Nude Art in Pakistan
In Pakistan even the normal art has been a taboo for society, then what about “nude art”? it must not exist here! It does exist, as Pakistan has got some real good adroit painters who could fashion human anatomy with their skill and imagination and furnish the canvass up to the level of “a treat to watch”. Talism-e-Hoshruba by Ustad Alla Bakhsh has got tinges of semi exposed human bodies in a mystical atmosphere. Sadqain’s paintings give you an idea about bodies of active, working human beings that do not come under nudes but do reflect painter’s skill.
Shakir Ali, we could say, was the first one to paint abstract nudes as real art in Pakistan. His strong contours, dark bold colors and conceptual attitude, truly distinguish him from his contemporaries. Shakir experimented in showing women’s body in a hidden abstract approach. In new generation, Saeed Akhter, with his realistic style of work has contributed valiantly in this prohibited art form while Jami Naqsh sharpened the edges of his ideas along with nude figures in his paintings done in knife work. As art is, what a person thinks about and the way of thinking, so the expression has been close to nature where sometime, norms and values could not be considered.
Bernard Berenson (1897) said, “Not what man knows but what man feels concerns art. All else is science.”
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Former Pakistan air chief in Indian government advertisement
The Indian government was left red-faced Sunday after a full-page advertisement it issued as part of a women's rights campaign included the photograph of a former Pakistan Air Force chief.
The newspaper advertisement issued by India's federal Ministry of Women and Child Development was aimed at raising public awareness of the killing of female foetus in the mother's womb.
"Where would you be if your mother was not allowed to be born?" the advertisement asks and alongside photographs of two famous Indian cricketers and Pakistan's former air chief marshal Tanvir Ahmed.
The government quickly ordered a probe into the faux pas and the prime minister's office issued a public apology, "noting with regret the inclusion of a foreign national's photograph" in the government advert. An internal enquiry has been launched, it said.
The advertisement also included portraits of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ruling United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the federal Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath.
Government advertisements are routinely handed over to private creative agencies after which they are issued by the government's Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity. All advertisements are cleared by the respective ministries.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to voice its criticism as television channels played up the blunder.
"This is a very serious thing if our government officials and politicians do not know who our top military officials are," senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
Women's rights activists said the focus of on the issue at the centre of the campaign was lost with the media highlighting the blunder.
India has laws banning sex determination tests, but aborting female foetuses is still common. The government has long been campaigning for an end to the practice.
According to UNICEF, 80 per cent of districts in India have recorded a declining sex ratio since 1991, with the northern state of Punjab being the worst.
According to the 1991 census, the figure was 947 girls to 1,000 boys, while the 2001 Census showed it had fallen to 927 girls for 1,000 boys.
The Indian government was left red-faced Sunday after a full-page advertisement it issued as part of a women's rights campaign included the photograph of a former Pakistan Air Force chief.
The newspaper advertisement issued by India's federal Ministry of Women and Child Development was aimed at raising public awareness of the killing of female foetus in the mother's womb.
"Where would you be if your mother was not allowed to be born?" the advertisement asks and alongside photographs of two famous Indian cricketers and Pakistan's former air chief marshal Tanvir Ahmed.
The government quickly ordered a probe into the faux pas and the prime minister's office issued a public apology, "noting with regret the inclusion of a foreign national's photograph" in the government advert. An internal enquiry has been launched, it said.
The advertisement also included portraits of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ruling United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the federal Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath.
Government advertisements are routinely handed over to private creative agencies after which they are issued by the government's Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity. All advertisements are cleared by the respective ministries.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to voice its criticism as television channels played up the blunder.
"This is a very serious thing if our government officials and politicians do not know who our top military officials are," senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
Women's rights activists said the focus of on the issue at the centre of the campaign was lost with the media highlighting the blunder.
India has laws banning sex determination tests, but aborting female foetuses is still common. The government has long been campaigning for an end to the practice.
According to UNICEF, 80 per cent of districts in India have recorded a declining sex ratio since 1991, with the northern state of Punjab being the worst.
According to the 1991 census, the figure was 947 girls to 1,000 boys, while the 2001 Census showed it had fallen to 927 girls for 1,000 boys.
Monday, January 18, 2010
US Army to 'protect' Pakistan's nuclear sites
In face of a growing anti-Americanism among the Pakistan military, the US army moves to train a 'crack unit' to thwart possible attacks on the country's nuclear facilities.
The unit would be responsible to take back Pakistani nuclear weapons in the event the militants gain access to the strategic devices and materials, the Pakistani daily The Nation reported Sunday.
The measure is taken as the US military fears the possibility of an attack "from inside the country's security apparatus," added the report.
The daily notes that the rising anti-Americanism among the Pakistani military personnel, as well as a series of attacks on sensitive installations over the past two years, has prompted the US officials to take the action.
In face of a growing anti-Americanism among the Pakistan military, the US army moves to train a 'crack unit' to thwart possible attacks on the country's nuclear facilities.
The unit would be responsible to take back Pakistani nuclear weapons in the event the militants gain access to the strategic devices and materials, the Pakistani daily The Nation reported Sunday.
The measure is taken as the US military fears the possibility of an attack "from inside the country's security apparatus," added the report.
The daily notes that the rising anti-Americanism among the Pakistani military personnel, as well as a series of attacks on sensitive installations over the past two years, has prompted the US officials to take the action.
Heated debate has been going on between the US and Pakistani officials over the security of its nuclear facilities over the past two weeks.
There have been reports that US officials' primary goal is to gain access to and disable or neutralize Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, which they consider as a possible threat to US and Israeli security.
Pakistani nuclear arms have also been referred to as an “Islamic Bomb” in the American and Israeli press and political circles, highlighting their mindset regarding the country's atomic weapons, which was meant to rival India's. India's nuclear arms, however, have never been raised as a concern in western circles.
There have been reports that US officials' primary goal is to gain access to and disable or neutralize Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, which they consider as a possible threat to US and Israeli security.
Pakistani nuclear arms have also been referred to as an “Islamic Bomb” in the American and Israeli press and political circles, highlighting their mindset regarding the country's atomic weapons, which was meant to rival India's. India's nuclear arms, however, have never been raised as a concern in western circles.
Cold Start: Indian Threat to Pakistan & China
In 2005 India announced a new military doctrine called Start Cold mainly targeting Pakistan as its potential enemy. In November 2009, Indian army chief made a statement that there is a possibility of a limited war between Pakistan and India in a nuclear overhang. In December 2009, Indian chief announced that India is ready to take on both Pakistan and China in a ‘two front war’ simultaneously. These statements spurred a quick reaction in Pakistani media and military establishment.
Indian statements
Indian army chief statement came in a closed door seminar in Shimla based military academy on five year review of its military doctrine and operational preparedness. Full details of the Indian chief speech are not known but what is released to media can be summarized as under;
1. India is in position to mobilize its forces so that they can move into enemy territory within 96 hours to execute its Cold Start military doctrine.
2. India is now ready to take on Pakistan and China both in a “two front war” in a nuclear over hang.
3. India is going to enhance its “strategic reach and out-of-area capabilities” to protect its interests from Malacca strait to Persian Gulf.
4. To achieve above mentioned goals India would attain “operational synergy” between the three services.
5. Countering “both military and non-military facets of asymmetric and sub-conventional threats.”
Indian army chief’s statements met with prompt reply from Pakistani military top brass. “Proponents of conventional application of military forces, in a nuclear overhang, are charting an adventurous and dangerous path, the consequences of which could be both unintended and uncontrollable,” said General Kiyani, CoAS Pakistan army. The next day Chairman joint Chief of Staff General Tariq Majeed responded to two front war doctrine in these words,
“Leave alone China, General Deepak Kapoor knows very well what the Indian Army cannot and the Pakistan Army can pull off militarily”.
He said the Indian Army chief “could not be so outlandish in strategic postulations to fix India on a self-destruct mechanism”.
Although Pakistan army made it clear that it is alive to the threats faced by the nation and recent history has proved that despite its numerical advantage and bigger economy, India was not able to initiate a war against Pakistan. It is important to look at drivers behind these statements by Indian army chief and how come this time Indian military establishment is so confident about their preparedness to take not only Pakistan but also China in a future war whereas in a previous stand off just 8 years ago the same Indian army could not fire a single bullet?
Indian army chief’s statements came when there are lots of things taking place in Pakistan’s internal politics at a rapid pace.
Militarily Pakistan army is stretched from Khyber to Karachi, now on both Eastern and Western borders.
