Comment: A general point

Musharraf exemplifies a further quality Indian politicians would do well to emulate. He’s prepared to face up to his critics, take their hostile questions and spend hours defending his position whilst attempting to change theirs.

I have to admit, I’ve never come across someone like Pervez Musharraf. This is not necessarily a compliment. It’s simply a statement of fact.

But think about it — he’s a former dictator who revels in free speech much like a dedicated democrat; he’s a general who is, amazingly enough, also a gripping orator; he’s a stern disciplinarian but he has a winning sense ofhumour; he projects a tough commando exterior but hisclothes reveal a sharp sense of sartorial elegance.

Indeed, he’s a man of so many apparent paradoxes, he’simpossible to define. Last Saturday, as he held the India Today Conclave spellbound for over two and a half hours, my mind jumped toour own politicians and I couldn’t help compare Musharrafto them. Would Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi or LK Advani and Prakash Karat willingly submit themselves to such hostile questioning from an Indian audience and emerge both unscathed and with their amour propre intact?

The question answers itself. Yet Musharraf has done just that but with one critical difference. The audience — the lions’ den — he faced was not his compatriots but Indians, who could be more accurately described as his enemies.

In contrast, it’s not just impossible to picture Manmohan Singh or Sonia Gandhi addressing 500 Pakistanis in the banquet hall of the Marriott in Islamabad; the fact of the matter is they are not even prepared to visit the country.

And I would hate to think what could happen if they were questioned the way Musharraf was. Perish the thought! However, the truth is Musharraf illustrates a deeper difference between India and Pakistan

The writer is one of India’s leading television commentators and interviewers.


Economic ties between India and Pakistan will remain hostage to the disputes between the two countries. This was the terse message conveyed by former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf at a business gathering here on Sunday.

Musharraf, who had a tough time fending off queries at a meet the previous day, said South Asia was being deprived of economic progress because of the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan. "Our region, South Asia and Central Asia, is out of this loop because of the conflict between India and Pakistan. We can have permanent peace through the resolution of disputes. Peace and harmony are preconditions to improving business ties," Musharraf said at a gathering organised by Assocham.

The former Pakistan President also offered prayers at the historic Jama Masjid here on Sunday evening as hundreds of worshippers gathered there to get a glimpse of him, resulting in a stampede-like situation. ( Watch ) Musharraf drove to the 17th century architectural marvel around 6:40pm(local time) to offer the 'Magrib' namaz amidst heavy security. Around 5,000 people were in the mosque when Musharraf came there. He waved at the people who went berserk and almost created a stampede-like situation. His security staff escorted him out of the complex as people scrambled each other to have a close look at him. This was his second visit to the Jama Masjid. He last came here on an official visit in April 2005. Musharraf was born in Neharwali Haveli, a kilometre away from the Masjid, in Chandni Chowk on August 1943. After partition, his family had migrated to Pakistan.

‘moon-faced girls’

Mansur Aye’s artistic career of more than 40 years was marked by prolific productions. His first solo exhibition was held in 1964 in Arts Council Karachi and the last in 2007 at Indus Gallery, Karachi.
Over decades, his aesthetic creativity faithfully painted moon-faced girls in different guises and different sizes, and the spontaneous movements of his brush strokes continued to create and reflect their moods.
These were enhanced by the application techniques of the color and simple compositions, often dominated with linear gestural movements. The works were an amalgam of abstraction and expressionism and reflected artist’s love for the female gestures.
The focus on his canvas mainly remained on facial features and hair, with addition of a few ornaments, bird or moon.

Mansur Aye passed away last April.

Pakistan needs our help;
but no blank cheque: Obama
Unveiling his new Afghan-Pak strategy, President Barack Obama today vowed to work more resolutely to "disrupt, defeat and dismantle" extremists and their safe havens in the two counties, which he described as a threat to the US, India and other parts of the world.

Obama bluntly told Pakistan to "demonstrate its commitment to root out al-Qaeda" operating from its soil while making it clear that no "blank cheques" would be given to it.Rejecting Pakistan's opposition to American drone attacks in its territory, Obama underlined that Islamabad needs the US help to root out the "cancer" of terrorism emanating from its soil.

Turning the heat on Pakistan, President Barack Obama today bluntly told the Islamic nation that a "blank cheque" cannot be given if it did not show commitment to eliminate Al-Qaeda within its border and vowed to wipe out terrorists from the safe havens in that country.

Unveiling a sweeping new Afghan war strategy, Obama also identified India, Russia and China as among the countries having a stake in the security of the region and that none of them benefit from a base for Al Qaeda terrorists and a region that descends into chaos."And after years of mixed results we will and cannot provide a blank cheque. Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out Al Qaeda and violent extremists within its border," he said, describing Al-Qaeda as a "cancer" that could devour Pakistan, more than seven years after the September 11 attacks.

The President also said "the US must pursue constructive diplomacy with both India and Pakistan to lessen tensions between two nuclear-armed nations that often teeter on the edge of escalation and confrontation." Describing the volatile Pak-Afghan border region as "most dangerous place in the world" and the situation in Afghanistan "increasingly perilous", Obama said multiple intelligence estimates have warned that Al-Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the United States homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan." In this context, the President warned that if Pakistan would not act on intelligence on the whereabouts of terrorists, the United States would.

Bollywood tribute to poet Faiz strikes a chord with Pakistanis

Bollywood can take Faiz to youth, daughter Salima Hashmi

A Bollywood song based on a poem by renowned Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz has struck all the right notes on this side of the border including with the late writer's family."Gulon Main," the song written by journalist-lyricist Neelesh Misra for the yet-to-be released film "Sikandar" is based on one of Faiz's best known works. Faiz's daughter, Salima Hashmi, who has just returned from a trip to India, picked up CDs of the song for family and friends.

