U.S. missiles struck near a Pakistani village on the border with Afghanistan, days after Pakistan’s army leadership reportedly pressed the Obama administration to reduce attacks by remotely piloted aircraft.
“Missiles were fired by a U.S. drone at Baghar China,” a hamlet in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district, Tariq Hayat Khan, the secretary of law and order for Pakistan’s tribal zone, said by phone from the territory’s headquarters in Peshawar. A local resident, Ilyas Khan Wazir, confirmed an attack in a phone interview, saying he heard explosions.
The strike was the first since Pakistan’s intelligence chief, army Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, pressed the U.S. for changes in drone attacks and other Central Intelligence Agency activities in Pakistan during meetings April 11 in Washington, according to unidentified U.S. and Pakistani officials cited by the New York Times.
Tensions between the CIA and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, or ISI, have risen since Jan. 27, when a security contractor for the CIA shot and killed two armed Pakistanis he said were trying to rob him. Raymond Davis, released March 16 after the payment of compensation to the dead men’s families and threats by U.S. legislators to halt American aid, was one of an unconfirmed number of CIA contractors in the country.
Pakistan’s ISI has seen an increased CIA network in the country as a threat, said Talat Masood, a political and security analyst in the capital, Islamabad.
CIA Acting ‘Independently’
For the first time in the relationship between the two intelligence agencies involved in the fight against Islamic militant groups, the CIA “is trying to penetrate into Pakistan and influence events independently of ISI,” said Masood, a retired army lieutenant general who maintains contact with senior Pakistani officers. “This, for ISI, is a break of partnership and breach of Pakistan sovereignty and breach of confidence,” Masood said in a phone interview.
On Monday, Pasha met with CIA director Leon Panetta and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to demand that the CIA give ISI more information about intelligence operations it has been conducting in Pakistan on its own, the Times said citing unidentified Pakistani and U.S. officials.
“ISI wants CIA to go back to fundamentals and readjust their strategy,” Masood said of the Pakistani demands. “I think that will happen because they both need each other. I see fewer drone attacks right now,” he said.
U.S. government officials refuse to confirm or discuss the six-year-old program of drone attacks in Pakistan, which have targeted the Taliban, al-Qaeda and allied militants, while also killing civilians.
Calls by Pakistani politicians to restrict the attacks intensified after a March 17 attack that Pakistani officials said killed between 26 and 35 people in the district of North Waziristan, which the U.S. says is a haven for Taliban and al- Qaeda militants.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Karzai part of the problem, says Afghan opposition leader
Surghar Daily
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has become a problem rather than part of the solution, the country’s top opposition leader says.
“In terms of Karzai government in itself it has turned into a problem rather than being part of the solution. That's I think the main challenge for the people of Afghanistan as well as friends of Afghanistan, the international community through the United States,” Abdullah Abdullah told the Charlie Rose show on PBS Monday night.
Chairman of the Coalition for Hope and Change, Abdullah is currently on a 10-day visit to Washington during which he is scheduled to address a number of think tanks, meet top Congressional leaders and officials of the Obama administration.
Defeated by Karzai in the 2009 Afghan presidential elections, Abdullah says the purpose of his trip is to familiarize the opinion builders and policy makers in Washington about the ground realities in Afghanistan. He is also scheduled to address the World Islamic Forum Conference being held in Washington.
In his first television appearance Monday night, Abdullah warned that it would be difficult to meet the much anticipated transition deadline. This he attributed mainly to the alleged failure of the current government.
Abdullah urged the Obama administration to revisit its Afghan policies so that to the people of Afghanistan it is proved that the support is not just one person or one group of people but rather the people of Afghanistan.
“In today's situation the people are thinking, the Afghans are thinking that whatever happens, the United States will be supportive of Mr. Karzai and his government and the parliament of the people of Afghanistan. I'm not saying that this is the actual case but this is the perception of the people of Afghanistan. And that needs to be changed,” he said.
“I would say that rather than jumping into the idea of reconciling with the Taliban on the idea of helping Afghanistan to establish a democratic system in a functioning government, try to stand by the process and also regain the trust of the people of Afghanistan, because in today's situation, the lack of trust between the people and the government of Afghanistan, between the government of Afghanistan and the international community, the international community and the people of Afghanistan has created a confusing situation that the enemies of all of us, the enemies of the people of Afghanistan as well as the international community are the capitalizing on this and Taliban are gaining strength,” he observed.
Abdullah alleged that Karzai would try some unconstitutional means to stay in power after the expiration of his current term in 2014. As Karzai's main opponent during the 2009 Afghan presidential elections, Abdullah won 31 percent of legitimate votes in the first round, choosing not to stand in the second round, citing fraud.
A former member of Karzai's cabinet before being discharged, Abdullah has come out as a strong critic of Karzai, highlighting the chasm between Karzai and the Afghan public due to widespread corruption in Karzai's administration and the ongoing insurgency.
In his address to the Asia Society on Monday, his first speaking assignment in Washington, Abdullah shared his knowledge of the current situation including challenges and developments towards the potential for engagement with vested elements. He also underlined how the political process can be impelled to move forward towards a solution.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has become a problem rather than part of the solution, the country’s top opposition leader says.
“In terms of Karzai government in itself it has turned into a problem rather than being part of the solution. That's I think the main challenge for the people of Afghanistan as well as friends of Afghanistan, the international community through the United States,” Abdullah Abdullah told the Charlie Rose show on PBS Monday night.
Chairman of the Coalition for Hope and Change, Abdullah is currently on a 10-day visit to Washington during which he is scheduled to address a number of think tanks, meet top Congressional leaders and officials of the Obama administration.
Defeated by Karzai in the 2009 Afghan presidential elections, Abdullah says the purpose of his trip is to familiarize the opinion builders and policy makers in Washington about the ground realities in Afghanistan. He is also scheduled to address the World Islamic Forum Conference being held in Washington.
In his first television appearance Monday night, Abdullah warned that it would be difficult to meet the much anticipated transition deadline. This he attributed mainly to the alleged failure of the current government.
Abdullah urged the Obama administration to revisit its Afghan policies so that to the people of Afghanistan it is proved that the support is not just one person or one group of people but rather the people of Afghanistan.
“In today's situation the people are thinking, the Afghans are thinking that whatever happens, the United States will be supportive of Mr. Karzai and his government and the parliament of the people of Afghanistan. I'm not saying that this is the actual case but this is the perception of the people of Afghanistan. And that needs to be changed,” he said.
“I would say that rather than jumping into the idea of reconciling with the Taliban on the idea of helping Afghanistan to establish a democratic system in a functioning government, try to stand by the process and also regain the trust of the people of Afghanistan, because in today's situation, the lack of trust between the people and the government of Afghanistan, between the government of Afghanistan and the international community, the international community and the people of Afghanistan has created a confusing situation that the enemies of all of us, the enemies of the people of Afghanistan as well as the international community are the capitalizing on this and Taliban are gaining strength,” he observed.
Abdullah alleged that Karzai would try some unconstitutional means to stay in power after the expiration of his current term in 2014. As Karzai's main opponent during the 2009 Afghan presidential elections, Abdullah won 31 percent of legitimate votes in the first round, choosing not to stand in the second round, citing fraud.
A former member of Karzai's cabinet before being discharged, Abdullah has come out as a strong critic of Karzai, highlighting the chasm between Karzai and the Afghan public due to widespread corruption in Karzai's administration and the ongoing insurgency.
In his address to the Asia Society on Monday, his first speaking assignment in Washington, Abdullah shared his knowledge of the current situation including challenges and developments towards the potential for engagement with vested elements. He also underlined how the political process can be impelled to move forward towards a solution.
Ashley Judd apologizes for hip-hop remarks
cnn.com
After being criticized for attacking rap and hip-hop in her memoir, “All That Is Bitter and Sweet,” Ashley Judd
is extending an olive branch along with a few points of clarification.
The backlash began after an excerpt from her book depicted the actress lobbing harsh words at the rap and hip-hop genres as well as artists Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy. While speaking about an AIDS awareness program she works with, Judd writes, "Along with other performers, YouthAIDS was supported by rap and hip-hop artists like Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy to spread the message...um, who? Those names were a red flag.”
Judd continued, “As far as I'm concerned, most rap and hip-hop music - with its rape culture and insanely abusive lyrics and depictions of girls and women as 'ho's' - is the contemporary soundtrack of misogyny.”
She concludes, "I believe that the social construction of gender - the cultural beliefs and practices that divide the sexes and institutionalize and normalize the unequal treatment of girls and women, privilege the interests of boys and men, and, most nefariously, incessantly sexualize girls and women - is the root cause of poverty and suffering around the world."
Now the 42-year-old says that in light of the many responses around the Web, she believes she should’ve framed her opinion a bit differently.
"The outcry regarding my remarks, 2 paragraphs of my 400+ page book, regarding hip hop and rap, has been as astounding as it is out of context...I have looked closely at the feedback I have received about those two paragraphs, and absolutely see your points, and I fully capitulate to your rightness, and again humbly offer my heartfelt amends for not having been able to see the fault in my writing, and not having anticipated it would be painful for so many. Crucial words are missing that could have made a giant difference,” she says in a post on GlobalGrind.com.
