Corruption scams generate acute row amongst Indian army top brass

New Delhi—An outrageous feud has erupted amongst the top brass of India Army as two top Generals, the chief, General Deepak Kapoor, and his putative successor and the Eastern Command boss, Lt General V.K. Singh have locked horns over the issue of corruption scams in the army , reveal the findings of The Daily Mail.

PAK to India: Don’t Mistake Our Desire For Peace As Weakness

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said that Indian Army’s new military doctrine including scenarios such as a two-front simultaneous war with both China and Pakistan”betrays a hostile intent” and a “jingoistic mindset”.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement that the Indian Army’s new military doctrine “betray a hostile intent as well as a hegemonic and jingoistic mindset which is quite out of step with the realities of our time”.
Pakistan is prepared to defend itself in the face of all contingencies, Basit said. “No one should ever underestimate our capability and determination to foil any nefarious designs against the security of Pakistan,” he said.

Attacks kill 8 CIA employees, 5 Canadians in Afghanistan

(CNN) — An attack by a suicide bomber at a military base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday killed eight Americans believed to be CIA employees, a senior U.S. official told CNN.

Also Wednesday, four Canadian soldiers and a Canadian journalist were killed when a roadside bomb hit their armored vehicle in southern Afghanistan, Canada’s defense ministry said.

The suicide bombing happened at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province, Afghanistan. The senior U.S. official who spoke to CNN said information indicates the bomber walked into a gym facility at the base and detonated a suicide vest. It is believed six Americans were wounded in addition to the eight killed. It’s not known how the bomber got past security.

India’s Envy: Wants ‘POF-EYE’ type weapon to combat terror

After Pakistan Ordinance Factory (POF) succesfully unveiled its ‘POF-EYE CornerShot’ at IDEAS-2008 last year, India has launched its own hunt for a similar weapon. Currently Pakistan and Israel are the only two countries who manufacture the CornerShot gun.

Times of India

NEW DELHI: Having learnt lessons from the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, the Army has launched a global hunt for suitable weapon systems `for shooting around the corner’ for its troops involved in counter-terrorism operations.

Zaid Hamid: Lecture at Superior University, LHR

Part 1

This is how safe India’s nuclear facilities are

Fire at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre lab kills 2 research students

A fire broke out on Tuesday in a chemistry laboratory at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, located just a kilometre away from the nuclear reactors, leaving two research students dead, but scientists said there was no danger of any radioactivity.

Scientists at the suburban Trombay-based BARC said a loud bang was heard in the chemistry lab after which black smoke billowed out. It was not immediately clear if the bang was caused by an explosion or triggered by a chemical reaction.

Target locked-on: Pakistan

The lap bomber mystery

Justin Raimondo

It just wouldn’t be Christmas in the age of terror if we didn’t have a visitation, ostensibly from al-Qaeda, now would it? ‘Tis the season, and all that. Recall Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber,” arrested on December 22, 2001, for trying to blow up American Airlines flight 63, coming into Miami from Paris. As in the current case involving one Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, the explosive used was PETN, also known as pentaerythritol: Reid, like Umar, was subdued by passengers and airline attendants, and, to add yet another touch of déjà vu, Reid’s stunt led to the imposition of the take-off-your-shoes rule at airport security, just as Umar’s midair antics have now inspired the Transportation Safety Authority to inaugurate a spate of new regulations: nothing in your lap, please, and no getting up from your seat for a solid hour before landing.

The three stooges around the president

Ansar Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: The question everyone in the country and abroad is asking after President Asif Ali Zardariís defiant Naudero speech on Sunday is who are his close advisers who have pushed him into this state of mind. At least three close associates have been identified as those poisoning the top man against the Pakistan Army and the superior judiciary.

They are also said to be encouraging him to play the disastrous Sindh card. Sources confided to The News that two doctors, one from the interior Sindh and the other from Karachi, and a PIA pilot, hailing from Sindh, are the three characters, who have been heard by different sources while telling President Asif Ali Zardari that the Pakistan Army is all out against him and would target him anytime.

This group of three, the sources said, usually surrounds the president and keeps on poisoning him with the kind of ‘threats’ that do not exist in reality. However, it makes the president fearful of his fate and leaves him with no option but to say strange things publicly like that no one would force him to quit and that he could be removed from the Presidency in an ambulance.

