Thursday, September 7, 2017
The West might hardly believe it, but it now seems the Syrian war is ending – and Assad is the victor
A message came through from Syria on my mobile phone last week. “General Khadour kept his promise,” it read. I knew what it meant.
Five years ago, I met Mohamed Khadour, who was commanding a few Syrian soldiers in a small suburb of Aleppo, under fire from Islamist fighters in the east of the city. At the time, he showed me his map. He’d recapture these streets in 11 days, he said.
And then in July this year, I met Khadour again, far out in the east of the Syrian desert. He was, he said, going to enter the besieged city of Deir ez-Zor before the end of August. I reminded him, a trifle cruelly, that the last time he told me he’d recapture part of Aleppo in 11 days, it took the Syrian army more than four years to retake. That was long ago, he said. In those days, the army had not learned to fight in a guerrilla war. The army were trained to retake Golan and defend Damascus. But they had learned now.
Indeed they had. Out in the desert, Khadour said he was going to bomb the town of Sukhna – the Russians would do much of the bombing – and his Syrian troops would break through from there to Deir ez-Zor, which had been surrounded by Isis for three years with its encircled 80,000 civilians and 10,000 soldiers. Khadour said he’d reach Deir ez-Zor by 23 August. He turned out to be almost dead on target. Now he is heading towards the rest of Deir ez-Zor and then towards the Syrian-Iraqi border.
So it seems – after the capture of the city is complete and when Khadour is on the frontier, and now that Aleppo is totally in the hands of the regime and only Idlib province remains a dustbin of largely Islamist rebels (including al-Qaeda), many of whom were allowed to travel there in return for surrendering bits of Syrian cities – that what has always been unthinkable in the West is now happening: Bashar al-Assad’s forces look to be winning the war.
And not just “look like”. Hassan “Tiger” Saleh, Syria’s favourite army officer – referred to twice by the Russian defence minister – broke his way into the compound of the 137th Syrian army brigade at Deir ez-Zor and relieved the soldiers there, while Khadour, his commanding officer (they are personal friends), is set to liberate the airbase in the city.
How many remember the day when the Americans bombed the Syrian soldiers close to that airbase and killed more than 60 of them, allowing Isis to cut it off from the rest of the city? The Syrians have never believed the American claim that they made a “mistake”. It was only the Russians who told the US air force they were bombing Syrian forces.
The Brits already seem to have got the message. They slyly withdrew their military trainers last week – the men intended to prepare David Cameron’s mythical “70,000 rebels” who were supposedly going to overthrow the Assad government. Even the UN’s report that the regime killed more than 80 civilians in a gas attack this summer got little play from the European politicians who used to play up war crimes in Syria and supported Donald Trump’s pointless Cruise missile attack on a Syrian airbase.
And what of Israel? Here is a nation which truly counted on the end of Assad, going so far as to bomb his forces and those of his Hezbollah and Iranian allies while giving medical help to Islamist fighters from Syria in Israeli cities. No wonder Benjamin Netanyahu was so “agitated” and “emotional” – Russian descriptions – when he met Vladimir Putin in Sochi. Iran was Russia’s “strategic ally” in the region, Putin said. Israel was an “important partner” of Russia. Which was not quite the same – and not what Netanyahu wanted to hear.
The repeated victories of the Syrians mean that the Syrian army is among the most “battle-hardened” in the region, its soldiers used to fighting for their lives and now trained in coordinating troops and intelligence from a single command headquarters. As former St Antony’s College associate scholar Sharmine Narwani put it this week, this alliance now has political cover from two permanent UN Security Council members, Russia and China.
So what will Israel do? Netanyahu has been so obsessed with Iran’s nuclear programme that he clearly never imagined – in company with Obama, Hillary Clinton, Trump, Cameron, May, Hollande and other members of the political elites in the West – that Assad might win, and that a more powerful Iraqi army might also emerge from the rubble of Mosul.
Netanyahu still supports the Kurds, but neither Syria nor Turkey nor Iran nor Iraq have any interest in supporting Kurdish national aspirations – despite the military use by America of Kurdish militiamen in the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (it being largely Kurdish rather than “Syrian”, not “democratic” at all and scarcely a “force” without US air power).
So while we’re all waiting for Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un to start World War Three, we’ve not spotted that the military map of the Middle East has substantially, bloodily changed. It will be years before Syria and Iraq (and Yemen) are rebuilt, but the Israelis, so used to calling on Washington for help, may have to go back to Putin again to clear up the mess they’re in.
Those in the Israeli political right who claimed that Assad was a greater danger than Isis may have to think again – not least because Assad may be the man they’ll have to talk to if they want to keep their northern border safe.
'Manmade catastrophe': Yemen conflict has killed 1,100 children, says UN
Karen McVeigh
The UN human rights office urges international investigation as new figures reveal an escalation in hostilities, with children as young as 10 recruited to fight.
More than 1,100 children have been killed in Yemen, most in airstrikes by the Saudi military coalition, while some as young as 10 have been recruited to fight, according to the latest UN figures on the three-year conflict.