Judd asserts that those paragraphs should read: “Some hip hop, and some rap, is abusive. Some of it is part of the contemporary soundtrack [of] misogyny (which, of course, is multi-sonic). Some of it promotes the rape culture so pervasive in our world...I should have been clear...that I include hip-hop and rap as part of a much larger problem. It is beyond unfortunate that I am talking about some, for example, of Snoop Dogs’ lyrics, an assumption has been spread I was talking about every single artist in both genres."
She explains that if someone were to make generalizations about the music genres she grew up with, she too would feel slighted.
"My equivalent genres, as an Appalachian, an oppressed and ridiculed people, would be mountain music and bluegrass. Those genres tell the history, struggles, grief, soul, faith, and culture of my people. In imagining how I would feel if someone made negative generalizations about that music, I am deeply remorseful that anything I may have said in 'All That Is Bitter & Sweet' would hurt adherents of genres that represent their culture," Judd says.
The actress also clarifies that she was by no means trying to blame rap and hip-hop for "poverty, AIDS, and the whole of rape culture."
"Please, people. Seriously," she writes. "I am white, yes, but in spite of some allegations to the contrary, I am not an idiot. Gender inequality and rape culture were here a long before the birth of the genres and rage everywhere. "
But there's one thing Judd won't apologize for, and that's speaking out against hate and violence towards women and girls.
"Hatred of girls and women, I will oppose with spiritual and non-violent principles every day," she concludes, adding that the Twitter responses to her remarks included death threats. "Abuse and violence in any form, at any time, in any expression, are never okay. Period. I, and other girls and women, are not afraid of you. You can keep on hating, but I am going to keep on loving."
After being criticized for attacking rap and hip-hop in her memoir, “All That Is Bitter and Sweet,” Ashley Judd
is extending an olive branch along with a few points of clarification.
The backlash began after an excerpt from her book depicted the actress lobbing harsh words at the rap and hip-hop genres as well as artists Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy. While speaking about an AIDS awareness program she works with, Judd writes, "Along with other performers, YouthAIDS was supported by rap and hip-hop artists like Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy to spread the message...um, who? Those names were a red flag.”
Judd continued, “As far as I'm concerned, most rap and hip-hop music - with its rape culture and insanely abusive lyrics and depictions of girls and women as 'ho's' - is the contemporary soundtrack of misogyny.”
She concludes, "I believe that the social construction of gender - the cultural beliefs and practices that divide the sexes and institutionalize and normalize the unequal treatment of girls and women, privilege the interests of boys and men, and, most nefariously, incessantly sexualize girls and women - is the root cause of poverty and suffering around the world."
Now the 42-year-old says that in light of the many responses around the Web, she believes she should’ve framed her opinion a bit differently.
"The outcry regarding my remarks, 2 paragraphs of my 400+ page book, regarding hip hop and rap, has been as astounding as it is out of context...I have looked closely at the feedback I have received about those two paragraphs, and absolutely see your points, and I fully capitulate to your rightness, and again humbly offer my heartfelt amends for not having been able to see the fault in my writing, and not having anticipated it would be painful for so many. Crucial words are missing that could have made a giant difference,” she says in a post on GlobalGrind.com.
Judd asserts that those paragraphs should read: “Some hip hop, and some rap, is abusive. Some of it is part of the contemporary soundtrack [of] misogyny (which, of course, is multi-sonic). Some of it promotes the rape culture so pervasive in our world...I should have been clear...that I include hip-hop and rap as part of a much larger problem. It is beyond unfortunate that I am talking about some, for example, of Snoop Dogs’ lyrics, an assumption has been spread I was talking about every single artist in both genres."
She explains that if someone were to make generalizations about the music genres she grew up with, she too would feel slighted.
"My equivalent genres, as an Appalachian, an oppressed and ridiculed people, would be mountain music and bluegrass. Those genres tell the history, struggles, grief, soul, faith, and culture of my people. In imagining how I would feel if someone made negative generalizations about that music, I am deeply remorseful that anything I may have said in 'All That Is Bitter & Sweet' would hurt adherents of genres that represent their culture," Judd says.
The actress also clarifies that she was by no means trying to blame rap and hip-hop for "poverty, AIDS, and the whole of rape culture."
"Please, people. Seriously," she writes. "I am white, yes, but in spite of some allegations to the contrary, I am not an idiot. Gender inequality and rape culture were here a long before the birth of the genres and rage everywhere. "
But there's one thing Judd won't apologize for, and that's speaking out against hate and violence towards women and girls.
"Hatred of girls and women, I will oppose with spiritual and non-violent principles every day," she concludes, adding that the Twitter responses to her remarks included death threats. "Abuse and violence in any form, at any time, in any expression, are never okay. Period. I, and other girls and women, are not afraid of you. You can keep on hating, but I am going to keep on loving."
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Daughter of jailed Bahraini goes on hunger strike
A daughter of a prominent Bahraini human rights activist went on hunger strike on Tuesday to protest the arrest of several family members — including her father and her husband — for their connection to anti-government protests.
Zainab al-Khawaja
told The Associated Press that she will refuse food until her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is released, along with her husband, brother-in-law and uncle.
The 27-year-old mother of a baby girl first announced her hunger strike in a letter addressed to President Barack Obama that she posted on her blog on Monday.
The uncle was arrested in a different police sweep while the other three men were taken into custody in a raid on Zainab's house in a Shiite village outside the capital Manama on Saturday. Zainab said her father was beaten unconscious before he was taken away by armed masked men
"My father's only crime is that he has documented human rights abuses in Bahrain," Zainab al-Khawaja told the AP in a phone interview. "I demand he and all men of my family are released."
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. was aware of the case and was calling on Bahraini authorities to "allow these individuals to freely express themselves and uphold their universal rights."
Authorities in Bahrain have cracked down heavily on dissent since martial law was declared last month to quell protests by the country's Shiite majority against the Sunni royal family that has ruled the tiny Gulf island nation for more than 200 years.
The Shiites are agitating for greater political freedoms and equal rights.
Bahrain holds particular importance to Washington as the host of U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, the main American counterweight to Iran's efforts to expand its military influence into the Gulf.
The United States has urged the monarchy to respect human rights but says little about allegations of repression against Bahrain's Shiites.
Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, 50, is a former Middle East and North Africa director of Frontline Defenders rights organization. He also documented human rights abuses in Bahrain for Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
At least 29 people have been killed since the protests began on Feb. 14, including three opposition supporters who died in custody. Hundreds of Shiite activists, anti-government protesters and opposition leaders have been detained in the crackdown.
None of those in custody have been publicly charged with a crime or brought to trial.
On Monday, authorities said three former top editors of Bahrain's main opposition newspaper will face trial for "unethical" coverage of the political unrest in the Gulf kingdom.
Bahrain's official news agency said the top editors of Al Wasat newspaper have been charged with "publishing fabricated news," "harming public safety" and "damaging national interests."
No date has been set for the beginning of the trial.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry said in a statement late Monday that 86 prisoners were released. The statement did not say if anti-government protesters and opposition supporters were among them.
Pakistan-based militant group expanding: U.S. general
A top U.S. general expressed concern to Congress on Tuesday about the expanding reach of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group, warning it was no longer solely focused on India or even South Asia.
LeT, one of the largest and best-funded Islamic militant organizations in the region, is blamed for the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which killed 166 people in India's commercial capital.
The group was nurtured by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency to fight India in Kashmir, and analysts say it is still unofficially tolerated even though Islamabad banned the group nearly a decade ago.
Admiral Robert Willard, head of the U.S. military's Pacific Command, told a Senate hearing the United States was actively working with South Asian governments including Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and India to contain LeT.
But he cautioned that the group was active elsewhere.
"Unquestionably they have spread their influence internationally and are no longer solely focused in South Asia and on India," Willard told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The United States has evidence of LeT's presence in Europe and the broader Asia-Pacific region, he said.
In the past, LeT has fielded militants in Canada and in the United States.
India continues to be LeT's main target. But Willard noted that the group has declared holy war against the United States and renewed longstanding concerns in Washington about attacks by LeT militants against U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
"The discussion regarding the government of Pakistan's relationship to LeT is a very sensitive one," Willard said.
The comments come at a sensitive time in U.S.-Pakistan relations. Pakistan is demanding the United States scale back CIA activities and reduce the number U.S. Special Forces trainers in the latest example of strained security ties.
Although the U.S. focus in Pakistan remains on al Qaeda and militant groups more deeply involved in Afghanistan, there has been increasing attention in Washington on LeT, particularly since the arrest of Pakistani-American David Headley in 2009.
Headley had joined LeT hoping to fight in Kashmir but ended up scouting out targets for the Mumbai attackers and helping al Qaeda plan a strike in Denmark.
"It's important that this particular discussion continue to take place and that we continue to work with the government of Pakistan to root out terrorism that exists within their borders," Willard said.
