With Friends Like These…
How Pakistan Helps the Taliban
The Afghan Taliban say they have one thing in common with the Americans: they’re both getting played by Pakistan.

The Afghan Taliban logistics officer laughs about the news he’s been hearing on his radio this past week. The story is that a Web site known as WikiLeaks has obtained and posted thousands of classified field reports from U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and hundreds of those reports mention the Americans’ suspicions that Pakistan is secretly assisting the Taliban—a charge that Pakistan has repeatedly and vehemently denied. “At least we have something in common with America,” the logistics officer says. “The Pakistanis are playing a double game with us, too.”

Pakistan’s ongoing support of the Afghan Taliban is anything but news to insurgents who have spoken to NEWSWEEK. Requesting anonymity for security reasons, many of them readily admit their utter dependence on the country’s Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) not only for sanctuary and safe passage but also, some say, for much of their financial support. The logistics officer, speaking at his mud-brick compound near the border, offers an unverifiable estimate that Pakistan provides roughly 80 percent of the insurgents’ funding, based on his conversations with other senior Taliban. He says the insurgents could barely cover their expenses in Kandahar province alone if not for the ISI. Not that he views them as friends. “They feed us with one hand and arrest and kill us with the other,” he says.

The militants say that most often they’re dealing with middlemen who appear to be merchants, money-changers, or businessmen, although the assumption is that they’re working for Pakistani intelligence. Some provide money, some motorbikes; others supply contacts for sources who can provide weapons. One smuggler who funnels much of his profits to the insurgency claims that Pakistani forces reserve one remote border crossing in Baluchistan for the Taliban and force civilians to divert to far-off posts.

But many insurgents still blame the Pakistani government for its cooperation in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11. “We can’t forget or forgive Pakistan for turning against us nine years ago,” says a senior Taliban intelligence operative, also speaking with NEWSWEEK along the remote border. And the betrayals didn’t stop there. Every Taliban can recite a long list of insurgent leaders who have been arrested in Pakistan or who were killed in Afghanistan with assumed Pakistani complicity. One of the biggest losses was Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani, a driving force in the Taliban’s revival whose hideout near Quetta was raided by Pakistani forces in 2006. He fled across the border, where he was killed in a U.S. airstrike. Another was Mullah Dadullah Akhund, one of the insurgency’s most feared commanders, who died in a coalition raid in Helmand—with the help of the ISI, the Taliban suspects. The insurgents say he was too brazen, too independent, and too close to Al Qaeda for Pakistan’s comfort.


That illustrates a central point, Taliban say: the only thing Pakistan can be relied on for is a single-minded pursuit of its own national interest. Some ISI operatives may sympathize with the Taliban cause. But more important is Pakistan’s desire to have a hand in Afghan politics and to restrict Indian influence there. “They’re neither in bed with the [Afghan] Taliban nor opposed to them,” says Stephen Biddle, an analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations. “The reality is that they’re in between, which is the rational place for them to be.”
The insurgents say they, too, never know what to expect from the Pakistanis. “Sometimes they’re angry, sometimes friendly,” says a district commander in southern Afghanistan. “Sometimes they want to show us who’s boss.” No Afghan insurgent can be sure he’s safe, says the smuggler, a former Taliban subcommander. After all, he observes, some of the Taliban commanders arrested by the Pakistanis were once favorites of the ISI. “They’re like psychopaths,” he says. “One minute your friend, the next minute your enemy.”
Taliban sources say Pakistan uses catch-and-release tactics to keep insurgent leaders in line. All told, the ISI has picked up some 300 Taliban commanders and officials, the sources say. Before being freed, the detainees are subjected to indoctrination sessions to remind them that they owe their freedom and their absolute loyalty to Pakistan, no matter what. As one example, the sources mention Abdul Qayum Zakir, who spent five years at Guantánamo and is now the group’s top military commander. They say the Pakistanis detained him and about a dozen other Taliban commanders and shadow governors earlier this year, soon after having picked up the insurgency’s No. 2, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, only to set them free several days later after making sure their priorities meshed with Pakistan’s.


Some leading Taliban even suspect that Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader and symbol of their jihad, may also be in ISI custody. He has appeared in no videos and issued no verifiable audio messages or written statements since he disappeared into the Kandahar mountains on the back of Baradar’s motorcycle in late 2001. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the ISI arrested us all in one day,” says a former cabinet minister. “We are like sheep the Pakistanis can round up whenever they want.”
On top of the years of grudges, there’s a persistent strain of ethnic animosity between the Taliban’s overwhelmingly Pashtun membership and its mostly Punjabi patrons from Pakistan’s security forces. The insurgents refer contemptuously to the ISI as “blacklegs,” for their supposedly darker skin. “Any commander who is more or less self-sufficient and independent of Pakistan becomes more popular with his fighters,” the intelligence officer says. Nevertheless, the insurgents see little choice about accepting any help they can get from Pakistan.
The Pakistanis, for their part, continue to resist U.S. pressure for strikes against Taliban sanctuaries. “Their aim seems to be to prolong the war in Afghanistan by aiding both the Americans and us,” says the logistics officer. “That way Pakistan continues to receive billions from the U.S., remains a key regional player, and still maintains influence with [the Taliban].” And which side is Pakistan on? “That’s a foolish question,” says Anatol Lieven, a professor in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. “Pakistan is on Pakistan’s side, just as America is on America’s.” Nobody knows that better than the Taliban.

Pakistan and its 'Topi Drama'
It is a term ordinary Pakistanis use to describe a theatrical production staged by the army to fool people into believing just about anything. You hear of it often in Pakistan, more so in Islamabad where rumours and gossip are a way of life.

'Topi Drama' literally means a drama enacted by those who wear the beret. And, last week's events are being clubbed as just that, yet another attempt to make people believe that a democracy is in place and decisions are taken by a democratic government.

Close on the heels of the three-year extension granted to General Kayani as army chief came the announcement that the US Government had decided to retain its ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, for an unspecified period, even though, she had already spent four years in Islamabad.

She could well stay in the Pakistani capital till 2013, as long as the army chief. Where does the writ of the US Government end, and, where does the Pakistan Government's begin is a matter of speculation and gossip in Islamabad.

The announcement of General Kayani's extension for three more years as army chief of Pakistan came over the weekend, but rumours of this bloodless coup of sorts had been doing the rounds of Islamabad for long.

