Terrorist Mehsud's death: A setback or an opportunity?

Experts say that instead of expressing anger and grief over the killing of the Pakistani Taliban's leader Mehsud in a US drone strike, Islamabad should use it as an opportunity to tame the Islamist militants.

Hakimullah Mehsud - the head of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) - was killed in a US drone strike on Friday, November 1, along with four other people, including two of his bodyguards, in the semi-governed North Waziristan area bordering Afghanistan. Mehsud, one of the most feared Taliban militants, became the head of the TTP in 2009 at the age of 30 after his predecessor Baitullah Mehsud died in US drone strike. The US had put a bounty of $5 million (3.6 million euros) on Hakimullah Mehsud's head for the killing of the seven CIA employees. A TTP spokesman said Sunday that Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani, the head of the organization's supreme shura (council), had been appointed as their interim head. He said no decision had been taken on the permanent replacement of Mehsud.The Pakistani government has reacted angrily to the strike. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government reacted by summoning the US ambassador in Islamabad to protest the attack. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the country's interior minister, said the strike on the Pakistani Taliban's most important leader was "not just the killing of one person, it's the death of all peace efforts."

Taliban vow revenge

Many in the Islamic Republic - where anti-US sentiment runs high - share their government's views on Mehsud. They also fear that the Taliban - which have claimed responsibility for the murder of thousands of Pakistanis in the last six years - will retaliate by unleashing more violence in the country, and that if there was any hope of "peace" with Islamists, it ended with Mehsud. "There was finally a glimmer of hope for peace in Pakistan. It has vanished. The Taliban are going to avenge the death of Mehsud and it is very bad for the country," said Shaukat Rehman, a shop owner in the southern city of Karachi. And he is right. The militants have vowed revenge: "Every drop of Hakimullah's blood will turn into a suicide bomber," said a Taliban spokesman. "America and their friends shouldn't be happy because we will take revenge for our martyr's blood."

Islamabad reviews cooperation with Washington

The Pakistani government claimed that a government peace delegation had been due to meet Mehsud in the Taliban stronghold North Waziristan before Friday's strike. This is why it claims the US drone strike was an "attack" on the peace talks. The government has shown its displeasure over Mehsud's death to an extent that the foreign minister said Islamabad was reviewing "every aspect" of cooperation with Washington. The US maintains it has an understanding with Islamabad on counter-terrorism policies for the region. Drone strikes have become a thorny issue for Pakistani leaders, who face mounting criticism from the public for their inability to convince the US to halt them. While acknowledging that more militants have been killed in such strikes than civilians, Islamabad has nonetheless repeatedly called for an end to these strikes, saying they are a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Future of peace talks

After winning the May 11 elections, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had made it clear that his party would rather engage in "peace talks" with Islamist militants than launch military operations against them. The center-right Tehreek-e-Insaf - Imran Khan's Movement for Justice Party - which governs the volatile province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also opposes military action against the Islamists. Reacting to Mehsud's killing, Khan threatened to block NATO's crucial supply route to Afghanistan. London-based Pakistani journalist and researcher Farooq Sulehria told DW he was surprised at Islamabad's reaction to Mehsud's assassination and that the Pakistani Taliban had denied PM Sharif's claims that his government had contacted them and arranged to meet. He called government's peace talk claims a "sham" and added that its stance on the Taliban is "full of contradictions." "The government's objective is not to achieve peace. It is afraid of the Taliban's retaliatory attacks," Sulehria told DW. "Their real aim is to bring the angry Taliban factions back under the Pakistani military's command so a unified offensive can be launched to re-capture Kabul once the NATO troops leave Afghanistan in 2014." Saleem Asmi, a Karachi-based senior Pakistani journalist, agrees: "The supposed parameters of peace talks were never defined, and there had never been even a hint from the Taliban that they were even interested in the process. "How can an unborn process be described as having been 'murdered' by the drone strike?" he questioned.

Strategy 'workable'

Aamir Rana, executive director of the Islamabad-based think tank Institute of Peace Studies, is one of many experts who think that the Sharif government's dialogue strategy with the Taliban is the right path to restoring peace in the country. The dialogue strategy with the Taliban is workable," Rana told DW, adding that it was also "a good sign that Sharif wants to have an upper hand in formulating the counter-terrorism strategy, and is not relying totally on the military."

'Taliban not weakened'

Liberal Pakistanis have welcomed the death of Mehsud and say it will weaken the TTP. But experts warn against too much optimism. The say that while Mehsud's killing is a serious blow to the Pakistani Taliban, drone strikes alone cannot eliminate the militants. Arshad Mahmood, a peace activist in Islamabad, believes that Mehsud's death gives Pakistan's rulers the upper hand in negotiating with the Taliban. "The government should use it as an opportunity. It should force the Islamists to accept Pakistan's law and constitution," he told DW. "But to do that, the Pakistani state has to change its policies and transform the country." Analysts say that Islamabad's reaction to Mehsud's death suggest it is far from a transformation of this kind.

In Pakistan, Drone Strike Turns a Villain Into a Victim

By DECLAN WALSH

In life, Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, was Public Enemy No. 1: a ruthless figure who devoted his career to bloodshed and mayhem, whom Pakistani pundits occasionally accused of being a pawn of Indian, or even American, intelligence. But after his death, it seems, Pakistani hearts have grown fonder. Since missiles fired by American drones killed Mr. Mehsud in his vehicle on Friday, Pakistan’s political leaders have reacted with unusual vehemence. The interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, denounced the strike as sabotage of incipient government peace talks with the Taliban. Media commentators fulminated about American treachery. And the former cricket star Imran Khan, now a politician, renewed his threats to block NATO military supply lines through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa — a province his Tehreek-e-Insaf party controls — with a parliamentary vote scheduled for Monday. Virtually nobody openly welcomed the demise of Mr. Mehsud, who was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Pakistani civilians. To some American security analysts, the furious reaction was another sign of the perversity and ingratitude that they say have scarred Pakistan’s relationship with the United States. “It’s another stab in the back,” said Bill Roggio, whose website, the Long War Journal, monitors drone strikes. “Even those of us who watch Pakistan closely don’t know where they stand anymore. It’s such a double game.” To many Pakistanis, though, it is the United States that is double-dealing, and sentiments like Mr. Roggio’s exemplify typical American arrogance. Shireen Mazari, a senior official in Mr. Khan’s party, has urged the Pakistani military to shoot down drones. But if the equivocation over Mr. Mehsud’s death seems to be just another manifestation of the cankerous relationship between the two countries, albeit a particularly troubling one, it is rooted in a complex mix of psychology and politics that may be central to the way Pakistanis see their arch allies, the Americans. Partly, it is a product of Pakistan’s failure to counter a stubborn insurgency. After years of Taliban-induced humiliations and bloodshed, and of heavy American pressure to step up military action against the Taliban, Pakistan’s political and security establishments still agree that starting peace talks with the Taliban is the best course. Such talks may have had slim chances of success — previous negotiations quickly foundered — but Mr. Mehsud’s death appears to have thoroughly derailed them, at least for now. Beyond that, analysts say, Pakistanis have a consistent, if relatively recent, history of rooting for people the West has deemed villains, and against people the West has praised. Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman who is serving an 86-year jail sentence in New York for trying to kill Americans in Afghanistan, is a virtual national hero, popularly known as the “daughter of the nation.” On the other side, Malala Yousafzai, the teenage education activist who was shot in the head by the Taliban last year, making her an icon around the world, has been demonized in Pakistan, where she is regularly called a C.I.A. agent or a pawn of the West. These adversarial reactions stem in part from Pakistanis’ perception of their country’s history with the United States. In their view, it is a long story of treachery, abandonment and double-crossing: The United States, many Pakistanis believe, used Pakistan during the Cold War, dropped it in the 1990s and has spent much of its time since trying to steal the army’s nuclear arsenal. Then came the C.I.A. drones. In recent years, that resentment has been bolstered by a growing sense of impotence among Pakistanis: The country’s own security forces failed to find or capture Osama bin Laden, for instance, and it also took an American drone to kill the previous Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, in August 2009. “In a sense, this has nothing to do with Malala or Aafia Siddiqui or Hakimullah,” said Adil Najam, a professor of international relations at Boston University who is Pakistani. “These people are just characters in a larger relationship that has become so poisonous.” The problem, some analysts say, is that hostility toward the United States may be clouding Pakistanis’ ability to discern their own best interests. In the conflagration over Hakimullah Mehsud’s death, Mr. Najam said, the government has failed to distinguish between opposition to drone strikes and to the removal of a homicidal, militant enemy. “It’s very destructive that we can’t untangle these two things,” he said. “The reaction has become absolutely absurd.” Analysts say this reaction also holds lessons for the Obama administration, showing that drone strikes, for all their antiseptic appeal, will always struggle for legitimacy because the covert program operates in the shadows of international law — no matter how big the target it takes out. For now, the ball is in Mr. Khan’s court. If his party votes on Monday to block American supplies bound for Afghanistan, it will make life difficult for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who opposes closing the supply lines but has nonetheless vowed to press ahead with Taliban peace talks. It is concern for the fate of those talks that has been given as justification for the most vehement criticism of the killing of Mr. Mehsud. But amid all the enthusiasm for negotiations, Pakistani politicians have yet to publicly address the first hurdle: deciding what the government would be willing to concede to the Taliban, given that the movement’s central aim is to overthrow the state itself.

