The executive summary of the Nacta draft for a counterterrorism policy seems to gravitate around a singular state narrative — that terrorism in Pakistan is linked with the Afghan war of the 1980s and continues due to foreign intervention. Moreover, the source of all violence is North Waziristan, and by association, Afghanistan. Such a diagnosis creates problems in comprehending the issue in its entirety. Many people erroneously believe in such theses, resulting in the conclusion that the withdrawal of the US will automatically bring peace in the region. Notwithstanding the fact that America’s invasion was a costly blunder, the US withdrawal at this quick pace will not be sufficient to deal with terrorism. Following are the reasons which establish that the menace of terrorism will not be addressed with the above perspective in mind. First, such an explanation doesn’t help in taking into account the manner in which sources of terrorism have expanded in the country. The foreign intervention next door may be a driver of terrorism in the tribal areas and the Pashtun-belt in general, but this framework certainly does not explain what is happening in the rest of Pakistan. Second, an overemphasis on America’s involvement in creating jihadis in South Asia, not taking cognisance of the past or present links of the military with militant organisations, does not help in understanding the penetration of these outfits within the security and law-enforcement establishments, and the government in general. There is no doubt that militancy, as a menace, dates back to the 1980s when the Zia regime willingly allowed radicalisation of society in order to fight the American war against the Soviet troops. However, we cannot deny the fact that our security establishment held on to these jihadis, which were used on other fronts. Third, such a connection has compelled the military and state in general to turn a blind eye to sectarian violence, which is considered as an unpleasant consequence of the jihadi agenda that is tolerated because of the efficacy of the jihadis in countering the external threat or the internal threat in the form of Baloch and Sindhi nationalism. These groups create political and diplomatic space for the state. Their services will be critical after the foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014. Fourth, the problem with the Afghanistan-centric narrative is that it is limited to dealing with criminal-cum-ideological gangs like Hakimullah Mehsud’s TTP but not with much larger problems in the form of Punjab-based militant networks. The popular narrative constructed and spread is that every terrorist activity, taking place in Punjab, is controlled from North Waziristan, which tends to take attention away from the expansionist designs and the rabid ideology of the Salafi and Deobandi groups ensconced in the largest province. This is also an excuse to focus on North Waziristan because the level of violence in the rest of the country, especially Punjab and Sindh, is not proportional to the jihadi presence there. The Punjab model of jihadism and extremism is different from that of Fata as these groups carefully engage society to avoid attracting attention. This makes it look like as if the problem has come from somewhere else. But if we begin to look at their literature, we will be able to see that they are much more expansionist and cunning in their tactics than those in the tribal areas, who are exposed due to their violence. In fact, violence as a measure of extremism is problematic as it fails to capture the extent of radicalisation of the society. Violence can be described as the tip of the iceberg of radicalism that is difficult to measure, especially when people continue to confuse radicalism with conservatism, which, in turn, is owned as part of the local culture. Sectarian violence is one of the examples of how the culture argument is used to downplay this crime. Surely, there were always sectarian differences but not the kind of violence that we see today. Therefore, any problem-solving will have to, on the parallel, deal with countering radicalism. This is, indeed, an issue that is gently broached in the Nacta draft policy. However, this is also a Herculean task, which no one has a clue about how to undertake this at the moment. Fifth, due to our limited analysis, we are unable to see that the jihadi leadership of the Salafi and Deobandi groups is middle class and thus much more capable of expanding their message and membership. The militant outfits in Punjab and Sindh do not just operate as groups but as a network, which has means to penetrate the society through welfare outfits and madrassas, and also influence policies through political partnerships. For instance, the JUI-F is a formidable umbrella for the expansion of militancy in Sindh. The Deobandi Tableeghi Jamaat must also be reviewed in the role it has played in expanding a particular mindset and ideology. In one particular case of an attack on the Ahmadi community in Lahore, the attackers allegedly stayed at the Tableeghi Jamaat’s centre. We also fail to see the growing trends of radicalism and radical movements in non-Pashtun Pakistan that takes various shapes and forms. For instance, while the various Deobandi and Salafi networks infiltrate society selectively at the levels of the lower and middle class in general, there are other forms like the Hizbut Tehrir (HuT), which do not necessarily encourage violence but have managed to penetrate the upper-middle class and succeeded in convincing its members to support the establishment of a khilafa and a sharia-based system in the country. This is easier said than done, especially when there are ideological differences within the religious discourse. The risk is that the khilafa formula will create more chaos and violence. More important, all these groups with differing agendas converge at the same point. This is not to undermine the argument that there may be foreign intervention. However, how can the state tell the difference between local versus foreign-sponsored if it allows jihadism, be it friendly or unfriendly? No security establishment has a master switch with which it can ensure that those who join the friendly militants will not become unfriendly tomorrow.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Pakistan: Fighting terrorism
Pakistani Army Accused Of Killing Indian Soldiers In Ambush
Radio Free Europe/Radio LibertyFor the first time, India has openly accused the Pakistani army of being directly involved in an ambush that killed five Indian soldiers. India's Defense Minister A.K. Antony told parliament on August 8 that it was clear that Pakistani "specialist troops" were behind the attack on an army patrol in Indian-administered Kashmir on August 6. Antony indicated that the attack would harm the country's bilateral relations and warned of possible military retaliation. "Our restraint should not be taken for granted, nor should the capacity of our armed forces and resolve of the government to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control ever be doubted," he said Antony was referring to the de facto border dividing Kashmir, which Islamabad and New Delhi both claim and have fought two wars over. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attack.
DIG Operations among 15 killed in Quetta blast
DIG Operations and fifteen other people were killed, while 24 others were injured in a suicide blast at Police Lines, Quetta, on Thursday.
The blast took place just before the funeral prayers of SHO City Mohib Ullah commenced at the Police Lines mosque.
Around 300 to 400 people, including DIG Operations Fayyaz Sumbol, IG Balochistan and CCPO, were attending the funeral procession. While DIG Operations died on the spot, IG Balochistan and CCPO survived the attack.
The police immediately cordoned off the area and rescue operation was started. Injured were shifted to the hospital.
Earlier in the day, an SHO City Mohib Ullah was killed, while his four children and driver sustained injuries, during a firing incident in Alamu Chowk, Quetta.
Pakistan: Power tariff plan needs a rethink
As a part of new National Power Policy announced on Wednesday, the government has made more than a 50 percent increase in power tariff for industrial and commercial consumers from August 1 and for domestic consumers from October 1. There will be no change, though, in the rates for households using 200 units or less in a month. The concession will benefit as many as 64 percent of users who are least able to pay extra price. The average rate for the rest of domestic consumers will be about Rs 15.50 per unit.
Hardest hit by this new tariff plan will be the salaried middle class. While the prices of essential commodities have risen sky high and the surge in energy rates pushing the transportation costs and consequently every item of daily use, salaries have stayed the same or increased only marginally during the last few years.
