M WAQAR..... "A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary.Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." --Albert Einstein !!! NEWS,ARTICLES,EDITORIALS,MUSIC... Ze chi pe mayeen yum da agha pukhtunistan de.....(Liberal,Progressive,Secular World.)''Secularism is not against religion; it is the message of humanity.'' تل ده وی پثتونستآن
Sunday, March 17, 2013
ولسمشر کرزی ښودل غواړي د امریکا ګوډاګی نه دی
http://www.mashaalradio.org
د فرانسې خبري اژانس په خپله یوه مقاله کې لیکي، چې ولسمشر حامد کرزى په ۲۰۱۴م کال له انتخاباتو وروسته له واکه پر لرې کېدو غور کوي، او په دا ورستیو کې د سختو خبرو په کولو سره خپل ولس ته باور ورکول غواړي چې دی د امریکا لاسپوڅی نه دی.ولسمشر کرزی امريکا تورنوي چې له وسله والو طالبانو سره يې لاس يو کړى چې په افغانستان کې د خپلو يولکو بهرنيو عسکرو شتوالي ته قانوني جواز برابر کړي. د فرانسې خبري اژانس په حواله، ولسمشر کرزى د ژر غوسه کېدو سابقه لري او مخالفان يې وايي دا خپله يو ثبوت دى چې ولسمشر کرزى بې ثباته دى او باوري کس نه دى، او د هغه داسې څرګندونې تر ګټې تاوان ډېر لري. خو نور بیا وايي، ولسمشر کرزي خپلې خبرې په پام سره سنجولې دي او په مستقيم ډول د افغانستان بېسوادو يا هم کم تعليمه ځوانانو ته مخاطب دى. بريتانوي تاريخ ليکونکي ويليم دالریمپل چې تېره اوونۍ يې په کابل کې له ولسمشر سره د نوي(۹۰) دقيقو لپاره کتلي وايي، ولسمشر کرزي د نورو مسايلو تر څنګ د بريتانيا د لاسپوڅي شاه شجاع پر برخليک هم ورسره خبرې وکړې، چې د بريتانيا استعمار ګرو په ١٨٣٩م کال کې له واک څخه ليرې کړ او وروسته ووژل شو. دالريمپل وايي: د ولسمشر کرزي نظر دا و چې امريکا له ده سره هغه چلند کوي، چې بريتانيا له شاه شجاع سره کړى وو، له هغه سره یې د يوه لاسپوڅي په توګه چلند کېده او دوى د خپلو ګټو لپاره وکاراوه. ٥٥ کلن کرزى چې د لوېديځ ملاتړ ورسره و، وروسته تر هغه چې د امريکا په مشرۍ بهرنيو ځواکونو پر افغانستان بريد او طالبان يې له سياسي صحنې ليرې کړل، د افغانستان ولسمشر شو. د فرانسې خبري اژانس ليکي، د امريکا او افغانستان اړيکې له هغه وروسته کړکېچنې شوې چې وسلوالو طالبانو سولې ته مخه کړه، د امريکايي پوځيانو تلفات کم او افغان حکومت په اداري فساد تورن شو. په وروستيو کې ولسمشر کرزي د امريکا خاصو ځواکونو ته امر وکړ، چې له ميدان وردګ ولايت څخه ووځي، د ځورونې تر ناثابته شويو ادعاوو وروسته يې د افغانستان له يوه پوهنتون څخه نړيوال پوځيان منع کړل دغه راز يې له افغان ځواکونو وغوښتل چې له امريکا څخه دې د هوايي ځواک د ملاتړ غوښتنه نه کوي. د سياسي چارو يوه کارپوه وحيد مژده د فرانسې خبري اژانس ته ويلي، دا د ولسمشر کرزي له خوا نااميدانه هڅې دي، چې کوښښ کوي د تاريخ په وړاندې ځان سپين ثابت کړي. اژانس ليکي، پر واشنګټن د کرزي لفظي بريدونه د ائتلافي ځواکونو په عملياتو کې د ولسي مرګ ژوبلې له کبله د ولسي خلکو ولاړه شوې غوسه نوره هم زياتوي. د امريکا سياسي او پوځي چارواکي د کرزي د وروستيو تورونو له کبله چې ويلي يې دي، امريکا او طالبانو لاسونه يو کړي حيران شوي، په امريکا کې د کانګرس غړو ويلي، کرزى به ډېر تاوان وکړي.
Spotlight on petition to lift driving ban on Saudi women
http://gulfnews.comThe Saudi Committee for Human Rights and Petition has pressed the Shura (Consultative) Council to launch a debate on the right of Saudi women to drive. The move by the committee is based on a study supported by 3,000 Saudi men and women from various parts of the country and calling for an open debate that should allow women to sit behind the steering wheel “in accordance with religious and social norms.” Under the bylaws, the Shura Council has to respond to all questions, queries and petition. “Debating the issue of allowing women to drive gives the Council greater credibility and promotes trust among the people who will view them as their representatives who are ready to engage in the debates they suggest,” Sulaiman Al Zayadi, the former head of the rights and petition committee that submitted the petition and requested a date to debate it, said in remarks published by Saudi news site Sabq on Saturday. The petition was handed before the end of the last session to the committee that approved it and suggested its debate by the Shura Council members.The new Shura Council, formed in January and which includes 30 women for the first time in its history has not yet looked into the petition. The study argued that local social and economic developments in Saudi Arabia and the international covenants endorsed by the Saudi kingdom require that Riyadh allow women to drive cars. An advisory and executive committee should be set up by Saudi Arabia to draw the religious, social and security regulations to allow women to drive as a prelude for social changes that will make the society more recipient to the idea of women driving, the study said. The committee should be made up of moderate religious scholars and representatives from the foreign, interior, culture and information ministries, human rights watchdogs, the Shura Council human rights committee and other members to be appointed by the king, it said.
Pakistan: ‘State’s inability to act emboldens extremists’