The decision was ostensibly taken by the civilian government to grant General Ashfaq Kayani the three-year extension, but the people dismiss it as a 'Topi Drama'.

It is well known that the 'General' was writing his own orders. In the past two years, Kayani could have overthrown the elected government and established martial law whenever he wanted like his predecessor General Pervez Musharraf.

General Musharraf had dismissed the Nawaz Sharif government on October 12, 1999. Now, living in self-imposed exile in London, the former president called General Kayani over the weekend and congratulated him, saying that Kayani's contribution as army chief would be beneficial for national integrity and Pakistan's stability.

Kayani's continuation is supposedly to give continuity and stability to Pakistan's war against terror. That it is close to 9-10 years since this war has been going on, and that it shows no signs of ending of course is not the point.

Defending the extension given to Kayani, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said:

"The term of the Prime Minister is until 2013, the term of President is also until 2013, the chief justice will also stay in his seat through that period, and we also extended the service of the chief of army staff through that period."

Kayani's supporters-General David Petraeus, NATO Secretary General Anders Gogh Rasmussen and the slightly reluctant US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton-had come and blessed the extension orders. More 'Topi Drama'.

India has no illusions about who wields power in Pakistan. While endless debates in the media continue about the futility of India talking to an elected government in Pakistan when, the decision making in that country rests with the army, the fact is that Indian foreign service officials who deal with Pakistan know it is one and the same thing.

When they talk with the Pakistan Government, they are actually talking to the army, but using a via media. The India policy in Pakistan is directed and driven by the GHQ (General Head Quarters) in Rawalpindi. That has always been the case. Whenever any Prime Minister has tried to script the policy on his own, as did Nawaz Sharif, he has had to pay a heavy price for it. Sharif lost his job. Continuity to the India Policy and now to the terror war is only provided by the army.

Imtiaz Alam, the editor of South Asian Journal writes "As compared to 12 Pakistani army chiefs who had on average over five years of tenure and four military rulers who ruled on average for over eight years, Pakistan had 16 prime ministers whose average tenure did not last two years. This shows a precarious equation of civil-military relations that did not let democracy and constitutional rule work."

Kayani is irreplaceable for the Americans at this stage. 2010 is crucial as it sets the stage for the imminent withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. But before that happens, it needs Pakistan's support to achieve its goals in Afghanistan.

Pakistan is "at the heart" of the search for peace and stability in Southern Asia said Richard Holbrooke, America's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan in London last week. It ought to be clear to India, that to the US from now till 2011, South Asia means just Af-Pak. India is peripheral to the problem and the solution. By Smita Prakash (ANI)

Pakistan Is Winning the War in Afghanistan

Pakistan's Game
Of all the players in the Afghan game, Pakistan is running up the highest score. For several decades, Pakistan's policy toward Afghanistan has remained largely unchanged, regardless of who was running the country. That policy is to support Afghanistan's Pashtuns in their seemingly genetic resistance to outside control (outside in this case extends to any government located in Kabul). By supporting Pashtun autonomy, Pakistan establishes for itself a security buffer zone on its northwest frontier, which comes with a friendly auxiliary army -- the Afghan Taliban -- as a bonus.

For nearly nine years, U.S. officials have pleaded with Pakistan to suspend support for the Afghan Taliban and allow Afghanistan to unite under a central government. Pakistani officials have provided a variety of verbal responses to these entreaties but have not changed their policies toward the Afghan Taliban, whose military capability inside Afghanistan only seems to grow.

The United States cannot achieve its goals in Afghanistan while the Afghan Taliban's sanctuaries in Pakistan remain open. The Pakistani government refuses to close or even isolate those sanctuaries. Yet the massive U.S. foreign-assistance pipeline to Pakistan remains open. Why?

U.S. policymakers have seemingly concluded that they have more options and less risk by engaging Pakistan. They tried isolating Pakistan and found that course was neither wise nor sustainable. As a result, the Washington has opted to shower Pakistan with aid and hope that persistent persuasion will eventually result in greater Pakistani action against the Afghan Taliban.

The result has been a spectacular strategic success for Pakistan. Development aid from the United States has never been greater. The United States will deliver long-embargoed F-16 fighters to Pakistan and is providing other upgrades to Pakistan's armed forces. Along with this has come a de facto U.S. security guarantee against the perceived threat from India. Pakistan's diplomatic leverage over the United States has given it a free hand to work with China to upgrade its nuclear complex. Meanwhile, Pakistan's proxy forces in southeast Afghanistan are successfully defending the security buffer zone. Pakistan's dominant position has forced Afghan President Hamid Karzai to virtually sue for peace. This could result in an ethnic partition of Afghanistan that would secure Pakistan's main objective in the conflict.

With its winning position, Pakistan's current task is to arrange a stable end-state that avoids a backlash from the losers. Pakistan and the United States are in a largely zero-sum relationship over Afghanistan. Pakistan's leaders must fashion a settlement (however temporary) that allows the United States to save face, that maintains the U.S. aid pipeline, and that keeps the de facto security guarantee in place. U.S. officials should hope that Pakistan manages the endgame as well as it has managed the rest of the match.

A Pakistani Airbus passenger jet operated by Airblue crashed in densely wooded hills outside the capital Islamabad today on Wednesday, killing up to 152 people on board.
The plane lost contact with the control tower shortly before the crash which occurred amid thick fog and heavy rainfall in Islamabad. The plane caught fire after the crash which severely hindered relief efforts.
It is reported that the pilot was instructed to perform a go around due to traffic on the runway, however due to severe weather in the city, very low visibility caused the crash.
Other sources put a fuel tank explosion as the reason for the crash.
The exact reason for the crash has not yet been determined.

Airline disasters in Pakistan's history

Pakistan has a history of aviation disasters that have killed hundreds, dating back to the 1950s.
On August 1, 1957, 24 people were killed when a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed in the Bay of Bengal. The next year, over 20 people died when a PIA flight crashed in New Delhi.

1965 was one of the deadliest years for Pakistan International Airlines. Two flights crashed, one in the Lowery Pass, which killed 22 people. The other, was an inaugural flight that was headed to London, and crashed 12 miles away from the Cairo airport. According to a report in the Evening Independent newspaper, the Karachi-London flight was scheduled to pick up 52 passengers from Cairo. Of the 126 people on board, only six survived. Among the dead were 93 Pakistanis, while the six survivors were also Pakistani.

