PIA to show hindi movies on Board

Mumbai, Thrusday, June 12, 2008 (BSNS) A step towards lifting the ban on the screening of Hindi movies was taken by Pakistan government that allowed screening of Hindi movies on the International flights from Pakistan. Asif Ali Zardari instructed to lift the ban on Hindi movies and currently Bhoothnath, Jannat and Taare Zameen Par are getting screened in the flights.

Achievements and recognitions of PIA

First airline from an Asian country to fly the Super Constellation.

First Asian airline to operate a jet aircraft.

First Asian airline to be granted maintenance approval by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Air Registration Board, predecessor of the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

First non-communist airline to fly to the People's Republic of China, and operate a service between Asia and Europe via Moscow.

First airline in Asia to induct the new technology Boeing 737-300 aircraft.

First airline in the world to operate scheduled helicopter services.

First airline to show in-flight movies on international routes.

The first airline in South Asia to introduce auto-ticketing facility.

The first airline in the world to fly to Tashkent, capital of the newly independent state of Uzbekistan.

First airline in the world to start Air Safari with jet aircraft.

First Asian airline to start flights to Oslo, the capital city of Norway.

First airline in the world to induct Boeing 777-200LR, the world's longest range commercial airliner.

First airline in the world to take delivery of the Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner (Longer Range Variant).

Pakistan International Airlines Flight Services Department was awarded the ISO 9001:2000 certification award during May 2006.

First airline in Pakistan to operate a flight with an all female crew at command and in the cabin.

First airline to operate the Boeing 777-200ER, 777-200LR and 777-300ER altogether.

PIA Flight Kitchens in Karachi were awarded the HACCP Certification

The Wahhabisation of Pakistan

The migration of thousands of Pakistani men to Gulf states since the 1970s has had a huge impact on the character of the country

"Pakistan is in a leaderless drift four months after elections", concluded Carlotta Gall in the New York Times on June 24. Just two days later, comes news that "Baitullah Mehsud, the head of the Pakistani Taliban" has killed 22 members of an intermediary peace committee between the State of Pakistan and Mehsud. I guess there are some leaders in Pakistan, after all. Pakistan's "Talibanisation" in the northwestern rural regions and the stalled lawyer's movement in the major cities appear, at first glance, to reflect a deep chasm within Pakistani society. This division, if one should call it anything, is routinely understood as a manifestation of moderate v extreme Islam. But that raises the question of why it manifests itself along rural/urban, and class lines.
Extremist ideology, as we have learned in the last 8 years, is just as prone to attract highly-educated members of the professional class as unemployed, frustrated youth. We have to delve deeper into Pakistan's recent past if we are to understand the crisis it faces at the present. Sub-continental history is dotted with intermittent mass movement of people – usually triggered by famine, war or worse – replete with attendant tales of distress and misery. In my reckoning, the early 1970s saw the another key migration that has so far received little analysis. It involved vast numbers of men from the rural and semi-urban parts of Pakistan moving to the emerging oil-based oligarchies in the Gulf.
This economic migration created a backflow of liquid capital to these same villages and towns in Punjab, Sindh and the Northwest Frontier Province. But it also provided a unique vehicle for the transferring of the various strains of Muslim experience into the rather stilted one, currently on everyone's lips – Wahhabism. Between 1975 and 1985, the number of Pakistanis in the Gulf states rose from 205,000 to 446,000, with over $2.5bn flowing back annually. At its height in the mid-1980s, nearly 10% of Pakistan's adult male workforce was employed in the Gulf states.
These migrant workers – over 80% were unskilled or semi-skilled – usually lasted about 4-6 years in the Gulf states and were replaced by other family, clan, tribe or village members. What they sent home – goods and cash – were the dominant factor in bolstering the Pakistani economy throughout the 1970s and 1980s and one of the key factors in Pakistan's turn towards western Asia under Bhutto and Zia ul-Haq. The migration cooled down during the 1990s but since 2000 there has been an increase the flow of workers. Currently, Pakistani workers are heavily employed in Dubai, Kuwait and Iraq. This large-scale migration to the Middle East had significant effects on local economies and production cycles but perhaps more importantly, it has had a sociocultural impact on Pakistan.

Just as significant was the religiosity that came back with the workers. Historically speaking, the Wahhabi reading of Islam had found little purchase on the subcontinent. Mainly because Wahhabi ideology is at odds with practices in Pakistani culture, which cherished its sufi saints. However, this migration allowed a vast population to unlearn their "decadent" and "deviant" practices from the "pure practitioners" in Saudi Arabia, Qatar or the Emirates.

In the southern valleys and northern mountains dupattas were replaced with burkas and sufi shrines with madrasas. This cultural turn dovetailed with Zia ul-Haq's policies of Sunnification and the selling of jihad as a necessary commodity to the Pakistani people.
Palestine, Chechnya and Kashmir became the de-facto topics at every Friday sermon from Doha and Riyadh to Dera Ghazi Khan and Rawalpindi. However, this Wahhabisation, which included a stricter, more literal interpretation of Qur'an, the demonisation of non-believers, antisemitic rhetoric, racism, the desire to "fund" jihads and so on, was never a straightforward process of important. Its progress was gradual and organic in a way that slowly de-legitimised established practices while distorting others: the spiritual guide was transformed into one who cast, or fought, black magic.
It is hard to find a household, a conversation, in current day Pakistan that is free of such concerns. The practitioners combine the zeal of the Wahhabi imam with the bank-teller's command of charges due: $10 for the destruction of a marriage, $20 for an incantation for a ruined libido. All wrapped in literal reading of Qur'anic text.

One cannot go further in examining this process of Wahhabisation without taking into account the impact of this migration of fathers on their families back home. What are the attitudes of this particular generation X towards the state?

Can we really begin to look at the success or failure of the lawyer's movement without examining the Gulf Migration? Can we really talk about democracy without taking into account the roles of millions of Pakistanis as second or third rate citizens, with no rights in law as a person, in Gulf states? While many of us attempt to understand modern Pakistan in terms of political theory, or the appeal of fundamentalism in terms of theology neither of these approaches have proven fruitful. It is time that we broadened our scope of inquiry – to examine carefully labour and migration, civil and social structures, law and order, human rights and the effect they have on the many peoples of Pakistan.

PERSONAS: Most Pakistanis know Ali Saleem, 28, as Begum Nawazish Ali, a middle-aged widow who welcomes viewers into her drawing room on Saturday nights for a little gossip with the guests.

