Riots in India after Vienna killing

By Veronika Oleksyn, AP

A Sikh preacher died today after being wounded in an attack on his temple in Vienna, by a group of fundamentalist Sikhs armed with knives and a handgun, police said.

India’s prime minister appealed for calm as riots protesting the deadly shooting spread to several northern Indian cities.

Witnesses said the Vienna temple attended by lower-caste Sikhs had been attacked by Sikhs from a higher caste who accused one or both of the preachers of being disrespectful of the religion’s Holy Book.

The attack set off a brawl that wounded 16. It was not clear whether some of the weapons used were kirpans – ceremonial daggers that may legally be worn by Sikhs in Austria.

Two preachers – identified by Indian diplomats as Niranjan Das and Sant Rama Nand – underwent operations for gunshot wounds, but Nand died early today, according to a police official who declined to identify himself on the telephone, in line with Austrian custom.

Hundreds in India defied a curfew and army patrols to protest the killing, attacking police stations and torching the car of a senior officer and several trains. In two places police opened fire on mobs, wounding at least four people, said senior police officer Khubi Ram.

The violence in Indian centered on the north Indian town of city of Jalandhar, a stronghold of the Dera Sach Khand, a Sikh sect comprised of mainly “untouchables”, or Dalits.

Worshipper Mohnder Ram, 72, who has lived in Vienna for decades, said the temple that was attacked had been attended by followers of Shri Guru Ravidas, the 14th-century founder of the sect. Witnesses said the group of bearded and turbaned men raided the temple as the preachers led several hundred worshippers in prayer. Followers moved to defend their leaders.

“I heard four to five shots” in the temple, said Ram. “People started screaming, children were crying as they ran out. It was like war. There was lots of blood everywhere.”

Six suspects are in custody, including four wounded and in serious condition, police spokesman Michael Takacs said, adding that more may be detained. The wounded were all of Indian origin and aged between 30 and 50, said Bernhard Segall of Vienna medical services. The most serious wounds were caused by gunshots to the abdomen and head.

The temple is housed in a residential building of the working-class neighborhood of Vienna-Rudolfsheim.

Ram said about 400 people were at the service when the fight broke out; police put the number at between 150 and 300.

The scene was “like a battlefield,” Takacs said.

Nearby resident Bimla Lalka said she saw seven or eight men with long beards and dark blue and orange turbans fleeing the building.

Sikhs make up less than 2 per cent of India’s nearly 1.2 billion people.

Caste discrimination has been outlawed in India for more than a half century, and a quota system was established with the aim of giving Dalits a fair share of government jobs and places in schools. But their plight remains dire, living in poverty and kept down by ancient prejudice and caste-based politics.

17 years later, Liberhan Commission submits Babri report to PM

NEW DELHI: Seventeen years after it was set up, the Liberhan Commission probing the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on Tuesday submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Watch

The commission, which had got 48 extensions, submitted the report to the Prime Minister by Retd Justice M S Liberhan in presence of home minister P Chidambaram.

The contents of the report were not immediately known, PTI said.

According to Times Now, the report could reveal role of BJP’s L K Advani and Bajrang Dal in Babri incidents. Report could also shed light on number of other top BJP leaders.

Justice M S Liberhan told Times Now that certain witnesses weren’t non-cooperative during the probe. “The report got delayed due to uncooperative attitude of witnesses,” he added.

Liberhan refused to reveal who is responsible for Babri demolition. “I won’t name the people, it is mentioned in the report,” he said.

“I feel liberated after submitting report,” he added.

Meanwhile, political parties have begun to score points over each other over the report.

The Congress said that mere apologies by BJP leaders are not enough. The BJP claimed that Advani has been framed in the Babri case.

Set up within ten days of the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992, which triggered widespread communal violence leading to heavy loss of lives, the panel has become the country’s longest serving Commission of Enquiry.

The commission, mandated to inquire into the circumstances leading to the demolition of the Babri mosque was to submit its report by March 16, 1993 but sought repeated extensions to complete its probe.

The last three-month extension was given in March this year.

The probe panel was one of the costliest commissions having spent nearly Rs eight crore. The bulk of the amount was spent on the salaries and perks of the supporting staff.

During the extended proceedings spread over 400 sittings, the commission recorded the statements of senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh.

The panel had completed hearing the last witness in 2005.

Pakistan – Punjab: Public transport system being made comfortable

LAHORE (PPI): Punjab Chief Minister, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that public transport system is being improved for providing modern, standardized and comfortable transport facilities to the people and for this purpose, Lahore Transport Company has been set up while similar transport companies would also be established in other major cities on the same pattern. He said that provision of better transport facilities to the people was our dream which is being materialized on Sunday after signing of an agreement with Chinese company for providing buses. He said that project of provision of better transport facilities to the masses is being launched from Lahore and in this regard a bus service has been inaugurated. Later, its scope would be expanded to other cities including Rawalpindi, Multan, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur and Sialkot, he added. He said that the underground Metro Train Project in Lahore would be completed with the consultation and cooperation of Iran and China. He expressed these views while addressing the ceremony of signing of an agreement between the Chinese company and Punjab government regarding provision of buses by a Chinese Company Yunma Aircraft, at Chief Minister’s Secretariat, here today. On behalf of Punjab government, Secretary Transport and representative of Chinese company signed the agreement. Senior Advisor Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, Provincial Minister for Finance Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, Minister for Transport Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, Members National and Provincial Assemblies, Chief Secretary, Secretary Transport, representative of Chinese company and other senior officers were also present on the occasion. The Chief Minister said that the agreement of cooperation in public transport between China and Punjab government is of paramount importance and a proof of mutual confidence between the two countries. He said that under the project of provision of better transport, initially 53 buses will start operating on the roads of Lahore today while 2000 buses would be operated in the city under different phases, out of which, 1000 buses would be air-conditioned so that common man should realize that he has as much right over the resources as that of privilege class. He said that Chinese company will not only provide buses, but will also operate these buses itself while Punjab government would provide 25 percent subsidy and every possible cooperation would be extended for the success of this project. He said that China is a great friend of Pakistan and deep rooted relations are present between the two counties. He said that the agreement regarding public transport between Punjab government and Chinese company would play an important role in further strengthening the ties between both the countries. He said that these buses would had been started operating on the roads of Lahore a long time ago but unfortunately due to Governor’s rule in the province, this project was delayed. He said that due to the efforts of Provincial Minister for Transport, Chief Secretary, Secretary Transport and the whole team, we have succeeded for practical implementation of the project. He said that under this project, CNG air-conditioned buses would be operated in big cities of Punjab through Public Private Partnership and Punjab government will provide 25 percent subsidy to the private transporters for importing these buses. Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said that a comprehensive system has been evolved for providing better transport facilities to the people in the big cities of the province and for this purpose negotiations with nine different international companies are underway. He said that nations move ahead with hardworking, dedication and passion and we have made public service as our mission and will achieve our goal with honesty, hard work and team work.

Author Examines Drug Trade, Afghan Insurgency

Author and former ABC news producer Gretchen Peters talks about her book about the drug trade in Afghanistan and Pakistan and how it is fueling the insurgency.

JIM LEHRER: And finally tonight, the Afghan insurgency and the drug war. Margaret Warner has our story.

MARGARET WARNER: Ninety percent of the world’s opium comes from Afghanistan, and a hefty share of the profit fuels the Taliban-linked insurgency there, including elements tied to al-Qaida.

The U.N. estimates the insurgency reaps $300 million to $400 million a year from the drug trade, and the U.S. believes that amounts to half to three-quarters of its total revenues.

How does the drugs, money, insurgency network operate? Journalist and author Gretchen Peters, who spent 10 years in Afghanistan for the Associated Press and ABC News, set out to find out. The result is her new book, “Seeds of Terror: How Heroin is Bank Rolling the Taliban and al-Qaida.” And she joins me now.

Gretchen, welcome.

GRETCHEN PETERS, author: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

The ‘protection trade’

MARGARET WARNER: Now, this, I’m sure, was a dangerous book to report, given the criminal ties, the political ties of people involved in the drug trade. Why did you take it on?

GRETCHEN PETERS: Well, I first worked in the region prior to 9/11. And I felt that we did a lot of important reporting in those days about the many abominable things the Taliban did towards women and other human rights abuses, but most journalists who were out there really missed the story.

The terror camps were all around us, and we didn’t report on them. And we were, in fact, discouraged from reporting from them. So I sort of vowed that I wouldn’t let that happen again.

And so when I saw the drug trade starting to grow and grow and grow and kept hearing that it was fueling the resurgence of the Taliban and these other extremist groups in the border areas, I decided that I needed to get to the bottom of it.

And it was dangerous. There were times when I was in danger, and the local reporters who helped me on it really did a lot of the heavy lifting in that regard. But I felt it was going to be more dangerous not to report the story, and so that was why I did it.

MARGARET WARNER: Well, in a nutshell now, explain how this works. How is the Taliban and the other insurgent groups enmeshed in the drug trade?

GRETCHEN PETERS: Well, it does depend on the group, and it depends in what region or what part of the border you’re on.

The Taliban in southern Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban, taxed the drug trade. They taxed the farmers. They also taxed the drug convoys leaving the areas. They provide protection. That’s probably their biggest source of earnings from drugs, is protecting the drug convoys, protecting drug labs along the border. They also get direct donations from trafficking groups to the high-level leadership.

Other groups, like al-Qaida, and other regional extremist groups, like the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, they come in at the border areas. And they start moving the shipments as they leave Afghanistan and start heading out of the region. That’s where you actually stand to profit the most. Again, they’re by and large in the protection trade.

So far, none of these groups are actually drug traffickers themselves. However, increasingly you hear stories about Taliban commanders running their own heroin labs along the border. They’re vertically integrating through the trade.

And what that means is that it’s very much following the pattern of what happened in Colombia with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the FARC. They eventually said, “You know, we’ve got the guns. We’ve got the power,” and they just took over the drug trade. So that could happen in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It hasn’t yet.

U.S. government’s involvement

MARGARET WARNER: And then the profits they reap off of this, over whatever their role is, that just goes to buy, what, weapons, ammunition, everything else they need on the global market?

GRETCHEN PETERS: It was very clear from my research that drug money pays for the vast majority of the Taliban’s operational expenses. So that means every time a U.S. soldier is killed in an IED attack or a roadside bomb, drug money helped pay for putting those explosives in place or paid the insurgents who did it.

MARGARET WARNER: In the book, there’s a lot of very interesting history which we cannot get into totally, but what you point out is the seeds of these seeds were really planted both in the ’80s when the U.S. was involved there helping to fight the Soviets…

GRETCHEN PETERS: Absolutely.

MARGARET WARNER: … actually backed the insurgents, then Mujahideen, and as well in the ’90s, when the Taliban were in power, ostensibly against all drugs, but not the case?

GRETCHEN PETERS: Right. The history of this is fascinating. To my mind, the two history chapters are, for me, the most interesting chapters in the book and the most fascinating to research. We helped fund this. We overlooked this — the United States government, when I say “we,” it’s what I mean — in the 1980s. The…

MARGARET WARNER: Meaning because the Mujahideen were involved in this trade?

GRETCHEN PETERS: Yes, it was clearly known. There were intelligence documents, State Department cables that went back, U.S. officials working on supporting the Muj in the Soviet resistance, knew that they were involved in drugs trafficking.

And the ones who were most deeply involved in drugs trafficking are the ones that went on to become or to — members of those groups went on to become the Taliban and al-Qaida.

And there’s a widely held misperception in this country that the Taliban was anti-poppy because for the one year they banned farmers from growing poppy. But from my research, it was quite clear that there were such huge stockpiles of poppy by the year 2000, because Afghanistan was producing these unbelievably enormous poppy crops, that they banned it so the stockpiles would go up in value. It was essentially an insider trading deal.

U.S.’s ‘greatest’ security failure

MARGARET WARNER: Now, you say somewhere in the book that the single greatest failure of the U.S. since 9/11 in a security sense has not been the things we usually point to, but has been what you said the spectacular incapacity of Western law enforcement to disrupt the flow of money that’s fueling Taliban, al-Qaida and so forth.

