Sunday, December 16, 2007
LAWYERS, students, civil society activists and citizens held a candle-light protest in front of the residence of the jailed SCBA President Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan. The protesters condemned the government for not restoring judges and for not releasing Aitzaz, Tariq Mehmood, Munir A Malik and Ali Ahmed Kurd.
Lawyers started the protest by holding a sit-in in front of Aitzaz’s residence which continued for around 30 minutes. The protest continued for one hour and protestors dispersed at Canal Road after holding a protest march. Most of the protesters held candles and shouted slogans at the beat of drums. They called for the release of Aitzaz and lawyers detained in the countrywide.
Prominent among the protesters were human rights activist Faryal Gohar, Supreme Court Bar Association vice president Ghulam Nabi Bhatti, secretary Amin Javed, Lahore High Court Bar Association Vice President Firdous Butt, Lahore Bar Association President Sayed Muhammad Shah, joint secretary Chanda Jamil, activists of Women Action Forum, Shirkatgah Women Resource Centre, LUMS students, Khaksar Tehrik president Hamidudin Mashraqi. Lawyers, women and children were also present on the occasion. Bushra Aitzaz welcomed the participants of the vigil and thanked them for joining the protest.
Protesters lit candles on the main gate of Aitzaz’s residence which had been declared sub-jail by the government.
Lawyers had also hired two drumbeaters and the many people stopped and inquired as to what was happening.
LAHORE: The participants of a seminar have called to end violence against women and urged the government and civil society cooperation to this end.
Participants of the seminar included Coordinator National MNCH Program Sabiha Khurshid, Additional Secretary (Home) Amir Khan Khattak of Home Department, Shamshad Qureshi, Program Officer UNICEF, Ayesha Qazi, Deputy Director (Coordination) of Gender Reform Action Plan GRAP.
Speaking on the occasion, Coordinator National MNCH Program Sabiha Khurshid, who was also presiding over the seminar, emphasised the need to work at the grassroots level for elimination of violence against women. She said a mother died of preventable complications during pregnancy after every 20 minutes.
Additional Secretary (Home) Amir Khan Khattak stressed on developing a plan of action for eliminating violence against women. He said women themselves would have to take the lead in making such efforts. Shamshad Qureshi, Program Officer UNICEF, on the occasion committed that he would launch an advocacy and awareness campaign on family counselling and child counselling in collaboration with GRAP.
Ayesha Qazi, Deputy Director (Coordination) of Gender Reform Action Plan (GRAP), said GRAP had made the process of change towards gender sensitivity more effective. The violence against women could be ended with the cooperation of the government and civil society. Dr Aslam Bajwa, Dr Aftab Anjum, Ammar Naqvi, Umar Malik, Shazia Siraj, Syed Nasir Kazmi and Waheed Iqbal were among those who spoke on the occasion.
QUETTA: Former Prime Minister and PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto vowed Sunday to fail the design of rigging upcoming elections, which will be held on January 8, with the power of masses.
Addressing a press conference at Quetta airport, she said, neither the Election Commission was independent nor the government was neutral in holding the elelctions.
Benazir again accused the government of planning to rig the polls, saying, “intelligence agencies are harassing PPP candidates.”
The PPP chairperson said the country was faced with a dangerous situation now as people and the armed forces were confronting each other.
She alleged that the government had promoted extremism and usurped people's rights.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A suspect in a plot to blow up transatlantic planes from London escaped from an Islamabad court and was being sought in Pakistan Sunday.
Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported Rashid Rauf escaped Saturday from the court where he had been brought for a hearing. All charges against Rauf have been dropped in Pakistan, but he was apparently being held for extradition to Britain.
Witnesses told CBS News Rauf escaped from the custody of up to 12 policemen. There were no incidents such as gunfire to suggest an organized effort to spring him.
Rauf was suspected of involvement in a plot last year to blow up planes flying from London's Heathrow airport to U.S. locations.
There were concerns Rauf might be headed toward Pakistan's tribal areas, which have become a stronghold of Islamist terrorists.
A Western diplomat told CBS News the incident would be a blow to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's government.
"They have pretended all along that they are determined to fight militants, but when you have such a high profile terrorist escaping from police custody, you have to ask questions about the way in which the Pakistanis are handling such operations," the diplomat said.
Islamabad: President Pervez Musharraf may have lifted the emergency and promised free and fair elections, but the constitution has been damaged forever, Pakistani newspaper editorials said on Sunday.
"A blow has been delivered to the very concept of parliamentary sovereignty because the amendments made to the 1973 constitution by the fiat of one man (Musharraf) do not need parliament's approval," Dawn said in its editorial titled "Will it make any difference?"