In a country where extremists rage against the cosmopolitan, Ali Saleem dons the persona -- and sari -- of a flirty middle-aged widow for a TV talk show watched by everyone from models to mullahs.

He gave Pakistan her voice

"I want to lift all this negativity we have, to get my poor people to lighten up," Ali Saleem said in the rapid, chatty style that has helped make his talk show popular with everyone from models to mullahs.

Amid the bombings and assassinations, Ali said, it's his duty to give audiences a respite from reality, and to present a Pakistani face to the world that challenges the monochromatic image of a country descending into hell. "My existence on TV discredits the misconception that Pakistan is a country of bearded extremists," he said. "I want to show the world that we are just cool, normal people."It's a message Saleem usually delivers swathed in gorgeous saris and thick makeup, with glitter on his hairless arms and a mischievous lipstick smile on his face.

Most Pakistanis know Saleem, 28, as Begum Nawazish Ali, a middle-aged widow who welcomes viewers into her drawing room on Saturday nights for a little gossip with the guests on "The Late Show with Begum Nawazish Ali." Ensconced in the set's chintz and candlelight, the Begum, who hasn't lost the spark for sex, swaps fashion tips with female guests, flirts shamelessly with the men (even with a mullah on one night), and gets in frequent shots at politicians, including President Bush, for whom she carries a bit of a torch. For those searching for a modern voice in the Muslim world, the Begum, which means Lady or Mrs., has been one answer: a sassy character, irreverent toward authority. "My people are not as barbaric as the West portrays us," said the openly bisexual Saleem. ("Actually, I like to say I'm tri-sexual -- I'll try anything," is how he put it.)

And in a country where extremists are at war with such cosmopolitan heresies, Saleem has never received a single threat over his open lifestyle.

He gleefully recounted taking a domestic flight on which most of the passengers were religious leaders. He was collecting his bags from the overhead compartment upon landing, when one of the mullahs put a hand on his shoulder. He froze."He told me he liked the show," recalled Saleem, clearly thrilled to tell the story. "But he did remind me to be sure to pray every day.

""The Late Show" is not an aberration on Pakistani TV. President Pervez Musharraf may have come to power in a military coup, but even his critics acknowledge that until his recent crackdown on media, Musharraf's eight-year rule has seen a historic liberalization of television in the country.

God Arrested Near Church

God has been arrested for selling cocaine near a church in Tampa, Florida. God, whose full name is God Lucky Howard, had been under police investigation since April.
God sold the cocaine to undercover detectives, according to police, and another 22 grams were found in God's home.
God is being held on $86,500.


Source: news.yahoo.com

US Shows Footage Legitimising Pakistan Border Strike

The United States has released footage of the much-criticised air strike on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border where 11 Pakistani soldiers were killed. According to the US, the video proves pro-Taleban militants were the target of the strike.
Paksitan's army slammed the strike as an "unprovoked and cowardly act". According to an analyst for the BBC, the US very rarely releases footage from its military strikes, and this implies it has come under great pressure to explain itself.
The footage shows militia firing upon troops not seen as they were off camera.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

India's Top General Calls for Military Space Program

The head of India's army, General Deepak Kapoor, has called for development of a military space program for the purpose of self defence, noting that China's space program is making rapid progress.
India has already embarked on an ambitious military program. It carried out tests on a nuclear-capable missile and is reopening air force bases along its Chinese border. It also plans to acquire nuclear subs and aircraft carriers within 10 years.
"[We need to] optimize space applications for military purposes... With time we will get sucked in to a military race to protect our space assets and inevitably there will be a military contest in space," said Kapoor.


Source: www.sfgate.com

Fine Art of Blogging: Pakistan Blog Directory

Fine Art of Blogging: Pakistan Blog Directory

Dunkin' Donuts pulls Rachael Ray add for Islamic Scarf Terrorism Fears


The Gap is widening. No...I am not talking about the gap between my ears!

The Communications Gap between Muslims and the rest of the world. The East West Gap. Well at least in the United States there is a growing gap between what people believe about Islam and the true beliefs of the Muslims in America.

Now we have this story with Rachael ray and Dunkin' Donuts. The idea of having a certain kind of scarf with a certain pattern seems a little too far fetched. Why not just put a green crescent on all the Muslims arms?

The demographics of radical Islam

The Muslim world half a century from now can expect the short end of the stick from the modern world. It has generated only two great surpluses, namely people and oil.

By the middle of the century both of these will have begun to dwindle. But at the moment it has 25 million idle young men.

No leader can remain in power who does not give them a destination to march to. By no means does that imply that all of these 25 million will become suicide bombers, but a great many of them are likely to emigrate to Europe, including Eastern Europe, where populations are stagnant and about to decline. A Muslim takeover of Western Europe surely is a possible outcome.

General staffs before World War I began war planning with demographic tables, calculating how many men of military age they might feed to the machine guns. France preferred an early war because its stagnant population would not produce enough soldiers a generation hence to fight Germany. Only Israel’s general staff looks at demographic tables today, to draw prospective boundaries that will enclose a future Jewish majority. Demographics still provide vital strategic information, albeit in quite a different fashion.

Today’s Islamists think like the French general staff in 1914. Islam has one generation in which to establish a global theocracy before hitting a demographic barrier. Islam has enough young men - the pool of unemployed Arabs is expected to reach 25 million by 2010 - to fight a war during the next 30 years. Because of mass migration to Western Europe, the worst of the war might be fought on European soil.

Although the Muslim birth rate today is the world’s second highest (after sub-Saharan Africa), it is falling faster than the birth rate of any other culture. By 2050, according to the latest UN projections, the population growth rate of the Muslim world will converge on that of the United States (although it will be much higher than Europe's or China's). Falling fertility measures the growing influence of modernity upon the Muslim world. Literacy rates, especially female literacy, best explain the difference between the very high fertility rates of pre-modern society and the moderate fertility rates of industrial countries,

This is clearly the case in the Muslim world where the lowest rates of adult literacy correspond to the highest population growthrate. Literacy alone explains 58% of the variation in birth rates among Muslim countries. Urbanization, literacy, and openness to the modern world ultimately will suppress the Muslim womb, in the absence of radical measures. In a new volume of essays on modern Islamic thought, the Islamists Suha Taji-Farouki and Basheer M Nafi observe, “Rather than being a development within cultural traditions that is internally generated, 20th century Islamic thought is constitutively responsive; it is substantially a reaction to extrinsic challenges.” [1] The challenge stems from the transformation of Muslim life:

In the Middle East of 1900, for example, less than 10% of the inhabitants were city dwellers; by 1980, 47% were urban. In 1800, Cairo had a population of 250,000, rising to 600,000 by the beginning of the 20th century. The unprecedented influx of immigrants from rural areas brought the population of Cairo to almost 8 million by 1980. Massive urbanization altered patterns of living, of housing and architecture, of the human relation with space and land, of marketing, employment, and consumption, and the very structure of family and social hierarchy. [2] The sharp fall in the Muslim population growth rate expresses the extreme fragility of traditional society. Translated into the Islamist vocabulary (citing again Taji-Farouki and Nafi), this means that:

A Muslim sense of vulnerability and outrage is further exacerbated by the seemingly unstoppable encroachment of American popular culture and modes of consumerism and the transparent hypocrisy of the American rhetoric of universal rights and liberties. It is also stoked by Western ambivalence towards economic disparities in the world. [3]Rapid urbanization, to be sure, produced growing pains in every case on record. Britain transported its displaced population to America and then to Australia, including the “clearing” of entire Scots villages forced onto ships for Canada. But Britain’s urbanization coincided with rapid economic growth and improving living standards. The Arab world’s urbanization has only created a stagnant pool of urban poor. As the London Economist summarized in the United Nations Arab Development Report for 2002:
One in five Arabs still live on less than $2 a day. And over the past 20 years growth in income per head, at an annual rate of .5%, was lower than anywhere else in the world except sub-Saharan Africa. At this rate, says the report, it will take the average Arab 140 years to double his income, a target that some regions are set to reach in less than 10 years. Stagnant growth, together with a fast-rising population, means vanishing jobs. About 12 million people, or 15% of the labor force, are already unemployed, and on present trends the number could rise to 25 million by 2010. [4]Excluding Indonesia, the Muslim’s world literacy rate stands at only 53%, against 81% for China; Arab literacy is only 50%. Only 1% of the population owns a personal computer. It is delusional to believe that the Arab world, which now exports (net of oil) as much as Finland, might come to compete with China, India and the rest of Asia in the global market for goods and services.

Just as the Muslim population peaks, the one bounty that nature has bestowed upon the Arabs, namely oil, will begin to diminish. According to the US Department of Energy, conventional oil production will peak just before 2050 at the present 2% rate of production growth. In short, the Muslim world half a century from now can expect the short end of the stick from the modern world. It has generated only two great surpluses, namely people and oil. By the middle of the century both of these will have begun to dwindle.

But at the moment it has 25 million idle young men. No leader can remain in power who does not give them a destination to march to. By no means does that imply that all of these 25 million will become suicide bombers, but a great many of them are likely to emigrate to Europe, including Eastern Europe, where populations are stagnant and about to decline. A Muslim takeover of Western Europe surely is a possible outcome.

Notes[1] Suha Taji-Farouki and Basheer M. Nafi, Islamic Thought in the Twentieth Century (Tauris: London 2004), p 9 [2] Ibid, p 2 [3] Op cit, p 14 [4] Economist, July 4, 2002

Pakistan: Asia Cup

'Homecoming' for Hong Kong's unknowns

As no less than nine of their squad were born in Pakistan, the ninth Asia Cup could well be mistaken as a homecoming of sorts for Hong Kong. And when Tabarak Dar, their captain, suddenly sized up the press conference and started answering questions in Urdu, the impression was only enhanced. Aftab Habib, their coach, also an ex-England international, is another with links to Pakistan.
What it should not be mistaken for is a misplaced sense of loyalty, especially as their opening match is against the hosts. "Lots of our players have family here and links with Pakistan," said Habib. "But they are qualified as Hong Kong players and we classify ourselves as Hong Kong players."

ISLAMABAD — The notorious US security firm Blackwater has reportedly established a presence in the restive tribal belt on the Afghan borders to help the FBI and CIA track down Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants allegedly hiding there and protect USAID projects.

"We have sent a report to the government regarding Backwater's presence in the country," an intelligence official told Islamonline.net requesting anonymity for not being authorized to discuss the sensitive issue.
Intelligence sources say that currently 20 to 25 Blackwater agents are operating in the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP), which borders Afghanistan, masquerading themselves as US intelligence and diplomatic officials.
"They are trying to establish their feet. They are hiding themselves under the diplomatic and FBI covers."
He said Blackwater has hired the services of some local security agencies to work for them.
"We are keeping an eye on the security agencies they have hired."
The intelligence official says Blackwater came to the tribal belt for two reasons.
"First, to track down Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders, which US agencies believe are hiding along the Pak-Afghan border. Secondly, to provide security to the various projects launched by USAID in NWFP, and some tribal areas."
The South Carolina-based security firm gained world notoriety over involvement in dozens of unprovoked civilian killings in Iraq.
Established 10 years ago by Erik Prince , a former Navy SEAL and a right-wing son of a multi-millionaire, the security consulting firm has grown into what US investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill describes as the "world's most powerful mercenary army."
Riding machine-gun mounted utility vehicles, Blackwater’s armed contractors have gained notoriety for shooting first and not bothering to ask questions later.
A recent US congressional report discovered Blackwater has been involved in 195 shooting incidents since 2005, mostly unprovoked.

A news report says NWFP government officially inform to Federal Government that there are signs and evidences which lead them to believe that America is trying to bring new country on World map comprising of tribal areas of Pakistan including Swat valley.
So is this Master Plan? Is this the way America want to keep an eye on China and Russia? Is it the way America wants to put Pakistanis on their knees so that UNICOL can lay pipe through Pakistan to India?

Its only America’s good luck and Pakistan’s bad luck that America (an international thug) had puppets like Yahya and Musharaf who for their personal interests ensured America gets what he wanted. But sometimes good luck ran out before you know. Same case with America.

No matter how many attack he perform on Mohmand Agency (as during Lawyers Long March to give threat to Pakistani Government and Pakistan Army to do not impeach or harm Musharaf), having his puppet as Adviser of Interior Ministry Rehman Malik, Trader of dead Pakistanis, Mr. Ahmed Mukhtar Defence Minister (Defence??), America’s luck is running out.

“It is far better to live like a Tiger for a day than to live like a jackal for a hundred years”

Pakistani Student Snubs US Award

Refuses US prize of academic excellence in protest

Pakistani student Samad Khurram refused to accept an award of academic excellence from United States Ambassador Anne Patterson on Wednesday June 18th 2008, in protest against the US bombing in Mohmand Agency last week and its support of President Pervez Musharraf, who he said was an unconstitutional president and had destroyed Pakistan's judicial institution.Patterson, who was due to present the award during a ceremony at the National Art Gallery, said she regretted the attacks, which were “a terrible misunderstanding”. Khurram returned peacefully and did not talk to reporters. The academic excellence award was being given to him for his admission to Harvard, a world distinction in thinking skills, a regional distinction in chemistry and 7 A grades in A level.