What is the problem there? I mean, they do have units designed to track this money and try to go after it or try to go after the kingpins. What’s missing?

GRETCHEN PETERS: Well, it’s an unbelievably complex proposal, what I’m suggesting we need to do, but I also think it’s unbelievably important. But very little has been done to disrupt the funds that are getting to the Taliban.

Every time somebody puts together a new proposal for Afghanistan, it’s always about the farm level. It’s always about giving them alternative crops or spraying the fields. We need to start tracking flows of money to that region, separating the good from the bad. And that means regulating the Hawala network. That means…

MARGARET WARNER: That’s their informal money-moving…

GRETCHEN PETERS: The informal — it’s like the subcontinent’s answer to Western Union, basically. We need to go after the traffickers. There’s a very, very small number of people who control this industry, and they are known. They are known to our law enforcement and intelligence community, but the focus is always on the farmers.

I say we need to take it off the farmers and put it on the money. The money is — we need to follow the money. And that is going to lead us to the people we’re looking for in that region.

Allies ‘deeply corrupted’ by drugs

MARGARET WARNER: And that may include people who are very deeply involved in the Afghan and Pakistan government?

GRETCHEN PETERS: Well, yes. I mean, the biggest challenge we face out there is not the fact that the insurgents and extremists are making hundreds of millions of dollars off the drug trade. It’s actually that our allies in the region are also so deeply corrupted by drugs.

There’s been a lot of reporting in the media about drug corruption within the Karzai government. Karzai’s half-brother and other officials get named all the time as alleged facilitators of the drug trades.

What almost never gets reported is drug corruption within the Pakistan government. And I think that needs to — we need to start doing investigations of that. There needs to be some sort of effort to — some sort of joint effort to investigate some of these claims, these widely made claims, and put them to rest.

MARGARET WARNER: Gretchen Peters, thank you so much.

GRETCHEN PETERS: Thank you.

Why Pakistan Will Never Catch Terror Leader Alive

The mess in Pakistan’s western areas is not just a battle with religious extremism. A larger part is a battle of proxies. There are credible reports that Indian and Israeli intelligence involvement in U.S.-controlled Afghanistan has deepened in the past seven years. American military and intelligence officials are impressed with the record of both countries in fighting Islamic groups in Kashmir and the Mideast. Israel invested heavily in establishing schools that study the art of Islamic indoctrination. These schools were used to learn how clerics can brainwash recruits and then exploit them politically. Israeli spymasters have used this knowledge to penetrate Islamic groups and plant agents. They have passed this technique on to the Indians to help them counter pro-Pakistan religious groups in Kashmir. In the Kargil war in 1999, Pakistanis and Kashmiris faced a direct Israeli special operations intervention on the side of the Indian military.

By AHMED QURAISHI
Wednesday, 24 June 2009.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan-Pakistan will probably never catch terrorist leader Baitullah Mehsud alive. Why? For the same reason that we will never really know why uncircumcised dead fighters have been turning up from the bunkers of what is supposed to be Pakistani Taliban. Or why alcoholic beverages were found from some of their hideouts. Or why citizens of China and Sri Lanka – two close military allies of Pakistan – were brutally attacked on Pakistani soil by people claiming to be fighting America. Or why this new Taliban is so eager to kill ordinary Pakistanis and harass anti-India Kashmiri activists and demand they fight Pakistan.

Similarly we will never know why listed companies like Google and Facebook are speeding up Persian translations of their sites when no profit is involved. [Will their stockholders accept democracy instead of profits?] Or why the government of President Zardari exerted pressure for the removal of the Saudi ambassador in Islamabad. And why the government did not object when the U.S. and other allied donors tried to create a special fund for Balochistan and NWFP with the condition that it operate outside Pakistan’s control. And why the Saudi ambassador strongly opposed the plan when Mr. Zardari’s team almost endorsed it. Could this be one of several reasons why the Saudi ambassador became unwelcome here, received threats to his life and then was unable to meet the President before leaving despite several attempts?

The popular Pakistani understanding of the battle against Baitullah Mehsud is more American than Pakistani. This prevents us from accepting that this insurgency is wrapped in multiple layers of deceit. The entire prevailing narrative of the situation is exclusively American, tailored to suit Washington’s worldview. It talks about a uniform threat of Taliban and al Qaeda with no distinction made between the Afghan Taliban and the new Pakistani version; the American narrative does not explain how or why the ranks of the Pakistani Taliban have been swelling steadily when the Afghan Taliban is not experiencing a similar surge; and why the American narrative suppresses any discussion of Pakistani grievances about an organized anti-Pakistan terror wave emanating from Afghanistan.

The Pakistani counter narrative is missing on the government level and is probably limited to some circles within the Pakistani strategic and intelligence communities. The impression is that the Pakistani government is essentially bartering silence for U.S. aid.

This is a dangerous bargain.

It means that Pakistani officials won’t take a stand on the use of Afghan soil to export terror to Pakistan. In fact, there are strong grounds to conclude that while other parts of the U.S. government engage Pakistan, freewheeling elements within the Central Intelligence Agency are probably conducting their own foreign policy on the ground in the region. The simultaneous trouble in both the Pakistani and Iranian parts of Balochistan is but one case in point.

Another downside to our enthusiasm for U.S. aid money at any cost is our waning ability to resist the upcoming American plan to install India as the resident guardian over Pakistan and Afghanistan. A senior US national security official is expected to bring this plan to Pakistan in the next few days. Islamabad’s obsession with US aid while staying mum on vital Pakistani interest is absurd. Why is Prime Minister Gilani complaining now about the US ‘surge’ in Afghanistan when Mr. Zardari and his foreign minister wasted no time in warmly welcoming it when Mr. Obama unveiled the plan in March?

This explains why Mr. Zardari signed an American-proposed agreement to give India overland trade routes to Afghanistan. No wonder U.S. diplomats in Islamabad are so emboldened that recently some of them spent half the day camped at the federal petroleum ministry to force a rollback of the Iran gas deal.

There are also fresh questions on the extent of support the United States is getting from two of its closest allies India and Israel in Afghanistan. There are credible reports that Indian and Israeli intelligence involvement in U.S.-controlled Afghanistan has deepened in the past seven years. Some American military and intelligence officials are impressed with the record of both countries in fighting Islamic groups, especially the Indian experience in occupied Kashmir. The Israelis have invested heavily in establishing schools that study the art of Islamic indoctrination. These schools were used to learn how clerics can brainwash recruits and then exploit them politically. Israeli spymasters have used this knowledge to penetrate Mideastern Islamic groups. They have passed this technique to the Indians to help them counter pro-Pakistan religious groups in Kashmir. In the Kargil war in 1999, Pakistanis and Kashmiris faced a direct Israeli special operations intervention on the side of the Indian military.

The mess in Pakistan’s western areas is not just a battle with religious extremism. A larger part is a battle of proxies. None of this means that we should treat Washington as an enemy. But it does have an agenda that is increasingly diverging from Pakistan’s strategic interests.

REAL LIFE DRAMA IN THE AIR

Remembering 12th October, 1999

October, 1999 Capt Sarwat of Pakistan International Airlines Airbus-300, an old buddy, and I had gone to Colombo , Sri Lanka for Airlanka Golf classic tournament.

On the 10th October, after returning from the 18th hole (towards the finish of the game) that I saw General Pervez Musharraf (chief of Joint staff and Chief of the army staff) teeing- off with the Bangladeshi COAS for a friendly match. Gen Musharraf had gone to Colombo to represent Pakistan on the 50th anniversary of Sri Lankan armed forces. On the 12th October we were to return back to Pakistan and our flight route was Colombo-Male (Maldives )- Karachi . The flight time between Male and Karachi was almost three and a half hours. Capt. Sarwat was Commander of the flight PK/805 and I was traveling as a passenger in the club class but being cockpit crew of PIA I could visit the cockpit with the consent of the Capt. of the flight. The First officer of the flight was Mr. Shami {who was on his first clearance check flight to Sri Lanka } and the flight engineer Mr. Amir. Gen Pervez Musharraf boarded the plane with his wife and two of his personal staff officers. Gen. Musharraf and his wife were seated in the front extreme right hand side seats and the PSO’s occupied the last two seats on the same side. There were a total of 198 persons aboard that flight out of which almost 50 were children from the American school with six foreign teachers.

The flight to Male was bumpy due to rain and clouds. At Male, which was a transit stop, Gen. Musharraf, his wife and the PSO’s disembarked to see the strange looking island which had nothing but just a runway strip. At Male, Capt. Sarwat after getting the weather information of Karachi and Nawabshah decided to refuel the aircraft, keeping Nawabshah airfield as an alternative (Nawabshah airfield is almost 110 nautical miles north east of Karachi ). It meant that the aircraft could reach Karachi and in contingency could divert to Nawabshah and keep flying in air for another 45 minutes before landing at Nawabshah which is normally the fuel policy of the airlines throughout the world.

The departure from Male was uneventful. The airplane started cruising at 29000 feet, I was sitting in the cockpit jump seat and occasionally would stand up to stretch and walk in the cabin. During the flight, the air guards and the cabin crew requested Gen Pervez Musharraf for individual and group photographs. Capt Sarwat also came to the club class from the cockpit to greet the VIP.

After two and half hours of flight and now cruising at 33000 feet, we established contact with Karachi air traffic controller. The first thing the Karachi radio controller asked was how much fuel was on board? What was our alternate airfield? And how many passengers were on board? I was standing behind the flight Engineer’s seat and listening to the whole conversation through the cockpit speakers. On hearing this I did point out to Capt. Sarwat “Isn’t it strange for Karachi to be asking this?” to which he nodded “yes”. It was a clear night and probably the third of moon was out but we could later on see Karachi very clearly. The initial approach given to us was direct Marvi (shortest route) but after a while Karachi changed the clearance via Nansi (the longer route) and gave us descent clearance to 10000ft. As the airplane reached almost within 60 miles the Karachi tower said “PK /805 you are not cleared to land at Karachi “. “Can we proceed to Nawabshah?” Capt Sarwat asked ATC after pondering for a little while as to what must be going on down below. “Nawabshah is also closed” came the reply. “But Nawabshah is our alternate!” said Capt Sarwat forcefully. Karachi ATC said “you will land at your own risk you cannot land in Pakistan . All airfields are closed”. “We do not have fuel for any other airfield!” Capt. Sarwat replied but once again but there was complete silence from the ATC.

The Karachi ATC was questioned thrice but all in vain —- there was no answer. During the ATC conversation it seemed quite obvious that someone behind the controller was passing the instruction because more than three or more persons could be heard in the background of the reception. A KLM flight which was somewhere in air and listening to this conversation also shouted, “Karachi why don’t you give the reason to the PK 805″. While the commotion was on, Capt Sarwat assumed that perhaps it may be due to the VIP sitting aboard. Sarwat knowing my air force background asked me and the other crew “Partner what do you think, should I tell the general about this?” I butted in and said why not, let’s get whatever help we can!”

Capt called the purser and asked him to inform the personal staff officers of the general. Both the PSO’s were informed and they came rushing into the cockpit. After listening to the Capt. they went to inform the General. Meanwhile Capt Sarwat asked the flight engineer as to how much fuel was left, and if we could make it to Muscat . “No way, we have only five and a half tons of fuel left at this 10000 feet altitude” he calculated. Meanwhile General Musharraf had entered the cockpit. During the discussion between the flight crew members, two other alternate airfields for diversion were considered. Chahbahar in Iran and Ahmedabad in India . After a little discussion with the flight engineer regarding remaining fuel and new airfield and night landing facility, Chahbahar was not considered as an alternate airfield. “Do we have the approach and landing information on Ahmedabad? Please open and consult Jeppesen (the flight crew bible} immediately” Sarwat asked the co-pilot.