Pakistan: Blasphemy insanity
EDITORIAL :DAILY TIMESThe issue of the blasphemy law has reached ridiculous proportions. The latest victim of the misuse of this law is the vulnerable Christian community. The heinous crime perpetrated by a fanatical mob of burning down 200 Christian homes in Badami Bagh recently has raised many important questions of just where we have reached not just as a society but as a nation of ‘believers’. A raving mob of some 3,000 ‘faithful’ premeditated roughhousing a so-called blasphemy accused and ended up burning down the lives and assets of hundreds of Christian families caught up in the frenzy of a mob mentality. The Christians who came out onto the streets to protest this crime have been met with threats by clerics and police officials. These are not the actions of a civilised, harmonious religion and its people. In 2009, the Gojra riots, where eight Christians were burned alive and 60 Christian homes were burnt to ashes by a mob, indicated the sick direction in which this country was heading. Not a single culprit was apprehended for the Gojra massacre and, so far, the same can be seen for the Joseph Colony incident. When the extremists see that fanatics get away with murder, what is there to stop anyone else from repeating the crime? What is more, most of these ‘blasphemy’ cases are lodged against minorities and that too for reasons that do not stand up to scrutiny. It has been reported that the Joseph Colony incident occurred after a drunken row between two men, one of them the accused, who is a Christian. The accuser has fled whilst the accused languishes in police custody. Blasphemy charges are used as a disguise for vested interests, often to do with land grabbing. This is what our faith has been reduced to by the ‘pious’ — a cover for hidden agendas. The Rimsha Masih case was a proven case of land grabbing by a greedy neighbourhood cleric. When such incidents take place, it is the job of the people, the media and the government to take stock and demand accountability. It is also the job of this country’s legal system to haul up those who actually blasphemise by dragging God’s name in the mud. In another example of how moronic our psyche has become, reports from Shibli Town, Lahore tell of how an imam of a local mosque has accused a young Christian boy of committing blasphemy by allegedly urinating in the ablution area of the mosque, resulting in the Christians of the area feeling threatened. Is this serious? Does it not make one want to shake their head and cry for the state of this nation? It is time to do something about the blasphemy laws so that minorities are, at least, offered some protection by making sure that these foolish accusations cannot be flung about so conveniently. If this is not done, it is only a matter of time before everyone becomes fair game.
Cairo police use tear gas to disperse protesters outside Muslim Brotherhood HQ