"The book by which the country would now be governed is no longer the same," The News said in its editorial "Back to the constitution".
Also read: Musharraf lifts Emergency in Pakistan | Lifting emergency will not restore constitutional rule: HRW | Special: Power game in Pakistan | More
In lifting the emergency, Musharraf "has promulgated ordinances to protect the changes he has brought about in the judiciary, implying a severe blow to the constitution", said Daily Times in its editorial "Ready, set, go for elections".
"The emergency was imposed by Gen. Musharraf in his capacity as chief of the army staff, but later the power to impose and lift it was transferred by Gen. Musharraf to President Musharraf," Dawn noted.
"This way, President Musharraf endorsed in practical terms (former) president Ziaul Haq's opinion that the constitution was a piece of paper he could tear up any time."
Holding that the constitutional amendments made since the November 3 emergency cannot be undone except by a two-thirds majority of parliament, Dawn said: "All indications are that the Jan 8 elections will give us a hung parliament, in which the opposition will find it impossible to garner that many votes.
"In other words, the lower house that will come into being next month will be presented with a fait accompli," Dawn contended.
"What can initially be said about the highly complicated legal and constitutional orders issued to revert to the pre-November 3 position is that the book by which the country would now be governed is no longer the same," said The News.
"It has been amended, for some still a highly controversial and debatable issue, to fully protect and indemnify all acts, decisions and orders issued during that 42-day extra-constitutional period," The News added.
According to the newspaper, the revoking of the emergency and repealing the PCO "clearly states it shall not invalidate, nullify or render ineffective any order passed or action taken during the emergency and all such acts shall be deemed to have been validly and legally done notwithstanding anything contained in the constitution or any other law for the time being in force."
"It also states that the revocation of the proclamation of emergency or the repeal of the PCO shall not affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under the original proclamation orders of the emergency or the PCO and the oath of judges," The News said editorially.
"Thus, an attempt has been made to cover the tracks as far as possible and if there is any problem in future, a provision has been kept which provides that if any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the provisions, the president may make more such provisions and pass such orders as he may deem fit," The News maintained.
"The set of ordinances amending the Constitution makes sure that the lifting of the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) that he had imposed together with Emergency does not automatically restore the dismissed judges," said Daily Times.
"The ordinances validate the new judges and give the ousted judges their pensions before saying a final goodbye to them."
Over six million children are out of school in Pakistan. This puts Pakistan as the country with the third highest number of out-of-school children in the world. This was revealed in UNESCO’s EFA Global Report 2008. The theme for the report is ‘Education For All: Will we make it?’ It reveals a hopeful but extremely worrisome picture of the state of education in Pakistan.
According to recent statistics, less than 60% of the total adult population in Pakistan, along with India and Bangladesh, can read and write with understanding. On a more positive note, the report finds that Pakistan is among 36 countries where the survival rate (not enrolment rate) of girls to the last grade of primary school is higher than boys.
There are many factors that hamper quality education in Pakistan, including crowded classrooms, poor school infrastructure, inadequate learning environments, shortage of teachers and even greater shortage of trained teachers. These are some of the main reasons high dropouts rates, especially at the primary school level. UNESCO’s EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2008, mentions that the ratio of pupils to trained teachers in primary education in Pakistan is less than 50%. That is, there are half as many students as trained teachers. Put simply, there are not enough trained teachers to meet the needs of the students. Despite the many problems confronting Pakistan’s education system, Pakistan is among 24 countries whose public expenditure on education amounts to less 3% or less of GDP.
This is the context in which Children’s Resources International, (CRI) Pakistan is raising the country’s literacy rate and quality of education.
Through an inter-generational literacy initiative or ‘Family Literacy Programme,’ CRI is giving meaning to the lives of those denied the basic right education. What’s more is that it is instilling in them the desire to learn more. The programme enhances the literacy skills of its adult learners, most of who are women, and contributes to the empowerment of Pakistani women.
Through educating adults, the literacy programme benefits children’s education. Research has shown that families have the greatest influence on their children. The more educated they are, the more apt they are to give their child’s education priority, and to extend learning in school into the home.
CRI, Pakistan’s Chief Executive and Founding Director Mahnaz Aziz recently introduced the organization’s innovative Family Literacy Programme to fourteen countries in the region at UNESCO’s Regional Conference in Support of Global Literacy held in New Delhi, India, from November 29th -30th 2007.
First ladies, Education and Literacy Ministers, United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors, international NGOs and research institutions, universities, and private and public donors attended the conference.
Aziz was one of two representatives from Pakistan at the conference. The federal government will be launching this report in February after the elections, in collaboration with UNESCO, UNICEF, and CRI.