Pakistan armed forces are undergoing a massive modernization program which is about to be completed not earlier than 2019. Modernization enhances skills of any force but it also includes a learning cover and time to absorb technology. Pakistan air force would go nearly a complete overhaul as almost entire fleet of PAF would be eventually replaced with new one till 2019.
The Indian army plan is not new, but Indian military establishment devised this plan to take on Pakistan and China in a war simultaneously some five years ago. A careful look at statement of Indian army chief makes it clear that Indians are eying establishing a strong military footprint in Indian Ocean from Malacca strait to Persian Gulf.
Cold start doctrine is not about capturing Pakistani territory but inflicting as much damage as possible to enemy forces and infrastructure within matter of hours. It is more like a hit and run tactics giving no time to Pakistan to react.
Indian military adopted Cold start on April 28, 2004, after a 10 months long standoff (Operation Parakram) with Pakistan army along 2500 kilometer Indo-Pak border in 2002. In this stand off Indian army strike formation took almost a month to be mobilized. Contrary to this Cold Start emphasizes on quick deployment of forces and synergize operations of all three services towards destruction of Pakistan army defenses and units in short possible time. But is it all that easily possible? Does Indian military have that kind of inter service coordination to implement Cold Start in real war? This is the point where some Pakistani analysts believe that India still doesn’t have the capability to carry on its Cold Start doctrine against Pakistan. An objective analysis of this aspect is only possible after studying Indian strategic military planning against Pakistan during last five years can answer this important question.
Another reason for adopting Cold Start by India is to minimize the reaction time available for diplomatic solution of any potential crisis like one emerged after Mumbai attacks in November 2008. Indian government and forces were under pressure to carryout some surgical strikes on so called terrorist infrastructure on the Pakistani soil. Under Cold Start Indian military would make sure that any diplomatic solution comes after India gets all its objectives.
A war between Pakistan and India would jeopardize the entire war on terror. But still India would need a pretext to execute its Cold Start doctrine and this is where 4th generation warfare comes into equation.
By the end of 20th century Russia invaded in Afghanistan and this was the start of a new generation of warfare. Though guerilla warfare is very old but in 1982 after direct involvement of CIA in this conflict, this guerilla warfare gave birth to fourth generation warfare (4GWs) that works on principle of lesser to no nation state involvement but rely on ad-hoc warriors and moral conflicts. Other imperatives of 4GWs include adaptation of technology to surprise the enemy and information warfare.
A careful look at what Pakistan army is combating in FATA makes it clear that Pakistan army is dealing with first phase of Indian design against Pakistan which deals with winning a moral war by adopting 4GWs.It cannot be a coincident that Pakistan army is facing an enemy who has; ad-hoc fighters, propaganda warfare capabilities in form of FM radios, very advanced weaponry and communication gear.
This is indeed not a war waged just for revenge against Pakistan army to side US after 9/11. If it is then how come the poor tribesmen gathered all these assets within a short period of time and mastered the skills to use them against world’s 6th largest military machine i.e Pakistan army.
Pakistan army and security management have no doubts about Indian support to TTP, a banned terrorist organization committing horrific terrorism nationwide since its inception in 2005 (The same year when India adopted new military doctrine and raised a new military command along with Pakistani border). Pakistan army has seized not only Indian made weapons in Swat and FATA but also has eliminated number of Indian combatants. Proofs have already been given to civilian government to take up the matter at world forums but there is no sign of urgency in this regard in Islamabad which is not only strange but questionable as well.
Though Pakistan army has fought successfully with Indian 4GWs in Swat and FATA but due to lack of political will was unable to gain any higher moral ground in community of nations. On the other hand India already has built a case against Pakistan as a country being used as staging ground for terrorism against its neighbors.
In 2005 India announced a new military doctrine called Start Cold mainly targeting Pakistan as its potential enemy. In November 2009, Indian army chief made a statement that there is a possibility of a limited war between Pakistan and India in a nuclear overhang. In December 2009, Indian chief announced that India is ready to take on both Pakistan and China in a ‘two front war’ simultaneously. These statements spurred a quick reaction in Pakistani media and military establishment.
Indian statementsIndian army chief statement came in a closed door seminar in Shimla based military academy on five year review of its military doctrine and operational preparedness. Full details of the Indian chief speech are not known but what is released to media can be summarized as under;
1. India is in position to mobilize its forces so that they can move into enemy territory within 96 hours to execute its Cold Start military doctrine.
2. India is now ready to take on Pakistan and China both in a “two front war” in a nuclear over hang.
3. India is going to enhance its “strategic reach and out-of-area capabilities” to protect its interests from Malacca strait to Persian Gulf.
4. To achieve above mentioned goals India would attain “operational synergy” between the three services.
5. Countering “both military and non-military facets of asymmetric and sub-conventional threats.”
Indian army chief’s statements met with prompt reply from Pakistani military top brass. “Proponents of conventional application of military forces, in a nuclear overhang, are charting an adventurous and dangerous path, the consequences of which could be both unintended and uncontrollable,” said General Kiyani, CoAS Pakistan army. The next day Chairman joint Chief of Staff General Tariq Majeed responded to two front war doctrine in these words,
“Leave alone China, General Deepak Kapoor knows very well what the Indian Army cannot and the Pakistan Army can pull off militarily”.
He said the Indian Army chief “could not be so outlandish in strategic postulations to fix India on a self-destruct mechanism”.
Although Pakistan army made it clear that it is alive to the threats faced by the nation and recent history has proved that despite its numerical advantage and bigger economy, India was not able to initiate a war against Pakistan. It is important to look at drivers behind these statements by Indian army chief and how come this time Indian military establishment is so confident about their preparedness to take not only Pakistan but also China in a future war whereas in a previous stand off just 8 years ago the same Indian army could not fire a single bullet?
Indian army chief’s statements came when there are lots of things taking place in Pakistan’s internal politics at a rapid pace.
Militarily Pakistan army is stretched from Khyber to Karachi, now on both Eastern and Western borders.
Pakistan armed forces are undergoing a massive modernization program which is about to be completed not earlier than 2019. Modernization enhances skills of any force but it also includes a learning cover and time to absorb technology. Pakistan air force would go nearly a complete overhaul as almost entire fleet of PAF would be eventually replaced with new one till 2019.
The Indian army plan is not new, but Indian military establishment devised this plan to take on Pakistan and China in a war simultaneously some five years ago. A careful look at statement of Indian army chief makes it clear that Indians are eying establishing a strong military footprint in Indian Ocean from Malacca strait to Persian Gulf.
Cold start doctrine is not about capturing Pakistani territory but inflicting as much damage as possible to enemy forces and infrastructure within matter of hours. It is more like a hit and run tactics giving no time to Pakistan to react.
Indian military adopted Cold start on April 28, 2004, after a 10 months long standoff (Operation Parakram) with Pakistan army along 2500 kilometer Indo-Pak border in 2002. In this stand off Indian army strike formation took almost a month to be mobilized. Contrary to this Cold Start emphasizes on quick deployment of forces and synergize operations of all three services towards destruction of Pakistan army defenses and units in short possible time. But is it all that easily possible? Does Indian military have that kind of inter service coordination to implement Cold Start in real war? This is the point where some Pakistani analysts believe that India still doesn’t have the capability to carry on its Cold Start doctrine against Pakistan. An objective analysis of this aspect is only possible after studying Indian strategic military planning against Pakistan during last five years can answer this important question.
Another reason for adopting Cold Start by India is to minimize the reaction time available for diplomatic solution of any potential crisis like one emerged after Mumbai attacks in November 2008. Indian government and forces were under pressure to carryout some surgical strikes on so called terrorist infrastructure on the Pakistani soil. Under Cold Start Indian military would make sure that any diplomatic solution comes after India gets all its objectives.
A war between Pakistan and India would jeopardize the entire war on terror. But still India would need a pretext to execute its Cold Start doctrine and this is where 4th generation warfare comes into equation.
By the end of 20th century Russia invaded in Afghanistan and this was the start of a new generation of warfare. Though guerilla warfare is very old but in 1982 after direct involvement of CIA in this conflict, this guerilla warfare gave birth to fourth generation warfare (4GWs) that works on principle of lesser to no nation state involvement but rely on ad-hoc warriors and moral conflicts. Other imperatives of 4GWs include adaptation of technology to surprise the enemy and information warfare.
A careful look at what Pakistan army is combating in FATA makes it clear that Pakistan army is dealing with first phase of Indian design against Pakistan which deals with winning a moral war by adopting 4GWs.It cannot be a coincident that Pakistan army is facing an enemy who has; ad-hoc fighters, propaganda warfare capabilities in form of FM radios, very advanced weaponry and communication gear.
