Daily Times
Mohammad Ahmad
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Malala, the lady of hope
PIA promotes two brothers of PML-N leader
The PIA management has promoted two brothers of the PML-N’s Information Secretary, Senator Mushahidullah Khan, with effect from 2007.
Officials told Dawn on Monday that Rashidullah Khan and Sajidullah Khan had been promoted from Grade 8 to 9 (manager to deputy general manager) and Grade 7 to 8 (assistant manager to manager) respectively with effect from 2007.
The management has issued a notification in this regard despite the fact that no promotion board meeting took place this year.
The officials said that the notification of the promotion of Rashidullah and Sajidullah did not mention whether they would be entitled to other perks and privileges with retrospective effect.
They also claimed that the promotion board meeting was not required in such cases.
“Both brothers were declared promoted by the selection board in 2007, but their promotion was not notified,” they said.
There are also reports that Rashidullah will be given an important position after his promotion from Grade 9 to Selection Grade 10 as no hurdle is now left to promote him in that grade.
Mr Rashidullah justified his own and brother’s promotion and rejected the impression that their political connections had anything to do with it. “Sajidullah and I were rather politically victimised over the past five years in the PPP government as my brother, Mushahidullah, was a member of the PML-N.
“Even a former PIA managing director had refused to take up our case citing the Mushahidullah factor,” he told Dawn.
He said the promotion board had promoted him and Sajidullah in 2007 in Grade 9 and Grade 8, but letters of the promotion could not be issued because the PPP government had taken over the government soon after that.
Mr Rashidullah further claimed that his name was on top of the seniority list, but he had been ignored in the previous promotion board’s meetings.
“My and Sajidullah’s promotion are absolutely on merit and seniority based and since the 2007 promotion board meeting had promoted us, we are entitled to be promoted from that date,” he said, adding they did not seek perks with retrospective effect.
He said his and Sajidullah’s promotion were due over a decade back, but during the previous government employees not even completing five years in service in a grade had been promoted out of turn.
Earlier, the Nawaz Sharif government appointed Shujaat Azeem, the brother of another PML-N senator Tariq Azeem, as adviser to the Prime Minister on aviation.
Shujaat Azeem was removed from the PAF as he held dual nationality.
Monday, July 15, 2013
RT source: Israeli strike on Syria was carried out from Turkish base
Israel used a Turkish military base to launch one of its recent airstrikes against Syria from the sea, a reliable source told RT. Israel has been under scrutiny since last week, when it was reported to be responsible for a July 5 depot attack in Latakia.
News that Turkey assisted Israel in attacking another Muslim state could result in serious turmoil for Ankara, once the information is confirmed.
"Our source is telling us that Israeli planes left a military base inside Turkey and approached Latakia from the sea to make sure that they stayed out of Syrian airspace so that they cannot become a legitimate target for the Syrian air force," RT's Paula Slier reports.
In response, Turkey has denied that Israel has used its base to strike Syria.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the media that existing reports of the incident are “absolutely wrong” and those who spread such rumors are in “act of betrayal.”
“Turkey will neither be a part nor a partner of such ‘attacks.’ The ones who claim this want to damage Turkey’s power and reputation,” he added.
Responding to RT’s request for comment, the Turkish embassy in Moscow has said: “We officially inform that this allegation is definitely not true.”
Israel has also declined to comment to RT and refused to confirm or deny the information.
The Israeli PM’s office told RT that they “will not be taking part in your broadcast,” while an IDF spokesperson renewed the stance that the military is “not commenting on this issue.”
Relations between Turkey and Israel were strained until March 2013, as a result of a flotilla incident which happened more than three years ago. In protest against Israel’s refusal to apologize, Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and severed military ties.
The two agreed to normalize their relationship after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ankara has been known for its assistance to foreign-backed militants, allowing them to train on Turkish territory before infiltrating into Syria.
Shortly after the July 5 airstrike, the Free Syrian Army said that rebels were not responsible for the attack, which destroyed Yakhont anti-ship missiles being stored there.
"It was not the FSA that targeted this," Qassem Saadeddine, FSA’s Supreme Military Council spokesman told Reuters. "It is not an attack that was carried out by rebels.”The FSA suggested the attack “was either by air raid or long-range missiles fired from boats in the Mediterranean.”
Rebels described massive blasts, saying that the firepower exceeded the capability of weapons available to the opposition. They speculated that the attack was launched with the use of modern military weapons, like those which may be possessed by Israel.
On Saturday, US officials speaking on condition of anonymity also revealed Israel’s involvement with the explosions. They did not provide details on the extent of the damage or the number of missiles struck.
At the same time, Britain’s Sunday Times cited its Middle East intelligence sources who reported that a contingent of 50 Russian-made Yakhont P-800 anti-ship missiles were targeted and destroyed. However, the newspaper claimed that Israeli submarines carried out the attack rather than the Air Force.
Netanyahu hesitated to comment on reports when speaking to CBS-TV’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
"My policy is to prevent the transfer of dangerous weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon and other terror groups as well. And we stand by that policy," the PM said. “And I'm not in the habit of saying what we did or didn't do," he added.
If the recent airstrikes are proven to have been carried out by Israel, the July 5 strike will be the fourth known Israeli air attack against targets in Syria this year. The previous three attacks targeted an area near Damascus on January 30, May 3, and May 5.In late January, an airstrike hit a weapons convoy that carried Russian-made SA-17 surface-to-air missiles, marking the first incursion by Israel into Syrian airspace in six years.
In May, Israeli warplanes conducted two days of airstrikes, targeting a shipment from Iran of Fateh-110 missiles. Such missiles have the capability to strike Tel Aviv from southern Lebanon.