"I have had a chance to listen to the song and am very pleased with it. The ghazal was made famous by the great Mehdi Hassan's rendering of it. In fact, my father was often called upon to sing the 'Mehdi Hassan wali ghazal'!" Hashmi said.

Legendary Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz has been an integral part of Indian cultural psyche and his daughter Salima Hashmi believes that Bollywood can take Faiz's poetry to the youth."Gulon Mein Rang Bharay", a popular poem written by Faiz while he was in jail in Pakistan, has been used in the upcoming film "Sikandar" by director Piyush Jha. The film revolves around the life of a young boy growing up in violence torn Kashmir.

Coming Back Home

Selected Articles, Editorials, and Interviews

This is a collection of editorials and articles written by Faiz Ahmad Faiz, one of Pakistan's and South Asia's foremost poets and writers. The editorials were published in The Pakistan Times, of which daily national newspaper Faiz was editor from 1947 to 1951. The editorials reflect his deep insight into the political and social malaise that has gripped Pakistan from the time of Independence, and his views and analyses remain pertinent more than forty years on. The collection also includes interviews with Faiz by leading commentators and columnists such as Khalid Hasan, Mukhtar Zaman, I.A. Rahman etc.

Rise of Pakistani Raises Questions

U.S. Weighs Sharif as Partner in Pakistan

The opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, sealed his place as the most popular politician in Pakistan this month when he defied his house detention and led a triumphant protest that forced the government to restore the country’s chief justice.

Now, as the Obama administration completes its review of strategy toward the region this week, his sudden ascent has raised an urgent question: Can Mr. Sharif, 59, a populist politician close to Islamic parties, be a reliable partner? Or will he use his popular support to blunt the military’s already fitful campaign against the insurgency of the Taliban and Al Qaeda?
A former two-time prime minister, Mr. Sharif once pressed for Islamic law for Pakistan, tested a nuclear bomb and was accused by his opponents of undemocratic behavior during his tenure in the late 1990s.

That political past has inspired distrust here and in Washington and left some concerned that Mr. Sharif is too close to the conservative Islamists sympathetic to the Taliban to lead a fight against the insurgents.His supporters and other analysts say that Mr. Sharif is now a more mature politician, wiser after eight years of exile in Saudi Arabia and London, and that he is eager to prove he can work with Washington and to put his imprint on a workable approach toward stabilizing Pakistan. In any case, opponents and supporters alike note, Mr. Sharif has made himself a political leader Washington can no longer ignore.

Just weeks ago, Mr. Sharif appeared to be sidelined, when a Supreme Court ruling barred him from office, citing an earlier criminal conviction.

The new breadth of Mr. Sharif’s support will make him either a drag or a spur to greater Pakistani cooperation, and it positions Mr. Sharif as a potential prime minister, if the already shaky public support for the Zardari government completely erodes.

Mumbai gunman Ajmal Amir Kasab laughs at terror charges

The sole gunman to be captured after the Mumbai massacre laughed yesterday when he was asked in court if he understood the charges against him.

Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, 21, was one of ten militants accused of launching a series of commando-style raids across Mumbai in November, claiming 166 lives. He and an accomplice are accused of killing 58 people at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the city’s main railway station. He is charged with waging war on India and carrying out dozens of murders.

“Kasab was smiling throughout the hearing,” Ujjwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor, told The Times. “He laughed when the judge asked him if he understood the charge sheet.”
The Pakistani national, who was dubbed the baby-faced killer after being caught on camera brandishing an AK47 rifle and carrying a haversack stuffed with ammunition and grenades, could face death by hanging if convicted. He has yet to enter a plea. The nine other gunmen were killed during the attacks.

The charge sheet, which runs to more than 11,000 pages, is written in English and Marathi, the local language in Mumbai. Kasab, whose first language is thought to be Urdu, has claimed he cannot understand it.

Much of the document focuses on Pakistan’s apparent involvement in the terror strike. It names 37 suspects, 35 of whom are Pakistani. They include at least one serving member of the Pakistani Army, a Colonel Saadat Ullah, who is alleged to have helped to set up the internet telephone system through which the gunmen spoke to their handlers during the attacks.
Kasab, who was bearded and wore a grey T-shirt for his court appearance, is accused of being a footsoldier for the Islamist Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist faction, the Pakistan-based group believed to have been behind the Mumbai attack.

Yesterday’s formal hearing was the latest in what has been described in India as the trial of the century. The next formal hearing is scheduled for March 30. The trial will follow and will be held inside a 50ft-tall steel and concrete cage being built around a special courtroom inside Mumbai’s high security Arthur Road Jail, where Kasab is being held.
The structure is being built to thwart a rocket attack because it is feared that Pakistan-based militants will attempt to target the proceedings.

A new bomb-proof corridor, by which Kasab will travel from his cell to the court, has also been built. Residents who live nearby may be issued with identity cards amid fears that militants will attempt to infiltrate the slums surrounding the prison.

Jayant Patil, the home minister of Maharashtra, said that the measures were put into place after intelligence indicated that a plot had been hatched “from abroad” to kill Kasab.
A senior police officer also said that a plan to silence the captured gunman had been unearthed and that it originated from across the border — a reference to Pakistan.
Police have admitted that Kasab knows a limited amount. “We have a limb, not the brain of the organisation behind the attack,” a spokesman said.

He does, however, represent a unique catch as he is the first LeT operative to be caught during a terrorist outrage who is Pakistani.

