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Baluchistan- An Analysis: بلوچستان: پاکستانی قیادت کا مجرمانہ کردار اور امریکی کھیل

2012-02-27T13:00:00.000+05:00

بلوچستان: پاکستانی قیادت کا مجرمانہ کردار اور امریکی کھیل...پروفیسر خورشید احمد



تاریخ ایک آئینہ ہے جس میں قوموں کے عروج و زوال کی داستان کے ہر دور اور ہرپہلو کی تصویر دیکھی جاسکتی ہے، اور اس مقولے میں بڑی صداقت ہے کہ جو تاریخ سے سبق نہیں سیکھتے، تاریخ انہیں سبق سکھا کر رہتی ہے۔ سلطنت روما کے زوال کا نقشہ مشہور موٴرخ گبن نے ایک جملے میں اس طرح کھینچا ہے کہ: ”روم جل رہا تھا اور نیرو بانسری بجا رہا تھا“۔ بڑے دُکھ اور افسوس کے ساتھ ہمیں کہنا پڑتا ہے کہ گزشتہ 10,12 سال سے بلوچستان بُری طرح جل رہا ہے اور اس زمانے کی دونوں برسرِاقتدار قوتیں، یعنی پرویز مشرف کی فوجی حکمرانی اور اس کے بعد زرداری گیلانی کی نام نہاد جمہوری حکومت جلتی پر تیل ڈالنے کی مرتکب ہوئی ہیں۔ آج نوبت یہاں تک آگئی ہے کہ امریکی کانگریس کیSurveillance and Oversight Committee نے 8فروری 2012ء کو بلوچستان کے مسئلے پر باقاعدہ ایک نشست منعقد کی ہے، اور 17فروری 2012ء کو اس کمیٹی کی سربراہ ڈینا روہربافر نے کانگریس میں باقاعدہ ایک مسودہٴ قانون اپنے دومزید ساتھیوں کے ساتھ جمع کرا دیا ہے جس میں بلوچستان کے پاکستان سے الگ ملک بنائے جانے اور بلوچوں کے لیے حق خود ارادیت کے حصول کی جدوجہد کی تائید اور سرپرستی کا مطالبہ کیا گیا ہے۔ واضح رہے کہ یہ شرانگیز اقدام امریکی سیاسی قوتوں کی طرف سے اس نوعیت کی پہلی کوشش نہیں ہے۔ امریکا ایک طرف تو کہتا ہے کہ اگرچہ پاکستان ناٹو میں شامل نہیں مگر ناٹو میں شامل دیگر ملکوں کی طرح ہمارا حلیف اور دوست ہے اور ہمارا اسٹریٹیجک پارٹنر ہے، اور دوسری طرف پاکستان کی آزادی، حاکمیت، خودمختاری اور عزت پر بے دریغ حملے کرتا ہے۔ اس کی زمین اور فضائی حدود کو پامال کرتا ہے اور ملک میں تخریب کاری کی نہ صرف سرپرستی کرتا ہے، بلکہ سی آئی اے کے امریکی کارندوں اور پاکستانی بھاڑے کے ٹٹووٴں (mercenaries)کو بے دریغ استعمال کرتا ہے۔ بھارت بہت پہلے سے اس قسم کی مذموم حرکتوں کی پشت بانی کرتا رہا ہے اور اب امریکی بھارتی اسٹریٹیجک پارٹنرشپ کا یہ مشترک ہدف ہے۔امریکا اس وقت پاکستان کے خلاف بی-3، یعنی Bribe، Blackmail اور Bully and Bullets(رشوت، بلیک میل اور گولی)کی حکمت عملی پر گامزن ہے۔ اس کا یہ خطرناک اور خونیں کھیل ریمنڈ ڈیوس کے جنوری 2011ء کے واقعے کے بعد اور کانگریس کی حالیہ کارروائیوں کی شکل میں زیادہ ہی گمبھیر ہوتا جارہا ہے۔ افسوس ہے کہ ہماری سیاسی اور فوجی قیادت اب بھی امریکا کے اصل کھیل کو سمجھنے اور اس کے مقابلے کے لیے جان دار حکمت عملی بنانے سے قاصر ہے، اور اس کے کردار اور عوام کے جذبات و احساسات میں خلیج روزبروز بڑھتی ہی جارہی ہے۔ ان حالات میں قوم کے لیے اس کے سوا کوئی اور عزت اور آزادی کا راستہ باقی نہیں رہا ہے کہ اس قیادت سے جلدازجلد نجات پائے اور ایسی قیادت کو برسرِاقتدار لائے جو پاکستان کی آزادی، حاکمیت، عزت اور مفادات کی بھرپور انداز میں حفاظت کرسکے اور اس کے لیے بڑی سے بڑی قربانی دینے سے بھی دریغ نہ کرے۔ بلوچستان کے مسئلے کے دو اہم پہلو ہیں اور دونوں ہی بے حد اہم اور فوری اقدام کا مطالبہ کرتے ہیں۔ امریکا جو کھیل کھیل رہا ہے وہ نیا نہیں۔ اس کا ہدف پاکستان کی آزادی، اس کا نظریاتی تشخص اور اس کی ایٹمی صلاحیت پر ضرب ہے اور اب ایک عرصے سے اس ہمہ گیر حکمت عملی کے ایک پہلو کی حیثیت سے بلوچستان کارڈ استعمال کیا جارہا ہے۔ ہنری کسنجر سے لے کر حالیہ قیادت تک سب کے سامنے ایک مرکزی ہدف اُمت مسلمہ کی تقسیم در تقسیم اور اس کے وسائل پر بلاواسطہ یا بالواسطہ (مقامی چہروں کے ذریعے) قبضہ ہے۔ اس پالیسی کا پہلا ہدف مقامی قومیتوں کے ہتھیار کے ذریعے دولت عثمانیہ کا شیرازہ منتشر کرنا تھا۔ پھر افریقہ کو چھوٹے چھوٹے ملکوں میں بانٹ کر غیرموٴثر کردیا گیا۔ بالفور ڈیکلریشن کے سہارے عالمِ عرب کے قلب میں اسرائیل کا خنجر گھونپنا بھی کچھ دوسرے مقاصد کے ساتھ اسی حکمت عملی کا ایک حصہ تھا۔ پاکستان کو 1971ء میں دولخت کرنا، سوڈان اور انڈونیشیا کے اعضا کو کاٹ کر اپنی باجگزار ریاستیں وجود میں لانا، عراق اور افغانستان میں زبان، نسل اور مسلک کی بنیاد پر ان ممالک کی سرحدوں کو بدلنے کی کوشش، کرد قومیت کو ہوا دے کر عراق، ایران اور ترکی میں دہشت گردی اور خون خرابے کی آگ کو بھڑکانا، یہ سب اسی حکمت عملی کے مختلف پہلو ہیں۔ پاکستان ایک بار پھر اس صلیبی جنگ کی زد میں ہے۔ 2006ء میں رالف پیٹرز نے US Armed Forces Journal میں Blood Borders (خونیں سرحدیں) کے عنوان سے ایک شرانگیزمضمون لکھا جس میں پاکستان کی تقسیم اور تبدیل کی جانے والی سرحدوں کا نقشہ پیش کیا گیا ۔ اس میں آزاد بلوچستان کو ایک الگ ملک کی حیثیت سے دکھایا گیا تھا۔ بھارت اور امریکا دونوں اپنے اپنے انداز میں پاکستان میں تخریب کاری کے ساتھ علیحدگی کی تحریکوں کی سرپرستی کرتے رہے ہیں۔ اس وقت جب عوامی دباؤ کے تحت پاکستان امریکا سے تعلقات کی نوعیت پر نظرثانی کر رہا ہے اور پاکستان، ایران اور افغانستان علاقے کے امن اور سلامتی کے لیے علاقائی بندوبست کی تلاش میں ہیں، پاکستان کے اندرونی حالات کو خراب کرنے کی کوششیں تیز تر ہوگئی ہیں۔ نیز امریکا اور بھارت دونوں کی نگاہ میں پاکستان اور چین کا قریبی تعلق اور خصوصیت سے بلوچستان میں چین کی بڑھتی ہوئی دل چسپی کا راستہ روکنے اور پاکستان ایران گیس پائپ لائن اور بجلی کی فراہمی میں تعاون کو موٴخر و ملتوی اور معاملے کو خراب کرنے کا کھیل کھیلاجارہا ہے۔امریکا کے ان جارحانہ عزائم کو سمجھنا اور ان کا موٴثر انداز میں مقابلہ کرنا دفاعِ پاکستان کا اہم ترین پہلو ہے۔ اس کے لیے ’امریکا کی دہشت گردی کے خلاف جنگ‘ سے نکلنا اور افغانستان سے امریکی اور ناٹو فوجوں کی مکمل اور جلد از جلد واپسی کے لیے علاقے کے ممالک کے تعاون سے فیصلہ کن جدوجہد کرنا وقت کی اصل ضرورت ہے۔ اس کے لیے قوم کو بیدار اور متحرک کرنا ازبس ضروری ہے۔ یہی وجہ ہے کہ امریکا کی کانگریس میں جو کھچڑی پک رہی ہے، اس کا سختی سے نوٹس لینا اور قوم کو اپنی آزادی اور امریکا کی گرفت سے نکلنے کے لیے متحد اور منظم کرنا ضروری ہے۔ امریکا کی طرف سے گزشتہ ایک سال میں جو کچھ ہوا ہے، خواہ اس کا تعلق ریمنڈ ڈیوس کو قانون کی گرفت سے چھڑا لے جانے سے ہو، یا ہردم بڑھتے ہوئے ڈرون حملوں سے، 2مئی کا ایبٹ آباد کا حملہ ہویا 26نومبر کا سلالہ چیک پوسٹ پر فوج کشی، یا فروری 2012ء کی کانگریس کی سفارتی لبادے میں سیاسی جنگ یہ سب ایک ہی زنجیر کی کڑیاں ہیں، جو قوم کو بیدار کرنے کیلئے تازیانے کی حیثیت رکھتی ہیں اور جن کا جواب موجودہ حکومت کے بس کا کام نہیں۔ اس چیلنج کا مقابلہ نئی باصلاحیت، دیانت دار اور قوم کی معتمدعلیہ قیادت ہی کرسکتی ہے۔مسئلے کا دوسرا پہلو بلوچستان کے حالات اور ان کی اصلاح ہے۔ بیرونی ہاتھ اپنا کام کر رہا ہے مگر اسے یہ کھیل کھیلنے کا موقع ہماری اپنی سنگین غلطیاں اور حالات کو بروقت قابو میں نہ لانے بلکہ مزید بگاڑنے والی پالیسیاں ہیں۔ مشرقی پاکستان کی علیحدگی کے سانحے سے ہم نے کوئی سبق نہیں سیکھا۔ ایک جمہوری وزیراعظم نے 1973ء کے دستور کے نفاذکے چند ماہ ہی کے اندر، بلوچستان کی منتخب حکومت کو برطرف کر کے سیاسی مسائل کیلئے فوجی حل کے تباہ کن راستے کو اختیار کیا، اور دستور کے مخلصانہ نفاذ سے جو برکتیں ملک و قوم کو حاصل ہوسکتی تھیں ان سے محروم کردیا۔ یہ ستم ظریفی سے کم نہیں کہ جو آگ پیپلزپارٹی کے پہلے دورِ حکومت میں لگائی گئی تھی وہ اس کے بعد وجود میں آنے والی ایک فوجی حکومت کے دور میں سرد پڑی اور تصادم کی وہ شکل ختم ہوئی جو تباہی کی طرف لے جارہی تھی۔ (جاری ہے) http://jang.net/urdu/details.asp?nid=600222

کیا تاریخ پھر اپنے آپ کو دہرا رہی ہے؟...صبح بخیر…ڈاکٹر صفدر محمود

یہ کتنی بدقسمتی اور ہماری نااہلی ہے کہ پاکستان کو معرض وجود میں آئے پینسٹھ برس گزرے اور اس عرصے میں صرف چوبیس برس بعد ہم نے آبادی کے لحاظ سے اکثریتی صوبہ مشرقی پاکستان گنوا دیا اور اب اس کے سانحے کے 41 برس بعد پاکستان کا رقبے کے حوالے سے بڑا صوبہ بغاوت پر مائل ہے۔ اس میں کوئی شبہ نہیں کہ بلوچستان کا مشرقی پاکستان سے موازنہ نہیں کیا جاسکتا کیونکہ اول تو مشرقی پاکستان کا طویل بارڈر ہندوستان سے مشترک تھا جس کا ہندوستان نے خوب فائدہ اٹھایا اور مکتی باہنی کی آڑ میں ہندوستانی فوج نے مشرقی پاکستان ”فتح“ کرلیا۔ دوم مشرقی پاکستان کے برعکس بلوچستان میں بلوچوں کے علاوہ پشتون اور دوسرے لوگ بھی بستے ہیں جن کی اکثریت ہے اور وہ نا انصافیوں اور حکومت ِ پاکستان کی زیادتیوں کے باوجود علیحدگی نہیں چاہتے۔ البتہ قدرمشترک یہ ہے کہ مشرقی پاکستان اوربلوچستان دونوں میں بغاوت کی آگ بھڑکانے کی ذمہ داری فوج پر ڈالی جارہی ہے اوراسے فوجی آمریتوں کاشاخسانہ سمجھا جارہا ہے جوخاصی حد تک درست ہے۔ بلاشبہ فوجی آمریتوں نے مشرقی پاکستان کو مستقل احساس محرومی میں مبتلاکیا اوران کے مطالبات کو سیاسی اندازسے حل کرنے کی بجائے طاقت استعمال کی اور پھرمارچ 1971 میںآ رمی ایکشن کرکے مشرقی پاکستان کھو دیا۔کچھ یہی صورت بلوچستان میں بھی روارکھی گئی اور ”حقوق“ کی آواز اٹھانے والے بلوچ سرداروں اور دوسرے حریت پسند وں کو قیدو بندکی صعوبتوں کے دوران زندگی ہی سے آزاد کیا جاتا رہاحالانکہ یہ خالصتاً سیاسی مسئلہ تھا اور اسے سیاسی انداز سے حل کرنا چاہئے تھا۔ نتیجہ یہ نکلا کہ وہ بلوچستان جس نے قائداعظم کوچاندی سونے میں تولا تھا اورشاہی جرگے اوردوسرے متعلقہ اصحاب الرائے نے خود پاکستان میں شامل ہونے کا فیصلہ کیا تھا اس پاکستان سے محبت کرنے والے بلوچستان میں بے چینی، نفرت اور پھربغاوت کے انگارے بھڑکنے لگے۔ وفاقی حکومت بلوچستان کی ترقی پر اربوں روپے لگانے کا دعویٰ کرتی ہے لیکن میرامشاہدہ اور تجربہ یہ ہے کہ اس ضمن میں ہماری مختلف حکومتوں سے بنیادی غلطیاں ہوئیں جنہوں نے وقت گزرنے کے ساتھ اپنا رنگ دکھایا۔ اول توشروع ہی سے بلوچستان کو سرداروں کے ذریعے چلانے کی پالیسی پرعملدرآمد کیاگیا، بلوچستان کو صرف سرداروں کی آنکھوں سے دیکھا جاتا رہا اور اس سارے عمل میں ایسی کوئی حکمت عملی وضع نہ کی گئی جس کے ذریعے عوام کو بھی اس سیاسی عمل میں آہستہ آہستہ شامل کیا جاتا۔ ہر حکمران سرداروں کو روپے اور مراعات کی رشوت دے کر خوش رکھنے کی کوشش کرتارہا حتیٰ کہ ترقیاتی منصوبوں کے لئے بھی بڑ ی بڑی رقوم سرداروں کو دی گئیں جن کا نتیجہ یہ نکلا کہ ترقیاتی منصوبوں کا فائدہ عوام تک نہ پہنچ سکا اور وہ مسلسل محروم رہے۔ اسی مسئلے کادوسراپہلو یہ بھی ہے کہ رائلٹی کے نام پربلوچ سرداروں کو کروڑوں اربوں روپے دیئے گئے، کچھ سردار بھتہ بھی لیتے رہے لیکن انہوں نے اپنے علاقے کے عوام کی ترقی، تعلیم، صحت، پانی کی فراہمی، سڑکوں کی تعمیرپر کچھ بھی خرچ نہ کیاکیونکہ تعلیم، مواصلات اور صحت کی سہولیات آنے سے غلامی کی زنجیریں ڈھیلی ہوتی تھیں اور سرداربہرحال ان زنجیروں کو ڈھیلا ہونے کی اجازت دینے کیلئے تیارنہیں تھے۔ بہت سے بلوچ سردار، حکومت ِ پاکستان اور حکومتی اداروں سے کروڑوں روپے بھتہ لے کر اپنی عسکری قوت کی مضبوطی پر خرچ کرتے رہے۔ بیرون ملک رکھی گئی یہ رقوم آج ان بلوچ سرداروں کے صاحبزادگان کا بوجھ اٹھا رہی ہیں جو پاکستان سے علیحدگی کا مطالبہ کر رہے ہیں اور جلاوطنی کے پردے میں پاکستان دشمن قوتوں کے ہاتھوں میں کھیل رہے ہیں۔ مان لیا کہ بلوچستان میں ہندوستان، امریکہ اور کچھ بیرونی قوتیں ملوث ہیں اور وہ پاکستان کی کمزوری سے فائدہ اٹھانا چاہتی ہیں لیکن بنیادی سوال یہ ہے کہ ایسی صورت حال کس نے پیداکی؟ جس کے نتیجے کے طور پر ان قوتوں کو مداخلت کے مواقع ملے۔ ظاہر ہے کہ ہماری حکومتوں کی غیرمنصفانہ پالیسیاں اور پے درپے نااہلی اورسردمہری نے ایسے حالات پیداکئے جن سے فائدہ اٹھانے کے لئے بیرونی قوتیں اپنے وسائل کے ساتھ بلوچستان میں پہنچ گئیں اور اپنا کھیل کھیلنے لگیں کیونکہ ان کے سامنے مشرقی پاکستان کی مثال موجود تھی۔ ہم نے اگر مشرقی پاکستان کے سانحے سے سبق سیکھا ہوتا توہمارے بے بصیرت حکمران بلوچستان کی محرومیوں اور مسائل کو سیاسی انداز سے حل کرتے لیکن ٹریجڈی یہ ہے کہ ہم نے بلوچستان میں بھی وہی نسخہ آزمایا جو مشرقی پاکستان میں بے اثر ثابت ہوچکا تھا۔ اس نسخے کا نقطہ عروج سرداراکبربگٹی کا قتل، حکومت کی جانب سے مرحوم کی نماز جنازہ اور پھر دفن تھا جس نے بلوچوں کے دلوں میں اتنے گہرے زخم لگائے کہ بغاوت کا خون بہہ نکلا۔ سردار اکبر بگٹی کا بہیمانہ قتل ہماری تاریخ کا بڑا سانحہ ہے جس نے جلتی پرتیل کا کام کیا ہے۔ بنیادی طور پربلوچستان میں نفرت کی آگ لگانے اور بھڑکانے کی ذمہ داری جنرل پرویزمشرف پر عائدہوتی ہے جس میں سیاسی بصیرت کا قحط تھا اور جو قومی مسائل کو سمجھنے کی اہلیت سے تہی دامن تھا۔ ملکی معاملات کو جرنیلوں اور ایجنسیوں کے سپردکرکے خود عیش و عشرت میں مصروف رہنے والا جنرل پرویز مشرف خالصتاً فوجی انداز میں ہر مسئلے کاحل طاقت کے استعمال میں سمجھتا تھا۔ چنانچہ وہ اپنی بے بصیرت پالیسیوں سے بلوچستان کے دل پر ایسے زخم لگا گیا جسے جنرل کیانی کی دوستانہ پالیسیاں بھی مندمل نہیں کرسکیں۔ افسوس تو اس بات کا ہے کہ ایک طرف جنرل کیانی بلوچ طلبہ کے لئے تعلیمی و تربیتی ادارے قائم کرکے بلوچ نوجوانوں کیلئے روزگار اور نوکریوں کے دروازے کھول رہے ہیں اوربلوچ نوجوانوں کو فوج میں بھرتی کیا جارہا ہے اور دوسری طرف بلوچستان سے نوجوانوں کو اٹھانے اور ان کی نعشیں واپس کرنے کا بھی سلسلہ جاری ہے۔ باغی سرداروں کے علاوہ بعض متوازن ذہن کے بلوچ لیڈران اور محترم بزنجو جیسے سیاستدا ن اس دردناک کارروائی اور رویئے کی ذمہ داری ایجنسیوں پرڈالتے ہیں جبکہ ایجنسیوں کے کرتادھرتااپنی صفائی پیش کرنے میں ناکام رہے ہیں چنانچہ ملک بھر میں ایک تاثر ابھر رہا ہے کہ آئی ایس آئی اور دوسری خفیہ ایجنسیاں نہ صرف بلوچستان بلکہ پورے ملک میں لوگوں کو اٹھانے اور ٹارچر کے ذریعے قتل کرنے کی ذمہ دار ہیں۔قوم اپنی ایجنسیوں سے ایسی کارروائی کی توقع نہیں کرتی اس لئے قوم اور ان اداروں کے درمیان فاصلے بڑھ رہے ہیں جن کے سائے فوج جیسے اہم ادارے پر پڑ رہے ہیں۔ یہ صورت نہایت افسوسناک اور ملکی مفاد کے منافی ہے کیونکہ فوج اورفوجی ایجنسیوں کو قومی حمایت کی ضرورت ہمیشہ رہتی ہے، اگر ان مجرمانہ کارروائیوں میں غیرملکی ایجنسیاں ملوث ہیں تو انہیں بے نقاب کرنا بھی ہماری ایجنسیوں کی ذمہ داری ہے اور جب تک ایسا نہیں ہوتا عوام اس کا الزام اپنی ہی ایجنسیوں کو دیں گے۔ یہ پیچیدہ صورتحال جنرل کیانی کے لئے ایک چیلنج کی حیثیت رکھتی ہے اور انہیں اس دلدل سے نکلنے کی کوئی حکمت عملی وضع کرنا ہوگی۔
کس کس بات کا رونا رویا جائے کہ موجودہ حکومت کو اقتدار سنبھالے چاربرس گزرے اور اس عرصے میں بھی بلوچستان کے زخموں پر مرہم رکھنے کے لئے کچھ نہیں کیا گیا۔ نہ ہمیں صدر زرداری کے بلوچ ہونے کا فائدہ پہنچا اور نہ ان کی معافی اور ترقیاتی پیکیج نے رنگ دکھایا۔ موجودہ حکومت کی سردمہری اور نااہلی کے سبب سارا بلوچستان لاقانونیت کے ہاتھوں یرغمال بن چکا ہے اور نوبت بایں جا رسید کہ کوئٹہ سے باہر نکلتے ہی بلوچستان حکومت کا نام و نشان مٹ جاتاہے اور تعلیمی اداروں پر پاکستانی پرچم لہرانے اورترانہ پاکستان پڑھنے کی بھی اجازت دی جاتی۔ سینکڑوں غیر بلوچ آبادکار ٹارگٹ کلنگ کا نشانہ بن چکے، ان گنت اغوا ہو چکے اورہرطرف وارداتیں کرنے والوں کا راج ہے۔ ایک طرف بغاوت کے انگارے سلگ رہے ہیں تو دوسری طرف لوگ احساس تحفظ سے محروم ہوچکے ہیں۔ میاں نواز شریف ٹھیک کہتے ہیں کہ ان حالات میں اے پی سی مسئلے کا حل نہیں کیونکہ چارسالہ دور ِ حکومت میں موجودہ حکمرانوں نے بلوچستان کو قومی دھارے میں واپس لانے کے لئے کچھ نہیں کیا۔ اگر وہ اس مسئلے سے ذرہ بھر بھی مخلص ہوتے تو آج نہ امریکی کانگریس میں بلوچستان کی بازگشت سنی جاتی اور نہ ہی یوں کھلم کھلا آزادی کاعلم بلندہوتا۔ میں یہ سوچ کرڈر جاتاہوں کہ ہماری تاریخ میں باربارحکمرانوں کی بداعمالیوں اور نااہلیوں کی سزا پاکستانی عوام کو ملتی رہی ہے۔ کیا ایک بار پھرتاریخ اپنے آپ کو دہرا رہی ہے!

http://jang.net/urdu/details.asp?nid=599766

Balochistan In Historical Perspective

Nawab Akbar Bugti receiving M A Jinnah, founding father of Pakistan

Now a days, the basic problem is that people are not aware of history, everyone goes by what the media feeds them and media is Zionist dominated. What the media is telling are what the Zionists want to achieve therefore they engineer the facts; in most cases the facts are removed or replaced by the people in between so that no linkages can be established.