Middle East expert and historian, Tariq Ali told RT that Israel continues to attack Syria to get square with Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah is like a red [rag to a] bull to Israelis and Israelis haven’t been able to wipe it out, though they tried many times. Now they are hoping they can do it by weakening or completely destroying the Syrian regime. Indirectly they are providing help to the rebels,” Ali said. “Israel is a country that considers itself above the law.”
Quetta carnage: Rights activists demand action against banned outfits
Published:The Express Tribune,July 2nd
A small crowd gathered outside the National Press Club holding placards condemning terrorist attacks in Quetta, Peshawar and North Waziristan which killed more than 50 people on Sunday. The protesters demanded action from the highest offices of the country.
Women and children were among those protesting outside the press club for justice and peace. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Sher Ali, a student and ethnic Hazara, was holding a placard stating, “I am from Hazara, am I not Pakistani?”
He said he was visiting Islamabad and was saddened to hear about the incident, which is why he came to register his complaint. “I do not understand why the government is not taking any action against these militants…they have destroyed everything. We just want peace,” he said, wiping his tears.
As Lashkar-e-Jhangvi accepts the responsibility of the blast in Quetta, protesters said that the chief justice of Pakistan must treat all communities and individuals as equals and must take suo motu notice of the incident. “There were the Shahzeb Khan and Malala cases. We are very happy that the chief justice stood up for them, but he must also stand up for us,” said Sara Ali from Hazara. Civil society members outraged at the gathering said groups like Lashkar-e Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Mohammad are still terrorising innocent people and no one is trying to stop them. Dr Rakshanda Parveen told The Express Tribune that even civil society members are fed up. “We want answers now, it is a little too much to handle,” said Perveen.
Insani-Huqooq-Ittehad (IHI), network of rights campaigners, demanded that the Prime Minister and interior minister carry out a strict action against these banned terrorist groups and put them on trial.
In a statement, IHI demanded that the government carry out surgical operations on the banned militant organisations that are responsible for the “ethnic cleansing of Shia and Hazara minorities in Pakistan”.
Bangladesh: Hartal demanding Ghulam Azam’s death Tuesday
Gonojagoron Mancha and 11 student organisations including Chhatra Union, Chhatra Federation and Chhatra Front have called a daylong countrywide shutdown for Tuesday demanding death penalty to Ghulam Azam and other war criminals.
The call came shortly after former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam was handed 90-year jail Monday for his role in the murder and genocide of the independence-seeking people of the land who were fighting occupation Pakistani army in 1971.
The 11 organisations convened a press briefing around 4:20pm in front of the National Museum near Gonojagoron Mancha at Shahbagh in the capital to announce the hartal.
Minutes later, Imran H Sarker, spokesperson for the Gonojagoron Mancha, announced that they will enforce hartal across the country on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Sammilita Sangskritik Jote announced that it will hold rallies across the country to protest the verdict, President of the jote Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu told reporters at a press briefing at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) at Dhaka University in the afternoon.
Bangladesh: Ghulam Azam awarded 90-year imprisonment
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) sentenced former Jamaat leader Ghulam Azam to 90 years imprisonment in connection with crimes against humanity during the liberation war in 1971.
The tribunal said all five charges against Azam were proved but the jail term sentence was given considering his age.
Azam, 91, was found guilty by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) on the charges that included murder and torture. He was accused of masterminding the atrocities committed during the war of independence against Pakistan.
Monday’s landmark verdict against the high profile war crime accused was marked by a nationwide day-long hartal called by Jamaat. The shutdown was marked by sporadic violence mostly outside the capital in which at least four people were killed.
A defence lawyer for Ghulam Azam later told reporters outside the crowded high security tribunal that they were unhappy with the sentence and that they will file appeal against the tribunal order.
One of the prosecutors talking to media afterwards said they had expected death penalty for Ghulam Azam and as such they were a bit disappointed at the jail-term prison sentence. But he said a formal reaction on the verdict from the prosecution will be given later after studying the full verdict.
ICT-1 started reading out its 75 pages out of the 243-page verdict against the former Jamaat chief in the morning.
Earlier on Monday, Azam, a high profile war crimes accused, was brought to the tribunal.
A micro-bus of Dhaka central jail brought Azam to the tribunal shortly after 10:00am from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) prison cell where the 91-year old former Jamaat leader had been under medical supervision.
On Sunday, the three-member tribunal, headed by its chairman, Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, announced the date, 88 days after trial proceedings in the case ended on April 17.
A total of 61 charges in five categories of crimes against humanity were brought against the veteran Jamaat leader.
The allegations were categorised as conspiracy (six charges), planning (three charges), incitement (28 charges), complicity (23 charges), and murder (one charge).
This is the fifth judgement from the two International Crimes Tribunals (ICT), against the suspects of crimes against humanity, after the verdicts against Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu Razakar (January 21, 2013), Abdul Quader Molla (February 5, 2013), Delwar Hossain Sayedee (February 28, 2013), and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman (May 9, 2013).
'Trayvon Martin Will Happen Again and Again'
Trayvon Martin’s Legacy
Veena Malik shying away from donning bikini?
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pakistani actress Veena Malik is popularly known as bikini babe, as she is often seen in bikini-clad pictures on social networking sites. Of late, to great surprise to her fans, Veena has reportedly not posting any of her bikini pictures on internet. The reason? The actress is observing fast in the wake of holy month of Ramadan. Addressing her fans, Veena tweeted that she has been fasting and observing "self-restraint". The actress added that she has been reading holy book Quran every day. Home-sick Veena admitted that she missed her home in Pakistan and parents, especially during Ramadan.
Turkey:111 photographers detained or targeted by violence during Gezi protests: NGO
Zimmerman's murder trial : After the acquittal: Protests
How to exit Afghanistan?
