The Pakistani talk shows were furious. Premier Gilani has condemned the effort in the UN Congress. Most Pakistanis were chagrined–however the TV shows did surely begin ton focus on the issues also.

This discussion was a bit more nuanced.

It seems that the PTI sees an increasing sense of urgency about Balochistan on the political stage, and as the violence continues, the conditions for negotiations continue to get more stringent.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson Imran Khan met the Baloch nationalist leaders who seemed to have told him that negotiations will be held after the withdrawal of the army and the Frontier Corp.

A patriotic perspective

A discussion by the very Sardars who are responsible for the penury of the people

According to press reports the nationalist leaders, however, remain understandably cautious. Imran Khan remains one of the few political leaders that the nationalist leaders are still willing to talk to.

A patriotic perspective

The Sardar’s perspective

Press reports seem to indicate that the meeting also seems to have spurred Imran to switch his party’s focus from corruption to the Balochistan issue. PTI’s next rally is scheduled to take place in Quetta.

Mr. Khan directed the party’s think-tank to come up with meaningful proposals on Balochistan, which will be made part of the PTI’s upcoming manifesto. According to insiders the PTI says that One of the more radical proposals on the table is to shift the federal capital and government to Quetta in order to enable massive and quick development.

The PTI will hold a public meeting in Quetta in April where it will announce “complete solidarity with the Baloch people and unveil their strategy on the issue of Balochistan”…The party is gearing up for the rally and it will be a symbol of national integration as many Baloch leaders will be invited.”

Mr. Khan “At the moment, even moderate Pashtun like Mahmood Achakzai are hard to convince. (The leaders) want to talk to Imran Khan but only if he can guarantee the withdrawal of troops from Balochistan.”

Democratically elected governments are supposedly to work for the people who have elected them to represent them. Pakistan has no such democracy but a demonocracy working against the proud people of Pakistan and destroying, weakening our nation from within.

You can live in the strongest fort or castle but if it is not properly guarded it will fall in Pakistan’s case our demonocracy is opening the gates to the enemies of Pakistan. Rather than tackle the problems Pakistan faces, they try to malign and silence the very soldiers risking their lives to protect Pakistan if that was not enough they starve and humiliate the very people inside the fort – ordinary Pakistanis. The fort has been compromised from within and it is time the people of Pakistan stand up and say enough.

Join DPC and demand the demonocracy to put Pakistan first, support Pakistan military and show those political assassins what matters are important to Pakistan. I completely agree with DPC and now it is the time for every Pakistani to say this aloud so that Pakistanis are heard. Pakistani people are saying an unequivocal NO to any Indian Policy to further trade without India resolving all outstanding issues over occupied lands and the hijacking of Pakistani water, we seek an apology for 63 years of terror on our soil. We should never re-open the NATO supply lines to fuel and arm mercenaries against innocent Afghan brothers but also against Sar Zameen-e-Pakistan.

We do not want war with anyone we just want our Pakistan back, the Pakistan that has been hijacked since the 1960?s. We just want our Sar Zameen-e-Pakistan’s revolution that made this nation the most progressive nation in the world and our economy the fastest growing in the world.

It is time to take Pakistan back from our political assassins.
Voice your discontent and join DPC whose objective is purely for the betterment of Pakistani politics, economy and social cohesion to make this nation great again.

The real enemy is within Pakistan not outside, the external threat has already manifested inside Pakistan as Pakistan has been compromised. Pakistan has never feared the external because we know the courage of our armed forces and know just how eleqouent true political leaders can be to further the cause of a stable progressive Pakistan.

Clean up Pakistan, make it secure again;

Democratically elected governments are supposedly to work for the people who have elected them to represent them. Pakistan has no such democracy but a demonocracy working against the proud people of Pakistan and destroying, weakening our nation from within.

You can live in the strongest fort or castle but if it is not properly guarded it will fall in Pakistan’s case our demonocracy is opening the gates to the enemies of Pakistan. Rather than tackle the problems Pakistan faces, they try to malign and silence the very soldiers risking their lives to protect Pakistan if that was not enough they starve and humiliate the very people inside the fort – ordinary Pakistanis. The fort has been compromised from within and it is time the people of Pakistan stand up and say enough.