General Musharraf was listening to the conversation and he asserted “We will not go to India, that is not an option”, to which Capt Sarwat said “okay General as you say.” Now the Gen said that he wanted to talk to the Corp commander Karachi , immediately. After a while the PSO gave the mobile telephone number to the flight engineer and wrote the land telephone number of the Corp. Commander. Karachi . The flight engineer Amir tried many times to dial the telephone but there was no dial tone. In this hurry and in presence of the general, the flight engineer mishandled his flash light and broke its glass. The flight engineer Amir said we are not getting the connection through and it seems as if the telephone lines have been cut. The general then asked as to why we couldn’t speak on the long range radio- the high frequency. The flight engineer tried to establish contact through company high frequency phone patch but it was all quiet, and no answer was received.

The other airplanes flying in Karachi vicinity were instructed by the Karachi ATC to divert because Karachi airport was closed. An aircraft of Pakistan Air Force which was in inbound to Karachi from Islamabad was instructed by the Karachi air traffic controller to land at Nawabshah, immediately. But the PAF Captain was not willing to accept this order and asserted that the PAF flight would go back to Islamabad . While the argument between the PAF aircraft and Karachi ATC were going on the Capt Sarwat changed the radio frequency. However later on I investigated about the PAF flight and I found out that it was a Boeing 737 VIP aircraft, which was on routine maintenance trip to Karachi but was forced to land at Nawabshah airfield. The police at Nawabshah, with special instructions was waiting for the two engine jet aircraft. Since it is difficult for a common man to distinguish between a Boeing 737 and an Airbus A-300, therefore Nawabshah police cordoned off the aircraft after parking. But as the doors were opened Pakistani Army soldiers rushed to the aircraft and shouted at the police to buzz off otherwise they would be shot at. The Police dispersed and now the army took charge of the aircraft. An Army officer entered the aircraft. To their dismay, they found the wife and children of the PAF Capt sitting inside, “Where is the General?” inquired the army officer. “What General?” asked the crew? PAF crew told them that they were going to Karachi from Islamabad . “But we were told that you are coming from Colombo ” said the officer surprised

In the air at the very same time, the first officer of the aircraft saw two blips on traffic collision avoidance system and shouted “We are being intercepted; probably there are two fighter aircraft”.

The conversation in the cockpit our plane had become tense and was blended with other actions in the cockpit, which had become rather twice demanding. I noticed that at no point any of the crew or the VIP lost their cool. The general insisted several times that we land at Karachi . He also inquired as to why we couldn’t land at the air force runways at Karachi . But probably due to the fighter aircraft and no knowledge as to what was happening below on ground, with no runway lights landing at PAF Airfields was considered as the last option. If we could not land at Karachi or at Nawabshah due to runway blockade with tractors and bulldozers etc then Shahrah-e-Faisal or Masroor was the last option anyways. At this point Capt Sarwat changed to PIA company radio channel. Sarwat was asked about the remaining fuel. Someone at the company channel directed PK805 to proceed and land at Nawabshah, then refuel the airplane with 30 tones of fuel and once again get airborne and wait for further instructions.

After a few minutes, the Karachi ATC came on air and cleared PK805 to divert to Nawabshah. . Capt Sarwat then heaved a sigh of relief and said “Let’s go to Nawabshah”. The Airbus climbed like a missile to 20000 feet in no time since there was hardly any fuel left in the aircraft and it was rather light. At about 60 miles north of Karachi PK805 was redirected to come and land at Karachi by the Karachi ATC. A quick turnabout and descent was initiated. Someone from the ATC asked to speak to the general. Capt Sarwat gave his microphone to the general and said, “Sir please speak”.

“This is Pervez Musharraf, who is there?” the general inquired very assertively. “I am Gen. Iftikhar sir, your retirement was announced two hours before but we are in control. Please land at Karachi “Where is the Corp Commander?” the general questioned “He is in the next room waiting for you “was the reply. Both the PSO’s were listening and the younger PSO (a Major) said” Sir, ask him the name of his dog”. Probably he wanted to be sure in recognizing the GOC, but the general who had kept his cool all along said confidently, “He is my man, don’t worry!”(Later on this officer on ground happened to be a friend of mine who told me that General Musharraf had given him two puppies and that’s how the PSO wanted to determine his identity)

Meanwhile he plane was reaching for its final approach. Suddenly the low fuel warning light of right wing fuel tank came on with an audio chime. The cockpit was dead silent and everyone was waiting to feel the touchdown as soon as possible. We had waited almost one hour and ten minutes in the air. The remaining fuel of 1.2 ton in the wing tanks, if reliable, was only available for approximately ten minutes of flight time. At twelve miles short of landing, the left wing fuel tank warning light also appeared with chime.

After touch down PK 805 was asked to park at the remote area (Bay 66) and was informed that no other person than the VIP will come out of the aircraft. After the engines shut down, the army soldiers who were almost two hundred cordoned-off the aircraft. The General was looking from the cockpit window and seemed relaxed. Before disembarking from the aircraft the general shook hands with all of us and said, “Thank you, don’t worry all is well, he’s my man.” And he immediately passed his very first order through his PSO, “Tell them I don’t want anyone to leave the country.”

The General, his wife, who was trying to control her tears, and the two PSO’s disembarked from the plane and were greeted by the Corp. Commander and the GOC with salutes from the soldiers. They all went inside a building for a short conference, which took almost 15 min after which the whole contingent drove away very fast. PK805 was not allowed to start the engines perhaps because of the security and almost no remaining fuel and was thus towed to the international arrival side (Bay 23). During the whole episode I was the quietest and the closest observer in the cockpit and was thoroughly impressed to watch total professionalism from Capt Sarwat and his crew. Not to mention the way General carried himself and remained confident and totally composed throughout the whole episode.

Capt. Tariq

Are French Bribes Stopping Zardari Govt. From Buying German Submarines?

By AHMED QURAISHI
WWW.AHMEDQURAISHI.COM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan-The stench of a multimillion dollar scam can be smelled in the Pakistani capital. This time it has to do with the estimated $1.5 to 2 billion deal that the Pakistan Navy has almost finalized with Germany. But it seems there are strong lobbies in Islamabad that want to oblige France and buy French vessels because Paris is willing to pay heavy bribes. To ensure the deal is sealed with France instead of Germany, a junior bureaucrat has been appointed as Pakistan’s ambassador in Paris bypassing the Pakistani foreign office. Reports accuse President Asif Ali Zardari of orchestrating this appointment.

No one would be more disturbed at these developments than the government of Angela Merkel in Germany. Berlin went out on a limp to approve the Pakistani request for the submarines in the face of strong opposition to selling weapons to Pakistan.

India, whose 90% of weapons continue to be aimed at Pakistan while feigning peace and making excuses about threats from China, has launched a quiet diplomatic effort to convince Germany not to sell the vessels to Pakistan.

The deal with Germany is ready to be inked and the Germans await Pakistan to make a formal order for the submarines. But this order is not coming despite the visit by Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to Berlin on 18 June. The Defense minister has also visited Germany earlier to discuss the deal.

Seven months ago, the CEO of the company that building the submarines for Pakistan visited Karachi and told The News International that the deal between Germany and Pakistan was “95% done”.

So why is the Pakistani side reluctant now?

On Friday, security analysis service BRASSTACKSissued an alert that said:

“All is set for the new [German] submarines. Almost all hurdles have been removed. But we fail to understand why there is no pressure from the Naval Headquarters (NHQ) on DP MoD [Director of Purchases at the Ministry of Defense] to finalize the contract. Already the Indians are exploiting the situation and pressurizing the Germans to stop the sale. It is not less than a miracle that the Germans are adamant on going ahead with the sale despite the pressures. Pakistan Navy is set to lose this deal due to a lack of will, lack of decision making, and due to other vested interests.”

One reason could be France. The French are lobbying to get Pakistan to cancel the German deal and buy French submarines.

Coincidentally, in 1995, the Pakistan People’s Party was in power when the government bought three French Agosta 90-B submarines. President Zardari was an investment minister then. The incumbent French President Nicolas Sarkozy was also in power at the time as a minister and key aide to then French President Edouard Balladur. Ironically, both were powerful men who operated behind the scenes. And now both of them stand accused of receiving lavish kickbacks from the Agosta deal.

The French media has accused President Zardari of being part of a list of powerful people in both Paris and Islamabad who received kickbacks. The French judges have also accused others besides Mr. Zardari especially within the military of receiving parts of the bribe. On the French side, the bribe money from the deal helped finance the reelection campaign of Mr. Balladur in which Mr. Sarkozy played a key role.

A French judge has even accused some powerful Pakistanis including Mr. Zardari of having something to do with the murder of 11 French engineers in Karachi in May 2002 as a retaliation for the decision of France’s new government to cease bribe payments from the 1995 deal.

As recently as Friday, 26 June 2009, The Independent of London published a report titled Bribes and Bombsthat mentioned the names of both President Zardari and President Sarkozy as prime suspects among others in receiving bribes for the French submarines. The opening paragraphs of the report said this:

“A political scandal is gathering pace over claims that 11 French submarine engineers were murdered in a bomb attack in Karachi seven years ago to punish France for the non-payment of arms contract “commissions” to senior Pakistani officials. Lawyers for the French victims’ families believe the attack, allegedly carried out by Islamist terrorists, was in fact part of a web of financial chicanery and political maneuvering which may yet severely embarrass senior figures, including the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari.”

Interestingly, when Mr. Zardari decided to pay a visit to Paris in May, Mr. Sarkozy wasn’t exactly a happy man. The French media highlighted a letter that the families of the 11 engineers sent to the French president showing displeasure at meeting Mr. Zardari. The German news agency, DPA, reported that Mr. Zardari’s decision to visit Paris “has placed the French president in a delicate position.”

The Independent newspaper report published the following list of the key figures in the French submarine bribes scandal. This list is based on the French investigation into the murder of the 11 engineers.

The key figures: 15 years ago and now

Edouard Balladur, 80

THEN Centre-right prime minister in cohabitation with the Socialist president, François Mitterrand. Ran for presidency in 1995 but was knocked out by Chirac in first round.

ROLE It is alleged in documents seized by French police that his campaign – quite possibly without his knowledge – benefited from illegal kickbacks.

NOW Retired.

Jacques Chirac, 76

THEN Mayor of Paris and leader of the centre-right RPR party. Ran for the presidency in 1995 for the third time and won.

ROLE As president, he ordered the cancellation of the Pakistani “commissions”, allegedly in pique against M Balladur.

NOW Retired.

Charles Millon, 63

THEN Chirac’s defence minister in 1995.

ROLE Admits he cancelled Pakistani commissions on Chirac’s orders.

NOW Faded from mainstream politics.

Asif Ali Zardari, 53

THEN Minister in government of his wife, Benazir Bhutto, who was murdered in 2007 after she returned to Pakistan.

ROLE Alleged to have “distributed” part of the commissions paid by France, which were legal under French law.

NOW President of Pakistan.

What is compounding suspicions is the decision by the Pakistani government to appoint a civil servant from the District Management Group [a classification within the Pakistani bureaucracy] as the Ambassador of Pakistan to France. This is an unusual appointment. For the first time, the Pakistan Foreign Office and the veteran diplomats there have been bypassed for this critical station.Again, Mr. Zardari’s name has come up as the man behind the move and his spokesman had to step in to deny it.

So is the delay in the issuing of the order for the German submarines that were almost finalized in December 2008 has something to do with President Zardari’s meeting with President Sarkozy of France in May 2009? Is the appointment of a junior civil servant as the envoy to Paris related to this? And has all of this something to do with the reluctance of the Ministry of Defense in issuing a purchase order for the German submarines?

The delay could also be an attempt at hurting the fast developing military ties between Pakistan and Germany.

Pakistan and Germany have deepened military and security ties over the past years.

Germany has become the fourth country after the United States, Japan and Russia to begin a strategic dialogue with Pakistan.

There are regular political-military talks with Pakistan army officials on security and military issues which include counter- terrorism and training of Pakistani officers in Germany.

Pakistani officers have received military training and education in Germany in recent years as part of military education and training programs

Pakistan needs the German Class-214 submarines. India’s military buildup is coupled with renewed aggressiveness toward Pakistan. The Indians are expected to use the naval buildup to bully Pakistan. It is imperative that Islamabad build up its naval defense to maintain peace through deterrence.

