Who speaks for the Baloch of DG Khan?

By Aima Khosa
SPEARHEAD RESEARCH

As our government mulls over the questionable fate of the Seraiki province, protests have erupted all over the country with calls for all kinds of provinces – provinces based on ethnicities, provinces based on “administrative grounds”, provinces based on linguistic differences. So while there are calls to permanently damage Pakistan’s already-frayed map, here are two scents on a concern Maula Fazalur Rehman raised at the meeting where the commission came up with recommendations for the new province.

A brief history of Dera Ghazi Khan is in order. The city goes back as far as 1476 when Baloch chieftain Nawab Ghazi Khan Mirani declared independence from the Langah Dynasty of Multan. Along with two other deras(encampments) – Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Fateh Khan – Derajat was born.

Derajat eventually came into the possession of the British rule after the Sikh War of 1849. It was then divided into two districts, Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan. A little known fact about this division is that the tribal leaders were presented the option of going with Balochistan or Punjab. The Baloch leaders of DG Khan, under an agreement with the British rulers, chose to side with Punjab. While the exact terms of the agreement are not known, the general principles of the agreement were that the tribal leaders would be allowed to continue to uphold their Jirga traditions and largely remain separate from direct government intervention in their affairs. This is, of course, largely conjecture but a layman in DG Khan today would tell you the same story. There is also a widely held view that another agreement was signed at the time of the partition with similar conditions.

Naturally, both these agreements do not stand anymore. However, the Baloch presence in Southern Punjab is still there. The population of DG Khan today roughly comprises of 80 percent Baloch. This is largely due to the proximity of Balochistan to the city – Dera Ghazi Khan is nestled right at the tail of Suleiman Range that opens in Punjab. These are not the Seraiki speaking Baloch, as is the widely-held belief. Instead, Balochi is the commonly spoken language of the area. Another reason for the large number of the Baloch in the city is the presence of the Baloch tribal families and their landholdings surrounding the region.

So, if this new province is being created along ethnic lines, it is surprising that no one has taken into account the presence of the Baloch in the new Seraiki province. Who is going to speak for them? There has been no survey conducted to see if the people of Southern Punjab actually want the new province, let alone a referendum, giving a choice to the Baloch of the province to side with Balochistan if they so wanted.

Naturally, one would ask why DG Khan would want to go over to Balochistan. That province, after all, is in deep turmoil itself. There is little economic growth and development, poor law and order situation and a generally volatile ethnic balance.

It is precisely for this very reason that DG Khan going under the provincial control of Balochistan might just end up benefitting Balochistan andDG Khan.

While Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan in terms of area, it is also the poorest. Balochistan has the lowest literacy rate among all of Pakistan’s provinces. According to National Economic Survey, the province also has the least number of educational institutions, the lowest literacy rate among both males and females, the lowest ranking in the Gender Parity Index (GPI) and the smallest presence of private educational institutes in the country. Furthermore, about six percent of the schools in Balochistan do not have buildings, nine percent lack electricity, 12 percent are devoid of clean drinking water and 11 percent are without proper latrine.

So now imagine a city, a relatively poor city of Punjab, entering Balochistan’s sphere. This city has a literacy rate of 60 percent – quite a feat for such a small, poor district. There are at least 15 different institutes in the city. There is a medical school, a college of agriculture, several law institutes, colleges of commerce and colleges of education. Furthermore, there are a number of public and private sector primary education institutes functioning in the area.

Similarly, the economy in Dera Ghazi Khan is relatively rich for such a small city. It is located in rich agricultural land with cotton, wheat, sugarcane, rice, tobacco being the major crops being grown. The city is also famous for its dates. Furthermore, the city has access to other parts of the country via railway, including Multan, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta.

One cannot, as well, forget the all-important DG Khan Cement Company Limited, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, the Al-Ghazi Tractors and Rahim Bux Textile Mills. A commonly held, if also commonly forgotten, belief is that these companies along with several other flour, cotton, chemical and rice mills in the area form the backbone of Punjab.

Balochistan, as a province, could do well with a city that boasts of educational and economic development. And DG Khan, similarly, could do well with Balochistan as its vital city, bustling with economic growth and educational strength (yes, I am hinting as DG Khan being the capital city of Balochistan). One must not forget that Balochistan also has a vast supply of natural gas, coal and other minerals. Other untapped aspects of Balochistan’s economy are fisheries, mining, manufacturing industries and trade. With a close proximity to Punjab via DG Khan, and with the benefits of DG Khan pouring in to Balochistan, the Baloch on either side of the Suleiman Range could do well together.

DG Khan also has a relatively balanced ethnic ratio. It is a safer and more stable city. Balochistan, as a province, needs a city like that under its sphere. And DG Khan, as a city, needs a stronger recognition and a presence in a province that would actually benefit from it.

So while our leaders mull and debate and while our intellectuals tweet and argue, the question remains, who will speak for the Baloch of DG Khan? What is their place in the new Seraiki province, when they, after all, not Seraiki?

Pakistan in 2012: A year in review

The year 2012 was no less tumultuous for Pakistan than any other year. Starting from the Supreme Court and former premier Gilani at loggerheads to the return of Tahirul Qadri’s (untimely) arrival on the political scene, Pakistan has seen a healthy share of ups and downs this year. NATO supply routes were resumed, terrorism continued, Metro Bus project was initiated – it is difficult to remember when one event ended and the other began. For the purpose of simplification and to refresh the previous year, Spearhead Research put together a year in review, a compilation of all important news Pakistan saw.

Read more…

The worst is yet to come

By Brig Asif Haroon Raja

The US in pursuit of its strategic and economic objectives in this part of the world arm twisted Gen Musharraf in September 2001 soon after 9/11 and made him do its bidding. Pakistan forces were pushed into the inferno of war on terror which was not Pakistan’s war. To start with, flames were lit on two extreme flanks resting in Baloch inhabited interior Balochistan and Pashtun inhabited FATA. The course of flames was gradually channeled towards settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), then to other cities of KP and subsequently to major cities of Punjab as well as Islamabad. Flames of terrorism were stoked by CIA and FBI outposts established in 2002 with the concurrence of the ruling regime. ISI and other intelligence agencies were asked to take up a backseat and intelligence collection, collation and dissemination was taken over entirely by CIA on the plea that it had superior technological means.

The CIA then brought in RAW and RAAM agents to boost its strength and collectively gave birth to Pakistani Taliban, who later got organized and formed Tehrik-e-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP) in December 2007. They were won over by providing them bagfuls of dollars and meeting all their weapons and equipment demands and also promising them that FATA will be made an independent caliphate and submerged with Pashtun belt of Afghanistan. In Balochistan, disgruntled Baloch Sardars of Bugti, Mengal and Marri were cultivated to start insurgency. They were lured by promising them independent Balochistan full of mineral resources and Gwadar Port falling in the path of envisaged energy corridor from Central Asia. About sixty Farari (training) camps were established in interior Balochistan and supply routes both from Afghanistan via Spin Boldak and Shahgarh in India were made operational to meet all their demands. Later on, several terrorist outfits like BLA, BRA and BLF came into being and their leaders were given asylum in Afghanistan and London.

While our intelligence agencies got busy in nabbing terrorists from all over the country and the Army got embroiled in fighting tribesmen in FATA and Balochistan, CIA and FBI helped by MI-6, RAW and RAAM agents got on with their job of destabilizing Pakistan from within. Besides sabotage and subversion by terrorists, drones were also introduced by CIA to further fuel terrorism. Shamsi airbase was used for the purpose. Sold to the idea of enlightened moderation Musharraf accepted the US advice to expand and liberate the media. It was then decisively penetrated by foreign powers to be able to promote their coined themes and to change perceptions of the desired audiences in Pakistan. India promoted its culture through electronic media and also took help of our media to hide its ugly face. All these processes which weakened Pakistan went on unabatedly throughout Musharraf’s stint in power till March 2008 and Pakistan’s sovereignty kept eroding. By that time all institutions of Pakistan including Army, ISI and judiciary stood discredited.

When the US realized that Musharraf had lost his popularity and would not be helpful in changing the perceptions of people from religious conservatism to secularism, and was not in a position to make compromises on joint Pak-US operations in FATA, or opening up nuclear and missile assets and placing them under a joint control mechanism, or reducing Chinese activities in Gwadar Port and Balochistan mineral projects, or shelving Pak-Iran gas pipeline and in curbing anti-Americanism, it decided to bring in Benazir and make a dream team of liberal parties. When Benazir started to act too independent, she was removed from the scene and handpicked puppets were given reins of power. They pursued Musharraf’s policies in letter and spirit and went a step ahead in keeping their patrons appeased. The Army, ISI and the judiciary however made recoveries by recapturing lost spaces and soon were able to re-establish their image and credibility.