During an exclusive interview with ‘The News’ upon her return from New Delhi, Aziz said that Pakistan’s programme was highly appreciated at the conference because it was large-scale, innovative, and systematic.
Aziz told ‘The News:’ “We are working in 400 public schools in Islamabad and about 200 schools outside Islamabad. Our literacy approach is activity-based and our strategy is quite different from other programmes because it engages parents in meaningful literacy. The majority of the participants in our literacy classes are mothers, and their learning is tied to the learning of their children. Parents are made literate in the context of being involved in children’s school activities and creating an educational learning environment at home.”
“Due to frequent dropouts in rural areas, we have amended CRI’s methodology to the extent that interest is being created in teaching.” CRI Pakistan currently has 95 literacy centres in select schools in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi. Since its inception in 2002, the organization’s adult literacy experts have trained over 400 teachers as adult literacy educators; these teachers have educated over 5,500 adult learners in basic math and literacy. “We expect to train 270 adult literacy trainers in the next year and enroll 3,780 new adult learners,” said Aziz.
The Chief Executive said that literacy is a global challenge and should be tackled as such. Since some of the highest illiteracy rates come from the region of South and South-West Asia, Aziz suggests that the region’s combined initiatives to address literacy challenges, thereby ‘contributing to global sustainable human development and poverty reduction,’ CRI Chief Executive said that now we are not in the position to change our stance with the change of government. “Within Pakistan, we cannot afford to have a different literacy scheme for each government.
We must follow and work on one reform agenda in order to achieve the Education For All (EFA) goals and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The nationalistic picture should be contributing to one goal. Moreover, there should be strict accountability for every government initiative.” CRI is doing its part to contribute to the global literacy agenda. She said that the Family Literacy Programme of CRI aims to make parents literate by linking their learning with their child’s learning, a strategy that motivates them to complete CRI’s year-long literacy classes. The objective of the programme is to generate parents’ interest in education and thereby avoid dropouts.
The programme targets non-literate parents, grandparents and older siblings of children in CRI partner schools. The sessions cover 100 lessons in basic literacy in math developed by international literacy experts. The way the Family Literacy Programme is that CRI’s adult literacy experts train primary school teachers as adult literacy educators. These teachers then conduct evening literacy sessions in two-six month phases for 1.5 hours twice a week. Parents receive certificates upon completion of each six-month phase.
[By Afshan S. Khan]
KHAR, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistani security forces recovered the beheaded body of a soldier from a restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan, local officials said.
The body, along with its severed head, was found dumped near a road on the outskirts of Khar, the main town in the tribal Bajaur region, they said.
A letter recovered from his pocket said the soldier belonged to the paramilitary force, local official Fazle Rabbi said.
It went on to say that the soldier had been killed by local Taliban. It gave no reason, Rabbi said.
Suspected pro-Taliban militants in recent weeks have abducted more than a dozen Pakistani security personnel in Bajaur, a volatile region where Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants are known to have hide outs.
Local Taliban abducted eight soldiers last month, saying they would be swapped for militants held in the troubled northwestern valley of Swat.
The Pakistan army launched a major offensive in Swat last month to drive out followers of Maulana Fazlullah, a radical cleric who has demanded Islamic law in the scenic valley.
More than 300 militants have been killed and dozens have been arrested in the ongoing operation in which supporters of Fazlullah have been dislodged from several towns, officials said.
President Pervez Musharraf cited growing militancy as one of the reasons for declaring emergency rule on November 3 and ordered the army to re-establish government control in the area.
He announced the lifting of the emergency rule on Saturday amid criticism at home and abroad.
The clash of civilisations and talk of jihad are not non-existent in the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community, but used to condemn all forms of terrorism and highlight that Islam’s true teaching is of love and compassion for all of God’s Creation.
Denouncing the fear instilled among populations around the world with the justification of terrorism in the name of religion, Naseer Ahmed Shahid, missionary of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Belgium told Tejinder Singh, “Islam rejects any kind of violence and against any kind of people or religion.” He said, “Islam means peace according to Arabic lexicon,” adding that the Muslim greeting, “Assalaamo alyikum” means, “Peace be on you.” Naseer said, “It will be hypocritical to say that and then use a knife.”
Explaining the inherent meaning of Jihad, Naseer told New Europe, “Based on sayings of the Prophet Mohammad and the words of Koran, the greatest and most significant Jihad is the fight against one’s own evil. Another Jihad is to convey the message to other people through wisdom, good behaviour and logic, making friends out of even enemies.” “Koran does not say call to Mohammad or Islam but call to Allah.” “Smallest or least form of Jihad is that if because of one’s faith, one gets attacked by people who are around, and then one can defend oneself,” he argued. Reiterating that the obligation of every Muslim is to show love to all people, irrespective of their religion, caste, creed or race, Naseer said, “In this regard the Ahmadiyya Community wants to extinguish the fire of Jihad which is misrepresented by vested interests and misunderstood thus giving Islam a label of intolerant religion while the Ahmadiyya Community calls for ‘Love for all, hatred for none.’”