Based on interviews with survivors, witnesses and family members as well as site visits, a report by the UN human rights office reveals an escalation in hostilities in the country, with more airstrikes in the first half of this year than in all of 2016. Human rights violations and abuses continue unabated, with at least 5,144 civilians killed and 8,749 injured in what the UN describes as an “entirely manmade catastrophe”.
The new figures were published after the head of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, called on Saudi Arabia to fund 100% of the humanitarian needs in the war-torn country.
At least 3,200 civilians were reportedly killed by coalition forces, according to the UN, although the numbers are likely to be higher. The Saudi coalition receives backing and weapons from the UK and the US.
Children account for 1,184 of those killed and 1,592 injured, mostly from coalition airstrikes, the report said. More than 1,700 children, some as young as 10, have been recruited for use in hostilities, 67% of them by the popular committee forces affiliated with the Houthis and their allies, army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The UN said its observers have “frequently” seen children who were armed and uniformed manning checkpoints.
Information gathered by the UN human rights office shows apparent indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations by both sides to the conflict, with civilians directly targeted by airstrikes and shelling.
The war began when the Saudi-led coalition launched a campaign in support of the president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized parts of the country including the capital, Sana’a.
Last week, human rights groups urged the UN to establish an independent inquiry into abuses during the Yemen conflict. The past year has seen widespread airstrikes against markets, hospitals, schools and residential areas as well as on funerals and small civilian boats. The deteriorating situation in Yemen is now the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with close to 18.8 million people in need of humanitarian aid; 7 million on the brink of famine; and an estimated 540,000 suffering from cholera.
“In many cases, information obtained … suggested that civilians may have been directly targeted, or that operations were conducted heedless of their impact on civilians without regard to the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack. In some cases, information suggested that no actions were taken to mitigate the impact of operations on civilians,” the UN report states. It also said those opposing the parties to the conflict have been harassed, detained and, on occasion, tortured and killed, raising further concerns over human rights abuses. The UN high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, said it was crucial for an independent inquiry to be established on the conflict. Hussein said: “I have repeatedly called on the international community to take action – to set up an independent, international investigation into the allegations of very serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Yemen.” He said this would help put the parties to the conflict on notice that “the international community is watching and determined to hold to account perpetrators of violations and abuses”. He also voiced serious concerns regarding the rise of new armed groups affiliated with al-Qaida that are exploiting the security vacuum in Yemen.
“I appeal to all the parties to the conflict, those supporting them and those with influence over them to have mercy on the people of Yemen, and to take immediate measures to ensure humanitarian relief for civilians and justice for the victims of violations,” he added. Attacks on civilians have extended recently into the waters off the western coast of Yemen, where fishing vessels and boats carrying migrants have come under fire.
Chinese chuckle at Trump for messing up picture-perfect America
By Curtis Stone
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration protection program, creating a nightmare for about 800,000 people. The program allowed young undocumented immigrants, or “Dreamers,” to live in the country without fear of deportation. Trump’s decision to end the program means that hundreds of thousands of young adults brought to the U.S. illegally as children could soon face deportation.
Of course, ending the immigration program and any actions taken in response to the decision are purely U.S. domestic affairs. Nevertheless, many Chinese are following the news and wondering where the country is heading.
On Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media service, the reaction is strong and mixed, with some posts receiving thousands of comments. In the eyes of some Chinese, Trump has made a big mess in America, and the decision to kill the program is just further evidence that the American Dream is quickly becoming the American Pipe Dream. “People who go to the U.S. have an American Dream, which is the driving force behind the success and development of the U.S.” wrote a netizen. “The American Dream is broken,” wrote another.
On huanqiu.com, one comment that resonated strongly among readers said that Trump’s actions are hurting his nation by “dividing the U.S., provoking social conflict, and accelerating the decline of U.S. strength.” A different reader said, “Trump shattered the American Dream, and at the same time, destroyed the dream of world peace.”
However, not all are against the move. In fact, Weibo is full of comments supporting Trump’s decision, but many Chinese are confused why the issue is so controversial. “Why is illegal immigration such a big issue? I don’t understand,” wrote one netizen. “Illegal immigrants are illegal, what reason is there to protest?” another netizen wrote, adding: “Trump did the right thing, and in accordance with the law!” Some even asked what China would do if it had a large number of illegal immigrants to deal with.
In fact, Trump has signaled that he does not want to really end the Dreamers program, but continue it through the legislative process. “Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA,” the U.S. president wrote on his personal Twitter account, adding that if they cannot, then he will revisit the issue. It remains to be seen what effect, if any, Trump’s decision to end the Dreamers program will have on immigration and immigration reform.
Meanwhile, some Chinese are just enjoying the political thriller. Given all the chaos he creates at home, it is almost like Trump was sent to destroy America from within. “Is Trump a spy sent by Putin [Russian president]?” asked one netizen on the WeChat account of the People’s Daily, before breaking out in laughter.
Sen. Warren to support nationwide health insurance coverage
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is planning to co-sponsor a bill by Sen. Bernie Sanders that would guarantee everyone in the country is covered by health insurance.