The political leaders deeply engrossed in lot and plunder were slapped and humiliated but were also given blandishments and a free hand to milk the country and reduce it to a carcass. Their incompetence to govern and their corrupt practices were acceptable since they obediently served Washington’s interests. In order to cripple Pakistan’s economy and make it dependent upon US aid, rulers were told to put Pakistan’s neck in the stranglehold of IMF and to keep borrowing and keep spending lavishly.

They were told to ignore terrorism and ethnic cleansing of non-locals by Baloch insurgents seeking separation simply because they are seculars and pro-USA and India. Rulers were directed to use full force against militants in northwestern tribal area particularly against those who were anti-American and supporting Jihad in Afghanistan. Haqqani group based in North Waziristan (NW) is their chief foe. Ilyas Kashmiri outfit and Lashkar-e-Taeba are also on US hit list, and to a lesser degree are Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Nazir. Dozens of other militant groups including TTP located in NW which are anti-Pakistan but not involved in Afghanistan do not bother USA.

TTP which has its tentacles in all seven tribal agencies as well as in settled areas of KP, Swat, Malakand, South Punjab, Pashtun belt of Balochistan and its long arm can reach any part of Pakistan is of chief concern for Pakistan. Several foreign agencies are providing massive funds, weapons, equipment, explosives, training facilities, guidance and manpower replenishments from Afghan soil to TTP since they desire this force to possibly defeat or as a minimum contain bulk of Army. But for foreign support in huge quantities, it would not have been possible for the TTP to rebound after its backbone had been broken in the two decisive battles of Bajaur and South Waziristan in 2009. Footprints of foreign hands were clearly seen in all the regions that were recaptured from the militants by security forces. In the Bajaur battle which raged from July 2008 till February 2009, large number of Tajik and Uzbek fighters used to supplement Maulana Faqir’s force. Even now Afghans are involved in Mohmand Agency and in Dir.

While launching of military operations by the Army in Waziristan led to emergence of Pakistani Taliban, two drone attacks in Bajaur Agency in 2006 instilled hatred against the Army particularly when October strike on a seminary killing 80 students was wrongly owned by the Army. Brutal military action against inmates of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafza including women and children in July 2007 triggered recruitment of young Taliban in a big way. It also ignited spate of suicide bombings in cities. Thereon, it became easy for the senior members of TTP like Qari Hussein to motivate young boys aged 12-16 years to become suicide bombers. The schemers then shifted terrorism to major cities particularly Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore. This was made possible after the induction of Blackwater in 2008. Several security companies cropped up in capital cities.

Mumbai attacks on 26/11 were masterminded to deflect attention of the world from the atrocities committed by Indian security forces in Indian occupied Kashmir where the situation had become explosive, and to nail down ISI and to pave way for carrying out surgical strikes in Pakistan similar to drone strikes. New tactics involving double suicide bombers and group attacks were introduced in 2009. Drone attacks were intensified and so were target killings in Balochistan and Karachi.

In order to keep the judiciary subservient, the ruling regime was emphatically told not to restore the sacked judges led by chief justice Iftikhar. Shahbaz Sharif’s Ministry in Punjab which was relatively stable was brought down and Governor Rule imposed on Washington’s direction in early 2009. Restoration of judges and Punjab government was not to the liking of plot makers. After the enactment of Af-Pak policy in March 2009, which heralded the beginning of the final phase against Pakistan’s strategic assets and passage of Kerry-Lugar Bill, large number of under cover CIA operatives mostly belonging to US Special Forces made their way into Pakistan in 2010. Their inflow increased in second half of 2010 as a result of removal of all security checks by ISI and Special Police. Raymond Davis who had earlier on been deported due to his shady activities also managed to sneak back. By end 2010 an effective countrywide CIA-Blackwater network duly connected with militant groups and criminal gangs had become operational. Roadmaps leading to various defence installations and nuclear sites had been prepared.

This network provides the local militants intelligence and intimate guidance of marked target areas. Its ramifications came to light after the arrest of Raymond but also led to intensification of CIA-ISI rivalry and nose-diving of Pak-US relations. Till April, the militants targeted mostly soft targets in cities to create harassment and fear among the public and to accentuate problems of security forces and intelligence agencies. Mosques, worship places and markets were targeted to pitch Islamists against Islamists and defame Islam.

Helicopter assault on 02 May duly assisted by CIA base in Abbottabad was executed to achieve multiple objectives. The foremost was to restore declining popularity of Obama and US military in the eyes of Americans in particular and world in general. Second; lower the image of Army, air force and ISI that had risen high and to discredit the three institutions in the eyes of the public. Former CIA Director Panetta who had crossed swords with Lt Gen Pasha on several occasions had sworn to teach him a lesson. Third; embarrass Pakistan and to put it in a tight corner, leaving it with little space to defy US dictates.

Having created the desired effects through media and Congressmen, US high officials visited Islamabad and further harassed the already hassled leadership by conveying that Pakistan would from now on be judged by its acts and deeds. To give heart to the fainting leaders, the visitors gave a clean chit to them saying that they were not directly involved in hiding OBL but there was a support group inside Pakistan which had protected OBL. This certification was music to the ears of our leaders. Feeling relieved, they readily agreed to let CIA inspect the Abbottabad House compound where OBL lived, hand over the tail of the destroyed Blackhawk helicopter, launch an operation in NW and to conduct joint operations to eliminate terrorists. These concessions were doled out in violation of the spirit of 14 May unanimous resolution of the parliament.

Mehran Naval Base attack was executed on 22 May to dishearten the navy, to shatter the confidence of the people in armed forces and to completely demoralize the nation. Among several hypotheses, one of the assumptions was an attack conducted by Ilyas Kashmiri group. If so, he has been reportedly killed on 04 May fearing that he may spill the beans. Apparently 02 May and 22 May incidents were also intended to create divisions within forces by suggesting that there were sympathizers and supporters of al-Qaeda and Taliban in each service and intelligence agency and that there was an urgent need to purge such undesirable elements. Mehran Base attack is a prelude to many more suchlike attacks since it seems that the conspirators have now started the final destructive stage to hit hardened military installations including nuclear sites.

In continuation of ISI bashing, Human Rights Watch and western media has come out with another wacky story that the ISI was behind the unfortunate murder of eminent and bold journalist Syed Salim Shehzad. Had it been so, he would have been taken to KP or FATA and not towards Sarai Alamgir? It seems to be a clear cut case of Blackwater which is ever ready to exploit a situation whenever any person makes several enemies and becomes prominent. ISI’s plate is already full to the brim and would be mad if it buys another headache for itself. The situation assumes greater curiosity and mystification after expression of deep concern by high US officials like John Kerry and Hillary Clinton on his death.

While the people have not come out of the shock of two attacks in May, the foreign and local media is adding to their apprehensions by floating rumor balloons of despondency and trying to undermine the capabilities of armed forces. An impression is being created that the military is incapable of safeguarding our vital interests. There is a very small segment that still talks good of USA otherwise great majority distrusts USA and suspect that it will again strike Pakistan to denuclearize it. They are not convinced with John Kerry assurances that the US is not interested in Pak nukes particularly after NATO Secretary General’s statement that it is the collective responsibility of international community to secure nuclear assets of Pakistan.

Stories of our nukes falling into wrong hands have begun to reappear in western media. Despite multi-layered system of security evolved by Pakistan which is second to none, doubts are still being aired by vested interests that Pakistan’s nuclear program is unsafe and needs to be secured. Pakistan Army managed to get out of the deathtrap laid by its adversaries in Swat and SW. They have now prepared another deadly deathtrap in NW and are once again trying to lure in Pak Army with a hope that this time it will get trapped. It is only when major portion of our combat divisions get embroiled in the war in northwest that India will make its Cold Start doctrine operational on the weakened eastern front. Coming months are fraught with extreme dangers but our rulers are naively thinking that after John Kerry and Hillary Clinton’s visit worst is over. In my view the worst is yet to come.

While I am quite confident that our security forces would be able to thwart all hostile attempts made on our nuclear arsenal and delivery means and will also be able to safeguard the frontiers against foreign aggression, what I am worried is that we have still not identified our foes and taken preventive measures. Unless we guard against the designs of our foes pretending to be friends, we will not be able to confront the worst threat which is staring into our eyes and has got closer to our vital ground.

The worst is yet to come

By Brig Asif Haroon Raja

The US in pursuit of its strategic and economic objectives in this part of the world arm twisted Gen Musharraf in September 2001 soon after 9/11 and made him do its bidding. Pakistan forces were pushed into the inferno of war on terror which was not Pakistan’s war. To start with, flames were lit on two extreme flanks resting in Baloch inhabited interior Balochistan and Pashtun inhabited FATA. The course of flames was gradually channeled towards settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), then to other cities of KP and subsequently to major cities of Punjab as well as Islamabad. Flames of terrorism were stoked by CIA and FBI outposts established in 2002 with the concurrence of the ruling regime. ISI and other intelligence agencies were asked to take up a backseat and intelligence collection, collation and dissemination was taken over entirely by CIA on the plea that it had superior technological means.