The nation will celebrate Pakistan Day on Monday with great zeal and enthusiasm in remembrance of “The Pakistan Resolution” passed on March 23 in 1940. The day will dawn with special prayers for solidarity and integrity of Pakistan. Various programmes will be arranged to commemorate the most outstanding achievement of the Muslims of South Asia who passed the historic Pakistan Resolution at Lahore.

"Muslims are a nation according to any definition of nation. We wish our people to develop to the fullest spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political life in a way that we think best and in consonance with our own ideals and according to the genius of our people".

On the basis of the above mentioned ideas of Quaid-e-Azam, A. K. Fazl-ul-Haq moved the historical resolution which has since come to be known as Lahore Resolution. It was backed up by Maulana Zafar Ali, Sardar Aurangzeb, Sir Abdullah Haroon from Sindh, and Qazi Esa along with many others.

We have forgotten how to be Pakistanis. We tend to forget about all those people who sacrificed their lives to give us this beautiful country, rich in all resources. It is time to recognise our duty to Pakistan as Pakistanis. This 23rd March, let’s all make a solemn promise that we will start showing respect for what we have and start to rebuild the image of Pakistan. Let’s start to work towards making this country into a peaceful nation where all religions, cast and creed can live in harmony.

What should the future hold, particularly on a day as this, when we celebrate the anniversary of the resolution to seek an independent, democratic and progressive homeland? Continuity of the democratic dispensation, enabling the system to stand on its feet; permitting it the necessary assurance and confidence to mature into a system of governance with inclusive democratic participation; and providing time to all other political entities to establish themselves into parties with as large a national base as their appeal would permit. Politics of regionalism is anathema to the concept of Pakistan, which with a few federating units only is at risk of non-inclusion when majority is attained through one province. It was touch and go, but finally the situation held out against all signs of rapid deterioration.

An inclusive political dispensation is the only way to hold Pakistan together. And in that there should never be any procrastination. It shall, however, need fast maturation of political personalities, processes and entities. The days of frivolous, gamely politics are long over; the nation will now demand leadership on issues and policies in line with contemporary requirements.

And yes, Happy Pakistan Day. God knows we need the good wishes contained therein.

Pakistan media battling all odds

What we are seeing in Pakistan right now is a very silent slow revolution taking place in which the people are taking power from the state

The reinstatement of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhury was a victory for not just those who opposed former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, but also for Pakistan's fourth estate.Facing violence and near shut down, the media in Pakistan that fought at every step to ensure their voices did not go unheard.

It was political drama at its best - a Chief Justice defied a military dictator, triggered a movement for justice and democracy, and finally won.Capturing every moment, the Pakistan media braved bullets, tear gas, baton charge and gagging orders by the Musharraf regime. Pakistan's leading news channel, Geo TV was smashed for showing police brutality.Ironically, Musharraf who had allowed independent news channels to open up shut them down during the emergency he imposed in November 2007.

It was middle class power at its best, inspired by Iftikhar Chaudhry's defiance to step down on Musharraf's order. This paved the way for democratic forces to challenge a military dictatorship.

It was for the first time in Pakistan's history that a judge openly challenged a military dictator and refused to resign on his orders. He was ready to face all the allegations leveled against him.

The struggle for a free media is not new to journalists in Pak. Since the sixties, journalists have been in the mainstream for the struggle for democracy. And now with coming of age of an electronic media the impact of journalism is much stronger.

What we are seeing in Pakistan right now is a very silent slow revolution taking place in which the people are taking power from the state. One of the channels through which it is happening is the news media. So, it is happening a gradual transformation of Pakistan society with the media being the engine of change right now. That is happening in front of our eyes and we are going to start seeing the impact of this gradual silent revolution in the next few years to come.

Pakistan's nascent but bold media has proved that it can take on any government, military or democratic. However, it still has to live up to people's expectations by demonstrating its objectivity and maturity in covering a volatile country like Pakistan.

Long wait coming to an end: CDGK to start CNG bus service by end of April

The City District Government Karachi’s (CDGK) preparations for the launch of a CNG bus service in the city are nearing completion and City Nazim Mustafa Kamal has issued stern directives to the project in charge to ensure commencement of the service by the end of April.

The project was initially announced by the federal government in the 2006-07 financial year, at a cost of Rs 2.5 billion, with the deadline for their introduction being set at February 2008. Under the federal government’s plan, the project would be a public-private partnership enterprise and would lead to the introduction of 8,000 CNG buses throughout the country and 800 buses for Karachi. However, finally it seems that the CDGK has managed to overcome the financial crunch and 50 CNG buses will ply on the roads of the city by end of April. The locally manufactured buses, which comply with international standards, will be introduced at a cost of Rs 250 million.

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India is 'fast becoming like Pakistan'

Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram's meeting with CIA chief Leon Panetta showed that India was "fast becoming like Pakistan" and signalled a "new status" of the American intelligence agency in the country, the CPI(M) alleged today.

Yesterday's meeting "marks a new stage in Indo-US collaboration. This is the first time that an American CIA chief has been accorded a meeting with the Union Home Minister in India. Apart from meeting his intelligence counterparts in India, the CIA Chief has been received at the political level, signalling the new status of the CIA in India," the party Politburo claimed in a statement here.Noting that the CIA was "notorious for its interventions in the political affairs of various countries including destabilising governments considered inimical to US interests", the party said it was "a pointer of how things have changed under the Manmohan Singh government".
"India is fast becoming like Pakistan where the CIA and FBI chiefs meet with the interior minister and Prime Minister," the CPI(M) said.