This is indeed not a war waged just for revenge against Pakistan army to side US after 9/11. If it is then how come the poor tribesmen gathered all these assets within a short period of time and mastered the skills to use them against world’s 6th largest military machine i.e Pakistan army.
Pakistan army and security management have no doubts about Indian support to TTP, a banned terrorist organization committing horrific terrorism nationwide since its inception in 2005 (The same year when India adopted new military doctrine and raised a new military command along with Pakistani border). Pakistan army has seized not only Indian made weapons in Swat and FATA but also has eliminated number of Indian combatants. Proofs have already been given to civilian government to take up the matter at world forums but there is no sign of urgency in this regard in Islamabad which is not only strange but questionable as well.
Though Pakistan army has fought successfully with Indian 4GWs in Swat and FATA but due to lack of political will was unable to gain any higher moral ground in community of nations. On the other hand India already has built a case against Pakistan as a country being used as staging ground for terrorism against its neighbors.
Friday, January 15, 2010
There is a Dream that is India - Its High Time that We Live it November 26, 2008: 200 people were killed and more than 327 injured in terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
October 30, 2008: 77 people were killed and more than 150 people were injured in Assam blast.
March 12, 1993: 257 people were killed in a blast in Mumbai
11 July 2006: 209 people were killed during the serial blasts in local trains of Mumbai
And there are more. Within two months, We have seen 300 Indians murdered by terrorists and every day we have prayed to God, "please, no more." Is this the price to pay to be an Indian? Is this why we proudly proclaim ourselves as a citizen of a country that is aspiring to be amongst the most influential countries in the world? Let us not brew the coffee; its time to spill the beans now. But the question is
What should India do?
What options do we have as an Indian?
October 30, 2008: 77 people were killed and more than 150 people were injured in Assam blast.
March 12, 1993: 257 people were killed in a blast in Mumbai
11 July 2006: 209 people were killed during the serial blasts in local trains of Mumbai
And there are more. Within two months, We have seen 300 Indians murdered by terrorists and every day we have prayed to God, "please, no more." Is this the price to pay to be an Indian? Is this why we proudly proclaim ourselves as a citizen of a country that is aspiring to be amongst the most influential countries in the world? Let us not brew the coffee; its time to spill the beans now. But the question is
What should India do?
What options do we have as an Indian?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Muslims say leaving Islam OK, but is it really?
British team suggests Shariah only 'frowns' on apostasy cases
A new report from a team of Muslim leaders in Britain contends that Shariah law allows Muslims to leave Islam – despite the multitude of apostasy laws throughout the Islamic world that prescribe the death penalty.
The report, "Contextualizing Islam in Britain: Exploratory Perspectives," was assembled by a team led by Yasir Suleiman, director of the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center of Islamic Studies at Cambridge.
Addressing what it means to "live faithfully" as a Muslim in Britain, it is the result of the work of "a group of scholars, social scientists, religious and community leaders and educationists" in a project sponsored by the British government.
In a section addressing pluralism and human rights, the report states:
Islam frowns on the act of apostasy, but prohibits discrimination against apostates. Much classical Islamic law on apostasy emerged in a historical context where apostasy represented a betrayal of the state. It is important to say quite simply that people have the freedom to enter the Islamic faith and the freedom to leave it.
Officials with Barnabas Aid, which works with persecuted Christians worldwide, including those in repressive, Shariah-controlled nations, said if it's true it's a good sign.
"In other words, in the early Muslim community (which was at war with its neighbors) apostasy amounted to treason. So those who left Islam were put to death for treachery to the Islamic 'nation,' not for apostasy as such," the organization said in a commentary.
"As these conditions do not apply today, no-one should now be coerced into remaining a Muslim," the Christian organization said.
"This affirmation, by a number of senior and respected leaders of the British Muslim community, is truly remarkable, especially because it implies that the Shariah law of apostasy, which demands the death sentence for converts from Islam, is no longer valid," the m However, an expert on Islam says the report appears to be little more than posturing by Muslim leaders who are "giving highly apologetic and tendentious explanations" that are "designed to reassure Westerners." inistry continued.
"Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs" by Robert Spencer
His book, "Stealth Jihad," exposes how jihadists are advancing their agenda in the West today by means other than terrorist attacks.
He told WND the sayings of Muhammad – called the hadith – clearly instruct Muslims "if anyone changes his religion, kill him."
Every contemporary school of Islamic jurisprudence also teaches the use of the death penalty for apostasy, and in fact, such cases do come to light even in today's world, he said.
"The application of this law in Islamic nations gives the lie to this idea" in the report, he said.
British team suggests Shariah only 'frowns' on apostasy cases
A new report from a team of Muslim leaders in Britain contends that Shariah law allows Muslims to leave Islam – despite the multitude of apostasy laws throughout the Islamic world that prescribe the death penalty.
The report, "Contextualizing Islam in Britain: Exploratory Perspectives," was assembled by a team led by Yasir Suleiman, director of the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center of Islamic Studies at Cambridge.
Addressing what it means to "live faithfully" as a Muslim in Britain, it is the result of the work of "a group of scholars, social scientists, religious and community leaders and educationists" in a project sponsored by the British government.
In a section addressing pluralism and human rights, the report states:
Islam frowns on the act of apostasy, but prohibits discrimination against apostates. Much classical Islamic law on apostasy emerged in a historical context where apostasy represented a betrayal of the state. It is important to say quite simply that people have the freedom to enter the Islamic faith and the freedom to leave it.
Officials with Barnabas Aid, which works with persecuted Christians worldwide, including those in repressive, Shariah-controlled nations, said if it's true it's a good sign.
"In other words, in the early Muslim community (which was at war with its neighbors) apostasy amounted to treason. So those who left Islam were put to death for treachery to the Islamic 'nation,' not for apostasy as such," the organization said in a commentary.
"As these conditions do not apply today, no-one should now be coerced into remaining a Muslim," the Christian organization said.
"This affirmation, by a number of senior and respected leaders of the British Muslim community, is truly remarkable, especially because it implies that the Shariah law of apostasy, which demands the death sentence for converts from Islam, is no longer valid," the m However, an expert on Islam says the report appears to be little more than posturing by Muslim leaders who are "giving highly apologetic and tendentious explanations" that are "designed to reassure Westerners." inistry continued.
"Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs" by Robert Spencer
His book, "Stealth Jihad," exposes how jihadists are advancing their agenda in the West today by means other than terrorist attacks.
He told WND the sayings of Muhammad – called the hadith – clearly instruct Muslims "if anyone changes his religion, kill him."
Every contemporary school of Islamic jurisprudence also teaches the use of the death penalty for apostasy, and in fact, such cases do come to light even in today's world, he said.
"The application of this law in Islamic nations gives the lie to this idea" in the report, he said.
Pakistan Leaning Toward Islam, Anti-U.S
A report forecasts that Pakistan will increasingly embrace Islam and become more anti-U.S. in the years ahead.
However, the report prepared for the Legatum Institute, a London-based think tank, says its unlikely there will be an Islamist takeover, noting the reluctance of the elite in politics and the military to hand over power to the Taliban.
Instead, it predicts a subtle power shift from a secular pro-Western society to an Islamist anti-American one.
The report envisions Pakistan slowly severing its ties with the west at a time when the U.S. needs its support in Afghanistan.
The report says increasing influence of Islamist political parties and of militant groups in the Punjab province will begin to alter Pakistan by taking advantage of local problems, including the economy.
A report forecasts that Pakistan will increasingly embrace Islam and become more anti-U.S. in the years ahead.
However, the report prepared for the Legatum Institute, a London-based think tank, says its unlikely there will be an Islamist takeover, noting the reluctance of the elite in politics and the military to hand over power to the Taliban.
Instead, it predicts a subtle power shift from a secular pro-Western society to an Islamist anti-American one.
The report envisions Pakistan slowly severing its ties with the west at a time when the U.S. needs its support in Afghanistan.
The report says increasing influence of Islamist political parties and of militant groups in the Punjab province will begin to alter Pakistan by taking advantage of local problems, including the economy.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Forgotten Queens of Islam
The Mystery Of Missing Muslim Female Rulers
The Mystery Of Missing Muslim Female Rulers
A furor greeted Benazir Bhutto when she became Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988. Backed by orthodox theologian
s, her opponents decried the event as un-Islamic and “against nature,” adding that “no woman had ever governed a Muslim state between 622 and 1988.” To verify the accuracy of this statement, Moroccan author and sociologist Fatima Mernissi consulted the works of explorers, scholars and historians ranging from Ibne Batuta (1304-78) and Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) to Stanley Lane-Poole (Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1960) and her findings, published in The Forgotten Queens of Islam, tell us that there were at least seventeen Muslim queens between the eleventh and seventeenth centuries.
