PKKH Exclusive | by Aneela Shahzad

What a world we are living in, the severed developing-world, as if, we are in the midst of a blustery wind, the sand has entered our eyes and the blades of the wind are to cut us down into paralysis. This is the despair of helplessness, when we see our fellow men being persecuted and find our hands tied in circumstances; we have everything but we can do nothing.

We haven’t forgotten Raymond Davis, from Jan. 2011, who was secretly deported, probably in a Tom-Cruise-CIA-style, when the big crooks: the US government officials told the little crooks: the Pakistani government officials not to prosecute Davis and recognize him as a diplomat; Mr. Obama stated that, “There’s a broader principle at stake that I think we have to uphold.”, not stating that the broader principle is: ‘big crooks always have to win’ and that ‘we should forget that he is a CIA operative’, reminding us that they have all the immunity they need under the very-big-crook, ‘the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations’, under which they can kill, conspire against another country, break their laws for the broader principle called the ‘US interests’, which of course are ‘de-mock-racy and freedom for everyone’. So the smaller crooks, under the honourable shadow of Mr. Zardarri and Mr. Gillanni, let their man disappear on grounds that they simply can’t disregard their elders.

Just two months prior to this incident another depressing incident had taken place, a bunch of quite-a-smaller-crooks at the coast of Somalia had seized the Pakistani ship, MV Albedo, abducting the 23 crew members in it. In the last 18 months reports have come of the ordeal faced by the crew, going through severe mental and physical conditions. The families of the crew are constantly appealing to the government and the people of the country to help them in the collection of the ransom money, but as yet nor has a penny fallen from the government’s pocket neither have they endeavoured to negotiate a way out for these men.

The honour and sense of protection one experiences being a party to real big crooks is sensational; in Raymond’s case not only the whole US government machinery but the United Nation itself seemed to be bent on rescuing this man and they did eventually enshroud him in their cape of invisibility. There is also a lot of protection and honour in a poor country like Pakistan, the president and the prime-minister have immunity from law and the common sense of the public, their close relatives have the honour of being granted right-off-able loans of hundreds of millions, their close friends have the protection of being granted from a wide choice of ministries, in case they loose one. But is there any protection for the decent man, who works through his duty to earn a living and he is not a crook. Is there any honour for his family, who are helplessly being seen in tents collecting ransom money? How much is $1.4 million for the face-saving of a whole nation, how does it feel to a body whose wound is left open to bleed, how do you educate a people, if you educate them to bear disgrace.

There is no doubt that this meager amount of money is no big deal for Pakistan’s silent philanthropists, who if awakened just a little bit, will not fail to heal this little rapture. But that is not the question! The question is, is there no room for human compassion in politics, is it only the name of grab and run, and not turn back to see how many have fallen? The question is, how much would Mr. Zardarri or Mr. Gillani be sparing from their personal pocket if it was one of their own sons or a close ally. But surely it is not for our honourable leaders to be dealing with such lowly crooks as the Somalian pirates, that also for the recovery of the sons and fathers of a decent lot.

(news have come that the governer of Sindh Ishrat ul Ebad has been able to finalize deal with the hijackers, he hopes that the hostages will come home soon, we are hoping too!)

Aneela Shahzad is an editor at PKKH.tv and can be contacted via info@pakistankakhudahafiz.com,  and you can also find her at Aneela Shahzad’s Blog

Pak Army/ISI is a willfull Target of USA
By Brig Asif Haroon Raja

Gen Pervez Musharraf, declared a pariah by the western world because of his military coup against a democratically elected government of Nawaz Sharif excitedly joined the bandwagon of the US led adventurers in September 2001 under the fond hope that marrying up with the sole super power would be beneficial for him as well as for Pakistan. He perceived that alliance with the US would make Pakistan politically and economically strong and economically prosperous. Fancying that milk and honey would start flowing in the rivers of Indus, Chenab and Jhelum, he gladly joined the GWOT. To earn full confidence of Washington he volunteered to make Pakistan the front line state. He consented to meet each and every demand of USA howsoever injurious to Pakistan as long as debts were rescheduled and aid money and investments flowed in. Provision of Ground Lines of Transportation (GLOT) for NATO free of cost via Torkham and Chaman was one of the many demands met, which these days has become a burning issue.

With sanctions lifted and debts rescheduled, foreign investment and US aid money flowing in, Pakistan’s economy which was in doldrums started becoming healthy. Blinded by the rising economic indicators because of consumerist economic policy pursued by the US choice man Shaukat Aziz, Mush kept dancing to the tunes of Washington and soon earned a special place in the heart of anti-Islam and anti-Muslim George W Bush. To elevate and glamorize him for the laudable services rendered in furthering the US interests, he was invited by Bush to Camp David where only the most privileged could enter. Washington patted Mush and the King’s Party running a rubber stamp national assembly but castigated Pakistan and its people. The US and western leaders made a beeline to visit Pakistan. Do more demand was ceded to with bowed heads and the faceless enemy fought with renewed fervor unmindful of the human and socio-economic losses incurred. The US political and military leaders became so emboldened that they started micro-managing internal affairs of Pakistan and treated it as the US 51st state.

CIA and FBI on the other hand kept up their covert activities in selected regions and got entrenched. The two agencies facilitated RAW-Mossad-MI-6-RAAM-BND covert war from Afghan soil to initially destabilize FATA and Balochistan and then spread the flames of terrorism to other parts of Pakistan. In order to hide their clandestine operations, a calculated psychological war was unleashed to put Pakistan on the defensive. Cross border terrorism and patronization of terrorist groups practiced by the six agencies were pasted on Pakistan. While anti-Pakistan local and foreign terrorists were funded, trained, equipped and launched to fight Pak security forces, Pakistan on the other hand was ridiculed that it was not doing enough and constantly pressed to do more.

By the time the ISI that had been distracted from its primary job of external security and kept busy in chasing the faceless terrorists to pocket reward money, woke up from its slumber in 2008, foreign agencies had dug their heels deep down and had wrought considerable havoc in Pakistan. Car bombs, IEDs, suicide bombings, group attacks, target killings, beheading of captives, attacks on mosques, shrines and funerals and kidnappings for ransom became a norm. Radicalism scaled new heights. Till as late as 2003, Pakistan had never experienced terrorism on such a high scale. Suicide attacks were unheard of and FATA was a peaceful region. When the ISI began to play its due role of first line defence and started recovering lost spaces in restive region of FATA and elsewhere, it irked CIA. Roadblocks were placed at a time when CIA network with the induction of Blackwater in 2008 had spread its tentacles from FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and major urban centres.

That was the timeframe in which the US tailored government had been installed through rigged elections. Musharraf who had performed well on the governance and economic fronts had agreed to the US proposal of sharing power for next five years with PPP led coalition government comprising liberal parties. The new COAS Gen Kayani, former DG ISI Lt Gen Pasha, PML-N, religious right and independent higher judiciary under chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhri became spoilers of the US game plan. PML-N however, fearful of Army takeover allowed the gang of looters to continue ruling for full tenure irrespective of their poor governance, record breaking corruption, defiance of rule of law and judiciary and anti-people policies under the misplaced hope that the PPP would allow it to rule for five years. Softness of the opposition allowed the rulers complete liberty of action to indulge in immoral and corrupt practices to fill their coffers at the cost of the masses.

