Pakistan: What Next After the Judicial Coup, My Lord?

D Suba Chandran Director, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies email: subachandran@gmail.com

While everyone was expecting that there would be a compromise between the judiciary and the legislature in the contempt case against Yusuf Gilani, the Supreme Court disqualified the Prime Minister. Though the parliament and the President have accepted the verdict, the problem has just begun and is likely to take different forms and raise multiple questions. What is the judiciary likely to do next? Will this tussle between the judiciary, legislature and executive help Pakistan build its institutions and maintain the democratic form of government? Many within Pakistan, including the critics of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the supporters of judicial activism of the Supreme Court, consider that the higher judiciary has gone overboard by disqualifying Gilani. The civil society seems to be deeply divided over the issue; a section supports the judiciary, while another section, though not supporters of the PPP, oppose the extreme form of judicial assertion. There is also a third section, which is pro-PPP and considers that the judiciary is pursuing a political vendetta against the party, and in particular against President Zardari for delaying the restoration of the judiciary in 2008. Is the Judiciary playing to a gallery? Undoubtedly, PPP is not the darling of the people in Pakistan. People love to hate Zardari and he has become the scapegoat for everything that has gone wrong with the country. The military have silently taken a back seat allowing the PPP-led government to take all the blame – from a failing economy to the reopening of the NATO supply lines. Unfortunately for the PPP, there is no single success story for them, either on the domestic front or in its external relations. Perhaps, the only success for the government has been the length of its tenure. The judiciary, in addition to its popular appeal, also has the support of a majority within the media. While, the print media is relatively moderate, the electronic and social media have gone overboard in presenting one side of the story. The judiciary in many developing societies, including Pakistan, has become assertive whenever there is a weak government. The judiciary in Pakistan is not only aware that the government is weak and unlikely to get confrontational, but is also aware of its popular support base, especially for its Chief Justice. Would the judiciary have remained this assertive had the ruling party commanded absolute majority? Would it have a delivered a similar judgment against Nawaz Sharif had he been the Prime Minister? Zardari has avoided a confrontational course until now, and is unlikely to pursue such a strategy. So, the judiciary is likely to continue its assertion and remain even more active. Can an activist judiciary directly govern Pakistan? This is a larger question that both the judiciary and those who support its activism have to ponder. In any democratic society, where the constitution is supreme, the three primary institutions – legislature, executive and judiciary - have well defined functions and responsibilities. There is not only separation of powers, but also checks and balances. Undoubtedly in Pakistan, both the legislature and the executive have failed to perform their duties. Now the question arises as to whether the judiciary can intervene and take the role of other institutions because they have failed to discharge their responsibilities. Two more questions arise: Is the judiciary capable of governing and administering Pakistan? And in a democratic set up is it desirable? Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the most efficient of them all? A serious introspection of the entire judicial machinery is also imperative. Many within the legal fraternity would agree that the lower judiciary is extremely corrupt and inefficient. The level of pending cases and the judgments in the last six decades would attest this fact. The social system in Pakistan has begun to favour feudalism and the Taliban-style justice because the mainstream judicial system has failed to deliver. If people of Swat and Malakand demanded the imposition of Sharia, the primary reason was not that they were in love with a religious system, but because the mainstream legal system is corrupt, slow and inefficient. Justice in many parts of Pakistan is not only delayed, but also denied. In fact, Pakistan would not have reached this position had the judiciary, from the lower level to the Supreme Court, discharged its duties justly and efficiently. Advantage judiciary Given the fact that Pakistan needs accountability, what is happening presently is not essentially a bad development. This should have, in fact, happened in the late 1970s, if not during mid-1950s. The judiciary should have stood up against Zia and declared his military coup to be unconstitutional. Similar measures should have been taken against Musharraf as well in 1999. Having started late, will the judiciary now ensure that all the political institutions remain intact and the larger good of the society is not compromised? Judicial activism should help improve the process of governance, and not pit one institution against the other. After using the doctrine of necessity against the military rulers, the same yardstick should perhaps be used vis-à-vis the political leadership as well.

Afghan bazaar bomb kills Eid shoppers

A bomb exploded Saturday in a bazaar in western Afghanistan crowded with people shopping to celebrate the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, killing four civilians, an official said. A dozen other people were wounded by the bomb which was placed under a bridge in Shindand district of Herat province, provincial spokesman Mohiuddin Noori told AFP. It came after a bicycle bomb Wednesday wounded at least 14 people at a busy market in Herat city, the capital of the province. "This morning a bomb placed under a bridge in a bazaar exploded and killed four civilians and wounded 12 including three police", the spokesman told AFP, adding an investigation was under way. Abdul Rahouf Ahmadi, a spokesman for security forces in western Afghanistan, confirmed the casualties and blamed "enemies of Afghanistan", a term used by officials to refer to Taliban insurgents fighting foreign forces in the country. A recent United Nations report found the number of Afghan civilian casualties had fallen by 15 percent in the first half of 2012. However, the country has recently been witnessing an increase in attacks on civilians. On Tuesday, a series of suicide and bomb attacks killed up to 50 people across the war-torn country. The bloodshed came as the nation prepared to celebrate the end Ramadan, with many of the victims shopping in bazaars for Eid celebrations.

Pakistan: Sectarian scourge

Thursday morning’s brutal sectarian massacre of 22 passengers travelling through the Babusar Top area of Mansehra district was a bloody iteration of a chilling pattern of attacks against religious minorities, including members of Muslim minority sects. In the early hours of the morning, terrorists ambushed four buses, hauled off passengers, checked their national identity cards and summarily executed the Shias. A spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the killings. While there was legitimate outrage across the country over Thursday’s Kamra airbase attack and the subsequent loss of lives and damage to national assets, the slaughter of innocent civilians belonging to the Shia community was not met with quite the same amount of indignation. In fact, if the past is a benchmark, the 22 victims of Babusar Top will have died as insignificantly as they had lived, with no one held responsible or answerable for their deaths. In a state where the concept of national security does not yet incorporate the crucial element of human security, the symbols of state authority seem to matter more than the citizens whose protection and well-being constitutes the very raison d’être of the state. Thus, while the airbase attack unleashed a debate about the militants’ determination to target Pakistan’s most sensitive installations and raised questions about their safety, the more elemental questions were lost in the cacophony: are Pakistan’s citizens safe? Can Pakistan protect its minorities? Is any part of Pakistan free from the scourge of sectarian terror? As things stand, this is the third attack this year that has specifically targeted Shias on buses. Meanwhile, Hazara Shias are routinely murdered in Balochistan, including the three more killed on Thursday, while sectarian violence has become a regular feature of life in Mansehra District, Kurram Agency, Dera Ismail Khan as well as south and central Punjab. The country’s financial hub of Karachi too has witnessed more than its fair share of sectarian attacks in recent days, with a blast near a bus carrying Shias to a rally on Friday killing at least one. The thick sectarian tide in the overall wave of militancy sweeping Pakistan can be explained by the fact that sectarian groups here have linked up ideologically with global jihadism. Overtly sectarian and jihadi elements are also increasingly seen occupying the same stage as mainstream religious parties. Meanwhile, those behind repeated acts of violence - such as the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi - are rarely caught or punished. Indeed, killing minorities in Pakistan seems to have become fair game while those responsible for securing citizens remain helpless, leaving minority communities to believe the security establishment is protecting the perpetrators. The mysterious escape of the local head of the LeJ, Usman Saifullah, and a key leader, Shafiq Rind, from a very well guarded Anti-Terrorist Force jail in Quetta Cantonment, is a case in point. A deadly pattern is emerging: terrorists are on a murderous rampage against Pakistan’s minority sects while the authorities have failed to prove themselves capable of taking them on. Virtually all terrorist outfits operating in Pakistan have donned the religious cloak. It is this criminal abuse of religion that the state must check against. And yet, the state is doing nothing to identify, capture, prosecute and punish those involved in sectarian terrorism. Thus, the scandal here is not just that Shia after Shia is being killed; it is that the state has become a silent onlooker in the massacre. Flaccid behaviour is too often empowering for a cunning enemy. Today, this logic is creating a dangerous moment in Pakistan where those on a killing spree are asserting themselves for little reason beyond the conviction that they can, while those who can stop them do nothing. In Pakistan, the triumph of evil may have become more and more possible under a silent, impotent state emasculated by religious extremists.

