Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is due to visit Kabul today to hold talks with his Afghan counterpart President Hamid Karzai.
Zardari's spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that the two leaders will discuss issues of bilateral importance as well as counter-terrorism and peacemaking with the Taliban.
The president will also convey his condolences to Karzai on the death of his half-brother Ahmed Wali Karzai, the Express Tribune reports.
Zardari's visit to Kabul comes after his trip to Iran earlier this week in which he reportedly held in-depth negotiations with the country's leadership on the future of Afghanistan.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Hina waits for date to take oath as foreign minister
Hina Rabbani Khar, long tipped to be elevated as foreign minister, is now awaiting a date to take oath.
“President’s secretariat is working to find a slot in the president’s schedule for the oath-taking ceremony,” an official at the Presidency said on Monday after reports that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, before his departure to the UK, had advised President Asif Ali Zardari to make her the foreign minister.
Mr Gilani met Ms Khar at the Prime Minister’s House prior to leaving for London and discussed her new role.
Mr Zardari is leaving for Afghanistan on Tuesday to offer condolence to President Hamid Karzai on his brother’s assassination. According to his itinerary, the president will be out of the country on Wednesday and Thursday.
Ms Khar will then be leaving for Indonesia to attend a meeting of the Asean Regional Forum scheduled for July 22-23 in Bali.
The most likely dates for her oath taking will be between July 24 and 26 before she leaves for Delhi for a ministerial meeting on July 27. But Foreign Office strategists are urging the Presidency for an earlier date to avoid an impression that Ms Khar was elevated only to remove the protocol hitch for the upcoming meeting with Indian Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna. With her goal of becoming the youngest and first woman foreign minister in sight, Ms Khar, known at the Foreign Office to be “too protocol conscious”, has got her name and picture as minister of state removed from the ministry’s website before the elevation officially materialises. The office of the foreign minister has been lying vacant since Feb 9 when Shah Mehmood Qureshi lost the ministry in a cabinet reshuffle.
While Mr Qureshi is widely believed to have lost the office for taking a hard line on the issue of immunity for CIA operative Raymond Davis, incidentally Ms Khar’s choice as the next foreign minister, according to a minister, was inspired by former US envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan (late) Richard Holbrooke’s special liking for the minister, who was then looking after economic affairs as a minister of state and was responsible for coordinating international aid.
A dangerous Saudi affair
dawn.com
Ahmad Ali Khalid
One can witness a pervasive sort of racism, a form of Saudi supremacy that views other types of Arabs and particularly the South Asian expats (who are mostly labourers) as inferior and mere ‘commodities’ who can be bought and sold ruthlessly. Expats are not human beings but a commodity to be bartered and acquired.
Connected to racial supremacy is an attempt to insulate the regime from criticism by using the cloak of religion. Saudi textbooks are filled with references to hate; the Islamic Studies curriculum in the country is simply barbaric. I’ve experienced first-hand being taught by an Islamic Studies teacher in one of the most prominent private schools in Riyadh, about the dangers of having non-Muslims as friends and about the evil conspiracies hatched by Christians, Jews and Shias.
In Pakistan, Saudi petro-dollars have funded factories of hate in the form of the madrassa system. ‘Petro-Islam’ is a nightmare scenario – capitalism and a dangerous ideology locked in a tight embrace. It is because of the sheer amount of money behind this austere and dangerous theology that it can easily overwhelm the moderate elements in any given society.
Little attention is given in Pakistan about the treatment of Pakistani labourers. If the Saudis will not speak about the suffering of these people then why should we remain silent? It is understandable that Pakistanis within Saudi cannot protest, but why do Pakistanis living outside who have witnessed first-hand the harsh treatment of their fellow citizens choose to remain silent? The Gulf countries practice a modern day equivalent of slavery, and our media should be more vocal about it, instead of weaving tales about Mossad and RAW.
The treatment of Pakistani labourers as sub-humans is deeply pervasive. The underlying logic of this treatment is that a non-Saudi can never be an equal; they are always meant to serve. Pakistanis like to criticise Europe’s hostility to immigrants but the anti-immigration feeling in Saudi Arabia is deeply toxic and yet it is never scrutinised.
A famous Pakistani defence of Saudi Arabia is that it is an ‘Islamic country’ and ergo a good place to raise the kids. But there is very little ‘Islamic’ about the country – in my time in Saudi, I talked to converts to Islam who travelled from as far as America and the UK to see for themselves the ‘Islamic’ Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Privately, they reveal a story of disillusionment and profuse disappointment.
Many were shocked by what they see in Saudi. They talk about a hypocrisy running deep within the society. Whilst the elite enjoy a hedonistic lifestyle of drinking and private nightclub-style parties, the religious police make life hell. I once saw a mullah in a GMC reverse on one of the main roads in Riyadh just to tell a woman to put her burqa on properly.
I find we are confused about our reaction to the prospect of a ‘Saudi Revolution’. When Mubarak was toppled and Ben Ali fled, the reaction amongst Pakistanis was positive, after all these dictators were merely pawns of the West. But talk about Saudi, and again there is that sense of unease and discomfort. After all, for all their faults the Saudis still do some great work. Many Pakistanis and indeed Muslims around the world have a sense of deep respect in regards to the provision of the Hajj. Indeed, the Saudis have continually done a fantastic job in improving facilities, crowd control and should be given credit for handling such a difficult event with efficiency.
But on the issue of faith, some Pakistanis are naive in thinking that a Muslim country can never be unjust with another Muslim country; they refuse to accept that in the reality of real politick there is no ‘Islamic Ummah’.
It is this sense of moral unease we have when we talk about Saudi Arabia that has haunted Pakistani hearts and minds. On the one hand, we receive great remittances from Pakistani workers who are employed in the Kingdom, but on the other hand everyone knows that they are discriminated against and have little or no rights. But yet again the response is that those Pakistanis living and working in Saudi Arabia should be grateful that they even have a job because of the deteriorating economic conditions back home. In this cold, utilitarian world where money talks, it is impossible that the Pakistani government will fight for its citizens rights in front of the Saudi Royal family.
The old adage, ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you’, comes to mind. Pakistan is trapped in an abusive marriage (or maybe a delusional affair?) when it comes to Saudi.
Today the Kingdom is launching a great counter-revolution trying to contain the ‘Arab Spring’ by buying off Arab militaries, supporting dictators, issuing fatwas against the protestors and involving the Pakistani security forces in controlling protests in Bahrain which has become a stage for its great feud with Iran. Pakistan is very much a supporter of tyranny in the greatest political awakening of the 21st century, and this will hurt only Pakistanis in the end.
Ahmad Ali Khalid
One can witness a pervasive sort of racism, a form of Saudi supremacy that views other types of Arabs and particularly the South Asian expats (who are mostly labourers) as inferior and mere ‘commodities’ who can be bought and sold ruthlessly. Expats are not human beings but a commodity to be bartered and acquired.
Connected to racial supremacy is an attempt to insulate the regime from criticism by using the cloak of religion. Saudi textbooks are filled with references to hate; the Islamic Studies curriculum in the country is simply barbaric. I’ve experienced first-hand being taught by an Islamic Studies teacher in one of the most prominent private schools in Riyadh, about the dangers of having non-Muslims as friends and about the evil conspiracies hatched by Christians, Jews and Shias.
In Pakistan, Saudi petro-dollars have funded factories of hate in the form of the madrassa system. ‘Petro-Islam’ is a nightmare scenario – capitalism and a dangerous ideology locked in a tight embrace. It is because of the sheer amount of money behind this austere and dangerous theology that it can easily overwhelm the moderate elements in any given society.
Little attention is given in Pakistan about the treatment of Pakistani labourers. If the Saudis will not speak about the suffering of these people then why should we remain silent? It is understandable that Pakistanis within Saudi cannot protest, but why do Pakistanis living outside who have witnessed first-hand the harsh treatment of their fellow citizens choose to remain silent? The Gulf countries practice a modern day equivalent of slavery, and our media should be more vocal about it, instead of weaving tales about Mossad and RAW.
The treatment of Pakistani labourers as sub-humans is deeply pervasive. The underlying logic of this treatment is that a non-Saudi can never be an equal; they are always meant to serve. Pakistanis like to criticise Europe’s hostility to immigrants but the anti-immigration feeling in Saudi Arabia is deeply toxic and yet it is never scrutinised.
A famous Pakistani defence of Saudi Arabia is that it is an ‘Islamic country’ and ergo a good place to raise the kids. But there is very little ‘Islamic’ about the country – in my time in Saudi, I talked to converts to Islam who travelled from as far as America and the UK to see for themselves the ‘Islamic’ Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Privately, they reveal a story of disillusionment and profuse disappointment.
Many were shocked by what they see in Saudi. They talk about a hypocrisy running deep within the society. Whilst the elite enjoy a hedonistic lifestyle of drinking and private nightclub-style parties, the religious police make life hell. I once saw a mullah in a GMC reverse on one of the main roads in Riyadh just to tell a woman to put her burqa on properly.
I find we are confused about our reaction to the prospect of a ‘Saudi Revolution’. When Mubarak was toppled and Ben Ali fled, the reaction amongst Pakistanis was positive, after all these dictators were merely pawns of the West. But talk about Saudi, and again there is that sense of unease and discomfort. After all, for all their faults the Saudis still do some great work. Many Pakistanis and indeed Muslims around the world have a sense of deep respect in regards to the provision of the Hajj. Indeed, the Saudis have continually done a fantastic job in improving facilities, crowd control and should be given credit for handling such a difficult event with efficiency.
But on the issue of faith, some Pakistanis are naive in thinking that a Muslim country can never be unjust with another Muslim country; they refuse to accept that in the reality of real politick there is no ‘Islamic Ummah’.
It is this sense of moral unease we have when we talk about Saudi Arabia that has haunted Pakistani hearts and minds. On the one hand, we receive great remittances from Pakistani workers who are employed in the Kingdom, but on the other hand everyone knows that they are discriminated against and have little or no rights. But yet again the response is that those Pakistanis living and working in Saudi Arabia should be grateful that they even have a job because of the deteriorating economic conditions back home. In this cold, utilitarian world where money talks, it is impossible that the Pakistani government will fight for its citizens rights in front of the Saudi Royal family.
The old adage, ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you’, comes to mind. Pakistan is trapped in an abusive marriage (or maybe a delusional affair?) when it comes to Saudi.
Today the Kingdom is launching a great counter-revolution trying to contain the ‘Arab Spring’ by buying off Arab militaries, supporting dictators, issuing fatwas against the protestors and involving the Pakistani security forces in controlling protests in Bahrain which has become a stage for its great feud with Iran. Pakistan is very much a supporter of tyranny in the greatest political awakening of the 21st century, and this will hurt only Pakistanis in the end.
ANP welcomes MQM decision on Sindh Governor
Welcoming the decision of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) directing Sindh Governor to resume his duties, spokesman of the Awami National Party Senator Zahid Khan on Monday hoped that this would help restore peace in Karachi.
MQM chief Altaf Hussain has directed Sindh Governor Dr. Ishratul Ebad Khan to resume his duties. Zahid said the Sindh Governor would continue his role for peace in the mega city. All the stakeholders, including ANP, Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP) and MQM should work together for the betterment and peace in Karachi.
He said it was responsibility of all political parties to seriously play their role to restore peace in the city.
Zahid Khan, however, said people of Karachi wanted to know who was responsible for recent loss of innocent lives and property in the city.