The report stated, “Captain Akbar Aly Khan, pilot of the four engine jet, reported engine trouble and a fire in the landing gear minutes before the crash.”

In 1970, a Fokker plane crashed soon after take-off in Islamabad, killing 30 passengers. In 1972, another Fokker plane crashed in Rawalpindi, and all 26 on board died.

On November 26, 1979, one of the worst aviation disasters in the country’s history occurred. A PIA flight crashed on take-off in Taif in Saudi Arabia, killing 156 people. The passengers included 110 pilgrims returning from Mecca. Sarasota Journal quoted a Radio Pakistan report that said that the “first indication of an emergency came when the plane’s pilot radioed ‘there was smoke in the cabin and cockpit’ and shortly after the captain called out ‘Mayday’.”

Two more Fokker crashes occurred in the 1980s. One crash, that took place in Peshawar on October 13, 1986, killed 13, while the other, on August 25, 1989, killed 54. The latter crashed in Gilgit and hikers reported seeing a low-flying plane in the area.

The October 13 crash was reportedly caused by wedding celebrations in Peshawar, according to the New York Times. The NYT quoted Dawn as saying that the crash “may have been the result of gunfire that hit the aircraft or distracted the pilot” and that “seven bridegrooms who were celebrating their marriages that night were arrested in Peshawar.”

The biggest aviation disaster to date was the PIA flight that crashed in the Nepal capital of Kathmandu in September 1992 and killed all 167 people on board. The plane burst into flames as it was about to land at the Kathmandu airport. The dead included 37 Britons and 3 Americans. A report in the Herald Scotland at the time said, “Flight PX268, en route to the Nepalese capital from Karachi, was carrying scores of European holidaymakers, many of them backpackers and members of climbing teams.”

The last major airline disaster was in 2006, when a 27-year-old Fokker plane crashed into a wheat field in Multan two minutes after taking off. The same year, Pakistan International Airlines discontinued use of Fokker planes. The Associated Press quoted a government official saying that “the planes were still airworthy and the decision to stop using them for passenger flights was made to allay people’s safety fears.”

Other airlines have also seen plane crashes within Pakistani territory, including a Soviet (now Russian) Aeroflot cargo plane that crashed in Karachi, killing 9 people.

Afghanistan war logs:
White House attacks Pakistan over Taliban aid

..More than 180 files detail accusations that the ISI spy agency has supplied, armed and trained insurgents since 2004
..There's an Afghan prejudice that wants to see an ISI agent under every rock
..The ISI has rejected suggestions that it is playing a "double game"


Allegations in the war logs that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence has been covertly supporting the Taliban kicked off a political storm tonight as the White House said the situation was "unacceptable" and described militant safe havens in Pakistan as "intolerable".

More than 180 intelligence files in the war logs, most of which cannot be confirmed, detail accusations that Pakistan's premier spy agency has been supplying, arming and training the insurgency since at least 2004.

The Obama administration, which gives $1bn a year in military aid to Pakistan, did not challenge the veracity of the files, but said that while Islamabad was making progress against extremism, "the status quo is not acceptable".

"The safe havens for violent extremist groups within Pakistan continue to pose an intolerable threat to the United States, to Afghanistan, and to the Pakistani people," a spokesman said in response to questions about the ISI files.

He urged Pakistan's military and intelligence services to "continue their strategic shift against violent extremists groups within their borders, and stay on the offensive against them".

An ISI spokesman said the agency could not comment in detail until it had examined the files, but described the general allegations as "far-fetched and unsubstantiated".

The accusations against the ISI in the war logs range from spectacular to lurid. Reports describe covert ISI plots to train legions of suicide bombers, smuggle surface-to-air missiles into Afghanistan, assassinate President Hamid Karzai and poison western beer supplies.

But despite the startling allegations the files yield little convincing evidence behind Afghan accusations that the ISI is the hidden hand behind the Taliban.

Much of the intelligence is unverifiable, inconsistent or obviously fabricated, and the most shocking allegations, such as the Karzai plot, are sourced to the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan's premier spy agency, which has a history of hostility towards the ISI.

"The vast majority of this is useless," a retired US officer with long experience in the region told the Guardian."There's an Afghan prejudice that wants to see an ISI agent under every rock."

But he said the allegations chime with other US reporting, collected by other agencies and at a higher classification, that pointed to ISI complicity with the Taliban. "People wouldn't be making up these stories if there wasn't something to it. There's always a nugget of truth to every conspiracy theory," he said.

The storm over the ISI files comes at a sensitive time. In recent months Pakistan's army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, and the ISI chief, General Shuja Pasha, have drawn closer to Karzai, their former rival, with a view to negotiating a peace deal with the Taliban.

The ISI has rejected suggestions that it is playing a "double game", pointing to the arrest of the deputy Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Karachi last February as proof of its good intent. In issuing such a strongly worded statement with implicit criticism of the ISI, the White House may be trying to keep ahead of a tide of US opinion that is hostile towards Pakistan. But the Obama administration has little choice but to stick with its Pakistani allies, whose co-operation they need in hunting al-Qaida fugitives along the Afghan border. The ISI and the CIA are co-operating closely on drone strikes that have hit 47 targets and killed up to 440 people this year.

The war logs are likely to stoke passions in Pakistan where the rightwing press has long accused the US of seeking an excuse to invade and seize the country's nuclear weapons.

A hint of this reaction came from the ISI official. "It's very strange such a huge cache of information can be leaked to the media so conveniently," he said. "Is it something deliberate? What is its purpose? We'll be looking into that."

Afghanistan war logs:
Story behind biggest leak in intelligence history
Behind today's revelations lie two distinct stories: first, of the Pentagon's attempts to trace the leaks with painful results for one young soldier; and second, a unique collaboration between the Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel magazine in Germany to sift the huge trove of data for material of public interest and to distribute globally this secret record of the world's most powerful nation at war.
Afghanistan war logs: How the Guardian got
the story
Secret military files have been opened up by Wikileaks in a joint venture with the Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel

The Afghanistan war logs series of reports on the war in Afghanistan published by the Guardian is based on the US military's internal logs of the conflict between January 2004 and December 2009. The material, largely classified by the US as secret, was obtained by the whistleblower website Wikileaks, which has published the full archive. The Guardian, along with the New York Times and the German weekly Der Spiegel, was given access to the logs before publication to verify their authenticity and assess their significance.