Michael Jackson ‘converts to Islam and changes name to Mikaeel’

Michael Jackson has reportedly become a Muslim and changed his name to Mikaeel.

By Graham Tibbetts

Michael Jackson wore an abaya, a traditional Arab women’s veil, in Bahrain Photo: REUTERS

The singer, who was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, converted to Islam in a ceremony at a friend’s house in Los Angeles.

He is said to have sat on the floor and worn a small hat while an imam officiated.

According to The Sun, the ceremony took place while Jackson, 50, was recording an album at the home of Steve Porcaro, a keyboard player who composed music on his Thriller album.

The former Jackson 5 star was counselled by David Wharnsby, a Canadian songwriter, and Phillip Bubal, a producer, who have both converted.

A source said Jackson had appeared a “bit down” and added: “They began talking to him about their beliefs, and how they thought they had become better people after they converted. Michael soon began warming to the idea.

“An imam was summoned from the mosque and Michael went through the shahada, which is the Muslim declaration of belief.”

Last year his brother, Jermaine Friday, suggested Jackson would convert having taken an interest in Islam since Friday’s conversion in 1989.

“When I came back from Mecca I got him a lot of books and he asked me lots of things about my religion and I told him that it’s peaceful and beautiful,” said Friday.

“He read everything and he was proud of me that I found something that would give me inner strength and peace.

“I think it is most probable that Michael will convert to Islam.

“He could do so much, just like I am trying to do. Michael and I and the word of God, we could do so much.”

Kashmiri Resistance and the Defiling of Women

By Momin Iftikhar

Come June and for the second year running, the Indian Held Kashmir is on the boil; much in the manner of the previous summer when the allocation of hundred acres of pristine Kashmiri land to a Hindu trust to permanently set up facilities for pilgrims undertaking Amar Nath Yatra, united the entire Kashmiri society in a prolonged spell of determined resistance. Over sixty Kashmiris lost their lives in the brutal Indian state response, then. This time round it is the rape of two Kashmiri women by the Indian security forces’ personnel that has caused the wide scale anger to erupt and spill over the entire landscape of the Kashmir Valley.

17 Years’ old Aasia Jan and her sister in law, Nilofer Shakeel, 22 had gone to work in their apple orchard in Shopian but failed to return. Their bodies were found floating in shallow waters of a stream on May 30. As the public anger grew and the accusatory fingers pointed towards the Indian security personnel camping close by, entire state machinery of the Indian Held Kashmir went into a denial mode. The puppet Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s initial remarks that there was no evidence of foul play and that the young women had drowned to death, only served to add fuel to the fire of public rage. A few days later he had to eat the humble pie as the autopsy results and forensic investigations confirmed that the two women had been murdered following rape, not drowned. By now the public anger, much in the manner of previous summer’s outpouring, burst open onto the streets and the demand for ‘Azadi’ rang out emphatically all across the Kashmir Valley. Meaningfully, among the entire furor the Indian security forces, accused of having committed the crime, have maintained an eerie silence and have yet to respond to the charges leveled against them by a much enraged public demanding justice.

The two week long unrest has served to focus attention on the wide spread but rarely reported phenomenon concerning rape of women in the IHK by the Indian security forces and their auxiliaries- feared mercenaries recruited from among the surrendered militants now turned collaborators. How many such incidents happen has no empirical basis and the Indian Government has shown no inclination – for well known reasons – to dig out or face the truth. In Kashmir, much like rest of the women in Muslim societies , the stigma attached with rape is so vitriolic and debilitating that very few victims gather the courage to confront the perpetrators. Even in case of the current tragedy it was the crime of murder that ultimately served to bring out the act of rape in open; had the two women lived through the ordeal they might have chosen to remain silent rather than expose themselves to the stigma associated with rape.

The Kashmiri women might not be coming forwarded for reasons of shame and fear of ostracism but the sporadic emergence of reports in media does provide a glimpse of the scale of tragedy unfolding in Kashmir. According to data maintained by a media portal of United Kingdom nearly 500 women were raped in various parts of IHK between 1990 to 1994. These figures are based upon reported cases of rape and molestation involving security forces in the local media. According to statistics provided by a United Nations publication, 882 women were gang raped by security forces in the IHK from 1990 to 1996.The portal also makes the poignant observation that the NGOs operating in the IHK hardly take any interest in documenting the plight of rape victims bearing the brunt of Indian oppression in Kashmir.

Indian Government’s refusal to squarely confront the issue of rape committed by its forces and reluctance in taking suitable disciplinary measures is only adding to the malignancy of the despicable phenomenon. Investigations, much like the course taken by the current episode, get launched with much enthusiasm only to peter out in due course with culprits getting away with their crime scot-free. A case in point is mass rape committed by 5 Rajputana Rifles in the village Konan-Poshpura in Kupwara on the night of 22 -23 February 1991. Forty women and young girls were raped by the Indian troops but despite passage of eighteen years no one has been convicted. The trauma of the villagers can be gauged from the fact that no girl belonging to the village has been married due to the stigma of rape attached to the unfortunate bunch. A number of women who had been married in other areas have been divorced by their husbands. Eight women have died from reasons emanating from psychotic disorders without seeing their tormentors brought to the book.

The current rising of the Kashmiri masses in protest against the rape and murder of two young women is a positive portent. It reflects a salutary trend that indicates to steeling of the grass root Kashmiri resistance that has effectively replaced the armed struggle for freedom. Heinous and detestable as they are, incidents of rape and molestation need to be treated at par with, if not with greater attendant concern accorded to custodial murders and involuntary disappearances that abound in the IHK. Widespread it is but it remains a pity that the scourge of rape in Kashmir draws only a peripheral concern by the local NGOs and various human rights watch agencies. An effective backlash by the Kashmiri masses will not only impose caution on the reckless and ill disciplined among the Indian security forces’ ranks but will also force the human rights’ watchdog agencies to be more cognizant of the acute trauma faced by the Kashmiri women. This will also encourage the victims of rape to come forward with greater confidence to report their ordeals. Kashmiris are learning the power of passive non-violent resistance and that augers well for the future of Kashmir and of its much victimized womenfolk.

Who the Hell Are You?

By Dr Haider Mehdi

The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organised violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.-Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilisations

One of the most potent, powerful, effective, forceful, destructive and lethal instrument of organised violence in the contemporary technological and media prone political culture has been the use of propaganda warfare by the West against its adversaries. It is precisely this technique that is being applied now by the US and its Western European allies to destabilise Iran in the wake of Ahmadinejad’s landslide victory in the presidential election. The West would rather have a puppet regime in Tehran to carry out its political-military-economic-cultural and regional/global domination agenda. Last Friday, the British Foreign Office in London called in the Iranian charge d’affaires and told him that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments at prayers in Tehran were “unacceptable”. In blatant interference in the internal affairs of Iran, Britain’s Foreign Office launched its propaganda and media warfare against Iran by denouncing Khamenei’s support of the legitimate victory of Ahmadinejad’s second term presidential win. The Foreign Office said: “We made it clear to the Iranian charge that the supreme leader’s comments were unacceptable and not based on fact.” The question that all of us should be asking is: Who the hell is Britain to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign country and make such sweeping unsubstantiated judgments on the outcome of the Iranian election? After all, this is not the 19th and 20th century colonialism – we live in a different world, yet to be reconciled by the imperialist mindset of the West’s political establishment and its colossal disregard and disrespect of the aspirations of the masses in Third World countries. The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said: “I believe it is right for us to speak out against repression, to speak out in condemnation of violence, to speak out where a free media is prevented from doing its job and we will continue to do that.” My heartfelt congratulations to you, Mr Prime Minister, on your worthy and noble aspirations for humanity’s emancipation from repression and violence, and the creation of a free world. But we all have a fundamental question to ask you: Why does the West continue to live with such outlandish contradictions, denial of reality and the political “modus operandi” of an unjust and unfair political machine that belies and contradicts all of your noble thoughts when it comes to dealing with the Third World and the Muslim nations in particular?

Let me ask you, Mr Prime Minister, a straight question: Did you express yourself with such intensity against oppression, violence and human rights violations when Gaza was mercilessly bombed, when half a million children were killed in Iraq because of the West’s economic sanctions, when thousands upon thousands are killed in Afghanistan and Iraq where your and your allies’ military troops operate with absolute impunity? Have you considered the implications of your fabricated War on Terror and its resultant destructive humanitarian crisis in Pakistan and Afghanistan? Or none of this, in your considered judgement, is violence, repression and a violation of human rights?

Tell us, Mr Prime Minister, how can anyone live with such ignorance, darkness of heart and mind, blindness of visionary thoughts, unawareness of global human conditions, indifference to the human consciousness, and above all, with being the epitome of hypocrisy, pretense, insincerity and sanctimony? We in the Muslim world have come to understand your political culture’s psychic imbalance, its hostile antagonism against the rest of the world and its mindless pursuit to dominate. It is an ailing condition of the Western political mind, an obsession with power and control, and a dangerous sign of escalating future global conflict. We are also fully aware of your alacrity and promptness in the use of military force, violence and propaganda warfare to realise your goals. We will fight you with political processes with greater participation and expression of the masses sentiments in the affairs of our nations’ internal and external affairs (we are unable to match your military superiority – but you will receive a befitting response should you attempt military adventurism against Iran). Your political animosity and ill will towards us is leading to an enhanced democratic path in our countries. (And you may not like who we choose democratically!)

The recent Iranian presidential election and Ahmadinejad’s overriding victory is a visible and clear indication of the fact that the masses have poised themselves politically to battle the West’s political, economic and cultural domination and take control of their own national identity and destiny. It is a complete political renaissance, if the West cares to understand the undercurrents and the dynamics of this ongoing democratic process in Iran.

Coming back to the facts of the present Iranian presidential elections, let me enlighten Prime Minister Brown, President Obama and the members of the US Senate: The only real information that reflects the will of the Iranian voters is a pre-election poll conducted by the non-profit Center for Public Opinion and the non-profit New America Foundation that showed Ahmadinejad leading by more than 2 to 1. The poll results were published in the June 15 Washington Post, wrote Paul Craig Roberts, the former US Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during the Reagan administration. Roberts goes further to question the sources of the Western media for unleashing propaganda warfare against the elected Iranian president and the entire election process in Iran: “What is the source of the information for the US media and the American puppet states?…Nothing but the assertions of the defeated candidate, the one America prefers (and by implication the preference of the Western powers).”

But the most alarming yet perhaps the most accurate of Paul Craig Roberts’ observations is on the political motives of the US and its Western allies – the unchanged mindset in their continued desire to dominate and endlessly carry on the socio-cultural-economic exploitation of the entire Muslim world:

There have been numerous news reports that the US government has implemented a programme to destabilise Iran. There have been reports that the US government has financed bombings and assassinations within Iran. The US media treats these reports in a braggadocio manner as illustrations of the American ‘superpower’s’ ability to bring dissenting countries to heel, while some foreign media see these reports as evidence of the US government’s inherent immorality.

As a person who has seen it all from inside the US government, I believe that the purpose of the US government’s manipulation of the American and puppet government media is to discredit the Iranian government by portraying the Iranian government as an oppressor of the Iranian people and a frustrater of the Iranian people’s will. This is how the US government is setting up Iran for military attack. It is for the Iranian nation to democratically defend itself and for the rest of the Muslim world to join together to diplomatically defeat the Anglo-American designs. We must not forget that the present ongoing propaganda warfare against Iran’s presidential election is an instrumental application of the West’s traditional and powerful organised violence against all of us – against all nations, against all people, including ignorant, innocent, brain-washed Americans. We are all in it together and must struggle against it! It is an opportune moment for our political, moral, democratic and intellectual revival! The American masses should join us too! How long will the American people continue to support war after war after war? How long will they support this mindlessness – This organised media violence against humanity!?