Indebted to Washington, the rulers repaid it by not only pursuing Musharraf’s flawed policies suiting USA but also fighting the war on terror with greater vigor and impunity. Yusaf Raza Gilani-Rahman Malik-Hussein Haqqani trio liberalized visa policy, removed restrictions of scrutiny of visas by the ISI and Foreign Office and facilitated inflow of undesirables from USA. Between July-December 2010, 7000 unwanted CIA agents and US Marines disguised as security contractors, businessmen, coordinators, project managers and diplomats sneaked in and thus set the stage to undertake a bigger venture. Host of contingency plans to disable our nuclear arsenal had already been rehearsed by US Elite Forces. As the roadmap leading to our nuclear sites and areas where the heliborne strike force was to be received was being given final touches, one of the chief coordinators Raymond Davis got accidently arrested in Lahore in January 2011 after he murdered two motorcyclists whom he suspected were trailing him. The weapons, equipment, maps, cameras and gadgets recovered from his car gave an insight of the intentions and capacity of CIA network and its dangerous designs.

He was a professional spy, a thug and a serial killer who was strenuously working on an assigned mission, using Lahore Consulate as his safe haven. Earlier on he had been working in close liaison with CIA Station Manager Islamabad Jonathan Bank and prior to that in Peshawar. He had all along posed as a diplomat but during his initial interrogation by the police in Kot Lakhpat jail he revealed that he was not a diplomat. He would have divulged much more but the US Ambassador and Consul General in Lahore assured him that he would soon be released and advised him to seal his lips. He was set free on March 16 on express orders from Presidency. His arrest however jolted our security apparatus and it frantically started taking tough measures to safeguard our core assets.

Seeing that the US plan to dig the last nail in the coffin of Pakistan had been put in jeopardy by Pak Army/ISI, and ISAF was not performing in Afghanistan and CIA was being criticized for its failures, Pentagon and CIA decided to hit hard the two premier institutions. It was in this backdrop that ‘Operation Geronimo’ was actualized to denigrate and malign Pak Army, ISI and PAF. This is evident from the fact that after raiding OBL’s hideout and killing him without taking Pakistan into confidence, the US media, think tanks and officials embarked upon a programmed vilification campaign to undermine Army and ISI. There are strong indications that 2 May raid was carried out with the blessing Zardari, Gilani and Hussein Haqqani. The latter got fully exposed in memo scandal. Finding that the judicial rope had tightened around his neck, he has dissociated himself from the memo commission investigating the case.

One year has gone by, but the US is still exploiting 2 May raid. OBL’s death anniversary was misused to disparage Pak Army and ISI. While doing so, the US ignores huge sacrifices made by people and security forces of Pakistan. Today the US is crowing that al-Qaeda has almost been incapacitated in Af-Pak region but forgets that the ISI arrested most wanted terrorists of al-Qaeda which included Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Abu Zubadeh, Abu Faraj al-Libbi, Younis al-Mauritani and broke its back. The ISI provided the critical clue in the form of OBL’s courier, Ahmad al-Kuwaiti which helped CIA to reach up to OBL’s compound. But for Pakistan’s wholesome contributions, Al-Qaeda would still have been a formidable force in this region. If Pakistan in reality had got secretly aligned with Afghan/Pakistani Taliban and Al-Qaeda, the goose of the US would have got cooked long time back.

Lahore: Jamaat-ud-Daawa founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has served legal notices on two Pakistani journalists for allegedly concocting a report about his secret meeting with US Ambassador Cameron Munter, seeking Rs 100 million as damages.

The notices were served on columnist Nazir Naji and reporter Amir Mir by Saeed’s lawyer A K Dogar.

The notices contended that Naji’s column in the Urdu daily Jang on May 9 and Mir’s report in the Asia Times Online website on May 12 were aimed at tarnishing Saeed’s image.

Dogar said Saeed did not want to meet an envoy of the country that he claims is the “murderer of millions of Muslims and an enemy of Pakistan.”

He said Saeed would file a criminal case against both journalists who tried to defame him in Pakistan and abroad.

Both journalists were bound to reply to the notice seeking Rs 100 million as damages within 14 days, failing which legal proceedings would begin against them, Dogar claimed.

The US embassy recently denied media reports of a secret meeting between Saeed and the Ambassador.

Naji wrote in his column that after the US announced a bounty of 10 million dollars for Saeed, “some extremists elements” arranged a secret meeting between the Hafiz Saeed and Munter.

Naji further claimed that Saeed and Munter explained their points of view at the meeting.

After the meeting, Naji wrote, Saeed was “satisfied” and resumed taking part in public activities openly as he had been given some sort of undertaking by the US envoy.

Mir, a reporter for The News daily of the Jang group, picked up Naji’s column and reproduced it on the Asia Times Online website on May 12.

“We want legal action against Naji and Mir for writing unfounded, baseless and malicious pieces against a respectable citizen of Pakistan,” Dogar claimed.

US officials have described Saeed as a key suspect in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Saeed was briefly detained after the attacks before being freed on the orders of the Lahore High Court.

Pakistan claims that India has not provided sufficient evidence to prosecute Saeed.

Source:  Express India

By Brig Asif Haroon Raja

Pak-US Relations strained in the backdrop of Raymond Davis incident. After his release on 16 March 2011, CIA itched to teach a lesson to the leaderships of Pak Army and ISI that had shown defiance and created impediments in its way. 2 May stealth operation was launched to degrade premier institutions of Pakistan and to earn brownie points for Obama and for the US military. The people of Pakistan heard the shocking news next morning with utter disbelief. Since Osama Bin Laden (OBL) had got off the radar screen in December 2001, it was generally believed that either he was in Afghanistan or had died. They had known that Pakistani intelligence agencies together with CIA and FBI had succeeded in arresting over 600 al-Qaeda operatives including high value targets with heavy head money in Pakistan.

Since OBL couldn’t be nabbed despite the biggest hunt ever launched in the history and carrying reward money of $25 million, the assessment made by the public in Pakistan was fair. None in Abbottabad including those residing in Bilal town and in immediate neighborhood of the said compound had ever seen or heard or suspected of OBL presence. No one other than two couriers of OBL, (Ahmad al-Kuwaiti, known as Ibrahim) and Abrar (known as Tariq), and gardner Shamrez had entered the compound. Shamrez did his gardening job without interaction with any of the inmates. Even today no one in that town is prepared to buy the story that OBL was living there with three wives and 11 children for six years.

Americans and westerners were in a state of euphoria. Whole night partying took place. No country censured USA for brazenly violating Pakistan’s sovereignty, or the US apologized or even felt remorseful for having stabbed an ally in the back. Rather, tone and tenor of US leaders as well as the US and western media against Pakistan became belligerent. Segment of Pak media on the US payroll didn’t lag behind in vehemently bashing Pakistan and its premier institutions. When ISI tried to take preventive steps to prevent 5/2 like incident, it angered USA and CIA-ISI cooperation almost ceased. CIA resisted demand of ISI to close down its network in Pakistan under the plea of locating al-Zawahiri and other top Al-Qaeda leaders hiding in cities and to find the network that had assisted OBL. Former CIA Director Leon Panetta declared that the US reserved the right for another unilateral action whenever actionable intelligence was available.

First it was alleged that Pak Army and the ISI were in the know of OBL’s presence in Abbottabad and were complicit.  Soon after, the stance was modified by asserting that mid-to-senior level ISI and Army officials provided support base to OBL. Rather than furnishing proof and providing names of the ones involved in the so-called racket, Wikileaks was cited to give weight to the allegation. Fred Burton heading a global intelligence firm in USA played up this story. To appear more knowledgeable, he added that up to 12 officials in ISI knew of the safe house but couldn’t name even a single one. The unsubstantiated allegations were rubbished by Pakistan, terming them as mischievous and false. David Ignatius came out with another cockeyed story published in Washington Post on February 18, 2012, claiming that an architect working in the compound of OBL was an ISI employee.