The Massachusetts Democrat said in an email to supporters Thursday that she's backing Sanders' "Medicare for All" bill, calling health care "a basic human right." The independent Vermont senator plans to introduce the legislation this month.
In the email, Warren said "Medicare for All is one way that we can give every single person in the country access to high quality health care. Everyone is covered. Nobody goes broke paying a medical bill."
Warren drew on her family's experience after her father suffered a heart attack. She said her parents struggled for years to pay the medical bills.
For Warren, eyed as a possible candidate for president in 2020, the announcement is the strongest sign of her support for a so-called single payer health insurance plan.
Warren said that her support grew stronger during the debate this year on a Republican effort to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law. Warren said she heard from worried parents.
"One message kept hitting home: If the government hadn't been there to help, these hard-working moms and dads would have been forced to pick between the health of their child and financial ruin," she said.
Warren said other steps that could be taken include ending "insurance company price gouging", ending high deductibles, and cutting the cost of prescription drugs by importing drugs from Canada.
Conservative groups have taken to criticizing what they described as Warren's "flip flops" in recent months on the issue of whether she fully supports a single payer system. They say Warren had been reluctant to completely embrace a proposal that could hurt her in a presidential contest.
Warren, facing re-election next year, has downplayed talk about a 2020 White House bid.
"No. I am not running for president," she told The Associated Press in August. "I have a race in 2018 and I take nothing for granted."
Warren's announcement reflects a larger debate among Democrats about how far they should go in support of a government-backed health care system.
A poll taken in July suggested that attitudes among Americans could be shifting left on the issue, with 62 percent saying it's the federal government's responsibility to make sure that all Americans have health care coverage, while 37 percent say it is not.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 13-17 with a margin of sampling error for all respondents of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
On his website, Sanders described his "Medicare for All" plan as "a federally administered single-payer health care program" covering everything from inpatient and outpatient care, preventive and emergency care, and primary care and specialty care — including long-term and palliative care. It also would include vision, hearing and oral health care, mental health and substance abuse services, and prescription drugs.
Sanders said the proposal would be paid for in part by higher taxes on the wealthy and a 6.2 percent income-based health care premium paid by employers.
Video - The N.Y. Times Interviews Paul Ryan: Paul Ryan on Taxes, DACA and Trump’s Deal With Democrats
During an interview with The New York Times at the inaugural TimesTalk D.C., Speaker Paul D. Ryan discussed his plan to pass tax reform legislation by the end of the year.
Chuck Schumer Channels LBJ For A Dealmaking Day
Trump handed him a gift, but the Democrats’ workaholic-in-chief had earned it.
After the deal was done, it was time for some New York-style ribbing. Brooklyn’s own Chuck Schumer plunged right in on Queens-born Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, the president had unexpectedly agreed with Schumer, the Democrats’ Senate leader, and Nancy Pelosi, his House counterpart, to put off major battles over the federal budget and national debt until December. It was widely seen as a victory for Democrats and a humiliation for Republicans.
Trump invited Schumer, whom he’d once described as the “head clown” of the Democratic Party, to join him in briefing the press on the deal.
Schumer, with a smile, demurred.
“If I do that, you could say something unexpected,” Schumer said with a laugh. “Then I’d have to explain it.” Trump smiled in response.
Then, turning to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Schumer added, “And I bet you have that problem a lot more than I do.”
Everyone laughed at that one.
The moment was caught on camera by photographers who used telephoto lenses to peer through an Oval Office window. This account of what was said comes from friends of Schumer’s, to whom he recounted the conversation. His office declined to comment.
The deal to provide hurricane relief, while hiking the debt ceiling and funding the government for just three months, was indeed a gift to Democrats. With majorities in both chambers of Congress, the GOP will be vulnerable to pressure on immigration and other matters as a Christmas-time shutdown of the government and its borrowing power looms.
It was a moment evocative of the master wheeler-dealer Lyndon Johnson ― with Schumer, not Trump, in the role of mastermind ― and it was entirely unexpected. The New York senator had not talked to the president in months, and neither Schumer nor anyone else in the room thought that Trump would accept the three-month deal.
No comparison between Benazir and Maryan, says Nisar
Speaking at Geo News Programme ‘Jirga’, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that there is no comparison between Benazir Bhutto and Maryam Nawaz, adding that Maryam needs to prove herself as a politician by taking part in active politics.
While praising the slain leader of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), PML-N leader said that Benazir Bhutto had seen many ups and dawns in her life and tolerated many hardships she even endured imprisonment. He was speaking at Geo News Programme 'Jirga' which would be telecasted on Saturday night.
Giving some sound advice to the former PM's daughter Maryam Nawaz, Nisar said Maryam Nawaz would have to prove herself by taking part in active politics. He further added that children are used to be apolitical, they could not be accepted as leaders. "The role of Maryam Nawaz is that she is daughter of Nawaz Sharif," He added.
Nisar, known as a hard-core ideologue within the party. Earlier Nisar complained that he was kept out of crucial consultations on the Panamagate case, though he had been part of every meeting of the party during the last 33 years.