The writer is a professor, political analyst and conflict-resolution expert. E-mail: hl_mehdi@hotmail.com

Swat & Beyond – Reflections of an Arm Chair Subedar Major

Hamid Hussain

ASI Assistant Sub Inspector DSP Deputy Superintendent of Police FC Frontier Corps GHQ General Head Quarters IED Improvised Explosive Device IDP Internally Displaced Person LEAs Law Enforcement Agencies MG Major General NLI Northern Light Infantry N.W.F.P. North West Frontier Province SSG Special Services Group SHO Station House Officer Subedar Major A Sergeant Major equivalent rank of Pakistan army

Table of Abbreviations

‘We must be clear sighted in the beginning, for, as in their budding we discern not the danger, soon in their full growth we perceive not the remedy.’ Montaigne

Changed Battlefield

‘Religion becomes a dangerous arm when one knows how to make use of it.’ Frederick the Great

- Militants had two years to prepare their battleground. Initial base was in the mountains with training, logistics and command facilities. The region was acting as base area of foot soldiers and a spring board for forays into neighboring districts. In 2007, army pushed militants back deep into mountains but in view of lack of general public support it had to call off the operation. Militants came back to hamlets, villages and main towns and pretty soon government authority evaporated like thin mist disappears on sunrise. General public and law enforcement agencies including police and constabulary were sidelined very quickly by most brutal atrocities. This included beheadings (many of them videotaped and put on internet), public executions (also available on internet) and destruction and forced occupation of houses. Government buildings including schools were destroyed. In the aftermath of the so called peace deal or Nizam-e-Adal regulation, Swat ceased to exist as part of the state of Pakistan. Those who could leave left the area while others who could not leave simply tried to live with new rulers (i.e. inviting local militant commanders for dinners). What else they could do? They were like an abused wife abandoned by everyone to live with a new abusive husband who had forced himself to get satisfaction.

- Pakistani public then got the rude awakening when triumphant militants started to show their cards. The crowning moment was when Sufi Muhammad of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-Muhammadi (TSNM) declared all not adhering to his version as apostates. His long list of apostates also included justices of higher courts and clerics. It was not a pretty sight and many Pakistanis now started to demand action by government to recover the lost ground. The day of reckoning came sooner than expected. Military’s calculation changed with increased public support. As one Colonel operating in the Swat area put it, ‘fighting insurgency in one’s own country is hell; but it feels a lot better when the nation is behind you’.

What was done Right?

‘War is an art and as such is not susceptible of explanation by fixed formula’. General George Patton

- Use of decent number of troops. Troops from 7^th Division (Peshawar based commanded by MG Naveed Zaman), 19^th Division (Mangla based division commanded by MG Sajjad Ghani), 37^th Division (Gujranwala based division commanded by MG Ijaz Hussain Awan) and SSG troops (commanded by MG Haroon Aslam. Previous commander of SSG late MG Amir Faisal Alvi used to lead his troops even in the field and accompanied in many missions) and FC troops (commanded by MG Tariq Khan) are operating in the area.

- Use of decent mix of troops; i.e. regular troops, SSG, FC. Sniper teams have been deployed at crucial ridges, however details of their success can not be analyzed due to the secrecy.

- SSG operated aggressively in securing crucial heights and securing Peochar valley and in the process paid a heavy price with a number of officers and soldiers killed and wounded.

- Northern Light Infantry (NLI) battalions have been introduced in the area. Majority of soldiers of NLI are from northern areas and familiar with the mountainous terrain. More importantly, they see extremists who are staunchly sectarian as existential threat and their heart and soul is in the fight.

- This time someone paid attention to geography and there was good homework. Possible escape routes were adequately plugged. In north Swat borders northern area and Chitral where population is deeply hostile to Taliban. In 1980s the fathers of neo-Taliban marauded the area and memories of that time are fresh among the population. In view of this reality and difficult terrain not much troops were deployed in that area. On the north-eastern border is the district of Kohistan and on southeast Shangla. Troops were inserted from these areas as well as in blocking positions. Some militants escaping from Swat landed in Shangla but army quickly tackled them preventing them from entrenching there. Now militants are moving out of Shangla to more remote areas such as Kala Dhaka. In northern Swat, a division strength force is operating against extremists. On the western border of Swat lie Upper and Lower Dir districts. Troops deployed in Dir engaged local militants to prevent reinforcements reaching to Swat and so far they have been successful to keep militants busy. Local armed villagers in Dir are also harassing militants preventing them to entrench in isolated areas. In south lies the Buner district and a small tip in southwestern area borders Malakand region. Links of Swati militants are strongest with militants in Dir and Malakand and this region will see more prolonged fighting. Quarantine of Swat is not perfect but so far military has been successful in forcing extremists to take stand.

- Simultaneous attacks from periphery inwards by regular troops and dropping SSG deeper in strongholds in mountains disrupted command structure of militants forcing commanders to flee.

- Militant’s stronghold in Peochar valley of Swat is being cleared now.

- Artillery and air assets were limited to militants known bases in mountains and not used liberally in major towns. This increased the risk to troops and they sacrificed more but it was the price worth paying to avoid large scale damage.

- In some cases where houses were occupied by militants, locals gave approval for targeting them to slay the demons.

- Aggressive posture was adopted in other tribal areas. In Bajawar, military has been trying to clean that area and militant’s stronghold in Charmang is being squeezed from different sides. In Waziristan, where militants tried to assemble in Jani Khel area for assault on nearby town of Bannu to distract military were tackled forcefully and given a sound beating. Similarly, militant strongholds in Darra Adam Khel and Orakzai agency were pounded to keep them off balance.

- In addition to military aspect, a special support group headed by Mangla Corps Commander Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmad was given the task of helping IDPs and provide assistance to civilians stuck in the cross fire in violent areas. This group has tried its best but the task is enormous in view of large number of IDPs.

Way Forward

‘When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing.’ Sun Tzu

- In addition to ongoing operations, military and intelligence officials on ground need to keep channels open with remote local communities. They should be encouraged and supported to keep harassing the militants. In early stages when strength of militants is small and their hold precarious is the best time for local communities to strike. If you wait too long, then you loose local support because they are coerced by extremists by that time. Government should keep it’s momentum to keep militants on the run.

- This time operations should be taken to their logical conclusions both in Swat and rest of the troubled territories. In case of Swat, after pushing militants out the twin task of restoring civilian authority and constant vigilance to prevent comeback of militants will need practical but long term planning.

- There are two possible approaches for next rounds of the battle in other areas.. The demon is multi-headed hydra with some fangs more poisonous than others. One approach is to go after the big kill in Waziristan first to finish off Baitullah Mahsud’s gang. Second approach is to first go after small fish in other tribal agencies such as Khyber, Orakzai, Mohmand to squeeze the air out of the rat holes and retreating militants coming to Waziristan are then dealt a final blow. In the meantime, aggressive posture should be maintained to reduce Baitullah’s fiefdom. Final slaying of the demon should then be carefully planned.

- Operation in Waziristan will need coordination with Afghanistan and U.S. Details can be worked out depending on the local conditions.

- Mohmand agency may be a model for next round of operations in other agencies. Bajawar and Mohmand agencies were testing grounds for new FC. In Mohmand agency, in the last one year, extremists have been pushed out of crucial areas and room is provided for traditional leadership to reassert some control. More importantly, in Mohmand, FC is running the show and regular troops are used only on as needed basis. FC is the right instrument and good training and equipment as well as successes will increase the morale of the force.

- Shia Turis of Kurram agency have faced the brunt of extremist wrath. It is time to win Turis back and help arrange a long term truce with their Sunni tribal rivals to isolate extremists.

- One lesson from the whole painful saga of the last few years is plain and simple. At the earliest sign of Rabies, put the infected puppies to sleep otherwise you risk quick spread of the disease. This seems an extreme measure but risks and benefits should be dispassionately analyzed. To save the lives, honor and economic future of Pakistan in general and Pushtuns in particular even painful and extreme options need careful analysis. Surprisingly, a large number of people especially Pushtuns from various backgrounds have come around to this conclusion. I personally know many of them who have not even killed a chicken for personal consumption but after seeing the brutalities of extremists they are now of the view that to save the future of their coming generations some drastic measures are urgently needed.

- Even those who are not supporting military operations have candidly expressed the view that extremist leadership needs to be liquidated to remove the cloud of fear hanging over the head of general public.

- Human life is sacred and taking a human life is a serious business. It puts a heavy weight on the mind, heart and soul of anyone who has to make this painful decision. An institutional process to look into this matter may be a cumbersome but better option than individual decision. Israeli model may be something to look into. In Israel, state sponsored assassination is secret but authorized at the highest level with intelligence agencies providing basic information and then judicial branch providing legal base followed by final decision by political leadership. Regardless of which option is considered it is a painful task and needs careful analysis of all aspects.

- Another theme to ponder is ‘not to put the lizard in your mouth. You will neither be able to swallow nor spit it out’. The question is whether first and second tier leaders of extremists who have owned their own treacherous and murderous deeds should be arrested and taken through the labyrinth of normal judiciary. Who will try them and who will be witness? In previous cases no witness has come forward to give testimony in anti-terrorist courts and many judges of these courts have been murdered. Are special judicial or military courts a viable option ? Is their crime so blatant to which they have confessed in their interviews without any pressure that guilt need not be further confirmed and sentencing phase should be the next step? These are all important questions which need serious discussion.

- If it is decided that some dogs need to be put to sleep then specialized hunter-killer teams of police, police constabulary, FC and army should be trained and put in operation with close supervision.

- Battle needs to be taken to the wolves’ den and not waiting for them to come out and strike at their will.

- Current support for military operations should not be seen as a blank check. Public support will be neither unconditional nor perpetual. Military will need constant review of its operations to minimize unwanted side effects and keep public support and goodwill.

- There is lot of suspicion and hesitation on part of general public which is crucial in tribal areas. Tribesmen complain that they were encouraged to stand up to extremists but when they did, army after cutting deals with extremists left them to be devoured by demons. Extremists took a terrible toll brutally killing many and forcing remaining to flee. Another lesson, ‘If you don’t do it right first time, more blood and treasure is wasted to correct mistakes and then do it right.’ In the process you loose the vital asset which is population support. According to some counter-insurgency gurus, in fact the center of gravity in counterinsurgency is population. Army has to work overtime to convince tribesmen that this time they are playing for the win. Taking back Waziristan will the most difficult task and will need careful calculations. Extremist structure in other tribal agencies is not as well entrenched as in North & South Waziristan.

- Operating in one’s own area is not an easy job and all aspects need careful attention and constant revision. Units which are being deployed should be thoroughly briefed that they are not operating in a hostile territory but to selectively root out extremists. It is quite natural that soldiers will be emotional and angry where their comrades are killed and injured. They will perceive the whole area as hostile. Officers of all ranks from Second Lieutenant to Lieutenant General need to keep their own cool and have to constantly engage their men to reinforce the message. It will be a tragedy that after so much sacrifice, army looses the goodwill of the population.

- Small groups of male members from IDP camps should be taken to their areas which are cleared by the army and relatively safe. They can tend to their crops and orchards under security and if area is calm for a while they will communicate with their family and friends thus encouraging early return of these IDPs at least to major towns.

- Military should constantly review their security paradigm in areas which have been cleared. Local population should be treated with respect. Security measures and what is required from civilians in terms of approach to a checkpoint or driving a vehicle should be announced periodically on local radio stations and posted at mosques or local gathering places.

Holistic View

‘Courage among civilized peoples consists in a readiness to sacrifice oneself for the political community.’ G.W. Hegel

Army leadership knows the limitations of such difficult operations and so far signs are encouraging that they are listening and treating others with some respect. I think now they know that they are in the same boat with other passengers and they will need civilian help to plug the holes in the boat. In a recent gathering at GHQ army chief, FC commandant, police officials and politicians of NWFP were sitting on the same table. They were forced to sit on the table together because all of them are in the gun sights of the militants. Members of army, FC, police, civilian bureaucracy and politicians have all been beheaded, shot and bombed by the militants. Mutual respect and trust will strengthen each party and ease the painful journey ahead. It was heartening to see two Major Generals pinning bravery medals on an indomitable police officer Hussain Badshah. He was Station House Officer of a police station in Swat. When 34 out of 40 policemen serving with him left for their homes, he refused to be cowed down by extremist’s brutality and held on to his position under constant attack from all sides. Finally, he took all his remaining men along with all weapons through a gauntlet of fire to nearby FC picket which was in turn commanded by indomitable Subedar Fazal Karim. He was commanding a 42 men contingent of FC and fought for 20 days when he was completely surrounded until military broke the siege.

