RAW OR RAWHEEL SHARIF ???

The Pervaiz Rasheed affair

PERVEZ HOODBHOY — The writers teaches physics in Islamabad and Lahore.

PERVAIZ HOODBHOY 

When Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed spoke at the Karachi Arts Council on May 3, he stated the self-evident. Without explicitly naming madressahs, he said large numbers of factories mass-produce ignorance in Pakistan through propagating “murda fikr” (dead knowledge). They use loudspeakers as tools, leaving well over two million young minds ignorant, confused, and confounded. The early tradition of Muslim scholars and scientists was very vibrant and different, he said. But now blind rote learning and use of books like Maut ka manzar — marnay kay baad kya hoga? (Spectre of death — what happens after you die?) is common.

That last reference made me sit up. A best-seller in Pakistan for decades, I had bought and read my copy some 40 years ago and have since re-read it from time to time. My fascination with it, as with Dante’s Inferno, comes from the carefully detailed, blood-curdling horrors that await us in the grave and then beyond. One part of the book reports upon conversations between the inhabitants of heaven and hell. Another section specifies punishments for grave dwellers guilty of treating one of two wives unequally, disobeying one’s mother, owning more houses than necessary, or urinating incorrectly. While doubtless of grave importance, the minister’s point is easy to see.

The speech was extempore, and the minister rambled. Yet he set off a firestorm. Accused of making fun of Islamic books and Islamic teachings, clerics across Pakistan competed to denounce him. Authored by an extremist sectarian outfit, the JASWJ, banners on Islamabad’s roads appeared. They demanded that Rasheed be publicly hanged. Taken down by the police, they reappeared elsewhere. The police accosted those putting them up, but withdrew after being confronted by youthful stick-bearing students from an illegally constructed madressah in Islamabad’s posh F-6/4 area — one of the scores of other such madressahs in the city. The police chief expressed his views frankly: he was not equipped to take on religious extremists and suicide bombers.
The episode involving the information minister illustrates the present condition of state and society.

The story gets curiouser. Mufti Naeem — the powerful cleric of Karachi’s Jamia Binoria who had issued the fatwa of apostasy on Mr Rasheed — was a guest on a TV television talk show broadcast live on May 24. He reaffirmed his fatwa at the outset of the conversation. The two other guests were the Punjab law minister, Rana Sanaullah, and myself. One might have expected the law minister to insist on the rule of law, and to challenge the extrajudicial sentence passed against a colleague who sits with him in the cabinet. On the contrary, Mr Sanaullah expressed his high regard for the mufti and the mufti duly returned the compliment, expressing his delight at the minister’s recent reappointment.

The pressure on Rasheed was unbearable. Many, including the minister of defence, rushed to offer explanations and excuses for his May 3 speech. Privately they agree with him but taking a public position is another matter. Mr Rasheed too has retreated since and apologised, claiming he has been misunderstood. He was later seen at a dastarbandi (graduation) ceremony at the Al-Khalil Qur’an Complex in Rawalpindi where he distributed prizes to madressah students who had memorised the Quran. By doing so, he showed his lack of keenness in following in the footsteps of governor Salmaan Taseer.

Irrespective of the final outcome, or the personality of the individual, the Pervaiz Rasheed episode starkly illustrates the present condition of state, society, and politics in Pakistan today. One takes from it some important conclusions.

First, the urban-based clerical establishment grows bolder by the day, believing it can take on even sitting ministers or, if need be, generals. They have many tanks and nuclear weapons but didn’t Islamabad’s Lal Masjid — now grandly reconstructed — finally triumph over the Pakistan Army? Even though the clerics lost 150 students and other fighters, the then army chief sits in the dock, accused of quelling an armed insurrection against Pakistan and killing one of its ringleaders. Chastened by this episode and others, the establishment now seeks to appease the mullah. Not a single voice in government defended the information minister. Like the brave Sherry Rehman, who was also abandoned by her own party in a similar crisis situation, he was left to fend for himself.

Second, by refusing to own the remarks of its own information minister the government has signalled its retreat on a critical front — madressah reform. This part of the National Action Plan to counter terrorism involves financial audits of madressahs, revealing funding sources, curriculum expansion and revision, and monitoring of activities. Some apparent urgency was injected after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar’s off-the-cuff remark earlier this year that about 10pc of madressahs were extremist. Even if one-third of this is true, this suggests that there are many hundreds of such seminaries. Plans for dealing with them have apparently been shelved once again.

Third, one sees that open television access was given to clerics and other hardliners who claimed that Mr Rasheed had forfeited his right to be called a Muslim. This is clear incitement to murder since a good fraction of society believes that apostates need to be eliminated. Such ideological extremism on TV is far too common these days to deserve much comment. Still, it is remarkable that a serving minister — and that too of information and communications — was allowed to be targeted. Has Pemra also fallen in the hands of extremist sympathisers?

For a while the Peshawar massacre had interrupted the deep slumber of Pakistan’s military and civil establishment. That those who slaughtered children at the Army Public School were not agents of India, Israel, or America came as a huge shock. It turned out that the killers were religious fanatics who saw their acts as paving their path to al-jannah. But dealing with this disturbing reality requires more wisdom and courage than Pakistan’s establishment can presently muster. It is lulling itself back to sleep by tossing more bombs into Waziristan, and lazily blaming five subsequent massacres upon RAW’s hidden hand. This is infinitely easier than dealing with the enemy within. Unfortunately it cannot work.

SOURCE : http://www.dawn.com/news/1186434

Ashraf Ghani and the Pashtun Dilemma

Ashraf Ghani and the Pashtun Dilemma, If he is to succeed, Afghanistan’s president will need to come to grips with the country’s ethnic tensions. 

By Ali Reza Sarwar

With his impressive background, which includes a stint as a senior official at the World Bank and a ministerial post, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani would not appear to be short of qualifications for leadership. Yet, the president appears on course to be just another Afghan leader who is unable to rule the troubled country. When Ghani delivered his lofty inaugural speech on September 29, 2014, following a disputed election and power-sharing deal, expectations were high. The president made a strong argument in support of what he called the “triangle of stability” – economy, security and human resources – promising to restore Afghanistan’s valuable ancient geopolitical and economic position as the “crossroads of Asia.”

More than 100 days after taking the office, however, and Ghani is bogged down in a serious political crisis, one that draws a gloomy picture of the fragile unity government. He has only in the last few days been able to form a cabinet, leaving Afghanistan’s major public institutions, including ministries, independent departments, and commissions without leaders for months. A recent survey conducted by Afghanistan’s popular private TOLO TV and an independent civil society, shows that Ghani’s popularity has fallen dramatically, with only 27.5 percent of respondents satisfied with his leadership. With insecurity and political uncertainty looming, a number of parliamentarians have asked for Ghani’s impeachment for “treason,” blaming him for Afghanistan’s current state of disarray.

What has gone wrong? Why is this impressively credentialed leader unable to fix Afghanistan? Traditionally, Afghanistan’s woes have been blamed on crippling corruption, weak governance, dismal economic conditions, and worsening security coupled with foreign intervention. While these are certainly painful realities, the root cause of political crisis lies in ethnic politics and the breakdown of consensus among diverse ethnicities in regard to the persistent Pashtun dilemma.

