over to Benazir Bhutto. But the plan did not see the light of day because she had lost interest in Afghanistan. Thus Afghanistan was back-burnered and drifted into civil war, a situation which led to the emergence of the Taliban, which Nasrullah Babar, then her interior minister, claims to have created,

Benazir Bhutto must remember that briefings at the GHQ are fully recorded and statements made there can be confirmed and verified. She held a very responsible position at that time and now making irresponsible statements is not in the fitness of things. Someone has rightly said: "The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."

Gen (r) Mirza Aslam Beg

Rawalpindi

Any New Govt. Under Musharraf Will Be As Illegitimate As The Present One

2007-04-29T19:54:00.001+05:00

If A Judge Can Stand Up To The Generals, Why Can't Our Politicians?

Wardi or no wardi, Musharraf presidency after next elections will be considered a continuation of the military rule in the country. Any new government under him, no matter if it were headed by an erstwhile pro-democracy party, would be as illegitimate and unconstitutional as the present Military/PML-Q/MQM/MMA arrangement. And it will be resisted by the pro-democracy elements as strenuously as possible.

People have suffered enough under the military rule in Pakistan. They want a real change. They want an end to the military rule and power to the people. They can�t be fooled and hoodwinked any more by any arrangement in the name of the �national interest� or the �necessity for the country�. They have seen enough and have been deceived for so long. The situation has reached a point of �Now Or Never�.

If any party stabs in the back or undermines the present movement for democracy and the independence of judiciary, it will certainly lose the credibility and any good name that it might have earned during the yester years. It may also have great surprise in store for itself as it will find out on the Election Day. Many of its traditional voters would surely desert her as it would be considered just another �B� team to the military regime.

The people and the political parties still have a real chance to end the military hegemony in the country for ever if they geared up their energies and defeated the weakened and dysfunctional regime. Many say this could be the last chance ever. Let�s see the wisdom and the determination of the civil society leadership. Can they grab the victory that the Chief Justice has put within their reach or would they plunder away the opportunity?

There is a question looming large on the horizon: If a Chief Justice can stand up to the military generals, why can�t our politicians?

Best regards,

Aziz Narejo

P.S. I have clarified it before and say it again that the views I express on these fora are mine alone and they don't necessarily represent SANA. Also I must say that these views could be right or wrong as any one else's.

Changing Political Alliances and Sindhi Interests

2007-04-28T20:22:00.001+05:00

By: Khalid Hashmani
Date Apr 28, 2007 11:12 PM
Subject: Changing Political Alliances and Sindhi Interests - Time to get Real

Piyara Dosto,

The recent acknowledgment by PPP chairperson Ms Benazir Bhutto implying that there could be a deal between Musharraf (military) and her (PPP) poses interesting challenges for native Sindhis. It is said that a 70 to 80% of native Sindhis vote solidly for PPP. However, traditionally, Sindhis and Pakistan military have not been on best of terms. The changing political alliance thus raises an important question about how such a "deal" would impact the interests of native Sindhis? Does such a "deal" mean that Benazir Bhutto has forsaken their interests and compromise the murders of some of their heroes Z. A. Bhutto (her father) and her two brothers or would this deal protect Sindhi rights and usher an era of affirmative action programs to eliminate heart-wrenching poverty from the interior of Sindh? My view is that it is not easy to predict what this deal would do to Sindhi interests. One thing is certain that these are very critical times for the survival of Sindhi identity in Sindh. I believe that future would not hold well for Sindhi interests if PPP sacrifices Sindhi identity and Sindhi Rights in order to become a partner in power for the gain of few individual waders and their families and friends. If however, PPP does take the enormous responsibility and trust that Sindhi masses have placed in it with utmost seriousness and makes the protection of Sindhi rights as one of its focused goals, we (native Sindhis) may see some positive improvements.

The semi-adversarial relationship between military and native Sindhis has developed for a variety reasons. Sindhis are critical of military because of Pakistan military's reluctance in hiring and promoting Sindhis in its cadres; imposing dictatorship and killing democracy and its institutions; taking ownership of million acres of newly irrigated lands in Sindh through military grants; and hanging of Z. A,. Bhutto (considered a mythical hero by Sindhi masses) at the hands of a military dictator. Military discriminates against Sindhis because a vast majority of native Sindhis abhor violence, militancy, and religious non-tolerance and because decades after the murder of Z. A. Bhutto, Sindhis continue to be a backbone of PPP's electoral strength.

The native Sindhis must realize that they no longer have a simple spectrum of challenges that their benevolent wadera leadership could either easily address or put a convincing spin on their non-resolution. These days, there are no moral, legal, or ethical boundaries that hold others from plundering their resources and taking away their jobs and opportunities. The rule of "Jeko Dhadho so Gabo" remains the supreme law of Pakistan. The examples and signs of inability of native Sindhis to get their due rights are every where. Their royalties, employment representation in oil, gas and other industries located in Sindh's heartland remains lower than in any other country. The quantity and quality of educational and employment opportunities and health facilities and poverty in rural Sindh is worse among all provinces except in Balochistan. In spite of existing laws that protect Sindhi language as the first language of the province, example of disregard of these laws by the government and private sector in Karachi and Hyderabad remain unprecedented. Now even the Sindhi villages are being demolished and the doors to educational and employment opportunities to native Sindhis are being closed in Karachi. It is ironic that native Sindhis have become lost in their own homeland.

The native Sindhis must realize that their bias for non-violence, non-confrontation, and blind trust in PPP may be working against them and the status quo will continue unless they organize themselves focusing on their interests and start putting pressure on military, PPP, or others (who are/will be partners in power) to secure their economic, political, human, and water rights. This is not the time to get ourselves entangled with so called "federal" issues that have no direct bearing on Sindhi interests. The time to focus on Sindhi interests:and time to unify for the protection of Sindhi Rights is NOW!

Thanks,

Khalid Hashmani
McLean, Virginia, USA

Who cares credibility? Save the Sinking Boat of Military Rule

2007-04-27T19:28:00.000+05:00

By Zulfiqar Halepoto

[In response to Aziz Narejo's write-up]

Dear Aziz Narejo

You must have heard a Hippocratic saying, “ There is no permanent friend or foe in politics”. This must be written by a sycophant like Justice Muneer, General Zia or Musharraf, who have destroyed the very democratic foundation of the country and the nation.

Nation is indignant when MBB says, “Deal with Musharraf to save country from extremist forces is more important than my credibility (talking to LSE students in London)”.
I think credibility is more important than any geography. We lost Bengalis because we lost political credentials, ideology and principles and finally when we lost credibility we lost half of the country.

I believe word “credibility” is a package of various precious things, which includes morality, principles, ideology, ethics and values.

The entire nation fought against “dis credible dictator” and now our leading political leader is saying “who cares credibility? ”.

Why nation shall suffer the “wounds of deal” which will only serve personal agenda” of two individuals. Nation is saying that though we are vulnerable but we still have courage to fight against a usurper than why the leadership is trying to save the “sinking boat of military rule” over us?

Hanging of Bhutto was a gift by a dictator for his (Bhutto’s) efforts to save army’s moral, when we were badly humiliated defeat in Bangladesh. What now a dictator can offer to MBB and PPP for their “RUSH ATTEMPTS” to save another dictator?

Please see a picture below how a women councilor is beaten by a terrorist (MQM) councilor in Karachi City Assembly Hall. Deal with Musharraf means deal with MQM and this picture is a “gesture” by MQM that how they will treat us in near future.

If we supported main-stream political parties and fought against usurpers for this day that our women were beaten with BELTS like this than at least I am ashamed for my idealistic hopes and dreams for a true, representative, ideological, credible and morally strong future of all of us through a mass movement and not though a deal.

Grieved

An ashamed citizen

Don't Resuscitate The Dying Dictatorship. Please

2007-04-27T19:16:00.001+05:00

By Aziz Narejo

It is extremely shocking to see the news reports about an impending deal between the military regime and the largest political party of Pakistan, which has suffered immensely at the hands of the present and the past military dictators. The timing of any such deal makes it even worse as it comes at a time when the regime seems to have finally entered the twilight zone. A popular movement in the country has crippled the regime and it is increasingly becoming dysfunctional. Why to breathe new life into a dying dictatorship?

The current movement spearheaded by the legal fraternity for the independence of judiciary is truly phenomenal. It could dynamically change the future of the people and the country. The civil society leadership should come forward and avail the opportunity. It should maximize efforts to end the military rule and provide a sustainable democratic alternate. They should not fritter away, undermine or sabotage the opportunity.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\04\27\story_27-4-2007_pg3_7

--

Defining Moment

MANY have said it is the defining moment in Pakistan. The heroic stance by the chief justice has galvanised civil society. He has rekindled a hope among the people and given them a feeling that they can finally defeat the dictatorship. He has inspired the people to think that they have a real chance now to end the military rule and bring in democracy in the country.

The lawyers and the journalists are in the vanguard. The common men and women are not far behind.   Yes, this could very well be the defining moment and it calls upon all the citizens to stand up for their rights usurped for long by the dictators and the elite and the powerful sections of society. Such chances do not come our way too often. They are rare. Very few and far in between. People have to seize the moment.

The dictatorial regime is weak. It is nervous. It has blinked. And it is committing a blunder after a blunder. It would only be the fault of civil society and its leadership if the opportunity were lost.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/04/15/letted.htm#5

Aziz Narejo
TX

MH Panhwar: His death is a death of an Institution

2007-04-22T08:38:00.000+05:00

Saaiin MH Panhwar passed has away. His death is great loss to Sindh. He was an institution in itself and the gap created with his death will not be filled in near future. May Allah rest his soul in peace and give his descendants ability to bear this loss with courage.

Some lines about MH Panhwar derived from his web site (panhwar.com):

M.H. Panhwar (Muhammad Hussain Panhwar) 82, was BS (Mech. & Elec.) 1949 and MS (Ag. Eng.) 1953. Professionally he specialized in ground water development, earth moving, agricultural machinery, water logging, salinity control drainage and agriculture. He worked with government of Sindh and West Pakistan as Agriculture Engineer in Sindh 4 years and Superintending Engineer for Sindh and Balochistan for 12 years up to end 1969. From 1970 onwards to date was running a consulting company specializing in irrigation, water logging, drainage, agriculture, scientific equipment and horticulture. He wrote written 10 books on ground water in Sindh and many articles on Thar and Kohistan deserts of and engineering.

In 1964 he established a horticulture farm, specialized in fruit crops. This was converted into a research farm for introducing new fruit crops suiting climate of Sindh in 1985 and has developed many new varieties of fruit crops, which include 17 of mango 6 of lychee and many others. He authored 36 books on culture and post-harvest of fruit crops. Many of them are not printed yet.

Considered as one man Sindhologist his hobby was studies of Sindh and has published more than 500 pages on various aspects of Sindh. Six more books on Sindh are ready for press. His personal library has some 50,000 non fictional books almost equally divided on Sindh, horticulture, engineering and environments etc. He was widely traveled but lived at 157- C, Unit No.2, Latifabad, Hyderabad (Sindh), Pakistan, and ran his consultancy and research work from office at 54-D, Block-9, Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan. He has four sons, Rafi Hussain, Tariq Hussain, Sani Hussain and Muhammad Ali all settled in USA. His first wife is dead and his second wife Farzana a bio-chemist has authored many books and attended many international conferences.

In June 2003 Mr. M. H. Panhwar established a trust to undertake social work in Sindh. He transferred his home, office, agriculture land comprising a farm/orchard and other property in the name of the Trust.

