Pakistani girl flogged by Taliban....The state has given up

EDITORIAL..DAILY TIMES............''THE STATE HAS GIVEN UP''
President Asif Ali Zardari has “ordered an inquiry” into the public flogging of a 17-year-old girl in Swat, and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has taken his famous suo moto notice by asking the IGP NWFP to produce the girl in court. But we all know nothing can be done against the Taliban who did the evil deed, and that the girl will not come to the court unless the Taliban allow it. More likely, she may be killed instead of being allowed to attend the CJ’s court. As for the ANP government, it had better look after Peshawar because it is once again under siege from the Khyber warlord.What if the girl can actually be brought to the court? What will follow may embarrass us further. There is nothing anyone can do against the deeds of those who rule Swat. Sufi Muhammad is more offended with Islamabad for not signing the sharia deal and less worried about the flogging of the girl. His son-in-law Fazlullah, whose men do the beheadings and the floggings, has actually returned to Imam Dheri and was in the madrassa right after the Friday sermon of the Sufi. He has made his comeback to the place after two years. Things are going well for the Taliban.The nation has literally shrieked in protest, but the TV channels were not as united as they were when the Long March was taking place. As a majority showed the national outrage, some actually took the line that the video that showed the girl being flogged was “cooked up” somewhere outside Pakistan and released through a lackey NGO to sabotage the peace in Swat. The “liberals” were roundly abused and — and this is new — action was recommended against them because they were “disloyal to Pakistan” and its ideology. One said: “How could she have walked away after the flogging?” The suppressed desire was that the flogging should have been tougher.
The Barelvis spoke out from among the clergy. It was the usually “tight” conservative Mufti Munibur Rehman who said that the flogging was un-Islamic because the punisher did not have recourse to a properly state-backed court. The Sunni Tehreek, which was massacred by Deobandi terrorists in 2006 in Karachi, spoke out too, saying Islam did not tolerate such debasement of women. But the spokesman of the Taliban said it was an old video and the punishment was deserved. Our top Islamic intellectual Javed Ghamidi condemned the flogging but he carries no gun and therefore his opinion carries no weight.The ANP government spokesman can’t be blamed for being defensive. The Peshawar government knows that over 5000 Swat Taliban have just defeated a 20,000-strong army force there and Islamabad is still interested more in worrying about and fighting India than the terrorists. And Peshawar concentrates blamelessly on getting the Swatis back in Swat plying their trades as of old. It is no longer important who rules and who does what to the people after that. Whether the girl was flogged a fortnight ago or nine months ago, the fact is that the people who commit these crimes are the ones who will possibly rule from now on.There is impotence peeping out from the fury of the editorials. One paper opined: “You members of the softly-spoken majority have a choice to make. Either you continue to speak but have your words drowned by those who would publicly whip your sisters, mothers, daughters and wives for whatever petty gossip is purveyed by jealous or malicious neighbours; or you raise your voices loud in protest”. Sadly, the time to raise voices is past. The state has to fight back to save itself from dying. But it seems that it plans to surrender quietly simply because its army is more interested in fighting the highly exaggerated “external” enemies on the borders.More dangerously, the nation is divided between those who are scared and those who want the Taliban order to prevail simply because it is “Islamic”. The Taliban were “mis-described” when they ruled in Afghanistan, and Al Qaeda has never been accepted as a real and present danger to Pakistan. And to keep the world out while we succumb, our rulers lean on the guaranteed UN myth of “state sovereignty”.

Congress Moves to Set Terms for Pakistan Aid

Just as it did with Iraq, Congress is moving toward imposing benchmarks that the Pakistani government must meet to qualify for billions of dollars of U.S. military assistance. But the proposed restrictions, introduced in House legislation Thursday, have made both the White House and the Pakistani government uneasy.

A bill sponsored by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.) would authorize $3 billion in aid to train and equip the Pakistani military over the next five years, along with $7.5 billion in economic and development assistance. It would also limit the kinds of military equipment Pakistan could receive and the ways in which it could be used, and require regular audits and presidential certification of counterinsurgency progress.

A bill with similar aid amounts is being drafted in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, although Senate discussions with the White House on benchmark provisions are ongoing. Introduction of that legislation is not planned until after the two-week congressional recess.

The administration plans to ask for $500 million for the Pakistani military in a supplemental war-funding proposal next week, and to spend the same amount during each of the next four years. In a speech unveiling his Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy last month, President Obama said the United States must "demonstrate through deeds as well as words a commitment [to Pakistan] that is enduring." He called on Congress to pass the still-unseen Senate bill.

