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President-Army row over KLB persists

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has apparently reconciled to the idea that the Kerry-Lugar Bill (KLB) – now an Act after it was signed by US President Obama – may be defeated in parliament, once it is brought back for a vote.

It is expected that the government will not oppose any resolution against the KLB in parliament. President Zardari is mentally ready for accepting another defeat, it is learnt on good authority.

If that happens soon, it will be another defeat for the beleaguered president who now has the choice to remain in the Presidency as another Rafiq Tarar or Fazal Ilahi, or quit and go on with his life.

The president may have avoided a showdown by accepting defeat on the infamous NRO but his differences with the army’s high command on the KLB are still unresolved. He tried his level best in the last session of the National Assembly to create a majority in support of KLB but failed.

Cross-media perspective of Hillary Clinton’s visit to Pakistan

Pakistan Says Thanks To Hillary, And Shut Up To Chidambaram

Ahmed Quraishi

Pakistan has rejected the US demand for crackdown against members of the so-called Afghan Taliban Shura allegedly hiding in Balochistan and termed the US claims as baseless and unfounded.  At the same time, Islamabad simply brushed aside the noise generated by India’s interior minister who tried to scare Pakistan with the threat of war but ended up producing giggles in the Pakistani capital.

Pakistan, however, accepted to help Washington in intensifying talks with the leadership of the Afghan Taliban, an idea which Mrs. Clinton floated in Islamabad after months of so far pointless attempts at talks with the Afghan Taliban.

Zaid Hamid Exclusive: Operation Rah-e-Rast and Youth of Pakistan

Please click on the image below to listen to the Pakistan First Editor’s Show:

Proof of India’s involvement in militancy found

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has found concrete evidence of India’s involvement in militancy in South Waziristan and decided to take up the matter with New Delhi.

This was disclosed by Information Minster Qamar Zaman Kaira and military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas at a press briefing on the progress of operation Rah-i-Nijat here on Monday. It was the first time in recent times that Pakistan had pointed fingers at India from a forum having representation of political and military leadership.

Mr Kaira said although it had been decided to raise the issue with India, Pakistan would not deviate from the peace process.

Gen Abbas said a huge quantity of Indian arms and ammunition, literature, medical equipment and medicines had been recovered from Sherawangi area, near Kaniguram. He said the Foreign Office had been informed and the matter would be taken up with the Indian authorities through diplomatic channels.

Sources in the Foreign Office said a dossier containing proofs of India’s involvement in South Waziristan would soon be handed over to officials in New Delhi.

Hillary’s visit to Pakistan, NOT a BlockBuster

Maryam Shahid and Atif F Qureshi | PKKH

Failed Presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton, popped up in Pakistan recently on a ‘marathon’ three day visit to ‘assuage’ the offended Pakistani population who – for some reason – strongly object to being killed by American drones and car-bombed in the fallout of obscene American policies. Apparently, three days is all it takes.

Let’s review the ill-will tour.

The Rise is Coming

Despite the problems our beloved country is facing, despite the fears that are lurking around, despite all the deception and frustration that is being inflicted upon us, despite all the evil designs of the enemies against us, despite all what seems to be going wrong…………We are going to emerge as a glorified and dignified nation, we are going to acquire the stature that we are meant to, we are going reach the top………we are going to rise! This is our destiny, this is what Allah Pak has decided and written for us, This is Allah’s Will and Rasool Allah’s promise and Iqbal’s dream. This is going to happen….The Rise is definitely Coming Insha’Allah…

Pakistan Hamesha Zinda-o-Paindabaad

 

As The Rumor Says….

Round-Up of the Current Political Situation

Nemrah Ahmed | Political Analyst, PKKH

Although the author always warns before penning down premature rumors that their authenticity can be challenged by any future action of the parties concerned, the funniest things about the rumors is that they always turn out to be true in Pakistan!