Join DPC and demand the demonocracy to put Pakistan first, support Pakistan military and show those political assassins what matters are important to Pakistan. I completely agree with DPC and now it is the time for every Pakistani to say this aloud so that Pakistanis are heard. Pakistani people are saying an unequivocal NO to any Indian Policy to further trade without India resolving all outstanding issues over occupied lands and the hijacking of Pakistani water, we seek an apology for 63 years of terror on our soil. We should never re-open the NATO supply lines to fuel and arm mercenaries against innocent Afghan brothers but also against Sar Zameen-e-Pakistan.

We do not want war with anyone we just want our Pakistan back, the Pakistan that has been hijacked since the 1960?s. We just want our Sar Zameen-e-Pakistan’s revolution that made this nation the most progressive nation in the world and our economy the fastest growing in the world.

It is time to take Pakistan back from our political assassins.
Voice your discontent and join DPC whose objective is purely for the betterment of Pakistani politics, economy and social cohesion to make this nation great again.

The real enemy is within Pakistan not outside, the external threat has already manifested inside Pakistan as Pakistan has been compromised. Pakistan has never feared the external because we know the courage of our armed forces and know just how eleqouent true political leaders can be to further the cause of a stable progressive Pakistan.

Clean up Pakistan, make it secure again;

With the September 2007 winter trials, the Indian army deemed Arjun’s performance unsatisfactory, including at least four engine failures.

• General Kapoor says Indian army does not posses ability to fight armoured combat in night
  Army Chief shameful admission makes Defence Minister Antony chew his buts
• India’s numerical tank supremacy over Pakistan eliminated by Armoured Corps’ night blindness
• India Arjun Tank eats dust while Pakistan Al-Khalid MBT remains a success story
• India’s missile systems remain shady as nation celebrates 62nd Army Day

Bharat’s 1.3 million-strong armed forces are hobbled by outdated equipment and slow decision-making. The dilapidated defense ministry on Delhi’s grand South Block is a joke for the world. When the first Pentagon officials visited it, they were appaled by the bulbs hanging from the ceilings with naked wires. The entire building was dirty, dark and filthy, even if compared to Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Lankan or Chinese Defense quarters.

• On a query about the obsolete artillery of the Indian Army, the army chief said that successive bans have delayed acquisition of new guns for long. ‘Artillery is a cause for concern.
• We need to have better guns. Trials for towed guns are underway. Because of bans the process got delayed.
• We are now acquiring (ultra light) guns through FMS (Foreign Military Sales) route (from the US),’ Kapoor added

Bharat is now the world’s largest arms importer with plans to spend $100 billion on weapons over the next decade. However this colossal expenditure makes it no closer to self-sufficiency in any of the arms that it has purchased.

The Flying Coffin, the MiG-21 is still in use, a red flag about the painfully slow defense procurement procedures can come up with new hardware faster than old equipment is sent to the scrap heap. According to Bharati media, Russia delivered the nuclear submarine INS Chakra on a 10-year lease at the end of last month, eight years after India first asked for it.

A shortfall of about 200 planes means the IAF is operating at its lowest level in decades – just 33 squadrons against a goal of 45. By the time all the Rafales are delivered, more MiGs will have been decommissioned–the deficit will actually grow.

Bharat is supposedly developing a fifth-generation fighter with Russia and aims to fly it in 2015, as well as a fleet of 272 Sukhois, half of which have already been built. The so called joint developed plan is already in production in Russia which flight tested it last year. Bharat has nothing to offer the Russians, who will simply send “Made in India” decals to Hndustan Aeronautics–and these will be enough to line the pockets of the corrupt politicians.

• According to The Daily Mail’s findings, global military analysts say that Pakistan adopted a step-by-step approach towards the manufacture of its MBT-2000 Khalid, and this is the single most important reason for having stolen a march over India.
• They are of the opinion that the Indian project was too ambitious, whereas Pakistan’s approach was more systematic comprising the following phases and that was why Pakistan Army got a well prepared MBT while the Indian Armoured Corps was equipped with huffing, overweight and inaccurate Tank system.

The colossal failures of the Bharati missiles, as well as the imported sytems leaves the entire enterprise in dire straits.

• The Daily Mail’s investigations reveal that the failure in rapid succession of Astra missilesystem, a satellite launcher and a new ballistic missile have shown up the technological and budgetary difficulties faced by India’s space establishment, both civilian and military.These investigations indicate that India’s intermediate-range ballistic missile “Agni III” that was launched by the secretive Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) failed soon after liftoff and crashed into the Bay of Bengal, less than 1,000 kilometers away from the launch site.