Pakistan:Imran’s plan emotional

The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Khursheed Shah, said on Sunday that the decision of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on the closure of Nato supplies in reaction to the drone attack killing of Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud was emotional and hasty and needed to be reviewed positively.

He said that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) condemned drone strikes as well as militancy in all its forms and called for the implementation of the decisions of the All Parties Conference (APC). He said this after the PPP meeting presided over by former president and Party’s Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House.The meeting greeted the Hindu community of Pakistan on the occasion of Deewali. Spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the meeting discussed in depth the current political situation in the country.The PPP leadership discussed militancy, dialogue with the militants in the light of the APC decisions and the difficulties being faced by the people as a result of the poor law and order situation, continued loadshedding and galloping inflation. Issues related to the local bodies polls and laws to strengthen the anti-terror legislative framework were also discussed.The meeting called for holding of party-based local bodies elections in all provinces and decided to vigorously pursue the goal of party-based local elections at all available forums. The party also discussed the recent draft legislation purported to further strengthen anti-terror laws.The meeting cautioned against hasty and thoughtless legislation that militated against the human rights of citizens and decided to resist any move that undermined the people’s basic rights. Makhdoom Ameen Faheem, Faryal Talpur, Yusuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Khursheed Shah, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Raza Rabbani, Farhatullah Babar, Chaudhry Abdul Majid, Mehdi Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Naveed Qamar, Farooq Naek, Dr Fehmida Mirza, Latif Khosa, Jehangir Badr and other important leaders of the party were present on the occasion.

PPP Senior leaders meet with Former President Asif Ali Zardari, overall political situation discussed

http://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/

A meeting of the senior leadership of the PPP was held Sunday night in Bilawal House Karachi. The meeting, presided over by former President Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, was attended among others by Makhdoom Ameen Faheem, Ms. Faryal Talpur, Yousuf Raza Gillani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Khursheed Shah, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Raza Rabbani, Farhatullah Babar, Ch. A. Majid, Mehdi Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Naveed Qamar, Farooq Naek, Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Latif Khosa, Jehangir Badar, Akhunzada Chattan, Manzoor Watto, Imtiaz Safdar Waraich, Rehman Malik, Yousuf Talpur, Ali Nawaz Shah, Rukhsana Bangash, Fozia Habib, Islamuddin Sheikh, Malik Hakmeen, Nisar Khuhru, Sadiq Umrani, A Qadir Patel, Ch. Yasin, Manzoor Wassan, Murad Ali Shah, Ms. Samina Khalid Ghurki, Javed Baloch and Ms. Belum Hasnain. Spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the meeting discussed in depth the current political situation in the country. The issue discussed and deliberated upon included among other fight against militancy, dialogue with the militants in the light of APC decisions and the difficulties faced by the people as a result of poor law and order situation, continued load shedding and galloping inflation. Issues relating to local bodies polls and laws to strengthen anti-terror legislative framework were also discussed. The meeting condemned drone strikes as well as militancy and extremism in all its forms and manifestations and called for the implementation of the decisions of the APC. The meeting underlined the need for all political forces in the country to work towards strengthening democracy and thwart any attempt to weaken the democratic processes and institutions. The meeting called for holding of party base local bodies elections in all provinces on party based polls and decided to vigorously pursue the goal of party based local elections at all available forums. The Party also discussed the recent draft legislations purported to further strengthen anti-terror laws. The meeting cautioned against hasty land thoughtless legislation that militated against human rights of citizens and decided to resist any move that undermined the people’s basic rights.

The meeting greeted the Hindu community of Pakistan on the eve of Deewali today.

Pakistan's Musharraf step closer to release after bail

A Pakistani court has granted bail to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf over the 2007 army operation to oust militants from Islamabad's Red Mosque. The court approved bail on condition Mr Musharraf pay bonds totalling $2,000. BBC correspondents say he has now been bailed in all the cases against him, which makes it likely he will be released from house arrest. But the former general remains on a government exit control list and cannot leave the country. Speaking outside the court, his lawyer said Mr Musharraf had no intention of leaving Pakistan.

Pakistan: The drone didn’t kill a Taliban peacemaker

By Damien McElroy

Pakistan’s 'outrage’ over last week’s strike is merely more cover for its own inadequacies

The American drone strike that killed the Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud last week has apparently caused outrage in Islamabad and threatens a breach in relations between the two countries. It is claimed that this latest exercise of Washington’s military muscle has jeopardised a tentative peace process that Pakistan’s leaders were trying to put in place. But is this really the case? As the wars of Afghanistan and Pakistan begin to fade away, a dangerous delusion is taking their place: that a diplomatic solution acceptable both to the West and the Islamists is achievable. Mehsud, we should remember, was a brutal and effective guerrilla dedicated to imposing strict Islamic law in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the destruction of Western influence across the region. He was responsible for the deaths of thousands in his own country, including the lorry bomb that destroyed the Marriott hotel in Islamabad in 2008. Yet the politicians in Pakistan have reacted with shrill indignation, treating the demise of the 34-year-old as a national humiliation and the removal of a potential peacemaker in a pivotal position to change the course of the conflict. Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister, who just last week claimed to have instituted a dialogue with the Taliban, has now ordered a full review of relations with Washington. Imran Khan, the cricketer turned anti-American politician, has demanded a crippling embargo on shipments to Nato troops in Afghanistan from Pakistani ports. Is any of this serious or can President Barack Obama take Islamabad’s umbrage with the customary pinch of salt? We have been here before, after all. In the wake of the raid to kill Osama bin Laden, who was hiding for years near Islamabad, a similar wave of outrage was manufactured to cover up Pakistan’s inadequacies. From the White House point of view, Mehsud was not a peacemaker: first and foremost he was the warlord who plotted the Times Square bomb attacks and the suicide blast that killed seven CIA operatives in Afghanistan in 2009.Indeed, this regular scalping of the Taliban’s top leadership has greatly assisted the American leader move towards his goal of ending the second of the two big wars he inherited from George W Bush. But there is no doubt that despite the deadly toll on the Taliban, the political cost of the drone strikes is undoubtedly rising. As combat forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan the pursuit of peace talks has come to dominate the West’s policy in the region. As a result it is getting harder to quash suggestions that the campaign of assassinations threatens to upend the delicate build-up to a peace process with the Taliban. Just last week David Cameron convened a summit between Mr Sharif and the Afghan president Hamid Karzai to push efforts to draw the Taliban to the negotiating table. It yielded a breakthrough when Islamabad agreed to allow a meeting between the Afghans and Mullah Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy leader, who is under house arrest in Pakistan. Yet even as that deal was being sealed, a desert drone operator based somewhere in Nevada was homing in on Mehsud’s movements in Waziristan. Mr Karzai and Mr Sharif can with some justification complain that their Western allies are sending contradictory signals. Do they want to talk to the Taliban or not? Winston Churchill once said that jaw-jaw was better than war-war, but this celebrated injunction is often misunderstood, as President Obama is well aware. There is no simple choice between talking and fighting. In fact no one really knows if the Taliban are ready to talk to their enemies, either in South Asia or in the West. Last week, a senior US diplomat said there was almost no chance of a Northern Ireland-style peace process between the Afghan government and the Taliban getting under way by next year. Even before the attack on Mehsud, the chances of a parallel peace initiative between Pakistan and the Taliban were rated as unlikely. While the clock is ticking on the war in Afghanistan, America’s enduring challenge in South Asia is coming into sharper focus. Taliban commanders like Osama bin Laden’s remaining acolytes in the al-Qaeda high command are an enemy Washington cannot ignore while its local allies engage in diplomatic manoeuvres. In any case, President Obama has already responded to Pakistani anger by sharply curtailing the use of drones. There have been 24 strikes on Waziristan so far in 2013, a dramatic decline since the high point of the campaign in 2010, when 117 were recorded. But the precision of the drone as a weapon of war makes it too precious to abandon. Harold Koh, a former State Department legal advisor and one of the US leader’s inner circle, discussed the pitfalls facing America earlier this year in a speech at Oxford University. Mr Koh warned of the “forever war” in which the US constantly fixed its sights on groups that were “part of” or “associated with” al-Qaeda in open-ended conflict. Not long after Mr Koh’s remarks, President Obama set out clear new rules for targeting terrorists abroad which make uncomfortable reading for states like Pakistan. He said drone strikes must take place when the target cannot be captured and where the local authorities cannot act independently against the terrorist. In other words, Islamabad cannot demand an end to drone strikes while it continues to grapple ineffectually with the wider threat posed by the Taliban.

