THE ART OF THE RUSSIAN MATRYOSHKA

The Art of the Russian Matryoshka is a very comprehensive account of the history, the making , range of styles, and the creators of these wonderful nesting dolls. In their relatively short 100-year history, they have become more than a popular souvenir or a folk craft; they are a medium for talented Russian artist-entrepreneurs— a symbol of Russian folk culture and representative of the mother country itself.
Russian dolls were brought to prominence primarily in the latter part of the century when a crafter called Maliutin produced what we recognize as the first matryoshka doll. Maliutin had earlier travelled to the Far East and was inspired by Japanese nesting dolls. He produced a version which depicted peasant women known in Russian as matryona. Following Maliutin’s death, his wife promoted the dolls at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900, where they became an instant hit. Their popularity has never wained and the theme of Russian dolls has been incorporated into an ever growing range of trades including print making and wood carving.

Sergiev-Posad became the home of Russian Doll production They were made in many different styles using diverse painting techniques and colours. They’ve been used as canvases for political leaders and pop groups, with the images extending to animals and landscapes. They have become known as symbols of fertility, the mother womb containing many babies.

Today we see everything from perfume bottles, stationery, keyrings, ornaments, handbags, jewellery, candles, and shoes either adorned with or in the shape of Russian dolls. The production of the dolls, in whatever guise, has given people across the globe both employment and enjoyment.

Nesting dolls are the best known and most popular of all Russian souvenirs. The Russian word for these wooden dolls is "matryoshka", but they are also called matrioshka, matryoshkas, babushka dolls, babushka's doll, matroshka, matryushka, and stacking dolls. Whatever you want to call them, nesting dolls have a fascinating history, and they are the classic Russian gift. Our nesting dolls are carefully handcrafted. Click here to watch nesting dolls being made.

The most traditional nesting doll design is one that looks like a young Russian woman dressed in Russian native costume with a scarf on her head. In the traditional nesting doll sets all of the dolls look almost identical to one another, and the number of dolls in the set ranges from 5 to 30, but some custom-made sets contain many more. In other cases, the set forms a theme, such as the classic sets of nesting dolls of Russian leaders, with each earlier leader nested inside.

100 Women Who Shake Pakistan

They make up almost half of Pakistan's population of 180 million, but are rarely given the space and coverage they deserve. From Fatima Jinnah to Rana Liaquat Ali Khan to Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan has produced some very remarkable women. Today, they are bankers, businesswomen, activists, artists, sport stars. From a pool of almost 350 women, here's our list of the 100 women who matter most.

THE SHAKERS

Roshaneh Zafar Inspired by Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus's work at Grameen Bank, Roshaneh Zafar, 42, ditched her World Bank career to set up Kashf Foundation, Pakistan's first microfinance institution, in 1996. She started with a $10,000 loan from the Grameen Trust, Rs. 100,000 of her own, and 15 clients. Today, Kashf has more than 306,000 clients, and has disbursed more than $202 million in small loans to poor women. Kashf made Forbes's list of the world's top microfinance institutions in 2007, and U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged her work at the inaugural Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship last year. "The women I meet tell me, 'don't tell us about water sanitation projects, tell us how to earn a living," Zafar says. In setting up Kashf, she moved away from conventional development projects to help women finance their own empowerment.

Bilquis Edhi One of Pakistan's most respected social workers, runs the Edhi Trust with her husband

Aafia Siddiqui Neuroscientist convicted by a U.S. court for attempted murder is the cause célèbre for Pakistan's Islamists

Aamna Taseer In tragedy, she showed Pakistan what grace and dignity look like. Punjab's former first lady now runs her late husband's business empire

Sherry Rehman Journalist turned politician turned conscience of the nation, she is the most important voice in a country gripped in darkness

Sultana Siddiqui The director and producer also owns HUM TV, a popular women's cable channel

Bushra Aitzaz Activist, businesswoman, and chief of the women's cricket board

Kiran Baluch Set highest test score record in women's cricket

Rubina Feroze Bhatti Fights for the rights of women victimized by violence

Abida Parveen Globally renowned Sufi vocalist with over 20 albums

Um-e-Hassan She shows us the Jamia Hafsa still lives Um-e-Hassan, the wife of Lal Masjid's chief cleric, Maulana Abdul Aziz, came to national prominence four years ago as head of Jamia Hafsa, the mosque's seminary for women which was leading the charge to have Shariah laws imposed in Pakistan. The protests and actions of the burqa-clad students in Islamabad got the attention of the world—and the Army. At least 84 lives were lost when commandos finally stormed the Lal Masjid compound in July 2007. A native of Rawalpindi, Hassan cites the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) and his wives Khadija and Ayesha as inspirations. She began religious instruction for women shortly after her marriage to Aziz in 1985. "Women are very important because they have the most influence on their children," she told Newsweek Pakistan. "For a good society, you need to work hard on the education of women." Hassan says she imparts a positive message to women in her lessons, "Women shouldn't think they have no role in society. They are wives, sisters, mothers, daughters." Hassan says she has never urged any of her followers toward violence, and that the reform of society is the responsibility of religious scholars operating with the authority of the state. One model, she says, is the Saudi religious police, the Mutaween. "When we see injustice and wrong in society," Hassan says, "it is our duty to at least point it out and tell people that this is wrong. This was our position back then, and this is our position now."

Carla Khan Pro-squash player continues the Khan legacy

Ruth Pfau Fights to eradicate leprosy in Pakistan

Nabila Maqsood Stylish and smart, the fashionista has made a career out of making other people look hot

Bapsi Sidhwa Doyenne of South Asian English lit is still going strong

Jehan Ara Leading software development in Pakistan

Naseem Hameed South Asia's fastest woman and endorsements' queen

Bunto Kazmi Fashion designer shows modern sensibility with traditional styles

Shazia Marri Energy czarina Married at 14 and divorced by 16, Sindh's first ever minister for energy, oil, and gas doesn't show it, but she's had to overcome plenty of challenges. The poised and articulate Marri, 38, was roped into politics by Benazir Bhutto, and has electrified us.

