MQM Tactics: Salman Ahmed Speaks
Open Letter from Salman AhmedMay 29, 2007Altaf Hussain and his murderering accomplices deserve to be tried fortheir crimes against Pakistan. I've been threatened by them on manyoccasions in the past 15 years. One particular time was when I refusedto perform at Altaf's marriage function in Karachi and London whereall the other artists, including Ali Azmat, were browbeaten to go andperform for his "majesty's" pleasure. The man who threatened me wascalled "khalid bin walid" who was a known terrorist and a murderer.Hetold me that Altaf Hussain, "his Quaid" had especially demanded me toappear with Junoon to perform at their ceremony function.When I refused to comply he called up my staff and my sound companyguy, Ishtiaq Ahmed, and threatened them with dire consequences if Ididnt go. Ishtiaq pleaded with me to go and perform or risk beingkilled,and all this OVER REFUSING TO PLAY AT A MARRIAGE FUNCTION!As fate would have it,I'm still alive, but Mr.Walid was killed afew weeks later in a shootout in Karachi with Haqiqi activists.(Thosewho live by the sword die by the sword).In 1992,they also threatened to abduct my wife and children if I didntshow up at an MQM rally and welcome their leader Azim Tariq. I stilllive happily with respect and dignity but alas Azim Tariq was alsowas killed in a mob feud. My friends, Junaid Jamshed and Sajid Hassanworried for my safety told me that I'm putting my family at riskeverytime I refuse to obey these goons and on every occasion I toldhim that if I give into their terror tactics I can not call myself aMuslim.Allah is our protector and He has commanded us to stand up againstinjustice and that is why I applaud Imran Khan for speaking the truthabout Altaf Hussain and his goon squad. I think the time has come forall Pakistanis to stand up and be counted. Do you want to live as acitizen of a country with dignity and all your rights protected or asa slave in someone's fiefdom?
"Baad-e-mukhalif sey na ghabra aye uqaabyeh to chalti hai terey oonchi uraan kay liye" -Iqbal
(Don't be afraid of flying against the wind, oh Falcon,this wind only blows to help you fly higher)
Allah hu Akbar!
Salman Ahmad.
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The whole civil society of pakistan now stand up against the MQM thugs and fascist group,and now MQM is finding no way to escape it.It is about time that someone like Imran khan should stand up and exposed the real face of Altaf hussain and MQM.Salaman Ahmad!!!!!!May allah help/protect you and bless you more courage/strength and boldness.
Aemal Khan.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Pushtoons and Military Regime in Pakistan
Pushtoons and Military Regime in Pakistan
The Frontier Post.
Name : Pukhtoon KhanEmail :
pashtun@hotmail.com
Pakistan came into existence as a result of a struggle which did not have any roots in the masses. Since then it has been a laboratory for different imperialist powers to install dictatorial regimes of their choices to safeguard their vested interests. The latest puppet regime is that of an Indian immigrant Pervez Musharaf. Musharraf supported by the agencies has been playing a dirty game of power politics to justify his illegitimate regime. He was given the opportunity to rule Pakistan by the US to fight their war on terrorism. The task assigned to him was to control Afghanistan and also kill Pushtoons in the tribal areas of Pakistan who were allegedly supporting the foreign terrorists originally encouraged and invited by the agencies of Pakistan during Afghan war. The plot of the drama was that the Pakistan govt. lead by Musharraf used the Afghanistan card and used the ISI and MI to create the whole scenario. The NATO and Afghan forces were targeted by the agencies using Taliban as a result of which the Afghan and US forces started the bombing hence killing innocent Pushtoons using the suicide bombers of fanatic religious groups. Playing this card not only pressurized the NATO and Afghan govt. but also helped to create hatred and mistrust in the Pushtoons on both sides of the controversial border. Consequently the Pakistan army got an excuse to legitimize the massacre of Pashtoons in Tribal areas while US and NATO army expedited their bombings in Afghanistan killing innocent Pushtoons for search in the Pakistan backed Taliban on both sides of the border. The innocent Pushtoons in Tribal areas were bombed followed by their killings even in the settled areas of Pukhtunkhwa.Media was not permitted to report the killing of Pushtoons in the tribal areas. The same drama was repeated in most of the cities of Pushtoonkhwa (NWFP) and Kurram agency during the Moharram and Rabiul awwal of 2007 so that people could confuse it with sectarian killings. The aim of the drama was 3-tier. 1) To worsen the political situation in Pakistan for the possible postponement of Elections or enforcement of emergency in Pakistan. 2) To win the sympathies of US and other allied forces in the war against terror 3) To weaken Afghan govt. and legitimize the killing and massacre of Pashtuns on both sides of the border. The second card played by the Presidential team was challenging the sanctity of Judiciary to revert the attention of the masses from other issues like; 1) The growing unrest of masses due to injustice being done to the smaller provinces 2) The question of Provincial Autonomy 3) Show of power to a judge who challenged the privatization of national assets like Pakistan Steel ,kidnapping of those persons who tried to expose the injustices done by the ISI and MI and was upholding the sanctity of Judiciary in military ruled state like Pakistan. 4) The importance of Pak-Afghan Jirga to settle the difference of opinion over cross border infiltration into Afghanistan by Pakistani agencies and killings of innocent Pushtoons on both sides of the controversial border. On the 16th of March 2007 when the hearing of the reference against CJP was in progress another decision to test the power and patience of the electronic media was made. The Punjab Police attacked the offices of GEO TV Channel, The News and Jang in Islamabad. The reaction of Information minister and other government officials was so artificial and pretentive that anyone could guess that it was all planned. The attack was executed by Punjab Police. The CM of Punjab is Pervez Elahi who is another version of Pervez Musharraf.This was the time to prove his loyalty to his Godfather because GEO TV was showing the real picture of the ugly Military and Civil Beaureocracy to the world so Punjab Police came into action and pursued the planned attack as a sacred mission. Again the drama progressed and the streets of Mardan and Peshawar were resonating with the noise of bombs being blasted by Pakistani agencies using the name of ISI backed Taliban. The intention was to project Pushtunkhwa as a disturbed area lacking peace. This was done to prove that Pakistan is trying to justify the promised 3 billion dollar aid from US for curbing the war against terror by projecting Pushtunkhwa as the next area which Taliban are going to hijack. The recent interview of Ryan Crocker had given the same signals due to which the Pakistani agencies had to extend the plan of hijacking the settled areas of Pushtunkhwa in addition to its tribal areas in the name of Taliban by sending threatening letters to saloon owners, CD shops and girl schools. Another step to divert the attention of masses from the massacre of Pushtoons, provincial autonomy and Pak Afghan Peace Jirga was the announcement of Taliban version of Islam from a mosque right in the middle of Islamabad. The antagonistic approach of Pakistan government to Pushtoons was proved beyond any doubt when the government decided to negotiate with the management of the mosque while at the same time killed hundreds of Pushtoons in the tribal areas to tackle much lesser serious issue than that of Jamia Hafsa mosque in Islamabad. More steps are expected from the GHQ to get the required pre planned result. As of now three pillars of State (Legislature, Judiciary and Media) have been jeopardized to create the required scenario. Near future will show the reactions of all these actions which are being witnessed by the people of Pakistan who now know all the fake techniques of the military regime to prolong its unjust rule in Pakistan. The whole aim of this Presidential drama of Power Politics is nothing else except to extend tenure of his regime by either postponing the elections or declaring emergency. The strongest argument to be used will be the attack of US on Iran but even if it doesn't happen the Plan B is already in place to keep the reigns of power in Military arms. Pushtoons should not get erred in pointing out their enemy. It has always been the religious theocracy and civil cum military beaureocracy which has made plots to destroy and devastate Pushtoon regions and sacrifice Pushtoons at the altar of their vested interests.
The Frontier Post.
Name : Pukhtoon KhanEmail :
pashtun@hotmail.com
Pakistan came into existence as a result of a struggle which did not have any roots in the masses. Since then it has been a laboratory for different imperialist powers to install dictatorial regimes of their choices to safeguard their vested interests. The latest puppet regime is that of an Indian immigrant Pervez Musharaf. Musharraf supported by the agencies has been playing a dirty game of power politics to justify his illegitimate regime. He was given the opportunity to rule Pakistan by the US to fight their war on terrorism. The task assigned to him was to control Afghanistan and also kill Pushtoons in the tribal areas of Pakistan who were allegedly supporting the foreign terrorists originally encouraged and invited by the agencies of Pakistan during Afghan war. The plot of the drama was that the Pakistan govt. lead by Musharraf used the Afghanistan card and used the ISI and MI to create the whole scenario. The NATO and Afghan forces were targeted by the agencies using Taliban as a result of which the Afghan and US forces started the bombing hence killing innocent Pushtoons using the suicide bombers of fanatic religious groups. Playing this card not only pressurized the NATO and Afghan govt. but also helped to create hatred and mistrust in the Pushtoons on both sides of the controversial border. Consequently the Pakistan army got an excuse to legitimize the massacre of Pashtoons in Tribal areas while US and NATO army expedited their bombings in Afghanistan killing innocent Pushtoons for search in the Pakistan backed Taliban on both sides of the border. The innocent Pushtoons in Tribal areas were bombed followed by their killings even in the settled areas of Pukhtunkhwa.Media was not permitted to report the killing of Pushtoons in the tribal areas. The same drama was repeated in most of the cities of Pushtoonkhwa (NWFP) and Kurram agency during the Moharram and Rabiul awwal of 2007 so that people could confuse it with sectarian killings. The aim of the drama was 3-tier. 1) To worsen the political situation in Pakistan for the possible postponement of Elections or enforcement of emergency in Pakistan. 2) To win the sympathies of US and other allied forces in the war against terror 3) To weaken Afghan govt. and legitimize the killing and massacre of Pashtuns on both sides of the border. The second card played by the Presidential team was challenging the sanctity of Judiciary to revert the attention of the masses from other issues like; 1) The growing unrest of masses due to injustice being done to the smaller provinces 2) The question of Provincial Autonomy 3) Show of power to a judge who challenged the privatization of national assets like Pakistan Steel ,kidnapping of those persons who tried to expose the injustices done by the ISI and MI and was upholding the sanctity of Judiciary in military ruled state like Pakistan. 4) The importance of Pak-Afghan Jirga to settle the difference of opinion over cross border infiltration into Afghanistan by Pakistani agencies and killings of innocent Pushtoons on both sides of the controversial border. On the 16th of March 2007 when the hearing of the reference against CJP was in progress another decision to test the power and patience of the electronic media was made. The Punjab Police attacked the offices of GEO TV Channel, The News and Jang in Islamabad. The reaction of Information minister and other government officials was so artificial and pretentive that anyone could guess that it was all planned. The attack was executed by Punjab Police. The CM of Punjab is Pervez Elahi who is another version of Pervez Musharraf.This was the time to prove his loyalty to his Godfather because GEO TV was showing the real picture of the ugly Military and Civil Beaureocracy to the world so Punjab Police came into action and pursued the planned attack as a sacred mission. Again the drama progressed and the streets of Mardan and Peshawar were resonating with the noise of bombs being blasted by Pakistani agencies using the name of ISI backed Taliban. The intention was to project Pushtunkhwa as a disturbed area lacking peace. This was done to prove that Pakistan is trying to justify the promised 3 billion dollar aid from US for curbing the war against terror by projecting Pushtunkhwa as the next area which Taliban are going to hijack. The recent interview of Ryan Crocker had given the same signals due to which the Pakistani agencies had to extend the plan of hijacking the settled areas of Pushtunkhwa in addition to its tribal areas in the name of Taliban by sending threatening letters to saloon owners, CD shops and girl schools. Another step to divert the attention of masses from the massacre of Pushtoons, provincial autonomy and Pak Afghan Peace Jirga was the announcement of Taliban version of Islam from a mosque right in the middle of Islamabad. The antagonistic approach of Pakistan government to Pushtoons was proved beyond any doubt when the government decided to negotiate with the management of the mosque while at the same time killed hundreds of Pushtoons in the tribal areas to tackle much lesser serious issue than that of Jamia Hafsa mosque in Islamabad. More steps are expected from the GHQ to get the required pre planned result. As of now three pillars of State (Legislature, Judiciary and Media) have been jeopardized to create the required scenario. Near future will show the reactions of all these actions which are being witnessed by the people of Pakistan who now know all the fake techniques of the military regime to prolong its unjust rule in Pakistan. The whole aim of this Presidential drama of Power Politics is nothing else except to extend tenure of his regime by either postponing the elections or declaring emergency. The strongest argument to be used will be the attack of US on Iran but even if it doesn't happen the Plan B is already in place to keep the reigns of power in Military arms. Pushtoons should not get erred in pointing out their enemy. It has always been the religious theocracy and civil cum military beaureocracy which has made plots to destroy and devastate Pushtoon regions and sacrifice Pushtoons at the altar of their vested interests.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
12th May:The day when the stones cried
The day when the stones cried
Mohammad Ayub Khan
Reading various individual tales full of horrors and agony, our poor Pakhtun brothers went through, it is hard to believe that these thugs, guns totting slayers have any human heart and because of their brutality against unarmed and innocents people on the streets and road of Karachi, they don’t deserve a shred of mercy from any quarter. May 12th or Black Saturday would be remembered when the MQM exposed to the world because of their built in terrorist tendencies and their intolerance for any democratic culture. Altaf Hussein’s new image created by his mentors in GHQ and his weird speeches on and off delivered to the hired crowds over phone are no more trust worthy. All of his tall claims of liberalism, pseudo intellectualism and striving against feudalism have vanished in the thin air when they shown their actual colour of supporting their mentors and now allowing the Chief Justice to speak to the lawyers in Karachi.. Since May 12th many stories have been published in various periodicals, which narrate how these unarmed Pakhtun and other democracy loving protestors were cornered and then cold-bloodedly shot dead. How these trigger happy bands of MQM muggers used the official guns against these freedom loving and the custodian of constitutional rule precisionists and killed without any pity. Their lone crime and their only demand threatened the dethroning of their masters and they wanted to convey the message of their absolute loyalties. Heaven cried, stone cried but these beasts in the form of human did not bothered and killed, maimed and destroyed every thing standing in their way. It was not a new experience for them, as these cowards killed hundred of thousand Bengalis under the Al Shams and Al Badar pet armed wings of Jamaat Islami in East Pakistan and later killed many in Sindh when Sindhi was declared Provincial Language in 1972. Their expertise of killing grown more matured when General Zia asked them go against the oppressive Pakhtun, Sindhi and Baloch and because of their terrible crimes the 1980s carries the worst tales of human massacres. Democracy and free elections never remained on the political agenda of MQM, however with the advent of democratic rule in this country in the 1980s; MQM enjoyed an enormous leverage whenever the rigged elections resulted in the hung parliament. They extracted to the last drop both the Sindh government and the Federal government under Nawaz Sharif and Banazir and every time they earned the name of worst blackmailers. Before assuming power they use to run after their target but after the taking over as a coalition partner, they started sending letters to extract protection money. With the financial resources expansion their leaders and workers changed their life style. Can any body ask the self styled intellectual and fugitive Altaf Hussain what are his source of incomes, to bear the expenses of living in the world most expensive city of London? Once they took over Karachi, it followed Hyderabad and seeing their growth all the land mafia, extortionists, thugs and small time swindlers joined their ranks. Today they snatch the mini buses owned by poor Pakhtun and if they refuse or ask for advance, these muggers simply put these on fire. Who is going to stop them? Police are their own people and the government is already in their hands. What the dummy Pir and his lackeys say? They call it the conspiracy hatched by the regime or miscreants or simply accused hidden hands to divide this country. So who is the miscreant or regime, it is you Mr. Hussain and your stooges, no one else. Your gimmick would not work anymore neither your long speeches with long periods would help to deceive the masses. You are the one responsible for this bloodshed and soon these poor Pakhtun would drag your spiteful statue in the streets of Karachi just like the Iraqis did with Saddam Hussain. Your cruel face and your hands, littered with innocent blood is talk of the town. There is no one today who can stand beside you and defend your inhuman carnage. All of your mentors and patrons are probably thinking seriously to ask the British government for your extradition and pull you to the court of justice, whose chief you have insulted, whose lovers you have killed. All your crazy drama is over, and your mob of opporuntists is soon to disperse. You started with killing and you will close it with killing. Mohtarma Banazir Bhutto has spelt the beans about the General Musharraf and MQM relation and the previous such links are no more secret. Gone are the days, when the name of MQM was enough to scare the businessmen, lawyers, government official in Karachi and make your way. Pakhtun have patiently endured all the wounds and killing but the May 12th proven the proverbial last straw on the back of the camel. Pakhtun are the only force who can bring down this monster to the ground. Pakhtun Action Committee or Pakhtun Loya Jirga is a formidable democratic entity today and the Sindh Government is desperately trying to reach their leaders and plead them to postpone their planned 3 days wheel jam strike. It would be another feature in the cap of PAC/LJ after the November 2006 complete strike to demand something for their people. They have very proudly refused to receive the blood money from the government and did not go to the police station to register their FIR just because they did not trust any more in the MQM run show in that province. All the political parities, civil society organizations, lawyers, and patriotic individuals are on their side. They have a strong standing against these atrocities and the government of Sindh and its coalition partners have no moral or constitutional right to go against them. Loya Jirga need to contact other parties who have not yet show their decision to support their strike but at the end of the day, they will certainly go along. So far ARD, MMA, Sindh Awami Tehrik, Karachi Transport Ittihad (KTI), The Sindh Goods Trucks and Trailers Association (SGTTA), PONM, Awami National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP), Sindh Democratic Group, PTI, business associations etc have supported their call. Despite enjoying such a huge support from all these organizations, it would be of paramount importance to bring together the Pakhtun nationalists under one alliance. It is good omen that Asfandyar Khan and Mahmood Khan visited Karachi and went to the bereaved families jointly to offer their condolence and then visited the hospitals to enquire about the health of the injured; however, this should go beyond that point and search for more areas where they can collaborate. They need to make this Loya Jirga the future of the whole Pakhtun nation. Pakhtun are not only targeted in Karachi but the whole of their land in Pakistan and Afghanistan is the killing field and their sons are the victims from both sides. They need to learn from this experience that their unity and steadfast political endeavor can force the tyranny of the age to come on their door and beg for their mercy. Let Pakhtun of Karachi be joined by Pakhtun of Peshawar and Quetta. Let ask these Pakhtun nationalist political parties to persuade city governments of Quetta and Peshawar to go at least on one day complete strike to show fraternity and brotherhood. It is heartening to hear that Balochistan Assembly has pass an unanimous resolution against the May 12th killing and an identical bill has been submitted in the Pakhtunkhwa Assembly from where it is expected to receive the same sort of approval. At the same time we should also condemn the Karachi city government and Sindh Provincial assembly moves that did not allow such resolutions and plainly supported the killers of Pakhtun and other people. Punjab Assembly has no guts to stand for the justice and would never pass such resolution to condemn the killers, on the contrary would pass the bill to support them and their sponsors. Lawangin@gmail.com
Mohammad Ayub Khan