The White House last week warned that despite unprecedented efforts by Pakistan to go after militants within its borders, it lacked a clear path to defeat them.
US will not leave Afghanistan, says Munter
Surghar Daily
The United States on Monday called for a policy of ‘renewal’ with Pakistan, in the aftermath of ‘acute problems,’ saying that now it was time to look into “opportunities in the future, not problems of the past”.
US Ambassador Cameron Munter, who just returned after a two-week visit to the US, delivered his first major policy speech after January 27, when CIA contractor Raymond Davis shot dead two Pakistanis, plummeting civil and military relations with the US to an all time low.
Munter spoke at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI), after introductory remarks by ISSI DG, Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi.Munter’s remarks appearing as a ‘band-aid’, come immediately after a scathing State Department annual survey on human rights and a White House report to the Congress, criticising Pakistan’s will to fight the militants.
“The Pak-US relations are not in the intensive care unit. They are very healthy, and I am more optimistic about our relations today than when I came to Pakistan,” Munter responded to a question. He rejected the notion that the US was dictating with money. “We do things in partnership. We have been too slow. There is a lot of red tape,” he said.
After a rather bland speech, which revealed nothing new, and predictable questions, Munter was game for criticism and appreciated the ‘blunt’ and ‘frank’ questions thrown at him from the audience. He spoke at a time when DG ISI Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha was on his way to Washington, and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir prepared to follow later this month. Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh will be another visitor to Washington this month.
“We’ve had some difficult days in the recent past. But I’m here today to speak of opportunities in the future, not of problems of the past. Those problems have been acute in recent months, symbolised by the case of Raymond Davis. We must not let this very regrettable incident stop us as we work together. Instead, let us look for renewal,” Munter remarked.
When reminded about some very revealing remarks made by Richard Armitage while in New Delhi, Munter replied, “I do not agree with Richard Armitage’s assessment that relations with Pakistan are based on our needs while India is a natural ally. We are natural friends and are doing our best and not afraid to choose.”
The US ambassador spoke on the presence his country’s presence inside Afghanistan, saying that 2014 was not the year of the US withdrawal, rather the state of commitment may change, and the focus would be more on the civil side rather than military.
“We will not leave Afghanistan. Pakistan must be stable for the region’s success,” he added while promising to take a message from a participant about the US drones to Washington. “It is on the agenda,” he reassured the audience.
Munter spoke on a day when President Asif Ali Zardari, in an interview to Guardian, pointed out that the war in Afghanistan is destabilising Pakistan and seriously undermining efforts to restore its democratic institutions while expressing concern about the slow pace of efforts to end the Afghan conflict and said some US politicians showed limited understanding of the impact of American policies.
“The US appreciates the Pakistan military, specially its operation in the northeast and in Mohmand Agency. These are tough battles. Admiral Mike Mullen, General David Petaerus and General James Mattis are all very, very impressed by these significant efforts. We admire the military,” he pointed out when asked about the tough line coming from Washington that Pakistan was not doing enough.
He agreed that the term “war on terror” should not be used as “coverall”. “We need to be more careful. A number of issues are used under this. A more fruitful way would be to call them intolerant, paid by foreign agents”, he advised.
The ambassador was unaware that no student in the last 10 years from the American Studies Department at the QAU has ever got a visa for the US. He blamed it on red tape and lack of rapport with Pakistanis because of security concerns.
When asked about the lack of justice to Attaur Rehman, who was crushed to death by a US Consulate vehicle with the driver escaping, Munter replied, “Our regret about the Lahore incident is sincere. We will do our best to redress this. We share the concern.” This after nearly three months of Rehman’s death.
Munter appeared fascinated by Pakistan’s media saying, “I have never encountered a media like that of Pakistan. I spend several hours reading. There are too many ideas to keep track of. The media is divided into fashion and deep thoughts. Some follow the question of the day, others follow issues which are exciting rather than deep.”
The United States on Monday called for a policy of ‘renewal’ with Pakistan, in the aftermath of ‘acute problems,’ saying that now it was time to look into “opportunities in the future, not problems of the past”.
US Ambassador Cameron Munter, who just returned after a two-week visit to the US, delivered his first major policy speech after January 27, when CIA contractor Raymond Davis shot dead two Pakistanis, plummeting civil and military relations with the US to an all time low.
Munter spoke at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI), after introductory remarks by ISSI DG, Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi.Munter’s remarks appearing as a ‘band-aid’, come immediately after a scathing State Department annual survey on human rights and a White House report to the Congress, criticising Pakistan’s will to fight the militants.
“The Pak-US relations are not in the intensive care unit. They are very healthy, and I am more optimistic about our relations today than when I came to Pakistan,” Munter responded to a question. He rejected the notion that the US was dictating with money. “We do things in partnership. We have been too slow. There is a lot of red tape,” he said.
After a rather bland speech, which revealed nothing new, and predictable questions, Munter was game for criticism and appreciated the ‘blunt’ and ‘frank’ questions thrown at him from the audience. He spoke at a time when DG ISI Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha was on his way to Washington, and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir prepared to follow later this month. Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh will be another visitor to Washington this month.
“We’ve had some difficult days in the recent past. But I’m here today to speak of opportunities in the future, not of problems of the past. Those problems have been acute in recent months, symbolised by the case of Raymond Davis. We must not let this very regrettable incident stop us as we work together. Instead, let us look for renewal,” Munter remarked.
When reminded about some very revealing remarks made by Richard Armitage while in New Delhi, Munter replied, “I do not agree with Richard Armitage’s assessment that relations with Pakistan are based on our needs while India is a natural ally. We are natural friends and are doing our best and not afraid to choose.”
The US ambassador spoke on the presence his country’s presence inside Afghanistan, saying that 2014 was not the year of the US withdrawal, rather the state of commitment may change, and the focus would be more on the civil side rather than military.
“We will not leave Afghanistan. Pakistan must be stable for the region’s success,” he added while promising to take a message from a participant about the US drones to Washington. “It is on the agenda,” he reassured the audience.
Munter spoke on a day when President Asif Ali Zardari, in an interview to Guardian, pointed out that the war in Afghanistan is destabilising Pakistan and seriously undermining efforts to restore its democratic institutions while expressing concern about the slow pace of efforts to end the Afghan conflict and said some US politicians showed limited understanding of the impact of American policies.
“The US appreciates the Pakistan military, specially its operation in the northeast and in Mohmand Agency. These are tough battles. Admiral Mike Mullen, General David Petaerus and General James Mattis are all very, very impressed by these significant efforts. We admire the military,” he pointed out when asked about the tough line coming from Washington that Pakistan was not doing enough.
He agreed that the term “war on terror” should not be used as “coverall”. “We need to be more careful. A number of issues are used under this. A more fruitful way would be to call them intolerant, paid by foreign agents”, he advised.
The ambassador was unaware that no student in the last 10 years from the American Studies Department at the QAU has ever got a visa for the US. He blamed it on red tape and lack of rapport with Pakistanis because of security concerns.
When asked about the lack of justice to Attaur Rehman, who was crushed to death by a US Consulate vehicle with the driver escaping, Munter replied, “Our regret about the Lahore incident is sincere. We will do our best to redress this. We share the concern.” This after nearly three months of Rehman’s death.
Munter appeared fascinated by Pakistan’s media saying, “I have never encountered a media like that of Pakistan. I spend several hours reading. There are too many ideas to keep track of. The media is divided into fashion and deep thoughts. Some follow the question of the day, others follow issues which are exciting rather than deep.”
Bahrain Hospital Is Drawn Into Strife
A handful of soldiers, their faces covered by black masks to hide their identities, guard the front gate of Salmaniya Medical Complex. Inside, clinics are virtually empty of patients, many of whom, doctors say, have been hauled away for detention after participating in protests.Doctors and nurses have been arrested, too, and the police trail ambulance drivers, health care workers said.
To the government, Salmaniya, Bahrain’s largest public hospital, and local clinics are nests of radical Shiite conspirators trying to destabilize the country. But to many doctors at Salmaniya, the hospital has been converted into an apparatus of state terrorism, and sick people have nowhere to go for care.
The scene at Salmaniya is a grim sign that health care has been drawn into Bahrain’s civil conflict, which burst into violence last month when the army and security forces cleared not only Pearl Square but also the grounds of the medical complex, which had become a hub for opposition activities.
At least a dozen doctors and nurses have been arrested and held prisoner during the last month, and more paramedics and ambulance drivers are missing. Ambulances have been blocked from aiding wounded patients, according to health care workers and human rights advocates.
Meanwhile, the security forces, manning roadblocks around the country, inspect drivers and their passengers for birdshot wounds — the most common injury to demonstrators confronted by security forces — and those with the telltale black bruises are seized and detained.
“You have an assault on the health care system and the people who practice in it,” said Dan Williams, a senior researcher for the New York-based group Human Rights Watch, who is now investigating in Bahrain. “Hospitals are supposed to be used for health care and not as arbitrary detention centers.”
Bahraini doctors and international human rights workers say the purpose of the crackdown appears to be to instill terror in doctors, so they will not care for wounded demonstrators, and fear in dissidents, who might think twice about confronting the police if they know that being injured might mark them for arrest.
