Benazir non-investigation: the cover-up continues even after the UN report:
One fact that the UN investigators did not know or could not get to is what was Rehman Malik doing around the mid night of the evening Benazir was assassinated. The mystery has deepened after an eyewitness has revealed that Rehman Malik was seen in the Regent’s Hotel Karachi (at Shahra-e-Faisal) around mid-night. While there is no doubt about that, it is speculated that he had brought Khalid Shahenshah with him. Would Rehman Malik explain his conduct and whereabouts on the 27th and 28th of December?
This report by the News is an indication that the present government’s top leadership including Zardari, Gilani, and Rehman Malik are part of the cover-up of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Rehman Malik still has to answer the questions raised in the report about leaving Benazir without a back-up car. Until and unless, the government moves against the big wigs, the people will be justified in believing that they all were involved, one way or the other.
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama said he is confident that Pakistan has secured its nuclear weapons.
Obama, however, reiterated that he was concerned about global nuclear security, not just in Pakistan.
In an interview with the New York Times, President Obama said his new approach to nuclear non-proliferation is different from that of the Bush administration.
Obama is scheduled to announce the new US policy for non-proliferation later Tuesday.
When asked what he had done specifically to ensure Pakistan’s nuclear weapons’ safety, Obama said he was not going to divulge details about Pakistan’s nuclear programme.
Obama explained that his biggest concerns were about securing loose nuclear material, which the terrorists were more likely to obtain
A nuclear summit is scheduled to be held in the US capital on April 12 and 13, aimed at achieving a global consensus on limiting proliferation and preventing terrorists from acquiring nuclear technology.
UNITED NATIONS, April 2 (UPI) — Afghan and U.S. leaders should be grilled by a U.N. panel examining the assassination of Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto, her husband said.
Bhutto, a former prime minister of Pakistan, was killed Dec. 27, 2007, following a campaign rally for her Pakistan People’s Party. She had returned to Pakistan from exile to run in January 2008 parliamentary elections.
LONDON, UK—Pakistan is unfortunately one of those countries where traitors masquerade as politicians and treachery is deemed to be ‘legitimate politics’. There is no prize for guessing how did the desire the revoke the 17th Amendment got transformed into a full-fledged exercise for subverting the constitution. The answer is that it was a part of the scheme that involved the NRO and the formation of a coalition government in which all the parties are opposed to the Two Nation Theory of Pakistan. Mian Nawaz Sharif saw the game plan a bit late but he did see it and withdrew from the coalition. If he had not withdrawn, the judges dismissed by Musharraf would not have been restored and NRO would have become law. But the puppet masters have not given up; they are still eager to implement their original plan albeit with slight alterations due to new circumstances.
The plan is devious and not easy to understand. Some of those in the committee reviewing the Constitution have some idea of the true nature of the exercise they are engaged in but most of them do not know what is going on; they do not have a clue what is good for the country and are unable to see through the machinations of parties with anti-Pakistan agenda. The reports of ‘consensus’ and ‘absence of leaks’ makes one suspicious of the entire project. I fear that a ready to sign ‘draft amendment’ is a sinister plot. The public and the press must have a debate on what the committee recommends. The Constitution is too important a matter to be left entirely to politicians.
It seems to me that all the ingredients are being in place to undo Pakistan from the back door without even a fight. It seems the parties in the ruling coalition are in a hurry to fulfill the agenda of international plotters. The puppet masters had been relying on the gullibility of Nawaz Sharif who has been saying he would support no action that would destabilize the country.
By Anjum Niaz | The News
The yellow sticky ‘post-it’ became Benazir’s Achilles Heel. It’s alleged that she would use them whenever she didn’t want to leave a permanent record on the files. As prime minister, she often appointed people based not on merit. President Farooq Leghari knew what was going on. He was from her party. But when he had had enough of jobbery, he dug out all the yellow ‘stickies’ and prepared a dossier based on them to dismiss her government.
