Miliband, others blast Cameron for anti-Pakistan remarks

Statement shakes up British diplomacy, sparks terror row with Islamabad

By Murtaza Ali Shah

LONDON: Former British Foreign Secretary Labour leadership hopeful David Miliband became the highest profile British politician to condemn Prime Minister David Cameron, accusing him of being a “loudmouth” over his remarks about Pakistan’s record on terrorism.

The former foreign secretary was speaking as the row continued over comments Cameron made during his trip to India in which the PM accused Pakistan of “exporting terrorism”, effectively endorsing Indian viewpoint.

Miliband said there was a “big difference between straight talking and being a loudmouth” as he claimed Cameron had been “going off script” in recent public statements.

Miliband said everyone had “two ears and one mouth” and it was important to use them “in that proportion” when it came to foreign policy.

Cameron caused anger in Islamabad when he warned that Pakistan should not be allowed “to promote the export of terror” in the world. Cameron has denied his comments had overshadowed his trip. “I don’t think it’s overshadowed anything,” he said. “I think it’s important to speak frankly and clearly about these issues. I have always done that in the past and will do so in the future.”

Miliband accused Cameron of only “telling half the story”, pointing out that thousands of innocent civilians in Pakistan had been killed by terrorism.

Put to him that it was “pretty strong” to accuse the prime minister of being a loudmouth he said: “Well, I think there is a big difference between straight-talking and being a loudmouth.

He told BBC Radio 4′s The World At One: “It is very, very important that the prime minister, who in three unscripted appearances at press conferences has gone off script and has said, as I say, in the Pakistan case half the story, understands that we have got two ears and one mouth and it is very important to use them in that proportion.”

Miliband denied he was point scoring as part of his leadership campaign on a serious situation. He said: “It is a very serious situation and that is why I say, as I always did when I went to Islamabad, Pakistan must go further and faster in dealing with the terrorism that has been launched from its own midst.”

“But it is also important to recognise how much Pakistan itself has suffered from the terrorism that afflicts the whole of south Asia,” he said. He added: “I think it is very important that we speak plainly, but we speak the whole truth. Pakistan has been a launching pad for terrorism but remember we need to work with the Pakistani authorities against the terrorist groups that go across the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. We are not going to do that if we just say that they are in league with terrorists.”

Former chief of the Defence Staff Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, also a former emissary to Pakistan, told the programme: “The prime minister made some remarks, some people will say they weren’t helpful, I am sure.”

Pakistan’s high commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, said the country had been “really hurt” by his outspoken comments and called on him to “make amends.”

Hasan told the BBC that he hoped it was a “slip of the tongue” and had not been meant as a “slight.” The high commissioner said: “He is new in government, maybe he will learn soon and he will know how to handle things. I hope he will make amends and he will pacify the people of Pakistan as well as the government of Pakistan because it has been taken here very adversely, people are really hurt.”

Earlier speaking to The News, British parliamentarians and campaigners called on the British premier to apologise to Pakistani nation and stop being patronising.

Britain’s Stop the War Coalition called on David Cameron to apologise to Pakistani people for deeply hurting them and patronising them.

Lindsey German, the convenor of the anti-war coalition, advised David Cameron to first read the recent evidence given to the Chilcot panel by the former head of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller.

Kashmir In Question

INDIA IS NOT BEHIND ISRAEL, IS IT?

By Insha Malik

Kashmir has been a political conflict since the time it shifted its governance base from the Dogra rule to India, almost sixty years old. For long it has been ignored in the mainstream politics in India, reducing the Indian extended rule in Kashmir to a pure occupational hegemony. The tumultuous conditions, in which the people have been subjected to live, have reduced the value of human life. Violence has become the part of the social fabric. The heavy daunting militarization which is to guard the boundaries has crept into the local dialect and comprises of people’s childhood memories. The total disregard for life and human rights is visible everywhere, so much so even the freedom of expression and protest is curbed. The memory has played a vital role in keeping alive the lost ones and aggravating the sentiment. The civilian population was the worst affected during the 1989′s armed struggle in Kashmir as it became a deliberate target to India’s counter-terrorism strategy. But even after the peace was thought to have prevailed in the valley, the civilian deaths and the cold blooded murders by the Indian army have continued in one or the other way. The latest uprising or mass people’s movement is also instigated by such incidents that are locally regarded as unjust and repressive.

The recent uprising

The year 2010 is marked as the ‘year of teenage killings’ in Kashmir for the reasons that are obvious to its people. Since January 2010, 25 civilians have been killed by the Indian troopers so far. Reoccurrence of such incidents often forces people to take to streets. The common man on the street interprets such killings as genocide. The current state politics has moved in a deadly direction from June 2010, where the State of Jammu and Kashmir headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has almost declared a death sentenceover the entire Kashmir valley. While making statements about the present situation during a Press conference held on 29^th June 2010, Abdullah along with the central government authorities gave a clean chit to CRPF who supported by black laws like AFSPA have been violating the basic right to life of people in Kashmir. The State government asked people to desist from protesting against the deaths of the youth and has imposed a stringent curfew all over the valley.

The Indian national media portrayed the people’s uprising as something instigated by the Pakistan based mentors like ISI and lashkar e toiba, completely sidelining the issues at hand. By painting the present situation in Kashmir as a ‘conspiracy against his government’ he has given an impression as if the protests and blood that is daily being spilled on the streets of Kashmir is only to unstable his government. While his recent statement gives more teeth to his troopers. In the recent move the chief minister has called in more army to fight the civilian population unarmed after losing young people are resisting the troopers.

First victim and the killing spree:

The military rage of the Indian troopers started to sharpen and resolved into regular tiffs with the boys in every nook and corner of the Valley. However, the first victim of the troopers became Inayat Khan, a 16 year old boy who was shot dead by the troopers on 8^th Jan, 2010. Inayath was a bright student and had just passed his ‘A’ level exams with wonderful grades.

Innayat Khan 16 years old shot dead by troops on Jan 8, 2010

He was the first victim of unprovoked firing by CRPF. On 8^thJan, while going for tuitions he had just admitted himself for, he was shot down by the troopers in Budshah Chowk, Srinagar. Inayat lives close to another Inayat who was a musician and was killed by the troopers in 2006. Now both of them await justice in oblivion. Despite a wait for six months and eyewitness accounts and FIR intact, the accused troopers are yet to be punished.

On Jan 31 2010, Wamiq Farooq a 13 year old boy from Rainawari was playing in the Ghanni Memorial Stadium. The troopers while chasing a group of protesters entered the stadium and fired a teargas shell from a close range leaving Wamiq dead on spot.

Wamiq was an excellent student and fond of sports; earning many trophies and certificates of merit he made his family

Wamiq Ali, 13 years old, shot dead by police on Jan 13, 2010

proud and he had desired to become a scientist. His father, Farooq Ahmad, earns his livelihood by selling second hand garments in Lal Chowk. A student of 7th standard, Wamiq is remembered by his friends as assiduous and jovial. The hapless family has accused the police of cover-up and approached the Court for justice.

According to the police sources, on 22^nd Jan Manzoor Ahmed Sofi, a 23 years old boy from Parahaspora Pattan was shot dead by CRPF. Again on 24^th Jan, Mushtaq Ahmed Mir, 36 years old man from Pulwama was shot dead by Rashtriya rifles, 44Bri personels.

Again in the main city of Srinagar, five days after the death of Wamiq Farooq, on Feb 5 2010, Zahid Farooq, a 16 year old boy, only son of his parents was shot dead by the

Zahid Farooq (16 years) killed by the troopers on Feb 5, 2010

troopers.

Zahid lived in Nishat and was killed by the Border Security force (BSF) personnel just few miles away from his house. Zahid had gone to play cricket in a nearby stadium. The BSF officers chased Zahid and his friends into the bylanes of his colony and then shot him dead. On charges of his murder, a BSF commandant and constable are facing trial.

In another case on April 13 2010, Zubair Ahmed Bhat, a 17 year old boy was sitting on the banks of the river Jehlum with his friends when the troopers came and forced them to jump into the river.

Zubair Ahmed Bhar, 17 years old forced to drown by the troopers on April 13, 2010

While most of them could cross the river, Zubair struggled, the nearby boatmen attempted to rescue but the troopers

Zubair Ahmed Bhar (17 years) forced to drown by the troopers on April 13, 2010

fired teargas shells at them and as a result Zubair drowned, he was a student from Sopore and used to work as a part time laborer in Srinagar. Police closed the file labeling it as an accident and ignoring this eyewitness account. His elder brother, Ehsan-ul-Haq was killed by troopers in 2006. Zubair was a class 11^th student.

From police sources again on 24^th April Ghulam Muhamed Kalas a 34 year old man of Kellar Shopian was shot dead by 53 Rashtriya Rifles.

The onset of June became a human slaying motto for the troopers, 18 civilians died in this month alone. Just after a month’s gap ‘June’ has become the most dreaded month of the year 2010 for most of the people have lost hope and faith in the state run justice mechanisms.

Tufail Ahmed a 17 year old boy from Sadakadal Srinagar had just passed his SSC examinations with a distinction and was killed by the Police. On 5^th June 2010, Tufail was playing in the Ghani Memorial stadium when he was shot dead. He received a firearm injury in his head leaving his brain into pieces on the grass.