At the same time, Obama pledged, there would be no "blank check." Recalling "mixed results" from previous billions in aid, he said that "Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out al-Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders."

But the White House and U.S. military commanders, citing Pakistani political sensitivities and the need for flexibility, would like to set their own metrics. "I would say we are still in the process of developing sort of strategic-level metrics and benchmarks" for both Pakistan and Afghanistan, Defense Undersecretary Michelle Flournoy told Congress on Thursday. Lawmakers would be consulted, Flournoy said, and the administration hoped "to be able to bring those forward to you in the not-too-distant future."

Berman said Congress should be in on the ground floor of the benchmark determination. The administration, he said, "talks about wanting to write benchmarks, but I think we need to be involved in doing that." The White House would make the initial determination on Pakistani performance, he said, but his bill creates "a process, as cumbersome as it is, to review the basis of that determination."

The bill would set up a program to monitor Pakistani progress in a number of areas, including defeating extremists and protecting human rights, and require Obama to provide specifics underlying his own assessments. It would also prohibit additional U.S. spending on Pakistan's F-16 jet fighter fleet, which the Bush administration agreed to upgrade. Lawmakers have argued that the planes are part of Pakistan's defense strategy against neighboring India but that they have little use in counterinsurgency efforts against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces.

Legislation imposing benchmarks for political and military progress in Iraq were largely dismissed by the Bush administration and ultimately disregarded even by Congress as violence increased and then diminished following an increase in U.S. troop numbers.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Berman also questioned the administration's plan to channel the Pakistan military assistance program -- including funding for training and the purchase of U.S. helicopters and a range of counterinsurgency weaponry -- through the Pentagon rather than through the traditional route of the State Department's Foreign Military Financing program.

The direct military control has been used only in situations where U.S. troops are involved in combat, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This gets very bureaucratic," Berman said, "but we think there's an important oversight there. The military are obviously very involved in what equipment is going through, but at the end of the day it is part of a relationship with Pakistan that should be channeling . . . through the FMF program," with "our State Department on top of it."

Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said his government welcomed Berman's initiative "to create a framework for enhanced and long-term partnership. We look forward to engaging members of the U.S. Congress on some of the specific provisions of the proposed bill.

"At the same time," Haqqani said, "it might be prudent not to restrict security assistance. Because Pakistan's armed forces will be the spearhead in the actual fight with the terrorists."

Suicide Bomber Kills 8 in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A suicide bomber struck in an upper-class neighborhood of the capital on Saturday night, killing at least eight paramilitary security officers posted at a camp set up on a main road for the protection of the area’s foreign diplomats and well-to-do residents.Also on Saturday, an American worker for the United Nations who was kidnapped near the Afghan border more than two months ago was freed, according to Jennifer Pagonis, a United Nations official. Ms. Pagonis said that the worker, John Solecki, had been released south of Quetta.The suicide attack occurred at 8 p.m. Senior police officials had been warning for more than a week that suicide bombers had entered the city.Pakistani officials were unnerved because the attack appeared to have been slightly more involved than other recent suicide missions here, which were thought to have been carried out by lone bombers, according to an official with the Interior Ministry who spoke on the condition of anonymity. At least two people appear to have staged the attack on Saturday, one of them a gunman who the official said fired shots after the bombing.Security in the capital has been a major concern for the authorities after two major commando-style attacks in the last month in Lahore that were believed to have been carried out by the Pakistani Taliban. The Taliban and their supporters with Al Qaeda have made increasing inroads into Pakistan outside their enclaves in the tribal areas.The deputy inspector general of police in Islamabad, Bani Yaman, said that the attack on Saturday took aim at the tent camp of the Frontier Constabulary, a paramilitary force used for security services.Residents in houses several hundred yards away said they heard gunfire immediately after the blast set off by the suicide bomber. The paramilitary forces at the camp began shooting after the attack, Mr. Yaman said.The violence was a block from the United Nations’ offices here.“There was a huge blast at the left side of my house,” said a nearby resident, who asked for anonymity. “There was firing for four or five minutes, probably panic firing by the Frontier Constabulary chaps.”Police and paramilitary forces have been making more efforts to protect facilities of foreign governments, diplomats said. But a senior Western diplomat, who declined to be named for fear of offending the Pakistani government, described the efforts as “well meaning but desultory.”Mr. Solecki was seized Feb. 2 by gunmen who killed his driver in the southwestern city of Quetta in Baluchistan. A suspected separatist group, the previously unknown Baluchistan Liberation United Front, claimed responsibility and threatened to kill Mr. Solecki if the government did not release more than 1,000 imprisoned members of Baluchistan separatist groups. An intelligence official in Quetta said no prisoners were released.In a recent video delivered to a news agency, Mr. Solecki said he was ill. On Saturday, Ms. Pagonis described his condition as “O.K.”“He’s tired, but he’s coherent,” she said.In Pakistan’s tribal areas on Saturday, a missile attack by a remotely piloted aircraft operated by the United States killed 11 foreign militant fighters in North Waziristan amid signs that the truce between the government and militants in adjacent South Waziristan might be breaking down, Pakistani intelligence officials and local residents said.Hours after the aerial attack, a suicide bomber drove his vehicle into a group of people on a road near Miram Shah, the capital of North Waziristan, killing at least eight people including children, residents and officials said. The leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, has said in the past that his fighters would use suicide attacks in retaliation for strikes by the American aircraft.In Wana, the capital of South Waziristan, militants loyal to the Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir took up positions on Saturday near a building where soldiers were stationed, a local resident allied with the militants said. In another part of South Waziristan, which is almost entirely under the control of Mr. Mehsud, militants who work with him were digging trenches, apparently preparing for a showdown with the Pakistani Army, an intelligence official said.Intelligence officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the militants were angered by the recent increase in American attacks in Waziristan, which they said their government was quietly condoning. The truce in South Waziristan has been in place since 2007.