Prime Minister Gilani and President Zardari are today following the same unethical practice of a spoils system. The ambassador to Syria is the latest howler. He’s Zardari’s appointee. A mere graduate, we’re told. Ambassador Aminullah Raisani has carted his whole extended family to Damascus and provided them with jobs at the Pakistan International School. How smart is that! During his two-year term, the man will rake in close to a million dollars as salaries paid to his sister Saeeda (who has been made the principal); another sister Ms Abbas (Urdu teacher); daughters Amna and Quratulein (teachers-at-large) brother-in-law Ishaque (accountant); nephews Atiq and Ali (business teachers); granddaughter Nayla (math teacher); son-in-law of sister Abdullah and cousin Ahsan (teachers without portfolio); and cousin Rasheed (biology teacher).
On Tuesday Feb. 23, Iran announced the capture of Abdulmalek Rigi, the boss of the terror organization Jundullah, which works for NATO. The capture of Rigi represents a serious setback for the US-UK strategy of using false flag state-sponsored terrorism against Iran and Pakistan, and ultimately to sabotage China’s geopolitics of oil. The Iranians claim to have captured Rigi all by themselves, but the Pakistani ambassador to Teheran is quoted in The Dawn as claiming an important role for Pakistan. The Iranians say that Rigi was attempting to fly from Dubai to Kyrgystan, and that his plane was forced to land in Iran by Iranian interceptors. This exploit recalls Oliver North’s 1985 intercept of the accused Achille Lauro perpetrators, including Abu Abbas, forcing their Egyptian plane to land at Sigonella, Sicily. But other and perhaps more realistic versions suggest that Iran was tipped off by the Pakistanis, or even that Rigi was captured by Pakistan and delivered to the Iranians.
No sooner did Pakistan arrest leading Afghan Taliban figures, conspiracy theories surfaced in the US media in an attempt to malign Pakistan. Indians and their apologists in US were at the forefront of this campaign. Far from appreciating Pakistani stand, strong signs exist that CIA continues its double game against Pakistan. Despite statements to the contrary, Washington continues to bet on the puppet regime of President Asif Ali Zardari.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—The US duplicity in its dealings with Pakistan continues unabated and I have always maintained that the scale of their enterprise in destabilizing Pakistan can only be understood by finding linkages in seemingly unconnected events and publications.
Just when the Pakistan military has taken a strong position on its military operations in FATA and the pull towards dialogue with the tribals is becoming evident, the US subversive activities against Pakistan are becoming more overt, and old CIA connections are taking centre stage again including so-called “experts” on Pakistan! Let us look at some recent developments and see the linkages.
A photograph has surfaced that shows a terrorist wanted by Iran visiting a US military base in Afghanistan. Another terrorist wanted by Pakistan has also been spotted meeting Indian spies under American watch—in Afghanistan. Iran arrests one such terrorist but Pakistan’s pro-US government refuses to take a stand on a terrorist insurgency openly backed by rogue US elements, with Indian support.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—After occupying Afghanistan, rogue CIA elements launched a campaign to create a new state of Balochistan out of two conjoined provinces in Pakistan and Iran.
This was done to create the shortest possible supply route from the sea to Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan.
The Sunni-Shia divide was exploited in Iran and a language-based divide was used in Pakistan. In other words, the result was a sectarian Balochi insurgency in Iran and an ethnic one in Pakistan.
This is how Jundullah was born in Iran and Balochistan Liberation Army in Pakistan. Both were armed and supported by CIA using the Afghan soil.
But this American terror infrastructure is now crumbling. Fast.
Gen. (R) Hamid Gul says that Washington’s policies in Afghanistan and Pakistan have not borne fruit and that the US military will be ultimately defeated by the Taliban
Lieutenant-General Hamid Gul was a military commander in the Pakistani Army in the 1980s, and served as the head of the country’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency from 1987 to 1989.
But Gul’s rise to fame came during the Pakistan-Saudi-US effort to keep funds and logistical support flowing to the Afghanistan mujahidin, who were eventually credited with defeating Soviet military and political forces.
