Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Karzai calls Gilani, thanks him for hospitality
tribune.com
Afghan President Hamid Karzai telephoned Prime Minister Yousaf Gilani on Tuesday and thanked him for the hospitality extended during his recent visit to Pakistan.
Karzai informed Gilani about his meetings with the Pakistani political leadership and termed them very encouraging and constructive.
The Afghan president also apprised the Pakistani prime minister about his telephonic conversation with United States (US) President Barack Obama after his return to Kabul.
Karzai underscored Pakistan’s importance for the Afghanistan peace process and reiterated his request for assistance in the reconciliation process.
Gilani assured Karzai that Pakistan would wholeheartedly support an Afghan-owned and an Afghan-led peace process.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai telephoned Prime Minister Yousaf Gilani on Tuesday and thanked him for the hospitality extended during his recent visit to Pakistan.
Karzai informed Gilani about his meetings with the Pakistani political leadership and termed them very encouraging and constructive.
The Afghan president also apprised the Pakistani prime minister about his telephonic conversation with United States (US) President Barack Obama after his return to Kabul.
Karzai underscored Pakistan’s importance for the Afghanistan peace process and reiterated his request for assistance in the reconciliation process.
Gilani assured Karzai that Pakistan would wholeheartedly support an Afghan-owned and an Afghan-led peace process.
Video: Rihanna’s Racy Gown
Rihanna, who turns 24 on Monday, showed off some serious leg over the weekend when she stepped out in a racy floor-length satin gown. Plus, you'll never guess who the "We Found Love" singer has been tweeting! Elsewhere, Taylor Swift and Zac Efron looked ready to star in a remake of "Grease" at the Los Angeles premiere of "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax," while Zooey Deschanel was "adorkable" as usual in a plaid vintage gown at the Writers Guild Awards.
Puerto Rico honors Obama, LBJ visits with statues
Puerto Rican officials marked Presidents Day by unveiling bronze statues of U.S. President Barack Obama and former President Lyndon B. Johnson, pointedly noting that people who live on the island can't vote in the U.S. general election and lack other basic rights.
The two life-size statues are the newest additions to the "Avenue of Heroes," outside the capitol building in the U.S. island territory. The statues honor every sitting president who ever visited Puerto Rico, dating back to Theodore Roosevelt.
Obama became the ninth when he visited in June, said Kenneth McClintock, secretary of state for Puerto Rico.
Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, who represents Puerto Rico in the U.S. Congress but has limited voting powers, said the Obama administration has been helpful to Puerto Rico, including it in economic stimulus funding and health reform, among other initiatives.
But he and other officials who spoke at the ceremony complained about a lack of other basic rights, including representation in the U.S. Senate and the right to vote in the general presidential election.
"The president of the United States is an important figure to Puerto Ricans despite the fact that we aren't able to elect him," said Pierluisi, who favors making the island the 51st U.S. state. "... Puerto Rico and its nearly 4 million American citizens deserve to enjoy all the benefits and responsibilities that our fellow citizens enjoy."
Puerto Ricans can vote in primaries but not the general election though island residents are U.S. citizens.
The new statues of Obama and Johnson are part of a broader $1 million project to improve the Avenue of the Heroes, a broad boulevard along the south side of the neoclassical capitol building.
China's stance on Syria crisis can withstand test of history
People's Daily
China voted against a proposed Syria resolution at the United Nations General Assembly after saying "no" to the same proposal at the UN Security Council previously.
Some noted that if the resolution passed at the Security Council on Feb. 4, Syria would not experience the same conflict escalation as today.
However, such an argument is based on the assumption that as soon as the UN Security Council resolution passed the resolution, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would start power transfer according to the resolution and political talks would be launched immediately. This is what the Assad regime resolutely rejects.
The Assad regime should hand over power within two weeks according to the timetable under the Arab League framework. Assuming that the Security Council resolution was passed, there is a possibility that the Assad regime would move forward at any cost after being pushed to the corner. The conflict in Syria would surely be worse than the present.
The visit of Zhai Jun, China's Deputy Foreign Minister and special envoy of Chinese government to Syria, is another diplomatic attempt of China to promote political dialogue on Syria. The messages sent by Zhai during his trip can be summarized by five key words: concern, stopping violence, dialogue, cooperation and Charter.
First, the Chinese government has expressed its serious concern to all parties concerned in Syria. China is deeply worried about the fact that continuous conflict escalation and civilian casualties are undermining regional peace, and believes that such a situation must be changed immediately.
Second, China urges all parties concerned in Syria to stop violent behaviors at once. China has condemned all kinds of violence against civilians on many occasions, including the Syrian government that controls the country's armed forces, and the rebels who seek to overthrow the government through violence, in particular, the political forces that plotted bombings in government agencies. Only when all parties abandon violence, can civilian be actually reduced.
Third, China advocates the immediate launch of "inclusive political dialogue with no preconditions attached," which is the key to ensure the start of Syrian political process. "Political dialogue with no preconditions attached" means that everything is possible as long as all parties concerned reach an agreement.China urges the Assad regime to listen to people's reasonable appeals such as demands for change and development, but China has no position on who comes into power in Syria and will fully respect Syrian people's decision on their own political system. "Inclusiveness" means that all political forces should participate in the dialogue. Only by allowing every political group to participate, can political dialogue truly reflect the political reality in Syria and only by doing this, can an agreement be achievable.
Fourth, China hopes that all parties concerned in Syria to cooperate with Arab countries and the Arab League and to solve problems through political and peaceful approaches within the Arab League framework. Using the veto right at the UN Security Council and voting against the Syria resolution do not indicate that China is denying the Arab League's diplomatic efforts. Instead, China supports the Arab world's proposals such as stopping violence immediately, protecting civilians, providing humanitarian aid and avoiding outside military interference. China only opposes the contents in the Arab League's scheme that may be used by the West as the excuse to start a war.
Finally, China advocates to strictly following principles of the Charter of the United Nations and norms governing international relations. China is against the so-called "regime change" through armed intervention in any country, and believes sanctions do not help proper solutions of related issues. According to the Charter of the United Nations, the Security Council does not have the function of discussing internal affairs of its members, and has no right to decide which power force in any country should come into power or step down. Principles in the Charter such as members' sovereignty and noninterference in internal affairs are foundations for small and medium-sized countries to establish themselves in the whole word. If such rules are broken, the international community will have no peace at all.
China's stance is completely based on the fundamental interests of Arab countries and people. Such a stance is able to withstand the test of history. If Western countries continue to give the same support to Syrian rebels, a large-scale civil war may finally break out, which will likely incur outside military intervention. If this happens, history will give the answer to the question - who should be responsible for the situation?
China voted against a proposed Syria resolution at the United Nations General Assembly after saying "no" to the same proposal at the UN Security Council previously.
Some noted that if the resolution passed at the Security Council on Feb. 4, Syria would not experience the same conflict escalation as today.
However, such an argument is based on the assumption that as soon as the UN Security Council resolution passed the resolution, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would start power transfer according to the resolution and political talks would be launched immediately. This is what the Assad regime resolutely rejects.
The Assad regime should hand over power within two weeks according to the timetable under the Arab League framework. Assuming that the Security Council resolution was passed, there is a possibility that the Assad regime would move forward at any cost after being pushed to the corner. The conflict in Syria would surely be worse than the present.
The visit of Zhai Jun, China's Deputy Foreign Minister and special envoy of Chinese government to Syria, is another diplomatic attempt of China to promote political dialogue on Syria. The messages sent by Zhai during his trip can be summarized by five key words: concern, stopping violence, dialogue, cooperation and Charter.
First, the Chinese government has expressed its serious concern to all parties concerned in Syria. China is deeply worried about the fact that continuous conflict escalation and civilian casualties are undermining regional peace, and believes that such a situation must be changed immediately.
Second, China urges all parties concerned in Syria to stop violent behaviors at once. China has condemned all kinds of violence against civilians on many occasions, including the Syrian government that controls the country's armed forces, and the rebels who seek to overthrow the government through violence, in particular, the political forces that plotted bombings in government agencies. Only when all parties abandon violence, can civilian be actually reduced.
Third, China advocates the immediate launch of "inclusive political dialogue with no preconditions attached," which is the key to ensure the start of Syrian political process. "Political dialogue with no preconditions attached" means that everything is possible as long as all parties concerned reach an agreement.China urges the Assad regime to listen to people's reasonable appeals such as demands for change and development, but China has no position on who comes into power in Syria and will fully respect Syrian people's decision on their own political system. "Inclusiveness" means that all political forces should participate in the dialogue. Only by allowing every political group to participate, can political dialogue truly reflect the political reality in Syria and only by doing this, can an agreement be achievable.
Fourth, China hopes that all parties concerned in Syria to cooperate with Arab countries and the Arab League and to solve problems through political and peaceful approaches within the Arab League framework. Using the veto right at the UN Security Council and voting against the Syria resolution do not indicate that China is denying the Arab League's diplomatic efforts. Instead, China supports the Arab world's proposals such as stopping violence immediately, protecting civilians, providing humanitarian aid and avoiding outside military interference. China only opposes the contents in the Arab League's scheme that may be used by the West as the excuse to start a war.
Finally, China advocates to strictly following principles of the Charter of the United Nations and norms governing international relations. China is against the so-called "regime change" through armed intervention in any country, and believes sanctions do not help proper solutions of related issues. According to the Charter of the United Nations, the Security Council does not have the function of discussing internal affairs of its members, and has no right to decide which power force in any country should come into power or step down. Principles in the Charter such as members' sovereignty and noninterference in internal affairs are foundations for small and medium-sized countries to establish themselves in the whole word. If such rules are broken, the international community will have no peace at all.
China's stance is completely based on the fundamental interests of Arab countries and people. Such a stance is able to withstand the test of history. If Western countries continue to give the same support to Syrian rebels, a large-scale civil war may finally break out, which will likely incur outside military intervention. If this happens, history will give the answer to the question - who should be responsible for the situation?
World observing Mother Language Day
Bangladesh News
Nations across the world are observing the International Mother Language Day on Tuesday.This year the theme of the day is "Mother tongue instruction and inclusive education".
International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of Unesco in 1999 in a bid to recognise Feb 21 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), highlights the importance of mother tongue from the angle of the right to education and encourage each member state to promote instruction and education in mother tongue.
In a statement of the UN cultural wing director-general Irina Bokova quoted Nelson Mandela as saying, "if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart".Irina said, "Languages are who we are; by protecting them, we protect ourselves."
Unesco has dedicated the day to multilingualism for inclusive education."Use of the mother tongue at school is a powerful remedy against illiteracy," Irina said in the statement.
Unesco and the US Department of Public Information are set to present a special screening of "Languages Lost and Found: Speaking & Whistling the Mamma Tongue" at the UN headquarters in New York.
Bangladesh observes the day as Martyrs Day to commemorate the deaths of Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and a few other brave sons of the soil killed in a police firing on this day in 1952 when students moved out in a procession from the Dhaka University campus, breaching Section 144, demanding recognition of Bangla as a state language of the then Pakistan.
The protest sparked on Feb 21, 1952 culminated into the long-drawn struggle that eventually created independent Bangladesh in 1971.
The Pakistan government was untimely compelled to incorporate an article in the constitution on Feb 29 in 1956 that declared "the state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali".
Nations across the world are observing the International Mother Language Day on Tuesday.This year the theme of the day is "Mother tongue instruction and inclusive education".
International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of Unesco in 1999 in a bid to recognise Feb 21 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), highlights the importance of mother tongue from the angle of the right to education and encourage each member state to promote instruction and education in mother tongue.
In a statement of the UN cultural wing director-general Irina Bokova quoted Nelson Mandela as saying, "if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart".Irina said, "Languages are who we are; by protecting them, we protect ourselves."
Unesco has dedicated the day to multilingualism for inclusive education."Use of the mother tongue at school is a powerful remedy against illiteracy," Irina said in the statement.
Unesco and the US Department of Public Information are set to present a special screening of "Languages Lost and Found: Speaking & Whistling the Mamma Tongue" at the UN headquarters in New York.
Bangladesh observes the day as Martyrs Day to commemorate the deaths of Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and a few other brave sons of the soil killed in a police firing on this day in 1952 when students moved out in a procession from the Dhaka University campus, breaching Section 144, demanding recognition of Bangla as a state language of the then Pakistan.
The protest sparked on Feb 21, 1952 culminated into the long-drawn struggle that eventually created independent Bangladesh in 1971.
The Pakistan government was untimely compelled to incorporate an article in the constitution on Feb 29 in 1956 that declared "the state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali".
Putin campaigns on Russian military buildup
www.theglobeandmail.com
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
inspected one of Russia’s new stealth fighter jets on Monday and said Russia needs a stronger military to protect it against foreign attempts to stoke conflict around its borders.
Less than two weeks before a March 4 presidential election in which he hopes for a resounding win, Mr. Putin visited Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a snow-swept city in Russia’s Far East where military and civilian plane maker Sukhoi is a big employer.
He prefaced his trip with a newspaper article intended to burnish his image as a strong leader, saying Russia would spend 23-trillion rubles ($768-billion) over a decade to modernize the former Cold War superpower’s armed forces.
“New regional and local wars are being sparked before our very eyes,” Mr. Putin wrote in the article published on the front page of Russia’s official gazette, Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
“There are attempts to provoke such conflicts in the immediate vicinity of the borders of Russia and our allies,” he added in the article.
Mr. Putin, who is expected to win the election, gave no details of specific threats, but said Russia needed to develop weapons that were better than those of any potential enemy and called for making Russia’s armed forces more professional and versatile.
Russia has criticized the NATO mission in Libya, saying it overstepped the mandate it was given by the United Nations Security Council and helped rebels oust Colonel Moammar Gadhafi last year, and it has stood behind Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, one of Moscow’s few allies in the Middle East.
In the latest of his articles published on the key policies of his presidential campaign, Mr. Putin made no specific mention of Libya or Syria. But he wrote that recent events showed the diminished stature of international law.
Russia, he said, must rely on a powerful military to make sure its position is understood. “Under these conditions Russia cannot depend solely on diplomatic or economic methods of resolving conflict,” he wrote. “Before us stands the mission of developing our military potential in the framework of a strategy of containment and remaining sufficiently armed.”
Russia’s once-mighty armed forces underwent a decade of spending cuts after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, although Mr. Putin tried to slow the decline when he served as president from 2000 to 2008. The military now has about one million personnel.