Aasia Noreen Her plight has inspired thousands to question controversial laws

Ameena Saiyid The power behind Oxford University Press in Pakistan

Dr. Rufina Soomro Helps cancer patients feel normal with low-cost breast prosthetics

Dr. Feriha Peracha Runs Sabaoon to deprogram children brainwashed by the Taliban

Jugnu Mohsin Publisher of Pakistan's first independent weekly is also the country's most powerful humorist

Sajida Zulfiqar Established successful furniture business despite Taliban threat

Ayesha Jalal Tufts professor is top South Asian history scholar

Nigar Ahmad As a founder of Aurat Foundation, she has been key in getting women's voices heard

Asma Jahangir Nothing scares dictators and demagogues more than this brave, rabble rousing, SCBAP president and human rights activist

Sara Suleri Meatless Days author and Yale prof

Sana Mir She raised the bar for cricket The 25-year-old led the Pakistan women's cricket team that won gold at the Guangzhou Asian Games, and the hearts of a nation craving sporting success. "We will have this medal for the next 4 years, I want to enjoy that," she told Newsweek Pakistan. She is the top rated Pakistani player, and among the top 20 best bowlers in the world.

Nergis Mavalvala Astrophysicist imparts her knowledge to new crop at MIT

Shamshad Akhtar The first woman to head the State Bank, Akhtar now runs the World Bank's MENA operations

Rukhsana Bangash Don't let her low-key demeanor mislead you, President Zardari's political secretary is the one who keeps things moving along

Shahnaz Wazir Ali The educator and philanthropist is also the architect of the Benazir Income Support Programme

Aseefa Bhutto Zardari The youngest of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari's children has been the face of the anti-polio campaign since she was born

Yasmin Rehman Key voice on the powerful Public Accounts Committee

Shafqat Sultana President, First Women Bank

Fehmida Mirza The first woman speaker of Parliament in the Muslim world

Fauzia Gilani The industrious first lady is a political operator and a leading businesswoman

Asiya Nasir Pakistan woke up to Asiya Nasir after her hard hitting speech in the National Assembly following the assassination on March 2 of minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti. Representing the orthodox Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), the 39-year-old Christian M.P. left teaching to enter politics in 2002. We're glad she did.

Kulsoom Nawaz The former first lady wowed us all by her courage after her husband's government was overthrown in a coup

Nasreen Kasuri Her self-started education empire now sprawls continents

Shaista Wahidi Replaces Nadia Khan as face of GEO TV and Pakistan's Oprah

Salima Hashmi Painter, curator, gallery owner, she is the face of modern Pakistani art

Samar Minallah Her video of a young woman being flogged in Swat turned public opinion firmly against the Taliban

Shazia Sikandar The New York-based modern miniature artist has shown at every major gallery worth in its salt

Shirin Tahir-Kheli The former adviser to George W. Bush got Pakistan and India talking again

Sonya Jehan Telecom's most attractive mascot

Souriya Anwar Founder of and indefatigable spirit behind Pakistan's SOS Villages

Syeda Hina Babar Ali When she's not busy running Packages, one of Pakistan's largest business groups, she's writing poetry

Nafis Sadik Internationally renowned, her efforts as the U.N. special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia have helped stem the disease in the region

Ghulam Sugra The Sindhi activist has gained new popularity after recieving the International Women of Courage Award from Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama

Madeeha Gauhar The Lahore-based writer opened an outlet for human rights activisim when she launched Ajoka Theatre under Gen. Zia

Maj. Gen. Shahida Malik Pakistan's first woman to make a two-star general marked a new era in women's rights

Maria Toor Pakay The squash wunderkind is making Pakistan proud

Nighat Said Khan One of the founding members of Women's Action Forum, she doubles as a talented filmmaker

Mukhtar Mai She turned a horrible tragedy into a triumph of the human spirit. Gang raped in 2002 at the orders of a tribal jirga, Mai, 39, has fought a long and tough battle to get those who assaulted her convicted. Along the way, she founded a school and authored the best-selling In the Name of Honour. Today, Mai, who is herself illiterate, is working to ensure every girl in her village gets an education.

Rubab Raza Only 13 when she qualified for the Summer Olympics in 2004, Rubab has a bright career ahead of her

Hina Tahir Pakistan's first female fighter pilot

Sabiha Sumar The award-winning Independent filmmaker has dedicated herself to social change through film

Saima Mohsin Freelance journalist who often reports on Pakistan for PBS and ITV

Salma Maqbool Co-founder of Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness has made it her mission to ensure no one else suffers her affliction

Samina Qureshi The award-winning author has toured the world, bringing the beauty of Pakistan with her

Zubaida Tariq Food and homemaking guru

Reema Lollywood actress reinvents herself as savvy talk-show host

Kishwar Naheed Veteran columnist still going strong after four decades

Juggan Kazim Ubiquitous cherub-faced model and actress

Mehrbano Sethi With her Luscious Cosmetics, the Estée Lauder of Pakistan

Marvi Memon Parliamentarian and twitter queen

Sanam Marvi Folk and sufi singer sets her own tone

Huma Abedin Aide to Hillary Clinton is Pakistani on her mother's side

Sania Mirza Tennis pro has been welcomed by Pakistanis as their own

Seema Aziz CARE Foundation founder proves that philanthropy can make a difference

Shandana Khan The Rural Support Program Network CEO focuses on the grassroots

Shazia Ahmed Leader of the first four female fighter pilots trained by Pakistan's Air Force

Reshma Legendary folk singer

Samina Ghurki The only PPP leader with a safe National Assembly seat from Lahore

Nafisa Shah She was among 1,000 women nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. Encouraged to enter politics by the late Benazir Bhutto she excelled as the mayor of Sindh's Khairpur district and is currently a Pakistan Peoples Party member of the National Assembly.

Faryal Talpur The first sister is running the day-to-day of the country's largest party

Tehmina Daultana PMLN pol has nerves of steel, and a sense of humor

Tina Sani No one can put Faiz's verse to song quite like her

Meera Lollywood siren lives in the headlines and in our hearts

Samia Raheel Qazi Heads the women's wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest religio-political party

Zareen Khalid Pakistan's original event planner

Spenta Kandawalla The U.S. Secretary of State's former classmate is a business mogul in her own right

Farhat Hashmi She established Al-Huda International in 1994. Since then, Hashmi has been the favored proselytizer of the ladies-who-lunch crowd in Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi. She has a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Glasgow—and in converting women to Al-Huda's brand of Islamic conservatism. "I just translate the word of God," she told filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy in an interview. So if people have a problem with her, she said, "they have a problem with God."

Tahera Hasan Founding member of KaraFilm Festival maintains a healthy law practice for entertainment industry

Farzana Bari Human rights campaigner

Bano Qudsia Novelist and playwright was awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2010

Maryam Bibi Since founding Khwendo Kor, which means "sister's home", a nongovernmental organization, in 1993, she's been struggling for funding. "Big donors like big projects," she told Newsweek Pakistan. They don't seem to find her organization's sharply focused work with internally-displaced women and children headline worthy. But, luckily, Bibi is trucking along just fine. "It is the poorest of the poor women who inspire me to keep working."

