Why India should look within.

Having cried wolf a few times too many, its not surprising that the rest of the world has, to be frank, had enough. Its about time India acknowledged the threats within its own borders not just from Muslims who feel increasingly alienated, but the rising threat of Hindu Terrorism, as proven in the case of the Malegaon attacks and Samjhauta Express bombings. Pointing the finger at Pakistan every time while ignoring / denying the threats it faces from within, coupled with a failure to address the deep-seated problems that fuel this hatred - will be counterproductive and will have disastrous consequences for India in the months/years to come.

Chrtistine Fair, senior political scientist and a South Asia expert at the RAND Corporation, was careful to say that the identity of the terrorists could not yet be known. But she insisted the style of the attacks and the targets in Mumbai suggested that the militants were likely to be Indian Muslims - and not linked to Al Qaeda or the violent South Asian terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

“There’s absolutely nothing Al Qaeda-like about it,” she said of the attack. “Did you see any suicide bombers? And there are no fingerprints of Lashkar. They don’t do hostage taking, and they don’t do grenades.” Fair believes the attacks could be “yet another manifestation of domestic terrorism” that has its genesis in a longstanding institutional discrimination against Muslims.

“There are a lot of very, very angry Muslims in India,” she said, “The economic disparities are startling, and India has been very slow to publicly embrace its rising Muslim problem. You cannot put lipstick on this pig. This is a major domestic political challenge for India.”
“The public political face of India says, ‘Our Muslims have not been radicalized.’ But the Indian intelligence apparatus knows that’s not true. India’s Muslim communities are being sucked into the global landscape of Islamist jihad.

“Indians will have a strong incentive to link this to Al Qaeda. ‘Al Qaeda’s in your toilet!’ But this is a domestic issue. This is not India’s 9/11.” Hoffman agreed that the assault was “not exactly Al Qaeda’s modus operandi, which is suicide attacks.”

Read Full Article - International Herald Tribune.

‘India trains all sorts of peoples, from terrorists to militants to fanatics, to suit its national and international needs. But in order to cover up its nefarious activities it focuses on Islam, Muslims, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Hajj, etc.; and blames its neighbors. Indian intelligence agencies are frustrated over the strong lobbying for highlighting Kashmir human rights violations at international forums by some NGOs in Europe and U.S., with the support of Indian human rights and peace activists. A huge lot of resources are being wasted on propaganda purposes by Indian government directly throughout the world.’

Read Full Article by George Fernandes
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‘The Indian government has two choices. First, it can simply say that the perpetrators are a domestic group. In that case, it will be held accountable for a failure of enormous proportions in security and law enforcement. It will be charged with being unable to protect the public. On the other hand, it can link the attack to an outside power: Pakistan. In that case it can hold a nation-state responsible for the attack, and can use the crisis atmosphere to strengthen the government’s internal position by invoking nationalism. Politically this is a much preferable outcome for the Indian government, and so it is the most likely course of action. This is not to say that there are no outside powers involved — simply that, regardless of the ground truth, the Indian government will claim there were.’

Possible Geopolitical Consequences of the Mumbai Attacks Stratfor.
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‘India’s political leaders have long congratulated themselves on the absence of any home-grown al-Qaida threat.

But this week’s attack in Mumbai is the latest in a series of incidents that have forced the Indian government to acknowledge privately that there may be Islamist militant groups within its borders. Pranab Mukherjee, India’s foreign minister, explicitly accused Pakistan of involvement yesterday, but Indian defence analysts concede that it would have been near impossible to mount such a carefully coordinated assault on the city without some degree of local support.’

Read Full Article Amelia Gentleman Guardian UK
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‘In the interests of combating terrorism, it won’t be long before anti-terrorist squads ask Indians with Muslim names questions like: what are you doing out so late? Do you have a legitimate reason for walking near that hotel? How can you prove that you live in this city? If you’re not from here, what reason do you have for being in this city? It won’t be long before Indian Muslims are arrested simply for being Muslims, and asked to prove that they are not terrorists. As for the public, the great majority will applaud these actions. They’ll say it is unfortunate, but it is necessary. We know this because we have seen it all before.’

Is India reaping a harvest of hatred sown by Indians? -

We’ve seen it all before. A Sri Lankan Perspective.
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Also, lets revisit the Samjhota Express blasts as well as Melagaon, both of which were blamed on Pakistan (ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba) just as they’re trying to pin this one on us.

‘Indian authorities and the media were quick to assert that the evidence overwhelmingly pointed towards Pakistan and ISI. With the immediate release of sketches of the suspects, it seemed that Indians had it all figured out. For Pakistan it was nothing more than a feeling of déjà vu; India is known to have a history of blaming Pakistan and ISI for the smallest of occurrences in India, hardly ever backing it up with any credible evidence.

And so when in 2006 Malegaon, a town in the Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra, located at some 290 km to the northeast of state capital Mumbai, was rattled by a series of bombings, the blame was put on groups having links with Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Maharashtra Police blamed the Student Islamic Movement of India, further linking them to Lashkar-e-Taiba and in turn the ISI.’

‘The unlikely twist surfaced recently in India with the arrests of 10 people, including a serving Lieutenant Colonel Prashad Srikant Purohit, a Hindu monk and nun for their alleged involvement in bomb explosions that killed six people in the Muslimdominated town of Malegaon this year. So far, ten people, including a selfproclaimed Hindu seer and a serving lieutenant colonel, have been arrested for their involvement in the Sep 29 bombing.

Besides Purohit, of the accused also include Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Shivnarayan Singh Kalsangram, Shyam Bhawarlal Sahu, Major Ramesh Shivji Upadhyay (retd), Sameer Kulkarni, Rakesh Dattaram Dhavde and Ajay Rahirkar. The suspicion is now directed at the extremist Hindu movement Sangh Parivar, a network linked to a former Major, and now in custody, Ramesh Upadhyay who represents the terrorist organization, Abhinav Bharat.’

Read Full Article by Farzana Shah

Evidence being deliberately ignored?

