The pro-US government of President Asif Ali Zardari suspects its enemies are pushing the disparate factions of Pakistan Muslim League, or PML, to unite in order to create a force that could challenge Mr. Zardari's PPPP, or Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians.
Two recent moves have caught the media attention: The effort to create All Pakistan Muslim League [APML] by veteran politician Pir Pagara. And the effort to create APML by former president Pervez Musharraf in London.
The unification effort led by Pir Pagara is a 50-50 gamble at this stage. The personality clashes and conflicts of interest between the heads of various factions of PML are so deep and suspicions run so high that it can't work except in one condition: if the military approaches each one of them to unite them the way PMLQ was created under Mr. Musharraf eight years ago. Although there are signs the military is interested in seeing this government go, as most Pakistanis do, there is no chance that Gen. Kayani will participate in any effort to destabilize the government. So the PML uniters are pretty much on their own for the time being.
As for Mr. Musharraf's bid, he is benefiting from a sense of desperation and confusion that engulfs Pakistan because of the failures of politicians. His policy prescriptions are also outdated, and even have damaged vital Pakistani interests. He wants to take 'the war on terror to the end' when even the Zardari government and the Pakistani military are trying to tell the Americans to end military operations and come instead to the reconciliation table with the Afghan Taliban.
Mr. Musharraf's lines that he will crush any anti-Pakistan voices and keep Pakistan first are great, but there is ample evidence from his foreign policy that he kept his personal interests before the Pakistani interest on crucial occasions. The biggest exampe is the deal he entered with the United States to maneuver PPPP into power to serve US interests in exchange for helping him remain at the helm until 2013.
His backchannel diplomacy on Kashmir with India between 2004 and 2007 appeared to be driven more by his desire to emerge as an international man of peace and to appease Washington and New Delhi. During this period, he made unnecessary concessions to India without getting anything in return.
Getting some fans in Pakistan is not a big deal. Even Zardari has diehard fans. Mr. Msuharraf's latest political act has a nuisance value but is not expected to create any ripples in Pakistani politics.
One way Mr. Musharraf can have an impact is if the military supports his new bid for power. Interestingly, his policies on Kashmir, Afghanistan and US are highly unpopular within the military rank and file, despite the fact that his first three years 1999-2002 are remembered as ideal in terms of governance.
Mr. Musharraf does retain a nuisance value for the short term. But for the long term, there is no evidence he is the harbinger of major change.
Showing posts with label musharraf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label musharraf. Show all posts
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Mr. Musharraf's Disappointing Debut
I was very disappointed to hear Mr. Pervez Musharraf's remarks at the launching of his new political party in London, the UK.
Mr. Musharraf wants the war on terror to continue 'until the end', even when Obama himself has changed its name and wants to end it one way or the other. No words to condemn the deliberate US/NATO murder of 3 Pakistani soldiers. His 7-point agenda in 1999 was more coherent than the 'party program' he announced today. When he was done, I said to myself, 'The paid-TV show is over. Now let's go back to the mess he created and ran away from.'
He probably tried to signal to his past allies in Washington and London that he's still good for the 'war on terror'. He repeated the line, 'Al-Qaeda is in Pakistan' without qualification or explaining who exactly is in Pakistan from that group. His implicit message was that he will stop the 'Taliban' from taking over our country.
The truth is that no one is 'taking over' Pakistan. Mr. Musharraf is still repeating the lines that Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld used to repeat in front of him.
Afghan Taliban are fighting in Afghanistan. The terrorists in our border area, who receive support from the Americans and Indians and their Afghan proxies, will be finished off the day CIA stops its dirty games in Afghanistan.
Yes, there is the issue of religious extremism among a segment of Pakistanis. But the solution to that is not to allow CIA to bomb them from the air. They are our people. It's our internal issue. We can solve it if foreign meddling in our region is ended for good.
A supporter of Mr. Musharraf's new party tried to counsel me to keep my opinions to myself and simply 'report' the event and let the people decide. His argument was that, while I was criticizing Mr. Musharraf, journalists were packing the hall in London where Mr. Musharraf held his event.
What a lot of people don't know is that Mr. Musharraf' party aides made generous offers to prominent journalists across Pakistan, offering 'all expenses paid' trips to come from Pakistan and cover the event in London. Which is exactly what Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto used to do. Nothing has changed.
Pakistan is in a deep mess today, and especially for the past five years, thanks to monumental blunders by Mr. Musharraf. One of his biggest mistakes sits right now in Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad.
To say, 'Well, I made some mistakes, everybody does' is not a very persuasive line for someone who's trying to get a second shot at a job he failed in the first place.
Mr. Musharraf wants the war on terror to continue 'until the end', even when Obama himself has changed its name and wants to end it one way or the other. No words to condemn the deliberate US/NATO murder of 3 Pakistani soldiers. His 7-point agenda in 1999 was more coherent than the 'party program' he announced today. When he was done, I said to myself, 'The paid-TV show is over. Now let's go back to the mess he created and ran away from.'
He probably tried to signal to his past allies in Washington and London that he's still good for the 'war on terror'. He repeated the line, 'Al-Qaeda is in Pakistan' without qualification or explaining who exactly is in Pakistan from that group. His implicit message was that he will stop the 'Taliban' from taking over our country.
The truth is that no one is 'taking over' Pakistan. Mr. Musharraf is still repeating the lines that Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld used to repeat in front of him.
Afghan Taliban are fighting in Afghanistan. The terrorists in our border area, who receive support from the Americans and Indians and their Afghan proxies, will be finished off the day CIA stops its dirty games in Afghanistan.
Yes, there is the issue of religious extremism among a segment of Pakistanis. But the solution to that is not to allow CIA to bomb them from the air. They are our people. It's our internal issue. We can solve it if foreign meddling in our region is ended for good.
A supporter of Mr. Musharraf's new party tried to counsel me to keep my opinions to myself and simply 'report' the event and let the people decide. His argument was that, while I was criticizing Mr. Musharraf, journalists were packing the hall in London where Mr. Musharraf held his event.
What a lot of people don't know is that Mr. Musharraf' party aides made generous offers to prominent journalists across Pakistan, offering 'all expenses paid' trips to come from Pakistan and cover the event in London. Which is exactly what Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto used to do. Nothing has changed.
Pakistan is in a deep mess today, and especially for the past five years, thanks to monumental blunders by Mr. Musharraf. One of his biggest mistakes sits right now in Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad.
To say, 'Well, I made some mistakes, everybody does' is not a very persuasive line for someone who's trying to get a second shot at a job he failed in the first place.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
How Military Nurseries Produced Pakistan’s ‘Democratic Warriors’
Military-led governments in Pakistan have failed in creating long term stability and fostering national identity, like the ruling party did in China. This failure is well known. But Pakistan’s destructive politics can’t end without understanding another major failure: How Pakistan’s democratic elite is really not democratic at all.
Forget about building a great country and a healthy and prosperous people, Pakistan’s political elite divides Pakistanis by language, sect and violent politics because it has nothing else to offer in exchange for getting elected. And with the new amendments to the Pakistani constitution, which strengthen family-run dictatorships within parties, there is hardly any chance that the able and the willing among 170 million Pakistanis will ever get a chance to lead their homeland.
In 2008, these politicians got themselves elected in the name of democracy. But even that credential is questionable.
Retired Lieutenant General Faiz Ali Chishti, who played a major role during the military-led government of former President Gen. Zia-ul-Haq between 1977 and 1988, gave an interesting insight earlier this week in Lahore into the relationship between failed politicians and military coups.
His remarks are important because he said several things that are new and must be noted.
FAKE DEMOCRATIC WARRIORS
Mr. Chishti said that “Several (democratic) champions became leaders while sitting in the laps of army generals.” He listed them as follows:
1. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan [Benefactor: Field Marshal Ayub Khan].
2. Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister of Pakistan [Benefactor: Gen. Zia-ul-Haq]
3. Altaf Hussain, the exiled British-Pakistani leader of MQM [Benefactors: Gen. Zia-ul-Haq and Gen. Pervez Musharraf]
4. Jamaat Islami [Benefactors: Gen. Zia-ul-Haq and Gen. Pervez Musharraf]
The irony is that all of them claim that Pakistan’s military should not be involved in major internal decisions when necessary but they never explained why they accepted military help in ascending to power in the first place. Interestingly, despite being discredited as failed and inept, these politicians keep getting second and third chances thanks to the military’s failure to introduce real reforms after every coup. [Also thanks to frequent US and British meddling in our politics for their own objectives. Unfortunately, the Pakistani military has so far been unable to prevent it and, under Musharraf, even took it to new heights!]
Moreover, Pakistani military has maintained an unwritten alliance with this failed political elite, always handing power back to it after every intervention without any attempt to open doors to middle and lower-class Pakistanis to participate in running their country, especially when they have proven to be more creative in taking Pakistan forward in many areas.
