Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is expanding faster than any other nation’s

by: Daily.pk

As usual, right before the passage of an aid bill to Pakistan, a plethora of lobbies begin their disinformation campaigns. This latest one is pretty absurd. According to the Pakistanphobes that want to derail the aid package to Pakistan Islamabad has supposedly modified vintage Anti-ship US Harpoon missiles. This silly argument is as stupid as it sounds. Pakistan has a very advanced missile program and has tested short range, medium range and long range missiles. Pakistan has been testing the missiles for over three decades.

Much to the chagrin of its enemies, Pakistan has expedited its nuclear program. The ISIS makes it look its breaking news. It is now reporting that Pakistan has a Plutonium program. The ISIS analysts may have been living in a cave, because Islamabad has always had a Plutonium program. Obviously the program is ongoing and and will surely add to the number of bombs that it possesses.

Pakistan’s multifaceted missile program has various components

• Short Range Missiles: Hataf

• Medium Range Missiles: Shaheen

• Long Range Missiles: Ghauri

• ICBM/SLV: Taimur

The recent US charge about reverse engineering ancient US kits doesn’t make any sense at all.  The dispute highlights the level of mistrust that remains between the United States and a Pakistani military. So what are the reasons for the inane accusation. The New York Times sheds some light on the reasons:

• ..the subtext of the argument is growing concern about the speed with which Pakistan is developing new generations of both conventional and nuclear weapons. “There’s a concerted effort to get these guys to slow down,”

• At issue is the detection by American intelligence agencies of a suspicious missile test on April 23 — a test never announced by the Pakistanis — that appeared to give the country a new offensive weapon.

The Pakistan missile program is one of the most advanced in the world. Most international experts are very skeptical of the American claims.

• … the Harpoon missile did not have the necessary range for a land-attack missile, which would lend credibility to Pakistani claims that they are developing their own new missile. Moreover, he said, Pakistan already has more modern land-attack missiles that it developed itself or acquired from China. Robert Hewson, editor of Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons, a yearbook and Web-based data service

• “They’re beyond the need to reverse-engineer old U.S. kit,” …“They’re more sophisticated than that.” …the ship-to-shore missile that Pakistan was testing was part of a concerted effort to develop an array of conventional missiles that could be fired from the air, land or sea to address India’s much more formidable conventional missile arsenal.Robert Hewson, editor of Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons, a yearbook and Web-based data service

The Pakistani missile program is a program of survival, self-preservation, dreams, defense and direct competition with India. In many ways, the program is ahead of its much larger neighbor’s program. Its deterrent value was proven, even in its early stages of development when it kept more than 250,000 soldiers on the Pakistani borders at bay in 2002. It also prevented Bharat from attacking Pakistan in the 90s when Zia Ul Haq was president. The US claim is all the more ridiculous because Bharat has admitted that Pakistan has a very robust missile program.

The range of Pakistan’s India-centric missiles. The Pakistani missile program is helping it develop a space program

The range of Pakistan’s India-centric missiles. The Pakistani missile program is helping it develop a space program

WASHINGTON — The United States has accused Pakistan of illegally modifying American-made missiles to expand its capability to strike land targets, a potential threat to India, according to senior administration and Congressional officials.

The charge, which set off a new outbreak of tensions between the United States and Pakistan, was made in an unpublicized diplomatic protest in late June to Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and other top Pakistani officials.

The accusation comes at a particularly delicate time, when the administration is asking Congress to approve $7.5 billion in aid to Pakistan over the next five years, and when Washington is pressing a reluctant Pakistani military to focus its attentions on fighting the Taliban, rather than expanding its nuclear and conventional forces aimed at India.

While American officials say that the weapon in the latest dispute is a conventional one — based on the Harpoon antiship missiles that were sold to Pakistan by the Reagan administration as a defensive weapon in the cold war — the subtext of the argument is growing concern about the speed with which Pakistan is developing new generations of both conventional and nuclear weapons.

“There’s a concerted effort to get these guys to slow down,” one senior administration official said. “Their energies are misdirected.”

At issue is the detection by American intelligence agencies of a suspicious missile test on April 23 — a test never announced by the Pakistanis — that appeared to give the country a new offensive weapon.

American military and intelligence officials say they suspect that Pakistan has modified the Harpoon antiship missiles that the United States sold the country in the 1980s, a move that would be a violation of the Arms Control Export Act. Pakistan has denied the charge, saying it developed the missile itself. The United States has also accused Pakistan of modifying American-made P-3C aircraft for land-attack missions, another violation of United States law that the Obama administration has protested.NY Times. By ERIC SCHMITT and DAVID E. SANGER. Published: August 29, 2009 U.S. Accuses Pakistan of Altering Missiles.

Pakistani missiles: Hataf, Ghauri, Babar, Abdali missiles

Pakistan has first strike capability covering the entire South Asian Subcontinent . It also has 2nd strike capability with missiles that can reach deep into Indian territory. The 250 Nuclear and Hydrogen bombs keep the enemies at bay.

Pakistan has reportedly addressed issues of survivability through second strike capability, possible hard and deeply buried storage andlaunch facilities, road-mobile missiles, air defenses around strategic sites and concealment measures,” the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its report on Pak nuclear weapons dating May 15.CRS is the research wing of US Congress, which prepares reports on issues of interest of the US lawmakers.

Pakistan began banking on missiles because of the US embargo on planes. “till the fleet of 500 JF-Thunder aircraft are ready, Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent will be the missile nuclear defense. Pakistan formally kicked off its medium-range missile programme in April 1998, with the first successful test flight of GhauriI missile followed by similar tests the next years involving the nuclear capable Ghauri, Shaheen, Ghaznavi and Abdali missile systems.

Whatever their origin, the missiles would be a significant new entry into Pakistan’s arsenal against India. They would enable Pakistan’s small navy to strike targets on land, complementing the sizable land-based missile arsenal that Pakistan has developed. That, in turn, would be likely to spur another round of an arms race with India that the United States has been trying, unsuccessfully, to halt. “The focus of our concern is that this is a potential unauthorized modification of a maritime antiship defensive capability to an offensive land-attack missile,” said another senior administration official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter involves classified information.

“The potential for proliferation and end-use violations are things we watch very closely,” the official added. “When we have concerns, we act aggressively.”

A senior Pakistani official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity because the interchanges with Washington have been both delicate and highly classified, said the American accusation was “incorrect.” The official said that the missile tested was developed by Pakistan, just as it had modified North Korean designs to build a range of land-based missiles that could strike India. He said that Pakistan had taken the unusual step of agreeing to allow American officials to inspect the country’s Harpoon inventory to prove that it had not violated the law, a step that administration officials praised.

Some experts are also skeptical of the American claims. Robert Hewson, editor of Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons, a yearbook and Web-based data service, said the Harpoon missile did not have the necessary range for a land-attack missile, which would lend credibility to Pakistani claims that they are developing their own new missile. Moreover, he said, Pakistan already has more modern land-attack missiles that it developed itself or acquired from China.

“They’re beyond the need to reverse-engineer old U.S. kit,” Mr. Hewson said in a telephone interview. “They’re more sophisticated than that.” Mr. Hewson said the ship-to-shore missile that Pakistan was testing was part of a concerted effort to develop an array of conventional missiles that could be fired from the air, land or sea to address India’s much more formidable conventional missile arsenal.

The dispute highlights the level of mistrust that remains between the United States and a Pakistani military that American officials like to portray as an increasingly reliable partner in the effort to root out the forces of the Taliban and Al Qaeda on Pakistani territory. A central element of the American effort has been to get the military refocused on the internal threat facing the country, rather than on threat the country believes it still faces from India.

Pakistani officials have insisted that they are making that shift. But the evidence continues to point to heavy investments in both nuclear and conventional weapons that experts say have no utility in the battle against insurgents.

Over the years, the United States has provided a total of 165 Harpoon missiles to Pakistan, including 37 of the older-model weapons that were delivered from 1985 to 1988, said Charles Taylor, a spokesman for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The country’s nuclear arsenal is expanding faster than any other nation’s. In May, Pakistan conducted a test firing of its Babur medium-range cruise missile, a weapon that military experts say could potentially be tipped with a nuclear warhead. The test was conducted on May 6, during a visit to Washington by President Asif Ali Zardari, but was not made public by Pakistani officials until three days after the meetings had ended to avoid upsetting the talks. While it may be technically possible to arm the Harpoons with small nuclear weapons, outside experts say it would probably not be necessary.