Government officials say that wounded demonstrators are handed to the police only after they have been taken care of, and reports of violations are being investigated.
At a news conference on Monday, the acting health minister, Fatima al-Balooshi, accused scores of doctors and health care workers at Salmaniya and elsewhere of joining “a conspiracy against Bahrain from the outside” — usually a code for Iran — to destabilize the government.
She said 30 doctors and nurses had been suspended or otherwise kept from practicing medicine in recent weeks, and 150 more were being investigated.
Ms. Balooshi said that doctors had deprived some people of medical care for sectarian reasons, had worsened peoples’ wounds to be able to get stories of repression in the news media and had received overtime pay for attending demonstrations. She also said that sophisticated weaponry had been found hidden in the hospital, and that health care workers had set up a tent in Pearl Square during demonstrations last month for propaganda purposes.
“They violated their duties, against international standards for health services,” Ms. Balooshi said of the doctors. “Now, thank God, they have been stopped.”
Most doctors in Bahrain are Shiite, as is a majority of the population, in a country that is ruled by a Sunni monarchy that now governs with the support of more than 1,000 Saudi Arabian troops. The opposition is predominately, though not entirely, Shiite.
The crackdown is centered at Salmaniya, the country’s main referral hospital, ambulance depot, center for emergency care and blood bank. But doctors at neighborhood clinics say patients are afraid to go to them as well, and they do not have enough blood, antibiotics and emergency equipment to care for patients who would otherwise go to Salmaniya for care.
The problems at Salmaniya began two months ago when demonstrators began using the parking lot in front of the emergency ward to protest, and some doctors joined in the protests while they were supposedly on duty.When the security forces cleared Pearl Square on March 16, they also blockaded Salmaniya. According to one doctor who was in the hospital, the entire staff was terrified as it watched a nurse dragged away and beaten by five officers after she apparently tried to escape. She said the police hauled away a paramedic and his driver, who are still missing.The next day, she said, the security forces went to the second floor, handcuffed about 10 patients wounded from the demonstrations, and took them to the sixth floor for questioning under torture. Others were taken upstairs later, doctors said.
In interviews that were given on condition their names not be published, four doctors and nurses and several family members of arrested health care workers said the medical community has been terrorized.
As they tell it, a pattern has emerged in which health workers are called to the Salmaniya administration offices, and then taken to a criminal investigation center. The arrested doctors and nurses are allowed to make brief calls home to say they are fine. Family members then come to bring them clothes, but rarely if ever see them.
Many of the health care workers arrested were involved in protests, but others apparently were not. One physician, Nahad al-Shirawi, was apparently arrested after she appeared in a published photograph weeping in the hospital over a victim who died in a protest broken up by the security forces.
Yasser Ali Abdulla, a paramedic, and Mohsen Ashour, his driver, were dispatched on March 15 to the village of Sitra to care for wounded demonstrators who were attacked by police. They never came home.
Mr. Abdulla’s father spotted their ambulance several days later parked in a local police station parking lot. Though the father was not allowed to see his son, Mr. Abdulla was allowed later that day to call his wife for a few seconds to tell her he was alive, according to a family member who spoke on condition she not be identified by name or exact relationship.
He called a week later, but has not been heard from since. “They say his crime was he stole the ambulance, but he was on duty and in uniform,” the relative said.
Richard Sollom, deputy director of Physicians for Human Rights, said the security forces have gone so far as to steal medical records such as X-rays of people injured in demonstrations, apparently to hide human rights violations.
“They are quite sophisticated,” said Mr. Sollom, who just completed a fact-finding trip here. “Doctors are the one group of people who have evidence.”
A few days ago, three doctors at Salmaniya were slapped and taunted by security guards in the middle of the night simply because they did not have a picture of the prime minister hanging on the wall of their dormitory room.
“We were standing and shaking and we didn’t know where this would end,” recalled one of the doctors, who spoke on condition he not be identified for fear that he would be arrested. “Going to work every day is a calculated risk of being beaten, harassed or even taken away.”
Obama wants balanced approach on deficit
The White House signaled on Tuesday that President Barack Obama will discuss the role of taxes in reducing the U.S. deficit in a Wednesday speech.
White House spokesman Jay Carney, asked if Obama would discuss taxes in the speech, said, "The president believes there has to be a balanced approach" to cutting the deficit. Obama, a Democrat, has said he would like to get rid of tax cuts begun under Republican President George W. Bush that apply to wealthier Americans.
White House spokesman Jay Carney, asked if Obama would discuss taxes in the speech, said, "The president believes there has to be a balanced approach" to cutting the deficit. Obama, a Democrat, has said he would like to get rid of tax cuts begun under Republican President George W. Bush that apply to wealthier Americans.
Balochistan, KP, GB yet to adopt harassment code
The Punjab government is taking swift measures for implementing the legislation to protect women against harassment at workplaces while Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) are yet to adopt the code of conduct.
Talking to APP, Chairperson, National Implementation Watch Committee (NIWC), Dr Fauzia Saeed said that the committee is working to reach out to women’s rights organisations in Balochistan, KP and GB and involve them in harassment act implementation process.
However, the provincial government of Punjab took lead for implementing the act in all public departments and has notified to adopt zero tolerance against sexual harassment code of conduct and form inquiry committees.
A number of attached departments of education, health and all other public sector organizations have adopted the code of conduct, she said.
The reminders are being sent to those departments and organisations that have not adopted the code of conduct or formed committees yet.
NIWC will hold meeting with the provincial chief ministers soon for appointing ombudsperson at provincial level, Fauzia said.
About harassment act implementation in Sindh, she said, “The code of conduct has been translated into Sindhi language and has been forwarded to all the provincial ministries. However, the current leadership of the province will have to be proactive for implementation of the law, ensuring a conducive work environment for women.”
Giving details about implementation of law in other sectors, Fauzia said over 26 banks, with 150 branches each, have adopted the code of conduct in response of the notification issued by State Bank of Pakistan so far.
“We are getting good response from the telecom sector as Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) notified all the attached bodies to adopt the code and form inquiry committees at their workplaces.”
Showing concern over the slower adoption of code in media, Fauzia said Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has been asked to notify media organisations to comply with the law but only a few channels have taken the lead to adopt the code and constitute inquiry committees.
Some private channels including Dawn and Pakistan Television Network have implemented the law while print media organisations are lagging behind in this process, she said.
Talking to APP, Chairperson, National Implementation Watch Committee (NIWC), Dr Fauzia Saeed said that the committee is working to reach out to women’s rights organisations in Balochistan, KP and GB and involve them in harassment act implementation process.
However, the provincial government of Punjab took lead for implementing the act in all public departments and has notified to adopt zero tolerance against sexual harassment code of conduct and form inquiry committees.
A number of attached departments of education, health and all other public sector organizations have adopted the code of conduct, she said.
The reminders are being sent to those departments and organisations that have not adopted the code of conduct or formed committees yet.
NIWC will hold meeting with the provincial chief ministers soon for appointing ombudsperson at provincial level, Fauzia said.
About harassment act implementation in Sindh, she said, “The code of conduct has been translated into Sindhi language and has been forwarded to all the provincial ministries. However, the current leadership of the province will have to be proactive for implementation of the law, ensuring a conducive work environment for women.”
Giving details about implementation of law in other sectors, Fauzia said over 26 banks, with 150 branches each, have adopted the code of conduct in response of the notification issued by State Bank of Pakistan so far.
“We are getting good response from the telecom sector as Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) notified all the attached bodies to adopt the code and form inquiry committees at their workplaces.”
Showing concern over the slower adoption of code in media, Fauzia said Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has been asked to notify media organisations to comply with the law but only a few channels have taken the lead to adopt the code and constitute inquiry committees.
Some private channels including Dawn and Pakistan Television Network have implemented the law while print media organisations are lagging behind in this process, she said.
Civil War still divides Americans
It has been 150 years since the Civil War began with the first shots at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, and in some respects views of the Confederacy and the role that slavery played in the events of 1861 still divide the public, according to a new national poll.
In the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll released Tuesday, roughly one in four Americans said they sympathize more with the Confederacy than the Union, a figure that rises to nearly four in ten among white Southerners.
When asked the reason behind the Civil War, whether it was fought over slavery or states' rights, 52 percent of all Americas said the leaders of the Confederacy seceded to keep slavery legal in their state, but a sizeable 42 percent minority said slavery was not the main reason why those states seceded.
"The results of that question show that there are still racial, political and geographic divisions over the Civil War that still exists a century and a half later," CNN Polling Director Holland Keating said.
When broken down by political party, most Democrats said southern states seceded over slavery, independents were split and most Republicans said slavery was not the main reason that Confederate states left the Union.
Republicans were also most likely to say they admired the leaders of the southern states during the Civil War, with eight in 10 Republicans expressing admiration for the leaders in the South, virtually identical to the 79 percent of Republicans who admired the northern leaders during the Civil War.