One example is Gen. Musharraf, who came to power with a promise to inject new faces into a stagnant system. Eight years later, he not only failed to do that but ended up restoring some of the worst failed politicians back to power as his replacement. The only credible new political face from the late Musharraf period is Member of National Assembly Marvi Memon. To be fair to her, she was a late entrant who proved her mettle on her own in the two and half years since Musharraf’s departure. With her patriotic and inclusive views, a large segment of Pakistan’s younger generation identify with her. But she stands no chance of moving up in a system designed to keep people like her from exercising real power.
THE LOOPHOLE
Mr. Chishti pointed out another irony that exposes the duplicity of the present political elite in Pakistan. An independent Election Commission is what stops military interventionists from legitimizing their rule. So if someone wants to stop future military interventions being endorsed by the country’s courts and parliaments, creating such an independent election commission is the first step. But strangely, despite all the noise over the recent constitutional amendments, called the 18th Amendment, none of the political parties pushed for an independent election commission. The reason is that an independent election commission would also enforce democracy within the parties, challenging lifetime party presidents and ‘chairpersons’.
COUP DECISION INSTITUTIONAL
He said the decision to impose military rule, or Martial Law, is never a personal decision of one man but a collective one of the Army High Command and is a result of full spectrum assessment of the state of the nation.
WHY MILITARY INTERVENES
Since a military coup is not a one-man-show and hence there is no question of personal ambition, then the right question to ask, says Mr. Chishti, is ‘Why the military intervenes?’ He suggests that tackling the reasons would reduce the possibility of such interventions.
Wise words. But they are falling on deaf ears. The mother of all ironies is that when Pakistan Army has a chief who has gone out of his way to support democracy, and even rescued it on a couple of recent occasions, Pakistan’s democratic warriors are leading the country to a grand national failure of epic proportions with their failure to perform.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Lahore Bombings: Indians Are Suspects, So Are Americans
US Ambassador complains to Pakistani Government that media reports have exposed the location of American residences inside Lahore’s military zone, but fails to mention why US personnel with diplomatic cover have been found at wrong places, sometimes carrying weapons that diplomats are not supposed to
Lahore’s military zone is not only exposed to covert Indian operatives but also to undercover US agents with their suspicious heavy-duty equipment placed in several houses inside a gated community right in the heart of the city’s military area. This has been going on since 2007.
Lahore’s military zone is not only exposed to covert Indian operatives but also to undercover US agents with their suspicious heavy-duty equipment placed in several houses inside a gated community right in the heart of the city’s military area. This has been going on since 2007.
CLICK TO ENLARGE
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—The eastern city of Lahore is exposed not only to the Indians who have been sending terrorists to plant bombs in public places for the past quarter of a century, but also to the Americans who expanded their covert presence inside Pakistan in the last three years of President Musharraf’s rule. After the return to democracy in 2008, the US presence [beyond diplomatic requirements or disguised under diplomatic cover] is reported to have increased manifold.
Last year, Pakistanis were stunned to watch several incidents where US citizens were caught by the Military Police at checkpoints leading up to the city’s military zone known as Cantt. Most of the time, these US individuals refused to say what business took them to the military area. The US Consulate in Lahore is located far away from this zone, which compounded the mystery. These US nationals also refused to allow the police to check their vehicles, which is a standard procedure that all Pakistanis undergo considering the terrorist attacks. On a couple of occasions, US vehicles whose drivers refused to cooperate with MP caused long queues at checkpoints. Military Police officers impounded these vehicles. This led to US officials complaining to their media that Pakistan was ‘harassing’ US diplomats.
But the truth is that the Americans have covertly maintained an outpost of several houses in a gated community right in the heart of the city’s military zone. This zone is so sensitive that a half-constructed Sheraton Hotel lies abandoned on one of Cantt’s main streets because the Pakistani military complained that the new hotel’s upper floors provided an easy view of the residence of the commander of the Pakistan Army Corp that guards Pakistan’s northeastern border with India.
This makes the covert US presence in this area intriguing to say the least. The exact location of these houses, in the elite Sarwar Colony, is shown in the pictures that accompany this report. Most of the residents of this colony are senior retired Pakistani military officers. A handful of them have apparently leased out their homes to the Americans at exorbitant rates that far exceed the normal level of leased property rates in the Colony, according to a fascinating expose published by TheNation and is reproduced below in full.
Why are we talking about a few houses rented out by Americans linked to US government in a sensitive part of the eastern city?
The reason is a wave of terror targeting Lahore over the past two years. This is not to suggest that the US government has something to do with this. The suspicion centers on local terrorists indirectly or directly aided by intelligence operatives from multiple countries based in Afghanistan. The point here is that the city of Lahore is exposed not only to local terrorists working with foreign handlers, but also to Indians and possibly to private American security contractors. These contractors expanded their presence in Pakistan in the past two years, mostly using diplomatic cover. The US Embassy in Islamabad under the incumbent Ambassador has been instrumental in pushing for an expanded role for private US defense contractors in Pakistan over the past two years.
Many Pakistanis feel that such penetration of Pakistan by foreign countries is detrimental to our national security and has unnecessarily exposed us to outsiders pursuing interests that may not overlap with our own.
Today, the US Embassy in Islamabad leaked key points of a letter that US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson has sent to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. In the letter, Ambassador Patterson complained about TheNation report on the American presence in Cantt, Lahore. More interestingly, she made a veiled threat that Pak-US relations would suffer if those Americans became targets for a terror attack. The letter was leaked to the Dawn newspaper.
The most interesting part of her letter was an acknowledgement on her part that the security of US diplomats in Pakistan is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan. This is important because it was Ms Patterson who only a year ago was lobbying the Pakistani government to allow US private defense contractors into Pakistan and was running from one government office to another to ensure that these private US contractors are allowed to carry banned weapons anywhere in the country.
When Ms. Patterson was asked why she needed these private security contractors, she said it was to protect US diplomats. Critics said that was the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan and that the Ambassador should not cross a line. Her acknowledgement of this indicates a shift. Probably it has to do with recent understandings between Army Chief Gen. Kayani and US military officials where the army chief reportedly asked US to stop indirect methods of coercion, including media leaks, the role of private contractors in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the role of CIA in the region.
So how did the Pakistani military allow such a breach to occur in a sensitive area of Lahore?
One explanation is that the Americans moved with their gadgetry and equipment to this place sometime in late 2006 and early 2007. This means that the arrangement had the blessings of former President Musharraf. This is significant because it means the US presence in this sensitive location is part of the sovereign understandings that Pakistan entered with the United States during that time. And no matter how damaging this is for Pakistani security interests, Islamabad and the Pakistani military are forced to put up with this foreign presence for as long as those understandings are effective.
Another explanation is that Mr. Musharraf’s regime allowed the Americans to setup shop here without the full knowledge of all the relevant branches of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies. If this is the case, then it is alarming indeed.
This story becomes relevant in the aftermath of a series of attacks in Lahore over the past two years, including one that targeted a visiting Sri Lankan cricket team. The strange part is that all of these attacks either target Pakistan’s allies [Sri Lankans, Chinese] or attack ordinary Pakistanis to kill the largest numbers of them. Americans or American and British interests have never been attacked in this manner throughout this so-called war on terror that Pakistan has been executing on America’s behalf. If anything, much of this terror is linked to a proxy militia in South Waziristan that claims to be a Pakistani Taliban but receives all its arms and funding from US-controlled Afghanistan where the Indians also maintain a vast intelligence network aimed at Pakistan.
For a list of recorded incidents in Pakistan where private US mercenaries or defense contractors were caught at places where they should not be, see this story, What Robert Gates Didn’t Say - And US Media Hides - About Blackwater In Pakistan.
The question is: What are the Americans doing in Cantt’s Sarwar Colony?
The easiest answer is taking up residence. But there is something more to this than homemaking. The location indicates that the Americans want to keep an eye on movements and chatter in Cantt, which could indicate where Pakistan’s relations with India are headed. Washington is keen to convince Pakistan that India is trustworthy enough for Pakistan to move its army units away from India’s border and get busy in fighting America’s war in Afghanistan.
The Americans could also be interested in keeping an eye on some of the nearby military installations, including one of the largest Pakistan Air Force bases, and also a couple of nuclear installations. There are indications that the US is also interested in seeing the war on terror extended to the heartland of Punjab province in the mistaken belief that this would hurt the base of Pakistani military [Indian intelligence analysts have convinced their American counterparts that Pakistan’s military is all about Punjab province and hitting this province can help subdue Pakistan’s military and ensure its full alignment with US objectives.]
Here is the report published by TheNation on Feb. 21 on the covert US presence in Sarwar Colony in Cantt, Lahore, since 2007 and how scores of Pakistani families have become unwilling neighbors of foreigners they don’t want to see around:
Last year, Pakistanis were stunned to watch several incidents where US citizens were caught by the Military Police at checkpoints leading up to the city’s military zone known as Cantt. Most of the time, these US individuals refused to say what business took them to the military area. The US Consulate in Lahore is located far away from this zone, which compounded the mystery. These US nationals also refused to allow the police to check their vehicles, which is a standard procedure that all Pakistanis undergo considering the terrorist attacks. On a couple of occasions, US vehicles whose drivers refused to cooperate with MP caused long queues at checkpoints. Military Police officers impounded these vehicles. This led to US officials complaining to their media that Pakistan was ‘harassing’ US diplomats.