Before Congress departed for its summer recess, administration officials briefed crucial legislators on the protest to Pakistan. The dispute has the potential to delay or possibly even derail the legislation to provide Pakistan with $7.5 billion in civilian aid over five years; lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the aid package when they return from their recess next month.

The legislation is sponsored by Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the top Democrat and Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, as well as Representative Howard L. Berman, a California Democrat who leads the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressional aides are now reconciling House and Senate versions of the legislation.

Frederick Jones, a spokesman for Mr. Kerry, declined to comment on the details of the dispute citing its classified nature but suggested that the pending multifaceted aid bill would clear Congress “in a few weeks” and would help cooperation between the two countries.

“There have been irritants in the U.S.-Pakistan relationship in the past and there will be in the future,” Mr. Jones said in a statement, noting that the pending legislation would provide President Obama “with new tools to address troubling behavior.” NY Times. By ERIC SCHMITT and DAVID E. SANGER. Published: August 29, 2009 U.S. Accuses Pakistan of Altering Missiles.

Known and publicized Pakistan’s missile efforts consists of three components:

SHORT RANGE MISSILES:The short range Hatf-1 and Hatf-2, of Pakistani design and construction, were developed by the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).M-11Since 1992, Pakistan has been constructing maintenance facilities, launchers and storage sheds for the missiles.  The missile has a range of more than 300 km and a payload of 500 kg. It is a two-stage, solid-propelled missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The missile was reportedly test-fired in July 1997.

• Hatf-1, Est. Range: 80 km, Est. Payload: 500 kg, Est. Launch Weight: 1500 kg, Propulsion: Single-stage, Solid propellant, Comments: Mobile platform. Status: flight-tested.

• Even though the Hatf-1, -1A, and Hataf-2were declared operational in the early 1990s, and the Pakistan Army tested the Hatf-1A in February 2000. Western observers feel that  both Hataf 1 and Hataf2 programs are likely to have been discontinued. Pakistani analysts find the Hataf 1 and 2 of a lot of value because of he proximity of any enemy movement. The older versions of the Hataf did not have a robust navigational system, but this functionality has been upgraded.

SHAHEEN MEDIUM RANGE:The Shaheen series of solid-propellant missiles were developed by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), which is also responsible for Pakistan’s plutonium bomb program.  They have been compared to the Chinese M-11 missiles. The locally produced longer range Shaheen-I and Shaheen-II appear are comparable to the Chinese M-9 or DF-15 missiles.

Hatf-3, (Tarmuk) (Comparable to Chinese M-11)Est. Range: 300 km, Est. Payload: 500 kg, Est. Launch Weight: N/A

• Propulsion: Two-stage, Solid propellant

• Comments: Mobile platform. Status: flight-tested.

Hatf IV. The DF-15/M-9 (NATO designation CSS-6) is a single-stage, solid-propellant, road mobile, short-range ballistic missile. It can reportedly deliver a 500kg warhead over a range of 600km; other reports suggest that with a smaller warhead, the missile could have a range of 800km. Pakistani government statements suggest that the missiles in Pakistan’s possession have a maximum range of 700-800km. Like the M-11 missiles, control during boost phase is exercised through “exhaust vanes or small scale vernier motors.” The M-9 has a reported 300m circular error probability (CEP) and is believed to employ some form of terminal guidance. Analysts suggest that the missile has a “strapdown inertial guidance system with an onboard digital computer,”….which “enables rapid targeting andeliminates need for wind corrections prior to launch.” Unconfirmed reports suggest that the “separating warhead section has a miniature propulsion system to correct the attitude before re-entry, as well as adjusting the terminal trajectory.”Source NTI
Shaheen 1:The high-precision Shaheen-1 missile has a range of up to 700 kilometers (about 440 miles). It is a railroad platform-based mobile variant of the Pakistani Hatf-IV ballistic missile.

LONG RANGE GHAURI:The Kahuta Laboratories, which is also responsible for Pakistan’s uranium bomb program, has built the Gahuri missile which is also in production. It has been compared to North Korean Nodong and the longer range Taepodong missiles.The  Ghauri (Hatf-V) missile was tested in April 1998. The Ghauri is liquid-fueled and is Pakistan’s imported version of the North Korean Nodong, itself a fancy Scud. Official Pakistani statements claim the missile has a maximum range of 1500 km carrying a 700 kg payload, but analysis by the U.S. Department of Defense of the Ghauri puts the range closer to 1000 km. According to Dr. A. Q. Khan, who is credited with being the father of Pakistan’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, the Ghauri flew 1100 km in its flight-test in April, supporting the Pentagon’s analysis. Press reports put the tested range as being between 700 km and 1200 km.The Ghauri is reported to have a relatively large diameter – 1.25 m. Pakistan is capable of producing nuclear warheads approximately the size of a soccer ball and weighing 400 kg, a size which would easily fit on a 1.25 m missile. Dr. Khan claimed that Ghauri is now “fully operational.” And when asked if Pakistan is now capable of deploying nuclear weapons, he replied, “No doubt about it, one should not be under any illusions.” He said it could be done within “not months, not weeks, but within days.”

Hatf-5, (Ghauri 1).‘A Strategic Missile Group (SMG) of Pakistan Army’s Strategic Force Command (ASFC) conducted a successful training launch of Ghauri Missile (IRBM)” . Pakistan’s liquid-engine ballistic missile program is spearheaded by KRL. Comparable to Soviet R-17, and Korean Nodong.

• Est. Range: 1000 km, Est. Payload: 700 kg,

• Est. Launch Weight: 16,000 kg.

• Propulsion: Single-stage, liquid propellant.

• Comments: Mobile platform. Status: flight-tested.

“KRL has also disclosed plans for longer-range versions of the Ghauri: the Ghauri-II and possibly Ghauri-III. A more powerful engine for longer-range versions of the Ghauri is under development.[37] Some statements attributed to Pakistani nuclear scientists and government leaders suggest that the Ghauri-II will have a range of 1,700km; other statements suggest that the Ghauri-III will have a strike-range of 2,000-3,500km” Comparable DPRK Taopodong

Hatf-VI (IRBM) Shaheen II is Pakistan’s longest-range ballistic missile system with a range of 2000 kilometers and has the potential to achieve 2500 kilometers in an advanced version. It is a two-stage solid fuel missile which can carry nuclear and conventional warheads with high accuracy.

April 26, 2008: Pakistan announced that, after nearly a decade of development, its Hatf VI IRBM (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile) is ready for service. The system, also called Shaheen II, has a range of 2,000 kilometers, can carry a nuclear warhead, and hit any part of India. At least a dozen of these missiles are being built, andmoved around on mobile transporter/launchers. The Hatf VI will be a major part of Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent against Indian invasion

… a 700-2,500km-range missile dubbed as the Shaheen-II, about which little is known.[30] Mock-ups of the missile displayed during the National Day celebrations in March 2003 suggest that it is a two-stage, solid-motor, road mobile system, transported on a 12-wheel TEL vehicle. Analysts speculate that the Shaheen-II is possibly a two-stage version of the M-9, or more likely a copy of the M-18, which was publicly displayed at an exhibition in Beijing in either 1987 or 1988. The M-18 was originally advertised as a two-stage system with a payload capacity of 400-500kg over a range of 1,000km.[31] U.S. intelligence sources suggest that Pakistan remains heavily reliant on external assistance for the Shaheen-II program and that China is actively assisting Pakistan through the supply of missile components, specialty materials, dual-use items, and other miscellaneous forms of technical assistance.[32].

Development flight tests of the Shaheen-II began in March 2004 when a 26-ton missile was launched from Pakistan’s Somiani Flight Test Range on the Arabian Sea.[33] According to the Chairman of Pakistan’s National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) Dr. Samar Mubarakmand, the missile covered a distance of 1,800km during the test. [34]. The missile was tested in March 2005, April 2006, and February 2007.[55] Subsequently, reports in summer 2007 stated that Pakistan had begun the process of deployment of the Shaheen-II.[53]

The missile’s basic airframe is made from steel, although some sections may be crafted out of aluminum. The propulsion system is a liquid rocket engine that uses a storable combination of inhibited red fuming nitric acid and kerosene. During the boost phase, four jet vanes are used for thrust vector control. It is also believed that the missile uses three body-mounted gyros for attitude and lateral acceleration control. In addition, “a pendulum integration gyro assembly serves for speed control.” The Nodong’s range and throw weight has been variously estimated between 800-1,500km and 700-1,300kg, respectively.