Explaining the rationale for the increase at a news conference, Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif said that since the burden of subsidies ultimately fell on people, an attempt had been made to burden those who could afford it to avoid accumulation of Rs 600 billion circular debt next year. Understandably, the government is under pressure from the IMF to remove subsidies and also to pay the circular debt that exacerbated the present energy crisis. However, the unpleasant reality is also that power theft is rampant. The minister himself acknowledged that theft and system losses cost up to Rs 200 billion a year. The thieves, he revealed in a TV talk show, include many members of the rich and influential sections of society. That in fact is not a new disclosure. From time to time press reports have been uncovering the names of prominent politicians and their relatives involved in electricity stealing for both domestic and industrial use. And law-abiding citizens who pay their bills regularly end up shouldering the burden of such thievery. It is worthwhile to note that if ordinary citizens do not pay their bills, the concerned authorities waste no time in cutting their supplies, but in the case of privileged classes, they tend to look the other way. No wonder the losses are as high as 200 billion a year.
Instead of raising power tariff for the salaried middle class already struggling to make ends meet, the government should focus on recovering dues from those who refuse to pay, such as consumers in parts of KPK, and the big power thieves in urban centres of both Punjab and Sindh. It is good to note that the government has already started a serious campaign against electricity and gas stealing in Punjab and KPK and plans to do the same in Sindh. Special measures are being put in place to ensure recovery of dues and punish the offenders. It should also rethink the 200-unit limit, extending it to consumers using up to 300 units per month who ill afford bearing an extra burden.
Eidi for the jailed: President Zardari grants special remission in sentences to prisoners
The Express Tribune
Pakistan: Plan for polio-free world by 2018
With an overarching framework for vulnerable areas, a comprehensive and long-term strategy has been developed to ensure a polio-free world by 2018.
Major new elements in the “Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-18” are strategic approaches to all polio diseases, emphasis on improving immunisation systems, introduction of new technologies, enhanced risk mitigation and contingency strategies, and timeline for completion of the initiative.
For Pakistan, the coordination between security and local authorities to generate area-specific assessments has been institutionalised in the plan with the setting up of provincial committees.
The World Health Organisation and Unicef — the two implementing partners — are taking steps to ensure their intensified support for the programme despite escalation in security threats.
The strategic plan brings together a comprehensive approach to completing polio eradication. It is built on primary principles that the programme must be institutionalised within the broader health agenda and must maintain neutrality.
The plan developed by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in consultation with national health authorities, global health initiatives, experts, donors and other stakeholders in response to a directive of the World Health Assembly has the goal of eradicating and containing all wild, vaccine-related and Sabin polioviruses so that no child ever again suffers paralytic poliomyelitis. The basic elements of the strategy are to reduce the exposure of vaccinators to potential threats by holding campaigns that are of shorter duration and lower profile.
For safety and security, the plan seeks enhanced coordination between civilian and security services. It incorporates religious leaders’ advocacy to build up ownership of and solidarity for polio eradication across the Muslim world, including for the protection of children against polio, the sanctity of health workers and the neutrality of health services.
The GPEI says in a report that in addition to declining cases in Afghanistan and Pakistan, evidence demonstrates that these countries and Nigeria have showed marked improvement in increasing vaccination coverage last year.
In Pakistan, the proportion of highest-risk districts achieving the estimated target threshold of 95 per cent increased from 59pc in January 2012 to 74pc in October.
Pakistan: An ill-advised tactic
Balochistan plunges into darkness
Daily TimesBalochistan’s 17 districts plunged into darkness once again when heavy storms damaged the recently repaired 220kV towers of circuit transmission line in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. According to the details released by Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO), two towers of 220kV were damaged in the Aabgum area of Bolan in the heavy floods on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, cutting supply of electricity to 17 districts of the province. Officials said supply was soon restored to the capital city Quetta from private powerhouses. They added that the other district headquarters of the province would only get one hour of electricity. They said that only 120MW of electricity was available for the 17 districts which will consequently result in longer hours of load shedding. The QESCO officials also conveyed an official apology to the people for delayed start of repair work on damaged towers due to security clearance. It may be recalled here that four towers, two each of 132kV and 220kV, were blown up on August 5 in Bolan, heavily damaging the transmission lines. The recent storm two of them again.
Balochistan: Bloodshed in Bolan
In the latest incident of the senseless violence that seems to be the country’s fate, 13 people lost their lives on Tuesday near Mach in the Bolan district of Balochistan. The victims had been travelling in two coaches out of the province to their home districts in Punjab when the vehicles were ambushed by scores of gunmen disguised as security personnel. Twenty-one passengers were taken away. Thirteen of them, identified from their identity cards as belonging to Punjab, were killed. The others were released. The Bolan killings are quite evidently ethnic in nature – nothing new for Balochistan where such murders have routinely taken place before. Those killed were mainly labourers from various Punjab districts, including Faisalabad, Sadiqabad and Muzzafargarh.
It comes as no real surprise that the Baloch nationalist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, has taken responsibility for the ruthless killings, which have been condemned . It is uncertain what purpose the nationalists hope to achieve through such violence. The killings have only added to the misery that is already in abundance in most homes as a result of poverty and militancy. The tragic incident also highlights just how ungovernable the province of Balochistan increasingly continues to become. Any pretence of law and order has now crumbled completely and it is obvious that heightened security alone will not solve the problem. Indeed security forces too have been facing tough times, with personnel repeatedly targeted. There is no easy solution to Balochistan’s many issues and the place the provincial government finds itself in is unenviable. But perhaps some hope can be found in the fact that – gauging from media statements and online conversation – public opinion in the province appears to be swinging away from the militants. This is something CM Abdul Malik Baloch and his team need to capitalise on, so that a consensus can be created against any and all kind of violence. The people of Balochistan need to stand united so that the future of the province looks a little brighter than is presently the case. Unless this happens, greater darkness will descend not only on Balochistan but the country as well.
Balochistan: Has CM Malik what it takes
The Tuesday tragedy of the murders of 14 labourers travelling by buses from Quetta to their homes in Punjab has again shaken the country and made it realize that the situation in Balochistan is still as volatile as when Dr Abdul Malik Baloch took over as the chief minister of the province. The change in government, it seems, instead of violent incidents become few have increased in number and intensity. The most authentic version of the recent tragedy is that the convoy of buses carrying passengers to Punjab was guarded by the security forces but the escorts were diverted towards another violent accident when a militant attack took place on an oil tanker nearby. The FC and Balochistan Levies men were engaged in crossfire with those attacking the oil tanker.
The explanation seems plausible except for the fact that the passengers travelling by the vans were in dozens while the oil tanker at the most could have had only two to three men. How could a trained force risk dozens of people and leave at the mercy of militants go to defend two or three individuals in the tanker baffles the mind.
The militants were said to be numbered between fifty to one hundred and fifty armed men who stopped the buses, calmly checked the papers of all the passengers and kidnapped only those from Punjab: during all that time, the armed escort were engaged with the attackers on an oil tanker where only a couple of lives were at stack.