But the truth is that the Americans have covertly maintained an outpost of several houses in a gated community right in the heart of the city’s military zone. This zone is so sensitive that a half-constructed Sheraton Hotel lies abandoned on one of Cantt’s main streets because the Pakistani military complained that the new hotel’s upper floors provided an easy view of the residence of the commander of the Pakistan Army Corp that guards Pakistan’s northeastern border with India.
This makes the covert US presence in this area intriguing to say the least. The exact location of these houses, in the elite Sarwar Colony, is shown in the pictures that accompany this report. Most of the residents of this colony are senior retired Pakistani military officers. A handful of them have apparently leased out their homes to the Americans at exorbitant rates that far exceed the normal level of leased property rates in the Colony, according to a fascinating expose published by TheNation and is reproduced below in full.
Why are we talking about a few houses rented out by Americans linked to US government in a sensitive part of the eastern city?
The reason is a wave of terror targeting Lahore over the past two years. This is not to suggest that the US government has something to do with this. The suspicion centers on local terrorists indirectly or directly aided by intelligence operatives from multiple countries based in Afghanistan. The point here is that the city of Lahore is exposed not only to local terrorists working with foreign handlers, but also to Indians and possibly to private American security contractors. These contractors expanded their presence in Pakistan in the past two years, mostly using diplomatic cover. The US Embassy in Islamabad under the incumbent Ambassador has been instrumental in pushing for an expanded role for private US defense contractors in Pakistan over the past two years.
Many Pakistanis feel that such penetration of Pakistan by foreign countries is detrimental to our national security and has unnecessarily exposed us to outsiders pursuing interests that may not overlap with our own.
Today, the US Embassy in Islamabad leaked key points of a letter that US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson has sent to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. In the letter, Ambassador Patterson complained about TheNation report on the American presence in Cantt, Lahore. More interestingly, she made a veiled threat that Pak-US relations would suffer if those Americans became targets for a terror attack. The letter was leaked to the Dawn newspaper.
The most interesting part of her letter was an acknowledgement on her part that the security of US diplomats in Pakistan is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan. This is important because it was Ms Patterson who only a year ago was lobbying the Pakistani government to allow US private defense contractors into Pakistan and was running from one government office to another to ensure that these private US contractors are allowed to carry banned weapons anywhere in the country.
When Ms. Patterson was asked why she needed these private security contractors, she said it was to protect US diplomats. Critics said that was the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan and that the Ambassador should not cross a line. Her acknowledgement of this indicates a shift. Probably it has to do with recent understandings between Army Chief Gen. Kayani and US military officials where the army chief reportedly asked US to stop indirect methods of coercion, including media leaks, the role of private contractors in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the role of CIA in the region.
So how did the Pakistani military allow such a breach to occur in a sensitive area of Lahore?
One explanation is that the Americans moved with their gadgetry and equipment to this place sometime in late 2006 and early 2007. This means that the arrangement had the blessings of former President Musharraf. This is significant because it means the US presence in this sensitive location is part of the sovereign understandings that Pakistan entered with the United States during that time. And no matter how damaging this is for Pakistani security interests, Islamabad and the Pakistani military are forced to put up with this foreign presence for as long as those understandings are effective.
Another explanation is that Mr. Musharraf’s regime allowed the Americans to setup shop here without the full knowledge of all the relevant branches of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies. If this is the case, then it is alarming indeed.
This story becomes relevant in the aftermath of a series of attacks in Lahore over the past two years, including one that targeted a visiting Sri Lankan cricket team. The strange part is that all of these attacks either target Pakistan’s allies [Sri Lankans, Chinese] or attack ordinary Pakistanis to kill the largest numbers of them. Americans or American and British interests have never been attacked in this manner throughout this so-called war on terror that Pakistan has been executing on America’s behalf. If anything, much of this terror is linked to a proxy militia in South Waziristan that claims to be a Pakistani Taliban but receives all its arms and funding from US-controlled Afghanistan where the Indians also maintain a vast intelligence network aimed at Pakistan.
For a list of recorded incidents in Pakistan where private US mercenaries or defense contractors were caught at places where they should not be, see this story, What Robert Gates Didn’t Say - And US Media Hides - About Blackwater In Pakistan.
The question is: What are the Americans doing in Cantt’s Sarwar Colony?
The easiest answer is taking up residence. But there is something more to this than homemaking. The location indicates that the Americans want to keep an eye on movements and chatter in Cantt, which could indicate where Pakistan’s relations with India are headed. Washington is keen to convince Pakistan that India is trustworthy enough for Pakistan to move its army units away from India’s border and get busy in fighting America’s war in Afghanistan.
The Americans could also be interested in keeping an eye on some of the nearby military installations, including one of the largest Pakistan Air Force bases, and also a couple of nuclear installations. There are indications that the US is also interested in seeing the war on terror extended to the heartland of Punjab province in the mistaken belief that this would hurt the base of Pakistani military [Indian intelligence analysts have convinced their American counterparts that Pakistan’s military is all about Punjab province and hitting this province can help subdue Pakistan’s military and ensure its full alignment with US objectives.]
Here is the report published by TheNation on Feb. 21 on the covert US presence in Sarwar Colony in Cantt, Lahore, since 2007 and how scores of Pakistani families have become unwilling neighbors of foreigners they don’t want to see around:
“The mystery of why US personnel were being constantly caught entering into the sensitive area of Lahore Cantonment and thereby getting caught by the Military Police, has finally been resolved. However, in the process some serious questions have arisen.
In 2007, under the Musharraf regime, Americans moved into Sarwar Colony, located behind CSD Cantt just off Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Road. This gated colony contains around 200-250 houses and they are owned by retired or serving generals of Pakistan Army. The Americans have been comfortable ensconced here in a few rented houses since 2007 in what is a highly sensitive location. So question number one: Why were the Americans given permission to locate themselves in this area and who gave the permission?
Their activities really caught on only recently when they acquired Houses 87 and 88 (see pictures), ostensibly for the US embassy staff relocated from Peshawar to Lahore! The rents paid for these houses are also far higher than the average for the Colony which is around Rs 150,000 maximum. The Americans are paying around Rs 320,000 for each house per month.
Towards the end of the last year and the start of this year, the Americans intercepted at the Cantt bridge several times were all those coming to this location. However, these Americans refused to tell Military Police officials what their destination was inside Lahore Cantt. So question number two is: Why, if the Americans had rented these houses genuinely for residential accommodation? Linked to this is question three: How come the Military Police were not in on this vital piece of information? Why were they being kept in the dark?
When these houses were rented, in the first three months high security measures were taken for them -grilling, the glass was all changed probably to bullet proof, and infrared security devices were installed with a lighting system. Then, four months ago, big container trailers entered the colony (which is restricted) about seven or eight in number, and they were off loaded into the houses in the predawn hours. After the offloading, the security of the premises was given to Elite Force Punjab and Wackenhut private security guards. The covert usage of these buildings became apparent because anyone seen coming too close to the properties was mistreated and threatened.
Children playing in the park right in front of these two houses often threw balls inside the porches of these two houses. Usually Americans come out swearing. Once, children reported that a growling and angry American came out and flattened the ball before returning it to them.
Some of the Pakistani guards outside the two houses told residents in the neighbourhood that the Americans were transporting and installing hi-tech equipment in the houses. At least one resident in the neighbourhood reports that some of the guards took photographs of some of this equipment and showed them to the residents. One of the residents who saw the pictures reports that a US citizen was watching the guard from inside the house and came out, snatched the mobile phone and threatened the resident not to contact the guards again or come near the house.
But the real issue and core question is: Why the Americans are being allowed to use houses in this sensitive area of Lahore cantonment when there now exists a decision of the Government that foreigners cannot even enter the cantonment areas without prior permission?
To find out how the local residents are taking to their American neighbours, TheNation sent its reporter to the Colony and discovered a terrorised Pakistani community right in the heart of their own country. His account speaks for itself since of some unidentified private American security guards equipped with M4s. The offloaded stuff was professionally packed in layers of plastic and wood.”
In 2007, under the Musharraf regime, Americans moved into Sarwar Colony, located behind CSD Cantt just off Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Road. This gated colony contains around 200-250 houses and they are owned by retired or serving generals of Pakistan Army. The Americans have been comfortable ensconced here in a few rented houses since 2007 in what is a highly sensitive location. So question number one: Why were the Americans given permission to locate themselves in this area and who gave the permission?