BABAR HATF-7, Ra’ad (Hatf VII).CRUISE MISSILES: Pakistan schocked India and the world when it tested a stealth cruise missile in 2005. Babar Hatf-7. The Babar cruise missile can carry nuclear or conventional warheads. The 1.5-tonne, 22-foot long missile is capable of carrying a 250-kg warhead. It is believed Pakistan is working on developing a nuclear warhead that would fit into it. Since 2005, Islamabad has also carried out several tests of its Babur (Hatf VII) cruise missile, two such tests coming in March and June 2007.

05:19 GMT, May 11, 2009 As the country’s News Agency reported at the end of last week, on Wednesday Pakistan conducted a successful test-firing of its latest domestically manufactured cruise missile, known as Babur (or Babar, Hatf VII), exactly at the time President Asif Zardari was in Washington and due to meet US President Barack Obama.
The Hatf-VIII Ra’ad Cruise missile: Pakistan successfully tested a nuclear-capable, air-launched cruise missile with a range of 350 km on Thursday. This cruise missile has been developed exclusively for launch from aircraft. The indigenously developed missile also had special stealth capabilities and could deliver all types of warheads with great accuracy. This cruise missile was tested on May 8, 2008

This subsonic nuclear capable missile, has a range of 700 km.[48] In addition, in August 2007, Pakistan tested a new cruise missile, the Ra’ad (Arabic for “Thunder”). This missile, which is air-launched, has a range of 350 kilometers.[1] Thus, along with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles are increasingly part of Pakistan’s nuclear calculus. [2] Source: [49] “Pakistan Military Test-Fires Nuclear Capable Cruise Missile,” International Herald Tribune, August 25, 2007, http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/25/asia/AS-GEN-Pakistan-Missile-Test.php.[50] See “Nuclear Cruise Missiles,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, November/December 2007, pp. 62-63,

IN DEVELOPMENT/PRODUCTION:ICBMS AND SLV Taimur:In the future, an even longer-ranged missile is likely, according to the Rumsfeld Commission. Analysts have estimated that Pakistani misisletechnology has grown beyond the basic stages and is capable of Intercontinental reach. Pakistan is working on the Taimur Sat. Luanch vehicle which has been kept under close wraps. The space and the ICBM program is closely linked.

Pakistan grants full autonomy to northern areas

by: Daily.pk

In a landmark decision, the Pakistani government on Saturday granted full autonomy to the northern areas of Pakistan, along Afghan border, ending their empowerment and self-government struggle since independence in 1947.
Prime Minister Syed Raza Gilani announced at a press conference after a cabinet meeting that the Northern Areas of Pakistan have been granted full autonomy. Though, still not being given the status of a province, the Premier announced Northern Areas to be renamed as Gilgit-Baltistan. He said the region would have its own assembly, separate election commission and auditor general.

Beside, the Prime Minster said that Gilgit-Baltistan would have a governor and a chief minister, who will be assisted by six ministers.

This was a major decision taken by the government for the first time since independence for the region, which is not designated as a fully integral part of Pakistan by the constitution.

It may be mentioned here that Gilgit Baltistan is internationally contested by Pakistan, India and the native inhabitants of Gilgit Baltistan as well.

Its inhabitants never had any representation in the parliament but the federal government has one non-elected minister representing the region. Hence, the Northern Areas had no political representation and no status under Pakistan’s constitution.

The Islamic Republic of Gaza

by: Daily.pk

The culture of exclusion and narrow mindedness, of the claim to a monopoly on the absolute truth, branding those who beg to differ as traitors and heretics, breeds fanatics, militias, sectarian violence and groups that clamour to proclaim entities like an “Islamic Republic of Gaza” over which they have an exclusive right to rule. Such a mode of behaviour proliferates like a particularly virulent weed in times of political decay and military defeat, especially in areas gripped by poverty, unemployment, weakness and frustration, as is the case in Gaza.

The situation in Gaza is further aggravated by an economic stranglehold as well as by an authority that fosters, protects and uses such movements to terrorise the people, intimidate opponents and purge political adversaries. Not infrequently, outside powers and forces have fostered such trends and groups, only to discover that the magic formula they used against others has turned against them. The most notorious example of this phenomenon is the Taliban, bred and fed by the US to fight the Russians in Afghanistan. Then they were termed freedom fighters, later becoming the “terrorist” scourge that provided the grounds for the US invasion. Al-Qaeda took root in a similar manner and for the same purpose. The horrors it subsequently perpetrated provided the US and other Western powers with an excuse to brand the Palestinian liberation struggle and other national resistance movements as terrorism and thus negate the universally sanctioned right to resist occupation and oppression.

Yet a further example of the cynical use of terrorism unfolded in Lebanon following crimes committed by the Fatah Islam militia. The militia members took flight and hid out in the Nahr Al-Bared refugee camp, giving Lebanese authorities the excuse to invade the camp, destroy it and drive out its inhabitants. These people, whose camp has yet to be reconstructed, are yet another tragic example of how civilians pay the price for organised violence.

The militant Islamist group Jund Ansar Allah emerged in Gaza against the backdrop of both Israel’s stranglehold on the Strip and under a brutish ruling authority. After having opted for military force as the means to settle Palestinian differences and seize control of Gaza, Hamas evidently succumbed to the lustre and allure of power. Its subsequent actions, from suppressing other Islamist and political forces on the pretext that their independent political activities or expressions of resistance conflict with the interests of the Palestinian people, their violations of civil rights and individual freedoms, and their oppressive laws and regulations, proclaim their determination to impose their own beliefs on others.

Nothing speaks louder of this intent than their edicts compelling women lawyers to cover their heads, making the galabiya the school uniform for girls, and decreeing similar dress codes for female mannequins. More insidious are the interventions in people’s private affairs by the morals police. Hamas has an endless store of excuses for its random arrests. It has rounded up and incarcerated most Fatah members in Gaza, just as the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has rounded up Hamas members in the West Bank. Both groups seem bent on undermining the Palestinian national project, pursuing factional interests that have nothing whatsoever to do with the welfare of the Palestinian people and that only serve the American and Israeli regional projects.

Hamas wants to turn Gaza into an Islamic emirate. Towards this end it has issued a series of laws and edicts that accomplish two general aims: they force its vision and beliefs on others, and in so doing ensure that Hamas has a monopoly on truth and on what is in the best interests of the Palestinian people. Ironically, last week Hamas turned its wrath on Jund Ansar Allah, a group with its hearts set on the same goal. Justifying its assault against the rival Islamist militia, Hamas maintained that its members once belonged to the former, Fatah- controlled security agency in Gaza. The pretext is particularly curious given that some Jund Ansar Allah members were closely connected to Hamas and, indeed, carried out many acts of murder and destruction on behalf of, or at least with the cognizance of, Hamas’s security agencies.

Force is no way to handle internal relations. It breeds greater extremism and spurs fragmentation. Hamas, with its ideological absolutism and political exclusionism, with the witch hunts and repressive tactics it has used to establish its monopoly on authority, has already served as the catalyst for the proliferation of ever more virulent clones. These can serve only one purpose — to hand the Palestinians’ enemies the gift of being able to brand their struggle as “terrorist” and to hand Israel an excuse for perpetuating its occupation, the blockade and other injustices.

Suppressing civil liberties and individual freedoms and disseminating a culture of suspicion, combining this with inquisitorial methods, is a recipe for disaster. The only way out of the current impasse is to guarantee civil liberties and individual rights and institutionalise political plurality. If Hamas wants to market itself abroad as a centrist movement and establish non-extremist credentials the last thing it should be doing is engage in shootouts and pitched battles, precipitating a downward slide into security breakdown. The effect of all this is to perpetuate and aggravate divisions and set people at each other’s throats over control of a governing authority that exercises no real power.

It is hard to contemplate what will happen should the Palestinian situation continue in its current, repugnant direction. As if the Palestinians have not suffered enough already from political rifts and infighting, now they face a one- upmanship in fanaticism that will spawn a plethora of preachers and sermonisers, self-proclaimed caliphs and emirs, transforming Palestine into a hotbed of bigotry and religious quackery that violates the most essential tenets of Islam. Nothing could be of greater help to the agendas of forces antagonistic to Palestinian and Arab national causes, especially in this era of mounting hostility towards Islam and Muslim peoples. How could terrorism cloaked as jihad or national liberation conceivably promote a cause for which someone is willing to blow himself up at a wedding, a funeral, a house of worship, or a restaurant, taking dozens of innocent lives along with him? What possible moral points are scored by indiscriminate and senseless killing? Such mindless, ratuitous violence undermines the legitimacy of national struggle and makes a mockery of the right to resist occupation.