Awards

Medal from Sindh University, for securing first number in first class in B.E. (Mech. And Elec.), 1949.
Awarded Sitara– e–Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan, in 1992 for outstanding work in engineering and agriculture.
Nominated in "Who Is Who in the World" in 1987/88.
Life Time Achievement Award for serving Motherland in History and Archaeology, 1999 by Tarqi Pasand Party.
Life time Achievement Award for Services in Science of Engineering and Agriculture, August 2002 by Revivers.
a Proud Pioneer in Horticulture (Sayid Ghulam Mustafa Shah)
Award as top horticulturist of Pakistan by Khabreen Newspaper's Kisantimes TV and Chawla Group May 2004.
Medal by Sindh Graduates Association for Life Time Research on Sindh, August 2004.
Award by Sindh Agriculture University for Life Time Service to Agriculture Science, November 2004.
The following publications are also available for downloading in Adobe Acrobat Format.
Some publications
Water requirement of riverain area of Sindh
Sustainable methods as applied to raising fruit crops
An illustrated historical atlas of Soomra kingdom of Sindh
Chronological dictionary of Sindh
The development in the study of history and archaeology of Sindh In Acrobat

Free services

A horticulture extension service launched in private section
Free distribution of plants by M. H. Panhwar Trust

Publications on Sindh

Heroic struggle of Sindh against feudalism.
The institute of Sindhology of the university of Sindh
Abdullah Haroon and his times
The economic plight of Sindh under Pakistan in acrobat
Inevitability of the conquest of Sindh by the British in 1843
A visit to Dharhiaro Hill Peak in search of a summer hill resort in Sindh
Fixing of boundaries of Sindh 1843-1947
Alleviation of rural poverty
Ranikot fort (its odd location and why?)
The influence of ancient sciences including those of Sindh on al-Razi, the great Persian scientist
Sindh the archaeological museum of the world.
Causes of decline of Persian in Pakistan
Policing in the past in Sindh a case study
Ghulam shah Kalhora and relations with Kutch
Failure of a gate of Sukkur barrage, a lesson for the future.
Pre-Harappan Chronology of Sindh
On the uniqueness of Dadu district in Sindh In Acrobat
The art of map-making and some rare maps of the south Asia and Sindh 140 AD
Maps of Sindh
The Large Dams – their disadvantages and objections to their construction by aid giving agencies
My reminiscences of G. M. Syed
My reminiscences of G. M. Syed Part II
Thal flood canal project some facts
Irrigation under Noor Mohammad Kalhora
Un authorized diversion of Indus waters in the Punjab and causing water shortage in Sindh
Methodology of research into history of Sindh
Origin of castes (an anthropological study of few Sindhi tribes)
Revolutionary invention of Jhali
M. H. Panhwar's largest library on Sindh
launching of M. H. Panhwar's book "chronological dictionary of Sindh"
Dr. H. T. Sorley
The environments that lead to the rise and fall of Kalhoras
Destruction of protected archaeology sites in Sindh
Sketches, drawings, paintings and portraits on Sindh
An introduction to Willem floors book. "The dutch east india company in the 17th and 18th centuries"
Land grabbing in Sindh
International trade of Sindh. From its port Barbaricon (banbhore). (200 BC to 200 AD.
Pir hasamuddin rashdi - a dedicated historian
Sindh Kutch relation. (Talk delivered by M. H. Panhwar on 9th December 1979 at national museum Karachi
The influence of ancient sciences including those of Sindh on al-Razi, the great Persian scientist. In Acrobat
Land grant policy in Sindh
Land development policy in Sindh
Irrigation water policy for Sindh
Violation of 1991 water accord by 'IRSA' (Indus River System Authority)
Sindh was dealt an unfair hand
Sindh-Punjab mistrust has long history
Ancient geographical places and tribes of Sindh
Minimum flow of Indus below Kotri barrage
Ancient geographical places and tribes of Sindh
Canal from Guddu works to Nagarparker
Destruction of protected archaeological sites in Sindh
In search of a summer hill resort in Sindh
Justice of Justice Munir
Minimum flow in Indus below Kotri Barrage
problem of Thar and Kohistan of Sindh and some solutions
Problems of the Riverain Area of Sindh
Water that we drink - in Sindh
Up-grading Hospital Facilities in Sindh
Rural water supply and drainage
Sindh its food resources since antiquity
Reducing rural poverty
Thal Flood Canal Project Some Facts
Playing the map game
Drought, the cause of invasions of Thatta by Muhammad and Feroze Tughlaqs and fall of Delhi sultanate 1330-1400 AD
Antiquity of Karachi (Sindh) (Read in Seminar on Karachi)
Comments on M.R. Haigs book "Indus Delta Country" 1894
Comments on Raverty's "Mihran of Sindh"
Climate of Sindh and irrigation
Dismantling of railways in Sindh
Earthquakes, tornadoes and storms water Earthquakes along the Indus Delta and Baluchistan Coast.
Human rights in today's sindh
Ibn Battutta at Sehwan (Sindh)
Speech of MH Panhwar at a seminar on Nerunkot
Reply to admiral Gulab Hiranandani enquiry about Sindh and Sindhis
Twenty five years of research work of Sindhology
Unauthorised diversion of Indus waters in the northern Punjab
Urdu/Hindi controversy
Historical maps of Sindh 1600-1843 AD
The art of map-making and some rare maps of the South Asia and Sindh 140 AD to 1808 AD
Little ice age severity in South-Asia 1600-1700 ad In Acrobat
How to write a history of Sindh? some suggestion
In search of a summer hill resort in Sindh
Language problem of Sindh
Rani kot fort
Speech of M. H. Panhwar at seminar on Ranikot.

Autobiography

Hoonda will you eat beef
Inundation canals and water worship in pre-barrage Sindh
Khirdhahi and Aiwaz Shah grave-yard
The Hindu village shopkeeper and interest
Well in the village "Eureka"
Health care in the village
Dooms day or Qayamat is coming, a prediction
Declared as untouchable

Technical publications

Man made desert ring–around the Hyderabad city
Women and organic agriculture in Pakistan in acrobat
Genetics of testing hereditary breast cancer
Managing water resources in rapidly growing metropolises in Pakistan
Local initiatives for sustainable cities in Pakistan
Development of agriculture engineering in Pakistan
Oceanographic archaeology it's potential in Pakistan
Post Harvest Problems of Fruits and Vegetable Supplies in the city of Hyderabad
Wind Power Development for Sindh (Pakistan)
Climatic changes in Sindh
Improving agriculture economy in Sindh
Improving agriculture in Sindh
Agriculture economy crises in Sindh which have crippled rural economy (1950-2000)
Proposed corporate agriculture in Pakistan and dangers involved
Marketing of fruits to the total disadvantage of farmer and ruination of growers
History of irrigation drainage and flood management in Sindh
Strangulation of agriculture and increasing rural poverty in Sindh and lower Punjab
Climatic change, its impact and future plan
Seepage of water from the river Indus and occurrence of fresh ground water in Sindh
Urban horticulture. (Growing fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers in bungalows for Sindh, Karachi.
Artificially created fruit price crisis, after cotton price crisis
Meat shortage in Sindh and some measures
Fisheries policy for Sindh
Desertification of riverain area in Sindh and extreme poverty
Promoting animal husbandry to produce rural poverty in Sindh
Wind power development in Sindh
Advisory Farm note on Mango
Research Criteria for Introducing New Fruit and Nut Crops
Recommended Cultural Practices for Mango in Sindh Truth or Myth
How Government Horticulturist have Ruined fruit growers in Pakistan
Chiku or sapodilla the neglected fruit of Sindh
New Mango called 'sindhu'
Grapes in Sindh
Kei Apple
Is the Climate of Sindh Suitable for Raising Citrus Fruits?
An scope for better utilization of poultry droppings by converting it into cattle feed and methane
First bio-gas of Pakistan
water and other cultural requirements of Domestic landscape gardens in Karachi
Acerola fruit tree for Sindh
Alleviation of poverty in Pakistan through sustainable agriculture
Corporate Farming
Disappearance of citrus industry in Sindh between 1955-1960 and its rehabilitation
Failure of Sindh in modernising agriculture
Guidelines for Introducing new fruit crops
Invitation to press to taste new varieties of mango grapes, etc.
Jojoba successfully grown on six acres in Pakistan
Wheat a wonderful grain with we have converted into deadly poison
What to look for in selection of mangoes for your orchard in Pakistan
Water logging and salinity problems and role of NGOs
Sustainable methods as applied to raising fruit crops
Samphire - an edible oil crop for Sindh
Simaruba galauca fruits in Sindh
Effect of micro-nutrients on mango production
Promoting Horticultural Crops to Alleviate Poverty in Sindh and the Southern Punjab
Subsidy on tube-wells
Planning for Scientific agriculture an urgent need-I
Agriculture Inflation
Bifurcation of agriculture services
Can present system of education produce scientists in Sindh, or more so in Pakistan?
Importance of Agro climate-Sindh and the southern Punjab a case study
Agro-climatic zones of Sindh: For proper planning of agriculture
Earthworms, vermicasts and vermi-culture experience in Sindh
Fruit crops suitable for various districts of Pakistan

Books on Fruits, Nuts and Industrial Crops

Intellectual property rights and Pakistan's mango production
Neem - a natural pesticide
Work of M.H. Panhwar on lychee, longan, peaches, apples and grapes
Agriculture scientist honored
Banana crop under viral attack
Do we need another Land Reforms
Pakistan Economist (Interview)
A Woman of Substance
'Sindh was dealt an unfair hand'
Different Items from Daily Dawn

Some of his works have been put on the web at panhwar.com

_______
Mir Atta Muhammad Talpur

Review of Daughter Of The East An Autobiography by Benazir Bhutto

2007-04-21T18:35:00.001+05:00

From: Zulfiqar Halepoto
Date: Apr 21, 2007 8:26 PM

Review of Daughter Of The East (Revised edition)
An Autobiography by Benazir Bhutto

Dear All

" So far one there is one similarity between Benazir Bhutto and General Musharraf, that is Simon & Schuster, the publisher of the autobiographies of both General Musharaff and Benazir Bhutto. Though Benazir in her latest book criticized the policies of Musharraf but Political environment suggests that there is a possibility of appearance of more similarities in near future"

This is a common comment on the revised edition of Benazir Bhutto's book "Daughter Of The East: An Autobiography" which appeared in Pakistan in the first week of April 2007. This book is published by Simon & Schuster, in April 2007, it is a Paperback edition with 416 pages and new ISBN-13: 978-1-8473-7075-4 with a Price: £12.99

First edition of the book was released in 1988 and after 18 years the new one is appeared having two new chapters are included in the book with a fresh new preface.

How to review this book…???

This book can be reviewed through host of locale and aspects, one could be technical, second can be sentimental and emotional and the third one certainly the political debate initiated by Benazir Bhutto.

Technical Side:

The elementary definition of a revision of an account in the shape of a book is that in the revised edition there should be omission and deletion of the errors of the facts, removal of the grammar and spelling mistakes, erasure of any contradictory viewpoint or opinion or some addition to the previous argument. On the contrary the first edition material was reproduced as it is. The publisher used a high quality scanning process and it did not bother to even re-compose the entire draft. Subsequently, as a result there is a clear contrast in the color scheme of the previous book chapters and the new material) two chapter and preface).

I wonder how an international publisher, who must be having a quality control assessment panel and board of editors have allowed to do this. So if review the book and starts from technical side, there are lot of mistakes and errors in the book.