Their activities really caught on only recently when they acquired Houses 87 and 88 (see pictures), ostensibly for the US embassy staff relocated from Peshawar to Lahore! The rents paid for these houses are also far higher than the average for the Colony which is around Rs 150,000 maximum. The Americans are paying around Rs 320,000 for each house per month.
Towards the end of the last year and the start of this year, the Americans intercepted at the Cantt bridge several times were all those coming to this location. However, these Americans refused to tell Military Police officials what their destination was inside Lahore Cantt. So question number two is: Why, if the Americans had rented these houses genuinely for residential accommodation? Linked to this is question three: How come the Military Police were not in on this vital piece of information? Why were they being kept in the dark?
When these houses were rented, in the first three months high security measures were taken for them -grilling, the glass was all changed probably to bullet proof, and infrared security devices were installed with a lighting system. Then, four months ago, big container trailers entered the colony (which is restricted) about seven or eight in number, and they were off loaded into the houses in the predawn hours. After the offloading, the security of the premises was given to Elite Force Punjab and Wackenhut private security guards. The covert usage of these buildings became apparent because anyone seen coming too close to the properties was mistreated and threatened.
Children playing in the park right in front of these two houses often threw balls inside the porches of these two houses. Usually Americans come out swearing. Once, children reported that a growling and angry American came out and flattened the ball before returning it to them.
Some of the Pakistani guards outside the two houses told residents in the neighbourhood that the Americans were transporting and installing hi-tech equipment in the houses. At least one resident in the neighbourhood reports that some of the guards took photographs of some of this equipment and showed them to the residents. One of the residents who saw the pictures reports that a US citizen was watching the guard from inside the house and came out, snatched the mobile phone and threatened the resident not to contact the guards again or come near the house.
But the real issue and core question is: Why the Americans are being allowed to use houses in this sensitive area of Lahore cantonment when there now exists a decision of the Government that foreigners cannot even enter the cantonment areas without prior permission?
To find out how the local residents are taking to their American neighbours, TheNation sent its reporter to the Colony and discovered a terrorised Pakistani community right in the heart of their own country. His account speaks for itself since of some unidentified private American security guards equipped with M4s. The offloaded stuff was professionally packed in layers of plastic and wood.”
Sunday, March 14, 2010
EXCLUSIVE: This Is How US Agents Sneak Into Pakistan
See The Video Here
For a few hundred dollars, low-paid border guards are allowing entry into Pakistan to spies and agents of multiple foreign intelligence agencies operating in Afghanistan. In this story and video, see how a US lady entered Pakistan through Torkham on Saturday, Mar. 13, 2010, without visa and without the knowledge of Pakistani intelligence officers posted there. This happens in a country that faces terrorism exported by both US-controlled Afghanistan and its Indian ally.
BY SYED FAWAD ALI SHAH
Saturday, 13 March 2010.
TORKHAM, Pakistan—Rampant corruption and a weak Pakistani state are helping the entry into Pakistan of spies and terrorists from multiple foreign intelligence agencies operating in Afghanistan. Almost all terror in Pakistan is coming from Afghanistan.
This American woman tried to sneak into Pakistan through Torkham on Afghan border today, Saturday, Mar. 13, 2010, around early afternoon. She was wearing an Afghan woman’s burqa and apparently spoke local dialects. She would have successfully crossed into Pakistan safely hidden among a group of Afghan women but something about her demeanor raised the suspicion of a Pakistani border guard.
However, the border guards, known as Khasadars, made sure that Pakistani intelligence officers posted in the area are not told about this arrest. Torkham is considered a hot station within Kasadar tribal force circles. With salaries that go less than PKR 10,000 per month [less than US$ 130], major checkpoints such as Torkham provide an extra source of income for the Khasadars through bribes from travelers.
The guards kept the woman in a room for about thirty minutes and then let her enter Pakistan in her burqa. She paid the Khasadar guards a handsome amount of money as bribe. According a source in the Khasadar Force who witnessed the whole thing, the woman didn’t panic. She appeared composed and familiar with the ways of the border guards. She knew what to do in such a situation.
Thanks to my contacts in the border force, I was able to make a cell phone video of her passport while the Khasadar chief at the checkpoint talked to her.
Her name on the passport was Zohra Rehmati, which makes her an American from either Iranian or Tajik-Afghan extract.
Over the past four years, a large number of US agents have entered Pakistan through Afghanistan. Several have been arrested in different parts of the country disguised as Afghan men, complete with beards and Turbans and fluent in Pashto, Dari and Urdu. Unfortunately, much of this covert American activity was sanctioned first by the Musharraf government and now by the pro-US Zardari-Haqqani combine in the incumbent government.
Ms. Rehmati, if that is her real name, may or may not be a CIA operative, or one of its private contractors associated with either DynCorp or Xe International. But such lax security in a country that is a target of terrorism, DynCorp managed to create quite a covert network in Pakistan before being busted by Pakistani security last year. DynCorp remains in Pakistan, thanks to backing from both the US Embassy in Islamabad and the pro-US government, despite repeated attempts by the country’s security officials to force the US defense contractor to wrap up its operations here. Xe International, formerly known as Blackwater, also operated in Pakistan until 2005 before being moved to Afghanistan, according to an earlier report in the New York Times. But going by the number of incidents in Pakistan over the past couple of years where US private agents were seen operating in major Pakistani cities, it is safe to say that both contractors continue to quietly operate in Pakistan in one
Private contractors help give CIA the benefit of deniability if an agent is arrested on foreign territory.
CIA has been known to send US citizens of foreign descent to their home countries for espionage.
The most recent example is Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American who was busted in Tehran carrying sensitive documents handed to her by an informant. Ms. Saberi was sent to Iran posing as a journalist. CIA even managed to get her newspaper accreditation from a major American newspaper. The US government was embarrassed at the arrest because Ms. Saberi was arrested red handed receiving official documents from a contact.
In Pakistan, a State that is falling apart at the seams, with no central figure or department to control the rot, is providing the perfect environment for meddling in the country not only by the United States, UK, India and other established powers based in Afghanistan, but also by a puppet regime like that of Mr. Hamid Karzai and his spymasters, who in eight years are in a good position today to wreak mayhem inside Pakistan while the politicians in Islamabad and the military in Rawaplpindi have little recourse beyond words of appeasement or caution during closed-door meetings with foreign powers in Afghanistan that are never translated into action to reestablish Pakistan’s writ domestically and in the region.
Mr. Shah is an independent journalist based in Peshawar.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
A Bunker In The Heart Of Islamabad
I was passing by this bunker-type police checkpoint and took this snap using my cell phone. It saddened me no end to see this in the heart of Islamabad in November 2009. The reason for my sadness is that I wrote an analysis titled, Plan To Topple Pakistan Military, in Nov 2007. The paper was based on some evidence indicating Indian activity in Afghanistan centered on inserting agents into Pakistan’s tribal belt, these agents being a mix of Indians and others working for Karzai’s spymasters.
The findings of that analysis linked terrorism in our entire western belt to a CIA-India-Karzai nexus that exploited festering local Pakistani problems. No one at the time believed it. I brought the theory to the attention of the highest people's in the country at the time. Unfortunately, those in power used the insight for political reasons [sustain the government] and chose to trust the Americans, who at the time were planning to shift their Afghan mess to Pakistan. Since then, Chinese interests have been attacked on Pakistani soil for the first time, GHQ has been attacked for the first time, and ethnic terrorism is in action in Balochistan using a Pakistani ethnic rebel leader based in safe houses in Kabul.
I am one of countless Pakistanis now who are glad to read Gen. Kayani's statement on US policy in Afghanistan, and Gen. Tariq Majeed's tough retort to US propaganda on our nukes.
It is time for Pakistan to get out of America’s failed war in Afghanistan and take a stand on anti-Pakistan terrorism launched from that US-controlled country.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Anyone Still Interested In Kidnapping Dr. AQ Khan?
The credit for the two best-known cases of smuggling out nuclear scientists goes to Israel’s Mossad and Pakistan’s ISI. Israel kidnapped a renegade Israeli nuclear scientist. Pakistan helped one return home from Europe with the technology to build the bomb.
Both scientists were driven by noble impulses. The Israeli scientist, Mordechai Vanunu, wanted to expose his government's fevered push to produce nuclear weapons in a region that had none. The Pakistani scientist wanted to help his small country stand up to a nuclear-armed bully, India.
This is why Dr. A. Q. Khan, who has been much demonized by the Am-Brit media, is a hero to 180 million Pakistanis.
But a question begs itself: demonized for what?
Although former President Musharraf did a commendable job at shielding Dr. Khan from direct American access, the very act of forcing Dr. Khan to confess to something that is not a crime under any law was wrong.
Pakistan is not signatory to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Islamabad could have simply told Washington and London to take a hike when both accused it of transferring technology to Iran and North Korea.
In fact, there was room for a deal: Ensure Pakistan's legitimate regional security requirements, including a credible nuclear deterrent in the face of Indian posturing, in exchange for avoiding any future Pakistani nuclear trade with North Korea.