The role being played by American security and military agencies in India and "the manner in which the Congress-led government is promoting such ties should be a matter of serious concern for all those who wish to protect national sovereignty and the integrity of our democratic system", the major Left party said.

New moderate forces need to emerge

Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani’s announcement restoring the deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan and his colleagues has been welcomed in Pakistan with very few reservations.

Pakistan’s neighbours, particularly India and Afghanistan, as well as its western “patrons” particularly the United States and the United Kingdom should have heaved a sigh of relief that a potentially explosive situation has been defused.

Roots of political instability go deep in Pakistan’s history. At its birth there was little effective political framework to carry the burden of the new-born state.

Jinnah’s rhetorical question “What is the Muslim League but me and my stenographer?” spoke much of the League’s real hold on the masses.

Civil society is of recent origin. The present movement owes much of its success to the impact of the electronic media and the advent of the internet. PPP has largely been a Bhutto party and has survived much on momentum. Nawaz Sharif was General Zia’s creation and his League has no connection with the original body. Real stability in Pakistan is dependent on new moderate political forces emerging but this could take a long time. Until then one can at best hope for a modicum of stability.

What next ?

Democracy and its “politics” have won the day. The deadlock has been broken through a political decision to accommodate each other.The lawyers are overjoyed and deserve their moment in the sun because of the way they have steadily carried the standard of their principled cause for over two years.

Meanwhile, we have to face the question of “what next”. That means letting go of the rhetoric that the restoration of the judges in the higher judiciary will lead to justice in the country. The focus now should be on structural change in the entire judiciary, reaching down to the district level. The magistracy has to be merit-based, better remunerated, and defended against all sorts of pressures. This is particularly important because the former PMLQ government had failed to complete this reform despite the considerable financial assistance provided it by the Asian Development Bank. That is the only way “justice” will be “restored”.

Life after the Long March will hopefully see restoration of the economy that was severely damaged by the political instability radiating from the campaign. Once the result of the review petition has brought about a further thawing of the situation, it will be time to take a serious look at the problem of terrorism and the battle against it that we are not winning.

Pakistan stocks rose the most in nine months after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani pledged to reinstate Supreme Court justices fired under military rule in 2007, ending a confrontation with the opposition.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other deposed judges will be restored on March 21, Gilani said in a 6 a.m. televised address in Islamabad, meeting the demands of thousands of protesters who are challenging President Asif Ali Zardari. Authorities also lifted a ban on rallies and releases detained protesters.
The benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index rose 313.07, or 5.4 percent, to 6,063.54 at the 3:30 p.m. local time close, the most since June 24, 2008. Oil & Gas Development Co. and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. led gains.

After a Violent Day in Pakistan,

Zardari Backs Down

============

Even by Pakistan's standards, where violence has routinely scarred the landscape, the scenes were startling. For several hours on Sunday, the heart of this eastern city was witness to street battles as baton-wielding police mounted a fierce but ultimately failed attempt to crush a gathering of anti-government lawyers and political activists.

As the country's enduring political confrontation entered its decisive phase, President Asif Ali Zardari pressed on with his crackdown on opposition groups in a bid to thwart a "long march" for the reinstatement of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. After hundreds of arrests and accusations of a media clampdown, police blocked off Lahore's main thoroughfares as orders were reportedly issued to confine former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other political leaders to house arrest.
When it was all over, however, the Zardari government appeared to back down.

Govt agrees to reinstate Iftikhar Chaudhry

Gilani announces restoration of deposed chief judge.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday morning 5:00 AM announced in his television address that the government had decided to reinstate the country’s Supreme Court chief justice in a bid to end political turmoil.
Main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif has been locked in a showdown with President Asif Ali Zardari demanding the reinstatement of the top judge, who was sacked by ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2007.

‘I announce today that Iftikhar Chaudhry and all other deposed judges will be reinstated from March 21,’ Gilani said in a televised address to the nation.The current Supreme Court chief justice will retire on that date, allowing Chaudhry to take over, the premier said.

Sharif calls off ‘long march’ protest

PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif on Monday said he had agreed to call off a mass protest march after the government decided to reinstate the deposed chief justice.

‘We are now calling off this long march,’ he said from inside his SUV, showered with pink rose petals and stranded in a sea of jubilant supporters in the central city of Gujranwala.
He said the decision had been taken following discussions with lawyers and leaders of allied political parties, such as Imran Khan.

‘Today the nation has received very happy news. We have said that we will restore the judges and the independent judiciary and by the grace of Allah we have achieved it,’ he said.
‘Very soon we will play our role in implementing real democracy in this country,’ he added.

Working women prone to lifestyle diseases

As double income families become the norm in most metropolises, it is ultimately the women who are under pressure with 68 per cent of them reporting lifestyle diseases, according to a study.
The survey finds that 27 per cent of women in urban Pakistan are employed and their health issues are a major concern both for society and business.

It analysed that job demands like long working hours, working under deadlines and without clear direction led 75 per cent of the working women suffer from depression or general anxiety disorder than those women with lower psychological level of job demands.
Work pressure and deadlines often led 53 per cent of the survey respondents to skip their meals and munch more of junk food.