Syrian Students in Poland Protest against Terrorist Groups in Syria

U.S: How to Force Ethics on the Food Industry

Pakistan: PML N in the dock

By Najam Sethi







Pakistan: The economics of corruption

Written by Lal KhanThe political debate in the ruling elite is shrouded with the issue of corruption. It is dubbed as the most serious threat to the system and eradication of this menace is being portrayed as the recipe for the social and economic salvation of this country. The most vociferous leaders on this issue are integral part of the military, civilian and the bureaucratic elite and are openly notorious for their corrupt practises and demeanours. However very little is said about its social economic and political aetiology and root causes. The most crude and obtuse explanation is the personalisation of the issue limiting it to the conduct and role of individuals. Firstly corruption is not the cause of the crisis of the prevalent socio economic system but it is a symptom of the diseased capitalism that needs and breeds this curse. It is the inevitable by product of the misery, dearth and the deprivation excruciating society. And corruption is not just a Pakistani phenomenon but where ever capitalism exists, corruption, prostitution and crime are its essential components. Corruption has rapidly soared in China ever since the process of the restoration of capitalism began under Deng Xiao Ping in the late 1970’s. According to an official report Indian capitalists have stashed away 1.4 trillion dollars in Swiss and other off shore financial heavens. This huge amount is from tax evasion and other corrupt practises of India’s national bourgeoisie. The Economist in its recent issue says, “the world has 50-60 active tax havens, with over t$21 trillion invested virtually tax-free and over 30% of global foreign direct investment is booked through these tax havens and it does not stop here as domestic investment is routed offshore to qualify for tax breaks reserved for foreign investors. Some suspect this accounts for a sizeable portion of ‘foreign’ investment in India and China. This is also the case in America, whose companies face one of the rich world’s highest corporate-taxes, also has some of the most energetic tax avoiders.” There is not a single capitalist country on this planet that can claim to be corruption free. The multinational corporations set aside huge sums of money in their budgets for the kick backs to the military and the civilian political elites with whom deals are done. Biggest culprits are rulers of the neo colonial states and prominent companies mainly the military industrial complex and the oil industry. These corporations also bribe the parliamentarians, political parties and leaders and the bureaucrats that are the policy makers in ‘defence’, infrastructural projects and other massive economic undertakings. The financial sharks and corporate businesses invest heavily in elections campaigns to get their backed politicians elected and then use them to get state bailouts, contracts and other economic privileges. The 2012 presidential race was the most expensive in US history with overall cost of $6 billion. But with the worsening of the economy the role of corruption and black economy becomes more and more intensive. Economists at Paris School of Economics and Global Financial Integrity have highlighted in recent studies that the elites of 139 low-middle-income countries have parked up to $9.3 trillion of unrecorded wealth offshore and this turns some of them from big debtors into creditors. “Developing countries as a whole don’t face a debt problem, but a huge offshore tax-evasion and money-laundering problem,” With the weak and debilitated economic base of the decayed Pakistani capitalism this parallel or the black economy has been expanding robustly. From about five percent in the mid seventies it has soared to about seventy percent of the total economy now. At the present stage the formal or the official economy is growing at the rate of less than three percent while the growth rate of the black economy is estimated to be nine percent. It is like a tumour that has over taken in size of the body in which it was rooted. This black economy is based on several sectors of the economy comprising of drug trade, human trafficking, extortion, kidnapping and ransom, counterfeiting, smuggling, illegal logging, software and music piracy and several other criminal activities. But the massive share of this black economy comes from the corruption in state and society. This black economy has had severe ramifications in politics, state and society with spiralling terrorism, crime and devastation. The covert fragmentations within the structures of the state are also due to the conflicts between the different warring factions representing the various segments of this parallel economy. Paradoxically this corruption and the black economy have been a buffer and a support for the economic cycle that is running this country. Due to the burgeoning crisis of the formal economy Pakistan has been relying more and more on this corruption. With ever increasing military expenditure and repayment of debt and its interest, there is hardly anything left to spend on the social and infrastructural sectors. Austerity, price hikes and blatant exploitation has pulverised the already impoverished masses. Due to the collapse of the living standards along with the decline in the buying power of the society there has been a severe contraction of the market. It is this black market consumption which keeps the economic cycle moving. This sector apart from being a cushion for the formal economy is responsible for 73.8 percent of the total employment in the country. Characteristically its investments are in short term sectors like the real estate, transport, health, education and other services sectors. It is shielded by the religious fundamentalist groups, several political parties, sectarian and nationalist chauvinist setups, sections of the state bought off by these lords of the black economy and outright criminal mafias. Those politicians parroting the rhetoric of ending corruption are either too naive or unashamedly deceiving the people. If corruption, the main source of the black market is eradicated then it will bring down the whole economic edifice of Pakistan as it is so large and actually the formal economy is enmeshed in this black economy. The stark reality is that Pakistan’s capitalism is in its terminal decay. Just like a junkie who is dependent on his fix, this decaying system is totally dependent on this informal economy. It is simply not possible to revive or recreate a healthy capitalist economy in this country. With little or no chance of the recovery of world capitalism in the near future Pakistan’s exports, foreign investment and industrial growth are almost ruled out. The debt burden continues to pile up. In the last five years the incumbent coalition democratic regime has acquired more foreign and domestic loans that the ones acquired in the previous sixty years. Any party in power in this system would not and could not have done much else. With the falling rupee the debt burden keeps on mounting. With about 2 percent of the population paying taxes, declining exports and record deficits the economy cannot run on the foreign remittances alone. Pakistan’s economic future is bleak to say the least. Within the present system no miracle can pull it out of the abyss into which it is unravelling. It is not a question of interpreting or predicting the system; the point is to change it.
Sipah-e-Sahaba Taliban wrecking mothers’ lives – by AZ