Since past sometime, United States, the United Kingdom and one silent participant Australia are busy distorting the facts and presenting stories out of context. In this game, as admitted by Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister in a meeting with Yousaf Raza Gillani at Sharmal Shaikh that India has linkages with Baloch insurgency and dissidents. The role of Zionist Israel cannot be ruled out since it’s behind everything that’s happening in the world but more so in the Muslim World. In case of Pakistan Zino-Hindutwa axis are very strong.

Our educationists and sociologists have failed to impart the education of history in its true perspective that is precisely the reason that today we are a lost nation. Everyone tends to believe what the West says and they go by it. Politicians are not aware of the history as most people in the assemblies consists of those who either are not aware of their own history or are in the process of taking new identities to delink from their past. With this sort of people in the parliaments, one can never expect anything good but what suits them the best.

In 1910, a Scottish-American, Andrew Carnegie, who had made, his fortune in 'Steel Industry', left a $10 million Endowment for international peace-which is the fore-runner of other Carnegie related ventures, however, what his intentions had been, and what the endowment has created are two different aspects. The Carnegie Journalist program, was launched in 1974, though with an outward image to anticipate, 'Near-Horizon' problems, in reality it was to induct journalists from world over, to create a hype, to keep a check on, the soviets (USSR) global moves. The journalists went for superficial, which an average reader could co-relate with. So, started the 'Awareness of the Baluchistan issue.'

An insurgency was very much so on ground, however no one bothered to find the reason why? The British legacy had left their created Sardars, who while retaining their feudalistic powers, wanted to gain, the political legitimacy as well. They followed the policy of what is mine is mine, and what is yours (of the people of their tribes) is also mine!

The royalties taken on concessions, were technically for the welfare of the people, within the tribal setups, but spent by the Sardars as their own bounty, while the poor people, had no recourse but move in an exodus, from the regions, as is seen, in the last over 100 years, to seek a living elsewhere.

The tribes of the Sindh valley over the past 1600 years or so have been constantly on the move; as one studies and discovers, natural calamities, plagues, and wars all took their toll. The transformation from one major tribal setup to another, had been a question of survival or escape from the domination of the strong and the cruel. Our Social mores, are based on an egalitarian society, and people of the area have always hated the feudal system to the core of their hearts, and hence the refuge in the wilderness or the remote valleys, But the intruders have from time to time imposed on us their lackeys or the willing amongst us who sold their souls, for a gain.

The geographic boundaries, which Pakistan was thrust with were legacy of our past rulers, though with reference to region under study its bulk area came, affiliated with either old Alor or Multan, Administrative, boundaries, Even in the Jam Nizam ud din Nandah period, (1461-1508) In the west, Till Bolan, inclusive of the Kaachi plains, was the part of, throne of Sindh. As were the Tal-chotiali, chacha, and barkhan regions, regions, wherein comes the present Mari and Bugti areas. It was in Akbar's time that Kandahar provinces, limits were extended till Duki. Rest being part of Multan Suba, as was Bolan and Kaachi areas, too.

The areas were well populated, and fertile, with Saraiki speaking people, when Naseer khan Barrohi, was given these areas,1740, for the services rendered, he pushed out the old people and transplanted them, with people of his own confederacy, the Eastern passes, of the Rohe Suleiman Range had been gateways of Trade, since Ancient Times, In the Mughal era with opening of Khyber pass, majority of Trade routes suffered, the cause, being the Movements, of Bayazids Ansari, heretics, and expansion of Safavid's in the east.

Now coming to the most pertinent question, which being, is the present head of Bugti tribe and its Sept's (clans), Actually Balochi???

For that a study of the Notes on the Balochi, Barrohi, and the Sindhi tribes, should suffice.

Immediately after the creation of Baluchistan entity by the British, the Government ordered,

that the data be made of the Ethnic composition of various tribes of the region and inter-related ones, all the Mukhtiars and Mahaska’s, in the revenue departments, in the districts concerned were ordered, The reports compiled, from, communications, histories, manuscripts and the popular oral accounts, which also covered, profession of, various, tribes, matrimonial, and other related customs, were submitted to Drum. Daudpota, member, Sindh public service commission, and published in 1901.

The excerpts of the report state (p-26/27), covering the Bugti tribe, In January 1890,on the recommendation of Robert Sandmen, Shahbaz khan, was conferred with the tittle of a Nawab, he was also later given a large tract of land on the Jamrau canal, for rendering assistance, during the outbreak of the ,HUR, in 1896/1897.Here without going in the details of the 24 Sept or clans of Bugti Confederacy, the report states, that, The chief of the tribe is Nawab Shahbaz Khan, Rahejo Bugti, son of Ghulam Murtaza Khan rahejo Bugti, A popular account says that Rahejo or more commonly called, Rahuja, are from the Major Sindhi tribal set up of the 'Samma', to which the great ancestor of the present Bugti chief belonged, and that by Association with the Balochi's and settlement in the old Bugti hills and streams, his descendants became Bugti Baloch, and if we study the Samma, tribal Sept's/clans which number in all 766,we find Raheja, very much so part of their entity (pages-44 to 53,and for more details in minor off shoots, pages 89 to 97)

If one follows the Baloch population, one would more Baloch living in the Punjab alone than what are living in Balochistan; then there is a strong Baloch population in Sindh as well. All these Baloch shifted out from Balochistan for various reasons and one of them was the treatment meted out to these people by the Sardars therefore they took a refuge away from their ancestral places.

These Sardars have always demanded money for their loyalties but never spent a penny on the welfare of their people. When one meets the tribesmen, they show resentment and unhappiness with these Sardars and their system.

Makran Coast is a different ethnic and cultural background. It was under the occupation of Sultanate of Oman. In 1956, Feroze Khan Noon, then the Prime Minister of Pakistan had bought it by paying cash to Oman. Therefore it does not form part of Balochistan, also the Pathan population of Balochistan is over 50% and then there are settlers and Brohis also. Thus the entire land does not belong to the Baloch.

Have people and media men in particular forgotten that on the 1973 constitution even the Baloch Sardars had their signatures to approve it unanimously now how can they claim that Pakistan has occupied their lands forcefully.

http://www.opinion-maker.org/2012/02/balochistan-in-historical-perspective/#

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Islam through Evolution or Revolution?

2012-02-19T14:21:00.002+05:00

The influence of religion in society has become increasingly contentious in recent years. In the past few centuries, most stable societies have been underpinned by a single religion. There have been competing factions, organisations and sects contained within a society. Often, as in the case of different sects, there has been a division within the society on religious grounds as well.

Nevertheless, there have been indisputable conflicts, often politically based. These have been present in all the major religions of the world for several centuries. A number of factors have led to the importance of religious divides in recent decades.
Religion has influenced societies mainly through two kinds of religious organisations — reformist and political.

A reformist organisation generally has a flexible framework. There is no hierarchy and the leader does not have absolute authority. As merely the head of an organisation, he remains obscure and does not assert authority. There are no low or high ranks and all members have equal status with membership open to all. The only restriction is to strictly devote their time to the organisation; the main approach being to change a society immersed in corruption and worldly affairs. [Videos on Tablighi Jamat]

A reformist organisation believes in an evolutionary process to change the minds of the people, emphasising mainly on simple preaching for the misled. The best methods advocated to convert people are meditation and praying. The organisation holds its general gathering regularly to bring all its members and sympathisers together which creates a social bond. One of the best examples being the Tablighi Jamat, an organisation founded before partition by Maulana Ilyas in 1926. Its main task was to counter the Shudhi movement to reconvert those Muslims who had reverted back to Hindu practices.

To restore Muslim communities to Islam, Maulana Ilyas adopted the simple approach of asking them to repeat the kalima saying that the person believed in God and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He did not force them to forsake their tribal customs or cultural practices. After partition, the Jamat continued to work both in India and Pakistan. Every year a large congregation is held where thousands of people participate to show their devotion to and sympathy with the organisation. Besides, their members travel in delegations to different cities and towns to preach religion.

The Jamat does not believe in propaganda. Its motive is ‘na kharcha, na charcha, na parcha’ or no expense, no propaganda, no pamphlets. They are not interested in politics and stay away from political disputes. They are not in favour of issuing statements on Palestine or Kashmir and do not condemn any country as imperialist, nor as an enemy of Islam.

Their belief is to convert the whole world to Islam, and that would ultimately solve all disputes and would, in their opinion, bring about world peace. Their policy therefore is tolerance, not violence. They do not interfere in the country’s politics, neither support any political party in elections.

Being non-political, they devote their energies to reforming the corrupt society. They remain silent on government matters and do not criticise democracy or dictatorship. Since they are in no conflict with the government, their non-political character suits every type of government.

The Tablighi Jamat’s popularity is increasing in Pakistan. This is indicated by the huge public attendance at their annual gathering. It attracts retired civil and military officials who can not only find time to go on trips and missions to different parts of the country and abroad but can also bear their own expenses.

The main reason for their success is that the Jamat communicates with the common man. Since they believe that human nature is basically good, therefore it is possible to change the people from evil to virtuous. The Jamat is not looking for radical change or revolution but only for people who join and promote its mission sincerely and not for any personal or political benefits.

The other type of religious organisation is politically oriented and wants to transform society from the top. Many believe that human nature is evil and can only be reformed by force and coercion. They are well organised, have a systematic structure where the leader enjoys absolute power and authority and all its members are obliged to obey him.

Since the political organisation has an advisory board or council, its membership is based on certain requirements: one should be religious according to their standards alone, which makes the organisation hierarchical. The main agenda is to achieve power by any means, be it through a revolution, armed struggle or democracy.

A political religious organisation propagates its agenda, uses all available sources of publicity and often has its own publications. It organises public meetings and processions. Its policies include supporting causes like Palestine and Kashmir and condemning America and other powers as anti-Muslim.

The Jamat-i-Islami is an example of such a politically oriented religious organisation. It has contacts with similar organisations in the Muslim world such as the brotherhood in Egypt. They have compromised in the past with dictators to share political power in order to change and reshape society according to their manifesto. They form a coalition with different parties to contest elections and are intolerant of liberal and secular groups.

Such religious organisations have an impact on all political parties which include religious issues in their manifestos. Moreover state institutions such as bureaucracy and the army are heavily influenced by their religious teachings and make attempts to impose Shariah. Though religious parties cannot win an absolute majority in elections, even the so-called liberal political parties are prepared to be partisan to their agenda.

"The means and the end" By Mubarak Ali: http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/19/past-present-the-means-and-the-end.html

Comments:
Allah does not need us to spread Islam, it is for own good that we ourselves practice and invite/remind others about message of Islam. How to do it, it is clearly known through Quran and Sunnah of Prophet (pbuh) and his noble companions. All those who are sincerely committed to the cause of Islam according to their best of understanding are doing good job, Allah knows it & may reward them. It is trendy to criticize while we do nothing ourself.

There be no compulsion in religion.The right direction is henceforth distinct from error. [Quran:2;256-257]
If Allah wanted He could have made all of you a single nation. But He willedotherwise in order to test you in what He has given you; therefore try to excelone another in good deeds. Ultimately you all shall return to Allah; then Hewill show you the truth of those matters in which you dispute.[Quran;5:48]
Invite(all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and arguewith them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knows best whohave strayed from His Path and who receive guidance.[Quran;16:125]

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Anti-Americanism in Muslim World

2012-02-18T13:09:00.000+05:00

By Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal

Anti-Americanism is a global phenomenon: from the proverbial Arab street to the remote regions of Chile—the loneliest country of the world, as Pablo Neruda called his homeland—and from the tree-lined streets of Paris to those of desiccated Qandhar, there is no place on earth where Americans are not passionately hated. There is nothing sensational in this statement and Americans are the ones who are most aware of this global reality. Consequently, they have devised mechanisms to deal with it.

Like all things American, this is not an ad hoc arrangement brought to bear on certain incidents; it has a fully institutionalized policy, with its own budgetary head. Americans know that they cannot eliminate anti-Americanism, so the job of the American strategists is to keep anti-Americanism within a “comfort zone”.

The comfort zone of anti-Americanism is clinically defined along with a convoluted premise: anti-Americanism is a fact of life, its existence to America is not a threat per se as long as it is kept from bringing about any change which will threaten American interests. If it can be managed, anti-Americanism is actually good for America.

The global hatred against America thus transforms from a genuine and legitimate response of helpless people against overt and covert American actions and policies to a strategic management issue. Management requires direct and active American participation in the ebb and flow of anti-Americanism around the world. Americans long ago decided that the most economical way of doing so is to divide the world into regions or zones, based on the reasons, frequency, and historical patterns of anti-Americanism. South America is one zone, Europe another; the two American neighbors, Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, form yet another region. Non-Muslim parts of Africa are of least interest to Americans in this regard, both because of the low impact factor in global affairs and because of relatively low geo-strategic importance. For the purposes of managing anti-Americanism, the entire Muslim world is taken as one large zone within which there are several smaller regions.

Former American President Richard Nixon advised America’s policy makers to tackle the Muslim world with utmost attention. In his influential 1992 book, Seize the Moment: America’s Challenge in a One-Superpower World, he strategized the American plan to manage anti-Americanism by construing this global phenomenon as pressure in a boiling pot and he explained that this pressure needs safety release valves so that, from time to time, its destructive power can be dissolved. Destructive power, as far as Americans are concerned, would be the ability of this pressure to bring about a genuine change in the leadership of the country where anti-Americanism has reached dangerous levels.

One of the most important pieces of advice he gave to American policy makers was to orchestrate such political action within these countries which would provide vents for the release of built-up anti-Americanism before it exploded and become out of hand. This is widely practiced. Thus, from time to time, one sees mass rallies against America in countries such as Egypt, Pakistan, Yemen, and even American-occupied Afghanistan. The purpose of these rallies is to provide an emotive release to the pressure so that it remains ineffective.

In most of these rallies, fiery speeches are made against America. Threats are given to immediately stop this or that policy or otherwise such and such action will be taken. Masses show up in these rallies by the thousands. They are then let loose on streets. They break traffic signs, loot banks and stores, break windows, destroy cars, security forces beat them, and then all becomes calm. Most of the leadership which orchestrates these rallies is paid by Americans in various ways. Sometimes a few innocent newcomers join these shows, but mostly it is master-minded by American managers. Over the decades, this strategy has worked wonders for Americans. Death and destruction caused by such rallies is, of course, mere collateral damage.

Seen from the American lens, there is nothing in this. Whether it is drone attacks in Pakistan, which continue to this day, the indiscriminate bombing of cities like Baghdad and Kabul, the use of lethal, radioactive ammunition in the Gulf war, or the scorch earth policy in Vietnam, Americans see nothing wrong on their part; anti-Americanism for them is other people’s problem; it has nothing to do with what they do.

What is utterly immoral in this whole affair is the American denial of the genuine response of the oppressed people of the world to a global power which has so much blood on its hands that no other power in history can match it. The world has paid a heavy price for America’s rise to become the lone superpower of the world during the last sixty years. The history of American crimes against other people has yet to be written, but just the main events of this global crime are enough to condemn this rouge state to become the object of perpetual hatred of people from around the world. Americans have killed more people in the world than any other country in covert and overt operations which have covered continents, not just countries.

South America is now coming out the dark era of bought military generals, and its people are slowly discovering the damage done to their environment and how their natural resources were plundered. The Muslim world is nowhere close to the emancipation from America which the South Americans have achieved through a series of revolutions which have brought the next generation of leadership to the forefront.

As opposed to the politically enlightened South Americans, most of the Muslim world is still ruled American-appointed kings and Amirs or emotionally charged mass-politics where pseudo religious leaders whip up anti-Americanism in mass rallies on behest of their masters in Washington, let up on the release valves, and then go back to their comfortable villas bought with American money. It may take another generation before Muslims can begin to understand and use the genuine response of masses to American actions and bring about a permanent change in their countries.

http://www.opinion-maker.org/2012/02/quantum-note-anti-americanism/

Comments:
Even in the so called democracies like in Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan etc, the corrupt rulers are kept in power with American support covert or overt. It is in their interest to keep exploiting the Anti American feelings among masses to boost American support vital for their survival.

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Divided We Stand: Sectarianism

2012-02-16T13:49:00.000+05:00

Every religion has evolved through two movements, namely revivalist, and progressive. A revivalist movement emerges in a backward and intellectually bankrupt society where political, social and economic problems appear to be unsolvable, and disillusionment and disappointment set in. In these circumstances, the slogan of revivalism is raised by a cleric or a policy maker to regain past glory.

Instead of creating a new system and producing new ideas and thoughts, a revivalist movement attempts to bring back the past model to solve problems of the present time. Revivalists believe that the past model of religious teaching is still relevant and would work miraculously to reform society.

On the other hand, progressive movements emerge in a society which is in a process of development and needs a new interpretation of religion. But such a movement requires intellectual creativity to readjust religion to the changing situation and justify its advancement in various social and cultural aspects. In this way, revivalists and progressives contradict each other.

One adheres to the past as an efficient model whereas the other creates a new system by re-interpreting religion. Religious movements do not convert the majority of society and appeal only to a minor section which consequently becomes a sect that strictly follows its teachings.

Every sect then tries to assert its identity and attempts to preserve it by not integrating with other sects and communities. Each sect views the other with suspicion, condemning the other group’s teachings as irreligious and misleading.

As a result of sectarian interpretation, religion no longer remains a monolithic faith. Divided into different units, it serves the interests of different groups. In fact, this keeps religion alive and workable.

However, each sect is threatened by the majority which condemns the formation of sects and adopts a policy either to reconvert them or crush them. When it becomes difficult to survive among the majority, they retire from the centre and take refuge in the periphery where they can follow their beliefs without interference.

In Muslim societies, the Druz are perhaps the best examples of those who chose to live in the mountainous area to live far away from central authority. In Christianity, the Amish sect living mostly in the United States follows their own teachings based on medieval times and a lifestyle that does not involve modern technology. In the US, the Amish have survived due to democracy and their own geographical location available to them. They enjoy rights as a community to observe their own teachings which does not conflict with the constitution.
When we study the history of religious sects we find that the majority regards a breakaway faction as a serious crime and makes attempts to bring it back to the mainstream fold.

This creates intolerance in society. Some sects prefer not to involve in politics and utilise their energies in trade and commerce and become a financial power.

Religious sects are a product of social, political and economic needs of a particular time. Many vanish after fulfilling their mission. This is how old sects disappear and new sects come into being as a demand of changing times.
By Mubarak Ali: http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/12/past-present-divided-we-stand.html

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! ویلےنٹائن ڈے اور اسلام Valentine's Day & YOU

2012-02-13T19:56:00.000+05:00

During last few years, celebration of Valentine's Day has become a social and cultural phenomena among Muslim societies. People have found it to be an easy way to express love to their near and dear one's. They consider it to be a just social phenomena which has nothing to do with religion. The oldies and religious scholars are in habit of resisting every thing which is enjoyable. There is a need to look at this issue rationally. Enjoyments and pleasures are not forbidden in Islam, if they are with in bounds of morality. Allah says:

قُلْ مَنْ حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ اللَّـهِ الَّتِي أَخْرَجَ لِعِبَادِهِ وَالطَّيِّبَاتِ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ ۚ قُلْ هِيَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا خَالِصَةً يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٣٢﴾ قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَالْإِثْمَ وَالْبَغْيَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَأَن تُشْرِكُوا بِاللَّـهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا وَأَن تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّـهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٣٣﴾

Quran; 7:32-33

Say, `Who has forbidden the adornment of ALLAH which HE has produced for HIS servants and the good things of HIS providing?' Say, `They are for the believers in the present life and will be exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.' Thus do WE explain the Signs for a people who have knowledge. Say: My Lord has only prohibited indecencies, those of them that are apparent as well as those that are concealed, and sin and rebellion without justice, and that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down any authority, and that you say against Allah what you do not know.

Valentine’s Day is a modified form of old Roman festival, which continued to be celebrated until after the Romans became Christian. This festival became connected with the saint known as Valentine who was sentenced to death on 14 February 270 CE. The non believers still celebrate this festival, during which immorality and evil are practised widely. It is not permissible for a Muslim to celebrate any of the festivals of the non believers, because festivals come under the heading of shar’i issues which are to be based on the sound texts.

ویلےنٹائن دن ایک jaahili رومن تہوار ہے، جس کے بعد رومیوں عیسائی بن گیا جب تک منایا جائے گا جاری رکھا ہے.یہ تہوار بن گیا ویلنٹائن جنہوں نے 14 فروری 270 عیسوی کو موت کی سزا سنائی گئی تھی کے طور پر جانا جاتا ہےسنت کے ساتھ منسلک ہے. کفار اب بھی اس تہوار کو منانے کے، جس کے دوران شر و فساد اور وسیع طور پر مشق کر رہے ہیں. اس جشن کے بارے میں مزید تفصیلات کے لیے براہ مہربانی ملاحظہ کریں: ویلےنٹائن دن منانے.
کفار کے تہواروں میں سے کسی کو منانے کے لئے ایک بھی مسلمان شخص کے لیے جائز نہیں ہے، کیونکہ تہوار شرعیمسائل جو آواز کی نصوص پر مبنی کیا جانا ہے کی سرخی کے تحت آتے ہیں.