Sentimental and Emotional Side:

The preface of the book is dominated by the emotional and sentimental expression by MBB. Though there is a comprehensive debate on the local, national, regional and international socio-economic and political issues but every time the pen or the though of the writer goes to the points of emotional miseries and sentimental exploitation done by various forces to her.

She is very bold in her preface; very courageous while talking about how even her pregnancy was exploited as political tool against her during the elections of 1988 and second time during her Premier Ship by the IJI.

She is very brave while she narrates that how rigid and anti-human tactics used by military dictators, anti women mindset and the agencies like MI and ISI to break her moral and political valor.

Being a writer I feel in every sentence that the exile is the greatest pain. Talking too much about her/himself is a typical state of mind, which shows that some one is lost and in this preface, in every sentence she is trying to locate herself. A writer and artist can only understand this feeling.

Matter in new chapters:

In the last two chapters she has exposed every evil force of status quo and rigidity.
Both the chapters are excellent having merits and demerits.
She has talked about every possible issue related to Pakistan's politics, geo-strategic future, peace and terrorism, future policy discourses in terms of good foreign relationship with the neighbor state specially with India. Kashmir Policy etc.

She has talked about US influence in South Asia, Talibanisation of the region, future of democracy and progressive forces in Pakistan.
She has condemned the role of MQM for turning Pakistan's politics in to the politics of terrorism and violence; she heavily criticized Musharraf for converting Pakistani society in to a conservative and Taliban society and doing the crime of de-politicize the entire culture and People.

She talked open about the role of agencies in toppling her governments, especially ISI. She criticized the "conservative" role of Nawaz Sharif when he wanted to become "Ameer-ul_Momneen" of Pakistan

One clear massage form is the book is that she will never compromise with Musharraf at any cost.

Why this book was re-printed with additional stuff…???

When you will finish the book your mind will ask lot of question about this quick re-print of the book. `After reading the book I assumed host of reasons

Commercial Reason: Looking at thousand of sterling pounds sale of Musharraf's autobiography, the publisher wanted to have another bestseller in the catalogue.

Political and Diplomatic Reason: Musharraf may be successfully gave impression to the west that he is the force, which is fighting against terrorism and religious extremism in the region. This revised edition by MBB is an attempt to over-come that fake and fabricated claims of Musharraf, who in fact damaged the progressive and liberal posture of our society and as military dictator ruined the institutions specially the institution of democracy.
Few major important political changes are expected in near future and through this book MBB wants to send a clear message that PPP is the only (which is a fact) democratic and progressive force in Pakistan, which can handle all kinds of crisis and conflicts.

Missing Points:

She talked about various controversies specially the promotion of Musharraf and his alleged links with "terrorist" MQM, she also talked in detail about the "stupid idea" of General Aslam Baig, Musharraf and the than ISI head to Takeover Srinagar but she did not disclosed that who killed Meer Murtaza???

Lot of external factors are narrated by Benazir Bhutto which were responsible for her ouster and other damages to her family, party leadership and politics, but surprisingly she did not utter a single "Internal" factor, which were equally responsible for her consequent dismissals.

Any it is good account at good time, specially a reply to Musharraf's fake and false claims to be the "sole spokesperson" of enlightenment, democracy and the only "superman" fighting against terrorism and Alqaida.

Regards
Zulfiqar Halepoto

What Is The Deal?

2007-04-21T18:20:00.001+05:00

From: Aziz Narejo
Date: Apr 21, 2007 2:53 PM
Subject: What Is The Deal?
To: sindh-politics@yahoogroups.com

What Is The Deal?

Confusion reigns supreme in Pakistan. Mostly because it suits the
rulers as they want the people to be distracted and divided at all the
times. It is also because there are several players at work at the
same time – some of them moving in one direction to achieve mutually
desired goals while others in diametrically opposite directions not so
sure of their objectives. Many things are happening in the fast
changing situation – some visible and many more invisible to the naked
eye.

What would be the final outcome – nobody may be sure as yet. One thing
is certain: the government is on the back foot and in proverbial hot
waters. It is not easy for her to swallow the hot potato also known as
CJ.

Then there is the news of an impending 'deal' or an 'understanding' as
some prefer to call it. What is the truth in such reports? Denials are
of course there but who says that they will tell us - the ordinary
citizens - the whole truth.

The news stories about a deal between the rulers and the opposition
actually started circulating about three years ago. ".. after having
gone through a roller-coaster ride and change of interlocutors, they
have reached a point where it can be said with authority that the
decisive phase has begun", writes a senior journalist Zaffar Abbas in
his highly informative article "The Emerging Contours Of PPP-Govt
Deal" in today's Dawn. He gives the names of the people involved in
the negotiations at different times and also makes observations on the
possible final shape of a probable deal between the Musharraf regime
and the PPP.

The article is worth reading: http://www.dawn.com/2007/04/21/top6.htm

Also here is a letter by this scribe published in daily Dawn on 13th
January 2005:

What is the 'deal'?

The media is rife with stories that a "deal" is being worked out
between the military-controlled regime and the two major political
parties in Pakistan. Although there is no word on Mr Javed Hashmi yet,
Mr Zardari is out and abroad, PPP leader Raza Rabbani has been named
opposition leader in the Senate, the party may also get the opposition
leader's slot in the National Assembly and Mr Shahbaz Sharif could
leave Saudi Arabia in a few days. Does that mean that a "deal" is in
the offing?

Whatever the case, it must be emphasized that a rapprochement or a
deal between the two sides should not be a repeat of past mistakes
that have brought so much harm and misery to the people. The governing
principles of any new arrangement should be:

- To strengthen the democratic process in the country and to safeguard
the rights of the people. It should not be another attempt at propping
up the unrepresentative regime or giving a new lease of life to its
unpopular internal and external policies in an exchange for a few
concessions.

- To bring a visible and positive change in governance. There should
be an end to the present regime's divisive and anti-people policies.

- In any new arrangement, the PML-N, the other important political
party, should also be taken on board.

- This should not look like another conspiracy that would remind one
of the nightmarish GIK days.

- There should be an end to the One Unit form of government. Steps
should be taken to accord maximum autonomy to the provinces and
recognize their right to self-rule. That is a must for the future of
democracy in Pakistan.

- There should be a firm agreement on reducing the defence budget and
increasing the education budget by redefining priorities.

- There should come a just distribution of resources and doing away
with the extremely unfair water policies of the present regime which
have devastated the economy, the environment and all other aspects of
life in the lower riparian Sindh province.

It should be clear to all and sundry that if these questions are not
addressed, and if any "deal" between the Musharraf-led government and
the opposition parties is not transparent, it will be just another
opportunistic bargain serving selfish interests of some people, groups
and parties and will bring no change in the lives of the people.

AZIZ NAREJO

Via email

http://www.dawn.com/2005/01/13/letted.htm#6

Regards,

Aziz Narejo
TX

A Deal With The Devil: What If The Unthinkable Happens?

2007-04-19T20:14:00.001+05:00

A Deal With The Devil: What If The Unthinkable Happens?

What Would Be The First Challenge That Musharraf-PPP Govt. Will face?

One hopes it would never happen and all the pro-democracy forces will concentrate their efforts to defeat the military dictatorship in the country. But just in case, if it happens, what would be the situation like? Would it raise more questions than it could answer?

Rumors of a probable Musharraf-PPP government replacing the present set up have given rise to many questions. Some of them are:

What chances would such a dispensation have to steer the country out of the troubled waters or would it lead the country into further chaos and confusion? Would such a government be acceptable to a majority of the people or would it face an outright hostility?

Would it be able to solve the pressing issues that include the Constitutional matters related to the provincial autonomy and the distribution/ownership of resources under a new NFC? What would be its relationship with the parliament and the judiciary? Would it be able to end the over-centralization of powers and the concentration of much of the authority in the hands of the military establishment?

It would be interesting to see how the marriage of convenience between two divergent forces will work. How would the new regime handle the military operation in Balochistan? How would it tackle the so-called war on terror? How would it handle the military operation in the Pak-Afghan border areas?

People of Sindh would be cautiously watching the new government's policies towards Musharraf-MQM plans in the province to virtually red-Indianize the indigenous people. Would the new government continue the same policies of robbing the resources of Sindh and handing them over to the Center (& the Punjab) and the immigrants and the illegal aliens? Would Sindhi language and culture continue to be denied their rightful place?

What would the new set up do about the 'disappeared' activists? Would they be released or would they remain imprisoned in torture cells? People haven't yet forgotten the case of a lecturer Ashok Kumar who 'disappeared' in 1970s when the 'talented cousin' occupied the CM House in Sindh. His whereabouts remain unknown till this day. Would the new set up unleash a wave of terror on the indigenous Sindhis as has happened in the past?

But what would be the first challenge that a probable Mush-PPP alliance will face? Would it be the emergence of a PNA like grand movement albeit much stronger this time as many forces that didn't exist in 1970s or were sitting on the sidelines would eagerly join it this time?

What if Nawaz Sharif assumes the leadership of the new but a lot fiercer 'PNA' or say 'IJI'? What if he tried to land in Pakistan before his agreed exile term of ten years? Would Mush-PPP regime do to him what Mush/Chaudhry/MQM/MMA regime did to Shahbaz? What would be the consequences?

An explanation PPP offers for seeking 'understanding' with Musharraf is that any forceful agitation at this time would provide an opportunity to another adventurer to grab power. But what if the PNA like movement against Mush/PPP arrangement gathered strength? Isn't it possible that the resulting chaos and pandemonium would lead to a Martial Law ending only a few months' old Musharraf-PPP rule? Killed in infancy that is, isn't it?

Why to seek a deal with the devil to assume power with clipped wings and that too for only a few months? Doesn't the cost outweigh the sought after bargain?

(Do you think the 'PNA' or 'IJI' elements and jihadis have less support in the military establishment than the PPP could ever dream of? Please tell me who is living in the fools' paradise?)

Aziz Narejo

P.S. Until we see the deal, enjoy these two cartoons: http://www.dawn.com/2007/04/17/cart.htm

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\04\18\story_18-4-2007_pg3_7

Ms Benazir Bhutto, Charter of Democracy or Cash on Delivery

2007-04-16T13:03:00.000+05:00

From: Mansoor Hallaj
Date: Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:35 am
Subject: Ms Benazir Bhutto, Charter of Democracy or Cash on Delivery

As per a news article [appeared today in the The News International the link is at the end]

"She has successfully conveyed to the Western governments and the public that she was ready to work with Musharraf in the fight against terrorists who were bent upon converting Pakistan into a Taliban society."My party would not have allowed the Taliban to become such a huge force that they would need to sign a peace treaty," she said." [1].

But history tells us something else on PPP-Taliban Axis particularly in reference to that Cuththroat in PPP Major General Retd. Naseerullah Babar and Taliban. Even the interview of Nawaz Sharif given to ARYONE AND LATER GEO was better than the bunkum of Benazir Bhutto at least we know for shure that where Nawaz Sharif stands.

