Mirza K.O.s Rehman Malik

By Nasim Zehra
ZoneAsia-Pk

The analysis, that springs up in my mind, is based on several well known facts; but two stand out. Mirza and Zardari very close, MQM no more, all the other facts more or less already well known. So? It appears Zardari wants the action action against MQM now to eliminate it as a political challenge as well as get rid of Rehman. Mirza has played Zardari’s game. High stake, but may work. Mirza didnt criticize Zardari, and protected even reputation of BB ferociously.

Editor’s Note: Dr Mirza’s resignation as Vice President PPP Sindh,an MPA & Ministerial post may not have rocked the nation but for the reasons disclosed. The text of his speech is neatly reproduced by THE NATION & can be read : http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/29-Aug-2011/Mirza-says-it-all Will Mirza be able to substantiate the allegations with proof? This needs to be investigated & not brushed under the carpet, claiming it to be a diatribe.For the Letter by Altaf Hussain to Britian’s Ex-Prime Minister,click link: http://www.hurriyat.com/528/mqms-offers-counter-terrorism-support-to-uk/ If it is so,that too,needs to come out based on facts,not rhetoric. Pakpotpourri2 gives you a balanced analysis by Nasim Zehra.

Pakistani politics witnessed a new first. Holding the Holy Quran in his hand and then placing it upon his head, Sindh’s senior minister Zulfiqar Ali Mirza made some very bold revelations against his friend’s key, even if troubled, political ally as well as his friend’s closest and most handy aide.

President Asif Ali Zardari perhaps now faces the biggest challenge of his political career as none other than his most loyal friend and senior minister Sindh, Zulfiqar Ali Mirza, at a press conference issued a loaded charge sheet. Mirza gave specific information along with alleged evidence, against all those he accused. He said the ongoing operation was meaningless and that the real killers were not being apprehended.

Zulfiqar Mirza’s attack has produced a complex political dynamic. One with the ‘evidence’ that Zulfiqar Mirza claims he has against the MQM’s alleged involvement in target killings, he has put the MQM under pressure. An MQM on the defensive provides political leverage to the PPP in its ongoing negotiations with that party. It may also help to stem the growing alienation of the Sindhis against the PPP leadership, especially earlier the mishandling of the revival of the local bodies.

The claims made by Zulfiqar Mirza can also potentially strengthen the PPP’s hand in the Supreme Court’s suo motto hearing on the Karachi target killing. The SC bench now meeting in Karachi is bound to call Zulfiqar Mirza to make good his claims in court.

But the most challenging for PPP’s internal politics is Mirza’s attack on Rehman Malik. Zulfiqar Mirza has made specific charges against the interior minister, holding him responsible for leading a “farcical operation” and for being primarily committed to keeping the MQM on board. In addition to his criticism at the press conference, Zulfiqar Mirza, later in a television program insisted that the interior minister “is Pakistan’s enemy and if Pakistan breaks up, then Rehman Malik will be responsible for it.”

Although Mirza insisted that he would remain loyal to the president till his dying day and would give his life in the party’s service, within the immediate context he has created major political challenges for the president. He has alleged that the president’s right-hand man is hand in glove with the killers of innocent citizens.

As for whether these extraordinary revelations will lead to any action against Rehman Malik or the MQM, the punch-line comes from Zulfiqar Mirza himself. While speaking on television he said, “I have rolled the ball, now the ball in the court of the president, army chief, the ISI chief, the PM, the speaker of parliament and the chairman of the senate.” Mirza expects them to use the evidence that he has presented to take action against the MQM and the interior minister. He said the moment the CJP asks him to present himself in court, he will do so.

Zulfiqar Mirza may have become a thorn in the president’s side. But Mirza is one PPP leader that the president will not find it easy to sideline. He will also not able to easily brush aside the alleged charge sheet presented against Rehman Malik nor the MQM. Clearly these moves by Zardari’s closest friend puts the Karachi operation in an even greater spotlight and for all the wrong reasons. It also sharply exposes the weaknesses in Zardari’s politics of “mufahimmat.”

The questions that Mirza’s charge sheet raises only confirms public criticism of the operation. Questions that have no easy answers but ones that will now be repeatedly asked by many political and non-political stake-holders from across the country.

Sarfraz Shah killing trial

Even though just one shot was fired, the Rangers men acted in unison when they encircled the unarmed Sarfraz Shah. They pointed their weapons at him and thus they were conjoined in the murder.

These were the answers the investigating officer in the case, DIG Sultan Khawaja gave to questions in the anti-terrorism court on Wednesday during the hearing of the high-profile case.

To a question from the defence, the DIG said that all the arms issued to the Rangers were used in the commission of the murder. Explaining the point further voluntarily, he said that the shots were fired by Shahid Zafar from his G-3 rifle but the other accused men also pointed their arms at the 22-year-old.

Thus, when the defence suggested that there was no plan, design, common intention or intention to terrorise people, the DIG replied that all these elements were there.

To a question on why he has not examined or recorded the statements of witnesses who described the act of killing Sarfraz Shah a murder, Khawaja said that all the staff and officers at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park said that the incident had left them in shock and terror. He said besides this, nine other witnesses had said in their statements that they felt terror when they saw the footage of the incident on television. To another suggestion, he said that deceased was “neither an enemy nor a robber”.

After the completion of the testimony, Special Public Prosecutor Muhammad Khan Buriro said the prosecution rested.

Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso adjourned the hearing till Thursday afternoon when all six accused men will be examined. They will also be allowed to produce any defence witness.