Mernissi restricts her list to female rulers who met the Muslim criteria of sovereignty—their names were proclaimed in the Friday khutba from mosques and inscribed on the coins struck in their reigns. Relatively well known are two thirteenth century queens of the Mamluk (Turkish slave) dynasty. One, of course, is Razia Sultana of the Delhi Sultanate, an able administrator whose calibre as compared to her three half-brothers was acknowledged by her father when he named her his successor. The other is the sagacious Sultana Shajaratul- Durr of Egypt, who routed the French army during the Crusades and captured King Louis IX.
However, few of us have heard of the two eleventh century Arab queens who ruled Yemen jointly with their husbands: Asma bint Shihab al-Sulahiyya (described by her contemporaries as one of the most famous and powerful women of her time) and her daughter-in-law, Arwa, both under the title “Syeda al-Hurra”. Nor has muchbeen written about the queens of the Mongol dynasty, which treated its women with a respect that amazed Ibne Batuta. It had no fewer than six queens (1256-1340) reigning over various principalities in present day Iran and Iraq. These were: Kutlugh (also known as Turkan) Khatun—whose reign lasted for twenty-six years—and Padishah Khatun in Kirman; Absh Khatun, whose capital was Shiraz; Dawlat Khatun of Luristan (in Persia); and Sati Bek and Malika Tindu of Iraq.
Subsequently in the Maldives, three Muslim queens succeeded each other during a forty year period (1347-1388). Sultana Khadija’s thirty-three year reign was succeeded by that of Sultana Myriam followed by Sultana Fatima. In the seventeenth century (1641-1699), Atjeh—the fi rst region of Indonesia to have a Muslim kingdom—had four successive queens (Sultanas Tajul Islam, Nurul Alam, Inayat Shah and Kamalat Shah) despite their opponents obtaining a fatwa against them.
Sources other than Mernissi cite a seventh Mongol queen, Sultana Fatima Begum, known to the Russians as Sultana Sayyidovna, of Qasim in Central Asia (1679-1681) and two Muslim queens in sub-Saharan Africa: Qasa, the head wife of Mansa Suleiman of Mali (“his partner in the kingship, after the custom of the blacks. Hername is mentioned with his fromthe pulpit”) and a famous conqueror and warrior-queen, Amina of Zauzau, West Africa.
The total count of female Muslim rulers thus adds up to twenty. So why are most of them missing from our history books, their very existence denied? Diehard orthodoxy opposed many of them in their lifetimes but did this opposition pursue them after their deaths to expunge them from memory?
The opposition to women holding public offi ce ostensibly stems from a single hadith. The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said, “A nation which places its affairs in the hands of a woman shall never prosper.” Theologians differ in their interpretations of this hadith. Some prohibit women from all public duties; some allow them to hold public offi ce, including that of a judge; and a few even acknowledge their right to be heads of state. Others point out that the Prophet (pbuh) made this remark after hearing that the Persians had appointed Chosroe’s daughter as their ruler. (The Prophet (pbuh) had earlier foretold the end of Chosroe’s dynasty after the latter had torn up the letter inviting him to Islam). He was therefore referring specifically to one particular woman, not women in general. In The Veil and the Male Elite, Mernissi questions the reliability of the hadith on the grounds that the narrator, Abu Bakrah, an ex-slave perhaps fearful of jeopardising the freedom and prosperity he enjoyed after converting to Islam, had been anxious to win Ali’s favour after the latter defeated Ayesha at the Battle of the Camel and conveniently remembered the supposed remark twenty-fi ve years after the Prophet’s death. What is more, he had once been fl ogged in Omar’s reign for bearing false testimony.
The Prophet (pbuh) told his followers to reject any saying attributed to him which violated the message of the Quran and this hadith seems to run contrary to the Quranic account of the Queen of Sheba (Surah 27), which nowhere implies that she was forbidden to rule. Moreover, history itself disproves the implications of the hadith. Nations have prospered under certain women rulers—England under Elizabeth I and Victoria; Israel under Golda Meir; India under Indira Gandhi, Russia under Catherine the Great; Spain under Isabella. How can the Prophet (pbuh) have been thought to make a statement that time would refute? Of course there were some awful women rulers, including Muslim queens who were either poor administrators, bad Muslims, or both; but this is just as true of their male counterparts.
And yet the most restrictive interpretation of the hadith is cited by those who subscribe to the view that women should be neither seen nor heard, much less hold public offi ce. During Ziaul Haq’s benighted tenure, a well-known alim even declared that women should avoid answering the telephone because this would violate their purdah. Such people are trapped in attitudes ingrained by centuries of a culturally inculcated misogyny which has transformed the Quranic injunctions regarding respect for and protection of women into a kind of imprisonment and a licence to rule their minds as well as their lives.
Until a few years ago, there was a tradition among some Muslim families to present new brides with a copy of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi’s Bahishti Zewar (Heavenly Ornaments), a book about Islamic beliefs and rituals which counsels women, among other things, never to step out of their husband’s home even to visit their parents, except to attend their funerals. However, the book does encourage women to be literate. Earlier, only a privileged few had been permitted to learn to read but never to write, just in case—horror of horrors!—they used the skill to write love letters.
Perhaps this is the mindset responsible for making Muslim queens vanish from our history. Mernissi urges women to read and reconstruct their own history in self-defence. “Since our ignorance of the past is being used against us, we must act. Read the past!” The quest—to add “her”-story to “his”-story—further underlines the need for the education of women. Only thus can they “read their past,” learn to believe in themselves, develop their talents and fulfill their God given potential—be it in the home, in the workplace or in public office. The choice should be theirs and theirs alone.
–[This article is written by By Raihanaa Hasan and was first published in the magazine Nation And The World September 1, 2009 issue]
-->
s, her opponents decried the event as un-Islamic and “against nature,” adding that “no woman had ever governed a Muslim state between 622 and 1988.” To verify the accuracy of this statement, Moroccan author and sociologist Fatima Mernissi consulted the works of explorers, scholars and historians ranging from Ibne Batuta (1304-78) and Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) to Stanley Lane-Poole (Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1960) and her findings, published in The Forgotten Queens of Islam, tell us that there were at least seventeen Muslim queens between the eleventh and seventeenth centuries.Mernissi restricts her list to female rulers who met the Muslim criteria of sovereignty—their names were proclaimed in the Friday khutba from mosques and inscribed on the coins struck in their reigns. Relatively well known are two thirteenth century queens of the Mamluk (Turkish slave) dynasty. One, of course, is Razia Sultana of the Delhi Sultanate, an able administrator whose calibre as compared to her three half-brothers was acknowledged by her father when he named her his successor. The other is the sagacious Sultana Shajaratul- Durr of Egypt, who routed the French army during the Crusades and captured King Louis IX.
However, few of us have heard of the two eleventh century Arab queens who ruled Yemen jointly with their husbands: Asma bint Shihab al-Sulahiyya (described by her contemporaries as one of the most famous and powerful women of her time) and her daughter-in-law, Arwa, both under the title “Syeda al-Hurra”. Nor has muchbeen written about the queens of the Mongol dynasty, which treated its women with a respect that amazed Ibne Batuta. It had no fewer than six queens (1256-1340) reigning over various principalities in present day Iran and Iraq. These were: Kutlugh (also known as Turkan) Khatun—whose reign lasted for twenty-six years—and Padishah Khatun in Kirman; Absh Khatun, whose capital was Shiraz; Dawlat Khatun of Luristan (in Persia); and Sati Bek and Malika Tindu of Iraq.
Subsequently in the Maldives, three Muslim queens succeeded each other during a forty year period (1347-1388). Sultana Khadija’s thirty-three year reign was succeeded by that of Sultana Myriam followed by Sultana Fatima. In the seventeenth century (1641-1699), Atjeh—the fi rst region of Indonesia to have a Muslim kingdom—had four successive queens (Sultanas Tajul Islam, Nurul Alam, Inayat Shah and Kamalat Shah) despite their opponents obtaining a fatwa against them.
Sources other than Mernissi cite a seventh Mongol queen, Sultana Fatima Begum, known to the Russians as Sultana Sayyidovna, of Qasim in Central Asia (1679-1681) and two Muslim queens in sub-Saharan Africa: Qasa, the head wife of Mansa Suleiman of Mali (“his partner in the kingship, after the custom of the blacks. Hername is mentioned with his fromthe pulpit”) and a famous conqueror and warrior-queen, Amina of Zauzau, West Africa.