If  Hamas is to avert the alarming prospects described above it must undertake a comprehensive revision of its practices and policies with regard to the Palestinian national cause and social affairs. The Palestinians still live under occupation. What should be foremost in everyone’s mind is to do what it takes to end division, mend rifts and unify behind a common strategy in order to safeguard the project of national liberation from collapse.

Mr. Altaf Hussain is number 1 Terrorist of Pakistan

by: Daily.pk

The Killers of Syed Salhuddin  and Hakeem Saeed and numerous other noble souls including Advocate Iqbal Ra’d and Shuhadah of May 12 Karachi carnage andburnt alive lawyers etc are again coming to the surface. They are accusing Mr. Nawaz Sharif for making a deal with a dictator.  MQM had taken Karachi hostage and started Bhatta system and paid mercenaries for Zionists and their offspring like CIA, KGB and RAW etc.

These Satanic forces used MQM to kill many innocent people in the worst possible way like drilling live human being. Mr. Altaf Hussain who was purchased by CIA and groomed and owned by CIA is now living in the protecting lap of British Zionists. The American Embassy has profusely rewarded MQM and issue hundreds if not thousands of VISAs on the recommendation of this number 1 terrorist of Pakistan.

MQM is one of the most notorious organizations of the world with full backing of World Zionism and its agents and allies e.g. USA, UK, French, Germany, Russian Governments and Brahmins of India. Like the Global Terrorists i.e. Israelis it always presents itself as the most innocent and deprived one. MQM has created a culture of forceful tax (Bhatta) and indiscriminate as well as discriminate killings of innocent and particularly Islamic people in Pakistan. Terrorist (Tr.) Altaf Hussain visited India and spoke at length all kinds of nonsense against Pakistan. Tr. Altaf Hussain’s main achievements are as follows:

Creating division among Muslims of Pakistan. He and his MQM raised slogans against Sindhi, Punjabi and Pathans of Pakistan and insulted them publically
MQM killed poor Rickshaw drivers, small vendors, laborers
MQM killed Iqbal Ra’d, Hakeem Saeed, Syed Slahuddin (on orders of Aga Khan), and many Quranic scholars in day light
MQM created torture centers where they drilled living human beings with electric drill machines.

One such example is the son of Mr. Abdur Rehman Siddiqui, councilor of Block 10, Federal B Area Karachi, and his son was abducted on 1st Ramadan by MQM activists and the dead body was found after Iftar. When the father gave bath to the dead body of his beloved son he found numerous electric drill holes all over body. I knew personally Abdur Rehman who is very humble, polite and helpful friendly person. There are numerous other murders like these have been created by MQM
MQM killed political opponents and even its own party members including its General secretary Tariq Azim  MQM killed potentially rival personalities including Aslam Mujahid who was considered to be the next candidate for Nazim of Karachi MQM created a wave of hatred among Muslims while Tr. Altaf had good and cordial relations with the leaders of other anti Islam and anti Pakistan political organizations. He never spoke a single word against Ta’ghoot Tr. Aga Khan and his Fidayeen terrorists. Every body condemned Israeli terrorism in Gaza but Altaf remained silent.

MQM activists had been fully sponsored by CIA, KGB, Moosad and RAW.

The American consulate in Karachi issued hundreds of visas to America on recommendations of MQM and hence a great number of their activists moved to USA and Canada MQM had created a culture of corruption, vulgarity, cheapness, death and destruction in Pakistan. It ridiculed Great Poet Iqbal and promoted rotten, foul smelling Jahilia culture which is strictly prohibited by the Prophet (PBUH)  MQM always rigged elections, killed innocent people sitting in the polling stations, took away the ballot boxes and later declared itself winner.

In the last by- elections MQM killed several people in Karachi in this fashion. Even Justice Irsahd Hussain declared those elections null and void but Musharraf sent Irshad on leave, appointed another temporary Election Commissioner (Abdul Hameed Dogar) and declared terrorists as winner and members of National Assembly.

MQM fired on the people attending the funeral prayers of those killed. My own brother and his sons were among the people  In the last elections MQM did not won a single seat from Karachi. It rigged the elections on guns like it did the elections of city Government. In other words MQM has no true representation from Karachi or any part of Sind. Mr. Altaf shed crocodile’s tears on Sind Affairs just day before yesterday to create a divide between various provinces of Pakistan.
Imagine that the Chief Justice of a country is prevented from entering and addressing lawyers to Bar Association by a terrorist organization. Following were the salient features of the May 12 Blood Bath:

• Full Government machinery was utilized against common people

• Big newspapers advertisements were given from Government funds to condemn the behavior of Chief Justice and the lawyers struggling for supremacy of Constitution, law and Justice

• Threats were clearly issued and Chief Justice was asked to not to come to Karachi

• Thousands of trained terrorists were brought from interior Sind and were given specific tasks e.g. manning Mazar-e-Qaid route, deploying on bridges to shoot at the passing caravans and standing at the “Water Facilities” ( At least 40 of them) with hidden rifles and other ammunition

• Blocking the main roads with huge and heavy containers

• Digging the roads so that traffic could be blocked

• Using Karachi Electricity Company etc vehicles to put up MQM flags and banners

• Using police to arrest thousands of political workers of other parties on fake charges

• On May 12 MQM first tired to abduct Chief Justice from Karachi Airport; failing in that they attacked lawyers and supporters of Chief Justice. The attacks and other acts of terrorism included:             Shooting innocent people from the bridges. MQM workers with automatic rifles could be easily seen. They were indiscriminately firing on the caravans killing  many people and injuring others

• Shooting people from the “Water Facilities” and other MQM camps

• Attacking TV stations e.g. Aaj to force them to close their live coverage of MQM terrorism

• Forcing Chief Justice to return back to Islamabad

All Pakistanis must actively participate in nation building. They must not remain silent. They should write letters to various newspapers exposing real terrorists and their crimes. They must launch cases against the terrorists and take every step to eliminate the terrorists at all levels. They mist get connected with Allah by holding the rope of Allah Ta’lah i.e. Quran-e-Majeed and by following the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH). They must do every thing what Prophet (PBUH) did. On 16th March Pakistanis showed they will not tolerate the anti human activities of the Government. If Government used violence, the people will also use.

Has The US Invaded And Occupied Pakistan?

By: PKKH

Talha Mujaddidi | PKKH Editorial Team &  Axis of Logic

We are watching it happen in the streets. The recurring nightmare has become a grim, new reality for the people of Pakistan. After watching the horrors of the U.S. invasions and occupations of Iraq and neighboring Afghanistan for 8 years, the “war on terror” has finally arrived in The Land of the Pure. The sudden arrival of U.S. marines, U.S. military Hummers, the hired killers of Blackwater, houses barricaded for U.S. personnel in Islamabad and the construction of the world’s largest U.S. “Embassy” are terrorizing this nation of 180 million people. The U.S. slaughter and destruction in Iraq and neighboring Afghanistan for the last 8 years warn them of what may lie in store for them, their families, their land.

The U.S. Marines

On 9/21/08 a bomb ripped through the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad killing scores of people and injuring hundreds. Prior to the bombing, U.S. marines off-loaded steel boxes from a truck, by-passed security and took them to the 4th floor of the building. US officials refused to cooperate with the government’s attempts to investigate their activities. One year later, U.S. Marines are leading the occupation of Pakistan.

Until this landing of U.S. forces, the nation’s spokesman for Foreign Affairs had been denying that 1000 U.S. marines were on their way to Islamabad. The thousand marines are now in the capital city of Islamabad. Some of them may be quietly slipping into Balochistan where the presence of JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) have been reported by foreign journalists. But most are here to defend what will be the largest U.S. embassy/fortress in the world, now under construction and to spearhead the invasion and occupation.

Costs to the U.S. Taxpayer

US Ambassador in Pakistan Anne W. Patterson

The total cost for housing and and general support for the marines alone will be US$112.5 million. US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson said the money is allocated as follows: “$5 million was for Marine quarters, $53.5 for housing infrastructure, $18 million for improvement of general services office area, and $36 million for temporary duty quarters and community support facilities.”