Jurisdiction

Meanwhile, the matter of the jurisdiction to hear the case was sent back to the anti-terrorism court that earlier rejected the argument that it could be heard by an ordinary court. The defence has been trying to have the case transferred from the anti-terrorism court.

On Wednesday, the Sindh High Court disposed of a plea to transfer the trial to a sessions court. The order was stated to be by consent as the bench proposed that the question of jurisdiction could be raised at the time of final arguments.

Syed Mehmood Alam Rizvi advocate, appearing for one of the accused men, Muhammad Afzal Khan, submitted that the joint investigation team’s report to the defence on Tuesday, explicitly holds that no element of terrorism was found in the alleged incident of June 8.

He submitted that while the instant revision application was pending hearing, new facts and details have surfaced. Now it is a case fit to be transferred from the ATC to an ordinary court. He said that this may also benefit the complainant, Salik Shah, who is the brother of the victim Sarfraz Shah. The parties may arrive at an out-of-court settlement.

Sarfraz Shah, 22, a resident of Hijrat Colony, was shot and injured by a Rangers man, who was part of a six-man strong mobile squad. Shah was turned over to the Rangers by a civilian Afsar Khan, who accused him of looting his friend and girlfriend at gunpoint.

Sindh Prosecutor General Shahadat Awan opposed the plea to transfer the case and said that this could not happen as the Supreme Court had ruled that prima facie it was to be challaned before an ATC. The counsel for the applicant, rebutting the arguments, said that the SC order was tentative and it left the decision to the Investigating Officer. He had to decide and file a charge sheet before “a court of competent jurisdiction” and thus a trial before an ATC was not according to the SC orders.

Govt-sponsored Karachi peace campaign begins

Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) ministers kicked off Karachi’s ‘peace drive’ by hoisting white flags at the press club on Wednesday.

The government, under the directives of President Asif Ali Zardari, launched the campaign to end the target killings in Karachi.

Around half a dozen cabinet members belonging to the PPP, the ruling party, reached the press club with a large number of their workers who were chanting peace slogans.

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the effort was meant to bring peace to the city and restore its image as the ‘city of lights’. He said that PPP’s workers and leaders were going to play their role in this peace process. Moreover Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has also directed all cabinet members to be a part of the campaign.

“All political forces inside and outside parliament would be approached for cooperation in the peace mission. In fact, not only political parties, but even the judiciary will be sent the peace message,” said Memon. He explained that every institution should work for peace in its own limits.

He went on to say that Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan has also promised to use his influence and extend his cooperation to make the peace drive successful.

Memon thanked Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s chief, Altaf Hussain, for his appeal to bring peace to the city. He urged the media to play a role and avoid reporting news that creates rather than resolves problems.

While answering a question, Memon criticised the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s leader, Nawaz Sharif, and said “he is not sharif [decent] because he ordered an attack on the judiciary. We are warning him again not to interfere in the affairs of the judiciary and let it work independently.” Memon said that “the Sharif brothers have been looting and plundering public wealth since 1985. They started their political career on the instigation of a dictator, General Ziaul Haq.”

Minister for Excise and Taxation Mukesh Kumar Chawala appealed to the minorities to participate in a peace rally, which was being organised from Sea View to the Karachi Press Club on Saturday. He said that they had started inviting different political and religious parties to participate.

Minister for Power Shazia Marri and Minister for Revenue Jam Mahtab Dahar also came.

Justice only for the dead

By: Amber Darr

It must be to assuage President Asif Ali Zardari’s evidently outraged sense of justice that the Supreme Court of Pakistan takes up, today, the Reference filed only a week ago by the president to seek its opinion on revisiting the nearly 32-year-old majority decision that had condemned Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to the gallows. Indeed President Zardari’s avowed commitment to correcting this alleged ‘historic wrong’ and heeding the ostensible ‘demand of the people’ for bringing justice to the long dead Bhutto, would be touching, if it were not somewhat incongruous with his disregard for more recent, though equally historic events, as well as his general apathy towards the tribulations suffered by the living!

This is not to suggest that the president is acting beyond his powers: Article 186 of Pakistan’s much-amended 1973 Constitution allows the president to refer a question of law to the Supreme Court provided; he considers it to be of public importance. It is, however, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, that the advice sought by a president, pertains essentially to the fate of an individual rather than to a matter of constitutional interpretation having a direct impact on the public.

In an attempt to discover whether re-opening the issue of Bhutto’s death, no matter how well cloaked it may be in legalese, is of sufficient importance to the Pakistani public of today. I, as a member of the ubiquitous public, recollect the only two occasions when Bhutto entered my consciousness: The first is on a hot April afternoon. I am being driven home from school, and am aware, perhaps because I have been told or perhaps because of the sombre mood, that a man named Bhutto has been hanged. The second memory, though older, is happier: Our car is caught for hours in unmoving traffic (I later understood that this was a rally celebrating Bhutto’s election victory) and my father is waving at and congratulating complete strangers, who are holding up their fingers in the shape of a ‘V’. While he lived, swung a still young and wide-eyed nation from the heights of hope to the depths of despair and it is here, that despite the attempts of successive PPP governments to airbrush his image as a martyr, even a saint, his reputation ultimately rests. Whether he would have performed miracles had he lived, no one knows. One does know, however, that this alleged epitome of democracy and nemesis of military dictators had started his career in a quasi-military government and had risen to become Pakistan’s first, and only, civilian martial law administrator, after having played a somewhat suspect role in the country’s dismemberment. It was also this westernised and seemingly liberal man who had not only encouraged the first sprouting of fundamentalism in Pakistan by declaring Ahmadis non-Muslims, but had also sought ever greater compromises with clerics to retain his gradually loosening hold on power.