By TIMON DIAS
Without a substantial NATO security force, the Karzai administration doesn’t stand a chance against the hardened Taliban.
Amid the civil war in Syria, the de facto civil war in Iraq, riots on the Turkish streets and a potential Egyptian civil war in the making, the media tends to under-report the NATO pullout from Afghanistan. But the NATO exit strategy does deserve our careful attention, for it will set the precedent on how the West deals with its enemies.
The general public tends to forget that NATO’s fight against the Taliban was not initially about the Taliban itself, but about the fact that the Taliban harbored elements of Al-Qaida. The essential purpose of the mission was: oust the Taliban and put a regime in place that would never again harbor Al-Qaida.
But the uncomfortable truth is that every policy think-tank and expert agrees that without a substantial NATO security force, the Karzai administration doesn’t stand a chance against the uniform, hardened and uncorrupt Taliban, once the latter decides to make its move.
First of all, Karzai only exercises “effective” control in Kabul and secondly, his security apparatus is rife with nepotism and diverging ethnic loyalties, and on top of that they are simply inept. Even the Afghan National Army isn’t a national army at all. It is dominated by the Northern Afghan ethnicities and only 2 to 3 percent is of Southern Pashtun descent. So basically the ANA is the former Northern Alliance and indeed, they still patrol with vehicles carrying pictures of Massoud, and even Dostum, one of the most brutal warlords in Afghan history.
One should not underestimate the significance of the fact that the ANA is about as foreign to the South as NATO troops and that Southern Pashtuns are more likely to side with the Taliban than to support the ANA. Make sure to watch the VICE documentary This Is What Winning Looks Like to gain a vivid understanding of the rather ludicrous power structures that NATO has now placed her hopes on for a stable Afghanistan.
It’s no coincidence that even the Pakistani military – engaged in a ferocious battle with the Pakistani Taliban – supports the Afghan Taliban; they know the country will be under their control in the future and they want good ties with the future rulers of Afghanistan, because they want to be able to use the country as strategic depth in case India invades them.
This grim prospect brings us to the following question: is the war lost when the Taliban retakes control of the country? Strangely, the answers is no. The war however is lost when they retake control and again choose to harbor al-Qaida, after all that’s the only reason for the hostilities between NATO and the Taliban.
I’m not an apologist for the Taliban but it is simply realistic to acknowledge that the Taliban are an integral part of Afghan society and that they were the only ones capable of bringing order to a place that from ’89 to ’94 saw more deaths than during 10 years of brutal Soviet occupation. In addition, the Taliban isn’t an international terrorist organization. Its aims have always been national.
As a matter of illustration: in December 1997, with full approval from Washington, a delegation of Taliban officials traveled to Unocal’s headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, to discuss the building of a pipeline and stayed at Marty Miller’s house, one of the company’s vice presidents.
They were treated royally and were taken to the zoo and the NASA Space Center.
NATO didn’t succeed in destroying the Taliban or their ideology and won’t before its pullout. The Karzai administration will fall unless NATO is prepared to perpetually sacrifice fathers, sons, mothers and daughters we need at home, and spend money that we don’t have.
Yes it’s painful, but a realistic strategy should be based on an Afghanistan under Taliban control.
How can the West try to make sure the Taliban will never again harbor Al-Qaida? There are few certainties in life, but the following strategy might be the only way to fulfill the initial goal of the Afghanistan war: to keep Al-Qaida out of Afghanistan.
Although the Taliban is not destroyed, they have suffered tremendously at the hands of NATO and they know full well that if they ever return to a position of power, NATO will always have the military force to destroy their government and infrastructure in a matter of weeks. The deal the West should make with the Taliban should be as follows: The Taliban will be granted sovereignty over the territory they controlled prior to 2001, but in return will have to pledge they will never again harbor al-Qaida elements.
This framework has a precedent.
Prior to the 2001 invasion the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, spoke to the US State Department by satellite phone several times to explore the possibility of extraditing Osama bin Laden, in exchange for American recognition of his regime. To no avail, since the US, back then understandably, wanted bin Laden handed over unconditionally.
In this deal the West will have to be extremely clear on one matter and will have to live up to it if need be: as soon as our intelligence services notice that the Taliban breaks its pledge and does harbor Al-Qaida, NATO will return to destroy every last fiber of their infrastructure and kill every senior Taliban figure.
But this time not with a slow and vulnerable invading military apparatus and reconstruction crews, only our air forces, shock troops and special operations units to wreak havoc. No democratization, no reconstruction paid for by the Western taxpayer, just the swift destruction of everything that makes the Taliban capable.
Chances are high that the Taliban will bar al-Qaida in exchange for sovereignty and safety of their regime. If the West doesn’t somehow succeed in creating an al- Qaida-free Afghanistan, all ISAF men and women and Afghan civilians will have been killed or maimed for nothing. Yes, the return of the Taliban will be horrible for women, but you can’t civilize a country through military force. The West is simply out of options.
The author is a Dutch master’s student in clinical psychology and a columnist for the Liberal Conservative weblog De Dagelijkse Standaard.
Pakistan Activist For Girls' Education Killed
http://www.rferl.org/A college professor who promoted education for girls in Pakistan has been shot dead by unknown gunmen in the southwestern Balochistan Province. Provincial police said on July 12 that two armed militants opened fire at Abdul Razzaq's motorcycle on Chakar Khan Road in the Khuzdar district, killing him and wounding another college professor on July 11. Razzaq taught at Khuzdar Degree College and was well-known for his activities supporting education for girls. Police say the incident appeared to be a targeted killing. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Balochistan has experienced a spike in sectarian killings recently as radical Sunni Muslims have targeted Shi'a. The province is also the scene of a decades-long insurgency by Baluch nationalists, who demand greater autonomy and a larger share of profits from the region's mineral resources.