Well Done!! Samad Khurram!!

What slaves in Forign Ministary, Defence Ministary couldn’t do it in last 60 years of Pakistan, one guy did it.

Thanks Mr. Samad Khurram. You chose to stand infront of international thug America in a time where people chose to be slaves for their stomach.

He is an ordinary guy but million times better than those white sheeps in suits and uniform who took oath to defend Pakistan, but wet their pants on single phone call and still call themselve commondo.

Now clock is ticking for Mr. Samad Khurram. He is living in a country where government, military and intelligence agencies have expertise in selling their own citizen for money. Lets see, at what rate they sell Mr. Khurram Sammad to American intelligence agencies.
A person who should be given Nishan-e-Imatiaz for doing what none have done before.
Shame for those who would sell their mothers to have single approval node from US Ambassador.

Wish our Forign Minister, Defence Minister had enough courage.
Although its impossible, there is complete filteration in Pakistan politics. Only those come into power who can serve their masters.Some serve while sitting in Pakistan, some serve them while sitting in London.

Its a sign that Pakistani mothers still giving birth such children who dare to follow on path of Tipu Sultan, Sultan Salahuddin Ayubi and Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Pakistan position more hazardous than Iran

Inimical global forces have entangled Pakistan in a plathora of problems

OIC Organization of Islamic Countries' spokesman Faisal Muhammad said Monday that imperial forces were tightening noose around Pakistan and Pakistan could face more dangers than Iran, reports a private TV channel.Terming Pakistan as an important member country of the OIC and Islamic world, the spokesman said in Kuwait City that was why all Muslim countries are keeping a very close eye over the changes occurring in Pakistan.Faisal Muhammad said that some inimical global forces have entangled Pakistan in a plathora of problems, adding that due to involvement of imperial elements, the vested interests have hijacked the movement for the restoration of judiciary and have turned it into Musharraf removal movement.The spokesman said many a time in the past President Musharraf hadstrived hard and took it upon himself to steer the country out of the crises .The OIC spokesman said Pakistan had been included among the most dangerous countries of the world, adding that he was trying his level best to set the things right and tackle the matter in an amicable way, and he was in contact with the world powers for this purpose.

Pakistan's share in world trade drops 9.5pc

The high economic growth in Pakistan has not improved its trade performance as its share in world trade has declined by 9.5 per cent in 2007, while its competing economies China and India recorded an increase of 11.3 per cent and 9.3 per cent respectively.In fact, the world trade indicators released by the World Bank point out that Pakistan’s weak trade performance clearly dragged down the entire South Asia, which contains only a few, mostly large, countries.According to the report, Pakistan also has a low trade integration ratio of 41.9 per cent (trade as percentage of GDP) when compared with India’s 45.2 per cent and Bangladesh’s 47.5 per cent. The real trade growth in Pakistan was 0.9 per cent while in China, it was 21.7 per cent.The report points out that the slowest trade growth rates were for Pakistan and Sri Lanka (less than 1 per cent and 6 per cent respectively). Rising food prices in Pakistan, related to developments in international markets and shortages in domestic supplies, led the government to restrict exports of wheat and rice. This had a significant impact on Pakistan’s trade performance, it added.Economists point out that the decline in trade share of Pakistan at a time when world trade grew by over seven per cent should be an eye opener for economic planners. They said that time has come when the thrust of growth should be diverted towards productive sectors instead of promoting growth in the services sector. Unlike India or China, the services sector in Pakistan remained confined to the domestic market only. It created fewer jobs as well.On average, South Asian states have some of the worst business environments across all regions. None of its countries is in the top 50 in the ‘ease of doing business’ rankings, and only two are in the top 100, Maldives (ranked 60th) being the region’s best performer and Pakistan (76th).

World Bank points out that countries that have the best policies and institutions overall, also tend to have a stronger and more consistent trade performance. This point should be taken seriously by the economic managers of the country as institutional performance in Pakistan is still on the decline.

Besides flawed government policies, the decline in Pakistan’s trade share is also due to the fact that the garment exporters in developing countries face restrictions on their exports on average that are more than double those faced by the rest of the developing world. Garments and textiles account for more than 60 per cent of Pakistan’s exports. Garment and textiles exporters also face higher tariffs than the rest of the world.

Fears grow over Champions Trophy boycott

Despite assurances from the Pakistan board that all is well, there are increasing signs that a number of players are considering boycotting September's ICC Champions Trophy amid fears over their safety.

However, it emerges that England's players are in close contact with their Australian counterparts, and the ICC appears to be facing the real possibility that the tournament, which is far from popular with players and public, could be hit by a wave of boycotts.

New Zealand are also among those watching with interest. Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, will fly to London next week to discuss his players' concerns over touring Pakistan for a short ODI series just before the Champions Trophy.

Aslam Baig, Hameed Gul, Nawaz Sharif : Anti-American Alliance?

If you read the column by Arnaud de Borchgrave, who is the editor of Washington Times, you would come to know as how ignorant and flippant American so-called literate elite has become, and how oblivious they have become of the ground realities in Pakistan.
According to this column, Mr. Borchgrave has gravely shook his head and shuddered at the future of Pakistan-US cooperation in the US war against terror by pointing out new imaginery dynamics which has emerged after the elections of 18th February, 2008 in which people of Pakistan has voted in the favor of parliament making the decisions instead of a single person making them on a single phone calls in the wee hours of morning.
I have been avid reader of sites like The Huffington Post, The American Spectator and the editorials of American newspapers and in each and every column I read the columnists and writers describing the virtues of democracy and peace, but when I see the people like Negroponte and Richard Boucher creeping the land of Pakistan for the promotion of tyranny and war, I lament at the dual standards of these columnists.
Arnaud de Borchgrave thinks in his myopia that now due to the “permission” of US to hold free and fair elections in Pakistan, an anti-American trio of General (r) Hamid Gul, General (r) Mirza Aslam Baig and Mian Nawaz Sharif has formed who want to end the US presence in the FATA area at every cost and these three do not consider the militants in FATA as terrorists, rather they consider them freedom fighters of Islam. Arnaud has also warned his administration about the new Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani.
What this column and many like portray is the rising influence of neocons in the US policy formation and I dread that even the new Democratic Administration (Hillary or Obama) wouldn’t be able to contain these hawks. Pakistan shouldn’t be expecting mercy or anything else from anywhere. We are a soverign nation and we have to take our own decisions and we have to defend ourselves.
We always quote about Tipu Sultan that the one day of a tiger is better than the 100 years of jackal, but we never dare. We need to stand in front of US and tell them that we are no longer fighting its war in FATA or anywhere else and we are not willing to kill our own brethren and then we must engage in talks with the angry elements in FATA and bring them in the main political stream.
Kick these Negropontes and Bouchers outta here.
Last 5 posts by Brig. (r) Junaid Zaman
America About to Attack FATA - June 17th, 2008
Long March : Lessons Learned - June 16th, 2008
Has Aitzaz Sold Lawyers Movement? - June 15th, 2008
Pakistan Army isn't wearing Bangles - June 12th, 2008
Strategy to Deal with Long March of Lawyers in Pakistan - June 10th, 2008