If, in the president’s view the resurrection of this brilliant, though controversial, man is a matter of public importance, then perhaps he should be reminded of daily suicides due to poverty, the festering power shortage and acute and rampant corruption in the country. If however the president merely wishes to set the law, indeed even the judiciary, on track he may do so more effectively by filing a reference against the infamous ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ which has derailed democracy in Pakistan more than once. If perhaps all the president seeks is to keep Bhutto’s legacy alive, he may do so more meaningfully by delivering on Bhutto’s promise of “roti, kapra aur makaan”. It is evident however, from the course he has chosen that the president neither wishes to address issues that matter most to the public today, nor to strengthen the rule of law in the country. His goal appears only to keep the public distracted from his failures, even if it comes at the cost of fanning prejudices and parochialism in an already divided country.

Pres Zardari oped in Sunday’s Washington Post

By Asif Ali Zardari
Washington Post

Just days before her assassination, my wife, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, wrote presciently of the war within Islam and the potential for a clash between Islam and the West: “There is an internal tension within Muslim society. The failure to resolve that tension peacefully and rationally threatens to degenerate into a collision course of values spilling into a clash between Islam and the West. It is finding a solution to this internal debate within Islam – about democracy, about human rights, about the role of women in society, about respect for other religions and cultures, about technology and modernity – that shall shape future relations between Islam and the West.”

Two months ago my friend Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, was cut down for standing up against religious intolerance and against those who would use debate about our laws to divide our people. On Tuesday, another leading member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Shahbaz Bhatti, the minister for minority affairs and the only Christian in our cabinet, was murdered by extremists tied to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

These assassinations painfully reinforce my wife’s words and serve as a warning that the battle between extremism and moderation in Pakistan affects the success of the civilized world’s confrontation with the terrorist menace.

A small but increasingly belligerent minority is intent on undoing the very principles of tolerance upon which our nation was founded in 1947; principles by which Pakistan’s founder, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, lived and died; and principles that are repeated over and over in the Koran. The extremists who murdered my wife and friends are the same who blew up the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad and who have blown up girls’ schools in the Swat Valley.

We will not be intimidated, nor will we retreat. Such acts will not deter the government from our calibrated and consistent efforts to eliminate extremism and terrorism. It is not only the future of Pakistan that is at stake but peace in our region and possibly the world.

Our nation is pressed by overlapping threats. We have lost more soldiers in the war against terrorism than all of NATO combined. We have lost 10 times the number of civilians who died on Sept. 11, 2001. Two thousand police officers have been killed. Our economic growth was stifled by the priorities of past dictatorial regimes that unfortunately were supported by the West. The worst floods in our history put millions out of their homes. The religious fanaticism behind our assassinations is a tinderbox poised to explode across Pakistan. The embers are fanned by the opportunism of those who seek advantages in domestic politics by violently polarizing society.

We in Pakistan know our challenges and seek the trust and confidence of our international allies, who sometimes lose patience and pile pressure on those of us who are already on the front lines of what is undeniably a long war. Our concern that we avoid steps that inadvertently help the fanatics is misinterpreted abroad as inaction or even cowardice. Instead of understanding the perilous situation in which we find ourselves, some well-meaning critics tend to forget the distinction between courage and foolhardiness. We are fighting terrorists for the soul of Pakistan and have paid a heavy price. Our desire to confront and deal with the menace in a manner that is effective in our context should not become the basis for questioning our commitment or ignoring our sacrifices.

If Pakistan and the United States are to work together against terrorism, we must avoid political incidents that could further inflame tensions and provide extremists or opportunists with a pretext for destabilizing our fledgling democracy. The Raymond Davis incident in Lahore, which directly resulted in the deaths of three Pakistani men and the suicide of a Pakistani woman, is a prime example of the unanticipated consequences of problematic behavior. We need not go into the legal, moral and political intricacies of this case. Suffice it to say that the actions of Davis and others like him inflame passions in our country and undermine respect and support for the United States among our people. We are committed to peaceful adjudication of the Davis case in accordance with the law. But it is in no one’s interest to allow this matter to be manipulated and exploited to weaken the government of Pakistan and damage further the U.S. image in our country.

Similarly counterproductive are threats to apply sanctions to Pakistan over the Davis affair by cutting off Kerry-Lugar development funds that were designed to build infrastructure, strengthen education and create jobs. It is a threat, written out of the playbook of America’s enemies, whose only result will be to undermine U.S. strategic interests in South and Central Asia. In an incendiary environment, hot rhetoric and dysfunctional warnings can start fires that will be difficult to extinguish.

The writer is president of Pakistan.

Fauzia Wahab Angers Her In-laws By Defending American Mercenary

President Asif Zardari’s aide Fauzia Wahab, reviled in Pakistan for her blunt defense of an American spy who killed two Pakistanis in broad daylight, while his colleagues killed a third passerby and caused the young wife of one of the killed, in her mid twenties and married only for six months, to commit suicide.

• One of them didn’t like her coming out to defend killer-of-two Raymond Davis
• ‘Her Party Will Face Defeat In Next Elections If It Releases That Murderer’

Fauzia Wahab, a parliament member and aide to President Zardari, came out this week publicly defending Raymond Davis, an American hired-gun contracted by the US military or intelligence who spied in Pakistan under diplomatic disguise. Her pro-US government is desperate to release the spy under US pressure. But her in-laws are so disgusted with her, like most Pakistanis, that a 90-year-old relative of her late husband, Mr. Khaleel Siddiqi who resides in Canada, has publicly asked her to drop her former husband’s name. Mr. Siddiqi posted this comment, along with his full name, age, email address and telephone number, at PressPakistan, an Internet group of Pakistani journalists. PakNationalists.com reproduces this comment from the source without any major modifications.