David made a reference to Gen Ziauddin’s statement given to the media that the compound was in use of the IB under Brig retired Ijaz Shah and Gen Mush was in the know of it. Ziauddin issued a rejoinder stating that he had said that the two officers by virtue of their appointments held could possibly be in the knowledge of OBL’s stay in Abbottabad. So, it was his assumption and not a piece of intelligence he gave. It must not be forgotten that Ziauddin was bitten hard by Musharraf for his uncommitted crime and it is natural for him to have a deep grudge against his tormentor. Hence, his uttering cannot be quoted as authentic piece of information. Mush living in exile in London has refuted the claim that he was an accomplice in arranging OBL’s stay in Abbottabad garrison.

To say that OBL’s unnoticed presence in a military dominated garrison for six years was either because of incompetence of Pak Army/ISI or the two were accomplice, what has the US to say about 9/11? The US intelligence agencies had received information that a terrorist attack is in the pipeline, yet they remained clueless about 19 hijackers receiving training and finalizing plans to hijack four planes and to hit World Trade Centre and Pentagon. It was the biggest intelligence failure in modern history and that too in the most advanced and powerful country of the world. Were the CIA, or FBI, or Pentagon or some other state institution accomplice or incompetent? Why was the US not embarrassed, taunted and humiliated? Why the whole world sympathized with the US? Tears shed by the world encouraged George W Bush and his team of neo cons to go berserk. 11 years have gone by and the cycle of revenge for the death of less than 3000 American citizens is continuing unabatedly. Over two million Muslims, mostly innocent have died in the senseless war on terror and that many injured and maimed for life. But the war goes on with no end in sight. While Afghanistan and Iraq is being rebuilt after destroying the two countries, Pakistan is being systematically ruined. Why no tear has been shed for Pakistan, which has taken the maximum brunt of war? Is the blood of Pakistanis too thin and that of the Americans too precious?

What about Mumbai attacks? Weren’t Indian agencies caught with pants down despite receiving early warning? Instead of censuring India’s intelligence failure and its poorest response action, the whole world led by USA sympathized with it and held Pakistan responsible. But when Pakistan was stabbed in the back by an ally, the perpetrator, western world, India and Afghanistan eulogized the immoral act of raiders and rejoiced it. What about USA and Britain giving refuge to runaway terrorists and anti-state elements from Pakistan and supporting them? Isn’t London notorious for providing shelter to wanted terrorists?

Unlike USA, Britain and India, which are still bellowing and crying over 9/11, 7/7, and 26/11 terrorist attacks, Pakistan has borne the brunt of GWOT stoically and instead of blaming others is fighting the terrorists boldly. It has gone through many 9/11s, some more in enormity. None can deny that of all the 48 countries engaged in war on terror, Pakistan’s performance stands head and shoulders over others. In terms of successes, it has the best record.

While US-NATO couldn’t achieve even a single victory over resurging Afghan Taliban, conversely, Pak Army achieved several victories and broke the back of TTP – al-Qaeda nexus in northwest. It also disarrayed foreign supported terrorist outfits BLA, BLF, BRA in Balochistan, not considered as terrorists by USA. Yet the US has the temerity to cast aspersions on Pak Army and ISI. In terms of fatalities both of civilians and military, its losses are much more than the combined losses of the ISAF. Pakistan has lost over 30,000 civilians, 3500 Army officers and soldiers including over 200 ISI personnel and 2000 policemen in acts of terror. Other than Afghanistan and Pakistan, none has suffered so much of destruction of property. In terms of finances, it has suffered a loss of $70 billion. Rate of suicide and bomb attacks in Pakistan is higher than in any other country. Social trauma suffered by the people is incalculable.

On top of it, Pakistan is suffering the deadly consequences of covert war undertaken by the nexus of six intelligence agencies from Afghanistan and drones which are fuelling terrorism. Covert war and drone war are the gifts of Pakistan’s allies. Several terrorist groups in Pakistan are supported by RAW, CIA, Mossad and RAAM. Pakistan had to pay the price of the US misadventure in Abbottabad in the form of reprisals by al-Qaeda and TTP. Making Pakistan a convenient scapegoat to give vent to its anger, TTP/al-Qaeda struck Shabqadar Frontier Constabulary Academy, Mehran naval base, CID police station in Karachi and DIG FC in Quetta in September 2011.
But for a big chase and capture of 4219 suspected militants in 2011, and also spurt in drone attacks, which forced many al-Qaeda operators to flee to Arabian Peninsula, some more vengeful attacks would have taken place. When TTP/al-Qaeda undertook series of reprisal acts against Pakistan, the US took no notice. Rather it felt inwardly amused. However, when reprisal actions took place in Afghanistan in August-September 2011, the US leaders started bawling and held ISI responsible, saying that Haqqani network was its veritable arm. Aren’t Israel and India the veritable arms of USA poised against Pakistan?
I
nstead of acknowledging its sacrifices rendered and agreeing that it is the biggest victim of terrorism, Pakistan is distrusted and dubbed as the nursery of terrorism.  Pakistan as a responsible country was cooperating in US led war on terrorism and had shown substantial results by killing and apprehending vital Al-Qaeda terrorists. It was not an option for Pakistan to hide OBL, as alleged by USA and others and get embarrassed. Instead of eulogizing Pak Army and ISI performances, the US is disingenuously blaming Pakistan’s premier institutions that they are in cahoots with al-Qaeda. The US is trying to project the Army and ISI as complicit, incompetent and untrustworthy so as to justify future unilateral actions. Is it out of envy or jealousy or malice? The US should be grateful to Pak Army and ISI which because of its pro-active policy forced OBL to lead an inactive life detached from the body of al-Qaeda. Had Pakistani officials / ISI known about the presence of OBL inside Pakistan, they would have reacted positively to apprehend / kill him to save such chaos which led to lingering court probes.

Source : Opinion Maker

ISLAMABAD, May 15: The Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC) has announced that it will resist any move to restore Nato supplies, saying the entire nation is united against such a decision.

The DPC has decided to hold a meeting in Lahore on May 19 to chalk out its plan for action, while the opposition PML-N has also voiced concern over the government’s plans to reopen the supply routes.

Talking to Dawn, Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Gul, a senior member of the DPC, said the government was bent upon dividing the nation and creating a state of anarchy through civil war. “We will not go for any violent agitation, but we will continue to inform the masses about truth and create awareness.”

He said the government was making lame excuses that the country could not survive economically or stand at the international forum without resuming the Nato supplies.

“These are falsified statements based on personnel agenda of policymakers,” he said, adding, “The masses are fed up wit imperialistic policies of the United States and they are looking towards the DPC to take the lead.”

Hamid Gul said the US had gone back on its earlier commitment to withdrawing forces from Afghanistan by 2014. It now said military engagements in that country would continue for a long time. Jamaatud Dawa, a main component of the DPC, said any agreement with the US on resumption of Nato supplies would not be acceptable to the nation and the council would launch a peaceful movement against the move.

“Time demands resistance from the entire nation as the Americans are responsible for all economic and social woes in the region,” a spokesman for Jamaatud Dawa said. He said the US should be made accountable for human rights violations committed by its forces in Afghanistan and other Muslim countries.