  The failure of the Agni III was a very serious matter because it exposed the political limitations of India’s attempts, despite its ambitions, to pursue a military capability.

Pakistan’s air force also modernizing fast, and India risks losing its edge on two fronts. In the 1980s, a scandal engulfed the government of then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi over millions of dollars in kickbacks on artillery contracts for Sweden’s Bofors.

“There has been a tremendous shortage of artillery systems acquisition after the Bofors scandal,” said Rahul Roy Chaudhury, a South Asia expert at London’s IISS security think tank.

Seafaring officers from 14 countries from New Zealand to the Seychelles have gathered on remote Indian islands in the Bay of Bengal this week for exercises and a “meeting of minds” about maritime security.

It is one of the largest such gatherings of maritime allies that India has organized, but China and Pakistan were conspicuously not on the guest list.

Last year, India’s INS Airavat, an amphibious assault vessel that sailed from the Andamans was challenged in the South China Sea.

The boasting and the rhetoric emanating from South Blaock does not track well with the reality on the ground, the air and the sea.

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Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement issued in Srinagar urged the people to observe complete shutdown on the day and convey a message to the world community that the people of Kashmir wanted right to self-determination.

He said that India was claiming to be democratic but was perpetuating undemocratic actions and was committing massive human rights violations in the occupied territory.

About the Pak-India peace process, he said; We believe that Pak-India peace needs a boost and participation of true Kashmiri leadership in any result-oriented dialogue process is a must.

He, however, said that before initiating talks, India should create conducive atmosphere by taking steps like demilitarisation, repeal of black laws, put an end to human rights violations in the occupied territory and release all illegally detained Hurriyet leaders and activists.

The APHC Chairman said that the international community had accepted that the Kashmir dispute was the main hurdle in cordial relations between New Delhi and Islamabad and its amicable settlement could bring peace in the region in particular and world in general.

Reports say, the people of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control and the world over will observe Republic Day of India on Tuesday as black day to remind to the international community that India has grossly usurped Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.

Call for the observance of the Day has been given by the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, senior Kashmiri Hurriyet leader Syed Ali Gilani, JKLF R and the Bar Association of occupied Kashmir. They have appealed to the people in Srinagar to observe complete shutdown on that day.

APHC leaders, including Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza and Yasmeen Raja in their separate statements in Srinagar said, the international community knew that peace would continue to elude the world, in general, and South Asia, in particular, till Kashmir dispute remained unresolved. They maintained that liberation struggle would be taken to its logical conclusion, come what may.

The Bar Association said Kashmir is a disputed territory and the government of India should resume a purposeful and comprehensive dialogue process with Pakistan for resolution of Kashmir dispute by implementing UN resolutions. Bar Association General Secretary, Advocate G N Shaheen while appealing Kashmiri people to observe a general strike on 26th of January urged people to abstain from participating in Indian Republic Day functions.

Meanwhile, APHC leader and Acting Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza has said that the 63-year-old Kashmir dispute can be resolved through peaceful talks process between Pakistan, India and genuine Kashmiri leadership.

Addressing a gathering at Awantipora, Tral and Dadsaru in Pulwama, Waza, while urging India to create conducive atmosphere for talks process, said that it should demilitarise Kashmir, repeal black laws and release all illegally detained Hurriyet leaders and activists. Talks on Kashmir should be meaningful and result-oriented, he added.

He called upon the world human rights bodies to take serious note of continued human rights abuses committed by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir. Mirwaiz appeals people to observe Jan 26 as Black Day
Pakistan Times Jammu & Kashmir Desk

Image via Wikipedia

Pakistan’s Nuclear program has been Uranium based. The Chinese Nuclear program is Plutonium based. Pakistan‘s Uranium based program was based on enriching Uranium using Gas Centrifuges–cheaper technology which none of the other Atomic powers had used before. After perfecting the larger Uranium based devices, now Pakistan has begun to miniaturize its weapons using Plutonium based bombs.

Delhi is a bit jittery about Pakistan’s nuclear program that focuses on “low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons.” These Plutonium based weapons would be used to decimate Bharat’s “Cold Start” strategy that banks on rapid movement and deployment of Bharati forces.