UNHCR official John Solecki released

QUETTA: The captors of UNHCR official John Solecki released him on Saturday after keeping him in captivity for two months.According to reliable sources, Mr Solecki was released by the Baloch Liberation United Front in Mastung district, about 50km south of Quetta. Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani led the team of police and UN officials, which went to Mastung to bring back Mr Solecki. He was brought to Quetta under heavy security.‘Police found John Solecki in Mastung. He is fine,’ Balochistan’s Inspector-General of Police Asif Nawaz Wariach said.‘We have released John Solecki on humanitarian grounds. We want to give a message to the international community that the Baloch are not terrorists,’ Mir Shahak Baloch, the spokesman for BLUF, told journalists.Mr Baloch said that thousands in Balochistan had been waging a struggle for their rights and thousands of them had been detained and kept in torture cells of secret agencies. He criticised the government for delaying releasing Baloch political activists and said it tried to use the incident to defame and crush the Baloch movement. John Solecki was kidnapped on Feb 2 from Quetta. His driver, Syed Hashim, was killed during the shootout. Later on Feb 7, the BLUF, a previously unknown organisation, claimed the responsibility for the kidnapping, and demanded the release of 1,109 Baloch political activists, including 141 women. Officials said that the release of the UN official was the result of a series of back-door negotiations held by government officials and some US embassy officials with Mr Solecki’s kidnappers.‘I can confirm that he has been released. He has been released about 50km south of Quetta,’ UN spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis told AFP by telephone. ‘A UN team has met him. He seems all right. ‘The priority will be to get him medical attention,’ the spokeswoman said.‘We’re going to reunite him with his family as soon as possible,’ said Pagonis, adding that Mr Solecki had already spoken to his relatives.