Blame India For Karachi Terror

Ahmed Quraishi

New clues emerge: Suicide attacks against Pakistani Shias in Karachi and Kashmir are unprecedented. There have been no sectarian or suicide attacks in Kashmir before. The attack in Karachi is the first major sectarian assault in five years. The attack in Karachi is the work of Indians. It cripples Pakistan’s business hub, it aims at a civil war between Pakistanis, it puts Pakistani military on the defensive, it strengthens America’s intention of invading Pakistan, it reinforces US propaganda that war is in Pakistan and not Afghanistan. The Indian role here is critical. India is responsible for poisoning the Afghan well for the Americans and for everyone else. India is the missing part in the story of how US blundered in Afghanistan.

Karachi will live ON and Pakistan will hold its ground

No Matter how hard they try, no matter whatever they do to cause damage, our cities will always shine, we will always stand united and emerge swiftly out of any situation. On this occasion, we wish to send a clear message that we are NOT afraid, we understand who our enemies and traitors are, we are watching them closely and we will counter them with full force, we realize what the reality is and we will not be deceived and that the Patriots of Pakistan will hold their ground firmly no matter what, we will stand together, we will defend our country at any cost and work for it under all circumstances  and we will RISE, Pakistan is destined to RISE against all odds Insha’Allah.

Pakistan Hamesha Zinda-o-Paindabaad,

Aquib Moin | Team PKKH

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Ibn-e-Qasim

Make no mistake, this is not just a routine suicide attack that took place in Karachi on M.A. Jinnah road at the symbolic procession of Karachi’s Shia community. Pieces of Human flesh blew up at 4:13 PM, there was a cloud of smoke and fire covering the sky, people were rushing to the hospitals, ambulances screaming on the roads, it was a complete carnage, but the worst was yet to come, as this article is being written, thousands of shops, dozens of markets in the financial hub of Karachi are still engulfed with fire, the loss is beyond imagination, outrageous fire is increasing every passing second, Businessmen, shopkeepers have rushed to save their goods and stocks from burning, but mostly to no use. These lines are being written before the Sun has risen after an evening of death and destruction but the dawn of hope is destined to follow no matter how dark the night is.

Zaid Hamid Lecture at Superior University

UPDATE: WATCH VIDEO HERE

American Army’s frustration in chasing Taliban

‘You Have The Watches, We Have The Time’

Can Mr. Zardari survive the challenge?

Saleem Shehzad
Asia Times

The PPPP government has been given a deadline of December to clip the wings of the president and some of his ministers. What will happen if Mr. Zardari doesn’t accept the dedline and continues to fight the establishment, the parliament, the Supreme Court and Civil Society in Pakistan? That is the $1 million question. For now Mr. Gilani and Mr. Zardari seem to have come out swinging.

President Asif Ali Zardari has decided to go for direct public contact in order to restore his damaged image resulting from resurrection of corruption allegations against him after the demise of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

An open declaration of war by Zardari, now what?

Shaheen Sehbai

NAUDERO: Hearing President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday was a painful experience. All, including the diehard PPP jiyalas, were stunned. Their co-chairman had just declared war on every institution, without telling them who were the enemies, what they were doing and why. It was aptly described by a journalist on Facebook as Zardari’s farewell address.

It was an outburst of a beleaguered man who could not hold it any further, yet it was not impromptu. He thundered, made sarcastic digs, portrayed himself as the biggest victim (although just one year ago he was the biggest beneficiary, politically and financially), positioned himself as the ultimate fighter and launched the pre-emptive first strike after weeks and months of thinking. His words were very calculated and measured, prepared by speechwriters and advisers.

Unfortunately his words confirmed many conspiracy theories, which until now were considered and attacked as mere media speculation and uneducated guesses of some antagonists. For instance, he confirmed that there was a serious ongoing confrontation between him and the Pakistan Army and all attempts by the Generals to resolve the situation had failed. The recent meetings of top Generals with Zardari, PM Gilani and others can now be seen in this context. These meetings, it is now obvious, did not produce any positive outcome.

An address by a frightened man: Mushahid Hussain

ISLAMABAD: Mushahid Hussain (Secretary General, PML-Q) on Sunday dubbed the address of President Asif Ali Zardari a speech of a confused, frightened and angry person who sees enemies all around within Pakistan and outside.

“President Zardari tries to present himself as a victim rather than an accused, and it did not look like a presidential speech but partisan speech of a person who was under lot of pressure and under siege,” said Mushahid Hussain Syed.

He added there was no mention of vital issues like National Reconciliation Ordinance, corruption, governanceand rule of law. “I think this speech was made only to boost the morale of his party men but at the same time it directly hit the forces outside Pakistan,” he added.

He said last year at the same place and on the same occasion President Zardari had said that he knew the assassins of Benazir Bhutto but this time he did not refer to this issue.

