Wonders of Pakistan

In addition to the title of each post which is linked to the main post (hover your mouse over the title and click. You will directly land on to the post your want to read).

Alternatively, have also given the respective URL’s. If the title doesn’t work, copy paste the URL in your browser bar and you will likewise reach the desired post.

Plz go through content of your choice. As always I would be glad to have your brief, review or comment (or even a note of dissent).

Nayyar

http://wondersofpakistan.com/

2014-05-03T20:05:00.000+05:00

Updates: March & April 2014 (Wonders of Pakistan.com/)

MARCH & APRIL 2014 UPDATES ON WONDERSOFPAKISTAN.COM/ WEBSITE

Sorry friends, I could not mail the index of posts that were uploaded in the month of March and April 2014. This was because of the continuous clinical tests, med consultation and the medication. Why did I do this? Because I was continuously feeling terrible weakness, feverish and sometime blurred visibility. So the whole month of March took up my time in looking into what had happened with me. Thank God, after all these consultations, clinical tests and medications, it transpired that it was due to shortage of Vitamin D3 and B12.

After proper medication, I am feeling alright now and that’s how am now back to my doing the web things.

But, why were there no updates in April either! Well this was because of the terrible connectivity we have at the hands of PTCL Broadband. It started in the last week of March and it continues till this day. Many a time when I finesse an article and start uploading the same, the browser speed gets so poor that the whole material gets deleted.

In most of the cases I do keep a copy of the content on the hard drive but sometimes and this sometime turns into many times, I do transfer material directly from other internet sources as well. In such cases going down of the speed sends the whole material into the unknown world of abyss and as we all know from that unknown mysterious world its almost impossible to retrieve anything.

Any way here are now the updated content for the months of March and April.

Contents Blog site Wonders of Pakistan

March 2014

Total # of posts this month: 10

1. Crimea: Putin’s Triumph. Now the Confrontation Moves East to “New Russia” [2 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/03/31/crimea-putins-triumph-now-the-confrontation-moves-east-to-new-russia-2-of-2/

Published on : Mar 31, 2014

2. Crimea: Putin’s Triumph. Now the Confrontation Moves East to “New Russia” [1 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/03/31/crimea-putins-triumph-now-the-confrontation-moves-east-to-new-russia-1-of-2/

Published on : Mar 31, 2014

3. Ukraine’s message to Pakistan

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/03/26/ukraines-message-to-pakistan/

Published on : Mar 26, 2014

4. The Nuclear Shadow Over Karachi [3 of 3]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/03/24/the-nuclear-shadow-over-karachi-3-of-3/

Published on : Mar 24, 2014

5. The Nuclear Shadow Over Karachi [2 of 3]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/03/24/the-nuclear-shadow-over-karachi-2-of-3/

Published on : Mar 24, 2014

6. The Nuclear Shadow Over Karachi [1 of 3]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/03/24/the-nuclear-shadow-over-karachi-1-of-3/

Published on : Mar 03, 2014

7. Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (RA) advises his son so beautifully, wisely….

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/03/19/umar-ibn-al-khattab-ra-advises-his-son-so-beautifully-wisely/

Published on : Mar 19, 2014

8. The Man Who destroyed the Mightiest of the Mighty

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/03/19/the-man-who-destroyed-the-mightiest-of-the-mighty/

Published on : Mar 19, 2014

9. “To be or not to be…” [2 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/03/11/to-be-or-not-to-be-2-of-2/

Published on : Mar 11, 2014

10. “To be or not to be…” [1 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/03/11/to-be-or-not-to-be-1-of-2/Published on : Mar 11, 2014

Published on : Mar 11, 2014

*****

Contents Blog site Wonders of Pakistan

Apr. 2014

Total # of posts this month: 20

1. This image says…what you want to say.

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/30/this-image-says-what-you-want-to-say/

Published on : Apr 30, 2014

2. Why not name Lahore underpass after Prof. Waris Mir!

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/30/why-not-name-lahore-underpass-after-prof-waris-mir/

Published on : Apr 30, 2014

3. Change in Fata

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/29/change-in-fata/

Published on : Apr 29, 2014

4. Ukraine: America’s monopoly ends…Russia a new superpower

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/27/ukraine-americas-monopoly-endsrussia-a-new-superpower/

Published on : Apr 27, 2014

5. Setting the stage for war with Pakistan [2 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/27/setting-the-stage-for-war-with-pakistan-2-of-2/

Published on : Apr 27, 2014

6. Setting the stage for war with Pakistan [1 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/27/setting-the-stage-for-war-with-pakistan-1-of-2/

Published on : Apr.27, 2014

7. The Fall of the American Empire (Writ Small)

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/25/the-fall-of-the-american-empire-writ-small/

Published on : Apr 25, 2014

8. Fishing the Phish of Internet

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/25/fishing-the-phish-of-internet/

Published on : Apr 25, 2014

9. Demands to Ban the Geo TV Channel

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/23/demands-to-ban-the-geo-tv-channel/

Published on : Apr 23, 2014

10. Is this journalism?

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/22/is-this-journalism/

Published on : Apr 22, 2014

11. But never a city in Pakistan

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/22/but-never-a-city-in-pakistan/

Published on : Apr 22, 2014

12. Why I’m quitting my job to go to Pakistan

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/21/why-im-quitting-my-job-to-go-to-pakistan/

Published on : Apr 21, 2014

13. Time to end the subcontinent’s family feud

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/20/time-to-end-the-subcontinents-family-feud/

Published on : Apr 20, 2014

14. The First Timers

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/16/the-first-timers/

Published on : Apr 16, 2014

15. Happy Baisakhi!

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/12/happy-baisakhi/

Published on : Apr 12, 2014

16. “Great Victory”, When we feel afraid to call the spade, a spade

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/12/great-victory-when-we-feel-afraid-to-call-the-spade-a-spade/

17. ‘Genetic engineering’ in East Pakistan

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/12/genetic-engineering-in-east-pakistan/

Published on : Apr 12, 2014

18. War Fever in the Air

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/07/war-fever-in-the-air/

Published on : Apr 07, 2014

19. Ever heard! [2 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/02/ever-heard-2-of-2/

Published on : Apr 02, 2014

20. Ever heard! [1 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2014/04/01/ever-heard/

Published on : Apr 01, 2014

*****

In addition to the title of each post which is linked to the post (hover your mouse over title and click), have also given the respective URL’s. If the title doesn’t work, copy paste the URL in your search bar, and you will likewise reach the desired post.

Plz go though content of your choice. As always I would be glad to have your brief, review or comment (or even a note of dissent).

Nayyar

http://wondersofpakistan.com/

2014-01-02T21:45:00.001+05:00

Dear all,

Here is a wrap up of posts put up on Wonders ofPakistan (http://wondersofpakistan.com/) for the month of December 2013.

Since the site is still in a transitionary stage, therefore, some of the links in the site may not be working. Nevertheless, our web developer is on the job and soon all the links, and other things missing will be updated.. Your feed back in this regard will be much appreciated.

Contents Blogsite Wonders of Pakistan

December 2013

Total # of posts this month: 27

1. India-Pakistan Relations: Breaking the hate myth

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/31/india-pakistan-relations-breaking-the-hate-myth/

Published on : Dec. 31, 2013

2. Pak Israel Rapprochment

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/30/pak-israel-rapprochment/

Published on : Dec. 30, 2013

3. Greetings

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/30/greetings-4/

Published on : Dec. 30, 2013

4. Secret Sex Life of the Jews [2 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/28/secret-sex-life-of-the-jews-2-of-2/

Published on : Dec.28, 2013

5. Secret Sex Life of the Jews [1 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/28/secret-sex-life-of-the-jews-1-of-2/

Published on : Dec. 28, 2013

6. 13 Annoying Things Most People Assume About Orthodox Jews

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/27/13-annoying-things-most-people-assume-about-orthodox-jews/

Published on : Dec. 27, 2013

7. European Attacks on Circumcision and Hanukah Response

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/26/european-attacks-on-circumcision-and-hanukah-response/

Published on : Dec. 25, 2013

8. A letter to Pakistan, from a friend [2 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/25/a-letter-to-pakistan-from-a-friend-2-of-2/

Published on : Dec. 25, 2013

9. A letter to Pakistan, from a friend [1 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/25/a-letter-to-pakistan-from-a-friend-1-of-2/

Published on : Dec. 25, 2013

10. Some Judaic Terms

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/25/some-judaic-terms/

Published on : Dec. 25, 2013

11. Xmas Greetings

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/24/xmas-greetings/

Published on : Dec. 24, 2013

12. A Jewish Defector warns America [4 of 4]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/23/a-jewish-defector-warns-america-4-of-4-2/

Published on : Dec. 23, 2013

13. Struggling British Synagogue Saved By City’s Muslims

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/25/a-letter-to-pakistan-from-a-friend-1-of-2/

Published on : Dec. 22, 2013

14. A Jewish Defector Warns America [3 of 4]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/21/a-jewish-defector-warns-america-3-of-4-2/

Published on : Dec. 21, 2013

15. A Jewish Defector Warns America [2 of 4]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/21/a-jewish-defector-warns-america-2-of-4-2/

Published on : Dec. 21, 2013

16. Karachi’s “Yahoodi Masjid”

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/21/karachis-yahoodi-masjid/

Published on : Dec. 21, 2013

17. A Step toward Interfaith Understanding

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/21/a-step-toward-interfaith-understanding/

Published on : Dec. 21, 2013

18. Pak-Israel Relations [3 of 3]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/19/pak-israel-relations-3-of-3/

Published on : Dec. 19, 2013

19. Pak-Israel Relations [2 of 3]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/19/pak-israel-relations-2-of-3/

Published on : Dec. 19, 2013

20. Pak-Israel Relations [1 of 3]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/19/pak-israel-relations-1-of-3/

Published on : Dec. 19, 2013

21. A Rabbi Allied with Prophet Muhammad (S)

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/17/a-rabbi-allied-with-prophet-muhammad-s/

Published on : Dec. 17, 2013

22. Why Visit Lahore

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/16/why-visit-lahore/

Published on : Dec. 16, 2013

23. Pak Israel Relations: Let it be a manifest of Interfaith Dialogue

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/16/pak-israel-relations-let-it-be-a-manifest-of-interfaith-dialogue/

Published on : Dec. 16, 2013

24. Rebuttal to the Frightening Predictions by a PhD from Oxford [2 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/12/rebuttal-to-the-frightening-predictions-by-a-phd-from-oxford-2-of-2/

Published on : Dec. 12, 2013

25. Rebuttal to the Frightening Predictions by a PhD from Oxford [1 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/12/rebuttal-to-the-frightening-predictions-by-a-phd-from-oxford-1-of-2/

Published on : Dec. 12, 2013

26. Pakistan Zindabad [2 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/10/pakistan-zindabad-2-of-2/

Published on : Dec. 10, 2013

27. Pakistan Zindabad [1 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/12/10/pakistan-zindabad-1-of-2/

Published on : Dec. 10, 2013

In addition to the title of each post which is linked to the post (hover your mouse overthe title and click), have also given the respective URL’s. If the title doesn’t work, copy paste the URL in your search bar, and you will likewise reach the desired post.

Plz go though content of your choice. As always I would be glad to have your brief, review or comment (or even a note of dissent).

Nayyar

http://wondersofpakistan.com/

JULY 2013 Updates: WondersofPakistan.com/ Blog

2013-08-01T18:10:00.000+05:00

Dear all,

Here is a wrap up of posts put up on Wonders of Pakistan (http://wondersofpakistan.com/) for the month of July 2013.

Contents Blogsite Wonders of Pakistan

July 2013

Total # of posts this month: 14

1. PML-N’s Power Policy

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/29/pml-ns-power-policy/

2. Today’s Cordoba : A City of Flowers

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/28/todays-cordoba-a-city-of-flowers/

3. Lament of Masjid-e-Qurtaba : 2

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/28/lament-of-masjid-e-qurtaba-2/

4. Lament of Seville (Andalus—Muslim Spain) :1

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/25/lament-of-seville-andalus-muslim-spain-1/

5. Lessons for Pakistan from Egypt of July 2nd!

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/23/lessons-for-pakistan-from-egypt-of-july-2nd/

6. India Terrorizes Nepal in The Name of New Constituent Assembly

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/23/india-terrorizes-nepal-in-the-name-of-new-constituent-assembly/

7. A Few More Scenes from Village Life

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/18/a-few-more-scenes-from-village-life/

8. Exclusive: Prof. James Trevelyan on Power Options for Pakistan

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/17/exclusive-prof-james-trevelyan-on-power-options-for-pakistan/

9. عادت حسن منٹو: آخری سلیوٹ : II

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/14/%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AA-%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%86%D9%B9%D9%88-%D8%A2%D8%AE%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%88%D9%B9-ii/

10. عادت حسن منٹو: آخری سلیوٹ : I

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/14/%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AA-%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%86%D9%B9%D9%88-%D8%A2%D8%AE%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%88%D9%B9-i/

11. Departure of Mohammed Morsi

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/13/departure-of-mohammed-morsi/

12. Elephants gather inexplicably, mourn death of “Elephant Whisperer”.”

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/07/elephants-gather-inexplicably-mourn-death-of-elephant-whisperer/

13. About Tulips [2 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/07/about-tulips-2-of-2-2/

14. About Tulips [1 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/04/about-tulips-1-of-2/

15. Some Context for What’s Transpiring in Pakistan 2/3

http://wondersofpakistan.com/2013/07/02/some-context-for-whats-transpiring-in-pakistan-23/

In addition to the title of each post which is linked to the post (hover your mouse over the title and click), have also given the respective URL’s. If the title doesn’t work, copy paste the URL in your search bar, and you will likewise reach the desired post.

Plz go though content of your choice. As always I would be glad to have your brief, review or comment (or even a note of dissent).

Nayyar

http://wondersofpakistan.com/

JUNE 2013 Updates: WondersofPakistan.com/ Blog

2013-07-02T23:37:00.000+05:00

Dear all, In the month of June 2013, have uploaded following posts on my weblog http://wondersofpakistan.com/

1. Pakistan has a bright energy future

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41145

2. If Delhi can do it, so can Karachi and Lahore

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41126

3. Bird by bird: Thar’s bedevilled peacocks dancing to their deaths

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41087

4. Mian Nawaz Sharif – Will he deliver? What about PTI, Shall they??

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41049

5. The Dying Beauty of Sindh – Time to Act NOW

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41053

6. The Ongoing Crisis: Load Shedding in Pakistan

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41013

7. Obama’s Failures in Afghanistan

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=40996

8. The New CM urges civil, military leadership to settle Balochistan issues

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=40870

9. Dangerously Overloaded Transports: The Plight of the World Beyond Borders [1 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=40832

10. Dangerously Overloaded Transports: The Plight of the World Beyond Borders [2 of 2]

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=40874

11. A sad day: Attack on Quaid Residency, Ziarat

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41170

12. Bombing our history

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41192

13. Balochistan: Between Culprits; the Accomplices

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41213

14. Bite the bullet or wait for Godot

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41259

15. Turkey’s Progress Threatened by Far Left and Far Right

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41289

16. آئن سٹائن تے اوہدی بیوی

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41400

17. Don’t Try to Arrest the Sea: Create Islands of Peace

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41418

18. The New SAVAK in Pakistan 1/3

http://wondersofpakistan.com/?p=41434

In addition to the title of each post which is linked to the post itself (hover your mouse over the title and click), have given also the respective URL’s. If the title doesn’t work, you may copy paste the URL in your search bar and you will likewise reach the desired post.

Plz go though content of your choice. As always I would be glad to have your brief, review or comment (or even a note of dissent).

Nayyar

http://wondersofpakistan.com/

2012-08-18T16:43:00.000+05:00

We wish all our readers, a very happy Eid-ul- Fitr. May Allah Almighty bless you all with success, happiness and an enjoyable life. Amen.

Source

2012-08-12T14:26:00.000+05:00

ROHINGIYA MUSLIMS:WHERE IS UMMAH, IF THERE'S ONE THERE?

by Dr Raja M Khan

According to a statement issued from the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Mr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the world largest Muslim organization has finally decided to despatch a fact-finding mission to Myanmar (Burma). The mission will find out the substantiation of the reports about the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State of Myanmar.

Through a delayed action, the OIC mission will meet the Myanmar Government, which itself is the part of this ethnic cum religious cleansing and mass massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. The Secretary General of this Muslim organization has also expressed his concern on the massacre. He also expressed his disappointment over the response of international community.

Indeed, neither international community nor global human rights organizations, have responded over this cruel killing of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

It is worth noting that, Burmese Muslims, commonly known as Rohingya Muslims, are mostly inhabitant of Arakan state, located in the western Burma. Historically they settled in this part of the world in 7th and 8th centuries from Arabia. Myanmar Government however, claims that these Muslims settled in Myanmar during British Colonialism. Nevertheless, they had the legal status of Burmese minority until 1970s.

