Wednesday, January 23, 2013
China urges Philippines to avoid complicating disputes
Lavrov Slams Syrian Opposition 'Obsession' with Toppling Assad
Karzai calls for prison torture investigation
Bangladesh: Justice at last
http://www.thedailystar.netThe long awaited process of justice has yielded its verdict against Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu Razakar. The court awarded him capital punishment under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973. This is commendable because of the extraordinary nature of the crimes he committed. On the one hand, he stood against Liberation War and helped the enemy. And on the other, he has been found guilty of perpetrating crimes against humanity. We also commend the government for its single-minded determination to start the process, persist with it, and bring about this first verdict. By awarding capital punishment to the guilty, the International Tribunal-2 has done justice on two levels. First it has begun meting it out to those who eluded punishment all these years since 1971. It has also repaid debt to those who fell victim to his criminal designs. As a member of a party that actively opposed and worked against the national war of liberation, he attacked and killed the sympathisers of the liberation war. In addition, he committed crimes against humanity by participating in the genocide of innocent people, particularly members of Hindu community. The due process of law has been observed. The charges brought against him were established by evidences provided by the living witnesses including relations of the victims. The accused was provided with a defence lawyer to enable him to defend himself against the charges levelled against him by the prosecution. But his prosecutor could not come up with necessary defence as the accused has been absconding. His family members also did not extend any cooperation. The question of any vengeance or political vendetta does not arise, nor can any political motive be imputed to the trial process. By conducting the trial against the perpetrators of crimes against humanity in 1971, the nation has demonstrated to the world that in Bangladesh law works and even passage of long time does not make one immune from the application of law and justice. With this historic verdict, Bangladesh has come out of the culture of silence and vindicated itself through carrying forward a much needed trial process.
North Africa Is the New Afghanistan
By Daniel GreenfieldWhen Obama took office four years ago, North Africa wasn’t keeping CIA analysts up at night. There were known trouble spots in the region, but no one thought that it was likely to turn into the next Afghanistan. Then along came the Arab Spring. Egypt, the great regional power, has since fallen into the hands of the Islamists and has become part of the pipeline for Islamist fighters moving weapons from Libya into Gaza and Syria. Islamists have won elections in Tunisia and Morocco. With the Muslim Brotherhood in ascendance in Libya, Algeria is the only large North African country to have beaten back the Islamists. Now it’s also under attack. Islamist ambitions had led to a brutal civil war in Algeria that the country is still recovering from. With Libya and Egypt to the West and Mali to the south, it is now more vulnerable than ever. And if Algeria sinks into another civil war, then North Africa really will be reduced to the level of another Afghanistan. And that may be exactly what the Gulf oil tyrants behind the Arab Spring really want. British Prime Minister David Cameron is already speaking of a North African conflict that could last for decades. It is a more sober assessment than the earlier claim by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius that the fighting in Mali would be over in a matter of weeks. By the time French President François Hollande got around to naming a timeline, it was the familiar one to most people from Afghanistan and Iraq. “We have one goal. To ensure that when we leave, when we end our intervention, Mali is safe, has legitimate authorities, an electoral process and there are no more terrorists threatening its territory.” It was the Afghanistan timeline all over again. When Mitt Romney brought up Mali in the presidential debate, the reference was met with sneers from the left and bewilderment from the media. “Despite Romney Claims, Mali is No Afghanistan, Expert Says,” is how US News and World Report headlined the rebuttal. Three months later, it’s become increasingly clear that not only is Mali turning into Afghanistan, but North Africa is sliding down the same muddy slope. It took French military intervention to keep a local Al Qaeda franchise from threatening Mali’s capital. And that was followed by a hostage crisis in Algeria. The common denominator for the violence in both Mali and Algeria is Libya. The Algerian attackers reportedly came out of terrorist camps in Southern Libya. While the Libyan government claims that there are no terrorist camps in Southern Libya, it has almost no authority or power outside Tripoli, and it is heavily infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists. While Gaddafi could promise the United States that he would end the sponsorship of terrorists and had the authority to be held to it, the new Libyan government is a fragile arrangement of factions that can offer nothing and will offer nothing. It has already disavowed French intervention in Mali. And it is likely that elements in the Libyan government were aware of the impending attack in Algeria, just as they were reportedly aware of the attack on the Benghazi mission. The new Libyan government is the Karzai government all over again; a collection of shifting factions that offers no support to the West, instead undermining it at every turn. The only thing that Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy had learned from the wars fought in Afghanistan and Iraq was to avoid the public turning on them by minimizing their casualty footprint. By avoiding troops on the ground, the trio thought that they had dodged all the problems that Bush and Blair had with Iraq. It never occurred to them that the reason Bush and Blair opted for occupation and reconstruction was to try and tamp down the resulting chaos. Despite their best efforts, their own people are coming back in body bags from Libya and Mali. And the killing has only begun. The new war in Mali began when Tuareg nationalists fighting in Libya teamed up with Islamists to refight an old civil war in Mali. The new civil war would have ended like the old one did if not for the ridiculous amount of weapons that Qatar and France had shipped to the Libyan Jihadists which made it possible for them to rampage across Mali. The good news in Mali is that the Jihadists are not particularly popular with the native population. But then neither were the Taliban. The Judo trick of occupation