The CIA then brought in RAW and RAAM agents to boost its strength and collectively gave birth to Pakistani Taliban, who later got organized and formed Tehrik-e-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP) in December 2007. They were won over by providing them bagfuls of dollars and meeting all their weapons and equipment demands and also promising them that FATA will be made an independent caliphate and submerged with Pashtun belt of Afghanistan. In Balochistan, disgruntled Baloch Sardars of Bugti, Mengal and Marri were cultivated to start insurgency. They were lured by promising them independent Balochistan full of mineral resources and Gwadar Port falling in the path of envisaged energy corridor from Central Asia. About sixty Farari (training) camps were established in interior Balochistan and supply routes both from Afghanistan via Spin Boldak and Shahgarh in India were made operational to meet all their demands. Later on, several terrorist outfits like BLA, BRA and BLF came into being and their leaders were given asylum in Afghanistan and London.

While our intelligence agencies got busy in nabbing terrorists from all over the country and the Army got embroiled in fighting tribesmen in FATA and Balochistan, CIA and FBI helped by MI-6, RAW and RAAM agents got on with their job of destabilizing Pakistan from within. Besides sabotage and subversion by terrorists, drones were also introduced by CIA to further fuel terrorism. Shamsi airbase was used for the purpose. Sold to the idea of enlightened moderation Musharraf accepted the US advice to expand and liberate the media. It was then decisively penetrated by foreign powers to be able to promote their coined themes and to change perceptions of the desired audiences in Pakistan. India promoted its culture through electronic media and also took help of our media to hide its ugly face. All these processes which weakened Pakistan went on unabatedly throughout Musharraf’s stint in power till March 2008 and Pakistan’s sovereignty kept eroding. By that time all institutions of Pakistan including Army, ISI and judiciary stood discredited.

When the US realized that Musharraf had lost his popularity and would not be helpful in changing the perceptions of people from religious conservatism to secularism, and was not in a position to make compromises on joint Pak-US operations in FATA, or opening up nuclear and missile assets and placing them under a joint control mechanism, or reducing Chinese activities in Gwadar Port and Balochistan mineral projects, or shelving Pak-Iran gas pipeline and in curbing anti-Americanism, it decided to bring in Benazir and make a dream team of liberal parties. When Benazir started to act too independent, she was removed from the scene and handpicked puppets were given reins of power. They pursued Musharraf’s policies in letter and spirit and went a step ahead in keeping their patrons appeased. The Army, ISI and the judiciary however made recoveries by recapturing lost spaces and soon were able to re-establish their image and credibility.

The political leaders deeply engrossed in lot and plunder were slapped and humiliated but were also given blandishments and a free hand to milk the country and reduce it to a carcass. Their incompetence to govern and their corrupt practices were acceptable since they obediently served Washington’s interests. In order to cripple Pakistan’s economy and make it dependent upon US aid, rulers were told to put Pakistan’s neck in the stranglehold of IMF and to keep borrowing and keep spending lavishly.

They were told to ignore terrorism and ethnic cleansing of non-locals by Baloch insurgents seeking separation simply because they are seculars and pro-USA and India. Rulers were directed to use full force against militants in northwestern tribal area particularly against those who were anti-American and supporting Jihad in Afghanistan. Haqqani group based in North Waziristan (NW) is their chief foe. Ilyas Kashmiri outfit and Lashkar-e-Taeba are also on US hit list, and to a lesser degree are Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Nazir. Dozens of other militant groups including TTP located in NW which are anti-Pakistan but not involved in Afghanistan do not bother USA.

TTP which has its tentacles in all seven tribal agencies as well as in settled areas of KP, Swat, Malakand, South Punjab, Pashtun belt of Balochistan and its long arm can reach any part of Pakistan is of chief concern for Pakistan. Several foreign agencies are providing massive funds, weapons, equipment, explosives, training facilities, guidance and manpower replenishments from Afghan soil to TTP since they desire this force to possibly defeat or as a minimum contain bulk of Army. But for foreign support in huge quantities, it would not have been possible for the TTP to rebound after its backbone had been broken in the two decisive battles of Bajaur and South Waziristan in 2009. Footprints of foreign hands were clearly seen in all the regions that were recaptured from the militants by security forces. In the Bajaur battle which raged from July 2008 till February 2009, large number of Tajik and Uzbek fighters used to supplement Maulana Faqir’s force. Even now Afghans are involved in Mohmand Agency and in Dir.

While launching of military operations by the Army in Waziristan led to emergence of Pakistani Taliban, two drone attacks in Bajaur Agency in 2006 instilled hatred against the Army particularly when October strike on a seminary killing 80 students was wrongly owned by the Army. Brutal military action against inmates of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafza including women and children in July 2007 triggered recruitment of young Taliban in a big way. It also ignited spate of suicide bombings in cities. Thereon, it became easy for the senior members of TTP like Qari Hussein to motivate young boys aged 12-16 years to become suicide bombers. The schemers then shifted terrorism to major cities particularly Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore. This was made possible after the induction of Blackwater in 2008. Several security companies cropped up in capital cities.

Mumbai attacks on 26/11 were masterminded to deflect attention of the world from the atrocities committed by Indian security forces in Indian occupied Kashmir where the situation had become explosive, and to nail down ISI and to pave way for carrying out surgical strikes in Pakistan similar to drone strikes. New tactics involving double suicide bombers and group attacks were introduced in 2009. Drone attacks were intensified and so were target killings in Balochistan and Karachi.

In order to keep the judiciary subservient, the ruling regime was emphatically told not to restore the sacked judges led by chief justice Iftikhar. Shahbaz Sharif’s Ministry in Punjab which was relatively stable was brought down and Governor Rule imposed on Washington’s direction in early 2009. Restoration of judges and Punjab government was not to the liking of plot makers. After the enactment of Af-Pak policy in March 2009, which heralded the beginning of the final phase against Pakistan’s strategic assets and passage of Kerry-Lugar Bill, large number of under cover CIA operatives mostly belonging to US Special Forces made their way into Pakistan in 2010. Their inflow increased in second half of 2010 as a result of removal of all security checks by ISI and Special Police. Raymond Davis who had earlier on been deported due to his shady activities also managed to sneak back. By end 2010 an effective countrywide CIA-Blackwater network duly connected with militant groups and criminal gangs had become operational. Roadmaps leading to various defence installations and nuclear sites had been prepared.

This network provides the local militants intelligence and intimate guidance of marked target areas. Its ramifications came to light after the arrest of Raymond but also led to intensification of CIA-ISI rivalry and nose-diving of Pak-US relations. Till April, the militants targeted mostly soft targets in cities to create harassment and fear among the public and to accentuate problems of security forces and intelligence agencies. Mosques, worship places and markets were targeted to pitch Islamists against Islamists and defame Islam.

Helicopter assault on 02 May duly assisted by CIA base in Abbottabad was executed to achieve multiple objectives. The foremost was to restore declining popularity of Obama and US military in the eyes of Americans in particular and world in general. Second; lower the image of Army, air force and ISI that had risen high and to discredit the three institutions in the eyes of the public. Former CIA Director Panetta who had crossed swords with Lt Gen Pasha on several occasions had sworn to teach him a lesson. Third; embarrass Pakistan and to put it in a tight corner, leaving it with little space to defy US dictates.

Having created the desired effects through media and Congressmen, US high officials visited Islamabad and further harassed the already hassled leadership by conveying that Pakistan would from now on be judged by its acts and deeds. To give heart to the fainting leaders, the visitors gave a clean chit to them saying that they were not directly involved in hiding OBL but there was a support group inside Pakistan which had protected OBL. This certification was music to the ears of our leaders. Feeling relieved, they readily agreed to let CIA inspect the Abbottabad House compound where OBL lived, hand over the tail of the destroyed Blackhawk helicopter, launch an operation in NW and to conduct joint operations to eliminate terrorists. These concessions were doled out in violation of the spirit of 14 May unanimous resolution of the parliament.

Mehran Naval Base attack was executed on 22 May to dishearten the navy, to shatter the confidence of the people in armed forces and to completely demoralize the nation. Among several hypotheses, one of the assumptions was an attack conducted by Ilyas Kashmiri group. If so, he has been reportedly killed on 04 May fearing that he may spill the beans. Apparently 02 May and 22 May incidents were also intended to create divisions within forces by suggesting that there were sympathizers and supporters of al-Qaeda and Taliban in each service and intelligence agency and that there was an urgent need to purge such undesirable elements. Mehran Base attack is a prelude to many more suchlike attacks since it seems that the conspirators have now started the final destructive stage to hit hardened military installations including nuclear sites.