Reading various individual tales full of horrors and agony, our poor Pakhtun brothers went through, it is hard to believe that these thugs, guns totting slayers have any human heart and because of their brutality against unarmed and innocents people on the streets and road of Karachi, they don’t deserve a shred of mercy from any quarter. May 12th or Black Saturday would be remembered when the MQM exposed to the world because of their built in terrorist tendencies and their intolerance for any democratic culture. Altaf Hussein’s new image created by his mentors in GHQ and his weird speeches on and off delivered to the hired crowds over phone are no more trust worthy. All of his tall claims of liberalism, pseudo intellectualism and striving against feudalism have vanished in the thin air when they shown their actual colour of supporting their mentors and now allowing the Chief Justice to speak to the lawyers in Karachi.. Since May 12th many stories have been published in various periodicals, which narrate how these unarmed Pakhtun and other democracy loving protestors were cornered and then cold-bloodedly shot dead. How these trigger happy bands of MQM muggers used the official guns against these freedom loving and the custodian of constitutional rule precisionists and killed without any pity. Their lone crime and their only demand threatened the dethroning of their masters and they wanted to convey the message of their absolute loyalties. Heaven cried, stone cried but these beasts in the form of human did not bothered and killed, maimed and destroyed every thing standing in their way. It was not a new experience for them, as these cowards killed hundred of thousand Bengalis under the Al Shams and Al Badar pet armed wings of Jamaat Islami in East Pakistan and later killed many in Sindh when Sindhi was declared Provincial Language in 1972. Their expertise of killing grown more matured when General Zia asked them go against the oppressive Pakhtun, Sindhi and Baloch and because of their terrible crimes the 1980s carries the worst tales of human massacres. Democracy and free elections never remained on the political agenda of MQM, however with the advent of democratic rule in this country in the 1980s; MQM enjoyed an enormous leverage whenever the rigged elections resulted in the hung parliament. They extracted to the last drop both the Sindh government and the Federal government under Nawaz Sharif and Banazir and every time they earned the name of worst blackmailers. Before assuming power they use to run after their target but after the taking over as a coalition partner, they started sending letters to extract protection money. With the financial resources expansion their leaders and workers changed their life style. Can any body ask the self styled intellectual and fugitive Altaf Hussain what are his source of incomes, to bear the expenses of living in the world most expensive city of London? Once they took over Karachi, it followed Hyderabad and seeing their growth all the land mafia, extortionists, thugs and small time swindlers joined their ranks. Today they snatch the mini buses owned by poor Pakhtun and if they refuse or ask for advance, these muggers simply put these on fire. Who is going to stop them? Police are their own people and the government is already in their hands. What the dummy Pir and his lackeys say? They call it the conspiracy hatched by the regime or miscreants or simply accused hidden hands to divide this country. So who is the miscreant or regime, it is you Mr. Hussain and your stooges, no one else. Your gimmick would not work anymore neither your long speeches with long periods would help to deceive the masses. You are the one responsible for this bloodshed and soon these poor Pakhtun would drag your spiteful statue in the streets of Karachi just like the Iraqis did with Saddam Hussain. Your cruel face and your hands, littered with innocent blood is talk of the town. There is no one today who can stand beside you and defend your inhuman carnage. All of your mentors and patrons are probably thinking seriously to ask the British government for your extradition and pull you to the court of justice, whose chief you have insulted, whose lovers you have killed. All your crazy drama is over, and your mob of opporuntists is soon to disperse. You started with killing and you will close it with killing. Mohtarma Banazir Bhutto has spelt the beans about the General Musharraf and MQM relation and the previous such links are no more secret. Gone are the days, when the name of MQM was enough to scare the businessmen, lawyers, government official in Karachi and make your way. Pakhtun have patiently endured all the wounds and killing but the May 12th proven the proverbial last straw on the back of the camel. Pakhtun are the only force who can bring down this monster to the ground. Pakhtun Action Committee or Pakhtun Loya Jirga is a formidable democratic entity today and the Sindh Government is desperately trying to reach their leaders and plead them to postpone their planned 3 days wheel jam strike. It would be another feature in the cap of PAC/LJ after the November 2006 complete strike to demand something for their people. They have very proudly refused to receive the blood money from the government and did not go to the police station to register their FIR just because they did not trust any more in the MQM run show in that province. All the political parities, civil society organizations, lawyers, and patriotic individuals are on their side. They have a strong standing against these atrocities and the government of Sindh and its coalition partners have no moral or constitutional right to go against them. Loya Jirga need to contact other parties who have not yet show their decision to support their strike but at the end of the day, they will certainly go along. So far ARD, MMA, Sindh Awami Tehrik, Karachi Transport Ittihad (KTI), The Sindh Goods Trucks and Trailers Association (SGTTA), PONM, Awami National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP), Sindh Democratic Group, PTI, business associations etc have supported their call. Despite enjoying such a huge support from all these organizations, it would be of paramount importance to bring together the Pakhtun nationalists under one alliance. It is good omen that Asfandyar Khan and Mahmood Khan visited Karachi and went to the bereaved families jointly to offer their condolence and then visited the hospitals to enquire about the health of the injured; however, this should go beyond that point and search for more areas where they can collaborate. They need to make this Loya Jirga the future of the whole Pakhtun nation. Pakhtun are not only targeted in Karachi but the whole of their land in Pakistan and Afghanistan is the killing field and their sons are the victims from both sides. They need to learn from this experience that their unity and steadfast political endeavor can force the tyranny of the age to come on their door and beg for their mercy. Let Pakhtun of Karachi be joined by Pakhtun of Peshawar and Quetta. Let ask these Pakhtun nationalist political parties to persuade city governments of Quetta and Peshawar to go at least on one day complete strike to show fraternity and brotherhood. It is heartening to hear that Balochistan Assembly has pass an unanimous resolution against the May 12th killing and an identical bill has been submitted in the Pakhtunkhwa Assembly from where it is expected to receive the same sort of approval. At the same time we should also condemn the Karachi city government and Sindh Provincial assembly moves that did not allow such resolutions and plainly supported the killers of Pakhtun and other people. Punjab Assembly has no guts to stand for the justice and would never pass such resolution to condemn the killers, on the contrary would pass the bill to support them and their sponsors. Lawangin@gmail.com
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Brain And Hand Drain In Pukhtunkhwa
BRAIN AND HAND DRAIN IN PAKHTUNKHWA
By Fatima Ahmed
Fatima Ahmad a member of the Khyberwatch family and a Freelance Writer.....
mailto:Ahmedfatimakhan7699@gmail.com
Khan! Khan!Khan! Hurry give me a corn. I watched as school children huddled up around the teenage boy selling boiled corn in front of a private school in Rawalpindi. All were demanding to be served first as it was a short break in the classes during school hours. After a few minutes, all was quite as the kids went back inside the school. I had come to drive my elder sister who had been summoned to the school by her son’s teacher. I wandered close to the young boy selling corn and asked for a corn too. Intrigued by his bright shining eyes and casual confidence, I asked him about his age in Pashtu. Encouraged by hearing his mother tongue, he told me that he was only 13, but felt happy that he looked close to 16, his name was Umer Gul and that he belonged to Bajaur. He was doing this job since last two years while staying with his uncle, who sells fruit and lives in the Kachi Abadi close to Sabzi Mandi in Islamabad. Umer Gul earns roughly RS.2500/-, part of which he sends back home to his family to take care of his 6 younger siblings and ailing mother. As I left, I glanced at him once again and felt a pang of hurt and guilt. He was the same age as my nephew and looked as full of life. I just wondered! What is he living for in this far off land? What is his future? Why isn’t he at school like other kids of his age? Umer Gul is not the only one. There are hundreds of young Pakhtun boys roaming in the streets and bazaars of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Karachi etc selling corn, glasses, vegetables, fruits, polishing shoes, cleaning cars and so on. While driving back home I kept thinking how to describe this phenomenon. The first term that came to my mind was brain drain – but that hardly described it; after a while my mind came up with the term ‘Hand Drain’! Yes that probably describes it better. But how could one explain ‘Hand Drain’? Classically brain drain is considered as the flow of educated and skilled people from their home countries/regions to foreign lands in pursuit of better jobs, however in case of our region this classic definition can not be applied. In fact in the case of Pukhtunkhwa and its people, this phenomenon is epitomized as a drain of both skilled and unskilled hands, mostly youth with devastating consequences for the social structure and development prospects of the society. The brain drain here has been supplement by the flight of semi-skilled as well as unskilled youth which can be termed as ‘Hand Drain’. The reasons for this phenomenon are multifarious; chief among them war and conflict, political unrest, social disharmony, and absolute lack of any prospects for economic and social development. Particularly the civil war like situation in the Pakhtun lands since the last three decades coupled with the absence of any economic activity at present or any prospects of that happening in the foreseeable future has resulted in manifold increase in the volume of young people leaving their homes for far-off lands. This phenomenon has had a tremendous effect on the social and cultural life of our region. While some of these effects have been positive, some asymmetric trends have had devastatingly negative effects on the lives of our people.The first wave of hand drain after the creation of Pakistan came in the early 50s and 60s when scores of young people left their villages and hemlets for the city of Karachi and to a lesser extent the urban centers of Punjab like Lahore, Pindi, Faisalabad and Multan etc, in pursuit of jobs to survive. The chief reason then was that these urban centers were experiencing an economic boom spurred by the state’s economic policies while their own region was completely neglected in this phase of industrialization of Pakistan. The movement of people from our areas to Karachi and Punjab has continued ever since, as has been the economic policies of the state to exclude our region from the economic and infrastructural progress. Resultantly we now find that the greatest number of Pakhtuns live in Karachi alone-more than 3.5 million i.e. much larger than any of the cities in the core Pakhtun cities like Peshawer, Mardan, kohat, Bannu and even Jalalabad, Kabul and Qandahar. The result of these demographic changes can be easily analysed in the backdrop of the events of 12 May 2007 in Karachi. The unskilled people migrating to these cities have been engaged in lower-end jobs like drivers, laborers in factories, chowkidars, office boys, peons, hawkers and even garbage collectors. Socially they have been at the lowest rung of the society and confined to slums exemplified by Landhi, Kemari, Banaras, Pathan colony, frontier colony etc. These kachi abadies as they are called by the elite of these cities can be easily termed as ghettos: dirty, dense, over-crowded, without any basic facilities like drinking water, schools, hospitals, community centers or anything of the sort. They are excluded from the mainstream social life of the cities and are excluded from political say in the affairs of their areas; that being the exclusive domain of the educated elite and business class. In case of Karachi these elite classes are themselves also migrants from various parts of India, but taking advantage of the state policies and better access to education and business, have emerged as the affluent class. Over the decades, the Pakhtun people have permanently settled in the city and make an undeniable part of it. They have progressed somewhat economically, educationally and socially due to the seepage effect of the economic development. Spurred on by the media explosion, relatively easy access to education and global emphasis on human rights, they have of late become more aware of their rights and started demanding their rights as equal citizens of the city, which the traditional power holders are averse to accord them. Their contribution to the development of their home region ‘pukhtunkhwa’ may be limited economically, however they derive their political strength from their home region and in turn give the political forces here considerable say in the affairs of that city as demonstrated by the current events. The same anology can be extended to many cities in the Punjab too. Lahore and Pindi/Islamabad have considerable Pakhtun population, who live on the social and economic periphery, however being less in numbers; they do not have any political strength to voice their concerns and are thus destined to live in the same social, economic and political oblivion. All these migrant groups have contributed somewhat to the economic life of their home region, however on the negative side they, having been polluted by the Punjabi/Indian culture have also brought these cultural and social influences to their home towns and villages thus contributing to the decay of Pakhtun social values.
The second wave of migration of unskilled people from our lands has precedents in the 1960s and 70s, when the oil boom in the Gulf region spurred movement of large waves of un–skilled, un-educated labour from South Asia and specially Pukhtunkhwa to the Gulf. With a relative expansion of access to education to the semi-urban areas, the phenomenon was also transferred to the educated youth. This phenomenon also had wide scale effects. On the economic side it resulted in the flow of significant amount of money into our villages and towns. While it did contribute to the raising of life standards of many families and some exposure to the outside world, it also brought some negative influences. Firstly in the absence of any government policy for economic activity, infrastructure development, education facilities, investment and industrialization, the cash flows found uses in negative spheres like arms, drugs etc. For example the cost of property spiraled because of this. Today the cost of normal agricultural land in places like Dir and Swat is exorbitant, pushing the locals further into poverty. But the most devastating social effect of this was the increase of Arab influence. Having been exposed to the distorted political and social structure of the Arab sheikhdoms, these uneducated people returning from the Gulf brought along extremist religious tendencies in addition to social and cultural values which they hardly understood but fondly copied in the spirit of religiosity. This was further confounded by the increased influence of the Gulf Sheikhdoms in our areas on the official level during the Afghan war in the 80s and 90s and the obvious state patronage in an effort to use religion for political purposes. The visible result was the mushroom growth of ‘madaris’ and the ever increasing influence of ‘Tableghy Jummat’ in Pakhtun society. This contributed in disturbing the traditional social and political balance, giving unprecedented political and social influence to the fringe clergy and undermining the make-up of the Pakhtun society. The recent ‘brain and hand drain’ of the newly educated generation is spurred on by a combination of economic, social, and political factors. Some common causes, both internal and external are given below.a. Some of the internal reasons which encourage brain drain are as under:-(1) The fundamental are economic reasons - non availability of career prospects forces even our educated youths to seek better future elsewhere. Everybody wants better wages, better health facilities, retirement benefits, facilities for education of their children. In the absence of any such incentives in their home towns and villages; those who acquire education spending hard earned money of their parents, want to leave in pursuit of better lives in other countries. (2) Due to a variety of reasons, the social balance in our society has been disturbed to an extent that people want out. Everybody wants to live in a better social environment with peace, freedom of thought and expression, social harmony and justice. Nobody would like to live where a few people with different social and religious beliefs want others to live according to their dictates. The recent events of threats of keeping beards, not wearing western dresses, selling, using and watching CDs and videos etc are just small examples which can be considered as the tip of the iceberg.(3) Law and order situation in our areas is precarious. The government institutions have failed to provide any security of life, property, provision of justice, while the traditional mechanisms of Pakhtun society for the same have been completely corrupted by the outside influence.(4) Another major reason is political stagnation. With no institutional structures intact to ensure political rights and adherence to established human values, persecution, ethnic and racial discrimination is at its peak. Rather than waiting for eternity for a just system to evolve; the educated people want to go where they have political rights and can seek justice while pursuing their lives. (5) The capacity in our region to absorb educated youth is negligible. Neither is there any industrial infrastructure to absorb the educated/skilled people currently, nor is their any hope for investment in industry, infrastructure, education, services, tourism etc in the future. Most of the educated youth thus either gets absorbed in Punjab and urban Sindh, where they live in social, political and economic subservience to the elite, or opt to go abroad to seek better lives for themselves and their families. (6) Even in the existing economic infrastructure capable of absorbing the educated and semi-educated people, there is no respect for merit. Hence only those with access to the corridors of power get jobs commensurate to their acquired skills; others either wither away in petty jobs or seek to go abroad. The situation is further confounded by lack of linkages between the education and existing industry, red tape, favoritism and cronyism in the absence of institutionalized mechanisms for job creation and absorption.(8) Lack of hope in future is the prime cause for disillusionment. Failure of the state to regulate and reform itself for the benefit of all its citizens and confinement of all the economic activity, development and social/political focus to a part of the country has induced a sense of hopelessness in the youth. People are fast loosing trust in the long term viability of the system and want to leave for better prospects before its too late.
b. Some external reasons for the recent wave of brain drain are as under:- (1) Globalization has made the flow of skilled people from one country to another much easier. Now it is much easier to access the job markets abroad thus reducing the uncertainties for the families. Modern means of communication and transportation also aid the phenomena, making it easier for people to travel and communicate with their near and dear ones while living abroad. (2) Greater awareness due to spread of knowledge among the educated people has resulted in more people seeking to emulate their colleagues who are abroad, enjoying better lives and living in peace.(3) The modern media has virtually altered the concepts of time and space. Real time access to information in any corner of the world means people find it easy to adjust abroad while remaining in touch with the circumstances of their ancestral lands. Media also exposes the youth to the better lives and better economic, social and political conditions of other nations, thus engendering in them a desire to be part of that instead of languishing in the stagnated environment at home. (4) The Developed World encourages Brain Drain in developing/underdeveloped countries because they rely heavily on skilled migrants from these countries for their development. Easy and frequent movement of people across borders is thus encouraged by the west, who wants skilled people to migrate to their countries for their own interest. But they very skillfully regulate and control this process, especially after 9/11, to ensure that no undesirable people get through to their countries with obvious repercussions for their societies.(5) Multinationals now working around the world-encourage ‘brain circulation’, meaning that workers form one country will be working for another country in the factories while sitting in their own lands. Also they provide opportunities for their employees to move to different countries where there services are required or can be more beneficial.(6) Spread of technology like IT, internet has had an enormous effect on the society as a whole. Although this has not seeped through to our areas fully, yet the effects are fast appearing. Skilled people find it easy to access job seekers abroad and willingly go abroad to seek better prospects. Loosening of social and cultural bonds in our society also has had effect on this phenomenon. Today we find parents more willing to send their children abroad for better education and jobs. Although the family structure has not broken down completely, however it has loosened enoughHow can we reverse this process is the question that we need to answer, if we want to progress as a society. “Capable people will move from low-opportunity areas to high-opportunity areas”. Therefore we have to create opportunities in our land and promote people who are young and ambitious. But the effort has to be a simultaneous and not sequential one. A pre-requisite to all this will be peace and political independence. How to ensure that is a different debate but following are some of the broad issues that need to be addressed to reverse the process:-a. Simultaneous addressing of all issues like political stability, Social justice, building of institutions, Law and order and Provision of Justice is a pre-requisite to address this issue. Institution building process must start immediately to ensure harmony and offer mechanisms for addressing complicated issues.b. Broad Based and universal access to education - the existing system of grooming only the elite through elitist institutions will be counter productive. The current education budget of 4% of GDP is pea-nuts, and even of that only a fraction is spent in our areas which require the most investment in education.c. Development of Infrastructure which can spur economic activity is a priority and has to be addressed through a thoughtful planning processd. Investment in Industry- particularly in medium and small scale industry is likely to arrest the trend of brain and hand drain but for that there has to be de-centralization of powers and control of own resources which is again a political question.e. Social Justice and rule of law will ensure that the youth retain the hope of prospering in their own areas, in turn helping in the economic development of our land.