The Ahmadiyya Community is trying to carry the message of love and brotherhood of Islam through inter-faith conferences and trying their best to explain teachings of Islam through gatherings.
Asked to comment on punishments being meted out to media writers or cartoonists, Naseer told New Europe, “Islam does not sanction corporal punishment against blasphemy and those judgments are more based on personal gains and wrong beliefs.” There have been attacks on the Ahmadiyya Community in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the recent past but the “Community has not responded with violence and sticks to the principle of the spirit of love for humanity and with out taking the law in our hand we only inform the authority to its responsibility to provide peace and security for every citizen of the country.”
Going down memory lane, Naseer said, “The Ahmadiyya Community was established in 1889 by Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) in a small and remote village, Qadian, in the Punjab, India. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a religious organisation, international in its scope, with branches in over 189 countries in Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Australasia, and Europe. It represents the most dynamic denomination of Islam in modern history, with worldwide membership of tens of millions.”
Advocating “peace, tolerance, love and understanding among followers of different faiths,” Naseer concluded, “The Community firmly believes in and acts upon the Qur’anic teaching: ‘There is no compulsion in religion.’ (2:257). It strongly rejects violence and terrorism in any form and for any reason.”
[Author Tejinder Singh]
WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (APP): The United States is working with Pakistan to help it ensure security along its Afghan border, a top Pentagon official said, while acknowledging the South Asian ally’s key role in the fight against terrorism over the years.
Maj. Gen. Richard Sherlock, Director for Operational Planning at Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon briefing that the US is working with both Pakistan and international- and Afghan forces on the Afghan side to enforce security on the border.
He cited Pakistan’s success in capturing a number of high-profile al-Qaeda operatives and noted the sacrifices its forces have made in combating terror.
“What we’re trying to do is enable the Pakistani security forces—who, oh by the way, have performed over a five-year period now a number of operations against extremists inside of Pakistan.
“They’ve lost over 1,000 Pakistani soldiers over the last five years in operations inside of Pakistan against extremists. And they’ve also captured a number of very high-profile al Qaeda leadership inside of Pakistan,” he stated.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised Pakistan as one of the most steadfast allies at a Congressional hearing earlier this week, saying the country has been immensely helpful in the war on terror.
WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (APP): Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Benazir Bhutto has indicated that she remains open to working with President Pervez Musharraf, if next month’s parliamentary elections are free and fair, Voice of America reported.
Her comments came as the Pakistani leader Saturday moved towards lifting the state of emergency, about three weeks ahead of the vital January 8 poll for the country.
In a telephonic interview, the former prime minister said she may find it possible to cooperate with President Musharraf but observed that will depend on what happens in the elections.
“It’s very difficult to say anything on this matter at this stage,” she said.
“A lot will depend on the elections themselves and what the mood of the people is following the elections,” she said. However, she predicted a confrontation course between the opposition parties and the president if the elections are rigged.
At the same time, she also acknowledged that President Musharraf has taken important steps including relinquishing the office of army chief and said she will welcome a fair election.
“But certainly, Musharraf has taken some steps that surprised many people, including me. And that included retiring as chief of army staff. So if he surprises us all by having a fair election, that will be very welcome. But the way things are going today, that would be a very big surprise.”
Bhutto was of the view that “at the moment the situation is not conducive to fair elections within Pakistan” and alleged “preparations for electoral fraud” are already well under way.
ISLAMABAD, Dec 15 (APP): President Pervez Musharraf Saturday vowed to hold free, fair and transparent election on time, with all political parties free to campaign for election, across the country.“It is my commitment to the entire nation and the world that the election on January 8 will be on time and will be absolutely free and transparent,” President Musharraf said in an address to the nation, after lifting the 42 day long state of emergency.
The President regretted that some political parties have announced boycott of the election. “These political parties have no reason to boycott the election.”
He said some political leaders, even before the start of the election campaign, have started talking of rigging.
“This is all baseless and they must desist from it,” he said. President Musharraf said “I wish to appeal to all the political
parties to maintain peace during the election, run the election campaign with full vigour, but avoid levelling allegations.”
“I appeal to entire Pakistani nation not to participate in any street agitation, and agitational politics. If any individual, group, or political party incites someone towards agitation, then they must not be a part of it.”
The President said Pakistan today was passing through a critical phase. “Therefore, we under no circumstances, can bring destabilisation to Pakistan.”