Way Forward

- Keep the united front. All passengers of the boat will float or sink together. Pakistan’s nemesis is now extremist militancy which will bring nothing but blood and tears to the nation. This single point agenda should be the focus. It is for Pakistanis to decide what is best for them but one hope that they will stop playing the smoke and mirrors game to bring clarity to the discussion.

- May be a little bit more thinking and reflection rather than looking for grand conspiracies will help a lot. The demons are very much Pakistan’s own and the exorcism will also be performed by Pakistanis themselves. It is a painful process but a necessary one to save the soul of the nation.

- It is ironic that those political forces which were always suspect in military’s eyes for being soft on national security are now on the side of the army. Pakistan Peoples Party, Awami National Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement are fully supporting army while military’s traditional allies including right leaning religio-politcial parties are either sitting on the fence or actively rooting for the other party.

- Military should not be hindering allocation of resources to FC and police. This should be seen as a long term investment. A robust and effective police, constabulary and FC will markedly decrease the use of army for firefighting missions.

- Recent examples of joint operations increased morale among all LEAs. Joint operations involving regular troops, FC, frontier constabulary and police will increase comradeship and morale. You build a bond with men when you fight together and die together . Recent incident in Mardan was a good example of this approach. A security convoy of police and FC was hit by an IED injuring many. A special group of FC led by Major Asad rushed to the spot and chased the militants. In ensuing gun battle, policemen, FC personnel and army officers fought together and died together. Those who gave their lives included an ace army officer Captain Meraj Muhammad Khan ( a sword of honor winner cavalry officer who had volunteered to serve with FC), indomitable Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Fareed Hussain Bangash, Station House Officer (SHO) Sherullah Khan , Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Hanan Khan and two constables; Laiq Shah & Nazir Khan. These six brave men and ace officers of police and army gave supreme sacrifice.

- Police was outgunned right from the start and this matter should be handled carefully. Those who left their posts under grave threats should not be penalized and allowed to fade away. Those who stood their ground under extreme circumstances should be acknowledged and all those policemen who remained at their posts should be given next rank. New recruits should be a delicate mix of locals and non-locals as well as some fit retired armed forces personnel.

- Police stations should be reconstructed and manned by police & Frontier Constabulary with good back up from FC. Troops should be moved out of secured areas as soon as possible and kept in cantonments nearby.

- Army needs to carefully review the planning for the ‘day after’ when major operations are concluded. It can be either a quick handover or a fairly long stay to completely clean the area. In my view a middle approach is the best, not hastily handing over to a demoralized police and at the same time not controlling everything for too long thus further atrophying the police and civil bureaucracy. After cleaning up an area, police and civilian bureaucracy should be attached to local army detachment where officers and lower ranks interact with each other on regular basis thus helping in better understanding. This will also provide quick assistance from army resources. If a local civilian administrator needs humanitarian assistance, army’s logistics team can help. Similarly if a police post is seriously threatened then local police officer at the spot can call army back up quickly from his army liaison. This process needs to be decentralized to some extent to speed up the process and small things should not be stuck in the bureaucratic labyrinth.

- Civilians should also put their act together. It includes both government agencies and civil society. IDPs in camps are scared, hungry and fearful of their future. In coordination with civil society organizations, IDPs can be taught basic measures of hygiene, discipline etc. so that relief effort is smooth and quick. Policemen beating up old men in camps are not a pretty sight and efforts should be made to handle it differently.

- Even those who disagree with current military operations should be given patient hearing. Let the public decide whether they are on the right or wrong side of history. Political animals should be left to the electorate to deal with them in next elections. On any issue there can never be one hundred percent consensus. If majority approves a decision then it should be followed.

Deficits

‘War is the great auditor of institutions’. Corelli Barnett

- Lack of intelligence – This is the single most important handicap of the troops which is due to variety of reasons. There is very little penetration of inner sanctum of the extremists by Pakistani intelligence apparatus. Main reason is that instead of a political insurgency movement core leadership consists of a band of lunatic fraternity which has drunk heavily from extremist religious doctrine making inroads very difficult. Even deeper reconnaissance for tactical intelligence was scaled back when four SSG soldiers (Captain Najam Riaz, Captain Junaid Khan, Naik Shahid Rasul & Lance Naik Shakeel) were captured by militants and later brutally murdered. Local intelligence from residents was also very limited as majority of the population fled the area and even those who remained behind kept their mouths shut for two reasons. First they had seen daily displays of headless bodies in the main square of the town and second they were not sure whether troops were coming for good or for another fire fighting mission and after the departure of troops they will be left to face the brutality of the militants.

- Air and artillery assets are used against hardened targets of militants. This is a double edged sword and while it softens enemy and decreases potential casualties of soldiers, it has the potential of causing significant collateral damage.

Way Forward

‘It is not a question how much a man knows, but what use he can make of what he knows.’ Josiah Gilbert Holland

- The process to overcome the crucial deficit of intelligence will take time but correct steps should be taken right now to have various sets of ears and eyes to keep wolves on the run. In short term, FC especially Swat Scouts soldiers and army intelligence soldiers should be sent to IDP camps as liaison and teachers to develop relationship with inhabitants of different areas. This will need a good homework to make an intelligence map of the area where crucial areas are picked up and then contact is made with residents of those areas in different IDP camps. This should be the foundation stone of this operation followed by long term presence when civilian apparatus (i.e. police and intelligence bureau) is put in place.

- Militants and their spokespersons are using cellular phones for their announcements, communiqués and interviews. This pathetic exercise should come to an end as soon as possible. If the necessary equipment is not in the kitty of intelligence outfits, it should be bought from whosoever is willing to sell be it U.S. ,U.K., Israel. Pay few dollars more and you should be able to get what you want. From now onwards, no leader, commander, spokesperson should be able to make more than three calls. The new rule should be that ‘three phone calls and you are out’.

- As far as air and artillery use, there is no simple answer and each particular situation should be evaluated professionally and risks and benefits carefully analyzed. However, as a general rule the less use of these powerful instruments the better it is for overall operation.

Militant’s Response:

“If you are desirous of obtaining a great name, of becoming the founder of a sect or establishment, be completely mad; but be sure that your madness corresponds with the turn and temper of your age. Have in your madness reason enough to guide your extravagances, and to not forget to be excessively opinionated and obstinate. It is certainly possible that you may get hanged; but if you escape hanging, you will have altars erected to you”. Voltaire (1698-1778)

- Majority of first and second line commanders used their better sense to move out of the firing lane. Foot soldiers put up resistance in pockets but it was never a real threat.

- The mayhem was not completely chaotic but there was some sense in the madness. There is an old Chinese saying that ‘if you want to scare the monkeys; kill the chicken’. SOS signals were sent to other branches of the franchise and there was some response. Suicide brigades went in action to downgrade the morale by targeting security convoys, police. This had limited impact therefore they went after soft targets including civilian areas, bazaars, hotels and even mosques. This is severely testing the national morale.

- Militants in other areas are watching Swat operations carefully and bracing for the coming showdown.

Way Forward

- It is normal at battalion level that adversary is ridiculed and demonized to increase the morale of soldiers. Similar theme directed at general public is an attempt to isolate the enemy and gather public support for government action. However, at strategic level adversary should never be ridiculed but thoroughly studied professionally devoid of emotions and rhetoric. Old Chinese strategist Tao Te Ching warned that “No disaster is greater than slighting the enemy; For slighting the enemy borders on the loss of one’s treasures”.

- Militants are well trained and motivated. When they choose to take a stand they fight tenaciously.

- Militants have not given any quarter and they expect that no quarter will be given to them.

- These fundamental traits of militants should always be kept in mind when planning to confront them.

- Militant commanders in Swat and surrounding areas will retreat both in tree jungles as well as concrete jungles of large cities and wait for their time.

- Intelligence will be crucial both in local area as well as large cities to identify and then quietly eliminate these top layers of commanders. This is the single most important step to remove the cloud of fear over the head of general population.

- The labyrinth of tribal politics is a tricky one and very complex. In case of North & South Waziristan, first step should be splitting various militant leaders and organizations. It is important to understand that when Baitullah became the ‘big dog’ of the neighborhood, lesser mortals reached a détente with him for pure survival. There is a long history of fratricidal wars between various commanders based on tribal politics & influence and resources. Many such as Haji Turkistan (member of Bhittani tribe), Qari Zainuddin (member of Mahsud tribe), Hafiz Gul Bahadur (Madda Khel clan of Utmanzai Wazir tribe) and Mullah Nazir (Kakakhel sub clan of Zalikhel clan of Ahmadzai Wazir tribe) didn’t hug Baitullah out of love. They wanted to be invited to the dinner by Baitullah and not to be on the menu of Baitullah. If they see that storm is going to topple the ship of Baitullah, these rats will be the first one to jump the ship. Important thing to remember is that they may be dreaming of running the Islamic Emirate of Waziristan after the demise of Baitullah.

- Qari Zainuddin has shown his hostility towards Baitullah Mahsud but he does not have enough muscle to take Baitullah head on. He was recently assassinated after his anti-Baitullah diatribes. Turkistan has also started to sing like a canary denouncing Baitullah. Work should be done on all these commanders to at least keep them neutral during conflict with Baitullah. In dealing with this issue it should be crystal clear right from the start that purpose is not to replace red snake with green snake. They are all poisonous and color does not matter. Ultimate goal is elimination of all extremist groups. Anyone ready to tackle others groups should be clandestinely supported with money and weapons and then finally they in turn should be dispatched expeditiously at right moment so that all these extremists can have a great ‘pow wow’ in hell.

- Recent reports that some dissident commanders are allowed to recruit volunteers from settled areas adjacent to Waziristan to fight Baitullah is a bad strategy. They should be kept away from settled areas otherwise there is risk that military will loose trust of general public (if any still exists) because they will see that military again supporting some militants. Those who want to take on Baitullah should be given safe passage to Waziristan and kept clear of settled areas. They should be used for intelligence and driving Baitullah’s forces towards selected ‘killing fields’ where a clean up operation is then conducted. This should be an ‘equal opportunity’ operation. All leaders should be tagged and killed through targeted missions preferably anonymously.

- It will be naïve to expect that some local tribal or militant players will take care of the menace of extremism for Pakistani state and society. The problem is too complex and state has to use various elements at its disposal to reverse this phenomenon. Local players may be pawns in this game but they can never be given the role of king makers. This will prove disastrous in the long run.

Payback Times

‘In a divided country, when any man thinks himself injured, he applies to the head of his faction, who is obliged to assist him in seeking vengeance if he is to keep up his own reputation and interests, instead of discouraging violence.’ Machiavelli

- Once army achieved decent success, there were signs of locals trying to organize themselves. In Kalam, armed locals confronted retreating militants to prevent their entrenchment in the area. In Dir, after a suicide blast inside a mosque, enraged locals attacked militant strongholds. In three days over 1500 armed locals were engaging militants in tough firefights and encircled the villages where militants were holed in. This should be taken to its logical end and locals should be allowed to finish it off. This will increase their morale and give them the confidence that they can confront extremists on their own home ground.

- This example will also encourage locals in other tribal agencies to organize.

Way Forward

- Current operations are in Pushtun areas therefore role of Pushtun officers and men in various aspects of the operation are crucial.

- The role of Pushtun soldiers should be increased in intelligence, coordination with local communities, quick acceptance of mistakes and proper compensation and interaction with IDPs.

- Pushtu speaking officers and men should be on the forefront of interaction with media.

- Sacrifices of Pushtun officers and men should be highlighted sending a message that these men are fighting for their own land to protect their communities from the menace of extremism.