With his calls to increase Russia’s might and spend state cash to improve military technology, he can count on strong support from the defence industry.
Dressed in a black coat on a visit that mixed elements of governance and campaigning, Mr. Putin looked down into the cockpit of a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter. He also examined a T-50, which Russia designed to rival the U.S. F-22 stealth fighter.
Mr. Putin, 59, has presented himself as the guarantor of stability and accused foreign powers of helping the organizers of the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule. But many are concerned with rampant corruption and political stagnation, and he suggested one approach is to bring in the private sector to help boost competition in the defence industry.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, a rare meeting between Russia’s president and opposition leaders produced talk of political reform on Monday, but no sign of concessions strong enough to halt protests posing a challenge to Mr. Putin’s ambition to return to the Kremlin.
President Dmitry Medvedev hosted protest organizers and leaders of unregistered parties at his residence outside Moscow in the first known direct high-level contact between the opposition and the Kremlin since the protests began in December.
“Our political system is far from ideal, and the majority of those present here criticize it, sometimes quite harshly,” Mr. Medvedev said in televized comments at the meeting.
“You know that for the last four years I have been changing certain parts of our political system,” he added. “At the moment, in my view, the time has come to do this more actively.”
Mr. Medvedev said he welcomed suggestions on how electoral reform legislation he has submitted to parliament since the protests began, including easier registration for parties and a return to elections of regional leaders, could be improved.
The meeting signalled an awareness of the challenge that Mr. Putin faces from the protests that have erupted three times since a Dec. 4 parliamentary election, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets to vent anger over suspected fraud in his party’s favour.
But no concrete plans for that or any other political reform beyond the changes already promised emerged from the meeting. Mr. Putin has ignored most of the protesters’ demands – including a rerun of the parliamentary election – and mocked them by likening the dissenters to apes and comparing the white ribbons worn by them to condoms.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
inspected one of Russia’s new stealth fighter jets on Monday and said Russia needs a stronger military to protect it against foreign attempts to stoke conflict around its borders.
Less than two weeks before a March 4 presidential election in which he hopes for a resounding win, Mr. Putin visited Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a snow-swept city in Russia’s Far East where military and civilian plane maker Sukhoi is a big employer.
He prefaced his trip with a newspaper article intended to burnish his image as a strong leader, saying Russia would spend 23-trillion rubles ($768-billion) over a decade to modernize the former Cold War superpower’s armed forces.
“New regional and local wars are being sparked before our very eyes,” Mr. Putin wrote in the article published on the front page of Russia’s official gazette, Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
“There are attempts to provoke such conflicts in the immediate vicinity of the borders of Russia and our allies,” he added in the article.
Mr. Putin, who is expected to win the election, gave no details of specific threats, but said Russia needed to develop weapons that were better than those of any potential enemy and called for making Russia’s armed forces more professional and versatile.
Russia has criticized the NATO mission in Libya, saying it overstepped the mandate it was given by the United Nations Security Council and helped rebels oust Colonel Moammar Gadhafi last year, and it has stood behind Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, one of Moscow’s few allies in the Middle East.
In the latest of his articles published on the key policies of his presidential campaign, Mr. Putin made no specific mention of Libya or Syria. But he wrote that recent events showed the diminished stature of international law.
Russia, he said, must rely on a powerful military to make sure its position is understood. “Under these conditions Russia cannot depend solely on diplomatic or economic methods of resolving conflict,” he wrote. “Before us stands the mission of developing our military potential in the framework of a strategy of containment and remaining sufficiently armed.”
Russia’s once-mighty armed forces underwent a decade of spending cuts after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, although Mr. Putin tried to slow the decline when he served as president from 2000 to 2008. The military now has about one million personnel.
With his calls to increase Russia’s might and spend state cash to improve military technology, he can count on strong support from the defence industry.
Dressed in a black coat on a visit that mixed elements of governance and campaigning, Mr. Putin looked down into the cockpit of a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter. He also examined a T-50, which Russia designed to rival the U.S. F-22 stealth fighter.
Mr. Putin, 59, has presented himself as the guarantor of stability and accused foreign powers of helping the organizers of the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule. But many are concerned with rampant corruption and political stagnation, and he suggested one approach is to bring in the private sector to help boost competition in the defence industry.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, a rare meeting between Russia’s president and opposition leaders produced talk of political reform on Monday, but no sign of concessions strong enough to halt protests posing a challenge to Mr. Putin’s ambition to return to the Kremlin.
President Dmitry Medvedev hosted protest organizers and leaders of unregistered parties at his residence outside Moscow in the first known direct high-level contact between the opposition and the Kremlin since the protests began in December.
“Our political system is far from ideal, and the majority of those present here criticize it, sometimes quite harshly,” Mr. Medvedev said in televized comments at the meeting.
“You know that for the last four years I have been changing certain parts of our political system,” he added. “At the moment, in my view, the time has come to do this more actively.”
Mr. Medvedev said he welcomed suggestions on how electoral reform legislation he has submitted to parliament since the protests began, including easier registration for parties and a return to elections of regional leaders, could be improved.
The meeting signalled an awareness of the challenge that Mr. Putin faces from the protests that have erupted three times since a Dec. 4 parliamentary election, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets to vent anger over suspected fraud in his party’s favour.
But no concrete plans for that or any other political reform beyond the changes already promised emerged from the meeting. Mr. Putin has ignored most of the protesters’ demands – including a rerun of the parliamentary election – and mocked them by likening the dissenters to apes and comparing the white ribbons worn by them to condoms.
U.S.A.: Immigration and the Campaign
Editorial:
The Republican presidential candidates have not made immigration a focus of their campaigns. But, as they head toward a debate on Wednesday in Arizona, ground zero for anti-immigrant hostility, it is a good time to ask them hard questions about immigration. The odds are bad that they will have sensible answers.
These candidates have abandoned decades of Republican moderation on immigration, disowning views once held by Ronald Reagan, both Presidents Bush and Congressional Republicans — like Mel Martinez, Sam Brownback, Lindsey Graham and John McCain — who once led a sizable coalition for bipartisan reform but have since either left the Senate or their principles behind.
Mitt Romney has moved farthest to the fringe. His scheme for fixing immigration is mass expulsion: a fantasy of ridding the country of 11 million unauthorized immigrants by making their lives unbearable. The key to his harsh vision is “self-deportation,” the deceptively bland-sounding policy that he introduced at a debate. It accepts that arresting and expelling so many millions would be impossible — like deporting the State of Ohio. But it replaces that delusion with another: That people can be made miserable enough to leave on their own.
Mr. Romney lifted this scheme from a campaign adviser, Kris Kobach, the mastermind of a host of crackdowns that seek to leave unauthorized immigrants not just unable to work, but unable to drive, rent or heat a home, afraid to take children to school or the doctor. In states where “self-deportation” is official policy, the results have been deplorable. In Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County sweeps neighborhoods making mass arrests, and people are afraid to leave home. In Alabama, farm and construction workers have fled by the thousands; tornado victims are afraid to go to a shelter.
These laws hijack the federal government’s responsibility for immigration and have caused a civil-rights emergency. But Mr. Romney’s response has been to condemn the Obama Justice Department for fighting them in court.
Newt Gingrich is slightly less extreme than Mr. Romney. He rightly scoffs that “self-deportation” is a pandering fantasy, and he supports legalizing a few grandmothers and students who join the military, though, like Mr. Romney, he would deny them any chance to become Americans. He, too, staunchly defends rogue states against federal civil-rights enforcement. And, speaking of fantasies, Mr. Gingrich has pledged to complete a double-wall border fence by the end of next year.
Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have been less explicit in their immigration prescriptions, though Mr. Paul has voiced a libertarian’s doubts about a border fence and acknowledged that Hispanics are being made “scapegoats.” He and Mr. Santorum, like the others, support an immediate border lockdown, oppose the Dream Act and want the government to enforce English as an official language.
Poll after poll has shown that the American public supports moderate reform. Many conservatives do, too. In Utah, the Mormon Church has joined a broad coalition of business, civic and religious organizations in endorsing humane immigration measures, free of shrill hostility. In Kansas, Mr. Kobach’s home state, businesses are trying to draft a plan to be more welcoming to immigrant workers. But the Republican presidential hopefuls are busy pandering to the far-right voters that dominate the primaries.
President Obama has hardly been inspiring on this issue. He has pushed deportations to record levels while failing to reform immigration more humanely. But he, at least, understands that the right immigration solution is one that doesn’t reward illegality but channels immigrant energy and aspirations to fruitful ends. It is the hard-won compromise that combines tougher border and workplace controls with a legalization path and a well-designed future flow of workers to meet our economy’s needs.
That’s a plan that Mitt Romney, a few Mitt Romneys ago, once admired. It’s the one he deplores now.
The Republican presidential candidates have not made immigration a focus of their campaigns. But, as they head toward a debate on Wednesday in Arizona, ground zero for anti-immigrant hostility, it is a good time to ask them hard questions about immigration. The odds are bad that they will have sensible answers.
These candidates have abandoned decades of Republican moderation on immigration, disowning views once held by Ronald Reagan, both Presidents Bush and Congressional Republicans — like Mel Martinez, Sam Brownback, Lindsey Graham and John McCain — who once led a sizable coalition for bipartisan reform but have since either left the Senate or their principles behind.
Mitt Romney has moved farthest to the fringe. His scheme for fixing immigration is mass expulsion: a fantasy of ridding the country of 11 million unauthorized immigrants by making their lives unbearable. The key to his harsh vision is “self-deportation,” the deceptively bland-sounding policy that he introduced at a debate. It accepts that arresting and expelling so many millions would be impossible — like deporting the State of Ohio. But it replaces that delusion with another: That people can be made miserable enough to leave on their own.
Mr. Romney lifted this scheme from a campaign adviser, Kris Kobach, the mastermind of a host of crackdowns that seek to leave unauthorized immigrants not just unable to work, but unable to drive, rent or heat a home, afraid to take children to school or the doctor. In states where “self-deportation” is official policy, the results have been deplorable. In Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County sweeps neighborhoods making mass arrests, and people are afraid to leave home. In Alabama, farm and construction workers have fled by the thousands; tornado victims are afraid to go to a shelter.
These laws hijack the federal government’s responsibility for immigration and have caused a civil-rights emergency. But Mr. Romney’s response has been to condemn the Obama Justice Department for fighting them in court.
Newt Gingrich is slightly less extreme than Mr. Romney. He rightly scoffs that “self-deportation” is a pandering fantasy, and he supports legalizing a few grandmothers and students who join the military, though, like Mr. Romney, he would deny them any chance to become Americans. He, too, staunchly defends rogue states against federal civil-rights enforcement. And, speaking of fantasies, Mr. Gingrich has pledged to complete a double-wall border fence by the end of next year.
Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have been less explicit in their immigration prescriptions, though Mr. Paul has voiced a libertarian’s doubts about a border fence and acknowledged that Hispanics are being made “scapegoats.” He and Mr. Santorum, like the others, support an immediate border lockdown, oppose the Dream Act and want the government to enforce English as an official language.
Poll after poll has shown that the American public supports moderate reform. Many conservatives do, too. In Utah, the Mormon Church has joined a broad coalition of business, civic and religious organizations in endorsing humane immigration measures, free of shrill hostility. In Kansas, Mr. Kobach’s home state, businesses are trying to draft a plan to be more welcoming to immigrant workers. But the Republican presidential hopefuls are busy pandering to the far-right voters that dominate the primaries.
President Obama has hardly been inspiring on this issue. He has pushed deportations to record levels while failing to reform immigration more humanely. But he, at least, understands that the right immigration solution is one that doesn’t reward illegality but channels immigrant energy and aspirations to fruitful ends. It is the hard-won compromise that combines tougher border and workplace controls with a legalization path and a well-designed future flow of workers to meet our economy’s needs.
That’s a plan that Mitt Romney, a few Mitt Romneys ago, once admired. It’s the one he deplores now.
Obama takes tougher stance on higher education
cbsnews.com
Access to college has been the driving force in federal higher education policy for decades. But the Obama administration is pushing a fundamental agenda shift that aggressively brings a new question into the debate: What are people getting for their money?
Students with loans are graduating on average with more than $25,000 in debt. The federal government pours $140 billion annually into federal grants and loans. Unemployment remains high, yet there are projected shortages in many industries with some high-tech companies already complaining about a lack of highly trained workers.
Meanwhile, literacy among college students has declined in the last decade, according to a commission convened during the George W. Bush administration that said American higher education has become "increasingly risk-averse, at times self-satisfied, and unduly expensive." About 40 percent of college students at four-year schools aren't graduating, and in two-year programs, only about 40 percent of students graduate or transfer, according to the policy and analysis group College Measures.
College drop-outs are expensive, and not just for the individual. About a fifth of full-time students who enroll at a community college do not return for a second year, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually, according to an analysis released last fall by the American Institutes for Research.
There's been a growing debate over whether post-secondary schools should be more transparent about the cost of an education and the success of graduates. President Barack Obama has weighed in with a strong "yes."
During his State of the Union address, Obama put the higher education on notice: "If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down," he said. "Higher education can't be a luxury— it's an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford."
He wants to slightly reduce federal aid for schools that don't control tuition costs and shift it to those that do. He also has proposed an $8 billion program to train community college students for high-growth industries that would provide financial incentives to programs that ensured their trainees find work. Both proposals need congressional approval.
At the same time, the administration is developing both a "scorecard" for use in comparing school statistics such as graduation rates as well as a "shopping sheet" students would receive from schools they applied to with estimates of how much debt they might graduate with and estimated future payments on student loans.
American's higher education system has long been the backbone of much of the nation's success, and there's no doubt that a college degree is valuable. It's now projected that students with a bachelor's degree will earn a million more dollars over their lifetime than students with only a high school diploma, Education Secretary Arne Duncan says.
But Obama's statement to Congress jolted the higher education establishment, which believes that college isn't just to create foot soldiers for industry and that the use of measured outcomes would hurt the humanities, meaning fewer students will turn to Shakespeare and instead study engineering, said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. The community has already been reeling over an earlier administration decision to require career college programs — many of which are at for-profit institutions — to better prepare students for "gainful employment" or risk losing federal aid.
"It's the notion that the ...federal government will begin to say we want to know what we're paying for and we want to make sure that people don't pay for education programs that take them nowhere, especially if the program is supposed to get them a job, we want it to get them a job, Carnevale said.