Pak releases Bhutto attack suspect

Pakistan has released a prominent al-Qaida militant who was involved in the bombing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's homecoming rally in Karachi. More than 139 people were killed in the October 18 rally last year.

In her book, Reconciliation: Islam Democracy and West, Bhutto had accused Akhtar of plotting an attack against her. Qari Saifullah Akhtar, who was arrested from near Lahore on February 26, was released last week, officials said.

Head of outlawed Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami, the main Pakistan support group for Afghanistan's extremist Taliban movement, Akhtar is also linked to al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden. On March 26, Akhtar was freed by an anti-terrorism court in Karachi but arrested again minutes later. He was detained for 30 days. Akhtar had reportedly fought along with Mujahideens during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 80s and also trained jihadi fighters who were sent to Jammu & Kashmir in the 90s. In August 2004, Akhtar was arrested from UAE and handed over to Pakistani authorities. He was, however, released last year.

Special stamps,posters to mark Bhutto's birth anniversary

Pakistan will issue special stamps and souvenir posters on Saturday to mark the 55th birth anniversary of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto while a public holiday has been declared in Sindh, her home province.

The Rs 4 stamps and Rs 20 posters will be available at post offices across the country from June 21, Bhutto's birth anniversary. The government of Sindh province, the traditional stronghold of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, has declared a public holiday to mark the anniversary. PPP workers, led by party Chairman and Bhutto's widower Asif Ali Zardari, will donate blood to mark the day. The party has issued strict instructions that there should be no celebrations and cake cutting to mark the anniversary. The main function will be held at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi, where Bhutto was assassinated after addressing an election rally on December 27 last year.

Pakistan: Kashmir point

Salman steals the show & hearts.

He may not be doing shows in Pakistan but recently Salman Ahmed made history when he performed in India-administered Kashmir last month.Salman Ahmed flew out with his band Junoon and they were the first act in two decades to perform in the conflict-torn Kashmir. A public show, the turn up packed in 5,000 people and many of them were students who swayed to the thumping bass and the riffs of the scorching riff master. The show, organized by the South Asia Foundation (a secular, non-profit, non-political organisation with chapters in the eight SAARC nations), in association with the University of Kashmir, was groundbreaking for Kashmiri people who enjoyed a live act after many years. It was courageous for Salman Ahmed to do this show and not only did he go but he did an incredible job at that. The show got international coverage and Salman managed to impress everyone.Speaking after the event, Salman Ahmed commented, "It’s about waging a war through the guitar rather than the gun. Both sides of the border, we have been demonising the other, but music is a universal emotion and the success of Pakistani musicians in India, like Atif Aslam, Strings and Jal, shows another way to take the peace process forward."So for using his music for a higher purpose and giving Kashmiris a rocking dose of live music.

Region: Sri lankan economy

Lingerie

&

terror

I AM standing amid soft mounds of Victoria's Secret underwear, in a room with 1,000 young women. Engaging, if faintly intimidating, as this may be for me, it is even better for Sri Lanka. The women at this factory are employed by MAS Holdings, the biggest foreign supplier to Victoria's Secret, a label of American-based Limited Brands. MAS also makes lingerie and swimwear for Nike, Adidas and Britain’s biggest rag-trader, Marks & Spencer.
MAS's 45,000 employees turn out 30m bras and 120m pairs of knickers a year. Last year the company had revenues of $700m. It is much the biggest player in an industry that accounts for 40% of Sri Lanka's exports and 10% of GDP.

Its success has also been rapid. Since the firm was founded in 1986—by three Muslim brothers, whose combined initials give MAS its name—it has grown by 20-30% a year by investing in high-value manufacturing. With few natural resources found locally—for example, Sri Lanka has no oil and grows no cotton—its textile companies cannot compete with China’s or Bangladesh’s on price. But Sri Lanka’s workforce is skilled and educated, able to make intricate pants of the highest quality.
Sri Lankan workers have done well abroad, too. Remittances from overseas, mainly from the Gulf, fed $2.5 billion into the economy last year. A colonial inheritance, tea, is another solid earner;

The hijab is nothing more than a fashion accessory

I don’t consider a veiled woman pious and holier-than-thou. Most I know are no different in piety and "purity" than those who choose not to veil. My Persian secularism sees veils as merely a vestige of the past, that comes and goes with the changing of the wind (political-religious climate). To "serious white Muslims," the Islam of today is not the Islam of 1947 when we saw the partition of South Asia along religio-nationalistic lines. Most hijabis are not as puritanical as they may be perceived by extremists and non-Muslims. But according to Lailah, I’m an uneducated tawdry "Mediterranean" complexion Persian-Mexican who needs the guidance and "connections" of the white "Masta."

Muslims in France

Sex,

lies and

secularism

RARELY has a judicial verdict in a civil court set off so much argument. But the annulment of the marriage of two French Muslims in Lille, granted because the bride falsely claimed to be a virgin, has prompted an outcry, culminating in a riotous parliamentary debate on June 3rd. The verdict touched a raw nerve in France, mixing complex questions of sexual equality, secularism and Islam.

On paper, the case has nothing to do with religion. The groom, an engineer, applied for an annulment because his bride, a student nurse, had lied to him about her virginity. Under the French civil code, an annulment can be granted “if there was a mistake about the person or the essential qualities of the person”. The judge declared the marriage void since it was “founded on a lie about her virginity”, which the bride acknowledged, and this constituted an “essential quality” in the eyes of both parties. The bride did not contest the annulment.

