Clinton to hoist US flag in Asia, to China's unease

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sets off Thursday on a sweeping Asia tour from a rising China to tiny island states as her outspoken role on the region's hotspots raises hackles in Beijing. In the midst of a US presidential campaign, the former candidate is expected to steer clear of politics at home and portray Washington as an anchor of stability in a region where China has increasingly butted heads with neighbors. Clinton will head first to the Cook Islands, an archipelago of just 11,000 people, to become the first US secretary of state to take part in an annual summit of South Pacific islands -- where China's clout is growing. Clinton will go Tuesday to China, where aides said she will meet President Hu Jintao and other top officials and take up the full gamut of issues between the world's two largest economies, including heated maritime disputes. In unusually robust statements, the United States has recently accused China of escalating tensions and warned against "divide and conquer" tactics after Beijing set up a remote garrison in the South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam and other nations claim islands in the South China Sea -- the passageway for half of the world's commercial cargo -- and have accused Beijing of a campaign of intimidation. China's state-run Xinhua news agency accused Clinton of trying to "contain China's increasing influence" and said that the core of US strategy "is to defend its dominance and hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region." Xinhua had harsher words for Mitt Romney, who is challenging President Barack Obama in November 6 elections, saying that the Republican's tough talk on issues from Taiwan to exchange rates could end up "poisoning" the tone in US-China relations. During Clinton's last visit to the region in July, foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations failed at a meeting in Beijing-friendly Cambodia to forge a common way forward that would let them seek a code of conduct to govern disputes in the South China Sea. A senior US official said that Clinton wanted all sides "to abstain from provocative steps" and that she would confer with Indonesia and Brunei on the future of diplomacy for a long-mooted code of conduct. "She's certainly going to ask in ASEAN about the aftermath of what transpired in July," the official said on condition of anonymity. Ernie Bower of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said that Clinton's visit -- her third to Asia since May -- was part of an effort to "institutionalize" US presence on the continent, particularly the Pacific. "One of the enormous motivations behind it is to manage China well, but I don't think it's all about China," said Bower, the director of the think tank's Southeast Asia program. "There are also a lot of intrinsic benefits for the United States through good relationships, security ties and economic ties" in Asia, he said. Clinton, who will end her trip at an Asia Pacific summit in the Russian port city of Vladivostok off the Pacific Ocean, will also be confronted by rising friction over territorial disputes between Japan and both fellow US ally South Korea and China. "I have to say that the recent spate of tensions between Japan and Korea has caused concerns in the United States and elsewhere and we are again urging restraint, calm and statesmanship," the US official said. The official said that the United States hoped that individual citizens and business leaders could work to create a "21st-century" relationship between Japan and South Korea, whose ties are marred by wartime memories. The flareup, including a visit by South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to islands disputed with Japan, has set back US hopes that its two allies would work together in the face of a rising China and uncertainties over nuclear-armed North Korea. Clinton, who is already the most-traveled secretary of state in US history, will chalk up several new feats on her trip. Besides being the first to take part in the Pacific Islands Forum, Clinton will become the first secretary of state to visit East Timor, which is still developing after it painfully won independence from Indonesia in 2002. And with her trip to Brunei, Clinton becomes the first top US diplomat to visit all 10 nations in ASEAN.

Alarming levels of drug-resistant TB found worldwide

Scientists have found an alarming number of cases of the lung disease tuberculosis in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America that are resistant to up to four powerful antibiotic drugs. In a large international study published in the Lancet medical journal on Thursday, researchers found rates of both multi drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) were higher than previously thought and were threatening global efforts to curb the spread of the disease. "Most international recommendations for TB control have been developed for MDR-TB prevalence of up to around 5 percent. Yet now we face prevalence up to 10 times higher in some places, where almost half of the patients ... are transmitting MDR strains," Sven Hoffner of the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control, said in a commentary on the study. TB is already a worldwide pandemic that infected 8.8 million people and killed 1.4 million in 2010. Drug-resistant TB is more difficult and costly than normal TB to treat, and is more often fatal. MDR-TB is resistant to at least two first-line drugs — isoniazid and rifampicin - while XDR-TB is resistant to those two drugs as well as a powerful antibiotic type called a fluoroquinolone and a second-line injectable antibiotic. Treating even normal TB is a long process, with patients needing to take a cocktail of powerful antibiotics for six months. Many patients fail to complete their treatment correctly, a factor which has fuelled a rise in the drug-resistant forms. Researchers who studied rates of the disease in Estonia, Latvia, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Thailand found almost 44 percent of cases of MDR TB were also resistant to at least one second-line drug. Tom Evans, chief scientific officer at Aeras, a non-profit group working to develop new TB vaccines, told Reuters treatment options for XDR-TB patients were "limited, expensive and toxic". Treatments for drug-resistant TB can cost 200 times more than those for normal TB, he said in an emailed statement. They can also cause severe side effects like deafness and psychosis, and can take two years to complete, he added. In the United States, MDR-TB treatment can cost $250,000 or more per patient, and in many poorer countries costs can be catastrophic to health systems and patients' families. "Without a robust pipeline of new drugs to stay one step ahead, it will be nearly impossible to treat our way out of this epidemic," Evans said. SPREADS THROUGH AIR Tracy Dalton from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who led the Lancet study, said that so far, XDR-TB has been reported in 77 countries worldwide. "As more individuals are diagnosed with, and treated for, drug-resistant TB, more resistance to second-line drugs is expected to emerge," she said. The spread of these drug-resistant strains was "particularly worrisome" in areas with poor healthcare resources and limited access to effective drugs, she added. TB is a bacterial infection that destroys patients' lung tissue, making them cough and sneeze and spread germs through the air. Experts say anyone with active TB can easily infect another 10 to 15 people a year. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts more than 2 million people will contract MDR TB by 2015. A report by non-governmental organizations in March said a $1.7 billion shortfall in funds to fight TB over the next five years meant 3.4 million patients would go untreated and gains made against the disease will be reversed. In their research, Dalton and colleagues found rates of resistance varied widely between countries. Overall, resistance to any second-line drug was detected in nearly 44 percent of patients, ranging from 33 percent in Thailand to 62 percent in Latvia. In about a fifth of cases, they found resistance to at least one second-line injectable drug. This ranged from 2 percent in the Philippines to 47 percent in Latvia. XDR-TB was found in 6.7 percent of patients overall. Rates in South Korea, at 15.2 percent, and Russia at 11.3 percent, were more than twice the WHO's global estimate of 5.4 percent at that time.

'NAM seeks global peace, friendship'

NAM Summit signals thaw in Iran-Egypt relations

All eyes are on Iran as the Non-Aligned Summit is currently underway. Front and center, an historical visit by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. Iran is also taking the opportunity to initiate a peace proposal on the Syrian crisis. Iran is putting its best face forward making the most of the international spotlight as it shines on the country this week. While Western powers attempt to increasingly isolate Iran over a controversial nuclear program, the country is playing host to the Non-Aligned Summit-a gathering of 120 nations- second only to the United Nations General Assembly. Among the visiting dignitaries, the first by an Egyptian leader in more than 30 years, the visit is seen by some analysts as a thawing of otherwise frosty relations between Cairo and Tehran. Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, Poli. Sci. Prof., UAE University, said, "We should not minimize this visit. This is a four hour visit by President Morsi of Egypt to Iran, but this four-hour meeting or visit is going to change 30 years of Egypt’s foreign policy towards Tehran." A chance also for Egypt to show a new post-Hosini Mubarak era-different to that of the ousted leader. Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla also said, "Egypt is a very important regional power and it has stayed out of regional politics for so long. Now Egypt is trying to take its right position in the region. Second, more important than that, I think Egypt is signaling it’s becoming independent of America. It’s becoming independent of foreign powers and it’s setting up its own agenda." An agenda that includes setting up a contact group comprising Iran, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to seek an end to the conflict in Syria, a proposal with its share of skeptics. Riad Kahwaji, CEO, Inst. For Near East & Gulf Mil. Analysis, said, "It’s all PR moves just to say we’re regional players, we have a role over here. The situation in Syria is too big for just a number of regional countries to attempt to solve it. This is something at the scale of the UN Security Council to be able to resolve." Despite the skepticism, Iran is still trying its best to assert itself on the world stage as a dominant regional power, and this time around by spearheading a peace initiative-be a part of the solution and not the problem.

16th NAM summit opens in Tehran

The 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit opened in Tehran on Thursday under the theme of "Lasting Peace through Joint Global Governance." Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in an address to the opening ceremony that "The Islamic republic is not after nuclear weapons" and will never slacken off its right to the " peaceful" use of nuclear energy. Khamenei said that Iran's slogan is "Nuclear energy for all, nuclear weapons for none." He slammed at the western propaganda against the nuclear program of the Islamic republic and stated that "A few Western countries want to build a monopoly of nuclear fuel." Khamenei condemned the Israeli "occupation" of the Palestinian territory which should be ruled by the Palestinians the NAM should take practical steps in this regard. He also said the UN structure is "illogical," "unjust" and "non- democratic" and stated that "The world must not be controlled by a few dictatorial regimes." The Iranian leader pointed out that "disarmament is an urgent necessity" in today's world and the Islamic republic calls for a Middle East free from nuclear weapons.