"QUOTE"

"The policy for the support of the Taliban was apparently conceived by Gen. (retd) Naseerullah Babar, the Interior Minister during the PPP regime and had the support of the Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) led by Maulana Fazalur-Rehamn which controlled the bulk of those Deeni Madressahs in the NWFP and Baluchistan.The transporters, drug mafias, other extremist Sunni organisations like the Sipah-i-Sahaba,(SSP) Lashka-e- Jhangvi,(LJ), Tehreek-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-Mohammadi, (TNSM) also supported the policy. The Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the foreign office were apparently divided and were late converts to the policy. Gen. (retd) Naseerullah Babar was the in-charge of the Afghan policy during former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhuttto's rule (1971-77) and had masterminded the arming of the Afghan opposition led by Hikmatyar and Ahmed Shah Masood against Sardar Daud's regime (1973-1978). With Benazir Bhutto in power in 1993, he was entrusted with the task of reopening the route to Central Asian Republics through Afghanistan. He negotiated with the Afghan warlords to open the Quetta-Chaman-Kandahar-Herat route to Turkmenistan. The Pakistani convoy was stopped by the warlords in September 1994, which was freed by the Talibans. Many observers believe that Pakistan, having seen the potential of the nascent movement of the Taliban, began to support the movement which paved the way for their swift victories in Afghanistan.The DeeniMadressahs led by the JUI (F) provided the manpower. Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, a close ally of the PPP who had been made the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of Foreign Affairs, also played a key role in garnering the support for the Taliban in the corridors of power. Various Pakistani governmental organisations like the PTCL, Railway, PIA and Ministry of Communications provided the infrastructural assistance to the Taliban. The ISI began to provide military supplies, logistical support, technical know how and the extensive knowledge of the Afghan situation.Apparently, the ISI and the foreign office were reluctant to support the Taliban in the beginning because of their potential implications for the broad-based political settlement in Afghanistan, however, fastly changing ground realities in the favour of Taliban forced them to shift their policies and throw their weight in the favour of the Taliban.

Gen. (Retd.) Naseerullah Babar and the military officers in ISI were motivated by the Pushtun ethnicity and viewed Talibans as the "Pushtun proxies" They wanted to revive the Pushtun fortunes in Afghanistan. It was first time that Kabul was being controlled by the Tajiks and it was painful for the Pushtuns to see Kabul under their control. The JUI (F) the JUI (S) and other extremist Sunni organisations like SSP, LJ,TNSM viewed Taliban's victories as the Deobandi's revolution and expected the same kind of revolution in Pakistan.The transporters' lobbies in Pakistan considered Taliban as a god-given saviour who were instrumental in removing the barriers on the roads in Afghanistan. They were sick of paying to the multitudes of Afghan warlords, who had virtually paralysed their business. The drug dealers also saw their vested interest in supporting the Taliban as they only demanded the tax on their product and had little qualm about the international concerns regarding drug controls.Consequences of the PolicyApparently, the policy of support for the Taliban appeared well suited for Pakistan's strategic, economic and political interests. The Talibans were controlling more than 90 per cent of Afghanistan and had pushed their rivals, Northern Alliance, to the wall. They had been recognised by Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. and were in the process of negotiating their recognition with the United States. However, there were serious long-term negative consequences of this policy for Afghanistan, Pakistan, the regional countries and the rest of the world, which had not been properly thought through while formulating the policy.The policy of support for the Taliban alienated other Afghan ethnic groups to the degree where the goal of a broad-based government became impossible to achieve. The very nature of the Taliban regime and their policies created severe problems for Pakistan as its polity, economy, and foreign policy began to be affected by the Taliban policies. The non-compromising attitude of the Taliban regime created difficulties for Pakistan with the United States and Saudi Arabia, eventually leading them to turn against Taliban. The ideology of Taliban alarmed Iran, Russia, Central Asian republics who began to support anti-Taliban forces actively.

First important lesson is that if the pros and cons of significant decisions are not thought through, the country has to suffer the consequences of the policy. Contrary to the widely held perception about the dominant role of the ISI in the making of the Afghan policy, the policy of the support of the Taliban was in fact conceived by Gen. (Retd.) Naseerullah Babar, the Interior Minister during the PPP regime (1993-1996). The Taliban policy was a civilian initiative possibly against the wishes of the ISI and the foreign office who wanted to continue the policy of seeking a broad-based settlement. However, the Pushtun element within the PPP, and later the military was able to push their way through to top echelon of power and succeeded in making it a Pakistan's policy with disastrous consequences for Afghanistan and Pakistan and the regional countries. It is surprising that the decision-makers overlooked the nature of Taliban's ideology, their social base, their implications for the Afghan society and their possible impact for Pakistan. Taliban's extremely narrow vision of Islam put them in clash with all the non-Pushtun minorities of the Afghan society pushing them into the arms of the foreign powers, stirred the wave of Talibanisation in the NWFP and Blauchistan leading to increasing conflict and violence in the Pakistani society and sent shockwaves in the regional countries, Iran, China, Russia and Central Asia republics.Secondly, their appeared a lack of coordination at the decision-making level among the different bodies. Interior Ministry, Parliamentary Committee, the Political Parties and Different lobbies had their own agenda. The ISI and the Foreign Office had their own policies. The ISI remained divided and continued backing both Hikmatyar and Taliban till the fall of Kabul in 1996. [2]

"UN-QUOTE"

Sources and References.

1- I want a deal with Musharraf: Benazir [1]

By Rauf Klasra

Monday, April 16, 2007, Rabi-ul-Awal 27, 1428 A.H.

http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=7179

2- Development of Pakistan's Foreign Policy:Case Study
No.3 Case Study on Pakistan's Recognition of Taliban
[2]

http://www.ghalib.com/democracy/Foreign%20Policy/cs_fp_No3.pdf

3- The Taliban, the US and the resources of Central
Asia By Peter Symonds 24 October 2001 [2]

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/oct2001/tal1-o24.shtml

4- Afghanistan — not so great games [2]

Columnist Hamid Hussain does a detailed analysis of
the present situation

http://www.defencejournal.com/2002/april/games.htm

Musharraf: Beast To Baloch, Sindhis, Pussycat To "Burqa-Brigade"

2007-04-08T15:45:00.001+05:00

From: Aziz Narejo
Date: Apr 8, 2007 4:04 PM
Subject: Musharraf: Beast To Baloch, Sindhis, Pussycat To "Burqa-Brigade"
To: sindh-politics@yahoogroups.com

Musharraf: Beast To Baloch, Sindhis, Pussycat To "Burqa-Brigade"

Dictator Musharraf didn't hesitate for a second when he ordered the assassination of veteran Baloch leader Akbar Bugti.

He has an ongoing military operation in Balochistan that has killed, injured and displaced thousands of people.

He has engaged Pakistan army in tribal areas in the NWFP without any sanction from the Parliament.

His security agencies have arrested hundreds of political activists in Sindh, Balochistan and other areas.

He doesn't balk at the violence against the people of Sindh, Balochistan and the NWFP. He is engaged in the exploitation of the resources of the smaller provinces and has perpetrated state terrorism against them.

He didn't give a damn when he violated the Constitution and seized power or when he launched a coup against the Chief Justice.

He didn't feel any shame when he absolved the alleged rapist of a lady doctor in Balochistan without holding any enquiry.

But he recoils and starts trembling in his khakis and the long boots when it comes to the baton carrying 'burqa-posh' brigade of the Jamia Hafsa students, their teachers and the leaders of the famous 'Lal Masjid' of Islamabad.

He turns blind eye to the self-styled religious vigilantes that pose a serious threat to the society. They are igniting a fire that may engulf the whole country in near future and may initiate a civil war that may cause a final blow to the federation.

All that would be due to the nincompoop dictator who has imposed himself on Pakistan and won't budge or see the stark truth.

Does any body Care?

Aziz Narejo

The Crisis & The Way Out

2007-04-07T17:11:00.001+05:00

From: Aziz Narejo
Date: Apr 7, 2007 12:33 PM
Subject: The Crisis & The Way Out

The Crisis & The Way Out

The recent extremely unpopular action against the Chief Justice has plunged the country in a deep crisis. The people are in the state of shock, disbelief, agitation and outrage. The judiciary and the lawyers feel besieged, overwhelmed and infuriated.

It doesn't augur well for a country that is already plagued by a number of serious problems. It is in the eye of the storm in the global war on terrorism and faces an explosive situation inside its territory while dangerous situation prevails on its borders. The one-man rule in the country lacks the legitimacy and the trust of the people. It has weakened the federation and the disharmony and discord among the people and the provinces are growing at an alarming rate.

The regime has also been accused of having compromised the independence and the sovereignty of the country. It is perceived to be biased and incapable of handling the core issues facing the country. Its actions have resulted in making things worse. The situation can't be allowed to continue as it is any longer. Hard decisions have to be made quickly.

The way out is the immediate resignation of the government to be replaced by an interim administration to hold free and fair elections. The unscrupulous and coercive action against the Chief Justice aimed at subjugating the judiciary must be immediately reversed. A high judiciary commission comprising retired SC judges of impeccable character, preferably the ones that didn't take oath under PCO, should be constituted to hear the present and any future complains against superior court judges and oversee appointment of new judges.

The centralization of powers must end, maximum autonomy should be granted to provinces with only three departments remaining with the federal government, namely the currency, defense and foreign affairs. The Senate should be made more powerful and given the authority over these three departments.

Senate should have equal number of members from each federating unit instead of its present lopsided composition. The Senators from each federating unit should make a block and all decisions should require an approval by the majority in each block. The Senate should confirm all new appointments to the judiciary and other important positions in the government including the armed forces.

Considering the past performance of the civilian governments, it is advisable to have a high profile overseeing or a watchdog commission to hear any complains of wrongdoings by civilian governments and high officials and recommend remedial and corrective measures.

Aziz Narejo

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto - The Modern Muslim Leader

2007-04-06T21:38:00.001+05:00

From: Agha Tanveer
Date: Apr 4, 2007 9:19 PM

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto- The Modern Muslim Leader
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto
April 4, 2007

Pakistan's moderniser Quaid-i-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto left deep footprints in the sands of history. To his lasting credit remains the 1973 Constitution of the country, the Simla Accord of 1972 which brought the longest peace between India and Pakistan, the social reforms to build an egalitarian society, the non-aligned foreign policy, the nuclear programme and the building of the social, economic and military infrastructure of the country.

Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was an intellectual giant. He was a thinker, author and orator. He was deliberate, discreet, and competent; honest, upright and keeper of his covenants. He was a friend of the poor, downtrodden and oppressed. Fearless in his beliefs he refused to bow before any man or power other than the Almighty. His courage was such that he preferred to face death for his beliefs and embraced martyrdom. He had profound faith in freedom and the liberation of humanity. Under his government, Pakistan gave overt and covert support to the African nations then under apartheid and minority rule.

Quaid-i-Awam was a moderniser and saw nationalism as the key to unity. He rejected fanaticism. He gave pride to the poor. As leader of the Third World he spoke boldly against racism, colonialism and imperialism. He fearlessly defended the right of nations to independence. When the 1973 Ramadhan War broke out, he sent Pakistan's military to defend the borders of the Muslim countries including the Golan Heights of Syria. Quaid-i-Awam's short life of fifty years was spent in the service of many international, regional and national causes.

The most important and the most enduring legacy of the Quaid-i-Awam was raising the consciousness of the people for democracy. He awakened the masses, making them realise they were the legitimate fountainhead of political power. He enlightened the farmer, the industrial worker, the student, the woman and the rest of the common people of their importance and of their right of franchise, which is the definite means of bringing changes for the betterment of the lives of the common people.

Quaid-i-Awam deeply cherished the democracy and democratic values and in the end gave his life for freedom. Way back in 1969, when the common people of Pakistan were still to overthrow the Ayub dictatorship, he stood trial in Lahore High Court defending the lofty ideals of democratic rights for his fellow countrymen: "Yes, My Lords, democracy is certainly...like a breath of fresh air, like the fragrance of a spring flower. It is a melody of liberty, richer in sensation than a tangible touch. But, more than a feeling, democracy is fundamental rights, it is adult franchise, the secrecy of the ballot, free press, free association, independence of the judiciary, supremacy of the legislature, controls on the executive, and other related conditions, which are conspicuously absent in the present regime's system."