is that once there are enough foreign troops within reach; the Jihadists can make way for local fighters looking to make some money or expand their influence with a few attacks here and there. And this isn’t a non-profit enterprise. Building Islamist Emirates in North Africa is about more than just being able to chop off the hands of thieves or flog women for not wearing the Burqa. It’s about the flow of money and drugs from the east to the west and all parts in between. Before Al Qaeda put in its bid for Mali, the country’s lawless reaches had already become a mecca for Latin American drug cartels moving their product to Europe. The intersection between drugs and Jihad in Afghanistan and Mali are no coincidence. There are two substances that fund Islamic terrorism: oil and drugs. The alliance between Islam and the Left is built on the interlinked drug networks of Marxist regimes and guerrilla groups in Latin America and their Islamist counterparts in Asia and the Middle East. Bosnia gave the Islamists access to the lucrative European markets for human trafficking and Afghanistan cut the Islamist groups in on a piece of the Golden Triangle. North Africa gives them something even better, the interface between Europe and Africa with a Latin American connection. Fracking may be on the verge of turning the oil market upside down, but drugs aren’t going anywhere and the Islamists are betting on drugs to keep them going when the oil money trickles away. North Africa’s close connections to Europe make it the ideal stepping stone for the conquest of Europe that the Islamists look forward to. With the carnage growing in North Africa, it remains to be seen whether Obama, Cameron and Hollande will be able to succeed in North Africa where they failed in Afghanistan.
Zardari : No power can postpone elections
President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday that elections will be held on time and no one can postpone them.
The president said this while presiding over meetings with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders from Jacobabad, Larkana, Tando Allahyar and Dadu. He advised both the federal and Sindh governments to resolve the pending issues as early as possible. He said the elections were nearing and the PPP wanted to contest the elections on the basis of its performance.
Zardari, who has been in Karachi for one month now, was holding meetings with the party leaders to assess their performance and position.Sources said Zardari conveyed to the party legislators and leaders that performance of the government was good in its five-year tenure.
The president asked the leaders about the political situation and position of opponents in these four districts. The sources said the president told the legislators that party tickets would be awarded on the basis of position of the candidates. He said the party needed young, educated and energetic candidates to meet public expectation.
The sources said MNAs and MPAs of these four districts congratulated the president for the success of his political reconciliation policy. The party legislators gave credit to both federal and Sindh governments for development projects in the province.
The president asked all assembly members about their assessment of the coming election scenario.According to official press release, special prayers were offered for Benazir Bhutto at the start of each meeting and the PPP elected representatives briefed Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who chaired these meetings, about the political situation and development in their respective districts.
The PPP chairman inquired the office-bearers and workers present in the meetings about how the ministers, MNAs and MPAs are serving their respective constituencies.
Those who attended the meeting were Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Secretary General PPP Sindh Taj Haider and Lal Bux Bhutto, Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Khuhro, Federal Minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Senior Minister Pir Mazharul Haq, Law Minister Ayaz Soomro, Nazeer Bughio MNA, Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani MNA, Jameel Soomro, MNA Shamshad Bachani, MPA Abdul Rahim Khoso, MPA Haji Munawar Abbasi, Provincial Minister Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto, Saira Shehliani, MPA Rafiq Jamali, Imran Leghari MPA, Provincial Minister Ali Nawaz Shah Rizvi, MPA Imdad Pitafi, MPA Ghulam M Shahliani, MPA Ghulam Sarwar Siyal, MPA Fayaz Ahmed Bhut, MPA Kalsoom Chandio, Hashaam Riaz and others.
United Nations: India miffed as Pakistan pitches for observers' role in LoC conflict
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/The tension between India and Pakistan reared its ugly head at the UN Security Council with both parties sparring over the relevance of the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. With Pakistan trying to use its UNSC presidency to internationalise the Kashmir issue in the aftermath of the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers on January 8 - as was reported by Mail Today on January 11 - India stressed that the mission's role has been "overtaken" by subsequent agreements signed by the two nations under which they had resolved to settle differences "through bilateral negotiations". The exchange between the two nations occurred during a UN Security Council open debate on peacekeeping, which was organised by Pakistan under its current presidency of the 15-nation powerful UN body. Presiding over the debate, Pakistan's foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani said his country has been a "proud participant" in peacekeeping missions. "Pakistan is also host to one of the oldest UN peacekeeping missions - the UNMOGIP. This mission has played an important role in monitoring peace along the Line of Control in Jammau and Kashmir," Jilani said. But the reference to the UNMOGIP was rejected by India's ambassador to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri, who suggested that it would be better to spend resources allocated for the observer group elsewhere. "Suffice it to point out that the UNMOGIP's role has been overtaken by the Simla Agreement of 1972 between India and Pakistan, signed by the heads of the two governments and ratified by their respective parliaments," Puri stated. In fact, India's position regarding the UNMOGIP was made evident by national security adviser Shiv Shankar Menon some days ago. Asked about the UNMOGIP at a media briefing in New Delhi, Menon had queried, "did it still exist", clearly making it apparent that India did not see any role for the UN body even though Pakistan has been pressing for it. The Indian envoy's stand mirrors what External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Tuesday. "India will not allow third party involvement and expect Pakistan to handle the issue bilaterally," he said.