Pak preparing for military push in north Waziristan?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Preparations for a military push against militants in North Waziristan appeared to be underway, as a top US army commander held talks with Pakistani military officials on better cooperation along the border with Afghanistan. Residents of the lawless Waziristan tribal region said they had noticed "abnormal movement of military convoys in the area" and this had caused fears of another showdown between the army and tribal militants affiliated with al-Qaida , The Express Tribune reported. The top military leadership cancelled holidays for the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr for troops deployed in the region and directed them to stay alert, the report said. The preparations for a possible campaign against militants emerged as general James Mattis, commander of the US Central Command, held talks in Islamabad on Thursday with Pakistan army chief general Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani. Officials were quoted by the Tribune as saying that Mattis and Kayani would discuss how to eliminate their "common enemy" — Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud . A statement issued by the US embassy said the two commanders had discussed common security issues, including steps to improve cross-border cooperation. Surveillance craft hit in base attack ASaab-2000 airborne early warning aircraft of the Pakistan air force was damaged during the terrorist attack on Kamra airbase, defence minister Naveed Qamar has said. The nose of the aircraft was damaged terrorists stormed the airbase in Punjab province. 2 killed in fresh attack on Shias Two persons were killed and 19 others injured in a gun and bomb attack on a group of Shia students in the port city of Karachi on Friday, a day after 25 community members were pulled out of three buses and shot dead by masked gunmen in Pakistan's northwest.

Bahraini teenager killed in clash with police

A 16-year-old protester died after what opposition activists in Bahrain said was a "brutal attack" by security forces, but the Bahrain government described as a defensive response to a petrol bomb attack on police. Opposition parties in Bahrain say more than 45 people have been killed in protests since June 2011, when the government lifted the martial law it imposed to help quash pro-democracy demonstrations by its Shi'ite Muslim majority inspired by revolts against repressive dynasties across the Arab world. The interior ministry says protesters have injured more than 700 police officers in clashes and that the police, who do not use live fire, are practising restraint. The protester's death after the protest on Friday night came as the United States, an ally of Manama, expressed concern over Bahrain's jailing of a prominent opposition activist, Nabeel Rajab, for three years. The government identified the dead youth as 16-year-old Hussam al-Haddad, and said he had been among protesters throwing petrol bombs at police and had died after being taken to hospital. The opposition Bahrain Centre for Human Rights said witnesses had seen the security forces firing gunshot pellets at Haddad before men in plainclothes kicked him repeatedly as he lay on the ground while police stood by. The main opposition Wefaq movement said in a statement in Arabic that Haddad had been "martyred after being brutally attacked". The government said police were acting in self defense. "Terrorists launched petrol bombs at close range, forcing the police to take the necessary actions to defend themselves and innocent bystanders from the potentially lethal attack," the government Information Affairs Authority said in an emailed statement in English. "Despite warning shots by the police the attack continued; so security personnel dealt with the case according to its legal authority," it added, citing the police chief of Muharraq district where the incident took place. Rights groups have accused the government of firing teargas canisters at close range and into confined spaces as a weapon instead of using the gas solely to disperse protests, something the government has denied. Bahrain's Shi'ites say they have been marginalized in the tiny island kingdom's political and economic life, but the Sunni-led government denies this. The ruling family has rejected the main opposition demand for an elected parliament with full powers to pass laws and form governments, but has carried out reforms to increase parliamentary scrutiny over ministers and has said it will reform the police. The U.S. Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain, on the west of the Gulf, a transshipment route for 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil exports and bordered to the north by Iran. On Friday the U.S. State Department said it was "deeply concerned" at the jailing of Rajab, a prominent opposition leader, on charges of leading illegal gatherings. "We have repeatedly urged the government of Bahrain to take steps to build confidence across Bahraini society, and to begin a meaningful dialogue with the political opposition and civil society. Excessive punishment for peaceful expression... will not contribute to those efforts," it said in a statement.

Kamra attackers trained in Waziristan

The terrorists who attacked a key Pakistan Air Force base had been trained in the Waziristan tribal region where plans for the raid could be traced, interior minister Rehman Malik has said. Four of the nine terrorists involved in Thursday's attack on Kamra airbase in Punjab province had been identified, Malik said during an interaction with the media on Friday as he described the North and South Waziristan as a hotbed for criminals. He claimed the attack had been foiled and all the terrorists were killed because of an advance warning about a possible attack on PAF installations. The attackers had been trained in Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan and the raid "could be traced back to North and South Waziristan", he said. The Taliban were harbouring criminals from all over the country and there is a need to trace the mastermind who sent the terrorists to Kamra, he added. His hard comments about terrorists harbouring in Waziristan come as speculation mounted here about a military offensive in the offing in the region. Nine terrorists and two PAF personnel were killed during the attack. A rocket-propelled grenade fired by the attackers damaged a Saab-2000 surveillance aircraft. The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out to avenge the killing of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud and Osama bin Laden. Answering a question from reporters, Malik said no decision had been taken as yet about launching an operation against militants in North Waziristan. Such a decision will not be taken under foreign pressure, he said.

Afghan militants storm Kalash Valley, steal herd of goats

The Express Tribune News Network.

Dozens of Afghan militants crossed into the Kalash Valley of Chitral on Friday, made off with a herd of goats and kidnapped a shepherd. According to an official of the Chitral Scouts, the militants came from the Nuristan province of Afghanistan. The official had rushed to the site and chased the militants up to the border following the incursion. The official said that the militants attacked the Dobazha pastures in the morning and took away around 700 goats with them. “They also kidnapped a shepherd identified as Abd Khun, a resident of Kara Kaarh area of Bamboret in Kalash, for showing resistance,” the official said. He added that before the arrival of the scouts, the residents of the area also followed the militants in efforts to release the herds and the shepherd, but the residents said that the militants had crossed the border immediately and had also killed at least 20 goats. The residents expressed concern over the continuous border incursions of militants into the Garmai pastures of Bamboret, the stealing of their herds and kidnappings of shepherds. They demanded the security forces in Chitral to stop living in plains and move into their check posts in the mountains to guard the borders. According to a local, the armed residents of Bamboret who chased after the militants had crossed the border into Afghanistan and had successfully taken back their goats and the shepherds. Pakistani security officials say that militants from banned outfits, who have found a safe haven in Afghanistan, have sporadically carried out attacks on the security forces in Pakistan. Pakistani government officials have repeatedly urged the Afghan government to stop the cross border attacks and take action against the militant factions who are constantly targeting security forces and civilians, but the Afghan government denied the incursions and instead blamed Pakistan for violating its border. Both the countries claim that they would work on these issues and would put pressure on the enemy that operates along the border to put an end to the incursions.

Zardari calls to frame law to prevent forced conversion

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the Sindh government to frame a draft law to amend the Constitution to prevent the forced conversion of minority communities in the southern province. During a meeting held in Karachi on Thursday, Zardari directed Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah to form a committee under provincial law minister Ayaz Soomro to prepare the draft law to amend the constitution. Elected representatives and leaders of the Hindu Panchayat will be included in the committee, The Express Tribune quoted its sources as saying. The President made the decision after he was briefed about the concerns of Hindus by his sister Faryal Talpur, a lawmaker of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, and chief minister Shah. "The reports of the mass migration of Hindus to India are merely speculative but people of the Hindu community are insisting that a law is made against forced conversions," Shah was quoted as saying by the sources. Zardari directed Talpur and Shah to visit Jacobabad and meet representatives of the Hindu community before the draft law is framed. The President recently formed a committee of three parliamentarians headed by federal minister Maula Bux Chandio to meet the Hindu community across Sindh following reports of their mass migration to India due to forced conversions, kidnapping for ransom and extortion demands. A member of the Sindh cabinet familiar with the latest developments said: "If any case of conversion is reported without the consent of a girl and her parents, the (police station chiefs) would frame charges of kidnapping against the people involved."

