Ebola ( Congo Virus ) Strikes Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar

Govt not prepared to prevent outbreak.

PESHAWAR: Two suspected Congo virus patients died in Hayatabad Medical Complex’s isolation ward. The deceased were Afghan nationals who had come to the city for medical assistance.

HMC medics said Muhammad Hashim was admitted to the facility on Tuesday. His blood samples were taken and he was shifted to an isolation ward where he passed away during the early hours of Wednesday. Similarly, 20-year-old Zahir, a resident of Jalalabad, Afghanistan was brought to HMC on June 5 and passed away on June 8 before he could be diagnosed with the virus.

The two cases push the tally of suspected Congo carriers brought to the hospital from the neighbouring country to four this year. The deaths have put the provincial government on alert as the province and tribal areas are at risk.



The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has taken all preventive measures to counter Congo virus, however, the number of suspected patients arriving from Afghanistan has set alarm bells ringing.

Talking to The Express Tribune, K-P Health Services Director General Dr Pervez Kamal said no case of Congo virus has been reported in the province so far and that “all measures have been taken to ensure the virus does not spread.”

“All necessary steps have been taken. We have collected blood samples of patients as well as their family members and forwarded them to the federal capital for examination.” He said that while results are awaited, even suspected carriers are kept in isolation ward.

Over the past few months, the number of patients at HMC from across the border with symptoms similar to those of the virus has increased.

Earlier, 30-year-old Abdul Saboor, a resident of Kabul, Afghanistan, was shifted to an isolation room on similar grounds. Qudratullah, hailing from Mazar-e-Sharif, was also admitted and his blood samples were obtained. However he left the hospital soon after. Test results of both individuals are still awaited.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11th, 2015.
source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/901458/in-isolation-suspected-congo-virus-carriers-die-at-hmc/

PushKalavati Museum Peshawar made in the House of Ghani Khan Son of Bach Khan

Pushkalavati Museum Peshawar Made in Donated House of Ghani Khan son of Bacha Khan  

Sher Alam Shinwari Published Mar 15, 2014 07:00am


BUILT in 2011 at a huge cost, Pushkalavati Museum and Ghani Khan Art Gallery in district Charsadda is yet to be handed over to the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Peshawar.

Earlier, Ghani Derai Complex comprising a public library and hall was built in 2002 at a cost of Rs7.5 milliaon over a hollow sandy mound, however, it collapsed due to loose-filling and excessive seepage.

The Ghani Derai Complex was handed over by the Directorate of Archives and Libraries to the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums in 2006 in the shape of a liability.

A huge amount was allocated for repair and renovation of Ghani Derai Complex but soon it crumbled down. An inquiry was initiated against the contractor but it was also shelved. The public library had to be shifted to Pushkalavati Museum’s basement two years ago.

“The Ghani Derai Complex is still in ruins and the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums has taken no step in this regard,” said Muflis Durrani, the vice president of Ghani Khan Adabi Au Saqafati Jirga.

About 60 members of the Jirga, he said, held various literary and cultural events on different occasions every year at the site. He said that the officials concerned should take interest in rebuilding and restoration of both the sites.

According to local people, two watchmen, one gardener, one peon and one sweeper, appointed on permanent basis for Pushkalavati Museum and Ghani Khan Art Gallery, are getting salaries at their homes because the structure has not been commissioned by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums.

The newly built museum has not been commissioned by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums from the communication and works department owing to its reservations regarding the faulty construction and seepage problem.

Local people say that seepage is damaging the walls of the complex and its three display halls comprising 96 shelves are also lying empty as no artifacts are exhibited in them.

The Ghani Derai Complex, which has no permanent staff, is being run through a grant in-aid of Rs5 million approved by the provincial finance department.

Currently, an 11 grade assistant librarian is running the public library with a total membership of 300 while the grant in-aid has been increased to Rs8 million.

A senior official at the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums on the condition of anonymity told this scribe that the fate of Pushkalavati Museum and Ghani Art Gallery seemed to be no different from that of Ghani Derai Complex for want of interest of the authorities concerned.

“We have written a detailed letter to the communication and works department to remove our reservations and hand over the structure so that it could be made operational otherwise it would be crumbled down. Also, we have asked them to restore Ghani Derai Complex but unfortunately nobody is taking interest,” he said.

The official said that the inquiry was also dumped because the contractor belonged to the then ruling political party.

Director Archaeology and Museums Prof Mohammad Nasim Khan, when contacted, said that being an archeologist he would not recommend reconstruction of Ghani Derai public library and hall on hollow deposit, however, it could be shifted to another site.

“The permanent employees have been deputed to perform duty at other sites scattered in the district till the Pushkalavati Museum comes under our control,” he said.