Strange that none of the media (TV or Print) have picked this up at all. Or have they been deliberately ignoring it?
Have a look at the above picture of one of the terrorists.
Notice the orange thread / band on his right hand.
Tying a red thread or cord around the wrist is a Hindu practice and it is unlikely a Muslim, especially one politicized enough to carry out an attack such as this, would observe it. I think this provides more evidence that this was a false flag operation or at least an attack by a non-Muslim group. For more information about the significance of the red thread see wikipedia and this blog post. [Thanks to Uruk]
Additionally, the terrorists inside the Nariman House Building were reported to have stocked up on supplies on Wednesday evening, buying not just food items but liquor, among other things, from a local store [Source]. Again, it is highly unlikely that a Muslim, let alone a ‘Mujahid’, and especially one politicized enough to carry out such an attack, would consume liquor in normal life, let alone hours before his inevitable ‘martyrdom’.
Don’t let them ignore it. Circulate this to as many people as you can as we strongly believe it wouldn’t have been ignored if the terrorists were carrying a copy of the Qur’an, or a taveez.

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India under attack

Attacks Are a Blow to India's Luxury-Goods Industry

Pakistan calls for unity with India after Bombay attacks

Obama vows support to India as world condemns attacks

Terror attacks mark new chapter in India’s increasingly violent ...

Terror strike to affect India's image, say economists

Economists fear that terrorist attacks in Mumbai will adversely impact India's image as an investment destination at a time when the country was trying to shore up its depleting foreign exchange reserves.
“Terror strike is likely to have a significant and tangible impact on the economy. This would damage India's image because institutions like hotels are closely associated with business,'' said HDFC chief economist Abheek Barua. In short-term, he said, “ it would impact the stock markets and in the long term it may effect India's image as an important investment destination.''
India's stock markets, forex markets and commodity exchanges remained closed today on account of terror strike which paralysed normal working in the financial capital of the country.

Terror in India:

Mumbai Under Assault

In one of the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city's most high-profile targets -- the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard -- killing at least 101 and sending hundreds of injured to hospital.

Mumbai attackers may be Pakistani nationals

Preliminary investigations on Thursday pointed to involvement of at least some Pakistani nationals in the serial terror attacks in Mumbai that left over 100 dead and 270 others injured.

"There are indications that the perpetrators of the crime, who arrived in Mumbai by boats, are Pakistani nationals," authoritative sources said. The indications are based on information gathered from captured terrorists, the sources said.

It's taken more than a century, but Einstein's celebrated formula e=mc2 has finally been corroborated, thanks to a heroic computational effort by French, German and Hungarian physicists. Quarks, gluons and corroborating e=mc2

Scientists resolve Einstein's E=mc2

Scientists corroborate Einstein's E=mc2, using supercomputers to envision space and time as part of a four-dimensional crystal lattice.

Led by Laurent Lellouch of the French Centre for Theoretical Physics, researchers from France, Germany and Hungary proved Einstein's 1905 formula by special computations.

Using some of the world's mightiest supercomputers, the team performed calculations to estimate the mass of proton and neutron particles found in the nucleus of atoms.

The computations involve "envisioning space and time as part of a four-dimensional crystal lattice, with discrete points spaced along columns and rows," explained France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in a press release. Protons and neutrons include smaller particles called quarks, which are in turn bound by gluons. Since the mass of gluons is zero and the mass of quarks five percent, the question is where is the missing 95 percent? The new study showed that the energy from movements and interactions of quarks and gluons can be converted into mass and vice versa, AFP reported.

Thereby proving that as Einstein had proposed in his 1905 Special Theory of Relativity, energy and mass are equivalent. The E=mc2 formula shows that mass can be converted into energy, and energy can be converted into mass. Although the equation has been used many times and has been the inspirational basis for building atomic weapons, it is the first time that E=mc2 is resolved at the scale of sub-atomic particles.

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Pakistan ready for nuclear no first use offer

Pakistan is willing to commit to no first use of nuclear weapons, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday, calling for more trade and easier travel between his country and India to improve bilateral relations.

He even suggested a South Asian pact to prevent use of nuclear weapons in a region rife with political and social turmoil and militancy.

"I am glad I can say it with full confidence that I can get my parliament to agree upon that," Zardari told a conference in India through video conferencing from Islamabad.

"I'm against nuclear warfare altogether."

Tit-for-tat nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998 fed global worries of an unchecked arms race in an unstable region, but the two countries have since desisted from more tests.

Immediately after detonating nuclear devices in 1998, New Delhi declared a moratorium on further tests and offered a no first use arrangement.

Pakistan had not reciprocated the Indian offer.

"This is pretty good news. Pakistan till now has been very reluctant to commit to no-first use," said C. Uday Bhaskar, a New Delhi-based strategic affairs expert.

The Global Depression of 2010 Awaits

In the good old days of 2005, the US dollar’s share of the world’s financial system had dropped to around 60%. The dollar was slowly losing its status as the global reserve currency as the Eurozone became a reality and the Euro began to be held in reserve in the central bank coffers of Japan, China, Brazil, Russia, India, the UK, and others.

Then the October crash of 2008 happened, and the world suddenly became aware of the profound lurking global systemic risk to both its financial system -- and the real-world’s global trade. It turns out that the world was really much more interconnected than ever before, and the fantasy of “uncoupling” from the United States and its financial system was just that -- a fantasy.

India topped on highest political and social risk : PERC

With concern setting in about the declining Indian rupee and share prices, there is more bad news for India: India next year will be much more vulnerable than regional peers, a Hong Kong-based political risk consultancy says.

“India topped the table with the highest political and social risk, scoring 6.87, mainly because of internal and external instability. PERC cited fears over Pakistan, a major player in the global war on terror. ” the Political & Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said in a report, whose executive summary is available on PERC’s website. zero represents the best socio-political conditions and 10 the highest risk.

PERC assessed 16 countries in its Asian Risk Prospects — 2009 on factors such as the risk of racial and communal tensions, struggle for power, the threat posed by social activism, and vulnerability to policy changes by other governments.

Thailand is pegged to be the next least stable country in Southeast Asia next year, scoring 6.28, as the current political mayhem and the separatist violence looks set to run into 2009.
Surprisingly, Malaysia, which escaped much of the wrath of the 1997 financial crisis, will be the third least stable in the region, with the report noting the political wranglings were aggravating racial and religious tensions.

“The status quo is changing in ways that will see a stronger political opposition than in the past and UMNO (the ruling party) forced to share more power with non-Malay groups,” the report said.