Pakistanis stage protest against recent Shia killings

Pakistanis have gathered

outside the parliament building in the capital, Islamabad, to voice their anger at the targeted killings of Shia Muslims in various parts of the country. The demonstrators assembled in front of the country’s parliament on Friday following a march on the International Quds Day and called on Islamabad to take stronger action to stem the rising tide of violence against Shia Muslims. The protest came after gunmen dragged the Shia passengers off a bus in the northwestern district of Mansehra on Thursday and killed them at point blank range. Several others were injured during the attack. The victims were going from Rawalpindi to Gilgit -- a heavily-Shia-populated area. Meanwhile, on the same day, at least three more Shia Muslims were killed by armed men in the city of Quetta in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan. Following the attack, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the killing of Shia Muslims in northern Pakistan. In a released statement on Thursday, Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said the UN leader slammed the “appalling” attack. Also on Thursday, hundreds of Pakistani people took to the streets in the southern city of Karachi to slam the violence against Shia Muslims across the country.

Kohat tunnel closed to foreign travellers

Dawn.com

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has banned travel of foreigners from Peshawar to southern districts of the province and tribal and semi-tribal regions through Kohat tunnel. Besides, security at the tunnel has been beefed up and all those intending to travel through it must carry their computerised national identity cards. The standard operating procedure (SOP) in this regard was announced by Home and Tribal Affairs Department, Peshawar, on Friday. It stated that travel of foreigners from Peshawar to Kohat, Hangu, Karak and Bannu districts, and North and South Waziristan agencies through Kohat tunnel had been banned, as for this they would have to pass through the restive Darra Adamkhel, a Frontier Region (FR) of Kohat district, and onwards through Kohat tunnel. Similar restriction is also meant for all those Pakistani staff members working with any international or local NGO. The restraint is also applicable in case of other remaining five FRs i.e FR Peshawar, FR Bannu, FR Lakki, FR Tank and FR Dera Ismail Khan as well as the seven tribal agencies, including Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan. However, the people will have to obtain prior permission from the Home and Tribal Affairs Department so that necessary NOC and proper security arrangements could be made for them well in advance. Ban on travel through Kohat tunnel is in addition to the restriction already imposed for 10 districts for visiting foreign tourists, diplomats, foreign missions, expatriates and Pakistani staff members working in NGOs and INGOs with regard to entire seven districts forming Malakand Division, including Swat, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Shangla, Buner, Malakand and Chitral and three southern districts of Hangu, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan. The home department advisory clarified that all ambassadors/foreign missions/diplomats/embassies’ officials intending to visit the aforementioned specific areas were advised to route their written requests through the federal ministry of foreign affairs, Islamabad, so that it should reach the provincial government’s home department, Peshawar, a fortnight or at least 12 working days in advance, enabling it to process it and obtain security clearance from the quarters concerned and to make proper security/ protocol arrangements for the visiting foreigners/dignitaries. The government has asked the foreigners/expatriates and Pakistani staff working for NGOs/INGOs to route their written requests for visiting the abovementioned areas through their respective organisations. For visiting the rest of the districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, all categories of foreigners might forward their written requests to the home and tribal affairs department, Peshawar, at least five working days prior to their visits so that proper arrangements could be made for their visit. Meanwhile, to thwart any threat to strategic Kohat Friendship Tunnel two extra army units and sniffer dogs have been deployed there, turning it into a nuisance for a large number of people proceeding to their hometowns for celebrating Eid, sources told Dawn in Kohat on Friday. The National Highway Authority and security forces have also renewed their request to people to keep their identity cards and papers of vehicles with them for easy passage through the tunnel. The security forces have forbidden travel through the tunnel for those people who did not possess CNIC. The sources said that this time the authorities had also not opened the hilly track between Darra Adamkhel and Kohat to ease traffic at the tunnel. They said that the villages close to the hilly track on Darra Adamkhel side were still infested with militants, who could cause harm to passengers.

GILANI RETALIATES AGAINST SUPREME COURT VERDICT

The former Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani had strongly retaliated against the Supreme Court of Pakistan asking the Court not to sack another Prime Minister. Addressing a news conference, he said that the PPP would retaliate and protest against such a decision if repeated. The party reserved the right to mass agitation to mobilize public opinion against the judges what he said their biased opinion against the PPP and the Party Chief Asif Ali Zardari. The warning indicated that Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and other top PPP leaders will lead the anti-Supreme Court protests in all parts of Pakistan. He had complained that the sitting Supreme Court had taken up all the PPP specific cases on top priority basis ignored cases against other political leaders and parties and he cited the Air Marshal Asghar Khan Case in which ISI had distributed money among the politicians and parties to defeat the PPP in the 1991 elections by forming all alliance in the name of IJI. The former Prime Minister also suggested that the Executive Order of the Prime Minister reinstating the Judges should be referred back to the Parliament for approval as was the case of NRO. He was of the opinion that dispatching Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family to Jeddah on a charter plane from Attock Fort was also a NRO and the Supreme Court ignored the NRO that benefited the PML-N chief and his family. Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani suggested to the PPP to agitate and resist vigorously if the Supreme Court tries to remove another Prime Minister is removed. He advised the Prime Minister not to appear before the Supreme Court as he had committed a mistake to give honour to the Court. The Prime Minister enjoys complete immunity under Article 248(1) and there is no need to appear before the court. If the Supreme Court sends elected Chief Executives home there is no need of holding elections, Yusuf Raza Gilani told journalists at the news conference. He was of the opinion that the Supreme Court got a chance to reverse its decision while hearing the review petition filed by the Government. It can reverse the process of confrontation between the PPP or the Government and the Supreme Court. Similar opinion had been given by other PPP leaders, including Senator Abidi, Sharjeel Memon and other leaders from the Punjab Province criticizing the verdict and anti-PPP role of Supreme Court in politics. A former Chief of the International Crisis Management Cell and a former Judge of the Indian Supreme Court had leveled serious allegations against the Supreme Court claiming that it was highly politicized verdict and the Court had crossed all limits. We hope that both sides will observe restrain and avoid confrontation in the interest of political stability and continuation of the democratic process by avoiding strong stand against each other. PPP is the most popular political party of the people to this date and other parties had no match to its popularity, to say the least. There is a chance that the PPP may return to power if fresh elections are held as political opponents had failed to perform well. The Opposition parties are not playing their political cards well and they are yet to attract the attention of the common people from the remote corners of Pakistan. To us, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari is still the most powerful political personality in the country to this date if somebody likes it or not. He had already outwitted all his political opponents and most of them were clean bold. The decision makers should keep in this mind while planning action against the PPP, its Government or leaders. Zardari had managed to control the entire PPP and its militant cadre and the PPP workers will respond to the call from President Asif Ali Zardari. Or he may use Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani is the fit man for the fit job to agitate if it was decided to protest its point.

Pakistan: Shia killings on the rise

Thursday’s execution-style killing of Shia citizens in Mansehra district and the killing of Hazaras in Quetta were only the latest incidents in what is now a clear trend: targeting innocent members of the sect — not necessarily members of any political or religious organisation — and killing them for no reason other than their religious affiliation. The Mansehra attack had a particularly disturbing aspect to it, with passengers made to show their identity papers and those suspected of being Shia, on the basis of their names or tribal affiliations, being picked out and killed. Like other recent sectarian killings in Balochistan, Kohistan and Orakzai, the approach used resembled ethnic cleansing in its chilling focus on identifying and killing innocent citizens simply because of their membership to a particular community. And while the Hazara community under attack in Balochistan is relatively small and powerless, the same is not true of Shia communities elsewhere in the country. If not arrested, this trend could well spiral out of control, turning the issue into a much larger conflict. Meanwhile, where is the outrage from the security forces and politicians? We know these groups are willing to launch aggressive messaging campaigns when they wish to. Take, for example, the army’s response to Salala, the PML-N’s reaction to the government’s refusal to write the ‘Swiss letter’, the ruling party’s defensive posture on threats to democracy or the PTI’s campaign against drone strikes. And while it is unclear what judicial activism can achieve in such cases beyond raising their profile, where is the judiciary that otherwise takes suo moto notice of everything from the price of sugar to violence in Karachi? As each of these groups tries to focus on topics they think will boost their populist or nationalist credentials, the campaign to eradicate a minority community continues to receive less official attention than it should. Beyond the messaging failure, little appears to have been done to confront the physical danger. Providing security escorts to pilgrims’ buses and changing the routes Shia travellers take has not been enough. Whether combating the problem is a matter of improving intelligence-gathering to prevent attacks, pre-emptively going after the groups that are carrying them out, improving policing in vulnerable areas or other intelligence or security measures, further delays are inexcusable. The state needs to demonstrate what it is doing to combat this threat. If not, Pakistan may as well give up any pretence of being a state for anyone other than its majority religious community.