Mike Rogers Defends Drone Killing Of Pakistani Taliban Leader

A U.S. lawmaker whose committee oversees the intelligence community on Sunday defended the drone strike that killed a Pakistani Taliban leader and said it would help keep American troops safe. Representative Mike Rogers, who chairs the House of Representatives' permanent intelligence committee, said the slain militant, Hakimullah Mehsud, was a "bad guy" who was connected to attacks against Pakistani soldiers and to the Taliban in Afghanistan, which has forced closures of many schools for girls. "This was a bad guy," Rogers said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "There's some information recently that concerned us about the safety of our troops. I feel a little better for our troops today than I did before this event happened." Mehsud, who took over as the leader of the al Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban in 2009, was killed on Friday, along with three others, in a U.S. drone strike in northwest Pakistan. The Pakistani government denounced the killing as an attempt by the United States to interfere with peace talks between Pakistan's government and the Taliban. Pakistani officials said they would review ties with Washington and some politicians there called for blocking critical U.S. military supply lines into Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban has beheaded Pakistani soldiers and orchestrated suicide bombings that have killed thousands of civilians. Rogers also said Mehsud had ties to a failed attempt to bomb New York's Times Square in 2010. He said U.S. intelligence agencies, including the embattled National Security Agency, collect and contribute the kinds of information that make such strikes possible. "We deal with these threats every single day, and they are big, they are real and they affect real people," Rogers said. "And I'll tell you, we should protect our soldiers in the field and we should also protect their families who are here back in the United States. And we should use every means that is legal, protects civil liberties and gets the job done." He and Senator Dianne Feinstein, who heads the Senate intelligence committee, defended the NSA, which has come under heavy criticism for weeks for reportedly listening into the phone conversations of U.S. allies, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. U.S. officials have maintained that President Barack Obama was unaware that Merkel and other leaders were being monitored. The White House has halted some of the surveillance programs, such as those focused on the International Monetary Fund and World Bank headquarters. Rogers said the intelligence agencies are the "good guys," and that some U.S. and foreign officials likely knew more about the spying than they let on. "I think there are going to be some 'best actor' awards coming out of the White House this year and some 'best supporting actor' awards coming out of Europe," he said. Feinstein, who also appeared on "Face the Nation" on Sunday, said the uproar over the spying was more of a political issue than a liability for the intelligence agency.

Pak-Iran:IP gas pipeline: another lost opportunity

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh reportedly stated in Dubai that "the contract for supplying gas to Pakistan is likely to be annulled," and cited Pakistan's inability to pay for the cost of laying the pipeline as the major impediment to its implementation. His assessment was based on the government of Pakistan's recent request to the Iranian government to extend financial assistance of 2 billion dollars that would enable it to lay the pipeline on its side of the border. The question arises as to whether this is the sole reason behind Zanganeh's recent prognosis on the likelihood of project implementation. Informed sources within the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources told Business Recorder that the PML-N government had requested Iran to renegotiate the price of gas. Dr Salman Shah, Advisor to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Finance during the Musharraf era, revealed that in 2007 the price agreed was 45 percent of crude oil parity and he questioned the agreement signed by the PPP-led coalition government setting the price at 82 percent of crude oil price in the international market. Dr Shah also suggested that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) be directed to investigate the matter of pricing. Ever since, Iran has become an Islamic Republic it has not shown any soft corner for its predominantly Sunni neighbour - Pakistan - to lend it a helping hand. It was the Shah of Iran who agreed to establish a Pak-Iran Refinery project in Pakistan after establishment of a Pak-Iran textile project in Balochistan and also a paper mill in Karachi under the umbrella of an RCD project (Security Papers Limited). The refinery proposal was later shelved. In the eighties, Gen. Ziaul Haq used to be termed a President Jimmy Carter's poodle by Radio Tehran for Pakistan's increasing co-operation with the West opposing Soviet invasion of Afghanistan - another neighbour of Iran. Since the sanctions were hurting Iran economically and it was feeling isolated; Iran finally agreed to sign the gas contract with Pakistan without Indian participation (before imposition of sanctions, Iran was not willing to sign gas supply contract without Indian participation) and also provide help in the laying of pipeline on Pakistan's side which is estimated to cost 2 billion dollars. Pakistan is not blameless also in this on and off scenario on supply of gas. It has earlier tried to equate domestic cost gas with Iranian supply, ie, if Iran wanted $4 per mmcfd - Pakistan would offer $2 per mmcfd. Pakistan government under General Ziaul Haq was unwilling to annoy the American administration when the offer was made by an Australian company (BHP) which wanted to develop the South Pars gas field and lay a pipeline up to Sui. Zardari government finally agreed to purchase natural gas at 82 percent of the international oil price. PML-N on coming to power felt this was quite high as it would cost Pakistan 12 dollars per mmcfd. PML (N) government wrote to Iran to renegotiate and reduce the gas supply price. Now that Iran has laid the pipeline within a short distance from its Bandar Abbas port it has the option to use the same funds which it committed to Pakistan to put up a CNG liquefaction plant and a terminal for export of LNG to the Far East provided the Western sanctions are diluted. It may also be recalled that India backed out of the IP gas pipeline project even when the price was set at 45 percent of crude oil parity on the grounds that it is not economically feasible given the massive differential between the domestic gas price and the IP gas pipeline price. The price of IP gas is estimated at 12 dollars per million metric British Thermal Units (mmbtu) while Pakistan's domestic price of gas is only 4.5 dollars per mmbtu. Granted that 12 dollars per mmbtu is much cheaper than alternate sources of gas (namely from Turkmenistan) as well as LNG from Qatar yet the question arises as to why the previous government deemed it prudent to renegotiate a much higher price. There is no doubt that Iran has, over decades of negotiations on the IP gas pipeline project, succeeded in upping the price of IP gas several times. In other words, Iran may have actually taken advantage of the severe energy crisis in Pakistan and astutely negotiated the price to meet its own burgeoning economic needs to generate foreign exchange, an objective that was held hostage to the economic sanctions against the country. Pakistan therefore clearly came out as the loser in these negotiations. Thus there is a need to not only explore the possibility of price renegotiation given that this project's completion would be well before other mega projects notably ongoing hydel projects that would enhance generation capacity but also to stay the Finance Minister's hand to transfer dedicated funds (in GDS) to the treasury. We understand Pakistan is caught between the rock and a hard place. It wants to avoid imposition of UN sanctions or the anger of its main cash provider - the United States of America. Its failure of our foreign policy to make our friends in the West understand that an energy-starved Pakistan needs gas from Iran. At 12 dollars per mmcfd Iranian piped gas is cheaper than imported LNG. Equating either with imported LNG or lesser priced coal gasification is wrong. Both options require not only more investment but also time. It smacks of our failure not to meet the full potential of the economy. We are losing over two percent of growth due to energy shortages. Pakistan requires to tap all options ie Pak-Iran piped gas; LNG imports; imported coal as well as usage of domestic Thar coal; nuclear plus alternate fuels such as solar and wind to meet the growing needs of economy and domestic consumers.

Bomb blast blows up building in Peshawar

Express News

The telephone exchange building in the Meli Khel area of Peshawar was blown up in a bomb explosion, Express News reported on Monday. The building was empty and therefore there was no loss of life.

Pakistan: More Shia Hazaras murdered

The genocide being suffered by the Shia Hazaras in Balochistan seems to have no end in sight. On Friday, six innocent Shia Hazara coalminers working in the Macch area of Bolan district, were mercilessly gunned down for one reason only — their faith. No group or individual has come forward to claim responsibility but the finger of suspicion points towards the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), an extremist organisation that has been striking against the country’s Shia community, particularly the Hazaras. Coalminers in Macch have been attacked before for the same reason but this time the assailants were successful in inflicting fatalities. This is because the law enforcement agencies have not been able to protect the Shia Hazara community completely, despite improvement in their security in Quetta. One need not dig too far back to realise the extent of the butchery against the Hazaras. In January and February this year, the Hazara community in Quetta were targeted and 150 were killed in bomb attacks. The killings were so vicious that the frustrated community laid their dead out on the streets, demanding justice. However, this justice they wish to see seems to be little more than a wish so far. Hazaras are regularly being killed in Balochistan, with even Shia pilgrims travelling from and to Iran not being spared. There is a ruthless campaign against the Shias taking place right before our eyes but it seems as though we would prefer to keep them closed. To his credit, the new Chief Minister (CM) of Balochistan, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, has taken some steps to make his capital city safe for the Shia community. One can see that no major attack on the Hazara community has taken place since his government took over because of the measures he has taken. However, the CM needs to be reminded that the atrocities perpetrated against the Hazaras are not limited to Quetta. Due to the tragic nature of sectarian crime, groups like the LeJ will leave no stone unturned in hunting down their prey. Their resolve can be seen when Shias are killed in all parts of the province just like they were in Macch on Friday. It is with a heavy heart that it must be admitted that this may not be the last attack on the Hazara community. The federal government must work with the provincial authorities in Balochistan to root out this evil before more such attacks occur.