In continuation of ISI bashing, Human Rights Watch and western media has come out with another wacky story that the ISI was behind the unfortunate murder of eminent and bold journalist Syed Salim Shehzad. Had it been so, he would have been taken to KP or FATA and not towards Sarai Alamgir? It seems to be a clear cut case of Blackwater which is ever ready to exploit a situation whenever any person makes several enemies and becomes prominent. ISI’s plate is already full to the brim and would be mad if it buys another headache for itself. The situation assumes greater curiosity and mystification after expression of deep concern by high US officials like John Kerry and Hillary Clinton on his death.

While the people have not come out of the shock of two attacks in May, the foreign and local media is adding to their apprehensions by floating rumor balloons of despondency and trying to undermine the capabilities of armed forces. An impression is being created that the military is incapable of safeguarding our vital interests. There is a very small segment that still talks good of USA otherwise great majority distrusts USA and suspect that it will again strike Pakistan to denuclearize it. They are not convinced with John Kerry assurances that the US is not interested in Pak nukes particularly after NATO Secretary General’s statement that it is the collective responsibility of international community to secure nuclear assets of Pakistan.

Stories of our nukes falling into wrong hands have begun to reappear in western media. Despite multi-layered system of security evolved by Pakistan which is second to none, doubts are still being aired by vested interests that Pakistan’s nuclear program is unsafe and needs to be secured. Pakistan Army managed to get out of the deathtrap laid by its adversaries in Swat and SW. They have now prepared another deadly deathtrap in NW and are once again trying to lure in Pak Army with a hope that this time it will get trapped. It is only when major portion of our combat divisions get embroiled in the war in northwest that India will make its Cold Start doctrine operational on the weakened eastern front. Coming months are fraught with extreme dangers but our rulers are naively thinking that after John Kerry and Hillary Clinton’s visit worst is over. In my view the worst is yet to come.

While I am quite confident that our security forces would be able to thwart all hostile attempts made on our nuclear arsenal and delivery means and will also be able to safeguard the frontiers against foreign aggression, what I am worried is that we have still not identified our foes and taken preventive measures. Unless we guard against the designs of our foes pretending to be friends, we will not be able to confront the worst threat which is staring into our eyes and has got closer to our vital ground.

Attacks on supply trucks: Pakistani officials put blame on NATO

Qaiser Butt

ISLAMABAD: As the frequency of attacks on Nato supply trucks grows, Pakistani officials blame the alliance for rejecting a security plan that Islamabad unveiled to Western states last year, The Express Tribune has learnt.

File photo shows a Nato truck on fire after an attack on the PAk-Afghan border.

The disclosure came as gunmen set ablaze two more oil tankers in the Surab area of Kalat district, in Balochistan, on Sunday. A day earlier 16 tankers, carrying oil supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan, were torched by gunmen in Naseerabad district.

“The poor security arrangements put in place by Nato authorities have made supply vehicles vulnerable to Taliban attacks. Now there are frequent attacks on Nato supply vehicles travelling from Karachi to the Afghan province of Kandahar,” a top official told The Express Tribune requesting anonymity.

He said the Pakistan government had offered a comprehensive plan to Nato for safe transportation of military hardware and other supplies from the Karachi port to Afghanistan.

According to the plan, the Balochistan government will be responsible for the safety of Nato supplies to the Chaman border – a journey through 12 districts of the province. For this, Nato will be required to provide four vehicles and monthly salaries of 16 security guards.

The plan was unveiled to Nato officials in a meeting in Islamabad last year where Balochistan government officials were also present. British diplomats agreed to the plan but Nato officials rejected it without citing any reason.

“Nato has hired private security firms for the protection of its shipments. But it has been observed that the private guards flee whenever the convoys they are protecting are attacked by the Taliban or miscreants,” a top official in the Balochistan government told The Express Tribune.

The official precluded the involvement of the Afghan Taliban in Saturday’s attack on Nato lorries in Naseerabad. “Presence of the Afghan Taliban in Balochistan is out of question,” he added.

However, he hinted that the Baloch insurgent groups could be involved in such attacks. “The involvement of the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) cannot be ruled out,” he said. Nonetheless, he said it was premature to put the blame on anybody without proper investigation.

The official also pointed to another possible angle to the issue. “Some time drivers of Nato tankers sell out oil to another party and engineer attacks on their empty vehicles,” he said. “They get compensation for their trucks as those are already insured,” he said.

To substantiate his claim, the official said that Nato trucks were always attacked only when they were parked at some roadside restaurant or at filling stations. “Strangely enough, drivers and cleaners of these vehicles always survive the attacks,” he said.

The official said that police have arrested some drivers for their involvement in such engineered attacks. And in some cases the involvement of drivers was established.

He also suspected that some Nato officials were also complacent in the racket. However, no Nato official was available to comment on this allegation.

The Balochistan government is tired of these attacks. “We are sick of these incidents because we have to pay Rs400,000 as compensation for any civilian death in these Rs100,000 for every injured,” the official said.

Foreign hands: India suspected of creating unrest in FATA

The Peshawar corps commander’s statement earlier this week blaming “foreign hands” for the unrest in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) was a reference to India, an official source told The Express Tribune while requesting anonymity.

“Yes, Indian hand was actively involved in last month’s killing of 11 Pakistani soldiers by Afghan militants at checkpoints in Mohmand Agency,” the official said.

“We have strong and undeniable evidence that the attack was sponsored by India. Indians are involved in terrorist activities in Fata like they are involved in Balochistan,” the source added.

Corps Commander Peshawar, Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik had said authorities have gathered credible evidence of external interference in the restive tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.

“We have credible evidence of the involvement of foreign hands in the restive tribal regions along the Afghan border and we have informed superior authorities to take necessary action,” he said.

Malik, while talking to the media on the sidelines of a seminar at the Corps Headquarters in Peshawar, said that “foreign hands are helping anti-state elements to destabilise Pakistan’s tribal regions for their vested interests.” The terrorists enter Pakistan through the western border to disturb law and order in the tribal areas and then return to war-torn Afghanistan, he added. On December 24, 11 soldiers were killed when about 150 militants attacked five paramilitary checkpoints in the northwestern tribal region of Mohmand. At least 24 militants were killed in the fighting. “Militants ran away, leaving behind dead bodies. Twelve soldiers were wounded in the fighting,” an official said.

In a telephone call to the media, Taliban spokesperson for Mohmand Agency Sajjad Mohmand claimed his fighters had killed 12 soldiers and captured a checkpoint.

In June 2008, then Foreign Office spokesperson Muhammad Sadiq had said: “Foreign governments and militants are involved in the turbulent situation prevalent in the tribal areas”.

Officials in Islamabad claim that there are fundamental reasons behind Indian backing to militants in Fata. “Fast growing economic power China coupled with her strategic relationship with Pakistan – Beijing’s investment in development of Gwadar, a seaport of geo-strategic importance have irked the Indians,” they claim.

Let’s stop flattering India so much

Ayaz Amir

The centre of the Pakistani solar system is not the sun, as innocents may tend to believe, but our elephant-like neighbour to the east, from whose bosom once-upon-a-time we were carved: India. We may be fighting a war on our western frontier and the greatest threat to the idea envisioned by our luckless founding fathers may come from the forces of religious extremism – whose creation in present form and shape is one of the singular achievements of our defence establishment – but all our war doctrines are based on the real or presumed threat from the east.

Thus, while the world marches on we remain trapped in a time warp, fighting the battles of the past, obsessed with the perception of a threat which spurs us on to a nuclear arms race underpinned by no sense of logic or rationality…as the rest of the world understands these terms.

How much land does a man require?… famously asked Leo Tolstoy. How much nuclear security does a country require? In a reasonable world five nuclear bombs would be enough to ward off real or chimerical dangers. If Al-Qaeda had a single nuclear device the United States would not know how to deal with the threat. We may be a beggar country but, Allah be praised, we have enough nuclear bombs, and missiles to carry them, to spread death and destruction across the entire sub-continent.

Yet our supreme custodians of the national interest, self-appointed protectors of our ideological and geographical frontiers, are not satisfied, continuing to articulate and champion a national security doctrine out of sync with the times.

If the bombs at our disposal and more than half a million men, and mercifully a sprinkling of women, under arms are not enough to impart a sense of security to this putative citadel of Islam – another of our mythical notions – then Ares, the god of war, can descend from Olympus and we will not be secure.

Yes, we have problems with India and will continue to have them. But surely we are not envisaging a recourse to arms to settle these problems. We should stick to our viewpoint on Kashmir and, in this regard, be guided by the wishes of the Kashmiri people. If we have water problems with India we must talk to resolve them. If both countries are engaged in the most senseless of standoffs anywhere in the world – on the dizzying heights of the Siachen Glacier, the only way for common sense to make an appearance is through negotiations.