Pakistan: Upsurge of terrorism

Undoubtedly, a wave of gloom and heightened concerns pervades the country. What could be more disconcerting than to see Kamra airbase being attacked by terrorists saboteurs; learn of some two dozens bus passengers being ruthlessly gunned down in the shadow of Babusar Top while run-of-the mill targeted killings remain unabated during the last week of Ramazan. That the upsurge of deadly violence was coincidental to the holiest of all nights, Lailatul Qadr, there is reason to believe that forces long engaged in destabilising Pakistan have raised the ante as if going for the last push against this country. Of course, we were being kept informed of heightened incidence of terrorism but it's beyond one's comprehension and the authorities were fully prepared and appropriately geared to meet the challenge. But even then all this has happened, creating doubts about the government's capacity to effectively meet the challenge. The latest was the fourth strike on the Kamra aeronautical complex which also houses an airbase and this was not the first time innocent Shia travellers have been waylaid on their way to Gilgit and Skardu. But it appears that preparations to stall the threatened attacks fell short of the required strength and determination and terrorists could claim victory though not complete. Yes, at Kamra all the attackers were killed but they were there to get killed, as death is of no consequence to them. Enough of lessons have been learnt from such incidents; we have to go for action. And that action has to be not only on the battle front; it has to be on the tables of authorities that are tasked to ensure peace and tranquility in the country. The truth is that insofar as an effective response to counter terrorism is concerned the task is assigned to law enforcing outfits and intelligence agencies, as other organs of state and government departments by and large stay clear of any reasonability to fight-back the demons of terrorism. And even among the concerned agencies and departments the required liaison is missing - so much so that there are reports of them not sharing operational intelligence. If the top leadership is left only with issuance of letters of condemnation and condolences following the happenings the parliament too is marginally involved. In the instant case, there was forewarning of an impending terrorist activity in the area and yet the attack occurred. The terrorists launched themselves from the nearby village. It is therefore a security necessity that there should be a buffer-zone around such high security institutions and civilian population, be it an urban slum or a village. The country is beset with the heightened phase of terrorism for more than a decade now but the government has yet to come up with a comprehensive legislation to deal with this threat in an effective and meaningful manner. The terrorists are treated like criminals under the ordinary law; investigation often lack the right direction while prosecution suffer from serious faults and lacunae particularly in the absence of witnesses, who prefer to disappear quickly. So there are only a few convictions, and known terrorists return to their business much sooner than later. We know that the elite are more concerned with their future than of the country, and are expending their energies to return to same green meadows. But that is too myopic a thinking; with the country descending in the vortex of uncertainty and chaos, they too have no future. They are expected to moderate their political ambitions and give some time to Pakistan. Equally disappointing, however, is the role of country's religious leadership. The land and people who constitute Pakistan have never been absolutely free of sectarian tensions and off and on there have been sectarian clashes. But never were they so tense and bloody as now. They need to sit together and think of a way to get out these marshes infested with cannibal crocs. If, God forbid, this boat sinks everyone will get sucked down by suctions caused by the vessel going down. For the political and religious leaderships there are also some detectable signs to read and analyse to see if there is some external force that would benefit from a weakened and isolated Pakistan. Intriguingly enough, weirdly coincidental to the Kamra incident, the foreign media, particularly the Indian and the American, were rife with stories that the airbase housed nuclear arsenal that terrorist wanted to snatch. That these reports almost echoed US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta's similar concerns is an alarming development which underscores the need for a deeper investigation into this incident. Of course, the US government has promptly modified its perception and said it has no reason to believe that terrorists could access to Pakistan's nuclear weapons. Interestingly, such an assertion and a retraction has been made by American officials earlier also. Though the Foreign Office has rejected these reports and the PAF spokesman put paid to propagandists by saying no airbase in the country houses nuclear weapons the fact cannot be denied that efforts are afoot to question Pakistan's capacity and capability to keep its nuclear assets safe from falling into the wrong hands.

Pakistan: Response to terrorism

Editorial

The assault on the Pakistan Air Force Base Minhas in` Kamra may be a reminder that our security apparatus has serious flaws, but the quick and timely action taken by the base defenders prevented bigger damage. The counter-attack by the Quick Response teams of the base suggests they were on alert to deal with any untoward incident in the light of an intelligence report a few days before the attack. This is not the first attack on a sensitive military target. The attacks on GHQ (Rawalpindi) and PNS Mehran (Karachi) and three different attacks on Kamra since 2007 are a series of similar events. These provide conclusive evidence that the state is at war with the terrorists who wish to impose their narrow vision of religion on Pakistan through force of arms. It came as no surprise that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. After all they have openly declared war on the state. COAS General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani the other day sent a clear message of terror looming large over national security, implying the enemy is within. The statement of US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta expressing concern about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons in the wake of the Kamra attack may be part of long standing western worries that the arsenal could fall into the wrong hands. But the US State Department, through its spokesperson Victoria Nuland, came to Islamabad’s rescue and supported the foreign office’s contention that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is secure and under a proper command and control system. Panetta continues in his self-assumed role of ‘bad cop’, while State continues to pour oil on troubled waters in its avatar as the ‘good cop’ vis-à-vis Pakistan. Where the security forces seem to have learnt lessons from previous attacks and thwarted the assault on Minhas Airbase with minimum losses, the attack on buses in the Babusar Top area of Mansehra district, where 25 people were killed after being identified as Shias, shows that the law enforcers of the country are way behind the curve on terrorism generally, and sectarian terrorism in particular. Obviously a number of such incidents have occurred in the northern areas previously with an identical modus operandi, but after the usual fuss in the immediate aftermath of such tragedies, the authorities become lax over time and the buses revert to plying without any security arrangements. The terrorists meanwhile wait out the initial flurry of the security forces and as soon as they see that it is back to business as usual, launch their own unique ‘enterprise’. Time and again lack of coordination among the intelligence, law enforcement and security agencies has been discussed in the light of the need to set up an overarching body that would manage and oversee coordination and collaboration among different agencies, ranging from the armed forces to the civilian setup, and from the federal government to the provinces, to ensure a concerted national effort against the various types and forms of terrorism, ranging from those who are waging war on the state directly (e.g. the TTP) to those involved in an indirect assault on state and society through sectarian murder. A country that has been ravaged by militancy, terrorism and sectarian conflict cannot sit sanguine on the issue of security lapses and the legal loopholes that allow terrorists to wriggle through the judicial system and return as free persons to their nefarious activities. This is tantamount to a self-inflicted invitation to threats, violence and instability. We are sitting on a volcano, and the enemy we are faced with is difficult to squash because of its scattered nature, with no central command structure that may lend itself to concerted action. Most groups in the field of terrorism are small, largely operationally autonomous entities that bite like the flea and then vanish. All the more reason for a centralised intelligence and operational database under coordinated command if the challenge is to be met.`

US drone attack kills five in North Waziristan

The drone fired two missiles on a compound in Shuwedar village in North Waziristan. A US drone strike Saturday killed at least five suspected militants in a remote Pakistani tribal town near Afghanistan border, security officials said. The drone fired two missiles on a compound in Shuwedar village in the troubled North Waziristan region. "US drones fired two missiles into a militant compound. At least five militants were killed," a security official told AFP. Local intelligence officials confirmed the attack and casualties. The attack came as people in the deeply religious region celebrated the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, they said. Attacks by unmanned American aircraft are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, which says they violate its sovereignty and fan anti-US sentiment, but US officials are said to believe the attacks are too important to give up.