Nahid Siddiqui Kathak dancer introduced her skill to universities across the world

Nazish Ataullah Printmaker and social activist

Tehmina Durrani Author and activist

Samina Ahmed South Asia project director at International Crisis Group

Samina Khan Sungi head is working on several development projects

Ronak Lakhani Tech wiz also runs the Special Olympics

Nusrat Jamil Author, rights activist and dynamo

Marriana Karim Raises funds for several charities and runs a kidney center

Madiha Sattar Journalist

Selina Rashid Founder of Lotus PR

Veena Malik Spark and Provocateur She says she is 27. Veena Malik, the actor, comedienne, and cultural lightning rod, says and does a lot of things that prompt a double take and require suspension of disbelief. Pakistanis remember her from such hits as "cricketer Muhammad Asif stole my heart—and my money!"; "Meera should watch her back"; and, of course, last year's Bigg Boss on Indian television that had Pakistan—and India—aghast, more because of her desperate determination to hog the spotlight rather than anything real saucy or salacious. For the finale, after she was voted out of the Bigg Boss house, Malik appeared on Frontline with Kamran Shahid in Pakistan taking on a mullah in a highly scripted, and spirited, performance that had Pakistan's pathetic Internet liberals hailing her as their new hero. The debate surrounding Malik's TV antics have served to further confirm the poverty of the liberal elite and the hypocrisy of the religious right. It has also shown Malik to be a savvy entertainer in this age of guns and Gaga. "I'm not one of those you can malign and get away with it," Malik told Newsweek Pakistan. "If people think they can because I'm a woman, they're mistaken." Malik was last seen on India's World Cup-related show, Bigg Toss. Veena, vidi, vici, indeed.

Pakistan: Why Governed by Dead-ended People?

Posted on 26. Apr, 2011 by Dr Mahboob A Khawaja in Pakistan

By Mahboob A. Khawaja, Ph.D.

“The men who have most injured and oppressed humanity, who have most deeply sinned against it, were according to their standards and their conscience, good men; what was bad in them, what wrought moral evil and cruelty, treason to truth and progress, was not at all their intentions, in their purpose, in their personal character, but in their opinions.”

(Robert Briffault, The Making of Humanity, Cambridge University)

In wars, when an aggressor sees the defeat coming, it resorts to mass killings of the civilian population to avenge the fear of the unknown. To pursue its policy of global domination, now American strategists run death squads in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The aim is to terrorize the masses by drone attacks and death squads and destroy their habitats thus creating more reactionary terrorism through its paid political agents – the ruling elite. The cruelty of the American led bogus war on terrorism has transformed Pakistan into a non-productive beggar nation, solely looking to military and economic aid for all of its operations. The army Generals and their by-products – the ruling Bhutto family-PPP Zardari, and in-waiting Nawaz Sharif (Muslim League-N), have infected the body politics of Pakistan with corruption and political tyranny, draining out all of the positive thinking and creative energies of the nation for change, development and a promising future. Bhuttos and the Zardari gang must be tried for crimes against the people of Pakistan. If the law and justice system is in tact, these political thugs and indicted criminals should not be allowed to hold offices of public responsibility but be held accountable in a court of law. The besieged nation MUST see itself in the mirror and learn from the dead past, to change the future course of history and to articulate a new beginning – a new political system under the new educated generation of honest, intelligent and visionary leadership to strive for a promising future.

When pretension and stingy greed give life to politically manipulated leadership, treachery and oppression become the rule of political governance in which people are seen as the eggs and chickens, conveniently broken and slaughtered and politicians are akin to assume the above normal role play lacking legitimacy and accountability. Pakistani politics regrettably as is, a venture of intrigues, self-engineered conspiracies and dead roll calls to explain the history of this beleaguered nation. Feudal lords are the political masters, and Bhutto family with complacent army Generals, has been one of them to unfold a naïve and destructive chapter of the Pakistan’s political misfortunes. Mr. ZA Bhutto, the leader of the PPP, his daughter Benazir Bhutto, two of her brothers, all are dead but they still ruling the country by imposter Zardari as the latest example. Alive or dead, Bhutto family has been the centre of political intrigues and destructive problems in Pakistan. How irrational and untrue it seems that dead people are leading the living masses of Pakistan? The business of the dead as usual. A situation comparable to the present day Iraq under the American-British occupation.

Pakistan, a Muslim nation of living people is governed by physically, morally and politically dead people who cannot change the course of history nor make any difference to the present volatile politics carving a hopeless future. Islamically, dead are those who are forgetful of the memory of Allah, ignorant and arrogant people devoid of public accountability. The PPP regime under Zardari meets the set criterion requirements. The political elite sees its best interests in engaging with dead ideas and foreign strategies and buying time for good times at the expense of the nation toll of miseries and havoc social and political conditions. The overwhelming occupation of the dead minds and souls is to see how best they could exploit the common citizens or to get foreign monetary assistance to finance the self and bogus projects for change and economic development. The Dawn (May 6, 2010), cites Chaudry Nisar Ahmad, MP and Chief of the Public Accounting Office in the National Assembly) “there is a sea of corruption”, money stolen from the national treasury and mismanaged by the political elite. Would this reporting hold anyone responsible for these crimes? Not so. The Assemblies operate on bogus agendas irrelevant to the public interests and all of the corrupt people are part of the political gambling.

Of all the political and intellectual bankruptcy, the ruling elite is preoccupied to investigate who killed Miss Benazir Bhutto, the ex PM and twice dismissed on corruption charges and under investigation for 12-15 money laundering schemes along with her husband Asif Ali Zardari, the current self-made President and inheritor of her “suspected bogus will.” The Zardari regime invested $40 million to the dysfunctional UN to come up with a fact finding report on the killing of Miss Bhutto. One wonders, while country is experiencing a life and death situation with daily terrorist suicide bombings and civilian bloodsheds and non-productive economy and catastrophic social and political saga, could this be the top priority of the Muslim nation to conduct political surgery on the dead body of Miss Bhutto? What importance does Miss Bhutto has in relation to the security, integrity and the future of Pakistan? What would come out of the dead bodies and graveyard? There are plenty of Pakistanis with living conscience to question the absurdity of these politically manufactured delusions as dead politicians have nothing else to do to remedy the sufferings of the 170 million living human beings.