The Pashtun Dilemma

Constituting around 40 percent of the population, Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and are on the front lines of the war on terrorism, both as perpetrators and victims. The Taliban that is behind the bulk of the brutal militancy both in Afghanistan and Pakistan are mainly Pashtuns and derive their support from strongholds in tribal areas across Afghanistan and Pakistan’s borders. The mainstream Pashtun intelligentsia in both countries have been mostly uncertain over whether to sympathize with the Taliban as a nationalist movement seeking to restore traditional Pashtun dominance in Afghan politics and to some extent in Pakistan, or to condemn them as an extremist and externally infiltrated militancy that have dragged Pashtuns into an asymmetric confrontations with the U.S.-led coalition at a massive cost in human life.

Despite the Taliban’s indiscriminate attacks on Pashtun areas, including the last year’s suicide bombing in a market in Paktika province that killed 89 people, some leading Pashtun thinkers support the Taliban as a nationalist movement that could restore Pashtun dominance in Afghanistan, which they believe declined following the fall of the Afghan monarchy in 1973 and the following decades of the Soviet invasion and civil wars. For instance, in his article, the decline of Pashtuns in Afghanistan, Anwar Ul-Haq Ahady, a former finance and commerce minister under Karzai and an influential Pashtun thinker, believes that the decline of Pashtuns in Afghanistan after the fall of Najibullah in 1992, was “more significant than the fall of communism. The rise of the Taliban generated optimism among the Pashtuns about the reversal of their decline.”

The view that the Taliban could serve as a powerful Pashtun nationalist movement with the ability to reverse the post-Taliban inter-ethnic relations and political landscape of Afghanistan remained largely visible in during the administration of President Hamid Karzai. Karzai was frequently criticized by the opposition for his lenience towards the Taliban, yet he continued to compromise and push for negotiation. For its part, the Taliban categorically rejected talks, humiliating Karzai as a “puppet and unauthorized” to negotiate. At the grassroots level, particularly in non-Pashtun circles, there has been a difficult debate over whether Karzai would have been as willing to compromise if the Taliban had been a non-Pashtun movement.

Ghani’s Test of Leadership 

Ghani, a Pashtun himself, already seems incapacitated by the Pashtun factor. If he is to get to grips with the problem, he will need to address several important issues.

First, it should be realized that the war on terror is being fought mainly in Pashtun areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and this reality constrains the political status of Pashtun in both countries. To overcome this, Pashtun leaders and intelligentsia, including Ghani himself, need to draw a stark line between the Taliban as a radical movement linked to global terrorist networks, and the legitimate cause of Pashtuns for justice. Fail to do that and Pashtuns will only be more isolated in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and forever in conflict with non-Pashtun groups and the international community. Breaking with the Taliban should also not be limited to the official level; the debate should move to the heart of Pashtun tribes and traditions that continue to provide the Taliban with sanctuaries and new recruits.

Second, the dynamics of ethnic relations and politics have fundamentally changed in Afghanistan and Pashtuns must face the reality that the time for a despotic monarchy or factional regime like that of the Taliban has passed. In the worst possible scenario, the collapse of Afghanistan’s fledgling democracy and unity government could lead to chaotic civil war, but it will not permit the emergence of a Pashtun-dominated government, just as it will not allow a government that excludes Pashtuns. Pashtuns will need to renegotiate their relationship with other ethnic groups in Afghanistan and this will inevitably mean giving up some of the privileges they enjoyed in earlier times.

Ghani could play a pivotal role in pushing this message among Pashtuns, but he seems to be replicating the failings of his predecessor. Like Karzai, Ghani is uncertain whether to consider the Taliban enemies or political dissidents. For the moment, he believes they are political opponents, a designation that would baffle many Pashtuns and all non-Pashtuns who have suffered under the Taliban’s violence. Ghani has been clear on his desire to reach a diplomatic settlement with Pakistan, and has also increased his contacts with nationalist Pashtun leaders in Pakistan. In fact, he recently hosted them in Kabul, a risky move that will have infuriated Pakistan’s government and intelligence agency given Pakistan’s long obsession with Pashtun nationalism.

Clearly, there will be no peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan, or the region without the genuine participation of Pashtuns. Yet Pashtuns’ failure to engage constructively with non-Pashtuns in a democratic process that rejects the Taliban will only lead to their isolation. Ghani is the one man who could achieve this engagement, and he will need to do so if he desires to escape the fate of other Afghan rulers.

Ali Reza Sarwar is a Fulbright Graduate Fellow at Texas A&M University, Bush School of Government and Public Service where he is completing a master’s degree in Intelligence and National Security. Reza graduated from the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) where he was also in charge of the university’s enrollment management plan.

source: http://thediplomat.com/2015/01/ashraf-ghani-and-the-pashtun-dilemma/

Pakistan refuses self-examination over Peshawar school Massacre after Failure of Army Operations.

Scores of children were killed in a recent Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar. But instead of re-evaluating its own flawed security policies, Pakistan's establishment is pointing fingers at neighboring Afghanistan.

Bereaving Mothers of Pashtun Kids Massacred . 

Those who were expecting a drastic shift in Pakistan's security policies after the heinous attack by the Taliban on a school in Peshawar will have to wait some time. The assault, in which 141 people were killed, provided a great opportunity for the Pakistani authorities to do some introspection and re-evaluate the country's decades-old security policies. Islamabad, however, chose to put the blame on "external elements," yet again.

The chief of Pakistan's ubiquitous army, Raheel Sharif, flew to Afghanistan on Wednesday, December 17, to meet the top military and civilian leadership in Kabul and discuss the Tuesday massacre. The Pakistani media claimed that Sharif demanded the Afghan government to extradite the head of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mullah Fazlullah, who is wanted in terrorism cases in Pakistan.

Fazlullah took over the TTP in November 2013

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper has cited the country's security sources as claiming that a Taliban commander, Umar Naray, had masterminded the Peshawar attack from Afghanistan.

"His (Naray) communications have been intercepted as well which helped security agencies in tracing his location and whereabouts which was urgently shared not only with the Afghan army but also with NATO forces," a security source told Dawn.

Over 130 children were killed in an army-run school in the capital city of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on December 16. The Pakistani Taliban claimed the responsibility for the school siege and attack and said the assault was a "response to military's 'Zarb-e-Azb' offensive, the killing of Taliban fighters and the harassment of their families."

The attack led to widespread condemnation of the Taliban both locally and internationally. A large number of Pakistanis demanded the government take decisive action against all Islamist groups in the country once and for all.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who declared a mourning period after the kilkings, also pledged to step up efforts against the insurgents. "The fight will continue. No one should have any doubt about it," Sharif warned. "We will take account of each and every drop of our children's blood."

Lost War ???? Failed  Pakistan Army Operation to Curb Taliban ??? 

The Pakistani military controls the security and defense matters

On Wednesday, Sharif convened a conference of the country's main political parties to devise a strategy against the militants. But before the civilian government reached a political consensus on how to deal with home-grown Islamists, a number of conservative political commentators, religious parties, and members of the security establishment had begun talking about the alleged role of New Delhi and Kabul in the attack.

Back to square one?

"Pakistan needs a long-term policy to eradicate terrorism. It might be true that Fazlullah was behind the Peshawar attack, but Islamabad needs to look internally as well," former DW Urdu journalist and Islamabad based analyst, Agha Sattar, told DW.

