Showing newest posts with label Pakistan. Show older posts

Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari has recently been criticized for showing apathy towards the recent disaster and troubles in his country and shying away for a tour in Europe.

Reports are coming that an elderly man had thrown his both shoes at him today as he attended a 1000 people strong political rally in Birmingham.

Mr. Zardari was addressing the Pakistan People’s Party’s convention in Birmingham when the shoes were thrown and landed just short of him. There are videos of the rally and the news and people are searching for a clear footage of the incident.

Pakistani Twitter users are all over this news with interesting remarks like these:

_samiran: Time Line flooded with #ZardariFacedShoe now interested to find out which company made the shoe. And did Zardari saab has 10% in it also!
rai_azlan: i condemn this Joota event as Jooty ki bhi koi Izat hoti hy #ZardariFacedShoe
irfantariq: As per geo no video is available of shoe throwing #pakistan #zardari #zardarifacedshoe
mohsinhijazee: We're ahead of USA. Two shoes in comparison to one. #zardarifacedshoe
drumairali: look at the courage of the old Man he threw not one but both his shoes at him....your a legend Sir..... #zardarifacedshoe
quest4clarity: #PPP saying protests are a sign of their success, WTF?! #ZardariFacedShoe
samishah: Next time: Exploding shoe! #zardarifacedshoe
kadnan: make sure u will be rejoicing in same tone when a shoe hurls at your darling political/religious leader #ZardariFacedShoe
kadnan: the man who threw shoe at Zardari has been arrested #ZardariFacedShoe
rai_azlan: Police has let the Baba ji go after a small talk, #ZardariFacedShoe
rai_azlan: question of the DAY: was the Shoe branded???? #UKP, #PPP, #CHITTAR, #ZardariFacedShoe
shahidsaeed: I repeat "Award winning" bloggers who never cared 2 post abt the flood celebrating shoe throwing is pathetic & disgusting #Zardarifacedshoe

And if you want to be a part of the action you can play the throw the shoe at Zardari game in 3 levels (I scored 47!).

Image courtesy Icemetal at Yfrog

The Himalayan River Basins (Ganges, Bramhaputra, Indus, Yangtze) in China, Nepal, India and Bangladesh are inhabited by around 1.3 billion people. Yes, we are talking about almost 20% of the world’s population and almost 50% of the total population of these countries. These rivers were the lifelines of the ancient civilizations formed in this region. And these civilizations of present day are under threat.

In a recent report by Strategic Foresight Group, a Mumbai-based think tank, titled "The Himalayan Challenge - Water Security in Emerging Asia" some alarming statistics were presented. In the next two decades, the four countries in the Himalayan sub-region will face the depletion of almost 275 billion cubic meters (BCM) of annual renewable water, more than the total amount of water available in Nepal in present day.

Water availability is estimated to decline in 2030 comparing to present level by 13.50% in case of China, by 28% in case of India, by 22% in case of Bangladesh and by 35% in case of Nepal. The factors contributing to this decline are:

1. About 10% to 20% of the Himalayan Rivers are fed by Himalayan Glaciers and studies say 70% of these glaciers will be melted by the next century as a result of accelerating global climate change.
2. Glacial melting will eventually reduce river flow in the low season and increase in temperature in some areas leading to deforestation.
3. Disappearance of thousands of lakes.
4. Depletion of water resources due to pollution and natural reasons
5. The reduced riverflow induces more deposit of silt in river bed narrows the depth of river thus causing flooding.

1. The agricultural sector is the major consumer of fresh water. However this sector will be using less water due to non-availability of water leading to less productivity.
2. The cumulative effect of water scarcity, glacial melting, disruptive precipitation patterns, flooding, desertification, pollution, and soil erosion will be a massive reduction in the production of rice, wheat, maize and fish.

The consequences of the scarcity of water has prompted many countries to train rivers and manage water flow by building dams. But dams effect the river basins downstream. So it has become an issue for regional disputes. China alone has developed plans to build over 200 dams which will effect the downstream flows of the river in several countries.

India vs. China:

The 2,900 km long Brahmaputra River flows through China, India, and Bangladesh, and its watershed includes Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma as well. In 2000, India accused China of not sharing flood data of the flows of Brahmaputra River through the Chinese territory. This resulted in widespread devastation and floods in India killing many people. In 2002 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the countries to coordinate water related data sharing.

In early 2003, China conducted a feasibility study for a major hydropower project along the China section of the Brahmaputra River. This project was supposed to divert 200 billion cubic meters of water annually to the Yellow River. This would result in 60% reduction of water flow downstream in India and Bangladesh. In 2006, the Chinese government denied the existence of the plan however this remained a reason for the strained relationship between the two countries. However it was found later that China was building a dam on Brahmaputra.