While one can say that the diversion was created by the same group which kidnapped and later killed the passengers, the question is how they could know that a small distraction would be enough to lure the escorts from their original and more important job. It just doesn't stands to reason. Like the attacks on Bannu and DI Khan prisons, so in this attack on the buses full of passengers, there are many implausible excuses for the strange behaviour of those entrusted to guard against militants..
All this happened under Chief Minister Abdul Malik's watch and while it is too early to say for sure, it, however, seems that Balochistan's new chief minister is all wise talk and no smart action when it comes to bringing peace and order in his province.
It was said, and truly said, that CM Malik was a nationalist and was once the partner of those Baloch leaders who have now crossed the line and become outright separatists. It was said that even among the separatists, Dr. Malik had credibility, as he knew most the separatist leaders and was on first name terms with quite a few of them. He was considered the ideal person to assure them of the government's good intentions and convince them of the benefits of a much autonomous Balochistan within the federation of Pakistan rather than fighting for the unrealistic dream of an independent state. But Abdul Malik did not meet the expectations. It seems the separatists have become more hopeful of achieving their goals with Malik as chief minister.
It would seem that the nationalist militants, the sectarian terrorists and the gangs lawbreakers all are out of the control and reach of the chief minister. What is worse, he has been unable even to correct the direction and organise the provincial law enforcing agencies under his rule.
He has not been able to make a dent either in the will of the separatists commanding the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), nor has he posed any threat to the religious fanatics ravaging his province.
He is failing miserably in consolidating his authority even in areas which are supposed to be under the direct rule of the law enforcing agencies.
At the same time, the Islamabad government cannot be absolved of the responsibilities when it comes to acts of terrorism.
How can it be that scores of armed men would be moving or waiting in ambush so near an important road, and there would be no intelligence about them? And how could it be that there was no fast response force to reach and help the embattled men of FC and Balochistan Levies. After all this particular attack on buses may be new, the phenomenon of terrorism and their mode of operating are decades old.
The intelligence part is important because Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar had promised the nation of intelligence sharing and coordination between all forces assigned to turn the tides of all kinds of terrorist and otherwise organised violent activities.
The nation is still waiting even for some initial signs that the process of intelligence sharing and coordination among the relevant departments has begun. Already is too late.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Japan should never forget fate of previous Izumo in war of aggression
While the Japanese people were praying for peace in commemoration of the 68th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II, the Abe administration Wednesday was noisily reawakening the ghosts of Japan's militarist past.
It held a high-profile ceremony to unveil a new helicopter carrier named "Izumo" -- the same name carried by a flagship involved in its war of agression against China in the 1930s.
Officials of the Abe administration claimed the clash of the dates was a coincidence. AFP afterwards described it as indeed "an unfortunate coincidence."
On top of coincidences, the Japanese government also excels at playing with words, or rather "calling stags horses". When the monster ship was unveiled to the world for the first time, many experts and media were more inclined to call it an aircraft carrier in disguise than a helicopter destroyer, as the Japanase administration insisted on calling it.
The truth in front of our eyes is indisputable: in general, Izumo is a helicopter carrier with strong attacking capability. It is only 13 meters shorter than the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, and its standard and load displacements are far bigger than those of light carriers in some countries.
As for its performance, the flat-topped deck and island-shaped buildings offer great possibilities for launching military jets. It may even carry combat aircraft such as the F-35B with a few more modifications.
Regardless of the "coincidence" and tricky wording, all the covering up is bound to reveal itself before the mirror of history. Several decades ago, Japanese militarists' fetish for aircraft carriers prompted them to build more than 20 carriers and giant battleships. The carriers in turn became catalysts for their bulging aggression in World War II.
After its defeat, Japan was no longer allowed to build attacking ships under the constraints of its "Pacifist Constitution." But the desire to have carriers again has been an evil constantly haunting Japan's ultra-right politicians and militarists ever since.
The naming and launching of Izumo represents a flagrant evocation of the past militarism and Abe's intent to further militarise Japan.
The facts are clear: from Shinzo Abe's hint at rejecting the historical conclusions regarding Japan's war of invasion to his open proposal to change the constitution, much the same way the Nazis did before, the words and actions of the administration have turned increasingly dangerous and there is no sign of attempts to get back on the correct track.
These risky moves have stirred strong indignation and protest in neighboring countries and also evoked the condemnation of the international community. An editorial published in the French newspaper Le Monde advised Abe not to cross the line and called his remarks denying the aggression "unforgivable". Recently, U.S. officials also expressed their concerns about the militarist stance Abe has taken.
Sixty-eight years ago, two atomic bombs exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing casualties of about 300,000, some of whom are still suffering from the sequela of radiation. But now, the Abe administration commemorates the deceased in a most horrible way, one that has shocked the world.
History has warned us: it was war-obsessed Japanese militarists who dragged the innocent Japanese people to the abyss of darkness and inflicted tremendous pain on Japan's Asian neighbors.
The Abe administration should never forget the so-called "military exploits" by "Izumo" were built upon millions of skeletons of the dead, and the ship itself was eventually destroyed by U.S. forces on July 24, 1945 and buried for good with Japanese fascism.
Great powers help keep Central Asia stable
More than 20 years after the Soviet collapse, the five Central Asian republics have somehow remained politically stable and are trying to find ways to thrive and protect their sovereignty. Some believe the role of big powers in this region is not as prominent as before. But that is not the case.
Because of the changing international and regional situations, Central Asia is facing both external and internal challenges. The Afghan issue has posed direct pressure. As the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan in 2014 comes close, the possibility of warfare among feuding warlords remains, which could have a direct impact on Central Asian security.
The Taliban are trying to establish a theocratic regime. Central Asian countries worry about a resurgence of religious extremism and terrorism.
At the same time, the "Arab Spring" is approaching Central Asian countries, which are currently in a sensitive period of power transition.
Central Asian governments have taken heed of the wave, and have taken supposedly preventative measures that have intensified conflicts between civilians and officials.
The possibility of street protests or violence to influence political situation is rising. These countries may encounter the overflow of extreme religious forces.
Domestically, Central Asia countries are also facing severe challenges. The political system of these countries has not fully developed, and party politics is still immature.
Authoritarianism prevails, and conflicts among elites are prominent. The political influence of big powers and their neighboring countries is strengthening.
Besides past social problems that remain unsolved, such as poverty, population and land usage, new ones have emerged. Food security problems are more urgent than ever, and the weak education resources cannot withstand the intrusion of religious extremism.
Conflicts among Central Asian countries themselves are also apparent. For instance, the dispute over water resources between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan has been keeping bilateral relations tense. There is still the possibility of low-intensity confrontation in border regions.
As Central Asian leaders constantly call for the support of big powers given numerous threats and challenges the region faces, these countries need to find the partners that can benefit themselves most in terms of politics, economy and security.
Economic cooperation between China and Central Asia has been deepening, which has become a powerful engine for the region's economic development.