V R United !
Punjab MPs oppose agriculture tax

In a rare show of unity, Punjab Assembly parliamentarians (MPs) from both sides of the political divide on Thursday opposed the federal cabinet’s decision to levy income tax on agriculture following a reported recommendation to that effect by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

MPs from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and PML-Quaid said the imposition of the tax was amounted to breaking the backbone of the Pakistani economy. They said conditions the international financing agencies imposing on Pakistan amounted to direct interference in the internal affairs of the country.

PML-N legislator Waris Kahloon condemned the cabinet’s decision and said Zionist powers wanted to destroy the country’s economy and working on that agenda the IMF had placed the condition of the said tax for sanctioning monetary assistance to cash-strapped Pakistan. He demanded the cabinet publicise all demands stipulated by the IMF.He said that farmers, who were already paying a number of taxes on water, agriculture, electricity and fertilizer, would be ruined after the imposition of the new tax. He feared that growers were not in a position to pay any more taxes and if the government did impose the tax it would have to import food items in future.He demanded the provincial assembly call upon the federal government to refrain from implementing the said decision.

Somalia: Piracy the only real business in town

Somalia's increasingly brazen pirates are building sprawling stone houses, cruising in luxury cars, marrying beautiful women — even hiring caterers to prepare Western-style food for their hostages.

And in an impoverished country where every public institution has crumbled, they have become heroes in the steamy coastal dens they operate from because they are the only real business in town.

"The pirates depend on us, and we benefit from them," said Sahra Sheik Dahir, a shop owner in Harardhere, the nearest village to where a hijacked Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying $100 million in crude was anchored.

These boomtowns are all the more shocking in light of Somalia's violence and poverty: Radical Islamists control most of the country's south, meting out lashings and stonings for accused criminals.

There has been no effective central government in nearly 20 years, plunging this arid African country into chaos.Life expectancy is just 46 years; a quarter of children die before they reach 5.But in northern coastal towns like Harardhere, Eyl and Bossaso, the pirate economy is thriving thanks to the money pouring in from pirate ransoms that have reached $30 million this year alone.

"There are more shops and business is booming because of the piracy," said Sugule Dahir, who runs a clothing shop in Eyl. "Internet cafes and telephone shops have opened, and people are just happier than before."In Harardhere, residents came out in droves to celebrate as the looming oil ship came into focus this week off the country's lawless coast.Businessmen gathered cigarettes, food and cold bottles of orange soda, setting up kiosks for the pirates who come to shore to resupply almost daily.Dahir said she even started a layaway plan for them.

"They always take things without paying and we put them into the book of debts," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "Later, when they get the ransom money, they pay us a lot."Residents make sure the pirates are well-stocked in khat, a popular narcotic leaf, and aren't afraid to gouge a bit when it comes to the pirates' deep pockets."I can buy a packet of cigarettes for about $1 but I will charge the pirate $1.30," said Abdulqadir Omar, an Eyl resident.

While pirate villages used to have houses made of corrugated iron sheets, now, there are stately looking homes made of sturdy, white stones."Regardless of how the money is coming in, legally or illegally, I can say it has started a life in our town," said Shamso Moalim, a 36-year-old mother of five in Harardhere."Our children are not worrying about food now, and they go to Islamic schools in the morning and play soccer in the afternoon. They are happy."The attackers generally treat their hostages well in anticipation of a big payday, hiring caterers on shore to cook spaghetti, grilled fish and roasted meat that will appeal to Western palates.And when the payday comes, the money sometimes literally falls from the sky.

Pirates say the ransom arrives in burlap sacks, sometimes dropped from buzzing helicopters, or in waterproof suitcases loaded onto skiffs in the roiling, shark-infested sea."The oldest man on the ship always takes the responsibility of collecting the money, because we see it as very risky, and he gets some extra payment for his service later," Aden Yusuf, a pirate in Eyl, told AP over VHF radio.The pirates use money-counting machines — the same technology seen at foreign exchange bureaus worldwide — to ensure the cash is real.

All payments are done in cash because Somalia has no functioning banking system."Getting this equipment is easy for us, we have business connections with people in Dubai, Nairobi, Djibouti and other areas," Yusuf said. "So we send them money and they send us what we want."Despite a beefed-up international presence, the pirates continue to seize ships, moving further out to sea and demanding ever-larger ransoms. The pirates operate mostly from the semiautonomous Puntland region, where local lawmakers have been accused of helping them and taking a cut of the ransoms.For the most part, however, the regional officials say they have no power to stop piracy.Meanwhile, towns that once were eroded by years of poverty and chaos are now bustling with restaurants, Land Cruisers and Internet cafes. Residents also use their gains to buy generators — allowing full days of electricity, once an unimaginable luxury in Somalia.There are no reliable estimates of the number of pirates operating in Somalia, but they number in the thousands. And though the bandits do sometimes get nabbed, piracy is generally considered a sure bet to a better life.

NATO and the U.S. Navy say they can't be everywhere, and American officials are urging ships to hire private security. Warships patrolling off Somalia have succeeded in stopping some pirate attacks. But military assaults to wrest back a ship are highly risky and, up to now, uncommon.

Iranian woman karateka Helen Sepahi was kicked out of the 19th World Karate Championship in Tokyo because she insisted on wearing Islamic sport clothing.

Sepahi walked onto the tatami mat to fight her Chinese opponent, but the officials insisted that she remove her hijab, even though men were present at the venue. The Iranian athlete refused and was expelled from the competition, in line with the international rules for the sport.

However, fans at Budokan Hall supported Sepahi’s decision.

Why do U.S. security experts say Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world? For starters, there is not one crisis in Pakistan; there are several interconnected crises, each with the potential to undermine the stability of Pakistan and South Asia. The danger of a failed state, replete with nuclear weapons, ethnic tensions, Taliban sympathizers and Osama bin Laden in residence, is chilling.

Pakistan's underlying economic weaknesses and the global financial crisis have devastated the country. Between July and October, the rupee lost a quarter of its value. Foreign-exchange reserves have dwindled to dangerously low levels. Pakistan has sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund in the $5 billion to $13 billion range to avoid defaulting on its debts.

President Asif Ali Zardari has yet to demonstrate the capacity to tackle Pakistan's toughest challenges. He lacks popular support to wage a campaign against the Taliban. He must carefully balance his country's strategic alliance with the United States and widespread public hostility to the U.S.

The dispute over Kashmir, a flash point since the partition of India in 1947, lingers.
The reach of the Taliban increasingly extends from the tribal areas into Pakistan and its cities.