The US military is exhausted

Sarah Lazare

The call for over 30,000 more troops to be sent to Afghanistan is a travesty for the people of that country who have already suffered eight brutal years of occupation.

It is also a harsh blow to the US soldiers facing imminent deployment.

As Barack Obama, the US president, gears up for a further escalation that will bring the total number of troops in Afghanistan to over 100,000, he faces a military force that has been exhausted and overextended by fighting two wars.

Many from within the ranks are openly declaring that they have had enough, allying with anti-war veterans and activists in calling for an end to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with some active duty soldiers publicly refusing to deploy.

This growing movement of military refusers is a voice of sanity in a country slipping deeper into unending war.

Youm-e-Iqbal Special Part 2

part 1

Americans To Land Only In Islamabad

By: Zulqarnain Haider
THE NATION

ISLAMABAD – Now Americans can land only on Benazir Bhutto Shaheed International Airport, Islamabad, as Government has banned other airports of the country for them. A reliable source informed TheNation that unusual activities of Americans in Pakistan have forced the Government to take this decision and the arrest of five US nationals from Sargodha also played a key role in it.

Intelligence agencies have been reporting about increasing anger and agony against Americans among the general public, as the US nationals don’t abide by the laws. On many occasions, US nationals publicly didn’t abide the law of the state, as four times in Lahore and six times in Islamabad they were stopped on various police checkpoints and illegal weapons were recovered from them, but still they were allowed to move freely. This raised many questions about the integrity of Pakistan, and political parties, civil society and media were openly protesting against this discrimination.

BrassTacks : The Real Quaid-e-Azam

In this Special Episode of Brasstacks Mr. Zaid Hamid pays tribute to the father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and puts an end to the baseless propaganda that Jinnah wanted a secular state.

BrassTacks : Youm-e-Iqbal Special Part 1

Iqbal Day program was recorded on Iqbal Day but wasn’t aired, Finally aired on 25th of December 2009, on Quaid-e-Azam Birth Day. Guests included are Dr. Israr Ahmad, Dr. Javed Iqbal and Mr. Zaid Hamid

A Leader of Men

Malaika Khalid

The poetic dream of Allama Iqbal caught the imagination of the Muslims of Sub Continent under the dynamic leadership of Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah who embarked upon the task of giving it a concrete shape of ideals and dreams. He structured and organized the comprehensive campaign for Pakistan, his audacious, adventurous, creativeness crystallized Dr. Muhammad Iqbal’s inspiration of Pakistan. The imagination and thought provoking message of Allama Iqbal was interpreted into realization when Baba-e-Quam Muhammad Ali Jinnah said:

“We are a nation, with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of value and proportion, legal laws and moral code, customs and calendar, history and traditions, aptitudes and ambitions, in short, we have distinctive outlook on and of life”.

Mr. Jinnah determined and toiled, aimed and struggled. He attained the aims and accomplished the goal he had set before him. He was a man of strong will power, determination as well as had a lofty character. He worked day and night and never bent down even to the greatest temptation. His friends and adversaries both appreciated and respected him. It was he who shaped the Pakistan Movement in tough resistance by Hindus as well as British, and therefore got a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Sub Continent.

The Passion of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah

“Pakistan not only means freedom and independence but the Muslim Ideology which has to be preserved, which has come to us as a precious gift and treasure and which, we hope other will share with us. Pakistan is proud of her youth, particularly the students, who are nation builders of tomorrow. They must fully equip themselves by discipline, education, and training for the arduous task lying ahead of them“

Inspiration from The Great Quaid

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“The students of today are the leaders of tomorrow,’ but because you have advantage of learning the knowledge. You students, equipped as you are, you can, if you will, abandon irresponsibility and take to seriousness, then you can bring the senile, who are not following the right course, to the right course”

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“I particularly appeal to our intelligentsia and Muslim students to come forward and rise to the occasion. You have performed wonders in the past. You are still capable of repeating the history. You are not lacking in the great qualities and virtues in comparison with the other nations. Only you have to be fully conscious of that fact and to act with courage, faith and unity”

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“If we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor… you are free- you are free to go to your temples mosques or any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state… in due course of time Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to Muslims- not in a religious sense for that is the personal faith of an individual- but in a political sense as citizens of one state”

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“My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence. Let us mobilize all our resources in a systematic and organized way and tackle the grave issues that confront us with grim determination and discipline worthy of a great nation”

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“You have to stand guard over the development and maintenance of Islamic democracy, Islamic social justice and the equality of manhood in your own native soil. With faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile that you cannot achieve”

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“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”

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Jinnah: The Legend

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah: An exceptional life, A charismatic personality, A saviour, A true leader…..