In Patterson’s explanation of the massive expansion of the U.S. Embassy she talked about 4 Billion (that’s with a “B”) dollars:

“The embassy expansion, she said, was a reflection of the long-term commitment that the US intended to have with Pakistan. Moreover, she said, quadrupling of the social, economic and military assistance that would touch $4 billion a year over the next 18 months, necessitated staff increase.”

Ambassador Patterson did not clarify whether the $4 Billion covers the construction which will make this embassy the largest in the world. When this construction is seen in context and coordination with the new level of U.S. occupation of Pakistan, it looks more like a permanent military base than an embassy for running military and covert operations not only in Pakistan but also in the region.

Weapons and Hummers

Eye witnesses and informed journalists have been reporting sightings of U.S. personnel in Islamabad for the past week or so, but now they are seen moving freely throughout the capital. The law (Section 144) provides that Pakistanis who own guns are not permitted to carry them in Islamabad. But U.S. personnel are showing Pakistanis that they are above the law as they openly brandish their weapons. It has also been confirmed that 3,000 U.S. military Hummers, locked and loaded are awaiting dispatch in Karachi’s Port Qasim. For millions of Pakistanis news of these Hummers conjures up images of U.S. troops charging through the streets of Iraqi cities, armed to the teeth, terrifying and often killing unarmed civilians.

On Feb. 23, 2009 the Pentagon revealed that over 70 U.S. military advisers had been secretly working in Pakistan.

Blackwater and the CIA

Pakistanis have known about the 300 U.S. military “advisers” lodged in Tarbela. But news of the arrival of the notorious Blackwater mercenaries in addition to the thousand U.S. marines are riveting the people. In Pakistan, Blackwater is trading its tainted name for a telling name “Xe Worldwide”, behind which these paid killers are now hiding.

Also, last week, Creative Associates International Inc (CAII), a CIA front, has been operating in Peshawar. They have now sealed off a road and set up shop near the houses of senior Pakistani officials in Islamabad, directly across from a school.

Dr. Shireen M. Mazari is a scholar and commentator on Strategic Studies and Political Science from Pakistan. She has a Ph.D. from Colombia University and was Director General of Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan and former Chairperson of Department of Defense and Strategic Studies at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. She is critical of the relationship the Pakistan government has with the United States and India. Speaking for an opposition political party (Tehreek-e-Insaaf), Dr. Shireen Mazari speaks about the new arrival of U.S. forces in Pakistan:

“Will some of these go to the Pentagon’s assassination squads, who may take up residence in some of the barricaded Islamabad houses and with whom the present US commander in Afghanistan was directly associated? Ordinary officials at Pakistani airports have also been muttering their concerns over chartered flights flying in Americans whose entry is not recorded – even the flight crews are not checked for visas and so there is now no record-keeping of exactly how many Americans are coming into or going out of Pakistan. Incidentally the CAII’s Craig Davis who was deported has now returned to Peshawar! And let us not be fooled by the cry that numbers reflect friendship since we know what numbers meant to Soviet satellites.”

The Pearl Continental, a luxury hotel in Peshawar was bombed on June 9, 2009. The U.S. routinely blames these attacks on Muslim terrorists. The U.S. has also routinely sabotaged peace agreements between the Pakistan government and various resistance groups in Pakistan. Attacks like this are used to justify the current invasion and occupation by the United States.

Given little attention in the corporate media, Peshawar’s Pearl Continental Hotel was bombed on June 9, 2009. At the time of the bombing, Pakistani media reported officially that it was housing U.S. personnel at the time but did not mention Blackwater. However, Blackwater’s name began to surface in rumours and unofficial reports after the Peshawar bombing.

Ahmed Quraishi

On August 5, 2009, Ahmed Quraishi, political analyst, columnist and independent owner of a news website reported on the insertion of U.S. Marines, Blackwater, the CIA and military hardware into Pakistan:

“Pakistanis ask, ‘Who rules our streets, the Pakistani government or the Americans?’ And who let them in?”

“Three weeks ago a group of concerned Pakistani citizens in Peshawar wrote to the federal interior ministry to complain about the suspicious activities of a group of shadowy Americans in a rented house in their neighborhood, the upscale University Town area of Peshawar. A NGO calling itself Creative Associates International, Inc. leased the house”. According to its Website, CAII describes itself as ‘a privately-owned non-governmental organization that addresses urgent challenges facing societies today … Creative views change as an opportunity to improve, transform and renew …’ The description makes no sense. It is more or less a perfect cover for the American NGO’s real work: espionage…

“In Peshawar, CAII, opened an office to work on projects in the nearby tribal agencies of Pakistan. All of these projects, interestingly, are linked to the US government. CAII’s other projects outside Pakistan are also linked to the US government. In short, this NGO is not an NGO. It is closely linked to the US government.

Meanwhile, when asked about the expansion of the embassy, U.S. Ambassador Anne W. Patterson was “visibly shaken” and replied, “I’m speechless. To spy on Pakistan we don’t need a big US embassy. And we don’t need to spy either.” Patterson went on to say that Pakistan could turn into a “family station” – whatever that means to a U.S. colonial bureaucrat.

Ahmed further explains the CIA’s cover for the Blackwater mercenaries:

“In Peshawar, CAII told Pakistani authorities it needed to hire security guards for protection. The security guards, it turns out, were none other than Blackwater’s military-trained hired guns. They were used the CAII cover to conduct a range of covert activities in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province. The infamous Blackwater private security firm operates as an extension of the US military and CIA, taking care of dirty jobs that the US government cannot associate itself with in faraway strategic places. Blackwater is anything but a security firm. It is a mercenary army of several thousand hired soldiers.

“Pakistani security officials apparently became alarmed by reports that Blackwater was operating from the office of CAII on Chinar Road, University Town in Peshawar. The man in charge of the office, allegedly an American by the name of Craig Davis according to a report in Jang, Pakistan’s largest Urdu language daily, was arrested and accused of establishing contacts with ‘the enemies of Pakistan’ in areas adjoining Afghanistan. His visa has been cancelled, the office sealed, and Mr. Davis reportedly expelled back to the United States.

“It is not clear when Mr. Davis was deported and whether there are other members of the staff expelled along with him. When I contacted the US Embassy over the weekend, spokesman Richard Snelsire’s first reaction was, ‘No embassy official has been deported’.”

Keep in mind that Dr. Shireen Mazari who is in a position to know, stated flatly, “CAII’s Craig Davis who was deported has now returned to Peshawar!”

But Ahmed Quraishi explains the denial by the U.S. embassy:

“This defensive answer is similar to the guilt-induced reactions of US embassy staffers in Baghdad and Kabul at the presence of mercenaries working for US military and CIA. I said to Mr. Snelsire that I did not ask about an embassy official being expelled. He said he heard these reports and ‘checked around’ with the embassy officials but no one knew about this. ‘It’s baseless’ [he said]. So I asked him, “Is Blackwater operating in Pakistan, in Peshawar?” ‘Not to my knowledge’. [he answered].

“Fair enough. The US embassies in Baghdad and Kabul never acknowledged Blackwater’s operations in Iraq and Afghanistan either. This is part of low-level frictions between the diplomats at the US Department of State and those in Pentagon and CIA. The people at State have reportedly made it clear they will not acknowledge or accept responsibility for the activities of special operations agents operating in friendly countries without the knowledge of those countries and in violation of their sovereignty. Reports have suggested that sometimes even the US ambassador is unaware of what his government’s mercenaries do in a target country.”

Finally, Ahmed discusses a U.S. diplomat met secretly with an Indian diplomat inside Pakistan, knowing full well that India is considered to be an enemy state of Pakistan:

“In May, a US woman diplomat was caught arranging a quiet [read 'secret'] meeting between a low-level Indian diplomat and several senior Pakistani government officials. An address in Islamabad – 152 Margalla Road – was identified as a venue where the secret meeting took place. The American diplomat in question knew there was no chance the Indian would get to meet the Pakistanis in normal circumstances. Nor was it possible to do this during a high visibility event. After the incident, Pakistan Foreign Office issued a terse statement warning all government officials to refrain from such direct contact with foreign diplomats in unofficial settings without prior intimation to their departments”.

NGOs that are not NGOs

In addition, many U.S. sponsored NGO’s are working to create news reports in mainstream media which are pro-U.S. For this purpose, many Pakistani analysts, retired generals, businessmen, journalists, and academics are being recruited. As Ahmed Quraishi said, “this NGO is not an NGO”, i.e. some Non Governmental Organizations operate under the control and direction of governments who use them for covert operations in foreign countries and fund them surreptitiously.