By incarcerating Dr. Khan, Musharraf's Pakistan accepted undue pressure. We will have to pay for a long time, especially in bad reputation, for showing weakness when we should not have.
But since Pakistan did accept the 'crime', several international parties can make a case now for pursuing Dr. Khan if he is set free of the security detail that accompanies him. The Americans have been twisting Pakistani arm for some time demanding US officers be allowed to interrogate Dr. Khan.
Washington has direct interest in nuclear technology transfer to Iran and North Korea. But America has also been silently worried about the Pakistani nuclear program. In 1978, when there was no threat of extremists overtaking Pakistani nukes, CIA used the US consulate in Karachi to recruit 12 Pakistani nuclear scientists and technicians. The CIA ring was assigned the task of sabotaging several nuclear sites to scuttle the nascent Pakistani nuclear program and make it look like a series of unfortunate accidents by an inexperienced nuclear power aspirant.
The Israelis are also quite active in the region: In India where military and intelligence cooperation is at a peak; and in Afghanistan, which is one of the countries Israeli intelligence service is using to encircle and penetrate Iran.
In February, London's Daily Telegraph ran a report quoting unnamed 'western intelligence sources' that said Israel was quietly assassinating Iranian nuclear experts. As proof, the newspaper said Mossad was behind the mysterious murder of Ardeshire Hassanpor, the top Iranian nuclear scientist at the uranium plant in Isfahan in 2007.
Why would anyone still be interested in laying their hands on Dr. A. Q. Khan, who has had no operational access to Pakistani strategic sites for at least a decade now?
Considering Pakistan's crippled security environment, exposed thanks to a heavy US overt and covert presence in the region, Dr. Khan faces a real threat of being kidnapped. Washington's spy network has been a failure so far in assessing the exact location of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. The Americans have also failed, despite several attempts, to gain access to the 'triggers'. Under duress, like a Guantanamo-style interrogation, Dr. Khan can provide clues that could lead to understanding where and how Pakistan is safeguarding its nuclear capability.
Security officials in Pakistan will have to balance Dr. Khan's legitimate need to feel he continues to be a revered Pakistani hero with Pakistan's security requirements and needs. This is a tough balancing act considering that Dr. Khan's original incarceration and the subsequent demonization was contrary to Pakistani interest.
In July 2008, when a justifiably angry Dr. Khan gave a series of press interviews throwing out juicy details about Pakistan's nuclear history, I authored a report assessing threats to the well being of Dr. Khan should he decide to completely dispose off of the security detail provided to him.
Here are relevant excerpts:
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Dr. A. Q. Khan, Pakistan’s notorious nuclear scientist, is under threat of being kidnapped and bundled out of the country in a joint Israeli-American operation that could take the lid off Pakistan’s massive nuclear and strategic arsenal.
Pakistani security officials went on red alert in the last week of June 2008 after receiving information that Israel’s Mossad, possibly in a joint operation with some elements from CIA, is planning to kidnap Dr. Khan, who lives in a house in an Islamabad suburb, and take him out of the country. The officials are tightlipped about the source of the alert.
This possibility is literally Pakistan’s worst nuclear nightmare. All Pakistani scientists, technicians and other special staffers, retired and serving, working on the strategic weapons programs, follow security procedures to avert this possibility. Dr. Khan is the only retired senior scientist who is currently trying to break out of these procedures, creating a risk both for himself and for Pakistan. Islamabad has done a lot to protect him from foreign hands.
Dr. Khan no longer holds official access to Pakistan’s strategic facilities but is considered to be a treasure trove of information on Pakistan’s missile and strategic weapons, especially the two areas that bear his fingerprints: uranium enrichment technology and the development of Pakistan’s long range, nuclear capable Ghauri missile series.
The threat to Dr. Khan is part of a larger dilemma facing Islamabad these days regarding how to deal with the retired scientist. The government wants to relax his security detail assigned to him since his 2004 confession to running a clandestine proliferation network and the subsequent presidential pardon. The government wants to do this in order to calm the Pakistani public opinion that continues to see Dr. Khan as a mistreated national hero.
But the other side of the coin is the fact that Dr. Khan is privy to critical and classified information. There is no known threat to his life but he faces a real possibility of being kidnapped and shipped out of Pakistan to be debriefed by foreign interrogators. One Pakistani official puts this dilemma facing the Pakistani government this way, ‘How can we take a chance with this kind of a personality?’
Making matters worse is Dr. Khan himself, who has intensified his campaign of blackmailing the government into withdrawing his security detail and set him free of any security. Pakistani officials say Dr. Khan is a free man but that assigning him a security detail is based on threat assessments done by professionals.
[ … ]
Pakistan has firmly told everyone that Dr. Khan’s case is ‘closed.’ But the worrying aspect is that with a strongly pro-American PPP government in Islamabad, whose ambassador in Washington is keen to promote U.S. views and whose party cochairman, Mr. Asif Zardari, has used his recent international tour to confirm the presence of terrorist camps inside Pakistan, there is no towering politician or statesman left in the Pakistani capital who can come forward now and boldly defend the Pakistani position.
Alarmingly, Dr. Khan has moved the Pakistani Supreme Court to force the government to remove all security detail assigned to him. This obviously crosses a red line.
That is why Lt. Gen. Khalid Kidwai, the director of the Strategic Plans Division, which oversees the strategic weapons programs, came out on Saturday in Islamabad to say that Pakistan will protect its interest at any cost.
“There are international threats … [Dr. Khan] is being simplistic in his approach,” Gen. Kidwai told a group of Pakistani journalists during a special briefing over the weekend in Islamabad.
Although the days of the Cold War, with their intelligence intrigues, are behind us, the history of nuclear espionage and the stories of the kidnappings and mysterious disappearances of nuclear scientists are too serious and too fresh to be ignored.
Early last year, an Iranian scientist, Ardeshire Hassanpour, mysteriously died in Isfahan, Iran. He was connected to the Natanz nuclear facility which is under international spotlight. Reports suggested he was either killed by the Israeli Mossad or was eliminated by the Iranian government after he was found communicating with either American or Israeli agents. In either situation, this is a fresh and clear case that Pakistan’s immediate region is abuzz with covert activity targeting nuclear scientists and installations.
Interestingly, the credit for two of the best known cases of kidnapping a nuclear scientist and taking him to another country goes to Israel’s Mossad and Pakistan’s ISI. The Pakistani intelligence agency smuggled Dr. A. Q. Khan out from Europe to Pakistan, not to mention that it ran a clandestine operation for the purchase of prohibited equipment and recruitment of nuclear experts and technicians. So, it is safe to say that officials in Islamabad know what they are dealing with. And thus the threat perception [the chances of an A.Q. Khan kidnap] is not exaggerated.
On Sept. 30, 1986, Mossad drugged and smuggled out the rogue Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu while he was en route in a plane from London to Rome. Vanunu was a disgruntled former employee of the Israeli nuclear program. In revenge, he handed over pictures and sensitive information to a British newspaper.
For those who think the Pakistani government is not fair to Dr. Khan, they should see what the Israeli government did to Vanunu.
According to a U.S. Web report, ‘Mordechai Vanunu spent 18 years in prison, including more than 11 years in solitary confinement. Vanunu was released from prison in 2004, subject to a broad array of restrictions on his speech and movement. Since then he has been briefly arrested several times for multiple violations of those restrictions, including giving various interviews to foreign journalists and attempting to leave Israel. In July 2007, Vanunu was sentenced to a further six months' imprisonment for speaking to foreigners and for traveling to Bethlehem.’
In comparison, Dr. Khan is not in detention. He is at his home with his family. He carries a cell phone, along with his family members. Recently, he has been allowed to take meals at restaurants, with some restrictions pertaining to timings in view of Dr. Khan’s security. The Pakistani authorities have been so generous with Dr. Khan that recently he has been free to give telephone and written interviews without any problem, which indicates that his telephone calls and written exchanges are not monitored or censored.
At no point did any Pakistani official misbehave with Dr. Khan. The reason for this generosity is that Dr. Khan might have wronged by getting involved in the proliferation business and self-enrichment, but he remains a man who served his nation well.
Lt. Gen. Kidwai of the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) and Gen. Ihsan-ul-Haq, the former head of the ISI, who questioned Dr. Khan in ten different ‘sittings’ back in 2004 always addressed Dr. Khan as ‘sir’ as a sign of respect.
The evidence of wrongdoing against the prominent scientist was so strong and damning that Dr. Khan changed his testimony from an initial denial to stopping at one point to say, ‘Enough is enough. Please ask the President to pardon me.’
Gen. Kidwai and the ISI chief conveyed to President Musharraf that Dr. Khan wanted to apologize and seek a pardon. ‘This is not personal,’ President Musharraf reportedly said, ‘He should apologize to the nation.’