A team of investigative reporters, regional specialists and database experts spent weeks combing the data for matters of public interest. After establishing the meaning of more than 400 abbreviations and military acronyms they were able to authenticate the logs by comparing them with other records and cross-checking with other sources. They were able to dismiss some of the more lurid intelligence reports as unfounded and establish that some aspects of the coalition's recording of civilian casualties is unreliable.

But taken together, the logs provide a revealing and important picture of how the war is being conducted: the continuing escalation of the conflict; the weakness of much coalition intelligence; and the gap between the polished account of the war offered for public consumption and the messy reality experienced by commanders on the ground. This is one side's raw, immediate first hand account of the conflict as it happened.

Although the material has a relatively low level of secrecy classification, the Guardian has taken care not to publish information that could identify intelligence sources, expose unknown intelligence-gathering techniques or place coalition forces in danger. For that reason we have not made available the full database. Instead we have published a selection of the logs relating to significant events in the paper and a number more on the web. The website has a glossary tool which makes them easier to read.

The Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel agreed to publish their reports simultaneously, at the same time as Wikileaks released the full database online. The Guardian has no direct knowledge of the original source of the material.

Failed states to blame for own misery

The July/August issue of Foreign Policy features the “Failed States Index” for 2010 — an index it has been publishing every year since 2005 in collaboration with the U.S.-based Fund for Peace.

The Top 10 failed states in the index have been rotating in the rankings for the past six years, and they are Somalia, Chad, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Congo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Central African Republic, Guinea and Pakistan.
The index is a good measure of what is wrong with these states — whose misery is primarily self-inflicted — and given their histories there is little promise of any improvement in their situation.
It is no good to blame the problems of these states on colonialism-imperialism of the West that ended more than two generations ago. And if the West is to be held responsible for the continued misery of the states on the index, then honesty requires acknowledging these states would be likely much worse today except for what the West left behind as part of the colonial legacy.
Let us take the case of Pakistan, a country on the index that I am most familiar with. The Afghan-Pakistan border, or the Durand Line drawn by the British towards the end of the 19th century, tells quite a story of colonialism that few are willing to explore.
East of the Durand Line inside Pakistan, anything that barely works — from the poorly administered government to the crumbling infrastructures for health, education, agriculture, railways, road system, etc. — has to do with the colonial legacy. How valid this view is can be assessed by observing the state of affairs west of the Durand Line inside Afghanistan.
Hence, blaming western colonialism will not do. On the contrary, it can be said India’s relative success in the contemporary world in contrast to the Middle East has much to do with the duration of Britain’s presence in the subcontinent.
Nor can the West be blamed for not being supportive of countries that were once under its stewardship. In the past half-century, more than $2 trillion of western aid has been given to the third-world countries as developmental assistance.
Pakistan has been a major recipient of western aid. But Pakistan’s record in every category of the human development index is dismal. The country is a nuclear weapon state that cannot feed, educate, clothe or house its bulging population of nearly 170 million people.
But worse, Pakistan is a terrorist state and the corrupt military-civil elite that has ruled the country since independence is hugely responsible for pushing it to near economic and political bankruptcy.
And, as the crisis deepens, those responsible make safe exit for the West. They wash their hands of the mess they made and reside in Toronto or New York, while displaying little shame or gratitude and endlessly speaking ill of the West.
Failed states, such as Pakistan, are the products of dysfunctional cultures and corrupt elites who will beggar the population and ruin their countries without qualms to steal for themselves and their tribes.
The malady of failed states will not be contained, and the West needs to be honest about the matter instead of throwing money at the problem.

The above article is failed to mention the premier failed state of the once great state of the United States of America. Failed because of wars without end. growing poverty, loss of liberty for the people and morally bankrupt with government corruption which is unprecedented in their entire history. Many of these countries that fall under the list are the direct or indirect results of corporate America and their incessant greed for natural resources and their bottom lines and the failure of the congress of the U.S. to act in the best interest of the American people and not be subservient to corporate America and foreign interest.

Pakistan record dramatic Test win over Australia

Pakistan scored a dramatic three-wicket win over Australia at Headingley on Saturday, ending a 15-year wait to record a Test win against the world champions.

In a match that swayed side-to-side over the course of a little over three days, Pakistan finally came out on top to level the two-match series.

Wobbly Pakistan chase historic win

Pakistan in sight of historic Test win over Australia

Pakistan were left anxiously chasing a famous Test win over Australia after 15 years as they closed in on the 180-run target at Headingely on day three.
Pakistan were on the verge of their first Test victory over Australia in 15 years, requiring 40 runs to level the two-match series with two days remaining following impressive performances from Mohammad Aamer and Imran Farhat.

Abida Perveen Rocks NewYork
Defying hot and humid weather, thousands of New Yorkers on Tuesday thronged the City’s Union Square Park where Pakistan’s living legend Abida Parveen and other noted artists enthralled them to Sufi devotional songs that brought them to their feet.

The crowd, which overflowed the park into the side streets, clapped, danced and swayed to lilting music and even joined the singers from Pakistan’s four provinces as they performed. Apart from Americans, music lovers from several Arab and African countries as well as Indians and Bangladeshis joined the gathering.

Hands waved overhead. Voices shouted lyrics and whooped with delight. Children were hoisted onto parents’ shoulders. In the tightly packed crowd a few dancers made room to jump. T-shirts were tossed to fans from the stage.

Yet in the songs that Abida Parveen was singing, saints were praised. They were Islamic saints, the poets and philosophers revered by Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam.

It was the first New York Sufi Music Festival, a free three-hour concert on Tuesday in Union Square, and it had music from the four provinces of Pakistan, including traditional faqirs who perform outside temples, Sufi rock and a kind of rapping from Baluchistan.

The concert was presented by a new organization called Pakistani Peace Builders, which was formed after the attempted bombing in Times Square by a Pakistani-American. The group seeks to counteract negative images of Pakistan by presenting a longtime Pakistani Islamic tradition that preaches love, peace and tolerance.

Sufism itself has been a target of Islamic fundamentalists; on July 1 suicide bombers attacked Pakistan’s most important Sufi shrine. Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, spoke between sets on Tuesday. “What we’re here to do today,” he said, is “to be at peace with all of America.”