Tufail Ahmed (17 years) shot dead by the police on 5th June, 2010

Like Wamiq, 17-year old Tufial Ahmad Matoo of Saida Kadal was killed after being hit by a teargas canister fired by police at Rajouri Kadal.
Tufail was the lone child of his parents. He had passed his matriculation with distinction and wanted to become a doctor

Mohd Rafiq Bangroo’ family had already lost seven family members already to the troopers and he was working as a shawl weaver. On 16^th June he was caught by the army and beaten up, he had a battle for his life and finally he passed away.

Mohd.Rafiq Bangroo (27years) beaten to death by the troopers, died on 19th June 2010

The youthful Rafiq used to work tirelessly to help his aged father, Abdul Ahad, to clear his debts. He left behind aged parents, a brother and an immortal memory of his separation.

Javed Ahmed Malla (17 years) shot dead by the troopers on 20^th June 2010

Javed Ahmed Malla (17 years) shot dead by the troopers on 20th June 2010

On 20th June 2010, During his funeral procession, the anti government slogans were raised to which the troopers retaliated with gunshots killing Rafiq’s another cousin named Javed Ahmed Malla. Javed was 17 and worked in a bag manufacturing company in Khonmoh and had discontinued studies due to family’s abject poverty.

Machil fake encounters

To make matters worse, when the news of fake encounters by the Indian Army reached the city, the separatists were up in arms. The non-stop killing of civilians was enough to bring people on the streets, with or without their leaders.

On April 29, three youths of Nadihal village were lured by two counter-insurgents and Territorial Army personnel up to the Line of Control (LoC) in Machil sector, on the pretext of getting a job.

The following day, the troopers of 4 Rajput Rifles, a unit of the Indian Army, were said to have killed them in a staged encounter on the LoC.

The police arrested two counter-insurgents and personnel from the Territorial Army. All the three are in judicial custody. The Army has already constituted a Court of Inquiry headed by a senior Army officer. They have suspended a major and an attached commanding officer of the 4 Rajput Rifles unit.

The failure of the state to reign in justice in most cases, of the law enforcement authorities to restore the faith of the people, ambiguous post-mortem reports, toothless judicial commissions and lack of accountability have driven the people over the edge – in this case, on the streets and in front of a barrel of a gun in the highest militarised zone in the world. Incidentally, Kashmir also tops the charts with the highest suicide rate in the world.

Three people namely Riyaz ahmed,Mohd Shafi and Shehzad Ahmed were killed in the fake encounter.

On June 25^th 2010, the people protested the killings in the fake encounter, troopers went berserk and entered a

Firdous Ahmed Kakroo (17years)left, Shakeel Ahmed (18years) both shot dead on 25th June 2010

farm and killed Firdous Ahmed Kakroo a 17 year old boy who was doing his daily farming. On the same day they also shot Shakeel Ahmed an 18 year old electrician who was on his way to market to buy some electrical stuff.

On June 27 the local people in Sopore town plunged on the roads to show discontent against the state’s rampant killings. Bilal Ahmed a 22 years old boy was watching at a distance the procession moving on when the troopers attacked it and shot Bilal in his throat and he died on spot.

On June 28^th 2010, the youngest victim of violence breathed his last in south Kashmir’s Baramulla town. Tauqeer Ahmed (9) and Tajamul Bashir (20) were both shot dead by troopers. Baramulla has been under curfew ever since. The army has already moved in.

Taukeer Ahmed (9 years) Tajamul Bashir (20 years) on 28th and Bilal Ahmed (22years) shot dead by the troopers on 27th June. 2010

Taukeer Ahmed (9 years) Tajamul Bashir (20 years) were both shot dead by the troopers on 28^th June, 2010

Islamabad killings

On June 29^th 2010, Ishtiyaq Ahmad Khanday (15) son of Ghulam Mohammad Khanday, Imtiyaz Ahmad Itoo(18) son of Ghulam Mohammad Itoo from S K Colony Islamabad and Sajad Ashraf Baba (19) son of Late Mohd Ashraf Baba (19) were reportedly present in a lawn which belongs to one of the victim’s family. Chasing the protesters in Islamabad town, SHO Ayoub Rather (Islamabad) and SHO Rauf Ahmed (Mattan) along with two sub-inspectors namely Masarat alam and Parveiz Ahmed barged into the lawn and reportly fired at six youth after lining them up, out of which two Ishtiyaq Ahmed (15) and Imtiyaz Ahmed (18) died on spot and Shujat ul Islam (19) along with three others was rushed to District hospital Anantnag. From there, because of his critical condition Shujatul Islam was directed to SMHS hospital but on his way he passed away. Among three others hospitalised at the District hospital, one is reported to be fighting his death while two others are said to be safe and recovering.

Under these circumstances, when people were fuming with anger the state government put the restrictions on any

Imtiyaz Ahmed, Ishtiyaq Ahmed and Shujatul Islam all shot dead by the troopers on 29th June, 2010

kind of protest. Further army was deployed to control the angry protesters and after a weeklong curfew people were allowed to buy essentials and daily food stuff. In these circumstances the news of Muzzafar Ahmed Bhat a 17 year old boy reached them. Muzzafar was mercilessly beaten to death by the troopers and his body was disposed off into a nearby stream.

Muzaffar’s body was recovered from the pond on 5^th of July, 2010 which stirred up further anger in the protesters. The protests were carried out in the Batamalloo area on 6^th july morning, to which the troopers retailiated by opening fire and killing another youth named Fayaz ahmed, a 18 year old boy.

Another boy named Abrar khan, 18 year old was also shot dead in the same day and same area.

Muzzafar Ahmed Bhat (17 years), beaten to death, Fayaz ahmed (18 years) shot dead and Abrar khan (18 years) shot dead by the troopers on 6th July, 2010

Abrar khan (18 years) shot dead by the troopers on 6^th July, 2010

A 24 year old young lady named fancy was watching the protests in her area from a window when the army man shot her. The fire cut into her heart leaving her dead on spot.

Fancy (24 years) shot dead by the troopers on 6^th July, 2010

The curfew is imposed in the entire valley people are house arrested and deprived even of communication with each other. In the latest turn the authorities have even entered the social networking sites like face book and booked people for sharing views and uploading pictures and videos. On several occasions even the national media chose silence over burning Kashmir.

On the ground level this series of killing spree has manifested into a new movement of ‘stone pelting’ by Kashmiri youth.

Fancy (24 years) shot dead by the troopers on 6th July, 2010

They have no guns but the stones to hurl at the oppressive forces. The judiciary systems are locked and devoid of justice and the youth are on the roads to seek answers. The new generation of ‘educated youth’ has arrived with their vision of rebellion and has now been successful in pushing the governance into barricades and bullet proof cars.

The cycle of violence is emanating from all the quarters of political and social life in Kashmir. The prospects of a dignified life seem to be bleak. The killings of the innocent continue but with a paradigm shift in the method.

Faizan Rafiq Buhroo (13 years) a case of custodial killing

After people have grieved the deaths of so many innocent people, the killing of Faizan Rafiq Buhroo a 13 year old now came out in a dramatic form and a different killing pattern that is likely to become common place hence forth. Faizan’s body was fished out of river Jhelum after he was killed in the police custody. Anything can be said about this death. After faizan, two more people died in the similar conditions including Fayaz Ahmad Khanday who was fired upon during the funeral procession of Faizan. With

Faizan Rafiq Buhroo (13 years) a case of custodial killing

Faizan surely the state machinery has shifted its functioning to killing and leaving people in miscellaneous conditions. If killing with bullets is a problem, custodial killings and throwing bodies into rivers and ponds, looks like a much saner way of dealing with people’s aspirations.

Living in Kashmir is an hour by hour experience, people are locked up under curfew and completely the state government has shunned its people. Now the question is the angry unarmed people will protest that’s what the mind set has become, so how many more will be killed is what the wait is for.

Inshah Malik is a PhD scholar at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. She has been working on Gender and ongoing conflict in Kashmir. She is also actively been writing about people’s issues through various platforms. She is at present working on political economy of Kashmir.

10 Best Intelligence Agencies in the World

Smashing Lists

Intelligence Agency is an effective instrument of a national power. Aggressive intelligence is its primary weapon to destabilize the target. Indeed, no one knows what the intelligence agencies actually do so figuring out who the best intelligence service is can be difficult. The very nature of intelligence often means that the successes will not be public knowledge for years, whereas failures or controversial operations will be taken to the press. It’s a thankless situation. Still, from what little has emerged, one can have an idea of some of the better intelligence services out there, with the understanding that this is based on incomplete data.

10. ASIS – Australia

Formed	13 May 1952
Headquarters	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Annual budget	$162.5m AUD (2007)
Minister responsible	The Hon. Stephen Smith MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs
Agency executive	Nick Warner, Director-General

Australian Secret Intelligence Service is the Australian government intelligence agency responsible for collecting foreign intelligence, undertaking counter-intelligence activities and cooperation with other intelligence agencies overseas. For more than twenty years, the existence of the agency was a secret even from its own government. Its primary responsibility is gathering intelligence from mainly Asian and Pacific interests using agents stationed in a wide variety of areas. Its main purpose, as with most agencies, is to protect the country’s political and economic interests while ensuring safety for the people of Australia against national threats.