After tasting victory in Swat, where the Taliban forced the Pakistan government to its knees and accept imposition of sharia, Peshawar appears set to be the next big city to fall. If or when that happens, it will bring Taliban within striking distance of Pakistan's seats of power — Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Now, Taliban knocks on Peshawar's door

As the United States prepares for a troop surge and a decisive battle against the Afghan Taliban this year, there appears to be little hope that the Pakistani army, hobbled by political paralysis, can save the key provincial capital of Pakistan's Frontier province, just 25km from the Pakistan-Afghan border. The provincial metropolis is geographically important not only to Pakistan but also for allied troops in Afghanistan. For years, it was an operational base for the war against Russian troops. Now, it is equally important for the US and allied troops fighting the Taliban along the Pak-Afghan border. Nearly 100 trucks carrying supplies to the US and Nato troops in Afghanistan were set on fire a few weeks back — one of the largest operations by Taliban. "If Peshawar falls to militants, it will not take long for other areas of the NWFP to succumb," said Shahid Khatak, professor of international relations at Peshawar University. Peshawar shares borders with Mohmand Agency in the North, Khyber Agency in West and Darra Adam Khel in the South. Abdul Wali alias Umer Khalid is the Taliban commander in Mohmand Agency, Mangal Bagh is chief of Lashkar-e-Islam in Khyber while Tariq Afridi in Darra Adam Khel (with roots in another militant outfit in Jaish-e-Mohammad). Recent attacks in the suburbs of Peshawar on high-profile politicians like Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali have sent alarm bells ringing across the country. Senior NWFP Minister Bashir Bilour narrowly survived a suicide attack, while Alamzeb — a member of the provincial assembly — perished in another attempt by the militants who use suicide attacks as a routine tactic in this part of the world.

Female activists of the Long March

Women protestors are being manhandled in the on going Long March. Pictures of women lawyers and political activists being brutally pulled and pushed into police vans have been beamed across the world. PPP leader Naheed Khan too has expressed shock over the incidents of manhandling of women by the authorities.

Naked ambition triumphs in Pakistani politics …

Lawyers’ Movement: A Political Beast

One of the gravest errors made by commentators when discussing the lawyers’ movement is to describe it as an apolitical civil movement. This is a fiction perpetuated by the media, and to some extent politicians. Both have a similar motivation for their abridgement of the facts. It is, after all, easier to sell a story when it has a clearly defined plot, a hero and a villain. In fact, what we today refer to as the lawyers’ movement is clearly a political beast. The movement organises marches and stages rallies. It lobbies for public support and has a clear policy statement. It is backed by a loose alliance of political parties.

‘Islam can be used to curb tobacco use’

Smoking for Muslims was between haram (forbidden) and makruh (objectionable)

An Iraqi cancer specialist’s view that the teachings of Islam can be used to curb tobacco consumption has found favour with experts from several nations, especially those with Muslim majorities, who attended the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health here.
“Islam can be used as an effective tool for tobacco control among Muslims, who constitute 22 percent of the world’s population,” Lath Yahya Ibrahim Mula Hussain, an oncologist from Iraq.

“It is a hard fact that most Muslims have fallen prey to tobacco. Islam is a powerful tool that can be used to guide the lives of Muslims across the globe but it ought to be used effectively,” said Hussain.

The oncologist pointed out that there are 1.2 billion Muslims globally, second only to Christians. Also, the number of those following Islam is growing at 2.9 percent - faster than the 2.3 percent annual growth in world population.

Hence, he feels it is important to target Muslims to ensure reduction in tobacco consumption.
Hussain proposed his idea to the delegates at the conference Wednesday and got the support of many experts, particularly from Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Early this year, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued an edict forbidding children and pregnant women from smoking, and banning smoking in public places. The council declared that smoking for Muslims was between haram (forbidden) and makruh (objectionable).

Last year, a major crackdown on smoking was launched in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which ranks fourth in the world in tobacco imports and consumption. Each year Saudis smoke more than 15 billion cigarettes, worth $168 million, according to figures issued by the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Health Ministers Council.

“In the Quran, Al-Nissa 29 states, ‘do not kill yourself nor kill one another, surely God is most merciful to you’,” he said.
“Al-Isra 26 asks Muslims to not to spend wastefully in the manner of spendthrift,” Hussain added.
Tobacco use is expected to kill six million people worldwide and drain $500 billion from the global economy each year, reveals the latest edition of the “Tobacco Atlas” .

Country to celebrate'S Eid Milad-un-Nabi (SAWW)

Eid Milad-un-Nabi (SAWW) is being observed with great reverence and religious fervor all over the country today (Tuesday) and security is high alert on this occasion. Official and private buildings, bazaars, mosques and roundabouts have been tastefully decorated in all big cities of the country. Mahafil-e-Milad and public meetings are being held in connection with the Eid-I-Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH) and people will pray exclusively for country’s security, inter-Muslim solidarity and restoration of peace in the country.

Karachi had the most fascinating and city‑wide colourful illumination of its municipal history on the occasion of Eid Milad‑un‑Nabi (SAW).
The entire city is gilttering with colourful lights and illuminated models of Khan‑e‑Kaaba and Roza‑e‑Rasool (Peace Be Upon Him).

Politicians let us down again?

Is a military coup round the corner in Pakistan? As speculation of another military takeover grows, the media in Pakistan has warned the country's politicians to slam on the brakes now and resolve their differences and put an end to the crisis.

Arising out of the confrontation between the two mainstream parties, President Zardari's PPP and Nawaz Sharif's PML-N, the warning comes amid media reports that the army chief General Ashfaq Kayani has warned President Zardari to clean up the mess and that too by a deadline, March 16. On that day, lawyers and supporters of Nawaz Sharif are planning a long march calling for the reinstatement of those judges who had been sacked by Musharraf, something Zardari has been reluctant to do.