As the legend says, “Never trust a politician’s statement until he denies it”, in our part of the world, a hue and cry of “This cannot happen” and “We will not allow this” begins before any big change. Some things are predicted by legends, while others by the rumors, and the rumors being floated these days, good or bad, seem to be very interesting.

Marvi Memom refused to meet Mrs. Clinton

Dear Secretary Clinton,
Whilst the message from you and your government is that of peace and friendship, the Kerry Lugar Bill passed by your legislative branch has been one of the main stumbling blocks in this mission. The assumption that Pakistanis have misunderstood the bill is equally faulty. Pakistanis have read the bill and understood your intent to micromanage Pakistan, to curtail Pakistan’s nuclear expansion program and to direct the war against extremism in Pakistan from White House.

What follows below is an understanding of the bill which needs to be amended if relations between US and patriotic Pakistanis have to be established. Your assertion that if we have issues with the bill we don’t need to take the money is ‘spot on’; patriotic Pakistanis have rejected your mere $1.5 billion. We will not negotiate on our country’s sovereignty and defence. And these are not mere slogans. They are based on facts which we read out of your conditionalities which do exist. And here are the facts Secretary Clinton:

Zaid Hamid: Khilafat-e-Rashida | Episode 12

In this latest episode by Brasstacks, Zaid Hamid sheds some light on Khilafat-e-Rashida that how it was the greatest form of governance ever by human kind

part 1

Hillary Clinton’s despair in Pakistan

Maoist Rebels Widen Deadly Reach Across India

Jim Yardley

BARSUR, India — At the edge of the Indravati River, hundreds of miles from the nearest international border, India effectively ends. Indian paramilitary officers point machine guns across the water. The dense jungles and mountains on the other side belong to Maoist rebels dedicated to overthrowing the government.  Indigenous women walked to a market in Chattisgarh State, where villagers are caught between the Indian government and Maoist rebels.

“That is their liberated zone,” said P. Bhojak, one of the officers stationed at the river’s edge in this town in the eastern state of Chattisgarh. Or one piece of it. India’s Maoist rebels are now present in 20 states and have evolved into a potent and lethal insurgency. In the last four years, the Maoists have killed more than 900 Indian security officers, a figure almost as high as the more than 1,100 members of the coalition forces killed in Afghanistan during the same period.  If the Maoists were once dismissed as a ragtag band of outdated ideologues, Indian leaders are now preparing to deploy nearly 70,000 paramilitary officers for a prolonged counterinsurgency campaign to hunt down the guerrillas in some of the country’s most rugged, isolated terrain.

Clinton in Pakistan encounters widespread distrust of US

By Alex Rodriguez

The discontent is not just from radicals, even college students and respected journalists question Washington’s intentions in Pakistan. Some liken U.S. drone missile strikes to terrorism.

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan -  Every time Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to win over Pakistanis during her three-day charm offensive last week, they fired back a polite but firm message:

We don’t really trust your country.

Another slap on Indian face, the reality of Indian growth: Let the world see

Foreign Aid and India: Financing the Leviathan State

With a debate now raging over whether further foreign aid programs financed by U.S. taxpayers are justified in the post-Cold War era, a review of the development experience of the recipient of the largest amount of foreign aid is instructive. India has received more foreign aid than any other developing nation since the end of World War II–estimated at almost $55 billion since the beginning of its First Five-Year Plan in 1951.(1) It has long been an article of faith among development economists and policymakers that foreign aid is a necessary and central component of economic development, yet the record of Indian economic development since 1947 belies that view.

PAK RADIO: Special Broadcast (LIVE)

The Editor’s Show Exclusive:

Operation Rahi Nijat and The Role of YouthThe Editor’s Show Exclusive: Operation Rahi Nijat and The Role of Youth: In this exclusive discussion with Zaid Hamid we discuss the problems Pakistan is facing. We exclusivly discuss the Operation Rahi Nijat and where do we stand today. In the end of the discussion we talked about how this youth is going to bring the change. A Must Listen on PakRadio from 9 PM to 10 PM on Nov 1st 2009.