Foreign madressah students worry Punjab police
In the aftermath of 9/11, the number of foreign students studying in the madressahs of Punjab had dropped sharply but about 450 are still on their rolls and causing a bit of worry to the province’s police. A recent field survey of the madressahs by the Special Branch of the provincial police revealed that 289 of them are, technically, staying illegally in the country. An overwhelming majority of them, 275, were found lodged in the madressahs in Lahore. Many of the foreign students have been continuing their stay in the residential madressahs without fulfilling legal formalities, the field report said. It suggested the Punjab government to direct local authorities to ensure the registration of foreigners at district police level to keep a watch on them on regular basis. Those found violating Pakistan’s immigration laws “should be sent back” to their home country. The report partly blamed the administration of madressahs for not paying attention to the legal status of the foreign students on their rolls. In the face of West’s ‘war on terror’— and description of the madressah system as “the breeding ground of Islamic extremists” — the former president Pervez Musharraf ordered, in 2005, that the foreign madressah students staying in Pakistan illegally must leave the country and the legal ones register themselves with the authorities. Seven years later, the secret police has counted 444 resident foreign students in the madressahs all over Punjab. Interestingly the highest number, 135, came from Indonesia, the next highest were the 99 students from Thailand. Other foreign nationalities studying in the Punjab madressahs are Kazakhstan (44), China (30), Philippines (28), Kyrgystan (21), Malaysia (20) and Myanmar (9), according to the survey report. It suggested the provincial government seek action by the federal ministries of interior and foreign affairs against the 289 foreign students found not holding valid documents. But it advised that before taking action the Wafaq-ul-Madaris, a body that manages the madressah network in Pakistan, be taken into confidence and approach the students’ diplomatic missions to provide security clearance for them. Asked for comments, the chief of the Wafaq-ul-Madaris Qari Mohammad Hanif Jalandhari told Dawn that when the visa of a foreign students expires, his madressah applies for an extension to the ministry of interior and that “normally the request is granted”. “Terrorist attacks, security reason and wrong policies of the government are the main reasons for the local madressahs losing their attraction to foreign students, which was a source of building people-to-people contacts,” he said. Today 444 foreign students are on the rolls of the madressahs in Punjab — 390 of them in Lahore alone. Only 115 students in Lahore madressahs hold valid visas, according to the special branch’s report. When the City Police Officer Rawalpindi Azhar Hameed Khokhar was contacted and asked about the status of foreign students in local madressahs, he said: “No foreign student has been studying in the Rawalpindi district as they had stopped coming to Pakistan due to security situation.” But the special branch’s field survey of the madressahs in Rawalpindi discovered four foreign resident students – one of them without a visa. Likewise, of the 11 foreign students studying in the madressahs in Chakwal, five held no visa. In contrast, all the 17 foreign madressahs students found in Gujrat were legal residents, as were the two studying in Khanewal madressahs. In Attock, the survey found 12 foreign madressah students, with four continuing their studies without having valid visa, while the madressahs in Faisalabad had three foreign students with one found staying illegally. Visas of three of the five foreigners studying in Rahim Yar Khan madressahs were found with expired visas.