- If armed locals are used to patrol their communities then this effort will need careful coordination. A small group of Pushtu speaking officers and men should be attached as liaison with locals to coordinate all efforts and avoid friendly fire incidents. After coordination with locals to make sure that civilians are out of harm way, liaison officers can help locals to encircle militant positions. Air assets can be then brought out against entrenched positions of the militants. Locals are then allowed to finish the job.

- Local armed civilians should be under local traditional leadership. Government should provide some arms and ammunition to locals and arrange for patrolling of their neighborhoods. Every effort should be made to avoid emergence of warlords. Long term view should be kept in mind while pursuing this policy. Effective communication with local communities should be maintained and mistakes of the past should be avoided. In the past, government encouraged locals to take on the militants but then left them to the brutality of militants. Local leadership who stood up to militants suffered the brunt of the vengeance where assassinations, beheadings, bombings of jirgas and mosques broke the back of local leadership. It will take some time before local communities get back on their feet.

Tough Choices

‘Courage is of different kinds. The ferocity of animal, the bravado of the robber, the bravery due to a sense of honor or chivalry is not courage in the true sense…. Only the aim and the content of action give meaning to the feeling of ‘fearlessness’.’ G.W. Hegel

- Extremists have become an existential threat to Pakistan. These messengers of chaos and anarchy will bring nothing but blood and tears to the nation. If anyone thinks differently he doesn’t need more education but serious help.

- Some very difficult and painful choices lay ahead for Pakistan in dealing with the lunatic fringe. Before going towards the dark side, a dispassionate analysis of the damage done by extremist to the state and society needs to be done by the strategic community and clearly communicated to general public. Most Pakistanis will not recognize their own towns and cities which have become garrisons. Nothing has remained sacred and the perfidy perpetrated by the lunatics in the name of religion has shaken the very soul of the nation leaving it bewildered and traumatized. Bazaars, shops, hotels, government buildings, houses and even places of worship have become targets taking violence to a level which has not been seen in Pakistan before. Physical and psychological wounds are pretty deep.

- Non-violent approaches are the best instruments but when they fail what should be done and how? This is the million dollar question facing Pakistanis. It is always preferable that state should control and use means of violence to secure its citizens. What if state does not perform this vital function? What are the consequences for this inaction? First and foremost, nature abhors vacuum and if state retreats the vacuum is filled by warlords, mercenaries, freebooters etc. Secondly, as general rule violence is never one way. It very quickly becomes two ways and frequently multidimensional. Extremists have so far had a free ride where they have used all kinds of violence liberally against everyone who crossed their path. Lack of response so far should not fool Pakistanis.

- The anger and hatred which is developing has not been gauged correctly by many. Those who have suffered at the hands of the extremists and whose comrades and loved ones have been killed in most brutal ways are burning with anger. It includes ordinary folks, tribesmen, tribal elders, policemen and clerics. Recently, locals in Kalam area of Swat and upper Dir paid back militants in the same currency killing a number of extremists. If government is unwilling or unable to tackle this difficult problem then there is a clear and present danger that other non-state actors will emerge on the scene. These new forces which will confront extremists will be ethnic and sectarian. Most likely new militias will be either extensions of current organizations such as Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in case of Karachi, new armed wings of traditional Pushtun political entities such as Awami National Party (ANP) and Pukhtun Khwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) and revival of moribund armed outfits of Shia and Barelvi school of thought or we may see totally new players especially among Pushtuns in both tribal and settled areas. Baloch nationalist element may get entangled in this sooner than later because part of Taliban country in both Afghanistan and Pakistan is right in their backyard.

Way Forward

- Two fundamental questions facing Pakistan are what should be done and how it should be done to roll back the extremist threat? All voices should be given patient hearing to find best solutions.

- Best option is to have government authority back in place even if takes some time. Locals should be the source of information and pinpointing potential targets and violent means should be exercised by government carefully and methodically.

- In short term, if locals are encouraged to confront militants, homework is necessary to prevent unnecessary slaughter, confusion resulting in friendly fire incidents and destabilization of areas in the long term due to emergence of local warlords. Mistakes of Afghanistan should not be replicated in Pakistan.

- In the war against extremism, public support is crucial but every effort should be made to avoid emergence of local warlords. If this is not constantly kept in mind, there is a clear and present danger of fragmentation of Pakistan in the footsteps of Afghanistan.

- Local protection forces should be under traditional local leadership and elders. Recent experiment where government sponsored local warlords such as Mullah Nazir in Waziristan and Haji Namdar and Mangal Bagh in Khyber became a nuisance on their own is not the way forward. The biggest casualty of such amateur measures was lost of public confidence. It confused the general public creating doubts about government’s sincerity. Risks clearly outweighed any benefits from propping up some local thugs. In extreme cases if any such measure is needed in a particular locality it may be better to rent ‘killer for hire’ for specific job in return for adequate compensation. From days immemorial, tribal territories have produced ‘professional snipers’ for hire and locals have used them to eliminate adversaries to avoid vicious cycle of revenge killings. Some of these professionals charge a hefty sum per shot but very rarely they have to use second shot. This is the most cost effective way of eliminating top tier commanders of extremist outfits.

- There are no clearly defined boundaries of this conflict and a ‘cordon sanitaire’ can not be put in place to quarantine troubled areas. Battle lines go back all the way to cities, bazaars, hotels, schools and mosques.

- The battle is a long one which will need cooperation among different segments of government and society.

‘Consider not only present but future discords … If one waits until they are at hand, the medicine is no longer in time as the malady has become incurable.’ Machiavelli

Dr. Hamid Hussain is an independent analyst based in New York. For comments & critique coeusconsultant@optonline.net

A Dirty American Game In Pakistan

US weapons have mysteriously landed in the hands of terrorists in Pakistan. Now we have the Al Qaeda leadership freely accessing the foreign media in Afghanistan saying it would use Pakistani nukes against America. What is the US up to with Al Qaeda? Post-9/11 the world has had a memory lapse over the US-Al Qaeda connections – especially when Sudan offered Bin Laden to the US – but the latter allowed the Al Qaeda leader to move to Afghanistan.

By SHIREEN M. MAZARI
The News International.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan-Pakistanis cannot be allowed to savor joy and success peacefully. Just when the nation was tumultuously enjoying the magical victory of our cricket team, the hard reality of our hostile environment post-9/11 clouded over us once again.

For anyone who thought the US was not targeting our nuclear assets, the screaming headlines from the Afghan-based Al Qaeda leadership’s interview to Al Jazeera brought the issue to the forefront once again with claims that Al Qaeda would use our nuclear assets against the US if they could. The absurdity of the statement notwithstanding, it can be explained only if seen as part of the campaign to legitimize a US/NATO takeover of our nuclear assets since our security prevents the US from taking them out physically.

We have also seen US weapons mysteriously land in the hands of militants in Pakistan – now we have the Al Qaeda leadership freely having access to the foreign media in Afghanistan. What is the US up to with Al Qaeda? Post-9/11 the world has had a memory lapse over the US-Al Qaeda connections – especially when Sudan offered Bin Laden to the US – but the latter allowed the Al Qaeda leader to move to Afghanistan!

While our military has become embroiled in a “war” that cannot be won by conventional military means, the US continues to play dangerous games with Pakistan – and at multiple levels. The drone attacks continue under Obama since the first one he ordered three days after his inauguration as US president – which killed 15 Pakistanis. In fact just as the present government has gone the extra mile in ceding ground to the US in Pakistan, the Obama administration has expanded the drone policy and according to Jeremy Scahill in the first 99 days of 2009 more than 150 Pakistanis have been killed in these attacks.

His estimate is that since 2006 and up to April 2009 drones have killed 687 Pakistanis – apart from the identifiable militants. That comes to about 38 civilian deaths a month just from these drone attacks.

Nor is this all. The New York Times gave an interesting account of US military operations within Pakistan including US Special Forces commando raids in FATA across the international Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Even more of a wakeup call of US intent should be the $.9 billion of the first year ‘largesse’ under the Kerry-Lugar Bill that has been earmarked for the construction of the new US embassy in Islamabad – a huge fortress right behind the presidency and the prime minister’s secretariat. If Iraq is anything to go by we may soon have US private security companies like the notorious Blackwater plus hundreds of other contractors. While US human intelligence will not gain in quality we will have a meddling US presence across our state institutions and civil society which will be damaging in the long term to our national wellbeing.

We are already hearing of the CIA chief visiting us followed by Obama’s special representative general James Jones. Both these officials will also be visiting India and the general thrust seems to be to push Pakistan into accepting an Indian military presence in Afghanistan. Interestingly General Jones also has strong ties to US business including Boeing and Chevron. Meanwhile there is no let down on focusing on our nuclear assets, which is why Prime Minister Gilani was compelled to finally, after a year of silent tolerance, demand that the US stop using a discriminatory approach towards Pakistan’s nuclear program, including the search for civilian nuclear power.

But there is discrimination and the new line of attack that has been opened is the Al Qaeda statement – following the numerous US official and media statements expressing “fear” of US nukes falling into militant hands! Surely just as the discovery of US/Israeli arms on militants in Pakistan raised serious questions as to the role/linkages of outside forces to militant outfits within Pakistan, so the new development is hardly without its linkage to an overall plan against our nuclear assets. Once again, the fact is that unless the Pakistan military is weakened from within, the assets cannot be accessed at all. Hence the need of the US to get the military bogged down in a conventional battle against unconventional foes in Swat and FATA – without any overarching political strategy visible from the government.

Ironically, while plots against our nuclear assets continue, it is developments in other countries that reveal the lack of strong security measures at nuclear installations in these places. On 22nd June, anti-nuclear activists managed to break through security at the German Unterweser nuclear power plant and actually scaled the dome of the plant. More disturbing has been the story, now surprisingly blocked out, about the Indian nuclear scientist Lokanathan Mahalingam, who disappeared or was abducted, and was later found dead from the Kali river. Mahalingam had also disappeared ten years earlier while he was working at another sensitive Indian nuclear location – the Kalpakkam nuclear complex.

India’s nuclear and missile security has revealed many shortcomings and in 2006 Dr. Tiwari involved in space research was also shot dead.

There have been stories of an underground network of Hindu extremists and Indian scientists involved in technology transfers to and from India and Israel. Indian scientists were also discovered at Iran’s Bushehr plant. So it is strange as to why the US and the IAEA continue to keep silent over India’s possible private proliferation rings as well as the weak safety of its nuclear and missile installations and sites? Equally puzzling is official Pakistani silence on these issues.

It is similar to the questionable manner in which our official institutions declare that there are Indians/US links to militant outfits in Pakistan, but then fail to give details or to take up these issues with the countries concerned. What is the Pakistani state playing at or fearful of? Is it not time the nation was told about the sources of funding and weapons for the militants in specific terms to give credibility to these allegations? Or will all the “militants” be “killed” before we can learn crucial facts about US double dealing and Indian destabilization of Pakistan. That is why arrest and trial of the militant leadership in anti-terror courts, rather than their killing, is essential for our nation and state’s long term security.

As for India, while Pakistan is also under pressure to resume the bilateral dialogue, our seeming haste seems to have sent the wrong signals to India. That is why we saw the sheer bad behavior on the part of India’s Manmohan Singh towards President Zardari in Russia. Too bad the latter was unable to respond in kind. But we can still send the correct message to the Indians by refusing to have a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NAM conference in Egypt.

Dialogue is certainly desirable but only when the intent of the two sides is honest in terms of conflict resolution. So far the Indian intent is clearly not focused on this aspect. So perhaps it would be good to wait till India realizes the need to move towards conflict resolution with Pakistan in a holistic fashion. It may take pleasure in our leadership’s refusal to bring up the K word but without any movement on Kashmir, the dialogue will eventually run aground as always. For Pakistan it is also essential to know its maximalist and minimalist positions in clear terms – both, of necessity, being premised on giving Kashmiris their right to self-determination.

Things are moving fast, and there is a crucial need for the Pakistani state to step back and look at the larger picture so that inclusive policies can be formulated to deal with the threat of extremism, militancy on a long term basis by denying them space in our society; and to protect our nation and its nuclear assets from US designs.