Pakistan: Picking them young: Militants enlist six teenage boys from Sheikhan
The Express Tribune
PESHAWAR: Militants have enlisted at least six children from Sheikhan village. To add to the worry of residents, the armed men have been actively preaching jihad to the villagers for the past few days without inviting any attention from law enforcement agencies, residents told The Express Tribune on Sunday. Dozens of armed militants belonging to the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) visit Sheikhan after Iftar, and urge people to join hands with them. “They come to the village in groups and check mobile phones and memory cards for songs and other such things,” said an elder. The armed men have snatched dozens of mobile sets with cameras since the start of Ramazan. The elder added militants were becoming a permanent nuisance, undetected by the police. He blamed local law enforcement officials for not paying any attention to the situation and claimed that after nightfall militants virtually rule the area. According to another local, at least six teenagers have joined the LI in the past two months. What militants preached was attractive, and easy-to-buy to quite an extent for the teenage boys, he added. The six boys, whose ages range between 14 and 17 years, have now been moved to an undisclosed location for militant training. In the past, militants have enlisted young men after showing them glimpses of a ‘better’ lifestyle in terms of finance and owning commodities. “Nearly all the people from Akka Khel and Khyber Agency have migrated from their ancestral villages which means there is no recruiting ground left for Lashkar-e-Islam. But they solved their problem by focusing on a settled district instead,” he added. A month ago, militants distributed pamphlets in Mashogagar village asking people not to shave their beards as it was un-Islamic. “Those barbers who violate this would be responsible for their own fate,” read the pamphlets hand-written in Pashto. Residents say they live in an atmosphere of constant fear as police restricts themselves to check posts after dusk, leaving militants free to roam and do as they please.
Pakistan: 71% households in Sindh food insecure
Blackouts in Ramazan: K-P government says enough is enough
The Express TribuneIncensed by rampant blackouts, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, has given the federally-controlled Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) until tomorrow (Monday) to end power outages or else face a protests campaign. “If the unjust load-shedding is not stopped by tomorrow, the chief minister along with his cabinet members and provincial legislators will stage a protest,” Chief Minister’s Special Assistant for Mineral and Mining Ziaullah Afridi told a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Sunday. The federal government had promised there would be no load-shedding during Sehri, Iftar and Taraweeh timings in Ramazan. Contrary to the promise, the entire province – including Peshawar – was subjected to ‘unjust’ outages during the holy month. Afridi described it as a “conspiracy against the PTI-led provincial government”. “The K-P produces more electricity than its demand. Still the federal government is not supplying us with our quota of electricity which results in prolonged outages in the province,” he lamented. He was referring to Tarbela Dam, the largest hydropower generation plant with a capacity of producing 3,478 megawatts of electricity. Afridi demanded the removal of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company’s chief executive who “has failed to control power outages during Sehr, Iftar and Taraweeh timings.” Chief Minister Pervez Khattak also asked the water and power ministry to supply K-P with its full share of electricity. While addressing PTI workers and office-bearers in his hometown of Nowshera, Khattak demanded immediate steps to address the shortage of grid stations in the province or else he would lead ‘protest demonstrations’ against Wapda. The frequency and duration of power outages has not decreased in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where some areas are made to go without electricity for up to 12 hours daily. On Sunday, protest demonstrations were staged in different towns and cities of the province, including Dera Ismail Khan, Mardan, Swat and Peshawar. No respite in Rawalpindi The situation in other cities is no better. In some neighbourhoods of Rawalpindi and its suburbs, frequent power outages have led to shortage of water in the month of Ramazan. In some areas, residents complained that they had no water supply for the past two days due to unannounced load-shedding. Tube-wells and pumping stations do not function due to load-shedding. An official of the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO), who wished not be named, said that they had to carry out power outages due to shortfall. “Power consumption during these hours increase manifold which result in tripping of feeders,” the official said. Cognisant of the situation, Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that the government would initiate many new power projects to get rid of load-shedding once and for all. He added that new transmission lines would be installed and the existing distribution system upgraded in the country. Speaking to Associated Press of Pakistan in Gujrat, the minister appealed to the people to cooperate with the government and show patience and extend their support to improve the electricity supply across the country. “We already have managed to reduce the duration of load-shedding and people are seeing the change.” The minister requested consumers in urban areas to reduce their consumption of electricity. He added that the government was increasing the power supply, but the consumers must also try to curtail their consumption.