اردو ویڈیو ویلےنٹائن ڈے اور اسلام: http://youtu.be/JgXOjAP5zZo

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Festivals are part of sharee’ah, clear way and rituals of which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way”

[Quran; al-Maa’idah 5:48]

“For every nation We have ordained religious ceremonies which they must follow”

[Quran: al-Hajj 22:67]

-- such as the qiblah (direction faced in prayer), prayer and fasting. There is no difference between their participating in the festival and their participating in all other rituals. Joining in fully with the festival is joining in with kufr, and joining in with some of its minor issues is joining in with some of the branches of kufr. Indeed, festivals are one of the most unique features that distinguish various religions and among their most prominent symbols, so joining in with them is joining in with the most characteristic and prominent symbols of kufr. No doubt joining in with this may lead to complete kufr.

Partially joining in, at the very least, is disobedience and sin. This was indicated by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he said: “Every people has its festival and this is our festival.” This is worse than joining them in wearing the zinaar (a garment that was worn only by ahl al-dhimmah) and other characteristics of theirs, for those characteristics are man-made and are not part of their religion, rather the purpose behind them is simply to distinguish between a Muslim and a kaafir. As for the festival and its rituals, this is part of the religion which is cursed along with its followers, so joining in with it is joining in with something that is a cause of incurring the wrath and punishment of Allaah. End quote from Iqtida’ al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem (1/207).

He also said (may Allaah have mercy on him): It is not permissible for the Muslims to imitate them in anything that is uniquely a part of their festivals, whether it be food, clothing, bathing, lighting fires, refraining from a regular habit, doing acts of worship or anything else. It is not permissible to give a feast or to give gifts, or to sell anything that will help them to do that for that purpose, or to allow children and others to play games that are part of the festivals, or to wear one’s adornments.

To conclude: the Mulsims should not do any of their rituals at the time of their festivals; rather the day of their festival should be like any other day for the Muslims. The Muslims should not do anything specific in imitation of them. End quote from Majmoo al-Fataawa (25/329).

Al-Haafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If the Christians have a festival, and the Jews have a festival, it is only for them, so no Muslim should join them in that, just as no Muslim should join them in their religion or their direction of prayer. End quote from Tashabbuh al-Khasees bi Ahl al-Khamees, published in Majallat al-Hikmah (4/193)

The hadeeth to which Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah referred was narrated by al-Bukhaari (952) and Muslim (892) from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who said: Abu Bakr came in and there were two young girls of the Ansaar with me who were singing about what had happened to the Ansaar on the day of Bu’aath. She said: And they were not (professional) singing girls. Abu Bakr said: “Musical instruments of the shaytaan in the house of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?!” and that was on the day of Eid. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O Abu Bakr, every people has a festival and this is our festival.”

Abu Dawood (1134) narrated that Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to Madeenah, they had two days when they would play. He said: “What are these two days?” They said: “We used to play on these days during the Jaahiliyyah.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has given you instead of them two days that are better than them: the day of al-Adha and the day of al-Fitr.” This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

This indicates that festivals are among the characteristics by which nations are distinguished, and it is not permissible to celebrate the festivals of the ignorant and the mushrikeen (polytheists).

The scholars have issued fatwas stating that it is haraam to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

1 –Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked:

In recent times the celebration of Valentine’s Day has become widespread, especially among female students. It is a Christian festival where people dress completely in red, including clothes and shoes, and they exchange red flowers. We hope that you can explain the ruling on celebrating this festival, and what your advice is to Muslims with regard to such matters; may Allaah bless you and take care of you.

He replied:

Celebrating Valentine’s Day is not permissible for a number of reasons.

1- It is an innovated festival for which there is no basis in Islam.

2- It promotes love and infatuation.

3- It calls for hearts to be preoccupied with foolish matters that are contrary to the way of the righteous salaf (may Allaah be pleased with them).

It is not permissible on this day to do any of the things that are characteristic of this festival, whether that has to do with food, drinks, clothing, exchanging gifts or anything else.

The Muslim should be proud of his religion and should not be a weak character who follows every Tom, Dick and Harry. I ask Allaah to protect the Muslims from all temptations, visible and invisible, and to protect us and guide us.

End quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (16/199)

2 – The Standing Committee was asked: Some people celebrate Valentine’s Day on the fourteenth of February every year. They exchange gifts of red roses and wear red clothes and congratulate one another. Some bakeries make red coloured sweets and draw hearts on them, and some stores advertise products that are especially for this day. What is your opinion on the following:

1- Celebrating this day

2- Buying things from the stores on this day

3- Storekeepers who are not celebrating it selling things that may be given as gifts to people who are celebrating it?

They replied:

The clear evidence of the Qur’aan and Sunnah – and the consensus of the early generations of this ummah – indicates that there are only two festivals in Islam: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Any other festivals that have to do with a person, a group, an event or anything else are innovated festivals, which it is not permissible for Muslims to observe, approve of or express joy on those occasions, or to help others to celebrate them in any way, because that is transgressing the sacred limits of Allaah, and whoever transgresses the sacred limits of Allaah has wronged himself. If the fabricated festival is also a festival of the kuffaar, then the sin is even greater, because this is imitating them and it is a kind of taking them as close friends, and Allaah has forbidden the believers to imitate them and take them as close friends in His Holy Book. And it is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” Valentine’s Day comes under this heading because it is an idolatrous Christian festival, so it is not permissible for a Muslim who believes in Allaah and the Last Day to observe it or approve of it or congratulate people on it. Rather he has to ignore it and avoid it, in obedience to Allaah and His Messenger, and so as to keep away from the causes that incur the wrath and punishment of Allaah. It is also haraam for the Muslim to help people to celebrate this or any other haraam festival by supplying any kind of food or drink, or buying or selling or manufacturing or giving or advertising etc., because all of that is cooperating in sin and transgression and is disobedience towards Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is Severe in punishment”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2]

The Muslim must adhere to the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah in all his affairs, especially at times of fitnah when evil is widespread. He should be smart and avoid falling into the misguidance of those who have earned Allaah’s anger and who have gone astray, and the evildoers who have no fear of Allaah and who do not have any pride in being Muslims. The Muslim must turn to Allaah and seek His guidance and remain steadfast in following it, for there is no Guide except Allaah and no one can make a person steadfast but Him. And Allaah is the source of strength. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. End quote.

3 – Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allaah preserve him) was asked:

Among our young men and women it has become common to celebrate Valentine’s Day, which is named after a saint who is venerated by the Christians, who celebrate it every year on February 14, when they exchange gifts and red roses, and they wear red clothes. What is the ruling on celebrating this day and exchanging gifts?

He replied:

Firstly: it is not permissible to celebrate these innovated festivals, because it is an innovation for which there is no basis in Islam. It comes under the heading of the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever introduces anything into this matter of ours that is not part of it will have it rejected.”

Secondly: it involves imitating the kuffaar and copying them by venerating that which they venerate and respecting their festivals and rituals, and imitating them in something that is part of their religion. In the hadeeth it says: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”

Thirdly: it results in evils and haraam things such as wasting time, singing, music, extravagance, unveiling, wanton display, men mixing with women, women appearing before men other than their mahrams, and other haraam things, or things that are a means that leads to immorality. That cannot be excused by the claim that this is a kind of entertainment and fun. The one who is sincere towards himself should keep away from sin and the means that lead to it.

And he said:

Based on this, it is not permissible to sell these gifts and roses, if it is known that the purchaser celebrates these festivals or will give these things as gifts on those days, so that the seller will not be a partner of the one who does those innovations. And Allaah knows best. End quote.

And Allaah knows best.

http://islamqa.info/en/ref/73007

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The Last Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him]

2012-02-05T22:15:00.000+05:00

محمد صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم

Muslims love Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم . If you love some one, you try to please that person:
Are we really trying to please our Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم by following his teachings?

He is respected by even by non Muslim thinkers, intellectuals..... Read more >>

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Solidarity with Kashmir

2012-02-05T22:08:00.003+05:00

Kashmir Solidarity Day has been observed on 5 February each year since 1990 in Pakistan as a day of protest against Indiancontrol of part of Kashmir. It is a national holiday in Pakistan. Kashmir Day was first proposed by Qazi Hussain Ahmad of theJamaat-e-Islami party in Pakistan in 1990. Pakistan considers Kashmir as the core issue, between India and Pakistan, leading to three wars and devoting a major portion of their national incomes to defense budgets.^{[citation needed]} World leaders have stressed the need to resolve the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan to avoid an eventuality that may cause a catastrophe in the region. Kashmir is the nuclear flash point of South Asia, surrounded by three nuclear powers.
Waht is Kashmir issue >>>>>>> continue reading >>>
Have We lost Kashmir issue.. Discussion >>>>

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Corruption - Pakistan's Challenge Number -1

2012-02-05T20:51:00.000+05:00

Pakistan has lost Rs.8,500 billion ($94 billion) in corruption, tax evasion and bad governance during the rule of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, graft watchdog Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) has said.

TIP advisor Adil Gillani told The News that the impact of corruption is far more serious than what was believed. He said Pakistan will not need money from the outside world if the government can effectively check corruption.

The current Pakistani government that came to power in 2008 has been the worst in terms of corruption. Past records of corruption were broken and the country rose in the ranks of the most corrupt nations, the paper noted.

The National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency, instead of checking corruption, have been siding with the corrupt. These institutions have been helping the corrupt to get off the hook by distorting the evidence in favour of the high and the mighty, the TIP representative alleged.

Transparency International is headquartered in Berlin

http://nvonews.com/2012/02/05/94-bn-graft-mars-gilani-government/.

Corruption in Pakistan is widespread and growing. In the latest Corruption Perception Index, the country is ranked the 34th most corrupt country in the world, up from 42nd last year. Recent polls reveal a pervasive culture of fraud, bribery, nepotism, cronyism and misappropriation of funds. 69% of poll respondents admitted to corruption when dealing with the courts, 24% said they had paid a bribe to get their children into select schools, 42% gained access to health care by paying a bribe to hospital staff, 31% reported paying bribes to police and a huge 99% said they had paid bribes to have their taxes lowered.

The amount of money involved in corruption has risen from 195 billion rupees in 2009 to 223 billion rupees in 2010 with bureaucracy and the police ranked as the two most corrupt sectors. The lure of easy money reaches even beyond the country's borders; corruption charges have just been leveled against two French officials, charged with kickbacks on arms sales to Pakistan. Known in the French press as the Karachi affair, it is a major scandal affecting the re-election of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. With corruption endemic on such a scale, it is hardly surprising that Pakistanis are cynical or even despairing about their country's administration's ability to clean house and restore public integrity.

Pakistan has had a painful history of corrupt leadership for example, with the Bhutto family and more recently, Nawaz Sharif, a wealthy steel magnate who battled for years to stay out of jail on a range of corruption charges, before defeating Benazir Bhutto's government which had been brought down by serious economic and financial scandals. But as Bilal Hussain wrote in a Guardian article in April 2011, the basic problem in Pakistan is not just corruption. Many countries are corrupt but at least they are competent. "Today," he says, "a terrifying level of incompetence pervades the entire sphere of governance in Pakistan. Because of bribery, jobbery and nepotism, the lower ranks of our civil bureaucracy are filled with incompetent and under-educated people."

This paralysis affects institutions like the country's co-called National Anti-Corruption Strategy launched in 2002, and the Accountability Courts set up in 1999 to address corruption charges. Police reforms have been instituted to attempt to change the culture of lawlessness and lack of credibility or trust in the authorities but all that has happened is further non-cooperation and lack of coordination, and a continued questioning of the integrity and political motives of those appointed as watchdogs. Integrity Pacts for example, or formal no-bribery contracts, have been established for major public/private transactions, with some success in establishing transparency in procurement and financial systems. But it is too little, too late, in spite of all the help given by organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the UN Development Program. Pakistan has reverted to a culture of incompetence, with a stagnating economy, rising inflation, shortages, rising unemployment and poverty.

At the same time, there is deep concern about the way Western funds are being seen as propping up a corrupt and incompetent elite. Confirming the larger debate about the nature of foreign aid and its creation of a dependency culture, aid to Pakistan has enabled it to build an all-powerful military and a public debt approaching more than US $105 billion. US and international aid to Pakistan is now being monitored by Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) to ensure that funds are not misdirected away from the World Bank's five year irrigation project for example, or funds promised to health and education projects. But recent actions by President Zardari's administration to cut ties with TIP will do nothing to stop the increase of corruption and are seen as yet another blow to democracy and the rule of law.

Pakistan's former envoy to the US and India, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, wrote in a December 2010 article, that "all is not yet lost. Our people are indeed resilient. They need to be organized and provided with hope." Qazi reviewed the WikiLeaks revelations and the cables from the US ambassador that made it clear what has been known for a long time -- that a corrupt Pakistan leadership is held in international contempt, and is being kept in place as long as it serves the interests of the US. This is indeed problematic as the country continues to disintegrate.

Qazi also referred to the WikiLeaks cable describing politician Imran Khan's interview with a US congressional delegation in January 2010, where he bluntly criticized US policy as dangerous and mistaken in supporting "the man and not the democratic process" first with Musharraf and then with Zardari. Khan called on the US to scale back its operations in Afghanistan and replace the counter-productive military action with "dialogue, policing and intelligence gathering" as the drone attacks are simply radicalizing Pakistani youth and provoking revenge and animosity against the US.

Imran Khan is being recognized as the only Pakistani politician ready to stand up against US policy and is gaining popularity for his refusal to compromise with power in return for political benefit. Described by Ghazi as "clean, devoted, trusted and capable", Khan's popularity is increasing as his campaign gets underway for Pakistan's Presidency. His party, the PTI, has no patrons in high places, he vows to disassociate Pakistan from the US war on terror and he has announced that he will tackle terrorism, corruption, unemployment and inflation. Described as the last hope for Pakistan's future, he has increasing support from the youth of the country. He sounds confident that he can mobilize the trust of the people and that his party will sweep the polls in the coming election. Certainly the people of Pakistan deserve a political alternative to the vicious indifference of the current administration.

Dr Azeem Ibrahim is a Fellow and Member of the Board of Directors at the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding and a former Research Scholar at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and World Fellow at Yale.

More writings here: www.azeemibrahim.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/azeem-ibrahim/corruption-pakistans-past_b_986241.html

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Coca Chocolate Good or Bad for Health

2012-02-01T14:23:00.000+05:00

Health Benefits

Plant-derived polyphenols are historically a significant and natural constituent of the human diet. Diets rich in flavonoids (a class of polyphenols) have been associated with a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease (Zhu et al, 2002). Generally, the consumption of cocoa powder (22g daily in trials) or dark chocolate (16g daily in trials) leads to improved cholesterol ratios, with a higher ratio of high density lipoproteins (HDL) to LDL. A higher ratio of HDL to LDL is associated with a lower risk for heart disease.

In a study where people consumed chocolate with bread and water on two separate occasions: first consuming 40 g of chocolate, and one week later, consuming 80 g of chocolate. The total polyphenol intake from chocolate was 892mg, and 1783mg respectively. Blood samples were drawn before chocolate consumption and at intervals of one, two, three and four hours after consumption. Blood analysis found levels of the polyphenol epicatechin rose after consumption of each chocolate sample, reflecting rapid absorption. Another study showed that feeding 35 g of cocoa powder to 12 male subjects demonstrated a significant increase in LDL cholesterol’s resistance to oxidation within two hours of cocoa consumption (CMA, 2003). In another trial, the inhibitory effect of the cocoa extract was stronger than ascorbic acid. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) has been shown to act as an antioxidant (Zhu et al, 2002).

Studies show that cocoa powder, dark chocolate and milk chocolate have higher Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) values than many common foods, such as prunes and blueberries. (ORAC values measure how powerful an antioxidant a substance is.) An antioxidant is a substance that inhibits oxidation or reactions promoted by oxygen and peroxides, and that include many held to protect the living body from the deleterious effects of free radicals. Examples include beta-carotene, vitamin C, and alpha-tocopherol.

Dark chocolate has more than 13,000 ORAC units and milk chocolate has about 6,700, according to the Chocolate Manufacturers Association. Unsweetened powdered cocoa starts out with almost twice as much antioxidants as dark chocolate, but when it's diluted with water or milk and sugar to make hot chocolate, the flavonoid total per serving plummets to about half that in milk chocolate.

In different terms, a 40-gram serving of milk chocolate contains about 400 milligrams of antioxidants.

A study of a tribe of indians (Kuna Indians living on islands off Panama, Central America ) who consume an average of five cups of cocoa a day has shown that chocolate may prevent high blood pressure. Researchers are investigating a link between consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa and nitric oxide synthesis. There is also a link between antioxidants in chocolate and a reduction in platelet aggregation in blood, and an increase in "good cholesterol" levels. Nitric oxide plays such an important role in the maintenance of healthy blood pressure and, in turn, cardiovascular health (Prof Norman Hollenberg of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 2002).

Flavanols found in cocoa seem to play a role in helping the body use nitric oxide. Flavanols are one class of a group of naturally occurring substances called flavonoids, which are found in foods such as cocoa, dark chocolate, purple grape juice, and tea. Previous studies have also indicated that eating foods high in flavonoids can have positive effects on the heart. Two clinical studies conducted by Heiss et al (2003) in Germany, suggest that the flavanols found in cocoa and chocolate products may have positive effects on vascular health. They studied the idea that the consumption of a flavanol-rich cocoa products improve endothelial function, and that this improvement is related to an increase in circulating nitric oxide concentrations.

It is worth noting that chocolate and the cocoa bean have saturated fat but the saturated fat does not elevate your cholesterol. Stearic acid found in cocoa, is a unique fatty acid in that it does not elevate blood cholesterol levels as other saturated fats do. Studies have found that diets containing cocoa and chocolate have a neutral effect on blood cholesterol levels in humans.

Cocoa powder

Cocoa powder is either alkalized or nonalkalized. Alkalized cocoa powder contains potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, or magnesium, all of which neutralize the naturally occurring acids and make the powder easier to dissolve in liquids. Cocoa powder may also contain added starch (e.g., corn starch) to keep it from caking during storage. Unsweetened cocoa powder is used primarily in baking. Sweetened cocoa powder is often mixed with hot milk or water to produce “hot chocolate” or “hot cocoa.”

Conclusions

The incorporation of dark chocolate and cocoa powder in a diet that is rich in other food sources of antioxidants- such as fruit, vegetables and rooibos tea, results in a high antioxidant intake and may consequently reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Consumption of flavonoid-rich cocoa and chocolate can result in increased plasma antioxidant activity in healthy human adults (Zhu, et al, 2002).

http://www.health-herbal.com/html/cocoa.html

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Chocolate & Cocoa:

'Healthy' Benefits, or Negative Health Effects?

Is Chocolate a food of the gods because of its divine taste and Health Benefits,or is it because heavenly bodies don't have to worry about its Health Hazards?Stories on the Health Benefits of consuming Cocoa Products have increasingly made the news, following thediscovery that they are a rich source of catechins, which are polyphenols of the flavanol group, and which arebelieved to protect against heart disease, cancer, and various other medical conditions.Chocolate manufacturers, retailers, and the media have been taking advantage of these findings by not onlytrying to make chocolate lovers feel less guilty about their addiction, but also by trying to target more health-conscious consumers with regular doses of "research studies" praising the supposed benefits of consumingchocolate, among them that:

eating chocolate does not trigger migraine headaches,
eating chocolate reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer.
eating chocolate does not give someone acne or other skin eruptions,
eating chocolate boosts one's appetite, but does not cause weight gain, eating moderate amounts of chocolate makes one live almost a year longer,
eating chocolate releases endorphins in the brain, which act as pain-relievers,
the sugar in chocolate may reduce stress, and have calming and pain relieving effect.

How reliable are all these "Studies?" When taking a closer look, one discovers that once the studies funded by chocolate interest groups werediscarded, the ones left offered conflicting results. As expected, some isolated compounds in cocoa didhowever show certain health benefits. Because it is a common practice in nutritional research to do studieson food fractions, outcomes may sometimes appear negative because they are done without any co-factorsor complexed nutrients, however in the case of cocoa, some of the research was positive because those"co-factors" (all the other detrimental ingredients in chocolate) were not part of the study. If people were to consume pure cocoa, they might indeed be able to enjoy a few health benefits, includinga positive effect on blood pressure and glucose metabolism,63 however the majority of people eat processedchocolate with all the other less desirable ingredients (i.e. added sugar, corn syrup, milk fats / dairy cream,hydrogenated oils, etc.), and where the actual cocoa content may be less than 20%, so unless premium darkchocolate is consumed, and one does not suffer from copper overload (see further below), all bets regardingchocolate being a healthy food are off.With claims made of sugar having a "pain-relieving" effect (babies fed a sucrose solution felt less pain fromneedles), it is doubtful that we will see chocolate bars replacing conventional analgesics any time soon, norare these same "researchers" making these sugar-promoting claims likely going to reach for a chocolate barnext time they suffer from a throbbing toothache, a pounding headache, or a kidney stone attack.While cocoa and sugar do not "cause" acne, the sugar present in chocolate will most certainly make acne,or any other acne-like skin eruptions worse, as anyone suffering from these skin conditions can attest to.

Placebo-controlled trials

When taking a closer look, one discovers that once the studies funded by chocolate interest groups werediscarded, the ones left offered conflicting results. As expected, some isolated compounds in cocoa didhowever show certain health benefits. Because it is a common practice in nutritional research to do studieson food fractions, outcomes may sometimes appear negative because they are done without any co-factorsor complexed nutrients, however in the case of cocoa, some of the research was positive because those"co-factors" (all the other detrimental ingredients in chocolate) were not part of the study. If people were to consume pure cocoa, they might indeed be able to enjoy a few health benefits, includinga positive effect on blood pressure and glucose metabolism,63 however the majority of people eat processedchocolate with all the other less desirable ingredients (i.e. added sugar, corn syrup, milk fats / dairy cream,hydrogenated oils, etc.), and where the actual cocoa content may be less than 20%, so unless premium darkchocolate is consumed, and one does not suffer from copper overload (see further below), all bets regardingchocolate being a healthy food are off.

With claims made of sugar having a "pain-relieving" effect (babies fed a sucrose solution felt less pain fromneedles), it is doubtful that we will see chocolate bars replacing conventional analgesics any time soon, norare these same "researchers" making these sugar-promoting claims likely going to reach for a chocolate barnext time they suffer from a throbbing toothache, a pounding headache, or a kidney stone attack.While cocoa and sugar do not "cause" acne, the sugar present in chocolate will most certainly make acne,or any other acne-like skin eruptions worse, as anyone suffering from these skin conditions can attest to.
Placebo-controlled trials showed that some of the chemicals in chocolate (phenylethylamine, theobromine,or caffeine), can indeed trigger migraines by altering cerebral blood flow and releasing norepinephrine insome of those prone to suffer from migraine headaches. Of all of the foods isolated that triggered the mostattacks, chocolate was an offender about 30% of the time. Claiming that "eating moderate amounts ofchocolate increases one's life span" is a most interesting example of how some "researchers" will twist andmanipulate statistics to prove anything!