9. RAW – India

Formed	21 September 1968
Headquarters	New Delhi, India
Agency executive	K. C. Verma, Secretary (R)
Parent agency	Prime Minister’s Office, GoI

Research and Analysis Wing is India’s external intelligence agency. It was formed in September 1968, after the newly independent Republic of India was faced with 2 consecutive wars, the Sino-Indian war of 1962 and the India-Pakistani war of 1965, as it was evident that a credible intelligence gathering setup was lacking. Its primary function is collection of external intelligence, counter-terrorism and covert operations. In addition, it is responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and persons, in order to advise Indian foreign policymakers. Until the creation of R&AW, the Intelligence Bureau handled both internal and external intelligence.

8. DGSE – France

Formed	April 2, 1982
Preceding agency	External Documentation and Counter-Espionage Service

Minister responsible	Hervé Morin, Minister of Defence
Agency executive	Erard Corbin de Mangoux, Director

Directorate General for External Security is France’s external intelligence agency. Operating under the direction of the French ministry of defence, the agency works alongside the DCRI (the Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence) in providing intelligence and national security, notably by performing paramilitary and counterintelligence operations abroad. The General Directorate for External Security (DGSE) of France has a rather short history compared to other intelligence agencies in the region. It was officially founded in 1982 from a multitude of prior intelligence agencies in the country. Its primary focus is to gather intelligence from foreign sources to assist in military and strategic decisions for the country. The agency employs more than five thousand people.

7. FSB – Russia

Formed	3 April, 1995
Employees	350,000
Headquarters	Lubyanka Square
Preceding agency	KGB

The Federal Security Service of Russian Federation (FSD) is the main domestic security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor agency of the Soviet-era Cheka, NKVD and KGB. The FSB is involved in counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and surveillance. Its headquarters are on Lubyanka Square, downtown Moscow, the same location as the former headquarters of the KGB. All law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Russia work under the guidance of FSB, if needed. For example, the GRU, spetsnaz and Internal Troops detachments of Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs work together with the FSB in Chechnya. The FSB is responsible for internal security of the Russian state, counterespionage, and the fight against organized crime, terrorism, and drug smuggling. The number of FSB personnel and its budget remain state secrets, although the budget was reported to jump nearly 40% in 2006.

6. BND – Germany

Formed	1 April 1956
Employees	6,050
Agency executive	Gehlen Organization
Parent agency	Central Intelligence Group

The Bundesnachrichtendienst is the foreign intelligence agency of the German government, under the control of the Chancellor’s Office. The BND acts as an early warning system to alert the German government to threats to German interests from abroad. It depends heavily on wiretapping and electronic surveillance of international communications. It collects and evaluates information on a variety of areas such as international terrorism, WMD proliferation and illegal transfer of technology, organized crime, weapons and drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal migration and information warfare. As Germany’s only overseas intelligence service, the BND gathers both military and civil intelligence.

5. MSS – China

Jurisdiction	People’s Republic of China
Headquarters	Beijing
Agency executive	Geng Huichang, Minister of State Security
Parent agency	State Council

Ministry of State Security is the security agency of the People’s Republic of China. It is also probably the Chinese government’s largest and most active foreign intelligence agency, though it is also involved in domestic security matters. Article 4 of the Criminal Procedure Law gives the MSS the same authority to arrest or detain people as regular police for crimes involving state security with identical supervision by the procuratorates and the courts. It is headquartered near the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing. According to Liu Fuzhi, Secretary-General of the Commission for Politics and Law under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Minister of Public Security, the mission of the MSS is to ensure “the security of the state through effective measures against enemy agents, spies, and counter-revolutionary activities designed to sabotage or overthrow China’s socialist system.” One of the primary missions of the MSS is undoubtedly to gather foreign intelligence from targets in various countries overseas. Many MSS agents are said to have operated in the Greater China region (Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) and to have integrated themselves into the world’s numerous overseas Chinese communities. At one point, nearly 120 agents who had been operating under non-official cover in the U.S., Canada, Western and Northern Europe, and Japan as businessmen, bankers, scholars, and journalists were recalled to China, a fact that demonstrates the broad geographical scope of MSS agent coverage.

4. CIA – America

Formed	September 18, 1947
Employees	20,000
Agency executive	Leon Panetta, Director
Parent agency	Central Intelligence Group

CIA is the largest of the intelligence agencies and is responsible for gathering data from other countries that could impact U.S. policy. It is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior United States policymakers. The CIA also engages in covert activities at the request of the President of the United States of America. The CIA’s primary function is to collect information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and to advise public policymakers. The agency conducts covert operations and paramilitary actions, and exerts foreign political influence through its Special Activities Division. It has failed to control terrorism activities including 9/11, Not even a single top level Al-Queda leader captured own its own in the past 9 years – ‘they missed 1 Million’ Soviet troops marching into Afghanistan’. Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction, Have the found them yet? -Number of defectors/ double agents numbers close to a thousand. On 50th anniversary of CIA, President Clinton said “By necessity, the American people will never know the full story of your courage. Indeed, no one knows that what CIA really does”. Highly funded and technologically most advanced Intelligence set-up in the world.

3. M1-6 – United Kingdom

Formed	1909 as the Secret Service Bureau
Jurisdiction	Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters	Vauxhall Cross, London
Minister responsible	The Rt Hon. William Hague MP, Foreign Secretary
Agency executive	Sir John Sawers KCMG, Director General
Parent agency	Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The British have had a long public perception of an effective intelligence agency (due to the success of the unrealistic, yet entertaining, James Bond movies). This perception matches reality. MI6, the British equivalent to the CIA, has had two big advantages in staying effective: The British Official Secrets Act and D notices can often prevent leaks (which have been the bane of the CIA’s existence). Some stories have emerged. In the Cold War, MI6 recruited Oleg Penkovsky, who played a key part in the favorable resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Oleg Gordievski, who operated for a decade before MI6 extracted him via Finland. The British were even aware of Norwood’s activities, but made the decision not to tip their hand. MI6 also is rumored to have sabotaged the Tu-144 supersonic airliner program by altering documents and making sure they fell into the hands of the KGB.

2. Mossad – Israel

Formed	December 13, 1949 as the Central Institute for Coordination
Employees	1,200 (est)
Agency executive	Meir Dagan, Director
Parent agency	Office of the Prime Minister

The Mossad is responsible for intelligence collection and covert operations including paramilitary activities. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman (military intelligence) and Shin Bet (internal security), but its director reports directly to the Prime Minister. The list of its successes is long. Israel’s intelligence agency is most famous for having taken out a number of PLO operatives in retaliation for the attack that killed eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich. However, this agency has other success to its name, including the acquisition of a MiG-21 prior to the Six-Day war of 1967 and the theft of the plans for the Mirage 5 after the deal with France went sour. Mossad also assisted the United States in supporting Solidarity in Poland during the 1980s.

1. ISI – Pakistan

Formed	1948
Jurisdiction	Government of Pakistan
Headquarters	Islamabad, Pakistan
Agency executive	Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, PA Director General

With the lengthiest track record of success, the best know Intelligence so far on the scale of records is ISI. The Inter-Services Intelligence was created as an independent unit in 1948 in order to strengthen the performance of Pakistan’s Military Intelligence during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. Its success in achieving its goal without leading to a full scale invasion of Pakistan by the Soviets is a feat unmatched by any other through out the intelligence world. KGB, The best of its time, failed to counter ISI and protect Soviet interests in Central Asia. This GOLD MEDAL makes it rank higher than Mossad. It has had 0 double agents or Defectors through out its history, considering that in light of the whole war campaign it carried out from money earned by selling drugs bought from the very people it was bleeding, The Soviets. It has protected its Nuclear Weapons since formed and it has foiled Indian attempts to attain ultimate supremacy in the South-Asian theatres through internal destabilization of India. It is above All laws in its host country Pakistan ‘A State, with in a State’. Its policies are made ‘outside’ of all other institutions with the exception of The Army. Its personnel have never been caught on camera. Its is believed to have the highest number of agents worldwide, close to 10,000. The most striking thing is that its one of the least funded Intelligence agency out of the top 10 and still the strongest.

Military aid to Pakistan not a threat to India: US

PTI

Washington, DC: Days after India voiced concern over the misuse of the massive US military aid by Pakistan, the Obama administration has said that the security assistance to Islamabad, including the supply of sophisticated F-16 jets, should not be seen as a threat to New Delhi.

“In giving military assistance to Pakistan, we have systems of accountability to be sure that it is being employed in accordance with the agreements that we have with Pakistan,” state department spokesman PJ Crowley said at his daily news briefing last evening.

“Where we have questions about the nature of Pakistani employment of US assistance, we raise those questions directly with the Pakistani government. We have in the past and we will continue to do that,” he said.

So, building up the capability of Pakistan to deal with the threat within its own borders “should not be seen as a threat to India,” Crowley said.

He argued that a stable Pakistan is not a threat to India and a stable India does not need to be a threat to Pakistan.