Once again, history of the British Raj over India is reactivated through the “divide and rule” policy. The American led war is financing the terrorism to destroy Pakistan within and take control of its nuclear warheads. They have helped to make the Pakistanis helpless and desperate to kill each other for no obvious and rational purpose except money and political power. The Generals, Bhuttos, Zardari and Sharifs are the instruments being used to pursue this strategic goal. In 1857, Muslims in India were defeated when the British mercenaries were successful in crippling them within by their own bribed agents of influence – Mir Jaffar and Mir Sadaq and so many others. ZA Bhutto was one of the key conspirators to surrender East Pakistan to India enabling him to become president of west Pakistan. Miss Benazir Bhutto, her mother Nusrat Bhutto and Zardari are alleged to have masterminded the 1988 plane crash of General Ziaul Haq killing hundreds of innocent people to get elected. The accusations originate from the family of General Zia ul Haq and are not denied by anybody. August 14, 1947, is the only time when the power was peacefully transferred by the British colonial authority to Quaid e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, otherwise, it is a bloody history full of treacherous conspiracies to change the neo-colonial erected powerhouses.

Mr. ZA Bhutto was ordered to be hanged by the Supreme Court on charges of killing a political opponent. By Pakistani standards, the trial was open and non-partisan. He was never elected to be a leader in one Pakistan (comprising both of the East and West Pakistan) as it was Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman, leader of the National Awami Party with majority to assume the leadership but military intervention deprived him the role of a united Prime Minister as it was conspired by Bhutto and General Yayha Khan. Both were active complacent in the surrender of almost 100,000 Pakistani troops and killings of countless innocent civilians in the former East Pakistan enabling them to remain in power. ZA Bhutto did not die for Pakistan except for the self.

Did Miss Bhutto die for Islam? No

Did Miss Bhutto die for Pakistan? No

Did Miss Bhutto die for democracy and freedom of the captive nation? No

ZA Bhutto met his ambitions by conspiring to disintegrate Pakistan and surrender to India and got hanged for the political murder. Benazir Bhutto met her ambition by allegedly killing General Zia ul Haq with 12 other army Generals and 100 or so civilians in the 1988 plane crash and finally was gunned down at an election rally. Zardari has just scarified a black goat to warn off the evils but his future increasingly becoming short-lived and uncertain. It is rational to assume that dead people make no difference to the living creation of God. The PPP ruling elite finds it convenient to draw the legitimacy for political governance from the dead ZA Bhutto and dead Benazir Bhutto; otherwise, there is no rational political basis which could stand as reference point to Zardari. Facts are denied but pretension lives on that the Bhuttos were “shaheed”- martyrs- a political cliché to distort the facts of human life and history. To any realist observer of Pakistani affairs, it is becoming crystal clear that they are the wrong people, at wrong places and doing the wrong things. The so called American financed democracy has no relationship to the living masses across Pakistan. With 40 years of lost time and opportunities under the dictatorship of various army Generals, dismantled public institutions, devastated social and economic affairs, disjointed trades and commerce, political surge of terrorism, 12,900 civilians killed in 2009, and thousands in detention camps under the military control, and dead leadership, how could a nation be able to conduct business as usual?

Once again, Zardari has referred the case of ZA Bhutto to the court asking for new opinion and judgment. The facts of history are the same, how could Zardari change the fate of dead Bhutto? Bhutto met his ambitions and the case is closed. Is this is the only national priority that Zardari had left to tackle before he is moved to the much deserving prison cell? After all, what else do you expect from dead-conscience people to do except to deal with dead things?

Pakistan appears a replica of the occupied Iraq under the US forces. Layla Anwar (“Democracy- What Democracy”. ICH March 10, 2010), ushers words of wisdom on the Iraqi legacy of freedom and democracy.

“One Arabic TV, I am not sure if it was Al-Sharqiya or Arabiya ran a very short documentary on the state of palm trees in Iraq. All the palm trees are dying because of lack of water, thanks to fucked up Iran, diverting the water flow by building illegal dams.

Anyways, they interviewed this poor old farmer. He said I lost everything, except two palm trees, that's all I've got left and am tending to them as my own children. And what does the government do? They come and plaster their shitty faces on my palm tree trunks. He used the word shitty. I suppose that kind of sums up Iraqi democracy under occupation that kind of sums up the democracy brought on by America.”

Layla Anwar illuminates the blog with prisoners of conscience across Iraq, a situation comparable to Pakistan for the missing people – the AMERICAN jails IN IRAQ:

”In other words the barbaric hoards of americans cross oceans to come and jail people in their own country – and the same animals call it Freedom and Democracy. It's like me landing in that shit hole called the USA and I bring with me a hoard of men and jail all of you bastards in your own turf. And those I can't jail myself, I will hand over to leaders of sectarian death squads so they can grill your asses, barbecue them or drill you to the bone…but hey am bringing you freedom, I am actually liberating you from a dictatorship…why can't you sons of bitches be grateful now ?! Oh and am sorry if there are instances of a little" excessive use of force" if at all – I've got a few "bad apples" in my cart.”

Would the dead people re-emerge as visionary leaders for the future of the country? Not rationally, but Pakistani politics is not run by rational people with rational ideas and ideals for the interests of the common citizens. The junk history exhibits accumulative junk of several decades. Its inescapable consequences have brought Asif Zardari – a known thug and indicted criminal to the presidency. There could be hundreds and thousands of puppet Zardaris and Bhuttos affiliated with such an establishment. The nation has a serious problem of integrity and political credibility. Both major political parties- the ruling PPP and the Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif are the by-products of military dictatorship, not the outcome of the grassroots movements of the society. They are easy to sell, easy to buy- a horse trading show of the Pakistani nation. Could the THINKING PEOPLE (if any) of Pakistan reverse the course of junk history and make a new beginning based on the Islamic ideology and values of the concept of Pakistan? Could the new generations of educated, honest and intelligent Pakistanis initiate new political institutions and produce proactive visionary leadership and help to protect the integrity and security of the besieged nation?

The military dictators, Bhuttos, Zardari and Sharifs could never have come into politics unless the whole nation had lost the sense of PURPOSE and MEANING of its existence. Are there any concerned and proactive young people to safeguard the national interests of the present and future generations of Muslim Pakistan?

With the continuing politics of the inherent criminals, the nation appears at odds with the Zardari regime and the military establishments, it is not just the 20 hours of daily electric load shedding but the onslaught of failed economy, dismantled trade and commerce, impact of the unpayable $70 billion IMF debt, institutionalized political corruption and daily reactionary terrorist bloodsheds caused by domestic insurgents and foreign death squads and terrorists, the nation lives on denials of even the basic amenities of life found commonly available across the developing world. Pakistanis find themselves in a living hell that Saeed Qureshi, a reputable international journalist describes it “Kiamat- Doomsday of Pakistan (April 11, 2010).