UK must act to halt mutilation of girls – report

Female genital mutilation must be treated as human rights abuse, say nurses and midwives

Thousands of girls in danger of genital mutilation are being failed by the health and justice systems, a coalition of health professionals has warned in a report that recommends aggressive steps to eradicate the practice in the UK. Female genital mutilation (FGM) should be treated the same as any other kind of child abuse and evidence of it must be reported to the police, according to the report. Janet Fyle, a policy adviser of the Royal College of Midwives and one of the report's authors, said that just as it was inconceivable that a health worker would not report evidence of child abuse to the police, it should be equally important to report evidence of FGM. "If we are applying child protection laws, we cannot pick and choose which crimes against children we pursue," she said. "We are not asking for more money or legislation, we are just asking that child protection laws should work for all children not just some." According to the report more than 66,000 women in England and Wales have undergone FGM and more than 24,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk of it. Despite its regular occurrence, FGM has not resulted in a prosecution in Britain, whereas in France there have been about 100. The report – Tackling Female Genital Mutilation in the UK – will be launched at the House of Commons on Monday by the Royal Colleges of Midwifery, Nursing and Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Unite union and Equality Now. It has been praised by the government. FGM is carried out in Africa and the Middle East by Muslims and non-Muslims. It predates Islam and is not called for in the Qur'an although it mostly occurs in countries that became Islamic. In countries such as Somalia and Egypt more than 90% of women have undergone some kind of FGM but it is also common in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali and Sierra Leone. Although FGM has been outlawed in the UK since 1985, migrants from countries where FGM is common have continued the practice here or by taking girls to their home countries for it to be performed. Since 2003, Britons can be prosecuted for acts of FGM abroad. The report recommends that FGM must be treated as child abuse and evidence of it should be collected by the NHS and shared with the police and education officials. It also recommends that health workers who detect evidence of FGM should treat it as a crime and inform the police. The former director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, said it was only a matter of time before prosecutions for FGM took place. "Through working together closely with the police, health and social care professionals and the third sector, we are now in a much better place to have a successful prosecution against those who perpetrate this practice," he wrote in the report's foreword. "It is only a matter of time before this happens and this will send a very powerful message that FGM is a crime that will not be tolerated in a modern multicultural society."The report recommends that health workers identify girls at risk and treat them as if they were at risk of child abuse. Girls at risk are defined as girls born to a woman who has undergone FGM or a child who lives closely with someone who has. It also calls for a government-funded awareness strategy, similar to the HIV campaigns, and for health workers to be held accountable for their success or failure in monitoring FGM among patients and sharing information. The report clearly emphasises the importance of an individual's safety over the respect for religious and racial sensibilities, a point welcomed by Shaista Gohir, the chairwoman of the Muslim Women's Network. "We need to be mindful of cultural and religious sensibilities but safeguarding the child from FGM has to be the priority. If a child is at risk it is better to protect them rather than religious and cultural feelings," she said. The report's launch will be hosted by the public health minister, Jane Ellison, who has praised the report but not yet endorsed any of its recommendations. She said: "One of my priorities as public health minister is to work towards eradicating female genital mutilation. Having supported this report during its development, I welcome its publication and the lead that the organisations involved, representing so many healthcare workers, are showing." A spokesman for the Department of Health said ministers had yet to study the report's recommendations. Other suggestions include that medical staff should question all new young female patients to determine the prevalence of FGM in their families and that teachers and schools should highlight the issue with at-risk groups and individuals. Sarian Karim, a 36-year-old community worker from Peckham, south London, who suffered FGM as an 11-year-old in Sierra Leone, welcomed the report. "FGM is a normal thing for us. We don't know it is against the law, but I know that it damages girls and leaves them scarred for life – mentally and physically. "It is very important that everyone knows that FGM is illegal. We suffer from a lot of complications [because of the procedure]. "We want those people who work in schools to have guidelines and be able to inform, prepare and protect children."

Lovers Of Sharia Law: The $120,000 farmhouse where Pakistan Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud died

With marble floors, lush green lawns and a towering minaret, the $120,000 farm where feared Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud died in a US drone strike was no grubby mountain cave. Mehsud spent his days skipping around Pakistan's rugged tribal areas to avoid the attentions of US drones. But his family, including two wives, had the use of an eight-roomed farmhouse set amid lawns and orchards growing apples, oranges, grapes and pomegranates. As well as the single-storey house, the compound in Dandey Darpakhel village, five kilometres (three miles) north of Miranshah, was adorned with a tall minaret -- purely for decorative purposes. Militant sources said the property in the North Waziristan tribal area was bought for Mehsud nearly a year ago for $120,000 -- a huge sum by Pakistani standards -- by close aide Latif Mehsud, who was captured by the US in Afghanistan last month. An AFP journalist visited the property several times when the previous owner, a wealthy landlord, lived there. With the Pakistan army headquarters for restive North Waziristan just a kilometre away, locals thought of Mehsud's compound as the "safest" place in a dangerous area. Its proximity to a major military base recalls the hideout of Osama bin Laden in the town of Abbottabad, on the doorstep of Pakistan's elite military academy. "I saw a convoy of vehicles two or three times in this street but I never thought Hakimullah would have been living here. It was the safest place for us before this strike," local shopkeeper Akhter Khan told AFP. This illusion of safety was shattered on Friday when a US drone fired at least two missiles at Mehsud's vehicle as it stood at the compound gate waiting to enter, killing the Pakistani Taliban chief and four cadres. The area around Dandey Darpakhel is known as a hub for the Haqqani network, a militant faction blamed for some of the most high-profile attacks in Afghanistan in recent years. Many left the area during the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan, coming back after the US-led invasion following the 9/11 attacks. Samiullah Wazir, a shopkeeper in the area, told AFP he would regularly see a convoy of four or five SUVs with blacked-out windows leave the compound early in the morning and return after sunset. "We thought that somebody very important must be living in this house," Wazir said. "One day, I saw a man wearing a white shawl entering the house and I thought he looked like Hakimullah, but I thought 'How can he live here because he could be easily hit by a drone strike?'" But Hakimullah it was and on Friday he returned to his compound for the final time. "We were closing the shop when his vehicle came and was about to enter the house when a missile struck it," Wazir said. "Moments later, an army of Taliban came and they cordoned off the area."

Kuwaiti woman arrested in Saudi Arabia for driving sick father to hospital

A Kuwaiti woman was arrested in Saudi Arabia for driving a car while taking her diabetic father to the hospital. The arrest comes just one week after Saudi women protested the driving ban in the conservative Gulf monarchy. The woman was driving a Chevrolet Epica with her father in the passenger seat when she was pulled over in an area located near the border with Kuwait, Saudi police told Kuwait Times newspaper. She explained that she was taking her sick father to the hospital, but officers were unsympathetic. The woman was detained and is now being held in custody pending an investigation, police said. The media report provided no information on whether her sick father made it to the hospital. There are close ties between Kuwaitis and Saudis in the area, with people from both countries crossing the border on a regular basis. However, Kuwait has surged ahead in terms of female rights. Women in the country are allowed to drive, vote, and run for political office. In Saudi Arabia, attempted reforms from King Abdullah often face resistance from the country’s senior clergy. Saudi woman are not allowed to drive cars, travel abroad, open a bank account, or work without permission from a male relative. Last Saturday, a protest took place against the driving ban, which resulted in 16 female drivers being stopped by police. They were fined 300 riyals (US$80) each and forced along with their male guardians to pledge to obey the kingdom’s laws. Activists said that more than 60 Saudi women got behind the wheel to protest the driving ban.