President Asif Zardari’s aide Fauzia Wahab, reviled in Pakistan for her blunt defense of an American spy who killed two Pakistanis in broad daylight,
while his colleagues killed a third passerby and caused the young wife of one of the killed, in her mid twenties and married only for six months, to commit suicide.

KHALEEL Y. SIDDIQI | Case Of American Mercenary Raymond Davis
WWW.PAKNATIONALISTS.COM

I AM ASHAMED TO DISCLOSE THAT FAUZIA WAS THE WIFE OF LATE WAHAB SIDDIQI, A NEPHEW OF MY LATE WIFE. WAHAB WAS A FAMOUS JOURNALIST IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN, WHO NEVER COMPROMISED WITH ANY NON-SENSE.

• WILL FAUZIA BE KIND ENOUGH TO REMOVE THE NAME OF “WAHAB” FROM HER NAME ?
• WILL SOME ONE MAKE HER AND PPP LEADERSHIP UNDERSTAND THAT AMERICA CAN NOT AFFORD TO DISPLEASE OR ANNOY PAKISTAN.

Pakistan can:

• BLOCK AND STOP ALL SUPPLIES GOING BY ROAD TO US & NATO ARMIES IN AFGHANISTAN;
• CANCELS ALL PERMISSIONS GIVEN TO US ARMY / INTELLIGENCE, TO OPERATE FROM FAKISTAN;
• HANDOVER GAWADER PORT TO CHINA THUS ENDING US CONTROL ON THE PERSIAN GULF AND ARAB OIL; AND
• [END] ARMY OPERATIONS AGAINST AL-QAEDA & TALIBAN FROM ITS NORTH-WESTERN BORDER.

US WILL FACE DEFEAT IN AFGHANISTAN, HER ECONOMY WILL COLLAPSE, HER REPUTATION AS A SUPERPOWER WILL BE [GONE].

CAN USA AFFORD IT FOR THE SAKE OF ONE OF ITS CIA AGENTS WHO HAS , IN FACT, KILLED TWO INNOCENT PAKISTANIS IN LAHORE?

PLEASE TELL FAUZIA THAT IF THAT MURDERER OF TWO PAKISTANIS IS RETURNED TO USA, PPP WILL NOT RETURN TO POWER IN THE NEXT ELECTIONS. IT IS THEREFORE AN IDEAL OPPORTUNITY FOR PPP TO REGAIN ITS LOSING POPULARITY AND PUNISH THAT SON-OF-A-BITCH ACCORDING TO PAKISTAN PENAL CODE.

” IN-NA A’LI-NA LUL HUDA” (AL-QURAN) “OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO SHOW YOU THE RIGHT PATH” .

Khaleel Y. Siddiqi
B.A., LL.B., D.S. & B.M.(LONDON, UK)
khaleel@rogers.com
Phone: 647-628-1933

Reproduced from the Google group PressPakistan.

Afghan Peace Council: Agreement on jirga with Pakistan denied

The leader of an Afghan peace delegation to Pakistan denied on Monday that the two countries had reached an agreement to hold a peace gathering, contradicting an earlier statement from Islamabad.

A group from President Hamid Karzai’s High Council for Peace (HCP), led by former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, held high-level talks in Islamabad last week.

The foreign ministry said that the two countries had reached an agreement to convene a peace jirga in the coming months, but Rabbani denied it.

“During our trip, while we were in Pakistan, there were some reports and rumours around, most of which were propaganda and were not true,” Rabbani told a press conference in Kabul.

“For example, it was said that there, we have requested the setting up of a jirga. We only said there that in the past, we had the regional peace jirga.”

However, he added that talks had been held in a “sincere atmosphere” and the delegation had been given assurances by political, military and religious figures that they will “fully cooperate” with the peace process in Afghanistan.

The HCP was set up last year by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has appeared more willing to include Pakistan in talks after years of accusing it of sponsoring the insurgency to defend strategic interests in the region.

During the trip to Pakistan, the delegation met President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, the head of the ISI and the governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Owais Ahmed Ghani

Chinese premier’s arrival: Sharif to attend dinner at presidency

By: Zia Khan

After remaining out of touch for more than a year, bitter rivals President Asif Ali Zardari and former premier Nawaz Sharif finally broke the silence and talked to each other on Sunday, albeit for an apolitical reason.

President Zardari, according to his spokesperson, phoned Sharif to invite him to an official banquet the president would be hosting next weekend in honour of visiting Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.

Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said Sharif accepted the invitation to honour the foreign dignitary. The president, Babar added, thanked Sharif for confirming his presence at the dinner as China is regarded as a true friend across the political divide in Pakistan

An official of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said there won’t, however, be any political interaction between the leaders of the two largest parties. “Mian Sahib (Nawaz Sharif) will be there just because of the Chinese premier… no one should try to interpret it as a political thing,” the official said.

There has not been any direct contact between President Zardari and Sharif for the past may months now, though Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani keeps meeting the PML-N chief regularly. The PML-N has recently decided to step up what it called a mass mobilisation campaign against President Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and his central government but said it would not seek midterm elections.

There have been several agreements between Islamabad and Beijing under which China would invest more than $10 billion in Pakistan during coming years. Though China claims it never interferes in any country’s internal politics, a stable dispensation is what they would like to have in Pakistan to see their industrial products reach the outside world through Pakistani ports.
President Zardari has been warming up Pakistan’s relations with China by embarking upon half a dozen trips to the emerging economic giant since he took over as head of the state back in September 2008.