Special Takmeel – e – Pakistan: First Episode

Special Takmeel -e- Pakistan: Dan Qayyum (PKKH), Ali Khan (Editor PakistanFirst), Talha Mujaddidi (Head Newsdesk Team, PKKH) are discussing how to bring the change, they discuss solutions to problems and how to implement them and take decisions to make practical. What are these solutions and how will they implement them? Listen to them from 7 PM to 8 PM Pakistan Time on Sunday Nov 1st.

http://pakistanfirst.com/pakradio

All times mentioned are in PST (Pakistan Standard Time)

Dr. Shireen Mazari on Waqt TV

Dr. Shireen Mazari on Waqt TV explaining current events and policies.

part 1

PKKH Message to Nation “Takmeel e Pakistan”

Dan Qayyum, Sumayya Chawla, and Talha Mujaddidi from PKKH combine to bring you a message of hope, of Pakistan’s relevance in times to come, and of holding our own and being resilient against the many threats we face.

Pakistan’s time has come. InshaAllah we will rise and all those who have for 60 years predicted the fall of this great nation and have worked to destroy it, will perish.

Insha’Allah, there’s the brightest of futures for Pakistan, be a part of it. And there is dignity and glory in it for all. It is always darkest before dawn.

Also includes guest appearances from General Hamid Gul, Ali Azmat and Atif Aslam.

Takmeel-e-Pakistan is a movement that calls for the full realization of Iqbal’s dream – for making Pakistan what our forefathers intended it to be when they passed the Pakistan Resolution on March 23rd 1940. We have achieved the first part of this dream, the creation of the nation-state of Pakistan. Since then, we’ve been let down by our leaders, our politicians, and the subsequent generations who arguably became complacent and lost their way. Now is the time for realization of ‘Pakistan’.

InshaAllah in March 2010 we will gather for a grand occasion to celebrate Pakistan.

To Join PKKH’s Takmeel-e-Pakistan Project: Please Email Takmeel.e.Pakistan@gmail.com with your details

Pictures of Waziristan Operation

Is Pakistani Media Awake?

Sumayya Chawla | PKKH

Under the headline of ‘New US Policy to Raise Aid for Pakistan’ (DAWN News, Friday 30 Oct) is the biggest and most worrying shift in US policy towards Pakistan. The outline for this new policy was made very clear by Senator John Kerry when he declared that “Pakistan is not only the headquarters of Al Qaeda today but could eventually become the epicentre of extremism in the world.”  He went on to say that there was ‘virtually no Al-Qaeda’ in Afghanistan. He repeated the same old mantra that Pakistani intelligence agencies have used Taliban as a ‘hedge’ in the past and that there are concerns that they will continue to do so in the future.  After all the denials by the American Ambassador in Pakistan in the aftermath of the KL Bill, that Pakistan’s ISI was not being accused of funding extremists and terrorists, this ‘policy shift’ is indeed a very strange development. Keeping in view the reports from the US media claiming that the Obama administration is now convinced that no amount of troop surge in Afghanistan can eliminate Taliban as a political and military force, a clear pattern is emerging in terms of the real intentions of the US towards Pakistan and perhaps the real reason why the Afghan war was launched in the first place.

Hillary’s Rejoinder: Interpreting the US Trust Deficit

Faryal Leghari

The expected barbs were finally delivered. Not being able to uphold the brittle charm for long, Hillary Clinton gave in to the bigger temptation of voicing what she actually feels about Pakistan. Simply, that it is not doing enough to capture and kill the Al Qaeda leaders present in Pakistan. In voicing this belief, the Secretary of State has reiterated the position adopted by other US officials in the past. One that conveniently overlooks Pakistan’s past successes in arresting and killing scores of top international terrorists and thwarting major attacks.