Pakistan’s top bank to pay $225 million, end U.S. operations
Managers in Habib’s branch office in Manhattan failed for more than a decade to shore up weak anti-money-laundering controls and sanctions compliance, New York’s Department of Financial Services said in orders issued Thursday. The bank put through thousands of poorly screened transactions, the DFS said, including for people on a “good guy” list at the bank that included an identified terrorist, an international arms dealer and an Iranian oil shipper.
“DFS will not tolerate inadequate risk and compliance functions that open the door to the financing of terrorist activities that pose a grave threat to the people of this state and the financial system as a whole,” said DFS Superintendent Maria Vullo. “The bank has repeatedly been given more than sufficient opportunity to correct its glaring deficiencies, yet it has failed to do so.” Habib Bank repeatedly violated the terms of a 2006 agreement in which it promised to improve its internal controls, resulting in a 2015 order that called for the bank to hire an independent consultant to review its dollar-clearing activities, the regulator said. In a follow-up examination by DFS in 2016, Habib received the lowest rating.
The agreement calls for Habib Bank’s outside monitor to review its dollar-clearing transactions back to 2013, as part of an orderly wind-down of Habib’s New York branch. The bank announced on Aug. 28 it was closing the branch. It declined to comment on Thursday’s agreement.
DFS’s most recent investigation found that the bank handled billions of dollars in transactions with a Saudi private bank, the Al Rajhi Bank, which has reportedly been linked to the al- Qaeda terrorist organization, without adequate anti-money laundering controls. It failed to adequately identify some of the Saudi bank’s customers, the department said.
The bank’s “good guy” list consisted of customers who the bank claimed presented a low risk of illicit transactions. It permitted at least $250 million in transfers to people on the list without screening, the New York regulator said. Habib Bank, headquartered in Karachi, is the Pakistan’s largest bank, with $24 billion in total assets, according to DFS. The New York branch has been licensed by DFS since 1978.
The bank defended its conduct in a statement last week:
“Despite HBL’s sincere and extensive remediation measures over the last two years, DFS is still not appreciating or recognizing the significant progress that HBL has made at its New York branch.”
Habib Bank, headquartered in Karachi, is the Pakistan’s largest bank, with $24 billion in total assets, according to DFS. The New York branch has been licensed by DFS since 1978.
The bank defended its conduct in a statement last week:
“Despite HBL’s sincere and extensive remediation measures over the last two years, DFS is still not appreciating or recognizing the significant progress that HBL has made at its New York branch.”
Pakistan among 50 countries with high terror-financing risks
Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka stand out with particularly high risk scores
Pakistan is among the top 50 countries with high terrorism- financing and money laundering risks, according to a latest report by a Swiss group.
The Basel Institute on Governance, in its 2017 edition of the Basel Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Index which has assessed 146 countries regarding money laundering and terrorism financing risks, said that Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka stand out with particular high risk scores in the Index.
Pakistan has been placed on the 46th position in the list of 146 countries which have been given marks on a scale of 0 — low risk to 10 — high risk, by the Switzerland-based independent not-for-profit competence center.
The average risk score this year is equal to 6.15.
These have the highest risk
The 10 countries with the highest AML risk are Iran, Afghanistan, Guinea-Bissau, Tajikistan, Laos, Mozambique, Mali, Uganda, Cambodia and Tanzania while the three lowest risk countries are Finland, followed by Lithuania and Estonia, the group said in a recent report published on its website.
Top-ranked Iran has scored 8.60 marks and bottom-ranked Finland 3.04. Pakistan has been given 6.64 marks, above this year’s average of 6.18.
India has been placed on 88th rank with 5.58 marks, the report said.
The greatest improvements since 2016 have been made by Sudan, Taiwan, Israel and Bangladesh while the countries that deteriorated most severely in their scores in 2017 are Jamaica, Tunisia, Hungary, Uzbekistan and Peru, it said.
In South Asia, Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka have been given 8.38, 7.57 and 7.15 marks and placed on the second, 14th and 25th ranks respectively.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/pakistan-among-50-countries-with-high-terror-financing-risks/article19636820.ece
Will the BRICS declaration prompt a rethink in Pakistan's corridors of power?
By Khurram Husain
IF you hide from reality for long enough, you can land up in a place from where it is next to impossible to find your way back. Something like that may be happening to Pakistan, where for more than a quarter century, our state has come to be virtually held hostage by a reality that we have been denying in almost every forum around the world. This reality is that within Pakistan, as a matter of official policy, violent militant groups have been nurtured, trained, supported and nestled within the general population for use as assets in an underground geopolitical game that we have tried to play in the region.
This history has been told so often, within and outside Pakistan, and evidence of the official patronage that these groups and their larger milieu enjoys has now mounted to such levels, that it has become an act of wilful schizophrenia to actually deny it now. Where exactly does one even begin to explain this to those who remain unaware of this fact even today, and resistant to really internalising its import?
For years, we have found different rationales to either justify or explain this away. Most recently, when the BRICS countries pointed to three specific groups in Pakistan and labelled them as terrorist entities, they were only echoing what the UN Security Council had done more than a decade and a half ago. Still the line came up that ‘these groups are already proscribed in Pakistan’, as a rationale or soft justification for the fact that the groups not only exist, but operate freely and openly, propagate their literature in society, operate giant administrative operations, and in some cases, are actually being mainstreamed into society as bona fide political parties.