In April 2010, China assured that the dam on river Brahmaputra will have no impact on the downstream flow of the river into India Bangladesh.

India vs. Bangladesh:

The Indian government has plans to get India’s 37 major river interlinked by 2016 implementing its interlinking of rivers (ILR) project. 25 new dams are planned for the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. According to experts the impacts of the ILR on Bangladesh will be the function of many variables, including the alteration of hydrology, river dynamics, ecosystem changes, agricultural productivity, intrusion of salinity and public health. The reason for dispute between both the countries is that Bangladesh have not been officially notified of plans for the ILR project.

India vs. Pakistan:

Pakistan is worried about six rivers (Indus, Chenab, Jhelum, Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi) that flow into Pakistan through northern India, including the disputed state of Jammu & Kashmir and the state of Punjab. Their disagreements lead to the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, which has come under an increasing strain in recent days. India completed a hydroelectric power project on the Chenab River in the Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir by building a dam on 2008. Pakistan is wary of facts that the shortage of flow of water in rivers could cause rapid desertification.

Water issues are not only raising the political temperature between countries but also between states within a country like the river Kaveri is the reason for serious contention between Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Karnataka states.

The Solution:

One thing is for sure if India and China race for building dams to control flow of river within their boundaries without consulting their downstream neighbors then the situation will be volatile leading to unnecessary confrontation and war. The threats cannot be addressed by the unilateral efforts of nations, only regional cooperation can mitigate such tensions.

The Dhaka Declaration on Water Security has proposed an expert committee to prepare a road map for data-sharing and scientific exchange and to prepare guidelines for introducing transparency regarding relevant data.The declaration urges "greater political commitment and data exchange among Himalaya basin countries for collective approaches to the region's water challenges".

Dialogues between the citizens of the countries concerned are needed so that unnecessary escalations can be avoided.The region has to commit to agreements like the Dhaka declaration so that a Regional Information Sharing Network on water resources can be achieved.

(Also published in Future Challenges)

After fifteen years on his feet, he was lying face down on the ground. India was on one side, behind a barbed wire fence. Pakistan was on the other side, behind another fence. Toba Tek Singh lay in the middle, on a piece of land that had no name. - Saadat Hasan Manto

After sixty years of the partition of India and Pakistan the madness that can sometimes overtake people in the name of religion still feels relevant.



From Global Voices:

Gojra, the capital of Gojra Tehsil, is a city of Toba Tek Singh District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Last Saturday riots broke out in the town over alleged desecration of the Holy Quran. Following the riots more than 50 houses, belonging to the Christian community, were set on fire leaving 7 burnt alive and 18 severely injured. According to sources, most of the houses were burnt by a group of youths who had their faces covered with veils. They threw petrol bombs and fired indiscriminately.

Blame it on the Mullahs and Talibans or Zia's theocracy, the fallacy of the two nation theory still haunts the people. Still it divides rather than ensuring a peaceful coexistence.

(Image courtesy, The Dawn)

The Bangladesh Foreign minister has asked Pakistan to apologize for the genocide during the the Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971 by Pakistan Army. She stressed that Islamabad should take millions of stranded Pakistanis back and settle disputed resources claims.

Some people say that Pakistan has already done so. But this is not true. In a visit to Bangladesh in 2002, then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf expressed regrets for the '1971 events' during the War of Liberation, shifted the blame for genocide from Pakistan's armed forces:

"Your brothers and sisters in Pakistan share the pain of the events of 1971. The excesses during that unfortunate period are regrettable. Let us bury the past in a spirit of magnanimity. Let not the light of the future be dimmed. Let us move forward together."

Killing millions of people, raping hundreds of thousands of women and burning villages certainly define something else other than excess; that is genocide. Burying that past will only trigger such atrocities once again.

It is time those Pakistani generals should be brought to justice and Pakistan should unconditionally apologize to Bangladesh. Pakistan has nothing to lose as why all Pakistani carry the burden for the crime they did not know of (The atrocities were kept in dark from the ordinary Pakistanis).

...In US perspective...

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Via Varnam

Pakistan is moving towards a political crisis. From Global Voices:

A section of the Pakistani Lawyers and political activists have finished all their preparations for a scheduled Long March and sit in protest starting tomorrow to reinstate the deposed judges. Tensions are running high in Pakistan because the opposition leader Nawaz Sharif's party (PML-N) is participating in the protests and the government has started crack down on activists and imposed ban on protests. Pakistani citizen journalists have started to cover the events as they unfold using live blogs, live picture updates, email/SMS and Twitter messages.

You can monitor the situation live via this live blogging tool:

Live Blog - March For Justice!