Finally, it is sad to see that while the Pakistani state has seemingly abandoned the Kashmiris in Occupied Kashmir, these brave people continue to rally round Pakistan in a most instinctive way. So it was with the T20 World Cup where the Kashmiris in Occupied Kashmir joined the Pakistani nation in celebrating the Pakistani victory. Did anyone else in our neighborhood do the same?

What cricket has come to mean

Sunday’s victory in the final of the second Twenty-20 World Cup cricket tournament at Lord’s has sent Pakistan reeling with incredulous joy. In the cities, youths were out parading the streets late at night with national flags fluttering in the wind. The traditional sweets were distributed amid a chant of “Pakistan Zindabad”. Not even the most restrained and understated personality was able to keep control of the emotion that welled up within. Something extraordinary has happened; some collective chord has been struck which defies interpretation.

The scene on TV was bristling with ironies. Expatriate Pakistanis at Lord’s in London were clearly feeling the thrust of these ironies. Judged by any yardstick, they were the most depressed segment of Pakistan in the world before the match. In March this year the Sri Lankan team was attacked in Lahore by the terrorists; some of its players were wounded; but the real casualty was Pakistan’s cricket. More than that, the incident had killed hope. The attack had come from a terrorist warlord ruling from the Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The aim was the defeat of Pakistan as a state. And the impression the people of Pakistan got was that terror was winning against the state.

More or less the same team that was attacked in March had remained unbeaten in the Twenty-20 World Cup. Sri Lanka had sailed into the final of the tournament without much difficulty. As the two teams faced off on the field, one of three match umpires was the same who had narrowly escaped being killed at the hands of the terrorists in Lahore. It was recalled that after the incident, his statement was among the bitterest issued against the management of the series in Pakistan. But it is a tribute to the spirit of the game that he stood in judgement over the match on Sunday and decided each appeal fairly in favour of Pakistan.

The Pakistani team was symbolically led by a Pashtun, Younis Khan, one of the three in the team whose mother tongue is Pashto, the same spoken by warlord Baitullah Mehsud who has proved to be the scourge of the Pashtun people before threatening the very existence of the state of Pakistan. All-rounder Shahid Afridi, whose co-tribesmen are suffering under the savage rule of a local warlord in Khyber, lifted himself from a long trough of indifferent batting to shine with two consecutive fifties in the semi-final and the final against West Indies and Sri Lanka. His bowling was to be the mainstay of Pakistan’s overall performance in the tournament.

The second symbolic challenge to Baitullah Mehsud was the bowling of another Pashtun, Umar Gul, who ended up with the biggest haul of wickets in an international Twenty-20 match. The victories in the two matches in the run-up to the final could not have been possible without him. The man who was expected to do the job Gul did was Suhail Tanvir, the fast bowler from Punjab. He was the bowler the teams feared most, but miraculously he failed to fire throughout the championship, as if to make possible an appropriate symbolic display of Pakistan’s struggle against terrorism.

Captain Younis Khan was “realistic” to begin with. His predictions were balanced rather than optimistic. There was no boasting. When in the earlier matches Pakistan typically did badly some critics lost patience with him even though his personal performance with the bat was a rebuke to the other more flamboyant batsmen. In his case too, the stage was set as if by Providence to complete the message the national cricket team was to send in all directions: to the world that is sceptical of Pakistan’s ability to fight the warlords; to the cricketers who were refusing to play in Pakistan; and to the ICC who could decide the fortunes of cricket in Pakistan by tightening the purse-strings on Pakistan Cricket Board.

It is inappropriate to call it just a “feel-good gift”. In fact it is more significant than the victory gained in the One-Day World Cup in 1992. Today, the nation is united against a challenge to its very survival. The army is fighting the terrorists successfully, defying analyses that guerrilla wars go on forever. The terrorists were symbolically killing Pakistani culture. The match at Lord’s has symbolically pushed the enemies of civilisation back and regained for us the ground we had lost at home.

What cricket has come to mean

Sunday’s victory in the final of the second Twenty-20 World Cup cricket tournament at Lord’s has sent Pakistan reeling with incredulous joy. In the cities, youths were out parading the streets late at night with national flags fluttering in the wind. The traditional sweets were distributed amid a chant of “Pakistan Zindabad”. Not even the most restrained and understated personality was able to keep control of the emotion that welled up within. Something extraordinary has happened; some collective chord has been struck which defies interpretation.

The scene on TV was bristling with ironies. Expatriate Pakistanis at Lord’s in London were clearly feeling the thrust of these ironies. Judged by any yardstick, they were the most depressed segment of Pakistan in the world before the match. In March this year the Sri Lankan team was attacked in Lahore by the terrorists; some of its players were wounded; but the real casualty was Pakistan’s cricket. More than that, the incident had killed hope. The attack had come from a terrorist warlord ruling from the Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The aim was the defeat of Pakistan as a state. And the impression the people of Pakistan got was that terror was winning against the state.

More or less the same team that was attacked in March had remained unbeaten in the Twenty-20 World Cup. Sri Lanka had sailed into the final of the tournament without much difficulty. As the two teams faced off on the field, one of three match umpires was the same who had narrowly escaped being killed at the hands of the terrorists in Lahore. It was recalled that after the incident, his statement was among the bitterest issued against the management of the series in Pakistan. But it is a tribute to the spirit of the game that he stood in judgement over the match on Sunday and decided each appeal fairly in favour of Pakistan.

The Pakistani team was symbolically led by a Pashtun, Younis Khan, one of the three in the team whose mother tongue is Pashto, the same spoken by warlord Baitullah Mehsud who has proved to be the scourge of the Pashtun people before threatening the very existence of the state of Pakistan. All-rounder Shahid Afridi, whose co-tribesmen are suffering under the savage rule of a local warlord in Khyber, lifted himself from a long trough of indifferent batting to shine with two consecutive fifties in the semi-final and the final against West Indies and Sri Lanka. His bowling was to be the mainstay of Pakistan’s overall performance in the tournament.

The second symbolic challenge to Baitullah Mehsud was the bowling of another Pashtun, Umar Gul, who ended up with the biggest haul of wickets in an international Twenty-20 match. The victories in the two matches in the run-up to the final could not have been possible without him. The man who was expected to do the job Gul did was Suhail Tanvir, the fast bowler from Punjab. He was the bowler the teams feared most, but miraculously he failed to fire throughout the championship, as if to make possible an appropriate symbolic display of Pakistan’s struggle against terrorism.

Captain Younis Khan was “realistic” to begin with. His predictions were balanced rather than optimistic. There was no boasting. When in the earlier matches Pakistan typically did badly some critics lost patience with him even though his personal performance with the bat was a rebuke to the other more flamboyant batsmen. In his case too, the stage was set as if by Providence to complete the message the national cricket team was to send in all directions: to the world that is sceptical of Pakistan’s ability to fight the warlords; to the cricketers who were refusing to play in Pakistan; and to the ICC who could decide the fortunes of cricket in Pakistan by tightening the purse-strings on Pakistan Cricket Board.

It is inappropriate to call it just a “feel-good gift”. In fact it is more significant than the victory gained in the One-Day World Cup in 1992. Today, the nation is united against a challenge to its very survival. The army is fighting the terrorists successfully, defying analyses that guerrilla wars go on forever. The terrorists were symbolically killing Pakistani culture. The match at Lord’s has symbolically pushed the enemies of civilisation back and regained for us the ground we had lost at home.

The Lord’s Victory

Editor: Mumtaz Hamid Rao (Pakistan Times)

True to nation’s aspires and expectations – Pakistan Cricket Team – has once again taken the marvelous image of the grand nation to the highest altitudes by captivating matchless ovation from each and every pragmatic soul and spirit – irrespective of one’s faith, cast, color, creed or credo.

As matter of fact this magnificent appreciation for our zestful Cricketers didn’t remain confined to the lush-green lawns of Lord’s in the UK or on the lovely soils of Pakistan – but the entire world has showered bouquets of fragrant flowers on the team – which has revived the truth that it is really a taxing task to contest in any arena – the great nation – Pakistan.

The great, grand and grandiose victory in Twenty20 World Cup tie at the Lord’s – by all means manifests the real and superior image of Pakistan – which has by and large been targeted with a negative onslaught – specifically by the media in the West sans any logic or raison d’être.

Amid this splendid triumph – global media and the leaders with pragmatic vision [except India] – have eventually acknowledged that of-course Pakistan is a nation – par excellence. At home, the unique victory has surfaced visible delight on every face – which previously looked depressed due to the overall national scenario – hit by nasty terrorists, extremists and miscreants at multiple places of the sacrosanct soil.

Of-course amid the courageous, bold and daring operation – set-off by the brave, valiant and gallant armed forces to eliminate the scourge forever even with supreme sacrifices – Pakistan’s victory at the Lord’s has helped infuse a new spirit and fresh confidence among people – irrespective of their age or gender.

To recap – in a well-deserved victory at Lord’s on Sunday – Pakistan clinched World Twenty20 title defeating rival Sri Lanka by eight wickets.

As is indexed in the history, this is the first major victory of the nation in cricket after a pause of seventeen years – as it was in 1992 when Imran Khan’s team lifted the World Cup by beating England in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.

Thus, this win carried much significance for the country and augurs well for the future of cricket not only in Pakistan but also in Asia. It was indeed one of the most difficult and high pressure match – yet individual as well as collective excellence by players – led to the proud outcome as the entire nation burst into joy the moment Afridi waved the magic bat.

The victory sent a wave of jubilation across the country with people from all segments of the society coming out on roads – even beyond midnight – to express their joy – filled with excitement. There was aerial firing and fireworks and cricket fans danced on roads to rejoice the vital conquest.

Amid this setting – it is all the more significant that the victory lifted the sagging morale of the nation – which is engaged in a struggle to defeat terrorists at all cost. By now, the current situation in the country was sending dismal signals to the people – as bomb blasts and suicide attacks – have become a routine, crime rate is on the rise and people are groaning under sky-rocketing inflation.

Under these circumstances, the victory of the team at Lord’s has correctly been phrased as ‘feels a good gift for the nation’ – by most of the analysts. Initially – there were not many expectations as performance of the team left much to be desired – but with the passage of time and with every match the pace improved and ultimately resulted into the remarkable win.

As we look at it, every member of the team contributed a lot under the leadership of Younis Khan. Shahid Afridi hit a career-best 54 off 40 balls – playing the lead role in an unbeaten third wicket stand of 76 with Shoaib Malik to hand Pakistan a dream victory. Kamran Akmal and Shahzeb Hassan gave a 48-run opening, with Akmal hitting an entertaining 37 off 28 balls that included two sixes and two fours.

The performance of the vigorous teenagers was mainly impressive as it was a fully charged, difficult and trying event – yet they demonstrated remarkable stamina, control and confidence that paved the way for the success of the team.

Virtually, Pakistani nation has immense potential to excel in all walks of life. The very fact that the country achieved mastery over the world’s most difficult and sophisticated nuclear technology is also reflective of this potential. That is why we feel sorry when some domestic circles and sections of the Western media try to present negative picture of the country because of stray incidents that are not peculiar to Pakistan.

Every country has some pluses and minuses but they are not jolted the way Pakistan is made target of negative propaganda. At the same time – it is regrettable that our leadership has not been able to rise to the occasion and fulfill obligations – as it is ought to do so.

We are of the view that the nation can march forward on the path of peace, progress and prosperity – only if the leadership works hard to ensure good governance, rule of law, justice and upholding of merit, fairplay – with sagacity and equilibrium as the hallmark.

While feeling optimistic that the egalitarians shall fulfill the desires and aspires of people who reposed confidence and elevated them to the highest status as members of the parliament – and even to the apex corridors of power – in the same style as our team has done – with utmost vigor and sincerity.

As the nation congratulates the marvelously-led Cricket Team – it shall shower identical flora of aromatic praise and admiration for the leadership – as is said; ‘A leader is one; who knows the way, goes the way and leads they way’.