General Musharaf, Bhuttos, Zardaris and Sharifs are not the hope for the future but dead entries of the darkest part of the Pakistani history. They collaboratively articulated a culture of political exploitation and institutionalized corruption to transform Pakistan into a so called “failed state” and according to the US Foreign Policy magazine, “most dangerous place on earth.” They helped to bring religious terrorism into the Pakistani mainstream and victimized the nation. In the course of history, the consequences of this man made culture gave fertile impetus to reactionary public outbursts and emerging terrorism against the ruling regimes. None of them could have done alone but hundreds and thousands of other likeminded people must have been actively involved in pursuing the similar evil goals making Pakistan- “the most dangerous place on earth.” A decade earlier, the Forum of Concerned Pakistanis in Canada wrote and reminded to General Musharaf (the self made president at the time), that “a wicked person (khabis) never harms another wicked person (khabis). To undo the wickedness (khabasat), find intelligent and righteous people into the governance”, but he seems to have defied the logic of this advice and now living in $1.4 million mansion in London protected by the British security services. The nation must see the mirror or it stands no chance for the recourse and coming out of the dead graveyards. None of these figures made any positive contributions towards democracy or to safeguard the integrity and security of Pakistan. History has a defined role and the present and future generations must give credence to these developments and learn to be aware of the future in waiting, and how best to make a navigational change to ensure independence and integrity of an Islamic Pakistan. If some were alive and you were to ask the Generals, Bhuttos, Zardaris and Sharifs, what went wrong with them? What made them to transgress against the poor masses of Pakistan? Why were they dismissed from the public offices? What made them to act like cruel traitors to the interest of the Pakistani people? Why could they not change their wrong THINKING? Surely, they will claim innocence and blame others. But history sees the leaders by their actions, not by their claims.

A century earlier, Robert Briffault (The Making of Humanity), made a candid observation which amicably represents the contemporary Pakistani politics:

“The men who have most injured and oppressed humanity, who have most deeply sinned against it, were according to their standards and their conscience, good men; what was bad in them, what wrought moral evil and cruelty, treason to truth and progress, was not at all their intentions, in their purpose, in their personal character, but in their opinions.”

Leaders do lead or they are imposters and stage puppets. The criterion requirements determine the role of leaders as standing for righteousness (haq), not for falsehood (batil). They cherish the collective interests and good of the masses and defy the obsession of egoistic self-interests and they are always open to listening, learning and capable of making navigational change, if the facts of life warrant such a change. Western democratic nations eagerly search and patronize new and creative talents and people with visionary leadership outlook and merits. This appears to be a rare commodity in Pakistani politics. To change the adverse historical trend, Pakistan is desperate for new, educated and intelligent proactive leadership to facilitate a sustainable future for the nation. In a knowledge-driven global age of rising expectations and public accountability, most developed societal politics would set criterion requirements and define standards of quality and specifications for performance in jobs/role-plays and in positions of greater public responsibility. Why are not there any written standards and defined criterion requirements for the positions of the President, Prime Ministers and Ministers and MP’s in Pakistan? Should the Constitution not define such salient features and characteristics of the vital office bearers? Is there any law and justice system in the country to protect the interests of the beleaguered masses? Are the leaders not supposed to provide intellectual security and sense of direction in crises, and a visionary picture of the future to the nation they claim to represent? Under what operational system, do thugs and indicted criminals get legitimacy and approval to hold public offices for which they do not even qualify?

Once again, political garbage is piling up but who should clean it? The Generals and the PPP Zardari regime are pre-occupied with the dead business not mindful of the living hell being experienced by the 180 million citizens, counting the dead bodies, dead souls and the reactionaries eager to die for a national cause, not shared by the ruling elite. Should the Generals be held accountable for their by-products to clean up the combined stinking mess from the body politics of the nation?

WikiLeaks reveals: ‘US classified ISI as terror affiliate’

Guantanamo detainees confessed to working with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Pakistani military in facilitating al Qaeda and the Taliban, according to leaked US classified documents released by WikiLeaks on Monday.

According to the documents, the US had designated the ISI as one of the 32 “militant forces or organisations” with which al Qaeda or the Taliban had or has “an established working, supportive, or beneficiary relationship for the achievement of common goals”. The Iranian intelligence, Hamas and Jaish-e-Mohammad were also included.

However, when contacted regarding the documents, Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-General Athar Abbas refused to comment. “Is there a source attached to these documents? Are they authentic? It appears to be an effort at instigation. We will not issue official statements on documents that we do not know the authenticity of. Let the Pentagon comment and then we will see.”

An ISI spokesperson also declined to comment on the documents until they had been properly analysed.

Hundreds of documents regarding the backgrounds and interrogations of Guantanamo Bay detainees by the US were published on Monday, which point to al Qaeda’s role and operations and the intelligence gathered by Pakistan and the US to capture suspects. However, the documents do not mention the harsh interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo under which these ‘confessions’ were extracted. A lot of the information cited in the documents is also said to be third-party intelligence.

The documents come just days after US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen launched a tirade against the ISI and its links with another al Qaeda/Taliban affiliate, the Haqqani Network – a claim that was vehemently denied by Pakistan.

A summary of the key findings of the new leaked documents released by WikiLeaks is below:

Derailing the Karzai government

According to a document about Afghan detainee Abdul Rehman, mid-level Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Satter attended a meeting with Mullah Mohammad Omar in Quetta. “The meeting included high-level Taliban leaders Mullah Abdul Bari, Mullah Mohammed Nabi, Mullah Akhtar Mohammed Osmani, representatives from the Pakistani government and the ISI. Mullah Omar told the attendees that they should not cooperate with the new infidel government (in Afghanistan) and should keep attacking coalition forces.”

ISI role

Detainee Haroon al Afghani was assessed to have attended a joint operations meeting in 2006 with commanders of the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Pakistani military and intelligence officials and the ‘Islamic Party’ (believed to be a reference to the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin – HIG). It was decided in the meeting that operations in Kapisa, Kunar, Laghman and Nangarhar provinces would be increased – including suicide bombings. Al Afghani is also said to have facilitated travel within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in Pakistan and provided intelligence on al Qaeda’s work there. He is also noted “to have provided information on ISI assistance to extremist groups operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan and may have additional information on their associations and activities.”

A Yemeni detainee said he had witnessed a meeting in Kandahar between Osama bin Laden, Pakistani intelligence agents and tribal leaders loyal to bin Laden.

Corruption within the ISI

Afghan detainee Rohullah Wakil was alleged to be an al Qaeda supporter, who provided information on corruption within the ISI and its support to al Qaeda.