A statement issued by the DPC said that aiding the aggressive US and Nato forces in their designs against Afghanistan and its Muslim population was religiously forbidden.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and PML-N stalwart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said in a TV interview that his party was against the move to resume Nato supplies.

“This is a shameful act and a sign of retreat for the entire nation,” he Nisar said, adding that if the government continued to move ahead with this agenda, his party would contact other parties and resist the move.

Chaudhry Nisar said the reopening of supply routes would be violation of a resolution adopted by parliament last month on new terms of engagements with the US.

Source: The Dawn

PKKH pays tribute to our nuclear scientists on Youm-e-Takbeer. This is first promo in this series, and final video will be release soon in which we will cover detail of our nuclear assets.

By Aisha Aijaz

As if multitude of problems facing us; war, poverty, terrorism, unemployment, power cuts etc; was not enough, our buffoon leaders grasp every opportunity to embarrass the whole nation in front of the whole world. The nation which has produced best doctors, engineers, physicists and world record holders IT professionals, has to face further humiliation of becoming a laughing stock because of cowardly decisions and goofy viewpoints of the ruling elite. I wonder why we are condemned to be ruled by worst of the lot which leaves us humiliated time and again.

Mr. Prime Minister (my heart sinks while addressing you by this title), your latest interview to CNN was one of the many examples of the above. The body language, selection of words, and irrelevant and weightless answers would annoy anyone, let alone the interviewer. And when a Prime Minister of a country is spoken to, by an interviewer as to ‘Look me in the eye and answer me’, there is surely something seriously wrong in stance and policies of the state that he is representing. The lady should understand that this part of the world does not know what resigning on moral grounds mean. That is only why you had to rely on generalised patent answers. Every time this issue of resigning on moral grounds arises, it reminds me of David Blunkett  the British Home secretary, who resigned by taking full responsibility of defaming his government due to his action of only fast tracking a visa application. But here, Mr Prime Minister you are actually standing firm as a scapegoat of an already defamed corrupt government like a stubborn child protecting an evil ‘friend’.

Your answer ‘Either choose democracy or dictatorship’, is a patent, prewritten formula for these interviews and talk shows. If one even thinks that this government is dysfunctional and corrupt, they are blasphemers, backed by the army, wanting big boots to intervene in the civilian territory. Oh no, Mr Prime Minister, not every question befits this answer. Not everything and anything is a ‘conspiracy’ against democracy. If the leading lot is corrupt, if the President has heavy accounts and properties outside the country the legitimacy of which needs to be looked into, it doesn’t mean we want dictatorship. Trust me, we hate it. That only simply means this is NOT democracy where people do not have the right to object and demand trials on corruption. You remind us of the will of people when you are told that according to a Gallup survey,  80% of the nation is frustrated and fed up with the dysfunctional parliament and civil institutions? Nothing can be more naïve than that. And you ask, why don’t the one third of the nation who wish to leave the country, leave then?

Let me answer you why. Remember the flood victim Mohammad Akram? A 30 year old man sick of his life who torched himself in front of your residence as he was frustrated to death because of unemployment? Remember, Kamran Ijaz Gul a child who topped his Class-VII examination and committed suicide because his poor parents could not buy him new school uniform.

Remember, only a few days ago in Multan,a one year old child died due to extreme heat in a bus stuck in a traffic jam caused by people protesting against loadshedding.

These people whose ‘will’ you talk about would leave the country if they had money and opportunity. But they haven’t seen a few thousands of rupees together, let alone millions of dollars that the leaders of this country have and deal with every day. Of course, your question, ‘who’s stopping them depicts your ignorance and apathy towards the nation you claim to lead. And of course, you wouldn’t know how painful it is to stand under the scorching sun at a bus stop with a hungry child in lap as you have millions of pounds to spend on your lavish and luxurious ‘Limousine’ tours. You wouldn’t know how a parent feels to see their child commit suicide. You wouldn’t know what it feels like to see your children prepare for an exam with no fan, no bulb and still shine. You wouldn’t know what it feels like to receive a bad news about a loved one, dying in a clash created for political/personal interests. And you wouldn’t know how it feels to see your loved one having a cardiac arrest in an ambulance when the traffic comes to a halt because of PM’s or President’s motorcade of Mercedes passing by. But trust me, Mr. Prime Minister you and your company are answerable for the herd of donkeys that you are leading. (16 crore, yeh gadhay jink a naam hai Awaam).

The country has already suffered from the worst brain drain and your indifference is making it worse. The lady asked you, ‘Who is running the country in your absence?’ We really want to know, who runs the country even in your presence? The nation is struggling to survive on its own with nobody to look up to for help and hope in your team. My question to you Mr. Prime Minister and company: you have money, properties, palaces,  and friends outside Pakistan and you have the opportunity more than anyone else in the country. If we are going to Stone Age even after your ‘country friendly’ policies and getting nothing from you, why don’t you and your team leave the country alone? And your question, ‘who’s stopping them (to leave)’ further disconnects the tie, so let’s do it. No one would stop you, I promise!

About the author: Aisha Aijaz is a medical doctor and writer. She has recently won the Best Activist Blogger award by CIO & Google at the Pakistan Blog Awards 2011. She can be reached at aisha@mybitforchange.org, and may follow here @AshAijaz

Source: My Bit For Change

by Ahmed Quraishi

It is impossible to analyse the latest humiliating diplomatic bungle by Pakistan’s political and military leaderships simply because it defies logic. How can a legitimate and normal diplomatic exercise by a country turn into humiliation? Did we block American and Nato war supplies for six months just so we can increase their transportation fees? And why blink now when our decision is beginning to bite the parties concerned and has reached a point of maturity where a win-win is possible?

Resumption of Nato war supplies is not the issue here. That decision would have been acceptable in some ways had some of our important demands been met. And our demands were attainable. So why did government and military fail to achieve them?

The answer: our negotiators did not have the courage of conviction, from the start. How can you extract a better deal when influential lobbies inside the Pakistani government were active immediately after the Salala massacre to accept a compromise?

Just look at the humiliating sermons that our leadership hurled at Pakistanis in the past two days to justify their diplomatic retreat. Almost all the key figures in the government came out lecturing Pakistanis: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani warned us we can’t confront 42 member-states of Nato; Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar warned us we were violating international law [never mind that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about]; Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said we should behave and be an “enabler” and not a “blocker”; and Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira had the audacity to ridicule Pakistanis by suggesting protests against illegal CIA drone attacks were limited to our cities and absent in the tribal belt because our people there were happy to see them.

This is more criticism against Pakistan than anything the United States or Nato officials have said. Is this our negotiating team or Nato’s B-Team in Islamabad?

The most ridiculous comment came from our otherwise graceful foreign minister when she said a majority of Pakistanis support “normal relations with the Western world.” That is absolutely true, but who said our quest for correcting a flawed relationship is equal to cutting off ties with the West?

The truth is Pakistan was not going to go to war with anyone, nor was it going to be isolated diplomatically by negotiating new sets of rules for cooperation with United States in Afghanistan.

We could have remained in robust engagement with the Americans and Nato member-countries to explain our positions and negotiate a better deal, while leaving the blockade intact until we reached a good deal.

What we did not see over the past six months is someone intelligent in our government coming out regularly to tell our friends in Washington and Brussels: We want the best of relationships with you. The interests of both of us must be protected. We are proposing a new set of rules and want to talk about them with you. Military attacks on our soldiers, illegal drone attacks and organised media campaigns against our country and our nuclear programme should cease in the spirit of partnership.