Sattar added that earlier this month when US officials in Afghanistan handed over the Taliban commander Latif Mehsud to the Pakistani authorities, many hoped that Washington, Kabul and Islamabad were finally on the same page over the Taliban issue. "But the recent surge in attacks in the Afghan capital, and the insistence of the Afghan government that the attackers were backed by the Pakistani spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), showed that the conflict was far from over," Sattar said.

The Hague-based Pakistani human rights activist, Kamal Ayoub, says that India and Afghanistan too react to terror attacks by blaming Pakistan. "That's how all these countries try to conceal their own shortcomings and responsibilities," he told DW.

Zeenia Shaukat, an activist working for a labor rights institution in Karachi, does not find the Pakistani reaction surprising. "The 'Indian agents' thinking is deeply entrenched not only in the mindset of our policy-makers, but also among the general public. Unfortunately, the media too promotes the 'foreign forces-did-it' narrative," she told DW.

Targeting Pashtuns only ??? 

The gunmen stormed the Army Public School on Tuesday morning and started firing at random

Geo politics

The fact remains that most Pakistani politicians and military officials normally do not condemn the Taliban unequivocally. A number of them do not use the term "the Taliban" or "TTP" while commenting on terror attacks.

On Wednesday, Altaf Hussain, one of Pakistan's anti-Taliban politician who is currently in self-exile in London, lashed out at PM Sharif for "avoiding to hold the TTP directly responsible" for the Peshawar massacre.

Some experts say that Islamabad wants to use the Taliban in Afghanistan after the NATO drawdown in the coming days, while others assert that the Pakistani military hopes to regain the influence in Kabul it once enjoyed before the US and its allies toppled the pro-Pakistan Taliban government in 2001.

However, Pakistani analyst Abdul Agha is of the view that his country's powerful army is responsible for the continuing strength of the TTP. "They are nurturing and supporting a number of militant groups. The result is that they are still very active," he told DW.

Commenting on the Zarb-e-Azb army operation in Waziristan, Agha said that "the government is going after the [militant groups] that have turned against the state, or who don't agree with its long-term plans vis-à-vis Afghanistan. Pakistan wants to eliminate some and will preserve some for the future."

Political distraction

Zarb-E-Azab a Failure ??? 

The much-touted success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb is very much in question

Maqsood Ahmad Jan, an analysts based in Charsadda near Peshawar, criticized the government of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, headed by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's conservative Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, for its pro-Islamist stance. "Khan has a soft spot for the Taliban. His party's provincial government has failed to protect the common people from the extremists. The school siege is proof," Jan commented.

Since August, the PTI has been holding country-wide demonstrations to topple PM Sharif's central government, which Khan and his party officials claim came into power in May 2013 through rigged parliamentary elections. Experts say that since the embattled premier is busy fighting a political war in the capital Islamabad, he is not in a position to focus on the terrorism issues.

"It is no secret that the PTI is a sympathizer of the Taliban insurgency as the party has repeatedly denounced military action against the extremists on the pretext of opposing American interference. Since Khan started demonstrations against Sharif's government, his party has remained largely silent on Zarb-e-Azb," Islamabad-based political commentator, Khayyam Mushir, told DW, adding that the ongoing anti-government protests were a major distraction for the PM Sharif who is further conflicted on what position to take on the terror issue.

SOURCE: http://www.dw.de/pakistan-refuses-self-examination-over-peshawar-attack/a-18137003

How we Have Invented Narratives to Promote Terrorism as Pakistani State.

by Farukh Khan Pitafi @farrukhKPitafi

The terrorist narrative of victim hood, denial and conspiracy theories can easily be De-constructed and dismantled. 

1. The closer you want to get to eradicating the menace of terrorism, the bigger this menace seems to get Narrative . 

For the past week, following the attack in Peshawar, our leaders, both in Khaki and Mufti, have deliberated and deliberated. But this piece is not about them and the solutions they might come up with. It is about the sociology of the mindset that either justifies or rationalises terrorism, or impedes tangible action against it.

It is about the failure of the state and the society to come up with a narrative that can defeat the terrorists.

Terrorists of all hues — Al Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and its countless affiliates, Afghan Taliban and its affiliates like the Haqqani network, India-focused terror groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and sectarian terror groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi — use two weapons: incredible hatred towards their victims and a narrative to convince and recruit new supporters to the cause.

This narrative of victimhood, denial and conspiracy theories can easily be deconstructed and dismantled. But what with the rising anger in the country, fracturing of the society and the general iffiness of the times we live in, no one has done anything substantial about the issue despite harping on about it at great length.

 2. We should never Admit our Flawed Policy Narrative:  

After 9/11, the United States knew whom to blame and the nation’s anger was projected outwards. After 7/7, the United Kingdom knew whom to blame, and the country was able to vent its anger. After Mumbai attack, India too, vented its anger on Pakistan and somehow managed to cool off.

In Pakistan, though, where the state had pandered to extremist inclinations for long, at the time of 9/11 there was a dictator in place, whose rise to fame and then power owed a lot to the Kargil debacle. When General Musharraf decided to take a U-turn in his Afghan/Taliban policy, he gave his people the wrong reasons for doing so.

Instead of telling them that extremism of all kinds is bad for the country; that it can easily turn against the country's own people and that nation states are held accountable if found guilty of exporting destabilising ideologies beyond their borders; he told the nation that had Pakistan not taken the step, it would have been bombed back to the stone age.

That was an admission not of flawed policies but merely of foreign pressure.

At the time, there was neither any parliament nor the free media we see today. Lack of proper debate turned the country’s anger inwards and Conspiracy Theories to Save our Selfs were made .

 Later, conspiracy theories of sorts would emerge, people living in denial would scavenge western media sources for whatever half-truths would fit into their narrative.

Today, we have a developed popular narrative which says that Islam is in danger, that Pakistan is about to break; all of this is linked to belief in the end of time.

All faiths have eschatological predictions. Since each brand of 'endism' focuses on end of the universe, the predictions are found to be dire and can easily be exploited at any time of adversity. Our local religious extremists and televangelists have very effectively inserted these prophecies into the reactionary narrative. By raising doubts about some of the most well-documented historical developments and mixing it with this narrative, the terrorists have managed to win over a host of fence-sitters.

3. Just textbooks or more?

A oft-made point is the ideological indoctrination in school textbooks. It is said that our books preach hate and a distorted version of history which unhinges a young impressionable mind from the very beginning.

Be that as it may, such a thought is predicated on the assumption that all Pakistanis go to school and imbibe every word written in the textbooks. While there is no justification of hatred finding way into the school books, these books barely play even a secondary role.

Even if the textbook is saying a certain thing, what the teacher thinks and what the best friend thinks matters much more to the pupil than what is written in the book. A young child spends more time with friends, family and in front of television.

So while it is important that the curriculum must be reformed, let us not lose sight of the fact that the problem is of understated heart-to-heart oral tradition which transmits through culture.

As a child, for instance, I usually internalised much of what my father used to think with considerably less resistance, and when I met my friends, our individual sets of views would collide with each other, evolving into something new altogether.