Plot through WikiLeaks

New technology is being utilized by the new warriors to carry out all forms of financial, network and especially media attacks. Most of these attacks are of non-military-types, yet they can be completely viewed as equal to warfare actions. In other words, bloody warfare has been replaced by bloodless warfare as much as possible. In this regard, cyber warfare is the most important domain of the modern wars.

Judging in these terms, release of the new secret documents which have targeted Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Syria including some other Islamic countries in general and Pakistan in particular are the plot of their collective enemies through WikiLeaks.

In its surprising revelations, the Wikileaks have disclosed that the Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah had made scathing remarks about the leadership of Pakistan, calling President Asif Ali Zardari as the greatest obstacle to Pakistan’s progress, and have also called Pakistan’s politician of the opposition, Nawaz Sharif as a dangerous man.

Showing Saudi Arabia’s anxiety over Iran’s nuclear programme, the US embassy cables have disclosed that on 29 Nov 2010, the King of the Saudi Arabia had urged the US to attack and destroy the Iranian nuclear sites. Several Arab leaders and their representatives are also quoted as urging the US to carry out an attack on Iran.

The cables indicate that in July 2008, Egyptian President Mubarak called Iranians “big fat liars” and remarked that they sponsor terrorism everywhere. According to the cables, in Oct 2008, Iran used the Iranian Red Crescent (IRC) to smuggle agents and weapons into other countries. The IRC facilitated the entry of Qods force officers to Lebanon during the Israel-Hezbollah war in summer 2006, while in March 2009, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ) expressed his grave concerns about the Iranian threat to the region. And in June 2009, Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s administration was blamed for pursuing provocative anti-Sunni practices-harassment of Sunni clergy and congregations including raids on Sunni mosques and other “arrogant” crackdowns.

According to one of the leaked cables, in April 2006, the leadership of the United Arab Emirates considered Hamas a terrorist organization and would not fund Hamas unless they denounce violence and accepted Israel. Another document points outs that in March 2009, Syrian head, Assad hided the Palestinians when asked about human rights violations in Syria.
Regarding Turkey, the document of the web revealed that in January 2010, US Embassy claimed that Turkey was becoming more focused on the Islamic World and its Muslim tradition in its foreign policy.

As regards Pakistan, the WikiLeaks cables show US concern over the safety of nuclear weapons and radioactive material in nuclear power stations of the country, with fears that the same could be used in terror attacks. In this respect, in a May 2009 cable, US ambassador Anne W Patterson said that Pakistan had refused a visit from US experts.

No doubt, Pakistan is the special target of the documents of the WikiLeaks which accused that in a March 12, 2009 cable by the former US ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson stated that the head of the army, General Ashfaq Kayani, considered pushing Zardari from office and forcing him into exile to resolve a political dispute. She aslo alleged that Pakistan continues to support the militant group which carried out the 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai despite its claims to have launched a crackdown on the organisation.

Following the continued blame game of the US high officials and media, the leaked cables incdicated that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI)is behind Lashkar-e-Taiba which had killed 166 people in a series of attacks in Mumbai. In this context, the contradiction of the WikiLeaks is also notable. As it also mentioned that the Chief of Pakistan’s ISI, Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha said that he had conveyed to Washington-threat information that an attack would be launched against India between September-November, 2009 and he had been in direct touch with the Israelis on possible threats against Israeli targets in India.

However, the secret US Embassy cables are now available on WikiLeaks, while the debate goes on about the legitimacy of the leaks.

Various questions arise regarding the aims and authenticity of the disclosures of the secret diplomatic documents of the WikiLeaks. Moreover, it is also notable that who are behind the revelations of this website.

In this connection, it is mentionable that by following the old western policy of “divide and rule”, the foremost purpose of the disclosures of the WikiLeaks is to create a rift among the Islamic countries and to further accelerate their sectarian differences not only against each other, but also inside their concerned countries which are most volatile to this plot.

In this respect, secret agencies such as American CIA, Indian RAW and Israeli Mossad are behind the revelations of the WikiLeaks as part of a plot, while both India and Israel have still a secret collusion and are acting upon a secret diplomacy. Although whole of the Islamic world is target of Indo-Israeli secret collusion, yet the same has intensified in case of Pakistan and Iran. In this regard, US-led some western countries have also been supporting the Indo-Israeli nexus overtly or covertly.

It is worth-mentioning that documents of the WikiLeaks have given only a little bit coverage to the Indian atrocities in the occupied Kashmir, while the same are silent over Israeli brutal treatment and use of chemical weapons in the controlled territories of the Palestine.

The leaked cables have directly or indirectly favoured India because of the fact America has its political and economic interests in that country which serves as the largest market. And the US has its strategic interests in the region, while New Delhi is its main ally to counterbalance China in Asia. In this respect, US, India and Israeli want to ‘denuclearise’ and ‘destablise’ Pakistan which is the only nuclear Islamic country. It is owing to these collective interests that like his predecessor, President Bush, Obama neglects Hindu terrorism which has now become a dangerous reality. Nevertheless, misdeeds of Hindu fundamentalist parties like the BJP, RSS, VHP, Shiv Sina and Bajrang Dal which have also intensified anti-Christian and anti-Muslim bloodshed with the dissemination of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) have been ignored by the WikiLeaks.