This is where the idea for the famous television apology came up. The National Command Authority, the main federal agency in charge of the strategic assets and the parent organization of SPD, prepared an initial draft and handed a copy to Dr. Khan for his input. The process of finalizing the draft apology took at least three to four days as the draft of the apology letter ran back and forth between the officials and Dr. Khan, who made corrections to the draft with his own pen. This draft copy is available with the officials and contradicts Dr. Khan’s recent complaint that ‘a letter of apology was thrust in his hands at the President’s office and he was asked to read it on television.’
Now Islamabad is considering presenting the evidence against Dr. Khan before a limited group of neutral Pakistanis. The evidence cannot be made public due to the sensitivity of the information. But if Dr. Khan manages to convince the Pakistani court that he needs to be freed of all security around him, then the government will come forward with the evidence before a group of prominent Pakistanis in a closed door exercise. The purpose is to prove that Dr. Khan is not as innocent as he says he is, and, second, to ensure he retains the security detail provided to him in order to protect him from possible threats, including the reports of an Israeli-style kidnapping.
Pakistani authorities have a legal document that Dr. Khan approved. The document indicates that the presidential pardon was conditional on Dr. Khan not jeopardizing national secrets and provided that no new information emerges on his proliferation activities beyond what he has already confessed.
As for the latest report on a possible plan to kidnap Dr. Khan and take him outside Pakistan, it is not clear where the information came from. Officials are tightlipped. Islamabad closely monitors Indian activities in the region and there is evidence that Indian intelligence operatives in the past have tried to volunteer information on Pakistani nuclear sites to Israel and to certain Pakistan-averse lobbies in the United States.
But Pakistan’s nuclear and strategic weapons programs remain on a strong footing. The image of instability is the result of a political failure on the part of the political class in the country.
The military resolve remains intact. In fact, voices are rising now that say that Pakistan should not be apologetic about its past cooperation with North Korea. Islamabad is not signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and its cooperation with North Korea was within the parameters of Pakistan’s own legitimate security and defense considerations and did not break any international law.
Any past and future Pakistani cooperation with the United States or the IAEA remains confined to two red lines set by Islamabad: One, no one can question Pakistan about the origins of its nuclear and strategic weapons programs, and, Two, Pakistan will not discuss at any level its nuclear cooperation with friends and allies. Iran and North Korea are the only exception because the two nations are already involved in multilateral talks about their programs.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
In A Plane With Musharraf's Mother
Mr. Riaz Khan [riazkhan0427@gmail.com] is a retired senior bureaucrat and a blogger. On Aug. 19, he happened to share the same flight with former President Musharraf's mother and elder brother from Islamabad to Karachi.
This is what he wrote [my comments are at the bottom]:
"Dear Friends of Pakistan & of President Musharraf, I want to share my personal experience of Wednesday while coming on 3.00 PM PIA flight from ISL to Karachi. I was travelling in Economy Plus & had a window seat. A elderly lady in the same row on Aile seat sat who was assisted by a dignified man, I immediately recognized that she was Musharraf's mother & the man resembled like Musharraf although little thinner. In the front row was our bull dog looking finance minister Shaukat Tareen seated. Once the plane took off, I offered my respect to the lady & told her that how much we love his son. The person sitting next to me was Musharraf's elder brother, who is settled in Rome. Guys, he was such a humble and nice man that I cannot find words to explain him. We knew lot of mutual friends and talked during the flight. Besides, I mentioned to Musharraf mother about my father in law, while her husband was posted in Ankara & surprisingly she remembered the names of my sister in laws and mother in law. There was no protocol, no special treatment except wheel chair as offered to ordinary PIA passengers at KHI airport. Our bull dog Finance Minister did not had the courtesy to say hello to the aged lady. Outside the airport was Ayala, president's daughter to receive them. Can you imagine this happening to any of our other leaders, who had ruled the country for 9 years. One of my friend, who knows Musharraf very well visited him in his modest two bed room flat in London and was invited for dinner at his place. I was told that he was laying the table for dinner himself & was extremely happy, content and satisfied with life. There were no regrets or ill feelings against anybody & his only concern was Pakistan. Aren't we an unfortunate nation to lose a remarkable person like him & replace him with the likes of AAZ, NS & SS?"
MY COMMENTS: My dear Mr. Riaz, it was Mr. Musharraf's deliberate decision to leave Pakistan in the hands of these inept, tried, tested and failed politicians. No one forced Mr. Musharraf to do it. He did it to himself and to all of us. Washington wouldn't have imposed these cartoons on us if it wasn't for Mr. Musharraf's full endorsement. I say this with great disappointment because I was one of the rare few who backed him in the public arena in the hope that he would the right thing.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
If Musharraf Committed Treason, The Chief Justice 'Abetted' Him, Will He Order To Hang Himself Too?
This is a guest column by Mr. Danyal Aziz [danyal_aziz47@yahoo.com]. Needless to say, it is a brillient piece.
If former President Pervez Musharraf is charged with treason, he will not be alone. So should be the politicians who supported him and the Supreme Court judges who endorsed his coup in the year 2000. Almost all of the top judges in Pakistan today fall into this category. This is why the Supreme Court did not even mention the 1999 coup and restricted itself to condemning Musharraf for his 2007 emergency rule. The incumbent Chief Justice of Pakistan was among the judges who endorsed Mr. Musharraf's coup. The Article 6 of the Constitution charges with treason not only violators like Musharraf but also the 'abettors' like the honorable judges who endorsed the violator. What a predicament.
By Danyal Aziz
Tuesday, 11 August 2009.
http://www.ahmedquraishi.com/
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan—Is Mr. Ansar Abbasi right about invoking Article 6 of the Constitution against former President Pervez Musharraf?
A dispassionate analysis of the said article of the Constitution proves that he is not right.
Article 6 states in clause 2 that "any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause 1 shall likewise be guilty of high treason".
Article 6 cannot be applied selectively on President Musharraf alone but will have to be applied equally on all those who 'abetted' him.
Musharraf abrogated the Constitution twice. First in October 1999. It was a coup against an elected prime minister. Very few judges objected to the takeover and a majority of the judges took oath under the PCO, Parliament was dissolved and remained suspended for more than three years (endorsed by the Supreme Court) until it was reinstated in November 2002. The second was in November 2007 when the so called emergency rule was imposed. Interestingly, this was not a coup. The move targeted the judiciary. The government and the Parliament remained intact and the emergency lasted for six weeks.
Once Mr. Musharraf is charged for treason, justice cannot be selectively applied only on the action of 3 November 2007 while ignoring the more serious action of October 1999. It will therefore be imperative to try Musharraf and his abettors both for October 1999 and November 2007.
Now comes the one million dollar question: Will Article 6 be applied on the abettors of the two arrogations?
The 'abettors' in the Article 6 include senior members of the present Supreme Court who abetted the coup in 1999. All members of the present Supreme Court of Pakistan had pledged their allegiance to Musharraf by taking the PCO oath in 2000.
The abettors of the coups led by generals Ayub, Yahya, and Zia ul Haq can be set aside because they and most of their abettors are no longer alive. But the 'abettors' of General Musharraf's coup are around. All of them will have to be charged for treason along with Gen. Musharraf. That is the only that across-the-board justice will be done.
Do Ansar Abbasi and Hamid Mir want to proceed with this mass trial?
My advice is this: Let's get out of the Musharraf-phobia and move on with life and the more important issues that the Nation is facing.
The writer is a Pakistani commentator who lives in Rawalpindi. He can be reached at danyal_aziz47@yahoo.com
ON PAKISTANI DEMOCRACY
Pakistan Needs Statesmen, Not Recycled Politicians
To Pakistan’s Prime Minister From An American: Step Up or Step Down
To Military: Empower The Middle Class To Save Pakistan
Pakistan’s Taxing Democracy
Time For A Pakistani Putin
Lawyers’ Iftikhar: A Messiah Or A Pawn?
Who’s Country Is It Anyway, Ours Or U.S. Think Tanks’?
A Military-Civil Intervention To Save Pakistan
Is Pakistan Doomed?
Triumph Of A Failed System, Can Kayani Do It?
Pakistan: Back To Square One, Again
A dispassionate analysis of the said article of the Constitution proves that he is not right.
Article 6 states in clause 2 that "any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause 1 shall likewise be guilty of high treason".
Article 6 cannot be applied selectively on President Musharraf alone but will have to be applied equally on all those who 'abetted' him.
Musharraf abrogated the Constitution twice. First in October 1999. It was a coup against an elected prime minister. Very few judges objected to the takeover and a majority of the judges took oath under the PCO, Parliament was dissolved and remained suspended for more than three years (endorsed by the Supreme Court) until it was reinstated in November 2002. The second was in November 2007 when the so called emergency rule was imposed. Interestingly, this was not a coup. The move targeted the judiciary. The government and the Parliament remained intact and the emergency lasted for six weeks.
Once Mr. Musharraf is charged for treason, justice cannot be selectively applied only on the action of 3 November 2007 while ignoring the more serious action of October 1999. It will therefore be imperative to try Musharraf and his abettors both for October 1999 and November 2007.