Pakistan's Load Shedding: The worsening crisis
EDITORIAL: Daily TimesThere seems to be no respite from the frequent power outages that have made life miserable for citizens. The state of affairs today is a far cry from the lofty claims made by the PML-N when it was on the election trail just a couple of months ago. The then election hopefuls promised to end load shedding immediately and to do away with the ‘bad’ policies of previous regimes. Nawaz Sharif’s party promised a drastic cut in the hours of load shedding and immediate relief measures that would be taken up without any dithering about but all that seems to have changed. Even before the moment the PML-N stepped into the ruling shoes, Nawaz Sharif was quick to caution the public over its expectations by telling them not to expect an end to load shedding overnight. One would have liked to tell the premier then and there that no one expected a be all and end all cure for the energy woes plaguing the country but the masses did expect plans to tackle the crisis on a war footing the moment the PML-N took over. A high profile meeting was indeed held in the initial days of the PML-N government’s ascent to power, chalking out a new ‘national energy policy’, which was promised to be made public but never was. After that first spasm of effort on the electricity crisis one is still waiting for the government to handle the most pressing issue being faced by the country and its people. The power outages have gained momentum yet again and are long and unscheduled. Citizens are unable to sleep, study, work and fast properly during the hottest month of the year. They were promised no load shedding before the holy month was due to commence but now Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif has told the masses that there are “technical” reasons for the sehri-iftaar outages. When will this placating the public end? Whilst the government has released some Rs 300 billion to help retire circular debt, it fails to realise that until the root cause of this debt is addressed, the problem will just keep on being reproduced. The fault lies wit the priorities set by governments over a period of time: the main culprit of this circular debt is the government itself, followed by the military. These two institutions and their affiliated branches have failed to pay their electricity bills for many years leaving private consumers to bear the brunt of increasing tariffs. Of late, the office of the Federal Adjustor (FA) has been considered to be brought into action to deduct at source any money owed by the provinces at the time of funds transfer to the provinces under the NFC Award. This may prove one way to make sure the provincial governments that do not pay their bills no longer get away it. The PML-N is no longer an opposition party and can no longer flout claims that Punjab is being targeted by the Centre when it comes to massive outages; it is now in the federal government and must make sure that all pay their electricity bills. Secondly, subsidies must be minimised. So far, the subsidy is around five rupees per unit and this is costing the government in terms of efficient electricity generation. The lifeline slab, which is specifically the amount of electricity only barely afforded by the poor, should not be touched but the other slabs can face an incremental increase in tariffs as their consumers can afford to pay for it. Last but not least comes less dependency on thermal power and more on hydel and other, alternative forms of fuel. Renewable energy must be brought to places where the national grid just cannot be extended to isolated areas that are still without electricity. The Thar coal reserves are reported to be made of a lignite form of coal, which is too combustible to transport; the government must make plans to plant powerhouses in the mining area instead of transporting the coal. As can be seen, there is one big problem that has many solutions. However, they can only be implemented if the governing body has the determination and grit to move past rhetoric and actually do something about the matter.
Pakistan: Power outages hit country hard
DAILY TIMESUnannounced load shedding continued across the country on Sunday despite the government’s claim that power generation has been increased. Unscheduled power outages were reported in various cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Hyderabad and Multan, although the government had said there would be no power cuts during sehr, iftar and taraveeh timings. In Lahore, people in Karim Park, Kasurpura, Ravi Road, Misri Shah, Bhaati Gate and Lohari Gate faced inconvenience during sehri time due to the intermittent power supply. A similar situation was reported in Karachi’s several areas, including Ahsanabad, Gulshan-e-Maymar, Surjani Town, Buffer Zone, North Karachi, New Karachi, Gulshan-e- Iqbal and Malir. People in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat, Kohat and other cities also had to brave incessant power cuts throughout the day. Responding to the situation, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced it would hold protest demonstrations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) from today (Monday). KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak would lead the protests from July 15, PTI MPAs, led by Ziaullah Afridi, told a press conference. They said that although KP was the “largest power producing province in the country”, it was being discriminated against with regard to supply of electricity. Qaumi Watan Party leader Sikandar Sherpao also expressed his concerns over unscheduled load shedding in KP and said people would be compelled to take to the streets if the situation was not improved. “We will also be compelled to lead protests against power outages,” he remarked in a statement. Meanwhile, Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif said that shortfall of electricity had been reduced to 3,600 megawatts. “Technical reasons are to be blamed for load shedding during sehar and iftar timings,” the state-run radio reported him as saying. He said that duration of load shedding was more in those areas where people did not pay electricity bills. Asif said the government was increasing the power supply but there must also be some efforts on part of consumers to conserve power. He added Rs 360 billion circular debt had also been cleared. agencies
Pakistan: Addressing the core issue
After setting foot in the power corridors, the finance managers of the Pakistan Muslim League government immediately pounced at the paper work to do away with lingering circular debt widely regarded as the sole factor that kept Pakistan in darkness for last five year. The quick work on the circular debt immediately attracted media attention. Media debates gave new impetus to the expectations of the energy-starved people of Pakistan. Thereafter, newly induced hopes and aspiration proved short-lived when the existing power generation resources failed to match the power demand in extremely hot and humid conditions despite hasty clearance of the hefty circular debt from cruelly taxed money of the common man to the power producers who never implemented their agreements to generate the agreed level of power. Finding no improvement in the power situation despite lapse of several weeks despite payment to power producers, the patience of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers run short on Sunday when they announced to carry out demonstrations across the province on Monday (today) against prolonged electricity outages and against the unjust power distribution. Claiming that the KPK is biggest producer of power yet the people of the province are being unfairly deprived of the electricity, the PTI lawmakers sound little a bit parochial in their public oratory that the power produced in the KPK is being given to other provinces. Such rhetoric can damage mutual respect and harmony amongst the provinces. Thus the law-makers across Pakistan need to be extremely careful when they go to public. Yet nothing deters the PTI government in the KPK from protesting against what it believed unjust. There exist certain flaws in the power allocation formula. Under the political pressure, the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), that failed to enhance its power generation capacity under the agreement, gets extra power from the national grid. Now it is time to revise such unjust treatment. Definitely, the people living in Karachi and Peshawar deserve equal respect and rights. There is hardly any doubt the PEPCO has failed to keep its surveillance over the power producers. Thus the KPK law-makers are justified in their demand to seek immediate removal of the Chief Executive PEPCO. Their call should be given patient hearing and due consideration. On the other hand, the power production had relatively improved after all the government had generously pumped in Rs 362 billion without making judicious study of the root-causes of the lingering debt circular. The government must not forget the country will remain energy deficient till it revamps power sector—no matter how much borrowed money it pumps into the existing power producing set-up. The federal government must not live in any illusion that the improvement in the power generation owes to their achievement of settling the circular debt early rather their cause is well served by the Mother Nature that has set in early pre-monsoon rains. Improved water level in reservoirs has also boosted the power production in the country. It is a temporary phase: thereafter the power crisis will hit the nation once the monsoon seasons ends. Thus the demand to root out causes of the circular debt should not fall on deaf ears as the power crisis does not revolve around the debt circular. It must also revisit its Oil Deregulation Policy that had never yielded any desired results of building up the oil storage facility rather taking heavy toll on the national exchequer. Billion dollars have been robbed from the nation under the garb of the Deem Duty. Rich oil cartel is ruling roost and is holding the bureaucracy and political leadership in the past hostage for their personal gains. No government can tackle the energy crisis without addressing core issue of the oil price fixation formula—for which it had to revamp toothless OGRA as well that had been playing in the hands of oil marketing companies.