It is of particular attention that the documents of the WikiLeaks have also neglected Indian secret activities in Afghanistan from where well-trained militants are being sent to Pakistan in order to attack the security personnel, and to commit suicide attacks, while supporting the separatists of Balochistan. In this regard, while preferring New Delhi over Islamabad, the secret cables pointed out that US special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke had told Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao that Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari’s government was weakening. During a meeting, Rao described the Indian effort in Afghanistan, saying it was focused on strengthening governance by building Afghan capacities and that the Indian engagement is transparent, while Holbrooke also pledged transparency with India on America’s activities in Afghanistan.

Besides other leaders, Pakistan’s former Army Chief Gen (Retd) Mirza Aslam BEg has termed the WikiLeaks report a conspiracy to sabotage relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, adding that US is included in this plot and the report is part of its psychological war. He further explained that US was now giving importance to India by ignoring Pakistan-he had stated 3 years earlier that CIA and Mossad were jointly launching campaign to weaken Pakistan.

In fact, Indian RAW and Israeli Mossad with the help of American CIA and strong Indo-Israeli lobbies are working in the US and other European countries against the interests of the Islamic countries-particularly Pakistan. They are well-penetrated especially in the US administration. They have played a key role in preparing and publishing the US embassy cables, especially to malign Pakistan including other Islamic countries and to intensify their blame game against ISI.

WikiLeaks cables: Pakistan opposition ‘tipped off’ Mumbai terror group

By: Daclan Walsh

Pakistan’s president alleged that the brother of Pakistan’s opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, “tipped off” the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) about impending UN sanctions following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, allowing the outfit to empty its bank accounts before they could be raided.

Six weeks after LeT gunmen killed more than 170 people in Mumbai, President Asif Ali Zardari told the US of his “frustration” that Sharif’s government in Punjab province helped the group evade new UN sanctions.

A month earlier, Shahbaz Sharif, who is chief minister of Punjab, “tipped off” the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), LeT’s charity wing, “resulting in almost empty bank accounts”, Zardari claimed in a conversation with the US ambassador to Islamabad, Anne Patterson.

US diplomats were unable to confirm the allegation and noted that they came at a time of rising political tension between Zardari and Sharif. But they conceded that JuD did appear to have received a warning from somewhere. “Information from the ministry of the interior does indicate that bank accounts contained surprisingly small amounts,” said the cable in January 2009. A Punjab government spokesman vigorously denied the charge. “There’s nothing true in it,” said senator Pervaiz Rashid, an adviser to Sharif. “Zardari is our political opponent and he wants to topple our government.” Sharif couldn’t have known about the UN sanctions, he said, because the UN co-ordinated its action with the federal government and not the provincial one.

The accusation, which has never been publicly aired, is one of several dramas that unfolded behind the scenes after the November 2008 attacks, now revealed by the embassy cables.

US diplomats and CIA spies found themselves playing the role of harried intermediaries to prevent Pakistan and India from going to war. One week after the bloodbath an Indian official said his government was distinguishing between Pakistan’s civilian government, “which India believed was not involved in the attacks”, and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI). We are not yet ready to give ISI a clean chit,” he said.

Four weeks later the US embassy grew alarmed by Indian plans to release a “sanitised” intelligence dossier that, they feared, could scupper intelligence sharing or thwart efforts to prevent a second attack.

“There are still Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) sleeper and other cells in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, as well as many law enforcement leads which need to be pursued,” the note said.

Pakistan’s generals, usually antagonistic towards India, appeared unusually conciliatory. Six weeks after the attack Pakistan’s army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, said he was “determined to exercise restraint in his actions with India”. “If there is any clue about another attack,” he told General David Petraeus at his Rawalpindi headquarters, “please share it with us.”

His intelligence chief, General Shuja Pasha, went even further, acting as a regional fixer for some of his most bitter enemies. In late 2009 Pasha travelled to Oman and Iran to “follow up on reports he received in Washington about a terrorist attack on India”.

He sent warnings to Israel – a country that Pakistan does not officially recognise – “about information about attacks against Israeli targets in India”. Earlier in the year, he reminded Patterson, information about a second attack on India had “come his way”, which he conveyed to Delhi via the CIA.

The cables suggest Pakistan’s ardour for bringing the alleged Mumbai masterminds to justice appears to have wilted as time went on. The secretive trial of Lashkar leader Zakhi ur Rehman Lakhvi and six other suspects “is proceeding, though at a slow pace”, US diplomats noted in February.

The secretive trial of Lashkar leader Zakhi ur Rehman Lakhvi, and six other suspects “is proceeding, though at a slow pace” [id:249966] lastin February 2010.

ThePakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence agency (ISI) refused access to Abdur Rehman Syed, a retired army major and alleged LeT accomplice. Instead the FBI was told it could “submit questions for Syed through the ISI”.

American officials say there is “no smoking gun tying the Mumbai LeT operation to ISI” but are less sure if the spy agency has, as promised, cut all its ties.

“Despite arrests of key LeT/JuD leaders and closure of some of their camps, it is unclear if the ISI has finally abandoned its policy of using these proxy forces as a foreign policy tool,” notes a briefing to the US special envoy Richard Holbrooke in February 2009. Dealing with LeT has long been a vexed issue for American diplomats in Pakistan. In March 2006 the US ambassador Ryan Crocker id:55604requested the US government to delay by two weeks the designation of JuD.

American helicopters were still delivering aid to earthquake victims in Kashmir, he explained, and they risked attack if still in the area when the designation was approved.

That same month, embassy officials met with Pakistan foreign office director Tasneem Aslam, who told her that Pakistan had “no evidence” linking JuD to terrorism – a conclusion US officials judged “dubious”.