4. The tragedy of television !!! 

The quality of our television news product is quite important here. In the 24/7 live news cycle where a talk show host and a news director are forced to operate at breakneck speed and take decisions on the fly, very little thought is given to quality or for that matter, narrative.

Then there is the matter of the presence of Taliban and terrorist apologists amongst our midst, which creates a problem because while the moderate majority is too divided and disorganised, the sympathisers of terrorists are very well organised and persistent. So, the resultant end product invariably confuses viewers instead of clearing their minds.


But that is not all. The reason why viewers watch our news channels a lot is because our entertainment industry has been underperforming for a decade. The power of a drama serial should not be underestimated. A playwright can say things which are difficult or impossible to say on news channels.

Sadly, however, while a debate is underway to curtail the appearance of sympathisers of terrorism on live news networks, the storytelling in the entertainment industry still remains with the same forces who played a critical role in indoctrination.

As a result, the teleplays on political matters are often found to be highly reactionary, irrational and riddled with conspiracy theories.

5. Hostage crisis at the pulpits and Mosques 

Prayer leaders don’t usually go to regular schools or watch television; their tradition is essentially oral. There is no doubt that religious seminaries (some of which are genuinely committed to spreading hate) play a crucial role in forming their worldview. But it is daily interaction with other religious-minded people and groups (Tableeghi Jamaat for instance), the availability of vast amounts literature and personal assumptions which consolidate their distorted perceptions.

The threads which feed their mindsets, some of which I have reproduced below, are of such a nature that every maulvi gets ensnared in the enemy’s propaganda with very little resistance. The message from the pulpit, may it be in the shape of the Friday sermon or the after-prayer dua, is essentially highly reactionary and counter-productive, to say the least.

What we need right now is a supply of religious scholars of integrity who can answer these questions with comfort and authority to reclaim the narrative in the mosques from the terrorists.
The terrorist's narrative

Here are some assumptions that play a crucial role in the terrorist and his sympathiser’s narrative:

6. Islam is in danger False Narratives to help Terrorists  :

Muslims are scattered all over the world. Given their recent turbulent history it is claimed that Islam as a faith is on the brink of extinction and only violent jihad can save it. One look at the 1400 years of their history and you realise that the faith can take care of itself and needs no saviors.

7. These are end-of-time wars Narratives to Promote Terrorism :

Islamic eschatology predicts the arrival of an Antichrist called Dajjal, and it is said that whoever chooses to side with him will never be forgiven. Now, years of propaganda has projected the West as that Antichrist. Ergo the fear that is easily exploited by terrorists.

Muslims all over the world, owing to the absence of timely 'ijtehad' or interpretation, have found it difficult to integrate with local cultures. After every two or three centuries, they are confronted with challenging times and start thinking this is the end of time.

A careful survey of Islamic literature shows no timeframe is originally given about the end. In expert hands, this element of doubt should be enough to debunk the terrorist’s propaganda.

8. Muslim ideal is a pan-Islamic Caliphate:

The current schools of thought in Islam took their final shape almost a millennium ago. As further debate could generate controversy, no one showed interest in challenging these dated interpretations. That era was the time of empires and nation states did not emerge until much later, till the treaty of Westphalia.

Hence, the last political model known to the Islamic thought is a theocratic Muslim empire called the Caliphate.

Itself an interpretation, this model is highly outdated and inefficient. The Ottoman Empire was a big example of the inefficiency. However, terrorists and a long list of intellectual movements (like Hizbut Tahrir) that serve as bedrock for them, use this thought to recruit new volunteers.

If, however, you study the formative phase of Islam, you will notice that Islam as a faith is not averse to the idea of a nation state. That is another thought which can be expanded to counter the terrorist’s narrative.

9. Muslims are victims Narratives for Helping Terrorists :


Terrorists exploit the all-pervasive feeling of Muslim victimhood to their advantage. It is stunning to see that this perception has lingered on in our country for this long.

Pakistan has accumulated over 50,000 dead bodies as gifts given to it by these 'saviours' of Muslims. How hard can it be to expose these people for who they really are?

10. Pakistani state is fighting terrorism due to foreign pressure:

I have explained this point at length at the start. The state must own this war and explicitly state that it is being waged for the nation's good, not under international pressure. It's a promising sign that the government is finally doing that. It will also be helpful if foreign countries didn’t appear to be pressuring the country to do more. Any concerns can be conveyed through the diplomatic channel; negotiating through the media should stop.

11. Democracy is evil and un-Islamic Narrative:

This, too, is an ugly propaganda tool. Democracy as the cultural 'other' is used to lure people in to the extremist side.

A bit more sensitisation about democracy and exploration of political thought in Islam would make it plain that democracy is not antithetical to the original teachings of Islam. What we lack is religious interpretation on the matter. It is tragic that no coherent work has been done in this regard during the past 13 years of fighting terrorism.

12. Terrorists are good Muslims Narrative:

Somewhere in their heads is this deep seated regimentation that at the end of the day, the terrorist's demand — imposition of Shariah — is a legitimate one, and so it's wrong to fight them.

This is one of the terrorist’s biggest weapons. Again, the havoc these terrorists have wreaked should speak for itself. But since, for a large number of people, it appears to have not done so, we need organised campaigns to educate the public of the real context and designs of the terrorist movement. It would help if religious figures of authority came forward shattered the myth of 'good terrorists'.

13. Foreign powers are doing it and blaming it on unsuspecting religious groups Narrative:

The proscribed terrorist organisations take responsibility and post videos as proof. All the apologists contributing to an alternative explanation can be and should be confronted in this regard. This can bear fruits.

14. Pakistan was conceived as a religious state hence it should cave in to the extremist pressure Narrative:

You will find this argument widely available in the society. But given that terrorists are essentially against Pakistani state, the state will also have to end its ambivalence on the issue and come up with an identity of the state which is not entirely dependent on religion. It is not that difficult to find such an interpretation.

These are some of the assumptions that the terrorists play with. The state’s reluctance to address them has led to the current proliferation of terrorist outfits. It has played a crucial role in the birth and growth of such organisations. Now, it cannot shut its eyes to their mutating ideology and pretend that the problem will go away. It knows their language, it can speak to them. I understand that it is not easy to control every Friday sermon and talk in every mosque and madrassah. But if the state comes up with a coherent narrative and sells it to the opinion makers, the terrorists’ narrative can easily be undone.

Political and democratic ownership is essential because in the past lack of it has ruined the effort. The state knows how to highlight the narrative and sell it in the media and elsewhere despite resistance from the apologists.

source: http://www.dawn.com/news/1153475

Ghani Faces Tough Road Ahead In Taliban Negotiations

BY Abubakar Siddique

23.12.2014


Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has embarked on diplomacy and renewed cooperation with regional powers in an effort to restore peace to Afghanistan.

But he still faces major obstacles in negotiating peace with the Taliban, whose insurgency appears to have outlived the 13 year-old U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan and now overshadows the country's future.

Javed Ludin, a former Afghan deputy foreign minister, told RFE/RL Gandhara website that Ghani "has taken a lot of bold steps and taken some risks" because he senses significant opportunities for a breakthrough in the peace process.

"We are not starting from scratch; a lot of work has been done by [the former Afghan] President Hamid Karzai over the past few years," he said. "We have been ready for years now for the ultimate, which is a direct process of negotiations between the verifiable representatives of the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan."