Now comes the one million dollar question: Will Article 6 be applied on the abettors of the two arrogations?
The 'abettors' in the Article 6 include senior members of the present Supreme Court who abetted the coup in 1999. All members of the present Supreme Court of Pakistan had pledged their allegiance to Musharraf by taking the PCO oath in 2000.
The abettors of the coups led by generals Ayub, Yahya, and Zia ul Haq can be set aside because they and most of their abettors are no longer alive. But the 'abettors' of General Musharraf's coup are around. All of them will have to be charged for treason along with Gen. Musharraf. That is the only that across-the-board justice will be done.
Do Ansar Abbasi and Hamid Mir want to proceed with this mass trial?
My advice is this: Let's get out of the Musharraf-phobia and move on with life and the more important issues that the Nation is facing.
The writer is a Pakistani commentator who lives in Rawalpindi. He can be reached at danyal_aziz47@yahoo.com
ON PAKISTANI DEMOCRACY
Pakistan Needs Statesmen, Not Recycled Politicians
To Pakistan’s Prime Minister From An American: Step Up or Step Down
To Military: Empower The Middle Class To Save Pakistan
Pakistan’s Taxing Democracy
Time For A Pakistani Putin
Lawyers’ Iftikhar: A Messiah Or A Pawn?
Who’s Country Is It Anyway, Ours Or U.S. Think Tanks’?
A Military-Civil Intervention To Save Pakistan
Is Pakistan Doomed?
Triumph Of A Failed System, Can Kayani Do It?
Pakistan: Back To Square One, Again
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Abida Hussain & Foolish Pakistani Commandos
Abida Hussain, one of the main feudal landlord-politicians in the Punjab province, appeared on the state-run PTV last night and unloaded all her suppressed anger at former President Pervez Musharraf.
She used the common cover story of democracy and dictatorship, she being a democratic warrior feudal princess, of course, [who owns hundreds of poor men, women and children who work for free on her farmlands and who are forbidden to have basic human rights. But that doesn’t matter since most of Pakistan's 'democratic warriors' belong to this same category.]
So anyway, she talked about democracy and dictatorship but never mentioned the real reason for her anger against the former military ruler:
By making graduation a precondition for running for public office, the military 'dictator' ruined Abida Hussian's career and forced her to sit for university examinations when she crossed the age of 50.
I heard she passed her graduation exams but I'm not sure what her score was. The important thing is that this feudal democratic warrior queen is seething with anger at the fact that she and her husband had to stay out of active politics for nearly a decade in which they had to hurriedly prepare their young daughter to run for office in order to save whatever clout her family wielded in her feudal domain in the backwaters of Punjab.
So you can understand Mrs. Hussain's anger when she told a reporter for Wall Street Journal in Jan. 2008 that Musharraf was a "poor thing ... a son of clerks. His mother was a typist."
Unfortunately, the Pakistani media and civil society reelected these feudal-minded inept politicians back to power. People like Abida Hussain don't make even 1% of Pakistan's population but you see how she and those of her ilk sneer at successful middle class Pakistanis. She calls them 'clerks'. Poor clerks.
During the TV show, at one point she got so angry with Musharraf that she took it out on the special operations unit of the Pakistani military just because Musharraf came from that unit. She called them 'foolish'. Well at least they get some real professional training, Mrs. Hussain. What good are you if not for your papa's wealth?
Her co-panelist on the show was a lady parliament member from Mr. Nawaz Sharif's party, someone by the name of Mrs. Ishrat Ashraf.
Members of former prime minister Sharif's party face a dilemma on TV talk shows these days. There is a competition within the party on who can heap more scorn on Musharraf. That makes the former prime minister very happy since he is obsessed with the man who threw him out of power a decade ago.
So was the case with Mrs. Ashraf. Not to be outdone by Mrs. Abida Hussain from the ruling PPP party, Ashraf said something even more hilarious.
I will let Mr. Amanullah Rabbani, one of the members of our PakNationalists Group, describe it:
"Then Ishrat Ashraf said that it is a shame that a man like Musharraf was the chief of the brave army of Pakistan. My answer to her: Can anyone please inform her who made Musharraf chief of Army Staff?!!"
She used the common cover story of democracy and dictatorship, she being a democratic warrior feudal princess, of course, [who owns hundreds of poor men, women and children who work for free on her farmlands and who are forbidden to have basic human rights. But that doesn’t matter since most of Pakistan's 'democratic warriors' belong to this same category.]
So anyway, she talked about democracy and dictatorship but never mentioned the real reason for her anger against the former military ruler:
By making graduation a precondition for running for public office, the military 'dictator' ruined Abida Hussian's career and forced her to sit for university examinations when she crossed the age of 50.
I heard she passed her graduation exams but I'm not sure what her score was. The important thing is that this feudal democratic warrior queen is seething with anger at the fact that she and her husband had to stay out of active politics for nearly a decade in which they had to hurriedly prepare their young daughter to run for office in order to save whatever clout her family wielded in her feudal domain in the backwaters of Punjab.
So you can understand Mrs. Hussain's anger when she told a reporter for Wall Street Journal in Jan. 2008 that Musharraf was a "poor thing ... a son of clerks. His mother was a typist."
Unfortunately, the Pakistani media and civil society reelected these feudal-minded inept politicians back to power. People like Abida Hussain don't make even 1% of Pakistan's population but you see how she and those of her ilk sneer at successful middle class Pakistanis. She calls them 'clerks'. Poor clerks.
During the TV show, at one point she got so angry with Musharraf that she took it out on the special operations unit of the Pakistani military just because Musharraf came from that unit. She called them 'foolish'. Well at least they get some real professional training, Mrs. Hussain. What good are you if not for your papa's wealth?
Her co-panelist on the show was a lady parliament member from Mr. Nawaz Sharif's party, someone by the name of Mrs. Ishrat Ashraf.
Members of former prime minister Sharif's party face a dilemma on TV talk shows these days. There is a competition within the party on who can heap more scorn on Musharraf. That makes the former prime minister very happy since he is obsessed with the man who threw him out of power a decade ago.
So was the case with Mrs. Ashraf. Not to be outdone by Mrs. Abida Hussain from the ruling PPP party, Ashraf said something even more hilarious.
I will let Mr. Amanullah Rabbani, one of the members of our PakNationalists Group, describe it:
"Then Ishrat Ashraf said that it is a shame that a man like Musharraf was the chief of the brave army of Pakistan. My answer to her: Can anyone please inform her who made Musharraf chief of Army Staff?!!"
Yes. Interestingly it was Mrs. Ashraf's boss, former premier Nawaz Sharif, who ignored more generals that were senior and promoted Gen. Musharraf in the belief that he would be a docile army chief.
Almost the entire Pakistani nation 10 years ago warmly welcomed the fact that Gen. Musharraf refused to be docile and saved the nation from these feudal landlord-politicians who want to run this nuclear armed nation like they run their farmlands and factories.
It's another story that Mr. Musharraf in one of his worst failures returned the country back into the hands of people like Mrs. Abida Hussain, the clerks-hater.
Friday, August 7, 2009
A Win For Pakistani Democracy
If you know a Pakistani politician, send them a thank you note.
Today they have accomplished the most important piece of legislation. They did it religiously, without wasting a breath, and in complete harmony, government and opposition.
Pakistani politicians today amended a law that required all candidates for the federal and provincial parliaments to be educated, as in graduates, having completed 12 years of formal education.
A 'dictator' called Pervez Musharraf had put in place this condition. How outrageous of him, that military ruler. How dare he!
By insisting that the rulers of the country be educated, the 'dictator' offended the feudal landlord-politicians of the country.
Thing is, these landlord-politicians now have educated progeny that has started making its own beeline for parliament seats.
In a decade or two our parliament will be a 'graduate assembly' anyway.
So why the rush to pass this amendment?
The reason is that the 'old guard' among the landlord-politicians continue to be around and in large numbers; uncouth feudal landlords without degrees and, may I also say, pedigrees. [I have more respect for the tribal landlords of Balochistan because at least they are genuine. The rest of the Pakistani feudal landlords are fakes: All of them claim lineage from our great Prophet! And hence the right to own large pieces of land where they are also entitled to enslave people for generations! By the way, the Arabs are really offended at this large number of self-claimed descendants of our Prophet among Pakistan's landlord-politicians. One Arab friend of mine came to Islamabad last year and asked me this, 'Wait a minute, the Prophet was an Arab. How come all his progeny is in Pakistan! And that too inside the federal parliament!].
Long live Pakistani democracy [until the next military 'dictator', which looks soon by the way things are going.]
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Musharraf Sound Asleep Tonight
Let me cut through the confusion and tell you this.
The case in the court is about two Sindh high court judges who want to be reinstated. It is not about Musharraf. The former president is not under prosecution.
His name came up because the fate of the two judges depends on an action taken by the former president two years ago.