The survey polled 824 adults via telephone between April 9 and April 10. The poll had a sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Bahraini opposition leaders 'tortured'
Arrested Bahraini opposition leaders have been reportedly tortured amid crushing of the anti-government protests by Bahraini forces.
Riot police in the Persian Gulf country besieged the town of Karzakkan on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, al-Malikiyah village is under the siege of Bahraini pro-regime thugs.
On Monday, Saudi-backed Bahraini forces arrested clerics Sayyed Mohammad al-Alawi and Sheikh Abdul Adim al-Mohtadi in the capital Manama.
People in Bahrain have been protesting since February 14, demanding an end to the two-century-long rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.
Demonstrators maintain that they will hold their ground until their demands for freedom, constitutional monarchy as well as a proportional voice in the government are met.
Scores of protesters have been killed and many others gone missing since the beginning of the revolution.
Bahraini forces have reinforced a massive armed crackdown on the uprising with the help of Saudi, the UAE and Kuwaiti troops.
Riot police in the Persian Gulf country besieged the town of Karzakkan on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, al-Malikiyah village is under the siege of Bahraini pro-regime thugs.
On Monday, Saudi-backed Bahraini forces arrested clerics Sayyed Mohammad al-Alawi and Sheikh Abdul Adim al-Mohtadi in the capital Manama.
People in Bahrain have been protesting since February 14, demanding an end to the two-century-long rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.
Demonstrators maintain that they will hold their ground until their demands for freedom, constitutional monarchy as well as a proportional voice in the government are met.
Scores of protesters have been killed and many others gone missing since the beginning of the revolution.
Bahraini forces have reinforced a massive armed crackdown on the uprising with the help of Saudi, the UAE and Kuwaiti troops.
Bahraini woman on hunger strike over arrests
The daughter of a prominent Bahraini activist has said she is beginning a hunger strike in protest over the arrest of her father, husband, brother-in-law and uncle.
Zainab Al-Khawaja said on Monday that she would refuse food until her father Abdulhadi, who she says was beaten unconscious before being taken away, and other relatives are released.
Three of the men were detained following a police sweep on Zainab's house over the weekend, while her uncle was arrested three weeks ago.
She announced her hunger strike in a letter addressed to Barack Obama, the US president, posted on her blog Angry Arabiya.
"I chose to write to you and not to my own government because the al-Khalifa regime has proven that they do not care about our rights or our lives," she wrote.
"I demand the immediate release of my family members. My father: Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. My husband: Wafi Almajed. My brother-in-law: Hussein Ahmed. My uncle: Salah Al-Khawaja."
It appeared to be the first time an activist has gone on hunger strike since the Bahraini government began its crackdown on protesters last month.
Martial law
Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, the former president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was arrested amid a continued crackdown on pro-democracy activists in the tiny Gulf nation.
Zainab said her father had been calling for democracy and had been saying that the country's rulers were guilty of killing, torturing and detaining people, and should be put on trial.
On Monday Bahrain said it had released 86 people held under martial law while "legal measures" were being taken against other detainees.
More than 400 people have been arrested and dozens have gone missing since the crackdown began on March 16, the leading Shia opposition group Wefaq has said.
Bahrain's Sunni Muslim rulers quelled weeks of protests led by mostly Shia demonstrators by spreading security forces throughout the capital and calling in troops from neighbouring Sunni-led Gulf Arab states, including oil giant Saudi Arabia.
Separately, Bahrain has put two Iranians and a Bahraini on trial on charges of spying for Iran's revolutionary guards.
"They are accused of contacts with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to give them military and economic information from 2002 to April 2010 ... with the intention of damaging the national interest," the Bahrain News Agency said.
Zainab Al-Khawaja said on Monday that she would refuse food until her father Abdulhadi, who she says was beaten unconscious before being taken away, and other relatives are released.
Three of the men were detained following a police sweep on Zainab's house over the weekend, while her uncle was arrested three weeks ago.
She announced her hunger strike in a letter addressed to Barack Obama, the US president, posted on her blog Angry Arabiya.
"I chose to write to you and not to my own government because the al-Khalifa regime has proven that they do not care about our rights or our lives," she wrote.
"I demand the immediate release of my family members. My father: Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. My husband: Wafi Almajed. My brother-in-law: Hussein Ahmed. My uncle: Salah Al-Khawaja."
It appeared to be the first time an activist has gone on hunger strike since the Bahraini government began its crackdown on protesters last month.
Martial law
Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, the former president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was arrested amid a continued crackdown on pro-democracy activists in the tiny Gulf nation.
Zainab said her father had been calling for democracy and had been saying that the country's rulers were guilty of killing, torturing and detaining people, and should be put on trial.
On Monday Bahrain said it had released 86 people held under martial law while "legal measures" were being taken against other detainees.
More than 400 people have been arrested and dozens have gone missing since the crackdown began on March 16, the leading Shia opposition group Wefaq has said.
Bahrain's Sunni Muslim rulers quelled weeks of protests led by mostly Shia demonstrators by spreading security forces throughout the capital and calling in troops from neighbouring Sunni-led Gulf Arab states, including oil giant Saudi Arabia.
Separately, Bahrain has put two Iranians and a Bahraini on trial on charges of spying for Iran's revolutionary guards.
"They are accused of contacts with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to give them military and economic information from 2002 to April 2010 ... with the intention of damaging the national interest," the Bahrain News Agency said.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Bahrain questions 3 reporters, may charge activist
Bahrain's public prosecutor on Monday questioned three senior journalists sacked from the Gulf kingdom's only opposition newspaper over accusations of falsifying news about the government's crackdown on protesters.
Separately, the Gulf Arab state said it had released 86 people held under martial law regulations, and accused a prominent rights activist of fabricating images of a corpse on the Internet and summoned him for questioning.
Bahrain has seen some of the worst unrest in its history since mostly Shi'ite Muslim protesters took to the streets in February, inspired by uprisings that toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, to demand a bigger say in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.
The king invited in Saudi troops, imposed martial law and launched a crackdown on March 16 in which over 300 people have been detained. At least 13 civilians and four police have died.
The Al Wasat newspaper was suspended on April 2 over charges that it had falsified news, but resumed publishing the next day after its editor-in-chief Mansoor al-Jamri, its British managing editor Walid Noueihed and head of local news Aqeel Mirza agreed to resign.
On April 4, two Iraqi journalists working for Al Wasat, Raheem al-Kaabi and Ali al-Sherify, were deported without trial.
Bahrain's attorney-general, Ali Bin Fadhl al-Bouainain, said Jamri, Noueihed and Mirza had been released pending trial in the criminal court once investigations were completed.
"The defendants were ... accused of publishing false news ... to disturb public peace and harm the general interests of the state and they were presented with the evidence," Bouainain said in a statement carried by the official news agency BNA.
It was not clear what sentence might be imposed under martial law. The defendants said they had access to lawyers.
Jamri, who was questioned first, said six false news articles that appeared in Al Wasat had been emailed to the newspaper complete with fake phone numbers from the same IP address as part of an apparent campaign to plant disinformation.
He said these statements had slipped past editing checks because Al Wasat had been operating with a skeleton staff. Its printing press was attacked by thugs on March 14 and its offices were inside the curfew zone imposed the same week.
"I rejected all accusations that we knowingly published any false news destabilizing the country," Jamri told Reuters.
"They were asking how we did our work and who was responsible but I said I was, because we had reduced our staff. We were working under exceptional circumstances," he said after his hearing, which lasted more than two hours.
"The mistake was not done on purpose. Someone trapped us."
It was not clear when a trial would begin. Human Rights Watch said the cases should be dropped.
The agency BNA said "legal measures" were taken under martial law rules against the 86 detainees who were released, without clarifying whether they had been freed on bail and still faced charges or not.
"DOCTORED" PICTURE
Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, said photos of one of two men who died at a detention center on Saturday showed he had been tortured.
The state news agency BNA said the pictures were doctored.
"The deputy adviser for legal affairs at the interior ministry announced that Nabeel Rajab published false images on social media site Twitter of Ahmed Isa Sager," BNA said.
Opposition groups have said they suspect both prisoners died from torture in detention. Bahrain denies any torture but says all accusations will be investigated.
"The adviser said that the images published were different to those taken of the deceased with the knowledge of the coroner after death," BNA said, adding Rajab's case would be transferred to military prosecutors.
It did not say how the pictures, the links to which Rajab posted on Twitter, had been doctored.
Rajab, who has not been questioned yet, said on Twitter the summons was aimed at hurting his credibility.
"The pictures are not fabricated," he said. "It is the government that wasn't showing or was hiding the marks on the body where it looks like it was tortured."
The Geneva-based Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders denounced the questioning of Rajab.
MEDIA LANDSCAPE
Al Wasat began publication in 2002, after King Hamad released political prisoners, allowed exiles to return to Bahrain and promised to launch a program of political reforms including wide-ranging constitutional changes.
Jamri, a prominent Bahraini commentator and driving force behind Al Wasat, returned from exile to found the newspaper.
A British-educated engineer, he was a leading moderate voice in Bahrain during weeks of protests.