What does proscription actually mean in Pakistan when the same members of the group in question need only start another organisation under a different name and carry on business as usual? One need only take a close look at what happened to the case against the Lal Masjid cleric who less than a decade ago had taken up arms against the state, and triggered a confrontation that actually resulted in the deaths of scores of military personnel. The case fell apart (take a look sometime at how this happened), and the cleric in question continues to live and preach openly in the same mosque. How did this come about if some form of official support was not available to him?What does proscription actually mean in Pakistan when the same members of the group in question need only start another organisation under a different name?
Another line told us that we need not worry. The countries that are crying foul over this situation are biased against us, and need to be perceived more as enemies than allies. Now we have China, we were told, which will stand by us and has no intention of similarly wagging a finger at us on this point. And with China we have CPEC, which is our road to future prosperity, something we have believed for generations now is given by a big brother, not earned through one’s own smarts and hard work.
Well now China has added its voice to the list of those countries pointing out that the presence of militant groups in Pakistan is a problem. To add meat to the proposition, they point to a “comprehensive approach in combating terrorism”, to include countering radical ideologies, halting the movement of terrorist fighters as well as their recruitment, interdicting their finances and much more. This is a heavy menu, and notice that all of what the BRICS declaration is committing to is within the framework of the United Nations, and an extension of what other leading powers in the world have already been saying for many years.
If anybody out there thought that somehow the emergence of China on the global stage, and its growing stakes in our neighborhood as well as others, along with its creed to not interfere in the ‘internal affairs’ of other countries, meant that finally we would have a free pass to engage our great game fantasies without let or hindrance, they ought to be in for a rude shock. The person who is still spinning the words to mean something other than what they say is like that person who has lived so long with his or her lies that they are unable to find their way back to reality.
Everything in the declaration shows that the BRICS countries, that include Russia and China, will not advance an alternative set of norms to those around which the Euro-American world order is constructed. To combat terror financing, for example, they seek to work with the UN resolutions and the Financial Action Task Force that has for years been pointing out the vulnerability of the Pakistan financial system to being used by designated terrorist groups because the latter operate with impunity in Pakistan.
Yes there have been huge successes in our own war against terror. Groups like the TTP have been pushed out of Swat and North and South Waziristan, and the sacrifices made by Pakistan’s soldiers in the course of this fighting have been admirable and deserve commendation. Yes, the security situation has improved from a decade ago, although much ground remains to be covered.
And yes, let’s also add that much of the finger-wagging from the West, particularly America, is in bad faith. America is not losing the war in Afghanistan because of Pakistan. America is losing the war for the simple reason that no sooner had the fighting commenced in earnest in Afghanistan, it lost its focus and went barrelling into Iraq instead. All else is detail.
But there is a reason why Pakistan has had such a difficult time getting the world to recognise this simple reality: because we have been lying to ourselves and our allies about the nature of our involvement in this war all along. If Abbottabad didn’t establish this, surely the death of Mullah Mansour on Pakistani soil, with Pakistani credentials in his pocket, did.
Pakistan's ''Educated Militants''
In recent times, we are observing an increasing trend of militants that hail not from war zones or the troubled tribal regions, but from the middle class of our society.
What is even more problematic is that they are not graduates from religious institutions – which we usually consider to be the prime source of militant’s recruitment - they are the products of public sector varsities. The emergence of this new educated, urban faction of militant mind is debunking the argument that terrorism finds room only in in the lower income class.
The recent attack on Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hasan of Mutthida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan (MQM-P), the Opposition Leader of the Sindh Provincial Assembly, is a testimony to this new trend. The brazen daylight attack on the first day of Eid-ul-Azha was soon followed by a police raid in Karachi’s Kanez Fatima Society, where police claimed to have captured the mastermind of the attack after a fierceg gun-battle.
The detainee – Dr Abdullah Hashmi - is the head of newly-emerged outfit Ansar-ul-Sharia Pakistan (ASP), and according to police officials he is an IT (Information technology) expert and was employed in computer department of NED University. He has received Master’s degree in Applied Physics from the University of Karachi
His case is not first of its kind; Allah Nazar Baloch was once president of the Baloch Students Organization, Saad Aziz, a student of Institute of Business Administration, and Noreen Laghari, an MBBS student. Nor is it limited to Pakistan, Daesh has increasingly targeted and successfully recruited university students across Europe. Considering that effort is already underway to secure our tribal region; and initial steps on seminary oversight and curriculum reform have been taken, albeit not taken properly, we must also focus on the new facet of the extremist threat.
It is unreasonable to assume that the kind of “Daesh inspired” attacks that have taken place in Europe and elsewhere will not take place in Pakistan, as is the belief that these groups can’t penetrate into educational institutes. The state must be vigilant, as must be the educational institutes themselves.
The top faculty of NED University of Engineering and Technology and Karachi University – the two varsities connected with Abdullah Hashimi – met separately on Tuesday to discuss this issue and agreed to come up with detailed proposals on how to tackle extremism in our campuses. These kind of initiatives must be encouraged and supported by the state, as this new face of terror will not disappear on its own.