“It is, therefore my appeal to you, not to follow anyone who is inciting towards agitation,” President Musharraf said.
He also appealed to the nation to fully participate in the election. “Use your vote rightly and do cast your vote,” he added.
The President said those who win the January 8 polls need to show dignity and sagacity, while those who lose, must avoid levelling baseless allegations.
The President hoped and prayed that a serious political process will kick off following the January 8 election and the ongoing struggle against extremism and terrorism will be further strengthened.
The President said the government will invite any number of foreign observers to come and watch the fairness of the polls.
The President said the January 8 election will be the happiest day of his life.
OTTAWA (AFP) — Canada urged Pakistan to ensure "free and fair" legislative elections next month, after President Pervez Musharraf earlier in the day lifted the state of emergency and last month resigned as head of the military.
"Canada welcomes President Musharraf's lifting of the state of emergency and stepping down as Chief of the Army Staff. We recognize these as positive steps," said Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier.
"However, we encourage the Government of Pakistan to create the conditions necessary for free and fair elections, including allowing electoral oversight by an independent judiciary, releasing all persons detained during the state of emergency, and lifting all restrictions on the media," he added.
Musharraf, who rode a bloodless military coup to power eight years ago, signed a decree Saturday lifting the state of emergency, as he promised, before the start of the election campaign on Sunday.
The 64-year-old army general drew international criticism when he put the country under emergency rule on November 3, citing a surge in attacks by Islamic militants as well as what he alleged was interference by the judiciary.
Opponents alleged the real reason for the emergency was to provide cover for a purge of anti-Musharraf judges, who could have entertained legal challenges to his controversial re-election in October.
Musharraf on November 28, also as promised, shed his military uniform as head of Pakistan's Armed Forces, which are now under the command of General Ashfaq Kiyani, and a day later was sworn in as the country's civilian president.
By Brij Khindaria
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has shed his army uniform and says he will allow free and fair democratic elections in January 2008 after ending the current martial law in mid-December 2007. Whatever happens will bring little change b ecause the current upheavals in Pakistan are not a bloody choice between democracy and political stability under a military dictator. They are the suffering of people caught between the hammer of a violent force rising in world Islam and the anvil of various secular forces that separate the words of God, whatever that God’s doctrine, from governance through laws enacted by man.
Pakistan is the land that is burning but the power struggle between fundamentalism and secularism is scattered and global. Because of a concourse of circumstances and history, Pakistan has become the focal point of these flames similar to the spot upon which a magnifying glass concentrates the sun’s roaming rays.
Musharraf’s political troubles may have been worsened by his military cooperation with Washington in the war against terrorism and hunt for Osama bin Laden since 9 September 2001. But they stem less from being an American puppet than from the role of Islam in the violence and contradictions that characterise Pakistan’s domestic politics.
These contradictions cannot be effaced without a life-changing decision. Do the Urdu-speaking South Asian people of Pakistan want to belong to the melting pot of today’s subcontinent or live in a purist theocracy admired by a few Arabs and others?
Its people have two choices. Either they review their country’s birth theology to break the link between the State and specific religious doctrine. Or they become true children of Islam by submitting their country to the particular texts they believe contain the ultimate words of God.
This second alternative sends fear around the world since these children of Islam would control nuclear weapons. The fear is multiplied because those who blindly believe in purist religious doctrine often distrust “godless” reasoning in the modern terminology of tolerance, logic and science. Negotiating with them becomes perilous and unpredictable.
The current hope around the world is that martial law in Pakistan is the final death throes of military dictatorships, which has dominated the country for more than half its life. Numerous analysts, including many people in Pakistan, hope that an orange revolution might happen there because of popular uprising.
This view neglects the significant differences between Pakistan and the conditions that allowed peaceful uprisings to bring down the Berlin Wall, defeat the Soviet Kremlin and snatch freedom for Hungarians, Czechs, Georgians, Ukranians and others. In those countries, people were fighting for freedom from the Soviet system which was using local regimes to control and oppress citizens in favor of Soviet interests. In the final stretch, there was no dissension among the people about the need to throw out the foreign puppet masters and their local puppets.
Pakistan is a completely different story. No foreign power has enslaved it directly or indirectly. It chose the path of Islam in a neighbourhood that its founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, thought would be hostile to that religion because it had ruled Indian Hindus for centuries. From the day of its birth on 14 August 1947, Pakistanis have vascillated over whether their country should be a defender of the faith or a modern nation working to bring the best to its citizens. Jinnah died in September 1948 before he could set a course for them.