His remarks came five days after India expressed concern over the misuse of US military aid by Pakistan and asked America to set up a monitoring mechanism as a remedial measure.

During the visit of US joint chiefs of staff committee chairman Admiral Mike Mullen to New Delhi on July 23, defence minister AK Antony told him about India’s worries that Pakistan was diverting the American military assistance to building capacities against India.

Antony said that the arms aid to Pakistan, worth billions of dollars annually, was “disproportionate to the war on terror” for which it was intended and the US should ensure it was used only for the purpose meant for.

Pakistan has also recently acquired sophisticated air-to-air missiles from the US for its newly inducted F-16 fighter jets.

Crowley also strongly recommended Indo-Pak peace talks, while underlining that Islamabad should address New Delhi’s concern with regard to 26/11.

“It is important for Pakistan and India to have a stable relationship. They, likewise, will have to have a relationship going forward, and if it is stable, then the world, including the US, benefits,”

Responding to a question, Crowley said that there are concerns about making sure that Pakistan bring to justice those responsible for the Mumbai attacks.

“We’ve had that conversation with Pakistan and India many, many times. Our concerns about elements within Pakistan and connections that those elements have with the Pakistani government, we’ve had that conversation with Pakistan many times,” he said.

Kashmir orders probe into protest deaths

AFP

A stone flies past a group of Kashmiri’s as they hold a protest in Srinagar. PHOTO: AFP

SRINAGAR: The state government in Indian Kashmir said on Wednesday it had ordered a judicial probe into the recent deaths of 17 people in clashes between anti-India protesters and security forces.

Kashmir valley has been wracked by angry demonstrations since June 11, when a 17-year-old boy died after being hit by a police tear gas shell. Since then another 16 people, many of them teenagers, have been killed.

Two retired judges will “inquire into all 17 incidents in which fatalities had occurred on account of action by the security forces,” a government statement said.

The inquiry will submit its report within three months.

The government also said it would review the cases of all people detained recently for taking part in the protests.

A 20-year insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir has left thousands dead in a region where anti-India sentiment runs deep.

New Delhi has blamed separatists and militant groups for instigating the latest unrest, while many locals see it as a spontaneous reaction to abuses by security forces, economic stagnation and political deadlock.

The valley has been under strict curfew since the protests started in early June.

Malik’s claim raises then dashed hopes

By Ahmad Noorani

ISLAMABAD: Panicked members of the families of the Airblue aircraft, which crashed at the Margallas, were given some ray of hope when Interior Minister Rahman Malik claimed that five passengers had survived, which triggered a mad rush to identify them.

Almost each and every family whose near and dear one was on board started a storm of telephone calls to all the inquiry numbers of the hospitals, airlines, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), National Crisis Management Cell and media offices to know the details of these five survivors.

The answer from all the numbers was the same: “We have no information whatsoever regarding any injured survivor”. Some attendants watching live telecast even have told the heirs that so far the remains of the plane were burning and no one could reach the spot even though helicopters were circling on top of the crash site.

The plane crashed at about 9:45 am and the news was broken by the media within 10 minutes. Within an hour, when there still was fire all around and rescue teams had not reached the spot, Rahman Malik came on the media and made a thrilling announcement that five injured persons had been recovered from the spot.

The announcement was a big shock for the Islamabad administration, which was trying to reach the crash spot to start the rescue work. Chairman CDA, Commissioner Islamabad and IGP Islamabad were stunned at what their boss had said.

Deputy Commissioner, Islamabad, Amir Ali Ahmad, who was monitoring the rescue activities on the ground while talking to Geo News after about two hours of Rehman Malik’s statement said that he had no information whatsoever regarding any injured passenger.

Muhammad Ajmal Khan, a resident of a village of Chiniot, was coming back from Karachi after attending a course conducted by the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). Friends of Ajmal Khan after confirming that he was on board contacted different offices including The News for verifying whether Ajmal was among the injured or not.

Inquiry numbers and hospital media officers told this correspondent that numerous calls had come to check who the survivors were.

It was after about five hours that interior minister realised the implications of his statement and took his words back, announcing that all the passengers on board were dead.

Media observers recalled that the minister had issued such claims several times in the past when major terrorist attacks had occurred. After the deadly Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad, Malik said his people had found a very important part of the engine through which they would identify the owner of the vehicle. Later, it turned out that no such engine part was found.

The truth of a scandalous war

Aijaz Zaka Syed

And we all thought we had read and said all that was needed to be read and said on Afghanistan! We have read and heard so much on the shenanigans of the coalition of the willing over the past few years that nothing seems to shock us anymore. Yet the shock-and-awe of the WikiLeaks disclosures takes your breath away.

This is the mother of all exposes, and perhaps the biggest news story of our time, even for the whistle-blowers who have made a name for themselves with stories like the raw video footage of the US soldiers gaily firing on a group of Iraqi civilians including two Reuters journalists from the safety of their Apache gunship in the air.

All three publications, the New York Times, The Guardian and German Der Spiegel that got the exclusive rights to break the story after the WikiLeaks released it on the Web first, agree that the West’s Afghan mission is in far worse shape than admitted so far.

Nine years after the cowboy coalition walked into the Afghan morass, eyes wide shut, and after even spending $300 billion of US taxpayer’s money, it remains a mission as impossible as ever.

While not even the most ardent America apologists have dared to suggest the West is faring well on the Afghan front, clearly no one in the Western media in their wildest dreams ever thought things could be this bad.

The disclosures, based on daily logs of US military operations, paint a picture of the war that is truly mind-boggling and far more harrowing than ever imagined by anyone, including the blissfully clueless Americans.

In its intensity, geopolitical ramifications and utter pointlessness of it all, this war is far more disastrous and deadlier than Vietnam, a war whose memories still shock the Americans out of their wits. From the friendly fire between the US and NATO troops to the fierce fighting between Afghan and Pakistan soldiers along the border, it’s a complete mess out there.

In the thick fog of war, nobody seems to have a clue what is going on down on the ground. The coalition totters from crisis to crisis and from disaster to disaster, insisting it will stay the course as precious billions are poured down the bottomless pit that is Afghanistan.

The insurgents get bolder, deadlier and more effective as they hone their skills in a game that they have played for centuries. But we have already been familiar with most of these facts despite the endless propaganda blitz of the US military establishment and the unquestioning US media.

Thanks to some courageous whistle-blowers and independent bloggers, the world is not totally ignorant of the deepening mess in Afghanistan. Only we underestimated the extent of the trouble.

The highlight of the WikiLeaks expose, however, is the humanitarian tragedy of the war, a story that has found little space in the international reportage of the war.

While many of us, including yours truly, have occasionally protested, for what it’s worth, against civilian killings and reckless coalition bombings of wedding parties and funeral processions etc., none of us thought the rot is as widespread as it has been revealed by the WikiLeaks.

This despite the fact that the three publications voluntarily removed material “which threatens the safety of troops, local informants and collaborators.”

Still the collective picture that emerges is spine chilling. The logs record at least 150 incidents of trigger-happy coalition forces bombing unsuspecting civilians including women and children. These incidents have never been reported before.

So they are besides the incidents those reported by international media like the airstrike in Azizabad, in Western Afghanistan, that killed as many as 92 civilians in August 2008. In May 2009, another airstrike killed 147 civilians. “Bloody errors” include the day French troops strafed a bus full of children in 2008. A US patrol similarly machine-gunned a bus, wounding or killing 15 of its passengers, and in 2007 Polish troops mortared a village, killing an entire wedding party including a pregnant woman. The logs detail an unusual cluster of four British shootings in Kabul in the space of barely a month, in October/November 2007, culminating in the death of the son of an Afghan general.

These are just some of the many ‘incidents’ that haven’t been reported or recorded by anyone. One couldn’t muster the courage and patience to go through it all. As the New York Times puts it, “incident by incident, the reports resemble a police blotter of the myriad ways Afghan civilians were killed – not just in airstrikes but in ones and twos – in shootings on the roads or in the villages.”

This is not all. The war logs also detail how a secret “black” unit of special forces hunts down Afghans for “kill or capture” without so much as a trial. Not surprisingly, many of these “Taleban leaders” happen to be innocent civilians. The diary also reveals how the coalition has been using Reaper drones to hunt and kill “usual suspects” by remote control from the safety of a base in the remote Nevada desert in the US. So much for America’s mission to promote freedom, democracy and human rights in the Muslim world!

Commenting on the WikiLeaks story, a White House spokesperson has pointed out that the “time period reflected in the documents is January 2004 to December 2009,” suggesting most of it took place under Bush.

But can this fig leaf help the Obama administration justify what has been going on in Afghanistan for years?

Having inherited this mess from his predecessor, this president had a historic opportunity and all the means at his disposal to turn around America and its troubled relationship with the Muslim world by getting out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama squandered that opportunity, just as he has squandered all the goodwill he had generated with his historic election and soaring rhetoric. Instead our hero chose to perpetuate the poisonous legacy of his predecessor. So much for the “audacity of hope” and so much for the promise of “change we can!”

I know, I know. Obama didn’t start these wars and he’s not to blame for much of the madness. But the least the Nobel laureate president could have done was put an end to the shame of Iraq and Afghanistan.