Meanwhile, Russia has been playing a key role in the region's development and stability.
For example, a customs union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus has been introduced to promote regional economic integration. Russia also helps to maintain the security situation through the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, especially in maintaining Kyrgyzstan's stability.
For the US, Central Asia is the most important channel to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, making it powerfully invested in regional stability
European countries have been dedicated to helping the region's economic growth, scholarship and cultural heritage, as well as coordinating disputes of water resources among member states.
Due to the complexity of the international situation, a win-win mode has been accepted by all. And only with this mode can challenges be met.
Kremlin: ‘Disappointing’ Obama decision to cancel Putin talks ‘clearly connected to Snowden’
Obama cancels meeting with Russia's Putin over Snowden decision
U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin planned for next month in Moscow over frustration with Russia's asylum for fugitive intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, the White House said.
The Obama administration has repeatedly expressed disappointment after Moscow granted temporary asylum to Snowden, a former U.S. National Security Agency contractor who made public sensitive information about U.S. intelligence gathering. Russia rebuffed U.S. pleas to hand him over to face criminal charges including espionage.
Pakistan - A dangerous failure
With this book, the distinguished Pakistani journalist Babar Ayaz joins the galaxy of Pakistani writers, such as Pervez Hoodbhoy, 
Saleem Shahzad, Ahmed Rashid and Khalid Ahmed, who have articulated in print their deep concerns about the path their country has taken and their fears about its future. This trend in Pakistani writing has been apparent over the last 10 years, possibly in response to the proliferation of jihadi elements across their country, the bloody and unabated sectarian violence, and the near-total collapse of governance. Mr Ayaz, appropriately, dedicates his work to the victims of terrorism.
In his analysis of Pakistan's malaise, Mr Ayaz has perhaps gone well beyond other Pakistani writers in identifying the "two-nation theory", the basis on which Pakistan was created, as a "genetic defect". This theory, he argues, was propounded by the Muslim elite in undivided India who feared that their privileged position would be diluted in a democratic order. So they pursued the Pakistan project by exploiting the religious feelings of the masses. But they based their propaganda on a false reading of Indian history, postulating a deep divide between Hindus and Muslims across the centuries so that, in their view, at the beginning of the 20th century, two separate civilisations had come to exist side by side in India. However, at the outset, there were contradictions in this project: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was entirely Westernised in his personal life, led the Pakistan movement - and, after achieving it, spoke of a "secular" entity in which all communities would live together in peace. He was very different from Muhammad Iqbal, who had inspired the movement with his philosophy and poetry founded on an Islamic vision that drew no distinction between the state and religion.
Over the years, the founding father's vision has been rejected by Pakistan's successive rulers, the first of whom was General Zia ul-Haq, whose dictatorship was based on an unabashed commitment to the Islamisation of Pakistan's polity. He introduced laws and practices, such as the anti-Ahmadiyya enactments and blasphemy laws, that effectively took away from the country the ameliorating balm of love and mutual respect in its religious order and replaced it with hate and violence. Today, as Mr Ayaz has noted, the country is infested with religious militancy - 12,500 madrassas across the country tutor 1.6 million students with an archaic syllabus that preaches intolerance and animosity for non-Muslims, and even for Muslims from non-Sunni sects.
Mr Ayaz has devoted considerable space to the armed forces' domination of governance in Pakistan. They justify their privileged position in the country as defenders of the "Fortress of Islam". In their training at various levels, the soldiers have a mindset of jihad consciously ingrained into their psyche.
Pakistan's foreign policy is merely an instrument of its national psychosis, which is entirely motivated by animosity towards India - and furious national propaganda pertaining to India's commitment to break the Islamic state. Mr Ayaz points out, astutely, that Pakistan's polity constitutes a series of "trust-deficits", and these do not just extend to India and Afghanistan. Such "deficits" may also be seen in the relations between Punjab and the country's other provinces, between the army and politicians, and between the judiciary and elected governments.
Mr Ayaz concludes his analysis by asking whether Pakistan is a "failed" country. He finds that Pakistan fares badly on most criteria - in short, the country is on the verge of collapse.
So, is there room for optimism in this bleak assessment? The author has pointed out that, reluctantly, in the face of serious domestic and external compulsions, the armed forces have come to accept free elections - the Asif Ali Zardari government became Pakistan's first elected government to complete its full term and make way for another after a round of free and fair elections. Mr Ayaz also notes that the Pakistani business community is a major driver for improvement in Indo-Pak relations, and that increased people-to-people contacts would weaken ignorance and prejudice that are all too apparent on both sides.
There is nothing in the book that is not known to Indian followers of Pakistan's affairs. Its importance lies in the impact it should have on different sections of Pakistani society. For the past few decades, they have either collaborated with or ignored the machinations of their armed forces, which, in the name of religion, have tarnished both their faith and their country - so much so that Pakistan is now seen as a major threat, both regionally and globally. Mr Ayaz himself describes Pakistan's commitment to the most rigid and intolerant form of Islam; the pervasive jihadi mindset; the numerous public and private institutions that support the country's commitment to extremist Islam at home and to the Taliban as the instrument of its interests in Afghanistan; and, above all, the powerful hold the armed forces have over every institution in the country. These factors, taken together, hardly provide any reason to be optimistic about the fate of our neighbour.
Washington’s Syria Policy: A Repeat of Afghanistan?
The Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan in December 1979. At the time, Jimmy Carter was in the White House and his chief national security adviser was Zbigniew Brzezinsky. Eyes turned to Washington. The United States did not intervene militarily, but transformed Pakistan into a war-front country. It organized Muslim mujahedeen resistance against the Soviet invasion with oil dollars flowing from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The plan was to make the Soviet army bleed, without directly clashing with it. The plan succeeded and the Soviets had to withdraw in 1989.Saudi-American action plan
The Saudi-American plan that was productive in Afghanistan envisioned expanding the Afghanistan resistance to the Soviets’ Chechnya-Ingushetia region and hitting the Soviet forces in their own territory. The mastermind of the plan was Alexander Bennigsen, an American political scientist who was born in St. Petersburg in 1913. Bennigsen was an expert on Muslim communities in the Soviet Union. He died in 1988 without seeing the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.
His successors, however, were able to witness the Chechnya war that broke out in 1994. This was followed by a second Chechen war from 1999-2009.
The war was ended by Russia’s then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, trained by the KGB that advocated massacre-laden military intervention in Chechnya. But even he could not fully control the Wahhabi-Saudi-backed resistance in the northern Caucasus.
The Chechen war was planned during the Afghanistan war and still continues.
A strange visit to Moscow …
President Putin had an interesting visitor last Wednesday [July 31]: Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan. He is the head of Saudi intelligence and the National Security Council. He was also his country’s ambassador to Washington for 22 years. The CIA calls Prince Bandar “our man in Riyadh.” He is the one seeking, in meetings he organizes in Washington and Tel Aviv, ways to increase military support to Salafist-jihadist groups in Syria. He is the covert war expert who infiltrated al-Qaeda-linked foreign fighters into Syria. He is an important figure that organized the mujahedeen in Afghanistan in 1980s with his stepbrother Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, then the head of Saudi intelligence. It is reported that his meeting with Putin was primarily focused on Syria.