"Chocolate-Is-Good-For-You" campaigns through the media or the prominent placement of leaflets atconfectionery counters keep feeding the consumer "made-to-order" research results whose outcome is pre-determined to satisfy an agenda (i.e. selling chocolate), with little relevance to science or facts. Consideringthat nicotine has also shown some health benefits, particularly with ulcerative colitis and Parkinson's disease,would this be a reason to urge people to start smoking tobacco? From a nutritional perspective - the average milk chocolate product is no less a junk food than ice creamor donuts, and it is equally unhealthy and fattening when large amounts are consumed on a regular basis.While no one is trying to discourage people from enjoying an occasional chocolate treat - urging consumersto increase their chocolate consumption for "Health Reasons" leaves nutritional research less than credible,particularly when diabetes and obesity have become an out-of-control global problem. The good news is, premium grade dark chocolate contains only cocoa butter, a fat that naturally occurs incocoa beans, which is made up of stearic acid (34%), oleic acid (34%), palmitic acid (25%), and the rest ofother fatty acids, whereby the combined effect of all the fats found in cocoa butter is quite neutral in regardto an individual's lipid (heart disease risk) profile. However, when milk chocolate, or lower grade chocolate isconsumed, part of the total fat content of chocolate comes from milk fat or various other types of fat, whichdo create a risk factor with cardiovascular disease. Despite the good news on cocoa not raising LDL cholesterol, even dark chocolate is a very calorie-densefood, so while the fat content may not invite cardiovascular disease from an atherogenic (arterial clogging)perspective, its regular consumption will add a lot of extra calories to someone's daily total, and as a resultstill affect those who have to watch their caloric intake. Nevertheless, being listed as the No.1 ingredient inmany chocolate products, sugar is unquestionably a worse culprit compared to the fat content whenaddressing the effects of chocolate on someone's overall health. Sugar is a well-known cause, contributing, or aggravating factor with a host of medical conditions, includingheart disease, inflammatory conditions, immune system disorders, impaired phagocytosis, mood disorders,insulin and blood sugar disorders, leukemia, tooth decay, yeast infections, depletion of essential nutrients,osteoporosis, obesity, and others. (see also "Sugar & Glycemic Index"). Cocoa products also contain pharmacological substances such as n-acylethanolamines that are relatedto cannabis (marijuana), they contain stimulants such as phenylethylamine, which have an anti-depressantand amphetamine-like effect; and they contain compounds that stimulate the brain to release an opiate-likesubstance called anandamide. When drugs are used to block the brain's opiate receptors, the desire forchocolate (and other sweet and fatty foods) disappears -- confirming the addictive nature of these types

But despite cocoa being such an opiate and endorphin-releasing pharmacological powerhouse, who wouldhave guessed that when chocoholics were given cocoa in capsules - without the added fat and sugar, andwithout the feel of chocolate melting in their mouths - it had no satisfying effect at all!However, while eating the actual chocolate bar satisfied the cravings for it, studies showed that there wasno improvement with mood, relaxation, feeling content, depression, or guilt, after eating chocolate.Again - in isolation, polyphenols work well in a test-tube environment, but cocoa also happens to be very highin Copper, which unfortunately inhibits the action of certain flavonoids, particularly Hesperidin, which is anessential flavanone (see also "Bioflavonoids"). This can lead to a greater incidence of vascular degenerationsuch as varicose veins, hemorrhoids, aneurysms, bruising, heart disease, and stroke in those with elevatedcopper levels.While low copper levels can be implicated with weak and fragile blood vessels also, high copper levelsare much more common in many parts of the world, with nearly 90% of patients tested exhibiting a chemicalprofile that - in addition to their own unique chemistry - contained an underlying pattern that reflects theimpact of copper overload on various nutrients, which include chromium, molybdenum, nickel, hesperidin,Vitamin C, sulfur, and others. The additional consumption of high copper sources such as chocolate and cocoa products, cola drinks,coffee, (as well as shellfish, liver, soy products, and some nuts and seeds), not only aggravates many highcopper-related medical conditions, but it is responsible for creating new ones. At the same time, copper isan important co-factor for angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation with cancers), so with the exceptionof colon cancer, for which copper and calcium are somewhat protective for, most other types of malignantor benign tumors, hemangiomas, fibroids, etc., are associated with high copper levels. Dark, bitter chocolate has the highest catechin content, but at the same time has also the highest copperlevel. Light or milk chocolate has the lowest copper level, but also the lowest catechin content.

The short-term decrease of some medical problems associated with high flavonoid intake is eventually offsetby steadily increasing copper levels inhibiting flavonoid activity, which will over time promote an increase inthese very same conditions. The high sugar content in chocolate increases Chromium requirements (chromium is an associated tracemineral to copper). The resulting high copper / low chromium ratio creates an increased risk for trabecularbone loss, and it can trigger or worsen blood sugar-related, and/or inflammatory conditions that may includefrequent tonsil infections, some forms of arthritis, or similar problems of the immune system in proneindividuals. By lowering Sulfur, high copper levels are a common cause or aggravating factor of osteoarthritis, for whichsome people take glucosamine sulfate or MSM supplements. If successful, they partly work by counteractinghigh copper levels and thus help to reverse or slow cartilage or joint degeneration. Other than the effect ofchocolate on an individual's mood, elevated copper levels - by inhibiting sulfur - can adversely affect memoryand concentration, so progressive copper storage as a result of long-term high copper intake, combined withincreasingly diminishing sulfur levels can eventually lead to mental impairment or dementia.(see also "Copper & Chromium" and "Selenium & Sulfur"). Chocolate contains theobromine and a small amount of caffeine, both being stimulants and members of themethylxanthine family. Although it increases alertness, theobromine doesn't have the same jittery effect onthe heart like caffeine. However, theobromine can be toxic or even lethal to domestic animals such asdogs, cats, parrots and horses as a result of affecting their kidneys, heart, and central nervous system. Another concern - particularly for young children - are the high Lead concentrations in manufactured cocoaand chocolate products, which, according to the Environmental Health Perspectives (2005),64 are one of thehighest reported for all food items. From a clinical perspective, and putting aside the commercial hype that has been created of late to boost theimage of chocolate - people with the highest intake of chocolate either end up with excessive copper levels,or elevated VLDL triglycerides (from all that sugar). On average, most chocoholic patients test high in both.

As is the case with other sweets - anything beyond a casual consumption of chocolate will result in reduced,not improved health, without even going into some more immediate health concerns that some individualsexperience from consuming chocolate, such as allergic reactions, chronic mucus / sinus problems, heartburn,esophageal reflux (GERD), kidney stones, fibrocystic breast disease, migraine headaches, or aggravated PMS.Nevertheless - in moderation - chocolate can certainly be the Sinful Delight it was meant to be!

Source: http://www.acu-cell.com/choc.html

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‘Memogate’ Scandal - Zardari, Haqqani & Keyani

2012-01-21T23:00:00.000+05:00

A Parody

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A Brief Analysis

In all civilised societies mlitary is subservient to the civilian political authority for the defence of country [not in private control to support their corrupt practices]. If 'Memogate' is true, then its a nasty effort by corrupt and incompetent people to keep defence forces under full control like PIA, Steel Mill, Railways and other strategic national assets, which are in doldrums, verge of collapse, causing national loss of loss of Rs100 crore/1000 millions per day. Hope Memogate is untrue but ......

There is simple formula to exercise authority, not merely legal authority but the moral authority which stems from honesty, sincerity, competence and exemplary leadership, which they seems to lack ..... Previously it backfired with Nawaz Sharif, besides his discomfort, the nation had to suffer in dictatorial rule for a decade. When Caliph Omar sacked celebrated war hero General Khalid bin Walid, Henry Truman sacked war hero General Dogulas Mac Arthur, they had great moral authority besides legal authority. Civilian rulers of Pakistan have to develop such character if they want to exercise full authority over military, not seeking help from foreign powers. [Aftab Khan]

Updates here >>>>>

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Around 1485, a 'Memo' was written by Amir Abdullah to Christian power of Spain. Abdullah had requested help from Christians that if he is helped by King Ferdinend, Abdullah would hand over Muslim Spain to Christians. In return, Abdullah only wanted wealth, gaurenteed puppet status and permission to keep personal overseas lands and wealth. Incredibly, the supreme court and ministers as well as intellegencia and army of the time knew of the 'secret' correspondence but stayed silent in national interest or were bought by Abdullah. As a result, Granada and last bastion of Islam in Europe fell to Christians in 1492, who pounced upon the opportunity frm regional states. The name of Prime Minister of Abdullah was also Yusuf ! Today, after 500 years, history is hauntingly being repeated. Another memo has been written on identical terms and have been exposed. The courts and opinion makers play games, while army watches!

** An Insider Analysis of Pakistan's 'Memogate' - The Newsweek

WARNING! ...... INDECENT VIDEO

*** Mansur Ejaz - Zardaei, Haqqqani knew US attack on Bin laden in Abbotabad 3Dece 2011

Why Mansoor Ejaz was selected to deliver the memo?

Here is his answer >>>

Aaj kamran khan ke saath

More>>>> Lekin

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► 47:14► 47:14
Memogate: Will the Mansoor Ijaz story shake Pakistan?
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Quatrina Hossain invites Yasmeen Rehman (MNA PPPP), Fauzia Kasuri (President Women Wing PTI), qbal ...

More Videos >>>>>>Click

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How Mansoor Ijaz Nearly Brought Down the Government

He did not come, he did not see, and he certainly did not conquer. But Mansoor Ijaz, a US businessman of Pakistani origin, nearly brought down the government in Islamabad.

The murky affair billed as Memogate is as good as dead and buried. The investigation by the judicial commission will drag on till the end of March, and the relevant people will go through the motions, but the sting is out of the scandal. Nearly all stakeholders have stepped back and do not appear interested in pursuing the matter any more.

The trail seems to have gone cold.

As the dust begins to settle, it becomes clear that the scandal has produced two casualties: Husain Haqqani, and the truth. In time, Haqqani may recoup the damage done to him, but the truth may not be known for a long time. But what is known is that the country has been taken for a ride.

All those involved may now heave a collective sigh of relief, but this glosses over the fact that almost every stakeholder comes out smelling bad. In fact, the least to be affected – in an ironical way – may be Mansoor Ijaz. He didn’t really have much to lose. He never had any stakes in Pakistan, and neither did he have much credibility to start with. Known as a publicity-seeking self promoter, Ijaz had flirted around with almost every recent Pakistani government, peddling his supposed influence within the US power circles and presenting himself as a mediator, facilitator and promoter of various issues. No one in Pakistan had taken him too seriously before. In fact, perhaps the only people who ever took him seriously were the Fox News Channel news managers, who occasionally featured him as an expert on Pakistan.

So why did his word carry so much weight this time around? Perhaps he became an unwitting cog in a larger strategic game. Perhaps he triggered off a series of events which then spun out of control. Or maybe – just maybe – he was actually on to something, but didn’t have enough evidence to prove it. Whatever the case may be, what is clear is that he was not the sole player in this sordid saga. Messages were exchanged. Lines were written. Emails were sent. And thoughts were structured for a plan of action. The action was just never executed.

In other words, there was enough material flying around for the head of ISI to take it seriously. Were it not for his London trip to meet Ijaz, and were not it for his convincing arguments to the army chief, the Memogate scandal would have died a natural death on the editorial pages of the Financial Times. From there, the issue gained new life as it got splashed in the local media. Suddenly detailed transcripts of email and BBM exchanges found reams of column space and hours of air time. A one-paragraph accusation transformed into a full-blown political scandal.

The rest, as they say, is history. Except that it’s not.

The army chief and the ISI head still have a lot to answer for. What convinced them to take this issue so seriously? What prompted them to get Husain Haqqani’s scalp and still relentlessly pursue the matter in court through their strongly-worded written statements? And what made them ultimately back away and not ensure Ijaz’s arrival in Pakistan? These questions may stop making headlines, but they still remain unanswered, and will keep hanging around for some time to come.

The government has a lot to answer. Why was it so afraid of a thorough enquiry into the matter? Why did it panic at the thought of Ijaz coming to Pakistan to record his statement in front of the judicial commission? Why did it keep insisting the memo was nothing more than a piece of paper when its content was specific, and required specific answers? The memo may recede into oblivion, but a nagging feeling still pollutes the air that the government knew more than it admitted to; that there was more to the affair than the government cared to admit. In short, the government was terrified of full disclosure.

Additionally, the judiciary has a lot to answer for. Why did it pounce on the matter despite the dubiousness that surrounded the issue? Why did it act in haste by banning Haqqani from travelling abroad, and by forming a commission? And why has it suddenly put the issue in veritable cold storage by giving the commission a two-month period to complete its work? The superior judiciary will be accused of indulging in judicial haste when perhaps judicial restraint may have been a better and more prudent option. The judicial commission will be blamed for its ineffectiveness and failure to fulfill its mandate to find the truth.

Nawaz Sharif will also have to answer several questions. Did he jump the gun by rushing into court with a bagful of petitions on the matter? Was he used? Is he now a victim of his own second-guessing? And has he also realized that the matter benefits no one if it drags on. His best defence would be that he judged wrongly. The best is clearly not good enough.

The media, too, needs to do some introspection. In its eagerness to go after the Big Story, did the media overplay the issue? Did the relentless coverage of Memogate inflate it beyond its actual significance and force the institutional power players to dig in their heels for fear of losing face? And should the media move on to the next story when Memogate has clearly not reached a logical conclusion?

The final verdict is still to be given. But chances are Mansoor Ijaz will not land in Pakistan any time soon. Expect a few more op-ed pieces from him in the coming weeks and months. Perhaps even a book. But words alone will never be enough to explain why Pakistani leaders were – and still are – so afraid of an unsigned piece of paper that no one owns up to.
http://www.newslinemagazine.com/2012/02/how-mansoor-ijaz-nearly-brought-down-the-government/

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Countdown? by Ikram Sehgal

Finally, the Supreme Court simply ran out of patience with the government’s successful filibustering for over two years to prevent the implementation of the NRO judgement taking effect. The indictment of the government by a five-member bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday initiated the process of sending the corrupt Gilani regime packing. Even then, the Supreme Court bench must be commended for exercising judicial restraint in declaring the Zardari-Gilani duo unfit for office. The bench gave the government six days to ponder over six options before a final hearing on Jan 16 by a full bench.
The Musharraf-enacted NRO that gave Asif Ali Zardari immunity as president and he and cronies to run riot in Pakistan with impunity has come a full circle more than two years after the Supreme Court judgment declaring it null and void. “Dr” Babar Awan (of “Monticello Univesity” fame) is all fire and brimstone, but let’s see how long his bravado lasts.
Many things have come to a head, all at once. Whether on national security or on economics, the political games being played by Zardari and Gilani had only one motive, how to escape accountability and buy their way back into power in order to loot the public some more. Watching the parody Hum Sab Umeed Se Hain the day Hamid Mir’s interview with Zardari was to be aired on Geo TV, a short clip of the interview was shown in-between as a “promo.” When Hamid Mir brought his attention to the virtual meltdown of PIA, the Railways, Wapda and other organisations, Zardari dismissed each with a shrug: “It is your assessment, it has only become weak.” For one surreal moment one thought it to be part of the comedy show, and then I realised the mocking tone was vintage Zardari, and for real. Either the man had completely lost common sense, or the brazenness was reflective of the deep scorn with which with he treats Pakistanis for having elected a tainted man like him as head of state?
With both the judiciary and the Pakistani army serious about uncovering the truth about the Mansoor Ijaz-Husain Haqqani memo, the Memogate Commission is more than likely to come up with the facts in the near future. When Mansoor Ijaz arrives in Pakistan he will probably reveal much more. By dragging their feet on issuing Ijaz a visa and intimidating him to prevent his coming to Pakistan and appearing before the commission, the government was clearly following the strategy of sabotaging the process. Not getting a straight reply about Ijaz’s visa and his personal safety from the interior secretary, Justice Isa warned him that he would be charged with contempt of court: “Don’t make a mockery of the commission.”
Unlike Mansoor Ijaz, who promised to hand over his Blackberry and all related data, Husain Haqqani flatly declined to hand over his own Blackberry for investigation. Claiming initially that he was unaware of where the device was, he then volunteered it was somewhere in his home in Washington DC. Even without having anything to hide, as he insists, he categorically rejected the commission’s request to waive his privacy rights with the Canada-based manufacturer of Blackberry phones, “Research in Motion” (RIM). He said tongue-in-cheek: “I may require approval of the government as I am bound to observe the Official Secrets Act.” Refusing to submit the Blackberry data to the commission, he also declined to share the PIN of his old set with the commission. When Justice Isa politely asked Haqqani’s lawyer if the waiver would harm his client, he received an evasive answer. The chief justice of the Balochistan High Court rightly observed that if obstacles continued to be created “an adverse inference can be drawn.” That is quite damning. Could it be that Haqqani is desperately hiding something even worse than what was in the memo?
Three weeks after the army chief and the director general of the ISI had submitted their responses to the Supreme Court, Gilani chose a Chinese newspaper to make the “revelation” (meant to embarrass the army chief during his visit to China) that no official action can be taken by a government functionary without the prior approval of the government, and therefore their depositions in the Memogate case were unconstitutional and illegal.
Justice (Retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed said dozens of government servants submit their replies with the courts of law daily as a routine practice in various legal cases, and they do not get their replies vetted. The prime minister simply wanted to confuse and complicate things in order to sabotage the memo enquiry. The PPP government wanted “Shahadat” (martyrdom) to win people’s sympathies by choosing a confrontational path with the institutions.”
Neither the people of Pakistan nor the rank and file of the army want martial law, but they would also not tolerate any attack on the institutions of the army and the ISI. Any attempt by the government to sack Kayani and Pasha could well incite a mutiny. What prompted Gilani to ignite the fire by fuelling a controversy by virtually charge-sheeting the army chief while he was abroad but a deliberate attempt to incite reaction that would plunge the country into complete anarchy and chaos?
Having been caught red-handed in the Memogate case both Zardari and Gilani are trying desperately to become martyrs of democracy. By playing politics with national security to save his skin, Gilani is not only putting the system and democracy at risk but Pakistan as well. While his incompetence in the exercise of his authority as prime minister is well-documented, his attempt to try to achieve political goals threatened to demolish the entire system. Despite the deliberate provocation the army, let the Supreme Court implement the rule of law. The Supreme Court has done well by heading off the possibility of martial law or, even worse, a mutiny.
The army should exercise patience and remember Sun Tzu’s saying: “If you wait by the river long enough, you will see the corpse of your enemy go floating by.” Gilani and President Zardari mock at state institutions, including the judiciary and the military establishment, to further their regime’s misrule and corruption. They use their version of democracy selectively to camouflage and gloss over their wrongdoings.
Despite vehement and vociferous protests from my good friend of 48 years, 34th PMA course-mate and in-house lawyer Commander Kaifi, one has always liked and respected Adm Fasih Bokhari. However, failure to prosecute the outright crooks indicted by the Supreme Court was shocking and disappointing. Before his reputation suffers further damage, he would do his friends and admirers (and the uniform) a great favour by resigning as chairman of the National Accountability Bureau before facing the Supreme Court on Jan 16.
Notwithstanding the good faith behind the Supreme Court’s giving the government various options, the “Doctrine of Necessity” can never be really eradicated. It is like a chameleon, it will surface in both political and military forms. It made its appearance in its judicial image when the Supreme Court gave an option to the government to face disqualification or to go the electorate. Zardari and Gilani either violated their oath of office, or they did not. The rule of law in either case has to take its course, there is no third option.

The writer is a defence and political analyst. Email: isehgal@pathfinder9.com

http://www.columnspk.com/countdown-by-ikram-sehgal/

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Some more questions about Husain Haqqani fiasco

Conspiracies are intriguing and fascinating. The Memo Scandal, involving Husain Haqqani and others, is no different. Some of its secrets are already known, while others may be on the way. In my previous post (“Some questions on the Husain Haqqani fiasco”), I raised some questions. Here are some more.

Why was the memo written and delivered in the first place?
According to Mansoor Ijaz, Haqqani claimed that the government feared a military coup. However, now it appears that it was the other way round. After the Abbottabad attack, the army preferred to claim that it had been taken by surprise. In view of its vulnerability due to public outrage, somebody in the Zardari coterie had the brilliant idea that the present army leadership should be replaced with pliable one. The idea got a favorable hearing.
However, it was not forgotten what had happened to Nawaz Sharif, who made a clumsy attempt to remove the army chief with disastrous consequences. So, it was decided to get the American support before replacing top generals.
The thrust of the charge against Haqqani is given in Mansoor’s article in Newsweek (http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/12/04/an-insider-analysis-of-pakistan-s-memogate.html). He writes,
“Zardari and Haqqani both knew the U.S. was going to launch a stealth mission to eliminate bin Laden that would violate Pakistan’s sovereignty. They may have even given advance consent after CIA operations on the ground in Pakistan pinpointed the Saudi fugitive’s location. The unilateral U.S. action, they might have surmised, would result in a nation blaming its armed forces and intelligence services for culpability in harboring bin Laden for so many years. They planned to use the Pakistani public’s hue and cry to force the resignations of Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani and intelligence chief Gen. Shuja Pasha. Pliable replacements would have been appointed.”
Haqqani has not much to worry about a conviction if Zardari is still the President. After all, there will be nothing to stop Zardari from pardoning Haqqani promptly. If Rehman Malik can survive despite court judgments, there is no reason why Haqqani should fare worse.
Persons close to Zardari, in Islamabad and Washington, conceived, wrote and finished the memo, with his approval. Then it was delivered to the Pentagon through Mansoor.

Why did the memo surface now?
Both Haqqani and Ijaz would have kept the memo secret forever, whether or not it led to any action by the U.S. How come it was disclosed only after four months? Lt Gen Hameed Gul believes that the Pentagon made the disclosure after the government had failed to carry out the promises made in the memorandum even in over four months. (That means the Pentagon did give the warning to the army top brass that Zardari coterie wanted and then waited for the fulfillment of the promises in the memo.)
There is another possibility. The Pentagon did not expect a pliable government to emerge after the elections because parties of both Zardari and Nawaz Sharif were losing popularity. Imran Khan could break into vote banks of both PPP and Nawaz League. The more time he has, the more popularity he will gain. Even if he did not get majority in election, he could still end up as the head of a coalition. That will make life quite difficult for the U.S. operations in Afghanistan.
The urgent question for the Pentagon was: How to stop Imran Khan? The best option would be to get rid of the PPP government now, help install an interim government to revive economy and clear the mess, and get the elections postponed indefinitely. Then it will be comfortable army-to-army dealings. Since top Pentagon generals knew the existence of the Haqqani memo, one of them asked Ijaz to disclose it. It was to be a booby trap. No wonder, the Zardari regime is teetering on the verge of collapse.