Tolstoy in the last volume of his War and Peace expressed that history is a movement of ideas in which political leaders play a minor role. Sometimes the movement of ideas is indeed rapid. Yet, at times, the movement of ideas is slower than the melting of the glaciers. The movement of ideas is facilitated in a vibrant political and democratic culture, which gives room for dissent and disagreement. In dictatorial societies, history remains static in a cold freeze. And so it was in Pakistan before Quaid-i-Awam. He was the one who converted that static and decayed dictatorial polity into a vibrant and dynamic democratic society: the cost of which he paid with his own life.

He opposed military rule considering it a cancer eating up a society. In the case of Pakistan, he viewed military rule as a negation of the very genesis of the country that came into being as a result of a democratic process. Living in the era of the Cold War when the warm waters of the Indian ocean stood temptingly before the Soviet Union while its ally India occupied Kashmir, he was determined to build a strong defence.

His contributions to an impregnable Pakistan are seen in the nuclear programme as well as in the Kamra Aeronautical factory. He built the Heavy Mechanical Complex and revived the morale of the armed forces after the shameful surrender in Dacca. He brought back ninety thousand prisoners of war from Indian camps as well as Pakistani territory lost in the 1971 war. He prevented the war trials of the Generals who had committed excesses to protect the name and honour of the country. He saved the armed forces from getting a bad name for a few generals that had wreaked havoc.

Bhutto believed the army's indulgence in political quagmire was harmful to its professional competence as an institution. He said clearly: "The Pakistan Armed Forces cannot afford a moment's deviation from their real responsibility. For the sake of Pakistan's integrity, they simply cannot afford to get involved or absorbed in the political life of the country. Those soldiers who leave barracks and move into Government mansions lose wars and become prisoners of war as happened in 1971"

His words rang true in 1981 when General Zia lost the Siachen Glacier and again in 1999 when Pakistan withdrew unilaterally from Kargil refusing to even acknowledge the dead bodies of its soldiers.

There were many who said West Pakistan would disintegrate after the emergence of Bangladesh. Pakistan owes its second rebirth in 1971 to the brilliance and leadership of a giant of a man. His greatness was such that he lifted a nation drowning in despair to Himalayan heights motivating them to reach for the stars and the skies. He was admired by the leading statesmen of the world community who saw in this Muslim moderniser a man who could help reshape the world in the direction of peace and progress.

Quaid-i-Awam's brilliant life filled Pakistan with energy and strength. There was a sense of purpose in the country, which was buzzing with ideas and enterprises. The growth rate increased and money poured in from expatriates who got the universal right to passport. The Muslim countries were donating about $500 million annually to Pakistan, making it less dependent on international financial institutions. The people got jobs and opportunities. He introduced habeas corpus, or fundamental human rights. Women of the country were emancipated entering the police force, foreign service and subordinate judiciary.

Prophetically, he also warned of the ploys dictators adopt by interchanging democracy with basic democracy. He said: "We demand democracy, and they give us basic democracy. If basic democracy is democracy, then why does every country not have it? If this is such a good system then the whole world should have had this system. But, nowhere in the world is this system in vogue. Neither in America, nor in England, nor in France, nor in India, nor in China, nor in Russia. Even then we are told that this is a wonderful system." Before him the legitimacy of a dictator was tailored through basic democracy where district councils become the electoral college. After his struggle, basic democracy lost its value in the eyes of the common people who saw it as a trick to rob them of the right to free franchise.

He was true to his values. When the time came he sacrificed his life but refused to compromise on his lofty ideals. He was fond of saying; "It is better to live like a lion for one day than to live like a jackal for a thousand." He lived with the courage of a lion, defying death in embracing martyrdom. He said he would show "how a leader of the people lives and dies," and he did. The world pleaded for his life wanting to save a man whose intellect and contribution to peace and progress was vital to the world community. But a frightened dictator, ignoring the unanimous call of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to spare the Quaid's life, ordered the execution in the middle of the night. His last words were, "I am innocent."

Prime Minister Bhutto went bravely to the gallows as the world learnt in shock that it had lost its most beloved son. There was widespread national and international condemnation. Bhutto left his world to enter the pantheon of history where he stands today with other towering personalities who shaped the course of history. His martyrdom sparked freedom movements in many countries as people gathered in capitals across the world to condemn his murder. As a student of history, he knew that eternal life remains in sacrificing oneself for a cause that is larger than an individual. And the noblest of all causes is the cause of the liberation of humanity from tyranny and oppression.

Quaid-i-Awam was born in 1928. He was martyred in 1979. Yet he lives in the hearts and minds of the people still shining like a star that brightens the sky motivating those caught in the prisons of oppression.

The Right Approach To Tackle Sindh Issues

2007-04-03T18:16:00.001+05:00

Refrence: The Important Issues And The Right Approach To Tackle Them

From: Zulfiqar Halepoto
Date: Apr 3, 2007 11:52 AM
Subject: The Important Issues of Sindh And The Right Approach To Tackle Them(?)

Dear Saeen Rajab and Aziz

Different "thoughts" give different "opinions" on how to proceed further according to their convenience and logic.

For example some nationalist forces are of the view that dialogue I an absurd exercise, Sindh has been talking to every in Pakistan but not a single genuine and legitimate concern is handled by those who controls the power. Federal parties have different strategies. We also have some confused groups, who don't know whether they are pressure groups, revolutionary party, mass moment or what???

Few "orphan" groups rely on the instructions of their abroad-sitting counterparts to work upon.
Here I agree with Saeen Rajab that they submit unrealistic solutions of the problems of Sindh.

One thing is undisputable in the civil society of Sindh to have a dialogue and dialogue and more work on the academic and scientific side of the case of Sindh so that it should be unchallengeable and according to the international standards of presentation and arguments. Water Report of Saeen A N Abbasi and presently Abrar Kazi's document for FORD FOUNDATION on the "Non-Traditional Threats to Water security Paradigms in Pakistan" are the best example of it.

I think here we agree with Saeen Rajab and Aziz to develop an all-inclusive strategy to proceed further, a strategy without rhetoric and unrealistic slogans. May be some times we get engaged with any body as proposed by the contributors here in this debate.
May be few political groups do not subscribe this idea and here is the role of intelligentsia is required to draw a way out.

Regards
Zulfi

"Dr. Rajab Ali Memon" wrote:

Dear Aziz and the Group:

I wholeheartedly support the views of Mr. Aziz Narejo who has given wonderful leadership to the SANA during the last one year or so. There are still some friends, specially some permanently residing abroad, who tend to give radical and unrealistic solutions to the issues facing us. Anything different is considered as being a traitor to Sindh. I believe these arguments plus research-based educated input on various issues can help entering into dialogue with other nations forming the state of Pakistan. Recent events indicate that such a multi-disciplinary dialogue may soon become the need of everyone in Pakistan, including the Punjab bureaucracy and establishment, etc., if they are patriotic in the true sense. Thanks.

Dr. Rajab Ali Memon
HEC Merit Professor in Social Sciences
________________________________

Zulfi Bhutto: We Lost A Visionary Hero

2007-04-03T17:01:00.001+05:00

From: Zulfiqar Halepoto
Date: Apr 3, 2007 12:51 PM
Subject: Zulfi Bhutto: We Lost A Visionary Hero

Zulfi Bhutto: We Lost A Visionary Hero

"If I die, longing for my native land,
Free my body from these chains,
Keep no more this stranger away from her love,
Over my dead body, spread Malir's cool earth,
When I die, send my body to Malir, my native land."
......... Shah Bhitai

Dear friends

I wanted to write on the foreign policy of Bhutto and his excellent foresighted writings on traditional and non-conventional security threats and political realities of Pakistan and South Asia but I got depressed when I saw a TV Talk Show.

On Sunday, April1st, 2007, Col. Rafi ud Din (who was the Special Security Superintendent of the Rawalpindi Jail while Mr. Bhutto was imprisoned) appeared in the most poplar programme of GEO, JAWBDAH and confessed various crimes done by military regime. The morality of Bhutto's case went high and high. He regretted every thing. At a time when the entire nation is mourning the hanging of Bhutto, we should not miss to read what as a pat of that time criminals done with democracy and populist era.

I wanted to write on what s written on Bhutto in the following books: -

Shahid Javed Burki's Pakistan Under Bhutto, 1971-1977 provides a comprehensive and analytical account of Bhutto's government. It also gives considerable details of Pakistan's political history prior to 1971.

Piloo Mody's Zulfi My Friend gives insights into Bhutto's personality based on their shared experiences.

Politics in Pakistan: the Nature and Direction of Change by Khalid B. Sayeed provides useful background information and analyses of Bhutto's political career. Bhutto wrote several books stating his views on Pakistan's domestic politics as well as its foreign policy.

His last work If I Am Assassinated (1979) is also a worth reading book including some other books by Bhutto like The Great Tragedy (1971), Pakistan and the Alliances (1969), The Myth of Independence (1969), and Foreign Policy of Pakistan (1964).

The trial and execution of Bhutto by Batra, Jagdish Chander, Delhi: Kunj, 1979.

Z. A. Bhutto: notes from the death cell by Kak, B. L., New Delhi: Raadhaa Krishna Pr, 1979.

The discourse and politics of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by Syed, Anwar Hussain,, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992.

A., Zulfi Bhutto of Pakistan: his life and times by Wolpert, Stanley New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Z. A. Bhutto: the political thinker by Zaman, Fakhar,, Lahore, People's Publications, 1973.

Tomorrow is the darkest day of Pakistan's political history when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928-1979because of Zulfi's "crime" to mobilize down-trodden people of Pakistan, founded country's first mass-based political party around a socialist ideology, highly independent foreign policy and Nuclear power to this state

Regards

Zulfiqar Halepoto

"The Last Moments of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto"

This article is an abridged translation of one of the chapters from Col Rafi ud Din's Urdu book "Bhutto kay akhri 323 din" (The last 323 days of Mr. Bhutto). Col. Rafi ud Din was the Special Security Superintendent of the Rawalpindi Jail while Mr. Bhutto was imprisoned there and had a lot of interaction with Mr. Bhutto during those days. The book was first published in November 1991

Translation of a chapter from Col Rafi ud Din's Urdu book "Bhutto kay akhri 323 din"

Official Notification of Mr. Bhutto's Execution
According to the orders of the SMLA, the following officials were to inform Mr. Bhutto of his execution on the night of3-4 April 1979:

1) - Jail Superintendent, Mr. Yar Mohammad
2) - Security Battalion Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Rafi-ud-Din
3) - Magistrate First Class, Mr. Bashir Ahmad Khan
4) - Jail Doctor, Mr. Sagheer Hussain Shah

This party entered the jail cell at 6:05 p.m. in the evening on April 3rd and found Mr. Bhutto lying on the mattress on the floor.

Jail Superintendent, Yar Mohammad, read the execution order to Mr. Bhutto, "According to the 18th March 1978 order of the Lahore High Court, You, Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto are to be hanged for the murder of Nawab Mohammad Ahmad Khan. Your appeal in the Supreme Court was rejected on 6th February 1979 and the review petition was turned down on 24th March 1979. The president of Pakistan has decided not to interfere in this matter. So it has been decided to hang you."