Some fear that Obama might want to apply the "gainful employment" standards to traditional four-year degree programs. Robert Moran, director of federal relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, said reporting requires time and resources, and it's even more difficult to gauge the success of a graduate with an English degree than someone with a very specific career certificate.
Duncan said in an interview he doesn't see a big need to go in that direction now, although he does think it's important to track factors such as graduation rates and tuition costs. He said he tracked his graduates while serving as chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools and noticed that some universities were graduating them at rates of 75 percent or more, while others were graduating them at a small fraction of that.
"Colleges aren't too dissimilar to high schools. Some have done a great job building cultures around completion and obtainment and some haven't," Duncan said.
Historically, policy conversations have centered on getting students into college. Duncan said graduating is just as important.
"To be real clear, I think that's been the problem with federal policy in the past is 100 percent has been focused on the front end on inputs, that's clearly important, but that's the starting point. That gets you in the game. The goal isn't to get to the game, the goal is to get to the finish line," Duncan said.
Obama isn't the first president to encourage dialogue on making higher education more affordable and accountable. In addition to convening a commission to study higher education in America, Bush's administration issued grants to states to link transcript data with other records to better track the success of graduates from public institutions. The Obama administration has continued the program.
But Obama is taking the conversation to another level. That doesn't mean, however, he's abandoning the issue of accessibility. His administration has expanded the availability of Pell grants, supported a tax credit for tuition costs and is attempting to make it easier for some graduates to pay back loans.
Experts say some of the challenges in higher education result from too many students entering the doors without basic math and English skills. There's also the question of how to measure how effective colleges are and whether tuition increases are appropriate — especially for public institutions facing dramatic budget cuts.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the former president of Mayland Community College, said the issues raised by Obama are being addressed at the state and local level, where she said they should be handled, and that many schools are coming up with innovative ways to cut costs and to find ways to work with local industry. As an example, she recalled developing, while a community college president, a course in supervisory training after local industry sought it.
"All of these things the president talks about can be done at the local and state level, and are being done at the local and state level," Foxx said. "It isn't the role of government to guarantee somebody a good job after they graduate from college or community college."
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., takes a different view.
"Right now, the information about the potential of various careers, the track records of colleges and the like is essentially strewn all over the countryside," said Wyden, who authored a bill on making college costs more transparent.
He added, "I think students and their parents are now saying in addition to accessibility, we want to wring the maximum value out of every dollar we're spending on education."
College Measures: http://collegemeasures.org/
American Institutes for Research: http://www.air.org/
Education Department: http://www.ed.gov/
American Association of State Colleges and Universities: http://www.aascu.org/
Rep. Virginia Foxx: http://foxx.house.gov/
Sen. Ron Wyden: http://wyden.senate.gov/
Access to college has been the driving force in federal higher education policy for decades. But the Obama administration is pushing a fundamental agenda shift that aggressively brings a new question into the debate: What are people getting for their money?
Students with loans are graduating on average with more than $25,000 in debt. The federal government pours $140 billion annually into federal grants and loans. Unemployment remains high, yet there are projected shortages in many industries with some high-tech companies already complaining about a lack of highly trained workers.
Meanwhile, literacy among college students has declined in the last decade, according to a commission convened during the George W. Bush administration that said American higher education has become "increasingly risk-averse, at times self-satisfied, and unduly expensive." About 40 percent of college students at four-year schools aren't graduating, and in two-year programs, only about 40 percent of students graduate or transfer, according to the policy and analysis group College Measures.
College drop-outs are expensive, and not just for the individual. About a fifth of full-time students who enroll at a community college do not return for a second year, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually, according to an analysis released last fall by the American Institutes for Research.
There's been a growing debate over whether post-secondary schools should be more transparent about the cost of an education and the success of graduates. President Barack Obama has weighed in with a strong "yes."
During his State of the Union address, Obama put the higher education on notice: "If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down," he said. "Higher education can't be a luxury— it's an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford."
He wants to slightly reduce federal aid for schools that don't control tuition costs and shift it to those that do. He also has proposed an $8 billion program to train community college students for high-growth industries that would provide financial incentives to programs that ensured their trainees find work. Both proposals need congressional approval.
At the same time, the administration is developing both a "scorecard" for use in comparing school statistics such as graduation rates as well as a "shopping sheet" students would receive from schools they applied to with estimates of how much debt they might graduate with and estimated future payments on student loans.
American's higher education system has long been the backbone of much of the nation's success, and there's no doubt that a college degree is valuable. It's now projected that students with a bachelor's degree will earn a million more dollars over their lifetime than students with only a high school diploma, Education Secretary Arne Duncan says.
But Obama's statement to Congress jolted the higher education establishment, which believes that college isn't just to create foot soldiers for industry and that the use of measured outcomes would hurt the humanities, meaning fewer students will turn to Shakespeare and instead study engineering, said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. The community has already been reeling over an earlier administration decision to require career college programs — many of which are at for-profit institutions — to better prepare students for "gainful employment" or risk losing federal aid.
"It's the notion that the ...federal government will begin to say we want to know what we're paying for and we want to make sure that people don't pay for education programs that take them nowhere, especially if the program is supposed to get them a job, we want it to get them a job, Carnevale said.
Some fear that Obama might want to apply the "gainful employment" standards to traditional four-year degree programs. Robert Moran, director of federal relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, said reporting requires time and resources, and it's even more difficult to gauge the success of a graduate with an English degree than someone with a very specific career certificate.
Duncan said in an interview he doesn't see a big need to go in that direction now, although he does think it's important to track factors such as graduation rates and tuition costs. He said he tracked his graduates while serving as chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools and noticed that some universities were graduating them at rates of 75 percent or more, while others were graduating them at a small fraction of that.
"Colleges aren't too dissimilar to high schools. Some have done a great job building cultures around completion and obtainment and some haven't," Duncan said.
Historically, policy conversations have centered on getting students into college. Duncan said graduating is just as important.
"To be real clear, I think that's been the problem with federal policy in the past is 100 percent has been focused on the front end on inputs, that's clearly important, but that's the starting point. That gets you in the game. The goal isn't to get to the game, the goal is to get to the finish line," Duncan said.
Obama isn't the first president to encourage dialogue on making higher education more affordable and accountable. In addition to convening a commission to study higher education in America, Bush's administration issued grants to states to link transcript data with other records to better track the success of graduates from public institutions. The Obama administration has continued the program.
But Obama is taking the conversation to another level. That doesn't mean, however, he's abandoning the issue of accessibility. His administration has expanded the availability of Pell grants, supported a tax credit for tuition costs and is attempting to make it easier for some graduates to pay back loans.
Experts say some of the challenges in higher education result from too many students entering the doors without basic math and English skills. There's also the question of how to measure how effective colleges are and whether tuition increases are appropriate — especially for public institutions facing dramatic budget cuts.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the former president of Mayland Community College, said the issues raised by Obama are being addressed at the state and local level, where she said they should be handled, and that many schools are coming up with innovative ways to cut costs and to find ways to work with local industry. As an example, she recalled developing, while a community college president, a course in supervisory training after local industry sought it.
"All of these things the president talks about can be done at the local and state level, and are being done at the local and state level," Foxx said. "It isn't the role of government to guarantee somebody a good job after they graduate from college or community college."
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., takes a different view.
"Right now, the information about the potential of various careers, the track records of colleges and the like is essentially strewn all over the countryside," said Wyden, who authored a bill on making college costs more transparent.
He added, "I think students and their parents are now saying in addition to accessibility, we want to wring the maximum value out of every dollar we're spending on education."
College Measures: http://collegemeasures.org/
American Institutes for Research: http://www.air.org/
Education Department: http://www.ed.gov/
American Association of State Colleges and Universities: http://www.aascu.org/
Rep. Virginia Foxx: http://foxx.house.gov/
Sen. Ron Wyden: http://wyden.senate.gov/
Oil prices spike on Iran export halt. Is $4 gas next?
Oil prices rose Monday after Iran cut exports to Britain and France, raising worries that higher gas prices may follow suit.
Iran's oil ministry said Sunday that it would stop exporting oil to French and British companies. The announcement came just days after Iran threatened to cut supplies to some European Union countries in retaliation for sanctions put in place by the EU and United States.
U.S. crude for April delivery jumped nearly 2% to $105.08 per barrel. Brent crude, Europe's benchmark, rose about 0.5% to $120.18 per barrel.
Prices for Brent haven't been above $120 for more than a year, and that could prove worrisome for U.S. drivers since many U.S. refineries use imported oil to produce gas, especially on the East Coast.
Prices are already up nearly 9% from the start of the year. According to motorist group AAA, the national average price of $3.56 a gallon marks the 13th consecutive increase.
Gas prices may hit $5
The price of unleaded gasoline in the U.S. will likely hit a nationwide average of $4 by this summer, said Dan Dicker, oil trader and author of "Oil's Endless Bid." The last time prices topped $4 was 2008 and Dicker said there's a one in three chance that gas could reach $5 a gallon.
If gas prices do head to those lofty levels, that could put a crimp in the economic recovery as consumers will likely cut down on spending if they have to pay more to fill up their cars.Just last month, higher gas prices were to blame for an uptick in inflation. And it's not just consumers who will suffer. Companies facing higher shipping costs may reel in their hiring plans, slowing job growth and putting a crimp into the overall economic recovery.
"This price juggernaut has taken on a life of its own since the Iran/Israeli threat flinging began and [the] boycott/sanctions war continues to ratchet upwards, and it's been made worse by the big run in stocks since the start of the year," said Dicker.
Capital Economics analyst Julian Jessop said the stock market rebound has contributed at least $5 worth of gains to the price of oil.
Israel has contributed to the market mayhem by openly considering an attack on Tehran's nuclear infrastructure.
Iran exports 2.2 million barrels of oil per day, a sliver of the 89 million barrels that is consumed worldwide on a daily basis. Less than one-fifth of Iran's exports are sent to Europe.
The move by Iran is "essentially an empty gesture, as the UK and France buy hardly any oil," said Jessop in a client note.But it doesn't take much to trigger a fluctuation in prices, and even a bit player like Iran can wreck havoc on international markets.
"The supply is tethered so tightly to demand, that if you do lose even a small percentage of supply, it could have a big effect on the price," said Dicker.
Bahraini Children Reportedly Stabbed & Gassed
By:Tighe Barry
As part of an observer delegation in Bahrain with the peace group Code Pink, I visited the village of Bani Jamrah with local Bahraini human rights activists.
In one of the many horrific cases we heard, a 17-year-old boy Hasan, his friend and his 8-year-old brother left their home to go to the grocery store. As they were entering the store they noticed some other youngsters running. Fearing the police would be following them, they decided to wait in the store. The 8 year old hid behind a refrigerator. The police entered the store with face masks on. They grabbed the older boys, pulling them out of the store and into the street.
Once outside the shop the police began to beat them with their sticks and hit them on the head, shouting obscenities and accusations. The police were accusing them of having been involved with throwing Molotov cocktails, asking over and over “Where are the Molotov cocktails?”
The four policemen, all masked and wearing regulation police uniforms, took turns beating the boys while one was instructed to keep watch to make sure no one was video taping. They seemed to be very concerned that there be no witnesses. Quickly, they forced the boys into the waiting police car. Inside the police vehicle was another youth about 18 who appeared to be “Muhabharat,” or plain-clothes police thugs associated with many dictatorships in the Middle East.
As the car sped off, the boys were told to keep their heads down “or we will kill you.” Soon they arrived at an open lot away from possible onlookers. As the two boys were being pulled from the car, the policeman who seemed to be in the charge shouted, “Make them lie down.” Once they were face down on the ground, the policemen took out their knives and stabbed both boys in the left buttock, leaving a gaping wound. The police thugs continued their “questioning”, using profanity to scare their victims. They threatened the boys that they would go to jail for 45 days for “investigation” and that they would never go back to school or get work.
When the thugs realized that they had no choice but to leave these victims, since they had no knowledge of the Molotovs, they searched them to see what they could steal. They took the boys’ mobile phones and asked them to hand over whatever money they had. When they discovered that the boys only had 500fils (about $1.50US), they kicked one of them in the raw wound, laughing as they left them bleeding.
“Who are these masked police and why would they do such things to children?”, you might ask. The boys said they were Syrian immigrants, part of a mostly foreign police force imported by the government and paid to inflict pain on the local people to dissuade them from protesting for their rights.
I asked if the police checked their hands, or smelled their clothes to detect the presence of petrol, since they were accusing the boys of carrying Molotov cocktails. Hussan, laying uncomfortably on his stomach, still in his bloody pants, answered, “No, they made no investigation. These police don’t investigate, they only accuse and punish. We had no contact with petrol, we are students.”
In the corner of the room was Husan’s aunt, holding a little baby that looked very sickly, the red hue of its skin almost burnt looking and its tiny eyes sore and red. I was straining now in my inquiry, like having to push words out my throat. “How old is your child?”, I asked. “Eight months old”, she replied. I knew about the nightly raids in this community, as I happen to be staying less than 200 meters from there and can see the light show each night as hundreds of teargas canisters are shot into this tight grip of middle class houses.
“How do you stop the teargas from getting in the house and affecting your baby?”, I inquired in a pained voice. I, myself, although not in village, feel the effects of the massive clouds of poison that pour over the entire area at night.
“Well, sir, wet towels, we place them each night under the doors,” she answers, as she lights down on the couch near a large flat screen television. “But, sadly, sir, this does not stop the gas. The baby suffers. I try to cover her face with a cloth but she does not like it and cries at the gas and the cloth at the same.”
“One way to stop the gas is to put plastic over the air conditioning unit,” she continued, “but the policemen always cut off the plastic and the gas seeps back inside quickly.”
They showed me a homemade video of those white-helmeted terrorists, using the very same issued knife that they used to cripple the boys, systematically, methodically removing the plastic that was placed to prevent the venomous gas from entering the house. Once removed, they can now shoot the gas, knowing that it will enter the house and poison all inside, especially the kids.
And so it goes in the Kingdom of Bahrain. So it goes in a world so addicted to oil, money and power that children can be stabbed, kidnapped, tortured, terrorized and gassed with nary a word from the outside world.
Are we, in America, so addicted to oil and beholden to powerful Saudis that we will block our ears to the cries of these Bahraini children? Or will we help them grow up in a world where they can know the joy and security that we all want for ourselves? The choice is ours.