VIDEO OF TALIBAN VICTIMS.....TEENAGE GIRL FLOGGED VIDEO

PESHAWAR: The Taliban in Swat awarded punishment of public flogging about 25 times to men and twice to women during the past two years as they consolidated their control in the valley and established their own courts.
The videotape shown on television and displayed on websites Friday wasn't the only time that a woman was publicly canned by the Swati Taliban. However, no videotape of the other incident, which took place on October 20, 2008, is available in which a woman and her father-in-law were flogged in Ser-Taligram village near Manglawar in Charbagh tehsil. The woman had been divorced by her husband but her father-in-law kept her in his house. The two were accused by the Taliban of having illicit relations. Villagers said the man was whipped 50 times while the woman was given 30 lashes.
The canning of the 17-year-old girl, who according to certain accounts was 16, shown by television channels on Friday was reportedly filmed by someone with a mobile phone. A reporter of a private TV channel in Swat said the two-minute footage was in their possession for sometime and was being transferred to a large number of people through cell phones. "To be honest, we didn't want to send it to our TV channels for use due to fear of Taliban and also on account of concern that this would bring a bad name to Swat and endanger the peace accord," he said while requesting anonymity.The girl who was publicly canned in Kala Killay village in Kabal tehsil was reportedly named Chand. An Indian TV channel coined a couplet while reporting the incident on Friday by figuratively referring to Chand, which is the Urdu word for the moon. The boy, who like the girl was also lashed 30 times, was named Adalat Khan, son of Muslim Khan. Incidentally, the Taliban spokesman in Swat who defended the public flogging in several interviews on Friday is also named Muslim Khan. He apparently mixed up the two incidents of public lashing of women in Swat on Taliban orders by saying that the girl videotaped during her canning was convicted of having illicit relations with her father-in-law. That incident happened in Ser-Taligram village in Charbagh tehsil while the videotape is of the girl belonging to Kala Killay in Kabal area. One of the stories making the rounds in Swat was that a Talib saw the accused, Adalat Khan, who was an electrician by profession, leaving the home of the girl, Chand. He called other Taliban and accused the two of committing adultery. The boy defended himself by arguing that he was asked to fix some electrical appliances in the girl's house. The Taliban then went ahead with the punishment of 30 lashes awarded to both the boy and the girl. Subsequently, as the story goes the Taliban got the two to marry and even cooked rice to hold a feast for celebrating the occasion. It is possible that this story is cooked up or is one of the many being told and retold. But it is a fact that Taliban courts punished the two women and about 25 men by lashing them in public. Besides, drug addicts were routinely canned wherever they were found taking drugs.
Among the widely quoted cases, Taliban publicly canned two butchers in Ningolay village for selling meat of dead animals. They also awarded lashes to two men in the same village for committing unnatural sexual offences.
Two Taliban fighters were also publicly whipped 40 times each in Bar Thana village in Matta tehsil after being found guilty by a Shariah court for extorting Rs 360,000 from a goldsmith hailing from Chupriyal village. A Taliban commander known as Khairo was also involved in the same crime as he was the one who imposed the Rs 360,000 fine on the goldsmith after accusing him of running a propaganda campaign against the Taliban. When the Taliban leadership came to know about the incident, they asked the goldsmith to identify the three Taliban who had extorted the money from him. Subsequently, the two Taliban foots-soldiers were lashed in public and their commander, Khairo, was publicly executed in Sinpoora, the village of former provincial minister and JUI-F leader Qari Mahmood, near Matta.

30th death anniversary of Z.A Bhutto being observed

ISLAMABAD :The 30th death anniversary of former prime minister and founder PPP chairman Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was being observed across the country on Saturday.

Main ceremony of the death anniversary was held midnight at Garhi Khuda Bux, the final rest place of Quid-e-Awam, who preferred to sacrifice his life for cause of democracy instead of bowing down before the dictator.

Hundreds of thousands Bhutto lovers including senior party leaders have reached Larkana, Naudero and Garhi Khuda Bux Bhutto to attend the anniversary.

Thousands of people could be seen standing in queues to visit the final rest place of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his martyred daughter Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, and sons Shaheed Shahnawaz and Murtaza Bhutto.

Significant security measures have been taken and Sindh government has deployed some 6,000 cops and officers the vigilance, a provincial government official told stated news agency.

He said that scanners were installed at the entry point while strip search was also being conducted if required. Besides, sniffer dogs were being used for detection and vehicle search was ensured.

Organizing committee has set-up separate camps for accommodation and reception of the workers and leaders from all the four provinces, northern areas and Azad Kashmir.

Pakistan Railways was operating special trains from Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta, to facilitate the people for reaching Garhi Khuda Bux.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, first elected prime minister of Pakistan was hanged by then dictator General Zia on April 4, 1979. General Zia had unconstitutionally taken over the rule and removed the prime minister.

Garhi Khuda Bux is a city now called martyrs of democracy has gained an importance especially after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto as hundreds of thousands of spirited party workers thronged in this small town and can be seen chanting slogans to pay homage to their shaheed leaders.

One can hear slogans like “Jeay Bhutto sada Jeay” and “Zinda hey BB Zinda hey” by workers gathered here from every nook and corner of the country.

Every street of Garhi Khuda Bux was decorated with tri-coloured flags and banners of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, members of the federal cabinet, National Assembly Speaker, Deputy Speaker and senior leadership of the PPP also visited the mausoleum to offer fateha and pay homage to the great leader.

“Well, Bhutto is a symbol of inspiration and courage. He gave awareness to masses for their rights. He was voice of deprived segment of society,” senior PPP leader Dr. Israr Shah said.

Israr Shah, who was student leader in Z.A Bhutto’s era, said that former prime minister had a very humble and charismatic personality. Besides, he never compromised over the principles.

“Bhutto preferred death over the compromise. He is physically not with us but his wisdom, his vision, his manifesto and his thought is still alive...Bhutto is a martyr, he will always rule the peoples’ hearts,” remarked Shah.

Meanwhile, a PPP spokesman said that President Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of PPP, will preside over the party central executive committee (CEC) and federal council (FC) meeting in Naudero this evening.