In Pakistan's tribal areas, the Taliban and al-Qaida are a powerful force. The U.S. response thus far has been increased cross-border military action into the tribal areas.

The U.S. needs a comprehensive plan to promote stability in the region with integrated security, political and economic components. Even then, the U.S. cannot achieve success and eliminate terrorist sanctuaries in the tribal areas without Pakistani help.

Kabul has opened low-level negotiations with pragmatic elements within the Taliban under Saudi Arabian auspices.

The U.S. should sharply expand and improve its commitment to Pakistan's economic development.

Finally, India remains Pakistan's national security obsession. To Islamabad, Afghanistan represents an opportunity to achieve "strategic depth" vis-à-vis India. The United States should support rapprochement and a settlement over Kashmir, while encouraging Pakistan to view its regional security challenges more broadly.

But, even with the right military, economic and political resources, the U.S. faces an enormous challenge, nation-building in a country of 170 million people. The United States needs a unity of effort in support of the Pakistani government, the Pakistani people and our own national security interests.

Pakistan to get $ 7.6 billion from IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has "in principle" agreed to extend a credit of 7.6 billion dollars to Pakistan to stabilise its ailing economy and help it avoid defaulting on foreign debt repayments, the government said.

"Pakistan would get 4.6 billion dollars this month while the remaining 3 billion dollars would be disbursed next year," Pakistan's Advisor on Finance Shaukat Tarin told.

Tarin said the credit facility will be for two years under a standby arrangement.
"The facility has been obtained to strengthen the country's foreign exchange reservoirs and it will not be utilised to bailout the stock market".

He said the repayment of the credit will start in 2011 and will be completed in five years time. The rate of interest would be between 3.51 to 4.51 per cent.

India can borrow $39 billion from IMF, World Bank

To help tide over the credit crisis, India can avail of loans worth $39 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told.

India can borrow up to $30 billion (up five fold) from the IMF to infuse short-term liquidity through low conditional loans. This will have to be repaid within nine months. “But with reserves of $200 billion, we really don't need this,” Ahluwalia said.

India can borrow an additional $9 billion from the World Bank, $3 billion a year, for development infrastructure projects. This is part of the $100-billion kitty that the bank has made available. “We are saying they need to go further,” Ahluwalia said.

Terror war to cost $8bn per year

The direct and indirect cost of the war on terror borne by Pakistan is likely to increase to $8bn per annum in the next couple of years from the current $6bn, official sources said here.

According to an official, who requested anonymity, estimates compiled by the Ministry of Finance indicate that during the eight years since 2001, direct and indirect losses to Pakistan’s economy due to the war on terror have been estimated at $34.5bn.

According to the official, the loss of lives and economic cost imposed by the war is now rising to an unbearable level and a very negligible portion of these costs is defrayed by the government’s development partners.

Since 2001, losses of $5bn have been estimated in foreign direct investment, more than $5bn in exports and $5.5bn in privatisation, the official said.

There has also been deterioration in law and order. Travel advisories have been issued against Pakistan by the United States and other major allies in the war on terror, which has resulted in a reduction in the number of intending investors, foreign buyers interested in taking part in the privatisation of major national assets.

Zardari slams West over Islamophobia

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has said Islamophobia in the western countries is leading to injustices against the Muslims World.

“Hatred of Islam also leads to injustices against Muslims. Indeed the imaginary fear of Islam has been rising. This is exactly what the terrorists had hoped to provoke. Those in the West that accept this are falling into the trap of the terrorists" Zardari said while addressing the special session of the United Nations Interfaith Dialogue in New York City late Thursday.

Zardari added that the imaginary fear had created a new form of discrimination and given rise to new tensions between the Muslims and the western countries. The President noted that unfortunately at a time when most Muslims are advocating interfaith dialogue, they also witness events that frustrate our call for dialogue. "We hear hate speeches across countries and regions in which Islam as a religion is attacked.

Zardari comments come as experts suspect Washington and its western allies to tarnish the Islamic countries' image and spread Islamophobia against the Muslim minorities in the Western World.

The president remarks come amid growing tensions between Islamabad and Washington over US missile strikes on suspected militants in Pakistan's northwest tribal region along Pakistan and Afghanistan border. The US, already engaged in two deadly and costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, has long claimed to be seeking out terrorists in the region.

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Leaders may be losing ground at home

Pakistan Economy Watch has said that government should stop counter productive foreign trips and princely expenditures as it is losing confidence of masses and tarnishing its own image. A number of foreign trips of top leaders with hundreds of members of entourage is costing public exchequer heavily. What Pakistan is getting in return is sweet words and promises only. Leaders seem loosing ground back home.

Besides global economic turmoil, political uncertainty at home and our track record of massive economic mismanagement, there is something very wrong which is forcing friends to turn their backs on our repeated requests, said President Pakistan Economy Watch Dr Murtaza Mughal.

Government is avoiding revolutionary measures to avoid default and relying on IMF, which has not contributed towards development of any country since its inception.Around 70 percent of total loan acquired so far by Pakistan is believed to channeled back to Dubai, Malaysia and US banks via pockets of politicians and important bureaucrats, it is believed. However, masses are always asked for sacrifices that have never benefited from these borrowings.

Government should avoid princely expenditures otherwise our delegations may not be welcomed anywhere in future, said Dr Mughal. staff report

Pakistan to impose IMF-approved

economic restructuring program

A senior Pakistani official told the country's Senate Tuesday that the Pakistan People's Party-led coalition government will be seeking International Monetary Fund approval of its economic program in the next two to three weeks.

"Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance" Shaukat Tarin said the government requires IMF "endorsement of our plans" if Islamabad is to obtain the billions of US dollars that it desperately needs from international financial institutions and friendly states. International financial institutions, Tarin claimed, have "agreed [to] and appreciated our economic program and social safety net, but they desire to get it approved from the IMF before offering us a financial facility."
Pakistan, whose economy has been roiled by galloping inflation, power shortages, the withdrawal of foreign funds, and the rapid depreciation of its currency, faces a severe balance of payments crisis. At the end of October, the Pakistani central bank held foreign reserves of just $3.71 billion, less than the country's September import bill of $3.8 billion.