Pakistanis view China as most friendly

Majority of Pakistanis termed China, as most friendly, whereas the USA as the biggest enemy even than India, when they were asked among the states listed on the Round Cards, which would you consider as Pakistan’s best friend and biggest enemy, reveals a Gilani Research Foundation Survey issued here on Wednesday. According to the Gilani Research Survey, from among key global and regional players, Pakistanis view China as the most friendly and USA as the most hostile. A nationally representative sample of men and women from across the four provinces was asked “Among the states listed on this Round Card, which would you consider, as Pakistan’s best friend? (Give one answer)” Responding to this, 67% believe China to be Pakistan’s best friend, 7% believe USA, 4% believe India, 2% believe Russia, 1% believe Afghanistan, whereas 14% believe Iran to be Pakistan’s best friend. In a followup question, the respondents were asked “Among the states listed on this Round Card, which would you consider, as Pakistan’s biggest enemy? (Give one answer)” Responding to this, 49% believe USA to be Pakistan’s biggest enemy, 24% believe India, 4% believe Russia, 4% believe Afghanistan, 1% believe Iran whereas 1% believe China to be Pakistan’s biggest enemy. The recent survey was carried out among a sample of 2685 men and women in rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country, during July 27, 2012 – August 04, 2012. Error margin is estimated to be approximately ± 2-3 percent at 95% confidence level.

Epidemic of measles in North Waziristan Agency

The epidemic of measles in North Waziristan Agency claimed the lives of two minor girls in Danada Derpakhel area on Wednesday while dozens of infected children are being brought to the Miranshah Headquarters Hospital for treatment. Talking to INP, Agency Surgeon Dr Mohammad Sadiq said that dozens of measles infected children have been admitted to the Miranshah Headquarters Hospital for treatment, adding that measles vaccine is not available in the tribal region to control the infection. “Around 40 children are infected by measles in three weeks that are brought to the hospital for treatment and two minor girls fell prey to the infection in Danda Derpakhel area of the tribal region,” Dr Mohammad Sadiq said. He said that health department should initiate measures on war footing in the area to control the spread of measles in the tribal region where vaccines of measles are short. The agency surgeon said that not only from North Waziristan but children infected by measles are being brought from across the border to Miranshah for treatment, adding that scarcity of vaccines was creating problem in controlling the spread of epidemic.

GWADAR PORT DEVELOPMENT

There are reports that the Singapore Port Authority (SPA) and its junior partners the National Logistics Cell (NLC) and the AKD of Karachi had been allowed to quit the management and development accord for the Gwadar Port. The SPA officials blamed the Government for failure to transfer over 500 acres o prime land to the SPA for future development. The land is in possession of the Pakistan Navy and it failed to vacate the land, the SPA people claimed. On the other hand, the Pakistan Navy claimed that it is in possession of land since 1980—long ago the Gwadar Port planned. The Balochistan Government, according to reports offered 350 acres of state land to the SPA and rest of the land will be purchased from the open market and transfer to the SPA for developing the port. The Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping told a House Committee that the SPA had decided to quit paving the way for the Chinese to take over the Gwadar Port and develop it by spending 10 billion US dollars. It is doubtful that the Chinese will make such a huge investment on Gwadar Port in presence of the massive Western Naval armada under the leadership of the United States. The Western Armada had converted the whole Gulf of Oman and the Baloch coast as an American lake where hostile navies may not be permitted in near future. In presence of more than 60 warships, including several aircraft carriers o the USA, it will be odd for the Chinese to enter into an area where American interests are supreme and unchallengeable. Thus it is not possible that the Chinese will make any attempt to seek control of Gwadar deepwater port against the will of the Americans in the mega sensitive region of Gulf from where 44 per cent of world oil is passing through. The Federal Government and its policy makers should be blamed for the delay in developing the Gwadar Port in the region and it wasted a seven long years and undertook no development scheme to make port functional or make it economically viable. The Federal Government and the SPA had failed to invest a single penny on the port development. Even they failed to arrange fresh water and electricity for the Port. It shows lack of sincerity of the Ports and Shipping Ministry to develop Gwadar as the deep water port of the entire region. It is possible that the Federal Government had stopped any investment for development in Balochistan thus the Gwadar Port development was ignored deliberately keeping in view the hostile security climate in the Gulf region. It is possible that the SPA is also leaving the contract for the same security reasons. We have suggested in these columns that the Balochistan Government is the ideal Government institution that is capable of building and operating the Gwadar Port with the help of the international community. The Provincial Government is enjoying the goodwill of the world community and thus the Federal Government should hand over the Port, its operation, management and development to the Balochistan Government without any delay. If the Government is left at the mercy of the biased Federal bureaucracy and political leadership, Gwadar Port will not be development in a century. It is clear that the funds for construction of highways linking Gwadar Port with rest of Pakistan had been transferred and not a single penny spent on the projects for the past six years. To mention an example, the Government had allocated Rs 137 billion for highway project linked with Gwadar Port and at the end of the day; it was found that the Government had spent merely Rs seven billions. It is discriminatory meant to retard the economic development of Balochistan in a determined way.

President Zardari is representing Pakistan at NAM Summit

Radio Pakistan

President Asif Ali Zardari

in his address to the Summit is expected to share Pakistan's stance on key global issues including the evolving situation in Syria‚ Palestine‚ Afghanistan and other matters.President Asif Ali Zardari has arrived in Teheran to attend the two-day Non-Aligned Movement Summit beginning on Thursday.He was received at the Mehrabad Airport by the Iranian Interior Minister Mustafa Muhammad Najjar.The President in a brief meeting at the airport appreciated the Iranian leadership for successful hosting of the summit.He hoped the world leaders would be able to chart out a new course of action for the organization established in 1961. The President will hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. He is expected to meet with Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. He would also hold substantial talks with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei and discuss a range of bilateral issues. President Asif Ali Zardari in his address to the Summit is expected to share Pakistan's stance on key global issues including the evolving situation in Syria‚ Palestine‚ Afghanistan and other matters.During the Summit the President would reiterate Pakistan's eight point action programme for revitalizing the Non Aligned Movement to effectively address the new and emerging global challenges in the areas of peace‚ security and development in the 21st Century. The President was accompanied by Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Pakistani Christians to protest in front of UN Offices in NYC tomorrow

The Pakistani Christian Diaspora in USA will rally in front of United Nations Offices in New York City on August 30, 2012, from 12:00 Noon to 3:00 PM, according to press release issued by Pakistani Christian Association of USA (PCA). The protest is to condemn the arrest of 11 years old disabled Christian girl named Rimsha Masih, under Pakistan's notorious blasphemy law in capital city of Islamabad, on August 17, 2012. The Church leaders, laymen, members of other faiths and civil society will participate in demonstration to demand repeal of blasphemy law in Pakistan and to provide safety and security to Christians in Pakistan.

Shia genocide: what’s in a name?

By:

Dr Mohammad Taqi

For all intents and purposes, the Shia of Pakistan constitute a social collectivity that has been under a systematic assault by non-state actors Is it Shia genocide or is it the genocide of the ethnic Hazaras of Quetta? What about the Gilgiti, Balti and Peshawari Shia then, or the Pashtun Shia of the Turi and Bangash tribes? Is it genocide at all? Why call it genocide when the state is allegedly not involved or supporting the perpetrators? And so continues the debate over the semantics of mass murder. As much as the killers are calm, cool, collected and calculated; the response is disjointed, if any at all, and the responders disparate and bickering. Last year, I had noted in these pages that human rights activists, for various reasons, balk at calling the wholesale killings of the Pakistani Shia as genocide. But it is not just the nomenclature. The fact is that the two major international human rights organizations, viz Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are constantly remiss in reporting in a timely manner the atrocities perpetrated against the Pakistani Shia. For example, the recent massacre of the Shia at Babusar Top was widely reported by the international media and condemned even by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, but not so much as a denunciation has been issued by these two outfits. I understand that it might not be a grand scheme to not record and report the systemic slaughter of the Shia underway in this country but it certainly is disconcerting to note such omissions. The two groups have a dismal record of reporting the four-year siege of the Shia of upper Kurram and their deaths in thousands. If the idea of highlighting an issue is to chronicle it in a ‘country report’ the following year, then clearly there is a level of dysfunction in these outfits that should raise a flag. I had also previously noted that a working definition provided by Professors John Thomson and Gail Quets serves as a useful template in Pakistan’s case. Thomson and Quets had stated: “Genocide is the extent of destruction of a social collectivity by whatever agents, with whatever intentions, by purposive actions, which fall outside the recognised conventions of legitimate warfare.” For all intents and purposes, the Shia of Pakistan constitute a social collectivity that has been under a systematic assault by non-state actors operating outside the norms of conventional and legitimate warfare, while the state has either stood idle or even worse, aided and abetted the perpetrators. The intensity of the atrocities has varied over roughly the last 27 years but the intent has clearly been to identify and, wherever possible, physically eliminate the Shia. This is not to say that the Shia are being thrown into gas chambers but let it be very clear too that for the systematic killings of a community to qualify as genocide, every single one of its members does not have to die. The man who coined the term genocide, Raphael Lemkin, had taken great pains to note, “Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is indented rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. The objectives of such a plan would be disintegration of the political and social institutions of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups.” Lemkin’s work dealt predominantly with the Jewish population but subsequent scholars expanded the target populations from a nation or ethnicity to include political or religious groups and even social classes. Article II of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide thus states: “Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious groups as such: a) Killing members of the group; b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; e) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Article III of the same Convention goes on to list the following acts as punishable: a) Genocide; b) conspiracy to commit genocide; c) direct and public incitement to commit genocide; d) attempt to commit genocide; e) complicity in genocide. The simple point is that to prevent and/or contain genocide, it has to be identified and named correctly. The viciousness of the atrocities against the Shia is incremental. From the inception of the first openly anti-Shia terrorist outfit in 1985 to a plethora of such gangs today, thousands of Shia have perished at their hands and scores have fled their locales and, when possible, the country. Those who live and stay behind, live in a state of constant fear. For the first time in the history of Pakistan many Shia, in areas where their numbers are smaller, have now been forced to conceal their religious identity or at the very least not announce it. In the event that their physical characteristics are a giveaway, as in the case of Quetta’s Hazara population, the ethnic dimension is an added risk that cannot be averted. Many Hazara thus face a double ethno-religious whammy in their already ghettoised environs. The chances, unfortunately, are that the situation for the Shia of Pakistan is going to get worse before there is even a possibility of any improvement. They would be well advised to coordinate with other vulnerable groups as similar forces persecute and eliminate them. But more importantly, the Shia community of Pakistan has to come up with an indigenous leadership and advocates. When media misrepresents or obfuscates information about mass murders, human rights activists and honest witnesses hold its feet to the fire. But when advocacy groups get cold feet or are derelict in reporting in an honest and timely manner, the victim communities must bring forth their own Raphael Lemkins. The debate over semantics perhaps cannot be resolved but at least an honest first draft of an unfortunate history can be preserved.

Pakistan's Blasphemy case

IT is a measure of the sensitivity of the matter that the voice of a lone Islamic cleric on the latest in the series of blasphemy cases is considered to be a big step forward. The case of a Christian girl accused of blasphemy has received wide publicity and the matter is before court. A hearing is fixed for today and the first points for the court to arbitrate on are: whether she can be allowed bail and whether the girl is a minor and entitled to trial under the law for juveniles. Around the legal proceedings, a much bigger argument continues to be carefully presented. This view is informed by the principles of tolerance and fairness — and to a great extent defined by the fear that is today associated with discussions involving religion. Rights activists have called for the girl’s protection and newspapers have written on it. Most have qualified their take before they press for something as basic as a fair probe, and before expressing their concern over the frequency of blasphemy cases. Her young age has been mentioned and a common reaction is based on reports that the girl may be suffering from Down’s Syndrome. Still others are asking if the girl accused of desecrating religious texts can actually read. The voice of the chairman, All Pakistan Ulema Council, is different from others since clerics and religious scholars here have seldom demanded fairness in matters involving blasphemy charges. Religious parties are cautious not to move beyond routine statements issued on special days when it comes to the minority’s complaints against the majority in Pakistan. By choosing to air his views on the current case, the APUC chairman appears to be trying to lift the debate to a level where it needs to be conducted. He seems to be trying to initiate a discussion among the knowledgeable, in the interest of fairness that is so central to religion and in the interest of law and legal interpretation that leaves little room for misuse and error. The APUC chief said that with some rational, unbiased handling, the case could well turn out to be a watershed in Pakistan’s history, and that accusers in such cases must also be open to accountability. These are valid points that need to be followed up on.

Pakistan: Where are we heading?

http://www.brecorder.com

Syria is in the midst of a civil war, and the entire world is immensely perturbed over civilian casualties. Although, there is no civil war in Pakistan, the law and order situation is profoundly precarious. Take a count of deaths and injuries the people suffer on a daily basis, our situation is not very different from whatever is obtaining in Syria. In Pakistan, only a dozen or so so-called Red Zones and a few dozen high-profile politicians and officials are safe and secure from the agents of death - thanks to the 24/7 security cordon available to them. For the rest of people the ambience is that of a state of nature where violence abounds and criminals stalk streets freely and confidently. Consider, just in the last 48 hours no less than a dozen and half of people were murdered; target-killers killed three in Quetta and six in Bolan; about three thousand tourists are shut up in Skardu because terrorists have turned the Gilgit-Baltistan province into a no-go area as the government so far has done next to nothing to rescue them - as if there is peace and harmony in tribal areas. What the people of Pakistan suffer in terms of mayhem and arson in a week may be much more than what entire Europe suffers in one full year. The sad coda is that there is no hope that the reign of terror will abate anytime soon - essentially because the government and the establishment are busy somewhere else. For them it's an election year in Pakistan and they cannot afford diversions from their single-purpose pursuit of state power. Judging by the hype created by Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf's appearance in the Supreme Court on Monday it looks as if the people and the elite are living on two different planets. This indeed is apocalyptic. The state that fails to protect citizens against unlawful and illegal excesses forfeits its right to maintain its writ; it is a cardinal principle of jurisprudence and an invariable provision of every governance. But there is scant realisation of this inescapable responsibility on the part of the elite. No serious effort seems to have been made to closely focus on the lingering curse of violence that takes so many lives every day. All we have are words of sympathy, messages of condolences and fire-fighting - for tomorrow will be another day. Terrorism is being dealt with on a day-to-day basis, instead of any concerted action under a well-thought out programme and policy. If there is a foreign hand, as we have been hearing it every now and then, more vociferously and regularly now, why then we don't make it public. Whatever the dictate of diplomatic discretion, the foreign powers involved in destabilising Pakistan, directly or through proxies, must be exposed. At risk is not 'friendly relationships' but the survival of Pakistan. Sectarianism, the most ruthless serial killer of innocent people, has a pronounced foreign dimension. It should be taken up with its patrons and promoters in a frank, forceful manner to the exclusion of political and diplomatic niceties. On the domestic front, the problem lies at the door of law-enforcement agencies that have so far performed much below par. More importantly, the performance of our legislators in relation to anti-terrorism legislation-making is profoundly abysmal as the existing anti-terrorist laws are inadequate and outmoded. The problem also lies in the minds of our establishment and political forces who in many cases tend to nurture culture of violence by harbouring terrorists and criminals. And all of it has to be done on an urgent basis. Time is no more on our side.

Malnutrition in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA

http://www.brecorder.com

A two-day workshop on finalisation of strategy to combat malnutrition in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA was opened here on Wednesday. Besides representatives of almost all government organisations particularly health, education, food and agriculture departments from FATA and KP, country representatives of over 20 multi donor organisations like; WHO, Unicef and WFO are participating. The Additional Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ataullah Khan was the chief guest at the opening ceremony. In his opening remarks, the Additional Chief Secretary expressed the hope that the workshop will help develop deeper engagements and better understanding of stakeholders to reach an agreement on specific roles to link policies and strategy development for implementation of a provincial integrated nutrition strategy. The ACS said that it was very disturbing that 48 percent of children in KP are under-weight because of suffering malnutrition both by the mother and child for a long time. However, the province has shown remarkable improvement in the rate of under-weight children which has been reduced to 24 percent in 2011 from 35 percent in 2001 but reducing it further a still a challenge for both the people and the government. On this occasion, representatives from World Food Programme, World Health Organisation, Unicef, Director General of Health Services Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a number of experts of international repute delivered their papers on various aspects of malnutrition in the province and FATA, the experiences of different countries for combating it.