Where is Punjab govt’s security? 876 guards for Nawaz Family

Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), while condemning the acid attacks on nurses at Mayo Hospital, said that Punjab government’s security arrangements at public hospitals has been put to question in the light of this sad incident. PMA Central Joint Secretary Dr Shahid Malik, in a press statement, also added that the negligent attitude of the police and health department on the matter was unacceptable. PMA has demanded a high level enquiry probe in the matter and an immediate fix of the security lapse. PMA also demanded of the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to install walk-through gates at all emergency wards, provide metal detectors and ban the entry of the unrelated people inside the hospitals.

On the other hand Nawaz family has 876 security personnel to protect them

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Sharif Family, one of the most politically influence families in the country, and ministers of Punjab province have deputed 876 security personnel to protect their homes, offices and family members.

These security personnel giving round the clock security duty are from police and Elite Force. The cost of their salaries, vehicles and other expenses is millions of rupees annually to national wealth. “But the other scene in the province is hundred of incidents of roberies, terrorism and kidnappings are being held everyday making the law and order situation bad to worse,” security officials told.

Over 100 of security personnel are deputed only for the protection of head of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Sharif and his family. “They are basically responsible for protection of Nawaz Sharif, Captain Safdar, son in law of Nawaz, Mariam Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, Kulsoom Nawaz and kids of the family,” the sources revealed. “Any movement of these persons means consumption of official resources and such scenes are common in Raiwind, the area where house of Sharif family is situated,” they added. They say security guards for Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and his family inlcuding Hamza Shahbaz, Salman Shahbaz and Nusrat Shahbaz are in addition to guards of Nawaz family. “Deploying government personnel on personal protection is creating a VIP culture in the province,” the sources said. “To improve law and order situation in the province, it would be better for Sharif family to withdraw their guards or at least decrease the number to minimum.”

India and Pakistan mark 65 years of freedom

The republics of India and Pakistan were created in 1947 when the British Raj pulled out of the subcontinent. In what became the largest known population transfer in history, India was split along religious lines and an estimated 14 million Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs migrated across the newly formed borders. Both countries looked to the future with hopes that political stability and economic prosperity would lead to a stronger and more positive relationship. As they prepare to mark the 65th anniversary of their independence, Al Jazeera's Sohail Rahman looks at how the two nations have fared.

Pakistani judiciary and foreign media

Pakistan is going through a judicially hyperactive era, wherein the judiciary has proved to be the only active state institution. While it has its positive impacts, the honourable judiciary at the same time has created some negative impressions among the international analysts, who observe its decisions as a third party independent observer. And, perhaps, can provide a righteous opening as an independent onlooker of the events. After analysing several articles published in different foreign newspapers and journals, one can safely conclude that they consider the activism of Pakistani judiciary a political move. The Times of India, for instance, published an article, entitled Tussle between the judiciary and government in Pakistan, written by Omer Farooq Khan on July 12, 2012. He wrote: “Observers believe that the drama over the letter is part of a wider power struggle between the judiciary and executive. The government says that Chief Justice Chaudhry has dramatically expanded his judicial powers to persecute President Asif Zardari and oust his government. The Chief Justice insists that he is merely holding corrupt and inept politicians to account…….’If the current stalemate between the judiciary and government continues the military will be compelled to jump into the fray, but it would be difficult for the men in uniform to clear the mess’…….” Next, Umar Cheema, Associate Lecturer at the Australian National University College of Law, in his column posted on Al-Jazeera’s website on July 20, has opined: “The court’s decision was subsequently subjected to severe criticism in the international press as well as by Pakistan’s liberal intelligentsia in leading English language publications; the court’s action was portrayed as essentially anti-democratic and ‘political’ in nature. The international response to this action is understandable. Every event with political consequences is analysed solely in the light of likely impact on the ‘war on terror’ or the Nato involvement in Afghanistan. As such, any manner of instability in Pakistan is problematic…….It is Pakistan’s liberal intelligentsia that is asking the court to play politics in the narrow sense by deciding cases in accordance with calculations of likely impact on electoral processes, rather than on the basis of its established course.” The Saudi Gazette in its July 26 publication maintains: “The crisis has roiled Pakistan’s political system for months, distracting attention from what many Pakistanis believe are more pressing problems, such as the country’s ailing economy and fight against the Taliban.” In the same vein, The Guardian termed the disqualification of the former Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, as “judicial coup.” Justice Justice Markandey Katju has clarified that “if the Constitution collapses in Pakistan, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry will be responsible.” Certainly, there are many other international analysts, who hold the same opinion. So, it is time that the judiciary clarified its position. The Supreme Court has itself stated that “there is no holy cow in the country”, then why it has refused to give the details of the accounts of the judiciary on technical grounds that the funds for the judiciary comes from federal consolidated fund? Against this backdrop, it would have been more appropriate if the Supreme Court’s Registrar had come forward in order to secure its moral grounds. Secondly, in the Arslan Iftikhar cast when NAB’s joint investigation team called upon the Registrar, he refused to appear before it on the technical ground/pretext that he is an officer of Grade 22 and cannot obey the order of a lower graded officer. This was, indeed, unexpected, keeping in view the fact that the court, itself, had ordered the investigation. Arsalan has already refused to cooperate with it, thus the case is not proceeding further. The question, however, remains: why is he causing hurdles in the investigations. I am not blaming anyone, but as an observer I need answers to my questions. At this point of time, it is appropriate that any case that undermines the honourable judges or the Supreme Court should be decided as soon as possible, and technicalities should not impede the process of investigation because every Pakistani wants to see an unbiased and taint-free judiciary.

Veena Malik's new avataar grabs eyeballs

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Veena Malik first religious show Astagfar has reached highest TRP ever. The show created a positive response across the world. People across the globe appreciated Veena Malik's new Avatar in the show. Around 3 crore viewers watch the first show of "Astagfar" and has received a fabulous waku doki response. Veena Malik said, "It was a very great moment for me that people across the globe has appreciated me and they accepted my show. The show has touched the heart of people which is shown by TRP rating." After so many outrages worldwide the show goes on air and gained the highest TRP ever. Veena's show has breaken all the past records with an unprecedented success. This show is more about connecting with audiences. The superb success of the show can now be termed as a historical success after its big leap on the small screen.

Similarities between PML-N & PTI

IMRAN TALIB FAKE KHAN AND NAWAZ SHARIF LOHAR,BOTH SUPPORT HARDLINE ISLAMIST,TALIBAN AND BOTH ARE SUPPORTED BY PAKISTANI ESTABLISHMENT(MILITARY)AND JUDICIARY.