Later in 1980s, through a constitutional amendment, the Military Junta of the country declared them as non-Burmese. According to the data provided by the Myanmar Government, approximately 800,000 Rohingya Muslims lives in the country forming 4% of the Burma's total population. However, according to un-official figures, the total Muslim population is more than double the government estimates.

Burmese security forces have failed to protect Arakan and Rohingya Mslims, and unleashed a campaign of violence against the Rohingya. PHOTO: REUTERS

Since 1970s, the Military rulers of Myanmar have started gradual exploitation of the Muslim population. This includes; denial of their personal and religious freedom and fundamental rights, human rights violations, refusal to issue them ID cards, denial of property rights, education and health facilities, bar on their employments, extortion and other coercive measures. These inhuman acts forced thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee to the neighbouring countries like; Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia etc, where too, they were treated badly.

Now Bangladesh has even stopped their entrance in to the country, mainly because of its own problems and fearing of flood of Burmese Muslims, being the nearest neighbourhood. After 9/11, the persecution of Rohingya Muslims has increased many folds. In 2009, the fleeing Rhingya Muslims on five boats in Thai sea were forced to sink in storm.

In the current phase (starting from June 2012) of Rhingya Muslims massacre, Burmese Buddhists in collaboration with their security forces have unleashed, unprecedented terrorism on this ill-fated Muslim population.

Independent sources did not mention any particular reasons for the massacre, except that, on provocation of their Monks, the Burmese Buddhists planned and executed the Muslims in various parts of the Arakan state; indeed, an intolerance for the Muslims in Buddhist dominant country.

Independent sources say that, on June 3, 2012, hundred of Buddhists attacked and slaughtered eight Muslims returning to Rangoon in a bus after visiting a Mosque in the Arakan province. An eyewitness narrates that, after killing these Muslims, the culprits were celebrating triumph spitting and tossing wine and alcohol on the dead bodies lying on the road. These innocent people have been killed like animals."

After having seen some of the recent videos and pictures of these brutal killings of the Burmese Muslims, one wonders, as Burmese Buddhists are really human beings or wild creature and is this message of peace, Lord Buddha gave them. ----
They have crossed all limits of being merciless. During the current wave of terrorism, Buddhists have killed thousands of the Rhingya Muslims cold bloodedly. Some insiders claim that number of killings could be as much as 20,000.

According to a report of London based human rights organization, Equal Rights Trust, â€œThe military has (of late) become more actively involved in committing acts of violence and other abuses against the Rohingya including killings and mass arrests.â€ Military choppers of Burmese Army were seen by independent sources, while killing the Muslim refugees, who tried to flee on boats.

Indeed, Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch have protested that instead of stopping the violence by the Rakhine gangs, the Burmese military has joined them in killing, setting thousands of homes on fire and conducting mass arrests of Muslims. President Thein Sein, lately being lionized by the West as a reformer, has a simple solution to the problem: Expel all the Rohingya or turn them over to the UN as refugees!

After this discriminatory statement of Burmese President, there remains no doubt that, this massacre is indeed state sponsored and executed by Burmese Army and police, keeping fanatic Buddhists in the forefront.

According to a New York based Human Rights Watch report, Myanmar security forces openly fired on Rohingya Muslims, committed rape and stood by to watch the Buddhists killing Muslims. According to this organization, Myanmar security forces have, unleashed a campaign of violence and mass roundups against the Rohingya.

After the recent genocide of the Burmese Muslims, even United Nations considers that, Rohingya Muslims are one of the world's most persecuted minorities. Since all acts of torturing, killing, inflicting physical pain and causing mental harm to any human being or group/ community fall under the category of criminal acts punishable under international law. Therefore, UN resolution 96 (I) dated 11 December 1946 declares, agenocide, whether committed in time of peace or war, is a crime under international law, and that all signatories of UN convention will cooperate to prevent genocide in order to liberate the mankind from such an odious scourge.

Regrettably, neither UNO nor the civilized world of 21^st century has initiated any action or raised voice against this worst human massacre in Burma. All major world human rights organizations are silent, despite watching the horrific videos and pictures of this unprecedented genocide of Muslims at the hands of Buddhist terrorists. So much so, the Myanmar Pro-democracy western darling, Aung San Suu Kyi, did not condemn these acts of brutal killings of the Muslims by Burmese military and the Buddhist terrorist.

This Nobel Prize winner said in a press conference in London that, â€œethnic conflict plaguing the countryâ€ should be investigated and â€œdealt with wisdom.â€ She also believes that this Muslim community should be pulled out from the country.

Though Amnesty International has demanded the Myanmar Government and the Parliament to amend or repeal the 1982 Citizenship Law, so that, Rohingyas should get citizenship of a country, where they have lived for centuries. However, this is unlikely to happen. The reason is obvious, the Burmese Military Junta, the Buddhist Monks, civilian populace and political parties appears to be unanimous on this aspect that, Rhingyas Muslims should be pulled out from Myanmar.

UN Charter guarantees the basic right to live to all human beings. Rhingyas Muslims are living in Myanmar since centuries. How can they be dislodged from this country and which other country in the world will accept them as its citizens, if not acceptable to Myanmar. United Nations and international community should be concerned over this intimate question.

Should not UNO, US; the sole super power and civilized international community ask Myanmar Government to protect life and property of Rohingyas Muslims? Should not there be UNSC or UNGA emergency session over this Muslim massacre. Had there been any other religious entity affected 5% of this massacre, there would have been outcry all over the globe with possible UN (US) humanitarian intervention by now.

Since US, EU and all major global players have their interests in Myanmar, thus, no one would like to displease the current ruling Junta, which is all set to bring democratic reforms, desired by USA and West.

Indeed, these powers have their interests in the hydrocarbon and other natural resources of the Myanmar. On its part, Myanmar rulers found this as the most convenient time to unleash reign of terror on the Muslims of Burma. Myanmar Government is fully conscious that, this is the most appropriate time to do that, as the so-called western and U.S human rights organizations will be mum along with their Governments.

Nevertheless, the blood of Muslims is on sale, thus, everyone can shed it. After massacre of thousands of Muslims in Myanmar, the OIC has now decided to send a fact-finding mission. Amazingly, together with rest of the world, Muslim Ummah has become insensitive too, which is a real tragedy.
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Pakistan: New Generation Looks for Change

2012-08-11T01:14:00.001+05:00

Pakistan: New Generation Looks for Change

by Dr Mahboob A Khawaja

Allah does not change the condition of people unless first they change themselves.” (Al-Qura’an, Surah Al-Raad).

The challenge of time is clear that the new educated and creative generation of the young Pakistanis should take initiatives to clean the filthy political mess and evolve new pubic institutions, new political systems to set-in a new culture of change and development to facilitate ANEW BEGINNING – ANEW FUTURE.

***

In a knowledge drive global culture of change and human development, progressive nations enthusiastically search for new ideas, people, talents, creative plans and innovative methods to reconstruct the old and obsolete, and rebuild rotten systems and infrastructures with new zeal and ambitions for a new and better future. It is the future that most economically and industrialized competitive nations are geared to imagine and actualize in their national perceptions and economic and political strategic priorities. Alas, Pakistan was victimized by its own egomaniac military and political elite to derail its economic and political advancements for the best of its people.

This traumatic chapter of the history of Pakistan has not been addressed in its proper context. All the time, the so called hourly paid thinkers and political activists sideline the real problems facing the nation. Many could well be bought and bribed by the foreigners to camouflage the truth. For almost half of the century, the Generals and their by-products: Bhuttos- Zardaris-Sharifs and Chaudrais have contributed nothing positive to advance the progressive change and development goals of the nation. Economic developments, open trades and social emancipation take shape where creativity and freedom of thoughts and actions are welcomed. As a result, the society develops. No intelligent businessman would ever invest in a society governed by military Generals or fake political figures pretending to be the political masters.

Nations and freedom are articulated and enhanced not by the Generals but rational thinkers, intellectuals and dedicated political leaders, Pakistan had none since Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali died. The educated generations look for new opportunities to encompass economic and political development, motivation and leadership role models. None is there to assist and encourage the ambitious new generations of Pakistanis to pursue an integrated promising future.

Rationally speaking, Pakistan is destabilized and dehumanized by its own wicked and ignorant Generals and their operative so called politicians who lacked understanding of the ideology of the Muslim nation. The culture, intellect and values these military and political elite follow are foreign to the genius of the people of Pakistan. They were all born out of the British colonial culture.

We define ideology and concepts to give clear meaning and purpose for understanding and role-play, discarding the abstract assumptions to vital topics of human interest and values. Pakistan appears to have its ennobling enemies within itself and daily death tolls and societal destruction provide ample data to think of the growing despotism and politically geared domestic madness to undo the foundation of its existence. Recently, Allama Mohammad Iqbal’s 133 birthday was celebrated across the nation. Dr. Mohmmad Iqbal, the poet and philosopher of the East, was not just an imminent scholar but a visionary leader and political reformer of the Muslim nation that had lost sense of political direction, and moral and intellectual identity and lived under the continued subjugation of British imperialism.

His vision for the rebirth of the Muslim Ummah was not subjective but an objective movement and a passionate goal of political freedom for the confused Muslims of the colonial India into an Islamic State of Pakistan. Those celebrating the Iqbal’s birthday, were they conscious of what Iqbal had envisioned of the Muslim people and their freedom from the colonial rule vis-à-vis what Pakistan is today? Not sure, if majority of those involved in the festive activities knew who Iqbal was and what his mission was for the future of the Muslims in British occupied India.

Imagine, if Mohmamad Ali Jinnah and Iqbal were alive today, would they have identified themselves as nationals of the contemporary Pakistan? Objectively, there is nothing common between the Pakistan of today, and what those leaders had envisioned to free the believing people from the yoke of Hindu-dominated colonial India operating under the British sovereignty.

Alarming rates of domestic and foreign generated bloody conflicts –the “war on terrorism” have sucked up the resources of the poverty stricken nation for change and development goals. The military leaders and the politicians are ignorant of the consequences of such catastrophic engagements. The nation lives in great discord under corrupt political governance as it slipped away from its original roots of the ideological THINKING to encounter the emerging political challenges of the contemporary 21st century world. Islam, the real lifeline and identity of the Muslims, has been denied its rightful place in the working of institutions and governance of Pakistan. If Islam is not the point of reference for the Muslims, then what else would be relevant and rational to make sense for the existence of the nation?

Another major setback seems to be that after the death of Sheikh Abu-ul-Alla Moudoodi, Pakistani political institutions failed to produce an Islamic thinker and visionary to assume the leadership role. Emerging conflicts expose divergent challenges that Pakistan appears incapable to deal with.

The “war on terrorism” is a planned menace to human growth and survival. The US led war will consume all the wealth and resources of the Muslim people and instigate reactionary extremism and sectarian killings within the Muslims and make them redundant for any useful role in global affairs. Realism points out that once again the entire Christian world has been united to pursue the Crusade against Islam. The wars on terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and Pakistan are the net result of this strategic plan. Across the Muslim world, there is no Sultan Salahudeen to challenge and defeat the Western crusaders. All the contemporary rulers across the Muslim world are subservient to the American and European political masters.

If the Muslim rulers failed to grasp this overwhelming fact of the global politics, it is their mental sickness and absurdity. Those thinking people of the Muslim world questioning the rationality of the “war on terrorism” are dubbed as “Islamists”, insurgent fighting against the Western interests and “terrorists.”

A decade earlier, Pakistan was identified as a “failed state.” After the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan was sought as a “friend” and “partner” in fighting the US led war. According to the US strategic plan, Pakistan is now the most dangerous country hatching terrorism. In the process, Pakistani nation has been victimized by the foreign mercenaries, causing daily bloodbaths of innocent civilian population engulfed with sectarian violence, destroyed businesses and trades and installing corrupt political elite to wage war against their own people.

The US bought and bribed the Pakistan Generals and politicians to achieve this strategic goal. Pakistan lives on borrowed money and foreign aid as it owes some $70 billions to the World Bank. Its economy is underdeveloped, its masses live in primitive ways devoid of modern luxuries and most often deprived of the basic human needs and amenities of life. No nation has ever developed its economy based on borrowed money and foreign scheme of things to their culture and values. Nobody can justifiably explain where these loans of $70 billion dollars were spent in the interest of Pakistani nation and their development priorities.

Few corrupt rulers have encroached the rights and freedom of the people and Pakistan survives under neo-colonialism. After more than 63 years of freedom from the British colonial rule, Pakistanis continue to be an impoverished nation always wanting foreign aid for its meager survival. One major factor which made defining impact was the role of intelligent and visionary leadership and development of public institutions to build the nation’s capacity in economic and politics to further the goals of change and development. Pakistani society has not produced any proactive visionary leaders to lead the nation into the 21st century.

The nation appears at moral and intellectuals crossroads. Prevalent corruption has darkened the insights of the thinking people. Even some of the most educated and intelligent ones cannot THINK out of the box. Whereas, able and educated Pakistanis look for escape from reality and are rushing to migrate to foreign lands. Consequently, Pakistan is run by ignorant, corrupt and cruel people who have nothing common in thoughts and values with the Muslim masses. Was this the meaning and purpose of the Pakistan’s ideology dear to Iqbal and Jinnah?

Out of its life span since the independence, more than forty years were stolen by the military Generals and the remaining time is exploited by the military generated politicians and the feudal lords, all owing allegiance to the foreign masters. General Musharaf was rewarded for his loyalty to the US policies and practices by killing thousands of fellow Pakistanis and transforming others as reactionary "terrorists" to enrich the US databank and lives happily in a $1.4 million mansion in London under 24/7 security extended by the British Government.
　
With stolen wealth from Pakistan, dead Benazir Bhutto family and Zardari own many splendid palaces in Dubai, Paris, UK and Switzerland. The current rulers of the PPP Zardari-Bhutto gang are the wrong people, with wrong thinking, wrong policies actively following the US led agenda to dismantle Pakistan. The on-going "war on terrorism" is the means to achieve that goal.

Most in the political governance are corrupt and uneducated people. Had Iqbal and Jinnah lived so long, would they have liked to identify themselves with these liars and indicted criminals as Pakistani nationals?

Islam is a divine force of human UNITY, not division and destruction. It unites the diverse humanity as One People-Ummah, whereas, the non-believers divide, exploit and kill the mankind. Visionary thinkers and reformers are always few to forbid the evil and invite the people towards goodness. Often true benefactors of mankind are wrongfully identified and labelled as "insurgents" and "terrorists" but they are always determined in their pursuit of revulsion against the evil and wickedness. Wicked people deceive nobody except themselves.

Zardari-Bhuttos, Sharifs and the Generals are the dead entries of the past, not the leaders to carve a new future. Pakistan NEEDS change and visionary leadership to rebuild its national foundation, lost capacity of national freedom, economic and social developments, its freedom from foreign coercion and exploitation and to have a sustainable future of its own.

Future belongs to the people, not to the indicted criminals. The nation has been dubbed into a box and appears unable to get rid of the corrupt Generals, Bhuttos-Zardarsi-Sharifs and so many others sucking out the energies and socio-economic lifelines of the nation. Legal judgments would not change the mindset and behaviors of the criminals.

Rotten things stink and they must be washed away. Allah has promised to change the conditions of the besieged people to favorable future if they wanted a change and are actively engaged to make it happen: "Allah does not change the condition of people unless first they change themselves." (Al-Qura’an, Surah Al-Raad).

The challenge of time is clear that the new educated and creative generation of the young Pakistanis should take initiatives to clean the filthy political mess and evolve new pubic institutions, new political systems to set-in a new culture of change and development to facilitate
A NEW BEGINNING – A NEW FUTURE.
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A Threatened Global Catastrophe

2012-07-25T22:03:00.000+05:00

A THREATENED GLOBAL CATASTROPHE

by John Scales Avery

Possibly as early as this autumn, Israel may start a large-scale war in the Middle East and elsewhere by bombing Iran. The consequences are unforeseeable, but there are several ways in which the conflict could escalate into a nuclear war, particularly if the US supports the Israeli attack, and if Pakistan, Russia and China become involved.

Why is the threat especially worrying? Because of the massive buildup of US naval forces in the Persian Gulf. Because of a recent incident in which a US Navy ship fired on an unarmed Indian fishing boat, killing one person and injuring three others (small incidents have often escalated into large-scale wars). Because of Benjamin Netanyahu's rush to blame Iran for the Bulgarian bus explosion, before any evidence was available. Because of Netanyahu's government's stated intention to attack Iran, despite opposition from the people of Israel. Because of President Obama's declarations of unconditional support for Israel; and because Pakistan, a nuclear power, would probably enter the war on the side of Iran.