This was also a great opportunity to deflate the American bubble on Al-Qaeda. We could have released our own assessment on the terror group’s near decimation in the Afghan border region. The self-serving American assessments inflate the Al-Qaeda presence and strength. We could have also floated new ideas on reversing the American policy of punishing Afghanistan’s Pakhtun population. In short, these actions on our part would have shown we are committed to a robust working relationship with US and Nato while continuing the blockade pending a deal.

Foreign Minister Khar’s repeated use of the term “move on” in relation to the cold-blooded murder of our soldiers at Salala was insensitive, to say the least. Not even the Americans approached the issue with that kind of choice of words. Ms Khar should remember that the US never “moved on” in the case of Pan AM flight 103 or the 9/11 attacks. Turkey hasn’t “moved on” in the murder of nine of its citizens by Israeli soldiers last year. And, indeed, the Israelis themselves never “moved on” over the murder of their citizens and soldiers.

The writer works for Geo television. Email: aq@paknationalists.com

Source: the News International

BRUSSELS: Nato says it will invite Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to the alliance’s summit in Chicago, after the country’s foreign minister proposed reopening its Afghan border to Nato military supplies.

Spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said Tuesday the summit on May 20-21 will underline the international community’s commitment to the future of Afghanistan and that Pakistan has an important role to play in that future.

A presidential spokesman also confirmed the new development.

Asked if Zardari would accept the invitation, the spokesman said he would wait for Tuesday’s meeting of the cabinet defence committee, which will discuss the matter.

Supply routes through Pakistan have been closed for nearly six months in retaliation for US air-strikes that killed 24 Pakistani troops.

This forced Nato to reorient its entire logistics chain through Russia and Central Asia.

The routes through Pakistan are seen as vital as Nato begins to pull out of Afghanistan.

Source: The Dawn

Our foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar said, we cannot risk relations with 48 countries, I ask her, How will you answer the 24 martyrs of Salala ?

PKKH Exclusive || By – Ambreen Aijaz (Sister of Capt.Usman Shaheed)

It was a common Saturday morning and I had taken off from college because I was ill. I turned on the tv and saw the breaking news, NATO Forces’ helicopters attacked a border post at Pak-Afghan border martyring 24 Pakistani soldiers. Having seen the photos in Usman Bhai’s computer of many Army personnels who are posted at Mohmand Agency, I painfully thought which friends Usman Bhai lost today. At 1:05 PM, I received a call from my cousin Saad (Mrs. Usman’s younger brother) and he told me Usman Bhai has embraced Shahadat; I hadn’t thought for a second about such an outcome.

Now let’s revisit some events of this unforgettable and unforgivable incident. On 1st July, 2011, Usman bhai was waiting for his convoy destined for Mohmand Agency in Peshawar, I was discussing Pakistan-US ties with him on messages when he said, “mujhay ab america ki sar e aam ankhain phirti hui nazar aa rahi hain jo pehlay chup chupa k hota tha pakistan k against wo ab khul k ho ga” (I can sense US openly shifting focus, things that were done quietly before, will now be done in open) and after four months and twenty five days brazen American aggression proved him right.
Usman Bhai was the ‘chosen’ one, unlike other children of his age who when asked about their futures would answer  like, doctors, engineers and pilots, Capt.Usman Ali Shaheed always used to say, “main bara ho ke Major Aziz Bhatti Shaheed banon ga”. He was passionate to embrace Shahadat (Martyrdom) since his childhood. When the operation against militants was on it’s peak in Mohmand Agency, Usman bhai had an ‘appendix pain’ and went through a surgery, having a leave of one month he returned home for rest. Everyone was relieved that he is out of the battle field but he himself was sad that he is in privileges of his home while his unit is fighting in rugged mountains sacrificing for the homeland. As his leave was ending,  I asked him “leaving after two days?”  he enthusiastically  responded, “yeah finally”, he was thankful to almighty to be back on feets to defend ‘Pak Sar Zameen.

Army personnel hardly speak of their patriotism because they believe in actions not words. But when asked about Army personnel’s feelings towards Islam and Pakistan Usman Bhai said, “we are first Muslims, then Pakistani and then Army personnels, we are in Army because of Pakistan.”

But apart from his bravery, he was an extraordinary human being, one I never thought existed before I met him. All someone had to do was to mention in front of him that they are in trouble, he would offer his help straight away to anyone ensuring that the person in need gets his work done completely. His behavior was extraordinarily kind to everyone, Usman bhai was a true depiction of this verse,

“Ho Halqa-e-Yaran tou Resham Ki Tarah Narm, Rizm-e-Haq-o-Batil Ho Tou Faulad Hai Momin”

(If in the circles of friends, they be as soft as silk, when in the battle of Truth and Falsehood momin is hard as metal )

Let me very briefly tell you about another lucky sould, who was among the martyrs of ‘Salala’, Major ‘Mujahid Shaheed’ who once said to Captain Usman Shaheed’s mother  “ anti ap fikar na karien (Usman) yeh mere sath hai” (Aunty, You need not worry, since Usman is with me) so when NATO forces continously attacked Salala check-post on the night of 26th November, Major Mujahid left his safe position at his post just only to support ‘Usman bhai’s post that was under heavy shelling. He was cautioned by his juniors that going there will be futile, but his special love for Usman bhai couldn’t help him stay safe, in fact not only Usman, but his brothers, his soldiers mercilessly dying at the hands of enemy in disguise was something that ‘Mujahid’ was not able to stand, “I have to go” he said decisively running like lion with his Rifle to the attacked post to protect the honor of Usman and his team , and Indeed the sovereignty of Pakistan.
These priceless sons of Pakistan fulfilled their promise of defending till the last breath,  but the question looming today is, will these sacrifices go in vain ? my faith tells me, No they will never, but let’s analyse; Today when I heard the news about NATO supply line’s possible reopening, it filled me with rage, Our foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar said, we cannot risk relations with 48 countries, I ask her, How will you answer the 24 martyrs of Salala ? And I put all my anger in #BlockNATOSupply tweets and was happy to see the message resonated as a top-trend in Pakistan, but I don’t know if ‘trending’ on twitter only will effect our politicians and will they eventually refuse the re-opening of  NATO supplies that took my brother and 24 precious sons from me, that took millions of innocents lives during the decade of this bloody war ?

I trust the people of Pakistan only, who have enormous power and can change our future and re-shape our destiny.  It’s about time that we stand up against this slavery of foreign powers, it’s about time we decide not to provide them with commodities who attacked our soldiers and any innocent for that matter.

Once I send Usman Bhai a verse of poetry  in text message,
“Hamien Yakeen Hai Hum Hain Chiragh-e-Akhir-e-Shab, Hamare Bad Andhera Nahi Ujala Hai”
(We are determined that we are the lanterns of the pre-dawn, enlightenment will take away the darkness,once we are off)
He Quickly responded, “hamare bad nahi, hum hi ujala laien ge.”
(Not after us, We Will bring the light back)

He proved true to his words by bringing a new light in the lives of Pakistanis by giving them a hope to fight their enemies in the disguise, to stand against those who have pushed our politicians to their feet, he along with 24 martyrs of ‘Salala’ have shown the glittering path of Dignity and Sacrifice, lest we learn – we may survive. You’r blood will not go in vain Usman bhai, may you see the rise of Pakistan from the heavens.  Ameen

PKKH Exclusive | by Aneela Shahzad

I remember when we were young, in school; we had the recitation of the Quran, the national anthem and then Iqbal’s ‘lab pey aatti hai dua’ followed by some quotations or a small speech.