Could Haqqani nip the scandal in the bed?
He could. The day Mansoor’s article appeared in The Financial Times, Haqqani could have concluded that Zardari’s game was up. The Pentagon did convey the warning to the army in May but was now angry with Zardari for failing to carry out the remaining promises in his memo.
That should have been enough for Haqqani to resign immediately, claiming that he was exhausted by grueling diplomacy and wanted to go back to his “professory” (as we say in Urdu). To be on the safe side, he could also seek political asylum. To his misfortune, Haqqani dragged his feet and finally had to leave Washington kicking and screaming to face the music in Islamabad.
As it happens often with ambitious persons, arrogance makes them ignore the ground realities. Haqqani was not willing to call it quits so easily. With Zardari at his back and many influential friends in the U.S., he was sure he could survive easily. However, his defense against Ijaz’s onslaught was only denial. It was like defending oneself with a plastic shield against a rocket launcher. So, he landed himself soon in a very hot soup, with his hope dashed of becoming the National Security Advisor and, with luck, even something much higher. Now he wonders whether it will be his neck or that of his “boss” -- or both.

What can Haqqani do now?
There was for some time a talk of compromise (muk muka مک مکا in plain words), to end the episode after getting Haqqani’s resignation. However, the action by Supreme Court on the Haqqani scandal has made it impossible.
بات نکلی ھے تو دور تلک جاءے گی
Now Haqqani has two options: Stick with Zadari or betray him. If he believes that Zardari will survive the crisis, he may decide to remain faithful to him. If, in his view, Zardari may be forced out even without impeachment or conviction (see below), Haqqani may become an approver against his “boss.”
What are the prospects for Zardari’s survival? His impeachment may be difficult, as he may use all his skills and means to win over most MNAs. The motion to impeach Pervez Musharraf seemed likely to succeed, as it had support from both the U.S. and the army. If the same support is available, Zardari may be impeached. However, it will be simply removal as President. He will still be a force to reckon with, being the head of his party.
If Zardari is prosecuted, his prospects will be better than impeachment. He did not allow any case against him to reach a conclusion despite years of trial. He will work harder to do the same indefinitely, using all the tricks of legal profession.
Haqqani might be tried not under Article 6 of the Constitution but, according to Justice Tariq Mahmood, under Section 121 of the Pakistan Penal Code, viz., “Whoever wages war against Pakistan, or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.”

How will it all end?
A lot of noise may be created for months by investigation, court trial, impeachment motion, discussions, agitations, all the words poured out in the paper and electronic media but the process may well drag into Zardari’s final months in office. He is not very keen for another term for him and his party because he and his cronies have grabbed all they wanted, destroying all they could in the process. So, he will not be unhappy if he leaves in 2013 with a guard of honour. He may even resign soon, if pressed hard enough.
However, what most people fear may well happen, as long as Zardari is in Sadar Mahal صدر محل (President House). In the meantime, he may do much worse than he had promised the U.S. in his memo to Admiral Mike Mullen. So, the Establishment may not be willing to allow status quo to continue. It also has to consider abysmal conditions in the country: economic disaster, massive corruption, gross misgovernance, high inflation, severe crime wave, energy crisis, political chaos, subservience to foreign interests. The security of the state and vital national interests are far more important than any possible hostile reaction from politicians, media and Supreme Court. (The so-called “international community,” including the U.S., may also soon reconcile with fait accompli, even if it is not happy.) So, don’t be surprised if you learn one fine morning that the 111 Brigade is in action.

http://mahameed-articles.blogspot.com/2011/12/some-more-questions-about-husain.html

Some questions on the Husain Haqqani fiasco

روشنی طبع، تو بر من بلا شدی اے

This Farsi line applies aptly to Husain Haqqani, now that his brilliance has landed him in the worst debacle of his career.

The fiasco raised many questions, some still unanswered, some not fully answered. Let us try to find out what it was all about and also put available facts in perspective.

Did Husain Haqqani do it?

Of course, beyond a shadow of doubt. He did pass on a memorandum to Mansoor Ijaz, seeking his help in saving his boss’s government. It is not a simple case of one man’s word against the other. Mansoor Ijaz has already provided enough documentary evidence from his Blackberry to prove it.

How were the beans spilled?

Haqqani and Ijaz, as professionals in tricks, were to keep the secret only to themselves. By talking one-to-one with Zardari on one side and Mansoor Ijaz on the other, Haqqani ensured complete secrecy. It might well have remained secret.

But human frailty upset the plan. Days before his retirement as Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen spoke harshly against our army in his testimony before the U.S. Senate. May be he was disappointed on not succeeding in Afghanistan, or may be it was his pent-up frustration over years on not being able to get our army do his bidding every time. (In an interview some time ago with the French news agency, Agence France Presse (AFP), he said Gen. Kayani could stop the terrorists if he wanted to, and then added ruefully, “I don’t know whether he will do it or not.”)

There was an outrage against Mullen in our media, though the U.S. government played down his statement, even disassociated itself from what he had said. Mullen was enraged, believing that ISI was behind it.

Since Mullen had helped Ijaz in establishing his credibility with Haqqani, he approached him for a quid pro quo. Ijaz agreed and wrote the article for the op-ed (opposite editorial) page of The Financial Times, hoping that it would discredit our army for wilting under American pressure and not taking over. The secret that was deep in his heart came out, to Haqqani’s hard luck. Ijaz himself justified the article in his interview with Sana Bucha (“Lekin!” Geo News, Nov. 14) as a counterattack to criticism against Mullen.

Haqqani must have known much about Mansoor Ijaz, such as his conservative (rightist) leanings and his links with the Pentagon (that he needs for his high-flying diplomatic freelancing). However, he did not know that Ijaz also believes in exchanging favors.

How did Haqqani try to save his skin?

The disclosure of his approach to Ijaz was a disaster for Haqqani. He thought denial would be the best way out. So, he himself contradicted Ijaz, asked the spokesman of the President and the Foreign Office to do the same. They obliged him but it was not enough for him. A contradiction from the other side was also necessary. So, he succeeded in persuading the former spokesman of Mullen to issue a carefully crafted denial. Enraged, Ijaz hit back with a long rejoinder. In fact, he went so far as to show the entire content of his Blackberry to a high official (probably of ISI) and even offered, in his interview with Sana Bucha, to appear before a Parliamentary committee or a court. Haqqani was now in a very thick soup.

Why did Haqqani approach Mullen in the first place?

As an ambassador, Haqqani should have approached the U.S. State Department for help. He could even meet Hillary Clinton. But this channel in his view could not be very productive. A warning from the Pentagon to the army would be more effective. However, he could not meet Mullen directly under the diplomatic rules. Media savvy that he is, he also wanted deniability in case something went wrong. (A message sent through an intermediary could be easily denied if ever the need arose.) Moreover, Mullen could convey the warning to Kayani in normal conversation during one of their frequent meetings, without raising any suspicion that Zardari was behind it.

Politicians with no deep roots in the masses and no confidence in their ability to govern seek help from the outside. Haqqani knew that in September 1999, the Sharif brothers became panicky and sought American help against a possible coup that they feared. Shehbaz rushed to Washington and got a strong statement issued by the State Department in favor of his brother’s government but ultimately to no avail.

In fact, Musharraf had no plan to topple Nawaz government and would not have done anything against it if the Prime Minister had not tried to remove him in a clumsy attempt that was also illegal. (Under the Army Act, no action can be taken against an officer, even a lieutenant, while he is abroad. Secondly, the army chief could not be removed unless the Defense Secretary issued a notification about it (which never happened); there was no validity to even written orders of the Prime Minister that would-be army chief, Lt Gen. Ziauddin Butt, has been showing around.

Who asked Haqqani to do it?

It is the father of all questions. Najam Sethi (“Aapis ki bat,” Geo News, Nov. 15) did a clever spin job. He implied that the army had arranged the Ijaz article, conveniently ignoring the fact that it had nothing to gain. Kayani, like Musharraf, never planned to take over. So, a warning from Mullen, even if given, did not matter. Rather, the article would give the impression that the army did want to take over but held back under an American threat.

Najam also gave an impression that Haqqani might not be guilty, only the army considered him so. He also stopped short of saying that Zardari had asked Haqqani to do it, as if Gilani or somebody else might have done it. Zardari would have been much better off if he had Najam as his official spin doctor.

Who told Zardari about a possible coup?

Good question. Our rulers are very credulous when it comes to a threat to their power. Anybody can make them panicky with a rumor of a coup, however wild. It happened with Nawaz Sharif, when some cronies told him about the possibility of a coup after the Kargil (even though the army had no such intention). No wonder, he sent his brother hastily to the U.S. to prevent it.

The same must have happened with Zardari. Somebody, who had his ear, wanted to convince him of his loyalty and also of his being very informed, told him that he would be the fall guy after the U.S. action in Abbottabad. He could be somebody Zardari trusted very much but was fed false information. Somebody in intelligence? Some journalist, who wanted to get close to the President? Time will tell.

How will it end?

Najam Sethi says that the crisis will end with the sacking or resignation of Husain Haqqani and appointment of a National Security Advisor on the recommendation of the army. It may not be that simple. The army is eyeball to eyeball with Zardari, and according to Ijazul Haq, “On the basis of my information and observation, it is a case of who moves first.”

Azizi of the popular program, “Hasb-i-Haal” (Dunya News), disclosed recently that Zardari has asked Adiala Jail authorities to keep his belongings in the room that he had occupied while there. “I may have to live there again.” The statement has not been contradicted.

According to a media report, Zardari once told a visitor, “If I make America angry, I lose this (pointing to his chair.) If the army gets angry, this will happen.” He moved his open palm across his neck.

http://mahameed-articles.blogspot.com/2011/12/some-questions-on-husain-haqqani-fiasco.html

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Memogate: What Happened Behind Closed Doors

By Aman Azhar

Khakis versus civvies: How far will the military, led by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (third from top), go in squeezing the civilian government over Memogate? (From top to bottom: President Asif Zardari, Husain Haqqani, General Kayani and Lt. General Shuja Pasha). Photos: AFP

“The meeting was not too tense, but it didn’t pack any smiles either. Indeed, the matter at hand was too grave for anyone’s comfort,” said a highly placed intelligence source, who provided a sneak peek into the closed-door meeting that sealed Husain Haqqani’s fate as Pakistan’s top diplomat in Washington.

Interestingly, it wasn’t the Presidency but the prime minister’s palatial spread at the foot of the Margallas that was okayed for hosting the sensitive meeting. President Asif Zardari had to dash to the PM House (which doesn’t happen very often) to be a part of the meeting attended by the Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Kayani, and his trusted ISI chief, Lt. Gen. Shuja Pasha.

“Despite under pressure to clear his name, Haqqani remained confident and pleaded his case by smooth-talking the generals, who expected him to cut a sorry figure instead,” said our intelligence source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Seeing Haqqani press on with his defence, the Kayani-Pasha duo sought the prime minister’s intervention.”

Presumably, the premier was in the know about the investigation that the ISI had covertly undertaken, which also involved a meeting between Lt. General Pasha and Pakistani-American lobbyist Mansoor Ijaz in London. During the meeting, Ijaz is believed to have handed over ‘evidence’ implicating Haqqani in the Memogate scandal.

“The premier agreed to a thorough investigation led by a civilian, acceptable to the parties concerned,” our source maintains. But that isn’t the only probe on the table anymore. The commission probing the May 2 incursions by the US Navy Seals inside Pakistan’s territory is set to interview Haqqani over his alleged role in Memogate. More recently, the Parliamentary Committee on National Security – led by PPP Senator Raza Rabbani – has been asked to investigate the matter too. A petition has also landed in the Lahore High Court, pleading that Haqqani’s name be put on the Exit Control List (ECL).

Clearly, Haqqani’s resignation has not quenched the thirst of those who believe that the Memogate affair has more to it than what meets the eye. There seems to be a general consensus among the intelligence community (both civilian and military cadres) that the link between Haqqani and Ijaz on the matter of the memo is a straightforward one. But the opinion is divided on whether the origin of the alleged conspiracy winds over to the Presidency.

Unless there is credible evidence that establishes Zardari-Haqqani complicity in the scandal, any efforts to squeeze the civilian set-up are likely to backfire. “That is probably why more bets are being placed on getting Haqqani to spill the beans by tightening the noose around him. Placing his name on the ECL happens to fit this scheme,” our source explained. Whether the alleged plan pans out remains to be seen. But the war of nerves is certainly on.

Meanwhile, intelligence circles continue to offer different interpretations of the Memogate controversy and the circumstances surrounding the affair. “The public is duped into believing that a memo was not officially signed and [therefore] cannot be trusted. The truth is that it was a non-paper, which technically is never signed and is a valid channel used for communicating with presidents and prime ministers,” asserts a senior official with the ISI. “Such non-papers are routinely circulated for the consumption of high government functionaries and considered as official as anything else,” he maintains.

Another senior officer affiliated with a civilian intelligence outfit agrees with the memo/non-paper binary and offers his viewpoint: “The quarters terming it a non-paper presuppose a link between the Memogate saga and President Zardari. But there is as yet no evidence beyond that assumption.” He further remarked: “Chances are slim for the investigations to establish any direct connection between the Presidency and Haqqani on the question of the memo. And the khaki circles are aware of the broken link.”

Mian Abdur Rauf, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court, endorses this view. “It [a memo] is just like Note for Consideration, which is authored to negotiate a broad outline of a plan between the negotiating parties, which can include governments. And, yes, the non-paper is always unsigned because it is meant to cover footprints,” he says.

Asked if this is enough to implicate the president of the country into the affair, Rauf advises caution. “It is not so simple; it will have to be proved in a court of law that the memo was indeed linked to the person accused – if in this case President Zardari – and that [link] is a difficult one to pin down.”

Meanwhile, opposition parties have jumped into the fray to extract political mileage out of the raging controversy. Both the PML-N and Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have sided with demands for a probe into the Memogate scandal and have sharpened their demand for an end to the rule of the “man on the hill” in Islamabad. “This is the biggest scandal to have hit the country in the recent times,” says PML-N parliamentarian Pervaiz Malik, adding that the N-League would prefer the courts to investigate the matter. “We have already gone to court with our demand for the probe. Raza Rabbani’s committee is not acceptable to us because, after all, he is a PPP man.”

Malik differed with the assertion that the PML-N and PTI have joined hands in shaking the PPP-led government over the controversy. “We are the ones who spearheaded the demand for an impartial investigation. We want the nation to know the facts behind Memogate, and we want these facts to dictate our future course of action,” he maintained.

Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi, a well-known political analyst, agrees that Memogate has opened up a new front on the political battlefield in Islamabad. “Domestic politics is intricately linked to the memo controversy and how it pans out in the near future. And quite naturally, the PPP’s political foes want the Memogate inferno to reduce the present government to ashes. But for now, it is a wait-and-see situation for them all.”

Other political observers caution that if fanned any further, the raging Memogate conflagration can tilt the political balance in favour of right-wing forces led by the likes of the PTI, PML-N and Jamaat-e-Islami. It seems plausible that at a time like this when the country is already facing the heat on the external front – the latest NATO incursion inside Pakistani territory, for instance – that Memogate will only fuel pro-right-wing sentiment further, putting progressive elements in the country on the back foot.

Will such a twist of fate be any different than what happened to Pakistan in the 1980s when a pro-Islamist regime was manufactured to front the CIA-sponsored jihad in Afghanistan? Political observers hope better sense will prevail this time around. “We’ve seen what happens [when we travel] down that alley,” says Dr Askari.

This article originally appeared in the December 2011 issue of Newsline under the headline “Feeling the Heat.”Aman Azhar is a renowned Islamabad-based journalist who has worked for national and international publications, as well as broadcast TV networks. He is also a political analyst in addition to working as an advisor to governments on public diplomacy and strategic communications.

http://www.newslinemagazine.com/2011/12/memogate-what-happened-behind-closed-doors/

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Memogate’ scandal strains civil-military relations

By Afzal Khan, Khaleej Times

25 November 2011 A bassador Husain Haqqani’s resignation marks the culmination of only one phase of the crisis that erupted in the wake of publication of a story about a controversial memo in foreign newspapers.

But far from bringing to a closure what Haqqani described as a “meaningless controversy” that was threatening our fledgling democracy, it signifies the opening up of another difficult and ominous chapter in the civil-military relationship that came under severe strain because of the memo scandal.

The resignation had become inevitable because of the wide exposure it got that was labelled by Haqqani as “media trial”. On the other hand the military establishment which never approved of Haqqani’s performance in Washington build up pressure on President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for Haqqani’s removal once it established as a result of its own investigations that he had initiated the memo. These developments had made Haqqani’s position untenable and forced him to resign. The story doesn’t end there and a more excruciating phase seems to have just begun. Haqqani claimed that he had himself resigned to save the democratic government from a difficult situation.

But the prime minister’s office said he was asked to resign following Prime Minister Gilani’s meeting with the army chief and the ISI head. It is immaterial whether Haqqani volunteered to resign or was asked to do so by the prime minister, what matters is the pressure from the establishment. The statement from the prime minister’s office that an investigation into the ‘memogate’ scandal would be conducted at an “appropriate level” and carried out fairly, objectively and without bias, is significant.

Though Haqqani has himself been demanding such probe to vindicate his position, it is obvious that those who had forced him to quit are not willing to stop there.

The opposition also wants a comprehensive inquiry seemingly in the hope to engulf the president. It would mean more uncertainty and instability in national politics with disastrous implications.

Haqqani says that more than the memo, the issue involves much bigger things. He has not elaborated but is seemingly referring to the civil-military equation. Being a close confidant of the president, his ouster marks a setback for the Presidency.

The reports that the venue of the troika meeting was shifted to the PM House instead of the Presidency and that the President was present when Haqqani was asked to clarify his position, indicated a weakening of the civilian authority.

Those who would like the constitution to prevail and establish the preeminence of elected civilian order over the uniform that is normal in democracies across the globe, must have been dismayed. The memo is now seen as a clumsy attempt to rein in the powerful security establishment that backfired.

Haqqani is not a particularly popular figure and is not known for any high sense of loyalty. But his friends and foes equally admire his ability, skill and knowledge. He has been a very effective interlocutor and, more than any of his predecessors, he was the most well connected ambassador in Washington’s influential circles including top civil and military officials and congressional leaders.

It was his misfortune that his period as envoy marked the most difficult one in the history of Pakistan-US relations for various factors beyond his capacity. The country thus could not fully avail the benefit of his potential to strengthen these ties.

Prime Minister Gilani did not lose time and named Sherry Rehman to replace Haqqani in Washington. She had quit as information minister in a row with Interior Minister Rehman Malik and felt disgusted when the president took Malik’s side. Since then she remained at odds with the Presidency which gives credence that her appointment was initiated by the prime minister and backed by the military establishment while the president only endorsed it though not willingly. It further shows him in quite an un-envious position.

news@khaleejtimes.com

http://www.khaleejtimes.com: http://goo.gl/nzjH5

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On October 10, 2011, The Financial Times published an article by Mansoor Ijaz: “Time to take on Pakistan’s Jihadist spies”. The article reads, inter alia:

Early on May 9, a week after US Special Forces stormed the hideout of Osama bin Laden and killed him, a senior Pakistani diplomat telephoned me with an urgent request. Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan’s president, needed to communicate a message to White House national security officials that would bypass Pakistan’s military and intelligence channels. The embarrassment of bin Laden being found on Pakistani soil had humiliated Mr Zardari’s weak civilian government to such an extent that the president feared a military takeover was imminent. He needed an American fist on his army chief’s desk to end any misguided notions of a coup – and fast.

The diplomat made clear that the civilian government’s preferred channel to receive Mr Zardari’s message was Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff. He was a time-tested friend of Pakistan and could convey the necessary message with force not only to President Barack Obama, but also to Gen Kayani.

In a flurry of phone calls and emails over two days a memorandum was crafted that included a critical offer from the Pakistani president to the Obama administration: “The new national security team will eliminate Section S of the ISI charged with maintaining relations to the Taliban, Haqqani network, etc. This will dramatically improve relations with Afghanistan.

The memo was delivered to Admiral Mullen at 14.00 hours on May 10.”

Link to the article: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5ea9b804-f351-11e0-b11b-00144feab49a.html#axzz1eRdK1Pxo

A secret memo seeking Washington’s help reining in the Pakistani military has brought into sharp relief the tensions between Pakistan’s shaky civilian government and its powerful army generals. The resulting scandal threatens Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. and perhaps the country’s president.The ambassador, Husain Haqqani, has denied claims he was behind a a memo delivered to the U.S. military chief asking for help in installing a “new security team” in Islamabad that would be friendly to Washington.
The “memogate” scandal is adding to pressures on the already deeply unpopular government. Some analysts have speculated that President Asif Ali Zardari himself could be in danger if charges that he signed off on the memo gain traction.
“The target is not me, the target is President Zardari and Pakistani democracy,” said Haqqani, who has offered to resign over the affair.

Though Pakistan has a civilian president, the military retains vast political and economic power. It has ruled Pakistan, directly or indirectly, for most of its six-decade existence, and fiercely resisted attempts by civilian leaders to curb its role.

If authentic, the memo would fuel politically toxic charges that the government is colluding with the United States against the interests of the country and its army. Though Washington pumps huge amounts of aid into the country, the U.S. is highly unpopular here. The affair has been whipped up by rightwing critics of the government and those close to the military establishment, which doesn’t trust Haqqani.

The unsigned memo was sent soon after the May 2 raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a city outside Islamabad and was delivered to Adm. Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer at the time. The bin Laden raid led to intense and highly unusual domestic criticism of the army.

A Pakistani English-language newspaper, The News, and Foreign Policy’s website on Friday published the text of the memo. After initially denying any knowledge of the document, Mullen’s spokesman confirmed he received it but ignored it because it was not credible.

The memo promises to allow the U.S. to propose names of officials to investigate bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan, facilitate American attempts to target militants like al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri and Taliban chief Mullah Omar and allow the U.S. greater oversight of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

The memo also accuses Pakistan army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani of plotting to bring down the government in the aftermath of the bin Laden assassination. It asks Mullen for his “direct intervention” with Kayani to stop this.

Haqqani denied having anything to do with the note. Still, some say Zardari will have no choice but to dismiss Haqqani, a close ally. Zardari’s spokesman said Thursday that the government had not decided what action, if any, to take against the envoy, who has been summoned to Islamabad to explain the scandal.

The News also printed what it said were transcripts of Blackberry messenger conversations between Haqqani and Mansoor Ijaz, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin who claims to have delivered the memo to Mullen via an intermediary, on the orders of Haqqani.
Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/memogate-scandal-threatens-pakistans-ambassador-to-us-and-possibly-president/2011/11/18/gIQAcxRZXN_story.html

Is the memo believable? by Babar Sattar

What about the Memo written by Altaf Hussain to British PM?

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The Memo shock

Finally, the Mike Mullen memo is out in the open and forms another twist in a saga that refuses to die. The memo indeed makes for grim reading and is bound to lead to further tensions in the normally fraught civil-military relationship in the country. If there is any truth in the memo having come from an official source, an allegation strenuously denied by Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani and the government, it is bound to have serious repercussions and raise many questions. But what stands confirmed by events outside Pakistan is that the memo was very much a reality and the government, the foreign office, the presidency and the embassy of Pakistan in Washington had been trying to obfuscate matters for many weeks in feeble attempts to somehow brush the whole matter under the carpet. The final nail in all these coffins was thumped by Admiral Mike Mullen himself who retracted his earlier denial of the memo and confirmed its receipt by going down his memory lane and asking a colleague who brought him a copy. What he did with it is irrelevant but what is important is that he did receive it. The probe, reportedly ordered by President Zardari after meeting General Kayani, has now a new and simple job to complete — to identify and punish the culprits. The charge has been established, the evidence has been provided and the jury now must give its verdict.

