BATS IN THE BELFRY

In response to an article published in Times of India:ISI gave Rs 5 lakh to man who beheaded Indian soldier.

The Indian media continues its mad tirade against Pakistan. Their latest canard is a seemingly meticulous piece of intelligence work by the Indian Military Intelligence (MI). Under the photo of the unfortunate soldier who was found beheaded on the Indian side of the LOC is a detailed account of the planning on the Pakistani side that led to this atrocity. The culprit identified by MI is of course the ISI—their nemesis. Once you assume this the rest is easy –add ranks and names of the military personnel involved,give dates time and places where conferences were held,throw in an odd local civilian name and chart out a route from the Pakistani side to the site of the incident. Throw in a mention of cash flows and voila the intelligence report is complete.

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Reason versus the Patriot

Patriotism does not require reason;it is a feeling that holds the ability to perpetuate success,like pride. In today’s world it takes a real hero to represent a nation that has been abused,belittled and coerced into conforming to what the high handed ones want;A nation that suffers from dogma,depression,delusion and failure. Labeled the underdog,the terrorist and the pest. We don’t need cynicism. Not even to get ‘real’. We have enough on our platter presently to feel the need to look into our past and say we’ve been bad. I don’t have strong moral backing for this suggestion,but because that’s the only way out. We have every problem:economic,security,political,social,you name it. And yet individuals choose to carry this ‘battered’baggage and represent it. Most face humiliation.

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Pakistani exports exceed imports in trade with India

The Indian High Commission said on Tuesday that Pakistan’s exports to India had grown faster than imports  despite missing of a deadline of Dec 31 for complete trade liberalisation regime between the two countries.

A recent tension between Pakistan and India over Line of Control led to suspension of revised visa regime along with cross-border bus service in Kashmir. After signs of easing of tension, bus service between Poonch and Rawalakot was resumed on Monday.

For the commerce ministry in Pakistan, the delay in complete liberalisation was because of procedural hiccups along with political compulsion, but for the skeptics in Pakistan, the LoC tension provides an opportunity to propagate for reversal of all those measures taken so far for complete liberalisation of trade regime with India.

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The New Emerging Global Economic Order: Taking the U.S.-India Example

Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs.

As prepared for delivery

Thank you for that wonderful greeting. I am honored to accept your invitation to participate in the Partnership 2013 Summit. For me this is an excellent opportunity to learn from so many distinguished women and men from across India and from around the world.  To be back in Agra, against the backdrop of one of the great works of art and love of mankind, the Taj Mahal, is a distinct and profound pleasure.  I am always happy to be in India.  On Saturday, I fulfilled a long held wish, when I was able to witness Republic Day in all of its splendor.  It is a remarkable event that I will long remember.

I first came to India as a young man. I traveled the Grand Trunk Road and discovered for myself “incredible India” – long before that term became a common one. My month-long journey on buses and trains – and sometimes on top of buses and trains – was one I have never forgotten.  I saw up close and in action this country’s vibrant democracy, and rich, diverse, creative society. I was left with a deep and enduring affection for both India’s people and its indomitable spirit.

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“Myth of Mohandas K. Gandhi”

Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr. might have heard the word of non-violence from Gandhi,but it is certain that Dr. King did not know the true colors of Mr. Gandhi. From the beginning to the end,M.K. Gandhi was loyal to imperialism. The Western news media and their Indian allies by a massive propaganda exercise created the illusion of sainthood around Gandhi and made people believe that he fought Apartheid in South Africa,and in the process of doing so developed a new method of non-violent struggle called satyagraha. Nothing is farther from the truth.

Gandhi,for the major part of his life,worshipped British imperialism and too often proudly proclaimed himself a lover of the Empire. He was Kipling’s Gunga Din in flesh and blood.

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Obama’s four more in foreign policy

“Fecklessness and timidity disguised as false humility won’t do; we are expected to lead whether we are asked to or want to.” – Paul Bonicelli

The thing about grand illusions is that they are the often just that – grand illusions. And illusions of grandeur hardly make for implementable solutions and policies. A black man leading the world’s most powerful nation is no longer a distant dream for Americans, nor is it achievement that points to greatness of the country when the said leader is facing a difficult second term with regards to foreign policy.