This sharp rap on the knuckles comes after praising Pakistan for its untiring efforts in counterterrorism! What contradictions, that too in the space of three days. One may excuse secretary of state’s little outburst for having suffered three days of unrelenting criticism levelled against the United States. So what if she holds a key government office, almost second in importance to the Oval Office, she is human and may have retaliated in defence of her country, increasingly beleaguered in Afghanistan.

Why Is South Asia So Tense? India Must Rethink Its Policies Towards Its Neighbors.

For the past 63 years – the life span of most countries of this region, South Asia has remained in a state of tension. The eight SAARC countries* that make up this geopolitically sensitive region, where a major chunk of the humanity lives, do not enjoy the kind of friendly and harmonious relationship with each other, as one would have expected. This despite efforts of some well meaning leaders like General Irshad, former Bangladeshi president, who tried to bring the people and the countries together on a single platform of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on the pattern of the European Union to help develop the region into a major economic and political bloc.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in December 1985 and, according to wikipedia: is the largest regional organization in the world by population, covering approximately 1.47 billion people.

The first seven SAARC countries were enthusiastic about the concept and keen for it to succeed. Conscious that this model of cooperation between countries was important for their progress and deliverance from pervasive poverty, they tried to make it work but in the end it simply died.

Operation Rah-e-Nijat Updates

TEJAS: India’s Continued Embarassment

Talha Mujaddidi | PakistanKaKhudaHafiz.com

A lot can be achieved in two and a half decades. For an individual, its roughly one-third of the average lifespan. For a nation, its enough time for an entire generation to come through. A nation can be transformed from a marshy swamp into one of the largest economies of the world – as in the case of Singapore.

What did Indian Air Force (IAF) achieve in twenty six years while consuming over $2 billion? the answer to that is Zilch; Zero; Nada; Nothing – except a failed project and a continued embarrassment in the shape ‘Tejas’. Tejas LCA (Light Combat Aircraft, also known as Last Chance Aircraft) has gone many trials and tests and there’s no sign of induction as yet. It has now been announced to enter IAF in 2010.

Pakistan’s own ambitious JF-17 project was launched in partnership with China in 1995. In just eleven years and with just $500 million spent, the JF-17 was flying in Pakistani Airspace on March 23rd 2007 – with the maiden flight having taken place much earlier in 2003.

Indigenous Capital for Mankind

Maryam Shahid & Haris Mumtaz – PKKH Editorial Team

“I shall watch with keenness the work of your Research Organization in evolving banking practices compatible with Islamic ideas of social and economic life. The economic system of the West has created almost insoluble problems for humanity and to many of us it appears that only a miracle can save it from disaster that is not facing the world. It has failed to do justice between man and man and to eradicate friction from the international field. On the contrary, it was largely responsible for the two world wars in the last half century. The Western world, in spite of its advantages, of mechanization and industrial efficiency is today in a worse mess than ever before in history. The adoption of Western economic theory and practice will not help us in achieving our goal of creating happy and contended people. We must work our destiny in our own way and present to the world an economic system based on true Islamic concept of equality of manhood and social justice. We will thereby be fulfilling our mission as Muslims and giving to humanity the message of peace which alone can save it and secure the welfare, happiness and prosperity of mankind”.

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s speech on the inauguration of State Bank of Pakistan: 1st July, 1948

Pakistani Youth Defeating ‘Taliban’

Ali Khan | PakistanFirst

In his recent interview Gen Athar Abbas director general Inter services public relation said that military can buy time and soften the situation. According to him military operation is not the full action that government of Pakistan and its people will take against these anti-Pakistan terrorists and foreign elements in Waziristan. There is another important part of this operation; government coming down and taking control of the situation.

This is where most of Pakistanis put blame on the government that it is not doing its job and are afraid of bad consequences. But we, the people of Pakistan fail to recognize that it is not only the government rather it is us, we are part of this failure, as we are not playing our part. We are not taking the right steps ourselves then he can we blame just the government. Indeed this does not absolve government of its responsibilities.