US threatens sanctions if Pak to continue progress on gas project with Iran

United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has threatenedsanctions against Pakistan if Pakistan would continue progress on Pak-Iran gas pipeline project.

While giving statement in front of Congress Hillary Clinton said that the being mounted against Iran by imposing sanctions and siege is being tightened against Tehran.

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Kaira has a point

When my favorite TV anchor got snubbed by a PPP minister (the party I blame for most of Pakistan’s problems),and I could only agree with the latter.

Media bias remains one of the mainstream issues in political debate worldwide. We have seen Western media for instance promulgate wars for ‘peace’ and decades later we see ourselves grappling with sham ‘evidence’. Similarly,Pakistani media has been criticized for presenting a partial picture;to attract a bigger audience,or propagate the interests of those financing them. Either way,yesterday’s ‘heated debate’ left Kamran Khan speechless for the latter twenty six minutes of the show.  Kaira,good or bad,was able to pin down Khan’s strategy,which is not a new one to political debate.

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Flipping Coins – President’s Ordinance to Suspend Section 111 of the Income Tax Ordinance

After learning a valuable lesson following the Parliamentary Debate on the Accountability Bill, which has been categorically pigeonholed after three years of futile debate, the government decided to avoid stalling tactics such as taking a bill to the Parliament floor and passing it via presidential promulgation instead. The most recent of which is the suspension of article 111 of the Income Tax Ordinance which allows officials to tax income, assets and investment of a person whose nature and source are unexplained. This translates into a motion whereby the Federal Board of Revenue will not ask investors about the source of capital they trade with on the Stock Market for 120 days, making it possible for Pakistan’s 34 billion dollar black market to whiten itself overnight. Thus no question raised, investors will be allowed to trade with all they have for motives thus detailed.

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Tug of War at Siachen – In search of simpler solutions for the stalemate

April 13th 

The twenty-eighth anniversary of a stubborn, unnecessary and futile dispute over Siachen was celebrated with the loss of 138 Pakistani soldiers buried under an avalanche.

With an area of approximately 700 square kilometers and a height of over 20000 feet, Siachen is the world’s highest and most brutal battleground. Temperatures average -40 degree Celsius and with blizzards of 160 km/hr make this region impossible to support any human life. Some vegetation and wild roses grow there, from which Siachen gets its name.

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Is Obama the best option for the working class?

Why the 'New Democrats' are old news.

New Haven, CT - For the first time in my life, a president has the guts to make economic injustice the centrepiece of his re-election campaign and has made a tax on the very, very rich (minimum 30 per cent) the centrepiece of his domestic policy platform.  

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National security depends on both development and defense: Gen Kayani

SKARDU  – Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Wednesday said he would like to see the country spend less on defence, arguing that national security depended on development as much as on protecting borders.Noting that ‘peaceful coexistence’ with India was vital to the progress of both countries and that the welfare of the people should be a priority, Gen Kayani said withdrawal of troops from Siachen was also necessary to save the environment from the effects of climate change and thus conserve the shared water resources.

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Zaid Hamids Self Righteous Crusade against SAFMA

In the midst of the many polarized directions in which Pakistan seems to be heading,Zaid Hamid who is a well known Pakistan security consultant and political commentator takes a stand alongside the fundamentalist party against the SAFMA. It’s no secret the ‘religious purists’ disapprove of any form of progressiveness. In accordance with that school of thought,Hamid filed a petition against The South Asian Free Media Association in the Supreme Court for treason against the state. While Hamid may be acting in what he believes to be the best interest of the nation,his allegations against SAFMA are inaccurate and his view point is counterproductive to the long term survival of an already weakened country.

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UN Mission in Syria - An exercise in futility?

The beginning of the U.N. observer mission to Syriaheralds a new phase in more than a year of upheaval across the country. Success, however unlikely, could open the door to some form of dialogue between the regime and its opponents. But such is the polarization in Syria that most analysts see the mission as the least worst option before violence sets the agenda again.

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A PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGE

With the emergence of Mitt Romney as the presumptive Republican nominee, the presidential campaign should enter a serious phase given the gravitas of the issues. Yet the sorry state of American politics means that the chances of a meaningful debate over these difficult and indeed potentially intractable issues confronting the nation are not good. That said, what should form an agenda for both candidates if there were to be a candid exchange of views and presentation of specific policies and plans to address these issues?