Pakistan’s fourth reactor at the Khushab military facility is problematic for Bharat. This stops Delhi from invading Pakistan. Pakistan has the capability to add at least eight to 10 such weapons each year. Apparently the Pakistan are following the Chinese model of owning low-yield nuclear weapons. These tactical nukes are the “Cold Start” buster mechanism which will provide the Pakistani military a flexible response in case of an escalation with India and allow it to dominate.

Once Khushab is up to speed, Pakistan will be able to produce 35 Plutonium based tactical nuclear weapons per year. Pakistan is known to have a nuclear arsenal, however the quantity of the weapons has baffled Delhi.

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Bharat is jittery about Pakistan’s continuing veiled threats of using tactical nuclear missiles in the battlefield to deter Indian forces, holding that no one should be foolish enough to think of nuclear weapons as war-waging weapons.

Army chief General V K Singh, speaking on the sidelines of the 64th Army Day on Sunday seemed frustrated and handicapped “Let’s be quite clear on it… Nuclear weapons are not for war-fighting. They have got a strategic significance and that is where it should end.”

Amazingly Gen Singh said that “I and my Army are not bothered about who has nuclear weapons. We have our task cut out and we will progress along that.”

He continued to focus on what analysts call “Charge of the Light Brigade” tactic that deals with lquick strikes on Pakistan He described the “task” as  the “transform” the 1.13-million strong force into “an agile, lethal and networked force”, which can rapidly mobilize and then launch and sustain multiple armoured thrusts across the border, even as India maintains a credible minimum nuclear deterrent.

Bharat has faced serious challenges. The colossla fialure of Operation Parakram displayed serious holes in the Bharati plans. The forward troop mobilization along the western front shoed the Bharati Army that its could not mobilize quickly. Since then it has been trying to fix this failure. The harsh lessons can be categorized under poor Supply Chain. It took the Bharati  Army almost a month to amass strike formations at the borders. By then, Pakistan had fully mobilized and displayed its Nuclear teeth. The US and the world also had prevailed on the then NDA regime to back down.

Gen Singh said that “A lot has changed since the days of Op Parakram. If we did something in 15 days then, we can do it in seven days now. After two years, we may be able to do it in three days.” Most think that this is wishful thinking.

The Bharati Army has three “strike” corps:
1 Corps (Mathura),

2 Corps (Ambala) and

21 Corps (Bhopal)

Each of these have three to four self-contained, highly-mobile “battle groups” centered around T-90S and T-72 M1 tanks. Bharat hopes that these an now be ready at their border launch points within a week of the government directive.

According to press reports the Bharati Army is now working towards further cutting down this mobilization timeframe to 72 to 96 hours, even as its 10 “pivot corps” undergo “structural changes”, operational logistics are reorganized and “theatrisation of combat support” tested. Even at its best, the 72 hour window gives Pakistan ample time to mobilize its missile defense and plaster the assembled army to the ground, before it has a chance to enter Pakistani territory.

Bharat has traditinally denied that it has a “Cold Start Strategy”. In a stratling development Gen Singh now admits the Indian Army was fine-tuning its “Pro-Active Strategy”, (aka “Cold Start” doctrine_, to achieve desired politico-military results. According to the doctrine developed by Stephen Cohen, “te unstated aim is to punish Pakistan in a limited manner, not invade or occupy its territory”.

• The strategy to launch multiple blitzkrieg thrusts across the border, tested in two major exercises Vijayee Bhava and Sudarshan Shakti last year, has certainly got Pakistan worried.
• Having already boosted its nuclear arsenal to around 90-110 warheads, compared to India’s 80-100, Pakistan has also taken to projecting its 60-km Nasr (Hatf-IX) nuclear missile as a fitting riposte to thwart any such Indian move.
• But while India has a declared commitment of “no first-use”, its nuclear doctrine does hold that “nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage”. India even retains the option to retaliate with nuclear weapons if its forces “anywhere” are attacked with biological or chemical weapons.

Pakistan has not announced a “No First Use” doctrine, and if Bharat attempts to cross the border, Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate and save itself. Bharat is aware of this, and therefore “Cold Start” is a non-starter.

According to The Times of India, “the current focus on low-yield (tacital) weapons has India worried”. Bharati defense officials know that these weapons will be used by Pakistan “in case of an incursion made by Indian forces into Pakistani territory”. Delhi under domestic constraints has threatened Pakistan several times–the tactical nukes keep them at bay.