The music’s message was one of joyful devotion and improvisatory freedom. Ms. Parveen, one of Pakistan’s most celebrated musicians, was singing in a Sufi style called kafi. Like the qawwali music popularized worldwide by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, kafi sets classical poems — about the love and intoxication of the divine, about seeking the spirit within — to visceral, handclapping rhythms and vocal lines that swoop and twist with passionate volatility.

Ms. Parveen carried songs from serene, hovering introductions to virtuosic euphoria. Long, sustained notes suddenly broke into phrases that zigzagged up and down an octave or more; repeated refrains took on an insistent rasp and became springboards for elaborate leaps and arabesques; quick syllables turned into percussive exchanges with the band. Each song was a continual revelation, making the old poems fully alive.

While the crowd was there for Ms. Parveen’s first New York City performance in a decade, the rest of the program was strong. The Soung Fakirs, from Sachal Sarmast Shrine in Sindh, danced in bright orange robes to devotional songs with vigorous, incantatory choruses. Akhtar Chanal Zehri, though he was introduced as a rapper, was backed by traditional instruments and seemed more of a folk singer, heartily intoning his rhythmic lyrics on a repeating note or two and, eventually, twirling like a Sufi dervish.

Rafaqat Ali Khan, the heir to his family’s school of classical singing (khayal), was backed only by percussion, pushing his long-breathed phrasing into ever more flamboyant swirls and quavers. The tabla player Tari Khan, who also accompanied Rafaqat Ali Khan, played a kinetic solo set that carried a 4/4 rhythm through variants from the Middle East, Europe, New York City and (joined by two more drummers) Africa. There was also instrumental music from the bansuri (wooden flute) player Ghaus Box Brohi.

On the modernizing side, Zeb and Haniya, two Pakistani women who started their duo as college students at Mount Holyoke and Smith, performed gentler songs in the Dari tradition, a Pakistani style with Central Asian roots, with Haniya adding syncopated electric guitar behind Zeb’s smoky voice. Under wooden flute and classical-style vocals the Mekaal Hasan Band plugged in with reggae, folk-rock and a tricky jazz-rock riff. But the lyrics quoted devotional poetry that was 900 years old, distant from the turmoil of the present.

Tere Bin…Laden

It’s official. Bollywood’s releasing a new film this weekend. But given that the Indian film industry releases the largest number of movies in the world (about a 1000 a year, according to some sources), this isn’t really news.

Except when the film in question is called Tere Bin Laden and it stars Pakistani crossover/pop star Ali Zafar. According to The News’ Instep magazine this past Sunday,

It’s a big, big, scratch that, huge deal to see a Pakistani star promoted this way in India…Indeed, if Tere Bin Laden turns into a box office smash, Ali Zafar will reach a level of stardom hitherto unprecedented in our industry and he will also become a one of a kind phenomenon in Bollywood…After all, which actor does Bollywood have who can act, dance and sing his own songs? The answer is none. Ali Zafar is a rare breed.

News & Views
‘New wine shops, conspiracy to destroy youth’

Giving permission to open more than 50 new wine shops in Karachi is a deep conspiracy to ruin the future of youth of this financial, trade and industrial lifeline of Pakistan, and if the government failed to withdraw the licenses of these new wine shops, the enraged people of Karachi would be compelled to raze these wine shops, warned Jamaat e Islami (JI) Karachi.

Insanity
Well, I totally agree to the fact that opening 50 new wine shops in Karachi is unjustified, but the repeatedly highlighted part about the MINORITIES in Karachi is also unjust. We are living in a Muslim dominated state and alcoholism to such an extent is simply not something that would portrait us as a Proper Muslim State. Also, mentioning that the wine shops opened in Karachi and the owners who have been issued these licenses are mainly all MUSLIMS. You’d not find a Minority dealing in this business as frequent as the MAJORITY.

Sleepless in Karachi
The wine shops are for non-muslims. So why is the JI worried? Or do they fear that a bottle of wine will create more damage than Zardari and other fundamentalist organizations?

Faizan Basit
I think a good Muslim would never opt for wine even if there are thousands of wine shops in Karachi and the one who wants it can even get it if there is only one secret shop in the whole Karachi. So, i think that this basically depends on the person and his perception.

faraz
What about heroine, a product of Afghan Jihad

Zarghun Khan
“There is no compulsion in Islam”. The ban on alcohol and imposing moral principles on people is an utter non-sense and violation of human rights. JI has no business to tell people what to do and what not to do. Mullahs have brought the country to the brink of collapse. We must say NOOOOOOOOOO to them, or else we should be ready for a complete destruction. It is “NOW OR NEVER”.

Zahid
Gutka and other betel nuts products causing cancer. Jamaat is silent…
Pollution from Rickshaw sound and environment they are not worried. They are double faced people.

cmsarwar
In stead of getting tense about 50 wine shops the great Jamaat-e Islami should agitate about millions of hungry people who go without food day and night.What about health care,education,clothing,housing and the misery of very existence for majority of our people? When will JI get out of bottle of wine and attend to the real issues.

Robert Arizona
I think if people are responsible, the lack of demand for these shops will decrease there numbers in the coming year. (Full disclosure I am an American wine maker).

ali
I live in the USA but i donot drink. and i fully support the opening of shops. people should have choice to drink or not drink. we should not force our beliefs on others.

Dajjal
Its not surprising that the religious are up in arms about wine shops destroying the youth… after all, destroying the Youth is the religious organizations job… so its not the wine shops they cant stand, its the competition…

Chris Cork
Would just like to point out that these shops although called ‘wine’ shops’ do not in fact sell wine – or at least very rarely. Wine is made from grapes which are fermented, and it has a relatively low alcohol content. It comes in three colours – red, white and pink – and is a pleasant social drink. What the ‘wine’ shops sell is ’spirits’ – whisky, gin, vodka or variations thereof that are made from distilled liquids which concentrate the alcohol and raise the alcohol levels far above that of wine. Over my many years here I have noticed, when drinking particularly with Muslims, that they drink to get drunk, rather than drink as an adjunct to a social activity. The majority have not learned how to drink in a socially acceptable manner and quickly get beyond themselves. Not a pretty sight.