First and most importantly, Governor Romney and President Barack Obama need to explain to the public how each plans to lead a government that is badly broken. Whoever wins in November will face a politically and bitterly divided Congress. And even if one party wins control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, a super majority of 60 votes in the Senate required to guarantee passage of legislation will not be achieved perpetuating gridlock and stalemate on Capitol Hill.

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Repeat Telecast

Pakistan at present suffers from the worst energy crisis history has ever recorded. The economy is becoming increasingly dependent on imported petroleum products with an alarming 86% reliance on imported oil.  With gas shortages to power plants, insufficient hydro-electricity generation plants and bureaucratic red tape to thermal power projects, currently Pakistan experiences a shortfall of approximately 5700 MW. Industries and businesses have started to collapse from the unbearable input costs.

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Tacstrat Analysis: The VISIT

From the spate of articles in the Indian media it seems that the Zardari visit has been a success and that it was just what the Indians were waiting for. There is very little mention of the previous refrain about the military calling the shots and the civil government being helpless. This is a good sign and hopefully the two governments will take their cue from the Manmohan–Zardari meeting and make significant progress before the Indian Prime Minister visits Pakistan.

President Zardari had planned a private visit to visit the holy shrine at Ajmer—a much revered Sufi saint’s burial place. Obviously he hoped that the Indians would do something besides just extend courtesy and protocol. There are those who think that the visit to the shrine was orchestrated to create an opportunity for a meeting where the two leaders could speak frankly. If this was not the case then the options for the Indians were to just let it remain a private visit or to extend an invitation for an official visit with all its implications or to do what they did—turn it into a kind of working visit. This worked well because from all accounts the visit was a success and achieved much in terms of understanding and trust. The Indians seem to have come to the conclusion that Mr Zardari and his son are people they can work with.

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Re-visiting Baloch identity

The various narratives intricately built around the problem we refer to as ‘Balochistan: Pakistan’s other war’ need to be understood in light of our colonial past and this region’s history and geography. Contextual analysis of the current scenario is of utmost importance. How the British treated various ethnicities, and helped build sharper divides because of the discrimination practiced in strategic law enforcement have seeped into our political, social and economic reality today. For the British smooth governance with maximum resource extraction was the fundamental motive. The long run repercussions of the strategies used were of little value.

“Rule the Punjabis, intimidate the Sindhis, buy the Pashtun and honor the Baloch”

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Spearhead Research Analysis: Calling All Bounty Hunters

Just when the Raymond Davis fiasco was subsiding the CIA launched a Drone attack on a tribal gathering of elders in the open on a bright sunny day. The rage and hate that this generated ensured that the Davis affair would never go away. Just when the US-Pakistan relationship was about to move forward the retiring US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen decided to sing his swan song with the refrain that the ISI was a veritable arm of the Taliban thereby jump starting the convergence on ‘sticking it’ to the Pakistan military and the ISI— and the US media, already loaded for bear, declared open season on Pakistan. Just when there was a respite the US covertly recruited Pakistanis to work for it and then carried out a unilateral attack deep inside Pakistan to kill Osama bi Laden. Just when Pakistan had begun to cope with this situation there was the obviously deliberate and unprovoked more than hour long attack on a Pakistani border post killing 24 soldiers. Just as Pakistan began to reconsider the US-Pakistan relationship a US Congressman suddenly woke up to become the champion of what he called the ‘freedom struggle’ in what he called ‘Balukistan’. Finally even as Pakistan civil and military leaders were meeting the US proceeded to slap a $10 million bounty on a Pakistani head of a religious organization and then proceeded to admit that the man had not been indicted and that there was no actionable intelligence available to confirm that he was a terrorist. The fact that a US official made the bounty announcement in Delhi in a syrupy speech that endeared her to her Indian hosts made it a certainty that the bounty stratagem would be rejected by Pakistan.

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India Pakistan meeting went well

The vibes from the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Zardari are excellent. The Indian establishment choreographed the event just fine. No grandstanding, no rhetoric, no rush into self-righteousness. Most important, there is hope that high-level meetings in future may become ‘routine’, frequent affairs.

