Balochistan Earthquake Victims Need Your Help!

The current confirmed death toll is over 300 and thousands of people have been injured. Thousands of homes have been completely destroyed leaving at least 15,000 people homeless and on the streets in extremely harsh cold weather.

Rescue and aid efforts have been slow in reaching the thousands of people affected by the earthquake. The primary requirement is of food and shelter from the intense cold weather for the survivors, burial of the dead, medicines and supplies as well as doctors and volunteers.

The 2005 earthquake saw the nation united as one, in helping the victims of the disaster with their generous assistance. A similar effort is needed on an urgent basis at all levels.

We have a team on the ground in the affected areas, working round the clock providing food, shelter, and mobile hospitals to the victims of this tragedy and we would greatly appreciate your assistance.

You can help!

If you are a doctor who can travel on short notice, or if you wish to help as a volunteer or with supplies/medicines/tents and other basic necessities, or even monetarily, please call +92 321 8950589 or email earthquake.balochistan@gmail.com for more information on our operation and how you can help.

Please pass this message on. May Allah protect our brothers and sisters, grant them ‘sabr’ at this difficult time, and accept our honest gesture. Aameen.

PakistanKaKhudaHafiz.com

Private Weddings in the President House

Not satisfied with the massive economic and security mess they’ve turned Pakistan into, here are the latest shenanigans of our ‘leadership’ which seems hellbent on proving themselves and the most corrupt and incompetent bunch ever to be in charge of Pakistan. The President House, Islamabad is now being used for private weddings.

They’re turning Pakistan into a laughing stock by the day, and if this cancer isn’t removed sharpish, it’ll take us all down with it. Democracy the best revenge, indeed. Lets see if the ‘free media’ picks this one up.

  

  

   

  

Democracy – The Best Revenge?!

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—With Pakistan facing severe food shortage and economic crisis within, India has launched an economic war of its own against its arch rival State. Blocking Pakistani waters at this critical juncture would mean severe food and water shortage in Pakistan in the coming months and increase in provincial and social disharmony.

If the harvesting season passes and then India release water, even then it would be an act of war as time critical harvesting season would have passed making it impossible for farmers to sow their fields. India is obviously using these delay tactics but the PPP government in Islamabad is too naïve or corrupt to even take up the issue with India seriously.

On the other hand, the PPP government has given in totally to the Indian demand of initiating trade and business across the Loc without discussing the long standing issue of Kashmir dispute. On the surface, trade between two divided Kashmir regions is a positive move and would allow Kashmiris in Indian held region to have closer trade and business interests with Pakistan. But if this move is being done at the cost of Kashmir dispute resolution and without seriously confronting the Indians on water blockage, then this is a betrayal and not progress.

Read Full Article | India’s War Against Pakistan And PPP’s Weak Response | Zaid Hamid

Is Pakistan Doomed

A bright spot in this gloomy picture is emerging. Today’s third- and fourth-generation Pakistanis are the most assimilated and integrated generation of this nation. They are more intermarried, intermixed, cosmopolitan and articulate than their fathers and grandfathers. This generation transcends ethnic and linguistic fault lines. It brings together the best of what a Pakistani represents: A great history and a promising future. The rise of this generation presents a natural and a unique opportunity for change.

Full Article: Is Pakistan Doomed? | Ahmed Quraishi

Afghan defectors turn to the Taliban

Al Jazeera has uncovered evidence that an increasing number of Afghan forces are switching sides – joining the Taliban and turning their weapons against those they used to fight alongside.

WATCH

‘They plan, and Allah plans too. And Allah is the best of planners.’ Al Anfal: 8:30

Arrested Militants Name RAW / Kabul

The gang of three persons has brazenly admitted that they belong to a group of persons who had been deputed to ‘destabilize democratic Pakistan’ in order to create a confrontation with the Pakistani military. They were told to carry out their activities under the pretext of ‘enforcement of Shariah’ in the country.

Operators of the Federal Investigations Agency [FIA], a Pakistani intelligence agency, working beyond the call of their duty, came into contact with a source ready for a tip-off against a reward. The tip-off led to the arrest of Khurram Ishtiaq, Ghulam Mustafa and Shamim. The persons had been working under Qari Hussain, second-in-command to Baitullah Mehsud. Continue Reading

News clipping from JANG

President Musharraf had been going on about this, days before his forced removal. Have a look at these clippings from local newspapers on August 5th: ONE | TWO

‘No Threat From India’ Mr 10%?

Its a shame that we have traitors and enemies of Pakistan right in our parliament and President House. Here’s hoping that their fate will not be much different from Najibullah’s across our western border.