The total count of female Muslim rulers thus adds up to twenty. So why are most of them missing from our history books, their very existence denied? Diehard orthodoxy opposed many of them in their lifetimes but did this opposition pursue them after their deaths to expunge them from memory?
The opposition to women holding public offi ce ostensibly stems from a single hadith. The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said, “A nation which places its affairs in the hands of a woman shall never prosper.” Theologians differ in their interpretations of this hadith. Some prohibit women from all public duties; some allow them to hold public offi ce, including that of a judge; and a few even acknowledge their right to be heads of state. Others point out that the Prophet (pbuh) made this remark after hearing that the Persians had appointed Chosroe’s daughter as their ruler. (The Prophet (pbuh) had earlier foretold the end of Chosroe’s dynasty after the latter had torn up the letter inviting him to Islam). He was therefore referring specifically to one particular woman, not women in general. In The Veil and the Male Elite, Mernissi questions the reliability of the hadith on the grounds that the narrator, Abu Bakrah, an ex-slave perhaps fearful of jeopardising the freedom and prosperity he enjoyed after converting to Islam, had been anxious to win Ali’s favour after the latter defeated Ayesha at the Battle of the Camel and conveniently remembered the supposed remark twenty-fi ve years after the Prophet’s death. What is more, he had once been fl ogged in Omar’s reign for bearing false testimony.
The Prophet (pbuh) told his followers to reject any saying attributed to him which violated the message of the Quran and this hadith seems to run contrary to the Quranic account of the Queen of Sheba (Surah 27), which nowhere implies that she was forbidden to rule. Moreover, history itself disproves the implications of the hadith. Nations have prospered under certain women rulers—England under Elizabeth I and Victoria; Israel under Golda Meir; India under Indira Gandhi, Russia under Catherine the Great; Spain under Isabella. How can the Prophet (pbuh) have been thought to make a statement that time would refute? Of course there were some awful women rulers, including Muslim queens who were either poor administrators, bad Muslims, or both; but this is just as true of their male counterparts.
And yet the most restrictive interpretation of the hadith is cited by those who subscribe to the view that women should be neither seen nor heard, much less hold public offi ce. During Ziaul Haq’s benighted tenure, a well-known alim even declared that women should avoid answering the telephone because this would violate their purdah. Such people are trapped in attitudes ingrained by centuries of a culturally inculcated misogyny which has transformed the Quranic injunctions regarding respect for and protection of women into a kind of imprisonment and a licence to rule their minds as well as their lives.
Until a few years ago, there was a tradition among some Muslim families to present new brides with a copy of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi’s Bahishti Zewar (Heavenly Ornaments), a book about Islamic beliefs and rituals which counsels women, among other things, never to step out of their husband’s home even to visit their parents, except to attend their funerals. However, the book does encourage women to be literate. Earlier, only a privileged few had been permitted to learn to read but never to write, just in case—horror of horrors!—they used the skill to write love letters.
Perhaps this is the mindset responsible for making Muslim queens vanish from our history. Mernissi urges women to read and reconstruct their own history in self-defence. “Since our ignorance of the past is being used against us, we must act. Read the past!” The quest—to add “her”-story to “his”-story—further underlines the need for the education of women. Only thus can they “read their past,” learn to believe in themselves, develop their talents and fulfill their God given potential—be it in the home, in the workplace or in public office. The choice should be theirs and theirs alone.
–[This article is written by By Raihanaa Hasan and was first published in the magazine Nation And The World September 1, 2009 issue]
-->
Pakistan's Asif Zardari faces army rebellion over India detente
Pakistan's president Asif Zardari is locked in a power struggle with his own army chiefs over his plans to ease tensions with its traditional enemy, India.
According to sources close to Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Kiyani, senior officers are alarmed at the president's plans to divert troops and aircraft defending Pakistan's border with India and deploy them in a new offensive against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
Their rift emerged after Mr Zadari made a number of speeches earlier this week, in which he said India no longer posed a military threat to Pakistan and that his country's greatest threat came from Islamic guerrillas in its tribal areas along its frontier with Afghanistan. Such militants have waged a campaign of suicide bombings throughout Pakistan's major cities and control large swathes of its tribal areas.
His comments raised hopes of a new thaw in the frosty relationship between India and Pakistan, but were questioned by analysts who said it defied the two nation's experience of three wars. They accused Mr Zardari of yielding to British and American pressure.
According to senior military figures, one Anglo-American gambit to Islamabad was a guarantee that India would not be allowed to attack Pakistan if its forces were redeployed to fight terrorists on its Western border.
Analysts last night said they did not expect President Zardari to win his fight to redeploy the army from the Indian border
Despite signals that India would welcome talks - possibly between their foreign ministers at a meeting of the G8 group of nations in Trieste, Italy, this weekend - New Delhi believes a willingness to deport terrorist suspects like Lashkar-e-taiba leader Hafiz Saeed would be a more meaningful statement.
Lt-Gen Masood said Pakistan's military chiefs firmly believed that there must first be progress in finding a solution to their dispute over the Kashmir region before a better relationship could be considered worth having.
Pakistan's president Asif Zardari is locked in a power struggle with his own army chiefs over his plans to ease tensions with its traditional enemy, India.
According to sources close to Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Kiyani, senior officers are alarmed at the president's plans to divert troops and aircraft defending Pakistan's border with India and deploy them in a new offensive against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
Their rift emerged after Mr Zadari made a number of speeches earlier this week, in which he said India no longer posed a military threat to Pakistan and that his country's greatest threat came from Islamic guerrillas in its tribal areas along its frontier with Afghanistan. Such militants have waged a campaign of suicide bombings throughout Pakistan's major cities and control large swathes of its tribal areas.
His comments raised hopes of a new thaw in the frosty relationship between India and Pakistan, but were questioned by analysts who said it defied the two nation's experience of three wars. They accused Mr Zardari of yielding to British and American pressure.
According to senior military figures, one Anglo-American gambit to Islamabad was a guarantee that India would not be allowed to attack Pakistan if its forces were redeployed to fight terrorists on its Western border.
Analysts last night said they did not expect President Zardari to win his fight to redeploy the army from the Indian border
Despite signals that India would welcome talks - possibly between their foreign ministers at a meeting of the G8 group of nations in Trieste, Italy, this weekend - New Delhi believes a willingness to deport terrorist suspects like Lashkar-e-taiba leader Hafiz Saeed would be a more meaningful statement.
Lt-Gen Masood said Pakistan's military chiefs firmly believed that there must first be progress in finding a solution to their dispute over the Kashmir region before a better relationship could be considered worth having.
Pakistan economy expected to grow despite 'militancy'
Pakistan's battered economy is showing some signs of improvement with GDP growth expected to rise, a state bank report said Tuesday, but it warned that the battle against militants
remained costly.
Inflation, the global recession, a crippling power shortage and a wave of Islamist violence have all taken their toll on Pakistan’s economic growth last fiscal year -- which ended June 30 -- the lowest since 1997-98.
“The prospects of returning to macroeconomic stability have improved this fiscal year as most of the key indicators continue positive trends that began in the closing months of the last fiscal year,” the quarterly report said.
“Real GDP growth will likely to be around the annual target of (between) 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent, higher than last fiscal year's 2.0 percent,” it said.
The state bank report said that inflation will likely average between 10 and 12 percent this year, down from 2008-09 when average inflation was 20.8 percent. Inflation hit a 30-year high in September 2008.
The current account deficit is targeted to be between 3.7 percent and 4.7 percent of GDP, the report said, compared with 5.3 percent last year.
Exports are estimated to remain stable at about 19 billion dollars and imports at about 31 billion dollars, the same as last fiscal year.
But the report warned that increasing bombings by Islamist fighters and the multiple offensives launched last year by the military to try and quash Taliban strongholds in the northwest would continue to take a financial toll.
“Given exceptional circumstances arising from the stepped-up campaign against militants, these targets may not be achieved due to huge expenditures on defence and the rehabilitation of internally displaced people,” it said.
“The indirect cost of war entails weaker growth in tax collections, as industrial and trade activities -- which are the main contributors to fiscal revenue -- remain dull due to security uncertainties,” it said.
Pakistan's battered economy is showing some signs of improvement with GDP growth expected to rise, a state bank report said Tuesday, but it warned that the battle against militants
remained costly.Inflation, the global recession, a crippling power shortage and a wave of Islamist violence have all taken their toll on Pakistan’s economic growth last fiscal year -- which ended June 30 -- the lowest since 1997-98.