Tarin's Senate presentation was full of contradictions. He claimed that the IMF has not pressed Pakistan to take severe austerity measures or otherwise sought to impose harsh conditions. Yet he invoked the metaphor of an ill-person having to take "bitter pills" and said that the IMF and foreign banks deem the government's revised economic targets as "ambitious" and "needing "a lot of discipline and a lot of determination."

The truth is the Pakistani government has already begun to implement IMF-type "restructuring," including several measures directly at the IMF's behest, and this restructuring will have a devastating impact on Pakistan's toiling masses.

While the Pakistani elite has been conniving with imperialism in the form of the IMF and foreign banks to "save" Pakistan's economy at the expense of the people, it has been seeking to protect its own obscene wealth by covertly funneling billions of dollars out of the country and, in the process, has further aggravated the balance of payments crisis.

The Dawn has reported that four billion dollars was transferred out of Pakistan in recent months using a 2003 amendment to the country's foreign-exchange laws that was so secret that "during all this period neither the Finance Ministry nor the State Bank of Pakistan posted it on their respective websites." "Experts say," added the Nov. 12 Dawn article, that the covert amendment "was used by the rich and influential to send billions of dollars through ‘legal' channels" out of the country.

Facebook group created to protest Toronto Life cover story

Tomorrow's looking it could be a very busy day for Sarah Fulford. Toronto Life’s editor is scheduled to speak at Ryerson University in the evening, but it’s quite possible she’ll spend her day fielding phone calls from readers angry about the latest cover story published by her magazine. A group called the Urban Alliance on Race Relations has created a Facebook page, urging people to phone Fulford and express their concerns about Mary Rogan’s cover feature on Aqsa Parvez, the 16-year-old who was murdered last year. After Parvez was strangled, her father Muhammad Parvez phoned 911 and told the dispatcher that he had killed his daughter. Muhammad and his son Waqas will be tried sometime next year.The Facebook group, which currently has 127 members, offers five “talking points”, which callers are encouraged to bring up in phone conversations or messages to Fulford.

They are:
Aqsa's murder must be looked at through the larger context of violence against women in Canada. The problem is not limited to any one community or religious faith.
The article calls Aqsa's murder "Toronto's first honour killing". Approximately 25 women a year are murdered in incidents of domestic violence. The use of the term "honour killing" is an attempt to sensationalize the situation by invoking common stereotypes about the prevalence of "honour killings" among South Asian Muslim families, thereby suggesting that domestic violence is not occurring at alarming rates across Canada. Instead, we should be working to end violence against all women.

The article associates Muslim religiousity with a tendency towards violence. In other words, the more religious a Muslim is, the more likely s/he is to engage in this type of violence. This is false and based on Islamophobic stereotyping.

The question, "Has multiculturalism gone too far?" suggests that Muslims and immigrants are threats to Canadian society, rather than contributing members to Canadian society. The idea that "our" tolerance or respect for cultural diversity has let "them" continue their oppressive and dangerous behaviours is not only based on racist and Islamophobic stereotyping of diverse Muslim and immigrant communities, but also ignores the ongoing racism that exists in Canada despite our public commitment to multiculturalism.

The focus should be on violence against women, not hijab. The article sets up a false dichotomy between Muslim women who wear the hijab as oppressed and Muslim women who do not wear the hijab as liberated. Furthermore, it reinforces the idea that all young girls want the same things, completely ignoring the diversity and richness of Muslim women's voices and lived experiences.

The group is also holding a press conference tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at YWCA located at 80 Woodlawn Avenue East, Main Lounge.More to come.

Almost 90 Percent of Muslims Voted for Obama

Despite Differences on Abortion, Marriage

Nearly 90 percent of American Muslims supported Democrat Barack Obama on Election Day -- and did so on the basis of economic and foreign policy concerns, top Muslim groups said in Washington, D.C., Friday.

Muslims overlooked differences they might have had with the President-elect’s positions on same-sex marriage and abortion, just as Catholics and other religious groups did on Tuesday, according to top officials connected with the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT).

Although most Muslims probably voted in favor of the same-sex marriage ban on the ballot in California, a position at odds with Obama's, they found enough common ground with the candidate in other areas that were central to their concerns in the 2008 election cycle, according to Mahdi Bray, executive director the Muslim-American Society Freedom Foundation.

London to Dhaka Rail Link Via Lahore Likely Next Year

Rail enthusiasts looking for adventure will be able to travel by train from London to Dhaka when a new link opens later this year. The 7,000-mile Trans-Asia railway will follow one of the old Silk Roads through Istanbul, Tehran, Lahore and Delhi and the whole journey will take 23 days to complete, reports The Sunday Times.

It is already being described by train buffs as 'the world's greatest railway journey' and will be longer than the Trans-Siberian railway, which spans 5,772 miles, the paper added.Under a UN-sponsored scheme, Pakistan and Iran will link up their lines in the coming months to join the sub-continent's track to that of Europe for the first time.The UN said the link would open up new trade routes within Asia and give the former Soviet republics of central Asia rail access to Iran's strategic seaport at Bandar Abbas in the Gulf.

The route was extended when the Kolkata to Dhaka line reopened earlier this month, more than 40 years after it was blocked during the Indo-Pak war of 1965.

An intrepid traveller will soon be able to leave London for Brussels, Cologne, Vienna, Bucharest, Istanbul, Tehran, Quetta, Lahore, Amritsar, Delhi and Kolkata before reaching the end of the line in Dhaka.

Mustafa Kamal second best mayor in the world

The Foreign Policy magazine of the United States has chosen Karachi Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal as the second among the best three mayors in the world for 2008.Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit and Chongqing Mayor Wang Hongju were the other two “mayors of the moment”, a press release issued by the Karachi City District Government said.

The magazine said: “No city globalises on its own, but with shrewd investments and smart urban planning, a mayor can help turn a regional player into a global powerhouse. Here’s how three of the world’s top mayors are climbing the ladder.

”The ‘Foreign Policy’, which is published by the State Group, a division of the Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive, LLC, said that the mayor of Karachi was an unlikely poster child for innovative urban planning.It said: “The 36-year-old Syed Mustafa Kamal governs a city that’s more often in the news for religious violence than cosmopolitan ways. But the hard-charging Kamal is looking to change all that. He’s courting foreign investment, encouraging international ties, and boosting the city’s tourism.”