Mommy, mommy, please don’t cry. I’m in heaven now, so dry your eyes. God is keeping me safe and warm, just as you did from the day I was born. I don’t know for sure why this happened, we parted much sooner than you planned. Please brave the bitter grief on your way, and I’ll be a good boy in all I do or sayWith the recurring bomb attacks by the SSP and TTP, the peace of Pakistan has been murdered and the fabric of the society has been eroded. To the families of the victims of terror the life seems worthless. Zafar Abbas of JDC recounts the harrowing experience of some of these women. He explains how in Abbas Town, only the latest in a long list of such instances, no one was excluded – Shias and Sunnis; Mohajirs and others; male and female; the small and innocent; the young and promising; the old and wise, all alike fell victim to this ruthless act of savage barbarity. Shattered and battered they pull along in a neighbourhood where the people are left to mourn the loss of their loved ones. The break of each day offers no comfort or warmth as every dawn is laced with fear and hopelessness. In every home where there was a victim, laughter has long ceased and smiles have been wiped off faces that were once glowing. Heads are bowed in sorrow and with pain hearts are left heavy. But, yet, Zafar describes that the chief mourners are the mothers, who struggle to accept that their loved ones have departed. His voice quivers as he recounts the inconsolable wails of a woman who lost her husband and her son. I neither have the heart nor the words to repeat what he has to narrate. It is happening across Pakistan to women whose loved ones are blown in bomb blasts, or targeted and killed, or die in the blasts in their school vans, or are killed for working for the security agencies. Their breadwinners, husbands, fathers, and brothers are gone without bidding them bye. They have lost their children who were all they had for now and for ever. Like the dart of a sword in the heart, the SSP and TTP attacks have left mothers’ reduced to epithets of agony. How many of our mothers will we allow to be drawn to the caresses of darkness? How many? Is there a dawn for us somewhere?
Terrorists bomb 4 CD shops near Peshawar

Pakistan Government Survives, Makes History
Radio Free Europe/Radio LibertyPakistan’s civilian government has become the first government in Pakistani history to fully complete its five-year term. Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf acknowledged the failings of the government but nevertheless said the completion of the term -- and the expected handover to another civilian government -- had marked a victory for democracy. Pakistan's military has ruled for approximately half the period since the country’s independence in 1947, staging coups three times. The outgoing democratically elected government had to contend with a myriad of problems ranging from deadly attacks by Islamic militants to sectarianism, separatism, natural disasters, and the failure of authorities to guarantee regular energy supplies to residents. "It is true that in the past five years we have not been able to flow rivers of milk and honey," Ashraf said in a televised address. "But we have tried to control the number of problems that we had inherited. We have used all our resources to strengthen the foundations of democracy and - by the grace of Allah -- today democracy is so strong that no one will dare to dislodge it in the future." In addition to the daunting list of domestic troubles, the outgoing government had to contend with deteriorating relations with the United States, particularly in the aftermath of the 2011 U.S. forces raid that killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was living in a compound not far from a key Pakistani military facility. The government has also been criticized for failing to take effective action against widespread corruption, economic decline, and a worsening security situation. Ashraf portrayed many of the country's problems as having been inherited from the previous military regime of President General Pervez Musharraf. In his speech, Ashraf claimed a series of foreign policy successes for the government, including in Pakistan's relations with rival India, and with Afghanistan, Iran, China, and Russia. "In order to boost peace and trade in the region, we stretched a hand of friendship towards Afghanistan and India so that ties are strengthened and lasting peace and progress in the region is ensured," he said. "Besides China, we also broadened our ties with Russia. By signing the Gwador Port agreement with China, we opened a new chapter in Pakistan-China relations. Recently, keeping in view the power needs of Pakistan, the presidents of Pakistan and Iran inaugurated the gas pipeline." Parliament was dissolved at midnight on March 16 upon the expiration of its mandate. A caretaker administration will manage the country’s affairs until general elections are held within 90 days. Underscoring the deep divisions in Pakistani politics, lawmakers failed to reach consensus on a caretaker government in time for the last parliamentary session. The Central Election Commission has recommended the holding of elections between May 8 and May 10. Ashraf appealed to “all political parties, national institutions, civil society, and mass media to complete the election process in an independent, peaceful, and pleasant environment.”
Rangers arrest LeJ leader involved in Daniel Pearl murder
The Express TribuneRangers arrested the former president of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi’s (LeJ) Sindh chapter during a raid in Karachi on Sunday, reported Express News. Qari Abdul Hayee, alias Asadullah, was allegedly involved in the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl. He was arrested in 2003 from Multan over his suspected involvement in planning and carrying out the kidnapping and murder of Pearl. Hayee is also wanted in several other criminal cases, including helping his accomplice, Riaz Basra, in escaping from the Lahore sessions court in 1994. Rangers shifted him to an undisclosed location for interrogation. Targeted operations were initiated in sensitive areas of Karachi after two bomb blasts –in Quetta and Karachi – targeted the minority Shia community killing more than 190 people. The LeJ had claimed responsibility for the Quetta blast and had threatened to exterminate all Shias. Following the attack, LeJ leader Malik Ishaq and his son Malik Muhammad Usman were detained for a month. Several other members of the banned outfit were also arrested during separate raids. Qari Abdul Hayee’s past A black warrant had been issued in January, 1994 against Hayee for his involvement in the Shehr Sultan killings. Police investigations showed that Hayee had thrown grenades on a Shia mosque in Sher Sultan and resorted to indiscriminate fire along with his two accomplices in the attack. About half a dozen people died and Sher Sultan police registered a case against the accused. At one point, his capture carried a bounty amounting to Rs2 million. Hayee was arrested and had been awarded the death sentence by the Dera Ghazi Khan anti-terrorism court on six counts for killing six people in the Shehr Sultan attack. Hayee was also a close aide of Riaz Basra, the founder of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and had reportedly met Taliban chief Mullah Omar once in Afghanistan during his years-long stay there. The accused had helped LeJ in militant training in Afghanistan and allegedly trained hundreds of terrorists. He is considered a specialist in bomb manufacturing and had shifted from Afghanistan to Karachi after the fall of the Afghan Taliban in 2002. After internal differences arose in the LeJ, Qari formed his own Qari Asad group. He was also Imam at Jamia Siddiq Akbar mosque, forming a strong base in Karachi. He also formed a party Karawan Muhammad during the period of 1993-94.
Punjab: Transparency questions arise in Daanish Schools project