Obama’s second term seems to be shifting the focus from international politics to domestic crisis. In less than two months of being elected, Obama has had to face two serious challenges against the Republican front; the gun control laws and the fiscal cliff. At the same time, American troops are ready to begin withdrawal from Afghanistan and the two governments are in the process of wrapping up final details of the role of US in Afghanistan after 2014.

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The Rising Left: Bibi’s re-election

Despite Bibi’s centre-right posture, an undeniable rise in the Left brings the new Knesset closer to a peace deal.

22 January 2013: Benjamin Netanyahu has been re-elected for a second term as Prime Minister. With floundering claims of tightening the leash for the ultra orthodox, and working towards genuine peace with Palestine, Bibi was trying to appeal to the new wave of ‘Leftist’ awakening. For the Likud party a coalition with the freshly popular Yesh Atid, or ‘There is a Future’, a party headed by political newcomer Yair Lapid showed surprising strength. Lapid’s inclination towards genuine economic reform, and awareness of Palestine’s colonization as immoral and an economic drain on Israel’s resources resonated well with the growing tide. Netanyahu, keeping in mind Likud party’s right-centre posture, and trending ‘welfare’ ‘justice’ clad political reformers decided to assure a broad coalition agenda which would assure this rising wave of leftist politik that a blocking majority is not part of this term’s contract.

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The LOC Lesson

The India – Pakistan scene is littered with the debris of past events and each side has its own version of those events. There was the 1965 war rooted in the Kashmir situation at that time, then the 1971 exploitation of Pakistan’s predicament in East Pakistan that led to its secession, the 1984 aggression by India that created the still unresolved Siachen issue, there was the attack on the Indian Parliament that triggered a confrontation that could have led to war between the two nuclear weapon states, there was the Kargil attack from Pakistan, then the terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008 and the latest is the cease fire violation on the Line of Control (LOC).

Like all previous events much has been written and spoken about the latest LOC situation. The media on both sides — but much more on the Indian side — has spewed venom and demanded action. Indian military leaders have spoken publicly in threatening tones delivering totally unwarranted warnings and politicians in India have exploited the situation to bring pressure on the government. Sanity seems to have prevailed at last and both sides are stepping back from the brink — there really being no other option. In Pakistan there is rare consensus that the situation was handled with restraint with the military abstaining from provocative statements and our Foreign Minister saying just the right things.

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NAB investigation officer in RPP case found hanging from a fan

ISLAMABAD: An officer involved in the investigation of the Rental Power Projects (RPP) case was found dead at the federal lodges number 2 in Islamabad, DawnNews reported.

Kamran Faisal who held the position of assistant director in the NAB allegedly committed suicide.

Faisal’s body was found hanging from a ceiling fan, police said, whereas sources told DawnNews that he was reportedly under extreme pressure during his investigation of the RPP case.

Police added that Faisal’s body had been taken to investigate the cause of death.

Inspector General Islamabad Police said Faisal’s death appeared to be a suicide.

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The Qadri Intervention

From a largely forgotten cleric Dr Tahirul Qadri has become a household word and a familiar sight on TV screens and the front pages of newspapers. TV anchors and the participants in endless analyses and debates have sought to discern his past, his future and his ambitions, and above all who drives him to do what he is doing. No one believes that his agenda is purely reformist — everyone believes that after or during the reformation will emerge a political ambition. No one believes that his is a solo flight — everyone believes that his flight is guided and precision guided at that. If Dr Qadri and perhaps others think his venture will reach the conclusion he seeks then they are in for a disappointment because he has mounted a challenge to the state and its institutions on the basis of the inept performance of an elected government and a flawed political system. In a democracy such corrections come from free and fair elections and on that event the whole country is totally focused with the Supreme Court in an over watch role. This fact could not have been lost on Dr Qadri and those who support him.