FOLLOWING ARE SOME OTHER SIMILARITIES REPROTED IN ''THE NEWS''.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) locked in a relentless verbal bout, indicating how poles apart are their approaches. Yet quite surprisingly, they both have some striking similarities as well. Politically speaking, the PML-N and PTI both spare no occasion to unleash attack on the former military ruler ex-president General Pervez Musharraf and the incumbent regime, though of late, they mostly target each other’s leadership. Now, the leaders of both parties want the Supreme Court to decide whether Nawaz is corrupt or Imran, after having almost exhausted their energies on the subject through media conferences and television talk shows. Taking lead, Imran has already announced to sue PML-N’s Khawaja Asif for his corruption charges against him. On the issue of general election, again these two parties share unanimity: they want early elections after seeing back of this PPP-led ruling coalition, which they allege, has failed to deliver on any front, holding it responsible for most of the crises Pakistan faces today. There is again a similarity in their political strategy to welcome in their folds, herds of those who remained a key part of Musharraf regime: though it is said the PTI took lead in opting for this line of action to boost its electoral prospects, welcoming several ‘electables’. These two parties have proved through their actions that for them political expediency is the short-cut to achieving ‘objectives’. Well over 100 politicians, who remained a part of the PML government during 2002-2007,some of them so close to the ex-military ruler, are today associated with the PTI. Few of these are Jehangir Tareen, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, Sikandar Bossan, Dr Shahzad Waseem, Faiz Tamman, Awais Leghari, Jamal Leghari, GG Jamal, Ishaq Khaqwani, Shahid Akram Bhinder, Malik Amin Aslam, Farooq Amjad Mir and Aila Malik. Khaqwani was perhaps the only exception, who would openly disagree over some of the then government policies from the PML platform. Past is past. They all today sit with Imran, who, used to obediently listen to sermons of Musharraf yesterday: how will Imran succeed in changing the rotten political system in Pakistan with this lot is anybody’s guess. Feeling a direct threat from the PTI, PML-N leadership, which had declared in categorical terms that those who were part of Musharraf’s PML regime, would never be accommodated in the party again, received with open arms many in recent months: they include even Amir Muqam, an erstwhile close friend of Musharraf, who had once proudly announced to have been gifted a pistol from him for his safety. There is a long list of the PML leaders, who jumped on to the PML-N bandwagon: some of these are; Tariq Azeem, Tahir Iqbal, Zahid Hamid, Sumera Malik, Safdar Shakir, Saima Akhtar Bharwana, Naeem Hussain, Ghulam Murtaza Maitla, Mansoor Hayat Tamman, Azeem Chaudhry and his spouse Asiya Azeem. Azeem was one of the leading characters as chief organiser behind the formation of the PML over a decade ago, mostly consisting of PML-N faces. Moreover, his wife remained MNA on women reserved seats. Sumera, Tariq Azeem, Tahir Iqbal are among those, who also served in the cabinet during Musharraf rule. Around 45 PML forward bloc is also a part of PML-N, which has also developed a special relationship with PML-Like-Minded that includes Salim Saifullah, Humayun Akhtar and others. With this lot of ex-comrades of Musharraf, the PTI and PML-N want to change the status quo and combat corruption. On apolitical front, the PML-N and PTI leaders share commonality in the form of having their (two each) sons abroad: Imran has his two sons-Sulaiman Khan and Qasim, living in London with their maternal grandmother; while Nawaz Sharif too has two sons-Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz abroad, doing business. Imran’s sons during school vacation days, visit their father in Pakistan, spend some days with him at his sprawling Bani Gala residence, playing with their cricket legend father. Like the PTI chairman, Nawaz Sharif loves cricket so much. But his sons don’t play cricket. Let’s wait some more similarities between these two may come up in the weeks and months to come.

Pakistan: Survival of state lies in democracy

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Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf

has said that decision about future government will only be made by people of Pakistan through a free, fair and transparent election there is no need to fear of any consequences, adding that PPP would accept the decision of people through votes and it is true democracy. Addressing the ceremony of cheques distribution amongst the deserving families under the Benazir Income Support Program here on Friday, he said we will go into the court of the people and their decision will be fully endorsed. The Prime Minister said he believes the survival of this country only lies in democracy, free and fair elections and in respecting the aspirations of the people. Prime Minister Pervez Ashraf said that the development of the consensus on the election of the Chief Election Commissioner was the first step towards the holding of free elections. Other phases will also be completed with the same spirit and intent. He said nobody should have any confusion or concerns on the matter. Turning to the different initiatives launched by Benazir Income Support Program, the Prime Minister said programs like Waseela Haq Waseela-e-Sehat and insurance scheme have been launched to help the oppressed segments of the society stand on their own feet. He said the program launched on the name of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto has become a role model for the entire world as it is providing financial assistance to the deserving people on merit irrespective of their party affiliation. He expressed the confidence that the future governments will continue with this program for the betterment of the poor families. Pervez Ashraf said that around one hundred thousand families are getting help from this program. He said currently six million people are benefiting from this program and it will be further expanded with completion of poverty survey. Under this program, an education program is being launched with the financial assistance of the UK for the education of three million poor children. He was confident the program will bring revolution in the lives of the people. The Prime Minister further said that almost half of the population of Balochistan is benefiting from various schemes of Benazir Income Support Program. He said Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan as far as its geography is concerned and future of the country lies in that province. Later the Prime Minister distributed checks of one hundred and fifty thousand rupees among women selected under Waseela Rozgar Program. He also distributed debit cards and Life Insurance Certificates among various participants.

Judiciary expelled one Gilani, public elected second Gilani

Former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that judiciary expelled one Gilani but the public elected second Gilni; public’s decision is incredible in comparison to the judiciary’s verdict over court contempt, SAMAA reported on Friday. Yousuf Raza Gilani said in his address at a ceremony in Multan this day that the PPP has never entered from back door in power. He expressed gratitude to voters for success of son in by-polls while terming public’s decision incredible than judiciary’s verdict. All those works will be completed in Southern Punjab which were started during my tenure, assured the former prime minister to the people on the occasion. “Judiciary’s verdicts are at their place but people and history’s decisions use to be different,” Yousuf Raza Gilani added, saying apart from being in power or not, we would continue serving people.

Pakistan provides military flights for civilians as 20 more Shias massacred

After latest incident of civilians from Muslim minority being pulled off bus on major road and shot, Pakistan lays on flights to capital

A series of sectarian massacres on one of Pakistan's most important roads has forced the government to lay on military flights for Shias travelling to and from the country's capital. The decision to allocate C-130 Hercules transport planes for the use of civilians travelling between Islamabad and the north-eastern provincial capital of Gilgit follows the killing on Thursday of 20 Shias. In the third such incident on the road in six months, the victims were pulled off a bus some 100 miles north of Islamabad by armed men, lined up and shot. Local officials said the up to a dozen people wearing army uniforms had stopped the bus before mounting their attack. "After checking their papers, they opened fire and at least 20 people are reported to have been killed," said Khalid Omarzai, administration chief of Mansehra district. Pakistan is struggling to deal with a rising tide of sectarian violence and extremist Sunni militant groups who do not regard members of the Shia sect as true Muslims. The prime minister's office said the flights were a temporary measure as the country heads towards the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr. "Normally people would travel by roads but because of the situation people are no long prepared to use it," a spokesman for Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the prime minister, said. The road is critical for connecting Gilgit-Baltistan, the mountainous province that borders China, with the rest of the country. With stunning scenery and access to some of the world's highest mountains, it was once popular with international tourists travelling the Karakoram Highway. But Gilgit and its surrounding area have been repeatedly hit by appalling sectarian violence. In February 18 Shias were forced off a bus travelling to Gilgit and killed. And in April nine travellers were shot dead in a town 60 miles from the city. And in another attack on Thursday a bomb appeared to target a bus carrying Shia students to an anti-Israel rally in Karachi, the megacity on the country's southern coast, which is also frequently racked by sectarian killings. Police said one man was killed and 11 were wounded as the bus travelled to the protest held annually at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Many analysts have criticised the Pakistani government for not doing enough to suppress anti-Shia groups. The government and military are often reluctant to launch crackdowns in the Sunni-majority country, in which radical groups enjoy mainstream support from the public.

Clue of every crime points out North Waziristan

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Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that clue of every crime points towards North Waziristan and criminals form Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan are sheltered here. Speaking to media on Friday, he said that politicians should refrain from doing Taliban Branded Politics, referring to Sheikh Rashid’s latest speech. Malik said that four terrorists who attacked airbase in Kamra had been identified. He said that that sensitive installations located near populated areas would be shifted. To a question, the minister said that families of Naran bus attacks victims would be compensated. Malik said that after the passage of 18th amendment security had become provincial.

PPP concerned over CJP’s ‘political’ statement

DAILY TIMES

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Secretary General Senator Jahangir Badr on Thursday expressed concern over the reported statement attributed to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry regarding the people’s disappointment with the government. Badr said that such political statements attributed to the chief justice did not seem appropriate, adding that as long as Justice Chaudhry was the chief justice of Pakistan, he could not associate himself with politics. The judges of superior courts could participate in politics after two years of their retirement, he said. The PPP leader said his party respected the judiciary, adding that it was the right of the people to elect their representatives. It was also their right to exercise their opinion by casting vote in favour or against any political party in the election, he said.