Most probably, a military attack on Iran by Israel would provoke an Iranian missile attack on Tel Aviv, and Iran might also close the Strait of Hormuz. The probable response of the US would be to bomb Iranian targets, such as shore installations on the Persian Gulf. That might well provoke Iran to sink one or more US ships by means of rockets, and if that should happen, the US public would demand massive retaliation against Iran.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, the unpopularity of the US-Israel alliance, as well as the memory of numerous attrocities, might lead to the overthrow of Pakistan's less-than-stable government. Israel's response might be a preemptive nuclear attack on Pakistan's nuclear installations. One reads that Russia has already prepared for the conflict by massing troops and armaments in Armenia, and China may also be drawn into the conflict.

In this tense situation, there would be a danger that a much larger nuclear exchange could occur because of a syystems failure or because of an error of judgement by a military or political leader. A large-scale nuclear war would be a global environmental disaster, damaging agriculture throughout the world, spreading dangerous and long-lasting radioactive contamination, and resulting in hundreds of millions of deaths, also in neutral countries.

Can we not avoid this threatened disaster by refusing to follow the suicidal and perhaps genocidal whims of Netanyahu and his government? In the film “Dr. Strangelove”, global disaster was caused by the insanity of a person in a position of power. Perhaps today, that insane person is Benjamin Netanyahu.

John Scales Avery is a theoretical chemist noted for his research publications in quantum chemistry, thermodynamics, evolution, and history of science. Since the early 1990s, Avery has been an active World peace activist. During these years, he was part of a group associated with the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. In 1995, this group received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts. Presently, he is an Associate Professor in quantum chemistry at the University of Copenhagen

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The “Zero-Influence” Policy!

2012-07-24T20:20:00.000+05:00

Clinton’s motorcade was pelted with shoes (a cultural expression of ultimate disrespect), tomatoes and rotten eggs. The following day similar anti-US demonstrations were held outside the US Consulate in Alexandria. Among the many placards carried by the demonstrators, one read “America’s Zero-Influence in Egypt,” and another said “Egypt is not Pakistan.”worse.

by Dr. Haider Mehdi

“Washington’s view is that only Washington, no one else, has a sphere of influence, and Washington’s sphere of influence is the entire world.” Paul Craig Roberts, “War On All Fronts”
Recently, Egyptian political activists, nearly half-a-million of them, gathered outside the hotel in Cairo where Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, was staying, to protest against her visit to Egypt. This huge and impressive gathering’s agenda was to tell Secretary Clinton: “You are not welcome in Cairo” and “America: do not interfere in the internal affairs of Egypt.”

Later, Clinton’s motorcade was pelted with shoes (a cultural expression of ultimate disrespect), tomatoes and rotten eggs. The following day similar anti-US demonstrations were held outside the US Consulate in Alexandria. Among the many placards carried by the demonstrators, one read “America’s Zero-Influence in Egypt,” and another said “Egypt is not Pakistan.”

It is amusing that Egyptian political activists used Pakistan’s analogy in expressing their rage and anger to the extent of US interference in the internal affairs of a nation. Notwithstanding the emotions and the hurt involved by this analogy with Pakistan, there is a fundamental element of truth and political correctness in the perceptual outlook of the Egyptian demonstrators. After all, the facts are that Pakistan has been virtually a US “satellite” state and stigmatized as an American “client” nation for over six decades. Pakistanis need not to be emotionally disturbed over the public insults hurled at them in a foreign country and carried all over the world by the international media. We have no one else to blame but ourselves.

Let us remind ourselves that Egypt’s January 2011 revolution was inspired at the grass-roots level and the July 2012 protests in Cairo and Alexandria are a continuum of the same public political expression to democratize the country and get rid of foreign influence and external intervention in their affairs. For Pakistan and its masses, there are lessons to be learned from the Egyptian public uprising against their own ruling class and its intrinsic links with foreign powers, most specifically the US and its allies in Western Europe.

For its future survival and national solidarity, Pakistan will have to adopt a “Zero-Influence” policy in regards to US interference and intervention in its domestic and foreign affairs. Such a political discourse will not get off the ground unless a massive grass-roots public movement and uprising is set into nation-wide political action. Behind closed doors, US meddling in Pakistan’s internal affairs is reaching dangerous proportions, threatening Pakistan’s existence as a nation.

Muhammed Abdul Hameed, a Pakistani columnist who posts his Urdu articles on a blog, in a recent write up entitled “Who is behind all this and why?,” contends that Asfandar Yar, the ANP leader, travelled to Washington on an American invitation for a three-week top-secret mission prior to the 2007 elections.

The American agenda was to bring him on board to carve out a new country by joining the Khyber province and tribal areas (Fata) and later include the “Pashto” speaking areas from Afghanistan in this new “Pakhtun” nation. The ANP leader agreed to the American plans and his government was installed in the NWFP with the explicit purpose of creating a “Pakhtun” state. Though the American -ANP plans failed, Asfandar Yar was able to rename the NWFP as “Pakhtunkhwa.”

Eric Draister, in the profoundly analytical article “Balochistan – crossroads of a proxy US war,” convincingly argues that the US geo-political interests, world-wide capitalistic objectives, containment of China’s rising financial-industrial power and Russia’s re-emergence as a powerful adversary in global politics are the reasons behind the current unrest in Balochistan: “… unrest in Balochistan centers around forced disappearances, kidnappings, targeted killings, assassinations and terrorism. However, these are merely the tactics of a much broader, more geopolitically complex war in which the United States and its Western allies are engaged… Balochistan is, in fact, a nexus: the point at which diametrically opposing strategic interests converge.”

The US understands Balochistan’s strategic location in the context of its future geo-political interests. It weighs its natural resources and the need to exploit them for its own riches. It is in the interest of the US to destabilize Balochistan and carve a new country in this area for its 21st century doctrine of a New World Order. Draister argues that “The United States views Balochistan, an area that encompasses western Pakistan, eastern Iran, and a piece of southern Afghanistan, as critical to the maintenance of US hegemony in the Middle East and Central and South Asia.” Consequently, in view of the US determination to push for its global agenda, the political stake for Pakistan and its national existence is under serious threat.

However, both Hameed and Draister, are in agreement that the US has flawed in its comprehension of the extent of “nationalism” at the grass-roots of Pakistani society. They also contend that America has failed in understanding the Pakistani military’s ability, resourcefulness and absolute resolve to safeguard and protect the territorial integrity of the nation.

But “nationalism” and a disciplined army is not enough to safeguard Pakistan’s future survival. What is vital is to translate and convert nationalist sentiments into a powerful and aggressively proactive, versatile, organized and progressive political movement to strike at the heart of this nation’s problematic: the removal of the traditional ruling elite and incumbent political “Mafia” from the seats of political power in the country. It is they who facilitate American influence and it is they who are responsible for the disastrous political course on which this nation is being pushed.

A new generation of leadership is required in this nation to keep it out of harm’s way. A leadership that can mobilize the entire nation towards a distinctively constructive political discourse: a democratic, social-welfare focused state, free of foreign influence, self-resilient, independent and above all morally-ethically informed to manage themselves and their state apparatus for national-political decision-making – short of that, we are likely to fail in a viable state-building process.

As a beginning to a people’s mass mobilization movement, Imran Khan’s PTI’s late September plans for a hundred-thousand people’s peace march to Wazirstan is an auspicious initiative. Let the American-Nato atrocities against the peaceful and innocent citizens of Pakistan be exposed. Let the entire world know that the US-West’s so-called “terrorism war” is a hoax – a pretext for the US-West’s selfish, inhumane, immoral-unethical approach to global politics.

Hopefully, the PTI’s march will be ostensibly organized to prove to the Americans and their allies that a substantial percentage of Pakistanis believe them to be unsound in their global policies and want them to be gone from this part of the world –permanently.

Never mind the Egyptian insult – it is time to learn a few lessons from them!
Let us find political solutions to Balochistan’s political problematics ourselves – and soon.
Let us start with a US “Zero-Influence” policy!

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An American Motto

2012-07-24T17:58:00.000+05:00

A man prays during a vigil for victims behind a theater where a gunman opened fire in Aurora, Colorado, USA.

FREE, ARMED AND STUPID

An Analysis by Lawrence Davidson

PART I – GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC CONTINUES

Well here we go again. Late in the evening of July 20th “a masked gunman entered a Colorado movie theater playing the new Batman movie and “opened fire…killing at least 12 people and wounding 50.” The gunman was not a large anthropomorphized bat but rather a young white male, and he “was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and two handguns” all of which he had legally obtained.

This is nothing new in the Land Of The Free. Among the more notable victims of the nation’s love affair with deadly weapons have been Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan and, of course, John Lennon. Then there are the recent (and periodically on-going) mass murders among the population at large: the Colombine High School shootings, the Beltway sniper incidents, the Virginia Tech massacre, and the 2011 Tucson killings. To this can be added the daily shootings that occur in every city in the country. Taking the representative year 2007, there were 31,224 deaths from gunshots with 17,352 of them (56%) being suicides. The numbers have, generally, been going up.

PART II – THE GUN ADVOCATES’ EXCUSES

Those who stand against tightening up the nation’s presently useless gun laws have a variety of arguments most of which are in good part delusional. Thus:

1. EXCUSE NUMBER ONE – Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.

a. It is certainly true that while sitting on a shelf, locked in a draw, or carried in a holster, guns are inert pieces of machinery and, ultimately, it takes a finger to pull the trigger. Yet this fact is actually irrelevant. It’s irrelevant because guns are not manufactured to stay on shelves, in draws or holsters. That inert status has nothing to do with why the exist. So, we can go on and ask,

People grieve during vigil for victims behind the theater where a gunman opened fire in Aurora, Colo.

b. Why are guns manufactured? Why do they exist? Primitive firearms were invented in China sometime in the 12th century. They were invented to be used in warfare, that is to kill and injure other people. As the technology spread Westward, first into the Arab lands and then to Europe, the technology was improved, but its raison d’etre (its reason for being), to kill and injure others. stayed the same. The only thing that has changed over time is that in certain lands, particularly the U.S., a monopoly on the possession of such weapons ceased to be held by the state and guns diffused into the population as a whole.

In the United States, this process of diffusion was allowed based on a peculiar interpretation of Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. That amendment says that the right of the citizens to bear arms shall not be infringed. But that statement forms a dependent clause in a sentence that links the right to bear arms to the maintenance of “a well regulated militia.” Apart from the National Guard, the modern U.S. does not maintain militias. And, most of the membership of the National Rifle Association (NRA), along with the other gun-toting tough guys walking the streets of (particularly) the mid and southern U.S., don’t even belong to National Guard.

People grieve during vigil for the victims of Aurora theater shooting.

c. The hard truth is that guns were originally invented, and still today are primarily made, to shoot people. Their other uses: in hunting, to shoot holes in paper targets, to blast clay projectiles out of the air for fun, are strictly secondary to their primary purpose.

A girl rests her head on the shoulder of her friend during vigil for the victims in Aurora, Colo.

A girl rests her head on the shoulder of her friend during vigil for A girl rests her head on the shoulder of her friend during vigil for the victims in Aurora, Colo. the victims in Aurora, Colo.

d. So the argument that guns don’t kill people is a-historical and something of a red herring. Guns are essentially our partners, intimate accessories if you will, in what is most often criminal activity, facilitating the efficiency of acts of homicide, assault and suicide. At the rate we pursue these activities, we just couldn’t maintain the modern level of mayhem without them.

Brendon Hutchinson, 11, of Aurora, Colo., sits at an intersection north of the Century 16 theater in Aurora.

2. EXCUSE NUMBER TWO – Guns are most often used for self-defense.

a. If you go on the web, you can find surveys that allege the use of guns for self-defense numbering in the millions of episodes per year. However, these surveys are often carried out by biased organizations and are methodologically flawed. They have therefore been demonstrated to be unreliable.

b. More reliable studies, conducted by unbiased sources such as Harvard University, have shown, among other things, that: very few criminals are shot by law-abiding citizens; most criminals are shot either by the police, or by other criminals; and firearms reported to have been used in self-defense are, most of the time, used against members of a family or erstwhile friends during arguments.

Along the same lines, the statement concerning the Colorado theater massacre issued by Luke O’Dell, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners association, reflected the misconception that the answer to gun violence is more guns: “Potentially, if there had been a law-abiding citizen who had been able to carry [a gun] in the theater [in Colorado], it’s possible that the death toll would have been less.” One might more plausibly argue that if the shooter had not been able to procure a rifle, a shotgun and two handguns “to carry” into the theater, the death toll would have been zero.

PART III – THE PROBLEM OF LOBBY POWER

It does not matter how many times these massacres take place. Nothing is likely to change. Here is what an article entitled “Still Little Interest In U.S. Gun Control” in the Philadelphia Inquirer of 22 July 2012 had to say, “Despite periodic mass shootings…the political calculus seems locked down. Most Republicans adamantly oppose tighter gun controls, and most Democrats would prefer to focus on other issues.” Why so? The reason has to do with a very flawed aspect of our political system. Ours is a system that allows a relatively small number of citizens (in this case gun zealots) to form a special interest, or lobby group, that raises and distributes great amounts of money nationwide and, in some parts of the country, exercises strong voting influence. These lobbies can hold crazy ideas that demonstrably harm society and make us look like an insane nation to the rest of the world, but that doesn’t matter either. The politicians will positively respond anyway to get money and electoral support. In this sense, we live in a land devoid of “national interest.” There is only the interest of lobby groups and the politicians controlled by them.

Nor is this situation unique to the problem of the nation’s gun laws and the power of the NRA. If we look at foreign policy, we see that similar lobbies skew policy with disastrous results. The Zionist lobby has the entire U.S. government head over heels in support of the basically racist state of Israel. And, this position does demonstrable harm to our standing throughout the Middle East and Muslim world. It’s crazy, but it has been going on for at least 65 years. The Cuban lobby of anti-Castro fanatics has intimidated Washington to blockade, sanction and otherwise isolate Cuba even though the rest of the world is content to trade and have normal relations with the island nation. Our politicians say they take this stand because the Cuban government is a communist dictatorship. So what? Do we have normal relations with China? Do we trade with Vietnam? They are obviously being less than truthful. They take the stand because they are bought and bullied by a bunch of well organized, well funded, fanatics. The whole thing is crazy and has been going on since 1960.

PART IV – CONCLUSION

There is simply something wrong with our political system. Too few people can command too much power in the name of relatively small minority groups. We need campaign finance reform and much more transparency when it comes to the operations of special interests. We need shorter electoral periods and limits on how much it can cost to run for any office. We need honest and open regional and national debates on both domestic and foreign policies that affect large numbers of our citizens (whether those citizens know it or not).

And, last but not least, we need a rational rethinking of what the word “freedom” means.

– Does “freedom” mean that just about anyone is free to carry weapons that potentially put the rest of us in danger? Free to carry weapons that are most often going to be used to shoot off the carrier’s foot, or shoot someone he or she imagines is acting abnormally, or shoot a family member in a heated argument, or, in a fit of depression, to blow one’s own brains out? Does it mean that people are free to carry weapons that they may decide to use in an episode of mass murder?

– Does “freedom” mean that if you have a lot of money you can use it to corrupt the nation’s politicians so that they distort the positions and policies of government to such a degree that they cease to have any connection to common sense definitions of community or national interest?

The answer is yes. That is actually what freedom means in the U.S. And these stupid definitions of “freedom” are slowly but surely undermining the body politic. There are no super heroes out there to save us: no Superman, no Batman, no Catwoman, and the like. There is just us. And if we don’t find a way to, in essence, work our way free of the pseudo “freedoms” that are ruining our political system, no one else will. Things will simply get worse.

Lawrence Davidson is a Professor of Middle East History at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. He is the author of America’s Palestine: Popular and Official Perceptions from Balfour to Israeli Statehood (University Press of Florida, 2001), Islamic Fundamentalism (Greenwood Press, 2003), and, co-author with Arthur Goldschmidt of the Concise History of the Middle East, 8th and 9th Editions (Westview Press, 2006 and 2009). His latest book is entitled Foreign Policy, Inc.: Privatizing American National Interest (University of Kentucky Press, 2009). Website: http://www.tothepointanalyses.com

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Can US turn a blind eye to Pakistan's sacrifices in the war on terror?

2012-07-20T17:46:00.000+05:00

PAKISTAN'S ROLE IN WAR AGAINST TERROR

by ICIRR China

Visa-vis the United States, Pakistan's role in its fight against terrorism, is continuously being maligned by the mainstream media in the west. Their main charge; its "labor does not contribute". In other words "ITS NOT DOING ENOUGH", and should, therefore "DO MORE".
Contrary to such mired propaganda, however, since last 10 years Pakistan, in its anti-terrorism drive in the large and the small context has invested more than 10 million troops - arrested and killed more than 400 "base" elements and handed over thousands of extremists, some of them being the top ranking leaders, to the United States, many of whom were the 9/11 suspects including such heavy weights as Khalid Sheikh.