Ludin says that since his inauguration in late September, the Afghan leader has approached China and Saudi Arabia to use their influence over Pakistan.

During his first official trip to Islamabad in November, Ghani visited the headquarters of Pakistan's powerful military and met with military chief General Raheel Sharif to solicit his support for peace in Afghanistan.

"The key shift has to come from the top leadership of Pakistan in their policies towards Afghanistan, and that's where the president's idea is focusing at the moment," he told RFE/RL's Gandhara website.

For years Kabul has urged Islamabad to help in holding negotiations with the Taliban’s leaders, who it believes are orchestrating their insurgency from sanctuaries inside Pakistan.

"If there is any degree of rational thinking in Pakistan, they wouldn't even need any encouragement from a third country," Ludin said. "They only have to see their own future and the future of their own people and what's in their best interest."

Following the December 16 massacre of nearly 150 pupils and teachers in a military-run school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, Kabul and Islamabad pledged cooperation against "terrorism and extremism." Unlike the past, the two countries have not engaged in public bickering over support to insurgents.

But there is still no indication of whether Islamabad will use its leverage over the Afghan Taliban.

Kabul seems to be divided about the prospects of peace talks with the Taliban. Last week a high-ranking member of the Afghan High Peace Council said that peace talks with the Taliban will begin in Qatar this week.

Musa Khan Hotak, the director of negotiations for the Afghan High Peace Council, said that talks about negotiations with the Taliban have recently gained momentum. "It is expected that representatives of the Taliban, Pakistan, and members of the High Peace Council will take part in the talks," he told RFA.

But Ismail Qasimyar, an advisor to the Afghan High Peace Council, told RFA on December 16 that no talks were planned in Qatar this week. "All these rumors about the peace talks are wrong. There are no talks," he said.

Michael Semple, a former EU and UN adviser in Afghanistan, told Gandhara that while bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table remains a top priority for Ghani, he has yet to make public his plans for proceeding. Calling Ghani a "very systematic person," he said, "There will be a clearly worked out strategy and one that he would stick to and it will not be impulsive."

Semple, however, said that Ghani has concluded that reassuring Pakistan's security establishment that he will look after their legitimate interests "will win their cooperation and support for a deal with the Taliban."

He said that the recent upsurge in violence across Afghanistan indicates that the Taliban leadership is committed to a military strategy.

Moreover, he says, the Taliban were disappointed by Ghani's rapid signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States one day after his inauguration on September 29.

"They [the Taliban] say ‘how can we make a deal with someone who has quite so clearly jumped into bed with the Americans?'"

Marvin Weinbaum, a South Asia specialist at the Middle East Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C., agrees. He says that Ghani has made it clear that he is counting on U.S. assistance both for security and for future development.

This burgeoning relationship with Washington, Weinbaum argues, could complicate his efforts to engage the Taliban in talks.

"Given the feelings of the Taliban here about their minimal conditions of removing the so-called 'occupational forces' -- this is a contradiction here," he told Gandhara. "You can't at the same time have dependence on the United States and also satisfy what will be a minimal condition for the Taliban that is distancing from the U.S."

In addition, sources say that the Taliban are not happy with the reported resumption of night raids by Afghan special forces targeting Taliban leaders. President Karzai had banned such operations last year.

Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai, however, sees hope on the horizon. He says the Afghan Taliban have matured politically and are in contact with President Ghani's relatives.

"Unlike the past, the Taliban know that without a political resolution it will be easy to keep the war going but difficult to win it," he said.

But Yousafzai also cautions that the Taliban are worried about preventing splits in their organization after the end of U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan this year.

"They are worried that some factions might join the Islamic State militant group if they began negotiations with Kabul," he said.

"The major problem for the Taliban leaders is to persuade their ranks for joining peace after motivating them to fight in the name of Islam for 13 years."

RFE/RL Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Ahmad Takal contributed reporting to this story.: http://gandhara.rferl.org/content/afghanistan-ghani-taliban-peace/26758899.html

Imran Khan Aka Taliban Khan Scared Nawaz Sharif on Decisive Action on Taliban for Saving Strategic Assets of Pakistan.

Written by Riaz ul Hasan
Thursday, 18 December 2014 19:52
Email

Asma Jahangir requires no introduction in Pakistan. She headed the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and was elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. She has struggled in support of democratic institutions in the country and for the cause of the downtrodden for over forty years.

While this year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Malala Yusufzai, the ‘Alternative Nobel’-- the Right Livelihood Award--- was awarded to Asma Jahangir, among others. During her visit to Stockholm on December 1st to receive her award she addressed a meeting of the Swedish-Pakistani community. She spoke on the political crisis in Pakistan, Balochistan, Kashmir, on civil-military relations and answered a number of questions.

On democratic gains:

During the sit-in staged by Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), the democratic forces were united against anti-democratic forces. This was a historic first in the country’s history. While in practice the democratic forces did not do much, they remained firm in their resolve to defend democracy.

I do not consider the present government to be a model for good government. Governments are never good but unless political stability is achieved in Pakistan and the system is strengthened, we cannot move forward.

Look at India! True, poverty and many other problems persist. However, a middle class has emerged there and many have been lifted out of poverty. In Pakistan however, there is a lack of co-ordinated effort that marks both state institutions and civil society.

Take for example the recent petition for land reforms filed in the Supreme Court by Abid Hassan Manto, joined by the HRCP. The need for advocacy and a strong political campaign is ignored. In my opinion judges are not instruments of change. Rather they are instruments of regression.We cannot expect a court ruling to put an end to feudalism. Likewise, we need to educate ourselves on the question of feudalism. The critics say that feudalism is a thing of past in the case of Punjab. Likewise, in Sindh they say that feudalism no longer exists and it is ‘Waderaism’ that must be confronted.

On PTI agitation:

I am not against Imran Khan’s entry into politics. It is his right to do so. In fact, many more people should take an active part in politics. However, a dichotomy exists. On the one hand he declares that politics and politicians are bad. On the other he wants to be involved politically. Likewise, the PTI has attacked and undermined every institution of the state, including parliament and the judiciary. In a nutshell every thing is bad in Pakistan except the PTI. All politicians are bad, except Imran Khan. All institutions are bad, except the army. Our experience shows that judges, generals and politicians are not good. However, we need to allow the [democratic] system to achieve some stability.

It is true that voters often elect the wrong representatives. In India, for instance Modi was recently elected. But let the system take its course. If you subvert the system, anarchy will follow.

Sharif government’s response:

The Sharif government is utterly indecisive, clueless and lacks initiative. Above all it is inefficient. Just look at their priorities. They have two advisors for one department and none for another. Bureaucracy is undermining the government. This is understandable. When favourites are patronized and promoted at the cost of others, bureaucracy will react. But in some cases, civil servants have been ‘advised’ not to co-operate. We all know that this government is incapable of handling the challenge posed by PTI agitation. At the same time if I were in their shoes, I would be at a loss myself. It is not Imran Khan they fear. It is the people who back him.

According to information I have, and if the situation is correctly analyzed, it transpires that the military hierarchy does not want Imran Khan to jump the queue to occupy the prime ministerial slot. However, there is an active lobby group of retired generals. Both General Hameed Gul and Brigadier Ejaz Shah are frequently spotted at PTI meetings. I learned from credible sources that a couple of serving generals and brigadier-level officers with radical views are also instrumental in catalyzing the present agitation.