Saudi Arabia is the nation most responsible for Islamic Salafi-Wahhabi militancy around the world

by Fareed Zakaria

America’s Middle East policies are failing, we are told, and the best evidence is that Saudi Arabia is furious. Dick Cheney, John McCain and Lindsey Graham have all sounded the alarm about Riyadh’s recent rejection of a seat on the U.N. Security Council. But whatever one thinks of the Obama Administration’s handling of the region, surely the last measure of American foreign policy should be how it is received by the House of Saud. If there were a prize for Most Irresponsible Foreign Policy it would surely be awarded to Saudi Arabia. It is the nation most responsible for the rise of Islamic Salafi-Wahhabi radicalism and militancy around the world. (In Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, Saudi Salafi-Wahhabis operate through Deobandi militants). Over the past four decades, the kingdom’s immense oil wealth has been used to underwrite the export of an extreme, intolerant and violent version of Islam preached by its Wahhabi clerics. Go anywhere in the world–from Germany to Indonesia–and you’ll find Islamic Salafi-Wahhabi centers flush with Saudi money, spouting intolerance and hate. In 2007, Stuart Levey, then a top Treasury official, told ABC News, “If I could snap my fingers and cut off the funding from one country, it would be Saudi Arabia.” When confronted with the evidence, Saudi officials often claim these funds flow from private individuals and foundations and the government has no control over them. But many of the foundations were set up by the government or key members of the royal family, and none could operate in defiance of national policy; the country is an absolute monarchy. In a December 2009 cable, leaked by WikiLeaks in 2010, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed that Saudi Arabia remained a “critical financial base” for terrorism and that Riyadh “has taken only limited action” to stop the flow of funds to the Taliban and other such groups. Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries in the world to recognize and support the Taliban-led Deobandi government in Afghanistan until the 9/11 attacks. It is also a major player in Pakistan, now home to most of the world’s deadliest terrorists. The country’s former Law Minister Iqbal Haider told Deutsche Welle, the German news agency, in August 2012, “Whether they are the Taliban or Lashkar-e-Taiba, their ideology is Saudi Salafi Wahhabi (Takfiri Deobandi in Pakistan) without an iota of doubt.” He added that there was no doubt Saudi Arabia was supporting Wahhabi (Takfiri Deobandi) groups throughout his country. Ever since al-Qaeda attacked Riyadh directly in 2003, the Saudis have stamped down on terrorism at home. But they have not ended support for Wahhabi clerics, centers, madrasahs and militants abroad. During the Iraq War, much of the support for Sunni militants came from Saudi sources. That pattern continues in Syria today. Saudi Arabia’s objections to the Obama Administration’s policies toward Syria and Iran are not framed by humanitarian concerns for the people of those countries. They are rooted in a pervasive anti-Shi’ite ideology. Riyadh has long treated all other versions and sects of Islam as heresy and condoned the oppression of those groups. A 2009 report from Human Rights Watch details the ways in which the Saudi government, clerics, religious police and schools systematically discriminate against the local Shi’ite population, including arrests, beatings and, on occasion, the use of live ammunition. (And not just the Shi’ites. In March 2012, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti issued a fatwa declaring that it was “necessary to destroy all the churches in the Arabian Peninsula.”) The regime fears that any kind of empowerment of the Shi’ites anywhere could embolden the 15% of Saudi Arabia’s population that is Shi’ite–and happens to live in the part of the country where most of its oil reserves can be found. That’s why the Saudis sent troops into neighboring Bahrain during the Arab Spring of 2011, to crush the Shi’ite majority’s uprising. Saudi royals have been rattled by the events in their region and beyond. They sense that the discontent that launched the Arab Spring is not absent in their own populace. They fear the rehabilitation of Iran. They also know that the U.S. might very soon find itself entirely independent of Middle Eastern oil. Given these trends, it is possible that Saudi Arabia worries that a seat on the U.N. Security Council might constrain it from having freedom of action. Or that the position could shine a light on some of its more unorthodox activities. Or that it could force Riyadh to vote on issues it would rather ignore. It is also possible that the Saudis acted in a sudden fit of pique. After all, they had spent years lobbying for the seat. Whatever the reason, let’s concede that, yes, Saudi Arabia is angry with the U.S. But are we sure that’s a sign Washington is doing something wrong?

- See more at: http://lubpak.com/archives/288595#sthash.rWRdS84c.dpuf

Pakistan: Govt confused over drones, US ties

Former Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani has said that government is circled by confusion over drone attacks and relations with America.

Talking to media at Karachi Airport on Sunday, Gillani reminded that his government not only blocked NATO supply but not participated in Bonn conference also in reaction over Salala check post attack. “Pakistan Peoples Party had demanded apology from US, while asked the Parliament to review arrangements regarding agreements with US and vacated Shamsi Airbase from US control after Salala check post attack,” he said. Secretary General PPP, Latif Khosa lambasted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz over Local Bodies elections in Punjab. He said that Sharif Brothers took birth from Marshal Laws that is why PML-N wants escape from LB polls. “Federal government is failing to restore peace despite the fact that all parties has given free hand to government in this regard,” Khosa added.

Bilawal Bhutto condoles Reshma’s death

http://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Patron-In-Chief, Pakistan Peoples Party has offered heartfelt condolence on the sad demise of Pakistani folk singer Reshma and expressed sympathy with her bereaved family. In a press release, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid tributes to late Reshma for making Pakistani folk songs popular across the music world. He said folk music is a vital and inseparable part of our centuries-old culture and traditions and needs to be promoted. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also stressed for more efforts on the part of government and the society to utilize our rich folk culture and music for creating peace and harmony in the country. He prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage and fortitude to her family members.

Legendary Pakistani singer Reshma passes away after long battle with throat cancer

Born in Bikaner in India's Rajasthan state to a Banjara family around 1947, her tribe migrated to Karachi shortly after partition. Legendary Pakistani folk singer Reshma, who mesmerised music lovers in the Indian subcontinent with soulful rendition of songs like 'Dama Dam Mast Kalandar' and 'Lambi Judai' in her trademark rustic voice, passed away in Lahore today after a prolonged battle with throat cancer. Born around 1947 in Bikaner, Rajasthan, in a Banjara family, Reshma was under treatment after being diagnosed with the disease years ago. She is survived by son Umair and daughter Khadija. "She had been in coma for the last month and was diagnosed with throat cancer some years ago," said doctor Rahim of the hospital where she was undergoing treatment. Reshma's tribe had migrated to Karachi shortly after partition and the singer, who remained unaffected by the fame, had once said that "the borders do not matter to me...because, an artiste belongs to all". Remembering her origins to the sandy lands in India, she said: "People in India showered me with a lot of admiration. In Pakistan, people have given me respect. But in India also, they listen to me with lot of love. It does not matter to them that I am a Pakistani singer." Having received no formal education in music, she was only 12 when she was spotted singing at Shahbaz Qalander's shrine by a television and radio producer, who arranged for her to record the iconic song 'Laal Meri' on state-run Pakistan Radio. The song was an instant hit, and Reshma went on to become one of the most popular folk singers of Pakistan, appearing on television in the 1960s, as well as recording songs for both the Pakistani and Indian film industry. "Singers of that level and magnitude are an institution in themselves and her passing away means a complete era has passed away. It is a huge loss," Shahram Azhar, lead singer of Pakistani band Laal, told PTI. Some of her famous numbers include 'Hai O Rabba nahion lagda dil mera' and 'Ankhiyan no rehen de ankhyan de kol kol'. Reshma, who has a massive and loyal fan following, was awarded several national awards including prestigious awards 'Sitara-i-Imtiaz' and 'Legends Of Pakistan' given by the President of Pakistan. She was able to perform live in India much later, during the 1980s when India and Pakistan allowed exchange of artistes. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai used her voice in the film 'Hero', which featured one of her most famous songs 'Lambi Judai'. During her career, she was invited to meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a music lover, had come to her aid and gave her Rs 1 million to help pay off a bank loan. He also put her on a secured assistance of Rs 10,000 rupees per month. When she was hospitalised in Doctors Hospital at Lahore on April 6, 2013, the caretaker government led by Najam Sethi decided to pay all her medical expenses. "I have been to many countries -- US, Canada...then I went to India where people gave me a lot of respect. They Indian and Pakistani music industry today mourned the demise of legendary singer Reshma, describing her as a "voice of passion" and "an inspiration to many". Pakistani band Junoon's former guitarist Salman Ahmad tweeted, "A voice of passion not of this earth (RIP) 'Hayo Rabba'". "Tragic. RIP Reshma," Bollywood music composer Vishal Dadlani wrote on Twitter.