Except for the first Kashmir war, 1947-48, which allowed us to acquire the portion of Kashmir in our possession, all our subsequent wars with India were exercises in unmitigated folly. In the name of the national interest and, from Gen Ziaul Haq’s time onwards, in the name of ‘jihad’, our supreme keepers of the national flame have done things which in other countries would have called for the requisitioning of a determined firing squad.

Haven’t we gone through enough but must we still learn no lessons? Yes, the Pakistan-India border remains one of the most militarised frontiers in the world. Yes, there is an unbroken chain of military cantonments on the Indian side of the border, just as there is a similar chain – from the mountains of Kashmir to the sea – on our side. But we should be reversing this state of affairs, not advancing it.

Yes, we must remain eternally vigilant, I suppose an inescapable cliché in this sort of discussion. But the point is that we have enough, and to spare, to meet and even exceed the demands of vigilance. There may be sections of Indian public opinion hostile to Pakistan. But that shouldn’t cause us any sleepless nights. There are many things about official India which we don’t like. To hear Indians talk about their economic achievements, the implication being that Pakistan has been left far behind, can be tiresome, especially when repeated too often.

But the mark of being a civilized people is not to eliminate prejudice – it would be a dull world without anger and prejudice – but to keep it in check. We can indulge our fancies in private but when fancy and fantasy cloud public discourse or become substitutes for wisdom in government policy we invite trouble for ourselves.

Pakistan is not a morsel that can be chewed and swallowed. Contrary to what many in the chattering classes assert, Pakistan is not a banana republic. The United States does not run Pakistan and indeed could not, because some of our most glaring stupidities in the name of ‘jihad’ and national security are entirely indigenous, capable of concoction in no other laboratory.

Without under-estimating the ingenuity of the CIA, would the CIA have been able to create something quite like the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi or the Lashkar-e-Taiba? The Kargil adventure could have been dreamt up only by the best and brightest in our own general staff. The fortress-of-Islam narrative can only be a Pakistani production. Making regular asses of ourselves in the name of religion is very much a home-grown talent.

So let us not run ourselves down and put India on too high a perch. India cannot harm us. Let us get this dangerous nonsense out of our heads. India is not about to attack Pakistan. Its leaders would have to be crazy – crazier than us – to even contemplate the possibility. India attacked us only once, in 1971, and even then we had made such a mess of East Pakistan that it was almost like inviting India to intervene. The rest of the times we attacked India, with nothing but disaster to show for it. We should get the balance of this accounting right.

Pakistan stands in greatest risk from itself, from our incapacity to look hard at our real problems and from our failure to confront those problems. Religious extremism especially in its Taliban and Al-Qaeda variety is a product of 30 years of distortion starting from the Zia era (or rather the 1977 rightist movement against Bhutto which set the stage for so much occurring thereafter). Reversing the tide of this extremist is not just a question of conducting military operations in one area of FATA or another but of reinventing the Pakistani state and making it less of a playground for theocratic forces.

This task of reinvention has to include the country’s most powerful institution, the army…which, unluckily for Pakistan, instead of having a reformist and progressive influence on the nation has been the smithy for the forging of some truly strange concepts and doctrines.

And the time for this reinvention is very short. The Americans begin to withdraw from Afghanistan, as they are priming themselves to do, and a new period of uncertainty, to put it no stronger than this, will begin in that embattled country. We have to get things right between now and then.

None of the principals in Islamabad (to name them is to spoil one’s mood) inspires much hope in this regard. But for the general staff at least, the self-appointed custodians of all that is holy, this should be a cue to change gears and spend less time fretting about India and more time in sizing up the threat of religious extremism – which won’t grow less when the Americans depart.

With all the nonsense assiduously cultivated over the years about strategic depth and our legitimate interests in Afghanistan, and the threat from India, we have managed to turn what could have been a perfectly beautiful country, a crossroads of East and West, the gateway on the one hand to India and on the other to Central Asia, into an abnormal country.

The foremost task facing us as a nation is to return to normality and make education and the march to civilization our central preoccupations, instead of the totem poles currently the greatest objects of our worship: bombs and nuke-carrying missiles.

Tailpiece: Shahzain Bugti being held by the scruff of his neck as he was arrested…a photo, in the context of Balochistan, about as damaging as the one which showed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudry being pushed by the head into a waiting car. Will we never learn?

Email: winlust@yahoo.com

Hopes remain alive in Gwadar

By Amir Mateen

GWADAR: The Gwadar Port was ambushed by a rocket attack this Sunday but the news went generally unnoticed in the Pakistan media. One reason was that the rocket fell short of a ship parked in the docks; nobody got injured, no damage was done to the Port. Uninterrupted, the country remained busy in Eid celebrations.

This may just explain Balochistan’s dilemma. Islamabad betrays a nonchalant disregard for the threats faced by these distant but strategically important outposts. The rocket attack on the upcoming second biggest Port of Pakistan may just indicate a possibility of accelerated action. More so because the Gwadar Port is about to shift gears after its command is, most likely, given to the Chinese in near future. Ironically, a rocket that is available in the border wastelands of Balochistan for as low as 50 dollars can threaten the prospects of a billion dollar project that is crucial to the global energy politics. A similar rocket attack, a failed one again, on the only five-star hotel in town halved its occupancy last month. In another related incident, two policemen got injured when they were attacked by gun fire while they were on a routine patrol during Eid holidays in Gwadar city.

Such sporadic happenings have a way of impacting public psyche even when the physical damage may not be much. And this might be the exact intention of the saboteurs in Balochistan. Local PPP intellectual, Rahim Zafar, aptly said that the scale of sporadic incidents may not be much, say in comparisons to earlier cycles of violence in the province, but it has definitely shattered the local nerves. The reasons for the chaos in Gwadar are no different from the rest of Balochistan. Besides the over-arching feelings of economic deprivation and political alienation, the larger issue is bad governance.

Journalist Robert Kaplan rightly points out that Islamabad’s attitude towards Balochistan is similar to how cowboys treated Native Americans in the wild West. Not a single culprit has ever been caught in about a dozen target killings in the last 14 months. DPO Abdul Ghafoor, a police ranker like former DSP Chief Minister Aslam Raisani, brags more about his being a cousin of the ‘kingmaker’ Provincial Minister Asim Kurd and less about his work.

A political vacuum exists as the popular parties boycotted the last elections and MNA Yaqoob Bizenjo hardly comes to the area. Stories of corruption in transfers and postings, smuggling through permits and licenses abound.

Unfortunately, Gwadar is uniquely placed in Balochistan for its political awareness, culture of tolerance and grass root politics. Many agree that it is one place in the province which is, in relative terms, curable. The timing may be ripe for that.

Dr Allah Nazar of the separatist Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) holds a certain influence in Gwadar, particularly among its student cadres. But the murder of former Nazim Maula Baksh Dasti, which was owned by the BLF, has caused resentment against the separatists. Mekran politics, unlike the sardari system in Balochistan, rests on its intellect and humanism. Recently, a son of local politician, Shaukat Punjabi, was killed and almost most political parties participated in a joint protest. This is different from the rest of Balochistan where most Punjabis killings are not condoled or compensated. The free-spirited Mekranis love their music which is more attuned to Arabian beats than Indian ragas, the Gwadar fish and, most important, football. All of this is discussed on roadside cafes followed by no-holds-barred political discussion. Their collective interests remain focal point of their discourse. For instance, the ancestral fishing, from which the word Mekrani (meaning mahikhor) comes, recently came into conflict with the ever bustling smuggling trade. Gwadar, the whole region for that matter, thrives on smuggling of oil, CNG and tar coal from Iran largely through fishing trawlers. Oil spills during unloading spoils the fish harbour. Local fishermen are in revolt against the smuggling mafia which, by the way, has been an equal part of the local culture.

The same business concern makes the development of Gwadar and its port attractive for them, provided that their political concerns are addressed. Academic Kiran Chowdry quotes a local in her recent thesis, saying that “we don’t want be like those animals in a zoo that people from Punjab will come to watch in our homeland.”

Political activist agrees that the development of Gwadar is “a win-win situation; who does not want progress, we want our children to go to better schools and eat better food.” Each ship brings about 500 trucks for unloading which roughly means the involvement of 1500 persons. The Port can cater to only three ships simultaneously. “Gwadar at its maximum will require a whole city to provide labour to the shipping trade,” says GPA Director Shafi Mohammad. “The government pays extra for every truck because the trucks have to first go east towards Karachi before turning north.”

Experts believe Gwadar will become viable only when the linking road or railway are established, the foremost being the completion of Highway M8, which links the port city to Ratto Dero via Turbat, Pajngoor and Khuzdar.