In the days before the crackdown, when the main Shi'ite opposition party Wefaq had set out a long list of conditions for dialogue with the royal family, Jamri -- son of a respected Shi'ite cleric who led Bahrain's opposition movement in the 1990s -- called in his daily column for talks.
Al Wasat did not back calls for the overthrow of the royal family, calling instead for political reforms.
The arrival of Al Wasat almost a decade ago transformed the media landscape in Bahrain, broaching topics that had previously been taboo and making life uncomfortable for several ministers. It is owned by a consortium of leading Bahraini businessmen.
The legacy of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
By—Anwar Syed
Daily Times
Bhutto coveted power to remake society in his own image, not to enrich himself. Zardari does not believe in visions and he does not have any. He wants power to make money for himself and his friends and associates. Unlike Mr Bhutto, he is ready and willing to submit to American pressures.
President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani, and the PPP Secretary General Jehangir Badr and other party elders do not tire of claiming that they are the true bearers and preservers of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s legacy. They imply that his legacy includes all that is good and desirable in politics and governance. This calculation on their part is erroneous. Mr Bhutto was right and praiseworthy in some of the positions and actions he took and wrong in others. His legacy bears scrutiny.
As a politician he was one of a kind. He worked hard to mobilise the people. He went to villages, sat down with the peasants, listened to their grievances, told them they were the source of all power and gave them a sense of political efficacy. He addressed huge crowds in towns and cities and told them that they were entitled to a comfortable living, and that they could be the masters of their destiny. He assured them that they were the real owners of the country’s resources and they had the right to determine the uses to which these resources would be put. Needless to say, the poor and deprived were pleased to hear these assurances and got behind the man who offered them.
Mr Bhutto was a charismatic leader and a great orator. The spoken word is a part of his legacy that anyone wishing to be a successful politician should study and try to follow. His legacy as a ruler is something else. It is a mixed bag. During the first few months after his assumption of office, he nationalised major industries, banks and educational institutions, including those that were funded and managed by foreign Christian missions (such as Forman Christian College in Lahore, Murray College in Sialkot, Gordon College in Rawalpindi and Edwards College in Peshawar). The economy and the system of higher education both degenerated as a result.
Mr Bhutto was not a liberal democrat believing in the presence of an organised opposition as an essential component of the system. His government placed virtually every known politician belonging to parties other than the PPP, and even some PPP dissidents, in prison for varying periods of time. Indiscriminate nationalisation of private corporations and persecution of opponents and dissidents are a part of his legacy, which deserve to be rejected.
On the positive side is first the fact that he supervised the framing of the 1973 constitution for which he obtained the approval of all political forces in the country. The National Assembly adopted it unanimously with only a few abstentions. In spite of a number of subsequent amendments, this constitution is held in high public esteem to the point of being considered sacrosanct.
In 1974 India tested a couple of nuclear ‘devices’, which showed that it had acquired the capability of building nuclear weapons. Mr Bhutto responded to this event by initiating Pakistan’s own nuclear development programme, much to the chagrin of the US and other western powers. Henry Kissinger, the American secretary of state at the time urged him to step away from this programme. Prime Minister Bhutto rejected this advice, upon hearing which Mr Kissinger warned, “We will make an example of you.” But Mr Bhutto remained undaunted. He knew that it was going to be a very expensive venture but money must be found for it “even if we have to eat grass”. The programme went ahead. It is probable that by the early or mid-1990s Pakistan had accumulated a stockpile of nuclear weapons. In 1999, Mr Nawaz Sharif’s government tested nuclear devices in response to India’s tests a week or so earlier. Pakistan was recognised as a nuclear weapons state and became a member, even if unwelcome, of an exclusive nuclear powers’ club. The great majority of the people are probably pleased with their country’s status as a nuclear power. But a minority view regards it as having been a needless waste of money and a move that endangers peace in the region. I do not share this view. In my reckoning, it is weakness that invites aggression and the possession of nuclear weapons deters it. In sum, fearless assertion of the national interest and rejection of external pressures is also a part of Mr Bhutto’s legacy that does him honour and which the nation can cherish and keep.
Towards the end of December 1971, Mr Bhutto became president of a country that was emerging from a humiliating defeat in a war with India. India had taken not only territory in West Pakistan but also more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers and civilians as prisoners of war. Peace had to be made to get these men and territory back. Exercising marvellous perseverance and diplomatic skill in meetings with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at Simla, he paved the way for achieving both of these objectives.
Having set forth some important aspects of Mr Bhutto’s legacy, we may now ask to what extent Zardari and company are its bearers and preservers. He coveted power to remake society in his own image, not to enrich himself. Zardari does not believe in visions and he does not have any. He wants power to make money for himself and his friends and associates. Unlike Mr Bhutto, he is ready and willing to submit to American pressures.
Mr Bhutto was intellectually a socialist and initially some of his policies had that kind of a bias. Mr Zardari and Mr Gilani may not even know the meaning and import of socialism. They have denationalised state owned public corporations and handed them over to their favourites among private parties.
Mr Bhutto was a very hard-working man. I once had the occasion to read his files of memoranda addressed to ministers, high-ranking officials, and party functionaries. These documents showed that he had kept himself well informed about happenings in his government, various political parties, and society at large. One should not be surprised if it transpires that Mr Gilani, by contrast, does not know the happenings in the office next to his own. It is possible that he has ways of occupying himself but these may not have any bearing on his work as the country’s prime minister.
It may be said in conclusion that the present PPP elders’ claim that they are the bearers of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s legacy is for the most part unfounded.
The writer, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, is a visiting professor at the Lahore School of Economics
Daily Times
Bhutto coveted power to remake society in his own image, not to enrich himself. Zardari does not believe in visions and he does not have any. He wants power to make money for himself and his friends and associates. Unlike Mr Bhutto, he is ready and willing to submit to American pressures.
President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani, and the PPP Secretary General Jehangir Badr and other party elders do not tire of claiming that they are the true bearers and preservers of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s legacy. They imply that his legacy includes all that is good and desirable in politics and governance. This calculation on their part is erroneous. Mr Bhutto was right and praiseworthy in some of the positions and actions he took and wrong in others. His legacy bears scrutiny.
As a politician he was one of a kind. He worked hard to mobilise the people. He went to villages, sat down with the peasants, listened to their grievances, told them they were the source of all power and gave them a sense of political efficacy. He addressed huge crowds in towns and cities and told them that they were entitled to a comfortable living, and that they could be the masters of their destiny. He assured them that they were the real owners of the country’s resources and they had the right to determine the uses to which these resources would be put. Needless to say, the poor and deprived were pleased to hear these assurances and got behind the man who offered them.
Mr Bhutto was a charismatic leader and a great orator. The spoken word is a part of his legacy that anyone wishing to be a successful politician should study and try to follow. His legacy as a ruler is something else. It is a mixed bag. During the first few months after his assumption of office, he nationalised major industries, banks and educational institutions, including those that were funded and managed by foreign Christian missions (such as Forman Christian College in Lahore, Murray College in Sialkot, Gordon College in Rawalpindi and Edwards College in Peshawar). The economy and the system of higher education both degenerated as a result.
Mr Bhutto was not a liberal democrat believing in the presence of an organised opposition as an essential component of the system. His government placed virtually every known politician belonging to parties other than the PPP, and even some PPP dissidents, in prison for varying periods of time. Indiscriminate nationalisation of private corporations and persecution of opponents and dissidents are a part of his legacy, which deserve to be rejected.
On the positive side is first the fact that he supervised the framing of the 1973 constitution for which he obtained the approval of all political forces in the country. The National Assembly adopted it unanimously with only a few abstentions. In spite of a number of subsequent amendments, this constitution is held in high public esteem to the point of being considered sacrosanct.
In 1974 India tested a couple of nuclear ‘devices’, which showed that it had acquired the capability of building nuclear weapons. Mr Bhutto responded to this event by initiating Pakistan’s own nuclear development programme, much to the chagrin of the US and other western powers. Henry Kissinger, the American secretary of state at the time urged him to step away from this programme. Prime Minister Bhutto rejected this advice, upon hearing which Mr Kissinger warned, “We will make an example of you.” But Mr Bhutto remained undaunted. He knew that it was going to be a very expensive venture but money must be found for it “even if we have to eat grass”. The programme went ahead. It is probable that by the early or mid-1990s Pakistan had accumulated a stockpile of nuclear weapons. In 1999, Mr Nawaz Sharif’s government tested nuclear devices in response to India’s tests a week or so earlier. Pakistan was recognised as a nuclear weapons state and became a member, even if unwelcome, of an exclusive nuclear powers’ club. The great majority of the people are probably pleased with their country’s status as a nuclear power. But a minority view regards it as having been a needless waste of money and a move that endangers peace in the region. I do not share this view. In my reckoning, it is weakness that invites aggression and the possession of nuclear weapons deters it. In sum, fearless assertion of the national interest and rejection of external pressures is also a part of Mr Bhutto’s legacy that does him honour and which the nation can cherish and keep.