Former CIA official defends drones

LUBP Editorial: Death of Hakimullah Mehsud Deobandi

Let Us Build Pakistan

Now that Deobandi Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud is dead and buried, it is time to think what his death symbolizes. Certainly the government is shell-shocked because his death by droning has “murdered” the prospects of peace between the state of Pakistan and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “Murder of peace” is the expression which Chaudhry Nisar Khan has used in his reaction to Mehsud’s death:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/626216/peace-talks-nisar-terms-firdays-drone-strike-murder-of-peace/

Nisar Khan has also threatened to not only review Pakistan-United Sates relations, he has also threated that his government will take this matter up with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council: http://www.dawn.com/news/1053627/pakistan-to-review-us-ties-after-attack-on-peace-says-nisar Predictably, Imran Khan has also been fuming and has threatened that his government in KP will block the NATO supply route at all costs:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1053624/imran-vows-to-block-nato-supplies-in-kp

Not to be left behind is the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) whose leader in the National Assembly has condemned the Americans for killing Mehsud. He, Khurshid Shah, will soon be sitting with Imran Khan’s PTI to discuss the post-Mehsud killing scenario: http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?newsid=242925 ANP’s leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour too has condemned Mehsud’s death as a brutality by the US drones. The media men too have gone overboard in shedding tears over Mehsud’s death. There are a few honourable example, though: http://tribune.com.pk/story/626222/wrongful-mourning/

http://dunya.com.pk/index.php/author/nazeer-naji/2013-11-03/4874/73920136#.UnXStvkwrrM

http://www.dawn.com/news/1053623/the-hydra-lives

One should not be faulted if one said that Mehsud’s death has left Pakistan an orphan polity. As if it is not a criminal, murderer, and absconder who had been killed, but the father of the nation, or at least a national hero who could have won a Nobel. But this is Pakistan, then, where an issue must be kept alive to suck in the people’s attention, so no one can speak, even think, about the real issues like poverty, public education, population explosion, lawlessness, and the rise and reach of Takfiri Deobandism. If Pakistan’s ruling elites have raised Cain over Mehsud’s death for some selfish ends, the role of the ‘liberals’ and the ‘civil’ society is no better. On social media, there has not been any sensible discussion of what the killing of Mehsud means—or does not mean. Some sections of the civil society have laughed it off by saying that Mehsud will now be cavorting with seventy-two virgins. And the rest of the fake liberals of Pakistan are outraged that the sovereignty of their motherland has been violated by the Americans—once again. It is these very fake liberals who are claiming with one voice with Pakistan’s ruling elites that just when Pakistan was about to strike a peace deal with the Taliban, the Americans have struck to undermine peace. As if the Utopia was just in reach, but for the Americans. . . . Anyone who thinks that the Taliban had, or have, anything to offer by way of ‘peace’ talks is seriously in need of some statistical-interpretive

help: http://www.viewpointonline.net/the-taliban-will-never-talk.html

We at LUBP do neither celebrate nor condemn the killing of Mehsud. We have never called for elimination of individuals. We strongly disagree with well-wishing but misguided view of some Pakistani opinion-makers that Mehsud’s departure will weaken the Taliban. Our stance over the Mehsud killing is that it will not make any difference to the reign of terror the Taliban have unleashed on the people of Pakistan. Just as we have done in the past, we would like to ask once again: Who are the Taliban? And it is in answering this question that the LUBP editors have a bone to pick with the various views about the identity of the Taliban. The identification of the Taliban popularised by the media, politicians, and pro-army intelligentsia is that they are ones based in Waziristan. Not at all. We believe that this is a cunning and deceptive characterization of the terrorists who have been wreaking havoc in Pakistan. This identification—characterization—hides more than it reveals. By locating the Taliban in Waziristan, the likes of the ISI, PTI, and PML-N want people not to think about the various incarnations of the Taliban which are far more lethal than the Waziristan terrorists. We are talking about the likes of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). If you look at the social scene of Pakistan, you will find out that it is the leaders and hit men of the ASWJ-LeJ who have been carrying out acts of extreme violence against the Shias, Ahmadis, Hindus, and Christians. These terrorists have been given a free hand by the ISL, PTI, and PML-N. They openly present themselves with PTI-PML-N leaders. Some of the ASWJ-LeJ terrorists were even given tickets by the PML-N to run for election in May. Then, in what way has the killing of Mehsud changed the situation? Our argument is that the killing of Mehsud will not change anything for the Shias, Ahmadis, Hindus, and Christians of Pakistan. One terrorist has been eliminated. A new and possibly worse terrorist will take over. The Taliban have already said that they will take revenge. On who? They certainly cannot go to the United States. They will not touch the likes of the PTI and PML-N who have been crying in solidarity with them. Needless to say, it is the likes of the Shias who will be put on the slab, and the likes of Imran Khan and Shahbaz Sharif will justify violence against the Shias by saying, “It’s the result of the killing of Mehsud by an American drone!” The real danger is not a Taliban leader per se. The real danger is the Takfiri ideology which the ISI-Army has nurtured with the Saudi backing (and of course money). The fight of the Pakistani nation is one against the Takfiri mindset. But unfortunately, mesmerized and narcoticized by the media-manufactured Baudrillardean narrative of ‘peace’ with ‘good’ and ‘our’ Taliban, the fake liberals of the fake civil society will continue to yield ground to the Takfiris who will stop only after they have destroyed the very structure and texture of the Pakistan society.

- See more at: http://lubpak.com/archives/288541#sthash.RH4xrhcX.dpuf

Addiction ravaging Afghanistan called ‘a tsunami’

The addicts stalk the streets of this border post like hollowed-out skeletons, hair matted by filth and eyes glassy. The villages that hug the roads are veritable zombie towns, where families of men, women, and children hide their addiction within barren mud compounds. “Sometimes I feel it is better to die than live like this,” said Haidar, 30, seated on the floor of his living room beside a small tin of sugarlike powder.

His family, a wife and young children, bore the gaunt faces of addiction as well. In western Herat province, held up as an island of stability and progress in Afghanistan, the forlorn border town of Islam Qala is instead a showcase for an intensifying crisis: Long the global leader in opium production, Afghanistan has now also become one of the world’s most addicted societies.The number of drug users in Afghanistan is estimated to be as high as 1.6 million, or about 5.3 percent of the population, among the highest rates in the world. Nationwide, 1 in 10 urban households has at least one drug user, according to a recent report from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. In the city of Herat, it is 1 in 5. From 2005 to 2009, the use of opiates doubled, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, putting Afghanistan on par with Russia and Iran, and the number of heroin users jumped more than 140 percent. Most drug experts think the rate of drug use has increased since then. In a country troubled by adversity, from its long-running war to rampant corruption, drug addiction ranks low among national priorities. Government funding for treatment and outreach is less than $4 million a year. There are just under 28,000 formal treatment slots available nationwide, officials say, and such programs rely heavily on roughly $12 million a year in extra international funding for treatment. The focus of the international community and the Afghan government has instead been on reducing opium production. Since the beginning of the war in 2001, the Americans have spent more than $6 billion to curb Afghanistan’s opium industry, including eradication and alternative crop subsidies. The effort has struggled, and in many areas eradication efforts have been unofficially abandoned as too costly in terms of lost public support for government. In the last two years, opium cultivation has increased to the highest level since 2008, as global demand and prices remain robust. The sheer volume of supply has fueled domestic demand, a phenomenon the UN drug czar in Afghanistan refers to as “the Coca-Cola effect,” after the company’s market-saturation tactics. Cementing the status quo is a lack of treatment options, like methadone substitution, or a holistic plan to address the crisis. “This is a tsunami for our country,” said Dr. Ahmad Fawad Osmani, the director of drug demand reduction for the Ministry of Public Health. “The only thing our drug production has brought us is 1 million drug users.” While it has grown far worse in the past few years, the drug crisis in Afghanistan is not new. International health officials caught on early to the problem, which in some measure stemmed from the traditional use of opium for medication. In fact, one of the earliest challenges Afghan security forces had to surmount was a public image as a band of opium-addled thieves. The problem, while more controlled, still exists: Just last month, the nation’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, fired 65 employees after discovering that they were addicted to opium. In rural areas, the problem is expected to be worse. In some villages, the rate of drug use is as high as 30 percent of the population, based on hair, urine, and saliva samples taken by the authors of the urban study. And drugs not traditionally in wide use here, including crystal methamphetamine, are now figuring in the problem as well.