As the WikiLeaks logs illustrate in terrifying detail, some of the worst human rights abuses including old-fashioned murder, rape and torture have taken place during these wars fought in the name of freedom, human rights and democracy. If the same were to happen under some other regime, the coalition of the willing would have bombed them back to the Stone Age.

The two wars have claimed more than a million innocent lives. What for? And who’ll pay for these crimes? But who can confront the superpower and its powerful allies with these questions? For all our talk of democracy and fine-sounding international institutions, ours is still a world where might is right.

Obama faces a stark choice in Afghanistan: Leave now with some dignity intact or await the humiliation of total and comprehensive defeat, the kind that came the way of the Russians.

For one thing is certain. The Afghans’ legendary patience and their never-say-die spirit will outlive the persistence and fortitude of the invading armies. Ask the Russians and the British. No matter how hard the West tries to pretend all’s well, it will have to leave Afghanistan, sooner or later.

This war has been already unraveling faster than you could say Mission Accomplished! It’s up to Obama if he wants to leave now or stay the course and lose thousands of more precious lives and burn billions of hard-earned dollars in the Graveyard of Empires that is Afghanistan.

Division of Afghanistan?

By Saleem Safi

The CIA is arguably the most powerful intelligence agency in the world and maintains an espionage network in every part of the world. Some of the Pakistani rulers, besides being obedient US admirers, are the CIA’s informants as well.

It appears that power has blinded American policymakers regarding Afghanistan and Pakistan. They have committed blunders upon blunders. Despite the thousands of US soldiers present in Afghanistan and a large network of informants extending to remote villages and towns there, US policymakers have failed to appreciate the ground realities. The Americans have yet to set realistic policy goals for the region. Recent history is witness to the fact that the US always tried to convert the impossible into the possible.

The Americans’ single-minded pursuit of defeating the USSR in Afghanistan overlooked the consequences of radicalisation of the Muslim world. After achieving this goal, the US pitched Mujahideen factions against each other. Initially they even supported the Taliban movement. But after 9/11, the US presented the throne of Kabul to the same old warlord who had been punished by the Taliban once.

In the struggle against the Taliban, the Americans grew ambitious enough to set new objectives in the region. They tried to encircle China, squeeze Iran, control Central Asian natural resources, punish Pakistan and make India a dominant regional player. In reaction, all these forces covertly supported the Taliban to make Afghanistan another Vietnam for America. If some of the contents of Wikileaks reports are true, then that will be the result of the American tactics in Afghanistan.

Instead of reviewing past blunders, the US wanted to make Karzai a scapegoat for its own failures. After the failure of this scheme, the Americans tried to replicate Iraq’s counterinsurgency in Afghanistan to form regional private tribal militias to fight the insurgency. This plan was doomed to fail from the outset. Therefore, the Indian lobbies in the US have now floated the idea of division of Afghanistan into a Pakhtun south and non-Pakhtun north.

The ex-US ambassador to India, Robert Blackwill, an Indian lobbyist, has advised the US and Nato countries to follow this path. He suggested that the US and Nato forces should stay in northern Afghanistan and use that area as a staging ground against the Pakhtun south. This US-India plan is unlikely to succeed.

The idea of the division of Afghanistan is reflective of the sick minds still living in the past. If Iraq, with stronger and more distinct sectarian and linguistic divisions than Afghanistan, could not be divided on these lines, Afghanistan is least expected to go that way. Afghanistan has various linguistic groups and identities, which are airing grievances of exploitation at the hands of the dominant “other.”

But Afghans have proved to be the staunchest of nationalists in the region. Afghan poetry expresses love and longing for the homeland. Afghan songs praise Pakhtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks alike. Afghan literature has the highest intensity of nationalism in the region while the country’s music is all about “Afghaniyat.”

Almost all Pakhtun Afghans can speak Darri and every non-Pakhtun Afghan understands Pashto. In contrast with the region, the Taliban movement is predominantly Pakhtun, but it also boasts of individuals from other linguistic groups. The movement is fast spreading in northern and western Afghanistan.

Gulbadin Hikmatyar, who is considered a Pakhtun, hails from the extreme northern province of Kunduz. His party consists of people from other linguistic groups. He has married off his daughter to a Tajik. One of the four most trusted lieutenants of Ahmed Shah Masood and Qasim Faheem was a Pakhtun from Laghman. Abdullah Laghmani was deputy to the Afghan intelligence chief and was killed in a suicide attack some time ago.

Kunduz in the north is a majority Pakhtun province while Herat in the south is a majority Tajik region. The central province of Logar too is a predominantly Pakhtun area but a large number of Tajiks also live here. Northern Afghanistan is not populated by a single linguistic group. Hazaras populate central Afghanistan while Tajik and Uzbek regions in the north are separated by the Pakhtun region of Kunduz. The tension between Uzbeks and Tajiks exacerbates the tension between Pakhtuns and Tajiks. Similarly, the Hazara community is unwilling to live with either Tajiks or Uzbeks. The last presidential election was witness to the fact that Uzbek Abdul Rasheed Dostam, Tajik Qasim Faheem and Hazara Ustad Muhaqqiq supported the Pakhtun Hamid Karzai against Tajik Dr Abdullah. Currently, an Uzbek and a Hazara are vice presidents. In the presidential elections, no candidate from Pakhtun, Hazara, Uzbek and Tajik communities ever invoked race or linguistic affiliation.

The Taliban resistance is not based on language or race. The movement surfaced against the excessively unruly commanders of Pakhtuns like Hekmatyar, Ustad Sayyaf, Yunus Khalis and Sibghatullah Mujaddidi. The Taliban had fought against Pakhtun commanders from Kandahar to Kabul. After the surrender of Kabul, they brutally hanged Dr Najibullah, a Pakhtun, but not a Tajik or Uzbek. Mullah Omar had not sacrificed his rule and taken up a fight with the only superpower for the sake of Pakhtuns, but for Arabs.

Despite knowing these realities, those who plan the division of Afghanistan are living in a fools’ paradise.

The writer works for Geo TV. Email: saleem.safi@janggroup.com.pk

A Chance For ISI To Retaliate

Leaks Destroy The American Case Against ISI

• US tries to hide American war crimes & shift focus to Pakistan
• 90,000 documents on US military & CIA failures, only 180 on ISI
• How safe are US nuclear, chemical and biological secrets
• Most of the American propaganda on Pakistan is “Rumors, bullshit and second-hand information”

By AHMED QURAISHI
Wednesday, 28 July 2010.
WWW.PAKNATIONALISTS.COM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Since late 2006, United States government, military, intelligence and media have been orchestrating regular attacks against Pakistan, creating a false alarm about its nuclear capability and portraying its premier spy agency, the ISI, as a threat to world peace.

The weak and apologetic reactions by Pakistan’s political and military officials encouraged this American double game.

But here comes the smoking gun, more than 90,000 leaked US intelligence documents, which prove how the Washington establishment has been running a vilification campaign against Pakistan both under Bush and Obama administrations, without any evidence except malicious intent.

Here is a chance for Pakistan to use these documents to argue its own case more confidently.

As soon as the classified documents were leaked over the weekend, US government sprung into action to minimize damage by shifting the focus toward Pakistan.

US government and military officials succeeded in making Pakistan and ISI the main story and hide the massive and spectacular US failures in Afghanistan, including evidence on war crimes and civilian carnage. It’s an exercise that bears the hallmarks of a CIA-style public diplomacy [a la Iraq invasion].

Instead of brooding over the American failures and war crimes that have been neatly hidden from the world for eight years, the mainstream US media chose once again to indulge in anti-Pakistanism which is rampant and endemic within the US media and among think-tank types. A British journalist, Declan Walsh, couldn’t help but notice this anti-Pakistan streak in how the Obama administration handled the leaks.

“In issuing such a strongly worded statement with implicit criticism of the ISI,” Mr. Walsh wrote in The Guardian, “the White House may be trying to keep ahead of a tide of US opinion that is hostile towards Pakistan.”

A TASTE OF AMERICAN DECEIT

Here’s a quick look at how ISI and Pakistan are a small part of the story blown out of proportion:

• Out of more than 90,000 classified US documents, only about 180 mention ISI, and only about 30 or so charge the legendary Pakistani spy service of wrongdoing in Afghanistan
• The whole case built by US against Pakistan and ISI is based not on evidence but on information sourced to ‘informants’, ‘sources’, initials [like A.E.], and sources linked to either the new US-created Afghan intelligence or the Indians. Both Karzai’s spies and the Indians have been telling anyone who’d listen that they are the preeminent source for any credible information on Pakistan
• Many of these classified US documents carry a disclaimer added by the authors or their handlers in the US military and intelligence. The disclaimer emphasizes that information in these reports can’t be trusted, is unverified, is sourced to people working for monetary gain or are linked to biased parties such as the Indians and Karzai’s intelligence
• Most importantly, many of these documents carry a warning that US policymakers should not rely on information in the reports to formulate policy

THE REAL STORY

The real story, the one hidden in the bulk of the 90,000 leaked documents, is this:

• How the US government, military and CIA have hidden a US military disaster in Afghanistan from the American public and the world
• How the mainstream US media is complicit in misleading the American public and the world
• How the United States is involved in war crimes in Afghanistan, especially in mass murder of innocent Afghan civilians
• How the US and its allies within the Pakistani government and military are most probably hiding similar tales of mass murder of Pakistani citizens in Pakistan’s tribal belt who fell victim to CIA-run drones

PAKISTANI OFFICIAL COMPLICITY

An important question that arises out of these documents is this:

1. If this is the level of US propaganda against Pakistan over the past five years, why have Pakistan’s political and military leaders acquiesced in US’s anti-Pakistan pressure tactics and failed to appropriately respond to American disinformation?
2. If this is the quality of US intelligence in Afghanistan, why has Pakistan’s government and military accept faulty US intelligence to allow US covert military operations inside Pakistan that have almost pushed the nation to civil war?