Field Marshall Ayub Khan started the long tradition of military dictatorships by seizing power in 1958 to “save the country” after 10 years of instability under civilians, including a war with India over Kashmir. Several military dictatorships later, Musharraf is using the same argument.
Ayub Khan modelled himself on Turkey’s Ataturk but did not succeed in breaking Islam’s links with the state, as did the Turkish army. Musharraf has a better record as an economic reformer but his dependence on Islamic politicians is much greater and control over territory is equally precarious.
Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), which make up half of Pakistan, are still wild tribal lands. Both are in the hands of local governments heavily influenced by Islam. Retrograde Taliban theology is popular in the northern areas bordering Afghanistan and is kept in place by local warlords who also have formidable military skills.
Musharraf was forced to retreat in defeat from the northern border areas in 2006 despite sending over 80,000 regular soldiers armed by the world’s most lethal military, the Americans. Over $10 billion in US military and development aid since 2002 has failed to stop traditional Islamists from gaining the upper hand. For Washington, this is a nightmare.
Despite these failures, many in the West see Musharraf as a stabilzing force especially if he enters democracy alongside civilian politicians. They are forgetting that any Pakistani government, whether dictatorship or democratic, may have to work in coalition with the Islamic parties if it is weak and will have to pander to them if it is strong.
Hopes of stabilization are like skating on thin ice. Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party is secular in name but Islamic piety runs through all its levels. Bhutto wears the Islamic scarf. Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group) was and still is overtly based on religious identity and his earlier electoral victories owed greatly to support from more radical Islamists.
Both Bhutto and Sharif also have serious corruption charges against them. Their record offers little hope of clean government if either returns to power, whether separately or together in a political alliance. That means Pakistan’s lawyers and Supreme Court, which were brave enough to confront Musharraf, will have to shelve those corruption charges in order not to weaken a civilian government.
Both civilians and dictators have awful records of governance in Pakistan. Musharraf deposed Sharif in 1999 because of the army did not trust Sharif after humiliation in the Kargil War with India earlier that year. Sharif had ordered the war for the foolish reason of building upon the popular euphoria that followed Pakistan’s acquisition under his watch of nuclear weapons capability in 1998.
General Muhammed Zia ul Haq, the dictator before Musharraf and earlier short spells of civilian rule, was openly Islamist and filled both the army and the feared intelligence service with Islamists and their sympathizers. Ayub Khan was moderate but he led Pakistan into the disastrous 1965 war with India to “liberate” the Muslims of Indian Kashmir. His successer Yahya Khan caused the break up of Pakistan by losing a major war with India in 1971 when East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh.
The war followed democratic elections in 1970 when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto led the Pakistan People’s Party to victory in the West but refused to reach a power sharing arrangement with Mujibur Rahman, whose Awami League had won twice as many votes in the East. The humiliated West Pakistan army blamed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s arrogance for Bangladesh’s creation and General Zia ul Haq later hanged him on charges of corruption. Bhutto’s daughter Benazir and her political rival Sharif each became Prime Minister two times during the 1980s and 1990s but both were deposed and exiled by the army for corruption and incompetence.
This is how Pakistan has reached the brink of implosion today. Whether democracy or dictatorship, Pakistan will continue to be a creation of Islam until its people decide to use religion as a personal path to God separate from their existence as a nation. Till then, modern liberal democracy will have little meaning for them.
There are no true democrats among Pakistan’s top politicians. There are only dictators in camouflage or venal civilians masking their craze for power with democratic jargon learned during their exile and education in the West. All are loyal to political Islam in one way or another.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — President Pervez Musharraf has tightened his control over Pakistan's nuclear weapons, anchoring in law a commission responsible for overseeing the nuclear arsenal and preventing further proliferation.
Opposition leaders said Saturday the move gives Musharraf unwarranted powers that they will try to take away from him after Pakistan's fraught parliamentary elections on Jan. 8.
Musharraf on Friday issued an ordinance that gives a firmer legal footing to the National Command Authority, or NCA, the oversight commission which includes top civilian and military officials.
Chaired by Musharraf, the NCA has been in place since he created it by executive order seven years ago. But only with the ordinance, do the commission's powers become enshrined in law.
The ordinance reinforces the NCA's "complete command and control" over all aspects of the nuclear program and grants the chairman "all the powers and functions of the authority."
The ordinance takes immediate effect, though parliament may choose to review it.
Talat Masood, a military analyst and retired general, said the ordinance gave the NCA considerable new power to control the activities of current and former employees of the nuclear program. The ordinance says anyone breaching national security can be punished with a jail term of up to 25 years.
"It has become much more independent now and autonomous," Masood said.
Spokesmen for opposition leaders Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif denounced the change as a bid to keep nuclear control in Musharraf's hands and said they hoped lawmakers would put the next prime minister in charge of defense matters including oversight of nuclear weapons.
Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Bhutto, said the NCA ordinance showed Musharraf "grabbing more and more power."
Bhutto and Sharif have argued in their manifestos for next month's election that nuclear command and control should be overseen by the cabinet's defense committee, chaired by the prime minister.
"The prime minister is answerable before the parliament, so you have some accountability," said Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 coup. "But with the president, there is no accountability."
Iqbal accused Musharraf of a ruse to shore up Western support by reminding them of speculation about whether Pakistan's nuclear weapons could ever fall into the hands of Islamic radicals. In the past, Pakistan's nuclear secrets have been leaked to Iran, North Korea and Libya.
"The real issue is not nonproliferation. That is already very secure. The real issue for Pakistan is rule of law," Iqbal said.
The maneuver comes amid uncertainty about the country's political stability triggered by Musharraf's monthslong confrontation with the opposition and the judiciary against the backdrop of rising Islamic militancy.
Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said the government wanted to put the NCA on a firm legal footing before the parliamentary elections.
"There is a transition in process and the country is returning to full democracy, so whatever things were left to be done are being done," Arshad said.
Arshad insisted that the ordinance changed nothing about how the body would function.
Presidential spokesman Rashid Qureshi did not return calls seeking an explanation of Musharraf's action.
Musharraf set up the NCA in 2000 in the wake of his 1999 coup and two years after Pakistan detonated several atomic devices to establish itself as the Islamic world's only declared nuclear power.
It was created at a time of mounting suspicions about the activities of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the top Pakistani scientist who was exposed in 2004 as the head of an international black market in nuclear technology.
U.S. officials have praised Pakistan's efforts to ensure there is no repeat of Khan's proliferation, which stretched back to the late 1980s, though experts say the full extent of his activities remains unclear.
Pakistani officials remain highly sensitive to suggestions that the country's nuclear weapons — its key defense against archrival India and a source of great national pride — are not under firm control, and that it might need help to protect them.
The top U.S. military officer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike McMullen, said last month there was no sign that political turmoil in Pakistan had undermined the security of its nuclear arsenal.
Pakistani authorities have issued a string of strongly worded statements since two American academics published an article in the New York Times last month suggesting U.S. forces could enter Pakistan to prevent Islamic militants from getting their hands on a nuclear device in the case of grave instability.
The Pakistan army said the NCA had taken note during a meeting chaired by Musharraf on Friday of a "hostile campaign" in the international media.
"While reiterating that the security of Pakistan's nuclear assets was foolproof, it advised against creating irresponsible alarm. Pakistan (is) capable of defending its interests and cautioned those contemplating misadventures," an army statement said.
ISLAMABAD (AFP) — At least five people were killed and five wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside an army facility in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, the military and police said.
The bomber, who was on a bicycle, detonated his explosives at a checkpost outside an army centre in the garrison city of Nowshera, 130 kilometres (80 miles) west of the capital Islamabad, a military spokesman told AFP.
"Five people have lost their lives, three civilians and two army men," spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.
Police confirmed the death toll and said five people were wounded in the attack. "Some of the injured are in a critical condition," local police officer Abid Khan told AFP.
He said the checkpost was on a busy thoroughfare.
The attack came just hours before President Pervez Musharraf was due to lift a controversial state of emergency he imposed in November, citing a wave of attacks that have primarily targeted Pakistan's armed forces.
Hundreds have lost their lives in those attacks -- about 450 just since July, after an army raid on a radical, pro-Taliban mosque left about 100 people dead.
Twin suicide bombers killed five soldiers and wounded 22 people in the southwestern city of Quetta on Thursday.
A British Muslim, suspected in an alleged plot to blow up passenger jets flying from London to the US, has escaped from police custody in Pakistan, according to officials.
Rashid Rauf escaped after appearing before a judge at a court in the capital, Islamabad, said Khalid Pervez, of the city's police force.
Rashid Rauf
Two officers were being questioned about how Rauf had got away.
Federal Interior Secretary Kamal Shah said he had been informed of the escape, but said he had no details.
Rauf, who also has a Pakistani passport, was arrested by Pakistani intelligence agents in August last year.
At the time Pakistan identified him as a key suspect in the alleged terror plot, sparking a security alert in Britain.
It led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights to and from Heathrow Airport for several days in August and increased restrictions on carry-on items.
"Two policemen were being questioned about how Rauf had gotten away."
Keystone Kops Alert. "British suspect escapes in Pakistan," from the Associated Press:
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Rashid Rauf, a British suspect in an alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic jetliners, escaped from police custody in Pakistan on Saturday, officials said.
