

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
By Diana SayedThe head of Saudi Arabia’s religious police has said anyone who uses Twitter “has lost this world and his afterlife.” Previously, the government-appointed imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca denounced Twitter as a “threat to national unity.” You might think that social media are no match for police and petrodollars, but King Abdullah—who’s seen the Internet facilitate democratic uprisings in nearby countries—views Twitter and other platforms as a threat to his power, and with good reason. Saudi Arabia has more Twitter users per capita than any other country in the world. Between 2011 and 2012, the number of Twitter users in the Kingdom grew by 3,000 percent, with users posting an average of 50 million messages monthly, most of them in Arabic. And not coincidentally, the rise of social media has corresponded with an uptick in pro-human rights activism. Protests are largely organized through Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, and dissidents use Skype to communicate with foreign human rights organizations and media networks. It’s no wonder that spokesmen for the Saudi Interior Ministry have said that social media is a tool used by militants to stir social unrest. But the government’s assault on internet users is more than rhetorical. Authorities have detained and intimidated hundreds of online activists and commentators, blocked and filtered sensitive political, religious or pornographic content , and recruited online supporters to campaign against calls for protests, according to a Freedom House Report. In March, two leading activists were sentenced to 10 years in prison for a variety of offenses including “internet crimes” because they had used Twitter and other sites to criticize the government. Last year, poet and journalist Hamza Kashgari posted tweets in which he envisioned conversations with Mohammed. Thousands of Saudis, including prominent clerics, called for his death, and after a failed attempt to flee, he was imprisoned for blasphemy. His was the rare case of persecution in Saudi Arabia that attracted international attention, but the spotlight has turned away and he remains behind bars. Once government officials know who is posting what, they are unrelenting in targeting dissidents. On April 10, prominent women’s activist Iman Al-Qahtan, posted on her Twitter feed that she was closing down her account, writing “Oh dear mother I’ll stop just for you, goodbye!” Although her Twitter handle and account remain active, it is reported that Al-Qahtani has been subject to continuous harassment by members of the security forces. They have threatened her to put her jail and to target her family members if she did not stop her activism. Last month the government-sponsored Arab News daily published a cover story condemning what it deemed “abusive” tweets. The article reported that Saudi authorities are discussing a plan to link Twitter accounts with their users’ identification numbers. Analysts say such a move may decrease the number of Twitter accounts by up to 60%. On March 31, the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) instructed Skype, WhatsApp and Viber to comply with local regulations or risk being shut down. This is just one example of the government violating anti-censorship laws under the guise of monitoring online activity. Last September, CITC announced that, for “national security” reasons, all pre-paid SIM card users must enter a personal identification number when recharging their accounts. Until recently, Saudi authorities have largely resisted sweeping restrictions on internet freedom for fear of igniting a political backlash, but some of their recent moves—particularly the threat to link Twitter accounts to ID numbers—may be doing just that. A few weeks ago one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent clerics, Salman al-Awdah, who has 2.4 million followers, Tweeted against this policy, saying it might create a “spark of violence.” Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns $300 million worth of Twitter shares, has said that any attempt to block social media platforms is a “losing war.” It’s widely believed that the Saudi monarchy’s grasp on power is unshakable. This would seem to be the view of the U.S. government, which gives this brutal, authoritarian regime unconditional support. But the increase in Twitter-fueled activism is clearly making the rulers nervous.
DAWN.COMChinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang on Thursday (today) addressed the Senate saying the country had made tremendous progress despite facing several challenges, DawnNews reported.
EDITORIAL:DAILY TIMESAs Pakistan faces one of the worst phases of its now almost decade-long load-shedding crisis, the Supreme Court’s latest proclamation does not come as a revelation. Terming it ‘artificial’, the Court points to the inadequate generation of power from plants that are capable of producing a higher input. As the summer has finally hit in the full, with the onset of an almost 8-month long period of intense heat, the menace of load shedding has taken on a new form. While the rural areas continue to face breakdowns of 18-20 hours, and at times, the absence of electricity for two or three days, the cities, also reeling under 12-18 hours of load-shedding seem to be further in misery as the duration of power-cuts is on the rise, and the constant fluctuation ensuring no electronics work on their full capacities, thus affecting domestic and business productivity. The solution to the power crisis that has crippled the everyday lives of almost every second Pakistani, halted all tangible economic progress, and played havoc with people’s minds was on the manifesto and election promises of every party, and now it has fallen upon the majority party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), to devise a policy that not just gives immediate relief to the suffering of people, but also work on middle and long term plans, without which any stop-gap arrangement would be tantamount to band-aiding an open, bleeding wound. Prime minister-elect Nawaz Sharif’s announcement that load shedding would be halved in a fortnight after the formation of his party’s government has come as good news for people, notwithstanding the strength of their faith in any promise after the long chain of unkept promises by the last government , led by the PPP. One of the factors that would be taken into serious consideration by Mr Sharif’s ministry of water and power is the curbing of electricity theft. Power generated. instead of being used for productive purposes is stolen by recipients who use it without paying a rupee for the utility. The 200 billion rupee theft of electricity is not merely a great dent in the treasury of a poor country, but also a cog in the machine that has deprived Pakistan of electricity. The other very important factor that has invariably become the main reason behind the ongoing crisis is the non-payment from the consumer, be it domestic, commercial, or government employed. The arrears due by many government-controlled institutions and high-ranking personnel are so high in monetary amounts that it is baffling how no clear-cut policy to solve it exists. The other noteworthy factor is the outdated infrastructure, which results in tremendous line losses, and whereas the international percentage of such losses is estimated at 15 to 20, in Pakistan it is said to be at an alarmingly high rate of 40 percent. Something has got to give, and that too without any further ado. The new government must take into consideration all steps that could be implemented to alleviate the misery of Pakistanis on short, medium and eventually long-term basis. Solar energy, which should be a given in the cauldron that is most of the Pakistan most months of the year, must be looked into, and in this sector, assistance from China could be utilised. That would on the lines of the very positive talk regarding the generation of power with the help of China between President Asif Zardari and the visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on his debut visit to Pakistan. The deferred plans to acquire cheaper oil on deferred payment basis from good friend Saudi Arabia is one other thing to seriously consider now. And the most important long-term plan would be to utilise unlimited coal reserves in Thar, the extraction of which would give Pakistan 50,000 megawatts of electricity, which is three times the required utility amount. For the PML-N government to be focused on the curtailing, if not immediate elimination, of load shedding is of the utmost importance, which would also be the test of how election slogans actually become a reality after winning the required mandate. The end of load shedding would be a befitting tribute to the PML-N’s slogan of giving Pakistanis a ‘Roshan’ (lit up) Pakistan.
THE FRONTIER POSTA bomb planted in a rickshaw tore through a vehicle used by security forces in Quetta on Thursday, killing at least 12 people, police said. The bomb containing around 100 kilos (220 pounds) of explosives targeted a truck carrying members of a government paramilitary force helping police to maintain law and order near eastern by-pass. Initial reports said that two people were killed which later rose to 12 while more than a dozen got injured, senior police official told. Sources also told that most of those wounded were security personnel.