In view of such stark facts, we cannot play the role of naïve activists. We cannot just dismiss the agitation on the pretext that agitation is the PTI’s democratic right. Yes, you have the right to agitate. However, you don’t have the right to agitate on the incitement of hidden hands. One has the right to register an FIR (First Investigation Report). However, one does not have the right to fake it.

The PTI allegation providing the pretext for ongoing agitation is election rigging. Imran claims that his mandate was stolen in the 2013 general elections. However, even if the seats he claims he would have bagged in the absence of rigging, he would not have gained the required majority to form a government.

Personally, I do not believe that there was systematic rigging. Individuals may have stuffed ballots etc. however systematic rigging is not a fair charge. At HRCP, we received lot of complaints regarding rigging from Balochistan and KPK.

In short, what has Imran Khan achieved? He frightened the government into inaction and indecisiveness. They refuse to take any decisions or initiative on either the foreign front (India, Afghanistan) or the domestic front (economy, privatization and so on). It seems the sole purpose was to corner the government and to create a situation whereby we have a civilian façade while behind the scene the army pulls the strings.

On Balochistan:

Recently, our HRCP representative in Turbat received threats from the ISI. He was relocated immediately. After Rashid Rehman’s murder, we are reluctant to take any chances and the Rapid Action Plan was devised to defend our people. Well, he was relocated. But his extended family was picked up and tortured.

I visited Balochistan in October. I think the situation has improved to some extent. However, the question of missing persons remains unresolved. Mutilated dead bodies are still discovered every now and then. Though the frequency has diminished there is no end in sight. Likewise, the plight of Hazara is heart wrenching.

Taliban deprived of a safe haven:

Certain advances have been made. For instance, Operation Zarb-e-Azb broke the Taliban infrastructure in North Waziristan. In the past, an operation in North Waziristan was never an option. Instead, talks were preferred. North Waziristan became a safe haven. Now it is no more. This is a step forward. However, there has been criticism. There is no transparency. Most Taliban escaped before the operation. They could not be expected to wait on the army.

source: http://www.viewpointonline.net/2014/12/vp232/imran-khan-scared-sharif-govt-into-inaction-asma-jahangir

Pashtuns and Baluchi this Will not be the Last Massacre

It wasn’t the final atrocity
Pervez Hoodbhoy
Updated Dec 20, 2014 09:23am

THE gut-wrenching massacre in Peshawar’s Army Public School has left Pakistan aghast and sickened. All political leaders have called for unity against terrorism. But this is no watershed event that can bridge the deep divides within. In another few days this episode of 134 dead children will become one like any other.

All tragedies provoke emotional exhortations. But nothing changed after Lakki Marwat when 105 spectators of a volleyball match were killed by a suicide bomber in a pickup truck. Or, when 96 Hazaras in a snooker club died in a double suicide attack. The 127 dead in the All Saints Church bombing in Peshawar, or the 90 Ahmadis killed while in prayer, are now dry statistics. In 2012, men in military uniforms stopped four buses bound from Rawalpindi to Gilgit, demanding that all 117 persons alight and show their national identification cards. Those with typical Shia names, like Abbas and Jafri, were separated. Minutes later corpses lay on the ground.

If Pakistan had a collective conscience, just one single fact could have woken it up: the murder of nearly 60 polio workers — women and men who work to save children from a crippling disease — at the hands of the fanatics.

Hence the horrible inevitability: from time to time, Pakistan shall continue to witness more such catastrophes. No security measures can ever prevent attacks on soft targets. The only possible solution is to change mindsets. For this we must grapple with three hard facts.

First, let’s openly admit that the killers are not outsiders or infidels. Instead, they are fighting a war for the reason Boko Haram fights in Nigeria, IS in Iraq and Syria, Al Shabab in Kenya, etc. The men who slaughtered our children are fighting for a dream — to destroy Pakistan as a Muslim state and recreate it as an Islamic state. This is why they also attack airports and shoot at PIA planes. They see these as necessary steps towards their utopia.
Let’s openly admit that the killers are not outsiders or infidels.

No one should speculate about the identity of the killers. Taliban spokesman Muhammad Umar Khorasani released pictures of the eight ‘martyrs’, justifying the killing of minors with reference to Hadith (a horrific perversion, of course). Dizzied by religious passions, the men roamed the school searching for children hiding under desks and shouted “Allah-o-Akbar” before opening fire. Shot in both legs, Shahrukh Khan, 16, says he survived by playing dead. Another surviving student, Aamir Ali, says that two clean-shaven gunmen told students to recite the kalima before shooting them multiple times.

Second, Pakistan must scorn and punish those who either support terrorism publicly or lie to us about the identity of terrorists. Television anchors and political personalities have made their fortunes and careers by fabricating wild theories. For example, retired Gen Hamid Gul and his son Abdullah Gul have adamantly insisted multiple times on TV that suicide attackers were not circumcised and hence not Muslim. Though body parts are plentifully available for inspection these days, they have not retracted earlier claims.

Those on the state’s payroll that encourage violence against the state must be dismissed. Maulana Abdul Aziz of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid — a government mosque — led an insurrection in 2007 against the Pakistani state. He flatly refuses to condemn the Peshawar massacre. Other state employees have called upon all to not pray for army soldiers killed in action. At another level is Jamaatud Dawa’s supremo, Hafiz Saeed. He blames India for the Peshawar massacre and, ignoring ironclad evidence, misguides Pakistanis about the identity of the enemy.

Among political leaders, none is more blameworthy than Imran Khan, the icon of millions of immature minds. He has never named the Taliban as terrorists even when they claimed responsibility for various atrocities. That the TTP may be involved in the Peshawar massacre is the first exception, but this is contained only in a tweet. For a man who uses the strongest language against political opponents and has hogged TV channels for months, he has yet to condemn TTP before a national audience. Why the reticence?

It was even worse earlier. In 2009, as the Taliban took over Swat, on Hamid Mir’s Capital Talk he claimed that the Swat Taliban were fighting a war of liberation against the Americans. When I asked why they were fighting in Pakistan and killing our policemen and soldiers, he accused me of being an American agent and then, later, attempted to physically attack me. Readers can google this video.

Third, if Pakistan is to be at peace with itself then it must seek peace with its neighbours and begin disassembling the apparatus of jihad. The bitter truth is that you reap what you sow. Today, massive militant establishments hold the Pakistani state hostage. They run their own training centres, hospitals, and disaster relief programmes. When Sartaj Aziz, adviser to the prime minister on foreign affairs, said that Pakistan was not going to target militant groups which “did not pose a threat to the state”, he accidentally spilled the beans. In fact he was merely restating Pakistan’s well-known zero-sum paradigm — we live to hurt others, not to better ourselves.

While bewailing the murder of our children, let us acknowledge that Pakistan’s soil has been used time and again for inflicting grief and sorrow across the world. Today it is not just India and Afghanistan who accuse us, but also China and Iran.