It's time to bar Saudi Arabia from Olympic competition
www.lfpress.com
At the Olympics, race or religion is irrelevant. We’re all just here to do sport.” – Ruqaya Al-Ghasara, devout Muslim and the first female Olympian to compete veiled from head to toe. (2004)
Dick Pound, Canada’s representative on the International Olympic Committee, is absolutely correct when he says that group has made great strides in the equality of women in the games.
Consider the organizers of the ancient Olympics put unmarried women to death for simply attending the event, and when the modern games were founded in 1896 women were barred from competing as it was thought their inclusion would be “impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic, and incorrect.”
So yeah — we’ve come a long way, baby.
With every single Olympic sport now open to female competitors — boxing was the lone holdout and it will be included in the 2012 games — this marathon is practically on its last leg.
So it’s time to disqualify Saudi Arabia from the race.
Last week, an international human-rights group called for the IOC to consider barring Saudi Arabia from the games unless that country opens its team to women, and moves to improve physical education and opportunities for Saudi girls.
Saudi Arabia is one of three countries that fields men, but never women, in the Olympics, and the only country that is prohibited by national law from selecting women for its team.
The call for exclusion is not without precedent or law. In 2000, Afghanistan was barred from the Sydney Olympics, in part because of its treatment of women. Apartheid kept South Africa from the games and the Olympic Charter precludes discrimination.
At first blush, it might seem the fielding of a Saudi women’s beach-volleyball squad would mark only a symbolic victory. However, it would necessarily require funding for a women’s Olympic program, investment in sport for Saudi women and eventually a reversal of the law that forbids sports for girls in Saudi state schools.
At the Olympics, race or religion is irrelevant. We’re all just here to do sport.
Sport is a human right.
Any nation that does not recognize this basic fact does not deserve a spot on an international stage of excellence.
At the Olympics, race or religion is irrelevant. We’re all just here to do sport.” – Ruqaya Al-Ghasara, devout Muslim and the first female Olympian to compete veiled from head to toe. (2004)
Dick Pound, Canada’s representative on the International Olympic Committee, is absolutely correct when he says that group has made great strides in the equality of women in the games.
Consider the organizers of the ancient Olympics put unmarried women to death for simply attending the event, and when the modern games were founded in 1896 women were barred from competing as it was thought their inclusion would be “impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic, and incorrect.”
So yeah — we’ve come a long way, baby.
With every single Olympic sport now open to female competitors — boxing was the lone holdout and it will be included in the 2012 games — this marathon is practically on its last leg.
So it’s time to disqualify Saudi Arabia from the race.
Last week, an international human-rights group called for the IOC to consider barring Saudi Arabia from the games unless that country opens its team to women, and moves to improve physical education and opportunities for Saudi girls.
Saudi Arabia is one of three countries that fields men, but never women, in the Olympics, and the only country that is prohibited by national law from selecting women for its team.
The call for exclusion is not without precedent or law. In 2000, Afghanistan was barred from the Sydney Olympics, in part because of its treatment of women. Apartheid kept South Africa from the games and the Olympic Charter precludes discrimination.
At first blush, it might seem the fielding of a Saudi women’s beach-volleyball squad would mark only a symbolic victory. However, it would necessarily require funding for a women’s Olympic program, investment in sport for Saudi women and eventually a reversal of the law that forbids sports for girls in Saudi state schools.
At the Olympics, race or religion is irrelevant. We’re all just here to do sport.
Sport is a human right.
Any nation that does not recognize this basic fact does not deserve a spot on an international stage of excellence.
Russia not to attend ‘Friends of Syria’ meeting; Iranian navy ships return from Syria
alarabiya.net
Russia on Tuesday said it will not attend an international conference in Tunis this week aimed at seeking political change in Syria because the meeting only supported the opposition’s cause, as two Iranian naval ships returned from Syria through the Suez Canal.
The meeting was called “for the purpose of supporting one side against another in an internal conflict,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, according to AFP. “We cannot accept the offer to attend this meeting.”
The “Friends of Syria group” will meet for the first time on Friday after being created in a response to a joint veto by Russia and China of a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad for the violence.
The group is backed by members of the European Union as well as some Arab nations and the United States.
Russia’s statement said the meeting would be unable to improve dialogue between Assad’s government and the opposition on ways of ending 11 months of violence that opposition sources say have killed more than 6,000 people.
“The invitations to attend the Tunis meeting were issued to some parts of the opposition, but representatives of the Syrian government were not invited,” the statement said.
“This means that the interests of the majority of the Syrian population, which supports the authorities, will not be represented.”
Meanwhile, Russia said the United Nations should send a special envoy to Syria to help coordinate security issues and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Twitter Tuesday that it’s proposing that the U.N. Security Council ask the U.N. Secretary General to send the envoy, according to The Associated Press.
On Monday Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the world body should help solve humanitarian issues in Syria, after Damascus allowed the Red Cross to bring humanitarian aid to some regions.
Russia and China have vetoed two Security Council resolutions backing Arab League plans aimed at ending the conflict and condemning President Bashar Assad's crackdown on protests that killed 5,400 in 2011 alone, according to the U.N. Hundreds more have been killed since, activist groups say.
Meanwhile, two Iranian naval ships returned from Syria through the Suez Canal on Tuesday, a Suez Canal source said.
The ships entered the canal from the Mediterranean Sea early in the morning, heading south towards the Red Sea, and were expected to leave the canal on Tuesday afternoon, the source said.
The ships had docked at the Syrian port of Tartous, in a show of support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a regional ally of Iran.
Russia on Tuesday said it will not attend an international conference in Tunis this week aimed at seeking political change in Syria because the meeting only supported the opposition’s cause, as two Iranian naval ships returned from Syria through the Suez Canal.
The meeting was called “for the purpose of supporting one side against another in an internal conflict,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, according to AFP. “We cannot accept the offer to attend this meeting.”
The “Friends of Syria group” will meet for the first time on Friday after being created in a response to a joint veto by Russia and China of a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad for the violence.
The group is backed by members of the European Union as well as some Arab nations and the United States.
Russia’s statement said the meeting would be unable to improve dialogue between Assad’s government and the opposition on ways of ending 11 months of violence that opposition sources say have killed more than 6,000 people.
“The invitations to attend the Tunis meeting were issued to some parts of the opposition, but representatives of the Syrian government were not invited,” the statement said.
“This means that the interests of the majority of the Syrian population, which supports the authorities, will not be represented.”
Meanwhile, Russia said the United Nations should send a special envoy to Syria to help coordinate security issues and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Twitter Tuesday that it’s proposing that the U.N. Security Council ask the U.N. Secretary General to send the envoy, according to The Associated Press.
On Monday Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the world body should help solve humanitarian issues in Syria, after Damascus allowed the Red Cross to bring humanitarian aid to some regions.
Russia and China have vetoed two Security Council resolutions backing Arab League plans aimed at ending the conflict and condemning President Bashar Assad's crackdown on protests that killed 5,400 in 2011 alone, according to the U.N. Hundreds more have been killed since, activist groups say.
Meanwhile, two Iranian naval ships returned from Syria through the Suez Canal on Tuesday, a Suez Canal source said.
The ships entered the canal from the Mediterranean Sea early in the morning, heading south towards the Red Sea, and were expected to leave the canal on Tuesday afternoon, the source said.
The ships had docked at the Syrian port of Tartous, in a show of support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a regional ally of Iran.
Bahrain opposition politician acquitted
aljazeera
A Bahraini court has acquitted a prominent opposition leader who was accused of taking part in "unlawful" anti-government protests that rocked the Gulf state for the last year.
The last of three charges against Matar Matar, a former MP and leading member of Al-Wefaq party, a mainly Shia opposition party, were dropped on Monday by a court in Manama, the capital.
Matar had been charged with "undermining public security by assembling with a group of more than five people".
"The last charge against me has been dropped," he said on Monday,Bahrain ordered the release in August of Matar and another Al-Wefaq member, Jawad Fayruz, who were both arrested last May after a crackdown on Shia-led protests in the Sunni-ruled country.
The court had already dropped two of the three charges Matar was being tried for: calling for regime change and spreading rumours linked to pro-democracy protests.
Matar and Fayruz were among 18 Shia MPs who resigned in protest at the government's crackdown on the demonstrations that erupted on February 14, 2011. Fayruz's trial is still continuing.
At least 35 people have been killed in the government's crackdown on protests, according to an independent commission of inquiry into the violence.
A Bahraini court has acquitted a prominent opposition leader who was accused of taking part in "unlawful" anti-government protests that rocked the Gulf state for the last year.
The last of three charges against Matar Matar, a former MP and leading member of Al-Wefaq party, a mainly Shia opposition party, were dropped on Monday by a court in Manama, the capital.
Matar had been charged with "undermining public security by assembling with a group of more than five people".
"The last charge against me has been dropped," he said on Monday,Bahrain ordered the release in August of Matar and another Al-Wefaq member, Jawad Fayruz, who were both arrested last May after a crackdown on Shia-led protests in the Sunni-ruled country.
The court had already dropped two of the three charges Matar was being tried for: calling for regime change and spreading rumours linked to pro-democracy protests.
Matar and Fayruz were among 18 Shia MPs who resigned in protest at the government's crackdown on the demonstrations that erupted on February 14, 2011. Fayruz's trial is still continuing.
At least 35 people have been killed in the government's crackdown on protests, according to an independent commission of inquiry into the violence.
15,000 die each year crossing India's rail tracks
Almost 15,000 people are killed every year crossing India's rail tracks in what a government report has described as an annual "massacre" due to poor safety standards.
Pedestrians guilty of "unlawful trespassing" walk across the tracks at many unofficial crossing points, the report said, adding that about 6,000 of the deaths occur in the congested and frenetic city of Mumbai alone.
"No civilized society can accept such massacre on their railway system", the report said, adding that efforts to improve safety needed to be put on a "war footing" to tackle the death toll.
The fatalities equate to 41 people a day across India on the rail network, which carries 18 million people daily and is still the main form of long-distance travel despite fierce competition from private airlines.
In addition to accidents when crossing the tracks, other causes of deaths include train collisions, falling from open doors and being hit by trackside poles.
Most stretches of rail track in India are unfenced, allowing people to attempt crossings at any point.
The High-Level Safety Review Committee report, released last week, criticised the "reluctance" of Indian railway authorities to accept responsibility for the deaths.
Glowing tributes paid to Khushal Khan Khattak
The News
Glowing tributes were paid to great Pashto poet Khushal Khan Khattak at a function to mark his 323rd death anniversary.
The Poha Khparonki Jirga, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture Department and Khushal Adabi Jirga had arranged the gathering at the Khushal Hall instead of his mausoleum due to heavy rain. A delegation from Afghanistan, including Habibullah Rafi, Alam Gul Sahar, Perveen Malala and Sadiq Zharak, Naeem Azad and Mumtaz Dilsoz from Balochistan and intellectuals and poets from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated in the event. Quran Khwani was also held. The poets and scholars threw light on Khushal Khattak’s life and literary services.
The speakers said Khushal Khan had laid stress on human dignity, valour and Pakhtun nationalism. They asked the government to declare the mystic poet Abdur Rahman Baba and Khushal Khan Khattak as national poets. Minister for Information and Culture Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that Allama Iqbal had drawn inspiration from the poetry of Khushal Khan Khattak. He said the Khushal Khan Khattak Cell, Khushal Chair at the University of Peshawar and scholarships would be revived.
Glowing tributes were paid to great Pashto poet Khushal Khan Khattak at a function to mark his 323rd death anniversary.
The Poha Khparonki Jirga, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture Department and Khushal Adabi Jirga had arranged the gathering at the Khushal Hall instead of his mausoleum due to heavy rain. A delegation from Afghanistan, including Habibullah Rafi, Alam Gul Sahar, Perveen Malala and Sadiq Zharak, Naeem Azad and Mumtaz Dilsoz from Balochistan and intellectuals and poets from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated in the event. Quran Khwani was also held. The poets and scholars threw light on Khushal Khattak’s life and literary services.
The speakers said Khushal Khan had laid stress on human dignity, valour and Pakhtun nationalism. They asked the government to declare the mystic poet Abdur Rahman Baba and Khushal Khan Khattak as national poets. Minister for Information and Culture Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that Allama Iqbal had drawn inspiration from the poetry of Khushal Khan Khattak. He said the Khushal Khan Khattak Cell, Khushal Chair at the University of Peshawar and scholarships would be revived.
Balochistan resolution could dent Pakistan-US ties
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar
Monday said Balochistan was Pakistan’s internal matter and the province’s elected representatives would act to resolve its issues and not US congressmen, Geo News reported.
The Foreign Minister was talking to scholars and senior analysts at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) here.
The IISS is a prestigious think tank.
Condemning US resolution on Balochistan, she said such acts of “foolhardy-global-vigilanteism” could only aggravate Pakistan’s already estranged ties with US.
“It would distance the two allies even further”, said Khar.
Regarding ties with India she said keeping the dialogue alive on top of exhibiting mature-sightedness would be the right thing to do for both neighbours.
Going ahead, Khar tied Pakistan’s future with Afghanistan’s vowing unwavering support for peace process in the war-torn country.
Monday said Balochistan was Pakistan’s internal matter and the province’s elected representatives would act to resolve its issues and not US congressmen, Geo News reported.
The Foreign Minister was talking to scholars and senior analysts at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) here.
The IISS is a prestigious think tank.
Condemning US resolution on Balochistan, she said such acts of “foolhardy-global-vigilanteism” could only aggravate Pakistan’s already estranged ties with US.
“It would distance the two allies even further”, said Khar.
Regarding ties with India she said keeping the dialogue alive on top of exhibiting mature-sightedness would be the right thing to do for both neighbours.
Going ahead, Khar tied Pakistan’s future with Afghanistan’s vowing unwavering support for peace process in the war-torn country.
Balochistan violence: 621 deaths in 2011
The Express Tribune
A total of 231 bullet-riddled bodies were found by roadsides in Balochistan in 2011, said a report launched here on Sunday.
Of these, according to Balochistan government’s Home Department estimation, the bodies of 196 missing persons were recovered mostly from Baloch-dominated districts of the province including Quetta, Sibi, Kalat, Mekran, Nasirabad and Zhob, said the report.
Titled “Balochistan’s Maze of Violence” and compiled by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the report states that 621 people died during the course of the year in a show of staggering violence in the province.
According to the report, 281 people were shot in different incidents of target killings and firings, 68 fell prey to two deadly suicide attacks while bomb blasts and landmine explosions obliterated 120 others.