“In January 2002, ISI financed the efforts of several factions in Konar province in order to destabilise the Afghanistan Interim Administration (AIA). ISI reportedly called for a meeting, Rohullah along with Malik (Zirin) attended from Afghanistan. In March 2002, the ISI reportedly provided detainee with $12,000 to finance military operations against the AIA in hopes of destabilising the new government and disrupting the Loya Jirga.”

Detainee links with ISI and rogue ISI units

According to the analyst’s notes, Wakil may have “negotiated the exodus of Arabs out of Tora Bora into Pakistan, possibly with the help of the ISI, for a price.”

The document also notes that he had dealings with the UK and the ISI, and while he supported the AIA he was also undermining the transition process.

Australian detainee David Hicks is also reported to have dealings with the ISI.

In one document, an analyst notes that “rogue factions of the ISI have routinely pursued private interests and acted against the stated policy of the government of Pakistan.” Detainee Nasser Gul, assessed to be a high-level HIG commander is reported to have “also worked with rogue elements of the ISI”. An analyst notes that the ISI has strong ties with the LeT “in regard to insertion tactics into Kashmir”.

Military training

A document about Guantanamo Bay detainee Abdul Kakal Hafiz puts up massive allegations against the Pakistan army. “In January 2003, anti-coalition militia groups under the command of Mullah Haji Satar, Mullah Abdul Basir, and Mullah Abdul Hakim trained in the Khadar Tana Toba region, Zabul Province, next to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Three Pakistani military officers provided one month of training for the group in explosives, bomb-making, and assassination techniques. This training was conducted in preparation for a planned spring campaign to assassinate Westerners.” The detainee is implicated in the ambush of the International Committee of the Red Cross’ convoy in which one volunteer was killed.

Training in Kashmir

Yemeni detainee Abd al Malik abd al Wahab is reported to have travelled to Karachi and stayed at the home of Mohammad Iqbal, a friend of his father. Iqbal’s son, Ahmed Mohammad Iqbal, was reportedly a fighter in Kashmir and attempted to recruit Wahab. However, Wahab said he would not fight there but would accept the training. Wahab confessed that he “attended a 15-day military-style training camp in Pakistan sponsored by the Pakistani army.”

“The camp concentrated on aquatics training and did not involve weapons training. The training consisted of swimming above the water while dragging a bag or a small raft, both of which were filled with rocks symbolising personal belongings and weapons. Detainee denied this training was designed to simulate transporting explosives. Students at the camp were also trained on how to operate small rubber boats and were taught how to avoid detection by flipping the boat.”

How the captures worked

A number of detainees appear to have been caught in a raid on December 15, 2001, as fighters crossed over from Tora Bora into Pakistan. These prisoners were referred to as the ‘Dirty 30’ and were jailed in Peshawar. The Pakistani jail warden told them that while being interrogated, they should say that they were in Afghanistan to teach the Quran. Most of the detainees initially used this as their cover.

The detainees were transferred to Kandahar on December 26, 2001. The ISI had listed 48 Yemenis, who were captured while crossing over from Afghanistan.

Lists of hundreds of al Qaeda members were obtained from raids on al Qaeda safe houses in Karachi and Rawalpindi and from hard disk drives linked with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad. An ISI raid at a Karachi safe house on September 11, 2002, netted a document listing 324 Arabic names, aliases and nationalities and the passports of bin Laden’s family members.

Mohammad’s arrest – which his family claims was because a friend turned him in – came from a document seized in a ‘joint raid’ with the ISI. Other detainees were captured in raids and arrests in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Kohat, Bannu and Faisalabad. Karachi is notable in the documents as the landing destination for most of the detainees, who flew in from Dubai. Many of them stayed in hotels in Saddar, notably the Dubai Hotel. Detainees provided information about al Qaeda safe houses and offices in Quetta, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Peshawar, as well as facilities run by the Taliban and Harkatul Jihad al Islami.

According to one document, “in late 2001 and early 2002, a total of 195 detainees in Pakistani custody were interviewed in Peshawar and Kohat by teams composed of US interrogators.”

Plots, Karachi

After Mohammad’s arrest on March 1, 2003, Ammar al Baluchi and Walid Muhammad Salih bin Attash began preparations to continue the Karachi Plot which called for simultaneous attacks on the US consulate and American targets in residential and commercial areas of Karachi. The Karachi Plot was unsuccessful due to the capture of al Baluchi and Attash while attempting to acquire explosives for the operation.

Training of suicide operatives

Tajikistan detainee Umar bin Hamza Abdallahyviv is reported to have moved to the Babu Camp near Peshawar in March 2001. “A foreign government service reported the Taliban and al Qaeda trained male and female suicide operatives at Babu Camp in Pakistan. Operatives were then sent to Afghanistan.”

Other plots that Guanta­namo’s detainees confessed to included the use of anthrax and biological weapons (for which Aafia Siddiqui’s advice had been enlisted), the possibility of obtaining a nuclear weapon, targets in the US and US diplomatic missions abroad and high-profile assassinations, including that of former president Pervez Musharraf.

Key detainees

Seventy-one Pakistanis were sent to Guantanamo, and over 60 have been transferred out. Guantanamo Bay currently houses 172 detainees.

Saifullah Paracha

Nationality: Pakistani

Detained: July 8, 2003 in Thailand

Paracha was assessed as a significant member of al Qaeda’s international network, who provided assistance to its operations and personnel. He met with bin Laden to discuss promoting his message, and offered the use of his equipment and business. Paracha is also closely associated with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad and Ammar al Baluchi among other al Qaeda operatives.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammad

Nationality: Pakistani

Detained: March 1, 2003 in Rawalpindi

Mohammad is believed to be the key plotter of the 9/11 attacks and headed al Qaeda’s media cell. His family members are also implicated, including cousins Abu Musab and Abu Khalid who “handle some of the most sensitive logistic and administrative matters for al Qaeda operatives based in or transiting to Pakistan”. He was reportedly waterboarded 183 times and will face trial by a military commission.

Haroon al Afghani

Nationality: Afghan

Detained: February 4, 2007 in Nangarhar

Haroon al Afghani is believed to be a senior HIG commander responsible for attacks against the US and coalition forces. He provided information on al Qaeda, as well as his role in facilitating the travel of al Qaeda members as well as transferring information and materials within Afghanistan and Pakistan.


Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2011.