Pakistan: Good news from foreign investment front
Business RecorderAfter declining almost continuously for a long period, foreign private investment has improved considerably during the first half of FY13. According to the latest data released by the State Bank on 15th January, 2013, it has jumped by as much as dollar 269.2 million or 63.9 percent to reach dollar 690.5 million during July-December, 2012 as compared to dollar 421.3 million in the corresponding period last year. The main factor responsible for this steep increase was a net inflow of dollar 127.8 million in portfolio investment in sharp contrast to the net outflow of dollar 109.8 million in July-December 2011. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which is the most important component of foreign investment to enhance productive capacity of the economy, however, indicated a slower growth of only dollar 31.6 million or 6.0 percent to stand at dollar 562.8 million in July-December, 2012. So far as the inflow of foreign investment during the latest month ie December, 2012 was concerned, it was highly encouraging, some would say even promising for restoring health to the economy. While portfolio investment in December, 2012 showed a net outflow of dollar 17.1 million as compared to dollar 28.8 million in the same month last year, foreign private investment and DFI were up dollar 153.9 million or 185.42 percent and dollar 142.2 million or 127.2 percent respectively, during this period. An improvement in the level of foreign investment should ordinarily be regarded as a very positive sign for the economy and a vote of confidence by foreigners in the economic management of the country. Undoubtedly, a higher amount of DFI could be very helpful in reviving growth, introducing new technology, increasing exports, generating employment etc. The inflow of DFI during the first half of the current year could also inspire the hope that at the current rate, the net inflow of foreign investment during FY13 would be higher than dollar 760 million received in the previous year though it will still be far below the level of dollar 5.454 billion attained in FY2008. However, before entertaining hopes for a permanent reversal in DFI trends with its positive impact, the rise during this particular period needs to be interpreted with great care. This is so because the level of private foreign investment during July-December, 2012 has risen mainly due to a substantial inflow of portfolio investment which is invested in the shares market for speculative purposes and could leave the country at a very short notice due to any negative development in the host country or better prospects abroad. As such, it does not contribute to strengthening the productive capacity of the country. Also, it needs to be noted that although the level of foreign investment has increased during the latest period, it is still too low to make a significant impact on the health of economy. Other countries in the region are receiving much more foreign investment than Pakistan. Lastly and more importantly, the latest picture about the trend in foreign investment has emerged basically due to a sudden spurt in its level from the US, Hong Kong and Italy. Although we don't know the actual reasons for such a sharp increase in foreign investment from these countries but most probably it could be only a one-off phenomenon. The fact of the matter is that we have to upgrade infrastructure, remove energy shortages, curb militancy, improve law and order situation, reduce corruption etc and just be a normal country before expecting increased flow of foreign investment from abroad on a sustained basis. Only a brave soul could invest in a country where sectarian killings and suicide bombings are rampant, sit-ins could paralyse life in the capital, electricity or gas is a rare commodity and the Prime Minister is likely to be arrested. All said and done, we want to see a sustained increase in the level of foreign investment for improving country's economic prospects but a number of hurdles have to be overcome first to create conducive conditions for the sustainability of the present trend.
PESHAWAR: Laudable initiative
http://www.thefrontierpost.comSpeaking at the death anniversaries of Khan Abdul Ghaffar (Bacha) Khan and Khan Abdul Wali Khan at Peshawar's Nishtar Hall on Monday, Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali reiterated his plan of convening an all parties conference on the issue of terrorism that is certainly a commendable initiative because the unabated subversive and sabotage activities by religious extremists have since become the number one predicament of the country. The ANP had, in fact, had the courage of convening such a moot of soon after the martyrdom of Bashir Ahmad Billlour in December and the ANP president only re-emphasized its importance as a vehicle to formulate a comprehensive anti-terrorism political policy because not only the ANP but several other parties in the country were target to militancy and extremism. When the ANP announced the convening of an APC, several parties, including the MQM, Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party and PML-Q, instantly agreed their participation. Asfandyar also met President Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi on Jan 10 with an invitation to the meet as the co-chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party. The ANP also contacted with the PML-N and several other political organizations for the moot. The ANP, despite the huge loss of the late Billour in a terrorist attack, had not shut the door for talks with the Taliban. It rather invited the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan to come on the negotiating table with the only condition that the TTP should renounce violence. In a general perspective, convening any such moot without a matching policy and corresponding steps will be a useless exercise. The most outstanding step in this direction was taken on October 22, 2008 when a joint session of parliament adopted a well thought out resolution after a two-week in-camera briefing by military intelligence officers. Although that occasion was restricted in a sense that not all parties but their parliamentary groups were part of the deliberations, all mainstream parties, however, availed the opportunity of listening of the nuisance direct from the horse's mouth. That resolution, among other things, sought to review the country's national security strategy and revisiting the methodology of combating terrorism. Although parliament approved army operation against militants, the matching political strategy has yet to be worked out. This is an exclusive reminder to the ANP whose leadership was also the part of those deliberations to pick the thread from the parliament's resolution to add a political strategy to fight terrorism in all its manifestations. For example, the ANP may include volatility of Karachi which is adding to the worries on the economic front besides pure law and order conditions. Then there is Balochistan where political instability coupled with insurgency like situation, caused by the involvement of foreign powers, is assuming a monstrous proportion. They may also make FATA part of their APC agenda where sheer poverty and deprivation of the people of their political and socio-economic rights is giving birth to militancy. In fact, the ANP APC should present a comprehensive plan to a national policy on all critical areas of life. The ANP moot must also take into account a general apathy of the international community to Pakistan falling prey to the twin-menace of militancy and extremism that has killed thousands of the people since its inception. This must also be mentioned that Pakistan cannot defeat terrorism on its own, simply because this a global issue even in Pakistan's perspective. The roots of international terrorism, of which Pakistan is the primary victim, lie in the complex nuisance of international history played out over the last three odd decades by world actors in South and West Asia regions. This burden of history is being borne by Pakistan alone. This also is a hard and regrettable fact that the powers which sowed the seeds of terrorism in areas bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan in connivance with the dictatorial rule in Pakistan, have simply abdicated their role to remedy the wrong. The ANP's APC in this context can make a new history provided all the political parties also seize this opportunity in the same spirit providing the input that commensurate with turning out an institutional effort to take on the challenging task. The host party that has the philosophy of Bacha Khan as the guiding light, will hopefully create an epoch making milieu in achieving the objective of making Pakistan a land of peace, love, tolerance and forward looking policies that guide the nation of 180 million people to the ultimate destination of egalitarianism.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Two blasts in Peshawar, no casualties reported
Two blasts ripped through Bacha Khan Chowk in Peshawar on Tuesday, however, no loss of life was reported. The blasts only caused damage to the nearby shops of CDs, sources said.