Note:
Fatima Ahmad> a member of khyberwatch family and a a free lance writer.
thanx for her article
By Fatima Ahmed
Fatima Ahmad a member of the Khyberwatch family and a Freelance Writer.....
mailto:Ahmedfatimakhan7699@gmail.com
Khan! Khan!Khan! Hurry give me a corn. I watched as school children huddled up around the teenage boy selling boiled corn in front of a private school in Rawalpindi. All were demanding to be served first as it was a short break in the classes during school hours. After a few minutes, all was quite as the kids went back inside the school. I had come to drive my elder sister who had been summoned to the school by her son’s teacher. I wandered close to the young boy selling corn and asked for a corn too. Intrigued by his bright shining eyes and casual confidence, I asked him about his age in Pashtu. Encouraged by hearing his mother tongue, he told me that he was only 13, but felt happy that he looked close to 16, his name was Umer Gul and that he belonged to Bajaur. He was doing this job since last two years while staying with his uncle, who sells fruit and lives in the Kachi Abadi close to Sabzi Mandi in Islamabad. Umer Gul earns roughly RS.2500/-, part of which he sends back home to his family to take care of his 6 younger siblings and ailing mother. As I left, I glanced at him once again and felt a pang of hurt and guilt. He was the same age as my nephew and looked as full of life. I just wondered! What is he living for in this far off land? What is his future? Why isn’t he at school like other kids of his age? Umer Gul is not the only one. There are hundreds of young Pakhtun boys roaming in the streets and bazaars of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Karachi etc selling corn, glasses, vegetables, fruits, polishing shoes, cleaning cars and so on. While driving back home I kept thinking how to describe this phenomenon. The first term that came to my mind was brain drain – but that hardly described it; after a while my mind came up with the term ‘Hand Drain’! Yes that probably describes it better. But how could one explain ‘Hand Drain’? Classically brain drain is considered as the flow of educated and skilled people from their home countries/regions to foreign lands in pursuit of better jobs, however in case of our region this classic definition can not be applied. In fact in the case of Pukhtunkhwa and its people, this phenomenon is epitomized as a drain of both skilled and unskilled hands, mostly youth with devastating consequences for the social structure and development prospects of the society. The brain drain here has been supplement by the flight of semi-skilled as well as unskilled youth which can be termed as ‘Hand Drain’. The reasons for this phenomenon are multifarious; chief among them war and conflict, political unrest, social disharmony, and absolute lack of any prospects for economic and social development. Particularly the civil war like situation in the Pakhtun lands since the last three decades coupled with the absence of any economic activity at present or any prospects of that happening in the foreseeable future has resulted in manifold increase in the volume of young people leaving their homes for far-off lands. This phenomenon has had a tremendous effect on the social and cultural life of our region. While some of these effects have been positive, some asymmetric trends have had devastatingly negative effects on the lives of our people.The first wave of hand drain after the creation of Pakistan came in the early 50s and 60s when scores of young people left their villages and hemlets for the city of Karachi and to a lesser extent the urban centers of Punjab like Lahore, Pindi, Faisalabad and Multan etc, in pursuit of jobs to survive. The chief reason then was that these urban centers were experiencing an economic boom spurred by the state’s economic policies while their own region was completely neglected in this phase of industrialization of Pakistan. The movement of people from our areas to Karachi and Punjab has continued ever since, as has been the economic policies of the state to exclude our region from the economic and infrastructural progress. Resultantly we now find that the greatest number of Pakhtuns live in Karachi alone-more than 3.5 million i.e. much larger than any of the cities in the core Pakhtun cities like Peshawer, Mardan, kohat, Bannu and even Jalalabad, Kabul and Qandahar. The result of these demographic changes can be easily analysed in the backdrop of the events of 12 May 2007 in Karachi. The unskilled people migrating to these cities have been engaged in lower-end jobs like drivers, laborers in factories, chowkidars, office boys, peons, hawkers and even garbage collectors. Socially they have been at the lowest rung of the society and confined to slums exemplified by Landhi, Kemari, Banaras, Pathan colony, frontier colony etc. These kachi abadies as they are called by the elite of these cities can be easily termed as ghettos: dirty, dense, over-crowded, without any basic facilities like drinking water, schools, hospitals, community centers or anything of the sort. They are excluded from the mainstream social life of the cities and are excluded from political say in the affairs of their areas; that being the exclusive domain of the educated elite and business class. In case of Karachi these elite classes are themselves also migrants from various parts of India, but taking advantage of the state policies and better access to education and business, have emerged as the affluent class. Over the decades, the Pakhtun people have permanently settled in the city and make an undeniable part of it. They have progressed somewhat economically, educationally and socially due to the seepage effect of the economic development. Spurred on by the media explosion, relatively easy access to education and global emphasis on human rights, they have of late become more aware of their rights and started demanding their rights as equal citizens of the city, which the traditional power holders are averse to accord them. Their contribution to the development of their home region ‘pukhtunkhwa’ may be limited economically, however they derive their political strength from their home region and in turn give the political forces here considerable say in the affairs of that city as demonstrated by the current events. The same anology can be extended to many cities in the Punjab too. Lahore and Pindi/Islamabad have considerable Pakhtun population, who live on the social and economic periphery, however being less in numbers; they do not have any political strength to voice their concerns and are thus destined to live in the same social, economic and political oblivion. All these migrant groups have contributed somewhat to the economic life of their home region, however on the negative side they, having been polluted by the Punjabi/Indian culture have also brought these cultural and social influences to their home towns and villages thus contributing to the decay of Pakhtun social values.
The second wave of migration of unskilled people from our lands has precedents in the 1960s and 70s, when the oil boom in the Gulf region spurred movement of large waves of un–skilled, un-educated labour from South Asia and specially Pukhtunkhwa to the Gulf. With a relative expansion of access to education to the semi-urban areas, the phenomenon was also transferred to the educated youth. This phenomenon also had wide scale effects. On the economic side it resulted in the flow of significant amount of money into our villages and towns. While it did contribute to the raising of life standards of many families and some exposure to the outside world, it also brought some negative influences. Firstly in the absence of any government policy for economic activity, infrastructure development, education facilities, investment and industrialization, the cash flows found uses in negative spheres like arms, drugs etc. For example the cost of property spiraled because of this. Today the cost of normal agricultural land in places like Dir and Swat is exorbitant, pushing the locals further into poverty. But the most devastating social effect of this was the increase of Arab influence. Having been exposed to the distorted political and social structure of the Arab sheikhdoms, these uneducated people returning from the Gulf brought along extremist religious tendencies in addition to social and cultural values which they hardly understood but fondly copied in the spirit of religiosity. This was further confounded by the increased influence of the Gulf Sheikhdoms in our areas on the official level during the Afghan war in the 80s and 90s and the obvious state patronage in an effort to use religion for political purposes. The visible result was the mushroom growth of ‘madaris’ and the ever increasing influence of ‘Tableghy Jummat’ in Pakhtun society. This contributed in disturbing the traditional social and political balance, giving unprecedented political and social influence to the fringe clergy and undermining the make-up of the Pakhtun society. The recent ‘brain and hand drain’ of the newly educated generation is spurred on by a combination of economic, social, and political factors. Some common causes, both internal and external are given below.a. Some of the internal reasons which encourage brain drain are as under:-(1) The fundamental are economic reasons - non availability of career prospects forces even our educated youths to seek better future elsewhere. Everybody wants better wages, better health facilities, retirement benefits, facilities for education of their children. In the absence of any such incentives in their home towns and villages; those who acquire education spending hard earned money of their parents, want to leave in pursuit of better lives in other countries. (2) Due to a variety of reasons, the social balance in our society has been disturbed to an extent that people want out. Everybody wants to live in a better social environment with peace, freedom of thought and expression, social harmony and justice. Nobody would like to live where a few people with different social and religious beliefs want others to live according to their dictates. The recent events of threats of keeping beards, not wearing western dresses, selling, using and watching CDs and videos etc are just small examples which can be considered as the tip of the iceberg.(3) Law and order situation in our areas is precarious. The government institutions have failed to provide any security of life, property, provision of justice, while the traditional mechanisms of Pakhtun society for the same have been completely corrupted by the outside influence.(4) Another major reason is political stagnation. With no institutional structures intact to ensure political rights and adherence to established human values, persecution, ethnic and racial discrimination is at its peak. Rather than waiting for eternity for a just system to evolve; the educated people want to go where they have political rights and can seek justice while pursuing their lives. (5) The capacity in our region to absorb educated youth is negligible. Neither is there any industrial infrastructure to absorb the educated/skilled people currently, nor is their any hope for investment in industry, infrastructure, education, services, tourism etc in the future. Most of the educated youth thus either gets absorbed in Punjab and urban Sindh, where they live in social, political and economic subservience to the elite, or opt to go abroad to seek better lives for themselves and their families. (6) Even in the existing economic infrastructure capable of absorbing the educated and semi-educated people, there is no respect for merit. Hence only those with access to the corridors of power get jobs commensurate to their acquired skills; others either wither away in petty jobs or seek to go abroad. The situation is further confounded by lack of linkages between the education and existing industry, red tape, favoritism and cronyism in the absence of institutionalized mechanisms for job creation and absorption.(8) Lack of hope in future is the prime cause for disillusionment. Failure of the state to regulate and reform itself for the benefit of all its citizens and confinement of all the economic activity, development and social/political focus to a part of the country has induced a sense of hopelessness in the youth. People are fast loosing trust in the long term viability of the system and want to leave for better prospects before its too late.
b. Some external reasons for the recent wave of brain drain are as under:- (1) Globalization has made the flow of skilled people from one country to another much easier. Now it is much easier to access the job markets abroad thus reducing the uncertainties for the families. Modern means of communication and transportation also aid the phenomena, making it easier for people to travel and communicate with their near and dear ones while living abroad. (2) Greater awareness due to spread of knowledge among the educated people has resulted in more people seeking to emulate their colleagues who are abroad, enjoying better lives and living in peace.(3) The modern media has virtually altered the concepts of time and space. Real time access to information in any corner of the world means people find it easy to adjust abroad while remaining in touch with the circumstances of their ancestral lands. Media also exposes the youth to the better lives and better economic, social and political conditions of other nations, thus engendering in them a desire to be part of that instead of languishing in the stagnated environment at home. (4) The Developed World encourages Brain Drain in developing/underdeveloped countries because they rely heavily on skilled migrants from these countries for their development. Easy and frequent movement of people across borders is thus encouraged by the west, who wants skilled people to migrate to their countries for their own interest. But they very skillfully regulate and control this process, especially after 9/11, to ensure that no undesirable people get through to their countries with obvious repercussions for their societies.(5) Multinationals now working around the world-encourage ‘brain circulation’, meaning that workers form one country will be working for another country in the factories while sitting in their own lands. Also they provide opportunities for their employees to move to different countries where there services are required or can be more beneficial.(6) Spread of technology like IT, internet has had an enormous effect on the society as a whole. Although this has not seeped through to our areas fully, yet the effects are fast appearing. Skilled people find it easy to access job seekers abroad and willingly go abroad to seek better prospects. Loosening of social and cultural bonds in our society also has had effect on this phenomenon. Today we find parents more willing to send their children abroad for better education and jobs. Although the family structure has not broken down completely, however it has loosened enoughHow can we reverse this process is the question that we need to answer, if we want to progress as a society. “Capable people will move from low-opportunity areas to high-opportunity areas”. Therefore we have to create opportunities in our land and promote people who are young and ambitious. But the effort has to be a simultaneous and not sequential one. A pre-requisite to all this will be peace and political independence. How to ensure that is a different debate but following are some of the broad issues that need to be addressed to reverse the process:-a. Simultaneous addressing of all issues like political stability, Social justice, building of institutions, Law and order and Provision of Justice is a pre-requisite to address this issue. Institution building process must start immediately to ensure harmony and offer mechanisms for addressing complicated issues.b. Broad Based and universal access to education - the existing system of grooming only the elite through elitist institutions will be counter productive. The current education budget of 4% of GDP is pea-nuts, and even of that only a fraction is spent in our areas which require the most investment in education.c. Development of Infrastructure which can spur economic activity is a priority and has to be addressed through a thoughtful planning processd. Investment in Industry- particularly in medium and small scale industry is likely to arrest the trend of brain and hand drain but for that there has to be de-centralization of powers and control of own resources which is again a political question.e. Social Justice and rule of law will ensure that the youth retain the hope of prospering in their own areas, in turn helping in the economic development of our land.
Note:
Fatima Ahmad> a member of khyberwatch family and a a free lance writer.
thanx for her article
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Letters
Muhajirs: Enough is enough
It was interesting to read that the puppet PM Shaukat Aziz called on the known terrorist Altaf Hussain, who used to be a cab driver in Chicago, to discuss the situation in Karachi.
Now we know who were involved in the carnage in Karachi — Musharraf, Shaukat, Altaf and Ishrat Ibad.
Let’s get rid of all the Muhajirs from Pakistan.
A.R. Khan,
USA.
---------------------------------------------------
MQM ads won’t wash with us
MQM founder Altaf Hussain has written an open letter to the Pakistani nation in which he accused the political and religious parties of derailing democratic process and politicising the constitutional reference against the CJP. After the brutal incidents of 12th May, he talked to the president SHCBA and tried to ease the situation.
The MQM is a fascist party. I cannot consider it a political party. The wicked sector in charges bring the people out of their homes along with women and infants to attend the rallies of Altaf Bhai. The people of Karachi hate such people but due to the backing of establishment, they cannot resist them. Disobeying of any order can cost them severely like life threat, kidnapping, torture, disrespect, ‘jagga’ and abuses.
Altaf Hussain’s and his party’s true face has been exposed to every Pakistani. The costly ads published in all the newspapers of Pakistan to divert the people’s attention, will never endear this fascist party to the nation. These ads were clearly against the struggle of lawyers fraternity. Altaf Hussain must learnt that “Action speaks louder than words”. He can never win the hearts of Pakistani nation unless he and his party shun their nefarious activities.
Altaf Hussain has been claiming that his party is getting fame in the Punjab province but the recent resignations from the office bearers of MQM Punjab in the wake of 12th May brutal violent incidents have exposed his traitor party. If Altaf Hussain does not agree with the ideology of Pakistan then for what purpose these Mohajirs are in Pakistan?
Altaf must seek pardon from the whole Pakistani nation as well as from lawyers fraternity.
MUHAMMAD WASEEM ELAHI,
Gujranwala.
--------------------------------------------------------
Naseerullah Babar sourly missed
While riots disrupted Karachi’s calm, 40 killed, over 150 wounded, rivals traded allegations, I was sitting in Islamabad, remembering Lt. Gen (R) Naseerullah Babar. Had he been interior minister, no one would dare to disturb law and order on 12th of May, in Karachi.
Muhammad Mahtab Bashir,
Islamabad.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Balochistan PA demands ban on MQM
QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly Saturday passed a condemnation and condolence resolution on Karachi carnage and suicide bomb blast in Peshawar and called for ban on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
The resolution was moved by Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) MPAs Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal, Sardar Azam Musakhail, Abdul Majeed Achakzai, Ms Spozmai and Ms Sameena Saeed of Muttahida Majlise Ammal.
Sardar Azam Musakhail speaking on the admissibility of the resolution said that MQM was a fascist organization and its workers killed innocent people on May 12 when Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry came to Karachi to address the Sindh Bar.
He said that several workers of the Pakistan People's Party, Pakistan Muslim League (N), Awami National Party and PMAP were killed by the MQM armed men in the presence of security forces. He alleged that the president and others were supporting the MQM. He strongly condemned the statement of the General Pervez Musharraf which he had delivered during the address of a public rally at Islamabad on May 12 night. The assembly member demanded resignation from the Sindh governor, chief minister and others who kept silence on the mayhem of Karachi.