During the Bush administration, the US sought to put Gul on a UN list of international terrorists but their efforts were blocked by the Chinese delegation.
Domestically, Gul has been an outspoken opponent of Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, and has called for the Supreme Court to be reinstated as the rule of law in Pakistan.
Al Jazeera interviewed Gul during a short visit to Doha.
“In the summer of 2001 some Predators were equipped with two of Lockheed’s Hellfire AGM-114 laser-guided anti-tank missiles [$45,000 apiece]. So far there are four reported cases of the Predator-Hellfire combination being used. Two of these attacks resulted in the deaths of at least 13 innocent civilians.”
“On February 4, 2002, a Predator drone fired a Hellfire missile at ‘three tall men’ believed to be Al Qaeda members because they were clothed in long robes. The three men were later revealed to be poor people scavenging for metal in the Zhawar Kili battlefields. Families of the villagers were furious over the deaths of Daraz Khan, Jehangir Khan and Mir Ahmed. The 16 year-old niece of Daraz Khan said: “Why did you do this? Why did you Americans kill Daraz? We have nothing, nothing, and you have taken from us our Daraz.”
These are just few of the unheard stories of our beloved countrymen in tribal areas of Pakistan, who not only represent a very vital part of the nation’s stature, but also have stood by Pakistan in every hour of need and never have thought twice on giving any sacrifices for their homeland; who not only just live at one of our most mercurial borders but also assist our forces in guarding it.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—If it comes to a military-led intervention, both military officers and politicians will have to stay out of actual power. The army chief may not become a chief executive. The military might have to look into a new concept called the ‘Smart Coup’, where the military can bring capable Pakistanis to power with a firm executable plan of reform over five years, or more, fully backed by the military. There may not be time to put the plan to vote. It will have to be implemented. This would be the absolute last option. But we are nowhere near that right now. Gen. Kayani certainly has no such thing in mind according to people who have met him.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—”This was my first interaction with the soldier who commands the seventh largest military force on the face of the planet.”
With this catchy line, Dr. Farrukh Saleem began his brief and fascinating account of a meeting with General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
On Thursday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirmed that Blackwater is operating in Pakistan. In an interview on Express TV, Gates, who was visiting Islamabad, said, “They [Blackwater and another private security firm, DynCorp] are operating as individual companies here in Pakistan,” according to a DoD transcript of the interview. “There are rules concerning the contracting companies. If they’re contracting with us or with the State Department here in Pakistan, then there are very clear rules set forth by the State Department and by ourselves.”
Today, the country’s senior minister for the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Bashir Bilour, also acknowledged that the company is operating in Pakistan’s frontier areas. Bilour told Pakistan’s Express News TV that Blackwater’s activities were taking place with the “consent and permission” of the Pakistani government, saying he had discussed the issue with officials at the US Consulate in Peshawar, who told him that Blackwater was training Pakistani forces.
After invading and waging a severely damaging war against Afghanistan, which was justified by a self-orchestrated attack on their own soil, storming and devastating Iraq on the basis of absolute falsehood and utter lies about the non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction, the so-called sole supreme power on Earth, the United States of America and its strategic allies are now in the third and most crucial phase of their master plan for the 21st century.
Before launching their global sinister plan, their desperate target is to de-stabilize, de-nuclearize, de-islamize and destroy Pakistan. The evil nexus of US, Israel, India and the Zionist movement realizes and understands that Pakistan is the biggest hurdle in the fulfillment of their pernicious intentions to make Israel the next super-state in the world and achieve their grand strategic goals. They know that Pakistan is a serious threat to their ideology and objectives, without subduing or destroying Pakistan, which is the final frontier of Islam and Muslims, they cannot accomplish their mission and their efforts will not come to fruition. That is the reason why, their main target is not Iraq, not Afghanistan, not Syria, not Yemen or not Iran; their crucial target is Pakistan and they are deploying all of the resources, employing all kinds of schemes to get it rid of this hurdle from their way.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