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The Amazing Indian Army

Though western media have a soft corner for India,as they consider it a largest democracy of the world and a secular state,reports abound that India’s security forces use torture and rape as a weapon to punish,intimidate,humiliate and degrade the victims in Kashmir and elsewhere in India. The pattern of Army’s misconduct is also glaringly observed when contingent of Indian army performs duties as UN peacekeeping mission abroad. In Congo, army personnel raped women that resulted in unlawful pregnancies. Twelve officers and thirty-nine soldiers were probed in Meerut,Uttar Pradesh,India,for sexually abusing the local women and for having fathered children while on UN peacekeeping mission in Congo in 2008. UN Commission found DNA evidence of children born to Congo women,having distinct Indian features. UN authorities are putting pressure on Indian Government to investigate the issue. Unfortunately Indian media insinuated Pakistani spy agency “ISI” to protect a career officer of Indian Army employed as Instructor in Bangladesh Staff College who was caught with his pants down with a Bangladeshi woman by some vigilant eye of camera.

The Indian soldiers had exploited the war torn women of Congo,and sexual abuse cases reached into hundreds. These girls and women were raped either through coercion or under deceit of food items and Indian-made cosmetics. Indian brigade commander in Congo accused Pakistani soldiers of such violations to avert the blame. UN authorities ordered DNA tests. UN authorities informed Indian government and asked for legal proceeding against these officers and soldiers. Indian efforts of accusing Pakistani soldiers were refuted due to DNA test. Following the allegations,the regiment in which the officers and soldiers were serving was recalled from the Congo and attached to the Western Command headquarters. Earlier too,there have been allegations of sexual abuse and graft against Indian Army officers and soldiers serving in UN missions in the Congo. In March 2008,three officers were charged with sexual abuse of a local woman while on a holiday in South Africa. In 2007,there were allegations that some of the Indian peacekeepers had exchanged food and information with the locals for obtaining gold from rebels in North Kivu in the Congo.

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MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s Drone Attack

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Plan B for Iran

Just two days after the US government imposed a new round of even more brutal sanctions on Iran’s economy, Saeed Jalili, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council expressed his nation’s desire to hold talks with the P5+1 nations this January. Iran had shown interest back in October 2012 but decided to wait for the US presidential elections to happen. One then wonders why the United States decided to act antagonistically? Did America doubt Iran’s intentions so much that it felt the need for additional sanctions to deliver the final nudge to bring Iran to talks?

History has witnessed the course of action US and its European allies have chosen when their efforts to engage with Iran have failed, namely sanctions. Recently however many dominant Asian powers have also agreed to resort to this method. America’s use of sanctions against Iran dates back to 1979. Over the years, it has refined the sanctions to target Iran’s nuclear and missile technologies as well as all those parties affiliated with this program. A number of financial sanctions have frozen any American assets held by these parties. It has also extended the sanctions to include any foreign entities engaged in aiding Iran’s nuclear aspirations. Since 2006, Iran’s major banks like Bank Saderat and Bank Melli, have also been subjected to sanctions. Companies having links to groups banned by UN sanctions were also targeted.

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Extreme Human Rights Abuses by Indian Army

The rape in Delhi has shocked India. Has it really? Or was it the sight of thousands of young students, male and female, demonstrating on the streets and being assaulted by the police for daring to demonstrate that made some Indian citizens think seriously about the problem? As for the Congress government that has, like most of the opposition parties, tolerated this for decades, it was the bad publicity abroad that finally did the trick, but only as far as this case is concerned.

Rape takes place in police stations, in military barracks, in the streets and occasionally in some provincial parliaments. The feminist Communist parliamentarian Brinda Karat, who has long campaigned on the issue, pointed to the assault of a member of the Trinamool assembly by a male oppositionist on 11 December last year. ‘Women were not safe even inside the assembly,’ she said.

Legal activists in Kashmir and Manipur, occupied by the Indian Army, have produced report after report highlighting cases of women raped by soldiers. Response from the top brass: nil. In a country where the culture of rape is so embedded, only a determined effort on every level can change things. This will not happen if this case and others are forgotten.

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THE PUZZLE

The Pieces of the Puzzle

#1—Renewed interest by Scotland Yard in the Imran Farooq murder in London

#2—The unconditional and abject apology by the MQM before the Supreme Court of Pakistan

#3—The Qadri intervention

#4—MQM’s prompt and total support of the Qadri intervention.

#5—Surge in US Drone attacks with TTP being targeted.

#5—Pakistan military’s changed threat perception with the internal threat identified as the main threat and a public announcement of this realization.