Pakistan has also provided much of the intelligence to the United States, which till now have actually been the most reliable leads US has so far got - leads that enabled US to get bin Laden. Bin Laden was initially traced by Pakistan, and it benefited the US a lot. The information was collected by the Pakistanis which they got from the Palestinians within the terorist groups that were or still are active in undertaking terror related activities.

In doing so Pakistan earned enmity from such groups although these leads entirely benefitted the U.S., whereas Pakistan gained nothing from such leads. These facts can be judged also from the results. United States though did inform the Palestinian, it did not to the Pakistanis, whose country is an ally of the United States. This leads one to conclude: US doesn't view Pakistan as an equal partner, rather to the contrary handles the anti-terrorism operations all to its own benefits, mostly at the cost of Pakistan's interests.

10 YEARS AND PAKISTAN HAS LOST AN ACCUMULATIVE OF $100 BILLIONS IN DIRECT AND INDIRECT ECONOMIC COSTS

According to statistics, Pakistan in its anti-terrorism campaign, during the last 10 years has incurred a cumulative of direct and indirect economic losses of around $ 100 billion, far more than the United States has during this period which is less than $ 20 billion in aid to Pakistan. In these 10 years of terrorism, Pakistan has paid the price in high social and political costs: social development disorder, deteriorating security situation, and tribal peoples' displacement among so many others to name.

As far the United States since 2004 what has been its contribution?? UAV bombing in Pakistan's tribal area, which though has killed more than 1,000 terrorists, yet has resulted in a large number of innocent civilian deaths, stimulating anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, which is a huge Government dilemma.

A tangible coclusion on this Global War on Terrorism:
Pakistan's contribution as a frontline state against terrorism CANNOT BE DENIED.

The U.S. media do not admit their unilateral and biased acts including the violation of territorial sovereignty of Pakistan. On the other hand try to demonize Pakistan blaming the country's slow progress in the war against terror and make Pakistan a scapegoat of their own strategic mistakes. For the intelligence provided by Pakistan to get bin Laden in the anti-terrorism efforts, US has forgotten its anti-terrorism ally, so the Pakistani government is in an awkward position and has fallen into a trap, because the revengeful terrorists are causing now more troubles to the Pakistani side.

U.S. and the western media should do a fair evaluation of Pakistan's anti-terrorism efforts, because its anti-terror front is of international perspective, a perspective especially of regional security and stability than the mere national phenomena for the United States.

Since bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, the U.S. and Western public opinion increased their prpaganda against Pakistan, accusing the country of its halfhearted approach in its anti-terrorism policies, and suspected her of harboring and conniving, with the terrorism oriented groups while taking the credit for everything at the same time against international terrorism. Pakistan has persistently denied the US allegations and stressed its contribution and sacrifices in the war on terror. Indeed, Pakistan as an ally of the United States and as a frontline state against terrorism has done much during all these years and without her cooperation and sacrifice, the west could not have achieved what it indeed has by now.

From strategic point of view, Pakistan has paid enormous cost for the international anti-terrorism efforts and incurred damages in shape of national security interests after the "9/11" incident. Pakistan abandoned the Taliban regime for years, turned to fully cooperate with U.S. anti-terrorism, and has helped the United States in wiping out Afghanistan in a short time, whereby the "base" organization [al-Qaeda] has been forced to flee.

10 YEARS OF FORCES DEPLOYMENT ON WESTERN BORDERS AT THE COST OF HER EASTERN DEFENCE AGAINST INDIA

10 years of moving its bulk forces from its eastern borders with India, Pakistan has deployed more than 1 million strong army and the paramilitary just to suppress the terrorists, and all this at the expense of reducing its forces against traditional strategic priority of containing India within its borders. This is a sincere anti-terrorism policy, rather than what the U.S. and Western media portray as duplicitous. As for the United States, Pentagon sits back comfortably to condone the military expansion in India.

1O YEARS OF DOMESTIC SECURITY COSTS AND LARGE SCALE INSTABILITY

10 years of terrorism and Pakistan has paid a price in terms of serious domestic security costs. On one hand, Pakistan went against history when it sent its troops in the semi-autonomous tribal areas, disturbing the traditional tribal system and the consequent impact of the conflict i.e. a long time bloodied unrest, mayhem and carnage, to an extent that the peace of the past no longer exists.

10 YEARS OF WAR AGAINST TERROR AND PAKISTAN HAS BECOME A HOT BED OF MILITANCY - A MULTIPLE OF TERRORISTS' BOMBINGS, SECTARIAN BLOODSHED AND OTHER EXTREMISTS TURNING THE COUNTRY INTO 'NO LAW, NO ORDER STATE'

10 years war against terror which has triggered the tribal militancy in which the state fighting terrorism feels the situation out of its control. Multiple terrorist bombings and sectarian bloodshed, are making Pakistan into a terrorist and extremist forces easy target, whereby the country is the biggest looser in the U.S's war on terror. On the other hand, ever since Obama came to power, Pakistan's western borders which form the chore of its front against the war on terror, have resulted in serious consequences for the country. The Pakistani army has launched seven major military offensives against the six tribes, leaving only the North Waziristan, an issue which is still to be resolved to help the United States remove a large number of terrorist molecules there. But just think, which country would be willing to turn their land into scorched earth for a war against terrorism. But Pakistan has indeed done so. So how can United States turn a blind eye, to what has Pakistan already sacrificed in its war against terror?

(The author is an associate of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations Research Center on terrorism) (Editor: Li Zhiqiang)
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/14643439.html

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The Pakistan/American Option Strategy

2012-07-19T12:37:00.001+05:00

“In a joint statement Pakistan & Russia have announced that for the benefit of the security and stability in the region, they will synchronize and execute their ‘American option’ to simultaneously close for good southern & northern supply routes to Afghanistan.” After all friends in need are friends indeed.

by Colonel Eugene Khrushchev

Every country has its own peculiarities, but in international affairs, Pakistan stands out as the one and only state that, despite the perennial turmoil in internal affairs and lack of powerful Beltway lobby, has excelled splendidly in exploiting US ‘smart power’ ambitions .

When the US betrayed their staunchest ally, the Shah of Iran, General Zia ul-Haq – unlike Noriega, Hussein, Qaddafi, and Mubarak et al – was the first to conclude that, to count on succor from the White House when push comes to shove, would be a suicidal folly.

Since then, the Pakistani military & intelligence establishment has cracked American secret code of international conduct and pioneered fool-proof formula: ‘If you don’t want to be dispensed with by the US, you gotta be indispensable for the US’. And the best way to do it is to embrace Washington’s agenda and then highjack it.

Though it may look like it’s easier said than done, Islamabad has been doing that without fail for more than 30 years, with ISI gingerly ‘leading from behind’ long before that approach was mistakenly attributed to the most prominent Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

The successive US administrations were hypnotized to believe that they have always had ‘their’ policy on Pakistan & Afghanistan as Petri dish for ‘chaos management’ field testing.

The rude awakening that has yet to come is that America has been recruited on the sly as ‘indispensable’ proxy force for Pakistan’s regional foreign policy and designated annuity& materiel provider for its Armed Forces.

The Pakistani military leadership could have enough wisdom to notice that the time-tested policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ and finesse brinkmanship as American ‘frenemy’ is at the threshold of diminishing returns.

As the intimate kingmaker of US regional policy, Islamabad knows better than any LA shrink, that Washington is a hapless victim of delusion of grandeur:

Always over-promising but underachieving,

a fair-weather friend but a funky foe,

terrific troublemaker but lousy troubleshooter,

mighty nation-breaker but horrendous nation-builder,

democracy promoter but narco-state developer.

As I posited at the international conference in Delhi this year, http://www.rt.com/news/blogs/friendly-fire/us-afghanistan-pakistan-policy/, the question should be not ‘what can America do for Afghanistan?’ but ‘who could extricate America from Afghanistan?’ – Now I have the answer.

Only Pakistan has the ability to bail out the over-stretched Uncle Sam from its Hindu-Kush tar baby.

To accelerate American departure for good without any ‘residual force’, Islamabad could offer Moscow to coordinate their efforts on Afghanistan.

If the White House needs a reality check and a friendly encouragement to boot, this booster could come up in the middle of the night as the following braking news:

“In a joint statement Pakistan & Russia have announced that for the benefit of the security and stability in the region, they will synchronize and execute their ‘American option’ to simultaneously close for good southern & northern supply routes to Afghanistan.”

After all friends in need are friends indeed.

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More from Col. Evgeny Khrushchev on Wonders of Pakistan:

US foreign policy calculated cul-de-sac

Colonel Evgeny Khrushchev, an editor of Veterans Today, is also is the military analyst at Russia Today. Contrary to the family tradition, he didn’t apply for the Pacific Fleet Academy but enrolled in the Red Banner Institute specializing in Central Asian affairs. E.K. is a former PSYOPS officer of the 56th Airborne Assault Brigade in Gardez, Paktia, Afghanistan and later the First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. As says E.K. he is inspired by Chinese strategy, Persian Sufi poetry and British cats; and addicted to Country & Blues..

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Politishuns

2012-07-19T07:39:00.000+05:00

sent by Ali Safdar

2012 is election year in the US, Russia, China. France, Egypt, Mexico, Taiwan, Venezuela, Kuwait and about 30 other countries (may be Pakistan) around the world, so the following quotes are probably worth pondering..?

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.

~Aesop, Greek slave & fable author (Also in Pakistan)

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.

~Plato, ancient Greek Philosopher

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.

~Nikita Khrushchev, Russian Soviet politician

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it.

~Quoted in 'Clarence Darrow for the Defense' by Irving Stone.

Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel.

~John Quinton, American actor/writer

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.

~Oscar Ameringer, "the Mark Twain of American Socialism."

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn.
AND
The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.

~P.J. O'Rourke, American comedian

I offered my opponents a deal: "if they stop telling lies about me, I will stop telling the truth about them".

~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952..

A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.

~Texas Guinan. 19th century American businessman

I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

~Charles de Gaulle, French general & politician

Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.

~Doug Larson (English middle-distance runner who won gold medals at
the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, 1902-1981)

The problem with political jokes is they get elected.

~ Variously attributed to Will Rogers and George Bernard Shaw

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War On All Fronts

2012-07-19T00:02:00.001+05:00

WASHINGTON SETTING THE STAGE FOR WAR

by Paul Craig Roberts

The Russian government has finally caught on that its political opposition is being financed by the US taxpayer-funded National Endowment for Democracy and other CIA/State Department fronts in an attempt to subvert the Russian government and install an American puppet state in the geographically largest country on earth, the one country with a nuclear arsenal sufficient to deter Washington’s aggression.

Just as earlier this year Egypt expelled hundreds of people associated with foreign-funded “non-governmental organizations” (NGOs) for “instilling dissent and meddling in domestic policies,” the Russian Duma (parliament) has just passed a law that Putin is expected to sign that requires political organizations that receive foreign funding to register as foreign agents. The law is based on the US law requiring the registration of foreign agents.

Much of the Russian political opposition consists of foreign-paid agents, and once the law passes leading elements of the Russian political opposition will have to sign in with the Russian Ministry of Justice as foreign agents of Washington. The Itar-Tass News Agency reported on July 3 that there are about 1,000 organizations in Russia that are funded from abroad and engaged in political activity. Try to imagine the outcry if the Russians were funding 1,000 organizations in the US engaged in an effort to turn America into a Russian puppet state. (In the US the Russians would find a lot of competition from Israel.)

The Washington-funded Russian political opposition masquerades behind “human rights” and says it works to “open Russia.” What the disloyal and treasonous Washington-funded Russian “political opposition” means by “open Russia” is to open Russia for brainwashing by Western propaganda, to open Russia to economic plunder by the West, and to open Russia to having its domestic and foreign policies determined by Washington.

“Non-governmental organizations” are very governmental. They have played pivotal roles in both financing and running the various “color revolutions” that have established American puppet states in former constituent parts of the Soviet Empire. NGOs have been called “coup d’etat machines,” and they have served Washington well in this role. They are currently working in Venezuela against Chavez.

Of course, Washington is infuriated that its plans for achieving hegemony over a country too dangerous to attack militarily have been derailed by Russia’s awakening, after two decades, to the threat of being politically subverted by Washington-financed NGOs. Washington requires foreign-funded organizations to register as foreign agents (unless they are Israeli funded). However, this fact doesn’t stop Washington from denouncing the new Russian law as “anti-democratic,” “police state,” blah-blah. Caught with its hand in subversion, Washington calls Putin names. The pity is that most of the brainwashed West will fall for Washington’s lies, and we will hear more about “gangster state Russia.”

China is also in Washington’s crosshairs. China’s rapid rise as an economic power is perceived in Washington as a dire threat. China must be contained. Obama’s US Trade Representative has been secretly negotiating for the last 2 or 3 years a Trans Pacific Partnership, whose purpose is to derail China’s natural economic leadership in its own sphere of influence and replace it with Washington’s leadership.

Washington is also pushing to form new military alliances in Asia and to establish new military bases in the Philippines, S. Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

Washington quickly inserted itself into disputes between China and Vietnam and China and the Philippines. Washington aligned with its former Vietnamese enemy in Vietnam’s dispute with China over the resource rich Paracel and Spratly islands and with the Philippines in its dispute with China over the resource rich Scarborough Shoal.

Thus, like England’s interference in the dispute between Poland and National Socialist Germany over the return to Germany of German territories that were given to Poland as World War I booty, Washington sets the stage for war.

China has been cooperative with Washington, because the offshoring of the US economy to China was an important component in China’s unprecedented high rate of economic development. American capitalists got their short-run profits, and China got the capital and technology to build an economy that in another 2 or 3 years will have surpassed the sinking US economy. Jobs offshoring, mistaken for free trade by free market economists, has built China and destroyed America.

Washington’s growing interference in Chinese affairs has convinced China’s government that military countermeasures are required to neutralize Washington’s announced intentions to build its military presence in China’s sphere of influence. Washington’s view is that only Washington, no one else, has a sphere of influence, and Washington’s sphere of influence is the entire world.

On July 14 China’s official news agency, Xinhua, said that Washington was interfering in Chinese affairs and making China’s disputes with Vietnam and the Philippines impossible to resolve.

It looks as if an over-confident US government is determined to have a three-front war: Syria, Lebanon, and Iran in the Middle East, China in the Far East, and Russia in Europe. This would appear to be an ambitious agenda for a government whose military was unable to occupy Iraq after nine years or to defeat the lightly-armed Taliban after eleven years, and whose economy and those of its NATO puppets are in trouble and decline with corresponding rising internal unrest and loss of confidence in political leadership. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/pew-study-finds-steep-declines-in-faith-in-politicians-and-capitalism-a-844127.html

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Dreamless in Kohlu

2012-07-18T12:31:00.001+05:00

THE STORY OF

A GIFTED BALOCH KID

by Salman Rashid

March 2010, eleven year-old Shahdad Marri could not comprehend the question regarding what he wanted to be when he grew up. I rephrased and asked what work he would like to do as a man. “I will do whatever work I can get,” he said.

Surely, there was something he would like to do. Like being a doctor or an engineer, I pressed. Shahdad silently shook his head staring straight at me with his pellucid brown eyes.

“Surely, you have a dream of being someone when you grow up?” I tried again. What he said is a stab into the soul of all of us who call ourselves Pakistani. It is enough to make us hang our heads in shame.

“I have no dream so far,” Shahdad said with heart-wrenching simplicity. “I have no dream so far.” His exact words: “Abhi tuk koi khwab nahi hai.”

In its sixty-third year, Pakistan had failed to give dreams to Shahdad Khan Marri. If truth be told, we gave him only poverty. Poverty so abject that it took away his capacity to dream the dreams that any eleven-year-old should. Another child his age in another place in Pakistan would be in the fifth or sixth grade of school. Young Shahdad had only just started kindergarten in Jahangir Marri School, Kohlu, a school named after an army lieutenant who gave his life in the anti-terrorist operation in Bajaur.

The eldest of seven siblings, Shahdad had to go to work at a very early age in order to help his daily wage-earning father. There were few skills to pick up in remote Kohlu and so the boy worked in a tea shop across the road from the school. For two thousand rupees a month, he toiled from an hour after sunrise to well after nightfall seven days a week.

Every day, as he brought the mid-morning tray to the office, the bursar would watch the boy stop at the door of each classroom he passed to stand motionless and look into the roomful of neatly turned-out pupils at their lessons. One day as the boy put the tray down in front of Zafar Iqbal, he looked the bursar in the eye and said he too would like to be a student.

He was obviously from a very indigent background, unable to pay tuitions fee and cost of books, etc. But the appeal was so fervent and genuine that it touched the bursar’s heart. This good man approached principal Khaula Amir and suggested that if she could waive the monthly fees, he would pay the admission expenses.

Now, the school maintained a small kitty from teachers’ contributions to maintain nine deserving pupils in the school. To add yet another would have been impossible. Seeing the boy’s ardour, this wonderful woman offered to pay the monthly tuition herself. And so it was that young Shahdad Marri began school only three days before I met him.