SharifL
Here in the west, there are so many outlets for wine and other stuff. Such stuff is even sold in food stores. And yet, very few Muslims drink alcohol.
Freedom means the freedom of choice. If you take that away, you force people to a certain life style. that is suppression. Many Pakistanis are hooked to opium and other more damaging drugs. A normal consumption of wine is far less dangerous. In fact scientists claim that those who drink a glass of wine a day, have less chance of a heart attack. Studies have shown that in countries such as France and Italy, which are wind drinkers, the number of heart patients is minimal. I say, do not listen to conservatives, give people the choice. Alternatively ask those trying to flock to west for immigration, stay where you are. Here wine is part of life.

ahmed
I suspect that the the arabic words “sukura” and “khamr” have slightly different connotations and labeling the entire alcohol family as haram is irrelevant. Alcohol is present in almost every food item, and what matters is that it has to be above a certain percentage to cause any effect. For e.g. Beer is considered halal in some muslim countries if drunk in small quantities as they cause no intoxication. The stress needs to be on intoxicants rather than blaming a particular intoxicant.

Charas and Bhang instantly knock you out, but no one talks about them in terms of halal or haram. Many JI students probably would be fond of such halal intoxicants. Mind you that it is next to impossible to get intoxicated while drinking less alcoholic beverages.

I live in the west and i rarely see crime or any other vice which is blamed on alcohol. Meanwhile in Pakistan, heroin and charas addicts openly commit crime by stealing mobile phones. Lets face it, being civilized has nothing .

‘No Indian goods to be allowed to Afghanistan through Pakistan’

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Tuesday, that under the Pak-Afghan Transit Trade Arrangement (APTTA), only transport of trade goods from Afghanistan would be allowed and that to up to Wahga border only while no Indian goods would be transported to Afghanistan through this route.

While addressing a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, he said that only a letter of understanding has been signed for this purpose so far.

“Confusion is prevailing from the very first day in this regard and reports, editorials and special reports contrary to the facts and against the interests of the country are being published,” said the minister.

“The letter of understanding has been signed for one way transit trade facility for Afghan goods up to Wahga border, and not for reverse trade from India. This would be a bilateral agreement under which Pakistan would allow Afghan goods export to India via Wahga border and Kabul will provide transit facility to Pakistani goods to Central Asians States (CARs),” he said.

Kaira said that it was regrettable that despite the fact that even though the government made it very clear right at the outset that the transit facility would only be for Afghan goods, now on the third day of the news, a section of press has carried editorial comments and special reports on the assumption that Indian trade through Pakistan would be against our interests.

To a question, he said that Pakistan Customs would evaluate the Afghan goods at the Torkham border, seal the containers and issue bank bonds, which would only be returned after the goods are handed over to India at Wahga border. He also made it clear that only a letter of understanding in this regard has been signed till now and an MoU would be signed only after approval of the cabinet after which it would become a bilateral agreement, but it has been decided that no Indian goods would be allowed to be imported from India through this route.
Further elaborating, Kaira said under this arrangement, Pakistan would benefit more because in Afghanistan there is no industrial set up, while our goods being exported to CARs by air cargo or by sea route would become more competitive by transit trade through Afghan land route. He added that Afghanistan is also using Pakistani seas to export goods to India so it is not a new phenomenon.
To a question, the minister said the federal government has the authority to sign bilateral agreement with any country.
However, he said the government has taken into confidence PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif and other stockholders on the issue.
He said that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had talked to the PML-N chief and discussed various issues including APTTA and Pak-US strategic dialogue.
He said that he himself and Minister for Commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim had already clarified the issue and even issued a press release to explain the factual situation but even after that the negative comments continued. While responding to a query over the reservations of transporters, the minister said that the government would take the transporters into confidence on the issue. He opined that by transit trade through Afghanistan and Pakistani transporters would greatly benefit. Kaira said that Pakistan also desires to enhance its trade with neighboring India but before that it was necessary to settle outstanding issues including Kashmir.

Atif Aslam to work on fusion music

RENOWNED pop star Atif Aslam has announced that he will soon be working on a fusion music project with the members of the legendary American rock band ‘Guns and Roses’ and Chris Martin, the lead singer of ‘Coldplay’.
Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club, Atif said that working with the legends of the stature of Slash and Gilby Clarke is a great honour for him. He said the project aimed at fusing Pakistani folk music with western genres. He said this venture would provide him a platform to project Pakistani music among the western world through the fans of the western counterparts of the project.

Atif said Pakistan had one of the oldest and richest cultures in the world and any opportunity to promote this culture through music was a great tool to soften the ill-projected image of the Pakistanis across the world. He said he was approached by the members of the ‘Guns and Roses’ for this venture which he gleefully agreed to. He said there had not been any formal contract or agreement signing of this project as yet.

Atif told the media that he was also planning to take along Pakistani classical singers and big names in singing to introduce our music and our culture to the West in future. The American singers were quite impressed and enthralled with our music and this was a great opportunity for us to make our mark, he added.

What others are reporting on Afghanistan

Perusing my morning read, I read about the latest Canadian military casualty in Afghanistan (the 151st), and an editorial in support of our troops remaining in that country beyond the 2011 authorization voted by MPs:

“The latest conference on Afghanistan set 2014 as the date for the assumption of military control of the country by Afghans. It is an ambitious timetable, and one that will require defeat of, or reconciliation with, the Taliban. With defeat unlikely, Canada expressed support for reconciliation at the conference. Now Canada must make sure it stays around, training troops and maintaining an energetic presence, to help give effect to reconciliation.”

On the front page of the Globe, I read this report on yesterday’s international conference:

“The largest cadre of foreign ministers to descend on Afghanistan in three decades underwent an astonishing political conversion on Tuesday, turning from skeptics to advocates of the Afghan government’s ambitious plan to take over all security responsibilities in the country by 2014.

In the process Western leaders quietly anointed 2014 as the war’s unofficial end date – in spite of serious flaws in President Hamid Karzai’s timeline – a move that could now mark Canada’s intended 2011 withdrawal as premature.”

Hmmn ...

In the New York Times, I read:

A seemingly routine training practice in marksmanship went fatally wrong on Tuesday when an Afghan Army sergeant turned his weapon on an American trainer and a gunfight began. When it was over, the sergeant, two American trainers and an Afghan soldier who had been standing nearby lay dead ….

General Patton said that he was uncertain about the motives of the Afghan sergeant, but that the military considered it “an isolated incident.”

If the sergeant’s actions proved to be deliberate, however, it would be the second time this month that an Afghan soldier purposefully killed members of the foreign forces here in the nearly nine-year-old war.