Pakistan’s leaders have almost wasted one opportunity – the Pakistan-US strategic dialogue in March 2010 – to redefine the terms of cooperation between Islamabad and Washington in Afghanistan. The storm over the leaked secrets provides a second opportunity to Pakistani policymakers to review their generally weak and apologetic policy that has messed up Pakistan in little less than eight years.

India hikes rates for fourth time this year

By AFP

MUMBAI: India hiked its main interest rates on Tuesday for a fourth time this year in a fresh bid to tame double-digit inflation.

Republican party of India (RPI) workers shout slogans as they stop local trains during a nationwide strike in protest of fuel price hikes in Mumbai. PHOTO: AFP

The move was the second increase this month and is designed to tackle surging consumer prices that are being driven by high food costs, rising wages and an expanding economy that is forecast to grow by 8.5 per cent this fiscal year. India’s inflation rate is now the highest among the Group of 20 economic powers.

“The domestic economic recovery is firmly in place, strengthening and steadily reverting to a pre-crisis growth trajectory,” Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D Subbarao said in a statement. “Inflationary expectations are elevated and persistent.”

India’s annual wholesale price index, the main cost-of-living measure, stood at 10.55 per cent in June, well above the central bank’s preferred 5.5-per cent level, putting pressure on Subbarao to act.

Rising prices are one of the biggest political issues in the country and a daily subject of conversation for millions. The cost of food has been rising since last year when the worst drought in 37 years hit farm output.

Food inflation is now spilling into the general economy as activity accelerates. The bank raised its inflation projection for this fiscal year to March 2011 to six per cent from 5.5 per cent, and increased its growth projection to 8.5 per cent from eight per cent previously.

Over the last seven months, annual food inflation has swung between 13 and 20 per cent, causing huge hardship, especially among the 450 million people who struggle below the poverty line. Inflation is expected to remain problematic for the next few months but should moderate by the end of 2010.

Why General Kayani should stay till 2013

By Charles Ferndale

The editorial of July 24 “Democracy and the generals” discusses how General Kayani will now serve till November 2013, which “means that he will now stay in office beyond the tenures of both the prime minister and the president”. The decision was announced by the prime minister, the purpose of which, the editorial suggests, was to give a veneer of democracy to a decision which was really out of the hands of the civilian government, but rested rather with the army and the Americans. It goes on to say, “There can be no doubt that as yet the balance of power between the military and the civilian set-up has not been righted. Until this happens we can expect only further bumps on the road that leads to democracy”.

May I suggest that what needs to happen is more complicated than “balancing the power between the military and civilian set-up.” What Pakistan needs is an honest, just, intelligent, responsible, truly representative elected government, whose principle interest is the good of the entire country. Until that happens there will be no chance of civilian government here “establishing control over its military”. But no civilian government in Pakistan has even come even close to meeting such criteria. The past civilian governments of this country have competed to see which can be the most corrupt. And whenever their outrageous conduct has been checked, they have quickly dismantled, or subverted, what weak protections this country might occasionally have against abuses of power. The military has never replaced democratic governments in Pakistan; it has replaced pseudo-democracies that have really been autocratic cleptocracies. Though the military has always seized power undemocratically, it should be remembered that they have often done so because the civilian governments they have replaced had become grotesquely corrupt.

What is surprising is that the military does not seize power now, for never has a Pakistani government been more damagingly corrupt than the present one. And their continuance in power is the surest evidence we have that Pakistan’s political affairs are run, not by the army, but by the Americans. Regrettably, however, were the army to give relief to the people by overthrowing the present mob, they too would soon go on to commit most of the sins their seizure of power was meant to check. The abuse of power is part of the very social structure of Pakistani power groups. In Pakistan army bashing is popular because it seems to offer a feasible, discrete, solution to the country’s persistent political tragedy: keep the army in the barracks and all will be well. That belief is an illusion. Pakistan’s problem is the endemic, widespread abuse of power by all those who hold it. Its culture of power is undemocratic.

Pakistan’s political tragedy so pains me that I too often find myself dreaming of possible solutions, one of which might be this: the army takes power, removes from government all its corrupt members, creates a level playing field in which money does not decide the outcome of elections, guarantees equal time in the media for all contenders, punishes liars with banishment from politics and ensures that an honest government, independent of foreign bullies, is freely elected; a government whose edicts the military would be proud to obey and which, because of its fairness, the Pakistani people would be proud to obey. If the military were to do such a thing, Pakistan would become an independent sovereign state whose future would shine like the sun; it would be a unified country. A sure sign that the country was on the right road would be that the Americans and their allies would scream blue murder.

Whenever American (and other external) interests conflict with those of the Pakistani people, the people’s interests are sacrificed. The government is obedient to America’s fancied long-term interests, and this comes at the expense of Pakistan’s own long- and short-term interests. Until the dream of honest government might be materialised, perhaps the protracted presence of General Kayani, and the Chief Justice, until 2013 might offer at least some stability to the country. Both these figures have shown a modicum of honour and independence from foreign influence. And in Pakistani politics that is rare.

The writer is a charity worker who divides his time between Pakistan and the UK (charles.ferndale@tribune.com.pk)

Gujarat’s home minister meets the law

By Aakar Patel

Gujarat’s home minister is in jail for authorising murder and India is waiting to see if a commonly practised form of state killing will now end. The case that has brought the issue of encounters – as these killings are known – in focus is the deaths of three people. In 2005, the Gujarat and Rajasthan police said they had killed a man from Lashkar-e-Taiba who was about to assassinate Narendra Modi.

The report of a journalist, Prashant Dayal, showed that the dead man, Sohrabuddin Sheikh was a petty criminal and not a terrorist and that the police’s facts were muddled. This led to an investigation after which the police admitted to having wrongly killed Sheikh to win the favour of the administration. More disturbingly, they also admitted to killing Sheikh’s wife, Kausarbi, who was present and a witness, Tulsi Prajapati.

An alarmed Supreme Court appointed India’s top investigation agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to start probing the case. As the facts became clear, Gujarat’s senior police officers were arrested and charged for these murders. This surprised many because such arbitrary killings are not new here. However, the sustained interest in the case by the Supreme Court has meant that the story has stayed alive over the years.

Few expected what happened last week. One of the arrested officers had turned informer and named Gujarat’s home minister as authorising the murders, perhaps to please his boss. This led to the arrest over the weekend of Amit Shah.

Shah is the minister of state, the junior ranking minister on the portfolio. His boss, the senior minister, is Narendra Modi, who is also chief minister. Though Modi has not been named in the case so far, his defence of Shah has seen him take sides in what is essentially a legal matter. Modi plays to his audience and many Indians have no problem with the state eliminating people outside the judicial process.

Encounter killings, or murders which is what they are, have been popular in India since the 80s. The extreme violence during the Khalistan movement led the Punjab police to use swift and illegal ways of executing suspects.

In Bombay, a few years later, police killed suspects who were in custody to end the gang wars in the city. Officially, these were encounters, and unofficially it was felt that the judicial process took too long, and often failed. So proper investigation was dumped, in favour of shortening the process of justice. The police could not stay away from taking sides, however, and today Bombay’s police force faces the charge of acting as executioners for dons, getting rid of rival gangsters for money.

Only a few officers have been charged with this, but it is understood that such encounter killings, which usually happen in the presence of at least a dozen or so policemen, happen with full knowledge.

Police in both places, Punjab and Bombay, ultimately succeeded in what they wanted. Today, the movement for Khalistan is dead after its militant supporters have either fled or been killed. Bombay’s gangs are a thing of the past also. But this has come at the price of surrendering the law. The case in Gujarat brings back an argument forgotten all these years: should the state commit murder to protect citizens? The Supreme Court says no.

U.S. Company Faces Penalties for Alleged Nuclear Export Attempts to India, Israel

by David Albright, Paul Brannan, and Andrea Stricker

Time to seek pledges from our allies that they will not violate U.S. laws to outfit their nuclear weapons and missile programs and will cooperate in any prosecution of alleged violators

In the spring of 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) charged the U.S.-based Telogy LLC and its Belgian affiliate with violating U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for attempting to export controlled goods to Israel, India, China, and South Africa. These charges followed a voluntary self-disclosure by the companies.