The six points of the memo make for sensational reading: the Pakistan Army and the intelligence agencies were declared to be complicit in harbouring Osama bin Laden, an inquiry commission was promised in which Americans would sit in judgment which has also been announced in advance, US troops would be given carte blanche and a green light to conduct operations on Pakistani soil, a new national security team would be put in place and Pakistan’s nuclear assets would be put under a verification regime, disciplined as the memo says. The ISI would be cut down to size and Pakistani officers would be handed over to India. All this would be done if the US intervened against the Pakistan Army and supported the civilian political set-up. The memo clearly suggests that the top civilian echelons of the country made all these shocking commitments. What now? This is a million-dollar question. The government cannot be expected to do anything meaningful, as its topmost echelons could be a party to the dispute. The military it seems was the target. So a third party has to pick up the thread and take this case to its logical end. The only credible institution to do this is the judiciary and specifically the Supreme Court. The media has done its job and it is now for the judges to examine all the available evidence.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=78019&Cat=8

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Mullen's secret memo

WASHINGTON: Geo News has received the controversial memo that was allegedly given by Mansoor Ijaz, an American citizen of Pakistani origin, to Admiral Mike Mullen who was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time. Mansoor Ijaz has claimed that the memo was handed over to him by the Pakistan Ambassador and was asked to deliver to the US president containing message from the Pakistan government. The memo was sent to Adm Mike Millen on May10. According to the memo, a commission will be formed to probe the presence of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad as civil government is under army's pressure. It has been demanded in the memo that Adm Mike Mullen should convey a strict message to the army leadership.

"Request your direct intervention in conveying a strong, urgent and direct message to Gen Kayani that delivers Washington's demand for him and Gen Pasha to end their brinkmanship aimed at bringing down the civilian apparatus."

It is important to note that Adm Mike Mullen has confirmed the receiving of the memo on Thursday.

Following is the complete text of memo:

BRIEFING FOR ADM. MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF

During the past 72 hours since a meeting was held between the president, the prime minister and the chief of army staff, there has seen a significant deterioration in Pakistan's political atmosphere. Increasingly desperate efforts by the various agencies and factions within the government to find a home - ISI and/or Army, or the civilian government - for assigning blame over the UBL raid now dominate the tug of war between military and civilian sectors. Subsequent tit-for-tat reactions, including outing of the CIA station chief's name in Islamabad by ISI officials, demonstrates a dangerous devolution of the ground situation in Islamabad where no central control appears to be in place.

Civilians cannot withstand much more of the hard pressure being delivered from the Army to succumb to wholesale changes. If civilians are forced from power, Pakistan becomes a sanctuary for UBL's legacy and potentially the platform for far more rapid spread of al Qaeda's brand of fanaticism and terror. A unique window of opportunity exists for the civilians to gain the upper hand over army and intelligence directorates due to their complicity in the UBL matter.

Request your direct intervention in conveying a strong, urgent and direct message to Gen Kayani that delivers Washington's demand for him and Gen Pasha to end their brinkmanship aimed at bringing down the civilian apparatus - that this is a 1971 moment in Pakistan's history. Should you be willing to do so, Washington's political/military backing would result in a revamp of the civilian government that, while weak at the top echelon in terms of strategic direction and implementation (even though mandated by domestic political forces), in a wholesale manner replaces the national security adviser and other national security officials with trusted advisers that include ex-military and civilian leaders favorably viewed by Washington, each of whom have long and historical ties to the US military, political and intelligence communities. Names will be provided to you in a face-to-face meeting with the person delivering this message.

In the event Washington's direct intervention behind the scenes can be secured through your personal communication with Kayani (he will likely listen only to you at this moment) to stand down the Pakistani military-intelligence establishment, the new national security team is prepared, with full backing of the civilian apparatus, to do the following:

1. President of Pakistan will order an independent inquiry into the allegations that Pakistan harbored and offered assistance to UBL and other senior Qaeda operatives. The White House can suggest names of independent investigators to populate the panel, along the lines of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission, for example.

2. The inquiry will be accountable and independent, and result in findings of tangible value to the US government and the American people that identify with exacting detail those elements responsible for harboring and aiding UBL inside and close to the inner ring of influence in Pakistan's Government (civilian, intelligence directorates and military). It is certain that the UBL Commission will result in immediate termination of active service officers in the appropriate government offices and agencies found responsible for complicity in assisting UBL.

3. The new national security team will implement a policy of either handing over those left in the leadership of Al Qaeda or other affiliated terrorist groups who are still on Pakistani soil, including Ayman Al Zawahiri, Mullah Omar and Sirajuddin Haqqani, or giving US military forces a "green light" to conduct the necessary operations to capture or kill them on Pakistani soil. This "carte blanche" guarantee is not without political risks, but should demonstrate the new group's commitment to rooting out bad elements on our soil. This commitment has the backing of the top echelon on the civilian side of our house, and we will insure necessary collateral support.

4. One of the great fears of the military-intelligence establishment is that with your stealth capabilities to enter and exit Pakistani airspace at will, Pakistan's nuclear assets are now legitimate targets. The new national security team is prepared, with full backing of the Pakistani government - initially civilian but eventually all three power centers - to develop an acceptable framework of discipline for the nuclear program. This effort was begun under the previous military regime, with acceptable results. We are prepared to reactivate those ideas and build on them in a way that brings Pakistan's nuclear assets under a more verifiable, transparent regime.

5. The new national security team will eliminate Section S of the ISI charged with maintaining relations to the Taliban, Haqqani network, etc. This will dramatically improve relations with Afghanistan.

6. We are prepared to cooperate fully under the new national security team's guidance with the Indian government on bringing all perpetrators of Pakistani origin to account for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, whether outside government or inside any part of the government, including its intelligence agencies. This includes handing over those against whom sufficient evidence exists of guilt to the Indian security services.

Pakistan faces a decision point of unprecedented importance. We, who believe in democratic governance and building a much better structural relationship in the region with India AND Afghanistan, seek US assistance to help us pigeon-hole the forces lined up against your interests and ours, including containment of certain elements inside our country that require appropriate re-sets and re-tasking in terms of direction and extent of responsibility after the UBL affair.

We submit this memorandum for your consideration collectively as the members of the new national security team who will be inducted by the President of Pakistan with your support in this undertaking.

Mansoor says Mullen wanted Zardari's clearance of memo

LONDON: US businessman Mansoor Ijaz who broke all hell in the world media by releasing the evidence of his secret Memo to Admiral Mike Mullen said on Friday Mullen insisted on having the ambassador's offers put in writing because the US government had been repeatedly deceived by Pakistan's verbal offers of action in the recent past.

"He also insisted that I obtain the ambassador's assurance that President Zardari had approved the offers contained in the memorandum. I did exactly those two things," he told The News.

Speaking after Admiral Mullen confirmed the Memo, Mansoor said at 09:06:16 hours, "I spoke to Amb Haqqani at his London hotel (Park Lane Intercontinental Room 430) in a call lasting 11:16 minutes.

"During this call, he confirmed that the final text of the Memorandum was okay and that he had "the boss' approval" that the memorandum could be sent to Admiral Mullen. The boss was an obvious reference to President Zardari," Mansoor insisted.

He also revealed that at 08:45:43 on Tuesday, May 10, 2011, the final draft of the memorandum was sent to the ambassador's private e-mail address. At 08:47, I sent him a BBM reminder to have a look, and that we needed to have a short call for him to verbally confirm everything was GO. The memorandum's contents had been drawn from calls with the ambassador and instructions given by him to me in drafting it. The content of the memo entirely originated from the ambassador (and perhaps those instructing him elsewhere). At 14:51:33 (about 9am in Washington DC), I called my US interlocutor and informed him we were GO and that the memorandum could be delivered. At 1400 hrs on Tuesday, May 10, 2011, Admiral Mullen received the memorandum from my US interlocutor."
Updates are available at: http://www.geo.tv/important_events/2011/mullenmemo/pages/english_news.asp
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Democracy not ideal but workable system: آخری امید

2012-01-21T18:09:00.001+05:00

	آخری امید...صبح بخیر…ڈاکٹر صفدر محمود



عالمی شہرت یافتہ امریکی دانشور اور End of Historyکے مصنف فوکو یاما نے اپنی کتاب میں دنیا بھر کے سیاسی نظاموں کا جائزہ لینے کے بعد نتیجہ یہ نکالا ہے کہ جمہوریت کوئی مکمل ترین اور آئیڈیل نظام حکومت نہیں لیکن دریں حالات اس سے بہتر سیاسی نظام بھی موجود نہیں اس لئے جمہوریت کو آخری چارہ کار کے طور پر قبول کیا گیا ہے۔ ہمارے ہاں عام تصور یہ ہے کہ علامہ اقبال جمہوریت کے مخالف تھے۔ چنانچہ جمہوری نظام کے خلاف دلائل دیتے ہوئے اکثر ان کا وہ شعر پڑھا جاتا ہے کہ جمہوریت ایک ایسا طرز حکومت جس میں بندوں کو گنا کرتے ہیں تولا نہیں کرتے۔ بلاشبہ جمہوریت کی بنیاد ہی ”تعداد“ یعنی اقلیت و اکثریت پر ہے، چاہے وہ اکثریت صحیح انتخاب کی اہل ہو یا نہ ہو۔ برا نہ منائیں کیونکہ میں نہ سیاستدان ہوں اور نہ ہی میرا کوئی سیاسی ایجنڈا ہے۔ میرا اول و آخر ایجنڈا پاکستان ہے۔ اس حوالے سے مجھے جب یہ خیال آتا ہے کہ ہمارے سادہ لوح نیم خواندہ عوام جذبات کی ر و میں بہہ کر اور سیاسی طلسمات کا شکار ہو کر ایسے لوگوں کو منتخب کرلیتے ہیں جن پرلوٹ کھسوٹ اور خزانہ چوری یا بیرون ملک دولت کی منتقلی کے ناقابل تردید ثبوت موجود ہیں میرے دل کو ٹھیس لگتی ہے اورمیں جمہوریت کے مستقبل کے بارے میں شاکی ہو جاتا ہوں۔ ہر پاکستانی کو علم ہے کہ جناب صدر زرداری کے چھ کروڑ ڈالر سوئٹزرلینڈ کے بینک میں محفوظ تھے اوریہ رقم کمیشن کے طورپر وصول کی گئی تھی لیکن اسکے باوجود ”ایک زرداری سب پہ بھاری“ کا نعرہ لگانے والے اودھم مچاتے ہیں اور اس خزانہ چوری کا دفاع کرنے والے صاحبان ضمیر بھی موجودہیں۔ سچ، اصول اورایمانداری سے یہ انحراف ہی دراصل جمہوریت کے لئے سب سے بڑا خطرہ رہا ہے اور آج بھی ہے۔ میں کئی بار مختلف ٹی وی چینلوں پر یہ ذکر سن چکا ہوں کہ وزیراعظم صاحب کی بیگم صاحبہ نے لندن کے مہنگے ترین سٹور ”ھیرارڈز“ سے اتنی شاپنگ کی کہ سامان کی منتقلی کے لئے ٹرک کرائے پر لینے پڑے چند روز قبل محترم انصار عباسی صاحب نے لکھا تھا کہ وزیراعظم صاحب کے صاحبزادے پندرہ پندرہ لاکھ کے موبائل دکھاتے پھرتے ہیں اور ان میں وہ صاحبزادہ بھی شامل ہے جسے لاہور کی ایک پرائیویٹ یونیورسٹی نے فیس کی عدم ادائیگی کی بنیاد پر نکال دیا تھا لیکن یہ اس وقت کی بات ہے جب وزیراعظم صاحب جنرل مشرف کی جیل میں پابند سلاسل تھے اور انہیں گھریلو اخراجات پورے کرنے کے لئے اپنی قیمتی گھڑی فروخت کرنا پڑی تھی۔ اب توخیر ماشا اللہ ان کے لشکارے مارتے سوٹ اٹلی سے آتے اور انہیں دولہوں کی مانند چمکاتے ہیں۔ میں کئی روز تک ان خبروں یا الزامات کی تردید کا انتظار کرتارہا کہ آخر وزیراعظم صاحب نے ایک پریس سیکرٹری بھی رکھا ہوا ہے لیکن جب ان کے کان پر جوں تک نہ رینگی تو میں نے مجبوراً ان خبروں پر یقین کرلیا۔ سوال یہ ہے کہ جو عوام کھلم کھلا خزانہ چوروں کو ووٹ دیں، ان کے حق میں نعرے لگائیں اور ان کے لئے قالین بن جائیں، کیا وہ عوام کرپشن سے نجات چاہتے ہیں؟ کیا وہ جمہوریت کی کامیابی کی ضمانت دے سکتے ہیں کیونکہ جمہوریت کی روح ہی احتساب اور جوابدہی ہے۔ وزیراعظم صاحب نے سپریم کورٹ کے الزام کے جواب میں کیا خوب کہا کہ کرپٹ کون ہے اس کا فیصلہ عوام کریں گے ۔ یہ بات ہر کرپٹ حاکم بڑے اعتماد سے کہتا ہے کیونکہ اسے علم ہے کہ ہمارے عوام کرپشن کا برا نہیں مناتے۔ اگر برا مناتے ہوں تو پھر اسے یا اسکی پارٹی کوووٹ کیوں دیں؟ جن عوام نے آج تک کسی کو محض اس لئے مسترد نہیں کیا کہ وہ کرپٹ تھا خزانہ چور تھا، میرٹ کو پامال کرتا تھا، اقتدار سے فائدہ اٹھا کر دولت کے انبار لگاتا تھا، اقربا پروری اور دوست نوازی کا مرتکب تھا کیا وہ عوام محتسب ہوسکتے ہیں اور کیا ان کے احتساب پر بھروسہ کیا جاسکتا تھا؟ اگر آپ بغور حالات کا جائزہ لیں تو محسوس ہوگا کہ ہمارا سارا جمہوری نظام ہی دولت کی ریل پیل، جھوٹ اور بہتان، قانون و میرٹ کی پامالی، بے انصافی، اقرباء پروری اور لوٹ کھسوٹ پر مبنی ہے جس میں انسانی استحصال ہوتا ہے اور جس میں غریب، ایماندار، اہل اور بے وسیلہ انسان کے لئے کوئی جگہ نہیں ۔ یہی وہ بیماریاں تھیں جن کے سبب علامہ اقبال جمہوریت سے بیزار تھے کیونکہ وہ مغرب میں رہ کر اپنی آنکھوں سے مغربی جمہوریت کو ان امراض کا مریض دیکھ کرآ ئے تھے۔ سچ یہ ہے کہ علامہ اقبال ہرگز جمہوریت کے فلسفہ یا انتخاب کے اصول کے خلاف نہیں تھے بلکہ وہ اس کے مداح تھے اور وہ اپنے لیکچرز اورتحریروں میں جا بجا جمہوریت، روحانی جمہوریت اور اسلامی جمہوریت کی تعریف میں رطب للسان پائے جاتے ہیں۔ سوال یہ ہے کہ علامہ اقبال کی روحانی جمہوریت کیا تھی؟ اس کی وضاحت ممتاز مصنف اور ریسرچ سکالر جناب قیوم نظامی نے اپنی تحقیقی، عام فہم اور معیاری کتاب ”زندہ اقبال“میں اس طرح کی ہے۔ ”اقبال جمہوری نظام کو اسلام کی اخلاقی اقدار، دیانت، صداقت، اخوت اور مساوات کے تابع رکھنا چاہتے تھے اور ایسی شیطانی جمہوریت کے خلاف تھے جو کرپشن، مفاد پرستی، موقع پرستی، اقربا پروری اور استحصال کو جنم دے… اقبالکے نزدیک انسان اور خدا کے درمیان پختہ تعلق روحانی جمہوریت کی بنیاد ہے۔کمیونزم اور کیپٹل ازم انسان کی روحانی اور مادی تسکین کا سبب نہیں بن سکتے۔ مذہب اور جمہوریت کے اشتراک سے ہی روحانی جمہوریت وجود میں آتی ہے… اقبال ایک ایسی روحانی جمہوریت پر مبنی سیاسی نظام قائم کرنا چاہتے تھے جس میں ارکان اسمبلی کا انتخاب سرمایہ اور جاگیر کی بنیادپر نہیں بلکہ اہلیت اور دیانت کی بنیاد پر ہو۔ ایسا جمہوری نظام جس میں قانون کی حکمرانی ہو اور حاکم بھی قانون کے تابع ہو“۔ اس بحث کو نتیجہ خیز بناتے ہوئے محترم قیوم نظامی صاحب نے لکھا ہے ”پاکستان کا موجودہ جمہوری نظام اقبال کے روحانی جمہوری تصور کے مطابق نہیں کیونکہ یہ ایک ایسا شیطانی جمہوری نظام ہے جس کی بنیاد ہی کرپشن اور مفاد پرستی پر رکھی گئی ہے۔ سیاسی جماعتیں جمہوریت کی بجائے شخصیت پرستی کو پروان چڑھاتی ہیں۔ اس نظام میں اخلاقی اقدار کی کوئی اہمیت نہیں اور قانون صرف کمزور افراد پرلاگو ہوتا ہے بااثر اشرافیہ قانون سے بالاتر ہے“ حقیقت یہ ہے کہ اس اصول کے تحت آج صدر مملکت کے لئے استثنیٰ مانگا جا رہا ہے ورنہ اسلامی جمہوری نظام میں تو خلیفہ کو کوئی استثنیٰ حاصل نہیں تھا اور حضرت عمر جیسا سخت گیر خلیفہ بھی عام شہری کی طرح قاضی کے سامنے پیش ہوتا تھا۔ یہی بات پروفیسر افتخار احمد نے اپنی کتاب عروج اقبال میں کہی ہے کہ اقبال جمہوری فلسفہ یا جمہوریت کے خلاف نہیں تھے بلکہ وہ جمہوریت کے نام پر انسانی استحصال، دولت کے استعمال اور موروثیت کے خلاف تھے۔ دیکھا جائے تو پاکستان کی موجودہ جمہوریت انہی امراض کی مریض ہے اور اگر آپ اس میں کرپشن، خزانہ چوری، لوٹ کھسوٹ اور اقتدار کے ذریعے دولت بنانے کا اضافہ کرلیں تو پاکستانی جمہوریت کا نقشہ مکمل ہو جاتا ہے۔ مغربی ممالک نے جمہوریت کے طویل سفر میں تعلیم کو فروغ دے کر، عوام کے سیاسی شعور کوپختہ کرکے، سیاسی جماعتوں کو منظم کرکے اور احتساب کے نظام کو موثر بنا کران کمزوریوں یاامراض پرخاصی حد تک قابو پا لیا ہے لیکن پاکستانی جمہوریت ابھی تک دولت، جاگیر، موروثیت، شخصیت پرستی، انسانی استحصال، میرٹ اور قانون کی پامالی اورلوٹ کھسوٹ کی اسیر ہے۔ میں خلوص نیت سے محسوس کرتا ہوں کہ ان امراض سے چھٹکارا حاصل کئے بغیر جمہوریت کا ثمر حاصل ہوسکتا ہے نہ عام آدمی جمہوریت کے ثمر سے مستفید ہوسکتا ہے۔ اس سارے منظر نامے میں میرے لئے حسن ظن اور خوش فہمی کی ایک ہی وجہ اور علامت ہے اور وہ علامت یہ ہے کہ عوام میں ان امراض کا شعور جنم لے رہا ہے، شاید آہستہ آہستہ پروان بھی چڑھ رہا ہے اور وہ ماضی کی سیاست سے مایوس ہو کر تبدیلی کی آرزو پالنے لگے ہیں۔ تبدیلی کی آرزو ہی میری آخری امید ہے۔ میرے نزدیک علامہ اقبال کی روحانی جمہوریت ہماری منزل ہے اور اسے شرمندہ تعبیر کئے بغیر پاکستان صحیح معنوں میں قائد اور اقبال کا پاکستان نہیں بن سکتا۔

Political Reforms for Stable Democracy ...

Two aspects needs immediate attention, firstly the quality of politicians or the elected representatives, secondly the prevalent democratic political system. Both are complimentary hence should be viewed together rather than in ...

Democracy, the best Revenge: Is Mr ...

The Muslim world has the unique distinction of being ruled by the corrupt dictators and kings .The wave of people uprising for change, freedom, democracy and justice has swept across the Middle East. Pakistanis are however ...

Please visit: http://aftabkhan.blog.com

Democracy? Five Lessons Egypt Can learn from Pakistan

2012-01-16T17:06:00.000+05:00

Pakistan is a perfect example of what not to do with a military junta. When Hosni Mubarak resigned from the Egyptian presidency in February, many commentators asked whether Pakistan--an unstable Muslim country outside the Arab Middle East--would go the way of Egypt, experiencing what was then thought to be revolutionary change.They should have asked whether Egypt would suffer the fate of Pakistan: a parliamentary democracy with a freely elected government but dominated by a military with a host of extraconstitutional powers.Today, the question remains as valid as it was last winter. Egypt is on course to follow Pakistan's ... keep reading >>>>

Prof Ahmad Rafique Akhtar- Modern Scholar of "Practical" Islam

2012-01-13T19:01:00.000+05:00

Prof. Ahmad Rafique Akhtar (born April 15, 1941) is a notable self made Sufi Islamic scholar from Pakistan. He is from Gujar Khan. A graduate of Government College,Lahore, he has been associated with teaching for years. Finally, in Gujar Khan, near Islamabad he started delivering lectures on different Islamic and philosophical topics and this eventually grew to such an extent that he had to travel all over the country and different places in the world. Many of his lectures have been published in books.

Islam Faith Sufism اسلام ایمان تصوف
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6A4338712D97FD5D

Humanity اسلام ایمان اور انسان
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDC389D8CF9988706

Video Playlist: Religion Past,Present & Future by Prof Ahmad Rafique Ahtar [Urdu] مذہب ماضی، حال اور مستقبل پروفیسر احمد رفیق اختر سے

Video Channels:
http://www.youtube.com/user/alamaat1/videos?view=pl
http://www.youtube.com/user/asimahmood#g/p
Website:http://www.alamaat.com

Professor Ahmad Rafique Akhtar is a distinguished Muslim scholar of Modern Era. The enlightenment of his thoughts has heralded the dawn of a new age in the present world. Due to his acquaintance with books, intricate queries in his wits; he studied literature, philosophy, Mythologies and all contemporary subjects during his student life. His tendency of intensive study led him to think profoundly about God. This inquisitiveness of mind continued its progress towards the logical end. He was gifted with a philosophical approach which is not satisfied without scrutinizing the process of intellectual capacity, objectively according to scientific principles. At the stage of his career choice, his exuberance and intelligence reached its pinnacle when he was faced with the most problematical query of its nature," Does God exist or Does he not ", "Am I free or to be accountable in front of an unseen divine force."