Pakistan's The Daily Times said in its editorial, "Now that the two mainstream parties have virtually declared the doors of reconciliation shut, commentators are already talking of the possibility of the army stepping in "to bring the country back to normal". We sincerely hope this doesn't happen. The army is incapable of providing any political solutions as we have learnt from our bitter experience time and again. But if this does come to pass, this time too the politicians would be to blame" Meanwhile, the Dawn's editorial said, "Hurtling as this country is towards the brink of political chaos, there is still time for the politicians to slam on the brakes and reverse course. If not stopped immediately, the chain of events triggered by the ouster of the Sharif brothers from electoral politics and the imposition of governor's rule in Punjab will surely end in tears for everyone involved."

And The News said, "All this is despicable. There are no other words to describe what we are seeing. Politicians have once more let down people in a terrible fashion. The tall talk of national unity in the face of crisis has proven to be nothing more than a lie. Are we really to believe our leaders are oblivious of the fact that their country faces extreme peril?"

Pakistan/International Women’s Day

Sexual crimes have been mainstays of Pakistani politics for nearly all of its sixty-one-year history and have been used to legitimise all sorts of regimes. This gives the Taliban ample room to justify yet another repugnant episode in the history of Pakistani women.

On March 5, 2009, barely a day after the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan blew up the shrine of Rehman Baba, a seventeenth century Sufi poet. The bombs had been placed in the four white marble pillars of the tomb and were detonated in the early hours of the morning.According to the residents of the Hazarkhwani area, the shrine was blown up because the Taliban had an objection to women visiting the shrine. In its capacity to attract women out of their homes, this shrine, commemorating one of the finest poets of the Pashtu language, was considered worthy only of destruction by the Taliban.This latest spectacle and the reasons given for it are recent iterations of what has been a steady encroachment by the Taliban on the lives of Pakistani women. In recent days, women have been beaten for being found walking with an unrelated male, forbidden from shopping in markets and in many areas around Peshawar banned from ever appearing in public without covering their faces.

Even educational institutions in cities like Multan, considered to be far from the reaches of the insurgency in the tribal areas, have, in recent days, received threats for allowing men and women to study together. Signs have been put up at restaurants in Quetta and markets in Swat prohibiting women from the premises.Unquestionably, as the women of the world commemorate the International Women’s Day tomorrow (March 8), the women of Pakistan have little to celebrate and even less to look forward to.Given this, it is crucial to recognise that the privatisation of Pakistani women and their systematic relegation to the private sphere is not an accidental by-product of the insurgency, but an integral component of it. In pushing women out of society, out of jobs, and out of educational institutions, the Taliban are attempting to redefine the public and private spheres in a way that gives tangible vision to their counter-modern world.

Eliminating the freedom of women already bearing the yoke of tribal strictures also provided the Taliban with another political opportunity. While the majority of their practices involve the repression of women, the forbidding of certain tribal mores as against Islamic traditions permits an edification of their cause as a sort of Islamic modernity similar to the practices of the early Muslims in pre-Islamic Arabia.Practices like honour-killing, karo-kari, siyah kari and the marriages of women to the Quran provide plenty of room to invest the Taliban with a sort of medieval charisma imbued with religious righteousness. For the Taliban, this game is an old one, as Professor Juan Cole has pointed out in his article, The Taliban, Women and the Private Sphere; the group followed exactly the same pattern in Afghanistan where Mullah Omar forbade the practice of forcibly marrying widows off to anyone in the tribe.

In addition, the redefinition of public and private and the accompanying pushing back of women into the domestic sphere plays into the moral confusions of Pakistanis already unsure of the cultural implications of globalisation. In a society where the situation of women is deplorable, where thousands of women are killed in the name of honour, where rapists are rarely if ever prosecuted and the testimony of a woman is at times only considered half that of a man, a revolt against the increasing repression of the Taliban is unlikely.Sexual crimes like adultery and fornication and the moral regulation of women have been mainstays of Pakistani politics for nearly all of its sixty-one-year history and have been used to legitimise all sorts of regimes. This particular history thus gives the Taliban ample room to justify yet another repugnant episode in the history of Pakistani women.When the Taliban marched into Kabul, they ordered all women to wear burqas that covered them from head to toe and the windows of homes blackened so that women would not be seen from the street. They were forbidden from seeing doctors and from attending school and they could no longer leave their homes without a related male accompanying them.A few years ago, such a scenario seemed unimaginable in the cities of Pakistan. But with each passing day, each new attack and each unchallenged edict from Mullah Radio, it seems that it may not be as implausible a scenario as Pakistani women had once imagined it to be.Rafia Zakaria is an attorney living in the United States where she teaches courses on Constitutional Law and Political Philosophy. She can be contacted at rafia.zakaria@gmail.com

The boy so set on getting to Cambridge he got 22 A-levels

Pakistani Teenager gains 22 A-levels in 12 months

One ambition was fixed in Ali Moeen Nawazish's mind as he made his way through school in Pakistan. He wanted to win a place at Cambridge.

Sitting seven A-levels might easily have done the trick, even though he had started to study some of the subjects only three days before the exam. But he was determined to get some good grades. So he sat another three, and three more. Then another nine. Just in case, he took a couple of AS levels along the way.The result? The remarkable young student, who modestly explains he has 'quite a thirst for knowledge', secured 22 A grades, one B and a C.

When he filled out his university application forms at home in Rawalpindi there was barely enough space to list his qualifications.
His Cambridge dream came true four months ago when he embarked on a computer science degree course at Trinity Hall. Now he is due to win another place - in the Guinness Book of Records.