The military, in a statement, said that foreign hands were involved in the volatile region’s brewing violence.
“But we do not have evidence to support this claim. In light of the history of insurgency exploitation in the region, it is quite possible but is still just an assumption,” said CRSS Chief Executive Imtiaz Gul. He added that the security situation in Balochistan continues to aggravate with the passage of time, despite the government’s efforts to curtail the spiral.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates that 6,000 people are still missing. The Balochistan government estimates that 117 people lost their lives in 20 incidents of sectarian violence, 92 of them Shias from Hazara community, who mostly live in and around Quetta city, according to the report.
During 2011, the militants’ relentless skirmishes with security forces resulted in the killing of 218 men belonging to the Frontier Corps, police and Levies. The Baloch Republican Army and Balochistan Liberation front claimed responsibility for most attacks.
The violence continued into 2012 too, with 60 people losing their lives in different incidents of violence in January, said the report.
A total of 231 bullet-riddled bodies were found by roadsides in Balochistan in 2011, said a report launched here on Sunday.
Of these, according to Balochistan government’s Home Department estimation, the bodies of 196 missing persons were recovered mostly from Baloch-dominated districts of the province including Quetta, Sibi, Kalat, Mekran, Nasirabad and Zhob, said the report.
Titled “Balochistan’s Maze of Violence” and compiled by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the report states that 621 people died during the course of the year in a show of staggering violence in the province.
According to the report, 281 people were shot in different incidents of target killings and firings, 68 fell prey to two deadly suicide attacks while bomb blasts and landmine explosions obliterated 120 others.
The military, in a statement, said that foreign hands were involved in the volatile region’s brewing violence.
“But we do not have evidence to support this claim. In light of the history of insurgency exploitation in the region, it is quite possible but is still just an assumption,” said CRSS Chief Executive Imtiaz Gul. He added that the security situation in Balochistan continues to aggravate with the passage of time, despite the government’s efforts to curtail the spiral.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates that 6,000 people are still missing. The Balochistan government estimates that 117 people lost their lives in 20 incidents of sectarian violence, 92 of them Shias from Hazara community, who mostly live in and around Quetta city, according to the report.
During 2011, the militants’ relentless skirmishes with security forces resulted in the killing of 218 men belonging to the Frontier Corps, police and Levies. The Baloch Republican Army and Balochistan Liberation front claimed responsibility for most attacks.
The violence continued into 2012 too, with 60 people losing their lives in different incidents of violence in January, said the report.
Baloch's rights : Sheer hypocrisy
EDITORIAL:Frontier Post
Sheer hypocrisy
This is sheer hypocrisy and perfidy, plain and simple. MQM supremo Altaf Hussain says give the Balochs their rights. But they have all the rights, constitutionally. But those stay usurped by their tribal sardars and chieftains, to which no lesser complicit have been the federal ruling clans over the time that have all along pampered religiously these unvarnished oppressors, suppressors and exploiters at the cost of their exploited. The Baloch commoner is indeed the most wronged person on this land. This is well within the domain of public knowledge, though known passionately in the province but not unknown either all over the country. The political leaderships across the spectrum know of this as intimately as the backs of their hands. Who amongst them doesn’t know that sardars and chieftains harbour fearsome private armies in their stables to do their bidding and keep their enslaved tribal people under their thumbs? Who doesn’t know they keep private jails where they incarcerate the recalcitrant amongst their tribes? Who doesn’t know while these exploiters flourish phenomenally even in winter and rain, the tribal people held in their serfdom’s bondage only become abysmally more impoverished even in summer and sunshine? Who indeed doesn’t know these oppressive lords resist and allow not development in their fiefdoms lest their enslaved commoners become prosperous and raise their heads against the suppressive domination they have foisted on them with a daunting muscle power? Who doesn’t know these blood-sucking lords push in their own lackeys in any enterprise they allow reluctantly in their sultanates, crushing in the process the meritorious, the deserving and the rightfully entitled? Who doesn’t know they infest the Levies with their own henchmen to serve their interests, not the state’s or the citizenry’s? And who doesn’t know they protect their domains of exploitation, suppression and oppression like serpents?And yet the political clans across the spectrum lie and lie blatantly, despite knowing all this, as has Altaf just to be in step with the fashionable prattle in vogue. What could be a more atrocious travesty of truth that they glorify these oppressive exploiters as political leaders of the very people they oppress? What indeed have they done for their people to be so branded? The Bugtis, the Mengals, the Marris, the Jamalis, the Jams, et al have been in the legislatures and in the governments at the centre or in the province at one time or the other? What did they do for the Baloch commoners’ uplift? Nowadays, there is feverish talk about the Baloch people’s ownership of the province’s fabulous mineral resources? But what kind of ownership is being asked for when the Sui gas royalties travel down direct into a Bugti scion’s pocket to fatten his own treasures and beef up his arsenals? Not a dime is going to the Bugti tribe’s betterment. No school, no clinic, no public service has it got from this fabulous dough. Is this the ownership the self-styled Baloch leaders and their cheerleaders in the nation’s political class are calling for? Even now the sardari clan is holding the reins of power in Balochistan. What has it done even to set up a mineralogy institute to produce trained local manpower for enterprises in the minerals field so that the province’s populace benefits and maximally? And now that the provincial government has taken over the control of the Gwadar port authority, what steps has it taken to make something good of this port, once touted to be the jewel of a transnational transportation network but now turned virtually into a white elephant. And has it taken any measure for establishing an institute to produce trained manpower locally to man the port operations?But for how long is his perfidy to go on like this? How long are the oppressors to be pampered and eulogised and their oppressed ignored, neglected and brushed aside as nonentities? How long will the political class, all flush with affectations, keep on the suppressors’ side and shun the oppressed like plague? Will it ever side with the truth and abjure the falsehood? When indeed will it come to realise that the oppressed Baloch youth is now rising up to get what is his due and inalienable right? When will it understand that a change is on where the Baloch commoner and the Baloch youth are shedding the past to embrace the present as an emancipated and empowered citizen? Just recently, sardar Attaullah Mengal said that the Baloch youth had spun out of his control. But he was being short with the fuller truth. The Baloch youth in reality is getting out of the sardari stranglehold’s captivity to cease to be the sardars’ foot soldier and their feuds’ gun fodder. The times have changed. The conditions are changing. And the Baloch youth too is changing. It is this youth that the political class must court, not the outmoding sardars. It is this youth that should get all the state patronage. The rights it has remained denied of must come to it in full measures, not to sardars who had had too much of them hitherto. And people like Altaf, too, must stop posturing. Their antics strike too funny, and loathsomely.
Sheer hypocrisy
This is sheer hypocrisy and perfidy, plain and simple. MQM supremo Altaf Hussain says give the Balochs their rights. But they have all the rights, constitutionally. But those stay usurped by their tribal sardars and chieftains, to which no lesser complicit have been the federal ruling clans over the time that have all along pampered religiously these unvarnished oppressors, suppressors and exploiters at the cost of their exploited. The Baloch commoner is indeed the most wronged person on this land. This is well within the domain of public knowledge, though known passionately in the province but not unknown either all over the country. The political leaderships across the spectrum know of this as intimately as the backs of their hands. Who amongst them doesn’t know that sardars and chieftains harbour fearsome private armies in their stables to do their bidding and keep their enslaved tribal people under their thumbs? Who doesn’t know they keep private jails where they incarcerate the recalcitrant amongst their tribes? Who doesn’t know while these exploiters flourish phenomenally even in winter and rain, the tribal people held in their serfdom’s bondage only become abysmally more impoverished even in summer and sunshine? Who indeed doesn’t know these oppressive lords resist and allow not development in their fiefdoms lest their enslaved commoners become prosperous and raise their heads against the suppressive domination they have foisted on them with a daunting muscle power? Who doesn’t know these blood-sucking lords push in their own lackeys in any enterprise they allow reluctantly in their sultanates, crushing in the process the meritorious, the deserving and the rightfully entitled? Who doesn’t know they infest the Levies with their own henchmen to serve their interests, not the state’s or the citizenry’s? And who doesn’t know they protect their domains of exploitation, suppression and oppression like serpents?And yet the political clans across the spectrum lie and lie blatantly, despite knowing all this, as has Altaf just to be in step with the fashionable prattle in vogue. What could be a more atrocious travesty of truth that they glorify these oppressive exploiters as political leaders of the very people they oppress? What indeed have they done for their people to be so branded? The Bugtis, the Mengals, the Marris, the Jamalis, the Jams, et al have been in the legislatures and in the governments at the centre or in the province at one time or the other? What did they do for the Baloch commoners’ uplift? Nowadays, there is feverish talk about the Baloch people’s ownership of the province’s fabulous mineral resources? But what kind of ownership is being asked for when the Sui gas royalties travel down direct into a Bugti scion’s pocket to fatten his own treasures and beef up his arsenals? Not a dime is going to the Bugti tribe’s betterment. No school, no clinic, no public service has it got from this fabulous dough. Is this the ownership the self-styled Baloch leaders and their cheerleaders in the nation’s political class are calling for? Even now the sardari clan is holding the reins of power in Balochistan. What has it done even to set up a mineralogy institute to produce trained local manpower for enterprises in the minerals field so that the province’s populace benefits and maximally? And now that the provincial government has taken over the control of the Gwadar port authority, what steps has it taken to make something good of this port, once touted to be the jewel of a transnational transportation network but now turned virtually into a white elephant. And has it taken any measure for establishing an institute to produce trained manpower locally to man the port operations?But for how long is his perfidy to go on like this? How long are the oppressors to be pampered and eulogised and their oppressed ignored, neglected and brushed aside as nonentities? How long will the political class, all flush with affectations, keep on the suppressors’ side and shun the oppressed like plague? Will it ever side with the truth and abjure the falsehood? When indeed will it come to realise that the oppressed Baloch youth is now rising up to get what is his due and inalienable right? When will it understand that a change is on where the Baloch commoner and the Baloch youth are shedding the past to embrace the present as an emancipated and empowered citizen? Just recently, sardar Attaullah Mengal said that the Baloch youth had spun out of his control. But he was being short with the fuller truth. The Baloch youth in reality is getting out of the sardari stranglehold’s captivity to cease to be the sardars’ foot soldier and their feuds’ gun fodder. The times have changed. The conditions are changing. And the Baloch youth too is changing. It is this youth that the political class must court, not the outmoding sardars. It is this youth that should get all the state patronage. The rights it has remained denied of must come to it in full measures, not to sardars who had had too much of them hitherto. And people like Altaf, too, must stop posturing. Their antics strike too funny, and loathsomely.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prepares strategy for revival of tourism
Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) has prepared an aggressive tourism policy for attracting tourists and reviving the tourism sector in the terrorism-hit province.
"The department of tourism after hectic efforts and consultations of one and a half years with stakeholders had prepared a detailed strategy for the revival of tourism in the province, said Mohammad Ali Syed, General Manager, Tourists Information Centres (TICs) and Events, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday.
For the domestic and foreign tourists it provided opportunities in recreational, adventure, culture, religious and educational tourism.
According to a data collected in 2008-09 tourism sector contributed $134 million (Rs 11.6 billion) to national economy, which speaks of its economic potentials.
Swat with 405 hotels earned a foreign exchange of $51 million followed by 93 hotels with 2, 851 rooms earned $40.4 million.
He said that the aims and objectives of the KP tourism vision is to develop an internationally competitive tourism for domestic and foreign tourists to fully realise its diverse potential and make tourism a leading economic sector for the province through public-private partnership.
He said that the mission of the KP tourism is the repositioning of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as prime destination for both domestic and foreign tourists by following a sustainable tourism development strategy with institutional and regulatory reforms, infrastructure development, service quality assurance, human resource development, aggressive marking, investment promotion and environmental conservation as its key pillars.
The strategy also calls for close co-ordination with security agencies to improve security situation, establish public-private partnership and strengthen tourism department and TCKP in post 18th Amendment period.
The implementation plan of the strategy called for preparation of tourism policy to facilitate local and foreign investment in tourism sector with particular emphasis on the facilitation of public private partnership.
The strategy also recommended the capacity building of TCKP and its conversion into an effective tourism management and regulatory body, improvement in tourism laws and imparting of quality training in tourism and hospitality sectors.
Similarly, the strategy also called for formulation of a short to medium term tourism marketing plan with focus on domestic tourism market.
NAB may open cases against Sharifs
DAWN.COM
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is preparing to take up cases against PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
According to sources, the cases relate to default of Rs4.9 billion loans obtained from nine banks in 1994-95.
“Cases against Sharif brothers were to be approved in a recent NAB board meeting but were deferred on the directives of the Chairman, Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari,” an official of the bureau said on Monday.
The chairman is reported to have said that all pending cases about politicians would be taken up soon.
The NAB spokesman was not available for comment.
The bureau had earlier frozen some assets of the Sharif family against which the loans had been taken.
The Supreme Court upheld in January a judgment of the Lahore High Court asking NAB to release the assets of the Sharif family. It dismissed an appeal by NAB Prosecutor General K.K. Agha against LHC’s Oct 4, 2011, directive to the bureau to return Rs115 million and property of Hudabiya Paper Mills lying with the National Bank, Islamabad.
The sources said the assets had not been released so far.
The prosecutor general had told the Supreme Court that before heading to Saudi Arabia in December 2002, Nawaz Sharif had consented to return money to NAB under an agreement.
When contacted, PML-N spokesman Mushahidullah said the party’s chief and his family were not defaulters of any bank loan. “That was the reason Nawaz Sharif demanded of the government to make public details of all bank loans not repaid by politicians,” he said.
Replying to a question, he said the value of the frozen assets was far higher than the amount of loans obtained. “Once their assets are released, they will pay the loans,” he said.
The loans were taken from the NBP, Habib Bank, United Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank, Punjab Mudaraba, Bank of Punjab, Agriculture Development Bank, Pakistan Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation and ICP Bank.
During the proceedings in the Supreme Court, the NAB prosecutor general submitted an agreement signed by Nawaz Sharif and the Musharraf government.
The LHC had declared the taking over of property of the petitioners as unconstitutional, ultra vires under NAO, 1999, and without lawful authority. It had also ordered payment of compensatory cost of Rs150,000 per petition to Hudabiya mills, Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and Mian Mohammad Abbas Sharif.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is preparing to take up cases against PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
According to sources, the cases relate to default of Rs4.9 billion loans obtained from nine banks in 1994-95.