Sochi blackmail?
Reports say their meeting covered Russia reducing its support of Assad in return for safeguarding Russian rights in Syria in the new regime to be set up, and leaving the control of Syria’s central and northern regions to radical groups backed by the Saudis. It appears that in return the prince has guaranteed to prevent Chechen attacks during the winter Olympics the Russians are planning to host [in 2014] at Sochi on the Black Sea. Sochi is the land of the Circassian genocide. That is why resistance outfits in the region — above all the Chechens — are opposed to the Olympics being held in that city.
Chechen-Kurdish war?
Obama’s plan is obvious: Follow Carter’s footsteps in Afghanistan. Pull out the Pentagon. He is trying to get rid of Assad with covert operations conducted by the CIA in cooperation with the Saudis, hence the transfer of Saudi-backed fighting groups from Caucasia to Syria. Unfortunately, Turkey is facing a Chechen-Kurdish war on its border.
Without a doubt, the American-Saudi plan is dragging Turkey into the position Pakistan found itself during the Afghan war.
The way to stop this is for Turkey to support to Syria’s indigenous Kurdish people without paying attention to their affiliation with the PKK. If Turkey allows a “radical legionnaire group” to have a say in Syria, it will face serious problems with the Kurdish identity in Turkey and in the entire Kurdish geography of the Middle East.
We cannot allow a new Afghanistan to emerge on our border. We are facing a disastrous plan; yet Turks and Kurds can jointly defeat this plan.
Afghanistan: Senator Rogul Khairzad Survives Assassination Attempt, Daughter Killed
http://tolonews.com/Ms. Rogul Khairzad, Senator of Nimroz province, survived an assassination attempt by some unidentified gunmen on Wednesday. The Senator was attacked in Ghazni province while she was on her way to Nimroz. However, Ms. Khairzad's daughter and the driver were killed in the attack.
Ali Ahmad Ahmadi, Deputy Governor of Ghazni, said that the incident took place at around 11 am, when Senator Rogul along with her family was going to Nimroz province via Ghazni province. Mr. Ahmadi added that the attack happened in the Moqoor district of Ghazni province.
Officials said that the victims have been rushed to an US military base in Ghazni.
"In the attack, Ms. Rogul and her husband got wounded. Unfortunately, her daughter and the driver were killed," Mr. Ahmadi told TOLOnews.
Although, no group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the incident, Mr. Ahmadi blamed the Taliban for it.
Bilawal Bhutto strongly condemns Lyari blast
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Patron-in-Chief of Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has strongly condemned the bomb blast in Lyari, which resulted into loss of precious human lives including of several innocent children while injuring many others.
While expressing profound grief and shock over the incident, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that extremists and terrorist elements were involved in heinous crimes to fulfill their immoral intentions. He said that miscreants who derive pleasure from killing and harming our defenseless children and innocent people do not belong to our democratic society, children and youth are the future of our nation, they must be protected and nurtured. “Whatsoever is the motive of the perpetrators of these contemptible acts, they will never succeed”, he added.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari sympathized with the families of victims who lost their lives and limbs in the blast and prayed Almighty to rest the departed souls in eternal peace and courage for the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity. He also stressed that special arrangements should be made for timely treatment of all those injured in the blast.
India-Pakistan Tensions Find Deadly Echo in Afghanistan
A suicide bombing at the Indian consulate in Jalalabad is the latest episode in the simmering geopolitical struggle between the nuclear rivals
It’s not the first time that India’s official presence has been targeted in Afghanistan. In 2008, over 50 people, including a senior Indian diplomat, were killed when a suicide bomber attacked the Indian embassy in Kabul. The following year, another suicide bomber attacked the site again, killing 17. Officials in Afghanistan, India and the U.S. have blamed both attacks on the Haqqani network, a clan the U.S. has accused Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of using for terrorism in Afghanistan. While New Delhi has yet to finger any group in the Jalalabad strike, the government released a statement that the main threat to Afghanistan’s stability still comes from “the terror machine that continues to operate from beyond its borders” — a thinly veiled barb at its longtime rival, Pakistan.
That tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors are playing out on Afghan soil is not new. During Afghanistan’s civil war in the 1990s, India supported the Northern Alliance in its fight against the Taliban. Pakistan, for its part, supported the Taliban as part of its long struggle to maintain influence in Afghanistan and expand its geographic safety zone in the event of a conflict with India. After the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, however, the newly installed Afghan government, headed by President Hamid Karzai, allied itself with India, an unpopular development, to say the least, among those in Islamabad who chafed at being sandwiched between India and an India-friendly Afghanistan. Since 2001, India has contributed some $2 billion in aid to Afghanistan, helped supply the Afghan military and trained an undisclosed number of Afghan forces in India. In 2011 Kabul granted an Indian consortium mining rights to one of the region’s largest iron-ore mines.
As India’s stake in Afghanistan has deepened, Indian personnel working there have faced regular targeting. Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, says Indian interests, from missions to NGOs to contract workers, have been repeatedly attacked, and, according to his organization, all of the attacks with confirmed perpetrators have been linked to terrorist cells either in Pakistan or backed by the ISI. In February 2010, two Kabul guesthouses popular with Indian expats were bombed, killing at least 17 people. Afghan officials again blamed Pakistan-backed terrorists with links to the ISI. But Pakistan today has its own internal struggles with homegrown militants, and some doubt the ISI has enough sway over groups like the Pakistani Taliban to order up hits like Jalalabad. “If [the ISI] had that much influence, then the situation here in Pakistan would be better,” says Hasan Askari Rizvi, a political analyst and defense expert in the Pakistani city of Lahore. More likely, he says, is that Indian interests have been stalked by Afghan-based insurgents — which may or may not have Pakistan links — because of New Delhi’s cozy ties with Karzai and the West.
One thing everyone agrees on is this: what happens after 2014 is a cause for concern. Today, a peace deal is still a possibility. But if the Afghan government and its security forces lose control of more of the country after most foreign troops leave next year, both India and Pakistan stand to lose in the ensuing chaos, with insurgents crossing over the porous border and emboldening the Pakistani Taliban, and regional terrorist groups making further inroads into India. In a worst-case scenario, a power vacuum could give way to a full-blown proxy war between India and Pakistan, with the two nations providing material backing for opposing sides in a new civil war. Sahni, however, thinks that’s unlikely. “India has never been able to project itself overtly or covertly as an aggressive force,” he says. “We’re a bunch of wimps in that respect.” But things could certainly get ugly enough to scuttle widely held hopes for more regional economic cooperation, including the development of a regional gas pipeline and the U.S. vision of linking up the infrastructure of Central and South Asia as part of a “new Silk Road.”