In Kohlu, grown men do not speak Urdu. Here was illiterate Shahdad who had never left his hometown but spoke the language perfectly. He said he had picked it up from the constant stream coming off the TV set in the tea house. To have been able to do this, Shahdad Marri had to be a gifted child. I knew then that if he remained in school, he would excel and grow up to dream and realise great dreams.

However, as I was leaving Lieutenant Jahangir Marri School, a niggling thought remained. The usual practice was that the wife of the Commandant Maiwand Rifles at Kohlu did as the school head. When I met these good people, Colonel Amir was already halfway through his two-year stint. Would it be possible that the next five principals would all be as infused with the spirit of largesse as Khaula?

Two years have gone by since I met the boy and I have no way of knowing how he fares. For his sake and for the sake of that beautiful land we call Balochistan, I hope he is still in school. Zafar Iqbal and Khaula Amir gave young Shahdad Khan Marri the ability to dream. I hope for the sake of all that we hold dear that those who follow help him realise his dreams.
***

The writer is a travel writer and an author, most recently of, The Apricot Road to Yarkand (Sang-e-Meel, 2011) and a member of the Royal Geographical Society. Contact the writer at The writer is travel writer and an author, most recently of, The Apricot Road to Yarkand (Sang-e-Meel, 2011) and a member of the Royal Geographical Society. Contact the writer at odysseuslahori@gmail.com

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Small Men

2012-07-17T21:50:00.000+05:00

The constitution makes Pakistan an Islamic state. The constitution reflects the will of the people. It is the social contract in writing. Was this our social contract? If you don’t like it change it or make it work by being true to your ideology that has become your justification for existence and is the much-touted ‘spirit of your constitution’.

by Humayun Gauhar

We have proved the adage, “Give a small man power and he will show you how small he is.” Small men with soiled halos hovering above their dyed heads infest every state institution. All suffer from public perceptions of impropriety and transgression. All engender distrust. They defy description. They challenge belief. Is this what we made Pakistan for, to hand it over to small, soiled men of questionable integrity while we wallow in misery? No, we did not. It’s about time we did something about it. If we can win liberty and change the course of history by making a country, we can certainly put it right.

Pomp and circumstance, panoply and paraphernalia, do not a big man make – motorcades, sirens, strobe lights, private planes, traffic stoppages, routes manned by endless police needed elsewhere, hysterical sycophants twittering, stooges wittering. Actually, they underline their smallness. A big man is big in mind, by deeds, by intentions. Small men are mental midgets where intellectual giants are needed, wily operators where statesmen are needed. Small men are blind too, for none can see what their families are up to. Should people so oblivious hold public office? They could unwittingly sell us down the drain. Or is it that relatives and cronies are front men and potential fall guys too if caught? These are big questions that need urgent answers to the exclusion of everything else if our country is to be saved from small men.

We have proved the adage, “Give a small man power and he will show you how small he is.” Small men with soiled halos hovering above their dyed heads infest every state institution. All suffer from public perceptions of impropriety and transgression. All engender distrust. They defy description. They challenge belief. Is this what we made Pakistan for, to hand it over to small, soiled men of questionable integrity while we wallow in misery? No, we did not. It’s about time we did something about it. If we can win liberty and change the course of history by making a country, we can certainly put it right.

The result: confusion caused by contradictions and hypocrisy in our basic law. Our institutions are working against rather than with each another. Have you seen the Olympic games logo, rings within rings? That is how state institutions are supposed to work, in tandem. Ours are like separate rings spinning and in their own orbits without any relation to one another, sometimes working to knock others out of their orbits. Thus we have meltdown. Everything is going to the dogs. Nothing is working. No basic needs, no jobs, rising prices, falling real incomes while our country is being attacked with impunity from within and without with small men helping the aggressors. It’s beyond belief.

Our attention is diverted by a flawed constitution that gives high officials immunity. Is that a license to elect or appoint the corrupt to public office? Will we do something about it or not?

Another question that needs an urgent answer if the judiciary is to be protected from its own: is there any link between the chief justice and property tycoon Riaz Malik through the chief justice’s son? If it is proved that there is, then we have a serious problem. A television programme and Malik’s press conference diverted attention from it, but temporarily. The question won’t go away and the sooner it is answered the better.

A frustrated people think that small men in office are the problem. A desperate people put faith in other small men formerly in office. Their messiahs of today were small men of yesterday and will be the small men of tomorrow. Salvation lies not in small people but in high principles, not in parties but in the basic law and the system it spawns. Keep concentrating on false messiahs for delivery and they will invariably show you once again what small men they are.

The problem is the disease. The disease is the constitution and the system it spawns. Small men are the symptoms the system spawns. How can you expect the symptoms to cure the disease, the spawn to kill its begetter? In so doing, they would destroy themselves. Mir kya saada hain, hoovay beemar jis kay sabab; ussi attar kay launday say dawa laitay hain – “Simpleton Mir, he looks for the cure in his disease.” Got it? Stop placing faith in small men and focus on correcting the system. If it is messiahs you want, then realize that a messiah lies in each one of us. Collectively we can make a tsunami if only we would unite over one issue – correcting the system and saving our country.

The constitution makes Pakistan an Islamic state. The constitution reflects the will of the people. It is the social contract in writing. Was this our social contract? If you don’t like it change it or make it work by being true to your ideology that has become your justification for existence and is the much-touted ‘spirit of your constitution’.

What a spectacle we’ve made about dual nationals holding public office. The answer should be obvious to the meanest mind, but our small men cannot see. Is it self-interest, perchance? No one with split loyalty should hold public office high or low, including in state-run corporations. Period. Even private secretaries, assistants and office boys of small men have access to sensitive files and information. This law shouldn’t apply only to parliamentarians but the executive too, the judiciary, civil and military bureaucracies and public sector enterprises. Can we trust dual nationals in them if they are up for privatization and bidders are from their other country, or competitors for that matter?

It gets worse. We have the dangerous situation where a British national is a member of our National Command Authority. We have worked our butts off to make our nuclear assets safe. Our command and control is the best. Yet we let foreigners into it because they also hold Pakistani nationality. Ridiculous. By swearing oath of loyalty to another country they made their choice. They can’t have their cake and eat it too. Why can’t we make the obvious choice too, that people are welcome to split their loyalty provided they stay away from public office.

Judges demand sensitive government files? Can they hold dual nationality? Should they? How can military officers and bureaucrats be dual nationals when some of them have important strategies and policies in their laptops? Talk of sleeping with the enemy, this nonsense has to end if we are to be safe from those we consider solely our own with undiluted loyalties before we make ourselves safe from those we perceive as enemies.

The tamasha about writing a letter to the Swiss to reopen corruption cases against the president continues unabated. This is a prime example of small men not understanding the disease: remove as many prime ministers as you like, the new ones too will not write the letter. What you have to remove are not small men but the un-Islamic clause of immunity in the constitution. But what to do when the removers are small men too? To expect them to see the obvious when they cannot see what their own families are up to is asking for too much. Why doesn’t our judiciary proceed with the case itself? Why pass the buck on to the Swiss? The Supreme Court did order a retrial. It won’t happen because the main accused is dead. If she cannot appear in court the case can’t proceed. Have you ever heard of anything more ridiculous? This law is an ass. It should be changed. That an accused has the option to be represented by council in absentia is enough. If dead, change the main accused. But get to the truth for God’s sake, not be diverted by spurious laws. In all this kerfuffle the main issue is forgotten, that Pakistan has lost millions of dollars that need to be returned and the thieves punished. We first pardon alleged thieves and send them to Saudi Arabia or withdraw cases against them – to much public acclaim, don’t forget – then make them president, prime minister, leaders in waiting and give them immunity. Then we howl over our sorry lot. What?

Does contempt of court exist in Islam? Libel, defamation and slander, yes: contempt of court, no. People have the right to decently criticize any judgment or judge about his extrajudicial activities. We are told that judges cannot be judged. Does whoever said this know about shirk – placing someone besides God?

Our basic law is the disease. Small men are its symptoms. The people are the host. The host is always the victim. It is our fault that we host the disease. We have to find a cure, and fast.

---

Humayun Gauhar is an accomplished writer, who regularly contributes to many English-dailies, comes on talk shows and is very forthright with his opinions. Gauhar is also the Editor in chief of the Blue Chip magazine. With brilliant diversity and intuitive understanding of politics, religion and human demeanor, Gauhar uses his pen to create pieces which are published in number of magazines in Pakistan and abroad. Email:

humayun.gauhar786@gmail.com

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ‘Wonders of Pakistan’. The contents of this article too are the sole responsibility of the author (s). WoP will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statement / s contained in this post.

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III. Naser Oric is threatening to reveal the truth about Srebrenica

2012-07-16T20:14:00.001+05:00

People and Places

References

[1] Associated Press Worldstream, “U.N. diplomat says Srebrenica massacres could not have been prevented,” November 22, 1999
[2] Report based on the Debriefing on Srebrenica,4 October 1995: Dutchbat, paras 2.24, 3.4, 3.50
[3] Testimony of Sefer Halilovic, Krstic Trial transcript, ICTY, April 5, 2001; Pg. 9454
[4] UN Military Observer HQ Sector NE, 26 July 1995
[5] Report to General Staff BH Army, Sarajevo, Security Administration by Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2nd Corps Command, Military Security Service Department,: 28 August 1995; Pg. 7
[6] UN Military Observer HQ Sector NE, 26 July 1995
[7] Ibid.
[8] Report based on the Debriefing on Srebrenica, 4 October 1995: Dutchbat, para 3.9
[9] Tim Judah, “UN plans evacuation of 15,000 Bosnia Muslims”, The (London) Times, April 6, 1993, Tuesday
[10] Report based on the Debriefing on Srebrenica, 4 October 1995: Dutchbat, para 2.35
[11] Reuters/New York Times wire service, “Srebrenica evacuation plans stymied; Town officials declare civilians must stay; UN trucks turn back,” The Ottawa Citizen, April 19, 1993, Pg. A1
[12] Testimony of Gen. Philippe Morillon , Milosevic Trial transcript, ICTY, February 12, 2004
[13] Demilitarization Agreement.
[14] Stephen Kinzer, “Government Troops Attack Bosnian Serb Village,” The New York Times News Service, June 26, 1995
[15] “‘Srebrenica was a sacrificial lamb’ says Muslim official from Srebrenica,” Slobodna Bosna (Sarajevo), July 14, 1996
[16] “5,000 Muslim Lives for Military Intervention,” Dani (Sarajevo), June 22, 1998;
See also: Meholjic’s interview on Dutch TV
[17] UN Report on Srebrenica, UN doc: A/54/549, dated 15 November 1999; Pg. 31
[18] Prosecutor v. Krstic; ICTY Appeal Judgment; Para 239
[19] Ibid.; Para 150

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II. Naser ORIC is threatening to reveal truth about Srebrenica

2012-07-16T20:14:00.000+05:00

Naser Orić (born March 3, 1967) is a former Bosniak military officer who commanded the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina forces in the Srebrenica enclave in Eastern Bosnia surrounded by Serb forces, during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 2006, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment by the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Netherlands for failing to prevent the deaths of five and the mistreatment of eleven Bosnian Serb detainees during the period from late 1992 to early 1993 on the basis of superior criminal responsibility. He was acquitted on the other charges of wanton destruction and causing damage to civilian infrastructure beyond the realm of military necessity. On July 3, 2008, the Appeals Chamber of the ICTY reversed the Trial Chamber's conviction and acquitted Orić of all charges brought against him.

NATO'S SINISTER ORCHESTRATION DURING THE WAR TO SECURE HEGEMONY IN THE BALKANS

According to the “Press” Republic of Serbia, Oric several times threatened to publicly disclose the truth about Srebrenica, which was sent to 17 addresses in the event something happens to him.

SDA fears that Oric’s presence at the Hague tribunal, and the investigation against him leading the domestic justice for crimes against Serbs in the Drina valley, could pose a threat and said the bargaining power that the Muslim political leadership had achieved in the eyes of high international officials before taking a Serbian enclave in July 1995.

The political and intelligence circles with Vasvija Vidovic, a family lawyer of Izetbegovic and Oric’s defense attorney in the Hague are doing everything to avoid the binding order of the Tribunal so that the former Srebrenica master of life and death again finds himself in the Hague court.

Oric was told not to testify in the trial of Karadzic to the Hague which is perceived as provocation and cynicism.

SREBRENICA WAS AN INSIDE JOB

How Alija Izetbegovic’s regime held the civilian population of Srebrenica hostage, goaded the Bosnain-Serbs into attacking the enclave, and then abandoned the civilian population to the mercy of the attacking enemy.

by Andy Wilcoxson

(libertarian)

In the wake of the July 1995 fall of the Srebrenica enclave, thousands of Muslim soldiers and draft eligible men were killed or went missing. Some were captured and summarily executed by Bosnian-Serb forces, and others died in combat.

Western governments, news media, and the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague have assiduously misled the public about the nature of the massacre, at the same time they have remained conspicuously silent about the role U.N. officials and the Muslim regime in Sarajevo played in orchestrating the massacre.

SREBRENICA’S FALL COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED

Yasushi Akashi, who at the time was the special envoy of the U.N. Secretary General in the former Yugoslavia, said the U.N. had “limited capabilities” and could not prevent the fall of Srebrenica. He told the Associated Press, “There was a hundred of U.N. troops versus thousands of Serb troops. What could we have done?”[1]

According to the Dutch battalion of U.N. peacekeepers who were deployed in Srebrenica, quite a bit could have been done. They were authorized to call in air strikes if the enclave was attacked, and when it was attacked they did indeed call in air strikes, but they were blocked by the U.N. until it was too late.

Oric as Commander of the armed units of Bosnian Muslims

According to the debriefing of Dutch Battalion personnel, “The battalion was counting on massive air support … air support was requested around 10.30 hrs. [on July 11, 1995] Then, despite all of its promises, the U.N. still failed to release air power.”
The Dutch Battalion’s report states that, “Both the battalion staff and the rest of Dutchbat are convinced that the fall of the enclave can be attributed to a distinct lack of support from the air; the limited close air support did not arrive until the battle was actually over.”[2]

Even without the U.N.’s help, Bosnian-Muslim president Alija Izetbegovic’s regime could have intervened to stop the fall of the enclave and subsequent massacre, but they chose not to act either.

Sefer Halilovic was the commanding officer of the Army of Bosnia-Herzegovina during the war. He was the most senior officer in Izetbegovic’s military and he testified under oath at the UN war crimes Tribunal in The Hague that “the command of the 2nd Corps and the General Staff knew when the operation on Srebrenica started, but from a series of testimonies, the people who were in Srebrenica, both from military and political structures, we can clearly see that they asked for help, both of the command of the 2nd Corps and the command of the General Staff and President Izetbegovic, but that they did not receive that assistance.

To answer your question whether they had the power and materiel to help, to come to the help of Srebrenica, I think that they did.”[3]

Even though Srebrenica was abandoned by its supposed protectors at the U.N. and by its own government in Sarajevo, the Muslim forces based in Srebrenica should have been able to defend the enclave themselves. Instead, on July 12, 1995, they fled the enclave with the rest of the able-bodied men and abandoned Srebrenica’s women, children, and elderly to the mercy of the attacking Bosnian-Serb forces.

Although UN Military Observers (UNMOs) were uncertain of the exact number of Muslim military personnel in Srebrenica, they believed “that at least half had side arms as well as heavy machine guns, light mortars, and anti-tank weapons including rocket propelled grenades and more modern ones.”[4]

The Command of the 2nd Corps of the Army of Bosnia Herzegovina (ABiH) prepared a report detailing the operation Srebrenica’s men undertook to flee Srebrenica across Bosnian-Serb territory to Tuzla. Their report said, “Numbers were not established when the column was formed, but some estimates put the number in the column at 10,000 to 15,000 people, including approximately 6,000 armed soldiers, not counting soldiers from Zepa.”[5]

According to UN Military Observers, at the time of the attack the Bosnian-Serb Army’s “Drina Corps was known to be stretched in terms of resources” and the strength of the Bosnian-Serb units surrounding Srebrenica was “1,000 to 3,000 infantry with up to 20 tanks as well as artillery and multiple launch rocket systems.” When Srebrenica fell, the UNMOs estimated that the local Bosnian-Serb brigades “probably have around 1,500 infantry in total” and together with reinforcements from units stationed in adjacent areas, the total strength of the Bosnian-Serb forces around Srebrenica was “probably no less than 2,000 infantry.”[6]

Even if they hadn’t been abandoned by the UN and by their own government, 6,000 armed Muslim soldiers should have been able to fight off 1,000 to 3,000 Serb infantry men.