Conclusion

It’s clear that the current government has given full privileges to the US. They neither know how or want to draw a line against U.S. interference in Pakistani affairs. To put it bluntly, they are surrendering the sovereignty of Pakistan to a foreign power. Dr. Shireen Mazari says, “Whatever the US embassy gives out … the terrified Pakistani leadership echoes.” The objectives of the U.S. are clear: Deeper U.S. penetration will result in the destabilisation of Pakistan,leading to destabilization of the entire region. These U.S. military installations also strengthening their encirclement of Iran. The Pakistani political opposition parties are lip stuck at all these developments. The main reason for their silence is that they are as corrupt as the ruling PPP. No political party in Pakistan is in the mood to resist US hegemony. The Pakistan Army no longer shows any interest in directly interfering with political decisions. After the disastrous eight years under Musharraf, the people are also not ready for another military intervention. Today, millions of Pakistanis are terrified by their new, unwelcome guests from the west – the U.S. terrorists. We will now have to learn to tolerate and survive under this growing and increasingly dangerous U.S. colonization of Pakistan.

(edited by Axis of Logic)

U.S Marine House to cost only $5 Million, says US embassy

The United States embassy said on Thursday the Marine House to be constructed on its premises would be a $5 million bomb-proof facility to accommodate less than 20 guards and the $112.5 million figure quoted from the US budget documents was a ‘misinterpretation’.

‘About $5 million would be spent on the construction of the Marine House. It would be bomb proof. The amount being spent is high, but not widely excessive and the maximum number of Marines assigned here would be less than 20,’ said US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson at a media briefing that was beginning of what was described as ‘deeper engagement with media’ to counter the bad press America was getting in Pakistan.

The ambassador tried to lay to rest a controversy about the number of Marines being based in Islamabad. The controversy was sparked by reports about an allocation of $112.5 million by the State Department for residential quarters for the Marines.

Ms Patterson said that from the $112.5 million allocation, $5 million was for Marine quarters, $53.5 for housing infrastructure, $18 million for improvement of general services office area, and $36 million for temporary duty quarters and community support facilities.

The duties of Marines, she said, would be to guard the embassy building and classified material inside and there weren’t any sinister designs about which fears were being expressed by certain quarters.

The ambassador was visibly shocked when someone asked if the embassy expansion was for espionage. She said: ‘I’m speechless. To spy on Pakistan we don’t need a big US embassy. And we don’t need to spy either’.

About projected increase in the embassy staff strength, she said there were at present 250 regular diplomatic staff, 200 visiting American staff on short-term duties and 1,000 local personnel, while there were plans to add another about 500 personnel over the next three years, half of them would be Pakistanis.

The embassy expansion, she said, was a reflection of the long-term commitment that the US intended to have with Pakistan. Moreover, she said, quadrupling of the social, economic and military assistance that would touch $4 billion a year over the next 18 months, necessitated staff increase.

Ms Patterson said the US embassy needed to improve its public outreach and dispel misgivings. She said she was working on plans to bring back families of diplomatic staff based in Pakistan to increase people-to-people contact.

Pakistan has been a ‘non-family’ station for US diplomats since 2002. The return of the families, she stressed, would be a ‘huge element of the outreach’.

‘The security has lately dramatically improved and I think we can build a case for the return of the families,’ she said, adding that she wanted to bring them back as quickly as possible.

The ambassador said she intended to speak and write to the Pakistani politicians on the embassy expansion plans.

Pakistanis Want US Declared ‘Hostile State’

Can Pakistan resist Pax Pox Americana?

When it is said to them: “Make not mischief on the Earth,” they say: “Why, we only want to make peace!” Holy Qur’an (2-11)

Wherever the Americans go, their policies spread poison. Under the pretext of ‘freedom and democracy’ US policy-makers trample over weaker nations, placing and replacing puppet rulers on a whim and propagandising against all aspirations for true independence. (Stephen Kinzer’s Overthrown is a must book to read in this context).

With total control of global media, and their weapons of mass distraction, they are able to crush resistance at the very root – before it even forms in the mind. Just as Noam Chomsky said, “If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post-war American president would have been hanged”.

Yet in spite of the ‘fasad-fil-ardh’ that America has unleashed around the world, we still see an unseemly obsession with all things American. Suffering from a mass psychosis akin to Stockholm-syndrome, even nations traumatised and brutalised by America see only America as possible salvation. Clearly, American propagandists have done their work well.

Not in Pakistan. In what can only be described as a clear and hopeful sign that this nation is awakening, recent polls have revealed that the Pakistani public categorically denounces American policies. A recently conducted poll by PakistanKaKhudaHafiz.com revealed that 89% of over 1,000 participants were of the opinion that the United States should be declared as a hostile state.

This only reinforces another scientifically conducted poll conducted by the Al-Jazeera network that found that over 70% of Pakistanis held America to be the greatest threat to the sovereignty and independence of Pakistan – even greater than arch-rival and eternal enemy India.

So great is this a problem for the Americans that when their Generals in the region are quizzed by journalists, they are more likely to be asked about the ‘battle for hearts and minds’ rather than actual battles. But in spite of the feigned concern in Washington, the widespread anti-Americanism is not too great a concern for US policymakers. After all, as far as the US is concerned, only Pakistan’s puppet leaders need be pro-US – the rest of Pakistan can go to hell. But in this lies the problem for the US. As the farcical reality of Pakistan’s democracy is becoming increasingly clear to the public at large, they are turning their ire not just on their puppet leaders, but on their foreign puppet-masters. And this does not bode well for US’s future plans for the region.

This anti-US mood in Pakistan is nothing new. It is a mode of thought that is familiar to most Pakistanis – and with good reason. US-Pak relations have always been fractious – not based on mutual trust and respect but on mutual suspicion and necessity. Every Pakistani, from street sweeper to industrialist, knows of the infamous incident in the early 1990’s when the US failed to deliver to Pakistan dozens of F16 fighter jets that Pakistan had already paid for – and not content with humiliating a proud nation enough, in a final salvo, they instead delivered of all things – wheat. The Pakistani public were not impressed to say the least.

But that is old hat. More recently, America has committed a litany of errors that can only lead an objective person to conclude that not only does the US not have Pakistan’s interest to heart, but they are only interested in marginalising and destabilising Pakistan through any means possible. The Pakistani people are not blind. They see the chicanery clearly:

• The ’surge’ in American troops in Afghanistan accompanied a ’surge’ in terrorism in Pakistan. While the Afghan Taliban never threatened Pakistani sovereignty, since 2001 thousands of innocents have been killed in a wave of suicide bombings in Pakistan that ‘coincidently’, only began after the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan in 2001.
• The deliberate spread of the Afghan occupation into Pakistan and the treatment of both nations as a single theatre or ‘battlefield’ called AfPak. The notion that both nations are to be treated the same even though one is war-torn and primitive while the other has a sophisticated civic society is laughable, but the idea that American forces can strike into Pakistan with impunity is enough to make the average Pakistani’s blood boil.
• Wave after wave of callous and imprecise drone attacks. These achieve practically nothing while only murdering innocent civilians and riling up the Pakistani public who despair at their feckless government for being complicit in continual violations of the nations sovereignty and dignity.
• Since 2001 the US has turned a blind eye towards Indian Intelligence operations from inside Afghanistan designed to destabilize Pakistan. According to a report published in September 2008 by Brig (R) Asif Haroon Raja, India has 14 consulates in Afghanistan from which RAW is operating. In Wakhan, Badakshan province, RAW is operating a madarssah, where clerics from India are brainwashing local Afghans, Uzbeks and Tajiks. Their students are then infiltrated into Pakistan where they readily carry out suicide missions and other operations.This blatant infiltration into Afghanistan by the Indian intelligence apparatus has provided safe haven from which Indian agents attack and destabilize Pakistan’s tribal areas and NWFP.In another recent report from Foreign Affairs magazine, by Christine Fair of RAND Corporation gives us the inside: “Having visited the Indian mission in Zahedan, Iran, I can assure you they are not issuing visas as the main activity! Moreover, India has run operations from its mission in Mazar, Afghanistan (through which it supported the Northern Alliance) and is likely doing so from the other consulates it has reopened in Jalalabad and Qandahar along the border. Indian officials have told me privately that they are pumping money into Baluchistan. Kabul has encouraged India to engage in provocative activities such as using the Border Roads Organization to build sensitive parts of the Ring Road and use the Indo-Tibetan police force for security. It is also building schools on a sensitive part of the border in Kunar–across from Bajaur (Pakistan’s Tribal Area where Pakistan Army had to carry out a major operation to eliminate TTP militants).
• The continual barking by American officials for Pakistan to “DO MORE!” in spite of the fact that no nation has done or sacrificed more to combat terrorism in its own self-interest. The number of soldiers martyred, treasure spent and tears of widows and orphans shed is testimony to the truth that those who claim that Pakistan is half-hearted in this effort are liars.
• The CIA-sponsored democratic farce whereby American engineered its puppets to sieze the reigns in Pakistan’s recent elections. For those who still deny that the Pakistani elections were engineered, think for a moment how is it possible that the most corrupt and despised man in Pakistan’s entire history, Asif Zardari would become the president of Pakistan if the elections were truly and fairly democratic?
• Even though our ‘popularly elected’ politicians are in the pocket of the Americans, they remain frustrated that certain institutions in Pakistan remain out of their reach. The black propaganda targeting Pakistan’s patriotic armed forces, intelligence services and nuclear weapons arsenal reveals their obvious intent. Well-aware that these are the only institutions that truly have Pakistan’s interests to heart, the public do not appreciate the Am-Brit campaign to malign them.
• The so-called Indo-US civilian nuclear deal that makes a blatant mockery of the non-proliferation accords, rewarding Indian intransigence and arrogance at the expense of Pakistan’s national security.
• The exposure of blatant double-standards is evident as America turns on the weapons tap for India, whom it wishes to turn into its 21st century ’slave soldier’ in order to counter China, while Pakistani officials are left dangling and must debase and humiliate themselves in order to ensure the delivery of a trifling number of F-16’s and helicopters to fight the same enemies that America is sponsoring.
• The shielding, protection and nurturing of anti-Pakistan insurgent groups on Pakistani soil by the CIA. The so-called ‘Baluchistan Liberation Army’ (Read: Finding Clarity in the Baluchistan Conundrum, by Talha Mujaddidi ) and ‘Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’ are only a few of many. All these groups base their insidious operations from inside Afghanistan – which is occupied by the US.

In spite of their indirect control over our media, America will never win the ‘battle of hearts and minds’ in Pakistan. Even though the rise of the so-called ‘free media’ in Pakistan has brought to the fore a variety rentashills and rentagobs, self proclaimed pseudo-intellectuals who solemnly insist that Pakistan cannot resist Pax Americana (Pox Americana would be more appropriate), the people are not so gullible as to believe it. They see the example of Iran and Venezuala, which although not ideal states by any means, at least demonstrate that those who resist American hegemony can still survive and even prosper.

Where there are pockets of resistance, this only demonstrates the existence of an honourable people who are not prepared to compromise on their dignity. The recent polling is cause for great hope. It proves what was never in doubt – the Pakistani population will not stand for these US violations of Pakistan’s sovereignty and national interest for much longer.

We know that we fear Allah more than we fear America, but the nation must now realise another profound truth – salvation does not lie in continued cooperation and debasement in front of America, but only in faith in Allah and is His Messenger (SAW). It is time for this nation to throw off its shackles and re-declare its independence.

Atif F Qureshi is part of the PKKH Editorial Team and also writes for PakDestiny.net

Jinnah Pur to India; who wrote the script of Altaf Speech for Indian Seminar?

By: PakistanDesk

Let suppose the map of Jinnah Pur was a drama. Let believe in what the infamous Retired Brigadier of Pakistan Army, Imtiaz is claiming. To many “sympathizers” of MQM, this is enough evidences for proving MQM innocent. I have no interest in digging out who is behind Imtiaz, an alleged Land Mafia Chief in Karachi during his service.  But I desperately need to know whether speech of Altaf in India was a drama or not? Who has written the script of his speech? What doest it means when he says; the division of subcontinent was the greater, greater blunder in the history of mankind. It was not the division of the land but division of the blood.  Watch, listen and let me know please I’m curious.

Revisiting 1990 elections

Just as the news related to the concocted Jinnahpur conspiracy is in circulation, more and more revelations are being made. It relates to how in 1990, an alliance opposed to the PPP was brought into power by the establishment. To be fairly accurate, there is nothing revealing in the news coming; what is noteworthy is that they are being amplified due to the presence of electronic media.

In 1988, the PPP came to power – but from day one, it was not allowed to rule. Much of it is being discussed by the then-Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, in her autobiography“Daughter of the East.” She narrates a chilling account of how the establishment first tried to stop her rise to power and later her blocked her government every now and then. In 1990, within two years of staying in power, she was removed by the President.

As if it was not enough, the elections to be held in 1990 were heavily fudged in the favor of Islami-Jamhoori-Ittehad, IJI. The then-Chief of Army Staff, General Mirza Aslam is said to have doled out millions of rupees to favorite candidates. This would later be revealed – and a case is still pending in the Supreme Court.

The case, known as Mehran Bank Scandal, was heard by Justice Saeed-ud Zaman Siddiqui. During the hearing of the case, the then-DG ISI, Asad Durrani, confessed to have distributed the money. Mr. Siddiqui admitted that Mr. Durrani has made an admission.

Here is what Daily Times reports:

Talking to a private TV channel, he said the ISI was an intelligence agency and should not interfere in politics, or be used against politicians. He said former ISI director general Lt Gen Asad Durrani had informed the Supreme Court that he had given money to politicians, ostensibly to ‘convince’ them to join the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI).

Justice (r) Siddiqui told the channel that he had said at that time that the ISI’s role should not be political. He said the case was still pending in the Supreme Court at the time of the 1999 coup. He said Lt Gen (r) Durrani had presented an affidavit in court, giving details of the money distributed to different politicians.

According to the affidavit, then chief of army staff General (r) Mirza Aslam Baig had advised the intelligence agency in September 1990 that it should give logistic support to the transfer of funds from the business community in Karachi to the IJI during the 1988 election.

According to the written affidavit of July 24, 1994, Lt Gen (r) Durrani said he was informed at the time that the step had the government’s complete support. After the orders, he said he opened a number of accounts in banks in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Quetta.

A man from Karachi named Younas Habib had deposited Rs 140 million in a bank account and the rest of the money was transferred to a special fund.

According to the affidavit, acquired by the TV channel, former caretaker prime minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi received Rs 5 million, former Sindh chief minister Jam Sadiq Rs 5 million, former prime minister Muhammad Khan Junejo Rs 2.5 million, Nawaz Sharif Rs 3.5 million, senior politician Pir Pagaro Rs 2 million, the Jamaat-e-Islami Rs 5 million, Mir Afzal Khan Rs 10 million, Abida Hussain Rs 1 million, Lt Gen Rafaqat Rs 5.6 million for managing the media campaign, Humayun Marri Rs 1.5 million, former prime minister Zafarullah Jamali Rs 4 million, Kakar Rs 1 million, Jam Yousaf Rs 0.7 million, Hasil Bizenjo Rs 0.5 million, Nadir Mengal Rs 1 million, Altaf Hussain Qureshi and Mustafa Sadiq Rs 0.5 million, Salahuddin Rs 0.3 million, smaller groups Rs 5.4 million and others received Rs 3.339 million.

Meanwhile, there has been admission from the people at the receiving end. According toDaily Times monitoring report, while Abida Hussain admits of having taken money, Prof. Ghafoor shows ignorance if JI had taken any money.

I was information minister in Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi’s cabinet and received Rs 5 million from the Inter-Services Intelligence to join the IJI, Abida Hussain told a private TV channel on Thursday. Talking to the channel, Abida said she was told that Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia had sent this money through Mahmood Haroon. She also revealed that Nawaz Sharif, [Zafarullah] Jamali and Mir Afzal Khan were also beneficiaries.

and that …

Senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader Professor Ghafoor Ahmad said on Wednesday that he had no information that his party had ever received any money from the ISI agency, a private TV channel reported on Wednesday. Denying the allegations leveled against his party by former Chief Justice Saeed-uz- Zaman Siddiqui, the JI leader said he was not aware that any such transaction had ever taken place.

Back in 1990, it was establishment versus PPP. No one cared much when it was thrown out of power; no one cared when it was denied power. These revelations often hit the screens but the truth is that the shady actors of the past appear brazenly on television channels to offer their insight.