Girls' schools in Afghanistan wonder 'what tomorrow brings'

By Beth Murphy, GlobalPost Contributor

On the outskirts of Kabul, the mountainous land is rocky and dry, haunted by decades of war. Although the people here are fortunate to have avoided the violence that has pervaded other parts of the country during this fighting season—a time that stretches across the spring, summer and early fall—it is still a tense time in villages here. This year marks the last full fighting season before the scheduled drawdown of US troops begins in earnest in 2014. People are not sure what to expect as the Americans prepare to leave, particularly in places that have seen enormous gains in rights for women and girls.Of the 10 million children going to school in the country today, 40 percent are girls—compared to virtually zero girls in classrooms under Taliban rule. As a documentarian I have gotten to know students, teachers and administrators at girls’ schools in Kabul Province, and returning now at such a tense time is a powerful experience. I find myself full of hope for the girls—many of whom are the first generation of educated Afghan women in their communities—delighted when I see how voracious their appetites for learning are; and also aware of how tenuous their futures may be. Twelve years after the US kicked the Taliban out of power in Afghanistan—making it possible for girls to go back to school—there is a difficult question being asked here: Can the hard-won gains be sustained at a time when Taliban power is growing? Since I was last here this spring, there have been six brutal attacks against schoolgirls – assaults ranging from a remote-controlled bomb explosion to mass poisonings through gas attacks and drinking water contamination. One school was burned to the ground.Other challenges face girls’ education. According to the Deputy Minister for Education, rural villages—even those nearest the country’s capital—have trouble finding qualified female teachers. Of the 416 districts in Afghanistan, 166 have no women to teach the girls. There are also social, cultural and family pressures that girls face—especially as they enter high school. Despite the challenges, I also see the incredible progress that has happened here. The girls I meet are smiling and skipping as they arrive each morning, eager to enter the classroom, and in many cases become the first in their families—male or female—to read and write. Their desire for education is palpable. The support from parents—mothers and fathers—to educate their daughters is real. And the learning that is happening? That is the greatest hope for the future of all. In one seventh grade class I visited Saturday, several girls are vying for the number one ranking. On the playground they tease each other about the upcoming exams, and each playfully explains why she will come out on top. At one school, students and teachers start a day of lessons that include Dari, English, religion, science, math, and life skills. The girls smile and wave at me; many stop and hug me as they pass, and some even tell me they love me. In the beginning, students didn’t know what to think of me, an American woman, traveling to a foreign country without her husband, questioning everyone and everything. But they approached me the same way they approach their lessons—eager and open and kind.I’ve particularly felt a special connection with the teens, and with the teachers committed to giving them hope, knowledge, and a small measure of power in a culture so patriarchal that their fates are almost never only in their own control. Each child is a poignant reminder of the possibilities that exist in Afghanistan that could not have been imagined a decade ago. As one student told me, “I have some education now. I know how a woman should live. I have learned what is right and what is wrong.”

Former president Zardari felicitates Hindus on Deewali

Former president Asif Ali Zardari has greeted the Hindus of Pakistan on the occasion of Deewali being celebrated on Sunday and called for strengthening interfaith harmony and protecting minorities' rights. "I wish to extend on my behalf and on behalf of the Pakistan Peoples' Party's heartiest greetings to the Hindu and Scheduled Castes community on the occasion of Deewali," he said in his message. "Deewali is known as the festival of lights and is commemorated by members of some of the world's oldest religions to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. It is a time for celebration, but it is also a time for reflection. Let us rededicate ourselves to continually striving in the path of good and noble. Let us also remember that there are always others less fortunate than us," he said. "We partake in Deewali celebrations also for promoting interfaith harmony as a means to fight religious apartheid and those who seek to impose their ideological agenda on the people," the former President said. "On this occasion, I wish to reiterate that the Hindus, indeed all minorities, of Pakistan are equal citizens of the state and entitled to equal rights. I also wish to reiterate our commitment to respect and uphold the UN Resolution calling for interfaith harmony and the pledges contained in the manifesto of the Party to safeguard the rights of all minorities in accordance with the teachings of the founder of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the founder of the Party Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto."

Pakistan: Terms of the ‘surrender’ to terrorists

Daily Times

BY: Naeem Tahir Only those Taliban and the residents of Waziristan deserve some facilities that convince the nation of being law abiding Leaked out in an English daily are the terms offered to the Taliban for the so-called negotiations. The information does not seem to have been carried by any other newspaper. The dateline was October 12, 2013, from Washington, reported by the editor himself! Since then the information seems to have been hushed up. Here I share with the readers what appeared in that paper as “The Blueprint of a package deal with Taliban”. “Without disclosing the names and contents, I can write the points of the package, which look like a huge big cake with cream all over it, which may cost Islamabad some billions for a few years, but in return, the peace that may come will bring back many more billions elsewhere in the economy, investment, industry, trade and other areas that have fallen on the sidelines because of the law and order situation.

These offers include:

1.

A completely cost-free supply of electricity and gas in all of FATA.

2.

Supply of petrol and food items at highly subsidised and reduced prices.

3.

A total tax-free and duty-free status to FATA for setting up any industry for at least 10 years. This should include an incentive package for Pakistani entrepreneurs to build suitable industries in FATA.

4.

Like many Arab countries, a local partner must be given free 15-20 percent shares in these industries, and in return, he should ensure a secure and workable environment for the industry to run.

5-

Mandatory employment of locals with a minimum wage of Rs 20,000 on at least 50 percent jobs thus created. If locals are not available, outsiders may be given these jobs.

6.

Free education for FATA children within FATA and in universities inside Pakistan, to be paid by the Government of Pakistan.

7.

Free setting up of quality hospitals in these areas where local doctors should run the affairs.

8.

All youth, over the age of 18, boys and girls, should be given an unemployment allowance of at least Rs 15, 000 a month until they find a job, within FATA or in Pakistan or abroad.

9.

Generous no-interest loans be provided to locals for business, transport and economic activities in their areas including duty-free import of buses and vans registered in FATA.

10.

All FATA residents, with valid ID cards, must get 30-50 percent discount in airlines, railways and other government transport systems. These subsidies should be picked up by the government.

11.

At least 2,000 FATA residents should be sent on Hajj and Umra visits every year at no cost.

12.

All FATA agencies should be restructured into smaller units where local leaders should be declared as nazims, mayors, ameers or whatever name they like, and local affairs should be allowed to be handled by them under shariah or local tribal laws, customs and traditions through jirgas and ulema councils.

13.

The militants in these areas, with their arms, should be regularised as law enforcement forces of their respective areas. They should be given proper training and assistance by Pakistan where and when needed.

There are some other concessions and points in the package as well. This package comes to several billion rupees every year but it is a long-term investment in the future of FATA and Pakistan. What the Taliban should give in return is an assurance that violence and fighting will stop everywhere; an environment of peace will be created for all this to be achieved; Pakistan’s territorial sovereignty will be accepted and FATA people will continue to use the Pakistani passport as their travel document.” I have reproduced this ‘offer’ for the benefit of the readers who can form their own opinions. If these offers are true then some very critical questions arise:

Is this a reward: (a) For raising arms against the state? (b) For creating terrorism with the support of the enemies of Pakistan and killing peaceful citizens? And, (c) Are we sending a message to the people of all underdeveloped areas of Pakistan to follow suit and rebel against the state to achieve development targets?

Balochistan is already prepared to follow suit. So may be the Punjabi Taliban!

Offers 1, 2, 9, 10 are completely unacceptable and unfair to the nation, and number 13 is potentially very dangerous. Other offers need rationalisation.

Agreed, Waziristan needs development, but that is needed evenly in all areas of Pakistan. If the offer is made to the Waziristan terrorists, then the hope that there will be ultimate peace to compensate the ‘investment cost’ is far from reality. The example will be followed by other ‘have-nots’, including the Punjabi Taliban, as a successful blackmail tool. Terror will continue. All that the rebels need are guns, which will be supplied by Pakistan’s enemies easily. If this continues then what else is a civil war? What will be the future of Pakistan? Don’t the peaceful citizens and those who subject themselves to the constitution of the country deserve these facilities before the Taliban do? Particularly, healthcare and quality education! The Taliban should in fact pay a price for the reign of terror they unleashed. Only those Taliban and the residents of Waziristan deserve some facilities that convince the nation of being law abiding. Why only the born again ex-terrorists are rewarded? If they do not prove their loyalty beyond doubt, then the state should apply full force and clear the country of its enemies. The COAS should ensure that the reward is only available to those who are peaceful, and who respect and adhere to the constitution of Pakistan. Otherwise, the COAS will risk being remembered as a major player in this ‘surrender’. The Pakistan armed forces cannot and should not let the country set an example for others to organise rebellions and blackmail for concessions.

Shahbaz Sharif: A non-credible approach

Daily Times

Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Shahbaz Sharif is in the UK attending the Pakistan-UK Energy Conference 2013. The opening session of the conference was marked with a stunning disclosure by him that Pakistan would have plunged into darkness had his government not paid off Rs 480 billion circular debt, notwithstanding the fact that already Rs 100 billion of circular debt has accumulated since. If the CM was thinking he could convince international investors at the conference through such claims, he needs to brush up his knowledge on how investors operate. Did he think the heads of different energy companies and the prospective investors in the energy sector attending the conference had come without doing their homework? Being a businessman he should have known how minutely a project is researched even before it is considered worth contemplating. A sound strategy would have been laying the cards on the table and then pushing the case for developing the energy sector through full commitment. The rationale for going around the world with different energy development proposals and finding potential investors lies in the fact that the sector has crumbled under various anomalies. To top it all, the CM was focusing on something that is potentially an erroneous strategy to deal with the energy crisis facing the country. The enigmatic circular debt, mounting once again, will refuse to disappear unless the symptoms that cause it are addressed. The latest World Bank (WB) report on Pakistan’s economy and energy presents a grim picture of the energy sector deeply mired in a crisis, arising from issues such as the high cost of energy due to an increasingly unaffordable energy mix and subsidies, transmission losses, theft, faulty bill collection and debilitated infrastructure. The energy mix issue dates back to 1994, when the country switched to independent private producers and instead of adopting the relatively low cost gas-fired combined cycle technology, went for fuel oil thermal generation. Typical of Pakistan’s policy gaps, those planning the energy sector then failed to anticipate the future trends in oil prices, and paid no attention to developing new indigenous energy production sources. Coupled with the inability of the government to arrest endemic corruption, ultimately the power sector ended up in a shambles. Salvation from these anomalies lies in altering the energy mix to make it more affordable, thereby easing out subsidies, clamping down on theft, pressing the biggest defaulters, the government’s own ministries and departments, to pay their bills promptly, and upgrading infrastructure incrementally, including grid stations and power lines to overcome staggering transmission losses of 27 percent. According to the WB report, energy shortages are causing a loss of 2 percent of GDP. Hardly a ‘luxury’ we can afford.