According to the magazine, Mr Kamal is not shy about his goals: He has said he wants to turn Karachi into the next Dubai. His ‘Green Karachi’ project aims to plant thousands of trees in the city. He has threatened to arrest anyone who tries to cut down the new saplings, it added.

Maldives President saving for new homeland

The President-elect of the Maldives wants to set aside funds to buy a new homeland as rising sea levels threaten to submerge the island archipelago. Mohamed Nasheed says money would be invested in the fund from the profits of the country's tourist industry.

Most of the land mass of the Maldive Islands stand little more than a metre above sea level.
Environmentalists believe that if global warming continues unchecked they will eventually disappear under the waves of the Indian Ocean.

The President-elect said it already broached the idea of buying land with a number of countries and found them to be receptive.

Mr Nasheed said that Sri Lanka and India were possible sites because of their proximity and similar cultures.

But he also said that Australia was also being considered because of the amount of unoccupied land there.

Don't let them eat cake,

Birthday celebrations are banned as un-Islamic. But that doesn't stop people from throwing parties.

Saudi Arabia's most senior Muslim cleric recently denounced birthday parties as an unwanted foreign influence, but another prominent cleric declared they were OK.

The Saudi ban on birthdays is in line with the strict interpretation of Islam followed by the conservative Wahhabi sect adhered to in the kingdom. All Christian and even most Muslim feasts are also prohibited because they are considered alien customs the Saudi clerics don't sanction.

Only the Muslim feasts of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, which follows the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, are permitted.Elsewhere in the Muslim world, including in Pakistan,Egypt, Dubai, Lebanon and Iran, people routinely celebrate birthdays, especially for children. Among middle-class and affluent families, parties can be elaborate, with cakes, toys, clowns, ponies and many presents.

In Egypt, the prophet Muhammad's birthday is celebrated by handing out special sweets -- in the shape of a doll for girls and a horse for boys.Even in Saudi Arabia, it's not hard to find Saudis who celebrate birthdays or stores that cater to putting on parties, despite the ban.What makes the latest controversy notable is that it started when a prominent cleric, Salman Awdah, said on a popular satellite TV program in August that it was OK to mark birthdays and wedding anniversaries with parties as long as the Arabic word that describes the events -- eid, or "feast" -- is not used.

That prompted a quick denunciation by Saudi Arabia's grand mufti and top religious authority, Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al Sheik, who said such celebrations had no place in Islam and gave a list of foreign customs he suggested were unacceptable.

Islam's other half

What does Islamic feminism have to offer? Where does it come from? Where is it going?

There is a growing movement among Muslims, especially women, away from the inherited patriarchal Islam toward an egalitarian Islam. The move is occurring in both older Muslim societies and in the newer Muslim communities in the west. Female scholars have been talking for two decades now about the gender equality they find in Qur'an. Activists use these egalitarian readings to push for new practices within families and societies, and to support reform of Muslim family laws. This combination of intellectual and activist work undertaken in diverse parts of the globe has been called Islamic feminism.

Islamic feminism rejects the dichotomy between east and west, and between secular and religious. These dichotomies were nurtured by colonialism and later politicised by Islamists as rigid and implacably adversarial identities. Islamic feminism insists upon the separation of religion and state, resolutely upholding the notion of a secular state. Secular here is not tantamount to un-religious or anti-religious. The secular state typically guarantees freedom of religion. When persons identify themselves as secular or secularist this does not per se mean that they are not religious or anti-religious.

Muslims, like others, more and more experience life in diverse locations, moving permanently or temporarily between countries and continents. In the process they are shaped by and identify with diverse cultures. Islamic feminism assists people in negotiating the multiple identities that we all possess, even within the context of a single culture. For example, a person may need to understand gender equality within an Islamic framework and/or a secular framework or shared ideals not particular to a single religion. A Muslim wishing equal access to Islamic ritual space and functions will access religious arguments. A Muslim desiring equal educational opportunities within public institutions in secular states would use secular arguments.

As egalitarian Islam gains ground it is increasingly being assailed by Muslim conservatives whether they are religious leaders, self-appointed community spokesmen, or followers of political Islam (Islamism). This is happening in both old Muslim societies in Africa and Asia and in the new communities in the west by those who perpetuate a patriarchal version of Islam which they claim to be the true Islam. Meanwhile, most non-Muslims, including progressives, buy into this interpretation, regarding Islam as intrinsically patriarchal. Thereby they contribute to problems for women through their ignorance.

International conferences on Islamic feminism like those recently held in Barcelona and Oxford provide important forums for the exchange of experience and ideas and for debate and strategising. The two conferences drew speakers and participants from around the world: scholars and activists, Muslims along with non-Muslims, and women as well as men. This kind of networking, sharing of new interpretations of Islam, face-to-face debates, and collaboration is vital for advancing the cause of an egalitarian Islam in front of both secular and religious patriarchal forces in Muslim societies and communities, especially as those forces are typically in collusion. Multicultural policies in western countries, based on patriarchal constructions of Islam, often leave women vulnerable by re-enforcing the domination of men over women and even sometimes condoning violent practices on the grounds that they are part of religion.

Islamic feminists understand the necessity of working both within the Muslim community and with people of other religions. Recently in these pages, Tariq Ramadan, in a cross religious context (specifically, Muslims and Catholics) spoke of the importance of a "constructive dialogue on our shared values." Islamic feminism has much to contribute to furthering the promotion of shared values and especially to assure that these shared values are egalitarian values and not patriarchal ideas.

Local fashion takes a hit

Twelve months ago Australian consumers, flushed with the stockmarket at record highs, were embracing their inner "born to shop" urges and splurging on designer labels and lifestyle goods.

Who could have predicted that by late 2008 these spending highs would hit such rapid lows?
Those shoppers once concerned about how to squeeze into a $250 pair of Sass & Bide jeans are now more preoccupied with the tightening effects of the global credit crunch turning into a new psychology of "torn to shop".

Fashionistas' spending has given way to recessionista saving - or at least paying off their credit card bills from last year's shop-a-thon.

Pakistan Declares Death Penalty for 'Cyber Terror'

American officials can have some pretty over-the-top reactions to hackers and so-called cyber terrorists. Once, I saw a briefing comparing our own Kevin Poulsen to Osama bin Laden and Pablo Escobar -- seriously. But the U.S. has nothing on Pakistan, when it comes to cyber terror paranoia. Yesterday, Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari signed a law making cyber terror a crime "punishable with death."