If justice delayed is justice denied, then PPP is denied justice. Except for studious followers of politics or history, the ‘revealations’ will be dismissed as a “non-issue” of present today. This despite the fact that we need to draw lessons from the power structure in the country; only then will we be able to analyze the present.

Revisiting 1990 elections – II

The debate over 1990s elections is still continuing. The recent debate started when Brig. (Retd.) Imtiaz Ahmad came forward to reveal certain facts from the past – such as theconcoted Jinnahpur conspiracy. But just as he revealed a single issue, he was grilled for his role in other events, which included the dethronement of elected governments.

On face, the ongoing debate on 1990 elections has nothing to do with Brig. (Retd.) Imtiaz. It involved distribution of funds at the orders of the then-COAS, General Mirza Aslam Beg, to the elements opposed to the Pakistan Peoples Party. This was later confessed by the then-DG ISI, General Asad Durrani, who submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court. (Click here to see the earlier story.)

The story is narrated by Daily Times is its editorial; it writes:

The whole affair started when the PPP’s General (Retd) Naseerullah Babar told the National Assembly in 1994 how the ISI had disbursed funds among politicians to manipulate the 1990 elections, form the IJI, and bring about the defeat of the PPP. At the summit of power, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan was providing the legal cover. It is his name which was mentioned at the Supreme Court as the Chief Executive who ordered the disbursement.

In 1996, Air Marshal Asghar Khan petitioned the Supreme Court against ex-army chief General Mirza Aslam Beg, ex-ISI chief Lt General Asad Durrani, and Younus Habib of Habib Bank and then Mehran Bank, concerning “the criminal distribution of the people’s money for political purposes”. When the Supreme Court proceeded with the case General Asad Durrani submitted the famous affidavit containing names of the “recipients”.

As of now,  the case is still pending with the Supreme Court and despite Asghar Khan’s repeated calls, the case is not being taken.

It is not that the issue should be dismissed as a thing of past. Instead, lessons should be drawn from the past to rectify the present and the future.It is a certain security mindset which doesn’t trust the politicians and find them unpatriotic. Brig. (Retd.) Imtiaz says that he was made to believe that Benazir’s government was going against the security interests and he did believe. But the truth is – no one wants to debate over the security issues. That our narrow security outlook bites the democratic process is something which we are not ready to look into. The media also needs to learn right lessons from what is revealed so that no one questions democratic governments over their conduct.

Pak-China: Changed Equations

Changed Equations

by: Aparna Pande

Courtesy: Wichaar.com, August 26th, 2009

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in China on Friday, August 21, on his fourth visit to the country since taking over as President in September 2008. President Zardari is not the first Pakistani President to visit China so often. Regular visits to China are routine for every Pakistani head of state going back to the 1960s-1970s.

Pakistan and China have had very close ties for the last 50 odd years. Pakistan was the first Muslim country and third non-Communist country to accord recognition to the communist government of China in 1949. China is also one of Pakistan’s oldest trading partners. As early as 1950 trade relations were set up based on barter where Pakistan exported cotton and jute in return for Chinese coal.

Belief in an existential threat from next door neighbour India led Pakistan’s rulers to perceive China as a trustworthy ally: a strong power they could rely on in case of an Indian attack. China’s pro-Pakistani stance during the 1965 India-Pakistan conflict helped consolidate this view at a time when Pakistan’s Western allies stopped aid to both India and Pakistan.

As a country isolated and embargoed during the 1950s-1960s, the Chinese communist government saw immense benefits in increased trade and diplomatic contacts with Pakistan. Friendship with Pakistan also helped China build trade and diplomatic ties with the Muslim Middle East and South East Asia.

Border tensions between India and China and regular India-Pakistan conflicts helped cement Sino-Pakistani ties. Through the 1970s and 1980s China provided economic and military aid to Pakistan. Sino-Pakistani cooperation in the nuclear field too can be traced back to the 1980s.

From the 1990s, however, there was a significant yet subtle shift in Sino-Pakistan relations. On the one hand there was a further consolidation of economic and military, especially nuclear, ties between China and Pakistan and on the other a slow reluctance on the part of China to be embroiled in India-Pakistan disputes. Both domestic and international reasons had a role to play.

By the 1990s China built very close ties with the United States and other western countries. China’s ties with India too improved during the 1990s. The two countries built close economic ties notwithstanding the border dispute which persists.

An indication of this change in China’s foreign policy was seen in the speech delivered to the Pakistani National Assembly in December 1996 by President Jiang Zemin which expounded for the first time China’s policy toward South Asia. Reiterating the close Sino-Pakistani relations President Zemin, however, stated the need for: “Properly handling existing disputes in the spirit of seeking common ground while setting aside differences … We should look at the differences or disputes from a long perspective, seeking a just and reasonable settlement through consultations and negotiations while bearing in mind the larger picture. If certain issues can not be resolved for the time being, they may be shelved temporarily so that they will not affect the normal state-to-state relations.”

What the Chinese President was telling his Pakistani hosts was that like China had started economic and cultural ties with India and “temporarily shelved” the border issues because they “cannot be resolved for the time being”, maybe Pakistan should try the same with India. The importance of this speech in Sino-Pakistan relations can be gauged from the fact that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted this speech as one of the ‘key documents’ which define China’s relations with Pakistan.

From the 1950s China had always supported the Pakistani position on the Kashmir dispute. In the 1999 Kargil conflict, however, China took a stand similar to the United States. When Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif went to China, in the midst of the conflict, looking for support the Chinese asked him to resolve the conflict with India as they were not willing to interfere. China’s policy ever since has been to encourage India and Pakistan to solve their problems through negotiations and dialogue.

During Pakistan’s recent transition to democracy China is once again one of the leading countries providing aid, both military and economic. In April 2008 China came to Pakistan’s rescue with an immediate $ 500 million loan to help Islamabad with the balance of payments. However, the difference between the 1970s and today is that China was reluctant to provide aid unless Pakistan first agreed to an IMF-backed economic recovery program.

China is also concerned about the growing Uyghur problem in Chinese Xinjiang, a province that borders Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Chinese authorities had hoped that close Sino-Pakistan ties over the years would prevent problems in Muslim Xinjiang. However, from the 1980s, starting with the Afghan jihad, the Uyghur insurgency has received succour from local and global jihadi groups based out of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

What is troubling for China is the increasing inability of the Pakistani government to dismantle and destroy jihadi groups which were traditionally seen by the Pakistani intelligence as ‘assets’ in the jihad in Kashmir and Afghanistan. During President Zardari’s last meeting with President Hu in June 2009 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Yekaterinburg, Russia, China asked Pakistan to use all its resources to uproot the jihadi organization East Turkistan Islamic Movement from Pakistan.

For most Pakistanis, policy makers and the general public, the Chinese relationship has a very strong sentimental value. In speeches and editorials the Sino-Pakistan relationship is referred to as being ‘deeper than the Indian Ocean’ and ‘higher than the Himalayas.’ There is this conviction, even at the level of the common man in Pakistan, that this time round in any India-Pakistan conflict or in any attempt to break up Pakistan by either ‘Hindu’ India or the West or Israel, China will stand by Pakistan and protect its territorial integrity. Majority Pakistanis also view China as a superpower, even if the rest of the world considers China only as a major power.

What Pakistan ignores at its peril is that times have changed and China’s relations with India and the United States reflect these changes. China and the United States share a very close strategic relationship today both on the economic and diplomatic level. Secretary Clinton’s first foreign trip was to China and US-China trade stands at around $ 500 billion.

Sino-Indian relations too have continued to improve despite the border tensions. Bilateral trade between the two countries stands at $51 billion which is over seven times the $7 billion bilateral trade between China and Pakistan. In December 2008, India and China also conducted the “Join Hands-2008,” a joint army training exercise on combating terrorism, in India. The two countries share similar views on climate change and the Doha Round talks, energy and food security, and the international financial crisis.

Though wary of growing ties between India and the United States, especially the India-US nuclear deal, Chinese policy makers realize that India is too large a country to fall completely within the American camp. However, China would like to have good ties with India to make sure there is no band-wagonning against China at a future stage.

The Sino-Pakistani relationship has changed. The Chinese may not say it in the open in so many words because their style of diplomacy is subtle but they have shown it through gestures and speeches by key leaders. It is time Pakistan overcame its illusions about China.

Source – http://www.wichaar.com/news/294/ARTICLE/15934/2009-08-26.html