Ms Sameena Saeed said that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam that called for peace, brotherhood and tranquility. She said some elements had started destroying the peace and playing with the lives of the innocent people.
She condemned the mayhem of Karachi and said that MQM was left free to play with the lives of the people.
----------------------------------------------------
It was interesting to read that the puppet PM Shaukat Aziz called on the known terrorist Altaf Hussain, who used to be a cab driver in Chicago, to discuss the situation in Karachi.
Now we know who were involved in the carnage in Karachi — Musharraf, Shaukat, Altaf and Ishrat Ibad.
Let’s get rid of all the Muhajirs from Pakistan.
A.R. Khan,
USA.
---------------------------------------------------
MQM ads won’t wash with us
MQM founder Altaf Hussain has written an open letter to the Pakistani nation in which he accused the political and religious parties of derailing democratic process and politicising the constitutional reference against the CJP. After the brutal incidents of 12th May, he talked to the president SHCBA and tried to ease the situation.
The MQM is a fascist party. I cannot consider it a political party. The wicked sector in charges bring the people out of their homes along with women and infants to attend the rallies of Altaf Bhai. The people of Karachi hate such people but due to the backing of establishment, they cannot resist them. Disobeying of any order can cost them severely like life threat, kidnapping, torture, disrespect, ‘jagga’ and abuses.
Altaf Hussain’s and his party’s true face has been exposed to every Pakistani. The costly ads published in all the newspapers of Pakistan to divert the people’s attention, will never endear this fascist party to the nation. These ads were clearly against the struggle of lawyers fraternity. Altaf Hussain must learnt that “Action speaks louder than words”. He can never win the hearts of Pakistani nation unless he and his party shun their nefarious activities.
Altaf Hussain has been claiming that his party is getting fame in the Punjab province but the recent resignations from the office bearers of MQM Punjab in the wake of 12th May brutal violent incidents have exposed his traitor party. If Altaf Hussain does not agree with the ideology of Pakistan then for what purpose these Mohajirs are in Pakistan?
Altaf must seek pardon from the whole Pakistani nation as well as from lawyers fraternity.
MUHAMMAD WASEEM ELAHI,
Gujranwala.
--------------------------------------------------------
Naseerullah Babar sourly missed
While riots disrupted Karachi’s calm, 40 killed, over 150 wounded, rivals traded allegations, I was sitting in Islamabad, remembering Lt. Gen (R) Naseerullah Babar. Had he been interior minister, no one would dare to disturb law and order on 12th of May, in Karachi.
Muhammad Mahtab Bashir,
Islamabad.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Balochistan PA demands ban on MQM
QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly Saturday passed a condemnation and condolence resolution on Karachi carnage and suicide bomb blast in Peshawar and called for ban on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
The resolution was moved by Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) MPAs Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal, Sardar Azam Musakhail, Abdul Majeed Achakzai, Ms Spozmai and Ms Sameena Saeed of Muttahida Majlise Ammal.
Sardar Azam Musakhail speaking on the admissibility of the resolution said that MQM was a fascist organization and its workers killed innocent people on May 12 when Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry came to Karachi to address the Sindh Bar.
He said that several workers of the Pakistan People's Party, Pakistan Muslim League (N), Awami National Party and PMAP were killed by the MQM armed men in the presence of security forces. He alleged that the president and others were supporting the MQM. He strongly condemned the statement of the General Pervez Musharraf which he had delivered during the address of a public rally at Islamabad on May 12 night. The assembly member demanded resignation from the Sindh governor, chief minister and others who kept silence on the mayhem of Karachi.
Ms Sameena Saeed said that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam that called for peace, brotherhood and tranquility. She said some elements had started destroying the peace and playing with the lives of the innocent people.
She condemned the mayhem of Karachi and said that MQM was left free to play with the lives of the people.
----------------------------------------------------
MQM stance ?
MQM stance ?
Muhammad Waseem Elahi Gujranwala waseemelahi@yahoo.com
MQM founder Altaf Hussain wrote an open letter to the Pakistani nation in which he alleged the political and religious parties for threatning the democracy and politicising the constitutional reference against the CJP. After the brutal incidents of 12th May, he talked to the President SHCBA and tried to relax the situation. It was sure that the MQM is a fascist party. I can not name it a political party. The wicked behaviour of the sector incharges working and responsible for bringing the people out of their homes along with women and infants to attend the rallies of the 'Altaf Bhai' are very much cruel. The people of Karachi hate with these kinds of people but due to the backing of establishment, they can not resist their forceful orders. Disobeying of any order cost them severe damges like life, kidnapping, torture, disrespect, 'Jagga' and abuses. The lawyers fraternity is struggling for the revival of constitution and democracy. Altaf Hussain's and his party's true face has been exposed in front of every Pakistani. The costly ads published in all the newspapers of Paksitan to divert the people's attention, never brought any fruitful results to this fascist party. These ads were clearly against the struggle of lawyers fraternity. Altaf Hussain must learnt that "Action speaks louder than Words". He can never win the hearts of Pakistani nation until he and his party doesn't quit the nefarious activities. Only a loud speech can not work. Altaf Hussain was claiming that his party is getting 'fame' in all the Punjab province but the recent resignations from the office bearers of MQM Punjab in the wake of 12th May brutal violant incidents has exposed his traitor party's position in the Punjab. If Altaf Hussain is not agreed with the idealogy of Pakistan then for what task these Mohajirs came here in Pakistan? He always rebuke over the idealogical concerns and tinker on the historical facts. Due to the obstinate behaviour of the leadership of MQM to arrange a rally on 12th May, caused the loss of precious lives. The true face of his party has been exposed and he must ask pardon from the whole Pakistani nation as well as from lawyers fraternity while doing a surgery of their fascist attitude. If the MQM postponed their rally on that specific day, couldn't this blood bath be avioded? At least then the MQM would not be a part of this blood bath but now of course MQM has revealed his power to kill. The government of Great Britain must take preompt and serious action against MQM leader Altaf Hussain and shouldn't provide shelter to a killer.
The Frontier Post.
Muhammad Waseem Elahi Gujranwala waseemelahi@yahoo.com
MQM founder Altaf Hussain wrote an open letter to the Pakistani nation in which he alleged the political and religious parties for threatning the democracy and politicising the constitutional reference against the CJP. After the brutal incidents of 12th May, he talked to the President SHCBA and tried to relax the situation. It was sure that the MQM is a fascist party. I can not name it a political party. The wicked behaviour of the sector incharges working and responsible for bringing the people out of their homes along with women and infants to attend the rallies of the 'Altaf Bhai' are very much cruel. The people of Karachi hate with these kinds of people but due to the backing of establishment, they can not resist their forceful orders. Disobeying of any order cost them severe damges like life, kidnapping, torture, disrespect, 'Jagga' and abuses. The lawyers fraternity is struggling for the revival of constitution and democracy. Altaf Hussain's and his party's true face has been exposed in front of every Pakistani. The costly ads published in all the newspapers of Paksitan to divert the people's attention, never brought any fruitful results to this fascist party. These ads were clearly against the struggle of lawyers fraternity. Altaf Hussain must learnt that "Action speaks louder than Words". He can never win the hearts of Pakistani nation until he and his party doesn't quit the nefarious activities. Only a loud speech can not work. Altaf Hussain was claiming that his party is getting 'fame' in all the Punjab province but the recent resignations from the office bearers of MQM Punjab in the wake of 12th May brutal violant incidents has exposed his traitor party's position in the Punjab. If Altaf Hussain is not agreed with the idealogy of Pakistan then for what task these Mohajirs came here in Pakistan? He always rebuke over the idealogical concerns and tinker on the historical facts. Due to the obstinate behaviour of the leadership of MQM to arrange a rally on 12th May, caused the loss of precious lives. The true face of his party has been exposed and he must ask pardon from the whole Pakistani nation as well as from lawyers fraternity while doing a surgery of their fascist attitude. If the MQM postponed their rally on that specific day, couldn't this blood bath be avioded? At least then the MQM would not be a part of this blood bath but now of course MQM has revealed his power to kill. The government of Great Britain must take preompt and serious action against MQM leader Altaf Hussain and shouldn't provide shelter to a killer.
The Frontier Post.
MQM terrorist group
MQM terrorist group
Wasif syed cap_111@hotmail.com
terrorist group Some videos to prove what people all over Pakistan already know. A lot of other activities of MQM terrorists were not captured in other areas of the city. MQM Terrorists with automatic weapons at Gurumandir: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77_4ZTK_qCw MQM Nazim beating woman in City Council: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjbb4EpLdF4 Lawyers Press Conference Against MQM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrkQHtUQyEY MQM Youth destroying the car of AAJ TV Anchor Nadia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzulfmROVqM Bullet inside newsroom of AAJ TV fired by MQM workers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCLI9nfx8l8 BBC's Video of MQM Terrorists attacking AAJ TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g92zcH59kWU Talat Hussain Live on Phone when MQM workers firing at AAJ TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6XfT1mIgso Independent Reporting depicting who were firing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4fC5DDVGew See the MQM Flags in the hands of people who are firing clearly. Once again Karachi City was held hostage by MQM! Those who still speak in favour of MQM due to their fear or past inclination should open their eyes now at least. The reality that we knew for past years and were trying to tell people is now publicly open ... thanks to AAJ TV, DAWN, BBC, CNN and other media. Altaf Hussain is the biggest liar of history and the most pathetic person only working for his own designs, power, thirst of money. Its a shame on anybody who supports MQM, Altaf Hussain their political party, their armed struggle for more power after seeing all these events. Even after killing of 12 innocent people 3 years before on 12th May on a single seat for bi-elections , their thirst is not over. And now once again on 12th may they killed 39 people for "anti-chief justice rally" ... wow! anti-cheif justice ... just imagine the magnitude of the motive for killings! And what happened on AAJ TV Office can be though of their move to silent the media and people to speak against them. Thanks to media for exposing the real face of MQM. Those who still say Karachi can be peaceful with MQM in this city ... be an ostrich for whenever you like to!Chaos to the terrorists, liars, two-faced political party, blackmailers of Pakistan ... MQM!
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=le&nid=29
Wasif syed cap_111@hotmail.com
terrorist group Some videos to prove what people all over Pakistan already know. A lot of other activities of MQM terrorists were not captured in other areas of the city. MQM Terrorists with automatic weapons at Gurumandir: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77_4ZTK_qCw MQM Nazim beating woman in City Council: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjbb4EpLdF4 Lawyers Press Conference Against MQM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrkQHtUQyEY MQM Youth destroying the car of AAJ TV Anchor Nadia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzulfmROVqM Bullet inside newsroom of AAJ TV fired by MQM workers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCLI9nfx8l8 BBC's Video of MQM Terrorists attacking AAJ TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g92zcH59kWU Talat Hussain Live on Phone when MQM workers firing at AAJ TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6XfT1mIgso Independent Reporting depicting who were firing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4fC5DDVGew See the MQM Flags in the hands of people who are firing clearly. Once again Karachi City was held hostage by MQM! Those who still speak in favour of MQM due to their fear or past inclination should open their eyes now at least. The reality that we knew for past years and were trying to tell people is now publicly open ... thanks to AAJ TV, DAWN, BBC, CNN and other media. Altaf Hussain is the biggest liar of history and the most pathetic person only working for his own designs, power, thirst of money. Its a shame on anybody who supports MQM, Altaf Hussain their political party, their armed struggle for more power after seeing all these events. Even after killing of 12 innocent people 3 years before on 12th May on a single seat for bi-elections , their thirst is not over. And now once again on 12th may they killed 39 people for "anti-chief justice rally" ... wow! anti-cheif justice ... just imagine the magnitude of the motive for killings! And what happened on AAJ TV Office can be though of their move to silent the media and people to speak against them. Thanks to media for exposing the real face of MQM. Those who still say Karachi can be peaceful with MQM in this city ... be an ostrich for whenever you like to!Chaos to the terrorists, liars, two-faced political party, blackmailers of Pakistan ... MQM!
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=le&nid=29
Pakhtuns under siege
Pakhtuns under siege
Hamid Khan
In the history of South Asia the one nation that formed a bulwark against any and every invading army were none others than the gallant and noble Pakhtuns. Contrary to the quiescent nature, to put it mildly, of their neighbouring nations - nations who gleefully towed in line with accommodating and prosecuting their masters’ imperial agenda, which in present day Pakistan is still very much the case - the Pakhtuns stood fearlessly in the path of this aggression; as free men they knew no master, bowing to no man as they bow to the Almighty Allah regardless of the consequences and calamites that were to befall upon this resilient nation. The Pakhtuns’ sense of self-respect, sacrifices in the path of their Deen, a display of ferocious fighting on the battlefield, and an eternal love of their beloved land are facts unrivalled, and above all a nation that is imbued in honesty and fidelity the kind of virtues that have been attracting men from the length and breath of human societies. Ironically, despite having made the unprecedented sacrifices through out the ages to emancipate this land from imperial oppression, today we find this very Pakhtun in the ‘land of pure’ to be on the receiving end. The creation of Pakistan was supposed to bring peace and harmony to the inhabitants of Pakhtun khwa but instead a policy of suspicion and betrayal became the fate of this hapless nation. Mr Jinnah, mindful of these facts, went out of his way and against the wishes of a Punjabi dominated army in abolishing the remnants of British military posts in the land of these noble souls as a token of appreciation in the newly formed Pakistan. Nothing has since been done to address the issues concerning the Pakhtun nation; instead every opportunity is exploited by the rulers of the country in stigmatising this nation for personal political interests. The recent massacre of our innocent brethren in Karachi, masterminded by the axis of MQM-Musharraf-Chaudhries, is yet another sordid reminder of this invariable betrayal by the Pakistani ruling junta. And so there continues the indiscriminate killings of a nation whose only crime is to eke out a livelihood in a city of hostility. Against this background, it is no doubt an insurmountable task to educate men who are gangster-terrorists turned politicians, resentful-sycophant Chudhries, and thick-minded-behind bullet proof screen Generals, and who we now find to be perpetually ensconced in a world of fantasies and lies in order to hold to their illegitimate power. Could someone tell these cowards about those they have been murdering? Aren’t these innocent Pakhtuns the offspring of those legendary riders who galloped across the lands and rivers to rescue the ancestors of Altaf Hussain, Musharraf, and the Chaudhries of Punjab from the onslaught of Marathas and later the Sikh marauders? Wasn’t this the eminent Shah Wali’ullah (RA) who pleaded with our Abdali Baba, and quite rightly so, to heed cries of the mothers and sisters of Indian Muslims - the forefathers of Musharraf, Altaf and Chudhries? Didn’t these Pakhtuns, sixty thousand in number, rode in hast to face and shatter the three and half lakh strong cavalry of Marathas to save the Indian Muslims from a total annihilation? Don’t they know that when the fathers and grand-fathers of Musharraf and these Chudhries were busy saluting and serving in utter servility their British oppressors in the land south of Indus, it were these very Pakhtuns battling in land north of the river and across the whole of Pakhtun khwa and Afghanistan to emancipate this land and its people from British slavery. Could they tell us what crimes these wretched souls have committed to deserve this? Was voting for Pakistan, if there was one, a grave mistake on our part? Unfortunately, a mission is underway from Kabul to Karachi to punish this conscientious nation once again for standing against imperial oppressors - be it America or Britain - and defying those puppets propped up Washington and London. Whilst writing these lines I look at a recent picture of an Afghan woman in Kabul market with her hand stretched out begging a passer-by. This is what has become of the Western promises to Afghan women, and not to mention a young Afghan-Farsiban girl in a bikini participating in a beauty contest in Europe - a long awaited gift from the west to embrace the Afghans into a “civilise” mode of living. Entire villages of Pakhtun inhabitants are wiped out and marriage parties are bombed with women and children blown to pieces for a reward from an imperial master that is to bring economic prosperity to the land south of Indus. Openly and shamelessly a Pakistani minister, Sheikh Rasheed, says in a debate on Geo TV that hadn’t they assisted their maters in this killing spree, they (America) he says would have made a ‘tora bora of us’. In other words let us sacrifice the wretched Pakhtuns in order to save our palatial palaces. Never they learn from history and never it occurs to these senseless puppets that the Creator is watching and that there is no escape from His wrath. The story does not end in Afghanistan. Over eighty thousand proxy army of Pakistan is currently engaged in different parts of Pakhtunkhwa in killing the innocents to assist in the American crusade against the Muslim world. Driven by this satanic agenda the massacre of Pakhtun children in Bajauar who were gathered to pray to Almighty Allah was abhorrently depicted as a military success against a “potential terrorist” target. And this onslaught against our people is in full swing as we speak! The task ahead for us by no means is an easy one; there are tribal differences, there are party politics ripe than ever before to divide and turn us against each other. However and despite these inevitable and natural differences it is a high time for us to pause and contemplate. This should be the most pressing issue for every politician and their party to find a way out for our brothers and sisters in Karachi and to take practical measures in stopping this mass killing of our people in Pakhtunkhwa by a proxy army of Pakistan. Hence, to succeed in this noble mission two vital things are desperately needed: Trust in Allah and Unity. Sergagher@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=ar&nid=39
Hamid Khan