I did not see any signs of panic on Mr. Bhutto's face while the Jail Superintendent was reading out the orders. Instead, I could see that he was quite calm & relaxed and had a smile on his face. I was really surprised at the way Mr. Bhutto had handled the news. I was thinking that we were about to hang a leader who had listened to the orders of his execution with such calm and serenity. I could hear a voice inside me that the death of this person would be disastrous for our nation & our country. Probably for the first time in my life I felt that I was losing control over myself.

Bhutto Sahib looked the Jail Superintendent in his eyes and said to him (these words are Mr. Bhutto's own)

"I should have been informed by the competent authority 24 hours prior to the execution, but it has not been done. On the contrary when my daughter and wife met me today at 11:30 hours, they were not sure about it. I called Jail Superintendent and asked him for necessary clarification. He told me vaguely that the required order for the execution has been passed and it was with him. He also told me that my relations: my sister Monawar ul Islam and my cousin, Mr. Mumtaz Ali Bhutto would be seeing me after my daughter and wife left me. He also told me that

after the visitors, he would come himself to get my 'will' etc. at 13:50 hours. No written order of my execution has been shown to me so far. I want to see my counsels as soon as possible. My other relatives should have been allowed to see me. My teeth are very bad and I would like to see my dentist, Mr. Zafar Niazi, immediately".

After these words from Mr. Bhutto, Magistrate First Class, Mr. Bashir Ahmad Khan introduced himself and told Mr. Bhutto that he could write his will if he wanted to. He would be provided with paper etc. for this. After this, the official message read by the government party was over and the officials started to leave. I was still in a state of confusion at that time. I felt as if I was petrified. Bhutto Sahib tried to get up but stumbled. I helped him by supporting him with my arm. He said that he was feeling sick in his stomach.

Tears came into Bhutto Sahib's eyes when at 8:05 p.m. his helper, Abdur Rehman, brought a cup of coffee at Bhutto Sahib's request. Bhutto Sahib said to him, "Rehman, please forgive me if I've ever treated you badly. I will be hanged anyway and tonight is my last night with you. I am your guest for just a few more hours."

Mr. Bhutto worked on his will from 8:45 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. After that, for about 10 minutes, he tried to organize his mirror, comb, hairbrush, prayer mat etc. on his table.

Then, till 9:55 p.m., he brushed his teeth, washed his face and combed his hair.

After that, for about 5 minutes, he cleaned the ashes of his cigar and some burnt papers.

He again started to write from 10:10 p.m. to 11:05 p.m. He then burnt all the papers on which he had written. The ashes spread all over in his cell. He called Abdur Rehman and asked him to clean his cell. He asked the sentry how much time was left. The sentry replied that there's enough time left. Bhutto Sahib again asked how much time was left but the sentry remained quiet. Bhutto Sahib then said to himself that he could probably sleep for 1-2 hours.

The cell was opened at 11:10 p.m. and helper Abdur Rehman came in and cleaned the ashes from the floor. The cell was then closed and Bhutto Sahib lay down quietly.

At 11:25 p.m. he said that he'll try to sleep for a while because he was not able to sleep properly last night but you people should wake me up at 12 a.m. He called out Sanam's (Bhutto Sahib's daughter) name a few times while he was sleeping.

At 11:55 p.m., Assistant Superintendents Majeed Ahmad Qureshi & Kazim Hussain Baluch arrived. They tried to wake Mr. Bhutto from outside, but he did not respond. Mr. Qureshi telephoned the jail office and asked what he should do. He was told to enter the cell and try to wake up Mr. Bhutto. He went inside but Bhutto Sahib still didn't wake up. Mr. Qureshi informed over the phone that Mr. Bhutto was not answering, as if he was unconscious. I got worried at that state of affairs, as it was my responsibility to ensure that under no circumstances should Bhutto Sahib commit suicide.

One minute before the clock struck midnight, I entered the security ward along with the jail superintendent, the jail doctor and the magistrate. Bhutto Sahib was lying on the mattress inside the cell and his face was towards the cell. Chaudhry Yar Mohammad & the jail doctor saw that Bhutto Sahib had opened one eye and after seeing all of us he closed it at once.

Chaudhry Yar Mohammad and I called Mr. Bhutto's name a few times but to no avail. I asked the jail doctor to check Mr. Bhutto. The doctor checked his pulse and then listened to his heartbeat with a stethoscope and whispered to me that Bhutto Sahib was fine. I again called Mr. Bhutto's name but didn't get a reply. I asked the jail doctor to check Mr. Bhutto again. The doctor checked him again and told me that he was fine. I asked the doctor to come outside with me and enquired why Bhutto Sahib was not answering. The doctor assured me that Mr. Bhutto was perfectly fine and that I need not worry. He told me that Mr. Bhutto was only faking. I told the doctor that he'ld be responsible if anything happened to Mr. Bhutto and told him to check Mr. Bhutto again. The doctor checked for the third time and told me that he was fine and was just faking.

At 1:10 a.m. in the night, Mr. Bhutto got up himself. Mr. Qureshi told him that warm water was available for his shower but Mr. Bhutto answered that he did not want to shower anymore.

Execution

According to the orders, Bhutto Sahib was to be executed on the night of 3-4 April, 1979, in the presence of Inspector of Jails. Chaudhry Nazeer Akhtar - who was present at the Rawalpindi Jail since morning on April 3rd. A stretcher had been arranged keeping in view Mr. Bhutto's physical condition because of the hunger strike that he had been on. Arrangements had been made for a few petromax lamps as the night was extremely dark and there were thick clouds on the horizon.

The following officials entered the security ward at 1:35 a.m:

1) - Jail Superintendent, Mr. Yar Mohammad
2) - Security Battalion Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Rafi-ud-Din
3) - Magistrate First Class, Mr. Bashir Ahmad Khan
4) - Jail Doctor, Mr. Sagheer Hussain Shah
5) – Deputy Superintendent Jail, Khawaja Ghulam Rasool

Assistant Superintendents of Jail Majeed Ahmed Qureshi, Kazim Hussain Baluch, Mahabat Khan and warders selected by the Jail Superintendent also followed the above mentioned officials up to the security ward. Inspector of Jails Chaudhry Nazeer Akhtar went straight to the gallows from his office. Additional army personnel had been deployed on the route from the security ward to the gallows.

The officials entered Mr. Bhutto's cell. Bhutto Sahib was awake and was resting on the mattress. Magistrate Mr. Bashir Ahmad Khan asked him whether he wanted to leave any will. Bhutto Sahib remained quiet. He had turned yellow and pale and seemed very weak physically. His voice was barely audible because of weakness. He said something to the effect:

"I…had…tried…but…my…thoughts…were…so…upset…that…I…could…not…do…it…I…have…burnt…it."

I went near him and said as I bent over him, "Sir, are you able to walk or shall we pick you up?" He did not answer me, but kept looking into my eyes. I again repeated my question after a while. He kept on looking at me like that and then said, "I pity." (He said something else also but we could not understand what it was).

I again leaned forward and told him that I could not understand what he said. He repeated the same sentence again but I could not comprehend the last one or two words. I bent fully upon him and said, "Excuse me Sir, but I did not understand what you said."

After a pause and with a lot of effort he said, "I…pity…my…wife…left."

He was in a very sad state at that time. May be what he wanted to say was that he could not walk but he also did not want to be carried. May be he was thinking that his wife could have given him support, had she been present.

The magistrate again came forward and asked him if he wanted to write a will. Bhutto Sahib remained quiet. The magistrate repeated his question. Bhutto Sahib replied, "Yes…I…would…like…to…dictate."

At that moment, the time was up and the jail superintendent ordered the head warder to call his men inside and to lift up Mr. Bhutto. Four warders entered the ward. Two of them grabbed Mr. Bhutto's feet and two his arms, and lifted him up.

While he was being lifted, Mr. Bhutto said, "Leave me."

Mr. Bhutto's back was almost touching the floor while he was being brought out of the cell. The lower part of his shirt got entangled in the warder's shoes and I heard the sound of the shirt being torn. He was put on the stretcher in the lawn. His hands were placed on his stomach and he was handcuffed. In the meanwhile, helper Abdur Rehman came with the cup of tea that Bhutto Sahib had ordered before we had entered his cell. I wondered: "on the other side of the Jail house's wall, in the Prime Minister House, Mr. Bhutto used to get anything that he wished for, from anywhere in the world. And today he could not even fulfill his simple wish of having a cup of tea."

The four warders lifted the stretcher from each corner. Bhutto Sahib lifted his head but remained motionless otherwise. His feet were yellow as if all the blood had been sucked out of him. He remained motionless till we reached near the gallows. The warders put the stretcher down on the ground near the gallows. Two of the warders put their arms under Mr. Bhutto's arm pits and helped him stand up on the plank of the gallows. I was the one closest to Mr. Bhutto. I was just keeping my feet away from the wooden plank of the gallows, but my ears were only a few feet away from his face. His handcuffs were removed, his hands and arms pushed to his back with a forceful jerk, and he was handcuffed again.

In the meanwhile Tara Masih (the executioner) came and placed a mask over his face. He was either having trouble breathing because of the mask or he was feeling pain because of the way his arms were twisted when he was handcuffed. He said, "These". May be he wanted to say: " these are hurting me." I was very close to him. I had come so close to him, while avoiding the plank, that the distance between his face and my ears was not more than 1 or 2 feet. But I could not hear his last sentence.

At exactly 2:04 a.m. on 4th April, 1979, the executioner pressed the lever and Bhutto Sahib was executed. I climbed down the stairs to reach one level below to where Mr. Bhutto's body was hanging. I saw that Mr. Bhutto's body was moving slightly but that was because of the momentum of the body falling down. He was certainly dead at that time. I went and sat down near the Inspector of Jails on one of the chairs that had been placed near Mr. Bhutto's hanging body.

The scene of Bhutto Sahib's hanging body is something that I have never been able to forget. I shiver even now when I think of that moment again.

After a few minutes I saw someone moving Mr. Bhutto's body. I asked Chaudhry Yar Mohammad who it was. Instead of him, IG Prisons spoke up and told me that it was Tara Masih and he was straightening the arms & the legs so that the body would not get twisted due to spasms.

Mr. Bhutto's Burial

Half an hour after the hanging, and after the jail doctor had issued the death certificate, Bhutto Sahib's hanging body was taken down at 2:35 a.m. His dead body was given a bath, the arrangements for which had already been made at the spot. A photographer, who had been sent by an intelligence agency, took some photographs of Mr. Bhutto (of Mr. Bhutto's private parts, which the author also mentioned in an earlier chapter). The authorities wanted to confirm whether Mr. Bhutto had been circumcised in Islamic manner or not. After the photographs were taken, it was confirmed that he was circumcised in the Islamic way.

His body was then placed in a wooden casket and was sent towards Chaklala Airport. I also had to accompany Mr. Bhutto on this journey. I conducted this caravan to PAF Chaklala where a VIP C-130 was waiting for us. Bhutto Sahib's casket was loaded on to the plane along with a few other boxes and the plane started its journey towards Jacobabad. While the plane was over Sakesar (which is near Mianwali), I was told that there was some technical fault and the plane had to be taken back to Rawalpindi where another plane would take us to Jacobabad.

Another C-130 was waiting for us at Chaklala. Bhutto Sahib's casket was loaded onto the plane and we again started our journey towards Jacobabad. We landed at Jacobabad Airport on the morning of 4th April, a few minutes before 7 a.m. A helicopter was waiting for us. Commanding Officer of 7 Punjab Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Sadiq, received Bhutto Sahib's casket from me, had it placed in the helicopter and then took off for Nau Dero. Mr. Bhutto was buried in a grave already dug for him in Garhi Khuda Baksh.