Some locals suspect that the mafias in Karachi and Islamabad have deliberately delayed because “they do not want a cut in commissions from the KPT”.

All hopes rest on the Chinese takeover of the Port. Locals hope that the new administration might also fulfil the promise of building a modern ship harbour. “Our tuna goes to Iran for packaging and is then sold in Mekran,” said Rahim Zafar. “The banned trawlers from Karachi and Iran are stripping our fishing fields dry as they hunt in bredding seasons also.”

Others hope that a new deal has to be finalised for a fairer division of resources. All those plots grabbed by politician, bureaucrats, particularly in the picturesque Sanghar Scheme should be cancelled. The Navy should be forced to vacate the extra land on the see front and the army too kept to its limit. Land deals in Gwadar are a mess.

“The 10,000 acres available in Gwadar have been sold ten times over,” said DCO Pasand Khan Buledi. Former President Pervez Musharraf ganged up with a mafia that included the then provincial government to distribute prime land among cronies for pennies. “A judicial probe should be conducted before new rules are formed,” opines Editor Huma Ali. “Gwadar remains as great as ever but it’s just the class of rulers that has changed.” More prophetic words there cannot be.

One can hear the drum beats of Alexander’s army marching back from India from Gwadar shores; hear the hooves of Mohammad Qasim’s camels or the fluttering of Portugese masts that sailed here 500 years ago. The people of Gwadar still use the techniques to build dhows that they learnt from the Greeks, Arabs or the Portugese. Will someone lead them to a shade of modernity.

Saudi Flood Aid To Pakistan: First, Largest, Not Politicized

Saudi Arabia was the first nation to respond to Pakistan’s flood aid appeal. It created a back-to-back air bridge that saw 30 cargo planes land in Pakistan.

Washington’s aid is politicized and arrogant; Riyadh’s aid is compassionate

By GULPARI NAZISH MEHSUD
Monday, 30 August 2010.
WWW.PAKNATIONALISTS.COM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan-Saudi Arabia has quietly bypassed the United States as the single largest aid donor in real terms so far. Riyadh’s commitment to helping the victims of Pakistan’s devastating floods has crossed US$140 million.

The Saudis have also outdone themselves. The Saudi military and air force set up a back-to-back air bridge between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, sending thirty large cargo planes carrying hundreds of tons of relief goods. The air bridge continues to operate.

With more than $120 million sent in cash, the first 3-day international telethon to raise funds, and 30 major air relief shipments to land in Pakistan in what is the largest air bridge in support of flood victims, Saudi response was better than any other nation.

The only exceptions are UAE sending six helicopters when the United States initially provided only five, [later increased to 15]. After its initial reluctance, US surpassed any other donor by providing three large cargo planes in addition to ten more helicopters. Most of the pledged US aid money is, however, ‘recycled’ from earlier aid commitments to Pakistan and is not new. And, according to Ahmed Quraishi, Project Pakistan Senior Fellow at Project For Pakistan In 21st Century, an independent Islamabad-based think tank, US help is politicized, meant to shore up a pro-US govt. in Islamabad in the face of better performances by the Pakistani military and Pakistani charities in responding to the humanitarian disaster.

Mr. Quraishi told PakNationalists.com: “Despite frosty relations with the Zardari-Gilani government, Riyadh’s aid was massive but received little media attention in Pakistan. Unlike the US embassy’s clamor for publicity and attention, the Saudis and others worked quietly. At one point, the Saudi ambassador is reported to have told Pakistani reporters that the Pakistani media failed to highlight the fact that Riyadh was the first country to respond to Pakistani help request after the floods.”

SAUDI REACTION

Within the first week of the flooding that started on 29 July, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz ordered a massive kingdom-wide fundraising and aid collection campaign. Official aid collection camps were set up in all major Saudi cities. The Saudi royal family set an example when several princes donated $20 million on the first day, encouraging Saudi citizens to follow suit. More than $107 million were collected in the first three days.

Saudi Arabia established the largest air bridge to air lift relief supplies to Pakistan, sending more than 30 cargo planes so far to Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-PK and Punjab. Saudi Arabia is the only country so far to have established such a large back-to-back air bridge to Pakistan.

The Saudi rescue team busy in Thatta.

Eight more planes have landed in Pakistan over the weekend carrying two field hospitals, complete with equipment and medical staff. The Saudi ambassador Abdul Aziz bin Ibrahim al-Ghadeer hardly visited his office in Islamabad in the past two weeks because of his constant field presence in Lahore, Multan, and Hyderabad, in addition to the Chaklala Air Force base in Rawalpindi, to receive Saudi cargo planes. On the recommendation of the Pakistani military, which suggested the hospitals focus on Sindh, one Saudi field hospital has already become operational in Thatta. The second field hospital will also probably be set up somewhere in Sindh considering the urgency there.

Two Saudi rescue teams, which Saudi Arabia has raised according to international levels of training and performance following repeated floods in some Saudi regions, have also arrived in Hyderabad where they are active in several parts of the Sindh province.

In neighboring Kuwait, the Kuwaiti government lifted a long standing ban on collecting donations in public. This exception was made on the orders of the Kuwaiti emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed in deference to the emerging humanitarian disaster in Pakistan. Donation camps sprung up in large and small mosques and shopping malls across the emirate. Interestingly, the wealthy Kuwaiti business community outshone the government in donating to flood victims in Pakistan. One Kuwaiti logistics company, Agility, mobilized 1,000 of its workers for flood relief effort in Pakistan.

Fundraising efforts outside of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are important but were modest in their outcomes. A German telethon attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised $10 million. British donations came largely from the British Pakistani and British Muslim communities, with the British magazine The Economist showing skepticism at reports suggesting ordinary British citizens have shown any passion to donate to Pakistan. Turkey has donated $10 million, China a little more, while India came up with a symbolic $5 million, probably because smug Indian officials were sure Pakistan won’t accept the money anyway [Pakistan thanked India and accepted the money but asked New Delhi to send through UN]. Iran has sent relief supplies and most other countries have also gave preference to relief goods because of lack of trust in the Pakistani government and politicians’ credibility or ability to utilize aid money properly.

SAUDI ARABIA

One of the most endearing aspects of donations coming to Pakistan from the Gulf is individual donations from politicians and businessmen, which are enough to put the wealthy Pakistani politicians to shame.

On the first day of a nationwide Saudi campaign to raise funds for the victims of floods in Pakistan on Monday, 17 Aug. 2010:

• King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdelaziz Al Saud, donated US$5.3 million from his private money to Pakistan flood victims
• Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdelzziz Al Saud gave away US$2.7 million from his private money
• Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdelaziz Al Saud gave away two million Saudi riyals
• Governor of Tabouk donated one million Saudi Riyals
• Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdelaziz Al Saud gave ten million Saudi riyals
• Businessman Eesa bin Mohammad al Eesa, president of the Samba Financial Group, donated two million Saudi riyals

Separately, and in addition to his $2.7 million in aid, the Saudi Crown Prince has also dispatched one hundred tons of dates from his private farmland to Pakistan.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud

The Saudi public’s response to the massive Saudi aid appeal has been amazing. Women were seen donating jewellery to makeshift fundraising camps in Jeddah and Riyadh.

A Saudi commentator left this comment on the website of the Arabic-language Saudi newspaper, Okaz: “What the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, may Allah protect him, has given to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is something that all the five permanent nations at UNSC and all the Arab countries could not have given. His Majesty’s stand with Pakistan will never be forgotten.”

Comments posted at the online editions of Saudi newspapers showed how deeply the Saudis are moved by the tragedy in Pakistan. “Pakistanis deserve our help,” wrote one Saudi. “They are our brothers.”

IRAN

Iran has committed over 400 tons of relief goods so far as of 14 August 2010 out of which 180 tons have already been delivered by the Iranian transport aircrafts. These goods include tents, floorings, clothes, canned food, bread and medical supplies. Iranian Red Crescent society has also been on the ground along with Pakistan Red Crescent society as part of its ongoing relief operation inside Pakistan reaching out to more than 100,000 flood victims. In addition to the Iranian government help Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani has announced that one third of collected Khums will be donated to Pakistan for humanitarian assistance. Iran’s chamber of commerce also donated US $1 million to the flood victims.

Grand Ayatollah Nasir-Makarem Shirazi

And on 17 August, senior Iranian cleric Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem-Shirazi [left] met the Pakistani ambassador in Tehran and announced donating $50,000 to the victims of flood-stricken Pakistan in response to Pakistan’s call for more relief aid.

‘KUWAIT IS WITH YOU’

On 21 August, Kuwaiti government launched a nationwide fundraiser called ‘Kuwait Is With You’, in a message to Pakistanis devastated by the floods.