He started the journey of his mental investigation from doubt and denial. The center of attention and the direction of his study and meditation took eight years of his life; he dedicated all his investigation and struggle to find a reason to deny the existence of God. His thesis was very simple, if a man commits thousands of mistakes he still remains a human being, but if we find even one mistake of God, He can not be a God. Thus he declared the criterion to find God; he had to uncover only one error in God's words," The Quran". All his explorations, scientific investigations and academic researches and findings were rendered futile when he found that his efforts lead him to the confirmation of the Quran and existence of God. Consequently he made God his first and foremost priority. He was already a teacher but the focus of his teaching had now diverted to his findings about God. He believes that God has to be the top priority of every single intellectual curiosity. [By: Mr. Syed Anjum M.Gillani]

Video Playlists/Channels:
Islam Faith Sufism اسلام ایمان تصوف:http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6A4338712D97FD5D
Islam Faith Humanity اسلام ایمان اور انسان: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDC389D8CF9988706
http://www.youtube.com/user/alamaat1/videos?view=pl
http://www.youtube.com/user/asimahmood#g/p

Website:http://www.alamaat.com

Please visit: http://aftabkhan.blog.com

Memo Scandal Jolting Pakistani Politics cannot be Just a Piece of Paper..!

2012-01-09T20:39:00.000+05:00

Another One

Asma Jahangir

Rejecting the decision of Supreme Court, lawyer of Hussein Haqqani, Asma Jahangir termed the day as dark day of Pakistan ’s history. She questioned journalists outside the court, “is this court of establishment or a public court, and we are rewarded in this way for restoring the court”? In the way Asma Jahangir expressed disappointment, all the legal analysts are astonished over this because they did not expect such a dictatorial response from ex-President of Supreme Court Bar and high level lawyer. Only lawyers may comment over legal issues or legal values but I think the reaction of Asma Jahangir over the court verdict was preplanned. After the court verdict had been given she would have criticized army and ISI in both situation whether the verdict had been in favor of Army/ISI or against them. The only difference is if the verdict had been against army/ISI then she had been demanding that ISI and army should be brought in court for its impact over foreign policy with India , for killing and defeating terrorists in Swat, Malakand, and other tribal areas. The case for murdering terrorists (sponsored by her supporter country i.e. India ) should be filed against army. But as the court verdict is against her hopes she criticized the most senior court of the country as well while expressing her disappointment.

                Actually she was trying to misguide international community that our courts and respected judges are under the influence of army establishment. Through such expression how she has served law or what she had wanted to do, this can be only answered by legal analysts. However she had openly expressed her enmity to ISI during discussion in court when she has said that if court has to believe what ISI says then there will be many traitors, if we look at the reports of ISI then including Wali Khan and Benazir Bhutto and many within this court has been claimed as treacherous. On the same day she said that Prime Minister and President should have the control of nuclear weapons, the owner of nuclear assets is not army but whole nation.
Asma Jahangir along with a Swami going to a Mandir!

                Alas! Asma Jahangir had courage to informe court about these facts for which Proud of Asia, and spiritual father of our President Mr. Z.A. Bhutto not only declared Wali Khan as traitor and enemy of Pakistan , but banned his party Awami National Party (ANP) as well. All this was not done on the advice of army or ISI but IB and Special branch of Police and in the light of reports by these agencies. These reports claimed that Wali Khan and his colleagues were behind the murder of Governor of NWFP through bomb blast on 7 February. After arresting Wali Khan he was put in Rawalpindi Jail and afterwards transported to Sahiwal and then Hyderabad . A special court started trial against him after 18 months of his arrest. But Asma will never dare to unveil these facts and deviate from the agenda assigned to her.

                Like this on 29 December during the trial when she used harsh words against Army Chief, Chief Justice was forced to advise her in his remarks, “Army Chief should be respected. They give up their blood for defense of the motherland.” In reply to this she said that those are someone else who give their blood they only know how to rule (would she like to answer who are these other people who give their blood for defense of country, has any of her son has done so or she thinks only Indian soldiers give their blood as she belongs from there?). On the same day when Asma read the statement of James Jones and said that memo scandal is untrustworthy, Chief Justice was forced to ask her that whether court should believe James Jones or Chief of our own forces? While Chief of Army has already said that memo is a reality. This is just that memo has been unveiled in the form of a conspiracy and ISI & Army are of the view that investigations should be held in this regard. No one has accused anyone as traitor or pointed out anyone. There is Pakistani army and Pakistani courts while govt. also wishes to hold investigations in this regard then why these handful of people singing the chorus of AMAN KI ASHA like Hamid Mir, Najam Sethi and others are posing this in such a that this is the time to decide whether there should be army or not? (Of course they are fulfilling their duties for which they have received advance payments).

Asma Jahangir in a Hindu Temple of Ahmedabad!
Is there a single example of a country which has won freedom on the ideological basis from a bigger country. Right from the first day of our freedom India has never accepted our sovereignty and in such situation army is the only department which has built an indestructible defense line around Pakistan in spite of shortage of human resources and financial resources. This is the crime of Pakistani army. On 1^st June 2011, Asma Jahangir said in the program of Hamid Mir, “either save army or country.” In this Program Hamid Mir presented a young man named as Muhammad Junaid in a dramatic way, through this youth he tried to prove the fabricated story true that Pakistan army itself had planned the attack over Mehran Base, and Muhammad Junaid was eyewitness for this. In this program Hamid Mir while pointing towards the camera addressed army, “you lay down weapons in front of enemy, now you will do this in front of us” (because enemy has penetrated within our country in the form of these pawns of media). This is another thing that within two days Waqt TV unveiled the fabricated story of Hamid Mir and proved that this story was based upon lies. At that time neither there was any memo scandal nor any doubts about Hussein Haqqani had been expressed by army. However media was expressing doubts about Haqqani. In spite of unveiling the fabricated story Hamid Mir did not felt any shame (what is shame for the agents selling themselves for dollars). However he is still working on his propaganda against army. Alas! These pawns of media had some respect for national interests, they had ever dared to run a campaign in favor of Kala Bagh Dam, energy and agriculture. They should have unveiled elements misguiding innocent public against Kala Bagh Dam (how can they do? Those involved in the movement against Kala Bagh Dam and these anchors both have mutual masters.). They should have invited agriculture and Electric engineers and enlightened nation about the benefits of Kala Bagh Dam, that this is not the dam of a sect, caste or province but of the whole nation, this is the guarantee of the secure future of the Pakistan . In the construction no one will be at loss but everyone will benefit.

Asma Jahangir...

                As long as Kashmir, freedom movement of Kashmir, and state terrorism of India in Indian Held Kashmir is concerned there is no chance that our media personnel singing the chorus of AMAN KI ASHA may dare to raise the voice in favor of oppressed Kashmiris. According to them the people living in Kashmir are not human beings but insects, whenever and wherever terrorists of Indian army like kidnap or martyr them claiming them to be terrorists. Whenever these state terrorists like burn or destroy property of innocent Kashmiri people or gang rape daughters of Kashmir . Supporters of AMAN KI ASHA has nothing to do with it, their duty is only to criticize and accuse the defenders of the motherland, and sow the seeds of hatred against army in the hearts of the people. Asma Jahangir is also one of them. She claims herself as being the greatest human rights activist but human rights organizations in the Indian Held Kashmir say something different to this. They are still waiting for the report of her visit to Indian Held Kashmir for reporting the situation there on 8 March 2008. While UNO had sent her in Indian Held Kashmir to probe into the human rights violations there, but in spite of fulfilling her duties she wore the dress of orange color representing extremist Mahasbhai Hindus and got busy in meetings with Indian terrorist Baal Thakrey and murderer of hundreds of Muslims Narindra Modi in Gujarat , and in pilgrimage to Mandirs. Protesting against activities of Asma Jahangir in India during her above mentioned visit, the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons(APDP) from Indian held Kashmir has posted several pictures covering her activities in India . According to the above mentioned website when Asma Jahangir arrived in India in March 2008, the scandal of unnamed mass graves had been unveiled. Keeping in view the importance of this heinous, crime international media representatives and human rights activists were probing in this scandal to get more details. Daily dozens of such mass graves were being discovered in which hundreds of corpses were buried. But Asma Jahangir in spite of being present in Srinagar did not dare to give any importance to such a big incident of state terrorism. However in July 2009 when Pakistan army successfully rehabilitated locals of Swat after a successful operation against terrorists, Asma Jahangir in spite of praising Pakistan army who freed citizens of this area from terrorists, shifted them to safe places and then cleared the area from terrorists. In spite of all such great sacrifices Asma Jahangir started a new propaganda that mass graves had been discovered in the Swat, she accused army that army killed militants and buried them in mass graves (at least these militants and Asma Jahangir has mutual commanders). According to human rights organization in Indian Held Kashmir, she did so to deviate the attention of the world from the discovery of mass graves in Indian Held Kashmir. The full detail of Asma’s ideas is present with the title of “Swat Operation; Asma Jahangir Express Pakistan’s Dual Policy and State Terrorism.”

US Senator Peter Gailbraith.

                Lets come back towards our today’s topic that is the Memo Scandal about Hussein Haqqani (claimed by govt. of Pakistan as a piece of paper), Supreme Court has established a high level judicial commission under the leadership of Chief Justice of Baluchistan Highcourt Qazi Faiz Eesa including three members. The members are Chief Justice Hameed-u-Rahman from Islamabad high court and Chief Justice Sher Alam from Sindh high court. District and Session Judge Jawad Abbas has been appointed as secretary of the commission. According to the court verdict the appointed commission will complete its investigations within four weeks and submit its findings in Supreme Court. The commission has been authorized to seek help from lawyers and forensic experts. In the summary verdict this has been also said that Chief Secretaries of all the provinces, Director General FIA, Pakistani embassy in USA and Britain will be bound to support commission in its investigation. Perhaps any such high level commission had been ever established in the history of Pakistan . This shows that memo is not just a piece of paper or communication between Mansoor Ijaz and Hussein Haqqani, or its handing over to Chief of US army. Obviously there is something serious behind it, for which Supreme Court has appointed Chief Justices from three high courts. The findings of this commission will be valuable for the integrity of Pakistan . That is why smelling the threat Asma Jahangir was forced to say that national interest had been given priority over individual rights. Now one should ask her that individual rights can be only safeguarded only when there will country (perhaps she was saying because she thinks her individual rights are safeguarded somewhere else). The actual base is country and keeping in view the value of sovereignty of country Supreme Court has appointed the commission. But here the question arises why our rulers bow in front of USA for being in power in spite of contacting the public? Why did they offer nuclear assets in return to American favors? Asma Jahangir has correctly said that original owners of Pakistani nukes are Pakistani people (then why she wants to give up nukes for her INDIA ). But when USA will help the specific leader to come in power than obviously USA will consider its own interests as well. This will include Pakistani nukes as well.

                For example the letter of Benazir Bhutto in 1990 addressed to Peter Gailbraith after her first govt. was put to an end. In her letter to Peter she especially mentioned nuclear weapons; this letter was published as it is by THE NATION on 7 July 1997. This letter reminds us of 1990 when Benazir Bhutto has rejected to issue any funds to Army Technological Research Laboratories (ATRL) under the leadership of General Zahid Ali Akbar. Afterwards General Zahid was replaced by Lt. General Tala’at Masood. Moreover this is also part of the history after moving the Ministry of Science and Technology to Prime Minister Secretariat under the leadership of Munir Ahmad, this was assured that Dr. A.Q. Khan could be kept away from Science and Research Program. All these bitter realities are present in the previous editions of newspapers and on the WikiPedia website as well.

                Here I would like to paste the letter of Benazir Bhutto as;
Letter written by Benazir Bhutto

Below is the Transcript of the letter for easy reading!
   Dear Peter Gailbraith,

I do not know how to thank you for your so many favors to me and my family. As you know that the orders of my dismissal were drafted in the JAG branch of the GHQ, and it was not possible for me to pull along with the army and they subverted my Government.
I have already communicated to various friends in the Congress and especially Stephen Solaran to use their good office with President Bush so as to put maximum pressure on President Ishaq and the army in Pakistan that they do not disqualify me from the elections as it will be unjust and negation of all democratic principles for which we have struggled.

It would be more appropriate, if military as well as economic assistance to Pakistan is stopped and all the international agencies like World Bank, IMF are told to squeeze the Government of Pakistan and if possible all supply to Pakistan should be disrupted so that normal life in Pakistan comes to stand still.

As long as I was the Prime Minister I kept a check on the Nuclear device but now I do not know what are the plans of Government.

The suspension of F-16 and its spares will bring the army to its senses.
Dear Peter, please use your influence on V. P. Singh, the Indian Prime Minister to engage the Pakistani army on the borders so that they do not impede in my way. I wish Rajiv Gandhi had been the Prime Minister of India , things would have been easier.
Thank you with warm regards,

Sincerely yours,

Benazir Bhutto

In the Daily Nawa-i-Waqt, a statement of Brig. (Retd.) Imtiaz has been published in which he has claimed that the letter was fabricated by Hussein Haqqani. Now God knows that Brig. Imtiaz is doing this to take some old revenge from Haqqani or just to defame Nawaz Sharif. In both situations he should at once contact Hussein Haqqani. Investigation are already going on, this should be also disclosed that whether Benazir Bhutto had written this letter to US senator or this was fabricated by Haqqani. Because now nation wants to know the realities…

Written By Khalid Baig,
Published in Daily Nawa-i-Waqt,
Date: 7 January 2012.

http://www.truthbykbaig.com/2012/01/memo-scandal-jolting-pakistani-politics.html

Inside the Pakistan Army: A Woman’s Experience on the Frontline of the War on Terror

2012-01-08T20:14:00.000+05:00

Why is it that the military in Pakistan continues to be above reproach? This is an old question which has only come up for some real discussion in recent years, and the one which has been asked with unprecedented frequency and intensity in the wake of the recent removal of a prominent civilian — Husain Haqqani — as Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States.

The current debate about the civil-military relations pushes Carey Schofield’s Inside the Pakistan Army further away from the area occupied by works undertaken to earnestly understand all dimensions of an entity. The subtitle says the book is about “a woman’s experience on the frontline of the war on terror”. In actuality, it leaves the reader craving a complete picture. It is a book closer to the official accounts designed to inspire pride within and command respect outside.

“The Pakistan Army may be flawed but it is the best there is. Despite its failings it works better than anything else in Pakistan,” says Schofield, and the case is summarily closed. The expectations raised at the beginning of the book by a fascinating analogy of Pakistan and its provinces and Britain and its various parts are dashed.

Instead, what we get are simplistic explanations about the army’s commitment and its place in the Pakistani society, based on ever ready sources. For instance, for understanding the problem in northwest Pakistan, Schofield finds it quite sufficient to go by the word of a soldier from these areas who is close at hand. And this is how she quotes an army officer who is trying to distance the army from Osama Bin Laden and Abbottabad. “The [PMA] academy and bin Laden’s house are not intervisible.” The assertion here is too obvious to require an elaboration.

Schofield has a bias for the military. Before Inside the Pakistan Army she wrote a book on the Russian army besides authoring various others including one on Mick Jagger. In Pakistan, her five-year-long research was aided by a number of senior army officers.

She comes up with her own adjectives for those who have helped her in her work in Pakistan. These mementoes from her years in this country give her readers an idea of the expanse of her research: “the unimpeachable Imtiaz Hussian; glamorous Hamid Rab Nawaz; outgoing Safdar Hussain; scrupulous Khalid Shameem Wyne; clever and kind Ahmed Shuja Pasha; darkly brilliant Nadim Ijaz; indefatigable Salahuddin Satti; neat Tariq Majid; honourable Hamid Khan; guileless Javed Alam; principled Masood Aslam; gutsy Alam Khattak; gentle Munir Hafiez and his thoughtful cousin Mahmood Durrani; wryly
humorous Shaukat Sultan; endearing Ahsan Saleem Hyat; uncompromising and enlightened Waheed Arshad; and the rather grand Ahsan Azhar Hayat.”

At the outset Schofield candidly writes: “Three successive chiefs had a major influence on my view of the Army. General Jahangir Karamat, General Pervez Musharraf and General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani each embodied different aspects of the Army and of the country.” This is all the support a faithful soldier can ever hope to have. Schofield simply refuses to lend an ear to the civilian case, bar a few pages where she goes through the ritual of summing up the history behind the Pakistan Army.

Unlike what Ayesha Jalal and others have done in their works, she dismisses the civilian view out of hand. That would have been okay had this story been limited to her very lucid descriptions of life in the garrison, its little scandals and routine inter-
regiment rivalries, its moment of reflections, defeats and celebrations of victories. But she drags the ‘unworthy’ civilians into the story and hers is at best an ex parte trial.

Her guard is dropped only for a brief moment in order for her to pay a tribute to a fallen comrade. But even when she discusses the assassination of Major General Faisal Alavi, she does pause to remark that her loyalties are divided between a wronged dear friend and an organisation that had a few problems with him.

Her take on General Musharraf goes: “I met him often when he was President. As Chief of Army Staff it was he, ultimately, who was responsible for giving me access to the Army. What most struck me was this: General Musharraf talked about the problems facing Pakistan in a way that was far saner than most of the civilians I knew. He talked about poverty, disease, lack of education, lack of opportunity, despair.”

It is not for Schofield to find out just how successful the general was in his fight against these problems and how different was his approach from others who have ruled Pakistan. She does acknowledge some of the reasons behind Musharraf’s fall, but is bold enough not to hide her affiliation even when she moves to a front which had exposed the general to attacks based on principles:

“Before his dismissal Chief Justice Iftikhar had been attempting to end the President’s ability to allow terrorists to be handed over to the US, a move that would have further worsened the general’s already difficult relationship with his allies. He was also likely to block the re-election of the President.”

Carey Schofield was in Pakistan long enough to report the soldiers’ approval of the civilian setup that came into being in 2008. “The Army,” she says “wanted the new [Gilani] government to succeed. Officers and men cared about the fate of the country, and the country needed stability. A great many officers supported the PPP’s traditional left-leaning views and would have voted for the party if they had voted at all (few in the armed forces seem to be registered to vote).”

But her displeasure at the ‘disorganised’ manner in which the civilians carry themselves is manifest in an incident she mentions towards the end of the volume: Schofield goes to meet President Asif Zardari, who is on her list of likeable people, and is deeply disappointed by her chaotic reception.

Only a few pages earlier, she recounts an incident related to her by her friend Major General Faisal Alavi. Alavi had told Schofield about his interaction with the Sharif brothers who were brought to Attock jail when he was acting as the custodian of the prison after the 1999 coup. Seeing through her highly-regarded friend’s eyes, Schofield adds her bit to portray Nawaz Sharif as a man with a huge appetite and not so big a heart.

By contrast, she adds a little bit of colour to Shahbaz Sharif’s image when she quotes his answer to a question put to him by Alavi. Asked who was the elder of the two brothers, Shahbaz is reported to have told his keeper that had he been the elder one, they wouldn’t have ended up here.

This is as brainy as the politicians get in Schofield’s diary. In her ruling she says: “They [the soldiers] have no doubt that the Army is more than the sum of its parts and that, whatever its foibles, its wisdom usually prevails.”

By contrast, “the politicians are still venal, the liberal intelligentsia callous about the hardships faced by ordinary people. The lawyers are corrupt and civilian elites seem to have no interest in making things function. Their complacency is revealed in many ways.”

This knowledge about the Pakistani civil society comes as a bonus for Schofield’s course in the Pakistani military. One mystery remains unresolved, though. Why did she call hers a “woman’s experience”? One can only speculate and say that it adds an extra thrill for those used to viewing Pakistan as a cowboy country unfit for visits by women. Perhaps the book has been.

Reviewed By Asha’ar Rehman , written for an exclusively foreign readership.

The reviewer is resident editor, Dawn, Lahore "Inside the Pakistan Army: A Woman’s Experience on the Frontline of the War on Terror" (TERRORISM), By Carey Schofield, Biteback Publishing, London, ISBN 9788182745636, 232pp.http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/08/cover-story-a-case-made-by-a-loyalist.html

► 24:11► 24:11

Inside Story - Pakistan's army - 13 May 09 -

24 min - Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglishNow as the Pakistani army intensifies its offensive against the Taliban, Inside Story asks: Is the army really ...

Please visit: http://aftabkhan.blog.com

Pakistan Rich in Resources, Poor in Leadership- Japan keen on financing Thar coalfield transmission line

2012-01-07T20:28:00.001+05:00

In a major development, Japan has shown interest to finance the much needed laying of the transmission line upto the Thar coalfield, which is needed to expedite power generation from the coalfield.

INTEREST EXPRESSED
An official source said that interest was recently expressed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in a meeting with the officials of the Thar Coal and Energy Board (TCEB). JICA asked TCEB officials to approach Japanese government through Foreign Office, for financing the project as the agency has the resource to finance the project. Japan has been historically averse to finance coal power projects due to environmental issues, but its stance has dramatically changed after the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, after it was hit by tsunami on March 11, 2011, the source said adding that now they were keen to finance coal power projects even in other provinces.

FEASIBILITY STUDY
Keeping in view possible evacuation of 10,000 MW from Thar coalfield within next 5-10 years National Transmission and Despatch Company with the support of Asian Development Bank, has initiated a feasibility study for laying 1300 km of transmission line to initially disperse upto 3000 MW from the Thar coal field to the national grid. The source said total estimated funding required for laying transmission line was estimated $1 billion, which could be only arranged through international donor agencies.

HUGE COAL RESERVES
Pakistan has huge coal reserves mainly in Sindh estimated at 186 billion tonnes, Punjab 235 billion tonnes, Balochistan 217 billion tonnes, Pukhtoonkhwa 90 billion tonnes and Azad Jammu Kashmir nine billion tonnes. These coal reserves can be used for affordable power generation for about 200 years.

COAL GASIFICATION PROJECT
Recently an underground coal gasification pilot project at the Thar coalfield managed by eminent scientist Dr Samar Mubarakmand has successfully started. He said requested the prime minister to arrange immediate funding of Rs2.4 billion and remaining 7.8 billion during the next financial year to complete power generation phase of the project to start providing 100 MW of electricity before the end of 2013.

CHINESE INTEREST
Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) has been formed and it has completed a bankable feasibility by engaging world renowned companies, including RWE of Germany and Sinocoal of China. The first mine and power plant is expected to be commissioned by 2015-16. The estimated cost for the project is $3.6 billion. Chinese companies have shown interest in the project.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thar_coalfield

The Thar coalfield is located in Thar Desert, Tharparkar District of Sindh province in Pakistan. The deposits - 134th largest coal reserves in the world, were discovered in 1991 by Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) and the United State Agency for International Development.

Pakistan has emerged as one of the leading country - seventh in the list of top 20 countries of the world after the discovery of huge lignite coal resources in Sindh. The economic coal deposits of Pakistan are restricted to Paleocene and Eocene rock sequences. It is one of the world’s largest lignite deposits discovered by GSP in 90’s, spread over more than 9,000 km². comprise around 175 billion tonnes sufficient to meet country’s fuel requirements for centuries.

Please visit: http://aftabkhan.blog.com

How did Musharraf become a billionaire?