PML-N exposed

The Express Tribune

After two days of ruckus, matters came to a head yesterday in the Punjab Assembly. The opposition had a stranglehold of the House and there was no way business could have continued. The Speaker had a choice between a free-for-all brawl or to prorogue the session. He, sensibly, opted for the latter. The session was prorogued, but not before adopting a treasury-sponsored resolution, amidst the ruckus, that rejected the commission on new provinces. Law Minister Rana Sanaullah was heard uttering expletives in Punjabi for the women opposition members who had surrounded his chair. While the resolution was being presented, the PML-N members from northern Punjab served a notice to assembly secretariat for a resolution to carve out a province in the Potohar region. This assembly session, which might prove to the last, has exposed the scheming by the two major political parties. Though none won a knockout, PPP seemed to have won the day on points. They wanted to expose the PML-N’s lack of support for new provinces in the Punjab and they did. The treasury, like always, looked rudderless. By rejecting the commission out right and by introducing a resolution demanding a new province in north Punjab, the PML-N showed that they were no fans of a south Punjab province. The PPP also succeeded in showing that it stood for south Punjab. Another interesting thing: PML-N women members who came to the assembly on reserved seats have already started campaigning for the next term. Rumour has it that eight of them have succeeded in getting the nod from the PML-N leadership. Talking about women members, the incumbent assembly will be remembered for some over-zealous party activists. The women in the house fell in two distinct categories: ones that were over-enthusiastic and the others that slept through the entire tenure. While we all know the exploits of Samina Khawer, Seemal Kamran, Azma Bukhari, Sajida Mir and Samia Amjad there were also women who did not utter a word during the sessions. For the opposition, however, it is hard to imagine what they would have done without the support of their women comrades.

More world leaders arrive in Tehran for NAM summit

press tv

More world leaders and high-ranking officials are arriving in the Iranian capital Tehran to participate the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Jordan’s Prince Hassan bin Talal and Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe are among the leaders who have landed in Tehran during the Wednesday evening. Earlier in the day, acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Ruler of the United Arab Emirates’ Umm Al Quwain state Sheikh Saud bin Rashid al-Mu’alla and Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon had arrived in the city to attend the conference. The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also participated in the Tehran summit despite strong opposition from the US and Israel. Meanwhile the two-day ministerial meeting of the 16th Summit of the NAM wrapped up on Wednesday evening in the Iranian capital. Iran’s foreign ministry says more delegations are expected to arrive throughout the day. About 55 delegations will be represented at the level of foreign minister. More than 100 countries are partaking in the NAM meeting which kicked off at the expert level in Tehran on Sunday. At the opening ceremony of the NAM expert-level meeting, Iran assumed the rotating presidency of the movement for three years. Egypt's Ambassador to the United Nations Mootaz Khalil formally handed over the presidency to Iran.

President Zardari leaves for Tehran to represent Pakistan at NAM summit

President Zardari has gone Tehran to lead Pakistani delegation at Non-Aligned Movement summit meeting that begins on Thursday. During his stay in Tehran he will also hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of various countries including Indian Prime Minister. Leaders from about one hundred twenty countries including thirty heads of state and governments will participate in the summit. Key issues on the agenda include a condemnation of Western sanctions on Iran and other NAM countries‚ a new push to quell the conflict in Syria‚ and a reaffirmation of calls to make UN decision-making more globally democratic.

Pakistan pins hope on Zardari, Manmohan meeting in Tehran

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday said that Pakistan is looking forward to upcoming talks between President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on sidelines of Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Tehran to resolve most important issues. Speaking to media representatives, she said environment between the two countries was now moving towards trust building. The minister said all previous talks between the two leaders have been “very useful particularly in New Delhi and we hope same spirit would continue in Tehran.” Khar said both sides need to show commitment to move forward. “As far as Pakistan is concerned it was committed to moving forward beyond any other issues that might arise between the two countries,” she added.

Pashto Singer Ghazala’s killer arrested

Famous

Pashto singer Ghazala Javed's ex-husband Jahangir Khan has been caught from Hindko Damaan who was named as her killer, Geo News reported. Ghazala Javed and her Father were killed in Shab Dhagri Garden Peshawar on June 18 in a firing incident. Jahangir Khan and his two companions have been pointed as accused in FIR. SP City Asif Iqbal told Geo news that Jahangir Khan has been arrested and police are trying to catch his companions and they will be taken into custody soon.

How the Republicans Built It

It was a day late, but the Republicans’ parade of truth-twisting, distortions and plain falsehoods arrived on the podium of their national convention on Tuesday. Following in the footsteps of Mitt Romney’s campaign, rarely have so many convention speeches been based on such shaky foundations. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, in the keynote speech, angrily demanded that the American people learn the hard truths about the two parties, but like most of those at the microphone, he failed to supply any. He said his state needed his austere discipline of slashed budgets, canceled public projects and broken public unions, but did not mention that New Jersey now has a higher unemployment rate than when he took over, and never had the revenue boom he promised from tax cuts. “We believe in telling our seniors the truth about our overburdened entitlements,” he said, but his party has consistently refused to come clean about its real plans to undo Medicare and Medicaid. “Mitt Romney will tell us the hard truths we need to hear to put us back on a path to growth,” he said, but Mr. Romney has consistently refused to tell the truth about his tax plan, his budget plan, and his health care plan. It was appropriate that “We built it,” the needling slogan of the evening, was painted on the side of the convention hall. Speaker after speaker alluded to the phrase in an entire day based on the thinnest of reeds — a poorly phrased remark by the president, deliberately taken out of context. President Obama was making the obvious point that all businesses rely to some extent on the work and services of government. But Mr. Romney has twisted it to suggest that Mr. Obama believes all businesses are creatures of the government, and so the convention had to parrot the line. “We need a president who will say to a small businesswoman: Congratulations, we applaud your success, you did make that happen, you did build that,” said Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia. “Big government didn’t build America; you built America!” That was far from the only piece of nonsense on the menu, only the most frequently repeated one. Conventions are always full of cheap applause lines and over-the-top attacks, but it was startling to hear how many speakers in Tampa considered it acceptable to make points that had no basis in reality. Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, for example, boasted of the booming economy in his state, never mentioning that he and Mr. Romney opposed the auto bailout that has played an outsized role in the state’s recovery. (Apparently Mr. Obama’s destructive economic policies do not apply everywhere.) Andy Barr, a Congressional candidate in Kentucky, made the particularly egregious charge that the president was conducting “a war on coal,” ruthlessly attacking an industry and thousands of struggling miners. He was apparently referring to the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions and prevent power-plant pollution from drifting through the East Coast states. The country desperately needs to reduce its reliance on coal, which is far more polluting than natural gas, but that goal gets harder to achieve every time someone like Mr. Barr makes it out to be an attack on a way of life. Considering how Mr. Romney has conducted his campaign so far, most recently his blatantly false advertising accusing Mr. Obama of gutting the work requirement on welfare, it is probably not surprising that the convention he leads would follow a similar path. Voters looking for a few nuggets of truth would not have found them in Tampa on Tuesday.

Afghan president arrives in Tehran for NAM summit

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has arrived in the Iranian capital Tehran to participate in the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). More than 100 countries are partaking in the NAM meeting which kicked off at the expert level in Tehran on Sunday. The two-day foreign ministerial meeting of the NAM summit began on Tuesday. The meeting of the heads of state will open on Thursday with an inaugural speech by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Shahbaz Sharif’s sanity

Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz on Tuesday submitted an application to the speaker of the house for constituting a medical board for the mental examination of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. While talking to the media, opposition leader Raja Riaz claimed that Shahbaz Sharif was mentally upset and needed a thorough mental examination, adding that a medical board should be formed in this regard. He said that the opposition would move the Lahore High Court (LHC) if the speaker did not execute the proposed application. He also said that if any chaos and killing emerged during this duration, the CM and the speaker would be responsible for that.

Father of Pakistani Christian girl appeals to President Zardari

nydailynews.com

The father of a young girl with Down’s syndrome, who was recently accused of blasphemy, is pleading with president Asif Ali Zardari to pardon her. Human rights groups claim that Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law is wrongfully used to “settle personal feuds” with religious minorities.

The father of the eleven year old Christian girl who was jailed last week after being accused under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws has appealed to President Asif Ali Zardari to pardon her. Rimsha Masih, who was born with Down’s syndrome, was arrested and jailed after a large crowd of Muslims gathered outside their family home and threatened to kill her and burn down the house after they discovered pages from the Koran in her bag. A neighbour had accused her of burning the pages. Under Pakistan’s blasphemy law, she could be sentenced to death if she is found guilty of insulting Islam, the Prophet Mohammad or the Holy Koran. Critics and Human Rights groups say the law has been used by Muslims to settle personal feuds and business disputes with members of the country’s religious minorities. Calls to change the law to stop its 'misuse’ have met with violent reaction. The governor of Punjab province Salmaan Taseer, a close aide to President Zardari, was murdered by his own bodyguard in protest at his support for Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy. A few months later Pakistan’s minorities minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, was assassinated for criticizing the blasphemy law. Rimsha’s father Misrek Masih spoke out over his daughter’s treatment with support from local Christian groups and the human rights organization, Avaaz. In an open letter released through Avaaz, he said an angry crowd had threatened to “burn her alive.” “She has Down’s syndrome and often isn’t in control of her actions, but she is charged with desecrating the Koran, and we are afraid for her life. ”She appears in court this week charged under Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws that carry the death sentence. I’m asking President Asif Ali Zardari, who has already called for further attention into my daughter’s case, to pardon her and to prevent other people from being persecuted under these harsh laws like my daughter,” he said. She had been arrested after she was somehow found by Muslims with pages from the Koran in her bag. “This caused an angry crowd to gather and demand that the police arrest her – some even threatened to kill her and burn down the houses of Christians. I pray that when the medical assessment is released she will be freed as she has struggled with learning difficulties her whole life,” he said. His daughter’s arrest, following the assassination of Shahbas Bhatti, had spread fear throughout Pakistan’s Christian community. “It’s such a sensitive situation that many of our Christian neighbors from our Islamabad slum have had to flee their homes,” he said. ”We are a Christian family, we respect the religious rights of others. We simply wish for the safety of our daughter and our community and wish this had never happened,” he added. Hopes of a humane outcome increased on Tuesday after a medical examination to determine his daughter’s age confirmed she was a minor and that her mental development did not match her age. Her lawyer, Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, said the examination ruled she is between 13 and 14 years old, which means her case will be dealt with by a juvenile court where she is expected to be treated with greater leniency.