When the Bosnian-Serbs attacked the enclave, UN Military Observers were stunned that the Muslim army didn’t attempt to defend it. In their report they state: “The ABiH had the force ratios to defend the enclave particularly considering its hilly, wooded nature.” They went on to write, “The advantages militarily seem to have been with the [Muslim] defenders to at least hold out for longer and have inflicted greater losses on the Bosnian-Serb Army than believed. However, the ABiH leadership seems to have actually acted against their own interests to carryout a successful defense.” [7]

Dutch Battalion personnel in Srebrenica were surprised when Muslim troops in the enclave did not avail themselves of the weapons they were offered. On the morning of July 6th 1995 battalion personnel “Informed the Bosnian government forces that, if the Bosnian-Serb Army crossed the enclave boundary, the arms in the weapon collection point in Srebrenica would be released. Later, when this situation did indeed occur, the Bosnian government forces did not avail themselves of this opportunity.”[8]

FOREKNOWLEDGE OF THE MASSACRE

Izetbegovic’s decision to refuse Srebrenica’s pleas for help and to abandon it to the mercy of the Bosnian-Serb Army is all the more shocking in light of the fact that his regime knew what would happen if Srebrenica fell. They were fully aware of what was at stake. Two years before the massacre, Bosnian vice-premiere Zlatko Lagumdjija told reporters from the London Times that “We shall be witnesses of a big massacre if Srebrenica falls.”[9]

The U.N. also had foreknowledge of what would happen. The U.N. chose not to act in 1995 even though it knew as far back as 1993 what kind of massacre would ensue if Srebrenica fell.

Testifying at the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, the former commander of the UN Protection Force in Bosnia, French General Philippe Morillon told the court that “Naser Oric [the commander of the Bosnian-Muslim military forces in Srebrenica] engaged in attacks during Orthodox [Christian] holidays and destroyed villages, massacring all the inhabitants. This created a degree of hatred that was quite extraordinary in the region.”

He said, “Naser Oric was a warlord who reigned by terror in his area and over the population itself. I think that he realized that those were the rules of this horrific war, that he could not allow himself to take prisoners. According to my recollection, he didn’t even look for an excuse. It was simply a statement: One can’t be bothered with prisoners.”

Morillon testified, “I wasn’t surprised when the Serbs took me to a village to show me the evacuation of the bodies of the inhabitants that had been thrown into a hole, a village close to Bratunac. And this made me understand the degree to which this infernal situation of blood and vengeance led to a situation when I personally feared that the worst would happen if the Serbs of Bosnia managed to enter the enclaves and Srebrenica.” He said, “I saw, a degree of absolute misery with a real risk of tens of thousands being killed.

“I feared that the Serbs, the local Serbs, the Serbs of Bratunac, these militiamen, they wanted to take their revenge for everything that they attributed to Naser Oric. It wasn’t just Naser Oric that they wanted to revenge, take their revenge on, they wanted to revenge their dead on Orthodox Christmas. They were in this hellish circle of revenge. Not only the men. The women, the entire population was imbued with this. It wasn’t the sickness of fear that had infected the entire population of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the fear of being dominated, of being eliminated, it was pure hatred.”

After listening to his testimony the Presiding judge asked Morillon, “Are you saying, then, General, that what happened in 1995 was a direct reaction to what Naser Oric did to the Serbs two years before?” And the witness answered, “Yes. Yes, Your Honour. I am convinced of that.”

According to the Dutch Battalion’s report, the Bosnian-Serb military units surrounding Srebrenica in 1995 “were manned chiefly by Bosnian-Serb refugees who had formerly lived in the enclave.”[10]

The soldiers who ultimately perpetrated the July 1995 massacre had been victimized themselves beforehand.

Because Gen. Morillon knew what would happen if the Bosnian-Serbs entered Srebrenica, he tried to have the civilian population evacuated to safety, but he was prevented from doing that by the Bosnian-Muslim authorities.

On April 19, 1993– two years before the massacre – Reuters and the New York Times reported that:
“Authorities in Srebr

enica refused today to allow civilians to be evacuated from the besieged Muslim town, a United Nations official said.
“‘We have just received confirmation that the Bosnian authorities in Srebrenica will not permit any evacuation’, a UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokeswoman said in Belgrade.

“She said the Muslim authorities didn’t give a reason for blocking the operation.”[11]
During his testimony Morillon noted that “Had I been able to evacuate all those who had wanted me to do so at the time that I intervened in Srebrenica, we could certainly have saved a number of human lives.”

He said, “the Bosniaks used the presence of their population to keep the attention of the world focused on their situation, they prevented the evacuation from Srebrenica …the authorities of Izetbegovic were the ones who stood up against the evacuation of those towards Tuzla for all those who wanted to, and there were many of them who wanted to.”[12]

Concurrent with Morillon’s failed efforts to evacuate the civilian population from Srebrenica, the Security Council designated it a “UN Safe Area” in April 1993.

As a so-called “Safe area”, Srebrenica was supposed to be demilitarized. On May 8th 1993 Ratko Mladic on behalf of the Serbs, and Sefer Halilovic on behalf of the Muslims, signed an agreement on the demilitarization of Srebrenica in the presence of Gen. Morillon.[13]

Under the terms of the agreement, all of the weapons in the enclave were to be placed under the control of the UN; in turn the UN was responsible for the security of the enclave. That was how things were on paper, but real life was different.
The Muslims did not demilitarize Srebrenica; instead they used the so-called “safe area” as a base from which to attack the Bosnian-Serb army and the surrounding Serbian villages.

Two weeks before the enclave fell, Muslim troops from Srebrenica attacked an undefended Serbian village. At 4:30 AM on June 26, 1995 they attacked the hamlet of Visnjica near Srebrenica, burning houses, killing livestock, and sending Serb civilians fleeing for their lives.[14]

Conspiracies seldom remain secret, and Srebrenica is no exception. Although the Western news media refuses to discuss the role played by anyone other than the Serbs, some Bosnian-Muslim officials have spoken out.

Ibran Mustafic was a founding member of Alija Izetbegovic’s political party, a member of the Bosnian parliament, and a resident of Srebrenica. In 1996 he told Sarajevo’s Slobodna Bosna newspaper that “The betrayal of Srebrenica was consciously prepared. Unfortunately, the Bosnian presidency and the Army command were involved in this business; if you want the names, figure it out yourself. I understood the situation in Srebrenica and, you can trust me on this, had I not been prevented by a group of criminals, many more inhabitants of Srebrenica would be alive today. Had I received an order to attack the Serb army from the demilitarized zone, I would have rejected to carry out that order without thinking and would have asked the person who had issued that order to bring his family to Srebrenica so that I can give him a gun and let him stage attacks from the demilitarized zone. I knew that such shameful, calculated moves were leading my people to a catastrophe.”[15]

THE MOTIVE TO BETRAY ONE’S OWN PEOPLE

In 1998, Srebrenica’s wartime chief of police, Hakija Meholjic told the Sarajevo newspaper Dani that in September 1993 Izetbegovic told him: “You know, I was offered by [Bill] Clinton in April that the [Serbian] Chetnik forces enter Srebrenica, carry out a slaughter of 5,000 Muslims, and then there will be a [NATO] military intervention.”[16]

Meholjic’s statement is corroborated by the UN Secretary General’s report on the fall of Srebrenica, which says “Representatives of the Bosniac community gathered in Sarajevoon 28 and 29 September [1993] to vote on the [Invincible] peace package. A delegation of Bosniacs from Srebrenica was transported to Sarajevoby UNPROFOR helicopter to participate in the debate. Prior to the meeting, the delegation met in private with President Izetbegovic, who told them that there were Serb proposals to exchange Srebrenica and Zepa for territories around Sarajevo. The delegation opposed the idea, and the subject was not discussed further. Some surviving members of the Srebrenica delegation have stated that President Izetbegovic also told them he had learned that a NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovinawas possible, but could only occur if the Serbs were to break into Srebrenica, killing at least 5,000 of its people. President Izetbegovic has flatly denied making such a statement.”[17]

It certainly appears that Alija Izetbegovic incited a massacre against his own people in Srebrenica because he wanted NATO to intervene in the Bosnian war on his behalf.

Izetbegovic’s regime provoked the Serbs by perpetrating massacres against them, blocked the evacuation of the civilian population, staged attacks from the safe area, and when the anticipated Serb retaliation finally came, his regime abandoned Srebrenica with full knowledge of what the consequences would be.

The truth is ugly. The Serbs executed enemy POWs in violation of the Geneva Conventions, the Muslims deliberately goaded them into it for propaganda purposes, the U.N. allowed all of it to happen even though they had the means to stop it, NATO got conned into being the Muslim air force, and Western governments and news media lied about the whole thing. The end result of all of it is that thousands of people died needlessly.

CRIMINAL LIABILITY

In 2004, the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal inThe Hague convicted Bosnian-Serb general Radislav Krstic of aiding and abetting “genocide” (sic) in Srebrenica and sentenced him to 35 years in prison.

Krstic did not participate in, order, or even know the massacre was happening. In fact, Krstic specifically ordered that no harm was to befall the Bosnian Muslim civilians.[18]
The Tribunal ruled that “It was unnecessary for the Trial Chamber to conclude that Radislav Krstic was actually aware that those other criminal acts were being committed; it was sufficient that their occurrence was foreseeable to him and that those other crimes did in fact occur.”[19]

The Srebrenica massacre was foreseeable to the Bosnian-Muslim authorities and to the U.N. as well. They too had the ability and the obligation to prevent the massacre, and they didn’t do it either. One has to wonder about the integrity of the judicial process surrounding Srebrenica, when someone like Krstic is held responsible and they’re not.

One also has to wonder whether a conflict of interest arises when a UN Tribunal conducts the investigations, makes factual findings, and determines criminal liability with regard to events where the UN was as deeply involved as it was in Srebrenica. The UN’s failure to demilitarize the enclave or prevent its collapse and subsequent massacre, when it had the ability to do so, certainly begs the question of whether those failures were deliberate or not.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ‘Wonders of Pakistan’. The contents of this article too are the sole responsibility of the author(s). WoP will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in this post.

We do not claim exclusive rights on all articles, images or videos published on this site. The sources we use to create our articles, images, videos etc. are credited with a proper linkback. However, we do host material from unknown authors we receive via mails, from friends and our readers. If you own copyrights to some material and you want us to remove it from our pages, contact us to claim your ownership and we will either credit you, or if you wish – completely remove the content.

I. People and Places in the Bosnian war

2012-07-16T17:26:00.000+05:00

People and Places

A Bosnian special forces soldier returns fire in downtown Sarajevo as he and civilians come under fire from Serbian snipers, on April 6, 1992. The Serbs were shooting from the roof of a hotel at a peace demonstration of some of 30,000 people as fighting between Bosnian and Serb fighters escalated in the capital of Bosnia-Hercegovina. (Mike Persson/AFP/Getty Images)

by peopleus

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the Bosnian War, a long, complex, and ugly conflict that followed the fall of communism in Europe. In 1991, Bosnia and Herzegovina joined several republics of the former Yugoslavia and declared independence, which triggered a civil war that lasted four years. Bosnia's population was a multiethnic mix of Muslim Bosniaks (44%), Orthodox Serbs (31%), and Catholic Croats (17%). The Bosnian Serbs, well-armed and backed by neighboring Serbia, laid siege to the city of Sarajevo in early April 1992.

They targeted mainly the Muslim population but killed many other Bosnian Serbs as well as Croats with rocket, mortar, and sniper attacks that went on for 44 months. As shells fell on the Bosnian capital, nationalist Croat and Serb forces carried out horrific "ethnic cleansing" attacks across the countryside. Finally, in 1995, UN air strikes and United Nations sanctions helped bring all parties to a peace agreement.

Estimates of the war's fatalities vary widely, ranging from 90,000 to 300,000. To date, more than 70 men involved have been convicted of war crimes by the UN.

Serb police officer Goran Jelisic, shooting a victim in Brcko, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was caught, tried for war crimes, convicted, and sentenced to 40 years imprisonment. (Courtesy of the ICTY) #

Alija Izetbegovic (1925 -2003 ) was the first President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the terrible war in Bosnia. Alija Begovic was a Muslim activist and philosopher, and author of several books, most important being 'Islam between East and West'. During 1983-1988, he launched campaign against the Communist rule of Yugoslavia.

Begovic was a lawyer, moderate, lifelong anti-communist, and spent most of his time in office trying to save the lives of his fellow Muslims. He helped found the Party of Democratic Action, 1990; assumed presidency 1990; Elected chairman of Bosnia's three-person national presidency, 1996; and renounced presidency 2000.

Yugoslavia was a country in the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century. The Democratic Federal Yugoslavia was proclaimed in 1943 by the Partisans resistance movement during World War II. It was renamed as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946, when a communist government was established. In 1963, it was renamed again to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). This was the largest Yugoslav state, as Istria, Rijeka and Zadar were added to the new Yugoslavia after the end of World War II.

The constituent six Socialist Republics and two Socialist Autonomous Provinces that made up the country were: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia (including the autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo which after 1974 were largely equal to the other members of the federation). Starting in 1991, the country disintegrated after the infighting between the constituent units and the racial, anti non Serb policies of the majority Serbs under president Slobodan Milošević. Worst sufferers of these wars were Bosniaks or the Bosnian Muslims.

At the NATO summit in April 1999, the member states approved a structure for "non-Article 5 crisis response," essentially a euphemism for war (Article 5 of the NATO charter provides for collective self-defense; non-Article 5 refers to an offensive military action like Yugoslavia.).

According to the document, such an action could take place anywhere on the broad periphery of NATO's realm, such as North Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, essentially paving the way for NATO's ongoing war in Afghanistan. This expanded role for NATO wasn't approved by any of the respective countries' legislatures, raising serious questions about democratic civilian control over military alliances.

Furthermore, the U.S.-led NATO war on Yugoslavia helped undermine the United Nations Charter and thereby paved the way for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, perhaps the most flagrant violation of the international legal order by a major power since World War II.

The occupation by NATO troops of Serbia's autonomous Kosovo region, and the subsequent recognition of Kosovar independence by the United States and a number of Western European powers, helped provide Russia with an excuse to maintain its large military presence in Georgia's autonomous South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, and to recognize their unilateral declarations of independence. This, in turn, led to last summer's war between Russia and Georgia.

Indeed, much of the tense relations between the United States and Russia over the past decade can be traced to the 1999 war on Yugoslavia. Russia was quite critical of Serbian actions in Kosovo and supported the non-military aspects of the Rambouillet proposals, yet was deeply disturbed by this first military action waged by NATO. Indeed, the war resulted in unprecedented Russian anger towards the United States, less out of some vague sense of pan-Slavic solidarity, but more because it was seen as an act of aggression against a sovereign nation.

The Russians had assumed NATO would dissolve at the end of the Cold War. Instead, not only has NATO expanded, it went to war over an internal dispute in a Slavic Eastern European country. This stoked the paranoid fear of many Russian nationalists that NATO may find an excuse to intervene in Russia itself.

While in reality this is extremely unlikely, the history of invasions from the West no doubt strengthened the hold of Vladimir Putin and other semi-autocratic nationalists, setting back reform efforts, political liberalization, and disarmament.

French troops of the United Nations patrol in front of the destroyed mosque of Ahinici, near Vitez, northwest of Sarajevo, on April 27, 1993. This Muslim town was destroyed during fighting between Croatian and Muslim forces in central Bosnia. (Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty Images) #

The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: they were characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs (and to a lesser extent, Montenegrins) on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks (and to a lesser degree, Slovenes) on the other; but also between Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia (in addition to a separate conflict fought between rival Bosniak factions in Bosnia).

The wars ended in various stages, mostly resulting in full international recognition of new sovereign territories, but with massive economic disruption to the successor states.

Often described as Europe's deadliest conflicts since World War II, they have become infamous for the war crimes they involved, including mass ethnic cleansing.

Although tensions in Yugoslavia had been mounting since the early 1980s, it was 1990 that proved the decisive year in which war became more likely. In the midst of economic hardship, the country was facing rising nationalism amongst its various ethnic groups. At the last 14th Extraordinary Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in January 1990, the Serbian-dominated assembly agreed to abolish the single-party system; however, Slobodan Milošević, the head of the Serbian Party branch (League of Communists of Serbia) used his influence to block and vote-down all other proposals from the Croatian and Slovene party delegates. This prompted the Croatian and Slovene delegations to walk out and thus the break-up of the party.

The Srebrenica Massacre, also known as Srebrenica Genocide, was the July 1995 killing of an estimated 8,000 Bosniak males, in the region of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina by units of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of General Ratko Mladić during the Bosnian War. In addition to the Army of Republika Srpska, a paramilitary unit from Serbia known as the "Scorpions" participated in the massacre.