With the OBL incursion, Pakistan has been forced to consider other options. One of the options is to disperse the the older weapons deeper into Pakistan and diversify their locations. Another strategy is to miniaturize the weapons, so that they can be holed up in caves, and underground structures, away from praying satellite images. With CIA spies running rampant in Pakistan–the miniaturized weapons will deter a large scale attack either by Bharat or any other country.

Senator’s personal guarantee written in his blood not withstanding, Islamabad is not taking any chances. If it weren’t for Pakistani nukes and Islamabad’s ability to deliver them, Pakistan would have ended up like Iraq. This is not the only time that Abdali, Babur, and Hataf have saved the land of Pakistan from being carpet bombing. China is upgrading Pakistan’s radar system with something that is akin to the Soviet S-400 fully automated tracking, zoning and  targeting enemy aircraft. The incursion into Abbottabad has opened the eyes of the PAF–which is now also relying on human intel and plain old-fashioned monitoring in addition to electronic surveillance during peace time.

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Flag of the PM of Pakistan.Image via Wikipedia

According to the BBC “the present stand-off is a direct result of the divergence of views of the military and the civilian government on the memo issue.” After PM Gilani dismissed the Secretary of Defense, Brig. Naeem Khalid Lodhi, the Secretary general of the PPP rejected the rumors of the dismissal of General Kayani or General Pasha. The ISPR threatned of “very serious ramifications” because of the charges statements made by PM Gilani. The ISPR said that documents tendered to the Supreme Court were through the Ministry of Defense and as per the rules of business. The PPP is saying that the COAS will complete his tenure.

Nargis Sethi, the pro-American Najam Sethi‘s daughter is essentially the de-fecto prime minister of Pakistan. Sethi was the PMs Principal Secretary and Secretary Cabinet Division, has been given the charge of Defense Secretary. Nargis’s is the daughter of Jugno Mohsin who is a first cousin of Syeda Abida Hussain and Syed Fakhir Imam. Nargis is considered one of the most powerful women of today’s Pakistan. Some analysts say that if the COAS is fired, she would do it.

There are reports that Ahtizaz Ahsan will be writing a letter to the Swiss Authorities. The PPP has a six day deadline on this issue.

In an ominous sign the 111 Brigade Commander has been changed. Most observers think another one is unlikely at the moment. According to the Airforce Times “The Pentagon disclosed that Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talked by phone on Tuesday with his Pakistani counterpart, Army Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. Dempsey’s office declined to provide details of the conversation but said it was their first contact since Dec. 21.”

The various political parties do not want a clash. The PPP partners are jittery. They want to diffuse the internal situation. Kamil Agha of the PMLQ said that his party does not support differences between the executive, the judiciary and the army etc. If the PPP persists, the PMLQ may quit the government. He said that dialogue is the solution. The PPP government will not survive a vote of confidence without the PLMQ and the MQM.

Nawaz Sharif holds th key to new elctions. Image via Wikipedia

Former PM Nawaz Sharif has called for immediate polls. He asked the PPP “not play with the fate of this country any more,” the former premier said Pakistan cannot allow to lose the hard-earned gains made by democracy…The only way to pull the country out of this crisis situation is to hold polls as soon as possible.”

There is much discussion with the JUI chief Maulana Fazlul Rehman, a key negotiator between the protagonists. Maulana Rehman was conciliatory. Mr. Sharif and Mr. Rehman are also talking and discuss issues with Chaudhry Nisar. There maybe a consensus building on a parliamentary action. If the PLMN resigns from the government, the PPP government will have to call elections.

There are external factors affecting the situation in Pakistan. Christina Flair is predicting a cold war between Washington and Islamabad. In a polemic published in the Atlantic, she asks the poignant question “Could There Be a U.S.-Pakistan Cold War?” In the article, she paints Pakistan as a bad country.

• After ten years of precarious military, intelligence and other security cooperation between Pakistan and the United States, the two countries could not loathe each other more. Worse, as much as they despise each other, they each know that their security depends in varying degrees upon the other.
• It has been difficult for the United States to grasp the limits of its national power and accept that it cannot transform Pakistan.