Towards the end of December 1971, Mr Bhutto became president of a country that was emerging from a humiliating defeat in a war with India. India had taken not only territory in West Pakistan but also more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers and civilians as prisoners of war. Peace had to be made to get these men and territory back. Exercising marvellous perseverance and diplomatic skill in meetings with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at Simla, he paved the way for achieving both of these objectives.
Having set forth some important aspects of Mr Bhutto’s legacy, we may now ask to what extent Zardari and company are its bearers and preservers. He coveted power to remake society in his own image, not to enrich himself. Zardari does not believe in visions and he does not have any. He wants power to make money for himself and his friends and associates. Unlike Mr Bhutto, he is ready and willing to submit to American pressures.
Mr Bhutto was intellectually a socialist and initially some of his policies had that kind of a bias. Mr Zardari and Mr Gilani may not even know the meaning and import of socialism. They have denationalised state owned public corporations and handed them over to their favourites among private parties.
Mr Bhutto was a very hard-working man. I once had the occasion to read his files of memoranda addressed to ministers, high-ranking officials, and party functionaries. These documents showed that he had kept himself well informed about happenings in his government, various political parties, and society at large. One should not be surprised if it transpires that Mr Gilani, by contrast, does not know the happenings in the office next to his own. It is possible that he has ways of occupying himself but these may not have any bearing on his work as the country’s prime minister.
It may be said in conclusion that the present PPP elders’ claim that they are the bearers of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s legacy is for the most part unfounded.
The writer, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, is a visiting professor at the Lahore School of Economics
Pakistan Tells U.S. It Must Sharply Cut C.I.A. Activities
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan has demanded that the United States steeply reduce the number of Central Intelligence Agency operatives and Special Operations forces working in Pakistan, and that it put on hold C.I.A. drone strikes aimed at militants in northwest Pakistan. The request was a sign of the near collapse of cooperation between the two testy allies.
Pakistani and American officials said in interviews that the demand that the United States scale back its presence was the immediate fallout from the arrest in Pakistan of Raymond A. Davis, a C.I.A. security officer who killed two men in January during what he said was an attempt to rob him.
In all, about 335 American personnel — C.I.A. officers and contractors and Special Operations forces — were being asked to leave the country, said a Pakistani official closely involved in the decision.
It was not clear how many C.I.A. personnel that would leave behind; the total number in Pakistan has not been disclosed. But the cuts demanded by the Pakistanis amounted to 25 to 40 percent of United States Special Operations forces in the country, the officials said. The number also included the removal of all the American contractors used by the C.I.A. in Pakistan.
The demands appeared severe enough to badly hamper American efforts — either through drone strikes or Pakistani military training — to combat militants who use Pakistan as a base to fight American forces in Afghanistan and plot terrorist attacks abroad.
The reductions were personally demanded by the chief of the Pakistani Army, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, said Pakistani and American officials, who requested anonymity while discussing the delicate issue.
The scale of the Pakistani demands emerged as Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the head of Pakistan’s chief spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, or the ISI, arrived in Washington on Monday for nearly four hours of meetings with the C.I.A. director, Leon E. Panetta, and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Two senior American officials said afterward that General Pasha did not make any specific requests for reductions of C.I.A. officers, contractors or American military personnel in Pakistan at the meetings.
“There were no ultimatums, no demands to withdraw tens or hundreds of Americans from Pakistan,” said one of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the tensions between the two spy services.
A C.I.A. spokesman, George Little, called the meetings “productive” and said the relationship between the two services “remains on solid footing.”
The meetings were part of an effort to repair the already tentative and distrustful relations between the spy agencies. Those ties plunged to a new low as a result of the Davis episode, which has further exposed the divergence in Pakistani and American interests as the endgame in Afghanistan draws closer.
The Pakistani Army firmly believes that Washington’s real aim in Pakistan is to strip the nation of its prized nuclear arsenal, which is now on a path to becoming the world’s fifth largest, said the Pakistani official closely involved in the decision on reducing the American presence.
On the American side, frustration has built over the Pakistani Army’s seeming inability to defeat a host of militant groups, including the Taliban and Al Qaeda, which have thrived in Pakistan’s tribal areas despite more than $1 billion in American assistance a year to the Pakistani military.
In a rare public rebuke, a White House report to Congress last week described the Pakistani efforts against the militants as disappointing.
At the time of his arrest, Mr. Davis was involved in a covert C.I.A. effort to penetrate one militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has ties to Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment, has made deepening inroads in Afghanistan, and is perceived as a global threat.
The C.I.A. had demanded that Mr. Davis be freed immediately, on the grounds that he had diplomatic immunity. Instead, he was held for 47 days of detention and, the officials said, questioned for 14 days by ISI agents during his imprisonment in Lahore, infuriating American officials. He was finally freed after his victims’ families agreed to take some $2.3 million in compensation.
Another price, however, apparently is the list of reductions in American personnel demanded by General Kayani, according to the Pakistani and American officials. American officials said last year that the Pakistanis had allowed a maximum of 120 Special Operations troops in the country, most of them involved in training the paramilitary Frontier Corps in northwest Pakistan. The Americans had reached that quota, the Pakistani official said.
In addition to the withdrawal of all C.I.A. contractors, Pakistan is demanding the removal of C.I.A. operatives involved in “unilateral” assignments like Mr. Davis’s that the Pakistani intelligence agency did not know about, the Pakistani official said.
An American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said without elaborating that the Pakistanis had asked “for more visibility into some things” — presumably the nature of C.I.A. covert operations in the country — “and that request is being talked about.”
General Kayani has also told the Obama administration that its expanded drone campaign has gotten out of control, a Pakistani official said. Given the reluctance or inability of the Pakistani military to root out Qaeda and Taliban militants from the tribal areas, American officials have turned more and more to drone strikes, drastically increasing the number of attacks last year.
The drone campaign, which is immensely unpopular among the Pakistani public, had morphed into the sole preserve of the United States, the Pakistani official said, since the Americans were no longer sharing intelligence on how they were choosing targets. The Americans have also extended the strikes to new parts of the tribal region, like the Khyber area near the city of Peshawar.
“Kayani would like the drones stopped,” said another Pakistani official who met with the military chief recently. “He believes they are used too frequently as a weapon of choice, rather than as a strategic weapon.” Short of that, General Kayani was demanding that the campaign return to its original, more limited, scope and remain focused narrowly on North Waziristan, the prime militant stronghold.
A drone attack last month, one day after Mr. Davis was released, hit Taliban fighters in North Waziristan, but also killed tribal leaders allied with the Pakistani military, infuriating General Kayani, who issued an unusually strong statement of condemnation afterward.
American officials defended the drone attack, saying it had achieved its goal of killing militants. But there have been no drone attacks since then.
General Kayani’s request to reduce the number of Special Operations troops by up to 40 percent would result in the closing of the training program begun last year at Warsak, close to Peshawar, an American official said.
Informed by American officials that the Special Operations training would end even with the partial reduction of 40 percent, General Kayani remained unmoved, the American official said.
American officials believed the training program was essential to improve the capacity of the nearly 150,000 Pakistani soldiers deployed to fight the Taliban in the tribal region.
The C.I.A. quietly withdrew all contractors after Mr. Davis’s arrest, the Pakistani official said.
Another category of American intelligence agents, declared operatives whose purpose was not clear, were also being asked to leave, the Pakistani official said.
In a sign of the severity of the breach between the C.I.A. and the ISI, the official said: “We’re telling the Americans: ‘You have to trust the ISI or you don’t. There is nothing in between.’ ”
Michelle Obama asks Jessica Simpson to sing for troops
Jessica Simpson has been handpicked by Michelle Obama 
to sing for the families of U.S. troops.
The singer-and-actress was asked by the U.S. First Lady -- the wife of U.S. President Barack Obama -- to perform on Wednesday at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, and admits it's a "huge honour."
She told UsMagazine.com: "The First Lady asked me to sing for the troops. That's a huge honour for me. Just to be there and show my support and say thank you."
Jessica's performance is just one of event taking place as part of Michelle and Dr. Jill Biden's initiative to honour America's service members.
During the national two-day tour, the women will travel to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, San Antonio, Texas, Denver and Columbus, Ohio, to "highlight the work of Americans who have answered the call to serve our military families to showcase ways all Americans can serve them, from teachers and business leaders, to neighbours and volunteers".
This is not the first time Jessica has shown her support for the troops.
Last year, she performed for sailors on board the USS Harry S. Truman in the Persian Gulf.
to sing for the families of U.S. troops.
The singer-and-actress was asked by the U.S. First Lady -- the wife of U.S. President Barack Obama -- to perform on Wednesday at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, and admits it's a "huge honour."
She told UsMagazine.com: "The First Lady asked me to sing for the troops. That's a huge honour for me. Just to be there and show my support and say thank you."
Jessica's performance is just one of event taking place as part of Michelle and Dr. Jill Biden's initiative to honour America's service members.
During the national two-day tour, the women will travel to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, San Antonio, Texas, Denver and Columbus, Ohio, to "highlight the work of Americans who have answered the call to serve our military families to showcase ways all Americans can serve them, from teachers and business leaders, to neighbours and volunteers".