Pakistani Court rejects Rimsha’s bail plea

Rejecting the bail plea of blasphemy accused Christian girl Rimsha, a Sessions court on Tuesday sought the medical board’s report on the next hearing to ascertain the age of the accused. The court fixed the next hearing for August 30. Sessions Judge Raja Jawad Hassan Abbas resumed the hearing of the case, during which Rimsha’s counsel Tahir Naveed argued that since his client was a juvenile, her case be transferred to a Juvenile Court, and she be granted bail. In his arguments, the lawyer argued that was 14 years old, and under Section 7 of the Juvenile Justice Ordinance, she was not an adult. He presented the findings of a medical board constituted by a district magistrate. He told the court that according to the findings of the medical board, Rimsha was 14. After hearing the lawyer’s arguments, the judge told him that if his client was aging between 13 to 14 years, he should file a fresh application, requesting the court to order district magistrate for constituting a medical board to ascertain the age of the accused. The judge said that the previous medical board had been constituted by the order of the additional district magistrate, and not by the court. Complying with the court’s instructions, the counsel filed a fresh application and stated that as per the petitioner’s birth certificate, which had been issued by the authority concerned, the age of Rimsha was 14 years. “It is necessary in the interest of justice, that a medical board be appointed to determine the age of the petitioner,” the lawyer stated in his application. The court accepted the application and directed the district magistrate to constitute a medical board and present its findings on the next date of hearing. Rimsha, who is currently in jail, was arrested for allegedly burning pages of a Noorani Qaeda at Maira Jaffar G-12, Islamabad. On August 16, Ramna Police registered an FIR (First Information Report) against her under blasphemy law, Section 295-B of Pakistan Penal Code. Strict security arrangements had been made at the district court on Tuesday to avoid any untoward incident. A large number of people were present in the court during the hearing. Meanwhile, in an open letter, Rimsha’s father Misrek Masih appealed to President Asif Zardari to pardon his daughter and prevent other people from being persecuted under the harsh laws “like my daughter”. Misrek said an angry crowd had threatened to “burn her alive.” “She has Down’s syndrome and often isn’t in control of her actions, but she is charged with desecrating the Quran, and we are afraid for her life. ”I’m asking President Asif Ali Zardari, who has already called for further attention into my daughter’s case, to pardon her and to prevent other people from being persecuted under these harsh laws like my daughter,” he said. ”We are a Christian family, we respect the religious rights of others. We simply wish for the safety of our daughter and our community and wish this had never happened,” he added.

Bahrain activist protests barring from Egypt

http://gulfnews.com

A Bahraini rights activist wrote to Egypt’s president on Tuesday, complaining that she and other pro-democracy campaigners from her country were denied entry, charging that the policy is a holdover from the deposed Egyptian regime. Mariam Al Khawaja, acting president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was refused entry into Egypt on Sunday. Security officials cited unexplained “top security reasons.” In her letter to President Mohammad Mursi, she said she and another prominent activist now in prison in Bahrain had difficulty entering Egypt earlier this year. She said intelligence services working for deposed President Hosni Mubarak used to harass Bahrain’s activists. Mariam said she was disappointed such harassment continued in post-Mubarak Egypt.

Bahrain’s Military Is Closely Tied to the Monarch

Bahrain has been able to weather the turmoil that has brought down other authoritarian rulers in the Arab region may be explained by two characteristics in the Bahraini situation. The first is the different position taken by the U.S. administration toward popular protests against authoritarian regimes in the Arab region. The U.S. role has been crucial in shaping the outcomes of the popular protest in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen. Its active role in the militarization of the popular protests in Libya facilitated the fall of the Libyan dictator. The U.S. political and logistical support remains crucial to sustaining the Syrian opposition groups. It is a different story in Bahrain, which also happens to be the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. The Obama administration, fearful of alienating Saudi Arabia, has not offered protesters in Bahrain the level of support it has given to Arab protesters elsewhere. The resumption last May of American military supplies to the Bahraini government has hardened the regime's intransigence. The second feature relates to the role military and security forces have played once the protest started. In Tunisia and Egypt, the military and security forces rapidly distanced themselves from the regime, thus facilitating their rapid fall. Unlike the rest of the Arab region, the rank and file in the Bahraini military, police and security forces consist almost entirely of foreign recruits. Most of its officers and noncommissioned officers are members of the ruling family and its allied tribes. Bahraini Shias, two-thirds of the indigenous population, are generally excluded from serving in these forces. These arrangements allow the Bahraini regime to remain confident that its military and security forces will remain loyal no matter how high the civilian casualties are. Unlike Libya and Syria, sectarian and tribal identities will not tempt soldiers in Bahrain to defect.

Pakistan action urged on road accidents

According to the World Health Organisation, more than 5,500 people died in road accidents in Pakistan in 2007. The number of road deaths per 10,000 vehicles in the country is one of the highest in the world. The government puts the economic cost of road accidents and injuries at more than $100m per year but only a fraction of that amount is spent on road safety and educating motorists. This is why health experts are demanding a comprehensive national safety plan.

Assad claims Syrian forces gaining ground

In television interview, president says battle is "progressing" and talk of buffer zones is "not on the table".

Pakistan: 17 killed, several injured in clashes, bombing

At least 17 people have been killed and several others injured in a bomb attack and fighting in Pakistan, Press TV reports. In the southern province of Sindh, three people were killed and several others injured in the bomb attack during the early hours of Wednesday. The bomb had been planted under a railway track in the town of Odano. Two trains were also derailed in the bombing. Separately, in the Bajur tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, three soldiers and 11 militants were killed during clashes between Pakistani security forces and militants late on Tuesday. According to security officials, the fighting was part of an operation led by the Pakistani army to drive back Taliban militants who occupied the village of Batwar in Bajur. Officials also said that seven hideouts were destroyed in the operation. Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan joined an alliance with the United States in Washington’s so-called war on terror. Since late 2009, there has been a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan and thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.

Afghan peace dialogue with the Taliban remains in limbo

Amid continuing charges and counter- charges between Kabul and Islamabad and increasing militancy in Afghanistan, efforts to bring the Taliban into the Afghan political mainstream looked increasingly difficult to succeed, analysts here said. "Since the intelligence agencies of some countries in the region are involved in a proxy war in Afghanistan to find a negotiated settlement is a very complex job," political analyst Ahmad Zia Rafat told Xinhua in a recent interview. Rafat, a professor at Kabul University, said that since the Taliban has been used as a pressure group by Pakistan against the Afghanistan government, it could not possibly enter into a dialogue with Kabul unless with the permission of Islamabad. However, Taliban has rejected the notion, saying that the group is independent and would act and fight independently free from foreign influence. To accelerate the process of peace talks with Taliban, a delegation of the government-backed peace body, the High Council for Peace would be visiting Pakistan soon reportedly to seek the release of Taliban former commander Mullah Brother who was arrested in 2010 in Karachi city of Pakistan. "I think the release of Mullah Brother and taking him to Kabul would not change the mind of Taliban leadership to hold direct talks with Afghan government," the analyst said, adding that the Taliban usually dismiss any of its leaders who are arrested or who would join the government. Afghan peace talks were started in the l980s and since then whoever was in power in Kabul had initiated talks with armed groups in the country, notably the Taliban, but all these efforts failed. Interestingly the armed groups opposing the government in Kabul have their bases in neighboring Pakistan prompting some Kabul officials to conclude that these armed groups are being supported by Pakistan. But Islamabad has consistently denied these accusations. In 1980s, the then Moscow-backed regimes had frequently offered peace talks with the Pakistan-based Mujahideen groups. Even though, the direct and indirect contacts for achieving national reconciliation continued till 1992, all had ended in a fiasco. The then government of Najibullah in Kabul collapsed; Mujahideen groups had overrun Kabul in April 1992 and established their administration. Nonetheless, the war didn't end as a new breed of Taliban, with bases in Pakistan had emerged, forcing new rulers in Kabul to ask the help of Pakistan in trying to open talks with the militants. Despite holding several rounds of talks between the administration of the erstwhile Burhanudin Rabbani and the Taliban, the group finally ousted the Kabul regime and established its authoritarian reign in 1996. According to Afghans, the same scenario is happening right now, with the incumbent Afghan government trying to open a dialogue with the Taliban. Blaming Pakistan's Inter-service Intelligence (ISI) for backing Taliban militants, Afghan officials allege that Pakistan' s lawless tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan have served as safe havens for Taliban militants. In a counter-accusation, Pakistani officials have blamed Afghanistan for allegedly supporting anti-Pakistan militants. Pakistani Interior Minister Rahman Malik, according to media reports, said recently that Mawlana Fazlullah who escaped Pakistan couple of years ago has taken shelter in Afghanistan's Nurisan province where he is reportedly organizing attacks inside Pakistan. The claim has been denied by Afghan officials. Taliban militants have increased their attacks since launching its spring offensive early May this year. Recently, the Taliban beheaded 17 civilians and executed 10 Afghan soldiers in Helmand province besides killing two NATO soldiers in Laghman. The militants also carried out a suicide car bomb attack in their former stronghold Kandahar late Monday night killing four civilians and injuring 21 others, mostly non-combatants.