Saudi Women Protesters Arrested, Spark Arab Spring II?
Rallies ahead of Bahrain revolution anniversary
Anti-regime protesters in Bahrain hold overnight rallies in defiance of a standing government ban on such protests as the second anniversary of the anti-government uprising in the country draws closer.
Rallies were staged in several towns and villages across the tiny Persian Gulf sheikdom on Monday.
The demonstrators chanted slogans, calling for the downfall of the Al Khalifa regime.
In the village of Malikiyah, located some 18 kilometers (11 miles) southwest of Manama, Saudi-backed Bahraini forces fired tear gas and used shotguns to disperse the anti-regime protesters.
The revolution began in mid-February 2011 when people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations.
The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states to assist the suppressive campaign.
Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.
A report, published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011, found that the Al Khalifa regime had used excessive force in the crackdown and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.
The protesters say they will continue holding anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically-elected government is met.
Cricket : ''Afghanistan look to Pakistan for growth''
All parties conference: ANP undeterred by lukewarm response
The Express TribuneAlthough two major political parties have refused to attend the Awami National Party’s (ANP) all-parties conference (APC), the ANP stands undeterred to form a joint counterterrorism policy. Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on Monday said his party will continue to extend invitations to major political parties in the country to help create a joint strategy to tackle terrorism. “We will keep asking political parties to come forward and formulate a joint anti-terrorism strategy, till they agree. We have to end militancy on Pushtun soil,” Khan said. Khan’s announcement came a day after the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and Jamaat-e-Islami refused to participate in the ANP’s proposed APC, which aims to formulate a unilateral anti-terrorism policy. He was speaking on the 25th death anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan (popularly known as Bacha Khan) and the seventh death anniversary of Khan Abdul Wali Khan, which was commemorated at Nishtar Hall on Monday. “It is the traditional Pushtun way, when someone disagrees we send a jirga to convince them. If they do not agree we send it again and again until they agree,” he said hoping that soon other parties will agree to come on board. “If someone thinks this is only the ANP’s war, let me remind them that they are mistaken.” While referring to the killings of Hazaras in Quetta and violence in Karachi, he said: “Extremism is a national issue. The ANP has invited all political parties several times to come forward and find a solution to end this menace, which has sabotaged peace in the country.” In his address, Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti said Peshawar is the strongest fort of the ANP. He added the party is now a strong political force in many districts of the province including Peshawar, Swabi, Charsadda and Mardan. Hoti further commented that the five year performance of the present Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government is far better than any other government’s performance in the past 60 years. He also paid tribute to the sacrifices of slain party leaders Bashir Ahmad Bilour, Alamzeb Khan, Dr Shamsher Ali Khan, Mian Rashid Hussain among other party workers. The CM announced that a children’s hospital named after Bashir Ahmad Bilour will be established in Peshawar. The cost of the hospital is estimated at Rs2.2 billion. Strict security measures were taken at the premises and Sher Shah Suri Road was blocked with barbed wire for all kinds of traffic.