Pakistan: Paul Bhatti is no Shahbaz Bhatti | Challenging Pakistan’s blasphemy laws takes courage
DAILY TIMES
By Nasir SaeedShahbaz Bhatti knew death was a risk that came with the role of being the minorities' minister but he never shirked from criticising the blasphemy laws and calling injustice what it was. It is very unfortunate that during his recent visit to the UK Paul Bhatti said Pakistan’s blasphemy laws were not a problem. Bhatti
A wrong turn: Is Indonesia on the path to radicalisation?
http://www.hindustantimes.com/
Once known for its verdant beaches, Indonesia of late has acquired a radical hue. This shift came into stark focus recently when the organisers of Miss World pageant bowed down to pressure from Islamic hardliners and scrapped the bikini round from this year's competition to be held in September
in Jakarta.
The episode, coming after Lady Gaga's cancelled tour last year and the disrupted book tour of Muslim-Canadian writer Irshad Manji in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, was again marked by a complete lack of dissent.
The Miss World decision came in the wake of the Indonesian Council of Ulema or MUI writing to the country's president about how the competition was "against Islamic teachings." "That contest is just an excuse to show women's body parts that should remain covered," said Mukri Aji, a prominent cleric from West Java province's MUI branch.
This underlines a trend of growing intolerance in Indonesia in the last decade, with such protests against popular culture indicating a much deeper problem. "Protests against Miss World pageant are nothing new. However, the difference lies in how these opinions are expressed. While earlier public criticism was the norm, now coercion and threats are used," said Ahmad Suaedy of the Abdurrahman Wahid Centre for Inter-Faith Dialogue and Peace at the University of Indonesia.
"This is because the police and law enforcement agencies want to avoid violence by the hardliners and let minorities become the victim in the process," he added.
The New York Times reported over 150 regulations restricting minority rights in Indonesia, including a building regulation used to demolish churches. Over 400 churches have been closed since 2004 when President Yudhoyono took office. The Jakata-based Setara Institute reported 264 incidents of religious violence in 2012 alone.
Not all the victims are Christians though. In February 2011, three members of the minority Islamic Ahmadiyya sect were bludgeoned to death by a mob of over 1000, reported BBC. Videos of the killing were posted online but the maximum sentence handed out was to an Ahmadiyya man for defending himself.
In 2008, President Yudhoyono himself issued an anti-Ahmadiyya decree, threatening five years jail term for anyone who "propagates" the group's teachings, said Andreas Harsono, an independent journalist and researcher working in Jakarta.
Rizal Kuddah of the State University of Surabaya, however, disagreed. "The Ahmadiyya sect contradicts Islam. That's why the government had to take such a stance as there was a social outpouring and protests," he said.
"Yudhoyono signed a law that allowed the listing of only six religions on Indonesian ID cards, basically discriminating against more than 350 smaller religions," Harsono said. However, international reaction has been one of appeasement, with Hillary Clinton and David Cameron speaking highly of the regime in 2012.
"Islam is the biggest religion in Indonesia and it is also our guiding light. Indonesia is not a secular state," said Kuddah, "If the pageant is happening in Indonesia, the contestants should represent the culture and ethos of the country and wearing bikini is not in keeping with our mores," he says.
However, the excuse of "against our culture" is gradually threatening any kind of free thinking and is being used to intimidate minorities. "More and more artists, writers and intellectuals are facing problems when they try to take up issues considered controversial by hardliners," said Harsono.
The Islamists, however, claim that they are as 'secular' as the West. "In France, women are banned from wearing hijab (veil). In the US, an azaan (prayer call) cannot be sounded. Here in Indonesia, we celebrate festivals of all major religions, whether it is Islam, Hinduism, Christianity or Buddhism. Can you imagine a European country declaring Eid as a national holiday?' questioned Kuddah.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Pakistani Taliban sent hundreds to Syria to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with rebels
President Obama urges 'calm reflection' in wake of Zimmerman trial
In the wake of the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin, President Obama issued a statement Sunday urging the nation to ""respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son."
ElBaradei sworn in as Egypt's interim VP
Prominent liberal politician Mohamed ElBaradei was sworn in on Sunday as Egypt's vice president for international relations in the interim government, official news agency MENA reported.
Leading the main opposition bloc during the rule of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, ElBaradei was nominated last week as prime minister in the transitional period, but his choice was opposed by Islamists.
ElBaradei served as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1997 to 2009 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 jointly with the IAEA.
Earlier on Sunday, the Egyptian presidency said interim Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi has started consultations with a number of nominees for various ministerial portfolios.
It said that former ambassador to Washington Nabil Fahmy has accepted the post of interim foreign minister.
Local media said the cabinet line-up will be announced Tuesday.
NAACP asking Obama administration to pursue civil case against Zimmerman
The NAACP is asking the Justice Department to open a civil rights case against George Zimmerman, the Florida neighborhood watch captain acquitted Saturday night by a jury in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous started the drive by posting a petition Sunday morning on the website MoveOn.org that is addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder.