2012-01-06T20:55:00.000+05:00

In a successful but dubious journey from rags to riches, the former dictator and now the self pro claimed messiah of the people of Pakistan, General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, has become a billionaire.

There is no indication as to who funds him and how he became fabulously rich but the retired general has accumulated billions in offshore accounts besides the property that he has already purchased in foreign lands or inside Pakistan.

Musharraf, who intends to return to Pakistan by the end of this month after seeking the required guarantees from Washington and Riyadh, has a lot of money to spend for his political campaign and his launching as “the best option for Pakistan”.

A source, having a close association with the former dictator, confided to The News that Musharraf has at least seven to ten offshore accounts in Dubai and London containing huge cash in dollars, sterling pounds and dirhams.

In his memoirs - In the Line of Fire - Musharraf admitted that he had come from a really humble background where they did not have enough money but now he pays at least half a million rupees as monthly salary to his personal staff residing inside Pakistan.

According to the source, besides having foreign bank accounts, Musharraf has also made huge saving investments abroad to earn large profits. The source said that in just one Dubai based online trading service — MMA — Musharraf had US$ 1,600,000 (Rs 145 million) last year. Musharraf’s account number, according to the source in this company, is AV77777.

In the Union National Bank, which is an investment bank in Abu Dhabi, Musharraf and his spouse Sehba Musharraf, have a joint account No 4002000304, in which the amount mid last year was almost UAE Dirhams 17,000,000 ( Rs 391 million).

In the same bank- the Union National Bank- the same duo, Mr and Mrs Musharaf have another joint account No 400200315, which is a dollar account. This particular account last year contained US$ 535,325 (Rs 48 million).

In yet another UAE Dirham account in the same financial institution — the Union National Bank — Sehba and Musharraf had almost UAE Dirhams 7,600,000 (Rs 174 million) last year. The account No is 4003006700.

In the fourth account, No 4003006711, in the Union National Bank, the duo had UAE Dirhams 8,000,000 (Rs 184 million).

In the fifth account, No 4003006722 in the same bank — the Union National Bank — Musharraf and his wife had US$ 8,000,000 (Rs 728 million).

In the sixth account, No 4003006733, Mrs Sehba Musharraf and Mr Pervez Musharraf had UAE Dirhams 8,000,000 (Rs 184 million) last year.

In the seventh account, No 4003006744, in the same Union National Bank, the duo holds UAE Dirhams 8,000,000 (Rs 184 million).

In their eighth account in the same bank — the Union National Bank Abu Dhabi — the duo had US$ 1,300,000 (Rs 118 million).

During the initial few months of his taking over as a military dictator following his coup against the Nawaz Sharif government, General Musharraf did make his wealth public, which hardly contained any cash but only some plots in different parts of the country. Musharraf claimed to be the Mr Clean of Pakistan.

How did he become a billionare is a million dollar question. The same question when asked to Musharraf’s spokesperson and his party’s information secretary Fawad Chaudhry Advocate told The News that all the accounts of Pervez Musharraf, whether abroad or in Pakistan, are declared accounts.

“There is not a single hidden bank account like Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari”, he added.

Fawad Chaudhry said that when an Army Chief retires, he gets pensionary benefits worth Rs 400 to 500 million.

Moreover, he added that Bill Clinton and Pervez Musharraf are the highest paid speakers in the world, therefore he earns a handsome amount through lectures.

He clarified that Musharraf’s bank accounts do not have billions of rupees in them.
P.S: While talking with Mubashar Lucqmn in his show at Dynya TV, Musharaf did not deny existence of accounts and money. He added that he earned money from lectures and people donate him. [How lucky?]

http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-30227-How-did-Musharraf-become-a-billionaire?-

Corruption in Pakistan:http://pakistan-posts.blogspot.com/2011/10/corruption-pakistans-past-and-future.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Return of Pink Panther

پرویز مشرف اول و آخر پاکستانی ہیں۔ پاکستان ان کا وطن ہے اور کسی کو یہ اختیار حاصل نہیں کہ انہیں وطن آنے سے روکے۔ انہوں نے
اگر اپنے عہد آمریت میں نواز شریف اور بے نظیر کو وطن آنے سے روک رکھا تھا تو غیر آئینی ہی نہیں غیر انسانی اور غیراخلاقی اقدام تھا۔ پہلے شہباز شریف، ڈکٹیٹر کی رعونت کا سامنا کرنے اور نتائج بھگتنے کے لئے وطن آئے تو ان کے طیارے کا رُخ جدہ کی طرف موڑ دیا گیا۔ پھر نواز شریف اسلام آباد کے ہوائی اڈے پر اترے تو ان سے انتہائی ناروا سلوک کرتے ہوئے دوسرے طیارے پر بٹھا کر جدہ بھیج دیا گیا۔ یہ اس وقت ہوا جب نواز شریف کی درخواست پر سپریم کورٹ قرار دے چکی تھی کہ کسی پاکستانی کو پاکستان آنے کے حق سے محروم نہیں رکھا جاسکتا۔ شہباز شریف کو اپنی بیٹیوں کی رخصتی کے وقت سر پر ہاتھ رکھنے کی اجازت نہ دی گئی۔ ان کے اہل خانہ کو جس بے توقیری کے ساتھ پاکستان سے نکالا گیا، وہ ایک الگ کہانی ہے۔ نواز ، شہباز کے والد، میاں محمد شریف کا انتقال ہوا تو بیٹوں کو اجازت نہ ملی کہ وہ باپ کی میت لے کر پاکستان آئیں اور اسے اپنے ہاتھوں لحد میں اتاریں۔ محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو کا عرصہ جلاوطنی، نواز شریف سے کہیں زیادہ رہا۔ این آر او کے باوجود پرویز مشرف نے انہیں انتخابات سے قبل وطن آنے کی اجازت نہ دی بلکہ دھمکی دیتے ہوئے کہا…”اس کے باوجود آپ آئیں تو میں آپ کے تحفظ کی ضمانت نہیں دے سکتا“۔ وہ آئیں اور کراچی میں ان کا استقبالی جلوس خون میں

نہلا دیا گیا۔ دو سو کے لگ بھگ افراد بھسم ہوگئے اور پھر 27دسمبر کی سرد شام بے نظیر کو بھی قتل کردیا گیا۔

مشرف کے اس غیر انسانی طرز عمل کے باوجود، اسے پاکستان آنے سے ہرگز نہیں روکنا چاہئے۔ اس کو دھکے دیتے ہوئے کسی دوسرے طیارے میں بٹھا کر، کسی دوسرے ملک کو روانہ نہیں کرنا چاہئے۔ اسے ایک پاکستانی شہری کے طور پر پوری تکریم ملنی چاہئے تاکہ اسے اندازہ ہو کہ آمریت اور جمہوریت میں کیا فرق ہے۔ کوئی پہرہ نہ لگے۔ کوئی رکاوٹ کھڑی نہ کی جائے اور کوئی ناکے نہ لگائے جائیں۔ سپریم کورٹ کے جس فیصلے کو اس نے ڈھٹائی کے ساتھ پاؤں تلے روند دیا تھا، اس فیصلے پر پورا عمل ہونا چاہئے کہ ”کسی پاکستانی کو پاکستان آنے سے نہیں روکا جاسکتا“۔

لیکن کیا مشرف پر عائد الزامات کا بے لاگ جائزہ بھی نہیں لیا جانا چاہئے؟ کیا وہ پاکستان کے آئین و قانون سے ماوریٰ کوئی دیومالائی مخلوق ہے؟ کیا اسے انصاف کے کٹہرے میں نہیں لایاجاسکتا؟ کیا صرف اس لئے اس سے کسی طرح کی بازپرس نہیں کی جاسکتی کہ وہ ایک ریٹائرڈ جرنیل ہے؟ کیا اس کے محاسبے کے معنی یہ ہیں کہ فوج کا احتساب کیا جارہا ہے؟ کیا اس سے اکبر بگٹی کے قتل کے بارے میں کوئی سوال نہیں کیا جانا چاہئے؟ کیا اس سے نہیں پوچھا جانا چاہئے کہ لال مسجد اور جامعہ حفصہ پر بہیمانہ یلغار کی نوبت کیوں آئی؟ کیا اس سے کوئی سوال نہیں کیا جانا چاہئے کہ اس نے پاکستان کس قیمت پر امریکہ کے ہاتھوں فروخت کیا تھا؟ کیا اس سے نہیں پوچھا جانا چاہئے کہ عافیہ صدیقی اور اس کے بچوں کو کیونکر امریکیوں کے حوالے کیا گیا؟ کیا اس سے دریافت نہ کیا جائے کہ کتنے افراد امریکیوں کو بیچے گئے، ان کے عوض کتنے ڈالر ملے اور وہ ڈالر کہاں ہیں؟ کیا اس سے کارگل کی بے ثمر مہم جوئی کے بارے میں کوئی سوال نہ کیا جائے؟ کیا اس سے نومبر 2007ء کی ایمرجنسی کے بارے میں کچھ نہ پوچھا جائے جس کی توثیق کسی پارلیمینٹ نے نہیں کی اور جسے سپریم کورٹ ایک طرح کی بغاوت قرار دے چکی ہے؟ کیا اس سے ججوں کی معزولی اور حراست کے بارے میں کوئی سوال نہ کیا جائے؟ کیا اس سے محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو کے قتل کے حوالے سے کوئی استفسار نہ کیا جائے اور اس حقیقت کو پس پشت ڈال دیا جائے کہ محترمہ اپنے قتل سے پہلے خود اسے نامزد کر گئی تھیں؟ کیا توہین عدالت کا وہ مقدمہ نہ کھولا جائے جو نواز شریف کو جدہ روانہ کردینے کے بعد شروع ہوا تھا؟ کیا اس سے نہ پوچھا جائے کہ 12مئی 2007ء کو کراچی کا قتل عام کس کے حکم پر ہوا تھا اور کیونکر اسے عوامی قوت کا مظاہرہ قرار دیا گیا تھا؟ کیا اس سے کوئی سوال نہ کیا جائے کہ اس نے ڈرون حملوں کی اجازت کیونکر دی تھی؟ کیا اس نے نہ پوچھا جائے کہ ایک منتخب صدر کو نکال کر اس نے منصب صدارت کس طرح سنبھال لیا تھا؟ کیا اس سے کوئی سوال نہ کیا جائے کہ اس کے اثاثے کس طرح افق تا افق پھیلتے چلے گئے؟ کیا اس سے دریافت نہ کیا جائے کہ اس کے ہاتھ پر بیعت کرلینے والے پارساؤں کی کرپشن کی فائلیں کہاں پڑی ہیں؟

سوالات ہیں اور لاتعداد ہیں۔ پرویز مشرف نامی شخص سے پوچھے جانے چاہئیں اور ضرور پوچھے جانے چاہئیں۔ اگر پاکستان ایک باضابطہ ریاست ہے، اگر یہاں کوئی آئین کار فرما ہے، اگر یہاں کوئی نظام قانون و انصاف موجود ہے اور اگر ہم نے جمہوریت کو تہذیب کے روایتی دھاروں کے ساتھ ہم آہنگ رکھنا ہے تو مشرف کے تمام تر حقوق کا احترام کرتے ہوئے، اس کا احتساب ہونا چاہئے۔ اور اگر خارجی ضمانتوں اور داخلی مصلحتوں کے سبب ، حکومت، پرویزمشرف کو چھونے کا حوصلہ نہیں رکھتی تو پھر اسے آئین و قانون کا محافظ کہلانے بلکہ ہمارے سروں پر مسلط رہنے کا بھی کوئی حق حاصل نہیں۔

ہم جانتے ہیں کہ این آر او کے تحت جہاں مقدمات کی معافی ہوئی وہاں پرویز مشرف نے بھی کچھ ضمانتیں حاصل کیں۔ جناب آصف زرداری کی صدارت کا چشمہ بھی انہی مصلحتوں کے نخلستان سے پھوٹا۔ اسی کا ایک پہلو تھا کہ آصف زرداری، اپنے اتحادیوں کے ہمراہ یہ پیغام لے کر نواز شریف کے پاس گئے کہ پرویزمشرف کے تمام اقدامات کو انڈیمنٹی دینی ہے۔ انہی مصلحتوں کے تحت مشرف کو گارڈ آف آنر دے کر رخصت کیا گیا اور سید زادہ ملتان کی یہ ممیاہٹ بھی انہی مصلحتوں کے احساس بے چارگی سے پھوٹی تھی کہ ”مشرف کا محاسبہ ڈو ایبل نہیں“۔

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ایشیا میں کئی ایسے ممالک کی مثالیں موجود ہیں جو ہماری طرح کے حالات سے دو چار رہے، لیکن ایماندار قیادت کے باعث جلد دنیا میں اپنا مقام بنانے میں کامیاب ہوئے۔سنگاپور 1960 میں سولہ لاکھ کی آبادی والا ایک چھوٹا سا ملک تھا، جس کے پاس قدرتی وسائل کا بھی فقدان تھا۔Lee Kwan Yew نے 5 جون 1959ء میں سنگاپور کی قیادت سنبھالی اور عمدہ حکومتی بنیادی ڈھانچہ تشکیل دیا۔ جس کے نتیجے میں یہ ملک 1964کی درآمدی پالیسی رکھنے والے ملک سے 1978تک ایک برآمدی پالیسی والے ملک میں تبدیل ہو گیا اور1978تک سنگاپور کے صنعتی شعبے کا حصہ GDPکا 14 فی صد سے بڑھ کر24 فی صد تک ہو گیا۔ شرح نمود بڑھ کر 10فی صد سالانہ اور بیروزگاری 10فی صد سے کم ہو کر3.6 رہ گیا 1978 سے 1985کے دوران ہنر مند افراد کا معاشی ترقی میں حصہ 11فی صد سے بڑ کر22 فی صد تک پہنچ چکا تھا۔تنخواہوں کا اوسط 1979 کے18400 سے بڑھ کر1985ء تک 000،27 ڈالرکے اوسط تک پہنچ گیا۔ 1986 سے 1997 کے دوران سنگا پور کی قیادت نے انجینئرنگ، پیٹروکیمکل اور الیکٹرونکس جیسی صنعتوں کو خصوصی اہمیت دی۔ اِس خصوصی توجہ کے نتیجے میں سائنسی تحقیق میں مصروف سانئسدانوں کی تعداد 3361 سے بڑ ھ کر 1997ء تک 302،11 ہو گئی۔ سنگاپور کا GDP 1980 میں12کھرب ڈالر تھا جو 2010 میں بڑھ کر 251 کھرب ڈالر ہو گیا۔اِس ملک میں بین الاقوامی کمپنیوں کی تعداد غیر ملکی سرمایہ کاری کی بدولت تین ہزار تک جا پہنچی ہے۔Biotechnology سے متعلق صنعتیں سنگا پور میں اب خصوصی اہمیت کی حامل ہیں، اور اِسی وجہ سے بڑی بڑی دوا ساز کمپنیاں یہاں اپنی شاخیں کھول رہی ہیں۔سنگا پور آج بھی بڑی برق رفتاری سے ترقی کی راہ پر گامزن ہے۔اس کا شمار دنیا کی مضبوط ترین معیشت رکھنے والے ممالک میں ہوتا ہے۔جس کا اندازہ اس کی موجودہ پیداواری شرح سے لگایا جا سکتا ہے۔جو 2010کی ابتدائی ششماہی میں 17.91کی سطح پر پہنچ گیا ہے۔ کچھ اسی طرح کے اہداف ڈاکٹر مہاتیر محمد کی قیادت میں ملائشیا نے بھی حاصل کیے ہیں۔ 1970 تک ملائشیا کی معیشت کا دارومدار معدنیاتی وسائل اور کھیتی باڑی پر تھا۔ حکومتی سطح پر معیشت کو نئے صنعتی خطوط پر ڈھالنے کی سنجیدہ کوششوں کے نتیجے میں اس ملک کا GD 36 ملین امریکن ڈالر سے بڑھ کر1980تک 414 بلین امریکن ڈالر تک جا پہنچا۔ آج ملائشیا کی High Technology برآمدات جن میں مائیکرو چپ اور سیمی کنڈکٹر شامل ہیں تمام اسلامی ملکوں کی مجموعی برآمدات کا 86.57ہے، اور یہ کامیابی انہیں ایک ایماندار قیادت کی بدولت حاصل ہوئی۔ آج اس ملک میں (pre capita income)سالانہ شرح آمدنی 14,700 امریکن ڈالر ہے۔ ایک اور مثال کوریا کی ہے، جو ابتداََء اپنی کرپٹ اور نااہل قیادت کے باعث موجودہ پاکستان سے کچھ زیادہ مختلف نہیں تھا۔لیکن یہ ملک اب اپنے آپ کو ترقی پذیر ممالک کی صف سے نکال کر ایک اقتصادی اور انتہائی ترقی یافتہ صنعتی ملک کی حیثیت سے منوا چکا ہے۔ 1961 سے پہلے یہ ملک انتہا درجہ کی رشوت کا شکار تھا ، اور مکمل ناکامی کی نہج پر پہنچ چکا تھا۔ لیکن جنرل پارک کی دُور رس اور جہاندیدہ قیادت میں اس ملک نے بہت زیادہ ترقی کی۔ جنرل پارک نے 1961میں اس ملک کی باگ ڈور سنبھالی اور اپنے دورِ حکومت میں اسے صنعتی اور معاشی اعتبار سے حیرت انگیز کامیابیوں سے دو چار کیا۔ آج اس ملک کی سالانہ شرح آمدنی 72 امریکن ڈالر سے بڑھ کر 30,200ا مریکن ڈالر ہو گئی ہے۔اور ملک کا خالص داخلی پیداوار(GDP) 1.423 ٹریلین امریکن ڈالر تک پہنچ چکا ہے۔ان کامیابیوں کی بڑی وجہ ہمسایہ ممالک خصوصاََ جاپان سے اچھے تعلقات اسطوار کرنا تھا، جس کے نتیجے میں جاپان نے ایک بڑے سرمایہ کار کی حیثیت سے اس ملک میں خاصی سرمایہ کاری کی، اور ساتھ ہی نئی ٹیکنالوجی متعارف کروائی۔ ان تمام مثالوں سے جو نتیجہ اخذ کیا جا سکتا ہے ان میں سرِ فہرست اور بنیادی بات یہ ہے کہ کرپٹ حکمران دراصل ملک کی تباہی میں پہلی سیڑھی ثابت ہوتے ہیں۔ پاکستان اپنی64سالہ آزاد حیثیت میں ملٹری اور سویلین حکومتوں کے ادوار دیکھ چکا ہے۔ یہ بات قابلِ توجہ ہے کہ پاکستان میں ملٹری دورِ حکومت میں سویلین حکومت کی نسبت زیادہ ترقی ہوئی۔ یہ بات حیرت انگیز ضرور ہے مگر اس کی حقیقت سے انکار نہیں کیا جا سکتا۔اس صورتِ حال کی وجوہات تلاش کریں تو یہ بات واضح ہوتی ہے کہ ہمارا موجودہ طرز حکومت جو برطانوی طریقہء حکومت کی بھونڈی شکل ہے، ہمارے لیے کسی طرح بھی موزوں نہیں۔ برطانوی پارلیمانی نظامِ حکومت ہی ہمارے ملک میں فیوڈل سسٹم کو فرغ دینے اور شرح ناخواندگی میں کوئی تبدیلی نہ لانے کا سبب ہے۔ ہمارا جاگیردارانہ نظام تعلیم دشمن ہے۔ نیز ٹیکنولوجی اور جدید طرز سوچ کے فروغ میں بھی بہت حد تک مانع ہے۔ اس طرزِ حکومت نے ہمیشہ اس ملک کو کرپٹ حکمران اور انہی جیسے وزراء دئیے۔ان کی ذ ہنی پسماندگی کا اندازہ اس بات سے لگایا جا سکتا ہے کہ انہوں نے الیکشن کمیشن کے سامنے اپنی اہلیت ثابت کرنے کی لیے جعلی ڈگریاں استعمال کیں۔موجودہ پارلیمنٹ کے ارکان میں سے 51 فی صد نے جعلی ڈگریوں کی بنیاد پر الیکشن میں حصہ لے کر کامیابی حاصل کی، جبکہ مزید 250 ارکانِ اسمبلی کی ڈگریاں اس بنیاد پر مشکوک تصور کی جا سکتی ہیں کہ انہوں نے عدالت کے حکم کے باوجود اپنی دستاویزات HEC کو جمع ہی نہیں کروائیں۔ان ارکانِ اسمبلی نے کروڑوں روپے خرچ کر کے الیکشن میں کامیابی اور حکومت میں شمولیت اختیار کی۔اس پیسے کو وہ کرپشن کی سیاست اور لوٹ مار کا بازار گرم کر کے کئی گنااضافے کے ساتھ وصول کرچکے اور نتیجتاً ملک کو مہنگائی کے اس عذاب تک پہنچا دیا گیاکہ غریب اپنی ضرورتوں کو پورا کرنے کے لیے جرم کا راستہ اختیار کرے یا ان سے چھٹکارا پانے کے لیے خود کشی کرنے پر مجبور ہے۔ حکومت کا حصہ بن کر یہ وزراء قانون کو دھوکا دینے اور ٹیکسوں کی چوری کرنے میں کوئی عار محسوس نہیں کرتے، اور ان ذرائع سے کروڑوں روپے کماتے ہیں۔چینی کی قیمتوں میں اضافہ اسی سلسلہ کی کڑی ہے، جو 32 روپے کلو سے بڑھ کر 80 روپے کلو تک جا پہنچی ہے۔اس کا براہ راست فائدہ انہی کرپٹ سیاستدانوں کی جیبوں میں ہی پہنچا ہے۔ فوجی حکومت عموماََ ٹیکنوکریٹس کو وزراء کے عہدوں پر فائز کرتی رہی ہے جو اُن کی مہارت کی بدولت عمدہ کارکردگی کی بڑی وجہ ہوتی ہے۔ لیکن فوجی حکومت ہماری مشکلات کا مستقل حل نہیں۔ اپنے ملک کو کامیابی کی منزل پر گامزن کرنے کے لیے ہمیں اپنے طرزِ حکومت کر بدلنا ہو گا۔موجودہ صورتِ حال میں صدارتی پارلیمانی نظام ایک بہتر متبادل نظام ہے، جس میں وزیرِ اعظم اپنی کابینہ کا انتخاب خود اہلیت کی بنیاد پر ٹیکنوکریٹس میں سے کر سکتا ہے۔ اور ایسے ادارے جو ملک کی معیشت میں کلیدی کردار ادا کر تے ہیں جیسے اسٹیٹ بینک، اسٹیل مل، پی آئی اے، ریلوے وغیرہ کرپٹ ملازمین سے پاک ہو سکیں، اور آزادانہ طور پر ترقی کر سکیں۔ پاکستان تباہی کے دہانے تک پہنچ چکا ہے۔ ضرورت اس بات کی ہے کہ فوری اقدام کیے جائیں۔ ایسا نہ ہو کہ مزید تاخیر اس ملک کے لیے واپسی کا ہر راستہ مسدود کر دے۔

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