Kuwait’s official and private donations have crossed $20 million, half of them coming from the government. But most of the aid won’t reach the Pakistani government. The noisy Kuwaiti media, while expressing solidarity with Pakistan, has also seen several write-ups questioning the credibility of the Pakistani government. Some criticized the Pakistani government for ‘collusion’ with Washington in hounding credible Pakistani charities in the name of fighting so-called terror.

The emirate launched a national fundraiser for Pakistan on 23 August, collecting so far close to $10 million from the public.

Kuwait had banned charity fundraisers for the most part of the decade. But on the 23rd, the government lifted the ban to make way for a nationwide fundraiser for Pakistan, which began grandly at the Grand Mosque of the state, where close to 1,000 worshippers donated generously for Pakistan.

Equally impressive is the contribution from the Kuwaiti business community:

• Mohammad Hmoud Al-Shaya Company, which owns a series of upscale designer clothing and jewellery outlets across the Gulf, donated $500,000 to Pakistan
• Kuwait Finance House has dispatched $2 million to Pakistan
• General Secretariat of Awqaf has donated $1.5 million
• The Joint Kuwaiti Committee for Relief, a local charity, has donated $1.5 million
• The sons of the late Abdullah al-Mutawa, a businessman, have donated $100,000 to Pakistan
• E-Q8 Petrochemicals has donated $100,000
• The employees of the Bank of Bubiyan started an internal fundraiser for Pakistan

Dala al-Mudaf

Dalal al-Mudaf, a senior officer at the Kuwait Investment Company, with offices in the Gulf, London and New York, has kicked off an internal company fundraiser for Pakistan as of today, Monday 30 August. In a statement, she quoted a saying by the Prophet [PBUH], ‘A Muslim for a Muslim is like a wall, pulling one another’.

Tariq al Sultan

Agility, one of the largest logistics companies in the region with operations in Pakistan, has mobilized its 1,000 workers here to get involved in relief work. According to Tariq al-Sultan [right], Chairman of Agility worldwide, the company has offered its entire commercial warehouses full of foodstuffs and the space along with cooling facilities in Multan for use by United Nations in Punjab. In Peshawar, the company has donated several air-conditioned containers to transport food items to flood victims. And in Sukkur, the company has put its entire fleet of trucks in the service of food and aid distribution effort across Sindh. The company has also distributed urgent food items and medicines to 5,000 families in Sindh, and the employees of Agility worldwide have donated their one-day salary to Pakistan.

In another step of indirect support to Pakistan, one of the young members of the Kuwaiti parliament, Mr. Mohammed Hayef al-Huwaila, held a press conference at the parliament building last week and drew the attention of the Arab public opinion to massive human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir. He called on the Kuwaiti government to condemn Indian atrocities.

Crime, without punishment

Mosharraf Zaidi

If the global reaction to the most devastating floods in modern world history has not been a wakeup call for Pakistanis, then perhaps the brutality of the Sialkot lynching should. Inside and out, there’s something broken about us.

So how do we fix it? How do we build something that is so broken? One way to proceed is to dive into an honest and forthright assessment of the ailments that plague us collectively. It seems we have every moral disease on the planet available here. Religious discrimination, apparently, doesn’t even take a break during a flood. Nor does petty corruption and rent-seeking by cops and administrators. Nor does terrorism by Takfiri religious extremists. Nor does theft and dacoity and banditry. These are real problems, and they are not incidental.

Take Sialkot, mix it up with Balochistan, sprinkle in some Model Town, wrap it up in Data Darbar and FATA, roast what remains in the fires of Gojra, and then smoke it. Inhale deeply. How does it feel? Does it feel good to intoxicate ourselves with the failures and misery that we are defined routinely, as a people, by ourselves, and quite understandably, by others?

But how it feels is secondary. The question is, does it make a difference? Does it create a more functional society, a more effective state, a more capable government, more responsive institutions, or more accountable leaders? It doesn’t at all. In fact, more often than not, the perpetual obsession to zone in and focus on individual stories like the horror in Sialkot is not a sign of our desire to effect change. It is infinitely more reflective of our gluttonous appetite for the most outrageous and scandalous images. So in the truest tradition of a national discourse that is almost entirely irrational, and almost entirely dependent on emotions, it isn’t surprising that while Pakistan continues to drown in floodwaters that have still not stopped threatening Sindh, there is now a full-blown national introspection about the barbarity of Pakistani society. All 180 million of us, according to many, have collective guilt.

Maybe that is true. And maybe it is the exaggerated sentiment of people whose eyes watched what their minds and hearts could not bear. That is why I have yet to watch the video, and why I will never watch it.

What is certain is that the family of the two kids that were lynched by that crazed mob needs justice. That family deserves justice. The memory of those two boys on the other hand, deserves an outcome that protects this country’s citizens from these kinds of attacks–everywhere.

That is a very tall order. The moral outrage we feel today is not new. In Gojra last summer, a mob went on a rampage and murdered eight innocent Pakistani citizens. It was too easy for the mainstream to make it a minority issue. It was a minority issue–those folks were targeted because they were Christian. But it was a larger public policy issue. In fact, if you are interested in solving these kinds of problems, it was, like Sialkot is, a purely public policy issue.

And in this, there is, I am afraid, no room for emotion. No room for sentimentality, or for self-righteousness, or for moral codes. There is only room for facts and the actions that those facts dictate. This is important.

If the country is feeling emotional about these atrocities, it is on the right track. Sooner or later, when the accumulated emotions of sixty-three years really begin to matter, we will need to convert those emotions into actionable intelligence. This is not the kind of intelligence that foreign correspondents find interesting. At some point, our own obsession with how we are viewed outside Pakistan, will have to be replaced with an obsession about how we are–period.

We’re not well. Not good. Our self-inflicted wounds, the wounds inflicted by nature, and the wounds inflicted by the mortal enemies of the country–the TTP today, a country yesterday, another acronym tomorrow — these wounds are bleeding. Everywhere you turn there is reason to despair–but the despair, in the absence of data, of knowledge and of commitment for change–is about as sinful as the crimes and misdemeanours that generate the despair in the first place.

The Sialkot lynching, and the mob violence and pyromania on display in Gojra on August 1 last year are the products of a legal system that tolerates the most rabid violations of human dignity for the sake of keeping the peace and political expediency. Even with all the blasphemy laws, and the problems that Zia’s era infected the Constitution with in place, there is no possible legal space for vigilantism, or for violence in the name of morality, faith or any other kind of value or ethic. Yet every so often these incidents flare up our collective gluttony for scandal, and our genuine remorse, sorrow and anger.

Violence against minorities is not conducted by the Pakistani state. It is conducted by individuals who are jacked up on religious fervour, thanks to the cancerous oratory of the mullahs. In Sialkot, the kids may not have been from a minority sect, and the instigators, may not have been mullahs–but the formula remains the same. Once you ignite a fire in a mob there are two certainties. First, no one, including the state, will take on the mob. Second, that when all is said and done, the mob will have created a precedent for the next mob–a positive incentive to let its anger loose on whatever grates their sensibility at that time. The reason that precedent exists is simple. Nobody ever gets hanged for being part of a murderous mob.

Of course, murder is just the most extreme kind of a crime. Pakistani politicians frequently use the mullah paradigm to whip up a frenzy of ethnic fear and anger– as is being done right now in Karachi and like they’ve done in Balochistan for decades. When Shaheed Mohtarma was murdered mobs went berserk, burning stores, banks and private property at will. When Shaheed Raza Haider was murdered, the same mobs, with different accents, did the same things.

The anger of mourning political workers, the anger of self-righteous Muslims, and the anger of ordinary Sialkotis is not morally equivalent. Of course it is not. But it is the same disease, the same cancer. They are all malignant because they expose the disability of the Pakistani people to construct state institutions that ensure punitive outcomes for criminals. To build Pakistan, criminals must face the consequences of their crimes.

The writer advises governments, donors and NGOs on public policy. www.mosharrafzaidi.com

Pakistan had 22 oil and gas discoveries in 2 years

Pakistan’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Syed Naveed Qamar, said 59 onshore and offshore exploration wells were drilled in Pakistan since January 2008, resulting in 22 oil and gas discoveries.

Of these, 18 are under appraisal. The other 4 discoveries were initially appraised as having a reserve of 3.27 mm bbl of oil and 404 bn cf of gas.

Grenade attack kills two girls in Peshawar

Ghalib Sultan

The incident took place in the Khazana area where small children were playing on a building site. — Photo by AFP

Two young girls were killed on Wednesday (May 12, 2010) when a hand grenade exploded while they were playing on the outskirts of Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, police said. The incident took place in the Khazana area where small children were playing on a building site. The act reminds locals of recent news of an acid attack on three girls – sisters on their way to Killi Pandrani – in Kalat, Balochistan in late April, which created new terror in the hearts of the Baloch population, resulting in a shutter-down strike throughout Kalat in protest of this heinous act. This most recent acid attack occurred 14 days after another acid attack targeted two girls – again, sisters – who were shopping in Dalbandin, Balochistan. All victims had their faces badly burnt.