Pakistan - A true trail of Benazir’s assassination
By - Senator Rehman Malik
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto fell victim to deep-rooted animosity of conservative right-wing forces in and outside the country against liberal PPP and its leadership.
The coup d’état by Gen Zia put him at the helm of affairs and through his dictatorial regime he had the sole agenda of destroying the party and its leadership and his attempt of introduction of Islamic reforms in the country was basically to win over the support of religious parties against the PPP.
The patronage of military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq helped the conservative right wing religious groups nourished, taste flavour of money and power thus penetrating in the society with a clear agenda of enforcing their brand of Islam.
Gen Zia, through these religious groups demonised and discredited the leadership of the party by building and propagating a narrative that the PPP leadership is anti-Islam by describing its slogan “Roti, Kapra & Makan” as un-Islamic and pro-Western based on its ideology of empowerment of every citizen of Pakistan especially women.
The religious fanatics were instigated against Benazir Bhutto with propagandas at all levels. I remember having investigated a murder attempt on Benazir when I was FIA director and during the course of investigation I found that one of the conspirators in his first attempt, on the life of Benazir in Karachi stated that the leadership of al-Qaeda was against Benazir Bhutto because; “she was a woman and she had no right to rule an Islamic country; she was a Shia and that she was pro-West”. Lately, one of the accused of October 27, 2007 incident had, once interviewed/interrogated him inside the jail by one of the members of the JIT, reiterated the same ideology vis-à-vis Benazir Bhutto justifying her assassination.
This speaks voluminously as to how much the religious militants had been against the personality of Benazir Bhutto. I along with my team interrogated Yousaf Ramzi, who reinforced his statement and proudly stated that it is true that we wanted to eliminate BB. He made a bomb to blow her up in a flat near a lighthouse. It would be pertinent to mention that Benazir Bhutto Shaheed had been the continuous target of the terrorists prior to the last fateful incident. The series of attempts on her life are indicative of the fact that vested interests /al-Qaeda were bent upon eliminating her since her emergence on the horizon of politics of Pakistan. The summary of the earlier attempts is mentioned below to understand the mindset of the hostile elements and al-Qaeda and its associates.
The first assassination attempt was carried out near Bilawal House in 1995. Fazlullah Hamdi at Abu Talha resident of Panjgur, Balochistan, was arrested by the then Frontier Police (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) for links with terrorists had disclosed that Yousaf Ramzi, Capt Abdul Hakim alias Majid and others had planned assassination of Benazir prior to 1993 elections. The planning to murder Benazir included planting a bomb in a gutter near Bilawal House. However, this could not be carried out as Yousaf Ramzi got injured at his flat in Karachi while making the bomb. Ramzi, consequently, remained under treatment in a hospital under fake name and got discharged before police could reach him.
The second assassination attempt was in 1993. Subsequently, Abdul Shakoor, a staunch affiliate of Sipah-e-Sahaba, and a close associate of Yousaf Ramzi was arrested by Peshawar Police for carrying ammunition to Karachi by train confirmed about two assassination attempts conspired and planned by Yousaf Ramzi, Capt Abdul Hakim alias Majid and Munir Ibrahim including himself. According to Abdul Shakoor, Osama bin Laden had pumped a lot of money to religious parties in Pakistan for this purpose. Munir Ibrahim whereby was the paymaster on behalf of Osama bin Laden.
Third assassination attempt was carried out on October 18, 2007 when Benazir arrived in Karachi from Dubai to lead the party in the coming general elections and was heading towards Mazar-e-Quaid, when two powerful bombs exploded in close proximity of her truck where I was present and barely survived but that burnt her hair and she also sustained burn injuries. It was another fresh attempt on her life but fortunately she remained safe but hundreds of her supporters gave their lives on October 18. The crime scene washed and FIR hardily registered not by the victim but the state. Basic right of registration of FIR was denied to Benazir.
This attempt was in furtherance of a threat by Baitullah Mehsud, when he had warned that she would be welcomed with garland of bombs. It is a matter of public record. A senator from Fata from Mehsud tribe is a witness to this statement of Baitullah Mehsud. Having been able to penetrate in the procession of October 18, 2007, the terrorists became encouraged to undertake another assassination attempt on Benazir. On December 12, 2007, one of the terrorists was able to touch the vehicle of BB after a PPP workers’ gathering at Pabbi. They noted that the security after public meetings becomes lax and Benazir always came out of the sunroof of the vehicle to wave to the workers. Subsequent tracking of the movements of the terrorist groups through call record data analysis indicated the presence of Ibad-ur-Rehman, a hardcore militant, in Nowshera, on that day who had later been found involved in the planning and execution of plan of assassination of Benazir on December 27, 2007 at Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi.
The same terrorist group kept on chasing Benazir and conspired and planned assassination attempt on her at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar, after public meeting on December 26, 2007. I was present with Mohtarma when we were told by the police that a bomber with a jacket was spotted, who wanted to explode on Benazir.