Pakistan: The Reko Diq saga
Pakistan: Let's do it with or without IMF
Peshawar: Private universities should promote higher education in Fata
The Frontir PostThe Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor, Barrister Masood Kausar has asked the private sector educational institutions to actively share the responsibilities with the government in promoting higher educational facilities in Fata besides providing education to youth of KP. The present government is committed to provide maximum possible facilities of quality higher education to our youth. However, he added, like everywhere else in the world, it need help of the society to develop educational institutions and the well-to-do, the philanthropists and the missionaries should come forward and augment government's efforts for establishment of institutions of higher learning and research facilities in the private sector. Only then can we bridge the gap between the educated and uneducated youth of the country swiftly, he remarked. He was addressing as the chief guest at the 9th Convocation of the Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology; a private concern here on Monday morning. The Governor who is also the patron of the university further realized the audience; present in large number that the problems from law and order point of views, which we have been confronting also require special efforts for promotion of educational facilities. In all 18 graduates got gold medals for achieving distinctive positions from amongst the graduating students who were awarded Ph,D, M.S., leading M.Phil,, masters and bachelors degrees. Besides parents of the graduating students, the ceremony was also attended by educationists, senior government officials and elites of the city. Barrister Masood Kausar further pointed out that the teachers of educational institutions also have a special responsibility of educating their students in a befitting manner as the students, who shine in their careers in practical life, are a source of pride and happiness for them as well. Advising the graduating students that the Governor said, the completion of their studies is an important phase in their lives and their institution has equipped them with the required knowledge and expertise. "It is now for you to apply these assets in your respective professions in the practical life and remember that no nation can change its destiny without the conscious and sincere endeavours of its youth to bring about a revolutionary change in the socio-economic conditions of the people", he said. There is no short-cut to progress and prosperity of a country and this can be achieved only through sustained efforts of every citizen, he added. Prof. Dr. Salim-ur-Rehman, vice chancellor earlier presenting the annual report of the university welcomed the Governor and the guests and said that the university with two campuses and 250 faculty members offers state of the art academic and research facilities and half of its teaching staff is either M.Phil or PhD qualified. The university, he added, is also offering distanced educational facilities across the province. In the recent categorization process of the Higher Education Commission, the vice chancellor said, the university has been placed at 53rd position at the national level and 9th amongst 25 general universities. Earlier the Governor gave away medals and degrees to the graduating students and amongst the gold medalists were Muhammad Muzzamil, Tariq Mahmood, Muhammad Arif, Akhtarullah, Syed Abdul Razzaq, Muhammad Danish Qureshi, Anwarullah, Safiullah, Sajidullah, Salman Khan, Saima Bibi, Mian Waqar, Ambrina Shahzad, Noora Akhtar and Khushnood Ali. Governor condoles death of ex-MPA: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar has expressed his heartfelt condolence on the sad demise of a former Member of Provincial Assembly from District Shangla, Haji Sargand Khan, who was laid to rest yesterday. In a condolence message on Monday the Governor while expressing his deep sympathies with members of the bereaved family has also prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and courage to them to bear the irreparable loss with patience. Later while talking with media Governor Masood Kausar disagreed with news stories that appeared about his health by saying "who was the doctor made rumor about my health, I am physically ok" but it worth mentioning that Governor delivered his speech while sitting on chair.
Zardari: All political parties will be consulted for interim govt
President Asif Ali Zardari has vowed to hold the most transparent elections of the history in the country on time.
Talking to PPP leaders in Karachi‚ he said all attempts to derail democracy have been frustrated with the help of the masses. He said the government is completing its constitutional tenure and general elections will be held in accordance with the constitution.
The President said Caretaker government will be formed in consultation with all allies and opposition parties. He formed a three member committee headed by Khursheed Shah to devise a future strategy of the PPP in Balochistan.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Barack Obama inauguration: Beyonce sings national anthem
President Barack Obama has taken his public oath of office on the steps of the US Capitol to mark the beginning of his second term.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators converged on Washington to witness the ceremonial swearing-in, and to listen live as Mr Obama delivered his inaugural address.
US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath as the 44th president placed his hand on two Bibles - one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration and one used by civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
After taking the oath, Mr Obama used his speech to call for a divided nation to come together to right the nation's course, following a bitterly partisan election and lame-duck session of Congress.
"Now more than ever we should do this as one nation," he said, adding that Americans are made for this moment and can succeed "so long as we seize it together".
Former US presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were among dignitaries seated on the Capitol steps for the event.
Mr Clinton and Mr Carter are the only living Democrats who have occupied the White House. Mr Clinton was accompanied by his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is departing as Mr Obama's second term gets under way.
In addition to the key political figures on hand, several celebrities, including Jay-Z and Beyonce, were in attendance to give the inaugural a red-carpet atmosphere.
Mr Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will take part in a traditional parade before heading out to formal balls where the presidential couple will dance for the cameras.