A little neighborly bonhomie could go a long way to keep symbiotic economic projects on track. “If relations can improve, then this rivalry [in Afghanistan] won’t be so visible,” says Rizvi. The past year had some bright points, with increased trade between the neighbors and the recently elected government in Pakistan, headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, making overtures to improve ties with India. But, as six decades of fighting have proved, for every step forward, there is always a step back. On Aug. 6, as the two governments hashed out a date for the next round of bilateral talks, India claimed that 20 men wearing the uniform of Pakistani soldiers crossed into India at the nations’ border in Kashmir and killed five Indian soldiers, fanning the flames of enmity once again.
The only cause that wins from these regular flare-ups is extremism. “If India-Pakistan relations are bad, it gives [Pakistani militants] an excuse to mobilize support for their groups as Islamist and highly nationalist,” says Rizvi. “It gives them space for survival.” And, as old tensions spill over into places like Jalalabad and Kabul, it is Afghans who lose. A recent U.N. report found that, even today, Afghan civilian casualties due to conflict were up 23% in the first half of 2013 compared with the same period last year. Deaths among women and children were up 38%. If foreign governments continue to vie for control in Afghanistan, the ground will only be stained with more Afghan blood.
Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/08/06/afghanistan-becoming-new-theater-of-india-pakistan-conflict/#ixzz2bHNdQxJM
Bangladesh Women’s right activist hails HC verdict to ban Jamaat
A Women rights activist of Bangladesh, Shipra Bose applauded the High Court’s verdict to ban Jamaat-e-Islami, the main Islamic party in the country. The court declared Jamaat as illegal and banned it from political activities including taking part in the general elections due early next year. Bose said that this outfit stood for fanatic causes. However, the ruling that the registration of Jamaat as a political party conflicted with the country's secular constitution immediately did trigger violent protests by the party supporters. On this aspect, Bose said that the Jamaat did not honour the nation’s Constitution.
India's poverty statistics may be flawed: critics
Afghan Officials, Taliban Reportedly Have Held Secret Talks
D I Khan jailbreak: implausible explanations
PTI Chairman Imran Khan has been making excuses for July 29 inexcusable incident in which some 100 Taliban attacked DI Khan prison and released 248 prisoners, among them 49 militants, and beheaded four Shia prisoners. At first, he blamed a lack of intelligence co-ordination, saying the provincial government would set up its own intelligence agency. But soon it emerged that this time actionable intelligence was made available to the KPK government well in advance of the incident, yet it failed to prevent the attack. At his Sunday's news conference in Islamabad, he again pointed fingers at others, asking how in the presence of an army division in and around DI Khan, elite force, police and special jail police, the militants had managed to get their men freed? So far as the provincial government was concerned, he claimed that "all necessary preparations" were made to avert the attack. Three security cordons were set up around the jail, he said, and machine gunners were also posted at strategic positions, but nobody put up a fight. Sounding desperate he asked "If nobody on-ground is willing to fight then what can the provincial government do in such circumstances?"
Indeed, the provincial government had made preparations. According to reports, a rehearsal was also held a day before the incident. Yet that did not help. The obvious reason is that the police are no match, either in training or in equipment with well-armed, battle hardened militants who have been fighting the Army for years. The militants are well-conversant too with tactics military men employ to overwhelm an adversary. Facts on the ground indicate that the government failed to grasp the gravity of the challenge. Such a large number of TTP men arrived at the prison without countering any resistance several miles along the way. It was only after the incident that the provincial government ordered setting up of seven checkposts jointly manned by the Army and police personnel. The measure shows that the Army was asked to come in aid of the civilian authorities after-the-fact rather than as part of 'necessary preparations'. Had such a request gone out earlier, things would surely have been different.
Some have unfairly criticised the KPK government, citing its stance that negotiations rather than use of force should be the preferred way of dealing with the extremists challenging the writ of the state to argue that it lacks the will to do the needful. It is pertinent to recall here a similar jailbreak in Bannu last year under the previous government headed by the ANP (the PTI is now saying the mastermind behind the DI Khan jailbreak is Adnan Rashid, a death row prisoner freed from Bannu Jail). No one can accuse the ANP of not having had the necessary will. But the present incident shows that if any lessons were learnt from that experience, they were forgotten. Rank ineptitude led to the release of dangerous enemies of the state and the brutal murder of four prison inmates. No excuse is good enough by way of an explanation for what has happened. Imran Khan told the news conference that the provincial government had initiated a high-level inquiry into the incident, and that its findings will be made public. The government can hold its own inquiry, but given the nature and magnitude of the crime, an impartial inquiry is also in order. The nation needs to have satisfactory answers to all the disturbing questions raised by Imran and others. It would be only proper therefore for the provincial government to request the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court to set up a high-level commission to find out what accounted for the fiasco and why.
Roshan Pakistan: at what cost?
Pakistan: Another security lapse
Daily TimesIt is obviously impossible to secure each and every thing and place, but being unable to protect those targets identified as under threat because of prior intelligence is unacceptable. Apparently the situation is that the intelligence system is working but the law enforcement agencies lack the wherewithal to act on the given intelligence. The attack on the Shalimar Express, a semi-private service, is of this nature (as was the D I Khan jailbreak). The private operators of the Shalimar Express had been receiving threatening calls from extortionists. The last call they received was on July 31, laced with warnings of dire consequences if the demands of the extortionists were not met. The issue was reported to the railway management, making sure that the Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafique was in the picture. Pakistan Railways threw the ball back into the Shalimar Express operators’ court, telling them to arrange their own security. As it turned out therefore, the usual two constables of the railway police were ‘escorting’ the ill-fated Shalimar Express when it was blasted. Three people, including an infant, were killed and several injured. According to the latest reports, an improvised explosive device had been planted in the roof of a wagon’s washroom that exploded while the train was passing through Chatyana Railway Station, 17 kilometres from Toba Tek Singh. The Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafique has called it an act of terrorism. He has ordered an inquiry into the incident, but without explaining why the railway management did not assist the Shalimar operators to thwart the attack when the country is afflicted on all sides by terrorism. The telephone calls, as reported by the Intelligence Bureau, were traced to Afghanistan. The attackers had been ‘identified’ and their plan was known. So much was on the table, yet still the incapacity to defend was in evidence. As the country sinks deeper into the quagmire of terrorism, the state machinery seems helpless and unable to do much about the situation. What made Khwaja Saad Rafique give a cold shoulder to the Shalimar operators when the lives of people were at stake? It was a matter of life and death of those innocent people who are dying like flies only because the authorities are not paying sufficient heed to the gravity of the situation. If Khwaja sahib thought the extortionists would be unable to go so far as to attack the train, or considered it unlikely for terrorists becoming extortionists, then the minister might require a new brief over the working of terrorist organizations using every means such as kidnapping, theft, extortion, etc, to fund their campaigns. The extortion racket has become an industry by now. With target killing becoming a routine and going unpunished, coercing people into paying extortion money has become easier. In Karachi (the original birthplace of the extortion mafia) there are about 50 no-go areas. Most of the extortion rackets operate from these pockets. Until June this year, 630 extortion complaints have been registered by the Citizen Police Liaison Committee, a Karachi body set up to help the police by providing information, crime statistics and technical support. Emboldened by their rate of success, the extortion mafia is fast penetrating into other cities all over the country and threatening business entities, as is suggested by the railway attack. Official reports have confirmed some political parties or their protégés are also involved in this criminality. Karachi’s violence has been largely attributed to the turf war ignited by different parties to get the maximum from extortion money. The recent phenomenon of the Taliban ramping up extortion operations in Karachi has added to the misery of the business community. In such circumstances, nothing can be taken lying down. We have already given enough space to the criminals and terrorists to wreak havoc on our lives. How much more do we intend to allow them to get away with before we wake up to the threat? We need to act collectively and on a serious note.