In the case of Israel and India, the goods could have been intended for nuclear weapons and missile programs. India’s attempted acquisition of oscilloscopes shows that the country may continue to acquire items illicitly from abroad for its missile programs or unsafeguarded nuclear programs, including its nuclear weapons program. Recently, India has also sought vacuum pumps from European manufacturers that are believed to be for its unsafeguarded uranium enrichment program. The large scale oscilloscope purchases made by Israel bring into question its continued commitment to halting its illicit procurement of equipment for its nuclear program, which it made as a result of U.S. pressure during the 1990s.

The public typically focuses on the export control violations of U.S. adversaries or competitors, such as Iran, North Korea, or China. However, some U.S. allies also break U.S. or foreign trade control laws to outfit their missile or nuclear weapons programs. Although the BIS did not identify the suspected purchasers of these goods in Israel or India, this case highlights the need for the U.S. government to develop a more formal process to discourage allies from violating U.S. trade control laws.

To that end, the United States should obtain formal pledges from its allies, in particular India, Israel, and Pakistan, that they will not seek to violate U.S. laws, or for that matter supplier-country laws, in order to outfit their ballistic missile programs or unsafeguarded nuclear programs. These allies should also be expected to cooperate fully with U.S. authorities in any investigation or prosecution of alleged violations, including efforts to collect evidence, extradite violators, and obtain the return of goods sent under false pretenses to a nuclear weapons or missile program. In the absence of adequate cooperation, the United States should impose additional licensing requirements on the export of any dual-use goods to these countries. The United States can already impose sanctions on Indian, Israeli, and Pakistani entities and nationals that violate U.S. laws, but for egregious violations it should seek United Nations Security Council sanctions on responsible entities and individuals.

For a more comprehensive discussion of illicit nuclear trade and improved methods to detect or thwart it, see a new book by David Albright, Peddling Peril, or a recent ISIS article, “Detecting and Disrupting Illicit Nuclear Trade after A.Q. Khan,”published in The Washington Quarterly.

The Cases

Telogy, based in Union City, California, was charged with three violations of the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), pursuant to a voluntary self-disclosure made by the company. 1 BIS also charged Telogy’s Belgian affiliate, Telogy International NV, with twenty-three violations of the EAR, also the result of a voluntary self-disclosure. 2 Between 2003 and 2007, Telogy LLC and Telogy International NV (hereafter referred to as Telogy Intl) allegedly cooperated to attempt to export oscilloscopes to India and Israel. These oscilloscopes are controlled because of their potential application in nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems. 3 Telogy Intl is also charged with allegedly re-exporting twenty-two oscilloscopes to Israel. 4 Telogy LLC and Telogy Intl allegedly cooperated to export a spectrum analyzer, monitoring equipment controlled for national security reasons, to China. Telogy Intl is also charged with allegedly re-exporting a spectrum analyzer to South Africa. 5 The companies neither admit nor deny these allegations. 6

According to BIS settlement agreements, Telogy LLC was given a suspended fine of $76,000; Telogy Intl must pay $75,000 and faces a suspended fine of $362,000. 7 The suspended fines will be waived if the companies do not commit additional export violations for a period of one year.

Telogy LLC

Between 2005 and 2007, Telogy LLC allegedly attempted to export two oscilloscopes to India, one oscilloscope to Israel, and a spectrum analyzer to China. 8 Oscilloscopes are equipment that exhibit graphs of electrical signals and track the timing of signals and are controlled for export because of their potential use in nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems. Spectrum analyzers are controlled exports for national security reasons due to their potential uses in surveillance and monitoring. They observe the frequency and amplitude of signals emitted from a source.

In May 2005, Telogy LLC received an order for two oscilloscopes destined for India from its Belgian affiliate, Telogy Intl, and according to BIS, took actions “with intent to evade” the EAR. According to BIS, Telogy LLC was aware that an export license was required for shipping oscilloscopes to India, and therefore arranged to ship them first to Telogy Intl “with the understanding that the items would then be sent to India.” 9 BIS documents do not indicate whether the items were actually sent to India.

In June 2005, Telogy LLC received an order from Telogy Intl for a spectrum analyzer, destined for China. According to BIS, Telogy LLC was aware that an export license was required for shipping a spectrum analyzer to China, and therefore arranged with Telogy Intl to ship the item to a California-based import/export company chosen by Telogy Intl “with the understanding that the item would then be sent to [China].” 10 BIS documents do not indicate whether the item was actually sent to China.

In June or July 2007, Telogy LLC received an order from Telogy for one oscilloscope, destined for Israel. According to BIS, Telogy LLC was aware that an export license was required for shipping an oscilloscope to Israel, and therefore arranged with Telogy Intl to ship the item to a company located in Canada chosen by Telogy Intl “with the understanding that the item would then be sent to Israel.” 11 BIS documents do not indicate whether the item was actually sent to Israel.

Telogy LLC filed a voluntary self-disclosure of its actions with BIS’s Office of Export Enforcement. It was assessed a suspended civil penalty of $76,000, which can be waived if the company commits no further export violations for one year. 12 It neither admits nor denies the allegations contained in the BIS charging letter. 13

Telogy Intl

Between 2003 and 2007, Telogy Intl of Belgium allegedly re-exported twenty-two oscilloscopes to Israel, and one spectrum analyzer to South Africa. According to BIS, on twenty-two occasions, Telogy Intl re-exported oscilloscopes from Belgium to Israel without a license. 14 In May 2007, Telogy Intl allegedly re-exported a spectrum analyzer from Belgium to South Africa without a license. 15 BIS documents from the case do not indicate whether the oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzer were sent to Telogy Intl by Telogy LLC explicitly for these alleged sales, or whether they were U.S.-made equipment already possessed by the Belgian affiliate for distribution purposes.

Telogy Intl filed a voluntary self-disclosure of its actions with BIS’s Office of Export Enforcement. It was assessed a penalty of $437,000, of which it was ordered to pay $75,000 within thirty days. The remainder of the penalty, $362,000, was suspended for one year and can be waived if the company commits no further export violations during the period. 16 The company neither admits nor denies the allegations contained in the BIS charging letter. 17

Lessons and Observations

These alleged instances show that countries which are U.S. allies knowingly violate U.S. export laws and regulations to procure goods for their nuclear, missile, or military programs. They use methods that differ little from those pursued by U.S. adversaries, such as Iran or North Korea. The United States should take several actions to discourage U.S. allies from violating U.S. trade control laws:

1. It should determine if the alleged Indian procurement attempt was for its unsafeguarded nuclear program and in violation of the letter or spirit of U.S.-India peaceful nuclear cooperation agreements. To that end, the United States should secure an Indian commitment that it will not procure goods from abroad for its nuclear, missile, or military programs in violation of U.S. or other suppliers’ trade control laws.
2. The United States should also follow up on Israel’s acquisition of oscilloscopes to determine whether Israel has contravened its stated commitment from the 1990s not to engage in illicit trade for its unsafeguarded nuclear program and seek affirmation of its pledge not to do so.
3. The United States should insist that allies cooperate fully with U.S. authorities in any investigation or prosecution of alleged violations, including in efforts to collect evidence, extradite violators, and obtain the return of goods sent under false pretenses to a nuclear weapons or missile program. This cooperation should extend equally to the activities of state-controlled entities ordering the equipment and domestic trading companies contracted to seek the items abroad. The United States should impose additional licensing requirements on the export of any dual-use goods to countries that refuse to cooperate.
4. The United States should state as a matter of policy that if any country knowingly seeks goods abroad for its nuclear weapons program in violation of U.S. or other supplier countries’ laws, it may be subject to unilateral and multilateral sanctions. It should seek to make egregious violations of internationally accepted export controls, such as Nuclear Supplier Group guidelines, a sufficient rationale for imposing U.N. Security Council sanctions on a country, in particular state-controlled entities, companies, and persons that are responsible for illicit purchases.

Leaked files lay bare war in Afghanistan

By Greg Jaffe and Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, July 26, 2010

Tens of thousands of classified documents related to the Afghan war released without authorization by the group Wikileaks.org reveal in often excruciating detail the struggles U.S. troops have faced in battling an increasingly potent Taliban force and in working with Pakistani allies who also appear to be helping the Afghan insurgency.

The more than 91,000 classified documents — most of which consist of low-level field reports — represent one of the largest single disclosures of such information in U.S. history. Wikileaks gave the material to the New York Times, the British newspaper the Guardian and the German magazine Der Spiegel several weeks ago on the condition that they not be published before Sunday night, when the group released them publicly.

Covering the period from January 2004 through December 2009, when the Obama administration began to deploy more than 30,000 additional troops intoAfghanistan and announced a new strategy, the documents provide new insights into a period in which the Taliban was gaining strength, Afghan civilians were growing increasingly disillusioned with their government, and U.S. troops in the field often expressed frustration at having to fight a war without sufficient resources.

The documents disclose for the first time that Taliban insurgents appear to have used portable, heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles to shoot down U.S. helicopters. Heat-seeking missiles, which the United States provided to the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters known as mujaheddin in the 1980s, helped inflict heavy losses on the Soviet Union until it withdrew its forces from Afghanistan in 1989.