More Zionist / NeoCon Propaganda

Recieved a free copy of this with the newspaper a couple of days ago:

If you live in an American swing state you may have received a copy of ‘Obsession’ in your Sunday paper. ‘Obsession’ isn’t a perfume: it’s a documentary about ‘radical Islam’s war against the West’. In the last two weeks of September, 28 million copies of the film were enclosed as an advertising supplement in 74 newspapers, including the New York Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education. ‘The threat of Radical Islam is the most important issue facing us today,’ the sleeve announces. ‘It’s our responsibility to ensure we can make an informed vote in November.’ The Clarion Fund, the supplement’s sponsor, doesn’t explicitly endorse McCain, so as not to jeopardise its tax-exempt status, but the message is clear enough, and its circulation just happened to coincide with Obama’s leap in the polls. Continue Reading

CIA and the Afghan Drug Trade

How Deeply is the U.S. involved in the Afghan Drug Trade?

Experience in Indochina and Central America suggests that CIA, the principal paymaster for U.S.-backed Afghan warlords, may be more deeply involved in the drug trade than we yet know.

When the history of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan is written, Washington’s sordid involvement in the heroin trade and its alliance with drug lords and war criminals of the Afghan Communist Party will be one of the most shameful chapters.

Read Full Article | Eric Margolis

Other Related Articles:
Reports Link Karzai’s Brother to Heroin Trade
Numerous reports link Ahmed Wali Karzai to the drug trade, according to current and former officials from the White House, the State Department and the United States Embassy in Afghanistan

Afghanistan president accused of protecting drug smugglers
President Hamid Karzai is actively obstructing Afghanistan’s anti-drugs campaign by protecting key smugglers, a former US official has claimed. By David Blair.

Heroin is “Good for Your Health”: Occupation Forces support Afghan Narcotics Trade
Multibillion dollar earnings for organized crime and Western financial Institutions. By Prof. Michel Chossudovsky

History to repeat itself?

For those who savor historical irony, the Soviet Empire collapsed in the years 1989-1991 because of an implosion of its economy brought on by a ruinous arms race with the United States and the heavy costs of occupying Afghanistan.

Seventeen years later came the turn of the world’s other great imperial power, the United States. Lethally bloated by runaway debt, and burdened by 50% of the world’s military spending, the house of cards known as the US economy finally collapsed.

Time to face facts in Afghanistan | Eric Margolis

Related Articles:
Taliban may buy Stingers with poppy money
Taleban targetting all roads leading to Kabul

Civilan Deaths at the hands of US/NATO

Herold, who runs the Afghan Victim Memorial Project, says his research shows between 2,699 and 3,273 civilians were killed in direct action by international forces in Afghanistan from 2005 to so far this year.

His figures, which he says are also underestimates because civilians are sometimes labelled militants by the military and unknown numbers of injured dying, are based on media and nongovernment organisation reports and other research.

Atleast 3,200 Civilians killed by NATO, US in Afghanistan since 05

Time for New Elections in Pakistan.

Whatever the Interior Advisor is saying is cock and bull story and has nothing to do with ground realities. No media policy or media plan exist to create a national consensus against terrorism or its perpetrators. Baitullah Mehsud is not even mentioned as the main terrorist of the country. He is not even declared as the most wanted man by the government. His connections with India or Afghan government are never exposed. Not a single terrorist has been convicted or hanged in the last 8 years nor brought in front of the media.

We see a total and complete breakdown of the system under this government. All decisions are being taken by foreign players with President acting as facilitator and local fixer. He has all his assets worth billions of dollars outside the country and has no stake in its security and stability. Under these circumstances, the only option we see is that of sacking of this CIA-backed government and fresh elections immediately with strict conditions that no politician or party would meet or have any contacts with foreign secret services or diplomats before and during the election.

How the Recession Could End the Iraq War

It may not be the situation on the ground in Iraq that determines the future of the U.S. military mission there. For one thing, the fragile calm in Iraq coincides with an increasingly perilous Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, raising pressure on the U.S. to divert more combat resources from its over-stretched military into that theater — an expanded military commitment favored by both John McCain and Barack Obama. Sending more troops to Afghanistan will require drawing down in Iraq.

Anti Pakistanism

Three years ago, a Pakistani military school war-gamed over the question of India’s Baglihar Dam. Civilian and military officials were divided into mock governments that wrestled with the future prospect of India stopping the water flow in Chenab. An assertive mock government went as far as using Pakistani air force to strike down the Indian construction on the river after the collapse of the water treaty with India. That was 2005. Today, India almost controls Pakistan’s water. Let me also tell you that the in-camera intelligence briefing in Parliament was led by the PPP and not the military. The briefing was meant to align Pakistan behind America’s war in Afghanistan. It is an irony that this government’s ambassador to Washington is concerned about anti-Americansim in Pakistan but doesn’t have the stomach to say a word about rampant anti-Pakistanism in some U.S. quarters.

Anti Pakistanism | Ahmed Quraishi, Oct 14 2008

Exposing America’s Plan

No U.S. official or journalist or think-tank has ever raised or answered the question that Alan Greenspan posed in his book, The Age of Turbulence:

“There was no bigger question in Washington than, Why no second attack? If Al Qaeda’s intent was to disrupt the U.S. economy, as bin Laden declared, the attacks had to continue. Our society was open, our borders porous, and ability to detect weapons and bombs was weak. I asked this question of a lot of people at the highest levels of government, and no one seemed to have a convincing response.”