Afghanistan: Neighboring Countries Should Respect Refugee’s Humanitarian Rights

www.bakhtarnews.com

The oppressed people of Afghanistan after witnessing three consecutive decades of imposed war and civil instabilities resorted to averse migrations to fulfill their daily expenditures and still this human tragedy is impacting the war-battered country while hundreds of these migrants had been victim of pathetic incidents in oceans and jungles and detention centers of foreign countries. These inhuman acts are still faced by the Afghan refugees in various Asian, European and neighboring countries which finally followed grievance of civil society and government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and currently they are trying to convince the host countries to pursue humanitarian approach towards these refugees while Afghanistan itself is not in a position to provide employment to them after witnessing years of war and violence. So the host nations should honor their commitments with respect to international laws on migrations and bilateral agreements between Afghanistan and the host countries. Based on Afghanistan’s foreign affairs ministry report, currently, more than one million Afghan refugees have been registered as legal migrants in Iran and they have gotten the rights to work and education and to utilize from social services in that country. Foreign affairs ministry also reported that the second phase of registration would be triggered after the holy month of Ramadan and both countries have expressed satisfaction over the contract which could boost relations between people and governments of the two brotherly nations. It hoped that our foreign affairs and returnees ministries to pursue consultation with the Iranian side to seek solutions for the ongoing refugee problems through negotiations and diplomacy and to resolve legal procedures of the refugees committing any crime in Iran. We hope that the governments of Afghanistan seriously follow these cases to eliminate humiliation and discriminations against nationals of Afghanistan in foreign countries as our oppressed people have seen major threats and crises during the 30 years of wars.

Zardari likely to meet Manmohan on margins of NAM Summit in Iran

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the NAM Summit in Tehran, officials said today. Zardari, who will lead the Pakistani delegation to the summit, is expected to hold several bilateral meetings in the Iranian capital during August 29-31, the officials said. Zardari last met Singh in April during a day-long private visit to India to pray at a Sufi shrine in Ajmer. Besides Zardari, Singh is expected to hold meetings with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and leaders of Nepal and Bangladesh, Indian officials have said. Zardari will be accompanied by foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who will use the multinational forum to project Islamabad's position on key international and regional issues, including the situation in Afghanistan. During the two-day summit on August 30-31, leaders and delegates from other countries will exchange views on the latest global developments and issues related to Non-Aligned Movement.

Mullah Omar hiding in Pakistan

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

In a direct repudiation of repeated claims of Pakistan, a top American general based in Afghanistan has said that reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar is hiding in Pakistan along with his commanders. The statement contradicts Islamabad's stand that the Taliban leader lives across the border in his own country. "Omar lives in Pakistan, as do many of his commanders. From that safe vantage point, they've sent hundreds of young, impressionable, and helpless youths to their deaths and detention in Afghanistan. For this, they must forfeit their honour and any claim to Islamic virtue," General John Allen, Commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan , wrote in an article in The Washington Post. Allen's article focused on the recent increase in attack on US troops from the Afghan security force, which Taliban has been claiming it has infiltrated and carrying out such strikes. "The focus on 'greenon-blue' attacks obscures the callous slaughter of Afghan civilians by insurgents led by Mohammad Omar. He has the blood of innocents on his hands even though he hypocritically tells his subordinates not to attack civilians," Allen said, holding that Omar is either out of touch, or his forces are out of control. "Perhaps that should be no surprise. 'Green' and 'blue' have been taking the fight to the red enemy, the Taliban, and the enemy is fighting back from a position of weakness," he said. "His forces have largely been ejected from most of the relevant population areas, and from among the most relevant terrain in Afghanistan. Omar is losing financial support from donors, who are sending their money elsewhere , and from reduced drug profits, thanks to Afghan and coalition efforts to stamp out poppy harvest," he said.

Death for Ajmal Kasab

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab,

saying that waging war against the country was the primary and foremost offence committed by the Pakistani terrorist.A bench of justice Aftab Alam and justice CK dismissed the plea of 25-year-old Kasab challenging his conviction and death sentence confirmed by the Bombay high court. The bench rejected his contention that he was not given a free and fair trial in the case. The bench also observed that the failure of government to provide him an advocate at the pre-trial stage did not vitiate trial court proceedings against him. It also held that the confessional statement given by Kasab, which he retracted during trial, was very much voluntary except a very small portion. Kasab along with nine other Pakistani terrorists had landed in south Mumbai on November 26, 2008 night after travelling from Karachi by sea and had gone on a shooting spree at various city landmarks, in which 166 people were killed. While Kasab was captured alive, the other terrorists in his group were killed by security forces during the counter-terror operations. The apex court also upheld the acquittal of two Indians, who were alleged to be co-conspirators in the Mumbai terror attack case. The trial court and Bombay high court had also given clean chit to Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed in the case. The bench held that evidence showed that the conspiracy and planning of the 26/11 carnage was hatched in Pakistan. Reacting to the verdict, senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who was appointed by the apex court as amicus curiae to defend Kasab, said, "I bow down to the apex court verdict." The apex court passed the order on the petition filed by Kasab challenging Bombay high court's verdict upholding the trial court's judgement convicting him and awarding death sentence in the 26/11 case. The bench had reserved its verdict on April 25 after a marathon hearing, spanning over two-and-a-half months of arguments by the prosecution and defence counsel in the case. Kasab, during arguments in the apex court, had contended that he was not given a free and fair trial and that he was not part of any larger conspiracy for waging war against India. He had told the bench that his right against self-incrimination as well as his right to get himself adequately represented by a counsel to defend himself in the case had been violated during the trial. The apex court had stayed Kasab's death sentence on October 10, last year. In the special leave petition (SLP) against the Bombay high court judgement, which confirmed his death sentence, Kasab had claimed he was brainwashed like a "robot" into committing the crime in the name of "God" and pleaded that he did not deserve the death penalty keeping in view his young age. Kasab, who is lodged in Arthur Road Prison in Mumbai, had filed the SLP through the jail authorities. He was sentenced to death by a special anti-terror court on May 6, 2010. The Bombay high court had upheld on February 21 last year the trial court's order of death sentence to the Pakistani terrorist for the "brutal and diabolical" attacks aimed at "destabilizing" the government. Kasab's death penalty was upheld on charges of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation and various other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-terror law --Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The high court had confirmed Kasab's conviction on 19 counts under the IPC, the Arms Act, the Explosives Act, the Explosive Substances Act, the Foreigners Act, the Passport Act and the Railway Act.