Later, in November 2007, the US ambassador presented the foreign secretary, Riaz Khan, with evidence that senior government ministers were publicly helping militant groups, including a declaration from the ministry of defence parliamentary secretary “that he was proud to be a member of LeT and that he seeks to extend support to jihadi organisations when they seek his ‘co-operation.’”

“Each of these reports is disturbing in itself, the ambassador said, as they seriously damage Pakistan’s image in the international community.”

JuD denies that it is a front for LeT.

LHC stalls pardon moves for Aasia Bibi

By: Rana Tanveer

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif on Monday directed President Asif Ali Zardari and the governor of Punjab to abstain from making any move to pardon blasphemy convict Aasia Bibi till December 6, the next date of hearing of petition on the matter.

Although the president was not made a direct party among the respondents, the chief justice categorically issued directions to the president saying, “…no action shall be taken either by the president of Pakistan or anybody working under the authority of the functionaries performing duties under supervision of the governor of the Punjab.”

The judge also issued notice to the federal government through a deputy attorney general, as well as the chief secretary Punjab and personal secretary to the Punjab governor through an additional advocate general directing them to send their comments through fax on or before December 6.

The judge issued the order in a petition seeking direction for the federal government and provincial government to abstain from making any move to get Aasia pardoned.

The petition was filed by Ch Shahid Iqbal challenging the alleged move of Punjab governor to get blasphemy convict Aasia Bibi pardoned.

The petitioner said that the federal government should be directed not to take any decision upon the appeal of Aasia submitted at the behest of the provincial governor, adding that the federal government should be directed to remove the governor from his office for allegedly being ‘non-ineligible’ for this office.

He further said that proceedings carried out by the government of Punjab as well as the governor and federal law ministry for getting Aasia Bibi pardoned of the blasphemy charges should be declared illegal, unlawful and without lawful authority.

Kashmir issue needs to be addressed through talks: Italy

By: Kaswar Klasra
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s efforts to get attention of the international community on Kashmir issue are gaining momentum as the Italian Foreign Minister, currently on a visit to Pakistan, said on Thursday that the dispute should be solved amicably.

“Kashmir issue is indeed a problem for Pakistan and needs to be addressed through dialogue,” Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said during a press briefing jointly addressed by him and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Frattini told journalists that it was in India’s interest to have “excellent relations” with Pakistan and that New Delhi should work for “positive movements” to resolve the dispute. However, he especially mentioned that only dialogue was the best way to deal with the disputes like Kashmir and Palestine.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told media men that Pakistan and Italy had agreed to further enhance bilateral relationship and that both of the countries were on the same page regarding a number of issues.

When asked to comment on Obama’s clear backing for India’s aspirations for a permanent Security Council seat, Foreign Minister Qureshi invoked Subcontinent’s most respected Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya and said it was not easy for India to get permanent seat in the UNSC.

“I have a message for the people in Delhi – Hunooz Dilli door ast,” Qureshi said during conference held in auditorium of Foreign Office.

Qureshi suggested that India’s efforts to gain a permanent membership could be a long-drawn and complicated process despite Obama’s backing for the move.

The FM said Pakistan wants a “comprehensive, democratic and representative” expansion of the Security Council. He told journalists that he had spoken to his Chinese counterpart about Pakistan’s reservations on India’s bid to gain permanent membership of the body.

Meanwhile President Asif Ali Zardari is also expected to raise the issue during his ongoing visit to China.

Fortunately, Foreign Minister of Italy strongly hailed Pakistan’s stance regarding expansion of Security Council and said it should be done through proper channel.

Armed forces invincible: Asif

KARACHI (Online) – In yet another farewell meeting, General Tariq Majid, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee on Wednesday called on President Asif Ali Zardari at the Presidential Camp, Bilawal House.

Sources informed Online that the meeting lasted for quite a while. On the occasion, President Zardari highly lauded the gigantic services of General Majid, terming him invaluable for the Army. He opined that General Tariq has played a major role in consolidation and modernisation of the Armed Forces. Gen Majid thanked President Zardari, saying that undoubtedly Pak Army will continue to bring laurels in the country. He told President Zardari that during his three-year term, he was given full cooperation and he will remember it.

Mr. Musharraf’s Reusability

He came. He chose to escape. He can’t be trusted again.

By A. KHOKAR
Wednesday, 22 September 2010.
WWW.PAKNATIONALISTS.COM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - All the proxies carry a sell-by date. Mr. Pervez Musharraf, who used to fancy himself as a wizard and a maestro in Pakistan, was eventually deposed under a chalked US plan – to replace him and install yet another proxy: Benazir Bhutto.

Sadly, BB was eliminated before she could even take charge from Musharraf. And even sadder – to comply fast with the orders given by his US masters- Musharraf hastily handed over the rein of government to a known band of goons of BB’s party.

Mr. Musharraf left the Pakistanis high and dry and this country is now caught up in the clutches of savages like Mr. Zardari who have been imposed upon Pakistanis, while, on the other hand, natural and man-made calamities like the devastating floods, inflation and power shortages are unleashing havoc. Pakistanis are expected to remain stuck in a state of turmoil for a long time to come.

Musharraf might be trying to capitalize on some goodwill he left behind in some areas like the economy. But realistically speaking, he is a spent cartridge and may not carry any reusable value. His case fits the saying, No spark may ignite the ashes and No charity may bring back the dead to life.

His one-million-sterling-pounds apartment near London’s Edgware Road is surely a good resting place, almost a resort, that he has selected for himself to spend the rest of his life. It’s close to residence of another US poodle, Mr. Tony Blare.

Reportedly, Mr. Musharraf is being looked after there, very well.

To some readers, this analysis may look flawed but this is the matter of truth which even Mr. Musharraf may not be fully refute or contradict.