MQM chief Altaf Hussain has directed Sindh Governor Dr. Ishratul Ebad Khan to resume his duties. Zahid said the Sindh Governor would continue his role for peace in the mega city. All the stakeholders, including ANP, Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP) and MQM should work together for the betterment and peace in Karachi.
He said it was responsibility of all political parties to seriously play their role to restore peace in the city.
Zahid Khan, however, said people of Karachi wanted to know who was responsible for recent loss of innocent lives and property in the city.
Bahrain's government accused of targeting doctors
A Human Rights Watch report released today accuses the government in Bahrain of engaging in a concerted attack on the country's medical community.
The report alleges that security forces targeted doctors and nurses who were treating injured Bahrainis during the anti-government uprisings earlier this year and that the abuse and intimidation is continuing despite the suppression of the protests.
Tom Porteous is the deputy program director at Human Rights Watch.
He says the group witnessed the abuse first hand and that the international community should be condemning the actions of the government in Bahrain far more strongly.
He spoke to me from New York.
Tom Porteous, Human Rights Watch says the Bahraini government engaged in abuse of medical staff. What exactly does your report document?
TOM PORTEOUS: Well this is basically a report that looks at a concerted attack against the medical community. First of all the report documents the way in which the security forces surrounded and literally besieged medical facilities, including the main hospital in Bahrain.
But also it looks at the way in which patients who were suspected of having been injured in protests were rounded up in some cases into incommunicado detention and beaten in spite of their injuries and then also it looks at attacks on medical staff themselves with continue now with a trial by military courts of about 48 medical personnel.
ELEANOR HALL: Did people die because of these government actions?
TOM PORTEOUS: In some cases it does appear quite possible that a number of people actually may have died. Certainly harm to health but also probable death as a result of these interventions by the security forces.
ELEANOR HALL: Was there any one case that particularly affected you?
TOM PORTEOUS: Yeah I mean there was the case of one chap who had been, you know, very severely injured. He'd been hit by birdshot pellets and they were really all over his body and he was in a very weak state.
And the doctors begged the security forces not to move him and they insisted and they took him away. It was obviously clear that this chap was in a great deal of pain as he was being forced to walk away.
Eventually they put him in a wheelchair and they just carted him off and they put him in a sports utility vehicle and drove him away. And we've been trying to ascertain where this young man was taken, what happened to him ever since. This was you know, a few months ago now and he's just disappeared as far as we can gather.
ELEANOR HALL: So you don't know what happened to him, do you know what happened to the doctors that were trying to help him?
TOM PORTEOUS: The doctors we know what happened to them is that, you know, that many of them were arrested and now there are almost 50 of them who are facing trial on a variety of different charges. So clearly the doctors who were treating these injured protesters have been viewed with a great deal of suspicion as well as the protesters themselves. And for us this just seems to be gratuitous and retributive measure on the part of the government, in order to warn people not to side with the protesters.
And that's why we felt it was important to put out a report on this particular subject and of course it continues today as we speak.
ELEANOR HALL: So the government stifled the uprising essentially in mid-March with the help of the Saudis but you're saying that did not put an end to this abuse and persecution of doctors?
TOM PORTEOUS: These trials continue and they are clearly a way of trying to instil fear in the population and to prevent them from resuming the protests.
ELEANOR HALL: How did you conduct your investigation, did the government allow you into the country to interview doctors?
TOM PORTEOUS: Most of the research that we did was kind of on the ground, I mean we were there during the protests, we were there during the crackdown and in the weeks following the crackdown. So we were able to witness a lot of the things that we documented in this report at first hand.
But for the last six weeks or so, probably two months perhaps, we have not been able to access Bahrain, it's been impossible for us to get in. In the meantime we're able to monitor quite effectively from outside because we have many good contacts.
ELEANOR HALL: The government denies that it’s abusing doctors and says the protesters were in fact hiding weapons in the hospital. Did you seek a response from the government to these allegations?
TOM PORTEOUS: Yes indeed, well that's the line that the government has taken to justify this abuse that took place at the hospital and abuse against other medical facilities and abuse in general against the medical community.
We have sought clarification of the statements of the government to that effect and you know, we've taken those statements very seriously.
We ourselves did not see any evidence of that and we were there at the time, and we've written to the government to ask for, you know, further elaboration of these claims and we have not to date received any response.
However, the government has now established an investigative commission which is composed of some extremely prominent international human rights experts to look into the whole crisis and the consequences of the crisis and that's a positive step I should say.
So we do hope that there will be some clarity and we'll get a full picture of the government's side of the story as that investigative commission starts and completes its work.
ELEANOR HALL: So what is Human Rights Watch calling for now, both from the government and indeed from the international community?
TOM PORTEOUS: We're calling on the government to use restraint in its approach to the medical community, we're calling on them to essentially release those who have been detained and that there should be some accountability for any abuses on the part of the security forces.
As far as the international community is concerned, you know, we're very concerned that while the European Union and the United States, which are both close allies of Bahrain, have been very quick to condemn violence on the part of governments against protesters in other parts of the Middle East, Bahrain has been the exception.
And it's important that policy makers in the West should see what's going on in Bahrain and very much part of the pattern of what's going on in the rest of the region.
ELEANOR HALL: Would it make a difference if the US in particular spoke out?
TOM PORTEOUS: Of course it would because I mean Bahrain is a very small country that is extremely dependent on the goodwill of its Western allies.
ELEANOR HALL: Tom Porteous, thanks very much for joining us.
TOM PORTEOUS: You're welcome, thank you.
ELEANOR HALL: That's the deputy program director from Human Rights Watch, Tom Porteous.
Cultural fashion show concludes in Peshawar
A two-day fashion show highlighting historical and modern fashion and lifestyles of the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) concluded on Sunday.
The event was jointly organised by Globoss and the Tourism Corporation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP).
Male and female models strutted down the ramp while showcasing local culture and style from 1950 up to the modern era.
Kiran, a model, told The Express Tribune that while she was nervous before the show, she enjoyed the experience a lot. “I am not a professional model but I have decided to enter this profession in the future,” she said.
Fazilat, a singer from Swat, said that, “I did not feel any fear over the security situation here. I performed and received a lot of appreciation. I am very happy.”
Haroon, an audience member, applauded the show and stressed the need for holding such events in the future as well.
Nasreen, another audience member said, “I liked the dance performance and modelling very much. It was very good.”
The event included musical performances and painting and photo competitions to pay tribute to the legends of the film industry,
including Badar Munir, Yasmeen Khan and Asif Khan, and national heroes such as Malik Saad Shaheed, Safwat Ghayur and Karnal Sher Khan.
Famous singers including Kiran Khan, Zeek Afridi, Sitara Younas,
Baryalay Samadi, Janas Khan, Zeb Khan, Sami Khan, Arooj Mohmand, Yamee Khan and Ayaz Khan performedn, as is bands from Lahore and AR Anwar Ustad from Karachi.
Titled Peshawar Vision 2020, a paintings and photography competition between students and professionals from various universities and colleges was also held, the winners of which were awarded medals and cash prizes.
The Express Tribune
'Air-conditioned clothes' help Japan beat heat
As jackets go it looks far from fashionable, but its Japanese maker cannot meet sky-rocketing demand for "air conditioned" coats with built-in fans.
Kuchofuku Co. Ltd -- whose name literally means "air-conditioned clothing" -- has seen orders soar amid power shortages in Japan after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
As parts of the nation sweat out an uncomfortable summer shackled by restrictions on electricity use, demand has grown for goods that provide guilt-free respite from the unrelenting summer heat.
Two electric fans in the jacket can be controlled to draw air in at different speeds, giving the garment a puffed-up look. But this has not deterred those happy to be cool rather than "hot" when it comes to fashion.
"I work in a very hot place and have to wear long sleeved outfits, so I came over to buy this to stay cool and to prevent heat stroke," said Ryo Igarashi, 33, as he left the Kuchofuku office after buying an air-conditioned jacket.
Igarashi said the clothing offers him relief at hot construction sites where he, coincidentally, installs air conditioners in buildings.
Nearly 1,000 companies in Japan use Kuchofuku, including automobile giants, steelmakers, food companies and construction firms.
Among its other products, the company also sells air-conditioned cushions and mattresses that use Kuchofuku's patented plastic mesh system that allows air to circulate while supporting weight.
The products have taken on extra significance since the closure of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and a government decree obliging big companies in the Tokyo and Tohoku northern region to reduce power usage by 15 percent to avoid blackouts.
Initiatives such as "Super Cool Biz" encourage employees to ditch jackets and ties and turn down air conditioning, while the power-saving drive has also sparked demand for cooling gadgets.
Imports of electrical fans through Tokyo port hit a record high in May, jumping 70 percent from a year earlier to 1.24 million units, according to the customs office.
The fans in the Kuchofuku jacket are connected to a lithium-ion battery pack that lasts for 11 hours on a single charge, consuming only a fraction of the power used by conventional air-conditioning, said company president Hiroshi Ichigaya.
Ichigaya says that his clothing offers a counter-intuitive solution: that by wearing more, a person can feel cooler than if baring it all.
"People are now trying to wear as little as possible in such campaigns as Super Cool Biz, but wearing more Kuchofuku makes you feel much cooler," Ichigaya told AFP.
Up to 20 litres per second of air circulates throughout the jacket and escapes through the collar and cuffs, drying off sweat and cooling down the wearer.
The idea of "personal air-conditioning" struck Ichigaya -- a Sony engineer for two decades until the early 1990s -- when he was trying to invent an air conditioner that would use little electricity.
"It came to me that we don't need to cool the entire room, just as long as people in it feel cool," he said.
Kuchofuku, first launched in 2004, typically draws demand from factories and construction sites but the company has recently seen orders come in from office workers and housewives.
A standard air-conditioned jacket sells for around 11,000 yen ($140), with others priced higher.
A central government official recently approached the company to buy half-a-million jackets, but Ichigaya said he had to turn the order down because the company was unable to boost production in time to meet demand.
The company will sell a total of 40,000 jackets, cushions and other air-cooled products this year, double last year's figure, Ichigaya said, adding that sales would reach 80,000 if he could manufacture enough.
Obama threatens veto of House GOP spending cuts
Courting confrontation and compromise alike, House Republicans shrugged off President Barack Obama's threat to veto legislation to cut federal spending by trillions of dollars on Monday while simultaneously negotiating with him over more modest steps to avert a potential government default.
The Republican bill demands deep spending reductions and congressional approval of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution in exchange for raising the nation's debt limit. But Obama will veto it if it reaches his desk, the White House said, asserting the legislation would "lead to severe cuts in Medicare and Social Security" and impose unrealistic limits on education spending.
In response, GOP lawmakers said they would go ahead with plans to pass the bill on Tuesday. "It's disappointing the White House would reject this commonsense plan to rein in the debt and deficits that are hurting job creation in America," Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio said.
By contrast, neither the administration nor congressional officials provided substantive details on an unannounced meeting that Obama held Sunday with the two top House Republican leaders, Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia.
Obama said late Monday the two sides were "making progress."
Several Republicans said privately the decision to vote on veto-threatened legislation is paradoxically designed to clear the way for a compromise. They said conservatives would have a chance to push their deep spending cuts through the House, and then see the measure quickly die either in the Democratic-controlled Senate or by veto.
Barring action by Congress to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit, the Treasury will be unable to pay all the government's bills that come due beginning on Aug. 3, two weeks from Wednesday. Administration officials, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and others say the result could be a default that inflicts serious harm on the economy, which is still struggling to recover from the worst recession in decades.