"The most fundamental of civil rights -- the right to life -- was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Martin," Jealous wrote in the petition.
The Justice Department has already been reviewing the handling of the criminal case in which Zimmerman, a Hispanic, fatally shot Martin, a black teen, in February 2012, raising concerns about such issues as racial profiling and equal justice.
Jealous told CNN’s “State of the Union on Sunday morning, “There is reason to be concerned that race was a factor in why (Zimmerman) targeted young Trayvon.”
He also said he has not spoken directly with Holder but has spoken to his senior people.
“We are glad that what they began months back continues, which is a serious reviewing of everything that came out in this case, everything that was known before this case,” Jealous said. “If this moves into a civil phase, they will review all that comes out in that and then they will make a choice about whether or not they will pursue criminal civil rights charges.”
Zimmerman verdict: Civil rights groups express dismay
Civil rights groups in the US have expressed dismay after neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman was found not guilty of murdering black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida last year.
Rights leader Jesse Jackson said he was "stunned" and that the Department of Justice (DoJ) should intervene.
Meanwhile Mr Zimmerman's family and lawyers have said they now fear he could face revenge attacks.
The case sparked a fierce debate in the US about racial profiling.
Prosecutors had argued that Mr Zimmerman opened fired on 26 February 2012 because he assumed that Trayvon Martin, who was African-American and was wearing a hooded sweatshirt as he walked in the rain, was up to no good.
But the defence said he shot Trayvon Martin in self defence after the teenager had punched their client, slammed his head into the pavement and reached for Mr Zimmerman's gun.
Defence 'ecstatic'
Mr Zimmerman was facing possible conviction for second-degree murder or manslaughter, but on Saturday he was cleared of all charges by the six-women jury at Seminole County Criminal Justice Center in Sanford, Florida.
One of his lawyer's, Mark O'Mara, said the defence team were "ecstatic".
"George Zimmerman was never guilty of anything except protecting himself in self defence. I'm glad that the jury saw it that way," he said.
Another defence lawyer, Don West, said the prosecution had been "disgraceful".
"As happy as I am for George Zimmerman, I'm thrilled that this jury kept this tragedy from becoming a travesty," he said.
However, following the verdict, protest marches were staged in US cities including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta.
In Oakland, California, some protesters started small fires and smashed windows.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson told CNN on Sunday: "I remain stunned at the decision. The Department of Justice must intervene to take this to another level."
In a Facebook posting, he said "the American legal system has once again failed justice". But he also appealed for calm, saying anyone seeking to "compound our pain with street justice" would do "damage to the innocent blood and legacy of Trayvon Martin".
Right activist Al Sharpton also appealed for calm, but said the verdict was "a slap in the face to the American people".
He compared the case to the beating of African-American man Rodney King by police in 1991, which sparked widespread rioting.
Campaign group the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has launched a petition demanding that the DoJ open a civil rights case against Mr Zimmerman.
Its president, Benjamin Todd Jealous, wrote: "The most fundamental of civil rights - the right to life - was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Martin."
Revenge fears
Daryl Parks, lawyer for the Martin family, told BBC News he hoped the case would be a wake-up call for the US.
"Many will realise that if there is a law that would allow you to kill an unarmed teenager, then that's a law that we probably should look at and change," he said.
Florida police had angered many by not arresting Mr Zimmerman for six weeks after the shooting, citing the state's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows a citizen to use lethal force if he or she feels in imminent danger.
But Mr Parks said the trial had given the US "a new perspective on black life - when a young black person gets killed, the approach that it takes to investigate, to arrest the person that did it".
Mr Zimmerman's brother, Robert, and his lawyers said they were concerned for his safety.
Meanwhile Mr Zimmerman's family and representatives have said they are afraid he could fall victim to revenge attacks.
His brother, Robert said he had received frequent threats on social media and there was "more reason now than ever to think that people are trying to kill him".
"He's going to be looking over his shoulder the rest of his life," he said.