He said that the directorate would arrange a visit to the site in near future.

“Filling empty shelves with display items is no issues. We have lots of items being kept in our stores of directorate. We have also sufficient funds for purchasing more display items for Pushkalavati Museum from amateur local collectors. Once it gets properly commissioned and our reservations regarding seepage are removed, the directorate can make it operational,” Prof Khan said.

The post of assistant curator for the said museum was still lying vacant while two watchmen, one peon, one gardener, and one sweeper were appointed on permanent basis, he said. However, the services of two watchmen, a peon, one sweeper and one gardener already serving since 2002 at Ghani Derai Complex were yet to be regularised, he added.

The director said that a post for a 16 grade assistant librarian for the public library would be advertised soon.

An office-bearer of Ghani Khan Adabi Au Saqafati Jirga said that they had formed a committee comprising senior writers, intellectuals and poets to meet Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to resolve the issues regarding both the structures.

“We want Ghani Derai to be rebuilt on firm foundations so that literary and cultural activities can be restarted here,” he said. He said that senior members of the Jirga should also be included in the staff to ensure its faultless reconstruction and smooth running of its affairs.

Different literary and cultural organisations plan to commemorate the 18th death anniversary of noted Pashto poet, painter and sculptor Ghani Khan today (Saturday).
source : http://www.dawn.com/news/1093190

Peshawar School Massacre Suspiciously too Convenient Timing.

By Tahir Mehdi

Was Peshawar School  Massacre a Pre-Planned 9/11 like Event Needed by Pakistan after  Abolishment as Money was Drying up after, Kerry Lugar Bill finished in 2014 and it was extended on Request of General Raheel Sharif after his Visit  it received more then 30 Billion US Dollars in Last Decade Equaling 30,000 Billion  Pakistani rupees that was Mostly spend on Punjab and Punjabi Establishment in Shape of Arms and Ammunitions from China and USA . The timing of Peshawar School is too Convenient to be Ignored 

No Money from USA for Adventures in Mountains and Terrorist Like Taliban Made in Pakistan.  

Over 15 days have passed since the gruesome Peshawar carnage shook up the entire country. The atmosphere is still somber as a flurry of activity continues in government quarters.

So has the situation reached tipping point?

Do the authorities intend real, meaningful action or are they still looking to stage manage some mass catharsis and bid their time before returning to their old ways?

A slew of senior analysts remain skeptical, and they have good reason to be, given recent history.

Nevertheless, I for one shall not be carried away by past experiences and lose sight of new factors that suggest that Pakistan may have turned the corner. There is more at play than meets the eye.
US troops are going home and so is US money

When the US military campaign in Afghanistan came knocking at our door, the country was under a host of economic and military sanctions imposed by none other than the US itself.

The Pressler Amendment of 1985 had bound the US president to annually certify that a country receiving military or economic aid from US was not pursuing a nuclear program. For five years, President Regan and then President Bush (Senior) signed the certificate, up until the Soviets finally withdrew from Afghanistan.

The period 1983-1990 saw US military aid stand at an average of around half a billion dollars (in 2009 constant dollar).

But the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989 drew a rather abrupt drop scene of this decade long Pak-US military friendship.

Then in May 1998, Pakistan defied international pressure and went ahead with nuclear tests. President Clinton imposed further sanctions under Symington Amendment and Glenn Amendment.

When General Musharraf toppled the elected government in October 1999, US Congress invoked Section 508 of the Foreign Assistance Act prohibiting all aid to Pakistan; these were termed as ‘democracy sanctions’.

The US non-military aid to Pakistan for the period 1991-2001 averaged just $75 million per year, while the total military aid during the eleven year period was a paltry $7 million.

All of this changed in September 2001. President Bush (Junior) waived Pressler, Symington and Glenn Amendments and the US Congress voted to allow the President to waive ‘democracy sanctions’. This broke loose a flood of US money.

US military aid to Pakistan in the first year of the new war, 2002, was a staggering $1.74 billion. The non-military economic assistance that year was $937 million.

See Sixty years of US aid to Pakistan

The US has certainly not been the only donor. As shown in a report by Center for Global Development, the US financial assistance worth $ 1.3 billion was just 30 per cent of the gross Official Development Assistance (ODA) that flowed into Pakistan in 2011, totaling $4.15 billion.

See Aid to Pakistan by the Numbers

Assistance from US and allies to Pakistan has maintained a high level since then despite many challenges.

For a broad comparison, consider that Pakistan’s total current expenditure for 2010-11 was Rs 2,296 billion and out of this Defense Affairs and Services (not total military budget) was Rs 445 billion.