In a gesture underscoring the significance of the issue, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced the Senate will meet each day until it is resolved, including on weekends.
The two-pronged approach pursued by the House GOP follows the collapse of a weeks-long effort to negotiate a sweeping bipartisan plan to cut into future deficits. The endeavor foundered when Obama demanded that tax increases on the wealthy and selected corporations be included alongside cuts in benefit programs, and Republicans refused.
The failure of that effort also reflects the outsized influence exerted by 87 first-term Republicans, many of them elected last fall with tea party backing.
As late as last Thursday, Republican leaders held a news conference to tout plans to vote this week on a proposed balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.
But the same senior Republicans emerged from a closed-door meeting of the rank and file on Friday to say the House would instead vote on an alternative — dubbed by its advocates as "Cut, Cap and Balance." No date has been set for a vote on the constitutional amendment itself.
Officials said the change in course had been requested by members of the Republican Study Committee, whose members are among the most conservative in Congress.
Supporters of the measure say it would cut $111 billion from government spending in the budget year that begins on Oct 1, and $6 trillion more over the coming decade through a requirement that the budget shrink relative to the overall size of the economy.
Additionally, it would require both houses of Congress to approve a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution as a condition for an increase in the debt limit.
Both Boehner and Cantor reacted relatively mildly to the White House veto threat.
"As President Obama has not put forth a plan that can garner 218 votes in the House, I'd caution him against so hastily dismissing 'Cut, Cap and Balance,'" said Cantor.
Other Republicans, by contrast, took a harder line.
"I find it incredibly ironic that President Obama is one of the few Americans who think we don't need a constitutional amendment 'to do our jobs.'" Said Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, a member of the leadership.
"The point of cutting up the credit cards in order to raise the debt ceiling isn't to meet his tax-and-spend demands; it's to force him to stop spending money we don't have."
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky made a strong statement of support for the measure.
"Not only is this legislation just the kind of thing Washington needs right now, it may be the only option we have if you want to see the debt limit raised at all," he said.
"I strongly urge my Democratic friends to join us in supporting it."
Despite his warning, McConnell and Reid have been deeply involved in writing a fallback measure that is viewed in both houses as promising.
It would allow the president to raise the debt limit by $2.4 trillion in three installments over the next year without a prior vote by lawmakers. Instead, a panel of House and Senate members would be created to recommend cuts in benefit programs, with their work guaranteed a yes-or-no vote in the House or Senate.
Recreating the divide that plagued the earlier negotiations, Democrats want the panel to have the power to recommend higher taxes.
Neither Reid nor McConnell has publicly disclosed the details of the measure, and neither is expected to do so as long as the legislation in the House is pending.
One conservative deficit hawk, Sen. Tom Coburn, unveiled his own proposal to bring federal deficits under control. The Oklahoma Republican recommended $9 trillion in cuts over a decade, including $1 trillion in higher taxes.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Gen. Petraeus hands over command in Afghanistan
Gen. John Allen took over command of American and coalition forces in Afghanistan on Monday from Gen. David Petraeus, assuming responsibility as Afghanistan's international allies draw up exit plans from the nearly 10-year conflict.
Allen said that the drawdown of U.S. forces that started earlier this month and the transition of some areas to Afghan control this week does not mean that international forces are easing up in their campaign to defeat the Taliban insurgency.
"It is my intention to maintain the momentum of the campaign," Allen said at the handover ceremony in the Afghan capital. He said however, that he does not expect the fight to be easy.
"There will be tough days ahead. I have no illusions about the challenges ahead," he said.
U.S. officials have trumpeted success in reclaiming Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan and training Afghan security forces as signs that they are finally making progress toward peace in Afghanistan. But violent attacks have continued, including a number of high-profile assaults and assassinations in recent weeks.
On Monday morning, a bomb killed three international service members in the east, NATO said in a statement. It did not provide nationalities or further details. Most of the troops in the east are American.
At least 37 international forces have been killed so far this month in Afghanistan.
Allen, who was promoted to a four-star general shortly before the handover ceremony, takes over from Petraeus, who commanded international forces in Afghanistan for one year and is retiring from the military to become the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The ceremony came just hours after security forces in the capital killed the final attacker in the assassination of a close adviser to President Hamid Karzai.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack, in which two gunmen shot Karzai adviser Jan Mohammed Khan and a parliamentarian he was meeting with in his house.
The deaths were announced late Sunday night and one attacker was quickly killed, but fighting continued inside the house until early Monday morning as police tried to take out the remaining assailant who had barricaded himself in the house, police said. One police officer was killed, the Interior Ministry said.
The shooting and small explosions finally ended about 3 a.m. and reporters on the scene saw a body — presumably that of the final attacker — dragged out of the house on a plastic sheet. Afghan officials had originally said the attackers were wearing suicide vests but said Monday that this was incorrect and they were armed only with guns.
Pak singer Asma Latta rejects allegations of being an ‘Indian spy’
Renowned Pakistani singer Asma Latta has rejected the allegations of being a spy for India, saying she could never think to spy against the country that gifted her respect and popularity.
While addressing a press conference in Peshawar, Latta, Urdu and Pushto singer, termed the allegations as ‘baseless’ and ‘ridiculous’.
“I am a Pakistani citizen and belong to Vina city of Punjab. My parents are also permanent residents of this country,” the Nation quoted Latta, as saying.
She said ‘some people had started a vicious propaganda campaign against her and published some stories calling her a Hindu woman,’ adding that she was a Muslim woman.
Latta said some people who were against her popularity wanted to defame her through media but these people would not succeed in their mean tactics.
She said she was a peaceful Pakistani and had no links with any spy agency or terrorist outfit.
An Urdu newspaper recently published a news in which Asma Latta was accused of spying against Pakistan and having sensitive pictures of government installations in addition to Indian and US currency.
While addressing a press conference in Peshawar, Latta, Urdu and Pushto singer, termed the allegations as ‘baseless’ and ‘ridiculous’.
“I am a Pakistani citizen and belong to Vina city of Punjab. My parents are also permanent residents of this country,” the Nation quoted Latta, as saying.
She said ‘some people had started a vicious propaganda campaign against her and published some stories calling her a Hindu woman,’ adding that she was a Muslim woman.
Latta said some people who were against her popularity wanted to defame her through media but these people would not succeed in their mean tactics.
She said she was a peaceful Pakistani and had no links with any spy agency or terrorist outfit.
An Urdu newspaper recently published a news in which Asma Latta was accused of spying against Pakistan and having sensitive pictures of government installations in addition to Indian and US currency.
Iranian actress to judge at Avanca
Iranian actress Anna Nemati
has been selected to serve on the jury panel of the 2011 Avanca International Film Festival in Portugal.
Nemati who starred in movies such as Aaland Snow on the Hot Roof, is slated to be a jury member of Portugal's Avanca Film Festival, which will be held from July 19 to 24.
She will judge for the first time at this event in which a number of worldly renowned cineastes will participate, Mehr News Agency reported.
Furthermore, the award-winning Iranian filmmaker, Mehdi Rahmani, will also judge participating films during this annual event.
Rahmani also plans to hold a workshop, titled The Impact of Documentary Cinema on Fiction Films, during the event.
The workshop is scheduled to be accompanied by a retrospective look at his documentaries.
Established in 1977, the festival screens feature-length productions, documentaries, animations and experimental films every year.
has been selected to serve on the jury panel of the 2011 Avanca International Film Festival in Portugal.
Nemati who starred in movies such as Aaland Snow on the Hot Roof, is slated to be a jury member of Portugal's Avanca Film Festival, which will be held from July 19 to 24.
She will judge for the first time at this event in which a number of worldly renowned cineastes will participate, Mehr News Agency reported.
Furthermore, the award-winning Iranian filmmaker, Mehdi Rahmani, will also judge participating films during this annual event.
Rahmani also plans to hold a workshop, titled The Impact of Documentary Cinema on Fiction Films, during the event.
The workshop is scheduled to be accompanied by a retrospective look at his documentaries.
Established in 1977, the festival screens feature-length productions, documentaries, animations and experimental films every year.
World warns Pakistan to end polio by 2012 or face action
World health organizations have warned Pakistan eradicating polio by 2012 or face action, Geo News reported.
Sources told Geo news that the world health organizations such as WHO and UNICEF in a memo to the federal government censured Pakistan for not eradicating thus far the menace of polio besides they have also expressed their reservations on the way the anti-polio drives are conducted over here.
Sources said that the world health organizations could penalize by imposing different restrictions, which even included Pakistanis entry into the foreign countries.
Sources told Geo news that the world health organizations such as WHO and UNICEF in a memo to the federal government censured Pakistan for not eradicating thus far the menace of polio besides they have also expressed their reservations on the way the anti-polio drives are conducted over here.
Sources said that the world health organizations could penalize by imposing different restrictions, which even included Pakistanis entry into the foreign countries.
National Cycling Race starts in Quetta
The National Level Road Race from Quetta to Ziarat has started here Monday. The race has been organsied by the Pakistan Cycling Federation (PCF) in collaboration with its Balochistan chapter, Geo News reported. Sixty-two cyclists will reach Ziarat after covering 122 km distance.
All the affiliated units of the PCF, four provinces, Army, WAPDA, Railways and Sui Southern Gas Company have prepared their teams for participation. All the teams reached Quetta on July 17.
Balochistan Sports Secretary Muhammad Saqib Aziz inaugurated the race while Mir Balochistan Sports Minister Shah Nawaz Mari is the chief guest at the closing ceremony.
Once again a PML-N lawmaker
thefrontierpost.com
PML-N MNA Anjum Aqeel
was finally arrested on Saturday, a day after his supporters, including his 15 relatives, mostly rogues and vagabonds, stormed the Kohsar police in Islamabad firing in the air and brandishing sophisticated weapons and got the lawmaker freed from the lock-up. As Aqeel found losing the support of his party, he decided to surrender but laid condition that he would not be handcuffed and kept in a private place in the capital with all facilities he is enjoying at home. This request was turned down and the Shalimar police took him in custody near F-7 Markaz when he was accompanied by the same hooligans riding in cars making a caravan. The N League MNA, facing the charges that he misappropriated about Rs6 billion in the National Police Foundation scam, now countenances accusation under the Anti-Terrorism Act and he and 86 of his accomplices, who include 20 relatives, have been indicted in the FIR. This is the same Anjum Aqeel who last year assaulted the Federal Government College at F-10/4, slapped senior teacher Prof Ahmad Khan for not giving admission to a boy who did not meet the merit requirements and his accompanying hooligans damaged the college’s property. This is not the first time that a legislator has brought embarrassment to the party. It is from this party that the maximum number of MNAs and MPAs were disqualified for contesting election non fake bachelor’s degree. In 2009, a party MNA Haji Pervez Khan from Rawalpindi had to resign when a party committee found him involved in a case of impersonation. The fraud came to light when his nephew was arrested from an examination hall while appearing in the BA examination in place of his uncle. Then came the resignation of MPA Shunaila Rana when a case of credit card theft and misuse was registered against her. The party was also left pocketing insult when it awarded a ticket to Naghma Mushtaq for the by-election for a Punjab Assembly seat from Multan to contest against the brother of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani only to lose heavily. Naghma had won the February 2008 elections on the PML-Q ticket and resigned from the assembly fearing possible disqualification for having a fake degree. At least 10 more MNAs and MPAs of Nawaz Sharif’s party have been found in such legal offences since 2008 elections and this is the highest number of lawmakers breaking the law by any party. Such offences make one believe that the party leadership has failed to inspire its legislators in learning a good political behaviour. This also poses a question if the party had taken proper care of the moral character of aspirants for the 2008 elections and awarded party tickets to those who were not sufficiently qualified to rise to political and democratic morality. What has transpired is that the party hardly scrutinizes antecedents of election contenders. Had Sharifs’ party sought applicants to produce bachelor’s degree for 2008 elections, it would have saved itself from much of the humiliation that came its way when courts disqualified them accepting their rivals’ petitions.