* Yahya Bakhtiar, was one of Mr. Bhutto's lawyers
** Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, another of Mr. Bhutto's lawyers.

The Important Issues And The Right Approach To Tackle Them

2007-04-02T17:11:00.001+05:00

(With due apologies, I am reproducing, with minor editing, an email that I sent to some lists on 1st April, 2004. Looks not much have changed since. A.N.)

My dear friends,

The present situation as I see it:

Pakistan: It is getting worse and rapidly moving towards a blind alley -- a cul de sac. A dismissed general, who usurped power few years back, is continuing his (mis)rule with the support of the Pakistan Army Party and its agents in the civil society. He is following policies that are extremely damaging to all the citizens as well as the integrity of the country. They are creating deep wounds, which may never heal and will only get painful with the passage of time.

Sindh: As I have said in some of my mails earlier, Sindh is in double jeopardy. Its people have been marginalized and denied the right to self-rule. They don't have their voice in the decision-making forums – namely the Corps Commanders 'Club' and the kitchen cabinet of the present rulers. Government agencies' have made inroads in all the sections of the society making it impossible for rule of law and democracy.

There is a long list of grievances and injustices meted out to the people in all the areas. There has been strong opposition to different government policies but it is being ruthlessly suppressed and ignored. Much has been written about these things. Here I present only a few examples:

Water issue:

Sindh is being grossly wronged on this issue. The recent injustices started with the creation of Pakistan when the government of Punjab refused to abide by the 1945 Water Agreement, the only agreement reached between the two provinces without any duress or coercion. The lower riparian was gradually denied its due share and today the position is that even the 1991 Water Accord is not being adhered to, which was forced upon Sindh under the one-man rule of a turncoat CM. The injustices are evident from the fact that the agriculture in the province has been ruined due to multiple factors, water shortage being the major one.

Sindh Assembly passed two resolutions against the illegal and immoral construction of the Greater Thal Canal. The masses have launched a popular movement against the project but the federal government, the government of Punjab and WAPDA have refused to listen. The construction goes on and the waters will flow in the canal in a couple of years.

The assembly has repeatedly passed resolutions against the proposed Kalabagh Dam and the people are holding rallies, protests, and hunger strikes against the construction of any mega water projects, as they will devastate the economy of Sindh. Again the voice of Sindh is being ignored and the federal government is all set to start the construction of at least one mega dam in near future.

NFC:

Sindh has been crying against the unjust distribution of resources. The province that contributes the most receives the least (proportionally). This has ruined the economy and impoverished the people. Please read this scribe's two letters in daily Dawn on the issue:

http://www.dawn.com/2004/02/05/letted.htm#1
http://www.dawn.com/2004/03/30/letted.htm#1

Turn Sindhis in minority in their province:

This is the most dangerous plan being carried out by dictator Musharraf with the collaboration of some groups. They are the people who the other day raised the demands in the National Assembly to give citizenship to around 3 million aliens illegally living in Sindh.

This will hasten the process of turning the indigenous people of Sindh into a minority in their own province. Sindhis are harassed in their province already. They are robbed of education and economic opportunities; their language and culture are denied their rightful place even in their own province; and their political and other rights are taken away from them.

Sindhis will be the latest and actually the first people in the history of nations to lose majority in their own land in one lifetime. In the case of other 'aborigines', in Americas, Australia and New Zealand, it had taken a few lifetimes to turn them into 'natives'. But this is the new world and everything is happening in 'fast forward'!

What is the right approach to tackle the issues?

Some people have taken an isolationist approach. They condemn and hate the other people in Pakistan. I have witnessed hatred against Sindhis in Pakistan but I think it is not the right approach to fight hatred with some more hatred. It is never going to solve anything.

In my opinion, dialogue, better communication with all the people and presentation of our case in a positive manner would be the right approach.

We are up against a lot of odds but I think that it is our fault too that our compatriots have problems understanding our concerns.

Why haven't we been able to bring home the point that any new mega water projects can only be started if there is consensus among the federating units and for that the rulers have to undertake some confidence building measures? New projects shouldn't benefit some at the cost of others.

Why people are not alarmed that while water shortage in the country as a whole is 12.3 per cent, in Sindh it is up to 70 per cent?

Why they are not alarmed at the fact that CJ and TP link canals remain in operation illegally throughout the year and the mega projects like the GTC are started without taking our concerns into account?

Why haven't we been able to convince everybody that it is in the interest of the country to reduce unnecessary federal expenditure, military and civil, and distribute the resources in a just manner?

Why we haven't been able to emphasize that it was not in the scheme of things at the time of the partition that we will be inundated by a sea of immigrants that will one day threaten our existence as a distinct people?

Pakistan just couldn't have an open door policy. No country can afford it. The 1951 Liaquat-Nehru Pact on immigration (?) should have settled this issue.

I don't blame our brethren in Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan for not understanding our problem. They can't because they don't know how one feels when outnumbered by outsiders in one's own province.

They would understand the issue only when:

In Punjab's case: say the Punjabi speaking population there is 50 million. They would only understand our problem if there would be 60 million Sindhi 'Muslim' refugees permanently settling in Punjab. We will only know of their sense of Muslim brotherhood and magnanimity if they allowed that many and another stream of 'Sindhi Muslim refugees' continuously coming in.

In case of the NWFP: lets say the Pushto speaking population there is 18 million. Let them allow 20 million 'Punjabi Muslims' to immigrate to the province.

In the case of Balochistan: lets say the Balochi speaking population is 6 million. Let them allow 7 million 'Punjabi or Bihari Muslims'. Lets see what their reaction would be.

Giving citizenship to these 3 million illegal aliens in Sindh may mean around 15 National Assembly and 30 provincial assembly seats. With the problems the province is already facing, what would be the situation in the aftermath of such a decision? It is not that hard to guess.

If Punjab or any other province has any soft corner for these illegal aliens, why don't they offer them home and make sure that they stay there? They can take some more of our 'Muslim' guests if they want to.

Friends, I think we can argue and we can quarrel with each other but should never forget that we live in the same country and there should be some understanding and communication with each other. And we all should make an honest effort to understand each other's point of view.

Regards,

Aziz Narejo

Gwader port ripples surface tension

2007-03-31T14:24:00.001+05:00

I was reading a report about Gwader port. This report mentions how Gwader is strategically and commercially more important than we can imagine. The development of Gwader, Balochi-Sindhi-Punjabi politics aside, poses commercial threat to cities like Dubai as well as to shipping industry which carry oil and other goods to China, Korea, Japan, etc. through South East Asia. Interests of China and Singapore in this port are thus based of on their foresight and long term planning. If Pakistan can really honor the human and Baloch rights and brings true democracy to the country with full rights to Baloch and Sindhi people, there is lot of potential in Pakistan and it can become a prosperous country. But... will the ruling elite of Pakistan allow this? They have their own interests and this is the biggest obstacle in the development and prosperity of the country.

Below is a part of the report from Janes. Have a reading. If anyone has access to its full text, it would be nice if to go through its full text.
___

Sino-Pakistan port ripples surface tension

China has been a net oil importer since 1993, with the bulk of its Middle Eastern energy imports being transported circuitously by sea via the Strait of Malacca. The country's rising demand for overseas oil, fuelled by its rapid economic growth, has raised concern about becoming over-reliant on this narrow waterway.

An alternate supply route in the form of a road and an eventual pipeline from Gwadar to China's westernmost provinces would reduce this dependence. Moreover, situated opposite the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 per cent of the world's energy exports flow, Gwadar offers Beijing opportunities to monitor shipping along the world's key oil 'highway' as well as US naval movements in the Gulf region.

On edge

In addition to enhancing Chinese energy security, Gwadar also offers Beijing substantial strategic leverage in South Asia. The new port in Pakistan, coupled with the Chinese-backed development of a container port facility at Chittagong in Bangladesh, is likely part of Beijing's larger strategy of 'strategic encirclement' of its rival neighbour, India.

New Delhi has become increasingly unsettled at the prospect of coastal Balochistan being used as a Chinese listening post, as well as the possibility that Chinese naval vessels could dock in such close proximity to Indian territory. However, there has been little indication to date that China intends to militarise Gwadar.

Full report at http://www4.janes.com/subscribe/frp/doc_view.jsp?K2DocKey=/content1/janesdata/mags/frp/histoy/frp2007/frp70224.htm@currentProd_Name=FREP&QueryText =

(for subscribers only)

--

Due to all these reasons, there appears to be a kind of renewed thinking in USA about dealings with Pakistan and Balochistan and Sindh viz a viz Punjab and Pashtuns. While reading a report written by John Stanton located at

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20070329&articleId=5226

one can read intersting analysis. Some excerpts are:

"It would be in the USA's best interest to court the local Baloch rather than sit by and watch the government in Islamabad crush the Baloch. Lessons-learned in Iraq should have taught the leaders in Washington, DC something (anything?) about how not to make enemies out of local populations."

"Once the troublesome Pakistani military is out of Balochistan on the Pakistan side, and the Baloch become independent and negotiate fair treatment for their people, and worthy prices for their land and resources, the Baloch might agree to stop attacking commercial interests."

"The Baloch view themselves as an occupied territory and have done so since March 27, 1948 when the Pakistanis invaded Balochistan..."

"From 1977-2005, Pakistan continues its crime against the Baloch people. Thousands of Baloch political activists and students have been arrested and are being tortured in secret jails."

"There are 60,000 Pakistani troops stationed in Balochistan and more are on the way. Balochistan has been turned into a military occupied war zone. Baloch people are living in fear and in hopelessness. They are desperately looking to the world community...for their help and rescue against the tyranny of Pakistani and Iranian regimes."

This is really high time for Pakistani rulers and people to think and act wisely. Pakistan can be a wonderful country with a multi-cultural society but for this to happen, there is genuine need for the rulers to shun their personal vested interests aside and liberate people and society and open this wonderful country for the World. Internally secure and peaceful Pakistan can provide a huge attraction to the world investors and lead to the much longed for prosperity of its people. However, now time is very short and we are at a crossroad in the history. There are very clear two ways. One leads to peace, security and prosperity and other leads to chaos, destruction and Iraq-like situation. The choice has to be made by people and sensible people among ruling elite. If sanity prevailed, the future can be very bright, however, in other case.... I stop here.
--

Mir Atta M. Talpur

Jamia Hafsa: True Manifestation Of '˜Enlightened Moderation'

2007-03-31T08:52:00.001+05:00

From: Aziz Narejo
Date: Mar 30, 2007 11:37 PM
Subject: Jamia Hafsa: True Manifestation Of Musharraf's '˜Enlightened Moderation'
To: sindh-politics@yahoogroups.com

Jamia Hafsa: True Manifestation Of Musharraf's 'Enlightened Moderation'

He had a dream to bring 'true' democracy to Pakistan, uphold the independence of judiciary and ensure the freedom of press:

PML-Q of Shujaat, Pervaiz, Rahim, Yusuf and some turncoats and the MMA and MQM have enforced Musharrafian version of 'true' democracy in the country.

His actions against the judiciary since he took over in 1999 and his recent coup against the Chief Justice have "upheld" the independence of judiciary.

His strong- arm tactics against journalists, actions against Sindh TV, GEO and other media outlets and stopping advertisements to Dawn and some Sindhi newspapers have straightened the fourth pillar.

But that is not all. He had another dream too. He very "sincerely" wanted to bring "enlightened moderation" to Pakistan. He wanted to "defeat" the extremism in the country and open up the society. The leadership in the west and many people in Pakistan including some pseudo liberals had been eager to jump into his bandwagon. Now that dream is about to be transformed into a reality too.