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sets healthy tradition

Follow the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa example
THE FRONTIER POSTIt is not for nothing that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was the first to announce its caretaker chief minister after Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti and Leader of Opposition Akram Khan Durrani, a former chief minister himself, met a few times. They chose the former chief justice of Peshawar High Court, Tariq Pervaz Khan, a man with extremely good reputation as an upright man. One hopes his short stint as the caretaker CM will be as unblemished as was his career as a judge. There is a reason for this timely resolution to the issue of caretaker chief minister: Because from their everyday life, the people of this province know that if talks fail, violence, which can escalate to killing each other, is not far behind. This experience, in their tribal and family lives, has made even the common people and politicians wary of situations going out of hand. That is not to say that everybody here is as mindful of solving solution amicably. Exceptions are aplenty. Some newly rich and some first timers in the assemblies did lose their tempers too soon. They don't express themselves while respectful of others.. But such men and women are generally not appreciated either by the ordinary people or political leaders. Men and women who can keep their cool even in the most infuriating situations are considered as the individuals who can solve knotty issues. Nevertheless, Hoti grew up in a family with political giants in his family. Durrani was tutored in politics by no less a crafty politician than Maulana Fazlur Rehman himself. Both individuals should be congratulated for being the first timely picking caretaker CM for their province and lessening the confusion in the politics of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Both the leaders were able to resolve the issue because they refused to be bogged down by small details and one hopes that both sincerely wanted to have fair elections in the province. In the other three provinces and the centre, politicians have not been so quick. They continue to squabble over minute details and want to be seen as important players in the choice of the caretakers. This delay in the three province and the centre in choosing the caretakers CMs and the prime ministers puts a damper on the elections process and people fear that the disagreement between politicians may lead to a much graver situation. Many even hear the thud of army boots in Islamabad. Some are just disgusted with the delay. At the most the delay in nomination of the caretakers may give the current prime minister and the chief minister five to seven days and for that these politicians are seeking excuses to further agreement on the issue and leaving the people in suspense. It is shameful that some of our so famous politicians will stoop so low to stick to their high offices and for such a little time. No wander the people are getting fed up with politics and politicians. The culture of being glued to high positions when one's time is up or is no more fit or deserving is sickness that has invaded all spheres of our social life. From players, to bureaucrats to general, to politicians most of us want to overstay our welcome. One hopes the example set by the politicians of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be followed by politicians in the center and other provinces.
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