Ali, 18, said of taking the exams: "I didn't find it particularly stressful. I enjoyed it. I've a thirst for knowledge
"Some of subjects were trickier than others - such as psychology.
"I only began studying for the subject three days before the exam so there was a lot to get in. I was pleased to get an A.
"Physics, maths and computing are my real strong point."
He has since started a degree in computer science at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
He took them at Roots High School in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. All the exams he sat were accredited with either Edexcel or Cambridge International Examinations.
The only subjects in which he dropped grades were Chemistry (B) and General Further Mathematics (C).
Despite his self-imposed workload he found time to play guitar, hold the role of president of his music club, edit his school newspaper and attend a leadership conference at Harvard University, America.
Dr Nick Bampos, a senior tutor at Cambridge University, said: "When we first interviewed him we thought, 'This can't be right'.
"But not only is he really bright, he is really charming.
"We've never heard of any applicant with anywhere near as many A-Levels. It's enormously impressive.
"However, it isn't necessary to get that many A-Levels to get into Cambridge."

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Attack on Rehman Baba is attack on Pashtun identity
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On Thursday March 5th, terrorists from Khyber Agency blew up the mausoleum of the great poet of the Pashtun and put the state of Pakistan on notice once again about their intent against Pakistani culture. The tomb of Rehman Baba was rebuilt as a complex in 1994 and it included other tombs of great Pashtun cultural icons, such as Akhund Darweza. The Taliban had come to the mausoleum and told the devotees that saying namaz at the mosque attached to the grave was “haram”. The administration knew that a strike would take place but did nothing.

Rehman Baba (1632-1707), who appeared on a Pakistani postage stamp in 2005, is an acknowledged cultural symbol of the Pashtun and Afghan people. While Khushal Khan Khattak (1613–1689) stands together with him as a classical foil, Rehman Baba has moved the soul of the Pashtun far more. He also stands at the root of Pashtun nationalism and has been adopted in the past by all kinds of secular and conservative movements. He marks a significant phase in the development of Pashto language and his lines are often quoted spontaneously by the speakers of the language.

The various schools of thought in the Sufi tradition like the Naqshbandiya, Chishtiya and Qadiriya have claimed him as their own, so great was his appeal among the masses.

In Pakistan, religious culture has been traditionally represented by the Sufi tradition. The culture of the elite, represented by painting, architecture and calligraphy, doesn’t touch the masses whose way of life is reflected more accurately in the collective celebration of Islam’s mystical heritage. The Sufi taught the people how to link their faith with their entertainment and imbue their culture with their religious belief.

It is often said that many of the Muslims of the region of Pakistan were brought inside the pale of Islam by the Sufi who sang of Allah’s divinity in the music and dance he inculcated among them, composed in the classical tradition.It is this culture of the masses that has been targeted by Talibanisation, a new faith born out of the terrorist coercion of Al Qaeda which is steeped in the anti-mystical Saudi-Wahhabi Islam.

The trend towards anti-culture extremism, however, is seen across the Islamic world, much aided in the 1990s by Saudi investment in the spread of the Wahhabi faith. Pakistan’s culture has also been under assault from the Taliban who target the dominant Barelvi school of Pakistani Hanafi jurisprudence as representing the “impure” faith.

In 2006, a large congregation of Barelvi clerics and leaders was suicide-bombed in Karachi where, too, scores of Barelvi mosques have been grabbed by the more powerful Deobandis.Pakistan committed cultural suicide when it allowed a purely Deobandi jihad in Afghanistan after 1996, empowering jihadi militias increasingly under the influence of Al Qaeda.

Cricket stumps are seen in a park in Lahore, Pakistan.

A terrorist attack this week on the Sri Lankan cricket team has put the safety of teams traveling to Pakistan into question. The International Cricket Council has stressed its concerns and the need for dramatic changes to improve the security situation, highlighting the plans for 2011 World Cup matches being staged in Pakistan.

Pakistan Offers Reward as Sri Lankans’ Attackers Evade Arrest

Pakistani authorities offered a 10 million rupee ($125,000) reward to help catch the 12 gunmen who attacked Sri Lanka’s visiting cricket team yesterday before escaping from security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the gun and grenade ambush in Lahore, which killed six police officers and injured six team members. Officials said the attack resembled the November assault on India’s financial hub, Mumbai.

The attack on sportsmen from a country with few links to the U.S.-led struggle against Islamic extremism raises questions about President Asif Ali Zardari’s grip on power. The mounting cost of tackling terrorism has deepened an economic crisis that forced his government to seek $12 billion in loans since November from the International Monetary Fund.

ICC to review Pakistan's hosting of 2011 World Cup

The future of international cricket in Pakistan appears more uncertain than ever this morning, after Sri Lanka cancelled their tour of the country in the wake of the terror attacks in Lahore.
Masked gunmen opened fire on the Sri Lankan team as they travelled from their hotel to the Gaddafi stadium, killing eight people and injuring at least five cricketers. The squad has now been airlifted to safety.
The attacks have thrown Pakistan's co-hosting of the 2011 World Cup into doubt and Haroon Lorgat, the chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), has called for urgent talks to discuss the issue. .
"In the next day or two we will have to make some serious decisions and we will," he said.

Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test is cancelled

6 Sri Lanka cricketers hurt, 7 killed in Lahore shooting
Attack on Sri Lankan team an attempt to spoil Pak reputation: Sherry

A dozen heavily armed gunmen today carried out a commando-style attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team and their police escort in Lahore, Pakistan, injuring up to six of the visiting players and killing five policemen.
In scenes similar to the terrorist attack on Mumbai in November, the gunmen attacked with heavy weapons, spraying the Sri Lankan team bus with bullets as it drove to the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore.