PML-N MNA Anjum Aqeel
was finally arrested on Saturday, a day after his supporters, including his 15 relatives, mostly rogues and vagabonds, stormed the Kohsar police in Islamabad firing in the air and brandishing sophisticated weapons and got the lawmaker freed from the lock-up. As Aqeel found losing the support of his party, he decided to surrender but laid condition that he would not be handcuffed and kept in a private place in the capital with all facilities he is enjoying at home. This request was turned down and the Shalimar police took him in custody near F-7 Markaz when he was accompanied by the same hooligans riding in cars making a caravan. The N League MNA, facing the charges that he misappropriated about Rs6 billion in the National Police Foundation scam, now countenances accusation under the Anti-Terrorism Act and he and 86 of his accomplices, who include 20 relatives, have been indicted in the FIR. This is the same Anjum Aqeel who last year assaulted the Federal Government College at F-10/4, slapped senior teacher Prof Ahmad Khan for not giving admission to a boy who did not meet the merit requirements and his accompanying hooligans damaged the college’s property. This is not the first time that a legislator has brought embarrassment to the party. It is from this party that the maximum number of MNAs and MPAs were disqualified for contesting election non fake bachelor’s degree. In 2009, a party MNA Haji Pervez Khan from Rawalpindi had to resign when a party committee found him involved in a case of impersonation. The fraud came to light when his nephew was arrested from an examination hall while appearing in the BA examination in place of his uncle. Then came the resignation of MPA Shunaila Rana when a case of credit card theft and misuse was registered against her. The party was also left pocketing insult when it awarded a ticket to Naghma Mushtaq for the by-election for a Punjab Assembly seat from Multan to contest against the brother of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani only to lose heavily. Naghma had won the February 2008 elections on the PML-Q ticket and resigned from the assembly fearing possible disqualification for having a fake degree. At least 10 more MNAs and MPAs of Nawaz Sharif’s party have been found in such legal offences since 2008 elections and this is the highest number of lawmakers breaking the law by any party. Such offences make one believe that the party leadership has failed to inspire its legislators in learning a good political behaviour. This also poses a question if the party had taken proper care of the moral character of aspirants for the 2008 elections and awarded party tickets to those who were not sufficiently qualified to rise to political and democratic morality. What has transpired is that the party hardly scrutinizes antecedents of election contenders. Had Sharifs’ party sought applicants to produce bachelor’s degree for 2008 elections, it would have saved itself from much of the humiliation that came its way when courts disqualified them accepting their rivals’ petitions.
Words shared by Urdu, Hindu and Pakhtu to be published soon Work in progress on Hindko pronunciation dictionary
The work on a Hindko pronunciation dictionary and another publication having words shared by Hindko, Pashto and Urdu is in progress andthe research-based books would be published soon. A literary, cultural and social welfare organisation, Gandhara Hindko Board, office-bearers said this at a function held at the Civil Officers Mess which was presided overby the organisation chairman Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi and attended by literary andcultural figures along with industrialists and educationists. The function washeld to review the work done by the board in the first six months of the yearand discuss the task to be taken in hand by the end of the year. Senior Vice-Chairman of the board, Associate Prof Dr Adnan Gul, said an eminent Hindko research scholar and linguist, Prof Dr Elahi Bakhsh Awan was working on a Hindko pronunciation dictionary and another book that would have the words shared by Hindko, Pashto and Urdu. He said the books “Hindko Talafuz Lughat” and “Sarmaya-e-Ishtiraak” would prove to be a good addition to the Hindko literature. Vice-Chairman ofthe board, Dr Salahuddin, who also heads the Medical Wing of the organisation, said the Hindko language promotion work was greatly linked with the social service. He said free medical camps for the flood-hit people was great experience and suggested that the Gandhara Welfare Trust should be made moreactive. General Secretaryof the board, Mohammad Ziauddin, said the board had published 36 books so far along with holding several literary and cultural functions and carrying out social welfare activities. He said “Hindko Conference” held recently atAbbottabad was a great success as that helped the board to interact with severalwriters from Hazara division. Noted educationist Khwaja Mohammad Waseem said it was heartening to note that research-based Hindko publications tally was on the rise. He said anotherencouraging factor was the growing interest and involvement of the educatedsegment of the society in language promotion efforts. Representing thebusiness community, known industrialist Khalid Sultan Khwaja, commerce leaders Sharafat Ali Mubarik and Atif Haleem Jan extended all cooperation to the board. The gatheringwas also addressed by Ihsan Elahi, Adnan Zahoor Awan, Sikander Hayat, AhmadNadeem Awan, Farzana Maruf and others. The GandharaHindko Board Chairman Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi said that he felt honoured to head an organisationthat had accomplished a great task within short span of time and optimumresources under the leadership of Prof Dr Zahoor Awan (late). “I will leave no stone unturned in the development of the Hindko language as I cannot detach myselffrom Peshawar whose people gave me a lot of love and respect,” said the board chairman who also served as chief secretary of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, federal secretary for railways, environment and special secretary of the Cabinet Division while in the civil service.
China slams US ‘interference’ after Obama meets Dalai Lama
China accused the United States on Sunday of “grossly” interfering in its internal affairs and seriously damaging relations after President Barack Obama met exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the White House.
Obama met the Nobel Prize laureate for 45 minutes, praising him for embracing non-violence while reiterating that the United States did not support independence for Tibet.
China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of being a separatist who supports the use of violence to set up an independent Tibet, reacted swiftly, saying Obama’s meeting had had a “baneful” impact, and summoning a senior US diplomat in Beijing. “This action is a gross interference in China’s internal affairs, hurts the feelings of the Chinese people and damages Sino-US relations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement released in the early hours of Sunday.
“The Dalai Lama has for a long time used the banner of religion to engage in anti-China splittist activities,” he added. “We demand the United States conscientiously handle China’s principled and just stance, immediately take steps to remove the baneful impact, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and stop abetting in and supporting ‘Tibet independence’ anti-China splittist forces.”
In a separate statement carried on its website (www.mfa.gov.cn), it said Vice Foreign Minister Cui “urgently summoned” Robert S. Wang, Charge d’Affaires at the US embassy in Beijing, to lodge China’s objections. “China expresses its strong indignation and resolute opposition,” the statement said. “Tibet is an inseparable part of China, and Tibetan issues are purely an internal matter for China. “Maintaining the continuous stable development of Sino-US ties requires hard work from both sides.”
The Dalai Lama denies China’s accusations, saying he wants a peaceful transition to true autonomy for the remote Himalayan region, which China has ruled with an iron fist since 1950, when Chinese troops marched in. A White House statement said the Dalai Lama told Obama he was not seeking independence for Tibet and hoped that “dialogue between his representatives and the Chinese government can soon resume”.
Obama’s meeting came at an extra sensitive moment for China, the United States’ biggest creditor, with leaders in Washington at odds over how to raise the $14.3 trillion US debt ceiling in time to avoid default. China holds more than $1 trillion in US Treasury debt and would be particularly exposed should Congress fail to reach a deal by Aug. 2. A US default could rocket up interest rates, sink the value of the US dollar and hurt the global economy.
Beijing’s relations with Washington, beset by issues from human rights to trade and US arms sales to Taiwan, had been improving after President Hu Jintao’s visit to the United States. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attends a regional security forum in Indonesia this week along with China’s foreign minister. She then visits the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to meet China’s top diplomat, state councilor Dai Bingguo.
Obama’s meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader was his first in more than a year. “We should tell the US that if their president continues in this vein, the Chinese government will consider meeting with members of al Qaeda,” wrote “Waiting alone at home” on China’s popular Weibo microblogging site, in comments reflective of the broad anger users expressed at the meeting.
Obama stressed the “importance he attaches to building a US-China cooperative partnership”, the White House said. “The president reiterated his strong support for the preservation of the unique religious, cultural and linguistic traditions of Tibet and the Tibetan people throughout the world,” spokesman Jay Carney said after the meeting.
“He underscored the importance of the protection of human rights of Tibetans in China. The president commended the Dalai Lama’s commitment to nonviolence and dialogue with China.”
The Dalai Lama said he felt a “spirit of reunion” with Obama, said Kate Saunders, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet. Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily, though, said the United States was intentionally “ignoring the facts” about the huge progress Tibet has made under party rule. It called on US politicians to “remove their tinted spectacles”.
“The statements of some in the United States show ignorance and hypocrisy, exposing the deep enmity some harbour towards China’s development and progress,” it said in a commentary.
Obama met the Nobel Prize laureate for 45 minutes, praising him for embracing non-violence while reiterating that the United States did not support independence for Tibet.
China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of being a separatist who supports the use of violence to set up an independent Tibet, reacted swiftly, saying Obama’s meeting had had a “baneful” impact, and summoning a senior US diplomat in Beijing. “This action is a gross interference in China’s internal affairs, hurts the feelings of the Chinese people and damages Sino-US relations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement released in the early hours of Sunday.
“The Dalai Lama has for a long time used the banner of religion to engage in anti-China splittist activities,” he added. “We demand the United States conscientiously handle China’s principled and just stance, immediately take steps to remove the baneful impact, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and stop abetting in and supporting ‘Tibet independence’ anti-China splittist forces.”
In a separate statement carried on its website (www.mfa.gov.cn), it said Vice Foreign Minister Cui “urgently summoned” Robert S. Wang, Charge d’Affaires at the US embassy in Beijing, to lodge China’s objections. “China expresses its strong indignation and resolute opposition,” the statement said. “Tibet is an inseparable part of China, and Tibetan issues are purely an internal matter for China. “Maintaining the continuous stable development of Sino-US ties requires hard work from both sides.”
The Dalai Lama denies China’s accusations, saying he wants a peaceful transition to true autonomy for the remote Himalayan region, which China has ruled with an iron fist since 1950, when Chinese troops marched in. A White House statement said the Dalai Lama told Obama he was not seeking independence for Tibet and hoped that “dialogue between his representatives and the Chinese government can soon resume”.
Obama’s meeting came at an extra sensitive moment for China, the United States’ biggest creditor, with leaders in Washington at odds over how to raise the $14.3 trillion US debt ceiling in time to avoid default. China holds more than $1 trillion in US Treasury debt and would be particularly exposed should Congress fail to reach a deal by Aug. 2. A US default could rocket up interest rates, sink the value of the US dollar and hurt the global economy.
Beijing’s relations with Washington, beset by issues from human rights to trade and US arms sales to Taiwan, had been improving after President Hu Jintao’s visit to the United States. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attends a regional security forum in Indonesia this week along with China’s foreign minister. She then visits the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to meet China’s top diplomat, state councilor Dai Bingguo.
Obama’s meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader was his first in more than a year. “We should tell the US that if their president continues in this vein, the Chinese government will consider meeting with members of al Qaeda,” wrote “Waiting alone at home” on China’s popular Weibo microblogging site, in comments reflective of the broad anger users expressed at the meeting.