Exposing America’s Plan | Ahmed Quraishi, Oct 13 2008

A tale of two clowns.

When asked why FATA was not being integrated with the rest of the country, Gilani replied that FATA was under the federal government and it had its senators and MNAs “who are supporting us”. “Well, good luck then,” Haass told him as the audience burst out laughing.

Replying to a question, Gilani said, “The US knows more about Pakistan than I do”. To the question about rampant anti-Americanism in Pakistan, Gilani replied that the last government had no political support and used force.

Asked what the US could do to help resolve Kashmir, the prime minister declared; “The US can do what it wants”.

Read Maqsood Kayani’s article.

Shock! Horror! US U-Turn on Taleban.

Photograph: Taleban destroying the poppy fields in Jalalabad

PARIS — A coded French diplomatic cable leaked to a French newspaper quotes the British ambassador in Afghanistan as predicting that the NATO-led military campaign against the Taliban will fail. That was not all. The best solution for the country, the ambassador said, would be installing an “acceptable dictator,” according to the newspaper.

“The current situation is bad, the security situation is getting worse, so is corruption, and the government has lost all trust,” the British envoy, Sherard Cowper-Coles, was quoted as saying by the author of the cable, François Fitou, the French deputy ambassador to Kabul.

The two-page cable — which was sent to the Élysée Palace and the French Foreign Ministry on Sept. 2, and was leaked to the investigative and satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné, which printed excerpts in its Wednesday issue — said that the NATO-led military presence was making it harder to stabilize the country.

“The presence of the coalition, in particular its military presence, is part of the problem, not part of its solution,” Sir Sherard was quoted as saying. “Foreign forces are the lifeline of a regime that would rapidly collapse without them. As such, they slow down and complicate a possible emergence from the crisis.”

More | New York Times

Related:
We can’t win Afghanistan war – Commander | The Independent, UK
UK Commander Backs Taleban Talks | Al Jazeera English
Afghan war can’t be won militarily, agrees UN | The News
Afghan victory Hopes Played Down | BBC News

It appears the US and Nato will take up Taleban’s offer of a Safe Exit from Afghanistan, with some dignity intact, atleast in the eyes of the American public.

After having declared ‘We do not negotiate with terrorists’ time and time again, it seems the US lawmakers and the media have found a way around this problem. Simply call the Taleban ‘an insurgency’ and not ‘terrorists’ from now on. 

Taliban split with al Qaeda, seek peace | CNN
Time to quit Afghanistan | Edmonton Sun
US Supports Taleban Return To Power | Dawn
Will the Afghan Taleban join peace talks? | BBC

Also checkout our post from a few days ago, titled: Negotiating with the Taleban

Zardari Continues to Ignore China

 

During President Musharraf’s government, China for the first time allowed a Pakistani president access to one of its most advanced and secret military research facilities. His opponents accused him of being pro-American but China was his most frequently visited country both in office and during his military career. His successor, Gen. Kayani, went to China as his first official foreign visit. The Zardari government is hitched to America. But Pakistan’s future growth is linked to China. Make no mistake about this. Each and every patriotic Pakistani must demand that the current government should not succumb to U.S. pressure on Pakistan-China bilateral relations.

Full Article | Ahmed Quraishi

Also read Pakistan’s Growth Linked to China by Marvi Memon

Pak Flag: Symbol Of Freedom In India!

GAUHATI, India — Depressed from how New Delhi is suppressing local Assamese people who want to carve a separate homeland out of India, people in Assam waved Pakistan’s flags in five districts. 

The eastern Indian state is one of a dozen Indian states in the north and east where ferocious freedoms movements are in full swing, demanding the right of self determination from Indian rule.

As usual, the Indian government, blaming Pakistani agencies for the violence, has ordered an immediate enquiry for this incident.

The officials in New Delhi are so disturbed by this that they have invoked patriotism while asking newspaper editors across India to black out any news about the freedom movements.

This week a student delegation visited the State’s governor and told him that ‘the villagers informed us that the miscreants were shouting slogans like Pakistan zindabad [Long live Pakistan] through loudspeakers in Dalgaon and some other border areas,” according to a report in The Assam Tribune. 

The Indian paper called on the government to give “stern punishment to those who hoisted Pakistani flags.” 

The Indian Express reported the story in one paragraph: “Meanwhile, media persons saw a Pakistani flag in Sonaripara and Mohanpur villages and took photographs of them. Local television channels also ran footage of the flags. Officials and security forces denied any knowledge of the presence of the flags.

New Delhi is disturbed by this new trend where the Pakistani flag has emerged as a symbol of freedom in India.

Full Article | Ahmed Quraishi

VIDEO | Shock as Pak Flag Hoisted in India