In contrast, the maximum penalty for a hacking crime under U.S. law is 20 years in prison. Although, as we've seen in recent years, Washington seems to give itself a little, um, leeway when it comes to perceived terror threats.

Pakistan approves bill to protect women against harassment



Pakistan's cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill aiming to protect women against workplace harassment and provide them with a safe working environment, the information minister said.
Under the proposed legislation, the government plans to set up a special federal ombudsman to handle complaints from women who face harassment at work, minister Sherry Rehman told a press briefing.

"Safe environment will be provided to all working women," she said. The minister said that the bill, which will be sent to parliament for approval, would also amend certain criminal laws to increase punishments for offences related to the harassment of women.
Currently there are no specific laws dealing with workplace harassment in Pakistan and women have no legal recourse to justice against their colleagues, supervisors or employers.

Obama keen on ties with Pakistan’

President-elect Barack Obama is deeply interested in promoting bilateral socio-economic relations with Pakistan, US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson said on Wednesday. Patterson added that after securing a majority, Obama was in a better position to support the country. She called the nomination and election of a young African-American as US president ‘the beauty of a transparent democratic process’.

Pakistan press welcome Obama, query anti-terror policy

Pakistan's English-language press on Thursday applauded Barack Obama's US presidential election victory but amid tensions with its "war on terror" ally, questioned his policy on tackling extremism. Leading dailies here echoed sentiments around the world that Obama's election opened up possibilities for a new direction in US foreign policy.
But they voiced concern about his support for US missile strikes against suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan's tribal border region that have led to strong protests and warnings from Islamabad.
"Here in Pakistan, Mr Obama's earlier take on the issue of militancy was sometimes seen as short-sighted and belligerent," Dawn said in an editorial.
"The US certainly cannot go it alone without the support of Pakistan (that is a reality that America must acknowledge publicly if it is an honest broker)".

The News also noted Obama's opposition to the Iraq war and recognition that mistakes were made by shifting attentions there after the ouster of the hardline ruling Taliban in Afghanistan in late 2001.

In Pakistan, Afghanistan, Obama's win called positive sign

TV stations throughout Pakistan used Obama's full name, including his middle name of Hussein, in what some people saw as an attempt to appeal to the majority Muslim population here.

The headline on the popular Aaj TV station in Pakistan said it all: "Obama Wins, World Awaits Promised Change."But in Pakistan and Afghanistan, people have more at stake than in much of the rest of the world.
Obama has criticized Afghan President Hamid Karzai for being a weak leader, and he
has urged Pakistan to do more to fight militants.

Most Pakistanis initially disliked Obama. Historically, Pakistanis have supported Republicans, thought to be more financially generous toward Pakistan than Democrats.

"Pakistanis will be quite happy he had a Muslim father," said Talat Masood, a retired general and political analyst. "This shows the greatness of America. To me, I think America has won back the hearts of people of the world, even those who are so bitterly critical, as in Pakistan."

Q+A-Pakistan weighs options as payments crisis looms

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and adviser to the prime minister on economic affairs Shaukat Tarin are in Saudi Arabia on a two-day trip hoping for economic help, including a facility to defer oil payments.
Pakistan has a few weeks to raise billions of dollars in foreign loans to keep meeting debt payments and pay for imports and is hoping for help from friendly governments, such as Saudi Arabia, though it says an IMF loan would be a last option.

HOW MUCH FOREIGN CURRENCY DOES PAKISTAN HAVE?

As of Oct. 25, Pakistan had $6.92 billion of foreign currency reserves, of which the central bank held $3.71 billion, not enough to cover September's imports totalling $3.807 billion.
The rupee hit at an all-time low of 84.40 per dollar on Oct. 17, about 27 percent weaker than at the beginning of the year but it has recovered slightly, to 81.35/45 on Tuesday.
The international bond market has already priced in a default on a $500 million bond due to mature in February.
Pakistani officials say it won't come to that.

HOW MUCH MONEY DOES PAKISTAN NEED TO STAY AFLOAT?

The IMF estimates the financing gap on Pakistan's balance of payments at up to $4.5 billion, compared with the government's estimate of $3.0 billion for the fiscal year ending on June 30 next year.

HOW MUCH IS PAKISTAN SPENDING?

Economists say Pakistan is shedding reserves at a rate of about $1 billion a month.
The September trade deficit was $2.207 billion.
In July-September, the current account deficit widened to $3.95 billion from $2.27 billion the previous year.
The main factors behind the widening deficit are soaring oil and food prices, compounded by a poor wheat crop last year. Falls in the oil price should help reduce the deficits.

HOW CAN PAKISTAN HELP ITSELF?

The rupee's depreciation will go a long way to inducing overdue adjustments in the economy.
The central bank could raise interest rates, impose capital controls, ban imports of non-essentials, limit dollar purchases by foreigners in Pakistan.
Pakistan can also stop foreigners from withdrawing funds. A floor imposed on the stock market in August effectively stopped investors exiting a market that had fallen 35 percent this year. The Karachi Stock Exchange plans to remove the floor once a fund is in place. Investors fear it will spark a rush for the door.
Bringing in rules to make foreigners keep proceeds from sales of stocks or bonds in Pakistan for a set period is an option.
The central bank can also buy time by imposing capital controls that would break the link between onshore and offshore players, like ending credit facilities for offshore players.

WHAT CAN PAKISTAN DO TO FIX ITS BUDGET?

Stop the government borrowing from the central bank.
Cut current, development and defence spending. Zardari may face objections from the powerful army as it battles militants across the northwest, and tries to match Indian military power.
Broaden the tax base. At 10.5 percent, Pakistan's tax as a percentage of GDP is one of the world's lowest.
Raise taxes on agriculture, a move long resisted by the landed aristocracy, and raise taxes on services, including real estate and stock market transactions.
Tarin said last week he hopes to increase the tax to GDP ratio to 15 percent.

WHERE COULD HELP ARRIVE FROM?

The global economic crisis clouds prospects for help.
Tarin has said Pakistan would finalise talks with the IMF by Nov. 10 and its board was likely to take up Pakistan's case for approval for a bail-out package.
The World Bank has $1.4 billion available under an existing programme for Pakistan, but it needs board approval.
The Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and Britain's development agency would also help, Tarin says.
Pakistan imports about 82 percent of its crude oil from Saudi Arabia and analysts said deferred payments on a third of that, as requested, would provide relief of up to $1.8 billion a year on its balance of payments, at current oil prices.
'Friends of Pakistan': These potential donors, including China, are due to meet in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 17.