Obama stressed the “importance he attaches to building a US-China cooperative partnership”, the White House said. “The president reiterated his strong support for the preservation of the unique religious, cultural and linguistic traditions of Tibet and the Tibetan people throughout the world,” spokesman Jay Carney said after the meeting.
“He underscored the importance of the protection of human rights of Tibetans in China. The president commended the Dalai Lama’s commitment to nonviolence and dialogue with China.”
The Dalai Lama said he felt a “spirit of reunion” with Obama, said Kate Saunders, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet. Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily, though, said the United States was intentionally “ignoring the facts” about the huge progress Tibet has made under party rule. It called on US politicians to “remove their tinted spectacles”.
“The statements of some in the United States show ignorance and hypocrisy, exposing the deep enmity some harbour towards China’s development and progress,” it said in a commentary.
Saudi detains two Omani women drivers
Two Omani women were detained for driving in Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to take to the wheel
Saudi Police detained two women drivers traveling with their families on the road connecting the capital Riyadh to the western city of Taef.
"A citizen tipped off police patrols that two women were driving cars with Omani licenses, Al-Hayat newspaper reported.
"The two women were detained and informed that women did not have the right to drive. They had to sign a commitment not to reoffend," it added.
Saudi Arabia in late June arrested five Saudi women for getting behind the wheel in defiance of a ban on female drivers in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.
Their actions came in response to a call on the Internet for women in Riyadh to drive, after a show of defiance on 17 June in which 42 women took to the road.
Since then, "women defy the ban each day in different cities of the kingdom," an activist told AFP on condition of anonymity, noting her own mother had done so in Riyadh.
No law officially forbids women from driving in Saudi Arabia but a religious edict stipulates that women must be driven by a male chauffeur or family member.
US women show support for Saudi Women Drivers
Support for Saudi Arabian women openly flouting the driving ban in the deeply religious kingdom now extends as far as Ridgewood, a small town on the East Coast of the United States.
Inspired by Saudi women’s rights activists who uploaded videos of themselves openly driving, about 15 women in Ridgewood drove through the streets in cars adorned with signs saying “Honk For A Woman’s Right to Drive.”
The organizer, Bonnie Chalek, expressed outrage that a religious fatwa prohibited women from driving in the conservative country, calling it “totally insane,” in comments published by the local newspaper.
Human rights organizations report that female Saudi activists such as Manal al-Sharif taking part in this campaign have been arrested and forced to pledge not to drive.
Inspired by Saudi women’s rights activists who uploaded videos of themselves openly driving, about 15 women in Ridgewood drove through the streets in cars adorned with signs saying “Honk For A Woman’s Right to Drive.”
The organizer, Bonnie Chalek, expressed outrage that a religious fatwa prohibited women from driving in the conservative country, calling it “totally insane,” in comments published by the local newspaper.
Human rights organizations report that female Saudi activists such as Manal al-Sharif taking part in this campaign have been arrested and forced to pledge not to drive.
Karzai Adviser Is Killed at Kabul Home
Insurgents killed a senior adviser to President Hamid Karzai at his Kabul home on Sunday night, the second assassination in a week of an influential official from southern Afghanistan and a major setback to the government's power there.
Jan Mohammed Khan, the former governor of southern Uruzgan province, was killed when at least two insurgents burst into his home at about 8 p.m., police officials said. Fighting continued for three hours after the attack as police battled insurgents holed up inside the residence.
The Taliban took responsibility for the attack, which also killed Mohammed Hashem Watanwal, a parliamentarian from Uruzgan who was visiting Mr. Khan at the time.
"He was on the Taliban target list," the insurgents said in an emailed statement. "The Taliban of Uruzgan kept following him and finally the operation was successful today."
Mr. Khan was a key player in the push to open peace negotiations with the Taliban. His death, Afghan and Western officials said, is likely a sign from insurgents that they aren't interested in talks with the government.
Mr. Khan was a close ally to the Karzai family and a key strongman in southern Afghanistan. His death followed last week's assassination of Ahmed Wali Karzai, the president's half brother. Considered the most influential power broker in the south, Ahmed Wali Karzai was the provincial council chief for Kandahar, the homeland of the Taliban.
In a sign of how close he was to the Karzai family, Mr. Khan last week put his turban on the head of Ahmed Wali's successor as head of the Popolzai tribe, said Shah Wali Karzai, the president's brother and a friend of Mr. Khan's. A Taliban bombing of a mourning ceremony afterward killed Kandahar's top Islamic cleric.
"Who is next? What kind of message are the Taliban sending here?" said a Western diplomat.
With the deaths of Messrs. Khan and Karzai, the Afghan government and U.S. forces will have a harder time navigating the complicated Pashtun tribal structure in the south. Both men were veterans of the region's tribal politics.
Southern Afghanistan is a key battleground for U.S.-led international forces; most of the 30,000 U.S. surge forces were deployed in the region.
Eyewitnesses said they heard a small explosion at the beginning of Sunday's Kabul assault and then bursts of gunfire. Around 50 Afghan police and intelligence officers surrounded Mr. Khan's compound. An unknown number of Mr. Khan's bodyguards were also killed in the attack.
Mr. Khan's house was thrown into darkness Sunday night, as police cut off the electricity to flush out the remaining insurgents. But occasionally, the silence was broken by gunfire and shouting from inside the compound, witnesses said.
Mr. Khan's death is also a blow to the transition to Afghan security control, which officially started on Sunday in a handful of relatively secure areas.
The handover from the U.S.-led coalition to Afghan security forces is supposed to allow the bulk of international troops to withdraw by late 2014. But the coalition relies on strongmen like Mr. Khan and Ahmed Wali Karzai to gather support for the Afghan government among the tribes.
In 2006, President Karzai forced Mr. Khan from his position as Uruzgan's governor, a condition set by Dutch forces when they took over the province. The Dutch saw Mr. Khan as corrupt and an impediment to efforts to improve governance in the province.
The Netherlands has since withdrawn its forces from Uruzgan.
Mr. Khan and his family have built an empire of private security firms that work with coalition forces in the south. Mr. Khan helped found Asia Security Group, which he has since sold to Hashmat Karzai, a cousin of the president.
Jan Mohammed Khan, the former governor of southern Uruzgan province, was killed when at least two insurgents burst into his home at about 8 p.m., police officials said. Fighting continued for three hours after the attack as police battled insurgents holed up inside the residence.
The Taliban took responsibility for the attack, which also killed Mohammed Hashem Watanwal, a parliamentarian from Uruzgan who was visiting Mr. Khan at the time.
"He was on the Taliban target list," the insurgents said in an emailed statement. "The Taliban of Uruzgan kept following him and finally the operation was successful today."
Mr. Khan was a key player in the push to open peace negotiations with the Taliban. His death, Afghan and Western officials said, is likely a sign from insurgents that they aren't interested in talks with the government.
Mr. Khan was a close ally to the Karzai family and a key strongman in southern Afghanistan. His death followed last week's assassination of Ahmed Wali Karzai, the president's half brother. Considered the most influential power broker in the south, Ahmed Wali Karzai was the provincial council chief for Kandahar, the homeland of the Taliban.
In a sign of how close he was to the Karzai family, Mr. Khan last week put his turban on the head of Ahmed Wali's successor as head of the Popolzai tribe, said Shah Wali Karzai, the president's brother and a friend of Mr. Khan's. A Taliban bombing of a mourning ceremony afterward killed Kandahar's top Islamic cleric.
"Who is next? What kind of message are the Taliban sending here?" said a Western diplomat.
With the deaths of Messrs. Khan and Karzai, the Afghan government and U.S. forces will have a harder time navigating the complicated Pashtun tribal structure in the south. Both men were veterans of the region's tribal politics.
Southern Afghanistan is a key battleground for U.S.-led international forces; most of the 30,000 U.S. surge forces were deployed in the region.
Eyewitnesses said they heard a small explosion at the beginning of Sunday's Kabul assault and then bursts of gunfire. Around 50 Afghan police and intelligence officers surrounded Mr. Khan's compound. An unknown number of Mr. Khan's bodyguards were also killed in the attack.
Mr. Khan's house was thrown into darkness Sunday night, as police cut off the electricity to flush out the remaining insurgents. But occasionally, the silence was broken by gunfire and shouting from inside the compound, witnesses said.
Mr. Khan's death is also a blow to the transition to Afghan security control, which officially started on Sunday in a handful of relatively secure areas.
The handover from the U.S.-led coalition to Afghan security forces is supposed to allow the bulk of international troops to withdraw by late 2014. But the coalition relies on strongmen like Mr. Khan and Ahmed Wali Karzai to gather support for the Afghan government among the tribes.
In 2006, President Karzai forced Mr. Khan from his position as Uruzgan's governor, a condition set by Dutch forces when they took over the province. The Dutch saw Mr. Khan as corrupt and an impediment to efforts to improve governance in the province.
The Netherlands has since withdrawn its forces from Uruzgan.
Mr. Khan and his family have built an empire of private security firms that work with coalition forces in the south. Mr. Khan helped found Asia Security Group, which he has since sold to Hashmat Karzai, a cousin of the president.
3.2m children to be vaccinated against polio
The Khyber Pakthunkhwa Health Department has constituted 9972 vaccination teams to administer Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (BOPV) drops to 3.2 million children below five years of age in three-day immunization campaign starting from July 18-20 in Khyber Pakthunkhwa, official said.
Dr Asma Alamgir, President Women Wing PPP KPK and Member President’s Oversight Committee for Polio Eradication formally inaugurated the third National Immunization Campaign where fifteen districts would be fully covered while drive in four districts including Mardan, Nowshera excluding Jalozai, Batagram and Tank have been delayed for one week due to inadequate preparations.
Speaking on the occasion, Asma Alamgir said the government was giving priority to polio eradication programme so that no child could be crippled for life.
She said the President and Prime Minister were taking keen interests in polio eradication programmes keeping in view of its paramount importance.
She said under the Prime Minister’s Action Plan against polio, the campaign is being monitored at the grass rout level and army has been requested for providing security to staff and field workers for extensive vaccination to tribal people in Fata.
Underling the need for active role of media, ulema and other segment of the society to make the programme a success, she said that refusal cases could be tackled effectively by educating masses and media and ulema can play a vital role in this regard.
She directed the Secretary Health to cover the uncovered Union Councils in far flung areas of Khyber Pakthunkhwa so that no child could be deprived of the facility.
She said that political parties and local elders could also play an important role to educate and aware masses about Government’s endeavours against polio.
Asma said women volunteers should be hired for vaccination in Malakand Division and Kohistan district to avoid refusal cases.
She requested the Prime Minister to extend more support for eradication of polio in KPK and Fata.
Stressing the need for establishment of vaccination points on Pak Afghan border areas, she said these points at border areas of KPK and Fata would also be extremely helpful.
She said that polio free Pakistan was the dream of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and the government would fulfill her dream at every cost.
Khyber Pakthunkhwa Secretary Health Cap Retd Munir Azam said refusal cases are one of the major hurdles for high reported cases in KPK and sought the role of media for education of masses to discourage this tendency.
Dr Janbaz Afridi, Deputy Director EPI KPK said that a total of six polio cases from three districts have so far been reported from Khyber Pukhtunkhwa this year. The reported cases include three from Peshawar, two from Torghar and one from Bannu districts while 59 cases were so far reported from Pakistan this year. Out of 59 cases, he said that 20 cases were reported from Fata, six KPK, 18 Balochistan, 14 Sindh and one from Gilgit Baltistan and significantly no case has been reported from Punjab and AJK this year.