Pakistan: Rift over Iran’s N-plan threatens entire region

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar

has said that growing confrontation over Iran’s nuclear programme threatens further instability in the region. “In our view, dialogue and diplomacy should be the only instruments to resolve outstanding issues,” she said while speaking at the NAM Ministerial meeting during interactive debate on “ Lasting Peace through Joint Global Governance” in Tehran on Tuesday. “We believe that peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible on the basis of reciprocal confidence building measures.” Hina said Pakistan believes that founding principles of NAM, including peaceful co-existence sovereignty, territorial integrity of all States and non-interference in internal affairs of other countries, provide firm basis for enduring peace and stability in the world. “In our region Afghanistan will need support of NAM fraternity as it moves towards transition phase in the year 2014,” she added. Calling for peace, security and prosperity in the Palestine region, she urged a just solution of the issue on the basis of the “Palestinian people’s right to self-determination”. Moreover, she also called for an immediate end to ongoing bloodshed by all sides in Syria in the interest of regional peace and stability. The Foreign Minister also called for collective efforts in order to address issues of energy crisis, water shortage and environmental degradation. She said the world today is inflicted by many paradoxes, marked by interdependence and inequality; connectivity and chaos; islands of prosperity and oceans of abject poverty; technological prowess and underdevelopment; hegemony and repression, all existing side by side and causing all sorts of upheavals and turmoil in the world. She said in this backdrop the theme of the Conference “lasting peace through joint global governance” is both relevant and pertinent. The Foreign Minister said as a vibrant democracy, Pakistan holds promotion and protection of human rights and democratic ideals very dear to its heart. It is deeply committed to the nurturing and strengthening of these values, she said. She said disarmament and non-proliferation is an important area for global peace and security. She stressed for economic and social development of the member countries to build and sustain peaceful, prosperous and harmonious societies. Many NAM members have achieved significant and sustained economic growth yet; the challenge of development continues to be formidable for all NAM countries, she added. She pointed out that efforts have so far failed to make even modest progress towards introducing equity in international trade, inter alia, through the Doha Round. She said the NAM can play a role in the enlargement and implementation of the trade and development agenda through measures like reduction of agricultural subsidies in rich countries; elimination of high and escalating tariffs against developing countries; commodity price stabilisation; special and differential treatment, and capacity-building. NAM countries could also help each other directly, through regional economic integration and specific schemes for South-South cooperation, she said.

What restrained Imran Khan to take legal course on corruption of Nawaz Sharif?

Let Us Build Pakistan

Khawaja Mohammad Asif, the PML N stalwart accused Imran Khan of corruption in SKMT accounts. He accused Khan of misusing the trust funds in gambling and real estate which caused heavy loss. Imran replied with some clarifications and retorted by claiming that Mian Nawaz Sharif during his tenure as CM Punjab and PM misappropriated billions of the national exchequer. He alleged that the royal palace of Raiwind was the result of public money. He also revealed the assets, the Sharif family has made in London UK and other countries. It seemed that the two sides have reached a point of no return. The war of words reached a point that the mighty Khan announced his intentions of approaching the most honest of the honest judges with all the evidence he has to prove corruption of The Sharif Family. But we saw Imran Khan going back on his pledge. All his claims of going to courts went in the air. Since August 8,2012 more than 2 weeks have passed but thre is no movement in this regard as far as Imran is concerned. What went wrong? Which force has restrained him doing so? Let us look at the events just before and after the August 8 announcement. Imran had on July 12, 2012 declared his program of storming the N Waziristan against what he called American intervention through Drone attacks. He said that he would take a long march to N Waziristan in September. The episode of allegations and counter allegations between N league and Imran started in the last week of July till Imran finally pledged to resolve the matter of corruption in the court. All of a sudden TTP (Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan) gave a killing threat to Imran Khan within 12 hours of his press conference in which Imran pledged to go to the court. It is strange that Imran’s intentions of marching on to Waziristan did not wake TTP for any reaction, but all of a sudden TTP wakes up and threatened him of KILLING with lame excuse of “ Hum ek pro-western politician ki hamdardi ke muhtaj naheen hain. Imran ne long march kia to use qatal kar dia jaiga”. This message was sent by Mullah Ehsaan ullah to the media on August 8, 2012. I request my countrymen to see this development with due concern, because Imran Khan have forgotten his pledge to draw Mian Nawaz sharif to the courts since then but he has reiterated his resolve to march on Waziristan a number of times. His instance on Sharif family’s corruption has changed. But why? What is the relation between TTP threat and Sharif family? Imran perceived the real threat and became silent vis a vis NS corruption. Had the threat really meant to restraining him to pursue Sharif’s corruption? If yes, it may be a very horrible phenomenon to silence a voice against corruption of Sharif Family. Furthermore how many people have already been silenced by TTP over this issue without even threatening them publically? I remember a case who had taken up the issue of Nawaz Sharif getting money from TTP God Father Osama. He was brutally killed by TTP (Punjab Chapter) after being kidnapped by an unknown organization “ASIAN TIGERS”. Don’t forget that Nawaz Sharif has many times pledged to make Pakista An ASIAN TIGER.

President Zardari summons NA, Senate session

DUNYA TV

According to a statement released from presidency, President Zardari has summoned the session of upper and lower house of Parliament on September 3 at 5PM. Sources from National Assembly’s secretariat told that the session of National Assembly will continue for more than a week. Meanwhile, the opposition is likely to discuss the issue of new provinces, electricity load shedding and the subjudiced matters in Supreme Court.

Pakistan's blasphemy Law: Save Rimsha Masih

http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com

Rimsha is 13 years old and is the youngest in the family. She has a brother and a sister and both parents are alive but now, along with their two children, are forced to live in hiding. Rimsha, who suffers from a mental disorder, was playing in the courtyard of their home when in the yard of their home found a 'garbage bag’ that others had thrown and burned. Among the garbage were hidden burnt pages of the Koran, and a neighbor of the Muslim family, began to rant saying that she had ripped and burned the Koran of own initiative. But is Rimsha even capable of consent? And to know the difference between a simple paper and a page of the Koran? And who is the real culprit? The one that took away the rubbish from her home where he was playing with her dolls, or the person who threw the paper away knowing that there were pages of the Koran? The news has gone around the mosques and the surrounding area. Thus, after prayer Friday 17, 3000 demonstrators gathered to attack Christians and burn their homes. They were armed as in the case of Shanti Nagar and Gojra. Government authorities in high positions were immediately informed and the President in turn, issued the order of high alert of Emergency. A thousand police and Special Forces were sent to stop the attack on the Christian village but despite such a large number of ordered forces, one thousand demonstrators managed to get near the location where Rimsha Masih lived and the Police immediately arrested Rimsha to protect her from the demonstrators. 600 Christians who lived in the town and surroundings where Rimsha resided fled for their lives. Right now they are kept in a secret place but are looking for the opportunity to escape the country as their lives are at risk as were the victims of Gojra and Shanti Nagar. It is hoped that in the coming days Rimsha will be released. The question is whether it will still be safe after her release! SO THAT 1. Rimsha could meet her family freely and in this regard we ask for the immediate retrieve of the accusations against her and for proper protection for their security. 2. All the work of the several confessional and non-confessional organizations can be encouraged and at the end the blasphemy law could be cancelled or usefully amended. 3. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion, present in the art. 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed by Pakistan as well, can be asked for and applied in Pakistan equally. ASSOCIATION OF PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS IN ITALY ASKS TO ADHERE By signing the appeal which will be sent to the President of the Islamic Repubblic of Pakistan.

One can e-mail proper signatures: salviamorimshamasih@gmail.com Or call at: 0039-334-1427307

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa plans free cancer care

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has planned free treatment of cancer patients in the province under a new programme, say officials. “The government has Rs500 million for free treatment of cancer patients in the province this year. The programme will receive the same amount of money every year,” an official told Dawn on Tuesday. The move has been made in light of the success of another programme under which the government in collaboration with a pharmaceutical firm has been giving free treatment to patients at the oncology ward of Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC), Peshawar. Until now, HMC has registered 600 patients for free treatment, according to an official. “The cost of the eight-year programme is around Rs8 billion of which only 10 per cent has been paid by the government, while the rest is borne by the firm under a memorandum of understanding (MoU),” he said. Dr Abid Jameel, who oversees the new free cancer treatment programme, told Dawn that the decision had been taken by the government in view of the increasing number of patients and their inability to afford the costly medicines. “Currently, around 40,000 patients are being treated at four cancer centres in the province. Majority of them have breast, lung, stomach and mouth cancer whose treatment is expensive,” he said. According to him, a meeting to finalise the programme will take place next week after which a committee will make the mechanism to implement the programme. “We have designated four cancer treatment centres, including oncology ward at HMC and Institute of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine (Irnum) in Peshawar besides Ayub Teaching Hospital and Institute of Nuclear Medicines Oncology and Radiotherapy in Abbottabad for free treatment of patients. These centres will be asked to apprise us of their medicine requirements in line with the number of patients. A committee will inspect them to see if medicines are given to patients free,” he said. The official said under the new programme, the patients suffering from all kinds of cancers would get free treatment, but those who were in stage four of any type of cancer wouldn’t get free treatment. He added that on average, the cost of cancer treatment per patient was around Rs800,000 and the government could afford it. “However, we can extend free treatment to a patient on his/her physicians even if they’re in stage four of cancer. If physician thinks that the treatment could prolong their lives by one year or more, then they will be given free treatment,” Dr Abid said. He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa registered 6,000 new cancer cases every year and the number was increasing due to lack of public awareness of causes of the deadly disease. “Keeping in view this, we have also included public awareness campaigns in our programme. We’ll educate people on the causes of the common types of cancers so they could adopt preventive measures,” he said. According to Dr Abid, more focus will be laid on early detection of cancer, especially among children. “Blood cancer among children is curable if the right doctor offers the right treatment at the right time,” he said. He said hopefully, the programme would be in place after two months. “After final approval to the programme likely next week, modalities will be finalised to form a committee and float tender for the purchase of medicines. Rules will be framed to ensure transparent purchase of medicines of good quality,” he said.