As a teacher myself, I have seen the trend of having assemblies gradually decrease over the years. Reasons given by the administration were usually the hot weather of the country or time limitations in exam days or a report of a child fainting during assembly time.

Time constraints are a viable reason, as most Pakistani schools work only between 160 to 170 days a year, which is really a very short number, considering the fact that the amount of time the child gets to forget what it has learnt more than equals the amount of time it gets for learning. But what happens in this little time is also of concern, in the examination days there can be no studies, so at least twice an year a week or two may be wasted like that; many extra-curricular activities which are considered just as vital as the studies themselves may include not only the annual sports day or the debates and quizzes but also events like the carnival, the bon-fire, the eid-milans and the end of year farewell parties, different schools may have different traditions in these types of events but one thing can be said for sure that in the elite English medium schools there are lots of activities to keep the child happy. The weekly plan also

caters for this requirement; there is a weekly arts class, a sports class, a music class and optional classes like cooking, karate or swimming. While all these events play a part in the healthy upbringing of the child; every child has a birth-right to be happy, to be articulate and to acquire the basic skills to understand the terms and techniques that render him capable to gain excellence in any institutionalized faculty, in his/her near future, but is that all s/he requires.

No doubt the child has a right to achieve excellence in the industry and the organization but does the child not also have a birth-right to family, a home and a homeland. Do the children of our country not deserve to have a national anthem that reminds them that they are the owners and guardians of a territory that fences their solidarity as one people, their belief system and their higher ambitions? The time taken to sing the National anthem is not more than 5 minutes, which equals a total of not more than 14 hours in the year, which is not much, bearing the fact that these 5 minutes are not taken from inside the time of any class but from the 15 minutes that are being used optionally, when the children are already supposed to be inside the school, playing as they wait for the school-bell to ring for their first class.

Perhaps the parents of the elite English schools are not realizing that the beautiful feeling of the canopy of nationhood and the feeling of the shadow of the grace of their mighty God over them

are being snatched away from their children, perhaps they are not realizing that the personalities of their children is being finalized in these early years of their childhood; if we take away the big loves such as of their God, their Millat and their homeland, they will be left with little loves like those of the Spiderman, the Pokémon and Batman but not the love of the good men of God. Perhaps they don’t remember that when in India, people opposed the Vanday Mataram because the minorities, especially the Muslims were offended by it, the nations knew how to protect its ideological boundaries, the Indians not only forcefully imposed it in their schools but also gave a shut-up call to everybody talking about it. Perhaps what they don’t understand is that in the western countries, the atheist and secular organizations have been putting social and legal pressure for decades on schools that have preserved their collective prayers in the morning assemblies and unbeliever-parents have to submit a special form to have their child excused from such assemblies. But here in Pakistan all thing are done underhand, the seculars don’t have to fight a battle here, they just have to sell you their education system, with how-to-use manuals and we as a nation try our utmost to follow the manual by the letter; in case we might not break this expensive system we have imported. In the obsession of securing the material future for our children, we have purchased a system that spares no time or energy to explore the deeper, more vital knowledge which makes us human and knits us into humanity. We as a nation, in the run of a secure future have

depoliticized ourselves to such an extreme that we actually don’t feel the pain of the butcher-knife being swept across our jugular.

Your children’s hearts and minds are precious and fragile gifts in your safekeeping, it is their right to be filled with love, harmony and wholesomeness, it is not their right only to be made tools that will serve the machines of produce, it is not their right to be made interpreters of empirical data only; they have a right to see the whole picture, the big picture of life, too.

I was teaching a 4 year old, Eeman Butt, every time she would take out her colour pencils, she would tell me, without my asking ‘ I know which are the favourite colours of Allah, black, white and silver, you know why, because He has them on His house’, such is the strong association a child develops in such a tender age, love does not need lots of data and logic, it is the recognition of designs drawn inside these children, this is the best part of education that you can give to your children; the deeper and the wider one’s heart is for love, the greater are their chances of success in the future as social beings. And the national anthem is one little signature of the fact  that they will recognize this wholesome picture of love.

Aneela Shahzad is an editor at PKKH.tv and can be contacted via info@pakistankakhudahafiz.com,  and you can also find her at Aneela Shahzad’s Blog

While most people flee from the scene of a bomb attack, there are others — the unsung heroes of this seemingly unending battle with terrorists — who march unafraid into the lion’s maw. Sometimes armed with little more than a pair of pliers and insurmountable courage, these men save the lives of untold hundreds with no concern for their own safety.

Saleem Khan fiddled with his hands nervously while we had doodh patti at the Bajaur Hotel. Don’t be fooled by the name — it’s not some classy five-star joint but rather a dhaba surrounded by the treacherous hills of Fata. As he stared into the rapidly cooling cup of tea in his hands, I stared at his hand, noticing something odd: he was missing a finger.

Just as I had almost given up hope that he would tell me his story, he looked up and spoke: “I can’t remember exactly which wire I was on when the explosion took place, but I was almost done defusing the bomb.”

I tried to make sense of what he had said, and he looked as confused as I felt, but then he explained further. “There were two bombs planted in this girls’ school, but we knew of just one. While I was defusing this one,” he stretched out his hands, as if working on an invisible bomb, “there was an explosion from the other side.” His eyes grew wide and he leaned forward as he spoke, “Eleven young girls were killed, and so many were injured. I just lost one finger from the shrapnel.” He shook his head, seeming disappointed at having lost ‘just’ one finger.

Saleem Khan, 45, has defused more than a hundred bombs in his time with the Peshawar Bomb Disposal Squad and once he starts telling his tale, it’s not hard to see why the loss of a finger seems like a small thing to him.

Many of his friends in the squad have lost an arm or a leg while defusing bombs, but some have lost much more. Two of his best friends died in blasts while on duty — friends he had grown up with. One of them, an eager young man called Mushtaram, joined the Peshawar bomb disposal squad because he could not find any other means to support his wife and four-year-old son.

He risked his life every day for a meagre salary until he grew fond of what he did. In three years, he grew to become one of the most talented technicians and an inspiration to his colleagues. In his short career, he defused more than 120 bombs until one day something went wrong and the resulting explosion claimed his life.

While the memory of his friend visibly saddens Saleem, it also gives him the inspiration to come to work every day. Looking up from the nearly drained cup of tea, he tells me what Mushataram used to say to him: “There is no greater satisfaction in the world than to know that your job is to save other peoples’ lives.”

As we walked out of Bajaur Hotel, Saleem promised to take me to meet his late friend Rahim Khan’s 12-year-old son Mansha and his mother. Rahim had also been a bomb technician who lost his life when militants fired on him as he was defusing a bomb they had planted.

The tragedy doesn’t end there: last November Mansha was out with his mother, shopping at Peshawar’s Faqir Killey market. While Mansha’s mother was selecting the lace and gota (fabric used to embellish traditional dresses) to use in the tailoring business she had started in order to make ends meet after her husband’s death, a bomb exploded in the market. Mansha’s mother was severely wounded and can now only move with the help of multiple support instruments. Mansha himself, once a bright, talkative and talented kid, can no longer speak and seems to be lost in a world of his own, refusing to respond to anyone or anything. The shock of the blast coupled perhaps with the lingering trauma of his father’s death, has made him a prisoner in his own mind.