Several players and one Briton in the convoy of vehicles were reported to have received "superficial" injuries. A Sri Lankan foreign ministry official said two players, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana, had been taken to hospital. He said three more players were slightly injured and the head coach, Australian Trevor Bayliss, sustained minor injuries.
Television footage showed glimpses of the assailants running through the streets with machine guns in their hands and rucksacks on their backs.

The attack happened in Gulberg, an upmarket area of the city, at around 9am local time. All the gunmen remain at large after retreating into a nearby commercial and shopping area.
Police cordoned off the area, saying they would kill or capture the terrorists.
Habibur Rehman, the police chief of Lahore, said there were around 12 gunmen, at least some of whom arrived in auto-rickshaws.

"Because the police were protecting them [Sri Lankan team], we were the main victims," said Rehman. "They [the gunmen] looked like trained people. The security provided was good."
The vehicle carrying the umpires Simon Taufel and Steve Davis and match official Chris Broad, the father of England bowler Stuart, was also attacked.

A rocket launcher and grenades were recovered from the scene.
The Sri Lankan cricketers, who were playing a Test match against Pakistan in the city, are to be evacuated by military helicopter from the area immediately.

Around 170 people died in Mumbai when militants staged a three-day gun attack. Earlier this year, there was an armed attack on government buildings in central Kabul.

Today's attack is another indication that extremists may have adopted new tactics, preferring guns to the suicide bombings that had become their hallmark.

Cricket teams had stopped visiting Pakistan due to the country's deteriorating security situation, with an international tournament cancelled last year.

Australia and India refused to go on pre-planned tours, and it was with great difficulty that the Pakistani cricket authorities persuaded Sri Lanka to tour the country.
Sanath Jayasuriya, a Sri Lankan cricketer who was not part of the touring team, said that, even in conflict-torn Sri Lanka, cricketers never became the target.

"The good news is that they [the team] are all safe," Jayasuriya said.

Squad member Kumar Sangakkara told the Sri Lankan radio station Yes-FM that "all the players are completely out of danger". "Luckily there's nothing serious and everyone is fine."
The second Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan ha been called off, according to a Sri Lankan cricket board official. "We are trying to bring the team back as quickly as possible. The test match has been cancelled," he told Reuters.

The former England all-rounder Dominic Cork who was in the stadium to do commentary work for Pakistan TV, told Sky Sports News: "The Sri Lankan players are quite shocked. They all fell to the floor of the team bus when the attack happened.
"Some of them have wounds but I think most of them are superficial wounds. I have spoken to ] Sangakkarra; he has a shrapnel wound in his right shoulder.
"The team are sitting in the changing room watching local TV. They are waiting for helicopters to arrive to take them to a local army base and wait for a connecting flight to Abu Dhabi.

Pakistani helicopter arrives to evacuate Sri Lankan team

A Pakistani air force helicopter landed at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday to evacuate members of the Sri Lankan cricket team following a deadly ambush. The members of the team being rushed to the airport for departure to their homeland en-route Abu Dhabi.

Sri Lanka sends FM to Pakistan after shooting

Updated at: 1142 PST, Tuesday, March 03, 2009 COLOMBO: Sri Lanka rushed Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollegama to Pakistan Tuesday after the national cricket team was attacked in Lahore, the president's office said.

India becomes hub for supplying funds to terrorists

India has become a hub for supplying funds to terrorists under ‘hundi and Hawala’ money transfer system. A private TV channel quoting US Foreign Affairs Department reported that the US has asked India to make effective legislation for anti-money laundering and to stop supplying capital to terrorists.

To become of a regular member of international policy making institutions financial action task force India must also take concrete steps to curb the menace of illegal transfer of money to terrorists.

The report urged India to adopt affective strategy on priority basis for supporting international efforts to make the system transparent working parallel to legal system keeping in view the increasing incident of terrorism in India and supplying funds to them.

According to US foreign affairs department, Reserved bank of India said that during 2007-08, India received remittances of 42.60 billion (BB) dollars through legal system. —APP The US, which has linked hawala money to terror financing, said India should fortify its legislations that deal with money laundering and terror financing. The report said the hawala system provided the same kind of remittance service as a bank with no documentation, lower rates and faster delivery. It also provided anonymity and security for the customers, the report added.

The Reverse Brain Drain

Why Skilled Immigrants Are Leaving the U.S.

New research shows that highly skilled workers are returning home for brighter career prospects and a better quality of life

For the first time in its history, the U.S. faces the prospect of a reverse brain drain. New research shows that more than 1 million highly skilled professionals such as engineers, scientists, doctors, researchers, and their families are in line for a yearly allotment of only around 120,000 permanent-resident visas for employment-based principals and their families in the three main employment visa categories (EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3). These individuals entered the country legally to study or to work.

They contributed to U.S. economic growth and global competitiveness. Now we've set the stage for them to return to countries such as India and China, where the economies are booming and their skills are in great demand. U.S. businesses large and small stand to lose critical talent, and workers who have gained valuable experience and knowledge of American industry may become potential competitors.

"America's Loss Is the World's Gain," finds that the vast majority of these returnees were relatively young. The average age was 30 for Indian returnees, and 33 for Chinese. They were highly educated, with degrees in management, technology, or science. Fifty-one percent of the Chinese held master's degrees and 41% had PhDs. Sixty-six percent of the Indians held a master's and 12.1% had PhDs. They were at very top of the educational distribution for these highly educated immigrant groups—precisely the kind of people who make the greatest contribution to the U.S. economy and to business and job growth.

Nearly a third of the Chinese returnees and a fifth of the Indians came to the U.S. on student visas. A fifth of the Chinese and nearly half of the Indians entered on temporary work visas (such as the H-1B). The strongest factor that brought them to the U.S. was professional and educational development opportunities.