Close to collapse? Iran-Pakistan pipeline
IS it dead, or is there still some life left in it? The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project appears to have been dropped by the Sharif government, though no formal intimation has been made. If that is in fact the case, it is an unnecessary capitulation by the government to US, and perhaps even Saudi Arabian, pressure. Two matters are relevant here. First, is the IP pipeline a sanction-able project? If a robust legal defence and a hard look at the language of the sanctions suggests, as some in the Foreign Office have argued, that the IP pipeline is permissible under existing sanctions, then Pakistan is needlessly giving up a right to do business with a neighbouring country. Even if the pipeline project does make sanctions possible, are they automatically applicable and to what extent would Pakistan’s business relations with the outside world be harmed? The simple reality is that Pakistan has an acute gas and energy crisis. Any project that can help bridge the supply-demand gap in relatively quick order ought to be given urgent consideration. The IP pipeline certainly fits that bill and what’s more, the Iranian government has been very serious about supplying gas to Pakistan. The project on the Iranian side of the border is near complete and the Iranians have offered a number of concessions to cushion the fiscal impact of construction on the Pakistani side. To allow such a seemingly viable economic idea to collapse at the altar of international relations is a travesty and a disservice to the Pakistani people. It appears the Sharif government would rather focus on the potential fallout of Washington or Riyadh’s annoyance with Pakistan than close a deal with Tehran which is there for the taking. Is that bargain necessary or the only one that Pakistan can make? The starting point of the sanctions on Iran is to open up its nuclear programme to international inspectors to ensure it remains within the realm of a peaceful and civilian nuclear programme. As this paper has argued before, sanctions are not the best way to achieve Tehran’s cooperation and instead exact a terrible toll on Iranian society and economy. Starting from that first principle and then moving through the chain of questions such as whether the IP pipeline is even subject to automatic sanctions, the Pakistani government can and should push harder to have the project reach fruition and on time. The passive approach is equivalent to outsourcing Pakistan’s economic security and foreign policy and is entirely unnecessary.
PPP readies draft of new LB system, replacing nazims with mayors
The Frontier Post
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has prepared a draft of proposed local bodies system for Sindh, Local TV reported.
According to the new draft, LB polls would be held on party basis, and the province would have mayor system.
The draft envisages restoration of five districts in Karachi, led by district mayor, and the entire city would be led by Lord Mayor.
The Lord Mayor would be replaced by a rotation system every year, with the one seeking majority vote would be appointed as Lord Mayor, and the least as last district mayor.
Hyderabad would be led by a Mayor, and its districts would be led by Chairman District Council.
The same system would be applicable on Sukkur, Larkana and other municipal corporations.
Media and Judges double standards: Chaudhry Sarwar becomes Viceroy Punjab!
One cannot help but applaud the immense “sacrifice” Punjab’s new viceroy, Chaudhry Sarwar has made. He has sacrificed his UK nationality in larger national interest and taken over as Governor of Punjab. Off course, the Sharifs couldn’t find one able bodied person amongst the 110 million population of Punjab or nearly 200 million from all of Pakistan and had to import Chaudhry Sarwar to be a constitutional head of the largest province of Pakistan.While his sacrifice of surrendering his nationality of UK may be a meaningless matter for me, the double standards that our media and the judges have shown on this matter sickens me! No one dares question the Sharifs as to why they had to import a Governor or has Chaudhry Sarwar pledged again to Pakistan. He must have pledged allegiance to the British Monarchy when he got a British citizenship. Has he now pledged that he will have nothing to do with Britain and will not be a subject. There has got to be an oath now to be taken by him! How come the media is not raising hue and cry on this? How come the cheater of cheaters, Iftikhar Chaudhry not taking suo moto notice? Off course, he did what he had to with Tahir ul Qadri. He has made a mockery of a number of elected parliamentarians. But he would dare not say anything to someone appointed by the Sharifs or maybe that the new viceroy of Punjab is also a “Chaudhry”. Media’s silence is baffling. I guess all of their energies were spent in the five years PPP was in power. It is this media which was responsible for the assassination of a real Lion of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer. Salmaan Taseer was targeted on a daily basis by the media. His family life was exposed, his travels were talked about, his business was targeted, he was alleged to have been conspiring to kill a sitting chief justice and then eventually got him killed on charges of blasphemy. When it comes to the Sharifs, the media is completely quiet. There are no 10 articles a day on the appointment of a viceroy! - See more at: http://lubpak.com/archives/280473#sthash.hyogoxry.dpufby Sarah Khan
President Zardari condemns assassination of army, police officers in Chilas
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President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday strongly condemned the assassination of Army and Police Officers in Chilas. The President conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families. He prayed to Allah Almighty to bless the departed souls with eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss with fortitude.
Four Karachi wine shops targeted with explosives in an hour
The Express TribuneFour consecutive explosions targeted four liquor stores in Karachi late on Tuesday, reports Express News. The first of the blasts occurred in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) when a bike parked outside a wine store near the Cineplex Cinema on Sea View, exploded as a result of a small improvised device blowing up. At least one person received minor injuries as a result of the blast. Bomb disposal squad after their initial investigations said that the first explosion was powerful and suggested that it could have been planted at the spot prior to explosion. Soon after, another explosive device blew up near another liquor store, located on Khayaban-e-Rahat. The store is reportedly licensed out to Shaheen Corporation. As police responded to the attacks to cordon off the blast site, they saw and arrested at least three suspicious person. These people were shifted to undisclosed locations for questioning. While law enforcement and emergency services were responding to the blasts in DHA a third improvised explosive device (cracker) exploded outside JB wine shop in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. The store is located near the Moti Mahal bus stop, and is located almost 23 kilometers away from the blast sites in DHA. A fourth blast was also reported outside a wine store located near Cafe Clifton. The damage was limited as the stores were closed on account of Ramazan. The bomb disposal squad has been dispatched to the sites to determine the exact cause of the explosion. “It seems that the blasts were carried out by the same group,” City Police Chief Ghulam Qadir Thebu told media during his visit to the blasts sites in DHA. “Apparently, timer devices containing around 200 grammes of explosives were used in the blasts. Investigators are trying to ascertain the motive behind the attacks.” While the police has yet to offer any explanation on the possible motives behind the attacks, Express News correspondent Nadeem Ahmed said that the shop owners had been receiving demands to pay extortion money and that the the explosions could possibly linked to the threats. There was no immediate report of any casualty.