One report from the spring of 2007 refers to witnesses who saw what appeared to be a heat-seeking missile destroy a CH-47 transport helicopter. The Times first unearthed the document in its review of the files. The Chinook crash killed five Americans, a British citizen and a Canadian. Even though the initial U.S. report stated that the helicopter was “engaged and struck with a missile,” a NATO spokesman suggested that small-arms fire was responsible for bringing down the helicopter.

Although the use of such weapons by the Taliban appears to be very limited, the disclosure that relatively low-tech insurgents had acquired such arms would have fostered the impression that the Afghan war effort was faltering at a time when U.S. fatalities in Iraq were at record levels and the Bush administration was struggling to maintain support for the Iraq war even among its Republican base.

The Obama administration criticized Wikileaks for disclosing the classified documents. “Wikileaks made no effort to contact us about these documents,” national security adviser James Jones said in a statement. “The United States government learned from news organizations that these documents would be posted.”

Senior administration officials acknowledged they had been anxiously awaiting the documents’ release but sought to diminish their significance. “There is not a lot new here for those who have been following developments closely,” one U.S. official said.

Many of the documents posted by Wikileaks suggest that Pakistan’s spy service might be helping Afghan insurgents plan and carry out attacks on U.S. forces in Afghanistan and their Afghan government allies. A few reports also describe cooperation between Pakistani intelligence and fighters aligned with al-Qaeda.

U.S. intelligence concluded a number of years ago that Pakistan retained its ties with Taliban groups, intelligence officials said. Late last year, President Obama warned in a letter to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari that the United States would no longer put up with the contacts.

But the documents appear to suggest that Pakistan’s spy agency, known as the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate or ISI, might have assisted insurgents in planning some attacks, at least in the past.

The Pakistani government denied the allegations in the classified intelligence documents. “These reports reflect nothing more than single-source comments and rumors, which abound on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and are often proved wrong after deeper examination,” said Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States.

The documents detail multiple reports of cooperation between retired Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul, who ran ISI in the late 1980s, and Afghan insurgents battling U.S. forces in the mountainous eastern region of the country. In the latter years of the anti-Soviet insurgency, Gul worked closely with several major mujaheddin fighters who currently are battling U.S. troops and trying to topple the Afghan government. The documents also include reports that Gul was trying to reestablish contacts with insurgent leaders such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani, whose fighters have been responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks on U.S. forces.

Over the past decade, U.S. intelligence has collected evidence of direct contacts between ISI and Jalaluddin Haqqani, Hekmatyar and Taliban leader Mohammed Omar. That evidence includes both human intelligence and intercepted communications, officials said.

As the new Afghan war strategy was being formulated late last year, Obama stepped up private pressure on the Pakistanis to sever ties with the Taliban, suggesting that if there wasn’t improvement, the United States would begin to take matters into its own hands.

“The key thing to bear in mind is that the administration is not naive about Pakistan,” an Obama administration official said. “The problem with the Pakistanis is that the more you threaten them, the more they become entrenched and don’t see a path forward with you.”

Most of the voluminous store of classified reports reflects the daily grind of life in Afghanistan as covered in news reports for the past several years. In them, junior officers complain about poorly equipped Afghan forces, corrupt Afghan government officials and a U.S. war effort that at times seemed to be seriously wanting for resources.

In one document, a team of civil affairs soldiers reports donating money for an orphanage that is supposed to help about 100 fatherless children and finding later that only about 30 boys and girls were being helped. Also missing were the stores of rice, grain and cooking oil that the troops had provided. “We found very few orphans living there and could not find most of the HA [humanitarian assistance] we had given them,” the report states.

Other reports give accounts of police chiefs skimming the pay of their patrol officers or placing nonexistent “ghost” troops on their rolls so that they could pocket the additional salaries.

Another report that chronicles a massive Taliban attack on Combat Outpost Keating in eastern Afghanistan quotes frantic radio calls from an overwhelmed U.S. lieutenant seeking air support to hold off the much larger Taliban force. The attack on the base was chronicled in a Washington Post report this year, based on interviews with the officer and his troops.

At times the U.S. troops show a lack of knowledge about Afghanistan, botching the names of cities and the relationships between senior Afghan officials.

The reports highlight how civilian casualties resulting from mistakes on the battlefield have alienated Afghans. Over the past year, civilian casualties in Afghanistan have dropped significantly. But many of the problems referred to in the memo — a resilient Taliban, porous borders with Pakistani safe havens and largely ineffectual Afghan government — remain.

Neighbours wary of thaw in Pak-Afghan relations: NYT

The News International

‘The Indians are shell-shocked. They went in with more than a billion dollars, and now Pakistan is eating their lunch’

NEW DELHI: Recent moves by Afghanistan and Pakistan to improve their once-frosty relationship have prompted deep concern in other countries in the region and led some to consider strengthening ties to Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s political rivals, the New York Times has reported.

The US government considers the Afghan-Pakistan overtures essential to combating insurgencies racking both nations. But India, Iran and Afghanistan’s northern neighbors fear that they are a step toward fulfilling Karzai’s desire to negotiate with Taliban leaders and possibly welcome some of them into the government.

These nations think that Karzai’s plans could compromise their security and interests by lessening the influence of Afghanistan’s Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara ethnic minorities, with whom they have cultivated close links, diplomats and government officials say.

The apprehension, voiced pointedly by senior Indian officials in recent interviews, has emerged as yet another challenge for the US government, which seeks to encourage new initiatives to stabilise Afghanistan while minimising fallout on the already tense relationship between India and Pakistan.

In an attempt to assuage those concerns, the Obama administration’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard C. Holbrooke, traveled here last week to meet with India’s national security adviser and foreign secretary. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, arrived on Thursday for two days of meetings with top military and civilian leaders.

India has been riled by recent meetings involving Karzai and Pakistan’s top two security officials: Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, the Army chief, and Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the intelligence director. Afghanistan and Pakistan have signed a trade agreement that allows Afghan trucks to drive through Pakistan to the Indian border.

Indian officials had wanted to send their trucks through Pakistan to Afghanistan, but the Pakistani government insisted they not be included in the negotiations. US officials hailed the deal as a major step forward in the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan and a vital development for Afghanistan’s economy.

Of greater concern to the Indians is Karzai’s interest in reconciling with elements of the Taliban leadership. Because of the Taliban’s historic ties to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, Indian officials think that such a move would give Pakistan new influence in Afghanistan.

Allowing the Taliban, which is dominated by ethnic Pashtuns, to have a role in the Afghan government is something “we don’t think is a very good idea,” a senior Indian government official said. “It’s not that there are two equal political factions, with equal legitimacy, that have a right to political power. Karzai is the elected president. Not the Taliban. It should not be a question of negotiating a place at the table for them.”

The Indian government, the official said, disputes “suggestions that come from the Pakistanis that the Taliban is legitimate, they represent the Pashtuns and therefore you need to deal with them and negotiate with them. That’s the difference. We don’t think they represent the Pashtuns.”

Compounding India’s pique is the fact that it believed it had cultivated close ties with Karzai. India has opened four consulates in Afghanistan, even though relatively few Indian citizens live there, and invested $1.3 billion in development projects – far more than Pakistan has.

“The Indians are shell-shocked,” said a Western diplomat involved in Afghanistan policy. “They went in with more than a billion dollars, and now Pakistan is eating their lunch.”

US officials are trying to persuade the Indians to abandon their traditional zero-sum logic that what’s good for Pakistan must be bad for them. “You cannot stabilise Afghanistan without the participation of Pakistan as a legitimate concerned party,” Holbrooke said at a meeting with Indian journalists here.

Speaking to reporters on his flight here, Mullen said that “the whole region has a role to play” in Afghan reconciliation but that the Kabul government must take the lead.

In his meetings, Mullen sought to assure Indian officials that the US-led counterinsurgency strategy was on track and that the United States has a long-term commitment to assist Afghanistan. “India, perhaps more than any outside country, has the greatest stake in our success in Afghanistan,” one US official said.

The United States, Mullen told reporters, is not “looking for the door out of Afghanistan or out of this region.”

But Indian officials remain deeply mistrustful of Pakistan’s motivations in Afghanistan. The Pakistanis, officials here contend, have deftly capitalized on Karzai’s fears of abandonment by the United States – fueled in part by his misinterpretation of President Obama’s pledge to begin drawing down forces by July 2011 – by offering to help forge a deal with an insurgency that his army, and Nato forces, have been unable to defeat.

“Pakistan wants to be able to control the sequence of events in Afghanistan,” a second senior Indian official said. “We don’t want a situation that would entail a revision to pre-2001, with backward-looking people taking the reins of power in Kabul.”

Iran, which is predominantly Shiite Muslim, is also worried about any greater political role for leaders of the almost exclusively Sunni Taliban. Diplomats in New Delhi say Iran has encouraged India to send more of its assistance to provinces in northern and western Afghanistan that are under the control of people who were part of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. The diplomats said India has not shifted its efforts.

Whether the Taliban is genuinely interested in reconciliation is questionable. CIA Director Leon Panetta said last month that he saw no clear indications that insurgent leaders wanted to engage in peace talks with the Afghan government. Mullen echoed that assessment, saying he does not believe reconciliation is imminent. “We’ve got to be in a position of strength,” he said. “We’re just not there yet.”