This time the female students of Jamia Hafsa, the religious leaders of Islamabad's famous 'Lal Masjid' and other mosques and maderassas and the ISI-JUI manufactured Taliban are lending a helping hand to the dictator to fulfill his dream.

The helpless and leaderless people unable to stop the dictator can only say: "Long live the military dictatorship. Hurrah for the 'enlightened moderation'. And three cheers for the collaborators and the embedded supporters of the military dictatorship".

End piece: earlier military dictators Ayub, Yahya and Zia did their part in destroying Pakistan. Just wait and watch what this dictator does to the country and the people. He is about to finish off the remaining items on the earlier dictators' agenda. Looks he won't leave much for the so-called enemies of Pakistan.

Regards,

Aziz

DAWN Under Pressure

2007-03-30T04:13:00.001+05:00

Posted by: "Faiz Siddiqui"
Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:34 pm (PST)

Subject: DAWN Under Pressure: Email From Hameed Haroon

March 23, 2007

Dear Madam / Sir,

I am writing to draw your attention to an
important matter that indicates the rapidly
worsening environment for the freedom of press in Pakistan.

It has always been difficult for governments to
coexist with a free and independent press in
Pakistan. Of late, however, the government headed
by President Musharraf has become increasingly
intolerant towards criticism in the press and
towards the publishing of news that reflects
poorly on the performance of his government on
security matters. One of the intended casualties
of this swelling hostility between government and
press in Pakistan is the DAWN Group of
Newspapers, the country's largest independent
English language newspaper and magazines
publishing house. Since December 2006, the DAWN
Group is facing massive advertising cuts
equivalent to two thirds of total government
advertising. This has occurred primarily as a
consequence of a decision ostensibly taken by
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's government, but in
reality ordered by General Musharraf and
engineered by several of his advisors that
constitute the government's inner cabinet.

It is clear that objections to the propriety of
the DAWN Group's editorial policies emanate
mainly from President Musharraf's office and his
stance is heavily influenced by key advisors who
have been entrusted with responsibility for
implementing crisis management and conflict
control in flashpoint areas. Particularly
sensitive for the agreement are the escalating
developments in Pakistan's western province of
Baluchistan, and in the tribal agencies of North
& South Wazirstan on the Afghan border. Also
irksome have been the DAWN Group's related
attempts to monitor a recurring tendency toward
covert militancy among responsible decision-makers in government.

While preparing this dossier, I have attempted to
include details and supporting documentation
wherever possible, to facilitate your assessment
as a key practitioner in the press rights
movement internationally. Recent events in
Pakistan indicate that attempts by the government
to curtail the autonomy of the judiciary have
been on the increase. This may have facilitated a
temporary unintended pause in the government's
relentless campaign to muzzle the press. But such
pauses presage a return to more coercive methods
by government against the press, once the messy
business of the executive - judicial conflict is brought to a successful halt.

If you peruse the documents accompanying this
letter, you will find a chronology of events that
cover the continuing conflict between the DAWN
Group and the Government of Pakistan in the
critical years 2004 to 2007. (Refer Appendix A
1.0) and that reflects some of the main causes of
the present breakdown of communication between
the government and the DAWN Group.

In the first phase, approximating with the years
2004 to 2005, the Government of Pakistan
essentially worked by attempting to exert
pressure on the Dawn Group by proxy - the proxy
in this case being the Provincial Government of
Sindh. It is in Sindh'southern metropolis of
Karachi, that the headquarters of the DAWN Group of Newspapers are located.

This period first witnessed the government's
exerting of harsh pressures on our daily evening
newspaper - The STAR - by attempting to
intimidate and harass journalists with false
cases and concocted charges, and by a failed
attempt to implicate the writer of this letter,
as CEO of the Group, in a totally fabricated
incident of terrorism and illegal weapons
possession. (Refer Appendix A 1.1.1, to, 1.1.4 and 2.1.2)

This attempt culminated with a complete ban on
advertising on DAWN Group newspapers and
magazines by the Government of Sindh. However, in
response to a petition filed by DAWN's lawyers,
the Sindh High Court ruled in DAWN's favour. The
Sindh Government sensing an impeding debacle
withdrew the advertising ban in advance of the Court's final verdict.

The second stage involved the direct exerting of
pressure by the Federal Government itself. After
a series of fumbling measures and half-hearted
advertisement bans by the Federal Government with
respect to DAWN in 2005, a turning point was
reached when one of our influential current
affairs magazines, the HERALD, published a series
of controversial stories and articles from June
2005 onwards on topics such as the Pakistan
Government's war against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban
in North and South Wazirstan; a possible
resurgence of covert government support to
Kashmiri militants; and also on the mushrooming
policy debacle for government with respect to the
Bugti insurgency in Baluchistan. (Refer Appendix A 1.2.1, to, 1.2.4 and 2.2.2)

In September 2006 when the government approached
DAWN in its attempt to seek a news blackout
regarding Baluchistan and the troubled FATA
agencies of North and South Wazirstan, the editor
of DAWN, Mr. Abbas Nasir, and the Directors of
the Board of the DAWN Group, concluded that the
government's 'request' was unreasonable and
needed to be firmly turned down. (Refer Appendix
A 2.2.2 September – December 2006)

As a consequence, the government imposed an
almost comprehensive ban on Federal Government
advertising. (Refer Appendix A 2.2.2t) with an
intent to provoke the financial collapse of the DAWN Group.

The DAWN Group had somewhat anticipated events
from the increasingly strident tone of government
criticism of its news policies and from the
subsequent escalation in unreasonable
informational demands from the government. As a
precautionary measure aimed at reducing large
financial deficits, we were forced to suspend the
publication of our newspaper, the STAR, an
important, but financial deficit generating
newspaper, which has existed for over half a
century and had been founded by working journalists of the DAWN Group.

Financial conditions within DAWN now became even
more vulnerable to outside pressures as a
consequence of our decision to commence work on a
new TV channel – DAWN News. The grant of
television broadcasting licences by the
government towards such end is farmed out to a
government organisation - the Pakistan Electronic
Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) set up
courtesy of an Ordinance passed in 2002. The
President of Pakistan had on three different
occasions in the last three years publicly
announced that the controversial cross-media
ownership rule (illegally tagged onto the PEMRA
Ordinance as a subsequent rule/regulation by the
authority) would be withdrawn and the large
resource of talent available in the print media
would be allowed to participate in the burgeoning
electronic media revolution in Pakistan. Public
opinion expressed itself in the widely held
conviction that with the entry of the mainstream
print media in the electronic media profession,
discriminatory attitudes and the repressive
stance of PEMRA with respect to press freedoms in
the electronic media (Refer Appendix B & C) would
be rolled back. However, the government's current
position in the courts with respect to DAWN's
application for a television broadcast licence
(Refer Appendix A 2.3.2) has forced a rapid
reassessment of public opinion with respect to
the bonafides of government intention and clearly
demonstrates that President Musharraf's
government is bent on pursuing a policy of
blatant cronyism vis a vis the inclusion of
selected and preferred print media houses in the
electronic media revolution, and the rejection of
others considered as hostile or non-compliant to government needs.

The government also appears determined to
continue the domination of all news content on TV
channels and on FM radio through harsh and
repressive regulatory directives from PEMRA,
evidenced in the grant of temporary uplink
permissions in place of valid broadcasting
licenses to selected channels of PEMRA's preference.

The recent spate of programmes banned on
television by PEMRA and a physical attack
engineered by government on the offices of a
prominent TV news channel-cum- newspaper office,
clearly demonstrate the prevalence of government's excesses in this matter.

In early December 2005 when the Prime Minister of
Pakistan, Mr Shaukat Aziz summoned the
undersigned to a meeting at Governor House
(Sindh) to announce the Sindh Government's
decision to withdraw its advertising ban on the
DAWN Group, he clearly informed me that the
government was keen that DAWN should go ahead and
set up a TV channel for the broadcast of English
language news. The President's constant public
declarations regarding the withdrawal of the
notoriously exclusionary cross-media ownership
clause in the PEMRA rules and regulations and
Parliament's decision to finally withdraw this
rule have not resulted in the licenses promised
to newspaper publishing houses outside of
government favour- this despite the passing of
the legislation by both houses of Parliament .
Such permissions have only been granted
arbitrarily to selected groups by the government.
This has led to a situation where we, at DAWN, in
anticipation of the government decision to
implement the new law have set up an entire
organisation in Pakistan, employing over 350
journalists, technicians and managerial personnel
and are anxiously awaiting the promised
government license, all the while being forced to
squander large financial outlays in anticipation
of this. The government's refusal to give us a
license mainly stems from our refusal to submit
to its unethical pressures while reporting events
in Baluchistan and North & South Waziristan. This
refusal has become an acute cause of concern for
the future financial viability of our publishing group.

Clearly the government would dearly like to see
us lay off our journalists as they are viewed as
a potential source of unwelcome criticism of
government policies, rather than as compliant
sheep to be hurriedly shepherded by PEMRA according to government whim.

Our colleagues in organisations devoted to
protecting the freedom of the press throughout
the world have always been a source of moral
inspiration and help to us in our struggle for press freedoms in Pakistan.

We therefore urge you to extend your help in this
matter and would appreciate if you address your
concerns to the authorities in Pakistan regarding the following areas:

That the advertising ban by the Federal
Government on the DAWN Group's advertising is
both unwarranted and unethical and a transparent
mechanism to exert pressure on the newspaper
group's policies in contravention of the
internationally accepted norms of objective news reporting.

That the decision to withhold a television
broadcast license to the DAWN Group by the
government is in violation of the judgments of
the High Court of Sindh and the consent
declarations made by PEMRA and the Federal
Minister of Information in the Sindh High Court.
Such right should be granted to other applying
media groups as well on the same terms .

That the Government of Pakistan continue to
submit its policies in Baluchistan and its
agreements with the pro Taliban tribesmen of
North & South Waziristan to the rigorous
assessment of public and media scrutiny.

That the Government of Pakistan desist from
abducting and arresting journalists in the
judicious performance of their duties, and desist
from physically attacking newspaper offices as
has occurred last week in Islamabad. Your
concerns in this respect may be addressed to:

The President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf,
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Shaukat Aziz,
The Acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
Pakistan, Justice Rana Bhagwandas,
The Federal Minister for Information Development,
Government of Pakistan, Mr Mohammed Ali Durrani.
In addition your concerns should also be
expressed to other key decision makers in the
Government of Pakistan, urging all of them to
desist from repressive, illegal and unethical
practices deployed in their effort to subvert press freedoms.

For your ease of communication, I am including relevant fax contact details:

General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan +9251-9221388
Mr Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan +9251-9212866
Justice Rana Bhagwandas, Acting Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of Pakistan +9251-9213452
Mr Mohammed Ali Durrani, Federal Minister for
Information Development, Government of Pakistan +9251- 9203740

Thank you in anticipation for your much needed support in this matter.

Yours sincerely,Hameed Haroon
CEO & Publisher,
DAWN Group of Newspapers
Annex A: Summary and Chronology 2004-2007
Annex B: Media Control Through PERMA Ordinance
Annex C: Explanatory Note on the PERMA Rule on Cross Media Ownership
Annex D: Supporting Documentation

____________ _________ _______

Sindh Talk

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"If I die, longing for my native land,
Free my body from these chains,
Keep no more this stranger away from her love,
Over my dead body, spread Malir's cool earth,
When I die, send my body to Malir, my native land."
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