The Health Department has arranged 9,972 vaccination teams, which will be supervised by 1976 area in-charges include lady health workers and their supervisors, other cadre of health staff and teachers.
He said the necessary logistics including vaccines, finger-markers, social mobilization materials and recording forms have been provided to the districts.
Preparations in the districts have been started with assistance of District Coordination Officers who have been tasked to lead polio eradication efforts as envisaged in the President’s National Emergency Action Plan and Provincial Emergency Action Plan.
He said the Health Department has established polio control room with assistance of WHO and UNICEF under supervision of Deputy Director EPI, KPK and will function daily to provide latest updates of program. The most significant challenge is lack of uniformity in coverage at sub-district (Union Council) level, refusal cases, law and order situation and inaccessibility. The key target in every district is to have at least 95% finger-marking coverage in every union council.
Dr Asma Alamgir, President Women Wing PPP KPK and Member President’s Oversight Committee for Polio Eradication formally inaugurated the third National Immunization Campaign where fifteen districts would be fully covered while drive in four districts including Mardan, Nowshera excluding Jalozai, Batagram and Tank have been delayed for one week due to inadequate preparations.
Speaking on the occasion, Asma Alamgir said the government was giving priority to polio eradication programme so that no child could be crippled for life.
She said the President and Prime Minister were taking keen interests in polio eradication programmes keeping in view of its paramount importance.
She said under the Prime Minister’s Action Plan against polio, the campaign is being monitored at the grass rout level and army has been requested for providing security to staff and field workers for extensive vaccination to tribal people in Fata.
Underling the need for active role of media, ulema and other segment of the society to make the programme a success, she said that refusal cases could be tackled effectively by educating masses and media and ulema can play a vital role in this regard.
She directed the Secretary Health to cover the uncovered Union Councils in far flung areas of Khyber Pakthunkhwa so that no child could be deprived of the facility.
She said that political parties and local elders could also play an important role to educate and aware masses about Government’s endeavours against polio.
Asma said women volunteers should be hired for vaccination in Malakand Division and Kohistan district to avoid refusal cases.
She requested the Prime Minister to extend more support for eradication of polio in KPK and Fata.
Stressing the need for establishment of vaccination points on Pak Afghan border areas, she said these points at border areas of KPK and Fata would also be extremely helpful.
She said that polio free Pakistan was the dream of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and the government would fulfill her dream at every cost.
Khyber Pakthunkhwa Secretary Health Cap Retd Munir Azam said refusal cases are one of the major hurdles for high reported cases in KPK and sought the role of media for education of masses to discourage this tendency.
Dr Janbaz Afridi, Deputy Director EPI KPK said that a total of six polio cases from three districts have so far been reported from Khyber Pukhtunkhwa this year. The reported cases include three from Peshawar, two from Torghar and one from Bannu districts while 59 cases were so far reported from Pakistan this year. Out of 59 cases, he said that 20 cases were reported from Fata, six KPK, 18 Balochistan, 14 Sindh and one from Gilgit Baltistan and significantly no case has been reported from Punjab and AJK this year.
The Health Department has arranged 9,972 vaccination teams, which will be supervised by 1976 area in-charges include lady health workers and their supervisors, other cadre of health staff and teachers.
He said the necessary logistics including vaccines, finger-markers, social mobilization materials and recording forms have been provided to the districts.
Preparations in the districts have been started with assistance of District Coordination Officers who have been tasked to lead polio eradication efforts as envisaged in the President’s National Emergency Action Plan and Provincial Emergency Action Plan.
He said the Health Department has established polio control room with assistance of WHO and UNICEF under supervision of Deputy Director EPI, KPK and will function daily to provide latest updates of program. The most significant challenge is lack of uniformity in coverage at sub-district (Union Council) level, refusal cases, law and order situation and inaccessibility. The key target in every district is to have at least 95% finger-marking coverage in every union council.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Karachi politics: Make space for the Pashtuns
Karachi hosts the largest concentration of the urban Pashtun population, surpassing Peshawar, Quetta and Kandahar. It is the largest Pashto-speaking city in the world.
In fact, by some accounts, Pashtuns make up for more than 15 per cent of the total population in Karachi.
Pashtuns contribute significantly to the economy of Karachi through business and labour. The fact that the Awami National Party (ANP) managed to win two seats in the 2008 elections is evidence for large Pashtun existence in the city. ANP, as a party, is changing and is becoming a counter-force to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
Karachi is no longer a one-party city; this fact has to be accepted.
Political space needs to be given to everyone otherwise the example of Fata is in front of us.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik should stop blaming the third element and get to the root cause of the violence that erupts every now and then in Karachi.
The media needs to provide authentic, in-depth analysis for all of us to see the path to a solution; blaming the government in this case just doesn’t help Pakistan. The fact is that Karachi has a long history of ethnic violence between the Urdu-speakers and Pashtuns.
This is not to undermine the fact that other destabilising forces such as gang-warfare, weapons dealers and land mafia, but it is mainly the targeted killings of political rivals that eventually turns into such bloodshed, as we witnessed yesterday.
The ANP is a secular party that has been a victim of the Taliban militants and other than the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), it speaks against the Taliban more forthrightly than any other political force. Hence, for peace in Karachi, the ANP has to be accepted and worked with as an equal partner.
Pashtun leaders have very often called for acceptance of Pashtun existence in Karachi by the MQM. Yet, the madness of blaming all Pasthuns, rather every Pashtun, of being a terrorist prevails.
Where will this philosophy lead us?
The patriotic orthodoxy prevalent in the majority in Karachi and the majority in Punjab has already alienated the Baloch. Similarly, the Pashtuns in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan do not think any different for being cornered when we talk about loyalty to our country Pakistan.
The mantra of who is more loyal to Pakistan for their ethnicity or language they speak is absurdly nonsensical but continues unabated and demonstrated. We saw this yet again in the expressions used by demonstrators in Karachi, protesting against Zulfiqar Mirza.
The Pashtuns of Karachi must be brought into the mainstream and their existence must be accepted; otherwise peace in the city will remain a dream.
The events related to the later clash of MQM with PPP post-July 13 demonstrate that fascist tendencies are taking root and even sitting ministers of the majority party of the province can’t use their right of free speech when it comes to criticising the MQM.
Political space, which is about reinforcing the foundations of democracy, after the protests witnessed in Karachi, has become a core problem and is increasingly shrinking in the city.
One party alone cannot do justice to the diversity and complexity of the population of Karachi. This needs to be changed, to transform the power struggle into a true and representational democracy.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Police in Jordan Break Up March With Beatings
Riot police officers wielding wooden clubs broke up a peaceful demonstration
near a square in this city’s downtown area on Friday afternoon, beating protesters and journalists. The incident was a sign of escalating tensions over the slow pace of political reform in the kingdom.
The protest on Friday, organized by youth groups and attended by labor unionists and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, began after prayers at the Husseini mosque in downtown Amman. By about 1:30 p.m., hundreds of protesters were marching through a market district, chanting “The people want to reform the government,” and “We are citizens, not subjects.” Police officers entirely surrounded the march.
Half an hour later, the protesters faced off against a small group of government loyalists, and a youth leader called on protesters to stage a sit-in. Dozens of police officers then charged the gathering and then gave chase as protesters ran. Against a shuttered shop, a cluster of more than 10 officers struck a man with truncheons, as frightened fathers hurried their children away from the violence. Several Jordanian and foreign journalists covering the clashes were also beaten.
Protests in Jordan have persisted since the beginning of the Arab Spring, driven by anger at corruption, the lack of government transparency and King Abdullah II’s absolute hold on power. One person was killed and more than a hundred people were injured during a protest in March, but for the most part, the demonstrations have not been as large or sustained as the ones that toppled autocrats in Egypt and Tunisia.
Opposition leaders have faulted the king for offering what they say are inadequate concessions, including a vague promise that the country’s prime minister would be elected in the future, not appointed. The antigovernment protesters blame internal divisions and the tactics of the security forces for their lack of momentum so far, but they say they have plans to escalate their protests. Amid the calls for reform among the demonstrators in Amman on Friday, a few people could be heard calling for a change in the “regime.”
The response of the security forces reflected a fear that the protests, which have spread to other parts of Jordan, will continue to grow. After policemen wearing blue uniforms had dispersed the marchers with beatings, dozens of other officers marched into the intersection, smacking their truncheons against their shields. By early evening, armored cars had arrived as well, carrying more officers. Some of the dispersed protesters gathered again in a nearby square, chanting and singing a Bedouin wedding song, and were left alone by the police.
US military leader sees stark rifts with China
China and the United States remain starkly different on military issues and have a long way to go toward building a trusting relationship, the top U.S. military officer said Friday after a bumpy visit to Beijing.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he believed his talks with Chinese military leaders were "productive and generally positive." But he added that efforts to create a working military-to-military relationship are still young and so far fraught with difficulties.
"There is a long way to go," he said in a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, where he is wrapping up his Asian tour. "Differences between us are still stark."
Mullen's visit to China was the first of its kind in four years. It was intended to build on efforts to increase communications and exchanges between the two in hopes of easing growing tensions over China's growing military might and economic clout.
Mullen said he was pleased he was afforded access to his counterpart, Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, and given a look at some of China's technology and bases.
But he said the visit also underscored the wide rift between the nations.
In a joint news conference during Mullen's stay in China, Chen chided the United States for pouring too much money into its military in a time of economic stress. He suggested that fears of a Chinese threat are overstated.
Chen, who visited the U.S. in May, stressed that China remains well behind the United States in military capability and said its military growth is purely for defense.
Mullen on Friday said he was not convinced.
"It's too early to say where China is going with all of this," he said. "They say it's defensive. We'll see."
Mullen also said the activities of the Chinese, particularly regarding freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, have served to fuel concerns over its ultimate intentions, which he said remain opaque.
Over the past year, China has seen a flare-up in territorial spats with Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam and seen its relations strained with South Korea — all of which have turned to Washington for support.
Mullen said Washington is also concerned about developments in Chinese missile technology, its activities in the cyber world, and its military satellite capabilities.
He stressed, however, that the United States is not going to withdraw from the region.
"As I told the Chinese, the United States isn't going away," he said. "We've operated in the South China Sea for many decades, and we will continue to do that."
Why China will rise peacefully under Communist Party leadership?
The Communist Party of China developed the important strategy of a peaceful rise after the country's economy entered a period of rapid growth, thanks to the introduction of the Reform and Open Door Policy.
The Party developed the strategy of a peaceful rise because it grasped the pulse of the times. In the second half of the 20th century, the theme of the times gradually changed from war and revolution to peace and development. It was a significant change that exerted a far-reaching influence in the development of the world. Nowadays most countries are seeking peace, development and cooperation, and China's peaceful rise strategy is in line with the current global trend. Sun Yat-sen once said, "World progress is like a tidal wave. Those who ride it will prosper, and those who sail against it will perish."
The Party developed the strategy of a peaceful rise because it knew the general direction of the world. Like it or not, the world is becoming increasingly interdependent. A country cannot develop or achieve modernization without cooperating with the rest of the world. In order to achieve a peaceful rise, China needs to ride the wave of globalization. By carrying out reform and joining the WTO, China has made remarkable progress in the process of a peaceful rise in this increasingly globalized world.
The strategy of peaceful rise is the policy proposed by the Party based on historical experience.
Western powers launched unscrupulous plunder and expansion worldwide over the past few centuries when they were rising, which was intensively revolted by oppressed people and oppressed nations worldwide. The colonial expansion finally failed. The peaceful rise means no expansion.