In the history of South Asia the one nation that formed a bulwark against any and every invading army were none others than the gallant and noble Pakhtuns. Contrary to the quiescent nature, to put it mildly, of their neighbouring nations - nations who gleefully towed in line with accommodating and prosecuting their masters’ imperial agenda, which in present day Pakistan is still very much the case - the Pakhtuns stood fearlessly in the path of this aggression; as free men they knew no master, bowing to no man as they bow to the Almighty Allah regardless of the consequences and calamites that were to befall upon this resilient nation. The Pakhtuns’ sense of self-respect, sacrifices in the path of their Deen, a display of ferocious fighting on the battlefield, and an eternal love of their beloved land are facts unrivalled, and above all a nation that is imbued in honesty and fidelity the kind of virtues that have been attracting men from the length and breath of human societies. Ironically, despite having made the unprecedented sacrifices through out the ages to emancipate this land from imperial oppression, today we find this very Pakhtun in the ‘land of pure’ to be on the receiving end. The creation of Pakistan was supposed to bring peace and harmony to the inhabitants of Pakhtun khwa but instead a policy of suspicion and betrayal became the fate of this hapless nation. Mr Jinnah, mindful of these facts, went out of his way and against the wishes of a Punjabi dominated army in abolishing the remnants of British military posts in the land of these noble souls as a token of appreciation in the newly formed Pakistan. Nothing has since been done to address the issues concerning the Pakhtun nation; instead every opportunity is exploited by the rulers of the country in stigmatising this nation for personal political interests. The recent massacre of our innocent brethren in Karachi, masterminded by the axis of MQM-Musharraf-Chaudhries, is yet another sordid reminder of this invariable betrayal by the Pakistani ruling junta. And so there continues the indiscriminate killings of a nation whose only crime is to eke out a livelihood in a city of hostility. Against this background, it is no doubt an insurmountable task to educate men who are gangster-terrorists turned politicians, resentful-sycophant Chudhries, and thick-minded-behind bullet proof screen Generals, and who we now find to be perpetually ensconced in a world of fantasies and lies in order to hold to their illegitimate power. Could someone tell these cowards about those they have been murdering? Aren’t these innocent Pakhtuns the offspring of those legendary riders who galloped across the lands and rivers to rescue the ancestors of Altaf Hussain, Musharraf, and the Chaudhries of Punjab from the onslaught of Marathas and later the Sikh marauders? Wasn’t this the eminent Shah Wali’ullah (RA) who pleaded with our Abdali Baba, and quite rightly so, to heed cries of the mothers and sisters of Indian Muslims - the forefathers of Musharraf, Altaf and Chudhries? Didn’t these Pakhtuns, sixty thousand in number, rode in hast to face and shatter the three and half lakh strong cavalry of Marathas to save the Indian Muslims from a total annihilation? Don’t they know that when the fathers and grand-fathers of Musharraf and these Chudhries were busy saluting and serving in utter servility their British oppressors in the land south of Indus, it were these very Pakhtuns battling in land north of the river and across the whole of Pakhtun khwa and Afghanistan to emancipate this land and its people from British slavery. Could they tell us what crimes these wretched souls have committed to deserve this? Was voting for Pakistan, if there was one, a grave mistake on our part? Unfortunately, a mission is underway from Kabul to Karachi to punish this conscientious nation once again for standing against imperial oppressors - be it America or Britain - and defying those puppets propped up Washington and London. Whilst writing these lines I look at a recent picture of an Afghan woman in Kabul market with her hand stretched out begging a passer-by. This is what has become of the Western promises to Afghan women, and not to mention a young Afghan-Farsiban girl in a bikini participating in a beauty contest in Europe - a long awaited gift from the west to embrace the Afghans into a “civilise” mode of living. Entire villages of Pakhtun inhabitants are wiped out and marriage parties are bombed with women and children blown to pieces for a reward from an imperial master that is to bring economic prosperity to the land south of Indus. Openly and shamelessly a Pakistani minister, Sheikh Rasheed, says in a debate on Geo TV that hadn’t they assisted their maters in this killing spree, they (America) he says would have made a ‘tora bora of us’. In other words let us sacrifice the wretched Pakhtuns in order to save our palatial palaces. Never they learn from history and never it occurs to these senseless puppets that the Creator is watching and that there is no escape from His wrath. The story does not end in Afghanistan. Over eighty thousand proxy army of Pakistan is currently engaged in different parts of Pakhtunkhwa in killing the innocents to assist in the American crusade against the Muslim world. Driven by this satanic agenda the massacre of Pakhtun children in Bajauar who were gathered to pray to Almighty Allah was abhorrently depicted as a military success against a “potential terrorist” target. And this onslaught against our people is in full swing as we speak! The task ahead for us by no means is an easy one; there are tribal differences, there are party politics ripe than ever before to divide and turn us against each other. However and despite these inevitable and natural differences it is a high time for us to pause and contemplate. This should be the most pressing issue for every politician and their party to find a way out for our brothers and sisters in Karachi and to take practical measures in stopping this mass killing of our people in Pakhtunkhwa by a proxy army of Pakistan. Hence, to succeed in this noble mission two vital things are desperately needed: Trust in Allah and Unity. Sergagher@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=ar&nid=39
Friday, May 18, 2007
Musharaf contacts With MQM
I stopped Musharraf’s promotion due to his contacts with MQM: Bhutto
LAHORE: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has written in the latest edition of her book ‘Daughter of the East’ that she had stopped General Pervez Musharraf’s promotion during her government because he had contacts with the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), according to a report in BBC Urdu.com on Thursday. However, Bhutto writes that there was no evidence of Musharraf’s contacts with the MQM. “I even refused to make him my military secretary.” Bhutto’s ‘Daughter of the East’ was first published in 1988. The first edition of the book was about Bhutto’s life before she assumed the office of prime minister. The recent edition of the book contains a new chapter ‘Prime Minister and Beyond’. Bhutto has tried to sum up the last 19 years of her life in this chapter. In the preface and the added chapters of the new book, Bhutto has expressed determination to return to Pakistan this year. daily times monitor
LAHORE: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has written in the latest edition of her book ‘Daughter of the East’ that she had stopped General Pervez Musharraf’s promotion during her government because he had contacts with the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), according to a report in BBC Urdu.com on Thursday. However, Bhutto writes that there was no evidence of Musharraf’s contacts with the MQM. “I even refused to make him my military secretary.” Bhutto’s ‘Daughter of the East’ was first published in 1988. The first edition of the book was about Bhutto’s life before she assumed the office of prime minister. The recent edition of the book contains a new chapter ‘Prime Minister and Beyond’. Bhutto has tried to sum up the last 19 years of her life in this chapter. In the preface and the added chapters of the new book, Bhutto has expressed determination to return to Pakistan this year. daily times monitor
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
UK Must Extradite the terrorist Altaf Hussain
Zar Ali condemns Karachi massacre F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: Chairman of Pakhtuns Democratic Council Zar Ali Khan Musazai has strongly condemned the killing of the unarmed Pakhtuns in Karachi who were staging a peaceful protest demonstration to welcome the dysfunctional Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry who was supposed to address to the Karachi Bar council on saturday last. He blamed the MQM exiled leader Altaf Hussain and General Musharraf are the real and actual assassins of the democratic minded political workers belonging to different political parties and groups in karachi. He said that MQM is not a political entity,it is a terrorist organisation which is engaged to shed the blood of political workers on behest of Army Generals, Pakistani fake and fraudulant establishment and is playing a role of the mercenaries for the secret agencies of pakistan. He asked Britian to extradite the terrorist leader Altaf from the secret land of all democracies as he is busy making sinister plans to eliminate Pakhtuns and other people from Karachi and occupy it themselves which will not be more than a mirage. He said that the entire world noticed that Pashtoons are democratic loving people while musharraf and his junta including the so-called political parties favouring him in his terrorist activities. All the political organisations,civil society groups, Human and civil rights activists and organisations espacially Amnesty international and Human Rights Watch , Europeon Union, America, Germany, Belgium, Canada and Britian should come forword, pressurise Pakistani General and so-called martial government to let Pakhtuns to earn livelyhood in Karachi and elsewhere, stop the decredation and killing of Pakhtuns as we Pakhtuns are tired of the fighting. He said, MQM and Pakistani establishment should leave us in peace to work for education, democracy, human rights and to be able to compete world in the field of science and technology if not then terrorists should read our history that we are the people who could retaliate and know how to fight and gain pashtoon national dignity and pride.
PESHAWAR: Chairman of Pakhtuns Democratic Council Zar Ali Khan Musazai has strongly condemned the killing of the unarmed Pakhtuns in Karachi who were staging a peaceful protest demonstration to welcome the dysfunctional Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry who was supposed to address to the Karachi Bar council on saturday last. He blamed the MQM exiled leader Altaf Hussain and General Musharraf are the real and actual assassins of the democratic minded political workers belonging to different political parties and groups in karachi. He said that MQM is not a political entity,it is a terrorist organisation which is engaged to shed the blood of political workers on behest of Army Generals, Pakistani fake and fraudulant establishment and is playing a role of the mercenaries for the secret agencies of pakistan. He asked Britian to extradite the terrorist leader Altaf from the secret land of all democracies as he is busy making sinister plans to eliminate Pakhtuns and other people from Karachi and occupy it themselves which will not be more than a mirage. He said that the entire world noticed that Pashtoons are democratic loving people while musharraf and his junta including the so-called political parties favouring him in his terrorist activities. All the political organisations,civil society groups, Human and civil rights activists and organisations espacially Amnesty international and Human Rights Watch , Europeon Union, America, Germany, Belgium, Canada and Britian should come forword, pressurise Pakistani General and so-called martial government to let Pakhtuns to earn livelyhood in Karachi and elsewhere, stop the decredation and killing of Pakhtuns as we Pakhtuns are tired of the fighting. He said, MQM and Pakistani establishment should leave us in peace to work for education, democracy, human rights and to be able to compete world in the field of science and technology if not then terrorists should read our history that we are the people who could retaliate and know how to fight and gain pashtoon national dignity and pride.
MQM - The chronic killers of Pakhtun
MQM - The chronic killers of Pakhtun
Mohammad Ayub Khan
How long we would cry over the dead bodies of our brothers, sisters, sons and the aged old elders? How many more Pakhtun would fall prey and how many more would loss their rickshaw and taxi, which earn them their daily bread and butter? When the urban terrorists ring leader, a worst black mailer and proven criminal, fascist Altaf Hussain, the fugitive would need more Pakhtun blood to quench his thrust? MQM never missed any government provided and establishment facilitated opportunity to kill or maim these poor Pakhtun laborers, who have left their home and hearth in search of a better life, but today waiting on the pavements of main highway for daily wage employer, or burn down their, mini bus, taxi to deprive them of their property. The Urdu speaking chauvinists led by the brain child of General Zia in Karachi and Hyderabad did this massacre of Pakhtun more than once and every time escaped the wrath of the Pakhtun nation just because we are the followers of Bacha Khan. I think, it is the impeccable moment of our history to say good buy to the Indian version of Pakhtun national movement. Bacha Khan, if he had pleaded non violence, then I am sorry he was proven 100% wrong and today Pakhtun are partly suffering and had no national identity etc because of this Gandhi philosophy. On February 10th, 2007, I wrote on these pages of the Frontier Post that MQM has changed the colours; by replacing Muhajir with Mutahida in the organizational identify merely to camouflage their evil intentions, though their very fascist and criminal political agenda remained intact. It is not possible for these terrorists to live in peace and work as peaceful Democratic Party. Their every bit of political agenda is based on anti logic and lack any rational to justify their existence. For instance how could be possible to start as a Muhajir (immigrant) based entity, where their definition of Muhajir is dubious, as they don’t consider Bengali immigrants or any other community from other countries as their natural allies. They only speak for those who came from UP or Bihar and who can speak Urdu. To completely understand their psyche, and mind set and analysis their strategy to blackmail the political parties and extract as much as possible privileges for themselves, let us go through the their short political history. Let’s refresh our memories with a brief chronology of MQM, wherein they excelled all types of political murders, kidnapping of opponents, coercions, bribery, black mailing, political summersaults, terrorism, street fighting and gang collections. They started their political life with the blessing from the then dictator General Ghazi Zia ul Haq, who encouraged, supported and propped thee fanatics to sustain his control against the overthrown PPP in Sindh. Consequently the later days show that these mercenaries under the leadership of Altaf Hussain did every thing to payback their mentors as well as helped the incompetent industrialists of Karachi and Hyderabad. On 8th August 1986, Altaf Hussain announced that Karachi is no more a mini Pakistan and we will accept help from any quarter to achieve our political objectives. Speaking to the Hyderabad press club later than year on 25th October, the great leader asked the Muhajir youth never hesitant to use any kind of force, if our rights are not given to us. The following year on February 1st 1987, he asked his Urdu speaking community to sell their luxury house holds stuff and purchase weapons which can defend them. On February 19th the same year he advised his followers, when they fired in air during his meeting, to keep the ammunition safe for future use. Altaf Hussain never remained a loyal friend to any one and always changed the partners like a prostitute. First he directed his armed thugs to expel Pakhtun from Karachi and kill them and destroy their properties if they resist. Soon he changed his mind and declared on September 29th 1987 that they respect Bacha Khan and Khan Abdul Wali Khan and consider them the true representative of Pakhtun. This time they turned towards Punjab and on April 5th 1987, made a hard hitting speech against Punjab and Pakistan Army. Reminding them the previous their failed suppressive policy against Bengalis in East Pakistan and the rumors to send back these Muhajir back to Indian. He said that this time they will not go alone back to Indian but the whole Pakistan will also go along with them. Hardly two months later on 8th October 1987 a message came from G. M. Syed, the veteran Sindhi Nationalist leader, that the time has come for a union amongst the Sindhis and Muhajir to recognize their common enemy. Ironically soon (March 13, 1988) the direction changed and Altaf Hussain demanded of the Punjabis and Pakhtun, to go back to their home provinces and demand jobs for them from their provincial government. During all this period, though, their terrorist activities remained on the peak and killed any one standing in their way. True to their claim they spent million of rupees over purchasing lethal weapons and for this our tribal Pakhtun remained a constant source of supplies. Raw on the other hand provided all sort of logistic and training support and most of the MQM cadres received training in India during their family visits to various parts of the Indian cities. On July 17th, 1988, the attack on MQM supported city Mayor of Hyderabad Mr. Aftab Sheikh resulted in the widespread killing by the MQM hooligans. Even women activists on July 21st stormed the Latifabad police station and freed those who carried out those killings. G. M. Syed claimed on the following day 22nd July that MQM and the provincial government are responsible for these killings. Unfortunately the same G.M. Syed changed his mind when Altaf Hussain visited his house - the Hyder Manzil and called the previous incidents misunderstanding. On September 30th, 1988, however, this so called new understanding resulted in the worst level of carnage of 150 people in Hyderabad. Soon in various parts of Karachi around 90 Sindhis were killed the next day i.e. 1st October 1988, MQM slowly but gradually spread its tentacles outside of Hyderabad and Karachi. From 24th to 26 January 1989, they forced close markets and other businesses in Sukkar. Ignoring the killings of innocent Sindhis and other on 22nd march 1989, MQM members from provincial assembly along with the son of G. M. Syed Imdad Mohammad Shah staged walked out. But hardly four days later on 26th March MQM extended all out support to the IJI government for the bringing back the stranded Biharies from Bangladesh, which Sindhi consider converting them into minority on their own land. MQM played a horrible role during the year 1990, by unleashing all sort of terror and blood letting in Karachi, Hyderabad and other Muhajir dominated areas. During the first half of this year more than four hundred people killed by the thugs and murderers, supported and financed by the MQM.. Huge gates were erected in some areas which resulted in the creation of no go zones for security forces and other law enforcing agencies. Pakistan Steel Mills helped these thugs, who took control of this public sector industry to build huge gates and other barricades for MQM pockets in the city. A new understanding between Awami national party (ANP) and MQM was reached this year on January 3rd, throwing all the principals, ethics and sense of Pashtoonwali to the air. The establishment perhaps in 1991, was no more in the mood to be blackmailed further and to weaken this terrorist apparatus, created a small dissenting group led by Afaq Ahmad and Badar Iqbal. This was not possible for the MQM and their leaders to see that their own workers are creating troubles for them and coined an oath of allegiance which contradicts the established norms of ethics, morality, and even civilized form of democracy. The slogan “Quid traitors deserve Death” was coined and MQM legislators have to show their political allegiance to the Quid and organization in a very insulting way. On 26th July 1991, around 37 MQM legislators from national and provincial assembly (Sindh) visited Lahore and an oral blind faith was reposed in the Pir from Karachi. Dr. Farooq Sattar said “ If I commit treachery against the Quid, I will have denied my paternity”. Mr. Wasim Ahmad said “If I go against the quid I may not be of my mother” (daily Jang, Nawa-e-Waqat Lahore July 26th 1991). Afaq Ahmad and his colleagues did not go down to that dirt and because of their release by the Lahore High Court, the Pir, whose sacred face with bushy mustache started appearing on every leave and fruit, left Nine Zero, and made Abbassi Hospital as his new abode. Once his mentor and senior colleague Jam Sadiq left for treatment in London, his disciple could not bear the separation and joined him on January 1st 1992 in London. For detail please see http://www.pakistanthinktank.org/default.php/p/articles/pk/158 and http://www.pakistanthinktank.org/default.php/p/articles/pk/159#3 Their dark history does not end here and the last 15 or so years are filled with other gloomy incidents to