This is not the first time Jessica has shown her support for the troops.
Last year, she performed for sailors on board the USS Harry S. Truman in the Persian Gulf.
China's Vice President calls for stability in West Asia, North Africa
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Monday appealed for early stability in West Asia and North Africa.
"We believe the affairs of West Asian and North African nations should be left to decide on their own. We expect the regions to resume stability as early as possible," Xi told the visiting Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Taieb Fassi Fihri on Monday afternoon.
China was very concerned about recent unrest in some countries in the region, Xi said, proposing dialogue and negotiation as the way to resolve disputes and differences.
Xi said China-Morocco relations enjoy a solid political foundation and broad public basis.
He proposed stronger political trust, deeper pragmatic cooperation, more people-to-people exchanges and closer coordination in international and regional issues.
Fihri, who was on a three-day visit to China, praised the robust development of bilateral relations and reaffirmed the commitment of the Moroccan government to its ties with China.
Fihri said Morocco would like to work more closely with China to expand investment and promote the all-around growth of bilateral ties.
Earlier on Monday, Fihri held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, on issues of common concern.
"We believe the affairs of West Asian and North African nations should be left to decide on their own. We expect the regions to resume stability as early as possible," Xi told the visiting Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Taieb Fassi Fihri on Monday afternoon.
China was very concerned about recent unrest in some countries in the region, Xi said, proposing dialogue and negotiation as the way to resolve disputes and differences.
Xi said China-Morocco relations enjoy a solid political foundation and broad public basis.
He proposed stronger political trust, deeper pragmatic cooperation, more people-to-people exchanges and closer coordination in international and regional issues.
Fihri, who was on a three-day visit to China, praised the robust development of bilateral relations and reaffirmed the commitment of the Moroccan government to its ties with China.
Fihri said Morocco would like to work more closely with China to expand investment and promote the all-around growth of bilateral ties.
Earlier on Monday, Fihri held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, on issues of common concern.
Hamid Karzai warns of penalties for Kabul Bank troubles
Action will be taken against those responsible for the troubles at Kabul Bank, which caused a financial crisis in Afghanistan last year, President Hamid Karzai says.
Shareholders who fail to repay loans and bank managers responsible for negligence will be prosecuted, he said.
But Mr Karzai also blamed poor advice from foreigners for the crisis.
Fraud, bad loans and mismanagement brought the bank close to collapse as Afghans rushed to withdraw savings.
The bank has almost $1bn (£600m) in outstanding loans.
Afghanistan's international allies have warned that billions of dollars in aid are at risk if reforms are not undertaken.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has indicated that it could also pull its support from Afghanistan. A recent IMF report said the bank should be placed in receivership.
Britain has already suspended a $140m (£85.6m) payment in aid to the country following the crisis.
'Wild' lending
The BBC's Quentin Somerville in Kabul says that the bank lent freely and wildly to leading figures in Afghanistan - including the relatives of the president and a vice-president.
President Karzai said that Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries, lacked the necessary banking experience to oversee the institution. He also criticised foreign advisers to the bank.
"Hundreds of millions of dollars have been paid to these [foreign] individuals and organisations to help the banking system of the country and they failed in their task," Mr Karzai is quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.
But Mr Karzai said he was determined to ensure that those responsible are subject to criminal investigations.
"They ['rogue' shareholders] will not have shares in the bank and the loans they have taken they must pay back within one month," Mr Karzai said.
"If they are paid back within one month, excellent. If not, they'll be legally pursued by the government of Afghanistan."
Kabul Bank, Afghanistan's largest private bank, handles most of the government payroll, including salaries for policemen and teachers.
The central bank sacked Kabul Bank's top executives and took control of its finances in September.
Among three senior Kabul bank executives and shareholders under investigation is the brother of Afghanistan's First Vice-President, Mohammad Qasim Fahim.
Another major shareholder is Mahmoud Karzai, the brother of President Hamid Karzai, but Mahmoud Karzai is not being investigated.
'Bahrain Shia face sectarian cleansing'
With the help of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain is carrying out “sectarian cleansing” against the Shia population in the Persian Gulf country, a national human rights activist says.
“Today we are witnessing a sectarian cleansing targeting the Shia. People are being sacked from their work based on sectarian reasons. Athletes are being sacked from the clubs they play for based on their sectarian background. Students who study abroad are being brought back based on sectarian backgrounds,” said Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, in an interview with Press TV.
“We are not talking about a Shia-Sunni dispute. There is a dispute between the Bahraini opposition -- majority of them Shia -- and the ruling elite, the ruling family, and not the Sunni people,” he added.
Human Rights Watch has expressed concern over what it says are growing abuses by the Bahraini regime against its citizens.
“Most of the people who did documentaries or interviews or spoke to TV channels like Press TV are arrested as of this moment. People are even afraid to talk to journalists or to the media, because it is very frightening,” Rajab pointed out.
“I myself have been beaten and arrested. My house has been attacked for a second time. The CNN interviewers at my house were arrested, and they were released later because they were Americans. The situation is very dangerous,” he noted.
The peaceful popular movement in Bahrain, that demands the ruling Al-Khalifa family to step down, has been violently cracked down on since mid-February.
Maryam al-Khawaja, another Bahraini activist, has said that nearly 800 protesters, including at least 25 women have been so far detained in crisis-hit Bahrain.
“Today we are witnessing a sectarian cleansing targeting the Shia. People are being sacked from their work based on sectarian reasons. Athletes are being sacked from the clubs they play for based on their sectarian background. Students who study abroad are being brought back based on sectarian backgrounds,” said Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, in an interview with Press TV.
“We are not talking about a Shia-Sunni dispute. There is a dispute between the Bahraini opposition -- majority of them Shia -- and the ruling elite, the ruling family, and not the Sunni people,” he added.
Human Rights Watch has expressed concern over what it says are growing abuses by the Bahraini regime against its citizens.
“Most of the people who did documentaries or interviews or spoke to TV channels like Press TV are arrested as of this moment. People are even afraid to talk to journalists or to the media, because it is very frightening,” Rajab pointed out.
“I myself have been beaten and arrested. My house has been attacked for a second time. The CNN interviewers at my house were arrested, and they were released later because they were Americans. The situation is very dangerous,” he noted.
The peaceful popular movement in Bahrain, that demands the ruling Al-Khalifa family to step down, has been violently cracked down on since mid-February.
Maryam al-Khawaja, another Bahraini activist, has said that nearly 800 protesters, including at least 25 women have been so far detained in crisis-hit Bahrain.
Bahrain sacks doctors, health workers
The Bahraini government has dismissed 30 doctors and 150 health ministry workers for supporting anti-government protests.
The doctors and employees, who have been accused of backing the anti-regime protesters, are under arrest.
Police also stormed schools on Monday and arrested teachers ahead of a planned strike, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Earlier, Bahraini authorities expelled 16 Lebanese nationals from the country. The move came after the leader of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, voiced support for the Bahraini protesters.
Bahraini people have been demanding an end to the two-century-long rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty since February 14.
Scores of protesters have been killed and many others gone missing since the beginning of the revolution.
Bahraini forces have reinforced a massive armed crackdown on the uprising with the help of Saudi, the UAE and Kuwaiti troops.
The doctors and employees, who have been accused of backing the anti-regime protesters, are under arrest.
Police also stormed schools on Monday and arrested teachers ahead of a planned strike, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Earlier, Bahraini authorities expelled 16 Lebanese nationals from the country. The move came after the leader of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, voiced support for the Bahraini protesters.
Bahraini people have been demanding an end to the two-century-long rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty since February 14.
Scores of protesters have been killed and many others gone missing since the beginning of the revolution.
Bahraini forces have reinforced a massive armed crackdown on the uprising with the help of Saudi, the UAE and Kuwaiti troops.
Extremism forces singer Nazia Iqbal to leave Peshawar
Extremists’ fear compelled famous singer of Pushto Nazia Iqbal to leave Peshawar. Several singers of KPK had left the province due to the same impending fears earlier.
Nazia Iqbal, a famous Pushto singer, shifted to Islamabad from Peshawar due to the fear of extremism. At least fifteen singers and artists of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa had already left for Punjab, Sindh and even for abroad whereas several including Alam Zeb Mujahid left showbiz even.
Earlier, Nazia Iqbal was intimidated and threatened through letters. She was living near Ishrat Cinema Chowk in Gul Bahar-4. Nazia Iqbal has purchased her own house herein E-Sector of Bahria Town, Islamabad. Sources said that she would visit Peshawar for programs.
Nazia Iqbal, a famous Pushto singer, shifted to Islamabad from Peshawar due to the fear of extremism. At least fifteen singers and artists of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa had already left for Punjab, Sindh and even for abroad whereas several including Alam Zeb Mujahid left showbiz even.
Earlier, Nazia Iqbal was intimidated and threatened through letters. She was living near Ishrat Cinema Chowk in Gul Bahar-4. Nazia Iqbal has purchased her own house herein E-Sector of Bahria Town, Islamabad. Sources said that she would visit Peshawar for programs.
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