“The prospects of returning to macroeconomic stability have improved this fiscal year as most of the key indicators continue positive trends that began in the closing months of the last fiscal year,” the quarterly report said.
“Real GDP growth will likely to be around the annual target of (between) 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent, higher than last fiscal year's 2.0 percent,” it said.
The state bank report said that inflation will likely average between 10 and 12 percent this year, down from 2008-09 when average inflation was 20.8 percent. Inflation hit a 30-year high in September 2008.
The current account deficit is targeted to be between 3.7 percent and 4.7 percent of GDP, the report said, compared with 5.3 percent last year.
Exports are estimated to remain stable at about 19 billion dollars and imports at about 31 billion dollars, the same as last fiscal year.
But the report warned that increasing bombings by Islamist fighters and the multiple offensives launched last year by the military to try and quash Taliban strongholds in the northwest would continue to take a financial toll.
“Given exceptional circumstances arising from the stepped-up campaign against militants, these targets may not be achieved due to huge expenditures on defence and the rehabilitation of internally displaced people,” it said.
“The indirect cost of war entails weaker growth in tax collections, as industrial and trade activities -- which are the main contributors to fiscal revenue -- remain dull due to security uncertainties,” it said.
Taliban may be descended from JewsThe ethnic group at the heart of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan may descended from their Jewish enemy, according to researchers in India.
Experts at Mumbai's National Institute of Immunohaematology believe Pashtuns could be one of the ten "Lost Tribes of Israel".
The Israeli government is funding a genetic study to establish if there is any proof of the link.
An Indian geneticist has taken blood samples from the Pashtun Afridi tribe in Lucknow, Northern India, to Israel where she will spend the next 12 months comparing DNA with samples with those of Israeli Jews.
The samples were taken in Lucknow's Malihabad area because it was regarded as the only place safe enough to conduct such a controversial project for Muslims.
Shanaz Ali a senior research fellow, will lead the study at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Tel Aviv.
There are an estimated 40 million Pashtuns around the world including more than 14 million in Afghanistan and 28 million in Pakistan, mainly in the North West Frontier Province and Tribal areas but also with a strong presence in Karachi.
Many have grown up with stories of their people being "Children of Israel". According to legend, they are descended from the Ephraim tribe which was driven out of Israel by the Assyrian invasion in around 700BC.
Evidence of ancient Jewish settlement has been found in Heart, close to Afghanistan's border with Iran, where a graveyard contains tombs inscribed in Hebrew. The Afghan capital Kabul also has a centuries-old synagogue which has long been abandoned.
Navras Aafreedi, a leading researcher on the Lost Tribes of Israel, said the DNA investigation could have major modern repercussions.
"It could be seen as scientific validation of traditional belief about the Israelite origin of [Pashtuns] and can have interesting ramifications for Muslim-Jew relations in particular and the world at large," he said.
Last year, The Daily Telegraph revealed that Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad family may have been Jewish.
Pakistan suffers worst year of terrorist violence
Pakistan suffered its worst year of terrorist violence last year, with more than 3,000 people reported to have been killed as an al-Qaeda-inspired insurgency targeted civilians and destabilised the country.
The toll from the violence in Pakistan far outstripped the bloodshed in neighbouring Afghanistan, according to research by the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (Pips).
It found that 3,021 people had been killed and 7,334 injured in terrorist attacks in Pakistan in 2009. There were 87 suicide bombings out of 2,586 incidents related to terrorism - a 45 per cent rise in attacks over the previous year.
The scale of the terrorist challenge at home could explain Islamabad's resistance to US demands that Pakistan take on Afghan insurgents based on its soil in the border regions.
Pakistani forces struck back in the first concerted military response to Islamic extremism since the country sided with the US following the September 11 attacks. The armed forces claimed to have killed as many as 7,945 terrorists, but the claim cannot be independently verified.
Overall, Pips claimed that the numbers killed and injured in militancy-related violence, including the extremists, totalled 25,447 in Pakistan, eclipsing the 8,812 such casualties in Afghanistan.
"The most important trend to emerge was attacks on soft targets," said Abdul Basit, a researcher. "The distinction between combatants and non-combatants is gradually disappearing."
Pakistani extremists had been careful to limit their targets to the police and military but towards the end of 2009 purely civilian targets were also hit. Islamabad's International Islamic University and markets in the cities of Lahore and Peshawar saw bombings that horrified the nation.
The current extremist campaign in Pakistan started in the summer of 2007, after the military stormed the Red Mosque in Islamabad, a radical stronghold, killing about 100 people. Al-Qaeda seized on the attack to call for an Islamist rebellion in the country.
That insurrection led to the formation of a Pakistani Taliban movement which fought not in Afghanistan but at home, and which linked up with established militant groups across the country.
Pakistan suffered its worst year of terrorist violence last year, with more than 3,000 people reported to have been killed as an al-Qaeda-inspired insurgency targeted civilians and destabilised the country.
The toll from the violence in Pakistan far outstripped the bloodshed in neighbouring Afghanistan, according to research by the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (Pips).
It found that 3,021 people had been killed and 7,334 injured in terrorist attacks in Pakistan in 2009. There were 87 suicide bombings out of 2,586 incidents related to terrorism - a 45 per cent rise in attacks over the previous year.
The scale of the terrorist challenge at home could explain Islamabad's resistance to US demands that Pakistan take on Afghan insurgents based on its soil in the border regions.
Pakistani forces struck back in the first concerted military response to Islamic extremism since the country sided with the US following the September 11 attacks. The armed forces claimed to have killed as many as 7,945 terrorists, but the claim cannot be independently verified.
Overall, Pips claimed that the numbers killed and injured in militancy-related violence, including the extremists, totalled 25,447 in Pakistan, eclipsing the 8,812 such casualties in Afghanistan.
"The most important trend to emerge was attacks on soft targets," said Abdul Basit, a researcher. "The distinction between combatants and non-combatants is gradually disappearing."
Pakistani extremists had been careful to limit their targets to the police and military but towards the end of 2009 purely civilian targets were also hit. Islamabad's International Islamic University and markets in the cities of Lahore and Peshawar saw bombings that horrified the nation.
The current extremist campaign in Pakistan started in the summer of 2007, after the military stormed the Red Mosque in Islamabad, a radical stronghold, killing about 100 people. Al-Qaeda seized on the attack to call for an Islamist rebellion in the country.
That insurrection led to the formation of a Pakistani Taliban movement which fought not in Afghanistan but at home, and which linked up with established militant groups across the country.
Did ISI have a hand in attack on CIA base?
A US strategic think tank has discounted "widespread rumours in the United States" that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had a hand in the December 30 attack in Khost, Afghanistan that killed several CIA agents.
The possibility that jihadist sympathisers in the lower ranks of the Pakistani intelligence complex may have offered their services to the Taliban cannot be ruled out, the think tank said. While luck played a definite role in the attack, the skill in preparing the double agent who detonated the suicide bomb used in the attack has led some to see a state role, says Stratfor that styles itself as the global intelligence company. "Such a role is unlikely, however, as Pakistan has little to gain by enraging the United States. Even so, the rumours alone will harm US-Pakistani relations, perhaps giving the Taliban some breathing room," it said.
While luck played a definite role in the attack, the skill in preparing the double agent who detonated the suicide bomb used in the attack has led some to see a state role, says Stratfor that styles itself as the global intelligence company.
However, even this does not mean the ISI was involved in the attack, it said noting, The ISI falls under the control of the Pakistani army and the government, and the Pakistani state has no interest in carrying out actions against the United States, as this could seriously threaten Pakistani national interests.
Given its history of dealing with Islamist nonstate proxies, the Pakistani intelligence apparatus is penetrated by the jihadists, which partially explains the ability of the TTP to mount a ferocious insurgency against the state.
A US strategic think tank has discounted "widespread rumours in the United States" that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had a hand in the December 30 attack in Khost, Afghanistan that killed several CIA agents.
The possibility that jihadist sympathisers in the lower ranks of the Pakistani intelligence complex may have offered their services to the Taliban cannot be ruled out, the think tank said. While luck played a definite role in the attack, the skill in preparing the double agent who detonated the suicide bomb used in the attack has led some to see a state role, says Stratfor that styles itself as the global intelligence company. "Such a role is unlikely, however, as Pakistan has little to gain by enraging the United States. Even so, the rumours alone will harm US-Pakistani relations, perhaps giving the Taliban some breathing room," it said.
While luck played a definite role in the attack, the skill in preparing the double agent who detonated the suicide bomb used in the attack has led some to see a state role, says Stratfor that styles itself as the global intelligence company.