narrate. For the sake of understanding their past, this brief chronology should also include some prominent killings by the mercenaries of fascist MQM. Former Governor Hakim Mohammad Saeed, the CEO of PSO, and few other big industrialists and the attack on the press and journalists are the hallmarks of this terrorist organization. They used every trick, including threat and intimidation to compel the press and pushed them to toe their line. The daily Dawn, Jang, etc faced the wrath when they published the inside stories of extortion, killing, kidnapping for money. Their vans were stopped; papers were burnt to aches, and the working journalists such Salhuddin (Takbeer) were killed in broad day light. Recently TV (AAJ ECO - Mr. Arshad Zubairi) channels were made to keep their more than three hours press conference on live and those who declined found their offices under bullets from unknown assistants. To take on this overgrown fascist organization there are more than one ways to deal with. First and foremost is the political mean, which stand for condemning their illogical standing through propagation. We can also approach the higher courts to seek their advice about the participation of an organization in election etc, whose leaders are fugitive of the court and with whom government functionaries’ constancy remained in touch. The court should clarify the legal standing of such contacts and meetings of the highest government functionaries with those who are declared killers and criminals. Is it possible for some legal authority to meet a person who is wanted by the court, if so then why not this facility is extended to other deserters of the Law? MQM can also be declared as a terrorists outfit because of their involvement in all sort of terrorists activities. As far as Pakhtun are concern, this is high time for them to take into account these killings. They have to talk to these Urdu speaking fascist to reconsider their treatment and they should mend their ways. Karachi and Hyderabad is not only home to Urdu speaking terrorists but more than three million Pakhtun, 4 million Punjabis and around 2 million Sindhis and Baloch are also living side by side. If the total population of these two cities constitute somewhere 15 million then more than a half (nine million) are not Muhajir and the government should look into the wide discrepancy of national and provincial assembly representation. To have proper representation, Pakhtun, Punjabi, Sindhi and Baloch should demand proportional representation based on their respective population and discard the present constituency base election which is a big harm for their national interest. Pakhtun Action Committee is the right form for us to unite all the Pakhtun belong to any party. They have demonstrated their unity through a one day complete strike last year in November and if they kept the same level of spirit and coordination, there is no question if they would not be able to achieve a respectable position soon in these two cities. Pakhtun also need to remind these immigrants from India that the whole country in general and Karachi Hyderabad in particular must be obliged for the free use of our water flowing from our land. If there is no water, there is no life and then there is no city. Lets these immigrants understand that they eat the wheat produced in Punjab and they must be reflective of such ground realities. If they want to keep this country intact where they enjoy the status of more equal amongst the equals, then they must respect our legal and constitutional rights. Killing of Pakhtun by the MQM but sending the sympathy messages by the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to Altaf Hussain is a clear message to us that we have to closer further our ranks and fight for our national rights, which would enable more than 4 million Pakhtun to live on their land Pakhtunkhwa with their families and earn their livelihood with honour, dignity and human respect. Lawangin@gmail.com
Mohammad Ayub Khan
How long we would cry over the dead bodies of our brothers, sisters, sons and the aged old elders? How many more Pakhtun would fall prey and how many more would loss their rickshaw and taxi, which earn them their daily bread and butter? When the urban terrorists ring leader, a worst black mailer and proven criminal, fascist Altaf Hussain, the fugitive would need more Pakhtun blood to quench his thrust? MQM never missed any government provided and establishment facilitated opportunity to kill or maim these poor Pakhtun laborers, who have left their home and hearth in search of a better life, but today waiting on the pavements of main highway for daily wage employer, or burn down their, mini bus, taxi to deprive them of their property. The Urdu speaking chauvinists led by the brain child of General Zia in Karachi and Hyderabad did this massacre of Pakhtun more than once and every time escaped the wrath of the Pakhtun nation just because we are the followers of Bacha Khan. I think, it is the impeccable moment of our history to say good buy to the Indian version of Pakhtun national movement. Bacha Khan, if he had pleaded non violence, then I am sorry he was proven 100% wrong and today Pakhtun are partly suffering and had no national identity etc because of this Gandhi philosophy. On February 10th, 2007, I wrote on these pages of the Frontier Post that MQM has changed the colours; by replacing Muhajir with Mutahida in the organizational identify merely to camouflage their evil intentions, though their very fascist and criminal political agenda remained intact. It is not possible for these terrorists to live in peace and work as peaceful Democratic Party. Their every bit of political agenda is based on anti logic and lack any rational to justify their existence. For instance how could be possible to start as a Muhajir (immigrant) based entity, where their definition of Muhajir is dubious, as they don’t consider Bengali immigrants or any other community from other countries as their natural allies. They only speak for those who came from UP or Bihar and who can speak Urdu. To completely understand their psyche, and mind set and analysis their strategy to blackmail the political parties and extract as much as possible privileges for themselves, let us go through the their short political history. Let’s refresh our memories with a brief chronology of MQM, wherein they excelled all types of political murders, kidnapping of opponents, coercions, bribery, black mailing, political summersaults, terrorism, street fighting and gang collections. They started their political life with the blessing from the then dictator General Ghazi Zia ul Haq, who encouraged, supported and propped thee fanatics to sustain his control against the overthrown PPP in Sindh. Consequently the later days show that these mercenaries under the leadership of Altaf Hussain did every thing to payback their mentors as well as helped the incompetent industrialists of Karachi and Hyderabad. On 8th August 1986, Altaf Hussain announced that Karachi is no more a mini Pakistan and we will accept help from any quarter to achieve our political objectives. Speaking to the Hyderabad press club later than year on 25th October, the great leader asked the Muhajir youth never hesitant to use any kind of force, if our rights are not given to us. The following year on February 1st 1987, he asked his Urdu speaking community to sell their luxury house holds stuff and purchase weapons which can defend them. On February 19th the same year he advised his followers, when they fired in air during his meeting, to keep the ammunition safe for future use. Altaf Hussain never remained a loyal friend to any one and always changed the partners like a prostitute. First he directed his armed thugs to expel Pakhtun from Karachi and kill them and destroy their properties if they resist. Soon he changed his mind and declared on September 29th 1987 that they respect Bacha Khan and Khan Abdul Wali Khan and consider them the true representative of Pakhtun. This time they turned towards Punjab and on April 5th 1987, made a hard hitting speech against Punjab and Pakistan Army. Reminding them the previous their failed suppressive policy against Bengalis in East Pakistan and the rumors to send back these Muhajir back to Indian. He said that this time they will not go alone back to Indian but the whole Pakistan will also go along with them. Hardly two months later on 8th October 1987 a message came from G. M. Syed, the veteran Sindhi Nationalist leader, that the time has come for a union amongst the Sindhis and Muhajir to recognize their common enemy. Ironically soon (March 13, 1988) the direction changed and Altaf Hussain demanded of the Punjabis and Pakhtun, to go back to their home provinces and demand jobs for them from their provincial government. During all this period, though, their terrorist activities remained on the peak and killed any one standing in their way. True to their claim they spent million of rupees over purchasing lethal weapons and for this our tribal Pakhtun remained a constant source of supplies. Raw on the other hand provided all sort of logistic and training support and most of the MQM cadres received training in India during their family visits to various parts of the Indian cities. On July 17th, 1988, the attack on MQM supported city Mayor of Hyderabad Mr. Aftab Sheikh resulted in the widespread killing by the MQM hooligans. Even women activists on July 21st stormed the Latifabad police station and freed those who carried out those killings. G. M. Syed claimed on the following day 22nd July that MQM and the provincial government are responsible for these killings. Unfortunately the same G.M. Syed changed his mind when Altaf Hussain visited his house - the Hyder Manzil and called the previous incidents misunderstanding. On September 30th, 1988, however, this so called new understanding resulted in the worst level of carnage of 150 people in Hyderabad. Soon in various parts of Karachi around 90 Sindhis were killed the next day i.e. 1st October 1988, MQM slowly but gradually spread its tentacles outside of Hyderabad and Karachi. From 24th to 26 January 1989, they forced close markets and other businesses in Sukkar. Ignoring the killings of innocent Sindhis and other on 22nd march 1989, MQM members from provincial assembly along with the son of G. M. Syed Imdad Mohammad Shah staged walked out. But hardly four days later on 26th March MQM extended all out support to the IJI government for the bringing back the stranded Biharies from Bangladesh, which Sindhi consider converting them into minority on their own land. MQM played a horrible role during the year 1990, by unleashing all sort of terror and blood letting in Karachi, Hyderabad and other Muhajir dominated areas. During the first half of this year more than four hundred people killed by the thugs and murderers, supported and financed by the MQM.. Huge gates were erected in some areas which resulted in the creation of no go zones for security forces and other law enforcing agencies. Pakistan Steel Mills helped these thugs, who took control of this public sector industry to build huge gates and other barricades for MQM pockets in the city. A new understanding between Awami national party (ANP) and MQM was reached this year on January 3rd, throwing all the principals, ethics and sense of Pashtoonwali to the air. The establishment perhaps in 1991, was no more in the mood to be blackmailed further and to weaken this terrorist apparatus, created a small dissenting group led by Afaq Ahmad and Badar Iqbal. This was not possible for the MQM and their leaders to see that their own workers are creating troubles for them and coined an oath of allegiance which contradicts the established norms of ethics, morality, and even civilized form of democracy. The slogan “Quid traitors deserve Death” was coined and MQM legislators have to show their political allegiance to the Quid and organization in a very insulting way. On 26th July 1991, around 37 MQM legislators from national and provincial assembly (Sindh) visited Lahore and an oral blind faith was reposed in the Pir from Karachi. Dr. Farooq Sattar said “ If I commit treachery against the Quid, I will have denied my paternity”. Mr. Wasim Ahmad said “If I go against the quid I may not be of my mother” (daily Jang, Nawa-e-Waqat Lahore July 26th 1991). Afaq Ahmad and his colleagues did not go down to that dirt and because of their release by the Lahore High Court, the Pir, whose sacred face with bushy mustache started appearing on every leave and fruit, left Nine Zero, and made Abbassi Hospital as his new abode. Once his mentor and senior colleague Jam Sadiq left for treatment in London, his disciple could not bear the separation and joined him on January 1st 1992 in London. For detail please see http://www.pakistanthinktank.org/default.php/p/articles/pk/158 and http://www.pakistanthinktank.org/default.php/p/articles/pk/159#3 Their dark history does not end here and the last 15 or so years are filled with other gloomy incidents to narrate. For the sake of understanding their past, this brief chronology should also include some prominent killings by the mercenaries of fascist MQM. Former Governor Hakim Mohammad Saeed, the CEO of PSO, and few other big industrialists and the attack on the press and journalists are the hallmarks of this terrorist organization. They used every trick, including threat and intimidation to compel the press and pushed them to toe their line. The daily Dawn, Jang, etc faced the wrath when they published the inside stories of extortion, killing, kidnapping for money. Their vans were stopped; papers were burnt to aches, and the working journalists such Salhuddin (Takbeer) were killed in broad day light. Recently TV (AAJ ECO - Mr. Arshad Zubairi) channels were made to keep their more than three hours press conference on live and those who declined found their offices under bullets from unknown assistants. To take on this overgrown fascist organization there are more than one ways to deal with. First and foremost is the political mean, which stand for condemning their illogical standing through propagation. We can also approach the higher courts to seek their advice about the participation of an organization in election etc, whose leaders are fugitive of the court and with whom government functionaries’ constancy remained in touch. The court should clarify the legal standing of such contacts and meetings of the highest government functionaries with those who are declared killers and criminals. Is it possible for some legal authority to meet a person who is wanted by the court, if so then why not this facility is extended to other deserters of the Law? MQM can also be declared as a terrorists outfit because of their involvement in all sort of terrorists activities. As far as Pakhtun are concern, this is high time for them to take into account these killings. They have to talk to these Urdu speaking fascist to reconsider their treatment and they should mend their ways. Karachi and Hyderabad is not only home to Urdu speaking terrorists but more than three million Pakhtun, 4 million Punjabis and around 2 million Sindhis and Baloch are also living side by side. If the total population of these two cities constitute somewhere 15 million then more than a half (nine million) are not Muhajir and the government should look into the wide discrepancy of national and provincial assembly representation. To have proper representation, Pakhtun, Punjabi, Sindhi and Baloch should demand proportional representation based on their respective population and discard the present constituency base election which is a big harm for their national interest. Pakhtun Action Committee is the right form for us to unite all the Pakhtun belong to any party. They have demonstrated their unity through a one day complete strike last year in November and if they kept the same level of spirit and coordination, there is no question if they would not be able to achieve a respectable position soon in these two cities. Pakhtun also need to remind these immigrants from India that the whole country in general and Karachi Hyderabad in particular must be obliged for the free use of our water flowing from our land. If there is no water, there is no life and then there is no city. Lets these immigrants understand that they eat the wheat produced in Punjab and they must be reflective of such ground realities. If they want to keep this country intact where they enjoy the status of more equal amongst the equals, then they must respect our legal and constitutional rights. Killing of Pakhtun by the MQM but sending the sympathy messages by the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to Altaf Hussain is a clear message to us that we have to closer further our ranks and fight for our national rights, which would enable more than 4 million Pakhtun to live on their land Pakhtunkhwa with their families and earn their livelihood with honour, dignity and human respect. Lawangin@gmail.com
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
TALIBANISATION AND PASHTUNS - MYTH AND REALITY
By Fatima Ahmed and Batoor Khan
fatimakhan7699@gmail.com
In the backdrop of the Taleban resurgence in Afghanistan which has claimed more than 5000 lives so far and threatens to challenge the whole NATO/US mission in that country with obvious consequences for the world peace and security; there has been a renewed interest in the Taleban phenomena and the role of Pakistan therein worldwide. The popular myth now a day being promoted by a number of players in the Pakistan-Afghanistan blame game is that the Taleban with roots in the Pashtun ethnic group, are in fact a manifestation of the ethnic and nationalist feelings and political aspirations of the Pashtun nation at large, living on both sides of the Durand Line. This is substantiated by a number of assertions by the Pakistani leadership in the recent past and media commentary. For example, while addressing the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament in Brussels in September last year, President Pervaiz Musharraf said that "the real danger...lies in the emergence and further strengthening of the Taliban, because they have the seeds of converting and drawing the population to them and converting this into a national war by the Pashtuns against maybe all foreign forces." This shift in characterisation of the Taleban movement from a religious force to one representing the Pashtun nation may be taken as an attempt to give an entirely different outlook to the current insurgency in Afghanistan as well as the tribal areas of Pakistan.A peek at the events in the not so distant past will tell us that 'Religion' and the ‘Doctrine of Jihad’ and not 'Afghan or Pashtun Nationalism' was preferred to be used as slogan to fight and perpetuate the long drawn war against the ‘foreign forces’ of Soviet Union supporting the then Afghan government in the eighties and even afterwards during the brutal civil war of the nineties. The question that arises is; what has changed in the equation now which suggests terming the current insurgency spearheaded by the Taleban against the Karzai led government and the NATO/US forces as a ‘national struggle of the Pashtuns’ against foreign forces. The answer to this question is simple: while internationally a lot has changed since 9/11, in Pakistan domestically nothing has changed. And this answer easily explains the current shift of language and the attempts to publicize the Talebans as representative of the Pashtun majority aspirations in Afghanistan and even in the tribal areas of Pakistan. While the Afghan side spearheaded by President Karzai, himself a Pashtun, blames the upsurge in Taleban activities on continuous support by Pakistan and its intelligence agencies, the Pakistani side points to a number of issues inside Afghanistan which fuels the insurgency and sustain it. Chief among these, they argue is the inability of Karzai government to establish its writ beyond Kabul. Some amongst the intelligentsia have even termed President Karzai as the ‘Mayor of Kabul’ to scorn his lack of control over most of Afghanistan. The failure of the Karzai government and the international community in sustaining the reconstruction process of the country, particularly in the Pashtun majority areas of the South and south- eastern Afghanistan is also quoted as the cause for the alienation of the local population and their increasing support for the Taleban. There are also muted pointers to the lack of proportionate representation of Pashtuns, who make up the majority ethnic group in Afghanistan, in the government institutions, decision making bodies and particularly the security forces. Together all these factors seem to contribute to the ‘myth’ that Taleban’s struggle against the foreign forces is actually fuelled by Pashtun nationalism. Seen in conjunction with the current emphasis to include the Taleban in the political process in Afghanistan on the lines of the ‘peace deals’ signed by Pakistan with the militants in its own troubled tribal areas of Waziristan (FATA), this could mean a deliberate effort to empower the Taleban on both side of the Durand Line. Simply put, this strategy aims to drive home the point that the Taleban are not an aberration in the Afghan calculus but represent the political aspirations of the majority Pashtun ethnic group and have thus to be accommodated in any political dispensation in Afghanistan.