Children killed in Pakistan explosion
At least eleven children have been killed and 26 others wounded in an explosion in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, police said.
The blast took place in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of the city after a football match on Wednesday.“The bomb was planted on a motorbike that was parked outside the stadium,” senior police official Tariq Dharejo told AFP news agency.
Dharejo said the bomb was a remote-controlled device. According to reports, the bomb targeted a member of the provincial assembly at the stadium, but he survived.
Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Karachi, said: "Lyari is notorious for gang wars and this appears to be a localised crime in which criminal elements, who were against this politician, tried to target him."
In other parts of the city, there were several explosions outside wine shops in four separate areas.
Local politician Sania Naz from the Pakistan People's Party also confirmed the blast, saying that those killed were aged from six to 15 years old.
Karachi, a city of 18 million people, contributes 42 percent of Pakistan's GDP but is rife with murder and kidnappings and has been plagued for years by ethnic, sectarian and political violence.
Football is popular in the area, with people of all ages playing the game.
Attacks kill 28 people across Pakistan
Twenty-eight people have been killed in a series of attacks early this week in Pakistan, including a Wednesday morning bombing at a soccer field that left 11 dead.A bomb blast that appeared to be targeting a provincial government minister killed 11 people before dawn Wednesday at a soccer field in southern Pakistan, the latest in a series of attacks that left 28 people dead across the country, officials said. The bomb planted next to the field in the city of Karachi was hidden in a motorcycle, said senior police official Razaq Dharejo. The bomb went off near the vehicle of provincial minister Javed Naghori, who was leaving after witnessing a late-night match between local teams in the Lyari neighborhood, said Dharejo. Naghori escaped unharmed. The blast killed 11 people and wounded 24 others, said provincial Information Minister Sharjeel Memon. Many of the dead and wounded were young boys standing near the soccer field when the bomb exploded. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and has a long history of political, criminal and religious violence. On Tuesday, police found the bodies of 13 people who were pulled off a convoy of buses in southwest Baluchistan province, shot dead and dumped in a ravine, officials said. A paramilitary soldier was also killed. The motive for the attack late Monday night in Baluchistan province was unclear since no one claimed responsibility. But suspicion may fall on separatists who have been waging a low-level insurgency in southwest Baluchistan province. The buses were headed to central Punjab province, and the separatists have a history of attacking Punjabis whom they view as outsiders encroaching on their independence. The province is also home to Islamic militants who have carried out past attacks, especially on minority Shiite Muslims. Paramilitary troops protect bus convoys moving through Baluchistan. But gunmen distracted the troops by shooting at an oil tanker, said Kashif Nabi, a local government administrator. Then, dozens of other gunmen dressed in tribal police uniforms stopped the convoy of five buses at a security checkpoint about 6 kilometers (4 miles) away after overpowering the nine policemen who were stationed there, said Abdul Waheed, deputy commissioner of Bolan district, where the attack took place. The attackers surrounded the buses, and two gunmen entered each vehicle to check the identities of passengers, said Waheed. A paramilitary soldier trying to sneak into the area was killed by the gunmen, said Waheed. The attackers took 22 passengers with them, including nine tribal policemen, Waheed said, but they left the policemen a few kilometers (miles) away because they were locals, and continued on with the 13 hostages. Police found the bodies near the town of Machh, around 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the checkpoint where the buses were stopped, said Nabi, the local administrator who works in Machh. Elsewhere, Taliban gunmen killed three senior security officials in the same northern area where the militant group shot to death 10 foreign mountain climbers over a month ago. The security officials were ambushed in their vehicle at around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning in Gilgit-Baltistan's Diamer district, said Ajmal Bhatti, the district's deputy commissioner. They were attacked shortly after leaving Bhatti's house, where they had been holding a meeting. The dead included an army colonel, a captain and the district police chief, said Bhatti. Their vehicle plunged into a ravine after it was attacked, and authorities later recovered the bodies. Officials have been on high alert in Diamer since Taliban militants killed the 10 foreign climbers in late June at a mountain base camp, said Bhatti. They have been holding meetings at unusual times and places, like Bhatti's house, to avoid attack. The same faction of the Pakistani Taliban that claimed responsibility for the attack on the mountain climbers, Junudul Hafsa, also claimed responsibility for the latest shooting. A spokesman for the group, Abdullah Ghazi, spoke to The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location, saying it was behind the attack. A Pakistani security official said the three men who were killed were investigating the attack on the climbers. They were trying to convince locals to confirm some of the details of the attack and identify the militants involved, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Attack casts shadow on Indo-Pak ties
Pakistan is back to its old ways
The deaths of five Indian soldiers in an ambush with what were Pakistan-based gunmen are only further evidence that the Line of Control (LoC) — and the Pakistani military in general — has started to become a live wire once again. Though it may not seem obvious to most Indians, the India-Pakistan border has seen a relatively peaceful period since the two sides agreed to an LoC ceasefire in 2003. While there has never been a moment of complete peace, the death toll of soldiers on both sides fell after the ceasefire. The endless artillery exchanges came to a close, allowing Kashmiri villagers on both sides of the LoC to normalise their lives. The resurrection of a legitimate democratic process in Kashmir can also be attributed to the drop in infiltration that went along with the ceasefire. The question is now whether this period of relative restraint is coming to a close.
The evidence is accumulating. This is the worst loss of life by Indian soldiers along the LoC in over a decade. Violence along the LoC has been trending upwards the past two years. Militant attacks have resumed in the Valley after a lull of three years. Though publicly being claimed by Hizbul Mujahideen, even foreign observers believe these fidayeen attacks are thinly-disguised Lashkar-e-Taiba forays. Infiltration has also spiked. And, finally, there have been continuing attacks on Indian positions in Afghanistan. One of the theories is that the Pakistani military is feeling its oats as the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan accelerates and the likelihood of the Taliban coming to power in Kabul increases. Another is that the Pakistani military is itself in leadership transition and may be in need of expressing itself forcefully against what it still sees as its number one enemy. New Delhi should also be criticised for failing to consolidate the political gains it has made in Kashmir. Militancy may have waned, but daily protests and riots continue as a final political settlement eludes the government.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has never hidden his belief that India has no choice but to keep up a dialogue with Pakistan, irrespective of what happens on the terrorism front. In the larger context, this is a sensible approach. India is not powerful enough to coerce Pakistan. But it can work to show Pakistan that its terror strategy cannot work. But persuading the Pakistani military — Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is almost irrelevant in all this — of this requires a context. At present, with the Indo-US relationship fraying, the Indian economy on the ropes and the Afghan outlook for New Delhi increasingly bleak, there could be no worse context for talks with Pakistan. A lame duck government can only sell the extent of its own weakness.
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