Obama urges end to political name-calling as second term starts
'Pakistan's nukes face threat from army insiders'
indiatimes.comThe threat to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is from within the Pakistani army and there's no way external powers can destroy or seize these as long as Islamabad doesn't make the mistake of attacking India, writes MIT-educated Pakistani nuclear scientist Pervez Hoodbhoy in his book, "Confronting the Bomb" . Hoodbhoy writes that Pakistani army insiders in collusion with an external Islamic group could be plotting to appropriate nuclear assets, unknown to authorities entrusted with protecting these. In February 2000, Pervez Musharraf, then chief of army staff and head of Pakistan government, created a nuclear command, which included a strategic plans division (SPD), which has physical custody of the weapons. Hoodbhoy argues, "Whatever the procedures and equipment Pakistan may adopt, they can only be as good as the men who operate them. Mindsets and intentions matter more than anything else." He adds, "The fear of loose weapons comes from the fact that Pakistan's armed forces harbour a hidden enemy within their ranks. Those wearing the cloak of religion freely walk in and out of top security nuclear installations every day." He emphasizes, "The fear of the insider is ubiquitous and well-founded," and describes the Pakistani army as "a heavily Islamicised rank-and-file brimming with seditious thoughts." There are two Pakistani armies, he maintains. One led by General Pervez Ashraf Kayani and the other by Allah. "It is difficult to find another example where the defence apparatus of a modern state has been rendered so vulnerable by the threat posed by military insiders." Even non-fundamentalist elements are "soft Islamists", he says. It is, however, possible that Pakistan possesses US supplied technology to enhance protection against unauthorised use or accidental nuclear detonations. A former director of SPD, Feroz Khan, is quoted as saying that to meet the insider threat; SPD has adopted a US programme which carries out checks on personnel. "The system knows how to distinguish who is a 'fundoo' (fundamentalist) and who is simply pious." Hoodbhoy reacts, "But this does not really reassure." He illustrates, "Long beards and prayer marks on the forehead are common and religious zeal is especially apparent during the month of Ramzan."
Lahore: Measles cases start emerging in city
At least 13 children with measles were brought to two public hospitals in Lahore on Sunday, as the Health Department sought to dispel fears of an epidemic in the province. Five children with the disease were admitted to Services Hospital and five to Mayo Hospital, said doctors on duty. Another three children were discharged after treatment from Mayo Hospital, they said. A Health Department spokesman said that following the outbreak of the disease in Sindh, the government had conducted vaccination campaigns in districts close to the border. He said there was no measles epidemic in Lahore and arrangements for the treatment of patients had been made at all public hospitals. However, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique called an emergency meeting of Health Department officials for Monday to review the measles situation in the Punjab. Professor Yaqoob Kazi, a paediatrician and former dean of the Institute of Public Health, said that for each child affected with measles brought to the hospital, there could be 300-400 unreported cases.The Express Tribune
Bangladesh: Massacre in liberation war,Jamaat liable
Bangladesh: Azad to be hanged for war crimes
http://www.thedailystar.netThe ICT-2 pronounced its maiden verdict on a crimes against humanity case on Monday awarding death sentence to fugitive and expelled Jamaat member Abul Kalam Azad, also known as Bachchu Razakar. The nation had to wait for 41 years for this day. The International Crimes Tribunal-2, set up to try those accused of committing crimes against humanity during the country's Liberation War in 1971 passed the verdict amid tight security. ICT-2 Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan earlier read the summary of the 112-page verdict. The ICT-2 delivered the verdict at the room of International Crimes Tribunal-1 today following space crisis due to huge presence of people particularly journalists and lawyers at the court room. Azad, the former leader of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, went into hiding around seven hours before ICT-2 issued an arrest warrant against him on April 3, last year. He used to present a television show on Islamic issues. Earlier on November 4, Azad was indicted with eight charges of crimes against humanity, based on eight incidents that left at least 12 unarmed people dead and two women raped in Faridpur during the country's Liberation War. Azad was active in Jamaat-e-Islami but was later expelled from the political party, according to an investigation agency. On December 26, 2012, the three-member Tribunal-2 led by Justice Obaidul Hassan with members Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Judge M Shahinur Islam kept Azad's case waiting for verdict after the conclusion of closing arguments. Wrapping up the arguments between December 23 and 26, 2012, the prosecution appealed for capital punishment for Azad, while the state-appointed defence counsel sought his exemption from the eight charges. On March 25, 2012, three days after the Tribunal-2 was formed, the prosecution submitted a petition for issuing arrest warrant against Azad, also a close associate of another war-crimes accused Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed. It asked for the warrant as an investigation was going on against him in connection with crimes against humanity. On April 3, 2012, the tribunal issued the warrant but Azad had made a run for it. On July 26, 2012, the investigation agency, formed to deal with war crimes probes, completed its enquiry on Azad and handed over the report to the prosecution on July 29, 2012. On September 2, 2012, the prosecution submitted the formal charges against Azad, accusing him of 10 types of crimes against humanity. On September 9, 2012, the tribunal took the charges into cognisance. On October 7, 2012, the tribunal decided to hold Azad's trial in his absence as even after publication of newspaper ads asking him to appear before the tribunal he failed to show up.