Also in the New York Times, I read this report on yesterday’s international conference:

American, European and other foreign leaders met here Tuesday to pledge anew their support for Afghanistan, agree to entrust it with more spending decisions, and embrace its president’s commitment for Afghan forces to take charge of security by 2014. They acknowledged that neither the public in their own countries nor the Afghan people had much patience left.

The transition timetable, which President Hamid Karzai outlined last year, is nonbinding and essentially unenforceable, and much depends on how and when responsibilities will be transferred. The conference’s final statement stopped short of any firm commitment to the timetable, instead expressing “support for the president of Afghanistan’s objective.”

Behind the pay-wall of the Wall Street Journal, Canada’s (and the Dutch) withdrawal is reported as a fait accompli:

The 2014 timeline, first laid out by Mr. Karzai in his inauguration speech last year, is highly symbolic, signaling to his own people that foreign troops won't indefinitely control the fight against the Taliban and potentially easing war-weariness in the U.S. and Europe.

But the deadline is essentially hollow. Dutch and Canadian troops are already getting ready to depart Afghanistan, and President Barack Obama has said American soldiers will start pulling out next summer, although many troops are expected to remain in Afghanistan for years to come.

From across the pond, I read this report behind the pay-wall of the Times of London:

Nato leaders are divided over the speed with which they can start handing parts of Afghanistan back to Afghan forces, it emerged yesterday, as Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, acknowledged widespread doubts over “whether success is even possible”.

As David Cameron and President Obama met in Washington presenting a united front and President Karzai reaffirmed at an international conference in Kabul his commitment to have Afghan forces take control by 2014, Nato’s top commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, and the organisation’s Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, are split on how soon the transfer process can start.

Sources close to both men said that there had been tense talks in the past week, culminating in an acrimonious video conference between Kabul and Brussels at which the two men laid their disagreements bare. Mr Rasmussen, a former Danish Foreign Minister, wants the safest provinces to be “transitioned” within the next few months, before a Nato summit in Lisbon on November 20. Sources close to General Petraeus, who assumed command in Kabul three weeks ago, said that he wanted to wait until next summer.

The Guardian serves up this report on yesterday’s international conference:

Plans to begin handing control of provinces in Afghanistan to Afghan security forces by the end of this year have been quietly dropped amid fears among European countries that General David Petraeus, the new US commander in the country, is less committed to a speedy transfer of power.

The change of tack, revealed in the final communique from today's historic international conference in Kabul, reflects Petraeus's concerns that security conditions in Afghanistan are too weak for a transition of power to begin as quickly as originally planned, a Nato official told the Guardian.

Although the conference agreed that the security needs of the entire country will have to be met by the Afghan army and police by 2014, major European troop contributors were looking forward to more rapid progress in the relatively stable north and west of the country, where Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and others have personnel.

Finally, though the Guardian report is described as an “exclusive,” the Washington Post serves up an interesting variation on the theme:

Even as diplomats endorsed the Afghans' plans for a mechanism to assess which provinces would be first to come under Afghan security control, the expected date of those first steps receded.

NATO foreign ministers who met in Estonia in April expected that some provinces would be chosen for Afghan control by November, at another NATO conference in Lisbon, according to diplomats and NATO officials in Kabul.

But with the deteriorating war and the arrival of Gen. David H. Petraeus as top commander, officials now expect it will be at least the summer of 2011 before the first provinces shift to Afghan control. The delay has worried some of the Europeans who are eager to show progress to their skeptical publics. To others, it is merely a dose of reality.

.

Peace or Piece of Afghanistan:
Afghanistan's 'de facto' partition
best available option for 'failing' US: Ex-diplomat


Former US Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill has warned that President Obama's Afghan strategy is heading towards a 'failure', adding that the best option available with the White House was to divide the war torn country.

Blackwill, who had also served as deputy national security adviser for strategic planning and presidential envoy to Iraq during President George Bush' regime, said that Washington must admit the truth that the Taliban would continue to control its historic stronghold in Afghanistan.

"The US polity should stop talking about timelines and exit strategies and accept that the Taliban will inevitably control most of its historic stronghold in the Pashtun south," Blackwill wrote in his opinion piece published in Politico.

"But Washington could ensure that north and west Afghanistan do not succumb to jihadi extremism, using US air power and special forces along with the Afghan army and like-minded nations," he added.

In his article, the former US diplomat pointed out that "after years of 'faulty' US policy towards Afghanistan, there are no quick, easy and cost-free ways to escape the current deadly quagmire. But, with all its problems, de facto partition offers the best available US alternative to strategic defeat".

"It is now the best outcome that Washington can achieve consistent with vital national interests and US domestic politics," Blackwill added.

Blackwill also warned that Pakistan would never back the idea of Afghanistan's de facto partition, and managing its reaction would be a difficult task for the Obama administration.

"Not least because the Pakistan military expects a strategic gain once the US military withdraws from Afghanistan," he said.

Blackwill also noted that "fearing a return of Pakistan dominance in Afghanistan, India would likely encourage Washington to continue ground combat in south Afghanistan for many years to come".

He said that the Obama administration must work to assuage assuage India's fears, and also assure it that the US would not permit the Taliban to re-emerge as a political or military force in the region.

"We would then make it clear that we would rely heavily on US air power and special forces to target any Al Qaeda base in Afghanistan, as well as Afghan Taliban leaders who aided them," he wrote. (ANI

How Pakistan’s stock market weathered the European Debt crisis

Pakistan stands out amongst its peers as the only country to have positive cash inflows during the European debt crisis.

This is at a time when all the other countries, like Korea, India, Turkey and the Philippines, witnessed massive outflows and global capital markets witnessed huge sell-offs.

According to JS Global Capital, these countries’ currencies went down to the crisis. The euro is down 8.3 per cent, the South Korean won is down 11.6 per cent, the Indian rupee and Turkish lira lost 6.3 per cent and the Philippines peso declined 4.6 per cent.

During the crisis, foreigners invested $23 million in Pakistan’s capital market from the beginning of the month until now. The rupee went down by very little, a mere 1.3 per cent, according to JS Global Capital analysts.

Companies like the Hub Power Company, Fauji Fertiliser, Pakistan Petroleum and Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim showed very small decreases in their price relative to the rest of the market.