However, even this does not mean the ISI was involved in the attack, it said noting, The ISI falls under the control of the Pakistani army and the government, and the Pakistani state has no interest in carrying out actions against the United States, as this could seriously threaten Pakistani national interests.
Given its history of dealing with Islamist nonstate proxies, the Pakistani intelligence apparatus is penetrated by the jihadists, which partially explains the ability of the TTP to mount a ferocious insurgency against the state.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Australia's victory in second Test stuns Pakistan
Ricky Ponting: 'nobody in the world' expected Australia victory over Pakistan
The hosts dismissed Pakistan for 139 on a dramatic fourth day to cap an incredible triumph which few thought possible when the hosts posted just 127 runs in their first innings.
While Australia have made a habit of snatching dramatic victories at the SCG in recent years - having toppled India and South Africa late on the final day in the previous two Sydney Tests - Ponting claimed the most recent triumph was even more rewarding
"I don't think anyone else in the world other than probably all the blokes inside our room thought we could win," said the Australia captain.
SYDNEY was the scene of a great escape for the third year in a row as Australia conjured a miraculous victory against Pakistan.
Starting the day with a slim lead and even slimmer odds of winning, Australia's dogged self-belief turned the tables on the nervous tourists and produced a dramatic 36-run win.
After being dismissed 175 in front - courtesy of a 123-run stand between Mike Hussey (134 not out) and Peter Siddle (38) - Nathan Hauritz and Australia's bowlers then ripped through Pakistan in the afternoon to wrap up the Test series 2-0.
It was a remarkable finale to a Test in which Australia only ever looked like a winner in the dying stages and continued a stunning run of last-gasp victories at the SCG.
After allowing Australia to add 95 runs to its lead yesterday courtesy of yet another dropped catch by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and defensive fields, Pakistan's batting then collapsed.
Pakistan began its innings boldly and raced to 1-49.
Yousuf said poor batting had cost Pakistan.
Last year, South African captain Graeme Smith unexpectedly walked out at the death to bat last with a broken hand amid a growing roar in an attempt to save the match, before being bowled by Mitchell Johnson with just nine balls to spare.
And in 2008 Michael Clarke claimed three wickets in five balls during the second-last over of the match to bowl out India amid scenes of such hysteria India had umpire Steve Bucknor sacked for the next Test and threatened to go home over the racism claims against Andrew Symonds.
This wasn't the first time Pakistan had capitulated in Sydney either.
In January 1973 it was bowled out for 106 chasing 159 for victory with Max Walker claiming 6-15.
And Australia knows all about Sydney capitulations too, famously going down by five runs against South Africa in 1994 chasing just 117 to win.
"A few other teams would have suffered the same way as Pakistan did today," Ponting said
Ricky Ponting: 'nobody in the world' expected Australia victory over Pakistan
The hosts dismissed Pakistan for 139 on a dramatic fourth day to cap an incredible triumph which few thought possible when the hosts posted just 127 runs in their first innings.
While Australia have made a habit of snatching dramatic victories at the SCG in recent years - having toppled India and South Africa late on the final day in the previous two Sydney Tests - Ponting claimed the most recent triumph was even more rewarding
"I don't think anyone else in the world other than probably all the blokes inside our room thought we could win," said the Australia captain.
SYDNEY was the scene of a great escape for the third year in a row as Australia conjured a miraculous victory against Pakistan.
Starting the day with a slim lead and even slimmer odds of winning, Australia's dogged self-belief turned the tables on the nervous tourists and produced a dramatic 36-run win.
After being dismissed 175 in front - courtesy of a 123-run stand between Mike Hussey (134 not out) and Peter Siddle (38) - Nathan Hauritz and Australia's bowlers then ripped through Pakistan in the afternoon to wrap up the Test series 2-0.
It was a remarkable finale to a Test in which Australia only ever looked like a winner in the dying stages and continued a stunning run of last-gasp victories at the SCG.
After allowing Australia to add 95 runs to its lead yesterday courtesy of yet another dropped catch by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and defensive fields, Pakistan's batting then collapsed.
Pakistan began its innings boldly and raced to 1-49.
Yousuf said poor batting had cost Pakistan.
Last year, South African captain Graeme Smith unexpectedly walked out at the death to bat last with a broken hand amid a growing roar in an attempt to save the match, before being bowled by Mitchell Johnson with just nine balls to spare.
And in 2008 Michael Clarke claimed three wickets in five balls during the second-last over of the match to bowl out India amid scenes of such hysteria India had umpire Steve Bucknor sacked for the next Test and threatened to go home over the racism claims against Andrew Symonds.
This wasn't the first time Pakistan had capitulated in Sydney either.
In January 1973 it was bowled out for 106 chasing 159 for victory with Max Walker claiming 6-15.
And Australia knows all about Sydney capitulations too, famously going down by five runs against South Africa in 1994 chasing just 117 to win.
"A few other teams would have suffered the same way as Pakistan did today," Ponting said
Saturday, January 2, 2010
India-Pakistan: military angle
The Himalayan ranges have shaped the culture, politics, religion, mythology, climate and military doctrines of all six countries -- Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan -- that the ranges stretch across. The Great Mountain covers an area of about 650,000 square-kilometres and the width varies from 180 kilometres to 350 kilometres with a total glaciation area of over 33,000 square-kilometres. The Great Mountain Arc, from the Indus River all the way to the Brahmaputra River, encircles five countries -- India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan -- and a landmass of a little more than four million square-kilometres. This landmass has 1.5 billion inhabitants; around 22 per cent of the world population in an area about half the size of the US.
Environmental determinism is the view that Indian and Pakistani military strategists "build up knowledge by encountering the world through their senses, and are unable to transcend their responses to the environment; they are at the mercy of environmental stimuli." The Great Himalayan Arc, the inescapable environmental stimuli in the Indo-Pak region, has been -- and continues to be -- the densest and the most impenetrable natural barrier between the Subcontinent and whatever lies north, east or west of the Arc.
Genghis Khan founded the 'largest contiguous empire in history' but failed to circumvent the Himalayas into India. The Himalayas have always -- and continue to -- shield India from invaders in the north (read: China). To be certain, other than Sino-Indian border skirmishes of 1962 history has never witnessed any major invasion across the Himalayas.
As a consequence, based on environmental determinism, Indian military strategists in the post-Independence period laid out an Order of Battle whereby at least half of all Indian army corps were stationed within a striking distance from the Pakistan-India border. These corps include XV Corps with two infantry divisions in Srinagar, XIV Corps in Leh, XVI Corps with three infantry divisions, an artillery brigade and an armoured brigade in Nagrota, X Corps in Bhatinda, XI Corps in Jalandhar and IX Corps in Yol (then there's II Corps in Ambala).
According to The Geographical Dictionary, "Human activities are governed by the environment, primarily the physical environment." Pakistani military strategists, with little or no threat from the west, also laid out an Order of Battle whereby six of the nine Pakistan army corps -- both holding and strike corps -- were stationed within a striking distance from the Pakistan-India border. These corps include I Corps in Mangla, X Corp with infantry divisions in Murree, Mangla and Jhelum, IV Corps in Lahore, II Corps in Multan, XXX Corps with two infantry divisions in Sialkot and XXXI Corps in Bahawalpur.
India and Pakistan are in a state of active hostility. For FY 2009, India's defence spending, according to Jane's Information Group, will rise by close to 50 per cent to a colossal $32.7 billion. India is planning its biggest-ever arms purchases; $11 billion fighter jets, T-90S tanks, Scorpion submarines, Phalcon airborne warning and control system, multi-barrel rocket-launchers and an aircraft-carrier. At $32.7 billion India's defence spending translates into 2.7 per cent of GDP.
For FY 2009, Pakistan's official defence spending is set at $4.3 billion (some unofficial estimates go as high as $7.8 billion). If Pakistan were to match India's rise we would have to spend more than five per cent of our GDP on defence. For the record, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan spend an overwhelmingly large percentage of their GDP on defence. Iraq, Somalia and Sudan are all -- or have been -- in a state of civil war. For the record, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia used to spend an overwhelmingly large percentage of their GDP on defence. Soviet Union is no more. Czechoslovakia is no more.
The Pakistan army looks at the Indian army and sees its inventory of 6,384 tanks as a threat (none of those Indian tanks can cross the Himalayas into China so Arjun MBTs must all be for Pakistan). The Pakistan army looks at the Indian air force and sees its inventory of 672 combat aircraft as a threat. The Pakistan army looks at the Indian army and finds that 15, 9, 16, 14, 11, 10 and 2 corps are all pointing their guns at Pakistan. The Pakistan army looks at the Indian army and discovers that the 4th Armoured Division, 12th Infantry Division, 340th Mechanised Brigade and 4th Armoured Brigade have been deployed to cut Pakistan into two halves.