The Coalition Support Fund (which reimburses expenses incurred by US allies against the war on terrorism) for the year 2010 was $1.22 billion (in 2009 constant) or roughly Rs100 billion; in other words, over a fifth of military’s current expenditure. It has remained at this level for a good 13 year period. This is a long time to stay hooked on to something.

Bloomberg quotes Congressional Research Service claiming, the U.S. paid Pakistan $11 billion out of the Pentagon’s Coalition Support Fund budget as of 2013. Including other military and economic aid, the US has given Pakistan about $28 billion during the 12 years through 2014.

General Raheel Sharif got an extension in the Coalition Support Fund for 2015 worth $1 billion during his recent visit to the US. But by 2016, US will be completely out of its combat status in Afghanistan.

In November 2016, during the next US presidential elections, Democrats would like to take pride in having successfully concluded the longest war in US history.

So while budgetary supports and civilian aid from the US and others will continue, though at a reduced level, military aid will slide down sharply, if not dry up completely after 2015.

Pakistan needs to keep around 150,000 troops in North Waziristan until at least 2017.

The monster of terrorism looming large at the western border at the time when resources are shrinking is no good news.

The time to act has arrived as Pakistan’s military strategists can no longer (financially) afford to let matters linger on its western borders.

The Kerry-Lugar bill had tried to use the US aid as a lever to create a new civil-military balance in Pakistan in 2009. The brazen attempt to give the newly elected government supremacy over military affairs had annoyed the army and was effectively blunted as aid to both civilian and military continued unabated.

The new reality is that the aid pipelines are drying up, especially the ones that directly supplied our military. It is bound to create a new civil-military power equation.

The civil-military hostility of 1990s can at least partly be attributed to the sudden reduction in size of the budget pie. We are again facing a similar moment in our history.

The only way to sustain previous levels of allocations is to increase the size of the national budget. That can come through measures like expansion in tax base, foreign investments and the overall growth in GDP of the country.

Peace is a pre-requisite to growth and it is only possible if terrorism is uprooted and we embark on a new era of regional cooperation.
Pakistan cannot afford to lose China as a friend



The recent upsurge in terror acts is blamed on the Operation Zarb-e-Azb, which, despite its shortcomings, the world has come to recognise as a step forward in the fight against terrorism.

Two weeks before the launch of Zarb-e-Azb, (on June 15, 2014), General Raheel Sharif paid a visit to China, holding meetings with political and military leadership of the new global power.

Since then, there has been a crisscross of meetings between US, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

China has advised Pakistan to settle its disputes with India through talks. It has also exhorted ‘neighbours of Afghanistan’ to not meddle in its internal affairs. It has come out in support of the new government in Kabul and has signed economic cooperation agreements worth tens of billions of dollar with Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

A new economy is emerging in the region, and China is a dominant player in it.

China and Pakistan have close cooperation in almost every sector of defense. According to SIPRI, during the five-year period 2009-13, Pakistan was the world’s third biggest importer of arms in the world (having a 5 per cent share in total international arms imports) and 54 per cent of Pakistan’s imports came from China.

Looking at it from the other side, China became the world’s fourth largest arms exporter during the same period and 47 per cent of its total exports were bought by Pakistan.

China has three main stakes in the region that are related to Pakistan.

One: it sees the militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan as a source of unrest in its home province Xinjiang, and it has zero tolerance for religious extremism.

Islamic militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan is a constant source of inspiration, if not support, for ethnic Uighurs of Xinjiang and a major irritant for Beijing.

Two: Xinjiang is important for China from more than one aspect. It has a fifth of that country’s oil reserves and its largest coal and natural gas reserves. It also serves as the distribution hub of the gas China imports from Central Asia.

Beijing has recently said it is investing $300 billion in the region and a good part of this is going in developing roads and railways that will link China with Europe and other regions. One important route shall pass through Pakistan and China wants its merchandise to flow on it, but is wary of religious extremism traveling back into its already troubled region.

See: China Invests in Region Rich in Oil, Coal and Also Strife

Three: China has stakes in the region’s economy. It already has a $3.5 billion copper mining contract at Mes Aynak near Kabul. China's appetite for mineral resources is insatiable.

Besides that, many of the Chinese investments in other countries of the region can materialise or optimise if there are no cross-country hindrances. This provides “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kick-start the two redundant economies of Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

Also read: Can China bring peace to Afghanistan?

Pakistan’s western allies have been exhorting it to ‘do more’ in the war against terrorism with frustratingly limited success. The pressure to walk the last mile now may not be coming from the wily West but from ‘all-weather friend’ China.

Given the ‘unreliability’ of the US, Pakistan is trying to diversify. Its recent overtures to Russia are part of this effort but these are unlikely to yield anything substantial given the uncertainties faced by that country’s economy especially in the face of the current slump in oil prices.