After the World War II, the Soviet Union experienced a rapid rise and embarked on the road of launching an arms race and striving for hegemony with the United States, which finally ended in failure. The Soviet Union finally collapsed in 1991. The peaceful rise means no hegemony.
Two rival military blocs appeared in the context of U.S.-Soviet confrontation after the World War II ended: the Warsaw Treaty Organization and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The emergence of the two military blocs is the product of the bipolar era. However, the bipolar era has ended and the Warsaw Treaty Organization has also disintegrated. The peaceful rise means no military alliances.
China's peaceful rise is a policy put forward by the Party based on taking into account the fundamental interests of both the Chinese nation and the people of the world. What is the goal of the Chinese people and the people of the world after the world entered into the 21st century? It is to build a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity. Peace and prosperity are an eternal dream for mankind that could not be achieved in the past. However, the possibility of fulfilling the dream has been emerging since the start of the 21st century. The rise of a group of developing countries around the world means that there will be considerable improvement in the livelihood of billions of people and the possibility of their leading decent lives will be no longer a dream.
Certainly, a significant part of people around the world are still trapped in hunger and poverty, but the progress and expansion of the tide of peace, development and cooperation will raise the potential for building a world of lasting peace and common prosperity. China's peaceful rise means that China serves as a major force in promoting peace, development and cooperation.
China's peaceful rise is not a slogan but China's more than 30 years of practice that has proven that the path is correct and China will continue to follow the path in the future. Achieving China's peaceful rise, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the renascence of Chinese civilization will benefit both the Chinese nation and the entire world.
Barack Obama 'wants agreement on debt deal in 36 hours'
President Barack Obama has told top US lawmakers he wants agreement on the way forward towards a debt deal in 24-36 hours, according to aides.
Five consecutive days of cross-party negotiations at the White House have failed to make a breakthrough.
But Mr Obama believes a $2 trillion debt deal is possible if all sides bend a little, a Democratic official familiar with the White House talks said.
"The president made clear that a big deal remains his strong preference,'' the official said. The official said a deal of approximately $2 trillion would be possible if all sides were "willing to give a little.''
Obama will hold a news conference at 11am ET (4pm BST) on Friday and may call back lawmakers for weekend talks if he does not hear from them within 24 to 36 hours about a "plan of action'' to get to a debt ceiling deal, the official said.
The US must raise its $14.3tn (£8.9tn) debt ceiling to borrow beyond 2 August.
Afghanistan's first female military pilots arrive in US for training
www.telegraph.co.uk
Sourya Saleh and three fellow Afghan women, the first of their gender to qualify as pilots in the Afghan Army, may help change attitudes about women in their conservative Muslim homeland.
"We are going to open the door for other ladies in Afghanistan," the Afghan Army Second Lieutenant told reporters at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. "It is a big deal for us, to open this door for others. Other ladies who feel that they can't do it, we want to show them."
They will first study English at the Defense Language Institute at Lackland.
Dozens of male Afghan pilots have gone through similar training in the United States.
After six to eight months of language study, they will travel to Fort Rucker in Alabama for helicopter pilot training in the U.S. Army "Thunder Lab" program. "What a great day this is," said Col. Eric Axelbank, Commander of the 37th Training Wing, which oversees U.S. Air Force basic training at Lackland.
"This is a huge step, having female officers who will become pilots in a traditionally male dominated field."
Since the austere Taliban government was toppled by US-backed Afghan forces in 2001, women in Afghanistan have won back basic rights in education, voting and work, which the militant group considered un-Islamic.
But they face an uncertain future as Afghan and foreign leaders have embraced the idea of seeking a negotiated end to ten years of war, through talks with the Taliban. Some analysts warn that could mean a step back for women's rights.
The women pilots will among about 1,200 students at the Institute, where students from around the world learn English – the global vernacular of aviation.
Axelbank said the Afghan women will undergo the same course of study in the United States as have male Afghan pilots, along with thousands of other military personnel who have trained at Lackland over the decades.
"This is a stepping stone in the development of the Afghan military," said Col. Howard Jones III, head of the institute.
In Texas, the women will not only learn English, but also US military history and American culture.
Axelbank said 'gender integration' was a key part of the role that the women will play when they return to Afghanistan.
In addition to training pilots, the women will return to Afghanistan where they will meet men who will "for the first time find a woman who is not a relative in the role of an authority figure in their lives."
Second Lieutenant Masooma Hussani said she just wanted to get her hands on the controls of a military helicopter to fulfil a lifelong dream of being a pilot, and to show that she was capable of the job.
"I want to do it, and I want to show that I can do it," said Hussani, of Bamyan province in central Afghanistan. "It used to be that the women of Afghanistan couldn't do anything."
She said when she joined the Army, her parents were proud.
"They said I was as brave as a man," she said.
Sourya Saleh and three fellow Afghan women, the first of their gender to qualify as pilots in the Afghan Army, may help change attitudes about women in their conservative Muslim homeland.
"We are going to open the door for other ladies in Afghanistan," the Afghan Army Second Lieutenant told reporters at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. "It is a big deal for us, to open this door for others. Other ladies who feel that they can't do it, we want to show them."
They will first study English at the Defense Language Institute at Lackland.
Dozens of male Afghan pilots have gone through similar training in the United States.
After six to eight months of language study, they will travel to Fort Rucker in Alabama for helicopter pilot training in the U.S. Army "Thunder Lab" program. "What a great day this is," said Col. Eric Axelbank, Commander of the 37th Training Wing, which oversees U.S. Air Force basic training at Lackland.
"This is a huge step, having female officers who will become pilots in a traditionally male dominated field."
Since the austere Taliban government was toppled by US-backed Afghan forces in 2001, women in Afghanistan have won back basic rights in education, voting and work, which the militant group considered un-Islamic.
But they face an uncertain future as Afghan and foreign leaders have embraced the idea of seeking a negotiated end to ten years of war, through talks with the Taliban. Some analysts warn that could mean a step back for women's rights.
The women pilots will among about 1,200 students at the Institute, where students from around the world learn English – the global vernacular of aviation.
Axelbank said the Afghan women will undergo the same course of study in the United States as have male Afghan pilots, along with thousands of other military personnel who have trained at Lackland over the decades.
"This is a stepping stone in the development of the Afghan military," said Col. Howard Jones III, head of the institute.
In Texas, the women will not only learn English, but also US military history and American culture.
Axelbank said 'gender integration' was a key part of the role that the women will play when they return to Afghanistan.
In addition to training pilots, the women will return to Afghanistan where they will meet men who will "for the first time find a woman who is not a relative in the role of an authority figure in their lives."
Second Lieutenant Masooma Hussani said she just wanted to get her hands on the controls of a military helicopter to fulfil a lifelong dream of being a pilot, and to show that she was capable of the job.
"I want to do it, and I want to show that I can do it," said Hussani, of Bamyan province in central Afghanistan. "It used to be that the women of Afghanistan couldn't do anything."
She said when she joined the Army, her parents were proud.
"They said I was as brave as a man," she said.
As U.S. wars wind down, drones gain new prominence
In many ways, it's the perfect weapon for a war-weary nation that suddenly finds itself on a tight budget.
Missile-armed drones are playing a greater role than ever in U.S. counter-terror operations, as President Barack Obama winds down land wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Washington's focus expands to militant havens such as Somalia and Yemen where there are no U.S. troops permanently on the ground.
The CIA now operates Predator and Reaper unmanned aircraft, armed with Hellfire missiles, over at least five countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya.
The agency does not publicly acknowledge the program. The U.S. military uses drones, primarily for surveillance, in Iraq and elsewhere.
And there's every likelihood the use of drones to attack suspected anti-U.S. militants will spread further, current and former U.S. officials told Reuters.
"The CIA's role could very well expand over the coming years as the government deals with emerging terrorist threats," said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In the latest strikes, at least 48 militants were reported killed in drone attacks Monday and Tuesday in Pakistan's tribal regions.
That brought to about 260 the number of drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004, including nearly 50 this year, according to a tally kept by the New America Foundation think tank.
By far most of those drone strikes, more than 225, came after July 2008, when the United States decided on a more aggressive and unilateral pursuit of militants in Pakistan, a U.S. official said.
Analysts and former U.S. intelligence officials generally approve of the increasing reliance on drones, but warn they are not without drawbacks. Those include civilian casualties, resentment of America's warfare-from-a-distance in Pakistan and elsewhere -- and the likelihood the technology will be turned against the United States some day, they said.
"We currently have a monopoly, or effective monopoly, on armed drones," said John Nagl, a retired U.S. Army officer and president of the Center for a New American Security think tank. "This technology will spread, and it will be used against us in years to come."
COUNTER-INSURGENCY ON THE WANE?
The use of drones -- remotely piloted aircraft -- against militants began in the years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, was ramped up in President George W. Bush's final year in office and has been embraced enthusiastically by Obama.
"When threatened, we must respond with force -- but when that force can be targeted, we need not deploy large land armies overseas," Obama declared in a June 22 speech announcing a faster-than-expected withdrawal of the troops he surged into Afghanistan last year.
Obama's speech appeared to signal the end of the era of large-scale counter-insurgency campaigns, championed by a cadre of officers that included Nagl, involving tens of thousands of U.S. and allied troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The troops did more than fight. They protected civilian populations, built schools and roads, trained armies and police forces.
The White House's new counter-terrorism strategy emphasizes a lighter footprint, as advocated by Vice President Joe Biden. Combat brigades are being replaced by Special Forces strike teams, capture-and-interrogate operations -- and drones.
A senior U.S. official said Obama has made no "strategic shift" to favor using drone strikes.
"There are probably some times when they are the most appropriate tool given the nature of the target you may be going after, and there are other times when they won't be," said the official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name.
Indeed, Obama rejected an option for a drone strike to kill al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in early May, sending in a Navy SEAL team instead. In April, he authorized yet another approach, capturing a leader of the Somali militant group al Shabaab, Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, at sea and interrogating him for two months before transferring him to a U.S. prison.
Still, the official acknowledged that drones are an attractive option outside declared theaters of war, where "you want to be even more discriminating and more careful in your application" of deadly force.
That, analysts say, is precisely where the militant threat is moving, as al Qaeda's core group declines relative to affiliates like al Shabaab and Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
As the Iraq war winds down, more drones equipped for intelligence gathering and other purposes have been freed up, the senior official said. The overall U.S. drone arsenal has also increased. "It's something that in some ways is a natural evolution: as you have more assets to draw on, you tend to use them more," he said.
KILL OR CAPTURE
Paul Pillar, a Georgetown University professor and former top CIA analyst, said drones are a "more effective and better focused way" of using military force against militants.
"But ... we must bear in mind as we make each individual decision about a drone strike that the immediate positive results always have to be weighed against the potentially longer-term consequences, given how it's perceived and possible resentment," he said.
Former U.S. intelligence officials said one downside to drone strikes is the loss of potential intelligence from interrogating a suspect or finding telltale "pocket litter."
The senior U.S. official called that a false choice -- capture often isn't an option -- and also rejected criticism of civilian casualties. Drones, he said, are often more precise than other counter-terrorism weapons.
Innocent bystanders have frequently been killed in drone strikes, but such deaths appear to have dropped dramatically in recent years.
A source familiar with the program said about 30 noncombatants and 1,400 militants have been killed in Pakistan since Bush expanded drone use in July 2008. The New America Foundation analysis found the "non-militant fatality rate" dropped from about 20 percent in 2004 to 5 percent last year.