Pakistan: Militants in mosques

By:Ershad Mahmud

The recent terrorist attack on the airforce base in Kamra reminds me of last Friday’s prayers wherein I strongly realised that the present peace is fragile and violence can revisit us anytime in the days ahead. As luck would have it, I incidentally bumped into a mosque to offer prayers and experienced the unexpected. The mosque, which is just a couple of miles from Pakistan’s military headquarters, was filled with worshippers but the sermon was not delivered by the local imam. Instead a young and fairly well-built man was addressing the people from the pulpit. After listening to him a little I thought that he would make a traditional anti-American diatribe where the United States is roundly criticised for all the evils bedevilling the Muslim world. But he suddenly took a turn to enliven the last two decades of the previous century of ‘jihadi’ activism. A returnee from the battlefront in Paktia, Afghanistan, he flaunted his heroics of ‘jihad’ against the USA-led Nato forces. Chest-thumping he claimed that he had killed several ‘enemies’ in his two years service, he boasted of several successes against the US forces. In his words, the Taliban are winning the battle in Afghanistan and the US has been forced to run for its life. This young ‘mujahid’ sent us into a state of déjà vu when he asked the worshippers to spare at least one of their sons for the holy ‘jihad’ as this was the ripe time to inflict maximum destruction on the enemy which is on the run. So they could win the final round. He promised his group had arrangements in place for military training of such aspirant ‘jihadis’. Not quite long ago this was the routine practice in Pakistani mosques. He cleverly appealed to the collective emotion of the people by bringing in the case of Aafia Siddiqui, an American-educated Pakistani woman who was sentenced to 86 years by the US court for terror charges. He told the audience that ‘mujahedeen’ had taken oath not to rest till she was released from the US prison. Probably the financial crunch had forced this man to fall back on the old tactics of raising funds during Friday prayers in Pakistani mosques. He made an appeal to the people that the Taliban needed huge financial resources to continue this war as a small operation would require huge financial input. He convincingly asked everyone to contribute as much as they could. Pointing towards his colleagues at the gate, who were combing their long beards with their fingers, the speaker said that they would collect the charity and facilitate the recruitment. At the end of the prayers I noticed people queuing up at the gate to contribute whatever they could for ‘jihad’. It was a baffling experience for me as I was of the view that radical activism in such a way was a thing of the past, at least in urban centres. The government has taken several steps to dismantle the infrastructure of these groups and open activism is banned. There are also programmes for de-radicalisation of militant youth in order to rehabilitate them and bring them back into mainstream society. However, it seems that the state has largely failed to stop these groups from routine activities of raising funds and recruiting fresh blood in the name of jihad in Afghanistan. This is just one example and there are surely more but one wonders if the top guns at the policy level know of such development. As this personal experience shows, counterinsurgency efforts have not yet produced the desired results and need close introspection at the top level. Such brazen escapades of ‘jihadism’ in mosques in the centre of the country fly in the face of Pakistan which vehemently rejects any mention of Pakistan being used by terror groups for terror activities in Afghanistan. Straight denial and negligence of such activities will not do it good. Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, had to face embarrassment recently in a public meeting at Washington when she criticised the coalition forces for not being able to stop Afghan terror groups from intruding into Pakistan’s territory and attacking the army and civilians alike. An American official slapped her with a counter question as to why her country was not doing anything to stop infiltration of terror groups into Afghanistan in the first hand. How could Pakistan expect Afghanistan or the US to do what they have been asking it to do for a very long time? Although this is not an excuse but the Pakistani state is fast becoming an ineffective state and has failed to establish the rule of law in the country. The government’s ability to police and timely gather intelligence seems flawed as well, and not much has been delivered. These groups know and exploit this weakness and thus take advantage of it. A comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy should be adopted and seriously implement which should also target mosque committees warning them of consequences if banned outfits are allowed to go about their activities. This is a critical time for Pakistan to put its house in order and eschew any negligence or tolerance of such radical groups.

The writer is Islamabad-based freelance journalist and consultant. www.ershadmahmud.com

Pakistani film Lamha wins awards at New York Film Festival

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Pakistani feature film Lamha bagged two awards at the New York City International Film Festival (NYCIFF). Lamha (publicized as Seedlings in English internationally), won the Best Feature Film award and its leading lady Amina Sheikh won the Best Actress in Leading Role award in a late night ceremony at the Angelika Film Center, New York. Lamha, starring Mohib Mirza, Amina Sheikh and Gohar Rasheed is a production of Meher Jaffri and Summer Nicks while a new talent Mansoor Mujahid directed the venture. The film was nominated in five categories including Best Actor in Leading Role (Mohib Mirza), Best Actor in Supporting Role (Gohar Rasheed), Best Score, Best Original Screenplay (Summer Nicks) and Best Director (Mansoor Mujahid). The movie was one of the 100 films out of 3,000 film entries to be screened at the festival. The film’s premiere at the festival, on August 10, was a sold out affair at the Tribeca Cinema.

Bomb hits bus carrying Shiites killing 1, Pakistan says

A senior Pakistani government official says a bomb hit a bus carrying Shiite Muslim students in the southern city of Karachi, killing one person. Roshan Ali Shaikh says Friday's attack also wounded 11 people. Shaikh is the top administrative official in Karachi. The attack came a day after Taliban gunmen in northern Pakistan forced 20 Shiites off buses, lined them up and killed them. Pakistan has faced a growing wave of sectarian killings at the hands of Sunni extremists over the past year. Shaikh says the Shiite university students were on their way to an anti-Israel rally that is held every year at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/08/17/bomb-hits-bus-carrying-shiites-killing-1-pakistan-says/#ixzz23oKlO3zS

Another Afghan police attack kills 2 US troops

A newly recruited Afghan village policeman opened fire on his American allies on Friday, killing two U.S. service members minutes after they handed him his official weapon in an inauguration ceremony. It was the latest in a disturbing string of attacks by Afghan security forces on the international troops training them. Later Friday, an Afghan soldier turned his gun on foreign troops in another part of the country and wounded two of them, a spokesman for the NATO coalition said. The attacks in the country's far west and south brought to seven the number of times that a member of the Afghan security forces — or someone wearing their uniform — has opened fire on international forces in the past two weeks. Such assaults by allies, virtually unheard of just a few years ago, have recently escalated, killing at least 36 foreign troops so far this year. They also raise questions about the strategy to train Afghan national police and soldiers to take over security and fight insurgents after most foreign troops leave the country by the end of 2014. The NATO-led coalition has said such attacks are anomalies stemming from personal disputes, but the supreme leader of the Taliban boasted on Thursday night that the insurgents are infiltrating the quickly expanding Afghan forces. Friday's deadly attacker in the far western province of Farah was identified as Mohammad Ismail, a man in his 30s who had joined the Afghan Local Police just five days ago. He opened fire during an inauguration ceremony attended by American and Afghan forces in the Kinisk village, the Farah provincial police chief Agha Noor Kemtoz said. "As soon as they gave the weapon to Ismail to begin training, suddenly he took the gun and opened fire toward the U.S. soldiers," Kemtoz said. Ismail was shot and killed as the coalition and Afghan forces returned fire, the police chief said. A spokesman for the international coalition force, Jamie Graybeal, confirmed that two American service members were killed Friday by a member of the Afghan Local Police. The ALP is different from the national police and represents a village defense force under the Ministry of Interior that is being trained by international forces, including U.S. special forces. Graybeal gave no other details on the Farah attack other than confirming the shooter had been killed. Kemtoz, the police chief, said the attack took place about 8 a.m., after the U.S. forces arrived in the village to train the local police. He said one Afghan National Police officer was also seriously wounded in the shooting. Later Friday, an Afghan army soldier fired on coalition troops in the southern province of Kandahar. Two of the international troops were wounded but none was killed in that shooting, Graybeal said. He added that the soldier was shot and died later Friday of his wounds. So far in 2012, there have been 29 attacks reported on foreign troops by Afghans they are training, compared to 11 attacks in 2011, according to an Associated Press count, and five attacks in each of the previous two years. Seven such attacks have come in the past two weeks alone, with six American troops killed last Friday in two separate shootings in Helmand province in the south and another American killed a few days previously on a U.S. base in Paktia province in the east. The trend raises questions about potential resentment by Afghans after more than a decade of international presence since the American-led intervention to oust the Taliban regime from power for harboring the al-Qaida terrorist leadership after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S. The insider attacks also renew concern that insurgents may be infiltrating the Afghan army and police, despite intensified screening. Insurgent infiltration or recruitment was behind only about 10 percent of this year's reported attacks on coalition forces by Afghan allies, Graybeal said earlier this week, citing investigations into attacks before those of the past week. Graybeal insisted the deadly violence is relatively small scale compared to the nearly 340,000 Afghan security forces now being trained. The international coalition has said that Afghan forces are increasingly able to lead operations and already have started to assume responsibility for security in areas of the country that are home to 75 percent of the Afghan population. However, the Taliban have been quick to seize on the increasing number of attacks as a sign of Afghan rejection of foreign forces and the insurgents' own successful recruitment. The group's supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar said Thursday night that the insurgents "have cleverly infiltrated in the ranks of the enemy" and were successfully killing a rising number of U.S.-led coalition forces. In an email to media organizations, Omar said the plan to transfer responsibility to Afghan forces by the end of 2014 is a "deceiving drama" that the international community has orchestrated to hide its defeat. The Taliban leader's message came on the same day that a U.S. military helicopter crashed during a firefight with insurgents in a remote area of southern Afghanistan, killing seven Americans and four Afghans in one of the deadliest air disasters of a war now into its second decade. The Taliban claimed they gunned down the Black Hawk.