So Pakistan is left with China as the only reliable military partner – and it certainly cannot afford to lose or annoy her.

source : http://www.dawn.com/news/1153849/the-other-factors-reshaping-pakistans-war-on-terror

200 Year old Icon Khan Klub of Peshawar Heritage falls to Mullahcarcy and Punjabi Establishment Proxy Wars.

A view of Peshawar city’s iconic 200-year-old building Khan Klub. PHOTO: EXPRESS

PESHAWAR: Once upon a time, Khan Klub resembled a part of some fabled land right out of an ancient tale. Today the boutique hotel — that was actually a Hindu haveli — is enveloped in particles of flour, and looks nothing like it used to.

Once a favourite haunt of visiting foreigners, it is now employed for commercial purposes. The hotel building is now in a shambles and its halls have been turned into a flour godown.

Built over 200 years ago, the place was renovated and converted into a hotel in 1995 by Martin Jay Davis, an Irish-American, in partnership with a local by the name of Inayatullah. It soon emerged as one of the city’s most attractive hotels. Its rooms were named and designed according to certain themes, says Adil Zareef, head of the Sarhad Conservation Network.

Abdul Qayyum, who was once associated with the Khan Klub, told The Express Tribune that people from around the world have stayed here during their sojourn in Peshawar. “We have seen foreigners here from every part of the world who used to stay in the city without any fear,” said Qayyum.

After 2001 Khan Klub fell into a state of rapid decline. That was when militancy erupted and visitors started avoiding Peshawar.

“Ultimately the Klub had to be closed down. Before militancy, however, its boisterous New Year celebrations invoked the wrath of the Jamaat-e-Islami which accused it of spreading vulgarity in the city.”



“The federal government does not facilitate foreign tourists in K-P. Also, there is a lack of political will in K-P government officials to make efforts for the preservation of the 3,000-year old city,” said Zareef.

In Peshawar alone, there are 300 sites which can earn huge revenue through tourism. Before Khan Klub, Peshawar also lost Deans hotel — the only European-style hotel constructed by the British government — which has since been replaced by a shopping plaza.

The club in situated at the junction of the historical markets of the city, on a side of the old walled city of Peshawar. It has strong influences of old Peshawari architecture. The ceilings of some of its rooms are as high as 22 feet.



The spacious basement where once some of the most famous musicians performed the cultural music of the Pakhtuns is now a flour godown. Reminiscing about the good old days, Qayyum said that the Rabab along with tabla was a regular feature every day.

The Klub used to serve traditional as well as western foods and drinks, but Pakhtun culture was always prominent. In a dining hall done up to remind one of the Mughal era, tourists used to rest on traditional cushions and devour delicacies like Kabuli Pulao before washing down the same with Qahwa. Here was once the most expensive restaurant in the city. A small library of books on the history and culture of the province was also established there to provide maximum information to the visitors.

In Qayyum’s opinion, the club was opened mainly to entertain tourists, and it closed down due to an absence of foreigners. He added that when the owners of the building tried to sell it, no one was ready to invest such a huge amount of money, and potential buyers did not see it as economically feasible option.

“As a part of the fabric of society, buildings have a relation with the social, economic and political system. Without them, nothing will be left of our culture,” adds Zareef.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2014.

source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/791922/khan-klub-another-icon-of-peshawar-heritage-falls/

The Art of peace ANP stalwart launches anti-war book

The book is based on the proceedings of a two-day event held in April 2012. The talks held during the event were then compiled in written form by Lala. PHOTO: NNI

PESHAWAR: Veteran politician of the Awami National Party, Afzal Khan Lala, launched his book ‘Da Pukhtano Pa Khawra Praday Jhagarha’ (Ghost war on Pakhtun soil) at a ceremony held at Peshawar Press Club on Saturday.

“Pukhtuns have not stood united as a nation since 1893,” said Lala while speaking on the occasion, referring to the year the Durand Line was drawn. “People cannot win without unity and Pukhtuns can never become a great nation unless they exhibit unity among them.”

Lala said Pakistan, Afghanistan and India should work towards bringing peace to their respective countries.



Pashto scholars and intellectuals can play an active role in bringing peace by using the power of their pens, but unfortunately, they are not writing anything positive in this regard, he lamented.

The book is based on the proceedings of a two-day event held in April 2012. The talks held during the event were then compiled in written form by Lala.

The event was an international one with participants from Afghanistan also in attendance. Speakers stressed on how peace could be restored in Pakistan and its western neighbour.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2014.
source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/791760/the-art-of-peace-anp-stalwart-launches-anti-war-book/