“Cases against Sharif brothers were to be approved in a recent NAB board meeting but were deferred on the directives of the Chairman, Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari,” an official of the bureau said on Monday.
The chairman is reported to have said that all pending cases about politicians would be taken up soon.
The NAB spokesman was not available for comment.
The bureau had earlier frozen some assets of the Sharif family against which the loans had been taken.
The Supreme Court upheld in January a judgment of the Lahore High Court asking NAB to release the assets of the Sharif family. It dismissed an appeal by NAB Prosecutor General K.K. Agha against LHC’s Oct 4, 2011, directive to the bureau to return Rs115 million and property of Hudabiya Paper Mills lying with the National Bank, Islamabad.
The sources said the assets had not been released so far.
The prosecutor general had told the Supreme Court that before heading to Saudi Arabia in December 2002, Nawaz Sharif had consented to return money to NAB under an agreement.
When contacted, PML-N spokesman Mushahidullah said the party’s chief and his family were not defaulters of any bank loan. “That was the reason Nawaz Sharif demanded of the government to make public details of all bank loans not repaid by politicians,” he said.
Replying to a question, he said the value of the frozen assets was far higher than the amount of loans obtained. “Once their assets are released, they will pay the loans,” he said.
The loans were taken from the NBP, Habib Bank, United Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank, Punjab Mudaraba, Bank of Punjab, Agriculture Development Bank, Pakistan Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation and ICP Bank.
During the proceedings in the Supreme Court, the NAB prosecutor general submitted an agreement signed by Nawaz Sharif and the Musharraf government.
The LHC had declared the taking over of property of the petitioners as unconstitutional, ultra vires under NAO, 1999, and without lawful authority. It had also ordered payment of compensatory cost of Rs150,000 per petition to Hudabiya mills, Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and Mian Mohammad Abbas Sharif.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Indian journalist, family murdered; hand of mining mafia suspected
safmasrilanka.blogspot.com
The brutal murder of a senior journalist and his entire family Saturday night in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria distict, over 450 km from here, has sent shockwaves across the State with fingers being pointed at the illegal coal mining mafia active in the region.
Journalist Chandrika Rai (42), his wife Durga (40) and their two teenage children — son Jalaj (19) and daughter Nisha (17) — were murdered using a sharp object at their residence, police said. The bodies were found in four separate rooms.
Mr. Rai was a freelance journalist who contributed regularly to the Hindi daily Navbharat and English daily The Hitavada. He had been writing consistently against the illegal coal mining in the region. He had written a series of articles alleging the involvement of a local BJP leader in illegal mining.
The district is known for the Umaria coalfield under the control of the South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. However, illegal coal mining is also rampant in the region.
“The local illegal mining mafia has resorted to this horrific crime to silence the power of his pen,” said Congress MLA and leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Ajay Singh. “The BJP government gives open protection to the local mining mafia. Recently Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and some of his Ministers were seen sharing the stage with wanted criminals. In such a situation, criminals have no fear of the law and commit such mind-numbing crimes with impunity whenever their interests are harmed.”
The crime came to light when Mr. Rai's brother broke open the door on Saturday evening after he became suspicious on seeing it locked from the outside the entire day.
Linked to abduction?
The Umaria police believe the murders could also be linked to the kidnap of the seven-year-old son of a government official for ransom on Wednesday. He was rescued by the police on Thursday.
“DGP Raut visited the crime scene on Sunday and has ordered an STF probe,” Umaria SP Manohar Singh Jamara told The Hindu. “He also spoke to journalists here and assured them that the criminals would be brought to book as soon as possible. We have constituted a team to look into the crime and assist the STF which will arrive here tomorrow [Monday].”
The brutal murder of a senior journalist and his entire family Saturday night in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria distict, over 450 km from here, has sent shockwaves across the State with fingers being pointed at the illegal coal mining mafia active in the region.
Journalist Chandrika Rai (42), his wife Durga (40) and their two teenage children — son Jalaj (19) and daughter Nisha (17) — were murdered using a sharp object at their residence, police said. The bodies were found in four separate rooms.
Mr. Rai was a freelance journalist who contributed regularly to the Hindi daily Navbharat and English daily The Hitavada. He had been writing consistently against the illegal coal mining in the region. He had written a series of articles alleging the involvement of a local BJP leader in illegal mining.
The district is known for the Umaria coalfield under the control of the South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. However, illegal coal mining is also rampant in the region.
“The local illegal mining mafia has resorted to this horrific crime to silence the power of his pen,” said Congress MLA and leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Ajay Singh. “The BJP government gives open protection to the local mining mafia. Recently Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and some of his Ministers were seen sharing the stage with wanted criminals. In such a situation, criminals have no fear of the law and commit such mind-numbing crimes with impunity whenever their interests are harmed.”
The crime came to light when Mr. Rai's brother broke open the door on Saturday evening after he became suspicious on seeing it locked from the outside the entire day.
Linked to abduction?
The Umaria police believe the murders could also be linked to the kidnap of the seven-year-old son of a government official for ransom on Wednesday. He was rescued by the police on Thursday.
“DGP Raut visited the crime scene on Sunday and has ordered an STF probe,” Umaria SP Manohar Singh Jamara told The Hindu. “He also spoke to journalists here and assured them that the criminals would be brought to book as soon as possible. We have constituted a team to look into the crime and assist the STF which will arrive here tomorrow [Monday].”
Banned extremists flock to Islamabad, rally and rant
hindustantimes.com
Several thousand Pakistanis poured onto the streets of Islamabad on Monday, chanting "death to America" and demanding holy war at a rally whipped up by right-wing, religious and banned organisations. It was the latest show of support for Defence of Pakistan, a coalition of around 40
parties chaired by a cleric dubbed the father of the Taliban that include organisations blacklisted at home and abroad as terror groups.
"Today, we have gathered here to raise a voice of protest against US intervention in Pakistan," chairman Maulana Sami ul-Haq, who runs an extremist madrassa that educated several Taliban leaders, told AFP. Also present was member Hamid Gul, who headed Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency during the 1980s Pakistani-sponsored war against Soviet troops in Afghanistan that gave rise to al Qaeda and the Taliban.
His membership has helped fuel suspicions that Pakistan's security establishment is backing the coalition as a means of exerting pressure on the weak government and whipping up rhetoric against the unpopular US alliance.
"Our protest is against the possible resumption of NATO supplies, US and Indian occupation and to strengthen the country's defence," Haq told AFP.
"America wants to break Pakistan into pieces," he added in reference to a resolution sponsored by three US lawmakers calling for self-determination in Pakistan's insurgency-torn southwestern province of Baluchistan.
The alliance, which uses Twitter and Facebook to promote its message, was set up after US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Afghan border in late November, which saw Pakistan shut its Afghan border to NATO supplies.
"Death to America" and "America deserves one treatment: jihad, jihad" shouted the crowd in a bustling commercial area, an AFP reporter said.
The coalition has already attracted large turnouts at a series of rallies across the country that some see as a build up to contesting Pakistan's next general election, which could be called within months.
Allah Buksh, a senior police official, said 2,500 attended the demonstration as it got underway, but witnesses estimated the crowd at 3,500 as hundreds of riot police, armed with batons and wearing bullet-proof jackets stood guard.
"America can never be our friend, it is our biggest enemy. America will be defeated in Afghanistan and divided into pieces," Mian Aslam, a former lawmaker from the religious Jamaat-e-Islami party told the rally.
Banners strung up in Islamabad denounced US drone strikes on Islamist militants, the government's decision to grant India most favoured nation status in a bid to ease trade, and re-opening the Afghan border to NATO convoys.
"Go America Go," "No to NATO," "Arrogant Americans - others are also human beings," and "the chains of slavery will now break up," they read.
"The friend of the US is a traitor," "the friend of (Pakistani President Asif Ali) Zardari is a traitor" and "the friend of (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai is traitor," shouted the crowd.
The government banned three key members of the alliance from attending, including Hafiz Saeed, who heads Jamaat-ud-Dawa, seen as a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Organisers said they would not challenge the ban. "We have installed 10,000 chairs for today's rally and expect a very successful show," Yahya Mujahid, a spokesman for JuD, told AFP.
"Hafiz Muhammad Saeed will not come to Islamabad to avoid confrontation with the government and will not attend the rally," Mujahid said.
Several thousand Pakistanis poured onto the streets of Islamabad on Monday, chanting "death to America" and demanding holy war at a rally whipped up by right-wing, religious and banned organisations. It was the latest show of support for Defence of Pakistan, a coalition of around 40
parties chaired by a cleric dubbed the father of the Taliban that include organisations blacklisted at home and abroad as terror groups.
"Today, we have gathered here to raise a voice of protest against US intervention in Pakistan," chairman Maulana Sami ul-Haq, who runs an extremist madrassa that educated several Taliban leaders, told AFP. Also present was member Hamid Gul, who headed Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency during the 1980s Pakistani-sponsored war against Soviet troops in Afghanistan that gave rise to al Qaeda and the Taliban.
His membership has helped fuel suspicions that Pakistan's security establishment is backing the coalition as a means of exerting pressure on the weak government and whipping up rhetoric against the unpopular US alliance.
"Our protest is against the possible resumption of NATO supplies, US and Indian occupation and to strengthen the country's defence," Haq told AFP.
"America wants to break Pakistan into pieces," he added in reference to a resolution sponsored by three US lawmakers calling for self-determination in Pakistan's insurgency-torn southwestern province of Baluchistan.
The alliance, which uses Twitter and Facebook to promote its message, was set up after US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Afghan border in late November, which saw Pakistan shut its Afghan border to NATO supplies.
"Death to America" and "America deserves one treatment: jihad, jihad" shouted the crowd in a bustling commercial area, an AFP reporter said.
The coalition has already attracted large turnouts at a series of rallies across the country that some see as a build up to contesting Pakistan's next general election, which could be called within months.
Allah Buksh, a senior police official, said 2,500 attended the demonstration as it got underway, but witnesses estimated the crowd at 3,500 as hundreds of riot police, armed with batons and wearing bullet-proof jackets stood guard.
"America can never be our friend, it is our biggest enemy. America will be defeated in Afghanistan and divided into pieces," Mian Aslam, a former lawmaker from the religious Jamaat-e-Islami party told the rally.
Banners strung up in Islamabad denounced US drone strikes on Islamist militants, the government's decision to grant India most favoured nation status in a bid to ease trade, and re-opening the Afghan border to NATO convoys.
"Go America Go," "No to NATO," "Arrogant Americans - others are also human beings," and "the chains of slavery will now break up," they read.
"The friend of the US is a traitor," "the friend of (Pakistani President Asif Ali) Zardari is a traitor" and "the friend of (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai is traitor," shouted the crowd.
The government banned three key members of the alliance from attending, including Hafiz Saeed, who heads Jamaat-ud-Dawa, seen as a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Organisers said they would not challenge the ban. "We have installed 10,000 chairs for today's rally and expect a very successful show," Yahya Mujahid, a spokesman for JuD, told AFP.
"Hafiz Muhammad Saeed will not come to Islamabad to avoid confrontation with the government and will not attend the rally," Mujahid said.
Uzma Ayub, family starving as govt help stops
THE NEWS
The gang rape victim Uzma Ayub, who now is a mother of an infant girl, has suddenly been dumped by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and is virtually close to starving. She has appealed to the chief justice of Peshawar High Court (PHC), provincial government and the NGOs to provide her food and help on an emergency basis.
She told The News on phone that when the CJ had ordered to provide her a residence in Peshawar, he had also directed the authorities concerned to facilitate them with all the needs but now food and rations have finished and she and her daughter and family are starving.
Uzma said that a few days back when an NGO woman had taken away her baby, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain had come to her along with the minister for women development and assured her full support and all needed provisions but then no one bothered to call back.
“As for the NGOs, the chairperson of the women rights Zubaida Khatoon has asked me never to contact her again. Is this the way the NGOs work and help the needy?” she questioned. She said her only brother left earns Rs5,000 which is not enough to meet the expenses of two families as her father and other siblings are still in their village home in Karak.
When asked about the DNA test of her daughter she said the report has not been released yet but when her daughter was hospitalised a few days back, she and her brother Zafranullah had heard from the doctor that one accused Nasibullah had been declared as the father of her daughter Zeba.
“But the report has not been confirmed yet and it has not been presented before the court,” she added. Uzma Ayub also appealed to the chief justice of PHC to arrest Ibrahim, the alleged murderer of her brother Alamzeb, who is still at large and moving freely in Karak while the police over there have given him a free hand.
The gang rape victim Uzma Ayub, who now is a mother of an infant girl, has suddenly been dumped by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and is virtually close to starving. She has appealed to the chief justice of Peshawar High Court (PHC), provincial government and the NGOs to provide her food and help on an emergency basis.
She told The News on phone that when the CJ had ordered to provide her a residence in Peshawar, he had also directed the authorities concerned to facilitate them with all the needs but now food and rations have finished and she and her daughter and family are starving.
Uzma said that a few days back when an NGO woman had taken away her baby, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain had come to her along with the minister for women development and assured her full support and all needed provisions but then no one bothered to call back.
“As for the NGOs, the chairperson of the women rights Zubaida Khatoon has asked me never to contact her again. Is this the way the NGOs work and help the needy?” she questioned. She said her only brother left earns Rs5,000 which is not enough to meet the expenses of two families as her father and other siblings are still in their village home in Karak.
When asked about the DNA test of her daughter she said the report has not been released yet but when her daughter was hospitalised a few days back, she and her brother Zafranullah had heard from the doctor that one accused Nasibullah had been declared as the father of her daughter Zeba.
“But the report has not been confirmed yet and it has not been presented before the court,” she added. Uzma Ayub also appealed to the chief justice of PHC to arrest Ibrahim, the alleged murderer of her brother Alamzeb, who is still at large and moving freely in Karak while the police over there have given him a free hand.
Peace in Afghanistan, FATA, KP interlinked
Chief Minister Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KP) Amir Haider Khan Hoti on Monday said that people of Fata have rendered enormous sacrifices in the struggle against terrorism and termed peace and stability in Afghanistan, Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as inter-linked.
Speaking to the visiting Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Hiroshi Oe who called on him here at his office, Hoti said that bringing FATA in main national stream was demand of the hour for which political and administrative reforms were essential adding, the process has already commenced.
This process of political and administrative reforms should be in accordance with aspiration of the people of FATA and phased wise, he said.