These days the media is full of rumors of his return to Pakistan but, if at all he does return, may only do so riding the wings of USA. Pakistani democratic life may not accept him. For the US to bet on him again is also farfetched. As said earlier, all the proxies carry a sell-by date and he has already spent his time.

But if at all he is sent back, just imagine that what damage the US might inflict on this battered nation before someone like Mr. Musharraf could be reinstalled, if he is reinstalled.

Reach Mr. Khokar at aaykhokar@yahoo.co.uk

Zardari admits he was trapped, vows to fight on

By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari reportedly dropped a bombshell in the PPP parliamentary party meeting the other night when he made the shocking confession that he was betrayed and trapped by top players of the game in the NRO case.

He told the shocked members that he was given certain assurances in exchange for not defending it before the Supreme Court. A top source said the betrayed president had believed in what he was offered.

Without identifying anyone, Zardari said the “players of the game” did not execute their promise and the cases against him were reopened despite earlier secret assurances. In his concluding remarks after some fiery speeches by his party men, Zardari was said to have told them in his firm style though he was betrayed and trapped but he was not down and would not take any “dictation” from any one and would face the current hostile situation, as he had been doing in the past.

Some top insiders claimed that Mr Zardari opened his heart before his party men first time and shared the top secrets pertaining to his government policy not to defend NRO in the SC last year, which had greatly surprised the media, society and even the lawyers. But finally, a besieged Mr Zardari shared his secret as to why he had asked the law ministry not to take any position in the court during the hearing of NRO case, which had led to unanimous verdict of 17 judges on this controversial law.

The parliamentary party meeting was held in the Presidency with Mr Zardari in the chair. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani also attended the meeting. Sources said Senator Dr Safdar Abbasi tempted Mr Zardari when he started a heated discussion on the NRO case and clearly told the president that now the PPP government should respect the judiciary as it had missed the bus when it did not defend the NRO in the SC last year.

Dr Safdar Abbasi was the only parliamentarian in the PPP who since challenging of the NRO in the court by Dr Mubashir Hassan had been saying on record that the PPP government should have defended the NRO in the SC. He argued that PPP should give its side of the story and explain those circumstances, which had actually led to promulgation of NRO and how this law had helped even the judges when a democratic government had released them followed by their restoration. But his voice was never given any importance in the PPP circles.

Dr Abbasi once again repeated his old stance in the parliamentary party meeting and lamented that now it was too late to submit a review petition in the SC and challenge the unanimous verdict of the court, as the judges had already collected a lot of documentary and other relevant stuff from NAB against Mr Zardari and others. He argued that the SC had now gathered sufficient proofs to proceed further.

He said had PPP government taken a firm stand in the court, things might have much better for the president and the party today. Dr Abbasi also spoke at length about the poor economy and issue of terrorism, as he believed the government was not doing enough for the poor who formed the backbone of the party.

Sources said after hearing the arguments of Dr Safdar Abbasi, President Zardari surprisingly admitted his mistake, saying the PPP government should have taken a position and defended the NRO in SC.

Mr Zardari further revealed that actually he was “deceived and trapped” by some powerful players of the game, indicating that initially a decision was taken to strongly defend the NRO in the SC. But, he claimed, suddenly some “top guns” gave him some authentic assurances on the basis of which he decided not to defend the NRO in the SC.

He did not reveal who had given him such assurances. But, Mr Zardari told his surprised party colleagues that they need not worry as of now he would not take any dictation from any side and would face all those forces, which were out against him. “I will deal with them as I have been dealing in the past”, one source quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile one inside source said at the time of hearing of NRO case in the SC, a Karachi-based former judge who enjoyed good reputation and was considered to be a credible person had visited the Presidency and secretly met Asif Ali Zardari. In this meeting, the former judge had told Mr Zardari that he should not worry about the Swiss cases, as they were closed transaction.

The former judge advised Mr Zardari to believe in him and should not defend NRO in the court and he assured him that the judges would not open the cases against him.

Mr Zardari later discussed this judge’s advice with his top legal aides and Babar Awan was the only minister who had strongly opposed the idea. Babar Awan had told Mr Zardari that his government should strongly defend NRO in the court with all its power and arguments, instead of leaving the field open for the judges to give any kind of judgment against him.

But Awan’s advice was ignored as Zardari tended to believe in the so-called assurance given by the former judge, who had also taken some drafts with him to convince Zardari how it was in his own benefit not to defend the controversial law promulgated by a military dictator.

When the NRO verdict came Zardari had the shock of his life when he came to know that SC had ordered reopening of cases against him including the Swiss cases, which were closed a year ago. Zardari was said to have commented after reading the explosive contents of NRO judgment that a former judge had clearly used his credibility to trap him.

Meanwhile, sources said, PM Gilani also told the party men that the PPP government had a lot of respect for the judiciary but his government would continue to give its own point of view on all those issues which were being heard in the court.

Later Babar Awan briefed the parliamentary party members about the current issues concerning the NRO cases against the President. Prime Minister Gilani also told the parliamentary party members that the former minister of state for defence production Abdul Qayyum Jatoi himself had realised his mistake and had offered to resign, which he had accepted. PM Gilani said Jatoi said wrong things about the army and Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary.

Qayyum Jatoi also spoke on the occasion and said he had said what he believed in because his party leadership was being constantly targeted and he could not tolerate all this nonsense. He said when others attacked his party and its leaders he would defend them. Earlier about ten PPP MNAs showered their unstoppable praise on the person of Mr Asif Ali Zardari and paid rich tributes to his leadership qualities.