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The General in his Labyrinth

The Indian Army Chief General V K Singh has defied the babus of South Block by disclosing the fact that he was offered a bribe by a colleague for sanctioning the induction of ‘sub-standard’ vehicles into the Army and for listing, in a letter to the Prime Minister, the gross deficiencies in the Indian Army. Earlier the Chief had asked for a review of his date of birth so that his retirement could be delayed by a year. His request was rejected by the Ministry of Defense and the subsequent court case he filed was also decided against him. Inevitably dots are being connected to insinuate that the Chief came up with his allegation and disclosures (mysteriously leaked to the media!) only after he had been denied the extra year because the bribe offer was made two years ago and had been promptly reported by him to the Minister of Defense who has now asked the CBI to investigate. It also transpires that when the Chief reported the matter to the Minister the decision was to let the matter rest—-let sleeping dogs lie! The inevitable conclusion being drawn is that by requesting for an extra year in service the General was asking to be paid back for his silence.

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Doing it wrong is what US does right

So the Sisyphean manhunt for the perpetrators of 9/11 continues. After a decade of blood letting the chosen white people, United States of Paranoia still needs Patsies it can announce exorbitant bounties for and in the process air out the world’s worst kept secret: even after more than a decade of fighting the wildly ‘successful’ War on Terror they still don’t know what they are doing. 

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Behind the curtains

The search for the real problem behind the AFSPA.

Those who believe the West to be the hand behind all inhumane actions are mistaken. The World Wars, the Cold War,  colonialism and now the War on Terror were all based on a certain mindset. The latter in particular is hinged on the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF).  Imposed after the September 11th attacks, AUMF allows the US and its coalition partners to pursue terrorists globally to safeguard their national security. This self defense excuse has taken the war beyond America to Iraq, Afghanistan and most recently to Pakistan. With over 250,000 military and civilian lives lost, the war has become an extremely contentious issue.

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South Asia’s Separation Anxiety

As the Obama administration ponders a more rapid withdrawal of American troops in light of the recent killing spree by a troubled staff sergeant, observers in South Asia see a bleak future as ethnic rivalries and unsettled scores continue to haunt the region.

Indian observers pointedly note that their country was not consulted prior to President Obama’s announcement of American withdrawal by 2014. Nor, they add, has India been brought into the process that is meant to result in a stable Afghanistan once that withdrawal takes place. And they see little evidence of Washington attempting to engage key Central Asian republics bordering Afghanistan—such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan—whose policies could have a significant impact on that country’s future.

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Kashmiris continue to be coerced out of politics

National Front Chairman Nayeem Ahmad Khan Monday said that Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai’s arrest was an indication that Kashmiris are still not being allowed to carry their diplomatic campaign freely.

While addressing party workers in Baramula, Khan strongly condemned the legal action against Dr Fai in US. “Dr Fai has played vital role in the field of diplomacy for his nation and when he has been put behind bars, it is obligatory for the other people from the Kashmiri Diaspora to take his mission on,” he said.

Calling Dr Fai a successful diplomat of Kashmiri People, Khan said that in the present tough times whole Kashmiri nation is with Dr Fai.

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Highest rate of unemployment recorded in euro zone

LONDON — Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro hit its highest level since the currency was introduced back in 1999,official figures showed Monday,adding to fears that the region is in recession.Eurostat,the European Union’s statistics office,said unemployment in the euro zone rose to 10.8 percent in February from 10.7 percent the previous month. The number of unemployed totaled 17.1 million,nearly 1.5 million higher than the same month a year ago. Of the 17 countries in the euro zone,seven countries had unemployment rates of above 10 percent.

The figures stand in marked contrast to the United States — with an unemployment rate of 8.3 percent — which has recorded solid increases in the number of people finding work during the past few months.

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Ominous Silence

Recently the Parliamentary Committee on National Security decided to take Pakistan’s foreign policy to the floor of representatives and argue and debate relatively au courant terms of engagement with USA. While the opposition did sneer at the fact that these recommendations are not binding,non-state actors aka DPC,JI and Al- Zawahiri warned against re-opening NATO supply routes and announced that they won’t shirk from ‘spilling blood’ if the Parliament does give in to US pressure,the fact that for the first time national security and foreign policy was going to be debated and discussed instead of dictated was laudable,with millions of dollars riding on the big question of how far we are willing to go.

Yet the big question was relegated to the back burner at the fourth sitting of the joint session. While questions riddling the common man may not be big enough for our high handed politicians to address,recent developments in the country marked by an escalation of violence that doesn’t have Taliban written all over it is serious enough to have everything else take the back seat.

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