I demanded the report on it from the NWFP police but they gave no response. We pursued and found out during our own government that Abdullah Saeed (long-necked), Bilal and Ikramullah were the suicide bombers; Nasarullah, a student of Darul Aloom Haqqania, along with two others were the handlers. The plan could not be executed because of the strict security arrangements. In Peshawar, a SP and four DSPs were deputed for the close cordon protection of Benazir as compared to only one ASP at Rawalpindi on 27.12.07.
After various failed attempts the terrorists /anti-MBB finally managed to target Benazir on December 27, 2007 in Rawalpindi after a well-coordinated and organised attack through three successive gunshots followed by suicide bomb blast in close proximity of her vehicle. As a result, she succumbed to her head injuries besides killing of 23 party workers and 70 people sustaining injuries. It happened that the same terrorist group headed by Ibadur Rehman with Bilal Shah (who exploded himself) and Ikram bomber were the key players to kill her.
The investigation by FIA had revealed that the conspiracy was hatched by five former students of Madrassa Haqqania, Akora Khattak, namely Nadir Qari Ismail, Nasarullah, Abdullah Saddam and Faiz Muhammad Kiskat at their hostel room. Their credentials were later confirmed through the record of the madrassa. It is also part of the investigation that Baitullah Mehsud had provided the suicide bombers money to carry out the plot to assassinate Benazir. Baitullah Mehsud fulfilled his claim to kill her with his men with the local support of anti-PPP elements. The police had arrested accused Hasnain Gul and Muhammad Rafaqat on January 5, 2008. They subsequently made confessional statement under Section 164 CrPC before a magistrate, disclosing having picked up accused Nasarullah and two suicide bombers namely Bilal and Ikramullah from Daewoo terminal Rawalpindi on December 26, 2007; providing shelter to them at the house of accused Rafaqat Hussain; having carrying out reconnaissance of Liaqat Bagh on December 27, 2007 and bringing both the suicide bombers to the crime scene for suicide attack on Benazir. Graphic forensic mobile phone confirms the interconnection and presence on the scene. The subsequent call record and RBS locations analysis had corroborated the confessional statements of both the accused Hasnain Gul and Rafaqat Hussain.
The police had also arrested Aitzaz Shah, Saifullah, Sher Zaman and Rashid Ahmed and Abdul Rahim Turabi for being privy to and having the knowledge of the conspiracy. The police had also declared six planners and conspirators as proclaimed offenders who were later found killed either by drone attacks or by the security forces in different areas of Fata.
Ibadur Rehman, an ex-student of Madrassa Haqqania, who had allegedly provided suicide bombers to accused Hasnain Gul and Rafaqat Hussain through accused Nasarullah, was reportedly killed in Tirah, Khyber Agency, in a drone attack on 13.5.10 when FIA was chasing to arrest him including 14 other militants including foreigners. Interestingly, it was the only drone attack in Khyber Agency.
Abdullah Saddam, the ex-student of Madrassa Haqqania, Akora Khattak, allegedly involved in the planning, taking suicide bombers from Baitullah along Nadir Qari Ismail and transportation of suicide vests, were killed in Mamad Gatt, Mohmand Agency in an explosion on 31.5.08 and in Mohmand Agency on 15.1.08, respectively.
Similarly, Nasrullah Ahmed r/o Madrassa Haqqania, Akora Khattak, who had been focal person in Rawalpindi, took two suicide bombers Saeed Bilal and Ikramullah from Baitullah Mehsud, carried out reconnaissance of the place of occurrence, and was also killed in Mohmand Agency on 15.1.08. The other two proclaimed offenders namely Faiz Muhammad Kiskat, ex-student Madrassa Haqqania, and Ikramullah, the second suicide bomber had, however, vanished from the face of the earth. The above chronological events are clear manifestation of the persistence chase by al-Qaeda, its affiliated groups and other extremist groups of the country for Benazir. These groups also had the patronage of the protégés of Gen Zia. Mian Nawaz Sharif, one of the ideological disciples, had been one of the fiercest enemy - not political but personal – of Benazir Bhutto.
The washing of the crime scene just after one hour and forty minutes without any logical and rationale justification resulted in the loss of opportunity to collect vital forensic evidence from the crime scene. The washing of crime scene and earlier withdrawing of security contingent from the place of public meeting is clearly indicative of local and internal support to the terrorists.
The avoidance of former president Pervez Musharraf to face BB murder trial is leaving a big question mark? Again the murder of a prosecutor Ch Zulfiqar was another attempt to thwart the trial and it is confirmed he was killed by al-Qaeda related family where Khalid Shaikh 2nd in command of al-Qaeda was recovered by IB and now undergoing imprisonment with his nephew Yousaf Ramzi, who tried the first murder attempt on Benazir with the assistance of Capt Abdul Hakeem from Karachi.
In 1989, a no-confidence move was hatched against the Benazir government at the behest of the Establishment and out of his hatred and aspirations to become the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif had joined hands with it. Reportedly, he had earlier been able to establish his contacts with Osama bin Laden, who financed the first no confidence move against the BB government through late Khalid Khawaja through an undertaking that he would like to see the introduction of Islamic system in Pakistan.