Dangerous duty for Pakistan’s ambassador
http://www.washingtontimes.comServing as Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States is risky business, as the country’s former envoy noted after hearing about the legal threat against the current ambassador. Ambassador Sherry Rehman, who has been in Washington for a year, is under police investigation in Pakistan on accusations of violating the country’s blasphemy law, a charge that carries the death penalty. Pakistan’s supreme court last week ordered a police inquiry into a complaint from a businessman against Ms. Rehman for comments she made in 2010 as a member of the Pakistani parliament. Ms. Rehman had proposed legislation to remove the death penalty for blasphemy convictions after Rimsha Masih, a teenage Christian girl, faced execution for burning pages of the Koran. Following an international outcry, a court threw out her blasphemy conviction two months ago after a Muslim cleric, Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti, was accused of framing the girl. The complaint against Ms. Rehman, a prominent member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, came from a businessman, Muhammad Faheem Ahkter Gill, 31, who claimed he was shocked by Ms. Rehman’s comments in a television interview in 2010. He told Pakistani reporters that he had tried for two years to get a court to hear his complaint. In that interview, Ms. Rehman talked about her goal of removing the death penalty from Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which are the strictest of any Muslim-majority nation. She dropped her efforts after facing resistance from her own party. Defendants accused of blasphemy often face street mobs who kill them, even if they are acquitted. Many defendants flee Pakistan after they are freed by the courts. Husain Haqqani, the Pakistani ambassador Ms. Rehman replaced in Washington, was shocked when he heard of the case against the ambassador. “It seems that ambassador of Pakistan to the United States is becoming a hazardous job,” he said in an email to Embassy Row. Mr. Haqqani, ambassador from 2008 to 2011, faced treason charges after a Pakistani-American businessman, Mansoor Ijaz, claimed he and Mr. Haqqani were involved in a plot to seek U.S. military intervention in Pakistan to prevent a military coup. Mr. Haqqani strongly denied the allegations but resigned rather than face the vagaries of the Pakistani judicial system. He now teaches international relations at Boston University. “Pakistan’s extremists charged me with treason without putting me on trial under law, and they seem to be doing something similar by accusing Ambassador Sherry Rehman of blasphemy,” Mr. Haqqani said. He criticized the supreme court for accepting the petition of blasphemy instead of insisting the complaint be filed in a lower court, from which the case could work itself up the judicial system through appeals. “These petitions generate a hostile environment without a formal charge or trial and encourage extremists to physically threaten an ambassador viewed as a traitor or blasphemer,” Mr. Haqqani said. He added his concern that “ideologically motivated judges” are damaging Pakistan’s “image as a modern democracy.”
‘We won’t tolerate the use of Pakhtun regions for strategic policies’
The Express TribuneHuman rights activists, students and politicians staged a protest demonstration in front of the National Press Club against the killing of innocent tribesmen in Khyber Agency and violent police action against peaceful protesters in Peshawar. The protesters — mostly students from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Fata and Balochistan — were holding banners inscribed with slogans such as “Are Pakhtuns not human”’, “Are they not Pakistanis” and “where is the media”. They resorted to full-throated sloganeering against the government for its inability to provide protection to the people. They criticised the government for the treatment meted out to peaceful protesters who had brought the bodies of loved ones brutally murdered by “the so-called protectors of the country”. “Bullets are being fired at us, what kind of freedom is this,” the protesters shouted. Speaking to the protesters, Awami National Party’s MNA Bushra Gohar condemned the killings. “Unless and until the difference between Islamabad and Rawalpindi are sorted out peace in Fata is impossible,” she said. Defending provincial government’s position, she said order to baton-charge the protesters had been issued from Governor House. “K-P Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain was heading a jirga negotiating with the protesters to go back, but as soon as the jirga members went inside the Governor House to inform the governor about the protesters’ demands, the police outside started baton-charging the protesters,” she maintained. To bring the tribal areas into mainstream politics, the government must abolish the draconian laws being enforced in the region for the last one century. “We will no longer tolerate the use of Pakhtun regions for so-called strategic policies,” she said, added that they are being killed by those whose duty is to provide protection to the people. “People of the tribal areas have been dealt a double whammy. On one hand, terrorists are targeting them, while on the other, the state declared them as terrorists,” she said. She said Fata falls under the president and the K-P governor, directly but if anything happens there, the provincial government is held responsible. “The president should devolve his powers to the provincial government and immediately abolish articles 246 and 247 of the Constitution,” she demanded. Jan Achakzai, a social activist, said the government is pursuing anti-people policies. “Unless the government is clear in its policies and targets in Afghanistan, thinking of peace is akin to daydreaming,” Achakzai said. He said tribesmen were receiving dead bodies for the last 40 years, but now a “well-planned genocide of Pakhtuns has been started”. Sarwar Bari, a social activist, appreciated the change in the establishment’s policies, but noted that, “Only changes in policies won’t help improve the situation. Practical steps must be taken.” He said everyone know who are the mentors of terrorists groups which roam the streets of Pakistan with impunity, openly claiming responsibility for killing Hazaras and Pakhtuns. “Pakhtuns are not weapon-loving people, rather they are a peace-loving people. They just want jobs, education and security,” he said. Later, a candlelight vigil was also held for the victims in Khyber Agency.
Badshah Khan and great philosophy of non-violence
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