Yet the verdict was baffling. Lawyers were at a loss to explain why virginity, even if lied about, is an “essential quality”. The judge, said Ségolène Royal, the former Socialist presidential candidate, would never have agreed to the annulment had a case about false virginity been brought by a woman. The uproar was louder because the couple are Muslim. Fadela Amara, the (Muslim) junior minister for inner cities, who has previously campaigned to defend women from traditionalist pressures, called it “a fatwa against the emancipation of women”. Elisabeth Badinter, a feminist and left-wing philosopher, said she was “ashamed” of the French judicial system, and added that “women's sexuality is a private affair”. The verdict, she added, would force ever more Muslim girls to seek plastic surgery to reconstruct their hymens.

Most intriguing of all is the stance of Rachida Dati, the justice minister, born to north African Muslim parents. As a young woman, she had her own marriage annulled, after agreeing to it to please her family. Initially she backed the judgment, arguing that it would protect the woman, who seemed to want a quick separation. This week, however, she changed her mind, and sent the case back for review. Amid heckling in parliament, she accused the Socialists of abandoning young girls to the rule of “big brothers” when they were in power.
The case may not have been about religion. But it has exposed the sensitivities of the secular French republic, home to Europe's biggest Muslim population, about the right balance to strike between respect for Islamic tradition and a firm assertion of French law.

Postcard: Iran fashion police

Iran's Choice for the White House: The Clintons

While Pakistan and Malaysia become increasingly more conservative, moderate Pakistan has an abysmal female literacy rate, the lowest in South Asia by the way. Iran on the other hand, is something unlike anything else in the Muslim world. Obama has disavowed himself of his ancestral Muslim roots, so on Feb. 5th, I’m voting for the Clinton political dynasty.

Pakistan: Longawaited longmarch

Long march ends without roadmap: Daily Times

Long march ends on bitter note: Dawn


Long march stops short of sit-in: The News


Only 30 lawyers stage sit-in: The Nation


Long march comes to an abrupt end: Pakistan Observer





ISLAMABAD: The lawyers’ long march ended without any roadmap for future strategy leaving many, who wanted the leadership to announce an indefinite sit-in until the reinstatement of the sacked judges, flabbergasted.The long march caravan that reached its culmination point in the wee hours of Saturday 14th June dispersed early morning with a majority of young lawyers disappointed as Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Aitzaz Ahsan announced that no decision had been taken to stage a sit-in in front of parliament. The long march show, which had already been overshadowed by the workers and supporters of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), became a political event with the arrival of Nawaz Sharif who held parliament responsible for not restoring the judges. Covertly pointing the finger at Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif said: “I don’t understand why a resolution, despite an agreement, is not being tabled in parliament.”

Anti-Muslim posters cause stir

University officials are investigating several hundred posters hung around campus this morning attacking the Muslim community.
The GW Young America's Foundation is named as a contact on the poster, but leaders of the conservative organization said they had no involvement.
The posters, on standard letter-sized paper, read, "Hate Muslims? So do we!!!" Below the statement is a picture of a Muslim man next to a diagram describing a "typical Muslim." Some features mentioned include "venom from mouth," "suicide vest," and "peg-leg for smuggling children and heroin."

Pakistan at the mercy of marching lawyers

Pakistan is engulfed in its own version of the Long March, and just as that pivotal event changed the face of China in the mid-1930s, Pakistan's political landscape could be significantly altered, as could that of its neighbor Afghanistan. Thousands of black-suited lawyers gathered for the beginning of a country-wide protest that is scheduled to finish outside parliament in the capital Islamabad.
The bottom line for the protests is to rid the country of all American assets, including Musharraf, the liberal and secular government headed by the Pakistan People's Party-led (PPP)coalition, and the Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kiani.

The protests began as a move to have more than 40 members of the judiciary, sacked by President Pervez Musharraf last year, reinstated, but have evolved into a direct challenge to Musharraf's position and into antagonism towards his backer, the UnitedStates. The driving force behind the protests is the country's premier Islamic party, the Jamaat-e-Islami, and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group)of former premier Nawaz Sharif.

The move to oust Musharraf and reduce American influence was started by Islamist sections in the armed forces when retired Squadron Leader Khalid Khawaja and a long-time friend of Bin Laden recently filed an application to register a police case against Musharraf over the Lal Masjid incident. The court has accepted the petition for hearing and Khalid Khawaja believes that once Musharraf steps down as president, the application will be activated and he will stand trial.

At the same time, military chief Kiani, considered to be Washington's most trusted man after Musharraf, is clearly unable to position himself in favor of the "war on terror" and he seems completely overwhelmed by the emerging anti-American trends in the military. These have frozen all anti-Taliban operations in the tribal areas and, despite NATO's complaint that the military is actively facilitating cross-border movement of the Taliban, Kiani has been unable to do anything about it.

The lawyer-led protests will provide al-Qaeda with the perfect opportunity to strike, further raising the political and security temperature in the already simmering country. Economic woes add to this potent brew. A deepening power crisis could end in riots in the southern port city of Karachi. The Pakistani rupee is at its lowest against the US dollar in the history of the country and the Karachi Stock Exchange is at its lowest in nine months. Pakistan's march is indeed going to be a long and arduous one. Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com (Copyright 2008 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

Rice price hike hits world's poor

RICE prices hit $1,000 a tonne for the first time yesterday — raising fears that recent surges in food prices could lead to mass starvation in the Third World.
The new hike came after Indonesia followed India, Egypt and Vietnam in limiting rice exports to protect their own stocks.
Rice is the staple food of three billion of the world’s poorest people in Africa and Asia. There have already been riots in Haiti, Bangladesh and the Ivory Coast due to widespread shortages. Rice crops have been hit by climate change and the move towards growing bio-fuel crops.

How to beat rip-off fuel prices

LARGE numbers of motorists face being forced off the road by rocketing fuel prices.
Many are already finding it hard to stump up the cash to fill their tanks as petrol and diesel prices continue to rise on a daily basis, to record levels.