Guantánamo Bay files:
Pakistan's ISI spy service listed as terrorist group. Anyone linked to Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate should be treated like al-Qaida or Taliban, interrogators told


US authorities describe the main Pakistani intelligence service as a terrorist organisation in secret files obtained by the Guardian.
Recommendations to interrogators at Guantánamo Bay rank the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) alongside al-Qaida, Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon as threats. Being linked to any of these groups is an indication of terrorist or insurgent activity, the documents say.
"Through associations with these … organisations, a detainee may have provided support to al-Qaida or the Taliban, or engaged in hostilities against US or coalition forces [in Afghanistan]," says the document, dated September 2007 and called the Joint Task Force Guantánamo Matrix of Threat Indicators for Enemy Combatants. It adds that links to these groups is evidence that an individual poses a future threat.

The revelation that the ISI is considered as much of a threat as al-Qaida and the Taliban will cause fury in Pakistan. It will further damage the already poor relationship between US intelligence services and their Pakistani counterparts, supposedly key allies in the hunt for Osama bin Laden and other Islamist militants in south Asia.

Relations between America and Pakistan have been tense for years. A series of high-level attempts have been made in recent weeks to improve ties after the American CIA contractor Raymond Davis killed two Pakistanis in January.

In November the Guardian published evidence that US intelligence services had been receiving reports of ISI support for the Taliban in Afghanistan for many years. The reports were frequent and detailed, if unconfirmed and sometimes speculative.

The Threat Indicator Matrix is used to decide who among the hundreds of Guantánamo detainees can be released. The ISI is listed among 36 groups including Egyptian Islamic Jihad, led by al-Qaida deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri; the Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs; the Iranian intelligence services; and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Though the document dates from 2007 it is unlikely the ISI has been removed from the current Threat Indicator Matrix.
In classified memos outlining the background of 700 prisoners at Guantánamo there are scores of references, apparently based on intelligence reporting, to the ISI supporting, co-ordinating and protecting insurgents fighting coalition forces in Afghanistan, or even assisting al-Qaida. Pakistani authorities have consistently denied any links with insurgents in Afghanistan or al-Qaida.

The documents detail extensive collaboration between the ISI and US intelligence services. Many of those transferred to Guantánamo Bay, including senior al-Qaida figures such as Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who planned the 9/11 attacks, and Abu Farraj al-Libbi, one of the group's most capable operators, were arrested with Pakistani help or turned over to American authorities by Pakistani intelligence services.
The memos rely on a variety of sources to make their case. Though the broad argument for releasing or detaining an individual has sometimes been made public during military tribunals at Guantánamo, the material underpinning those arguments has remained secret until now. Sources for that material include the interrogation of the detainee whose release is being discussed, as well as the records of the questioning of hundreds of other prisoners.

Intelligence from elsewhere, including foreign spy agencies such as the Afghan National Directorate of Security, appears to have been extensively used. There is little independent corroboration for the reporting and some of the information is likely to have been obtained under duress. Systematic human rights abuses have been recorded at Guantánamo.

The details of the alleged ISI support for insurgents at the very least give an important insight into the thinking of American strategists and senior decision-makers who would have been made aware of the intelligence as it was gathered. Many documents refer to alleged ISI activities in 2002 or 2003, long before the policy shift in 2007 that saw the Bush administration become much more critical of the Pakistani security establishment and distance itself from Pervez Musharraf, who was president.
One example is found among reasons given by Guantánamo officials for the continued detention of Harun Shirzad al-Afghani, a veteran militant who arrived there in June 2007. His file states he is believed to have attended a meeting in August 2006 at which Pakistani military and intelligence officials joined senior figures in the Taliban, al-Qaida, the Lashkar-e-Taiba group responsible for the 2008 attack in Mumbai and the Hezb-e-Islami group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

The meeting was to discuss operations in Afghanistan against coalition forces, says the memo. It cites an unidentified letter in the possession of US intelligence services describing the meeting which, it says, ended with a decision by the various insurgent factions "to increase terrorist operations in the Kapisa, Kunar, Laghman and Nangarhar provinces [of Afghanistan], including suicide bombings, mines, and assassinations".
Harun Shirzad al-Afghani was reported to have told his interrogators that in 2006 an unidentified Pakistani ISI officer paid 1m Pakistani rupees to a militant to transport ammunition to a depot within Afghanistan jointly run by al-Qaida, the Taliban and Hekmatyar's faction.

According to Afghani, who was captured in the eastern Nangarhar province, the depot contained "about 800 rockets, AK-47 and machine gun ammunition, mortars, RPGs [rocket propelled grenades] and mines" and had been established "in preparation for a spring 2007 offensive".
More than 230 western troops were killed in Afghanistan in the course of 2007; 99 between January and June.

A separate document about a 42-year-old Afghan detainee cites intelligence reports claiming that in early 2005 Pakistani officials were present at a meeting chaired by Mullah Mohammed Omar, the supreme chief of the Taliban, of an array of senior insurgents in Quetta, the Pakistani city where it has long been believed the Taliban leadership are based.
"The meeting included high-level Taliban leaders … [and] representatives from the Pakistani government and the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate," the document says. It adds: "Mullah Omar told the attendees that they should not co-operate with the new infidel government (in Afghanistan) and should keep attacking coalition forces."

Many references are more historic. A memo about another detainee, Abdul Kakal Hafiz, cites intelligence that in January 2003, insurgents in the Zabul province of Afghanistan received a month of training in explosives, bomb-making and assassination techniques from "three Pakistani military officers". The training was apparently "conducted in preparation for a planned spring campaign to assassinate westerners". A Red Cross water engineer, Ricardo Mungia, was shot and killed by insurgents on 27 March 2003 in Oruzgan province. The murder had a major effect on humanitarian and development programmes in south and eastern Afghanistan and was a huge setback for western-led efforts.
According to the files on an Afghan known simply as Hamidullah, captured by Afghan national army soldiers in July 2003, intelligence "reporting" from December 2002 "linked detainee to a Pakistani ISI initiative to create an office in [the Pakistani frontier city of] Peshawar combining elements of the Taliban, HIG [Hekmatyar's group] and al-Qaida".

The memo said that intelligence indicated "the goal of the initiative was to plan and execute various terrorist attacks in Afghanistan" including one on the HQ of foreign entities in Kabul in January 2003.
Another file on a high-profile Afghan religious and political leader detained months after the initial invasion of Afghanistan and released in 2008 refers to ISI operations in the eastern province of Kunar during 2002 that were, the memo says, designed to destabilise the new Afghan government under Hamid Karzai, who had been installed as interim president by the US-led coalition.