The Srebrenica massacre is the largest mass murder in Europe since World War II. In the unanimous ruling "Prosecutor v. Krstic", the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), located in The Hague, ruled that the Srebrenica massacre was an act of genocide, the Presiding Judge Theodor Meron stating:

By seeking to eliminate a part of the Bosnian Muslims [Bosniaks], the Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide. They targeted for extinction the forty thousand Bosnian Muslims living in Srebrenica, a group which was emblematic of the Bosnian Muslims in general. They stripped all the male Muslim prisoners, military and civilian, elderly and young, of their personal belongings and identification, and deliberately and methodically killed them solely on the basis of their identity.

The Srebrenica massacre was also confirmed as a case of genocide in the ICTY judgement "Prosecutor v. Blagojevic " and in the International Court of Justice judgement "Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro".

The United Nations had previously declared Srebrenica a UN protected "safe area", but they did not prevent the massacre, even though 400 armed Dutch peacekeepers were present at the time. The massacre included several instances where preteen children, women, and elderly civilians were also killed. The list of people missing or killed in Srebrenica compiled by the Federal Commission of Missing Persons so far includes 8,373 names.

Before World War II, major tensions arose in this region from the first,
monarchist Yugoslavia's multi-ethnic makeup and relative political and
demographic domination of the Serbs. Fundamental to the tensions were the
different concepts of the new state; the Croats envisaged a federal model
where they would enjoy greater autonomy than they had as a separate crown land

under Austria-Hungary. Under Austria-Hungary, Croats enjoyed autonomy

with free hands only in education, law, religion and 45% of taxes.

In the years leading up to the Yugoslav wars, relations among the republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had been deteriorating. Slovenia and Croatia desired greater autonomy within a Yugoslav confederation, while Serbia sought to strengthen federal authority. As it became clearer that there was no solution agreeable to all parties, Slovenia and Croatia moved toward secession.

By that time there was no effective authority at the federal level. Federal Presidency consisted of the representatives of all 6 republics and 2 provinces and JNA (Yugoslav People's Army). Communist leadership was divided along national lines. The final breakdown occurred at the 14th Congress of the Communist Party when Croat and Slovenian delegates left in protest because the pro-integration majority in the Congress rejected their proposed amendments.

A Muslim militiaman looks for snipers during a battle with the Yugoslav federal army in Central Sarajevo on Saturday, May 2, 1992. (AP Photo/David Brauchli)

A Serbian soldier beats a captured Muslim militiaman during an interrogation in the Bosnian town of Visegrad, 125 miles southwest of Belgrade, on June 8, 1992. (AP Photo/Milan Timotic) #

Bosnian Croat soldiers taken as prisoners pass a Bosnian Serb soldier after surrendering on the central Bosnian mountain of Vlasic June 8. About 7,000 Croat civilians and some 700 soldiers fled to Serb-held territories under heavy Muslim attack. (Reuters/Ranko Cukovic) #

122mm heavy artillery of the Bosnian government, in position near Sanski Most, 10 miles (15 kilometers), east of Banja Luka, opens fire at the Serb-controlled town of Prijedor, on October 13, 1995. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) #

A top sniper, codenamed "Arrow," loads her gun in a safe room in Sarajevo, Tuesday, June 30, 1992. The 20-year old Serb who shoots for the Bosnian forces says she has lost count of the number of people she has killed, but that she finds it difficult to pull the trigger. The former journalism student says most of her targets are other snipers on the Serbian side. (AP Photo/Martin Nangle) #

Bloodstains cover the wreckage of patients' rooms at Sarajevo's Kosevo Hospital on June 16, 1995, after a shell slammed into it killing two and injuring six. (AP Photo) #

A Bosnian Muslim woman cries on the coffin of a relative during a mass funeral for victims killed during 1992-1995 war in Bosnia, whose remains were found in mass graves around the town of Prijedor and Kozarac, 50 km (31 miles) northwest of Banja Luka, on July 20, 2011. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic) #

Zoran Laketa poses for a picture in front of a building destroyed during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia, after an interview with Reuters, in Mostar, on April 2, 2012. Laketa epitomizes the complexities of the Bosnian conflict that kept the West dithering over intervention in the face of mass ethnic cleansing. Twenty years since the start of the war, ethnicity is still a deep dividing line - no more so than in Mostar, where Croats hold the west bank, Muslim Bosniaks the east, in an uncomfortable co-existence that has resisted foreign efforts to promote reintegration. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic) #

In 1992, the conflict engulfed Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was predominantly

a territorial conflict between local Bosniaks and Croats backed by Zagreb on

one side, and Serbs backed by the Yugoslav People's Army and Serbia on the other. The Yugoslav armed forces, which had disintegrated into a largely Serb-dominated military force opposed the Bosniak-majority led government's agenda for independence and along with other armed nationalist Serb militant forces, attempted to prevent Bosnian citizens from voting in the 1992 referendum on independence to prevent Bosnia from legally being able to secede.

This did not succeed in persuading people not to vote and instead the intimidating atmosphere combined with a Serb boycott of the vote resulted in a resounding 99% vote in support for independence. On June 19, 1992, the Croat-Bosniak war broke out. The Bosnia conflict, typified by the siege of Sarajevo and Srebrenica, was by far the bloodiest and most widely covered of the Yugoslav wars.

Bosnia's Serb faction led by ultra-nationalist Radovan Karadzic promised independence for all Serb areas of Bosnia from the majority-Bosniak government of Bosnia. To link the disjointed parts of territories populated by Serbs and areas claimed by Serbs, Karadzic pursued an agenda of systematic ethnic cleansing primarily against Bosniaks through genocide and forced removal of Bosniak populations.

FRONTS OF WAR IN BOSNIA

"Srebrenica: A Town Betrayed" follows interviews and revelations by Bosnian-Muslim investigative journalist Mirsad Fazlic, who doesn’t appreciate the fictitious, black-and-white version of the Bosnian war that is perpetuated by the international community and by Bosnian officialdom, which still honors wartime president Alija Izetbegovic as a national hero when Fazlic and others know he was the opposite. The film really begins only at the four-minute mark, and its main shortcoming is the ubiquitous, stubborn marriage to the notion that the number “7-8,000 killed” is anything other than a concoction that the world has been working backwards for 16 years to make seem real.

Among numerous of the film’s jaw-dropping revelations — including the fact that the humanitarian convoys which the Serbs were allowing to pass to Srebrenica were being intercepted by Bosnian “hero” Naser Oric and sold on the black market (and including Srebrenica police chief Hakija Mehovic describing the meeting at which the Bosnian leadership floated a proposal by Bill Clinton that 5,000 Srebrenica residents be sacrificed) — are the following:

1. “Mladic had four tanks and 400 men. In reserve he also had 1600 armed locals. But Mladic didn’t trust them since they lacked discipline and would use every opportunity to revenge [Srebrenica warlord] Oric’s attacks on the villages. The Serbs were outgunned by NATO’s fighter aircraft, 450 Dutch peacekeepers and Oric’s 5,500 soldiers.” (The first fact is important as a contradistinction to the Mladic that has been presented to the public, and there is more in the film in that regard. The latter factoids are important to illustrate that Srebrenica was set up for the Serbs to overpower, with the Muslim side “winning by losing,” as Nebojsa Malic calls it.)

2. In reference to the 50 Serbian villages that were being attacked by the Muslims of Srebrenica: “Especially disturbing was a religious dimension to the killings. Men were castrated in an anti-Christian gesture of circumcision. Pregnant women were disemboweled with cuts in the form of a cross. Some people were crucified, nails driven through their hands.”

3. “In April 1993 military chiefs from both sides — General Sefer Halilovic and General Ratko Mladic — signed a UN plan for Srebrenica and the other cities to become demilitarized zones. The Muslims promised on their side to stop the aggression against the Serbs around the enclaves and against the 15,000 Serbs still living in the capital Sarajevo.” (The Muslim side naturally didn’t hold to their end of the bargain, but what makes the excerpt exceptional is the word “aggression” for once attributed to the correct side of the Bosnian war.)

The fighting in Croatia ended in mid-1995, after the Croatian Army launched two rapid military operations, codenamed Operation Flash and Operation Storm, in which it managed to reclaim all of its territory except the UNPA Sector East bordering Serbia. Most of the Serbian population in these areas became refugees, and has been the subject of war crimes indictments by the ICTY for elements of the Croat military leadership. The remaining Sector East came under UN administration (UNTAES), and was reintegrated to Croatia in 1998.

In 1994 the U.S. brokered peace between Croatian forces and the Bosniak Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the successful Flash and Storm operations, the Croatian Army and the combined Bosniak and Croat forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, worked together in an operation codenamed Operation Maestral to push back Bosnian Serb military gains. Together with NATO air strikes on the Bosnian Serbs, the successes on the ground put pressure on the Serbs to come to the negotiating table. Pressure was put on all sides to stick to the cease-fire and finally negotiate an end to the war in Bosnia. The war ended with the signing of the Dayton Agreement on the 14 December 1995, with the formation of Republika Srpska as an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina being the resolution for Bosnian Serb demands.

Next: Naser ORIC is threatening to reveal the truth about Massacre of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica

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India and China plan strategic encirclement of each others' territories....

2012-07-14T21:48:00.002+05:00

DESPITE RHETORIC, SINO-INDIAN RELATIONS MIRED DEEP IN ENCIRCLING AND CONTAINING THE OTHER

by Daniel Thorp

The conclusion of the Rio+20 Summit in Brazil in June saw only a disappointing outcome, despite it being labelled a "once-in-a-generation chance" to direct the global economy in a sustainable direction and the much positive talk from various world leaders. However, while discussions concerning the global economy took place, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, held talks on the sidelines concerning their bilateral relationship, with both urging strengthened cooperation between the Asian giants.

Singh emphasized that India had no intention to contain China, and he would not tolerate any anti-China activities on Indian soil. We have seen numerous examples of Chinese and Indian politicians meeting to discuss relations strewn with optimistic language. However, despite sustained reassurances from both sides that their respective governments are not pursuing any containment and encirclement strategies of their neighbor, actions over recent years paint a very different picture.

There has been a particular growing fear of a "China Threat" within Indian government and strategist circles over the past decade, with many feeling Beijing is engaging in encirclement and containment strategies in a persistent attempt to tie India down to the Indian subcontinent. Responding to this perceived threat, New Delhi has gradually been undertaking a combination of internal balancing, by means of increasing its military capabilities on both land and at sea, and external balancing, via military cooperation with states in East and Southeast Asia.

Indian internal balancing has taken various forms and has been reflected in the increasing defense budget which was announced as US$41 billion for 2012-13, a 17% increase on the previous year.

Firstly, this has helped to fund an ongoing military modernization program with the recent deal for 126 French Rafale fighters to be supplied by Dassault over the coming decade in conjunction with over 200 fifth-generation fighter aircraft to be developed in cooperation with Russia by 2017.

Secondly, India has been strengthening its defenses along its disputed border regions with China; 100,000 additional troops were stationed along the Line of Actual Control in 2011, along with the deployment of the 300-kilometer range BrahMos cruise missile along the eastern border region. These deployments have been complemented by increasing infrastructural developments including new roads and the construction and upgrading of assorted air bases across the regions.

Finally, and most significantly, India has been bolstering its nuclear capabilities with its "flawless" test of the Agni-V missile, which is able to carry a nuclear warhead and with a 5,000-kilometer range can strike a majority of major Chinese cities along its eastern seaboard.

In addition to military modernization on land, New Delhi has been developing its naval capabilities with naval commanders taking a visible turn in the direction of the teachings of Alfred T Mahan and his sea-based geopolitical philosophy, with ambitious future plans for a fully fledged and highly capable blue water navy able to protect coastal waters, vital sea lanes of communication and project power deep into the Indian and surrounding oceans.

Naval modernization has included the establishment of two new deep-sea naval port facilities at Kawar on the southwest coast and near Viskhapatnam as part of the Eastern Naval Command. In tandem with the establishment of the Far Eastern Naval Command (FENC) at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands, the Indian Navy is able to project power across the Bay of Bengal and into the Strait of Malacca, intensifying China's "Malacca Dilemma".

These developments have been complemented by the increasing purchases and indigenous development of naval hardware, including the nuclear submarine INS Chakra on a 10-year lease form Russia and the locally developed INS Airhant. Additionally, the former Russian aircraft carrier Gorshkov, renamed INSVikramaditya, is to be commissioned into service of the Indian Navy by December 2012. These recent enlargements will make up part of a planned 160-vessel fleet including three aircraft carrier groups by the mid 2020s, outlined by Indian Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta.

Internal balancing is taking considerable shape with increasing hardware purchases and consistent upgrading of military capabilities along the border with China and also in the naval realm, where China is undergoing rapid expansion, increasing competition in and around the Indian Ocean. This balancing has also taken considerable shape in terms of external balancing and cooperation with other states in the region.

Military cooperation with other states extends across the realms of both land and sea. On land, New Delhi has become increasingly invested in its relations with Afghanistan, establishing a Strategic Partnership in October 2011, eyeing a greater role following the planned 2014 withdrawal of coalition forces.

With Tajikistan, India has increased its interaction with Tajik security forces and has provided funding for the upgrading of the Farkhor and Ayni air bases succeeding construction of a military hospital and logistics depot. Ayni air base is of particular significance with reports that Tajikistan, India and Russia are in talks over the joint use of the base and that an Indian air force currently has Mi-17 helicopters and has leased Russian fighter jets stationed at the base.

New Delhi has also increased cooperation with Mongolia, signing an agreement on Defense Cooperation in 2001, positioning radar systems able to monitor Chinese missile tests, holding bilateral military exercises since 2004 and having a quiet discussion over basing rights.

Indian relations with Tajikistan and Afghanistan in particular also have the potential to undermine China's use of Pakistan as a proxy state against India in an attempt to split its focus along two fronts. With greater influence in Afghanistan, New Delhi can potentially undercut Pakistani influence in a country which Islamabad has traditionally considered as within its strategic sphere of influence.

Extending into the maritime realm, further cooperation and encirclement can be observed as India has developed ties with some historically contentious neighbors of the Chinese. First of all, Indo-Singapore relations have flourished in recent years with their Defense Cooperation agreement of 2003 upgrading ties and extending bilateral military exercises into all three wings of the armed forces, and most significantly the SIMBEX naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea.

Relations with Singapore have particular geopolitical importance as Singapore is at the western approaches to the South China Sea and eastern approaches to the Strait of Malacca, both vital sea lanes of communication for India and China. Close security relations between New Delhi and Singapore allow for strong power projection by the Indian navy into the South China Sea, an area of particular sensitivity to China with its claims of sovereignty over the sea; they also allow for India to threaten the closure of the Strait of Malacca, exacerbating Beijing's "Malacca Dilemma".

Next stop along India's maritime encirclement of China is Vietnam, with New Delhi and Hanoi sharing a history of conflict with China. Strong ties exist dating back to their 1994 defense agreement and include military training and bilateral naval exercises carried out in the South China Sea which have drawn much criticism from Beijing, not helped by the talk of India providing BrahMos missiles to Vietnam, presenting an undeniable deterrent to Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.

Hanoi has also recently granted the Indian Navy basing rights at the Nha Trang port, providing a foothold in the South China Sea and intensifying Chinese fears, demonstrated by the July 22, 2011, confrontation of INSAiravat when operating off the Vietnamese coast.

Indo-Japanese security relations provide a real security dilemma for China, as close ties between these two historically contentious neighbors pose the possibility of a pincer movement by two great powers and complete the encirclement of China by land and sea.

Ties between India and Japan are continuously growing and expanding further into the security field with the MALABAR naval exercises. These relations and encirclement of China is further complemented by expanding ties with Japan's old ally and China's greatest threat, the United States. While ties between New Delhi and Washington remain fairly low key, partially due to India's non-alignment strategy, they hold the greatest potential for containment of China. Both sides hold their relations in high esteem, with President Barack Obama proclaiming that their relationship "will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century".

Despite the constant rhetoric emanating from India proclaiming it has no intention of encirclement or containment of its communist neighbor, its actions, as so often found in international relations, speak much louder volumes about its intentions and reveal a great concern over China's rise to Great Power status.

However, these concerns may be well placed as China has been undertaking many actions which can easily be interpreted as an effort to encircle India and contain its rise, tying it down to the Indian subcontinent. So depending on which angle one observes the situation from, either side can be construed to be the aggressor or just acting in a defensive manner.

Daniel Thorp is an International Politics graduate of Brunel University, UK, specializing in Asia-Pacific security and international relations .

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Stilling a stormy relationship

2012-07-14T17:24:00.000+05:00

With the word "sorry," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently opened the door for the United States to continue to supply its forces in Afghanistan through Pakistan. Getting to this word took months of effort on both sides but "sorry" may not be enough to keep the relationship on an even keel for too long. It will need a sustained effort on both sides. The auguries are not good.

by Shuja Nawaz

With the word "sorry," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently opened the door for the United States to continue to supply its forces in Afghanistan through Pakistan. Getting to this word took months of effort on both sides but "sorry" may not be enough to keep the relationship on an even keel for too long. It will need a sustained effort on both sides. The auguries are not good.