Pakistan’s stock market offers a dividend yield of nine per cent for the forecast of the fiscal year 2011 as compared to the average regional stock market yield of 3.2 per cent, said JS Global Capital analyst Junaid Iqbal.

World Bank shows tough love to Pakistan

The World Bank has said it will not release $350 million under the Poverty Reduction Strategy Pa p er (PRSC) programme until Pakistan meets its conditions by the end of June.

A senior finance ministry official told The Express Tribune that the World Bank has pressed Pakistan to increase electricity tariff by six per cent with retrospective effect from April 1 and transfer the circular debt of power distribution co

mpanies and oil marketing companies worth Rs250 billion to the Debt Company, formed under the tenure of former finance minister Shaukat Tarin. According to the official, Tarin had promised the World Bank that the government would transfer the circular debt to the Debt Company.

In the energy summit held in mid- April, the federal government in a bid to remove the circular debt on a permanent basis took the responsibility of settling Rs116 billion. In the third condition, the official said, the World Bank has asked Pakistan to replace General Sales Tax (GST) with Value Added Tax (VAT) from July 1 and for this to happen Pakistan’s parliament must pass the VAT Act before the end of June. In the fourth condition, the World Bank has called for power tariff adjustments on a quarterly basis.

Faysal Bank wins bid for RBS Pakistan Faysal Bank won a bid for Royal Bank of Scotland’s Pakistan operations, a source said on Thursday, allowing its Bahrainbased parent Ithmaar to expand its retailpresence in Faysal Bank, which is 68 per cent owned by Ithmaar, beat Egyptian bank EFG-Hermes for the deal, the source with direct knowledge of the matter said, but declined to give its value. The purchase would nearly double Faysal’s branch base and help grow its business in Pakistan, said the source. “The deal is done,” the source said, adding that an announcement was expected next week.
The planned sale of RBS Pakistan is part of a move by British government-controlled RBS to sell assets globally as it tries to exit from up to 36 countries and focus on its core domestic businesses. “Faysal Bank has submitted a bid among other bidders to buy RBS Pakistan. This is in the final stages of being awarded to the winning bidder,” an Ithmaar spokesman said in response to Reuters’ queries. “The funding of this acquisition will be done completely internally and domestically arranged by Faysal Bank if this bid is awarded to Faysal Bank.” MCB Bank said in January its bid for RBS’s Pakistan operations had lapsed because it had failed to get regulatory approval.MCB Bank had agreed in August to buy 99.37 per cent of RBS Pakistan for about $87 million. RBS Pakistan had over Rs87 billion ($1.02 billion) of assets as at March 31, 2010, about 5,000 employees and over 75 branches in 24 cities, according to its latest available financial statements. Gulf Arab banks are eying expansion in Pakistan to tap the country’s Islamic finance industry and to expand their retail footprint outside their limited home markets.

200,000 Facebook fans want me back: Musharraf


Former president Pervez Musharraf has said that he has 200,000 fans on the social networking site Facebook, and they want him to return to Pakistan.

In a recent video message addressed to the members of his newly established party – the All-Pakistan Muslim League (APML), Musharraf said he believed Pakistan has the potential to progress as a developed and prosperous country, and he promised not to let down his fans.

Earlier, Musharraf also lauded his supporters for attempting to hold a pro-Musharraf rally in Islamabad, which he alleged was postponed due to government pressure.

“All the best to the thousands of wonderful friends from around the world that were coming together on 8th May in Islamabad to show their support for me. As the event has been postponed due to government pressure, my public address shall be posted for all to see on mass media at once. This must not break our resolve in any manner to serve Pakistan and I look forward to seeing you all in Pakistan soon. Pakistan First!”

Pakistan is on the brink of a technological revolution.
Pakistan to have 3D television sets soon

A Korean multinational company is set to introduce three dimensional (3D) technology in television sets in Pakistan for the first time. Pakistan is on the brink of a technological revolution, which although late compared to the rest of the world, promises not only latest technology for consumers, but also would help to bring in significant investments into the country.At a press conference on Saturday, the General Manager of Samsung Pakistan, Steve Han announced that 3D television sets are soon to hit the local electronics markets.He said that consumers in Pakistan would now be able to watch programmes in 3D format in ‘real time’. This means that apart from entertainment sources like 3D movies, Pakistanis would also be able to watch live programmes, like a cricket match, in 3D format.The company has also organised an exhibition of their products at the PAF Museum from 3-4 July, where visitors can have first-hand experience of Samsung’s revolutionary 3D TVs which showed glimpses of famous 3D movies.The 3D TV display became the centre of attraction at the exhibition as consumers have eagerly waited for the technology to enrich their entertainment and leisure activities. Consumers were seen curiously exploring the features and technology of 3D TVs at this show,” Han said.Samsung is the first company to offer a complete 3D product line-up including TVs, Blu-ray player and home theatre,” he added.Recently, another multinational company, Nokia, announced the introduction of 3G technology in the country. While both 3D and 3G are not new to the rest of the world, their late introduction in Pakistan has been welcomed by the consumers, who were deprived of the two until now.

In fact as per a broadband survey conducted by Nokia Siemens Networks in 2009, the desire to use mobile and data applications in Pakistan – surfing the web and application downloading – reaches up to 55 per cent of the population.When asked whether 3G would affect general consumers and would they need to buy new and expensive handsets, Waraich said most of the handsets were 3G-enabled and the consumers did not need to purchase new sets.With Pakistan’s telecommunications industry witnessing a strong growth, the need for a richer communications services is increasing the demand for 3G and 4G. New services now and in the future require higher speed at an affordable cost.A research of the trend among Pakistani consumers by multinationals reflected that the consumers are technologically aware and also have the basic know-how, which shows the high potential the new products would have, once they enter the market.Furthermore, Pakistan has one of the lowest national saving rates in the world, experts in the field said. National savings, as a percentage of the GDP, declined from 20.8 per cent in 2003 to 14.3 per cent in 2009, statistics showed.This has helped set the stage for further investments into the country, as competing firms are sure to follow with their own versions of technology.To a question, a Samsung executive said that the Korean company is set to invest further in Pakistan several million dollars, both in terms of commercial investments and corporate social responsibility. He said that Pakistan is yet an untapped market, which has significant potential, and the low savings rate of the country means that people are eager to spend money on products which cater to their needs.In future, our global research will bring more attractive and exciting products for the Pakistani consumers, including the best-in-class 3D experiences,” he concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2010.