When analysed in the historical context, it is obvious that this strategy is the same in substance; only the form has been changed to suit the post 9/11 geo-political environment - in nutshell ‘old wine in new bottle’. During the Afghan War, for the USA and the west, the objective was simple: defeat of communism; however for Pakistan the question was much more fundamental and related to its own domestic problems. Beside the defeat of Communism, there were three main objectives of the Afghan war strategy.• Counterbalance the majority traditionally liberal and secular minded Pashtun nationalists with in Pakistan demanding greater share in resources and political rights in the backdrop of the 1971 debacle leading to the creation of Bangla-Desh and the bloody insurgency in Balochistan in 1974/75.• Simultaneously, neutralize the nationalist elements in Afghanistan represented by the Soviet supported communist regime, which were likely to gain strength and thus exert more pressure on Pakistan with regard to the Pushtunistan issue if left untouched, leading to trouble in the Pashtun belt on Pakistan side.• In the long term, use Islam to influence events in Afghanistan, which beside other benefits, will ensure that her western borders will be well protected. This was deemed vital to the survival and defence of Pakistan against the arch enemy India in the backdrop of the 1971 War and explosion by India of its first nuclear device in 1974. This notion was widely propagated and found expression in terminologies like ensuring ‘strategic depth’ and having a ‘friendly political dispensation’ in Afghanistan. To pursue this strategy, General Zia-ul-Haq, the military dictator thus supported, funded and empowered the fringe religious 'clergy' in the Pashtun areas within Pakistan against the majority, largely liberal nationalists, while across the Durand Line in Afghanistan, it shaped the struggle against the Soviet supported Afghan government as ‘Afghan Islamic Jihad’. This strategy ensured a degree of local support to the Afghan Resistance by the politico-religious groups on the one hand, while on the other it wrested the political power away from the traditionally liberal, secular and nationalist elements in the Pashtun dominated areas and empowered the politico- religious parties which have always been far more supportive of the establishment. Another reason and a more fundamental one which explains why the Afghan Resistance was fought on the basis of religion and not Afghan or Pashtun nationalism was that the use of religion as a political instrument is central to the survival of the Pakistani state itself. In the absence of a vision based on collective well being of all its citizens, democratic traditions which ensure equal share for all segments of the multi-ethnic society, and a system which ensures centralisation and perpetuation of power in the hands of the elite to the detriment of all the various ethnic groups; the only glue that binds the country together is Islam. Recourse to religion is therefore critical to hold the reins of power in this country. In the absence of such an alternative, the various nationalities which have been kept on the periphery of political and economic power for more than half a century are bound to question the legitimacy of the state and demand greater autonomy and political rights for themselves, thus threatening the status quo and the interests of the dominant elite. Much has changed in the world in the aftermath of 9/11; however, unfortunately, little has altered in Pakistan’s domestic situation which would allow some space to bring a shift in this strategy. In Pakistan, the use of religion to control the domestic problems as well as retain/regain a degree of influence across the Durand Line remains a compulsion and not a matter of choice. In fact, projecting the Taleban as representing the political aspirations of the Pashtuns, while still retaining their religious leanings, is an attempt to reassure the international community of their legitimacy as a group having popular support of the Pashtuns. At the same time it aims to dilute the negative effects of the stigma of religious extremism and fanaticism attached to Taleban in view of their links with Al-Qaeeda and the brutalities they committed while they were in power in Kabul. And as before, simultaneously it aims to strengthen the politico-religious elements in the North West Frontier Province, tribal areas and Balochistan to neutralise the nationalist elements which are again gaining popular support due to the media explosion and unhealthy economic policies of the past. The situation is further made explosive by the senseless killing of their Pashtun brethren in the name of the war against terrorism on both sides of the Durand Line. It was in this context that a grand Pashtun Peace Jirga was held in Peshawar on 20 Nov last year, organised by the nationalist parties and attended by a large majority of the liberal/secular leadership of the Pashtun ethnic group. This Jirga or ‘meeting of elders’ unanimously demanded an end to the bloodshed in the Pashtun lands on both sides of the Durand Line in the name of religion and the war on terrorism. This situation is further exasperated by the simmering nationalist/separatist movement across the Balochistan province.This new characterisation of Talebanisation as Pashtun nationalism and terming the Taleban led insurgency as a demand for political empowerment of the Pashtun ethnic group in Afghanistan must therefore be viewed with a pinch of salt. The Taleban was never a nationalist movement nor did they enlist support from the Pakistani or Afghan Pashtuns in the name of their ethnic identity. They were a natural outcome of the decade’s old policy of support to the politico-religious right, then were nourished and aided according to a strategy. That strategy still remains the same - political manoeuvring by the powerful elite in Pakistan to use religion to divide the Pashtuns, denying their political rights and at the same time to regain and maintain some degree of influence in Afghanistan. Obviously this can not be achieved by siding with and supporting the largely liberal, secular and democratic minded majority of the Pashtuns; for the fear that the elite will have to relinquish the powers they hold over all ethnic minorities and give them their political rights and control over their resources. The powers that be would therefore continue drumming the spectre of Islamic extremism in Pashtuns and frightening the world on the one hand and continue supporting the fringe clergy on the other, to continue reaping the benefits that such a strategy entails. The tragedy is that the religious extremism symbolised by the Taleban has no roots in Pashtun society or culture which may be culturally conservative but is predominantly liberal, non-violent and democratic in nature. The ultimate losers in all this are the poor Pashtuns on both sides of the Durand Line.
fatimakhan7699@gmail.com
In the backdrop of the Taleban resurgence in Afghanistan which has claimed more than 5000 lives so far and threatens to challenge the whole NATO/US mission in that country with obvious consequences for the world peace and security; there has been a renewed interest in the Taleban phenomena and the role of Pakistan therein worldwide. The popular myth now a day being promoted by a number of players in the Pakistan-Afghanistan blame game is that the Taleban with roots in the Pashtun ethnic group, are in fact a manifestation of the ethnic and nationalist feelings and political aspirations of the Pashtun nation at large, living on both sides of the Durand Line. This is substantiated by a number of assertions by the Pakistani leadership in the recent past and media commentary. For example, while addressing the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament in Brussels in September last year, President Pervaiz Musharraf said that "the real danger...lies in the emergence and further strengthening of the Taliban, because they have the seeds of converting and drawing the population to them and converting this into a national war by the Pashtuns against maybe all foreign forces." This shift in characterisation of the Taleban movement from a religious force to one representing the Pashtun nation may be taken as an attempt to give an entirely different outlook to the current insurgency in Afghanistan as well as the tribal areas of Pakistan.A peek at the events in the not so distant past will tell us that 'Religion' and the ‘Doctrine of Jihad’ and not 'Afghan or Pashtun Nationalism' was preferred to be used as slogan to fight and perpetuate the long drawn war against the ‘foreign forces’ of Soviet Union supporting the then Afghan government in the eighties and even afterwards during the brutal civil war of the nineties. The question that arises is; what has changed in the equation now which suggests terming the current insurgency spearheaded by the Taleban against the Karzai led government and the NATO/US forces as a ‘national struggle of the Pashtuns’ against foreign forces. The answer to this question is simple: while internationally a lot has changed since 9/11, in Pakistan domestically nothing has changed. And this answer easily explains the current shift of language and the attempts to publicize the Talebans as representative of the Pashtun majority aspirations in Afghanistan and even in the tribal areas of Pakistan. While the Afghan side spearheaded by President Karzai, himself a Pashtun, blames the upsurge in Taleban activities on continuous support by Pakistan and its intelligence agencies, the Pakistani side points to a number of issues inside Afghanistan which fuels the insurgency and sustain it. Chief among these, they argue is the inability of Karzai government to establish its writ beyond Kabul. Some amongst the intelligentsia have even termed President Karzai as the ‘Mayor of Kabul’ to scorn his lack of control over most of Afghanistan. The failure of the Karzai government and the international community in sustaining the reconstruction process of the country, particularly in the Pashtun majority areas of the South and south- eastern Afghanistan is also quoted as the cause for the alienation of the local population and their increasing support for the Taleban. There are also muted pointers to the lack of proportionate representation of Pashtuns, who make up the majority ethnic group in Afghanistan, in the government institutions, decision making bodies and particularly the security forces. Together all these factors seem to contribute to the ‘myth’ that Taleban’s struggle against the foreign forces is actually fuelled by Pashtun nationalism. Seen in conjunction with the current emphasis to include the Taleban in the political process in Afghanistan on the lines of the ‘peace deals’ signed by Pakistan with the militants in its own troubled tribal areas of Waziristan (FATA), this could mean a deliberate effort to empower the Taleban on both side of the Durand Line. Simply put, this strategy aims to drive home the point that the Taleban are not an aberration in the Afghan calculus but represent the political aspirations of the majority Pashtun ethnic group and have thus to be accommodated in any political dispensation in Afghanistan.
When analysed in the historical context, it is obvious that this strategy is the same in substance; only the form has been changed to suit the post 9/11 geo-political environment - in nutshell ‘old wine in new bottle’. During the Afghan War, for the USA and the west, the objective was simple: defeat of communism; however for Pakistan the question was much more fundamental and related to its own domestic problems. Beside the defeat of Communism, there were three main objectives of the Afghan war strategy.• Counterbalance the majority traditionally liberal and secular minded Pashtun nationalists with in Pakistan demanding greater share in resources and political rights in the backdrop of the 1971 debacle leading to the creation of Bangla-Desh and the bloody insurgency in Balochistan in 1974/75.• Simultaneously, neutralize the nationalist elements in Afghanistan represented by the Soviet supported communist regime, which were likely to gain strength and thus exert more pressure on Pakistan with regard to the Pushtunistan issue if left untouched, leading to trouble in the Pashtun belt on Pakistan side.• In the long term, use Islam to influence events in Afghanistan, which beside other benefits, will ensure that her western borders will be well protected. This was deemed vital to the survival and defence of Pakistan against the arch enemy India in the backdrop of the 1971 War and explosion by India of its first nuclear device in 1974. This notion was widely propagated and found expression in terminologies like ensuring ‘strategic depth’ and having a ‘friendly political dispensation’ in Afghanistan. To pursue this strategy, General Zia-ul-Haq, the military dictator thus supported, funded and empowered the fringe religious 'clergy' in the Pashtun areas within Pakistan against the majority, largely liberal nationalists, while across the Durand Line in Afghanistan, it shaped the struggle against the Soviet supported Afghan government as ‘Afghan Islamic Jihad’. This strategy ensured a degree of local support to the Afghan Resistance by the politico-religious groups on the one hand, while on the other it wrested the political power away from the traditionally liberal, secular and nationalist elements in the Pashtun dominated areas and empowered the politico- religious parties which have always been far more supportive of the establishment. Another reason and a more fundamental one which explains why the Afghan Resistance was fought on the basis of religion and not Afghan or Pashtun nationalism was that the use of religion as a political instrument is central to the survival of the Pakistani state itself. In the absence of a vision based on collective well being of all its citizens, democratic traditions which ensure equal share for all segments of the multi-ethnic society, and a system which ensures centralisation and perpetuation of power in the hands of the elite to the detriment of all the various ethnic groups; the only glue that binds the country together is Islam. Recourse to religion is therefore critical to hold the reins of power in this country. In the absence of such an alternative, the various nationalities which have been kept on the periphery of political and economic power for more than half a century are bound to question the legitimacy of the state and demand greater autonomy and political rights for themselves, thus threatening the status quo and the interests of the dominant elite. Much has changed in the world in the aftermath of 9/11; however, unfortunately, little has altered in Pakistan’s domestic situation which would allow some space to bring a shift in this strategy. In Pakistan, the use of religion to control the domestic problems as well as retain/regain a degree of influence across the Durand Line remains a compulsion and not a matter of choice. In fact, projecting the Taleban as representing the political aspirations of the Pashtuns, while still retaining their religious leanings, is an attempt to reassure the international community of their legitimacy as a group having popular support of the Pashtuns. At the same time it aims to dilute the negative effects of the stigma of religious extremism and fanaticism attached to Taleban in view of their links with Al-Qaeeda and the brutalities they committed while they were in power in Kabul. And as before, simultaneously it aims to strengthen the politico-religious elements in the North West Frontier Province, tribal areas and Balochistan to neutralise the nationalist elements which are again gaining popular support due to the media explosion and unhealthy economic policies of the past. The situation is further made explosive by the senseless killing of their Pashtun brethren in the name of the war against terrorism on both sides of the Durand Line. It was in this context that a grand Pashtun Peace Jirga was held in Peshawar on 20 Nov last year, organised by the nationalist parties and attended by a large majority of the liberal/secular leadership of the Pashtun ethnic group. This Jirga or ‘meeting of elders’ unanimously demanded an end to the bloodshed in the Pashtun lands on both sides of the Durand Line in the name of religion and the war on terrorism. This situation is further exasperated by the simmering nationalist/separatist movement across the Balochistan province.This new characterisation of Talebanisation as Pashtun nationalism and terming the Taleban led insurgency as a demand for political empowerment of the Pashtun ethnic group in Afghanistan must therefore be viewed with a pinch of salt. The Taleban was never a nationalist movement nor did they enlist support from the Pakistani or Afghan Pashtuns in the name of their ethnic identity. They were a natural outcome of the decade’s old policy of support to the politico-religious right, then were nourished and aided according to a strategy. That strategy still remains the same - political manoeuvring by the powerful elite in Pakistan to use religion to divide the Pashtuns, denying their political rights and at the same time to regain and maintain some degree of influence in Afghanistan. Obviously this can not be achieved by siding with and supporting the largely liberal, secular and democratic minded majority of the Pashtuns; for the fear that the elite will have to relinquish the powers they hold over all ethnic minorities and give them their political rights and control over their resources. The powers that be would therefore continue drumming the spectre of Islamic extremism in Pashtuns and frightening the world on the one hand and continue supporting the fringe clergy on the other, to continue reaping the benefits that such a strategy entails. The tragedy is that the religious extremism symbolised by the Taleban has no roots in Pashtun society or culture which may be culturally conservative but is predominantly liberal, non-violent and democratic in nature. The ultimate losers in all this are the poor Pashtuns on both sides of the Durand Line.
Marhaba Hotel Blast
A Heavey bomb blast was reported in Marhaba Hotel Peshawar. This hotel is located in busy center near to Naaz Cenima.
Bomb blast in Peshawar which killed 26 to 35 innocent people... will used to smash our unity and divert our attention from the Karachi violence .
Let Pakhtun Voices Be Heard
By: Fatima AhmedFatimakhan7699@gmail.comThe Pakhtun Nation numbering more than 40 million, with a history more than five thousand years old, a culture so unique, occupying a vast area of more than 1, 80,000 square km this side of the Durand alone, and located at a strategic location; are today at the heart of the political, economic, security and geo-strategic issues confronting this region and even the whole world. The land that we occupy lies at the junction of four distinct civilizations, the South Asian, the Central Asian, the Chinese and the Persian civilization. This fact has played an enormous role in influencing our past and will certainly continue to shape our future. The central Asian region has vast natural resources and needs excess to the outside world. China and South Asia on the other hand are going to be the epicentre of global economic development due to their immense human capital coupled with the zeal for acquiring knowledge of science and technology. Iran and the Middle East provide the bulk of the energy resources to the world today. In the middle of this all lies our land and our nation; divided, disunited, disenfranchised, backward, illiterate, and most of all – voiceless. Ironically, if one could carry out a survey of the major regional newspapers and TV channels- one would observe that most of the headlines in these would in one way or the other involve the ‘Pakhtuns’. Pashto and Pakhtuns are perhaps some of the most used words in the print and electronic media today. Yet, Pakhtuns remain the least understood and most maligned people in the whole region today. While ideally, our geographical location, rich culture, proud history and the current international focus should provide us with the ideal opportunity to promote our nation, our values, our culture and act as a link between the fast developing regions; the unfortunate fact is that we the Pakhtuns are at the bottom of political power, economic development, education and social status in the whole region. Isn’t it time we ask ourselves the question-Why?On the one hand, the Pakhtuns are grossly un-represented in the national print as well as electronic media whose main focus remains Punjab and urban Sindh, on the other hand the situation is further exacerbated by the absence of any worthwhile local media, electronic or print. Resultantly neither is there an outlet for articulating the correct Pakhtun perspective on various issues on the national or international stage; nor is there any forum for these to be discussed and debated with in ourselves. The restricted access of the national as well as international media to the areas populated by the pukhtuns for a number of reasons makes the situation even worse. Add to this the effects of infrastructural inaccessibility, some real and most perceived social dogmas and the dismal state of education, and you have an ideal mix for the forces with vested interests to exploit and project our nation as it suits their designs. As a consequence neither is there a mechanism for evolving a consensus on vital issues, platform for internal debate, nor is there adequate portrayal of our rights in the national fora, neither still is our image correctly portrayed at the international level. The chief reason for this situation - among many others - we have no voice of our own. Ever wondered who speaks for us 40 million people? The state controlled Punjabi dominated media in Pakistan or the Persian dominated one in Afghanistan, or at best, the few foreign commentators visiting our areas now and then. The world has to put on Punjabi/ Persian glasses before looking at us - No wonder they see us as ‘Fundamentalists, extremists and barbaric. Just consider- Malaysia with a population of 22 million which is half that of Pukhtuns and an area roughly equal to that of Pukhtunkhwa has 32 daily newspapers with circulation of 3 million, 27 TV stations and 92 radio stations. Ironically we probably don’t even have half a dozen newspapers and only one TV station/ channel - that too state controlled. How could we expect to be heard and understood around the world? How do we expect to be given our rights? How can we expect to preserve our culture and language? How can we hope for a better future for our children? The answer lies in speaking out! NOWWith out any doubt, it is the media that shape events and influence regional and global issues today. It is the media that spurs economic development, stimulate education, provoke political debate, prompts intellectual pursuits and brings in change. Without an effective media to project our viewpoint, any hope for economic, social and political emancipation of our nation is a cry in the wilderness.
Monday, May 14, 2007
MQM a mercenary force
Karachi killings threat to national security
PESHAWAR: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani on Saturday condemned clashes in Karachi that resulted in the killing of at least 30 people. In a statement issued here, Durrani expressed sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the clashes and sympathised with the bereaved families. He said that violence in Karachi was a threat to national security. Meanwhile, the ANP called the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) a mercenary force and warned that the party would “react” to the killing of Pukhtoons in Karachi. “Today, what the MQM has done in Karachi is what a mercenary force is all about,” ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan told a press conference.
PESHAWAR: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani on Saturday condemned clashes in Karachi that resulted in the killing of at least 30 people. In a statement issued here, Durrani expressed sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the clashes and sympathised with the bereaved families. He said that violence in Karachi was a threat to national security. Meanwhile, the ANP called the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) a mercenary force and warned that the party would “react” to the killing of Pukhtoons in Karachi. “Today, what the MQM has done in Karachi is what a mercenary force is all about,” ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan told a press conference.