In 1988, Gen Hameed Gul, the then DG/ISI had played a major role in forging a right-wing conservative alliance against the government of Benazir. Initially Maulana Samiul Haq was announced the president of IJI but later the leadership of IJI was handed over to Nawaz, who was representing the PML and was vying to control the religious and other parties against Benazir. In the background, Nawaz was fully helped by then Establishment, which is matter of record and this is how he was favoured by the Establishment to contest 1990 elections against Benazir. In the background of Soviet war, the militant group like LeJ and SSP remained against Benazir. SSP and al-Qaeda became very close and both al-Qaeda and LeJ started terrorist acts throughout the country.
The assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a culmination of animosity of al-Qaeda aligned terrorists against a woman and Shi’ites and power hungry conservative right wing elements in the country. The above failed attempts are strong indicators as to how inimical and determined al-Qaeda was against Benazir. The attack on Benazir was organised/conspired at Miramshah by Baitullah Mehsud and Al-Misri from al-Qaeda and here are the details how it was executed through these five confirmed al- Qaeda members duly and their affiliation and links with al-Qaeda was further confirmed when Mullah Mansoor demanded the release of these accused terrorists through Taliban -government dialogue in Murree.
The history will never allow condoning these five terrorists with such irrefutable evidence. Scraping the investigation/evidence based on purely technical grounds shall neither be accepted by the party and nor the people of Pakistan. This case was almost closed by the Punjab government and it was the PPP government, which further investigated it by transferring the case from Punjab to FIA. Further investigation was conducted under the supervision of highly credible officer DIG Tariq Khosa and subsequently by additional DIG Khalid Qureshi assisted by a team of FIA officers and representatives from intelligence agencies.
The team of abovementioned officers is known for their integrity. They recorded my statement under Section 161 CrPC besides others namely Naheed Khan, Safdar Abbasi, Farhatullah Babar, Gen Tauqir, driver of the vehicle and Abdul Razzaq; examined the blackberry of Benazir Bhutto; examined Gen Musharraf, police officer on duty, Punjab JIT members, in-laws of accused Ibadur Rehman; carried out forensic analysis of call record data; got DNA of head of suicide bomber Bilal with the joggers and clothes recovered from the house of Rafaqat, who, in fact, had brought Bilal the second suicide bomber, from Daewoo Adda from Akora Khattak to Rawalpindi.
It is thus clear that finally al-Qaeda had managed to kill Benazir with local support and she lost her struggle against the terrorists/extremists/dictators. We, PPP workers, will continue our struggle till her murderers are hanged. No doubt these elements are still powerful and had links in the corridors of power and can manage their way using terror as weapon but how long? The evidence on record not only will continue to haunt them but the law of nature will bring them to justice.
https://www.geo.tv/latest/156965-a-true-trail-of-benazirs-assassination
Asif Zardari will file appeal against ATC verdict in Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto assassination case
Former President Asif Zardari will file appeal against the ATC verdict in Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto assassination case. The decision was taken at a high level party meeting in Bilawal House Karachi today. Spokesperson senator Farhatullah Babar said that Zardari will file appeal as legal heir of the victim aggrieved by the verdict. Zardari also signed vakalatnama in favour of his counsel Sardar Latif Khosa who will represent Zardari in the case. Those who attended the meeting included besides Asif Zardari, chairman Bilawal, Faryal Talpur, Khurshid Shah, Yousuf Raza Gillani, Qaim Ali Shah, Nayyer Bokhari, CM Murad Ali Shah, Latif Khosa, Farooq Naek, Aitzaz Ahsan, Rahman Malik, Sherry Rehman, Qamar Kaira. Salin Mandviwalla, Nisar Khuro, Ch Manzoor, Navid Qamar, Nisar Khuro, Moula Bakhsh Chandio and Farhatullah Babar.
The party today also decided that Chairman Bilalwal Bhutto Zardari will become an intervener in the Presidential Reference filed by the President Asif Ali Zardari in the Supreme Court to revisit the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto case. Advocate Senator Farooq Naek will represent Bilalwal Bhutto in pursuing the Presidential Reference on behalf of Bilawal Bhutto as intervener.
https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/
Asif Ali Zardari aware of issues concerning Balochistan
Member Central Executive Committee Pakistan Peoples Party Mir Baz Khan Khetran has said that only political leader who understands issues of Balochistan is President Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians Asif Ali Zardari.
Talking to a group of journalists at the PPP Media Office Islamabad Mir Baz Khan Khetran said that it was former President who granted Aghaz-e-Huqooq-e-Balochistan and thus gave relief to the people of the province. Economic Corridor is also the vision of Asif Ali Zardari. Nawaz Sharif had no clue whatsoever about this corridor. Former President gave Gawadar Port to China thus facilitated Economic Corridor.
Mr. Khetran said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PPPP President Asif Ali Zardari realize that Balochistan has very little representation in the National Assembly whereas Balochistan is well represented in the Senate of Pakistan. He said that PPP is the only representative party of all four provinces. He claimed that this time around PPP will win more seats in Balochistan.
https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/