Rauf escaped after appearing before a judge at a court in the capital, Islamabad, said Khalid Pervez, a city police official. Two policemen were being questioned about how Rauf had gotten away.
Federal Interior Secretary Kamal Shah said he had been informed of the escape, but said he had no details.
It is said that “pen is mightier than sword”, which is quite conceivable in this modern era, where education seems to have upper hand in almost every field of interest.
It is very sad that such realization has still not been given any importance, when it comes to our society, and considerably Sindh is worst among all. Where education is merely a part of a business, that requires a student to pay for his/her grades, or else its either the matter of discrimination or enimity that brings him to utter failure.
Just to exemplify, recently BISE (Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education) Hyderabad, announced its annual result of 11th grade students, which only brought shame and humiliation for all hard working and diligent students, as most of the positions holders had either connections with the board personnels, or they had paid sufficient amount of money for their respective grades.
Not only the administrative system is to be blamed, but the test centers and colleges equally took part. I may sound too much for some, but “Examination Results” are sufficient enough to back me up.
The water has now reached high above our heads, this year the test centers did fully allowed students to openly cheat in their papers. Its a shame but none of the test centers had legitimate administration.
And all this had resulted unbiased grade distribution, assurance of good result to those who went through illegitimate process, but ultimately hard working students suffer the consequences, which further unfortunately alters his eligibility criteria for admission in universities nationwide.
ISLAMABAD: Expressing his ignorance on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, President Pervez Musharraf said, no one knows where Osama is but he could be in Bajaur -- this is the tribal agency bordering Kunar province, where there were no coalition forces in the past. On the Afghan side -- that’s in Afghanistan.
He stated this in an interview.
Refusing to restore the deposed judges Musharraf categorically stated that they would never be restored and no western interference would be tolerated in the internal affairs of Pakistan.
Musharraf categorically refusing to reinstate judges who opposed him and dismissing western criticism in this regard said, "We took action. The judges had to take oaths, and those that took the oaths are there. Those that did not are gone. This action was validated by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Why should they be restored? New judges are there. They will never be restored.
"Let the western world not understand. They should come to Pakistan and understand Pakistan".
Retreating that there are no curbs on media the president said there are no restrictions on press.
"There is no problem criticizing the government. . . . The problem was that they were distorting realities and creating despondencies in the people of Pakistan by showing pictures of dead bodies and interviewing terrorists -- not showing the law enforcement authorities in a good light but showing the terrorists in a better light. Thus they encouraged terrorism and discouraged the law enforcers. They were undermining the good work of the government, were entirely one-sided, and some responsibility had to be brought in.
"We issued a code of conduct and asked them to sign it. It’s as good as you have in your own country. All the channels except one accepted it, and all except one are open. The print media were not closed at all."
Blaming the western media for his problems said, "The Western media was undermining what [we] are doing. Your media keeps criticizing the army and the ISI -- not understanding what their real contribution is to fighting terrorism.
They showed those who took action as villains and brought those madwomen who were there on television and made heroes of them. It should have been converted into a great positive. . . . Instead, it was as if we had done something terrible".
In response to a question whether the US had abandoned him President Musharraf said, " No, I don’t. I stuck out my neck for Pakistan. I didn’t stick out my neck for anyone else. It happened to be in the interest of the world and the U.S. Describing President Bush as supportive towards him, "The president has been extremely supportive. I have nothing against President Bush. I think he has been most supportive; he has been a very sincere friend. I must say he understands fully the Pakistan environment. He understands why I had to act and what I’m facing. He totally and completely understands. He understands the emergency. He understands what we were suffering and that an action had to be taken" We are combating terrorism and we are on the winning side.
The issue is in the FATA -- that is, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. There are two of them in north and south Waziristan and a third one in Bajaur.
President Musharraf refusing to say whether he would endorse a constitutional amendment to allow former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to serve a third term said that he had no such promise to the US that he would lift The ban in this regard
" No I haven’t given any such promises. We did talk about it, but there were many things that we talked about which have been violated . . . " But adding that he is willing to work with her if she wins
Stressing on the need of settlement of Palestinian conflict the president said the anti US sentiments are growing in the Muslim world due to lack of progress on these issues
Warning against any unilateral strike in Pakistan against the Al-Qaeda by the US troops or US access to Dr AQ Khan the President said: "That will not be acceptable to Pakistan. The people of Pakistan will not accept any foreign involvement here, and I do not think it is required. We have intelligence cooperation . . . .
No, it would be interference in our country. Would you like Pakistani intelligence to interfere in the U.S.? The problem with the West is that you want the developing world to do everything that you wish and desire. . . . Are we that incapable, are we that small? This is not a banana republic."
[Sources GEO NEWS]