The CM lauded Japan assistance for development and construction of Pakistan particularly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and said that government and people of the province have highly revered these services.
The people of the province have gallantly faced terrorism and natural calamities like challenges in the past due to which situation regarding reconstruction of flood devastated infrastructure and law and order in the province were improved, he said.
The chief minister thanked Japanese government for extending assistance during 2005 earthquake and 2010 flooding.
Regarding national energy crisis, the CM said that there was an apparent gape between demand and supply of electricity in the country, adding, no attention was paid to production of low cost electricity in the past but the provincial government has chalked out strategy for making demand and supply of electricity congruent to each other.
He said that capacity of producing hydel power of the province will be used and certain projects in Swat and Chitral in this connection will be launched in spring season.
The chief minister also apprised Japanese ambassador of gradual increase in production of oil and gas in southern districts. The ambassador lauded government’s development strategy and assured that his government will continue work on projects for welfare of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Japanese Ambassador and Amir Haider Khan Hoti also discussed matters pertaining to bilateral relations, situation in the region, and progress on the schemes under way in the province with Japanese assistance.
Shahbaz Sharif : ‘Where is your merit now , Mr CM?’
A strong campaign has started against Lahore Region Colleges Director Rana Naseem Akhtar in 73 colleges of the city where professor are alleging that Naseem’s appointment was made on the basis of favouritism, Pakistan Today learnt on Sunday.
College community alleged that Akhtar was the part of a mafia that had set up ghost centres at colleges and added that a group of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPAs had played a role in Akhtar’s appointment since they were running their business through him. According to college teachers, Akhtar, a junior officer, was made the director when there were more than 70 senior professors available to fill the slot.
“It is a tragedy that professors in grade 20 and higher are working under him,” a professor, asking not to be named, said. At a time when educationists are condemning the appointment of a third divisoner dean at historic Punjab University, college teachers have also started campaigning against the appointment of Akhtar. College teachers alleged that Punjab government was appointing third divisoners on important seats at universities and said the post of director colleges was not even advertised. “Such appointments are ruining the Education Department and it seems that there is nobody to advise the chief minister on these matters,” a professor, asking not to be named, said, adding “Punjab government is backing a candidate because of his strong background whereas merit is being violated, clearly.”
“We have spent our lives for the education department and now we are being sidelined during the tenure of CM Shahbaz Sharif. The CM does not bother to investigate what is going on in the colleges and that is destroying the education system,” another professor said, adding “where is your merit now, Mr CM?”
“Rana Naseem helps PML-N MPAs in their nefarious businesses and that is why he was appointed. We opposed this move but nobody paid attention to us,” a Higher Education Department (HED) official said. When contacted, Rana Naseem denied all allegations and said, “I was appointed on merit and I have taken many steps to improve the education system.” He said there was no rule that stopped a 19 grade officer from being the boss of an official in grade 20 or higher. He also denied being part of a mafia.
Hina Rabbani Khar likely to meet to meet Clinton in Britain
Foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who is in London, is expected to hold a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a bid to place bilateral ties on an even keel.
Khar, who left for a four-day visit to Britain Sunday, is scheduled to hold talks with her British counterpart and other officials.
Reports said she was expected to ask British leaders to use their influence with the US to end drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
Pakistan's High Commissioner in London Wajid Shamsul Hassan had recently called on Prime Minister David Cameron to condemn drone attacks and help stop them.
Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said all issues would be discussed during Khar’s visit.
"When we will begin talks, every issue will come under discussion. We will definitely express our reservations over it (drone attacks)," Basit told the media.
Khar's visit will focus on a dialogue on "enhanced strategic" relations between Pakistan and Britain and on strengthening bilateral cooperation in economy, trade and education.
Khar is expected to hold a quiet and unpublicised meeting with US secretary of state Clinton in London on February 23, a leading daily quoted its sources as saying.
Pakistan's ambassador to the US, Sherry Rehman, is also expected to attend the meeting, the report said.
Renowned actress Tamanna Begum passes away
www.pakistantoday.com
Renowned Film and TV actress Tamanna Begum passed away after protracted illness in Karachi on Monday, a private TV channel reported.
Tamanna Begum was born in Lahore and started her career with Radio Pakistan and also worked in some theatre plays. Soon she moved onto acting in movies and appeared alongside the likes of Talat Iqbal and Waheed Murad.
She quickly rose to fame with her splendid performances, and several of her films turned out to be huge successes.
Renowned Film and TV actress Tamanna Begum passed away after protracted illness in Karachi on Monday, a private TV channel reported.
Tamanna Begum was born in Lahore and started her career with Radio Pakistan and also worked in some theatre plays. Soon she moved onto acting in movies and appeared alongside the likes of Talat Iqbal and Waheed Murad.
She quickly rose to fame with her splendid performances, and several of her films turned out to be huge successes.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Spring tree plantation campaign to start on Monday
The Spring Tree Plantation Campaign 2012 will kick off in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday in which 9.820 million saplings of different species would be planted with assistance of education institutions, armed forces, NGOs and civil society in a bid to make the province lush green.
Environment Minister KP, Wajid Ali Khan told APP on Sunday that Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been requested to inaugurate the campaign. He said planting stocks are being sent to all stakeholders including government departments, farmers, NGOs and watershed project to achieve the said target.
As many as 9.820 million saplings of different species would be sown during the campaign in the province to offset the dangerous effects of challenges of climatic change, global warming and desertification.
The province has been divided into six circles namely Southern, Lower Hazara, Upper Hazara, Watershed Project, Malakand East and Malakand West wherein 2.074 million, 2.169million, 1.105million, 0.771million, 2.124million and 1.577million saplings would be planted with the help of different institutions and stakeholders respectively.
Environment Minister KP, Wajid Ali Khan told APP on Sunday that Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been requested to inaugurate the campaign. He said planting stocks are being sent to all stakeholders including government departments, farmers, NGOs and watershed project to achieve the said target.
As many as 9.820 million saplings of different species would be sown during the campaign in the province to offset the dangerous effects of challenges of climatic change, global warming and desertification.
The province has been divided into six circles namely Southern, Lower Hazara, Upper Hazara, Watershed Project, Malakand East and Malakand West wherein 2.074 million, 2.169million, 1.105million, 0.771million, 2.124million and 1.577million saplings would be planted with the help of different institutions and stakeholders respectively.
Jinnah, Imran and Shezan
BY:—Yasser Latif Hamdani
DAILY TIMES
To Jinnah, the question of representation of the legitimate interests of the Muslim minority in United India was a political question and not a religious one. Therefore, a non-Muslim could equally represent the Muslims without any contradiction
The ban on Shezan products by the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) has yet again proved that we are an unthinking, heartless and crooked people as a whole. This ban, which violates at least five of the fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens and other persons under the constitution of Pakistan, is unlikely to be challenged in a court of law because no court of law is going to rule against the high and mighty bar association. The more likely scenario is that the courts will uphold such a bigoted decision and further narrow space for dissent in this country. This writer at least has no hope or faith in Pakistanis of any kind to find it in their hearts to live up to human values of equity and justice, least of all the rabble that passes for lawyers in our time.
Yet I continue to write primarily to set the record straight on two counts. One, the actions of the black sheep that populate this nation state are not and ought not be a reflection on the founder of this nation who — whether our bigots admit it or not — was a man of towering integrity and an inherent sense of justice and fair play and who perhaps is unfortunate enough to be called the founding father of a wretched nation like us. Second, while we are infested with bigots of all shapes and forms, not all of us are like that.
So long as we dare to hope, we are in for constant heartbreak. The all-conquering hero, Imran Khan, claims that he will usher in a new era in Pakistan’s politics by bringing back Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan. This hollow promise lured me into supporting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for three odd months. Lately, Imran Khan’s party has made common cause with the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and other such organisations, which are the antithesis of the fondest hopes Jinnah had for the state he was creating. To make matters worse, the president of the LBA, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, who presided over the ban on the ‘kafir’ (infidel) Shezan soft drink, was supported by Hamid Khan and a bulk of lawyers who identify themselves with the PTI. Apologists for the party now state that Imran Khan has to appeal to a popular base and the Ahmedi issue is only a small matter. It is stated — repeatedly — that Imran Khan is trying to save Pakistan and cannot be bothered with such small matters. May I humbly submit — without offending anyone — that a Pakistan sans Jinnah’s secular vision of equality and justice for all Pakistanis regardless of religion, caste or creed is not a Pakistan worth saving.
While mindful of the sentiments of the people he was leading, Jinnah never made any compromises with bigots. He repeatedly rebuffed Majlis-e-Ahrar’s offers of alliance on the grounds that Majlis-e-Ahrar propagated hate and bigotry against the Ahmedis. On May 23, 1944, Jinnah stated very clearly what his position on the Ahmedi issue was:
“I have been asked a disturbing question, as to who among the Muslims can be a member of the Muslim Conference. It has been asked with particular reference to the Qadianis. My reply is that, as far as the constitution of the All-India Muslim League is concerned, it stipulates that any Muslim, without distinction of creed or sect, can become a member, provided he accepts the views, policy and programme of the Muslim League, signs the form of membership and pays the subscription. I appeal to the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir not to raise sectarian questions, but instead to unite on one platform under one banner. In this lies the welfare of the Muslims. In this way, not only can Muslims make political and social progress effectively, but so can other communities, and so also can the state of Kashmir as a whole.” (For reference please see Jamil-ud-Din Ahmed, Speeches and Statements, Volume I, pg 148.)
It is reported that one Mr M A Sabir tried as hard as he could to persuade the Quaid-e-Azam to declare the Ahmedis as being out of the fold of Islam. But Mr Jinnah stuck resolutely to his principles and kept on replying: “What right have I to declare a person non-Muslim, when he claims to be a Muslim.”
When in 1943 a resolution was presented in the Muslim League to commit Pakistan to an Islamic polity, Jinnah rejected it and called it a censure on every Leaguer. Jinnah did not let any bigot or expediency dictate his policy; against tremendous pressure Jinnah appointed Zafarullah Khan first to argue Pakistan’s case before the Boundary Commission and then as the foreign minister of the new state. As a gesture that spoke louder than words, he appointed Jogindranath Mandal as his law minister. Mr Mandal, a Hindu, had earlier been nominated by Jinnah on a Muslim seat in the interim government of India. To Jinnah, the question of representation of the legitimate interests of the Muslim minority in United India was a political question and not a religious one. Therefore, a non-Muslim could equally represent the Muslims without any contradiction.
Jinnah’s personal observance (or lack thereof) of religious obligations was well known. He made no effort to hide his thoroughly westernised lifestyle. Repeatedly he told the Muslims that he was not a religious leader and that they should not expect from him anything that his own lifestyle does not conform to. His conduct at political rallies was the same — he did not start his speeches with any religious prayer or supplication. When urged by some ulema (religious scholars) to institute public prayer at League rallies, he replied: “Who is going to lead such a prayer, a Shia? A Deobandi? Who?” This is a far cry from Imran Khan’s recent antics at his jalsas (rallies), including his televised namaz (prayer) during the Lahore jalsa. In fact, Imran Khan’s newfound penchant for starting his speeches with a religious prayer is at odds with his own career as a cricketer and a captain. In 1992, Imran Khan did not begin his speech by the now customary “thanks to Almighty Allah”, though perhaps Imran had more faith than anyone who has led the cricket team before or since. Imran the cricket captain, much like Jinnah the politician, did not wear his religion on his sleeve. Imran Khan the politician is a different story.
Anyone who has even a rudimentary idea about the conflict between the two South Asian greats, Jinnah and Gandhi, knows that Jinnah’s break with Gandhi came over Gandhi’s encouragement of the Islamist Khilafat Movement, which Jinnah considered a bigoted and reactionary undertaking. The Quaid famously told Durga Das that he had nothing to do with the pseudo-religious approach to politics that Gandhi was forwarding. In his otherwise well written book, Pakistan: A Personal History, Imran Khan claims that Jinnah and Gandhi were on the same page vis-à-vis the role of religion in politics. Tragically, this misconception seems to inform the great Khan’s every move these days. At the very least then Imran Khan should stop misleading people like me by making references to Jinnah, so that we may stop hoping and wishing and praying for a new dawn, which seems to be no longer an option or priority for Pakistan’s leaders, including Imran Khan.
The writer is a practising lawyer. He blogs at http://globallegalforum.blogspot.com and his twitter handle is @therealylh
DAILY TIMES
To Jinnah, the question of representation of the legitimate interests of the Muslim minority in United India was a political question and not a religious one. Therefore, a non-Muslim could equally represent the Muslims without any contradiction
The ban on Shezan products by the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) has yet again proved that we are an unthinking, heartless and crooked people as a whole. This ban, which violates at least five of the fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens and other persons under the constitution of Pakistan, is unlikely to be challenged in a court of law because no court of law is going to rule against the high and mighty bar association. The more likely scenario is that the courts will uphold such a bigoted decision and further narrow space for dissent in this country. This writer at least has no hope or faith in Pakistanis of any kind to find it in their hearts to live up to human values of equity and justice, least of all the rabble that passes for lawyers in our time.
Yet I continue to write primarily to set the record straight on two counts. One, the actions of the black sheep that populate this nation state are not and ought not be a reflection on the founder of this nation who — whether our bigots admit it or not — was a man of towering integrity and an inherent sense of justice and fair play and who perhaps is unfortunate enough to be called the founding father of a wretched nation like us. Second, while we are infested with bigots of all shapes and forms, not all of us are like that.
So long as we dare to hope, we are in for constant heartbreak. The all-conquering hero, Imran Khan, claims that he will usher in a new era in Pakistan’s politics by bringing back Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan. This hollow promise lured me into supporting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for three odd months. Lately, Imran Khan’s party has made common cause with the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and other such organisations, which are the antithesis of the fondest hopes Jinnah had for the state he was creating. To make matters worse, the president of the LBA, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, who presided over the ban on the ‘kafir’ (infidel) Shezan soft drink, was supported by Hamid Khan and a bulk of lawyers who identify themselves with the PTI. Apologists for the party now state that Imran Khan has to appeal to a popular base and the Ahmedi issue is only a small matter. It is stated — repeatedly — that Imran Khan is trying to save Pakistan and cannot be bothered with such small matters. May I humbly submit — without offending anyone — that a Pakistan sans Jinnah’s secular vision of equality and justice for all Pakistanis regardless of religion, caste or creed is not a Pakistan worth saving.