If the former president’s action is right, then the two judges can be restored to their jobs. If the action is wrong, the two judges will stay jobless.
Someone emailed me asking: If the court proves that introducing emergency rule on Nov. 3, 2007, was wrong, does that mean Mr. Musharraf will be hanged?
Hell, no. Not in this case. Someone has to register a separate case against the former president for that to happen. And even then it’s not guaranteed.
It is the fate of the two jobless judges that is being decided, not Musharraf’s.
Case closed.
I am sure Mr. Musharraf will have a good night's sleep in London tonight without any worry.
A word for the judges: Maybe the Supreme Court of Pakistan should probe the case of the politician caught red handed in credit card theft and fraud and is still walking free, thanks to the plane hijacker whom the court found not guilty a few days ago.
Or how about the other provincial minister who almost raped a woman and then settled quietly out of court and continues to be in his job.
Better still, maybe the Supreme Court should take up NRO, the law that washed clean our President, his Interior Minister and terrorists from several Pakistani political parties that pretend to be parties when they are actually made up of thugs and criminals.
The case in the court is about two Sindh high court judges who want to be reinstated. It is not about Musharraf. The former president is not under prosecution.
His name came up because the fate of the two judges depends on an action taken by the former president two years ago.
If the former president’s action is right, then the two judges can be restored to their jobs. If the action is wrong, the two judges will stay jobless.
Someone emailed me asking: If the court proves that introducing emergency rule on Nov. 3, 2007, was wrong, does that mean Mr. Musharraf will be hanged?
Hell, no. Not in this case. Someone has to register a separate case against the former president for that to happen. And even then it’s not guaranteed.
It is the fate of the two jobless judges that is being decided, not Musharraf’s.
Case closed.
I am sure Mr. Musharraf will have a good night's sleep in London tonight without any worry.
A word for the judges: Maybe the Supreme Court of Pakistan should probe the case of the politician caught red handed in credit card theft and fraud and is still walking free, thanks to the plane hijacker whom the court found not guilty a few days ago.
Or how about the other provincial minister who almost raped a woman and then settled quietly out of court and continues to be in his job.
Better still, maybe the Supreme Court should take up NRO, the law that washed clean our President, his Interior Minister and terrorists from several Pakistani political parties that pretend to be parties when they are actually made up of thugs and criminals.
[I won't mention the minister suspected of protecting the accused in burying three women alive in Balochistan, or the feudal lords who threw a pregnant young woman to hungry dogs in Sindh. It's hard to believe I am still talking about our 'democracts', these gems of Pakistani democracy!].
Doing any of the above is better for the Supreme Court than wasting our time and its own by involving itself in issues like Musharraf or the case of the hijacker prime minister who endangered the country’s security and reputation by kidnapping the plane of the army chief.
Seriously, Pakistan these days is under the reign of the deranged. Who is guiltier? A former president who came to save the nation and ended up handing it over to criminals? Or criminals who think they are politicians and statesmen? Or judges who are making rulings as if they are living in Switzerland, as if Pakistan were some kind of a birthplace of democracy?
It’s a country ruled by thieves. Wake up, judges.
Doing any of the above is better for the Supreme Court than wasting our time and its own by involving itself in issues like Musharraf or the case of the hijacker prime minister who endangered the country’s security and reputation by kidnapping the plane of the army chief.
Seriously, Pakistan these days is under the reign of the deranged. Who is guiltier? A former president who came to save the nation and ended up handing it over to criminals? Or criminals who think they are politicians and statesmen? Or judges who are making rulings as if they are living in Switzerland, as if Pakistan were some kind of a birthplace of democracy?
It’s a country ruled by thieves. Wake up, judges.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Will Mr. Rehman Malik Ask Interpol To Arrest Google Chief Now?
Our friends at http://www.pakistankakhudahafiz.com/ did this search. And it turns out that Google search engine receives huge queries on the word Zardari followed by the words you can see above, which are expletives in Urdu, Pakistan's language. I checked it out this snapshot from the search page is absolutely correct. I hope the sleuths of Mr. Rehman Malik, Mr. Zardari's Interior Minister, see this and decide to take action against Google and Yahoo.
Thanks to Mr. President and his team the world is laughing at us. Well done.
By the way, former President Musharraf, who probably made a gazillion mistakes [including bringing the present nincompoops to power] never reacted like this to hundreds of jokes and insults on him on television talk shows, comedies, text messages and emails. And he supposedly was a dictator.
Thanks to Mr. President and his team the world is laughing at us. Well done.
By the way, former President Musharraf, who probably made a gazillion mistakes [including bringing the present nincompoops to power] never reacted like this to hundreds of jokes and insults on him on television talk shows, comedies, text messages and emails. And he supposedly was a dictator.
Check out what PKKH found out when it searched for terms such as Sherry Rehman and Mr. 10%. Click here to read the story:
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Underdog Sharif
Once Pervez Musharraf, Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif were travelling in an auto rickshaw. They met with an accident and all three of them died.
An Angel was waiting for this moment at the doorstep of death.
He asks MUSHARAF and Zardari to go to HEAVEN. But, for Nawaz Sharief, Angel had already decided that he should be sent to HELL.
Nawaz Sharief is not at all happy with this decision. He asks Angel as to why this discrimination is being made. All the three of them had served the public. Similarly, all took bribes, all misused public positions, etc. Then why the differential treatment?
He felt that there should be a formal test or an objective evaluation before a decision is made; and should not be just based on opinion or preconceived notions. Angel agrees to this and asks all the three of them to appear for an English test.
MUSHARAF is asked to spell " PAKISTAN " and he does it correctly. Zardari is asked to spell " ENGLAND " and he too passes. It is Nawaz Sharief's turn and he is asked to spell " CZECHOSLOVAKIA ".
Nawaz Sharief protests that he doesn't know English. He says this is not fair and that he was given a tough question and thus forced to fail with false intent. Angel then agrees to conduct a written test in Urdu (to give another chance assuming that Nawaz Sharief should at least feel that Urdu would provide an equal platform for all three).
MUSHARAF is asked to write "KUTTA BOLA BHOW BHOW". He writes it easily and passes. Zardari is asked to write "BILLY BOLI MYAUN MYAUN". He too passes. Nawaz Sharief is asked to write "BANDAR BOLA GURRRRRR.... ." Tough one. He fails again.
Nawaz Sharief is extremely unhappy. Having been a student of history (which the other two weren't), he now requested for all the 3 to be subjected to a test in history Angel says OK but this would be the last chance and that he would not take any more tests.
MUSHARAF is asked: "When did Pakistan get Independence ?" He replied "1947" and passed. Zardari is asked "How many people died during the independence struggle?". He gets nervous. Angel asked him to choose from 3 options: 100,000 or 200,000 or 300,000. Zardari catches it and says 200,000 and passes. It's Nawaz Sharief's turn now.
Angel asks him to give the Names and Addresses of each one of the 200,000 who died in the Independence struggle. Nawaz Sharief accepts defeat and agrees to go to HELL.
Moral of the story: IF YOUR MANAGEMENT HAS DECIDED TO FRUSTRATE YOU, THERE IS NO ESCAPE!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Going After Musharraf?
From day one, I had no doubt that Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was no hero. Only the images of his harassment by the police under Musharraf's orders turned this close friend of a dictator into a champion of democracy. This is Pakistan, where crooks are perfectly matched with a fake democracy designed to fool the masses and deliver nothing except crises and destruction.
The man was hand in glove with Musharraf. After his dismissal, his reinstatement became a personal crusade camouflaged as a battle for independent juduciary. As a proof that this was a battle devoid of any higher principle, Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry did not hesitate for a second in mortgaging his 'cause' to the politicians. He let Aitzaz Ahsan use him to help Benazir Bhutto get a better deal from Musharraf. He then let both Zardari and Nawaz use him to win elections. And then he allowed Nawaz Sharif to use him to get back at Zardari.
Now that all the corrupt players of Pakistan's dirty politics have decided to end this issue through some kind of a secret arrangement, the Pakistani people and the media is beginning to smell rat.
To hide this rat, Iftikhar Chaudhry, Nawaz and Zardari are planning to raise a nonissue that they hope will distract the Pakistanis from discovering the truth. They are planning to go after Pervez Musharraf. If they do this, they'll get to hide the truth about why, for example, the newly reinstated chief judge won't go after President Zardari's NRO.
I'm writing someting about this shortly, backed by some startling information. Ali Khan, a Pakistani blogger based in the U.S. who edits PakistanFirst.com has also reported receiving information about moves in this direction. His information sources are often stellar.
If they indeed go after him, Mr. Musharraf has only himself to blame. He is the one who let Mr. Sharif leave the country back in 2000 despite serious allegations against the former premier. He's the one who listened to the Americans and agreed to the NRO, the most shameful piece of legislation even by the standards of Pakistan's fake democracy. And finally he is the one who let all his enemies gang up on him while he enjoyed the good life with his incompetent political allies.
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