When Saleem took me to Mansha’s home, the first thing I saw was a wall covered with sketches and drawings. All made by Mansha before the blast. Seeing my interest his mother smiled and said, “If he could still do it, he would have sketched your portrait in about 20 minutes, right here.” Along with the drawings were pictures of him playing sports and a motley collection of medals he got as his school’s youngest sports champion. I wondered then, if Mansha would ever sharpen his pencils or swing his bat again.

Why this story is particularly painful for Saleem is because his friend who had risked, and lost his life protecting others, could not in the end protect his own family.

For his part, Saleem has vowed never to get married. When I ask him why, he responded in a sharp tone, “of course I would not want to contribute to the possibility of causing an innocent woman to become a widow, or a child to become an orphan.”

As I gear up to meet the rest of the Peshawar Bomb Disposal Squad, I am warned by my facilitator that I shouldn’t expect them to be very forthcoming. They aren’t used to talking to women, I am told, and certainly won’t be willing to discuss their own experiences and feelings. Even if they do open up, my facilitator warns me, the language barrier will be formidable. To my surprise, most of this is untrue.

They range from the fairly young to the middle-aged, and all are dressed in simple shalwar kameez. “They don’t have any uniforms,” my facilitator tells me. Most of them speak only either Pashto or Dari but some also know a smattering of Urdu, and it is through this lingua franca and the translation abilities of my facilitator, that we manage to converse.

Scratch the surface, and you find that they all have the same concerns and issues. Most of them have severe problems in their personal lives, all as a result of the nature of their jobs. Almost all of them have suffered some kind of injury, and all of them have lost friends and colleagues. Universally, they complain about a lack of training, of resources, and most of all, of recognition for the dangerous job they do.

Leading the discussion is their in-charge Major Shafkat Malik. Since he joined the squad a few years back, he has lost eight experts out of a total of 35 — all of them died on the job.

“Two of them were very close to me,” said the major. “We would go for Friday prayers together and hang out with each other afterwards. We were like family and losing them has shaken me, but it was these boys who kept me together with their courage and support,” he said, pointing towards the surviving members of the team. At many points, when the team lost someone, friends would face post-traumatic stress, break down into tears or even leave the job, but the rest of them would manage to hold it together. “Most who left the job also came back eventually,” said Shafkat.

When the going gets tough, they have a ritual of sitting in a circle and sharing their grief and try to get the stress out of their system. “Yes, sometimes it gets very emotional and overwhelming but it is cathartic at the same time to see your team by your side, sharing your sorrows,” said Shafkat.

Overwhelming. That’s the only word to use when describing what these men go through. Almost all of them have had serious fights with their spouses over their jobs, and many of them have seen their families walk out on them.

“Our department is known as the EOD, standing for Explosive Ordnance Disposal, but really it stands for ‘Every One’s Divorced’,” said Shafkat with a laugh. He would know, as he separated from his wife when she could no longer take the danger and unpredictable timings of his job. “I’m not the only one,” he adds nonchalantly. “It’s very common for professionals in this field to face domestic problems. One of my boys recently got divorced, and while many leave the job for something their families approve of, many others stay on.”

One of the oldest technicians in the team is Malik Khan, who also handles the post-blast investigations. When I asked him what sort of bombs he cannot defuse, he replied instantly:

“Suicide bombs!”

When there is a human element delivering a bomb, it’s much more dangerous for various reasons. Suicide bombers are desperate people; they’re usually brainwashed and it’s hard to influence them physically or mentally.

“Suicide bombers have back up radio control, backup timers, and in the worst of situations, a third-eye,” said Malik. This ‘third-eye’ is the handler who’s watching them, and in case the mission is compromised in any way, for example if the suicide bomber is interrupted by security forces, the handler will detonate the device remotely. Therefore, the smartest way to deal with a suicide bomber is to use lethal force.

But Malik says that that is also not a sure bet because “if they’re shot, sometimes there is a backup timer that will run down and detonate anyway.” Lost in thought for a moment, he adds, “I have heard of technicians physically going in there and neutralising the device on a bomber jacket, but we have never done that here.”

One would think that the very act of walking towards a live bomb would be terrifying to the point of being paralysing, but technician Hukum Khan says otherwise.

“The moment you step towards the bomb, your senses sharpen. Yes, there is fear at the back of your mind, of an explosion, or of a hand grenade thrown at you — which has happened at times — but with time and experience you learn to tame that monster.”

The moment a bomb disposal expert steps into the zone (the expected blast radius), he has to be careful of threats from anything that looks out of place. Sometimes, there are additional roadside bombs or a car that’s randomly parked — if it has a bomb in it, it’s weighted down from the axles.

The greatest danger is when the technician is not equipped with the exact tools needed for a specific bomb. Hukum explains, “Sometimes, you need to get a resupply of equipment and going back to the bomb site and figuring it all out can be very pressurising and stressful.”

He also pointed towards the lack of proper equipment for technicians. “Only a few years back we were so under-equipped that the only tools we had were a pair of pliers,” he laughed. “Thankfully, now we have better technology, yet it is still not sufficient for a place where bomb threats come on a daily basis.”

The department has been struggling to get better equipment, uniforms and training for the staff, but the government keeps ignoring their requests. “There have been a few developments as I brought up the issue internationally, but it is important to not overlook a few crucial requirements including insurance, and an increase in their salaries,” said Shakfat.

Still, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. When I returned to Lahore I met Peter K Jepsen, who was sent to Pakistan as a trainer for the use of bomb disposal robots by the European Union. Peter, a bomb disposal technician himself, represents a Global Defense System Group that handles specialised equipment, support training programmes for the army and law-enforcement agencies. Peter had just finished training the first batch of bomb disposal technicians at the Central Police Training Academy, right outside of Lahore, when I caught up with him.

“My team and I are delighted to donate machinery and train these Pakistani technicians, who seem larger than life to me now,” said Peter, who travels through Europe, Middle East and Asia to train bomb technicians with robotic and other automated technology. “They are intelligently responsive during the trainings and can do a wonderful job if regularly trained.”

He said it is important for technicians to be trained not just in the use of technology but also on the psychological aspects of their jobs. “Psychological training and moral boosting is priority training for bomb technicians around the world, but seems absolutely absent in Pakistan,” he said.

Peter was training the batch in how to use a brand new High-Mobility Car, a robotic technology which would assist them during bomb disposal. Remote reconnaissance robots have also been donated to bomb disposal teams in Pakistan and are meant to assist the disposal technicians.

The government needs to work more closely on the provisions of the department and encourage training programmes for technicians. Members of the bomb disposal squad are on call 24 hours, under-paid and unrecognised by the public at large.

Every time a bomb is defused, hundreds of lives are saved but sadly the credit is hardly ever given to these unsung heroes and none of them have ever received the awards the government otherwise doles out on a regular basis. It’s particularly telling that when I first spoke to Saleem he was surprised to hear that I wasn’t looking for statistics but instead wanted to know how he felt about his job. No one had ever asked him that before, he said with a sad smile.

*Some names have been changed to protect identities.

Source: The Express Tribune

Family members of the Pakistani hostages gathered at the Punjab

Chowrangi the raise the remaining $1.4 million. –Photo by Habib Khaskhely/Dawn.com

KARACHI: Family members of the crew aboard a ship hijacked by Somali pirates gathered at a busy roundabout in Karachi late Thursday, to collect ransom money in time to save their relatives.

The 23 crew members aboard MV Albedo, which was hijacked by Somali pirates in November 2010, have been languishing for over a year, as their loved ones have been unable to collect the 1.4-million-dollar ransom money demamded by the captors. Relatives of the seven crew members who are from Pakistan gathered at the Punjab Chowrangi in a bid to collect money from citizens willing to help out.