By launching Zarb-i-Azb, Gen Raheel Sharif has broken with his timid predecessor, Gen Kayani. North Waziristan should never have become the epicentre of terrorism. He has done well to meet President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul and demand the extradition of TTP’s Mullah Fazlullah, now ensconced on the Afghan side. But what of Mullah Omar? The Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan Taliban are two sides of the same coin. I wonder if President Ghani asked General Sharif to help extradite Mullah Omar for facing justice before the Afghan people.

The author teaches physics in Lahore and Islamabad.

Published in Dawn December 20th , 2014: http://www.dawn.com/news/1151930/it-wasnt-the-final-atrocity

Accomplice or Failure ?- 10 questions Pakistan Army fans can’t answer

Pakistan has lost 100,000 of its people to terrorism. The figure of policemen and jawans killed stands somewhere between ten and twenty thousands. Earlier this week, Taliban launched the deadliest of all attacks of Pakistan’s history which (to last counts) has killed 162 including 140+ children in APS&C Peshawar.

There is no national consensus still and Pakistan Army and its cronies continue to confuse masses with their usual conspiracy theories and blaming neighboring India and Afghanistan while running away from any responsibility by trying to prove terrorists were not Muslim and came from some unknown place. 

The fact remains that the terrorism in Pakistan is an outcome of policy of strategic depth of Pakistan Army which is enabled by the Jihadi narrative popularised in Pakistan by Deobandi madressah network, on behest and funding of Pakistan Army. The chicken have now come home to roost but Pakistan Army continues its policy of good and bad Taliban and is not willing to reverse its narrative and take on extremism.

 What is more tragic is the unflinching support that Pakistan Army enjoys, specially in urban centers by young educated lot who find it unpatriotic and traitorous to question Pakistan Army. So, here are my ten questions to Pakistan Army fan boys and girls….

1. Who lets Mullah Omar operate from Quetta?

Mullah Omar, head of Afghan Taliban operates from Quetta in Pakistan

Mullah Omar, who is the Ameer (head/leader) of the Afghan Taliban has been operating from Quetta in Pakistan for a long time. The whole Afghan Taliban Shura (shadow cabinet) was relocated to Pakistan by Pakistan Army to help them remain safe from US attacks in Afghanistan. If Pakistan Army is leading a war operation against the Taliban, why is it hosting them in Quetta at the cost of Shia blood? Are Afghan Taliban good because they kill Indians and Afghanis but Pakistani Taliban are bad because they are out of control of Pakistan Army?

2. Why Army gave a helicopter ride to Malik Ishaq of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi?

Malik Ishaq of LeJ was given a helicopter ride from Lahore jail to GHQ

In the year 2009, self proclaimed Shia killer and head of ruthless terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was flown on a military helicopter by Pakistan Army from Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail to GHQ. Newsreports suggests he was flown in to broker a deal between the LeJ militants and Pakistan Army as LeJ militants had a dozen or so Army personnel held hostage in the GHQ in Rawalpindi. There were widespread Shia killings in the time that followed and analysts believe LeJ was given free hand to kill Shias in return for freeing Army personnel.

3. How Osama managed to live a KM away from Army cantonment for years?

Osama Bin Laden lived less than a mile away from Army’s cantonment for years in Pakistan ??


Osama Bin Laden, the world’s most deadliest terrorist of Al-Qaeda lived in a compound built on 3500 square meter plot of land with 7 feet high walls. Ironically, this compound is located less than a mile away from Pakistan Army’s cantonment in Abbotabad which is one of the most strategic military bases in the region. For over a decade, Pakistan Army received coalition funds in the name of fighting terror and was well equipped and lavished with financial help but still could not find Osama living at stone’s throw away from them? Either the armed forces were hiding Osama, or the premier Intelligence Agency ISI is completely inefficient and inept.

4. Who helps Haqqani network to escape drone attacks?

Pakistan Army has provided secret information to Haqqani Network on several occassions to escape drone attacks.

Haqqani Network is a terrorist group allied with the Afghan Taliban and are loyal to Pakistan Army. They have launched several attacks on US-led NATO forces as well as on Afghan government officials and institutions and operate from Pakistani border. The US, with assistance from Pakistan Army has launched several drone attacks on Haqqani network but reports suggest they were able to escape every time before the attack making the US believe that Pakistan Army was playing a double game. The US, later on, launched independent drone attacks without information to Pakistan Army and they were found successful. This further proves that Pakistan Army is not ready to give up on strategic depth and continues to support terrorists across the border.

5. How ISIS/Taliban head at stone’s throw away from ISIS HQ is safe and untouched?

Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid has declared allegiance to ISIS and Taliban sitting just opposite ISI HQ

Maulana Abdul Aziz, current head of the notorius Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa has declared allegiance to ISIS and has on live TV said that his madressah students support ISIS and Taliban and has welcomed ISIS in Pakistan. From his madressah, the students run the world’s most dangerous online forum named Jamia Hafsa Urdu forum where videos of madressah students (working with Taliban and other outfits) butchering people are shared, as well as Jihadi propaganda is circulated. The cleric is regularly given airtime on live TV and has been untouched so far. Ironically, his madressah is at stone’s throw away from the premier intelligence agency ISI’s headquarter in the capital city. What stops ISI and Pakistan Army from taking action in the capital?

6. Who gives free hand to terrorists in cantonment called Quetta?

Quetta city in Baluchistan province is perhaps Pakistan’s biggest cantonment – the city is practically run by and under the control of Pakistan Army and FC for decades. Nothing moves in the city without the Armed forces knowing it. It is, in these circumstances, surprising to believe that terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi can operate with impunity and mass murder Hazara Shias as and when they like and still remain untouched, while the Baloch rebels can not even run a Baloch newspaper. ASWJ, the terrorist sister outfit of LeJ was helped by Pakistan Army to establish a stronghold in Baluchistan and now Ramzan Mengal is one of the most feared terrorists in the region. Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi’s jalsa was bombed by Mengal for the reason that he refused to invite him to the jalsa on instrucuctions of security forces. Army fan boys can let us know how these terrorists operate with impunity in biggest cantonment of Pakistan?

Hazara Shia killings have been rampant for a few years.

7. Do you get the value for 700 billion expenditure of Armed forces?

Pakistan Armed forces received 1100  billion in last budget
Pakistan Armed forces received 700 billion rupees in the last budget – that’s almost 10 times Health andeducation combined. Pakistan Army also received 1800 billion rupees from 2002 to 2010 from coalition fund. The security institutions have also received further funding from international bodies/funders as well as from Pakistani Government in the name of fighting terror. Can the fans of Pakistan Army economically justify this massive expenditure considering the outcome? As citizens, Pakistanis have paid 10 times over their health and education and what have they received in return except bloodshed, death and destruction?

8. Which other Army runs an economic business empire?

Pakistan Army runs a business empire like no other Army

Pakistan Army is perhaps unique in the sense that it runs an economic business empire like no other Army in the world. It deals in all sort of businesses across the country, and perhaps that explains why they are so inefficient at the job we pay them to do – protect and defend us. An incomplete list of Pakistan Army business can be seen here but fan boys and girls kindly tell us which Army makes corn flakes, cement, ghee, shoes, oil guard and operates in over a dozen business like insurance, banks, real estate, CNG and fuel?

9. Who helped 7/7 bomber Rashid Rauf escape jail?

Rashid Rauf, a 7/7 bomber was helped by Pakistan Army to escape jail. 