So their tips below have never been more needed:

1)Don’t fill up on a Friday. Petrol stations put up their prices then because it’s the day when most drivers tend to fill up. Planning ahead will save you money.
2) Drive economically. Going too fast and accelerating sharply will increase your fuel consumption, so stick to a constant speed to get up to 30 per cent more from your tank.
3) Check your car works efficiently. Make sure that your tyres are properly inflated, to reduce drag, and change your air filter regularly. If your car is running efficiently you’ll reduce your fuel consumption dramatically.
4) Get rid of extra weight. Empty your boot and back seat of all clutter — prams, golf clubs, spare tools — and if you don’t need your roof rack, take it off. The extra weight will burn your fuel faster so make sure your car is as light as possible.
5) Close your windows. If open, they increase drag and you burn 25 per cent more fuel. Make yourself more aerodynamic by closing your window and sunroof.
6) Turn off your air-conditioning. It increases your fuel consumption by ten per cent so use it only when you really need it.
7) Fill up before you get down to less than a quarter of a tank. If you remember to do this, you’re less likely to have to go to the nearest, probably more expensive, station to get your fuel. It’s also better for your car.
8) Cut down on short journeys. Your engine doesn’t have time to warm up properly so will burn more fuel. Try to walk or cycle if you’re not going very far.
9) Leave the car at home. This is a surefire way to save money on fuel. Of course, it’s not always an option — but it’s worth considering whether or not you can use alternative transport or lift-share with someone.

Ban on female models hits advertising industry hard

PESHAWAR • Following an undeclared ban on the billboards featuring the women models in this historic Pakistani city, the advertising industry here has incurred huge losses, market sources here say.
An official associated with mega advertising firm says that advertising remained lacklustre, as the mega hoardings in city continued to wear the bleak look over the past month.
He said about 90 of the 100-mega billboard installed at various eye-catching sites at the city roadsides and squares remained without skins, incurring over eight million rupees loss to the advertising industry operating in the provincial metropolis.

However, he criticizes the decision of the district set up, saying the previous government-led by a conglomerate of six politico-religious parties had given them a prior notice and deadline for removal of the billboards depicting women model, but the sitting rulers succumbed to the warning of a particular group and went against such hoardings all of sudden.

Does Pervez Musharaff really matter

for the People of Pakistan?


"The most important issue for a common person in Pakistan today, is not Musharraf or Iftekhar Choudhry rather how to make enough money to buy three time meal for their children; how to live safely with their family and to feel that their country is in safe hand."
It has been more than 3 months to the formation on a new democratic government in Pakistan. Two major parties of the ruling coalition - Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz Group (PML (N)) - promised to deliver change in the lives of the common people yet no improvement but more uncertainty.
Since the new civil government came into power, the people of Pakistan are frustratingly watching the back door conspiracies of politicians, now in power, against the President who opened the doors for the people and politicians to form a civilian rule.
As usual the politics of ego, revenge and opportunism is going on the cost of promises made to the voters to bring change in the live of common people. The aim of the politicians-in-power is remained same – how to secure their fate in the capital.
Pakistan’s economic situation is deteriorating day by day; growing poverty and starvation is increasing the rate of suicides in the country; the prices of even daily-use commodities, electricity, oil etc are getting out of reach of the common people; law and order is none to exist. On the other hand the top issue of the ruling coalition leaders is how to get rid of the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf. Interviewing to Press Trust of India, Mr. Zardari said that the people of Pakistan didn’t want bread or electricity but wanted Musharraf to out.
This was President Musharraf’s government when after years in prison on several corruption charges, Mr. Zardari was freed in 2004 and left Pakistan to live with his family in the United Arab Emirates in a close door deal. These are the same leaders of the ruling coalition who were firstly blaming Musharraf that he would not hold the election and even if he holds the election there would be rigging.
Similarly, the only issue for number 2 in ruling coalition, Mr. Nawaz Sharif is how to reinstate Justice Iftekhar Choudhry. Today, for Nawza Sharif the freedom of Courts and Judges are everything. Sacking and appointing judging of own choices have been a common practice in past governments in Pakistan. On November 28, 1997, the Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah of the Supreme Court was dismissed against revolt of other judges orchestrated by Nawaz Sharif's younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, who was the Chief Minister of Punjab at that time. Similarly, Lahore high was attacked when he was in power.
Both, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari of PPP and Mr. Nawaz Sharif of PML (N) are turned out to be working only on 2-point agenda (1) how to get rid of President Musharraf (2) how to reinstate Chief Justice Iftekhar Choudhry.
No doubt, not only army but any form of dictatorship is not beneficial for any country. Nevertheless, in Pakistan nothing goes accordingly to the will of the people. The last 50 years history of Pakistan shows that from Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to Nawaz Sharif, the political career of the frontline political leaders has been launched by the army generals.
Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the army implements the democracy in its own terms. Army Generals pick and choose leaders and their parties. Even army decides which form of democracy suits to the country. When one army general brings a political figure on the political stage the other kicks him out. Ayub Khan brought Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Zia ul Haque threw him out and hanged him on murder charges. Zia ul Haque brought Nawaz Sharif who then became the prime minister. Pervez Musharraf threw him out not only from the power but from the country. President Musharraf brought an alien to Pakistan; a US Citizen Shaukat Aziz claimed to be high-level economist but basically a career banker who never involved in Pakistani politics became the Prime Minister. And now when the unexpected murder of Benazir Bhutto yet a mystery and surprisingly her husband Mr. Asif Ali Zardari became the king maker in the present Pakistani politics; the possibilities are the state powers are in the process of negotiating again with the one who can run the democracy on their terms.
Today, the reality of Pakistan is that every day sky-hitting prices of daily commodities and uncertainty in the country makes the people of Pakistan less worried whether President Musharraf stays or not and Chief Justice Choudhry Iftekhar returns to his chair or not.
First of all, everyday changing statements of Mr. Asif Ali Zardari don’t claim that Mr. Zardari is serious in impeaching President Musharraf or it is another part of the game. However, even if one assumes that Mr. Zardari, Mr. Sharif and their coalition partners are honest to oust President Musharraf for the sake of promoting democracy in Pakistan then they should also come out and explain how their action would help to the people of Pakistan making their lives better.
The most important issue for a common person in Pakistan today, is not Musharraf or Iftekhar Choudhry rather how to make enough money to buy three time meal for their children; how to live safely with their family and to feel that their country is in safe hand.
Today, Pakistan’s reality is that rich is getting richer and poor is getting poorer. Looters of government funds are getting free and taking control of the country. Recession is going high, the value of currency is decreasing frequently in international market. Insecurity on the northern borders keep escalating and law & order situation is remained unstable. In this situation, the country will not bear any battle between the civil and army institutions. This is the time that all the ruling powers and civil society of the state must accept each other and work together in the interest of the country and nation. Any clash between President Musharraf and ruling coalition will not benefit to anyone except further anarchy and creating opportunity to those religious fanatics who want to turn Pakistan into another Afghanistan.
Source:
by courtesy & © 2008 Syed Atiq ul Hassan
MMN Recommended Reading

Region: Fuel price impact

Fuel price hike will push inflation higher

Angry Consumers in India Protest Fuel Prices

On June 4, the Indian central government announced a price hike of Rs 6 per litre of petrol, Rs 3 on diesel and Rs 50 per LPG cylinder, together with customs and excise duty cuts in an attempt to save the oil marketing companies from bankruptcy.