Roti or killing machines? As per World Bank data, 74 per cent of Pakistanis earn $2 a day or less and 75 per cent of Indians earn $2 a day or less. Imagine; one out of every two Pakistanis is short on food. One out of every two Pakistanis is food-insecure. One out of every two Pakistanis is managing to subsist on less than 2,350 calories per day. Last year, there were 60 million Pakistanis short on food. That number now stands at 77 million; a 28 per cent increase.
Over the past century, economic development has been all about trans- and cross-border trading. Pakistan has two population centres; central Punjab and Karachi. Central Punjab is a thousand kilometres from the nearest port. Between Karachi and central Punjab is a desert in the east and on the west is an area that does not -- and cannot -- support population concentrations. To develop economically, we must trade. Trade we must. And, the only population concentration to trade with is on our east.
To be certain, time -- and money -- is on India's side. Composite dialogue among civilians means little -- if anything at all. What is needed is a strategic dialogue. How can India be persuaded to pull back its offensive formations? What would Pakistan give in return? Pakistan cannot continue to race a race that it cannot win.
The writer is the executive director of the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
The Himalayan ranges have shaped the culture, politics, religion, mythology, climate and military doctrines of all six countries -- Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan -- that the ranges stretch across. The Great Mountain covers an area of about 650,000 square-kilometres and the width varies from 180 kilometres to 350 kilometres with a total glaciation area of over 33,000 square-kilometres. The Great Mountain Arc, from the Indus River all the way to the Brahmaputra River, encircles five countries -- India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan -- and a landmass of a little more than four million square-kilometres. This landmass has 1.5 billion inhabitants; around 22 per cent of the world population in an area about half the size of the US.
Environmental determinism is the view that Indian and Pakistani military strategists "build up knowledge by encountering the world through their senses, and are unable to transcend their responses to the environment; they are at the mercy of environmental stimuli." The Great Himalayan Arc, the inescapable environmental stimuli in the Indo-Pak region, has been -- and continues to be -- the densest and the most impenetrable natural barrier between the Subcontinent and whatever lies north, east or west of the Arc.
Genghis Khan founded the 'largest contiguous empire in history' but failed to circumvent the Himalayas into India. The Himalayas have always -- and continue to -- shield India from invaders in the north (read: China). To be certain, other than Sino-Indian border skirmishes of 1962 history has never witnessed any major invasion across the Himalayas.
As a consequence, based on environmental determinism, Indian military strategists in the post-Independence period laid out an Order of Battle whereby at least half of all Indian army corps were stationed within a striking distance from the Pakistan-India border. These corps include XV Corps with two infantry divisions in Srinagar, XIV Corps in Leh, XVI Corps with three infantry divisions, an artillery brigade and an armoured brigade in Nagrota, X Corps in Bhatinda, XI Corps in Jalandhar and IX Corps in Yol (then there's II Corps in Ambala).
According to The Geographical Dictionary, "Human activities are governed by the environment, primarily the physical environment." Pakistani military strategists, with little or no threat from the west, also laid out an Order of Battle whereby six of the nine Pakistan army corps -- both holding and strike corps -- were stationed within a striking distance from the Pakistan-India border. These corps include I Corps in Mangla, X Corp with infantry divisions in Murree, Mangla and Jhelum, IV Corps in Lahore, II Corps in Multan, XXX Corps with two infantry divisions in Sialkot and XXXI Corps in Bahawalpur.
India and Pakistan are in a state of active hostility. For FY 2009, India's defence spending, according to Jane's Information Group, will rise by close to 50 per cent to a colossal $32.7 billion. India is planning its biggest-ever arms purchases; $11 billion fighter jets, T-90S tanks, Scorpion submarines, Phalcon airborne warning and control system, multi-barrel rocket-launchers and an aircraft-carrier. At $32.7 billion India's defence spending translates into 2.7 per cent of GDP.
For FY 2009, Pakistan's official defence spending is set at $4.3 billion (some unofficial estimates go as high as $7.8 billion). If Pakistan were to match India's rise we would have to spend more than five per cent of our GDP on defence. For the record, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan spend an overwhelmingly large percentage of their GDP on defence. Iraq, Somalia and Sudan are all -- or have been -- in a state of civil war. For the record, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia used to spend an overwhelmingly large percentage of their GDP on defence. Soviet Union is no more. Czechoslovakia is no more.
The Pakistan army looks at the Indian army and sees its inventory of 6,384 tanks as a threat (none of those Indian tanks can cross the Himalayas into China so Arjun MBTs must all be for Pakistan). The Pakistan army looks at the Indian air force and sees its inventory of 672 combat aircraft as a threat. The Pakistan army looks at the Indian army and finds that 15, 9, 16, 14, 11, 10 and 2 corps are all pointing their guns at Pakistan. The Pakistan army looks at the Indian army and discovers that the 4th Armoured Division, 12th Infantry Division, 340th Mechanised Brigade and 4th Armoured Brigade have been deployed to cut Pakistan into two halves.
Roti or killing machines? As per World Bank data, 74 per cent of Pakistanis earn $2 a day or less and 75 per cent of Indians earn $2 a day or less. Imagine; one out of every two Pakistanis is short on food. One out of every two Pakistanis is food-insecure. One out of every two Pakistanis is managing to subsist on less than 2,350 calories per day. Last year, there were 60 million Pakistanis short on food. That number now stands at 77 million; a 28 per cent increase.
Over the past century, economic development has been all about trans- and cross-border trading. Pakistan has two population centres; central Punjab and Karachi. Central Punjab is a thousand kilometres from the nearest port. Between Karachi and central Punjab is a desert in the east and on the west is an area that does not -- and cannot -- support population concentrations. To develop economically, we must trade. Trade we must. And, the only population concentration to trade with is on our east.
To be certain, time -- and money -- is on India's side. Composite dialogue among civilians means little -- if anything at all. What is needed is a strategic dialogue. How can India be persuaded to pull back its offensive formations? What would Pakistan give in return? Pakistan cannot continue to race a race that it cannot win.
The writer is the executive director of the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
Are Maoists in India getting help from Islamic terrorists in sabotaging railway tracks?
Luckily New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Purushottam Express at West Midnapore’s Gidhni station was stopped 6 miles from the spot where Maoists were sabotagging the railway track. Intelligence agency RAW of India is tracking down the link between Maoists and the Islamic terrorists from Pakistan.
Two railwaymen on night patrol saved hundreds of train passengers from disaster in India. But intelligence officials are worried that Islamic terror operators and the Maoists have joined hands in trying blowing and derailing many trains all around India creating terror havoc.
According to Indian intelligence officials, 1250 feet of tracks had been twisted out of alignment with sophisticated machinery. Indian security officials are trying to find the link between the Islamic terrorists in Bangladesh and Pakistan and the Maoists.
India is country where most common people travel by train. Train derailment can create massive chaos and terror in India.
This new claim of the Indians has hit the world media as the biggest and perhaps the last laugh buster of the year as it made the whole world laughing throughout the years with a variety of funny statements and delightful diplomatic blunders.
This new war doctrine of
The shameless as ever, Indians have the cheeks to make the eccentric and outlandish claim regarding the new war doctrine when their general and other senior officers are constantly facing corruption charges either in land scams or sale of weapons etc and while the Chief of Army Staff general Kapoor is hectically engaged in rescuing his associate Generals facing extreme punishments including dismissal from service etc. with the absence of any Command and Control doctrine within itself, the Indian Army is claiming to be more than ready to win a speculative war, launched simultaneously with China and Pakistan. The Daily Mail finds it hard to believe that the Indians have made this claim at a time when
The Daily Mail is also shocked to see this claim from
The Daily Mail is of the view that instead of making such dramatic statements, influenced by Bollywood movies, the Indian Army and Civilian leadership better opt for some serious approach. The Daily Mail is also of the opinion that instead of becoming a permanent laughing stuff across the world by making such statements,
The Daily Mail believes that General Kapoor should better focus in restoring proper Command and Control system back in his army first and better have all the military Commanders on board and make sure that they back and obey him first and then should go for a war strategy against Pakistan or china or whatever as with present state of affairs in the Indian Army, Kapoor and Company cannot evolve a strategy to defeat even a Bhutan or Swaziland etc, what to talk of defeating Pakistan or China.
The Daily Mail advises General Kapoor that before going for a new war plan, he must sort the things out with Commander Easter Command at
By Makhdoom Babar Editor-in-Chief The Daily Mail
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)