#6—US/UK/NATO compulsion to exit Afghanistan in an orderly manner and the need to protect Afghanistan from external inroads in the vulnerable post exit period

#7—Pakistan’s centrality in the entire exit strategy including safe passage for logistic movement.

#8—The political situation in Pakistan and the US/UK desire for status quo so that their exit strategy continues to get support.

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Af-Pak security conundrum

Pakistan’s official stance on the US presence in Afghanistan has been clear for many years: American troops must withdraw from the war-torn country as soon as possible and leave national matters in the hands of the elected government. The year of the US withdrawal is almost here and there is a serious debate among analysts, media personnel and governments alike over the number of troops US will leave in Afghanistan to continue to train police personnel, launching strikes against militants and slimming Al-Qaeda presence in the country.

There are unconfirmed media reports US plans to cut the post-withdrawal US facilities in the Afghanistan from 90 to a mere 5. This has raised the question of the US presence in Afghanistan being more vulnerable to attacks from militants. This question has also been evident from the White House-Pentagon deadlock over the number of US soldiers that should be present and the number that Obama is willing to send to help the transition process.

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Foreign elements in domestic terrorism

Blocked roads, police check-posts and a heavy presence of armed forces has become the norm in northern areas of Pakistan. Terrorism has become so deeply entrenched in these areas that it is difficult to differentiate between friend and foe. National and International security analysts inevitably try to blame government's policies and law enforcement agencies. But Pakistan might not be solely at fault for the pervading state of insecurity within its borders.

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Middle Eastern politics: of Power, Oil and Puppet Regimes

“Today I tell you, and I declare it to the whole world, that we accept to live with you in permanent peace based on justice.” –Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat became the first Arab Leader to recognize Israel in 1977

2011 and 2012 have been tough years for Israel. While the unconditional support from their biggest ally, and billions of dollars flowing into the country strengthening military and economy, the tide has turned drastically against their favor. The bottom line is: no matter how many safety nets the West provides for their strategic ally, Middle Eastern politics remains far too unruly to be controlled or predicted even. Simultaneously, the momentous social media revolutions and revolutionaries gained popularity in the West so rapidly that the only option remaining for the US was to support and use backdoor channels to fine tune. The only ‘enemy’ that could openly be called out on remained Iran. And despite harsh anti-Iran rhetoric through the months approaching US 2012 election, the Republicans were reduced to second best.

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Thugs are not revolutionaries

MQM’s Altaf Bhai is walking on a tightrope and he is managing this delicate task with political skill one would not have expected from the loud,often eccentric,politician. How does one plan a long march against the very government they have a coalition with,and at the same time assure them that there shall be no parting of ways? Apparently,MQM can.

It is easy to see MQM’s game in the entire Tahir ul Qadri saga. Here is a political party largely unpopular in most quarters of Pakistan,securing its constituency via dirty tactics that has caused its leader to flee the country. Often the butt of political jokes,MQM is not a force one takes seriously in national politics unless Karachi is specifically analyzed. This has changed with the new love affair between Qadri and Altaf. While Qadri’s agenda might be questionable,MQM’s agenda is not. Hop on the bandwagon,take a long march to Islamabad and try to get some leverage and position in the interim government negotiations. If that fails,hey,there is still a coalition with the country’s largest political party to fall back on.

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Role of Jews in world history

Interesting revelations!! What is the ultimate truth only God knows!!

Commentary By Jayne Gardener

I always used to wonder what it was about Jews that made people throughout history despise them. If they were indeed “God’s chosen” I thought, they had to be the unluckiest people in the history of the world.

Why were they persecuted throughout history? Why had the Nazis herded them into cattle cars and taken them to “extermination camps” to dispose once and for all of the “Jewish problem?”

I suddenly recognized that if Hitler had developed a “Final Solution” to the Jewish question, that there had to have been a “Jewish Problem.” Could the Jews have in any way behaved in such a manner that would make the countries in which they resided turn against them, or were they just unfortunate, innocent victims?

I set out to find answers for my questions, mainly turning to the Internet, but also reading various books on the subject. What I found became increasingly disturbing to me. I had not known that throughout history, the Jews had been expelled from 79 countries, some countries more than once. I had not known that many of the claims they made about the Holocaust that I had believed unquestioningly for so long were in fact fraudulent.

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