Angry consumers blocked rail tracks and roads and shut down businesses in parts of India for a second day Friday to protest a hike in fuel prices by the government, while Malaysia defended its decision to end fuel subsidies.

Oil marketing companies buy crude oil from the international markets and distribute it in India. India imports 73 percent of its petroleum needs as the production of crude oil here is very little. The price of crude oil in the international markets has nearly doubled from a low of $60 per barrel in May 2007 to $130 a barrel in May 2008. The retail price of crude in India, administered by the government, has not been raised since 2004. Hence, these oil marketing companies have been running a very unprofitable business of buying crude at high prices and selling it to domestic consumers at low prices. To defuse this crisis, the government raised fuel prices by an average of 13 percent with full knowledge of its impact on inflation. Impact on inflation : The current annual wholesale inflation is already high at 8.1 percent. The government expects the effect of price hike on inflation to be marginal at around 60 basis points. Economists are of the opinion that inflation will flare up to a 13-year high of 9.2 percent due to the price increase. A rate of nine percent would be the highest inflation since 1995. A high inflation rate affects the consumer at the retail level and the corporate profits too. The cost of living rises and the consumer has to pay more for the same goods and services. At the corporate level, the higher cost directly impacts the bottom line. Their inability to pass on the price increases to the consumer further squeezes their margins.

Airblue in Pakistan to replace regular meals on flights with cheap sandwiches and shift sales to internet mode in a bid to cut soaring fuel cost. Stopping full meals, which cost Rs500 per head, and introduction of Rs100 sandwich dish will help the private airline save around Rs100 million a month, said Syed Nasir Ali, Airblue Managing Director.“Easiest thing to do is to increase fares and punish passengers,” he said about possible ways to overcome fuel-related cost. “But ultimately that will be negative for the whole industry. That will shrink market.”
The global aviation industry is going through tumultuous times as oil soars past $138 per barrel, forcing airlines to rationalise routes, stop use of fuel-guzzling aircraft and add different charges to air tickets.
This is a global phenomenon. According to IATA, airlines will record a loss of $2.5 billion against earlier projections of a profit of $6bn.

Pakistan on the Precipice

If Musharraf is assassinated and theocratic rule prevails in Pakistan, it would be far worse than the 1979 events in Iran. If the Taliban do come into power, the options are few. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

As long-time readers know, this weblog has an optimistic outlook on most aspects of our future. However, there is one particular topic on which I have not yet written, even though I read every available article on the subject. It is a topic on which I can't assign a sizable probability to any positive outcome. It is the topic of Pakistan and it's nuclear weapons.
Pakistan is a country that did not exist until 1947, when it was carved out of British India at the time of Indian Independence. There were two non-contiguous pieces of Pakistan on either side of India, and East Pakistan separated to become Bangladesh in 1971, after a genocide in East Pakistan killed 1.5 million people (from Wikipedia).

Today, the remaining nation of Pakistan still has 160 million people, the political boundaries of which still do not corelate to any particular ethnic homogeniety. In a nutshell, the massive Indus river flows through the middle of the country, to the east of which reside Punjabi and Sindhi groups, which are quite Indian-like in appearance, language, cuisine, and culture, and to the west of which are found Pashtuns and other groups with a distinctly Turkic and Persian culture and appearance. The Indus river has historically been the natural boundary between Indian and Turco-Persian civilizations for over 2000 years, and evidence of this is visible in Pakistan to this day (image from Wikipedia).
The 'Indian-like' part of Pakistan amounts to 75% of Pakistan's population, and is experiencing economic growth approaching that of India itself, at 6% to 7% a year. Globalization is rapidly lifting people out of poverty for the first time. Despite this, however, Pakistan remains one of the poorest countries outside of Africa, and also a country where democracy is distant, unlike in neighboring India.
But this 75% of Pakistan is secondary. The most crucial region is actually the most remote, most medieval, most undeveloped segment of Pakistan, where under 10% of the population resides. It is the Northwest Frontier Province and Waziristan, where Pakistan's government has never had total control, and where local tribal customs were the only recognized law. Until the Taliban and Al-Qaeda came to town.
Now, to grasp the magnitude of the potential horror, consider the following three facts :
1) Pakistan has 30-50 nuclear weapons. Whether this technology was delivered directly by China or through North Korea in the 1990s is moot at this point.
2) Al-Qaeda and the Taliban now control many districts of Northern Pakistan, with Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden (if still alive) also residing there. Pakistan's army and government have little power to expel Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and they continually attempt to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf.
3) The founder of Pakistan's nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, was found to be selling nuclear secrets in the black market. His customer list is still unknown, and there may have been, or still be, others like him.
I can't see how the combination of these 3 facts can result in anything other than the detonation of a nuclear weapon in an act of terrorism against a major US or European city, between now and 2020. Can anyone say with confidence that the probability of this is low?
Pakistan has already had nuclear weapons for 9 or more years, so why is the risk greater now? This brings us back to point 2), and to understand the ominous trend of the Taliban gaining control over a greater and greater share of Pakistan, read some of Bill Roggio's articles. In particular, this map tracks the rate of advancement of the Taliban's control, and distinctly shows them to be metastasizing deeply into Pakistan at an alarming rate.
President Musharraf is nominally an ally of the US in the War on Terror, to the extent that he cracks down on terrorists when US demands to do so reach a certain intensity. But this secular dictator is the thinnest of buffers between the current state and a nightmare scenario. If Musharraf is assassinated and theocratic rule prevails in Pakistan, it would be far worse than the 1979 events in Iran. Whatever remaining chance there is for terrorists being prevented from gaining access to nuclear weapons (if it is already not too late) resides with President Musharraf, or a similarly secular successor, remaining in power.
If the Taliban do come into power, the options are few. While a simple invasion by the US, India, and NATO would dispose of the Taliban quickly, it may not prevent them from retaining and smuggling out the nuclear weapon capabilities. While most Punjabi and Sindhi Pakistanis have no desire to be ruled by the Taliban, they may not be able to throw off the yoke of subjugation even through a massive civil war (again, with the nuclear technology easily walking off).
Be afraid. Be very afraid.