Obama better for world economy: poll

Twice as many business executives around the world say the global economy will prosper better if incumbent U.S. president Barack Obama

wins the next election than if his Republican challenger Mitt Romney does, a poll showed on Friday. Democrat Obama was chosen by 42.7 percent in the 1,700 respondent poll, compared with 20.5 percent for Romney. The rest said "neither". The result was different among respondents in the United States, where a slim majority thought Romney would be better for their businesses than Obama. Obama maintains a seven-point lead over Romney among registered voters in the race for the November 6 presidential election, despite the fact Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the future, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week. The FT poll was conducted before Romney picked Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate at the weekend, a move that could dramatically shift the election debate between two sharply contrasting views of government spending and debt. Romney's choice for running mate gave him no immediate boost to his White House prospects, a Reuters/Ipsos poll suggested on Monday.

Saudi shame on Islamic world

As the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) concludes its emergency summit in Mecca this week with the suspension of Syria, its member states should now consider amending the body’s name - to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation with United States Imperialism (OICUSI). For the OIC stands as a violation of every principle it is supposed to represent. In calling for this conference with its flagrantly politicised agenda, Saudi Arabia emerges as the shame of the Islamic world. Admittedly, the acronym OICUSI is a bit clunky, but it would be far more truthful than the present OIC. The 57-member organisation, founded in 1969, represents some two billion Muslims worldwide and is charged with “promoting solidarity among members and upholding peace and security”. Far from promoting solidarity and peace, the OIC has shown itself to be a political instrument serving the geopolitical interests of Washington and its allies in the destruction of Syria and their designs for entrenching hegemonic control over the Middle East. That control is all about exploiting the resources of the region to enrich Western corporations and banks, paying off elite rulers and impoverishing the mass of people. Of course the Syrian people want reform and more democracy. But they won’t achieve that so long as Saudi Arabia and the other Western proxies remain on their thrones of deception colluding with the foreign enemies of the people. Just at the hour when the people of Syria are desperately in need of international solidarity and peace, the OIC delivers a kick in the teeth. In this way, the OIC is following in the disgraceful footsteps of the 21-member Saudi-dominated Arab League, which suspended Syria last November. These sanctions against Damascus are based on the entirely bogus claim fomented by Washington and the former colonial powers London and Paris that the conflict in Syria stems solely from repression and violence perpetrated by the government of President Bashar Al Assad against his people. This propaganda narrative turns reality completely on its head. The violence in Syria over the past 17 months has largely stemmed from armed groups that are supplied, directed and infiltrated by the Western powers in collusion with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel. The US-led axis is attempting to tear Syria apart by fuelling sectarian bloodshed between Sunni and Shia Muslims, and between Muslims, Christians, Druze and Kurds. The desecration of Islam is particularly vile. Mosques have been turned into sniper posts to fire on civilians, and whole villages have been massacred - the throats of children slit - by so-called Holy Warriors. These jihadists, who have gravitated to Syria from Britain, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, among other countries, are directed by Washington, London and Paris in time-honoured fashion of these powers’ criminal involvement with Islamic fundamentalists under the catch-all nom de guerre of Al Qaeda. They are weaponised by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel; they are trained and based by Turkey and Jordan. And their brains are weaponised by Saudi Wahhabism, with all its intolerant pathological hatred to anyone who opposes its tyranny and Western objectives. In the context of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, this conspiracy of terror and mass murder should be matter of diabolical shame for member states Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Jordan. These supposedly Islamic countries are colluding with the Western powers and their criminal Zionist proxy in the murder of Muslims and other Syrians in the service of imperialist domination of the Middle East. Saudi Arabia in particular is seen as abusing its historic role as custodian of the holy Islamic centre of Mecca to further a despicable political agenda. By calling the extraordinary meeting of the OIC in Mecca - supposedly to discuss the violence in Syria - Saudi Arabia is covering its blood-soaked hands with a mantle of religious sanctity. By contrast, Iran’s delegation to the OIC conference, headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stood out as upholding the principles of the organisation. Iran rightly pointed out the basic injustice that the Syrian government was not even invited to the Mecca conference to hear the charges being levelled against it, and to have the opportunity to defend itself against such charges. One shouldn’t be surprised by the absence of jurisprudence for Syria at the Saudi-orchestrated event. After all, thousands of ordinary Bahrainis are being dragged through military courts in Saudi-backed Bahrain solely on the basis of trumped up prosecutions with no right to defend themselves either. Iran’s foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi noted at the beginning of the three-day conference: “Every country, especially OIC countries, must join hands to resolve this issue in such a way that will help the peace, security and stability in the region.” He warned: “By suspending [Syria’s] membership, this does not mean you are moving towards resolving an issue. By this, you are erasing the issue.” Unfortunately, Salehi’s sound advice was ignored. With typical Wahhabist attitude of no discussion, no explanation, the Saudi-hosted conference ended with the formal suspension of Syria from the OIC. The heavy-handed conclusion achieves what it was meant to: to not give Syria a fair hearing, to further isolate the country in the eyes of the world, to conceal the violent involvement of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and Jordan in the destruction of Syria, and to give political cover for their imperialist masters in the dismemberment of Syria. The Mecca summit has all the signs of a tawdry show trial, shamefully under the banner of Islam, conducted, of all places, in the holy city. Current OIC chief is Turkish national Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. He said the decision to suspend Syria sent “a strong message” to Damascus. A statement issued at the end of the summit said participants had agreed on “the need to end immediately the acts of violence in Syria and to suspend that country from the OIC”. The suspension was “also a message to the international community stating that the Muslim world backs a peaceful solution [in Syria], wants an end to the bloodshed and refuses to let the problem degenerate into a religious conflict and spill over into the wider region,” the OIC chief Ihsanoglu added. Absolutely not true. First, if the OIC was serious about “ending immediately the acts of violence in Syria” then it would have suspended the memberships foremost of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Turkey - the instigators of so-much bloodshed, terrorism and crimes against humanity in Syria that are inflaming the region. Second, on the claim that “the Muslim world backs a peaceful solution in Syria”, it should be noted that the Geneva accord agreed by the UN Security Council at the end of June, which calls for an inclusive political dialogue in Syria, has been continually violated by the Western, Arab, Turk, Israeli backers of the Jihadist terror army assailing that country. Indeed, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says these parties have sabotaged the Geneva accord. At the OIC summit, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in particular have arrogated the banner of the Muslim world, when in truth they are the unseemly standard bearers for imperialist butchery in the Middle East. In this holy month of Ramadan, where faith, compassion and truth before God is supposed to be adhered to more than ever, the Saudi OIC conference is truly an abomination of all that is supposedly represented by “Islam/peace”.

Bahraini forces attack al-Quds Day protesters

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have attacked demonstrators who were staging a protest to mark the international al-Quds Day in support of the Palestinian resistance against Israel.Protesters in Bahrain took to streets on Friday to mark the international al-Quds Day. They held the rallies despite a government ban.