According to details, the pirates have only provided boiled rice and contaminated water to the confined crew over the 18-month period of their captivity.

The families, meanwhile, are struggling to collect the money. They currently need more than a million rupees per hour to raise the shortfall of $1.4 million until the deadline of May 15, which is barely over a hundred hours away.

The Somali hijackers first demanded $8 million to release the captives. After several rounds of talks, they finally demanded $ 2.85 million by April 20, 2012. Then upon the request of Ahmed Chinoy (Head of Pakistan Citizens-Police Liaison Committee) the deadline was finally set to May 15.

Mishal Jawaid the daughter of Captian Jawaid Saleem told Dawn that if 27,500 people or families, contribute Rs.5000 each, the amount could be raised easily and if the amount were to be divided upon the whole Pakistani population, it will cost less than a rupee to each person.

Celebrities from the media also joined hands with the worried families and gathered at the venue with the family members, holding charity boxes. Renowned philanthropist Abdus Sattar Edhi has, meanwhile, contributed Rs 2.5 million to the fund.

“When my father returns home, I will tell how much I love him,”
 said Salwa the daughter of Muhammad Mujtaba. –Photo by Habib Khaskhely/Dawn.com

Salwa and Hira Mujtaba, daughters of Muhammad Mujtaba – the chief officer of the ship, have also traveled from Mansehra to Karachi in order to help raise money.

“The last time I spoke to my father, he told me he would come back soon.”

“During load-shedding hours, my father would often take me to the open fields and mountains on his motorcycle,” she added.

“April 1, 2011 was the last I spoke with my husband,” said Sughra, the wife of captive seaman, Faqir Soomro.

Sughra says that she is hopeful for the safe return of her husband.

Family members have set up the charity accounts mentioned below to raise funds:

Bank Name: NIB Bank LTD.

Branch Name: University Road Branch, Karachi, Pakistan

Account Name: Shahnaz Jawaid & Neelam Mujtaba

Account No. (PKR): 10052-10653622

Account No. (USD): 10052-10653789

Account No. (GBP) :10052-10653808

Swift Code: NIBPPKKA (This is the same as Sort Code, ABA No, IFSC No. or Transit Institution No.)

People living abroad can donate through Western Union.

Source: The Dawn

by Khalid Khokhar

While a flurry of senior US officials started visiting Pakistan in an attempt to reduce the tension between the two countries that have been created after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden in a covert US operation in Pakistan, Washington is making new demands to prosecute the founder of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed by announcing a $10 million reward for information on him.

The political gurus and experts interpret this new US move as a motivated campaign against Pakistan at the behest and prodding of India. The US announcement of bounty on Hafiz Saeed also meant to pressurize the on-going parliamentary review committee that is rewriting ‘terms of engagement’ (including suspension of the NATO supplies) for the future cooperation with NATO troops in the US-led war on terror.

On November 26-29, 2008, Mumbai was rocked by more than 10 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks, killing at least 166 people and wounding at least 308. Eight of the attacks occurred in South Mumbai: at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital (a women and children’s hospital), Nariman House, the Metro Cinema, and a lane behind the Times of India building and St. Xavier’s College. The Indian government said that the attackers came from Pakistan, and their controllers/handlers were in Pakistan. Later, New Delhi set a pre-condition of Pakistan taking action against the perpetrators, including prosecution of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group that India claims is the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks. The 69-page Indian Dossier titled “Mumbai Terrorist Attacks (November 26-29, 2008)” posted to Pakistan as evidences, lacked credible evidence to stand in the court of law to bring the perpetrators to justice. Nevertheless, Pakistan has acknowledged that some part of the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan by non-state actors, acting upon their own wish. Pakistan raided militant organisations and arrested Zakiur Rehman Lakhavi and Hafiz Saeed (founder of the LeT and head of JuD) along with 124 activists throughout Pakistan. Hafiz Mohammad Saeed was arrested in Pakistan in December 2008.

If US military can’t guarantee it won’t violate Pakistani sovereignty, should we help transport the weapons it intends to use for future violations? And without fees at that?

by Ahmed Quraishi

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Our army headquarters hosted last Wednesday an American general who cannot talk straight.

ISAF’s American commander in Afghanistan Gen. John Allen accompanied US central command chief Gen. James Mattis to meet our commanders. It is not clear if Allen, the ISAF chief, was able to look our commanders in the eye after what he did in November. Allen was inside the GHQ on the night of 26/11 to brief our side about NATO’s future operations. However, he conveniently forgot to mention anything about an operation named Sayaqa that was to be launched a few hours later, using massive power to kill 24 Pakistani soldiers on an isolated mountain ridge.

His troops killed our soldiers one by one in a battle lasting two hours.

Two days before Wednesday’s meeting in Rawalpindi, Gen. Allen tried to sabotage the Obama-Gilani meeting in Seoul on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit. As the Pakistani prime minister and the American president prepared to meet, Allen issued statements at a Washington think tank repeating accusations that the Haqqani Network “are an actual arm” of ISI.

The only reason 26/11 did not blow up into a limited war is apparently because of a Pakistani decision not to be dragged into such a war. The Pakistanis had to exercise a lot of restraint knowing that the Salala attack on 26/11 was a premeditated murder, spread over two hours using disproportionate force, enough to rule out any possibility this was an accident.

Provoking a limited war with Pakistan suits Gen. Allen’s forces and CIA’s special teams in Afghanistan. They are locked in a battle of wits with the Obama White House over military budget reductions and withdrawal from Afghanistan. Pentagon and CIA loathe the reductions and the withdrawal. A limited armed conflict with Pakistan would worsen the situation just enough to keep the budget dollars coming and the boots intact on the ground in Afghanistan. All while pointing to Pakistan for Afghan failures.

This is the environment in which our Parliament is reviewing ties with the US. Sadly, some pro-US Pakistani voices are counseling our government and military to accept US terms for reengagement. One example of these terms is the fascinating logic president Obama used in Seoul, offering the theory that he is fine with Pakistani sovereignty as long as it did not stand in the way of US national security.

Pakistani government and military need to step forward and delegitimize the premise that says America’s security faces a threat from Pakistan. This American theory is based on US assessments of al-Qaeda’s presence on the Afghan border regions. The American assessment is exaggerated and self-serving. It is calculated to justify a long term American meddling in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We need to bring forward the actual situation where al-Qaeda has been decimated for all practical purposes.

Secondly, there are no terrorists being exported from the Afghan-Pakistan border region to America. In fact, all recent real or imagined terror plots in US and Europe have involved US or EU citizens or residents breaching American and European security measures to travel and allegedly train with terrorists on the Afghan-Pakistan border. Their countries should bear responsibility for allowing these American and European citizens/residents to use western ports of entry and exit and travel through US-controlled Afghanistan to liaise with terrorists.

Reopening US military’s supply line through Pakistan would have been fine if it did not mean feeding those who are determined to work against Pakistani interests while claiming to be our allies.

If we go along with the US strategy, then we should accept a hostile Afghanistan, accept India as a regional hegemon, and accept scaling down our military and intelligence capabilities. This may or may not be the American agenda for Pakistan but it is the crux of what Washington is doing in our neighborhood.

If US military can’t guarantee it won’t violate Pakistani sovereignty, should we help transport the weapons it intends to use for future violations?

The scare scenarios about a confrontation with US if we stand up for our interests are exaggerated. Let’s have good relations with America, but without appeasement.

This column appeared in The News International, under the title, ‘Meet John Allen.’