While mindful of the sentiments of the people he was leading, Jinnah never made any compromises with bigots. He repeatedly rebuffed Majlis-e-Ahrar’s offers of alliance on the grounds that Majlis-e-Ahrar propagated hate and bigotry against the Ahmedis. On May 23, 1944, Jinnah stated very clearly what his position on the Ahmedi issue was:
“I have been asked a disturbing question, as to who among the Muslims can be a member of the Muslim Conference. It has been asked with particular reference to the Qadianis. My reply is that, as far as the constitution of the All-India Muslim League is concerned, it stipulates that any Muslim, without distinction of creed or sect, can become a member, provided he accepts the views, policy and programme of the Muslim League, signs the form of membership and pays the subscription. I appeal to the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir not to raise sectarian questions, but instead to unite on one platform under one banner. In this lies the welfare of the Muslims. In this way, not only can Muslims make political and social progress effectively, but so can other communities, and so also can the state of Kashmir as a whole.” (For reference please see Jamil-ud-Din Ahmed, Speeches and Statements, Volume I, pg 148.)
It is reported that one Mr M A Sabir tried as hard as he could to persuade the Quaid-e-Azam to declare the Ahmedis as being out of the fold of Islam. But Mr Jinnah stuck resolutely to his principles and kept on replying: “What right have I to declare a person non-Muslim, when he claims to be a Muslim.”
When in 1943 a resolution was presented in the Muslim League to commit Pakistan to an Islamic polity, Jinnah rejected it and called it a censure on every Leaguer. Jinnah did not let any bigot or expediency dictate his policy; against tremendous pressure Jinnah appointed Zafarullah Khan first to argue Pakistan’s case before the Boundary Commission and then as the foreign minister of the new state. As a gesture that spoke louder than words, he appointed Jogindranath Mandal as his law minister. Mr Mandal, a Hindu, had earlier been nominated by Jinnah on a Muslim seat in the interim government of India. To Jinnah, the question of representation of the legitimate interests of the Muslim minority in United India was a political question and not a religious one. Therefore, a non-Muslim could equally represent the Muslims without any contradiction.
Jinnah’s personal observance (or lack thereof) of religious obligations was well known. He made no effort to hide his thoroughly westernised lifestyle. Repeatedly he told the Muslims that he was not a religious leader and that they should not expect from him anything that his own lifestyle does not conform to. His conduct at political rallies was the same — he did not start his speeches with any religious prayer or supplication. When urged by some ulema (religious scholars) to institute public prayer at League rallies, he replied: “Who is going to lead such a prayer, a Shia? A Deobandi? Who?” This is a far cry from Imran Khan’s recent antics at his jalsas (rallies), including his televised namaz (prayer) during the Lahore jalsa. In fact, Imran Khan’s newfound penchant for starting his speeches with a religious prayer is at odds with his own career as a cricketer and a captain. In 1992, Imran Khan did not begin his speech by the now customary “thanks to Almighty Allah”, though perhaps Imran had more faith than anyone who has led the cricket team before or since. Imran the cricket captain, much like Jinnah the politician, did not wear his religion on his sleeve. Imran Khan the politician is a different story.
Anyone who has even a rudimentary idea about the conflict between the two South Asian greats, Jinnah and Gandhi, knows that Jinnah’s break with Gandhi came over Gandhi’s encouragement of the Islamist Khilafat Movement, which Jinnah considered a bigoted and reactionary undertaking. The Quaid famously told Durga Das that he had nothing to do with the pseudo-religious approach to politics that Gandhi was forwarding. In his otherwise well written book, Pakistan: A Personal History, Imran Khan claims that Jinnah and Gandhi were on the same page vis-à-vis the role of religion in politics. Tragically, this misconception seems to inform the great Khan’s every move these days. At the very least then Imran Khan should stop misleading people like me by making references to Jinnah, so that we may stop hoping and wishing and praying for a new dawn, which seems to be no longer an option or priority for Pakistan’s leaders, including Imran Khan.
The writer is a practising lawyer. He blogs at http://globallegalforum.blogspot.com and his twitter handle is @therealylh
Imran Khan’s powerless opposition to 20th Amendment
DAILY TIMES
By Muhammad Akram
LAHORE: The gargantuan task ahead of holding general elections in a free, fair and impartial manner gets a major boost with the passage of 20th Amendment by all political forces having representation in the National Assembly, leaving aside only the likes of PTI which boycotted the 2008 elections and achieved no success in the by-elections.
The PTI, without offering any convincing arguments, has rejected this widely acclaimed amendment to the constitution merely because its self-assumed political opponents – the ruling PPP-led coalition and the main opposition party PML-N – had the final say on the issue.
PTI chief Imran Khan has demanded an all-parties conference (APC) on the matter with a hilarious threat of launching a civil disobedience movement if his demand is not met. The demand for an APC is highly unlikely given the support the amendment had received from political forces of all shades and colours and cross-section of the civil society, including the independent media.
The PTI is apparently left with no choice but to accept the amendment or to host an APC on its own and face political humiliation as no political party would be ready to attend the moot. However, a conglomerate of jihadi and defunct organisations trying to stir the polity in the name of defeatist ideology of defence of Pakistan may accept any such invitation after seeing no prospects for them in the politics of constitutionalism.
In fact, PTI insiders said, the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) had failed to comprehend the political development beforehand as a majority of its policymakers eyed an entanglement over the amendment between the PPP and PML-N and the PPP and its allies in the backdrop of Prime Minister Gilani drifting close to an early conviction in the contempt of court case and a showdown between the judiciary and the executive on NRO case.
The insiders said the party had of late been quite watchful of the political moves of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman whom they considered acting as a troubleshooter for the incumbent dispensation and hammering out political deals for democratic transition as a result of general elections in October between the incumbent government and the mainstream opposition forces.
The sources said Fazlur Rehman would be the prime target of the party leadership in days to come as pre-emptive measures to keep him from tarnishing the image of Imran Khan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The PTI chief has gained considerable support in the province at the cost of erosion of support base of the PML-N, ANP and JUI-F.
At the moment, the JUI-F is the only significant religio-political party in the country which is proving its allegiance to the constitutionalism. The remaining such parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, has joined what has largely been the suspected security establishment-driven Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC). The DPC has been seen holding public meetings in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Karachi at a cost of millions of rupees to spread its agenda of hatred for democracy and constitutionalism and a foreign policy of regional and international isolation to the country.
The PTI has been sharing DPC platforms that are being used to spread agenda of hatred against democracy, parliamentary system and the love for jihad and allegiance with defunct organisations. The party took an active part in DPC’s public meetings in at Lahore and Karachi and showed its eagerness to have an electoral alliance with the Jamaat-e-Islami, the most vocal component of DPC.
Largely dubbed “political orphans” such as Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Ijazul Haq have been attending DPC gatherings. They are stated to be taking a refuge of the platform of jihadis since nothing much is left for them in electoral politics and a polity vying to stage a rare democratic transition in months to come.
The PTI insiders said the party has been categorical in not welcoming in its fold the likes of Sheikh Rashid and also finger crossed in striking an electoral alliance with the JI. The sources said the PTI has slowed down its process of accepting PML-Q turncoats in its fold following criticism from the media as well as political opponents. Yet it has failed to quell the temptation of gulping all those who could ensure a win for the party in Punjab in the forthcoming elections in a triangular contest with the PPP and PML-N as the other contenders. The sources termed Imran Khan’s rejection of the 20th Amendment his “naivety” about the country’s politics where the proposed legislation was nothing short of a dream coming true for all those struggling to get closer to the holding of elections sans all impurities.
The sources added the amendment would help democratic forces and civil institutions keep this very important tool of democracy in their control with a “powerful establishment only watching from a distance the healthy democratic occurrences on the national political scene”.
Imran Khan’s calling a foul to something – an independent elections commission, non-partisan caretaker set-up and almost flawless electoral rolls – which is a rare practice even in the developed democracies is nothing but a hangover of crowd he manages to pull in public meetings. But he is yet to experience the conversion of the same into support in elections, the sources said.
By Muhammad Akram
LAHORE: The gargantuan task ahead of holding general elections in a free, fair and impartial manner gets a major boost with the passage of 20th Amendment by all political forces having representation in the National Assembly, leaving aside only the likes of PTI which boycotted the 2008 elections and achieved no success in the by-elections.
The PTI, without offering any convincing arguments, has rejected this widely acclaimed amendment to the constitution merely because its self-assumed political opponents – the ruling PPP-led coalition and the main opposition party PML-N – had the final say on the issue.
PTI chief Imran Khan has demanded an all-parties conference (APC) on the matter with a hilarious threat of launching a civil disobedience movement if his demand is not met. The demand for an APC is highly unlikely given the support the amendment had received from political forces of all shades and colours and cross-section of the civil society, including the independent media.
The PTI is apparently left with no choice but to accept the amendment or to host an APC on its own and face political humiliation as no political party would be ready to attend the moot. However, a conglomerate of jihadi and defunct organisations trying to stir the polity in the name of defeatist ideology of defence of Pakistan may accept any such invitation after seeing no prospects for them in the politics of constitutionalism.
In fact, PTI insiders said, the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) had failed to comprehend the political development beforehand as a majority of its policymakers eyed an entanglement over the amendment between the PPP and PML-N and the PPP and its allies in the backdrop of Prime Minister Gilani drifting close to an early conviction in the contempt of court case and a showdown between the judiciary and the executive on NRO case.
The insiders said the party had of late been quite watchful of the political moves of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman whom they considered acting as a troubleshooter for the incumbent dispensation and hammering out political deals for democratic transition as a result of general elections in October between the incumbent government and the mainstream opposition forces.
The sources said Fazlur Rehman would be the prime target of the party leadership in days to come as pre-emptive measures to keep him from tarnishing the image of Imran Khan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The PTI chief has gained considerable support in the province at the cost of erosion of support base of the PML-N, ANP and JUI-F.
At the moment, the JUI-F is the only significant religio-political party in the country which is proving its allegiance to the constitutionalism. The remaining such parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, has joined what has largely been the suspected security establishment-driven Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC). The DPC has been seen holding public meetings in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Karachi at a cost of millions of rupees to spread its agenda of hatred for democracy and constitutionalism and a foreign policy of regional and international isolation to the country.
The PTI has been sharing DPC platforms that are being used to spread agenda of hatred against democracy, parliamentary system and the love for jihad and allegiance with defunct organisations. The party took an active part in DPC’s public meetings in at Lahore and Karachi and showed its eagerness to have an electoral alliance with the Jamaat-e-Islami, the most vocal component of DPC.
Largely dubbed “political orphans” such as Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Ijazul Haq have been attending DPC gatherings. They are stated to be taking a refuge of the platform of jihadis since nothing much is left for them in electoral politics and a polity vying to stage a rare democratic transition in months to come.
The PTI insiders said the party has been categorical in not welcoming in its fold the likes of Sheikh Rashid and also finger crossed in striking an electoral alliance with the JI. The sources said the PTI has slowed down its process of accepting PML-Q turncoats in its fold following criticism from the media as well as political opponents. Yet it has failed to quell the temptation of gulping all those who could ensure a win for the party in Punjab in the forthcoming elections in a triangular contest with the PPP and PML-N as the other contenders. The sources termed Imran Khan’s rejection of the 20th Amendment his “naivety” about the country’s politics where the proposed legislation was nothing short of a dream coming true for all those struggling to get closer to the holding of elections sans all impurities.
The sources added the amendment would help democratic forces and civil institutions keep this very important tool of democracy in their control with a “powerful establishment only watching from a distance the healthy democratic occurrences on the national political scene”.
Imran Khan’s calling a foul to something – an independent elections commission, non-partisan caretaker set-up and almost flawless electoral rolls – which is a rare practice even in the developed democracies is nothing but a hangover of crowd he manages to pull in public meetings. But he is yet to experience the conversion of the same into support in elections, the sources said.
FATA reforms gift of democratic Govt
pakobserver.net
The FATA reforms came under discussions and the parliamentarians described it a gift of democracy awarded to the people of FATA by a democratically elected government, during lunch party hosted by Barrister Masood Kausar.
Barrister Masood Kausar hosted a luncheon for FATA parliamentarians and sitting Senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa here at Governor’s House.
A number of FATA MNAs and Senators both from FATA and KPK including Ilyas Bilour of Awami National Party, Munir Orakzai FATA parliamentary party leader, Professor Mohammad Ibrahim of Jamaat-i-Islami and Qari Mohammad Abdullah and Haji Ghulam Ali of Jamiat-ul-Ulema-Islam (F) attended the luncheon. They held informal discussion on the political and security situation in FATA and KPK.
The FATA reforms also came under discussions and the parliamentarians described it a gift of democracy awarded to the people of FATA by a democratically elected government. However they stressed the need to ensure implementation on these reforms particularly on the amendments made in the FCR to make the tribesmen realize a change. The Governor said that implementation on FATA reforms was thoroughly monitored and making it a binding on the political administration to submit periodical reports in this regard. He however asked the FATA parliamentarians to identify the areas wherever they notice any violation.
On another point the Governor said that FATA domiciled people were being given priority in FATA related jobs and he had issued very clear directives to all the respective departments and officials in this regard.
The FATA reforms came under discussions and the parliamentarians described it a gift of democracy awarded to the people of FATA by a democratically elected government, during lunch party hosted by Barrister Masood Kausar.
Barrister Masood Kausar hosted a luncheon for FATA parliamentarians and sitting Senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa here at Governor’s House.
A number of FATA MNAs and Senators both from FATA and KPK including Ilyas Bilour of Awami National Party, Munir Orakzai FATA parliamentary party leader, Professor Mohammad Ibrahim of Jamaat-i-Islami and Qari Mohammad Abdullah and Haji Ghulam Ali of Jamiat-ul-Ulema-Islam (F) attended the luncheon. They held informal discussion on the political and security situation in FATA and KPK.
The FATA reforms also came under discussions and the parliamentarians described it a gift of democracy awarded to the people of FATA by a democratically elected government. However they stressed the need to ensure implementation on these reforms particularly on the amendments made in the FCR to make the tribesmen realize a change. The Governor said that implementation on FATA reforms was thoroughly monitored and making it a binding on the political administration to submit periodical reports in this regard. He however asked the FATA parliamentarians to identify the areas wherever they notice any violation.
On another point the Governor said that FATA domiciled people were being given priority in FATA related jobs and he had issued very clear directives to all the respective departments and officials in this regard.
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