Many factors militate against a stable relationship. A lack of clearly defined aims on both sides works against a lasting solution to the mistrust that pervades the U.S.-Pakistan relationship. Moreover, there does not appear to be a center of gravity to decision making in either side to lead the building of a lasting relationship. The United States seeks a compliant ally that will help an orderly exit from Afghanistan in the waning days of a difficult conflict, and help guarantee peace and stability after the U.S. and coalition forces leave. Its aims inside Pakistan are unclear, as is the role it wishes Pakistan to play on Afghanistan. Attack the Afghan Taliban or bring them to the table? The US military is focused on getting the Pakistanis to attack the Haqqani Network, for example, while the Department of State is trying to get them to the negotiating table.

Pakistan does not appear to have a clear end goal either. It has a persistent paranoia built on an anti-American historical narrative that influences its leadership and civil society. In their view, the United States is a fickle friend and mercurial master. It comes and goes from the region. And now even its longer term presence in Afghanistan is suspect, since those troops are believed by some to have been designated to take out Pakistan's nuclear weapons. Moreover, the United States is seen cozying up to India, Pakistan's traditional rival to the east, and giving it a greater role in Afghanistan.

Now, that the supply routes to Afghanistan are opening up, and a separate agreement is likely to emerge on compensating Pakistan for its infrastructure damage over the past decade or so, a number of fault lines remain. What will it take to restore balance to this relationship?

First, Pakistan needs to clarify its positive role in the Afghan reconciliation rather than rely on hedging its support while continuing to allow Afghan Taliban to use its territory to attack Afghanistan and coalition forces there. Is its military still betting on a Pakhtun alliance that includes the Haqqani Network to run Afghanistan in the future? North Waziristan, the Haqqani base in Pakistan, has become a magnet for not only Afghan Taliban but also local Pakistani Taliban as well as Punjabi militants who pose a real threat to Pakistan's own stability.

Pakistan could either persuade the Haqqanis to exit North Waziristan and take their war into Afghanistan proper. Or, it can risk a long-promised military offensive that may end up consolidating all the insurgents in that territory, and opening a new front that may extend into the Punjab in the Pakistani hinterland. Pakistan also needs to reach out to non-Pakhtun elements in Afghanistan and help all Afghans create a stable polity and economy after the coalition ceases its major operations in 2014. Otherwise, it risks fomenting fissures inside Afghanistan and creating a reverse sanctuary for its own insurgents on the Afghan side of the border. Without a friendly government in Kabul, it faces the prospect of continued insurgent attacks from across the Durand Line.

For its part, the United States needs to recognize that its unfettered use of drones to attack targets inside Pakistan has knock-on effects inside Pakistan that lead to widespread fear and hatred. Persistent use of drone techno logy has elevated an instrument of war to virtual policy status in the United States. This may be the time to reopen discussions on practicable ways of involving senior Pakistani military officers based in border coordination centers in targeting decisions and rebuilding the intelligence cooperation that netted many al-Qaeda leaders in the past.

The United States must also find better and faster ways of getting its promised Kerry-Lugar-Berman development assistance into the hands of project planners at the provincial level inside Pakistan. In order to do this it will need to invest in helping build Pakistan's intellectual and physical infrastructure, and restore access to energy while enhancing Pakistani textile exports to the United States. There is no silver bullet remedy for Pakistan's problems. The United States must work with Pakistan on a broad front but in a more coordinated manner than before.

Internally, apart from a divided and dysfunctional polity, with the civil, military, and judiciary authorities sniping at each other, Pakistan faces a serious economic challenge. Rampant domestic borrowing, a shattered energy sector, inflation, and a low tax-to-GDP ratio have put it in an economic hole. It will need help from the United States and other allies to garner financial assistance from international financial institutions. Most important, it will need to muster the political will and courage to change the structure of itsrentier state economy. Until Pakistan takes the actions necessary to fix its economy, international aid will be hard to get. Pakistan's age-old game is based on the assumption that it is too important to be allowed to fail, so the United States and others will come to its assistance, despite its lack of action on its own behalf. This approach has been nurtured by the US giving in to Pakistani demands in the past and therefore is likely to persist.

Pakistan, like the United States, is in election mode, as the government and other political parties position themselves for a fresh mandate perhaps in early 2013. So, expect no bold decisions. It will take hard work and persistence to mend the misalliance between the United States and Pakistan. How both countries address the issues that constantly threaten their relationship will determine the success or failure of the current rapprochement. Another crisis may well be lurking around the corner.

Shuja Nawaz is the director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ‘Wonders of Pakistan’. The contents of this article too are the sole responsibility of the author(s). WoP will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in this post.

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No Muslims! Please

2012-07-13T23:28:00.001+05:00

ARSHAD WARSI : His on screen persona as Munnabhai's Circuit may be endearing, but Arshad Warsi is among many Muslim actors who have found it difficult to buy a flat because of religion. Apparently, he even tried to buy one in his wife's [Maria Goretti] name but with no success. In a recent interview to Mumbai tabloid Mid-Day, Arshad said, 'It was very frustrating. I can't buy a residential or office space anywhere in and around Juhu, or in any part of Mumbai. The JVPD Scheme where the cream of Bollywood lives, is closed to Muslims. I had negotiated and almost closed the deal for a property in Juhu when the builders got to know I was Muslim. They refused. '

IS MUMBAI REALLY AS COSMOPOLITAN AS IT IS COMMONLY PERCEIVED?

by Arefa Tehsin

“Nah…how can this happen in Mumbai, that too with a Bollywood star?” I heard many people say when Emraan Hashmi reported that he was having difficulty in finding an apartment due to his faith. Then it was Shabana Azmi. “I wanted to buy a flat in Bombay and it wasn't given to me because I was a Muslim and I read the same about Saif (Ali Khan). Now, I mean, if Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi cannot get a flat in Bombay because they are Muslims, then what are we talking about?”

I've studied in Mumbai, stayed in a hostel and enjoyed the freedom to move about even in the late hours of night or wee hours of morning more or less safely. I come from the town of Udaipur, where everyone knows you and seems interested in your affairs. But, when need be, they would also go out of their way to help you. In Mumbai, I loved that people tended to mind their own business. Here, you could feel carefree and uncared for. But not discriminated. At least I thought so.

ZEENAT AMAN : She may have ruled the marquee in the '70s but this sex symbol found out that getting a roof over her head was not that easy. She wanted a house in Juhu but could not get the housing societies to budge even though she was ready to pay the market price. Finally, after many attempts, she managed to buy a house.

Years down the line, I've been sensitised towards professionals, students, families, strugglers and stars who have one tag in common — I am a Muslim. A couple of months back, my cousin, who is a pilot with Jet Airways, had his base assigned as Mumbai. He came, stayed at our place and I was sure he'd find a good flat on rent soon in the suburbs.

DAUNTING TASK

But it proved to be a much more trying task than we'd anticipated. Through various agents, he scanned Powai, Santacruz, Andheri Lokhandwala, Kandivali Lokhandwala, Thakur Complex (Kandivali), Thakur Village (Kandivali) and so on. The choice proved to be very limited for Muslims. Many more options were available in the same areas, through the same agents, for my sister-in-law (husband's sister), who is a Bengali Brahmin. Most of the agents are gracious enough to inform you at the start about the limited options. The more discreet ones politely shake their heads about the unavailability.

SAIF ALI KHAN : Now, who wouldn't like a Chota Nawab as a neighbour? Not one to put himself through rejection, the actor approached Muslim builders when he wanted a house for himself. 'I know there are localities and building societies that won't sell real estate to anyone who's a Muslim. I didn't want to get involved in that problem. I went to a Muslim builder to avoid complications,' But, he told the Mumbai-based tabloid, Mumbai Mirror ' The problem of communal segregation is very real in Mumbai. 'And it's not restricted to building societies, it's there in society in general. It's common knowledge that in certain areas of Juhu and Bandra land and houses are not sold to Muslims.

Post many agents and many rejections, my cousin finalised a flat in Kandivali Lokhandwala and gave the token amount. After much delay, it was returned as the society had refused to let a Muslim in, although the owner was ready.

EMRANN HASHMI : Before Mahesh Bhatt's nephew hit the jackpot with Jannat, finding a house was no easy task. The fact that he is Muslim just made things a little tougher. In the end he did manage to buy a flat for himself.

Last week, we went to see a flat in a building complex in Thakur Complex, adjoining the highway, where the society didn't have a problem with a Muslim tenant. But the owner refused to lend it to a Muslim. Although my husband assured that he, a Marwadi, was his brother-in-law and our offices were located quite near that building, there was no convincing the owner.

MORE LIBERAL PLACE

I walked away from that building, thinking about my grandfather who was the only one to open his shop during the Partition riots in the majority-dominated locality. People from all communities loved him well enough to elect him the Vice Mayor and then Mayor of Udaipur. His wife, my grandma, was the one of the initiators of women's education in Rajasthan and served as the Vice President of the Rajasthan Branch of All India Women's Conference (AIWC), of which Maharani Gayatri Devi was the President, way back in 1952. Our family comprises Kayasth Hindus, Shia and Sunni Muslims, Punjabis, Marwadis Baniyas, Bohras…many of whom have considerable contribution in politics, social service, arts, wildlife, conservation, literature and education in India. We celebrate all festivals round the year.

I was always told that the fabric of Indian society was rich with a profusion of languages, traditions and cultures woven over the ancient, medieval and modern ages. It was impossible to separate it thread by thread. Come to think of it, perhaps our little town of Udaipur is much more liberal at heart than many a cosmopolitan city. Perhaps the people of olden days were more liberal-minded than many a modern Indian.

Many societies in Mumbai, of which the majority flats are owned by business classes, have the unwritten rule of not allowing Muslims in. In the apartment complex where my in-laws live, one of the best in the Western Suburbs of Mumbai, there is not a single Muslim family. Even though initially the builders may sell flats to Muslims, once the society is formed, no more are allowed. This is not a general rule in all societies, of course, but a prevalent one.

Yes, there are Muslims, as well as other minority communities, who prefer to stay in ghettos. But I realise, with a heavy heart, that there are not many places for a liberal Muslim to go to. And aren't the majority communities making ghettoes for themselves by not letting the others in?

In Gokuldham society of the popular comedy serial “Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma”, there are Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, but not a single Muslim family (except a token Muslim small store owner). Perhaps that reflects the reality of many other building complexes in Mumbai. No Muslims Please!

arefatehsin@gmail.com

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1. Dubai eye…The new untouchables of India 2. In world’s largest democracy, even today, an Indian Muslim is not allowed to buy a property in Mumbai

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Why Pakistan Must Disengage from the US!

2012-07-11T21:40:00.001+05:00

TIME TO "DISENGAGE" FROM THE US-LED WESTERN ALLIANCE

by Dr. Haider Mehdi

“The facts have changed, now we must change too.”
George Monbiot – author of The Corporate Takeover of Britain

This is a Pakistan foreign policy specific article.

It is not a historical coincidence that the US has been engaged in over 100 military conflicts, foreign invasions, covert overthrows, destabilizations and overt interventions in the affairs of other nations during latter half of the 20^th century and in the first decade of the current era. It has been the result of an ideological project to subjugate the Third World to the military-political-economic-financial domination of US-Western capitalism and to exploit other nations’ resources for their own enrichment.

This political-economic-military neo-colonialism has been a specific undertaking in which the US-Western European political establishments, bankers, multi-national corporate top managements, business elites and the military-industrial complex have had equal stakes and expedient participation. No wonder repeated military interventions all over the globe, under fabricated pretexts and ideologically-designed confrontations, have been the foreign-policy mantra of the US-led Western alliances.

Resilient US-Western capitalism and the pursuance of its ideological expansion during the post-Second World War era have wreaked havoc all over the globe. Countries in the Third World that chose to submit to US hegemony and formed the Western sphere of influence were spared military interventions and domestic destabilizations for the time being. However, those nations are now confronted with domestic turbulence and political-economic unrest. It is because US-Western strategic interests and the vested interests of the ruling elites in those countries are identical – and this alliance has worked contrary to the interests of common people in all of those nations.

This brand of strategic political management has divided those nations into “haves” and “have-nots” to create classes of politically and economically powerful ruling elites that conduct themselves with clear and visible contempt for the masses. Past and contemporary Pakistan is a prime example of this reactionary, regressive and backwards political management model.

But facts and ground realities have changed; now we must change too. US-Western political hypocrisy has been exposed. Democracy and human rights mantras are just “slogans” for political manipulations. The US-led Western strategy for a New World Order is all too obviously a plan to further control Third World resources and political establishments in the service of expanding global capitalism and the ever-reaching tentacles of the multi- national corporate culture.

We know now though historical experiences and logical analysis that systematic, methodically planned and deliberately organized violence and selective killing of humanity has been a commercial enterprise for the US-Western corporate capitalism and its media-promoted so-called democratic doctrine. The Afghan and Iraqi invasions are the most recent examples of the US-West’s military interventions for this purpose, and Iran and Pakistan, in all probability, are next on their list.

NATO’s covert and overt military incursions in Libya, Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries are other glaring instances of the US-Western political hypocrisy and its continued foreign-policy doctrine for neo-colonial global expansion.

The point is that the US-West’s myth of “capitalism” as an ideology and driving force for the development of human civilization has been shattered. The entire world is in shambles. National economies everywhere are shattered: Europe is in financial crisis, Greece is facing an economic meltdown; America, itself, the cradle of modern capitalism, is facing the Wall Street movement against “capitalistic order.”

Political stability in US-West capitalistic model-affiliated nations is rare (again Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan are prime examples); military interventions and political warfare are the modus-operandi of modern day geo-political systems spearheaded by the US-West’s capitalistic democracies and there is no end in sign of continued military-political global confrontations under US-led capitalistic-democratic world order.

Peace, prosperity, stability for human civilization have become remote possibilities. Even the future environmental existence of humanity is threatened: “We have confused threats to the living planet with threats to industrial civilization (meaning capitalistic dominated civilization),” wrote Monbiat in a recent article, “they are not the same thing. Industry and consumer capitalism… are more resilient than many of the natural systems they threaten.”

It is time for Pakistan to finally grow out of its toxic alliance with the US and conduct its foreign-policy and diplomacy with more maturity, independence and in its national interests. Pakistan must look for fresh foreign-policy options. It must redefine its foreign-policy objectives. It must reinvent itself in its diplomatic initiatives and must combine its domestic priorities with its strategic approach in foreign affairs. In order to do so and to survive in a most volatile time and circumstances, Pakistan will have to “disengage” itself from the US-led Western alliance and pave for itself a fresh course of foreign-policy directions and discourse.

And, indeed, such opportunities are knocking at its door.

I will explain my perspective on these fresh opportunities later, but the vital questions are: Is Zardari/Raja/ Khar’s Pakistan capable of making such transformational change in this country’s foreign policy? Is the present regime, a pure creation of US-Britain patronage, able and competent enough to allow itself such dignity and courage against its masters? Does the incumbent political establishment have the capacity for such a vision of an altered foreign policy approach?

On the face of it and having restored the NATO supply route unconditionally, or at least with insignificant conditionality, the responses to these questions are not in the affirmative.

President Putin’s fresh diplomatic initiative with Chinese partnership to develop a strategic alliance with Pakistan along with Iran, Afghanistan, India and other regional nations in Central Asia is a monumental opportunity for Pakistan to devise a new course of action for its foreign policy approach and transformational change in its foreign alliances. Ambassador Zamir Kabulov has already visited Pakistan and has offered Islamabad stunning proposals and prospects of great significance that can place Pakistan in a major role as a central player in the regional and geo-political power politics.

These proposals include cooperation and technological-financial assistance for the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline, the TAPI project, and development of Pakistan’s energy sector as well as Russian participation in CASA (the Central Asia and South Asia project) and oil, gas and mineral exploration in Pakistan.

On the global political platform, Russia desires an effective role in the stabilization of Afghanistan, a fundamental convergence of interests with Pakistan’s, and in providing overall security to Central Asian Islamic States. “All in all, Moscow’s strategy is to develop new sinews of cooperation with Pakistan that are sustainable, durable… with Russia’s vibrant strategic partnerships with China, India and Iran,” wrote MK Bhadrakumar, a former Indian diplomat, recently.

The consequences of a Pakistan-Russian strategic alliance would be far-reaching, staggering and monumental in terms of its domestic politics and its role in the arena of regional and global politics.

But the important question is: Will the NRO-implanted Pakistani so-called democracy take up the challenge when President Putin visits Pakistan in September?

Or will Washington-London pull the rug from under Pakistan – of course, with the contrivance of their collaborators in the ruling mafia in this country?

But that will have to be seen!

---

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YOUR COMMENT IS IMPORTANT

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Wonders of Pakistan

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