It now seems that the terrorist criminals are again on the offensive against poorly defended, hapless and helpless citizens of Pakistan – picking them out at their weakest, and eliminating them bit by bit. Moreover, the Taliban have now resorted to the use of a ‘weapon’ that has been part of Pakistan’s rural culture and its traditional society for decades – acid attacks were frequently used to target ‘liberal’ women who ‘disobeyed’ the ‘orders’ of a rural jirga or a panchayat. While a grenade attack kills, an acid attack severely maims and disfigures the victim, leaving him or her alive to feel the pain and live through it miserably. Since the 1990s, acid attacks also crept into urban centers of Pakistan, and the womenfolk of this country had no response to this other than donning the repressive ‘burqa’ to escape such victimization. In effect, such a response was more of an acknowledgment of defeat in the backdrop of a negligent and ignorant government, and an unconcerned male population.

Coming back to the title story, senior police official Mohammad Karim Khan told AFP that “an unknown person threw a hand grenade at a house under construction in Khazana, killing two girls aged four and six”. A three-year-old boy and six-year-old girl sustained injuries and were taken to hospital in Peshawar, he added. No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. It may be assumed that the ‘house under construction’ belonged to a tribesman who relocated to Peshawar after the Talibanization of – and pursuant military operations in – the tribal areas. While this reveals a different economic situation than that of other refugees and IDPs (internally displaced persons), the plight of insecurity and lawlessness that Pakistani tribals are suffering from refuses to abate.

Baloch nationalist groups protested against the acid attacks, blaming ‘hidden hands’ for crimes against women and demanding that culprits be brought to the book. –Online Photo/Naseer Ahmad Kakar

Peshawar lies on the edge of Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt, which Washington has branded a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda, and has been hard hit by bomb attacks and shootings blamed on Taliban militants. From brazen attacks against law enforcement, security and intelligence installations, to threatening schools and barber shops, this new format of terrorism may be taking the Pakistani security forces by surprise. Instead of mounting coordinated attacks on institutions, the terrorists are now targeting individual civilians – hapless and insecure on their own – by means of grenades and acid attacks. Drive-by shootings, called ‘target killings’, and kidnappings-for-ransom were already the attacks-of-choice of the Taliban; it achieved the purpose of creating terror, it allowed the terrorists to meet some of their ends (like financing) and it also creating new, time-tested and  workable relations between the Taliban insurgents and everyday criminals. In the enforcement of their millennial and dysfunctional ‘Shariah’ system – which has little to no grounding in the teachings of Islam – Taliban militants imposed the penalty of amputation on those charged with thievery. In late April, Khaista Jan, Azam Shah and Razim Shah were ‘arrested’ by the Taliban in Orakzai Agency, and on May 5, 2010, it was announced that the right hands of these three tribesmen were amputated ‘in accordance with the principles of Islamic law’ as proclaimed by a Taliban ‘court’. This incident took place in the remote Ghaljo village of Orakzai, which is controlled by the Taliban. “A Taliban court ordered the cutting off of the right hands of three local tribesmen in Orakzai tribal region after finding them guilty of theft,” a police official told AFP on condition of anonymity. These tribesmen were later admitted into a Kohat hospital – whose doctors literally saved their lives – where journalists and reporters were able to see firsthand the gruesome justice of the Taliban. Orakzai is the latest district in northwest Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal area to have witnessed an anti-Taliban operation by the military, following US pressure to eradicate extremism.

Victims of Taliban justice: Khaista Jan, Azam Shah and Razeem Shah in a Kohat hospital

Pakistan is waging offensives across the tribal belt, fighting against home-grown Taliban blamed for a violent bombing campaign that has killed 3,300 people since July 2007. There are a lot of questions and counterclaims regarding this number – some say it is more, others say it is less – because the Pakistan Army has not allowed the independent media to cover its military operations in the tribal areas. Juan Zarate, a Senior Advisor at the CSIS, purports that more than 8,600 Pakistanis were killed in 2009 directly or indirectly because of the War on Terror.

However, it seems that the terrorists and their criminal cohorts are now shifting to a new methodology of importing terror to the cities and villages of Pakistan; indiscriminate targeting of individual civilians. This seems to be a novel and more dangerous way of pursuing a terrorist agenda; target those who are least secure, and those who have the least protection; attack immediately and retreat immediately; claim no responsibility, but repeat the steps from the start in another place at another time. With a nationwide ban on the display of arms, and another ban on the issuance of new arms licenses, it is extremely difficult for Pakistanis to develop ways and means for their own personal protection privately.

Unless and until militant leaders and commanders are brought to justice (captured, arrested or killed) and unless the misguided teachings and fiery rhetoric of Islamic extremism, fundamentalism and associated terrorism are abandoned by the popular will of the people, it seems that the Pakistani state and Pakistani people have no defense from this new battleground that has been dug out by ‘the enemy within’. The people of Pakistan need to question what brand or sect of Islam allows the disfigurement of women’s faces by throwing acid on them, or the killing of innocent children with grenades and bombs while they are playing. Within these arduous yet unavoidable questions, Pakistan may find the answer not only to the Taliban conundrum, but also find solutions to the quagmire of the extremism-fundamentalism nexus based in Pakistan’s lawless areas that now churns out terrorists like Faisal Shahzad – Western-educated liberal Muslims who suddenly resort to the path of fundamentalist extremism under a psychological sentiment of globalized, indirect oppression. The onus is on the state – the government, the military, and the law enforcement and security agencies – to bridge this ‘trust deficit’ between them and the Pakistani civilian populace, who are already under attack by the Taliban and are unable obtain recourse from responsible state apparatuses. Within these questions of religion and faith, crucial questions regarding modern state formation are contained; if the state cannot perform its basic responsibility of providing the people security, due process of justice, law and order, and economic prosperity, then the ranks of the Taliban will keep on swelling because their main aim is to transform from a ‘state within a state’ to the actual state itself – by overthrowing the liberal democratic institutions of Pakistan. The Pakistani state must also question whether it can continue its negligent and ignorant behavior furthermore, or whether it should ‘step up’ and assert its rightful place as the sole administrator of the country’s functions, and as the only legitimate actuator of violence. If these questions aren’t answered soon, then we are looking at a future where most Pakistani women have disfigured faces courtesy of acid attacks, and where most Pakistani men are devoid of one limb or the other.

TIMES SQUARE BOMB HOAX, ISRAELI INTEL GROUP SHOWS ITS HAND

ISRAELIS BLAME TALIBAN GROUP, ONE THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH FOR YEARS

By Gordon Duff

Times Squares Bomb Hoax

Who would have believed it? Only days after a warning of an Israeli “false flag” bombing against the US “in the works” a massive car bomb is discovered in Time Square! Better yet, though no intelligence organization in the world could discover anyone claiming responsibility for this embarrassing failure, SITE Intelligence, a group rumored as the “voice of the Mossad” has placed the blame on the Pakistani Taliban.

No road map to break ongoing cycle of violence

By Asif Haroon Raja

When the US decided to invade Afghanistan in October 2001, both Afghanistan and Pakistan were on very friendly terms. For the first time in Pakistan’s history its western border had become safe.

Within Pakistan, FATA and Balochistan were peaceful and people of the two regions were as patriotic as of any other region. Suicide attacks or car bomb blasts were unheard of. Tribesmen of FATA stood fully committed to defend western border at their own. It was owing to their sense of patriotism that Pak government never felt the need to send regular troops there. Small scale localized skirmishes were dealt by the Political Agent who had at his command Khasadars and Frontier Constabulary.

On rare occasions assistance of Frontier Corps was sought. Despite common ethnic and religious affinities between the people living both sides of the Durand Line, the people of FATA never allowed foreign influence to penetrate within their domain. Afghanistan government’s machinations never made any impact on them despite extreme poverty and underdevelopment in FATA. Likewise NAP, latter ANP’s desire for Pakhtunistan failed to cut ice in FATA.

A feather in the cap: Iran, Iraq and BD Show Willingness to Import Wheat

About 1m tonnes of wheat crop procured

By Ijaz Kakakhel

ISLAMABAD: The governments of Bangladesh, Iraq and Iran have expressed their desire to import wheat from Pakistan through government channel, sources told Daily Times on Wednesday.

PROCUREMENT TARGET FOR 2010
Punjab	4m tonnes
Sindh	1.5m tonnes
Khyber Pakhtunkwa	0.3m tonnes
Balochistan	0.1m tonnes

Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Mohammad Gondal expressed these views while presiding over a meeting to review the wheat procurement and progress in the export of surplus wheat.