"In January 2002 ISI financed the activities of several factions … in Kunar … in order to destabilise the Afghan [government]. In March 2002 [the ISI] reportedly provided $12,000 … to finance military operations against the new government," the document says.
The file reveals that the detainee, Mullah Haji Rohullah, was working with the British government, and possibly MI6, when detained. "This detainee ... had dealings with the United Kingdom and with the Pakistani [ISI]," says the memo, dated 17 June 2005.

The documents show the varying interpretations by American officials of the apparent evidence of ISI involvement with insurgents in Afghanistan. There are repeated "analyst's notes" in parentheses. Several in earlier documents stress that it is "rogue elements" of the ISI who actively support insurgents in Afghanistan.

One describes how "rogue elements of the ISI are known to have had sympathies for and provided support to anti-coalition militia. The most significant was sniper training and the use of remote control improvised explosive devices." Another file from 2005 says that "rogue factions from the ISI have routinely pursued private interests and acted against the stated policy of the government of Pakistan".
The analysis that such operations were not sanctioned policy for the ISI was current among US and British intelligence officials as late as 2007. By 2008 the view of western services had changed and such caveats are rare in later documents.

The files reveal much of the shadow war in Afghanistan fought out by secret services – a contemporary form of the 19th century Great Game. There are a series of references to Iranian intelligence; these again are unconfirmed. One intelligence report cited in the file on an Afghan called Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa, who arrived at Guantánamo in May 2002, refers to "a meeting initiated by Iran, possibly by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps" between Iranian officials and Taliban representatives near the Afghan-Iranian border in October 2001. The officials allegedly offered to broker a coalition between the Northern Alliance, which was allied with the west, and the Taliban in their fight against US intervention. According to the memo, the Iranian delegation "offered to open the borders to Arabs who wanted to cross into Afghanistan to fight against US and coalition forces".

Around 18 months after the fall of the Taliban, another memo claims, Iranian intelligence gave a former Taliban commander and Hekmatyar US$2m to fund "anti-coalition militia" activities. Citing further intelligence reports, the file says: "In December 2005, representatives of Ismail Khan, former governor of Herat and minister of water and power in Afghanistan, met with two Pakistanis and three Iranians to discuss the planning of terrorist acts and to create better lines of communication between the [Hekmatyar group] and Taliban."

This latter claim appears highly speculative as Khan is a long-term enemy of Hekmatyar and the Taliban – in 2009 he narrowly survived a suicide attack for which insurgents claimed responsibility.

‘IMF considers Pakistan economic managers deceitful’

Pakistan’s request for a multi-billion-dollar bailout had initially been denied by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in late 2008, and the loan was only secured after a last-minute intervention by the White House.

These revelations, along with the more damning allegation that the IMF considered Pakistan’s commitments on tax reforms to be unreliable, were made on Monday by Dr Ehtisham Ahmad, Pakistan’s former representative to the IMF at a seminar on “The urgency of tax reforms,” organised by the Institute of Development Economics and Alternatives (IDEAs), funded by the New York-based Open Society Foundation.

Ahmad, who worked at the IMF for over two decades, said that the international lender had a very low opinion of Pakistan’s ability to deliver promised reforms, which was the primary reason for the initial refusal of the bailout.

“The White House had to intervene (to secure a programme for Pakistan) as even the Friends on the IMF Board said Pakistan was lying on the promise of levying (the Value Added Tax),” said Ahmad. Even the then-Dean of the IMF Board noted that Pakistan was not sincere about what it had been promising, he added.

Ahmad’s disclosure highlights the widening gulf of mistrust between the IMF and Pakistan and underscores the degree of US influence in Pakistan’s economic affairs.

The IMF eventually agreed to an $11.3 billion bailout package that included a commitment by Islamabad to implement several key fiscal reforms, including a deregulation of the energy sector, privatisation of state-owned enterprises, and most importantly, the implementation of a value-added tax.

Finance Secretary Waqar Masood prepared a plan that addressed many of the IMF’s concerns, including raising more revenues through taxes. The plan formed the basis for the IMF’s approval of the bailout. After two and a half years, however, the programme has suspended due to the government’s failure in implementing tax reforms.

Ahmad was sceptical of Pakistan’s attempts to secure a second IMF loan to pay back the first one. “It is now a different IMF that will seek upfront implementation of its conditions before agreeing to a new programme,” he said.

Even the United States is now unable to pressure the IMF into releasing Pakistan’s suspended loan tranches, claimed Ahmad, without an implementation of the promised reforms. He added that the US would not release its own aid to Pakistan under the Kerry-Lugar Act without an IMF ‘Letter of Comfort’, an acknowledgement of progress on fiscal reforms.

Ahmad claimed that the primary hurdle to implementation of the value added tax, now referred to by the government as the reformed general sales tax (RGST), is the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

Ahmad suggested that the FBR be disbanded entirely and reconstituted on the model of the State Bank of Pakistan, an independent regulatory institution with its own recruitment that is separated from the civil service.

King of comedy dies:

Comedy legend Moin Akhtar dies

Legendary comedian, film and TV artiste, Moin Akhtar, died following cardiac arrest in Karachi on Friday 22nd April 2011. He was 61.

His death left millions of his fans mourning at home and abroad, and brought to an end a 40-year career punctuated with countless performances of extraordinary versatility as a comedian, host and film and television actor.

According to family sources, Akhtar was taking a bath when he felt severe pain in his chest. He died while being taken to hospital.

He left behind his father, a widow, three daughters and two sons. Moin Akhtar, born on December 24, 1950, was the only member of his family who took up acting as profession in 1966 and became a star in a very short span of time. Due to his remarkable performance, he was awarded the Pride of Performance and Sitara-e-Imtiaz.

Akhtar rose to fame and won popular acclaim for his performance in TV serial ëIntizar Farmaiyeí. His unique style of acting fascinated people when he worked in a play called ëRozyí, in which he dressed up like a woman called Rozy. It was very brave for a famous male actor to act as a female TV artiste exposing the merits and demerits of the world of showbiz and serious social issues being faced by the artists.

ëRozyí was adapted from Hollywood movie ëTootsieí by a senior journalist, writer, playwright, director and theatre patron, Imran Aslam. The experiment proved very successful and won Akhtar critical acclaim as a versatile actor.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Federal Information Minister Firdous Ashique Awan, Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Rashid Rabbani and a large number of prominent political figures have expressed their deep sorrow and grief over the unexpected death of Moin Akhtar.

According to a close friend of Akhtar, he was a pious soul and a practisingMuslim.†Condolences for the legend continued to pour in from people from every walk of life across the country. His Namaz-e-Janaza will be offered at Masjid-e-Tauheed in Malir Cantt.