Flair goes on to say that the US must limits its overreach and deal with the Pakistanis in a manner in which it does not push it into isolation and says that “Under the prevailing circumstances, the Cold War may offer important lessons for U.S. policy makers restructuring U.S. relations with Pakistan”. :

• The time has come for the United States to adopt a more modest and sustainable relationship with the country aimed at managing it as a security risk rather than embracing absurd transformational goals. At the most fundamental level, the United States has one overarching goal: work to ensure that Pakistan does not become an Islamist variation of North Korea.
• That is, the United States should work with the international community to prevent Pakistan from becoming an inward-focused, hostile and aggressive nuclear-armed rogue state that turns to other threatening states in the international system as its sole source of sustenance and support. This requires sustainable and practical engagement rather than isolation.
• This will require the U.S. Congress to resist its understandable urge to simply cut Pakistan off. While this path is no doubt tempting in an election year and during a period of economic austerity, such instincts should be rebuffed.

Flair gives the US advice on how to deal with US-Pakistan Cold War:

• First, during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union maintained diplomatic missions and contacts at all levels.
• Second, they continued ordinary contacts with military and intelligence liaisons. However, these engagements were with the obvious lucidity that the two states were competitors, not partners. The two states understood that their strategic interests were divergent and that they would operate against each other even if there were opportunities elsewhere to cooperate.
• Third, the United States invested in civil society where it could and with the modest hope that one day that system would change. Finally, when the Soviet Union collapsed, the world learned that it could manage the numerous problems stemming from the Soviet Union’s vast nuclear and missile arsenal. The world did not end when the Soviet Union collapsed.

In related news Pakistan’s new ambassador to Washington, Sherry Rehman, met Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland talked about “getting our relationship back on track in all of its elements in the new year.”

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(rupeenews.com)

Erasing Bin Laden's Lair: Why not rename Abbotabad?. Image via Wikipedia

Pakistan has decided to blow Up Bin Laden‘s Compound With A Flurry Of Rocket Propelled Grenades. Major General Athar Abbas said that “It will be a big event,” according to the New York Post.

The Army will invite the U.S. and European officials when the compound will be brought down by rocket propelled grenades and then bulldozed.

The Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that “We will hit it like an enemy fort. But first we must erase everything related to bin Laden from our country.”

We recommend that Pakistan change the name of Abbott to Islampur, Mohammadabad, Fatah-e-Islam, Liaqatabad or Jinnahabad, Hazara Shehar, Hazarapur, Hazarabad, or Hazara City. Pakistan should not be associated with the colonial name of Abbot. Abbottabad is situated in the Orash Valley the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The city was named after Major James Abbott who founded the town and district in January 1853 after the annexation of Punjab. He was the Deputy Commissioner of the Hazara district from 1849 until April 1853.

The remaining vestiges of colonialism should be elimiated. Abbotabad and Jacobabad should be changed to Pakistani names

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The PM is not honest: Supreme Court

The Political parties give their analysis. Mr. Imran Khan said that he stands with the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court. He said that the entire country was waiting for this decision. He said the poor people were incarcerated while the big fish were not subject to justice. Mr Khan said that the PPP will react to the verdict. Mr. Khan said that if the PPP defied the Supreme Court the PTI would stand in their way. Mr. Khan said the PTI will come out on the roads, and will not tolerate the destruction of the judiciary.

The PMLN Khawaja Asif, the representative said that the PM has been saying with straight face that the government has implemented the verdict of the court. Shaikh Rashid called it stubbornness of the PPP which is not good. He said that they will not get “shahadat”, it will get “halakat”. Rashid emphasized that the fact that memogate will be brought to its logical conclusion.

Abdul Ghafoor Haidery of the JUI said that the institutions are in conflict. He said that the system is being destroyed. The JUI chief has already stated that Mr. Zardari can be convinced to resign. Syed Munawwar Has, the Amir of the Jamaat e Islami said that the PPP had not served the people. He said that the PPP wants to short cut, use the Sindh Card, create a Law and Order situation. Syed Munawwar said that the the PPP wants to attack the judiciary and the army. He said that this agenda has been written Washington and he said that this “movie” will not work. Chaudhry Shujaat has said a negotiated settlement has to be found. The ANP representative Mr. Zahid Khan said that his party is looking at the options. Mr. Babar Awan said that this reminds him of the “Agartalla Conspiracy” and East Pakistan.