MQM responsible for Karachi violence
Once again MQM has shown its fascist nature by brutal killings of unarmed innocent Pukhtoons. The only crime they had committed was that they were exercising their democratic right of opposing a muhjir military dictator. To add salt to wounds this terrorists outfit's coward leader from London is calling for mourning the dead like a proverbial crocodile. Pukhtoons of Karachi need our support at least in the form of raising slogans in their favour. Our these poor brethren simply don't have the resources to face the terror monster of MQM. They not only lack resources but also don't have the leadership which can effectively articulate their plight and expose the hell let loose by the tyrannical rule of the muhajirs which extends right up to General Musharaf. Muhajirs tyranny has usurp every and very basic rights of the Pukhtoons in Karachi: there children can't get admission in the educational institutions as they are denied domicile, IDs, passports and voter listing. Despite they being 5 million they don't have proper representation leave alone commensurate representation in the assemblies as their constituencies have been truncated in such a way that as a small piece they are attached with muhajir majority areas. To aggravated further the poling stations are located in the MQM terrorists dens so no non muhjir could dare venture to poling stations for exercising a basic human right. Another example of the MQM ethnic cleansing and intimidation is the so called mega projects. The projects are executed in such a manner that they are deliberately drawn through non muhjir areas so that to cause maximum displacement and of course the award of such lucrative contracts and the kick backs who knows reaches up to whom but what is clear is that Musharf got the finances for them from international institutions to be shouldered later by rest of Pakistan. The conclusion is that we have to rise and speak on behalf of all the Pukhtoons and that of Karachi in particular at this stage and till times that the message becomes loud and clear to those usurpers and we get our rights.
pukhtoonyar orakzai@canada.com
KW/froum
pukhtoonyar orakzai@canada.com
KW/froum
CJ lawyers blame govt, MQM for Karachi violence
ISLAMABAD: The lawyers of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Sunday held the federal and provincial governments and MQM responsible for the bloodshed in Karachi.
Addressing a news conference here, Aitzaz Ahsan said the chief justice wanted to address the members of the bar but MQM acting as surrogate to the government took revenge from Karachi.
"Pervez Musharraf has called me the political advisor of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in fact I am his legal advisor, not political," Aitzaz said.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had a simple schedule, he said. The lawyers didn't ask any political party to hold a rally, they did that on their own, he said.
MQM has proved that entry into Karachi will be disallowed without permission from Altaf Hussain, Aitzaz Ahsan said. They held an armed rally with prior intentions of violence, he alleged.
The CJP counsel said that Justice Iftikhar had addressed five gatherings within two months without any minor unpleasant incident.
The government, Pervaiz Elahi and MQM have shattered the code of conduct recently issued by the Supreme Court, so the apex court should take suo motu notice of it, he said.
Another lawyer of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry Munir A. Malik said that May 12 schedule of Karachi visit of the chief justice was announced on May 5 but the Sindh High Court premises was sealed from Friday night and a bid made to kidnap the chief justice.
The counsels of the chief justice announced countrywide strike and four-hour token hunger strike on Monday.
They said that Justice Chaudhry will visit Karachi again and will be received peacefully. The Sindh government served notices to 18 advocates, accompanying Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, to not enter Karachi for 30 days due to law and order situation. - Agencies
Addressing a news conference here, Aitzaz Ahsan said the chief justice wanted to address the members of the bar but MQM acting as surrogate to the government took revenge from Karachi.
"Pervez Musharraf has called me the political advisor of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in fact I am his legal advisor, not political," Aitzaz said.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had a simple schedule, he said. The lawyers didn't ask any political party to hold a rally, they did that on their own, he said.
MQM has proved that entry into Karachi will be disallowed without permission from Altaf Hussain, Aitzaz Ahsan said. They held an armed rally with prior intentions of violence, he alleged.
The CJP counsel said that Justice Iftikhar had addressed five gatherings within two months without any minor unpleasant incident.
The government, Pervaiz Elahi and MQM have shattered the code of conduct recently issued by the Supreme Court, so the apex court should take suo motu notice of it, he said.
Another lawyer of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry Munir A. Malik said that May 12 schedule of Karachi visit of the chief justice was announced on May 5 but the Sindh High Court premises was sealed from Friday night and a bid made to kidnap the chief justice.
The counsels of the chief justice announced countrywide strike and four-hour token hunger strike on Monday.
They said that Justice Chaudhry will visit Karachi again and will be received peacefully. The Sindh government served notices to 18 advocates, accompanying Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, to not enter Karachi for 30 days due to law and order situation. - Agencies
CJ lawyers blame govt, MQM for Karachi violence
ISLAMABAD: The lawyers of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Sunday held the federal and provincial governments and MQM responsible for the bloodshed in Karachi.
Addressing a news conference here, Aitzaz Ahsan said the chief justice wanted to address the members of the bar but MQM acting as surrogate to the government took revenge from Karachi.
"Pervez Musharraf has called me the political advisor of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in fact I am his legal advisor, not political," Aitzaz said.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had a simple schedule, he said. The lawyers didn't ask any political party to hold a rally, they did that on their own, he said.
MQM has proved that entry into Karachi will be disallowed without permission from Altaf Hussain, Aitzaz Ahsan said. They held an armed rally with prior intentions of violence, he alleged.
The CJP counsel said that Justice Iftikhar had addressed five gatherings within two months without any minor unpleasant incident.
The government, Pervaiz Elahi and MQM have shattered the code of conduct recently issued by the Supreme Court, so the apex court should take suo motu notice of it, he said.
Another lawyer of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry Munir A. Malik said that May 12 schedule of Karachi visit of the chief justice was announced on May 5 but the Sindh High Court premises was sealed from Friday night and a bid made to kidnap the chief justice.
The counsels of the chief justice announced countrywide strike and four-hour token hunger strike on Monday.
They said that Justice Chaudhry will visit Karachi again and will be received peacefully. The Sindh government served notices to 18 advocates, accompanying Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, to not enter Karachi for 30 days due to law and order situation. - Agencies
Addressing a news conference here, Aitzaz Ahsan said the chief justice wanted to address the members of the bar but MQM acting as surrogate to the government took revenge from Karachi.
"Pervez Musharraf has called me the political advisor of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in fact I am his legal advisor, not political," Aitzaz said.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had a simple schedule, he said. The lawyers didn't ask any political party to hold a rally, they did that on their own, he said.
MQM has proved that entry into Karachi will be disallowed without permission from Altaf Hussain, Aitzaz Ahsan said. They held an armed rally with prior intentions of violence, he alleged.
The CJP counsel said that Justice Iftikhar had addressed five gatherings within two months without any minor unpleasant incident.
The government, Pervaiz Elahi and MQM have shattered the code of conduct recently issued by the Supreme Court, so the apex court should take suo motu notice of it, he said.
Another lawyer of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry Munir A. Malik said that May 12 schedule of Karachi visit of the chief justice was announced on May 5 but the Sindh High Court premises was sealed from Friday night and a bid made to kidnap the chief justice.
The counsels of the chief justice announced countrywide strike and four-hour token hunger strike on Monday.
They said that Justice Chaudhry will visit Karachi again and will be received peacefully. The Sindh government served notices to 18 advocates, accompanying Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, to not enter Karachi for 30 days due to law and order situation. - Agencies
State terrorism by the MQM
Central President of the Awami National Party Asfandyar Wali Khan Saturday blasted the Muhajir Qaumi Movement for resorting to violence and terrorism in Karachi during the visit of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Choudhry killing scores of innocent people including the ANP workers."We strongly condemn the state terrorism by the MQM in which our workers were also killed and injured," said the ANP president while talking to a delegation of Pakistan Bar Council led by president of the High Court Bar Association Latif Afridi. Besides others provincial ANP president Afrasiab Khattak was also present during the meeting.He said that the Sindh government had prevented Chief Justice of Pakistan from addressing a reception arranged in his honour by the Sindh High Court Bar Association. "Addressing a rally or reception is the right of every individual and stopping the chief justice from addressing the reception is clear violation of law," the ANP leader added.He said that MQM was not a political party rather it was group of terrorists and criminals. "President Musharraf has been trying to prolong his rule through this type of terrorist groups and corrupt people," he added.The ANP leader assured that the workers of his party would fully participate in the protest rallies being planned by the High Court Bar Association on Monday. "We will be always in the forefront in movement for ensuring rule of law in the country as we believe in rule of law," he said.He demanded that the government should hold investigation to fix the responsibility for the violence in Karachi. "The criminals and terrorists should be taken to task as this is the only way of ensuring rule of law in the country," he concluded.Statesman
Pakhtuns bleed as violence grips Karachi
KARACHI/PESHAWAR: The Port City of Karachi once again saw a bloody violence against Pakhtuns who were killed brutally by political party activists, some sources blamed MQM activists for their preplanned action against this poor community. The FrontierPost
Pakhtuns bleed as violence grips Karachi
KARACHI/PESHAWAR: The Port City of Karachi once again saw a bloody violence against Pakhtuns who were killed brutally by political party activists, some sources blamed MQM activists for their preplanned action against this poor community. The FrontierPost
MQM was not a political party rather it was group of terrorists and criminals.
Syed Javed Haider Urdu Article Mashriq daily.
Click On the Article to enlarge the Font Size....
Click On the Article to enlarge the Font Size....
Disarm MQM, says HRCP
LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Sunday expressed concern over the loss of lives and bloodshed in Karachi on SaturdayCommission Chairwoman Asma Jahangir, in a statement, called Saturday’s killings the result of a “calculated adventure hatched by the presidency and MQM with the cooperation of the Sindh government”. “The incident aimed to silence civil society. It was a militant act to deny people their right to freedom of expression,” Ms Jehangir said. She said the government in collusion with the MQM was doing “politics of prejudice” to revert Karachi to a state of ethnic hostility. “The MQM should be disarmed so the people in Karachi might live peacefully,” she said, adding that the HRCP favoured bar associations in their struggle for the supremacy of the rule of law. staff report
Musharraf gave MQM free hand to carry out violence: Qazi
* Calls for president’s resignation, announces countrywide strike today * MMA to hold APC on 16th to consider cases against killersStaff ReportPESHAWAR: Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) President Qazi Hussain Ahmed has accused President Pervez Musharraf of giving the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) ‘a free hand’ to carry out violence in Karachi against peaceful people. Addressing a press conference, Ahmed said that “MQM hooligans” killed dozens of people and wounded several others in Karachi “at the behest of Gen Musharraf”. He said that the Rangers and police were also involved. He called for Gen Musharraf and his cabinet’s resignation, restoration of the Constitution and elections under an independent election commission. Ahmed said the incumbent parliament had no right to re-elect Musharraf as president and that all political parties would collectively block his re-election. “Gen Musharraf, with or without uniform, is an unconstitutional president,” he said. Ahmed said the MMA had decided to begin a movement in cooperation with other political parties to oust President Musharraf to overcome the current crisis. “We have consulted Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Amin Fahim, Chaudhry Nisar, Imran Khan and Asfandyar Wali on the issue. They all support us,” he said. The MMA leader said that a countrywide strike would be observed today (Monday) to condemn the Karachi killings. He said that Gen Musharraf would not step down unless people take to the streets. Ahmed said that MQM chief Altaf Hussain was ‘psychologically ill’ and the British government was protecting him. He said that Gen Musharraf and Altaf Hussain’s rallies were a ‘failure’. He said the federal government spent over Rs 500 million from the national exchequer on the Islamabad rally. Staff Report from Lahore adds: MMA Deputy Secretary General Liaquat Baloch told a press conference here on Sunday that his party would host an all parties conference (APC) on May 16 to evolve a strategy to register murder cases against those involved in the Karachi killings. He said the MMA would stage anti-government rallies in various parts of the country on May 27 to 29 and from July 1 to 3. The party will also hold public meetings in Rawalpindi and Lahore on July 17 and August 14, respectively.
PPP wants Musharraf, MQM tried
LAHORE: The Pakistan People’s Party on Sunday demanded that a case should be registered against President Pervez Musharraf and MQM leadership for inciting violence in Karachi. Addressing a press conference, Punjab PPP leaders Khalid Ahmad Khan, Munir Ahmad Khan and Ghulam Abbas said that assemblies should be dissolved and a caretaker government should be set up to hold general elections. They also feared violence in Punjab because of the MQM activities in this province. They also demanded the acting chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) take suo moto notice of misbehaviour with the CJP at Karachi Airport. They said that it was evident from the statements of the Sindh governor, the chief minister and the MQM leaders that the violence was pre-planned. They also alleged that the government was trying to sabotage federation by creating ethnic conflicts in Sindh. They said that the PML rally in Islamabad was the rally of the government employees. They said that the PPP, after coming to power, would hold Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi accountable for using provincial resources on the meeting. They also condemned the attack on Aaj TV channel. They said that the PPP would also support any protest movement against President Pervez Musharraf. They said that the PPP would hold a protest meeting outside General Post Office on Monday (today) along with other parties. The party held a protest meeting outside Data Darbar on Sunday and offered Ghiabana (in absentia) funeral prayers for those killed in Karachi. staff report
Daily Times
PPP wants Musharraf, MQM tried
LAHORE: The Pakistan People’s Party on Sunday demanded that a case should be registered against President Pervez Musharraf and MQM leadership for inciting violence in Karachi. Addressing a press conference, Punjab PPP leaders Khalid Ahmad Khan, Munir Ahmad Khan and Ghulam Abbas said that assemblies should be dissolved and a caretaker government should be set up to hold general elections. They also feared violence in Punjab because of the MQM activities in this province. They also demanded the acting chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) take suo moto notice of misbehaviour with the CJP at Karachi Airport. They said that it was evident from the statements of the Sindh governor, the chief minister and the MQM leaders that the violence was pre-planned. They also alleged that the government was trying to sabotage federation by creating ethnic conflicts in Sindh. They said that the PML rally in Islamabad was the rally of the government employees. They said that the PPP, after coming to power, would hold Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi accountable for using provincial resources on the meeting. They also condemned the attack on Aaj TV channel. They said that the PPP would also support any protest movement against President Pervez Musharraf. They said that the PPP would hold a protest meeting outside General Post Office on Monday (today) along with other parties. The party held a protest meeting outside Data Darbar on Sunday and offered Ghiabana (in absentia) funeral prayers for those killed in Karachi. staff report
Daily Times
ANP calls loss of Pukhtoon lives a ‘national tragedy’
ANP calls loss of Pukhtoon lives a ‘national tragedy’
PESHAWAR: The loss of 11 Pukhtoon lives in Saturday’s violence is a national tragedy, Awami National Party NWFP President Afrasiab Khattak said in a press statement on Sunday. He urged Pukhtoons in NWFP and the tribal areas to unite against the “state-backed terrorism at the hands of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) terrorists”. “Up to 11 ANP workers were reported killed in Saturday’s violence and there are 17 injured,” ANP provincial information secretary Aqil Shah told Daily Times. “Ten are still missing.” The nationalist party announced full support to the shutter down strike call for Monday from lawyers in the province to protest the violence in Karachi. The unofficial death toll has reached 37 in Sunday’s violence involving the MQM and other political parties. The MQM and Pukhtoons previously had disputes in 1995 with both sides losing more than 40 lives. ANP central president Senator Asfandyar Wali Khan angrily reacted to the killings of Pukhtoons, calling the MQM “a mercenary and fascist force” and warned that the Pukhtoons would “react” if they were attacked. “The killed party activists’ only crime was that they took to the streets to voice concern at threats to the independence of the judiciary and they were killed by mercenaries of the MQM,” Afrasiab stated. He said police and paramilitary force backed the “MQM terrorists”. staff report
Daily Times
PESHAWAR: The loss of 11 Pukhtoon lives in Saturday’s violence is a national tragedy, Awami National Party NWFP President Afrasiab Khattak said in a press statement on Sunday. He urged Pukhtoons in NWFP and the tribal areas to unite against the “state-backed terrorism at the hands of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) terrorists”. “Up to 11 ANP workers were reported killed in Saturday’s violence and there are 17 injured,” ANP provincial information secretary Aqil Shah told Daily Times. “Ten are still missing.” The nationalist party announced full support to the shutter down strike call for Monday from lawyers in the province to protest the violence in Karachi. The unofficial death toll has reached 37 in Sunday’s violence involving the MQM and other political parties. The MQM and Pukhtoons previously had disputes in 1995 with both sides losing more than 40 lives. ANP central president Senator Asfandyar Wali Khan angrily reacted to the killings of Pukhtoons, calling the MQM “a mercenary and fascist force” and warned that the Pukhtoons would “react” if they were attacked. “The killed party activists’ only crime was that they took to the streets to voice concern at threats to the independence of the judiciary and they were killed by mercenaries of the MQM,” Afrasiab stated. He said police and paramilitary force backed the “MQM terrorists”. staff report
Daily Times
Pakhtoons ask for compensation
Staff ReportKARACHI: The Pakhtoon Action Committee Loya Jirga (PAC) said that if they are not compensated within the next three days, they will announce a course of action involving massive anti-governmental movements.“The MQM should stop terrorism against us. The entire country will suffer if we give up our peaceful policy,” said Shahi Syed, chief of the LJ, during a press conference held Sunday at his office. He said that 16 members of the LJ and the ANP were killed on Saturday and Sunday and that the MQM’s attacks were tantamount to state terrorism.Syed added that the police and rangers were helpless. “Had we not changed our rally routes, thousands of our supporters would have been killed.”They also announced their support for Monday’s shutter-down strike called by the MMA and the ARD and held the government of Sindh responsible for Saturday’s bloodbath. He further urged people across the world to voice their protest against what he called the genocide of the Pakhtoons in Karachi.
Daily Times.
Staff ReportKARACHI: The Pakhtoon Action Committee Loya Jirga (PAC) said that if they are not compensated within the next three days, they will announce a course of action involving massive anti-governmental movements.“The MQM should stop terrorism against us. The entire country will suffer if we give up our peaceful policy,” said Shahi Syed, chief of the LJ, during a press conference held Sunday at his office. He said that 16 members of the LJ and the ANP were killed on Saturday and Sunday and that the MQM’s attacks were tantamount to state terrorism.Syed added that the police and rangers were helpless. “Had we not changed our rally routes, thousands of our supporters would have been killed.”They also announced their support for Monday’s shutter-down strike called by the MMA and the ARD and held the government of Sindh responsible for Saturday’s bloodbath. He further urged people across the world to voice their protest against what he called the genocide of the Pakhtoons in Karachi.
Daily Times.
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