On 14 December 2007, Rashif Rauf one of the London 7/7 bombers mysteriously escaped from jail. Authorities say he escaped after freeing himself from handcuffs. Rauf was later killed in a US drone strike on Pakistan Army friendly terrorists on AfPak border.

source: http://blog.ale.com.pk/?p=2572

PTI Government Is not Happy Malalaa Yousafzai Getting Noble Prize rather it Passes a Resolution for a Terrorist Convict Non Resident of Pakhtunkhwa.

PTI + JI Government under Imran Khan a False Liberal and Mullah Passes
Resolution Favoring a Karachi urdu Speaking Terrorist and Non Resident
of Pakhutnkhwa and a Terrorist and Wife of Alqaeda Leader Terrorist
Leader Ammar Ali Baluchi Nephew of Khalid Shiekh Muhammad Master
Minds of 9/11 Massacre, and Mass Murderers , Dr Afia Siddique and her
Husband Shared a PO Box that was used by Alqaeda for its Dirty Works .

PESHAWAR: While putting a resolution for Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai 

on the back burner, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Wednesday passed 

another resolution to press the US government for freeing scientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui 

declaring her the ‘oppressed daughter of Pakistan’.

The house passed the pro-Aafia resolution tabled by Jamaat-i-Islami MPA Mohammad Ali 

Khan unanimously.

The treasury and opposition parties except Awami National Party had signed the resolution.

The resolution read Dr Aafia had been languishing in a US jail, where she was physically 

and mentally tortured and that the federal government didn’t pressure the US government 

for get release.

“This is the responsibility of the (Pakistani) government, the United Nations and Islamic 

countries to exert pressure on the US to free the innocent and oppressed daughter of 

Pakistan immediately.”

On a point of order, PPP lawmaker Nighat Orakzai sought the speaker’s permission for 

speaking on the resolution on Malala.

She said she wanted to include the Nobel laureate’s name in the resolution submitted by an 

ANP lawmaker from Swat, Syed Jafar Shah.

However, the speaker asked her to table a fresh resolution for the purpose.The resolution 

for Malala submitted by Syed Jafar Shah on October 20 has got stuck in the assembly 

secretariat.

The mover has yet to gather support for getting the resolution passed by the house 

unanimously to congratulate the teenage Nobel laureate from his hometown, Swat.

Backburners pro-Nobel laureate resolution, demands release of scientist detained in US

A visibly dejected Jafar Shah told Dawn that opposition members, too, were not ready to 

support the resolution on Malala’s accomplishment.

Pakistan People’s Party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, Qaumi Watan Party and Pakistan 

Muslim League-Nawaz are part of the combined opposition.

JUI-F had advised ANP not to insist on tabling the pro-Malala resolution.

“There is a visible division among opposition members. Many of them are not in favour 

of the resolution on Malala,” said Jafar Shah.

Also in the session, PML-N MPA from Kohistan district Abdul Sattar Khan tabled 

a resolution seeking ban on parliamentarians and lawyers bowing before the assembly 

speaker and judges respectively during proceedings.

He declared the practice un-Islamic and said such practices were against the faith and 

spirit of Islam.

The MPA said a Muslim should bow his head only before the Allah Almighty.

Speaker Asad Qaisar opposed the resolution and ruled that every mover should provide a 

copy of his/her resolution to the assembly secretariat and discuss it with other members 

before  tabling it in the house.

In light of the ruling, the resolution was deferred.

Sattar Khan didn’t take members of his own party into confidence before moving the 

resolution.

MPA Shaukat Yousafzai of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf tabled a resolution urging the federal 

government to simplify the procedure to renew computerised national identity cards.

The house passed the resolution unanimously.

Also, the treasury and opposition benches agreed that the issue of changes in textbooks 

of the province wouldn’t be politicised and that the teaching material would be made in 

light of the guidelines incorporated in the National Curriculum Policy 2006.

JUI-F MPA Mufti Syed Janan through an adjournment motion raised the issue of changes

in textbooks and said the controversy had caused confusion.

He said the treasury should clarify position on the textbooks otherwise the matter should be 

referred to the house’s relevant committee.

The MPA said it was the sensitive matter and should not be politicised further.

Elementary and secondary education minister Atif Khan told the house that the government 

had no intention to remove contents about religion and ideology of Pakistan from textbooks.

He said textbooks would be published in light of the National Curriculum Policy 2006.

Local government minister Inayatullah Khan, who is a JI member, said the presence of 

Islamic content in textbooks had shrunk and that the people, especially educationists, had 

reservations about it.

He said it was a matter of faith and that Muslims couldn’t tolerate incorporation of material, 

which was against Islam and Pakistan’s culture and ideology.

“Pictures of girls wearing skirts have been printed in textbooks though skirt is not part of our 

culture,” he said.

The minister said though he had no objection to mention of Bacha Khan in textbooks, he 

didn’t want to see his (Bacha Khan’s) ideology included in them.

ANP parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak, a former education minister, 

denied his government had removed material on religion and Pakistan from textbooks.

“Overlapping and repetition was avoided in textbooks but some people are misinterpreting the 

issue,” he said.

He asked PTI and JI to discuss the matter with all stakeholders instead of taking a ‘solo flight’ on it.

“We all are Muslims. Nobody has the right to issue certificate of one being good Muslim to 

others,” he said, asking the government to stop exploiting things in the name of religion.

Published in Dawn, October 30th , 2014 

source: http://www.dawn.com/news/1141303/kp-assembly-prefers-aafia-to-malala

China Looses Patience with Pakistan and it Terrorists Crazies.

Terror Suspect? A Paki Student Held by the Chinese Police

A Pakistani student in China was detained and interrogated on suspicion of terror by the Chinese police earlier this month. Jamal was studying on scholarship at Communication University of China, one of China’s leading universities with the top ranking in media education.

China leads the world in internet surveillance. The major internet websites including Google, Facebook and Twitter are also banned in China.

The whole fiasco was based on some banal joke about Jihad that Jamal made with his friends in an online private chat. Speaking to The Laaltain, Jamal told that earlier in June he was called by the university officials regarding some official matter. Upon reaching the venue, he was tricked by the officials and handed over to the police. The police, including officers from China’s notorious Special Weapons & Tactics Unit (SWAT), and other officials harassed and interrogated him for hours. It was after quite some time that the police actually told him the reason for his detention. He was handed over long excerpts of his internet chat, all in Chinese, that Jamal was unable to read. Finally he was made to sign a document in Chinese that again he could not understand, and released with a warning.
Upset over what he had to go through, Jamal commented, “They treated me inhumanly, bullied me and terrorized me. I was not given a right to defend myself. This is a violation of my human rights and totally unjustified.” Despite being angry, Jamal is not willing to take some remedial step owing to the strict nature of the Chinese system which he has witnessed very closely for about two years. Along with the brutal policing, China leads the world in internet surveillance. The major internet websites including Google, Facebook and Twitter are also banned in China. Facing troubles in places like Xinjinag, China uses the surveillance system most aggressively.
Upon asking about the content of the disputed chat, Jamal, a secular activist himself, retorted, “I do not believe in Jihad. Such concepts have nothing to do with me.”
*The name has been changed to protect identity of the student

source: http://www.laaltain.com/terror-suspect-pakistani-student-held-chinese-police/