Egypt upheaval mars hopes of end to economic woes
http://www.egyptindependent.com/Egypt's shattered economy was boosted this week by Gulf allies pledging billions of dollars in aid, but analysts say this simply buys time as political turmoil deepens its economic malaise. The millions of ordinary Egyptians angered by record high unemployment, soaring inflation and chronic fuel shortages who took to the streets two weeks ago demanding Mohamed Morsy's resignation blamed him for letting the economy nosedive. Fuel supplies have returned, after panic buying before the military coup on 3 July, and three Gulf monarchies relieved at the toppling of Egypt's Islamist president have pledged $12 billion in assistance. But dire security problems and political instability mean a return of the tourists and foreign investment that Egypt so desperately needs are a distant prospect. And progress remains stalled on negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on a $4.8-billion loan. "Even if they do agree on the loan, I just don't believe that we're going to see a flood of investment," said financial analyst Andrew Cunningham. "The country has been in turmoil since 2011, there's just been a military coup and they're shooting people on the streets. This is hardly an attractive prospect." Gulf pledges of financial assistance are a lifeline for the new administration. Foreign reserves have fallen by almost 60 percent since the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, to $14.9 billion in June -- the equivalent of just three months of imports. Kuwait offered $4 billion in cash, loans and fuel, with Saudi Arabia contributing $5 billion and the United Arab Emirates another $3 billion. But Cunningham warned that, while welcome, the cash injection was not a long-term solution. "We're still talking plasters and bandages. The challenges are enormous and they are structural. Egypt's economy has been badly managed for decades, and it didn't improve under Morsy." Illustrating the severity of the problem, the latest data from Egypt's official statistics agency shows that unemployment jumped after Mubarak's ouster and then rose steadily over the next two years to reach a record 13.2 percent in March. Problems Egypt's new rulers will have to confront if they are to reverse the inexorable decline include corruption, poor education, a bloated public sector, low productivity and unsustainable food and fuel subsidies. "They need to fix the entire system," said Ahmed Galal, head of the Eco Research Forum. "It's going to be difficult to do, but it's doable, with a lot of dedication," he told AFP, adding that stability and appointing a competent government will be crucial if Egypt's economic woes are to be resolved. This week Hazem al-Beblawi, a former finance minister and accomplished economist with long experience of working with international financial institutions, was named prime minister. But his task of forming a national unity government was immediately complicated by Morsy's Muslim Brotherhood rejecting any offer of jobs in the new cabinet. US intelligence firm Stratfor believes the instability goes far beyond political divisions. It said growing poverty and joblessness, "arguably among the root causes of the uprising in 2011," was part of a "swelling trend" that motivated the recent protests. "It is possible that the new government will find a level of stability that the increasingly isolated Muslim Brotherhood leadership was unable to sustain in the face of rising disputes with the former coalition partners and an obstructionist judiciary," it said. But "mounting demographic and economic pressures" mean the country's new leaders will face economic challenges "that become incrementally more difficult with each passing year." Egypt is the Arab world's most populous nation, and has witnessed an astonishing 50 percent rise in its population since 1990. Last year it hit 84 million, "one in four of whom live below the poverty line and only survive thanks to subsidised wheat," according to agricultural expert Sebastien Poncelet. Egypt imports about 10 million tonnes of wheat annually, with its own production supplying less than half of demand, which was 18 million tonnes in 2012. The acute shortage of foreign currency has hampered imports over the past six months, so financial aid from the Gulf will help Cairo cover its cost in the short term. But to be able to supply cheap bread, a key ingredient in maintaining social stability, "the economy must be able to generate sustainable income over the long-term," said Galal.
SHOCKING: Indian Govt Behind Parliament Attack, 26/11!
http://www.indiatimes.com/
In what is certain to escalate the already vicious fight between the CBI and the IB over the IshratJahan "fake encounter case", a former home ministry officer has alleged that a member of the CBI-SIT team had accused incumbent governments of "orchestrating" the terror attack on Parliament and the 26/11 carnage in Mumbai.
R V S Mani, who as home ministry under-secretary signed the affidavits submitted in court in the alleged encounter case, has said that Satish Verma, until recently a part of the CBI-SIT probe team, told him that both the terror attacks were set up "with the objective of strengthening the counter-terror legislation (sic)".
Mani has said that Verma "...narrated that the 13.12. 2001(attack on Parliament) was followed by Pota (Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act) and 26/11 2008 (terrorists' siege of Mumbai) was followed by amendment to the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act)."
The official has alleged Verma levelled the damaging charge while debunking IB's inputs labelling the three killed with Ishrat in the June 2004 encounter as Lashkar terrorists.
Contacted by TOI, Verma refused to comment. "I don't know what the complaint is, made when and to whom. Nor am I interested in knowing. I cannot speak to the media on such matters. Ask the CBI," said the Gujarat cadre IPS officer who after being relieved from the SIT is working as principal of the Junagadh Police Training College.
Mani, currently posted as deputy land and development officer in the urban development ministry, has written to his seniors that he retorted to Verma's comments telling the IPS officer that he was articulating the views of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.
According to him, the charge was levelled by Verma in Gandhinagar on June 22 while questioning Mani about the two home ministry affidavits in the alleged encounter case.
In his letter to the joint secretary in the urban development ministry, Mani has accused Verma of "coercing" him into signing a statement that is at odds with facts as he knew them. He said Verma wanted him to sign a statement saying that the home ministry's first affidavit in the Ishrat case was drafted by two IB officers. "Knowing fully well that this would tantamount to falsely indicting of (sic) my seniors at the extant time, I declined to sign any statement."
Giving the context in which Verma allegedly levelled the serious charge against the government, Mani said the IPS officer, while questioning him, had raised doubts about the genuineness of IB's counter-terror intelligence. He disputed the veracity of the input on the antecedents of the three killed in June 2004 on the outskirts of Ahmedabad with Ishrat in the alleged encounter which has since become a polarizing issue while fuelling Congress's fight with Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.
Gujarat Police has justified the encounter citing the IB report that Pakistani nationals Zeeshan Zohar, Amzad Ali Rana and Javed Sheikh were part of a Lashkar module which had reached Gujarat to target Modi and carry out terrorist attacks.
In its first affidavit, filed in August 2009, the home ministry had cited IB inputs that those killed with Ishrat in the alleged encounter were part of a Lashkar sleeper cell, and had objected to a CBI probe into the "encounter".
In its second affidavit, filed in September 2009, the home ministry, irked by the Gujarat government treating the first affidavit as justification of the encounter, said the IB input did not constitute conclusive proof of the terrorist antecedents of those killed. It supported the demand for a CBI probe.
Mani said Verma doubted the input saying MHA's first affidavit was actually drafted by IB officer Rajinder Kumar, who looked after IB's operations in Gujarat at the time of Ishrat "encounter" and now runs the serious risk of being chargesheeted by the CBI for hatching the conspiracy behind the alleged extra-judicial killings.
Mani said Verma stuck to his guns even after being told that the home ministry did not need outside help. The former home ministry official said Verma insisted that the "input" was prepared after the encounter.
Pak ambassador to UN hosts a dinner in honour of Malala
http://www.geo.tv/Pakistan ambassador to U.N. Masood Khan hosted a dinner in honour of Malala Yousufzai at his residence on Saturday night, Geo News reported.
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