Nagl credited former defense secretary Robert Gates and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, former U.S. commander in Afghanistan, with pushing hard for better links between intelligence gathering and drone operators, resulting in more accurate strikes -- and fewer civilian casualties.
While counter-insurgency may be out of favor now, Nagl -- who emphasized that he did not back the 2003 Iraq invasion -- said the United States should not jettison those skills. "We may be done with counter-insurgency, but insurgency may not be done with us."
Both the Predator and Reaper drones are produced by the privately held General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., based in San Diego, California.
Bahraini poetess confirms torture
young Bahraini pro-democracy poetess just released from jail and placed under house arrest says she was mentally and physically tortured by male and female officers while in jail.
“They beat me [for] nine days, morning and afternoon and at night… they beat me a lot, a lot, a lot. More than one person beat me at the same time, man and woman,” said Ayat al-Qurmezi in an exclusive phone interview with Press TV on Friday.
Recounting her bitter experience while jailed by the Saudi-backed Bahraini regime, Qurmezi, hailed as 'freedom poet,' told Press TV that her interrogator and prison guards did not allow her to use a bathroom and used very offensive and derogatory language against herself and her parents.
She confirmed that her jailers also threatened to kill her and to hurt her family, adding that she was forced to make confessions, as the only way for “the king to forgive me” and to be saved from the beatings, verbal abuse and other forms of torture.
Qurmezi, however, stated that despite repeated threats by Bahraini authorities that she would be returned to jail if she speaks to any media outlets, she was not afraid and would continue to speak the words of the Bahraini people.
Al-Qurmezi was arrested on March 30 for reciting anti-government poetry in the capital of Manama's Pearl Square.
She was then charged with incitement and insulting members of the royal family and handed a one-year jail term.
On Thursday, the 20-year-old said she had faced house arrest in exchange for freedom, but vowed to continue her freedom-seeking campaign.
“And I won't be afraid because of a paper I signed,” Qurmezi said, referring to a pledge she had signed not to violate the terms of her arrest, join protests and speak to the media.
Further, her family says she was forced by her jailors to clean filthy lavatories with her bare hands.
In a popular uprising, tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters have been holding peaceful anti-regime rallies throughout the country since February, demanding an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa family.
The royals have governed the oil-rich Persian Gulf island for over 40 years with major backing from the United States, Britain and the neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Scores of people have been killed and many more arrested and tortured in prisons as part of the clampdown in the country -- a longtime US ally and home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.
“They beat me [for] nine days, morning and afternoon and at night… they beat me a lot, a lot, a lot. More than one person beat me at the same time, man and woman,” said Ayat al-Qurmezi in an exclusive phone interview with Press TV on Friday.
Recounting her bitter experience while jailed by the Saudi-backed Bahraini regime, Qurmezi, hailed as 'freedom poet,' told Press TV that her interrogator and prison guards did not allow her to use a bathroom and used very offensive and derogatory language against herself and her parents.
She confirmed that her jailers also threatened to kill her and to hurt her family, adding that she was forced to make confessions, as the only way for “the king to forgive me” and to be saved from the beatings, verbal abuse and other forms of torture.
Qurmezi, however, stated that despite repeated threats by Bahraini authorities that she would be returned to jail if she speaks to any media outlets, she was not afraid and would continue to speak the words of the Bahraini people.
Al-Qurmezi was arrested on March 30 for reciting anti-government poetry in the capital of Manama's Pearl Square.
She was then charged with incitement and insulting members of the royal family and handed a one-year jail term.
On Thursday, the 20-year-old said she had faced house arrest in exchange for freedom, but vowed to continue her freedom-seeking campaign.
“And I won't be afraid because of a paper I signed,” Qurmezi said, referring to a pledge she had signed not to violate the terms of her arrest, join protests and speak to the media.
Further, her family says she was forced by her jailors to clean filthy lavatories with her bare hands.
In a popular uprising, tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters have been holding peaceful anti-regime rallies throughout the country since February, demanding an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa family.
The royals have governed the oil-rich Persian Gulf island for over 40 years with major backing from the United States, Britain and the neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Scores of people have been killed and many more arrested and tortured in prisons as part of the clampdown in the country -- a longtime US ally and home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Afghan civilian war deaths hit record level: U.N. report
The first half of this year was the deadliest six months for civilians in Afghanistan since the decade-old war began, the country's U.N. mission said on Thursday.
Civilian deaths hit a record high, up 15 percent compared to the first half of 2010, due to roadside and suicide bombings, increased ground fighting and more deaths from air strikes.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said 1,462 civilians had been killed in conflict-related incidents. It blamed insurgents for 80 percent of those deaths -- up nearly a third on the same period last year.
"The rising tide of violence and bloodshed in the first half of 2011 brought injury and death to Afghan civilians at levels without recorded precedent in the current armed conflict," the report said, adding that plans to hand over security in parts of the country helped fuel the rise in casualties.
"Violence rose as (insurgents) sought to demonstrate that Afghan security forces could not manage security on their own."
Staffan de Mistura, special representative in Afghanistan for the U.N. Secretary-General, told a news conference the U.N. mission had been in contact with the Taliban to ask them to reduce the number of civilian deaths. He declined to comment on their response to the U.N.'s request.
Pro-government forces, including the Afghan police and army and NATO-led troops were responsible for 14 percent of civilian deaths, a drop of 9 percent. But air strikes, one of the most controversial tactics in the war, killed more people.
The mid-year report found that air strikes carried out by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were the leading cause of civilian deaths by pro-government forces, so far killing 79 civilians in 2011, up 14 percent.
Apache attack helicopters played a much more prominent role, mainly in the east and southeast of the country, said Georgette Gagnon, director of human rights at the U.N. mission.
A third of civilian deaths attributed to air strikes in 2010 were caused by those aircraft, while in the first half of 2011 they were responsible for 56 percent of air strike deaths.
ISAF said a tactical directive and guidance issued by General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, in May had helped reinforce to troops the importance of reducing civilian casualties.
"The marked reduction in ISAF-caused civilian casualties since then shows true progress," said an ISAF spokeswoman.
"IMPOSSIBLE DILEMMA"
The United Nations warned the full picture of civilian deaths could be even worse, as the report did not include data from the northern region of Afghanistan between March and June, because the U.N. office was shut after it was overrun by a mob that killed seven U.N. staff.
The Taliban were not immediately able to comment on the report.
While the number of insurgent suicide attacks in Afghanistan was largely unchanged, the number of civilians they killed soared by half, the largest increase in deaths from any tactic.
Insurgents who have been squeezed in some of their traditional heartlands have tried spectacular urban attacks to underline their reach as NATO troops race to prepare Afghan forces for a security handover which begins this year.
"Suicide attacks in 2011 have become more complex, often using multiple bombers in spectacular attacks that kill many Afghan civilians," found the report.
Eight Afghan civilians and one foreigner were killed last month in an assault on Kabul's Intercontinental hotel, just days after a suicide car bomber killed at least 20 people at a hospital in remote east Afghanistan.
There were 190 targeted killings, compared to 181 in the same period of 2010. Ground combat caused more than 304 deaths, up more than a third, with 188 of those deaths attributed to insurgents, 66 to pro-government forces and 50 to crossfire.
Controversial night raids by the U.S. military, which Afghan President Hamid Karzai has criticized as inciting people to join the Taliban-led insurgency, fell slightly in the first half of 2011, accounting for 2 percent of all civilian deaths.
The U.N. mission in Afghanistan also said it was concerned by the increasing use of children in the decade-long war, particularly after recording the youngest suicide bomber -- a 12-year-old who killed three civilians and injured 12 on May 1.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Saudi women challenge ban on driving
The Charter for Human Rights was adopted and proclaimed by United Nations in 1949, where equal rights were granted to every individual.
Many Muslim countries are signatory to that document. Unfortunately, a country like Saudi Arabia is violating Human Rights.
Though Saudis are known as rich producers of oil and for their remarkable developmental projects in the fields of science, technology, health and education, they failed in providing equal rights to every citizen.
Saudi Arabia is not taking human rights, particularly women rights seriously. Recently, a few women were arrested in Saudi Arabia as they were caught driving. Women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia.
This is a case of gender discrimination.
According to the law of nature, no one can restrict any one, as every human being has a right to express her/his views.
The women did not commit any heinous crime; they tried to do what they wanted to. If Muslim women could ride on camels 14 centuries ago, why can’t they drive a car in today’s world?
The Kingdom has contributed a lot to the world, but violating women rights has perplexed world leaders.
The law has been challenged a number of times in the past but in vain. Saudi law does not forbid women from driving, but there are some scholars who oppose women to drive.
Women in other Muslim countries are driving freely. They also work side by side with men. Saudi women today are educated and they want to live an independent life.
Women are equally contributing to the field of science, technology, education, medicine, etc. They are using Internet and are computer literate.
They are also raising their voice and are leading the world. We must respect them and their unheard voices must be supported by educated people all over the world.
Many Muslim countries are signatory to that document. Unfortunately, a country like Saudi Arabia is violating Human Rights.
Though Saudis are known as rich producers of oil and for their remarkable developmental projects in the fields of science, technology, health and education, they failed in providing equal rights to every citizen.
Saudi Arabia is not taking human rights, particularly women rights seriously. Recently, a few women were arrested in Saudi Arabia as they were caught driving. Women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia.
This is a case of gender discrimination.
According to the law of nature, no one can restrict any one, as every human being has a right to express her/his views.
The women did not commit any heinous crime; they tried to do what they wanted to. If Muslim women could ride on camels 14 centuries ago, why can’t they drive a car in today’s world?
The Kingdom has contributed a lot to the world, but violating women rights has perplexed world leaders.
The law has been challenged a number of times in the past but in vain. Saudi law does not forbid women from driving, but there are some scholars who oppose women to drive.
Women in other Muslim countries are driving freely. They also work side by side with men. Saudi women today are educated and they want to live an independent life.
Women are equally contributing to the field of science, technology, education, medicine, etc. They are using Internet and are computer literate.
They are also raising their voice and are leading the world. We must respect them and their unheard voices must be supported by educated people all over the world.
France promises 1 million Euros to aid FATA health sector
France committed on Tuesday one million Euros towards health components of FATA Development Programme.
An agreement, among the FATA Secretariat, French Development Agency (AFD) and German Cooperation for Development (GIZ), was signed at the Governor’s House where Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masood Kausar, German Ambassador Dr Michael Koch and French envoy Daniel Jouanneau attended the ceremony, according to official communiqué.
Under the agreement, the AFD will contribute one million Euros towards the health component of FATA Development Programme in the Human Resource Management and Quality Improvement Initiatives in the FATA health sector. While the GIZ, under a previously signed agreement, has been spending 6.6 million Euros in the first phase of its development programme for FATA and the AFD component of the agreement will be in support of the GIZ initiated programme.
An agreement, among the FATA Secretariat, French Development Agency (AFD) and German Cooperation for Development (GIZ), was signed at the Governor’s House where Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masood Kausar, German Ambassador Dr Michael Koch and French envoy Daniel Jouanneau attended the ceremony, according to official communiqué.
Under the agreement, the AFD will contribute one million Euros towards the health component of FATA Development Programme in the Human Resource Management and Quality Improvement Initiatives in the FATA health sector. While the GIZ, under a previously signed agreement, has been spending 6.6 million Euros in the first phase of its development programme for FATA and the AFD component of the agreement will be in support of the GIZ initiated programme.
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