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Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job

African-American man Barack Obama, 47, was given the least-desirable job in the entire country Tuesday when he was elected president of the United States of America.

In his new high-stress, low-reward position, Obama will be charged with such tasks as completely overhauling the nation's broken-down economy, repairing the crumbling infrastructure, and generally having to please more than 300 million Americans and cater to their every whim on a daily basis. As part of his duties, the black man will have to spend four to eight years cleaning up the messes other people left behind. The job comes with such intense scrutiny and so certain a guarantee of failure that only one other person even bothered applying for it. Said scholar and activist Mark L. Denton, "It just goes to show you that, in this country, a black man still can't catch a break."

Pakistanis give U.S. general an earful

In his new position as head of the United States Central Command, General David Petraeus met top Pakistani officials for the first time Monday and heard one message wherever he turned: American air strikes against militants in the tribal areas are unhelpful.Petraeus, the former commander of American forces in Iraq, arrived in Pakistan as missile strikes from drone aircraft against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal areas have escalated. There were two separate missile attacks by American drones on Saturday. In retaliation, a suicide bomber killed eight Pakistani paramilitary soldiers in South Waziristan Sunday

Indians flay Obama’s comments on Kashmir*

BJP says comments ‘unwarranted interference in India’s internal affairs’ * Party claims terrorism in India, Afghanistan ‘rooted in Pakistan’By Iftikhar GilaniNEW DELHI: The Indian government on Monday attempted to downplay US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s comments linking solution of the Afghan conflict with resolution of the Kashmir dispute.In one of his final interviews before the vote, Senator Obama had suggested on Sunday that the US should try to help resolve the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, as part of efforts to address terrorism in the region.Though there was no official reaction, official sources said it “could be pre-election rhetoric and needs to be ignored”.

Painting Pakistan in French Week

Gone are the days when in every city, town and village of Sindh, wind catchers were erected high on the rooftops of houses, funneling the cool breeze into homes. The olden concept has been replaced by technology, electricity and air conditioners, however, the concept has not yet been forgotten.
Viewers, especially women, were highly impressed by the art on display. Who wouldn’t be when the Pakistani artists beautifully painted the sensitivities of their nations culture, its history, the folk stories it tells, the traditions it boasts, and the religions it follows. The work of 25 Pakistani artists was displayed in an art exhibition at the French Consulate General, which was a part of the French Week being held in Karachi.

India may help Pakistan get a bailout

As Pakistan heads to the IMF for an emergency bailout or risk financial meltdown, what are the implications for India?

Pakistan's negotiators, led by Shaukat Tareen, completed one round of talks with the IMF in Dubai this week. It will see Pakistan making a formal request for help which should be wrapped up by the IMF by November 15 — when the G-20 meets in Washington to get a grip on the global financial crisis and two days before an 8-nation Friends of Pakistan meet in Abu Dhabi to help Pakistan tide over the present crisis. Pakistan's financial situation is not enviable. Its foreign exchange reserves plunged to less than $7 billion in the last week, down by more than $400 million the previous week. Forex reserves with State Bank of Pakistan were $3.71 billion, down by over $320 million from last week.

The country estimates it needs up to $15 billion from foreign lenders to cover its current financing needs. The Asian Development Bank released $500 million in the beginning of October, but that hasn't helped much. The real problem is not that Pakistan's economy is tanking — in the wake of the global financial crisis, there are others headed that way. It's a couple of things: first, that Pakistan's best friends, China, Saudi Arabia and US, have failed to fulfil 'Plan A', and it's this lack of confidence by friends that is eroding further confidence from the country. Pakistan is understandably reluctant to go to the IMF. The global financing body, after a few years in the shade, is suddenly enjoying a resurrection, but its conditions are as unpalatable now as they were in the late 90s, as bitter memories of Korea and Thailand will testify. Certainly Pakistan has already been asked to cut defence expenditure. Reports from Pakistan say the IMF has asked the government to cut expenditure, further depreciate the rupee and raise taxes. A cut in defence expenditure (in 2008 Pakistan spent 3.2% of GDP on defence) would be extremely unpopular with the army which is battered by strongly adverse public sentiment on the one hand and their own Taliban on the other.

It prompted Asif Ali Zardari to publicly reject that condition. Zardari's game is now to work out a package from the IMF that avoids some of the harsher strictures, to give themselves some room. But an IMF package, however lenient, involves some painful decisions, which may be difficult for a precariously positioned civilian government to undertake.

In this Pakistan will receive help, certainly from India, because PM Manmohan Singh is clear that he will, like most other world leaders, support Pakistan's request of a bailout from the IMF. India watches with concern a Pakistan going down the tube, with nuclear weapons and state-sponsored jihadis on the rampage. India's assessments about the present situation centre largely on the security aspects. Certainly, Pakistan will not take any substantive action to act against terror groups targeting India, citing the financial crisis and how tough steps are difficult.

While India will support Pakistan's bailout plea, India has also suggested that one of the easier ways by Pakistan to lessen the pain within is to open up to more trade with India. That would give a big fillip to its economic recovery plans. It's easier said than done, because financial crises hasn't helped a large part of the Pakistan establishment de-link trade from Kashmir.

Second, India will have to work much more closely with other, more important stakeholders in Pakistan (India is not a member of the FOP grouping). This will include suggesting more trade, less restrictions on an open economy, specially with India.

On the flip side, India worries that a Pakistan, holding the twin nuke-jihad guns to its own head, can essentially get a pass from some essential restructuring of its country — less the economy than its military-terror infrastructure. It's a restructuring of the ISI that is required, say Indian analysts, more than raising interest rates and taxes.

India believes Pakistan will get better-than-expected terms for a bailout, because Pakistan's case is not comparable to say, Ukraine or Hungary. Its Pakistan's position in the war on terror that will tilt the balance, say Indian sources. The world is reluctant to let Pakistan go down the tube, India believes.

Some Indian optimists want India to offer a short-term bailout package to Pakistan in return for a deal on Kashmir. Pakistan is yet to cash $25 million aid that India gave after the 2005 earthquake in PoK. It will take more than a financial crisis to change Pakistan's mind on its national fundamentals.