British women wish they were hot like Nicole Scherzinger

http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/

According to a survey of British women, X Factor's Nicole Scherzinger is our new beauty ideal

It hasn't escaped our attention that Nicole Scherzinger is looking particularly shamazing on this year's X-Factor . With her lightened locks and implausibly perfect complexion, the Hawaiian beauty looks closer to 25 than 35. And we're not the only ones to have noticed.In a recent poll of 2,500 UK women, she came out on top as the celebrity they would most like to look like.

Apparently it's not just men who wish their girlfriends were hot like Scherzy - women concur.Unfortunately for the ex-Pussycat Doll, it appears women are only after her looks - and no doubt athletic physique - not her personality. Instead, women surveyed said they'd most like the personality of Charlotte Crosby: a member of MTV's Newcastle-based reality show Geordie Shore, and winner of this year's Celebrity Big Brother, whose most memorable quotes include: "Everyone knows me, I pull me pants down on the odd occasion. I was probably going to have a wee on the floor".While Nicole topped the looks vote for women in their 30s, 85 per cent of respondents aged 18-25 said they'd love to look like Coronation Street actress and 'Sexiest Female' soap star Michelle Keegan. Women in their 40s aspire to 32-year-old Holly Willoughby in the looks department, although we're not sure she'd seem so appealing when paired with the notoriously grumpy nature of ex-Loose Woman Carol McGiffin, who they put in first place for personality.Respondents in their 50s appeared to be a tad more realistic, voting Lorraine Kelly as the woman they'd most like to resemble, paired with the chirpy personality of comedian Sarah Millican. When it came to the tricky question of who they'd like to trade their entire lives with - looks, personality, houses, husbands and all - it appears that all age groups covet fame, fortune (and a whopping diamond ring).18-25 year olds would put themselves in newly-engaged Kim Kardashian's Givenchy shoes in an instant, while those in their 30s would gladly swap lives, wardrobes and, no doubt, husbands with Victoria Beckham. Women in their 40s said they'd most like to swap lives with 31-year-old new mum the Duchess of Cambridge, while 50-something respondents chose entrepreneur and Alan Sugar's right-hand lady Karren Brady.The poll was conducted by thegoodsurgeonguide.co.uk , whose founder Christiana Clogg commented: "This poll shows it takes a variety of components to make the ideal woman. The most important thing is to love yourself and what you do above all else". Which is all well and good until someone comes along and asks you to compare yourself with the genetically blessed likes of Scherzinger and co.

World rethinks opinion on Putin’s Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin tops his US counterpart Barack Obama on the Forbes list for "world's most powerful person." The news has become one of the hottest topics in the world. Russian media are pleased with the ranking and public opinion in China also reacted positively. Proceeding from the nation's geopolitical interests, the Chinese public is willing to see a strong Russia, although Moscow is on a different road now. Most support the reversal of Putin and Obama in the Forbes list. Russia successfully challenged the US in the Edward Snowden affair and Syrian chemical weapons crisis. Mature diplomacy allows Moscow extraordinary clout beyond its national strength while, in contrast, Obama acted reluctantly and lacked decisiveness in making decision at the critical moment. The world now has to reflect on whether it underestimated Russia's strength and its resolution to use power. This year, Russia is having its heyday since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Chinese society has rapidly increased their affection for Russia and Putin in recent years, which is good for cementing the China-Russia comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership. The Chinese public needs to foster a thorough understanding of Russia and avoid any misinterpretation. It requires us to assess Russia and the bilateral relations objectively rather than building the evaluation upon our subjective preference. There is an expectation among the Chinese public that China and Russia should ally to counter the US. Some people even hope a formidable Russia could divert US pressure away from China. But we have to be clear that the comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership between China and Russia is not a panacea for all difficulties facing China on the international stage. It forms a consolidated back-to-back strategic posture. But China has to count on itself to thrive on major strategic challenges. Russia won't engage in a confrontation with the US like the one in the Cold War era. The US has listed China as its top rival. It's unrealistic that some in China are anchoring their hope on Russia to assume a leading role in countering the US. Besides, Japan could directly ask for help from the US once a military clash between China and Japan breaks out, but China couldn't reckon on Russia. The rise of Russia will add its diplomatic ambition. China is likely to see new problems when dealing with a more assertive Russia. A rising Russian influence is worth applauding. It will speed up a multilateral world. The Chinese public congratulates Putin being anointed as the world's most influential person with sincerity. It shows the China-Russia comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership has been deeply rooted in two societies.

Mehsud death: US says Pakistan-Taliban talks 'internal'

The US has responded to accusations from Pakistan that a drone strike that killed Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud had destroyed the country's nascent peace process. A state department official said talks with the Taliban were an internal matter for Pakistan. The statement insisted Pakistan and the US had a "shared strategic interest in ending extremist violence". It also said it could still not confirm that Mehsud had been killed on Friday. Pakistan has summoned the US ambassador to protest over Friday's drone strike that killed Mehsud. The country's foreign minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, said the strike on the local Taliban leader "is not just the killing of one person, it's the death of all peace efforts." It came a day before a Pakistani delegation had been due to fly to North Waziristan to meet Mehsud.

Taliban revenge

Mr Nisar accused the United States of "scuttling" efforts to begin peace talks, and said "every aspect" of Pakistan's co-operation with Washington would be reviewed. Information Minister Pervez Rashid said: "The US has tried to attack the peace talks with this drone but we will not let them fail." The US state department spokesman said: "The issue of whether to negotiate with TTP is an internal matter for Pakistan, and we refer you to the government of Pakistan for further details." The official added: "More broadly, the United States and Pakistan continue to have a vital, shared strategic interest in ending extremist violence so as to build a more prosperous, stable, and peaceful region. "We have an ongoing dialogue with Pakistan regarding all aspects of the relationship and our shared interests, including security and counterterrorism cooperation, and we work together to address each others' concerns." Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had pledged to talk with the Taliban to try to end its campaign of violence, which has left thousands dead in bombings and shootings across the country. Mehsud was killed along with four other people - including two of his bodyguards - when four missiles struck their vehicle in the north-western region of North Waziristan, a senior Taliban official told the BBC. Pakistani media say Mehsud's funeral has taken place at an unknown location in the tribal area of North Waziristan. A Pakistani Taliban spokesman, Azam Tariq, vowed revenge, as Pakistan's security forces were put on high alert. "Every drop of Hakimullah's blood will turn into a suicide bomber," he said. "America and their friends shouldn't be happy because we will take revenge for our martyr's blood." The Taliban's ruling council met on Saturday to choose a new leader. Unconfirmed reports say regional commander Khan Said Sajna has been elected to the top job. . The US said it had seen the reports but "cannot confirm one way or the other". The state department official also said: "We are not in a position to confirm reports that Hakimullah Mehsud may have been killed in Pakistan." As well as Mehsud, the previous Pakistan Taliban leader was killed in a drone strike, in 2009

Taliban setback

The US had a bounty of $5m on Mehsud's head. The state department described him as the head of the group which planned the failed bombing of Times Square in 2010 and said the Pakistani Taliban have a "symbiotic" relationship with al-Qaeda. Mehsud's death is seen as another setback for the militant group after the recent capture of a senior commander by US forces in Afghanistan. Mehsud led the insurgency from North Waziristan and was thought to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. He came to prominence in 2007 as a commander under the militant group's founder Baitullah Mehsud, with the capture of 300 Pakistani soldiers adding to his prestige among the militants. His second-in-command, Waliur Rehman, was killed in a similar drone strike in May. In a rare interview two weeks ago, Mehsud told the BBC he was open to "serious talks" with the government but said he had not yet been approached. Mehsud denied carrying out recent deadly attacks in public places, saying his targets were "America and its friends". He had loose control over more than 30 militant groups in Pakistan's tribal areas.