All CEC, FC members, MNAs and Senators would attend the meeting which has been convened to pay tribute to the founding PPP chairman and take stock of country’s current political situation.

On the other hand; as part of the ceremonies to remember the great leader, a documentary, depicting life and achievements of Shaheed Z.A. Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto will also be shown on the occasion.

In addition; a Mushaira has also been scheduled at the mausoleum of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and a torch bearing procession was taken out from Larkana.

The ceremony will begin Saturday morning with Quran Khawani and later throughout the day the workers and leaders would be visiting the mausoleum for paying their respects and praying for the soul.

In Islamabad, a function has been arranged to observe the 30th Martyrdom Anniversary of Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, at central secretariat.

The function would start with Quran Khawani and prominent PPP leaders address the session to highlight the achievements and services of Shaheed Chairman for the betterment of masses.

On the other hand, People’s Party (Shaheed Bhutto) has also made arrangements for observing the 30th Death Anniversary of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, said a party spokesman.

30th death anniversary of Z.A Bhutto being observed

ISLAMABAD :The 30th death anniversary of former prime minister and founder PPP chairman Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was being observed across the country on Saturday.

Main ceremony of the death anniversary was held midnight at Garhi Khuda Bux, the final rest place of Quid-e-Awam, who preferred to sacrifice his life for cause of democracy instead of bowing down before the dictator.

Hundreds of thousands Bhutto lovers including senior party leaders have reached Larkana, Naudero and Garhi Khuda Bux Bhutto to attend the anniversary.

Thousands of people could be seen standing in queues to visit the final rest place of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his martyred daughter Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, and sons Shaheed Shahnawaz and Murtaza Bhutto.

Significant security measures have been taken and Sindh government has deployed some 6,000 cops and officers the vigilance, a provincial government official told stated news agency.

He said that scanners were installed at the entry point while strip search was also being conducted if required. Besides, sniffer dogs were being used for detection and vehicle search was ensured.

Organizing committee has set-up separate camps for accommodation and reception of the workers and leaders from all the four provinces, northern areas and Azad Kashmir.

Pakistan Railways was operating special trains from Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta, to facilitate the people for reaching Garhi Khuda Bux.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, first elected prime minister of Pakistan was hanged by then dictator General Zia on April 4, 1979. General Zia had unconstitutionally taken over the rule and removed the prime minister.

Garhi Khuda Bux is a city now called martyrs of democracy has gained an importance especially after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto as hundreds of thousands of spirited party workers thronged in this small town and can be seen chanting slogans to pay homage to their shaheed leaders.

One can hear slogans like “Jeay Bhutto sada Jeay” and “Zinda hey BB Zinda hey” by workers gathered here from every nook and corner of the country.

Every street of Garhi Khuda Bux was decorated with tri-coloured flags and banners of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, members of the federal cabinet, National Assembly Speaker, Deputy Speaker and senior leadership of the PPP also visited the mausoleum to offer fateha and pay homage to the great leader.

“Well, Bhutto is a symbol of inspiration and courage. He gave awareness to masses for their rights. He was voice of deprived segment of society,” senior PPP leader Dr. Israr Shah said.

Israr Shah, who was student leader in Z.A Bhutto’s era, said that former prime minister had a very humble and charismatic personality. Besides, he never compromised over the principles.

“Bhutto preferred death over the compromise. He is physically not with us but his wisdom, his vision, his manifesto and his thought is still alive...Bhutto is a martyr, he will always rule the peoples’ hearts,” remarked Shah.

Meanwhile, a PPP spokesman said that President Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of PPP, will preside over the party central executive committee (CEC) and federal council (FC) meeting in Naudero this evening.

All CEC, FC members, MNAs and Senators would attend the meeting which has been convened to pay tribute to the founding PPP chairman and take stock of country’s current political situation.

On the other hand; as part of the ceremonies to remember the great leader, a documentary, depicting life and achievements of Shaheed Z.A. Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto will also be shown on the occasion.

In addition; a Mushaira has also been scheduled at the mausoleum of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and a torch bearing procession was taken out from Larkana.

The ceremony will begin Saturday morning with Quran Khawani and later throughout the day the workers and leaders would be visiting the mausoleum for paying their respects and praying for the soul.

In Islamabad, a function has been arranged to observe the 30th Martyrdom Anniversary of Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, at central secretariat.

The function would start with Quran Khawani and prominent PPP leaders address the session to highlight the achievements and services of Shaheed Chairman for the betterment of masses.

On the other hand, People’s Party (Shaheed Bhutto) has also made arrangements for observing the 30th Death Anniversary of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, said a party spokesman.