Mr. Gilani’s recent statement in China against th army and the ISI raises eyebrows in the lands. It is very poignant that he made the statement to a Chinese news agency while General Kayani was in China. Mr. Hasan Askari Rizvi, an analyst said that the statements will not put pressure on the army. Mr  Rizvi spoke up against brinkmanship. Mr. Rasool Bukhash Raees said that the government has decided that they will not accept the courts decision, and they want to take the clash to the people. Mr. Raees said that the PPP is going to defend itself and thinks that its constituency is very strong.

Will the MQM and the ANP take a stand with the PPP, or will they abandon the coalition. Ms. Fauzia Wahab of the PPP said that the PM has described the facts, and these issues have to be resolved. Lt. Gene Talat Masood said that the PMs statement will harm the morale of the army. Mr. Masood usually a staunch defender of the PPP severely criticized the Prime Minister and said his statements will not be a positive thing.

Post NRO decision Musharraf’s Interview. Mr. Musharraf who used to stand up ramrod straight and commanded fear among his enemies, is a much somber man. His voice and demeanor does not show the same level of confidence that he used to exude. Abandoned by his allies and “fair weather friends”, Mr. Musharraf now wants to build his party on district nazims and unknown names.

Mr. Musharraf seems ready to face jail in Landi. The courts may award him bail, and declare his house a sub-jail. It would all depend on Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the man humiliated by General Musharraf.

Mr. Musharraf wants to remind the people of Pakistan that during his reign the people had extraordinary prosperity and enjoyed a high level of standard of living. He wants to run on his track record. Generally speaking, people have short memories, and may or may not remember the fact that the country was growing at an 8% growth rate. His message of past performance may get lost in the polluted politics of Pakistan. Mr. Musharrf may be naive, very brave, or may be headed on a foolhardy mission. His comments did display his liking for Imran Khan, who has spurned him twice, once when Mr. Musharraf was in power, and then again, now, when the Khan is riding a crest of popularity and Mr. Musharraf is alone with little support from his former protégées and acolytes.

Mr. Zardari, in an excellent game of chess snatched up the PMLQ, the possible source of Mr. Musharraf’s support. Watching the game, many disgruntled members of the PPP and the PMLN joined the PTI. Thus the potential space that Mr. Musharraf was to occupy has been taken up by the PTI. Can Mr Musharraf convince the voters that he is a better alternative to Mr. Imran Khan. The establishment is supporting Mr. Khan. The elite is turning towards Imran, and an overwhelming body of overseas Pakistanis seem to be rooting for the PTI. Mr. Musharraf’s Enlightened Moderation will have to compete with the right of center politics of Mr. Musharraf.

Hamid Mir‘s Geo and News are avid opponents of Mr. Musharraf. On the eve of his return The News has published a listing of accounts which shows that Mr. Musharraf has more than a Billion Dollars stashed away in various Middle Eastern banks. Where and how the News got its information is a subject of debate. As expected Mr. Musharraf denied that he had a billion Dollars, but admitted that he was making up to .5 million per lecture when he was on the circuit and he said that he made several dozen such engagements. Analysts would agree that it would take a lot of lectures to make a billion Dollars, assuming that he has that much.

He announced that he would run in elections from Gilgit Baltistan. While Imran Khan’s tsunami is riding the crest of Anti-Americanism, Mr. Musharraf seemed to be reaching out to America’s chief ally in the Middle East. He also announced that he would run from Karachi. He said that Pakistan should normalize its relations with Israel. He said that many Arab countries had recognized Isarael, so Pakistan should also recognize the reality and not create headaches for itself. He made the astounding statement that he “admired” the military accomplishments of General Arial Sharon, one of the most brutal Israeli generals who also poisoned Yasser Arafat. Amazingly Mr. Musharraf also did not think that Iran faced an external threat and therefore he did not think that Tehran needed Atomic weapons.

It is clear from his very recent moves, that Mr. Musharraf is following the tactics of Ms. Benazir Bhutto, who met President Shimon Perez before her return to Pakistan, and made strange statements about Pakistan’s Nuclear program.

Mr. Musharraf, if he survives the onslaught of cases against him will probably be able to win a couple of seats in the parliament. He can then be the conscience of the nation, and be a political pundit who escaped the application of Article Six of the constitution. Never in the history of Pakistan, has a dictator returned to Pakistan to face charges and then try to get elected to the highest office of the land.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Mr. Musharraf.

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