Reign of terror...TALIBAN ZOMBIES

EDITORIAL

Taliban’s have tarnished Islam. Only if they could realize this, life would become much easier and comfortable for all those who are paying with their life for the disservice these self made curators of Islam are doing to their faith. Why do they think they have the right to enforce Islam? Why do they think they are licensed to kill people for not following the injunction of Quran (if the Taliban thinks so)? Even if anybody is defying any Islamic values it is a personal matter that could only be interfered if the society is being seriously affected. Even if one feels responsible to stop others from committing a sin then it could never be in a way of a criminal, that too beheading people gruesomely. What a way to impose Islam or any religion. This is one reason why people have grown averse to Islamic norms, Islamic teaching and Islam itself. Who is to be blamed for all this: the Taliban’s and their likes, who else. Even if the Taliban deny that they have not killed those 17 people partying at the Kajaki district, they cannot be relived of the responsibility of setting the precedent for those who have acquired the ‘Taliban’ way of killing people who they dislike. This is what the statement of President Karzai shows; the ‘irresponsible members among the Taliban, it refers to that creed of Taliban who have only learnt to be a spoiler. Understandably what else but terror could be the reason behind killing people in a gruesome way of beheading them or cutting their throat? Even when in power their way of governance was nothing short of brutality. The worst brunt was taken by the women. They were barred from going out of their homes without a male. They were not allowed to attend schools, colleges and universities. They were stopped from working and forced to marry men they did not want to marry. It was a complete chaos. No civilization would allow its people to be treated like animals. On the one hand they upheld Islam and the status of women in it, on the other they treat them like cows, a docile creature who can be anchored to anything. When America let NATO forces came to Afghanistan a major part of the country took a sigh of relief. They saw salvation from a religious crime that had them brutalized. Now that the time for the NATO to leave Afghanistan is drawing closer, the fear among the women, of the return of terror on them have increased manifold. They are worried about their freedom. They are worried that they might be thrown back to the Stone Age that they once were forced to live in. How would America and the government of Afghanistan ensure respect for humanity and especially for women under Taliban dominance is a million dollar question. The world is worried over the future prospect of Afghanistan that is increasingly becoming cloudy and uncertain, once the US leaves the country. If it were to be the return of the Taliban rule then all those years, lives and resources so far spent on Afghanistan would go wasted. Obviously the threat of Talibanization is not restricted to Afghanistan. Pakistan is equally in danger and has taken the heat of it many a times. Its soldiers were beheaded and shown mercilessly on a video as well. How many times, people had to preach these tormentors about the true image of Islam and its requirements. This reign of terror might end in a bigger calamity that even the Talibans may not have foreseen or expected.

Gwadar port to be taken over by Chinese co

The Port Singapore Authority (PSA) has decided to leave Gwadar Port due to non-handing over of allocated land required by the Authority for making the port fully operational, according to Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri. “The denial of land at Gwadar Port forced PSA to leave the port, which will be taken over by a Chinese company,” the Federal Minister informed the Senate Standing Committee on Ports and Shipping that met with Sardar Fateh Mohammad Hassani in the chair here on Tuesday. It was agreed in the MoU signed with PSA that the government would provide the required land to make the Gwadar Port fully operational, which was in the possession of Pakistan Navy and Coastal Guard. However, that commitment did not materialise, which led PSA to leave the port, said Ghauri, adding that the government had issued an NoC to PSA in this regard, which was going to sell its shares to a Chinese company. Hassani said that due to government’s mistakes, PSA was going to leave the port and if corrective measures were not taken the Chinese company could also follow suit. The Committee recommended that GPA, Pakistan Navy, Coast Guard, Balochistan government and Planning Commission should resolve the land issue in three weeks and report to the committee. It further recommended that as an alternative, Pakistan Navy should take the available 300 acres of land from government of Balochistan and vacate 584 acres of land at Gwadar Port. Pakistan Navy (PN) officials informed the committee that the PN was a legal and legitimate owner of 584 acres of land at Shamba Ismail Gwadar, which was allocated to PN against payment by the Government of Balochistan for Defence/operational purposes. However, PN land at Shamba Ismail was made part of Gwadar Port Development Plan without its consent. Hence, Ministry of Ports and Shipping had been pursuing the case for the transfer of PN land to GPA since long. The Ministry also took up the case with Prime Minister in 2008, who after thorough scrutiny of records, finally approved the retention of land at Shamba Ismail by PN. However, only 30 acres of land for the rail/road link from Gwadar Port to Free Zone/Container Freight Terminal was to be spared by the PN. Therefore, the PN’s possession of Shamba Ismail land has been well before Gwadar port project was launched, according to the PN. In lieu of the land at Shamba Ismail, the government of Balochistan had offered two pieces of land at Pishukan and Shabi Tehsil to PN. Later in Jan 2012, the Prime Minister constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Balochistan to resolve the issue. Subsequently, a feasibility study of both pieces of land was carried out by the PN and land offered at North Bay of Pishukan was considered suitable for the PN. The PN also conveyed that the size of alternate land should be approximately 1000 acres instead of the offered 584 acres and that the PN would retain 84 acres of land at Shamba Ismail. As a future course of action, M/o P & S is requested to undertake necessary action in line with PN stance on the issue. PN being the legal owner is in the possession of the land at Shamba Ismail since 1980 and this land is essentially required by the PN for Defence/operational purposes due to its strategic location. However, PN may consider handing over the land to GPA in the greater national interest provided suitable alternate land meeting all essential PN requirements was offered, PN officials told the committee. Chairman Gwadar Port informed the committee that the government of Pakistan had decided in year 2002 to construct Port in Gwadar due to its naturally sheltered location from south — westerly monsoons. The main objectives for development of the port were trans-shipment, transit trade, Gwadar industrial development and Gwadar city growth. Under a Financial arrangement with the Government of China, the port was constructed at an estimated cost of $ 287.8 million. The Chinese government made a $ 220.26 million contribution to the project. M/s Arthur D Little prepared a Master Plan of the Port and identified Strategic Zones and Land Bank requirements for the next 35-50 years. He further said that in February 2007 through a concession agreement with PSA Gwadar Pte Limited, which is a subsidiary of PSAI, the management, operations, maintenance and development of Gwadar port were transferred to the concession holder for a period of 40 years under the ‘Landlord’ concept. GPA’s share in Gross Income was calculated as follows: PSA Gwadar International Terminal Limited 9%; Gwadar Marine Service Limited 9% and Gwadar Free Zone Company Limited 15 %. The chairman said that after taking the possession of Port as a concession holder, the PSA installed two Gantry cranes, 200 meter of single rails and one Sub-Station. In accordance with Schedule-5 of the Concession agreement, the PSA was bound to invest US$ 775 million for the development of port, which did not materialize, he added. The construction of East Bay Expressway on East Bay of existing Gwadar City had been proposed to link the Gwadar Port with existing Makran Coastal Highway, he said and added that the Port, at present, was connected to Coastal Highway through existing city road due to which city population as well as Port cargo traffic faced huge problems. According to him, the existing city road is designed only for city traffic and it is unable to be used for heavy port traffic. During the Port Operations the road is totally congested with the traffic and there is high risk of accidents due to low capacity of the road for bearing the heavy port traffic. There are also observations of the city government as well as existing population of the city for the shifting of heavy port traffic to some other places. Due to prevailing law and order situation in the country as a whole and especially in Balochistan, the existing road is insecure for port traffic. The 584 acres of land allotted to Pakistan Navy at Shamb-e-¬Ismail Gwadar is to be transferred to GPA. The Prime Minister has constituted a committee headed by the Chief Minister of Balochistan, which held a meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Balochistan in March 2010 to resolve the issue. Pakistan Navy consented to vacate the 584 acres of land at Shamb-e-Ismail Gwadar, and requested for an alternate piece of land at Pishukan having an adequate sea frontage. In this regard, the last meeting was held in April 16, 2012 at Gwadar chaired by the Commissioner Makran Division. Both parties agreed that 584 acre of land at East Bay Gwadar allotted to Pakistan Navy would be transferred to GPA and in lieu thereof around 1000 acres of land, both government and private, will be allotted to Pakistan Navy at Pishukan as identified by the concerned naval authorities. The revenue authorities the Gwadar have indicated the price of land to be around Rs 744 million, which would be required to be paid by GPA in this respect, the chairman informed the committee.