Twitter: - http://twitter.com/LongMarch or Follow twitter Hashtag at http://search.twitter.com/search?q=LongMarch

This doesn't look good at all:

A dozen men attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team with rifles, grenades and rocket launchers Tuesday ahead of a match in Pakistan, wounding several players and killing six police officers and civilian in a brazen attack on South Asia's most beloved sport.

Pakistan stock exchange is falling as a result.

CNN Video:

After Mumbai, now its Karachi. Newspapers report that four persons killed and 77 got injured in Karachi ethnic violence . GEO reports:

The riots started in Banaras area where unknown armed-men opened fire at passing vehicles and also pelted them with stones, killing four including a woman and injuring 54 others.

Unknown men also set on fire 7 vehicles in different parts of the city.

The media is reportedly downplaying the incident.

The Sunday Times releases from archive (April 4, 1971) a report of Nicholas Tomalin who witnessed a massacre by the Pakistan army.

"We thought the West Pakistan soldiers were attacking and scattered, only to discover, on a grass patch beside the road, men freshly stabbed and bludgeoned, lying in still-flowing pools of blood. Four of them were still just alive, rolling over and waving their legs and arms. None made any noise.
...
Until about Thursday the West Pakistan garrison, which is about battalion size, was in some kind of control. But these troops started killing people for no discernible reason. The local hospital is filled with 35 wounded men, women and children, who claimed that Punjabi troops fired indiscriminately.

If Jessore is typical, East Pakistan is in for a terrible time in the next months and Karachi’s great gamble – to crush all opposition by one big attack – has failed.
..."

Dr. Irfan Zafar says that the current situation in Pakistan is not much different than 1971 which resulted in the break-up of the country:

The Mukti Bahini was formed to fight off the military crackdown by Pakistan on March 25, 1971. However, with the rising discontentment of the local population against the government, the people in East Pakistan started supporting it which finally led to the popular Bangladesh Liberation War.

In a similar fashion, the Taliban were supported by our government to fight against the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan. At present the Taliban, just like Mukti Bahini, have gained the sympathies of the people who are fed up with the policies of the ruling elite. A stage has come whereas people have started believing in the fact that no matter how bad the Taliban are, they are still better than the present lot ruling this unfortunate land. We lost half of the country living under the illusion that everything was going well in the eastern wing. Let's not repeat the same mistake and lose whatever is left.

The recent National Intelligence Estimate of USA on Pakistan says that the situation in Pakistan "very bleak". The conclusions about the state of Pakistan in the report was: "no money, no energy, no government." The fear is that an unstable Pakistan will become a center for al-Qaeda plotting against the US.

The last time when we saw such reports were in end March and early April 1971 when Pakistan army were marching with tanks and spraying bullets on the innocent civilians in Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) in the name of quashing the rebels (how do they defend it as justice?). We have seen that that led to the independence of Bangladesh and Pakistan lost its part.

The Pakistan economy is on a free fall and reports question whether Pakistan can rescue itself from that severe blow after reeling from suicide bombers and an angry public.

However Professor Juan Cole at 'Informed Comment' says that:

I'm suspicious that all the talk about instability and 'no government' is really a way of saying that US intelligence agencies liked having a military dictatorship there much better than they like having an elected parliamentary regime.

Actually, the Pakistani bureaucracy does a fairly good job for a third world country, and the employees of the bureaucracy at the non-political level don't change with the change of governments. I don't know what they mean by 'no government.' The elected government headed by the Pakistan People's Party has a majority and is not in danger of falling.

Meanwhile an article in the Asia Times suggest that the US is trying to drag India into the Afghan fiasco:

..discussions were going on between the security establishments of India and the US for the past several months regarding an Indian military involvement in Afghanistan. Washington has been pressing for a major Indian role. A two-member Indian team, which visited Kabul in early September, claimed they were on a mission sponsored by the government to make an assessment of the layout for Indian military involvement. The team apparently held discussions with top American diplomats and military officials based in Kabul.

All in all I see more troubles ahead in this region thanks to US policies.

President Asif A. Zardari of Pakistan met with US Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin recently and tried to outsmart himself in front of the attractive lady and spelled some flirtatious words (may be innocently). Well he is not the only one making such mistake. US President George Bush massaged Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel's neck and got away with it.

But the Pakistanis are not Germans. So Zardari's act caused ripple's in the Muslim Pakistani society. His statements are now being dissected, vilified by Pakistanis which can be fathomed by the blogger's reactions.

The commercial enterprises were quick to catch on with the sentiments. Here is the reaction of Nando’s, a popular chicken chain in Karachi:

Image credit: CHUP!

Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) of The Islamic Holy War Movement was formed in 1984 by Fazalur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Akhtar, as the first Pakistan-based jihadist outfit, during the Soviet-Afghan War.

The Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) was established in 1992, reportedly with assistance from Osama bin Laden’s International Islamic Front (IIF). On April 30, 1992, several of the HuJI-B leaders addressed a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club in capital Dhaka and demanded that Bangladesh be converted into an Islamic State. It draws inspiration from bin Laden and the erstwhile Taliban regime of Afghanistan. At one point of time, the groups issued a slogan, Amra Sobai Hobo Taliban, Bangla Hobe Afghanistan (We will all become Taliban and we will turn Bangladesh into Afghanistan).

The coastal area stretching from the port city of Chittagong south through Cox's Bazaar to the Myanmarese border, notorious for piracy, smuggling and arms running, is the principal area of activity of the HuJI-B. A large number of volunteers had gone to Afghanistan to fight alongside the Mujahideen in the war against the former Soviet Union.

The HuJI-B is also believed to be having links with Pakistan. For instance, the outfit’s ‘operations commander’ and a key suspect in the plot to assassinate the then Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, in July 2000, Mufti Abdul Hannan, after his arrest in October 2005 admitted to have passed out of the Gouhardanga Madrassa in Pakistan. The HuJI-B’s Pakistani link was further established with the recovery of a diary from Hannan’s brother Matiur Rehman, who was also arrested in connection with the assassination plot. Entries in the diary revealed that he was in touch with Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Bangladesh.

HuJI-B also maintain links with terrorist groups operating in India’s Northeast, including with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). The HuJI-B reportedly managed some of ULFA’s camps situated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh along the border with the Indian State of Tripura. HUJI-B was also alleged to be involved in numerous terrorist incidents in India.

Three HuJI-B cadres made a failed attempt on the life of poet Shamsur Rahman at his residence in Dhaka on January 18, 1999.

It was involved in a number of incidents, including the killing of journalist Shamsur Rahman, on July 16, 2000, in Jessore. Later, police arrested 10 HuJI-B activists and sealed its office at a Dhaka suburb, Khilgaon, Interrogations revealed that HuJI-B cadres had planned to kill 28 prominent intellectuals, including National Professor Kabir Choudhury, writer Taslima Nasreen and the Director General of the Islamic Foundation, Maulana Abdul Awal. The Bangladesh government banned it in 2005.

Now in a dramatic twist of events media reports say that:

"Leaders of the banned Islamist outfit Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJI) in Bangladesh have floated the Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) ahead of the December elections with permission from the caretaker government."

And more stunning news was that:

"Last Friday, HuJI, donning the IDP label, held an Iftar party at the city's Diploma Engineers Institution that was attended by party leaders and guests including Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, editor of Blitz weekly, Human Rights Forum general secretary Sanjeeb Choudhury and Chitta Francis, a representative of the Christian community."

What are these resident Zionists of Bangladesh doing?

HuJI official Azizul Huq said Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury and Richard L. Benkin, an American citizen, helped in efforts to portray IDP in a positive light across the globe.

In an e-mail to a Daily Star correspondent, Benkin said: "Mr. Huq is correct. Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury and I continuously try to bridge the gulf between religious communities throughout the world and always look for opportunities to promote a positive image of Bangladesh worldwide.

Moulana Salam said about Regarding Mufti Hannan that they had expelled him in 1998 and they cannot take responsibility of what he did after that.

This is a very worrying sign for Bangladesh. Not only that a terrorist outfit is again being given legitimacy, the involvement of people like Richard Benkin and Salah Uddin Shoaib Chowdhury means that they are being supported by a superpower which has a double face in leading a war on terror. This is insane!! I think Bangladesh government should think twice before giving permission to IDP.

Read my latest round up of the Pakistani blogs in Global Voices summarizing reactions to the suicide truck bomb explosion in front of Hotel Marriott in Islamabad which claimed more than 60 lives including Czech Ambassador to Pakistan Ivo Zdarek.

Ahmad Ferdous Bin Alam vents his frustration reading certain Indian media's claim that India and the 13 day Indo-pak war in 1971 was solely the creator of Bangladesh ignoring the nine month long liberation war struggle of Bangladesh and bloods of millions of Bengalis who died:

Bloody birth of Bangladesh was a by-product of that so-called Indo-Pak war? With this statement, the sacrifice of our freedom fighters and martyrs has been brazenly belittled. It's downright despicable!

India's help in our war of liberation has always been aptly appreciated by us except some anti-India freaks. We're indebted to India for its help throughout our liberation war. But exaggeration of their contribution on the part of the Indian press is reprehensible. Describing the war waged by Bangladeshis and fought fiercely in which Indian Force helped us cannot be dubbed as Indo-Pak war in any way.

It's liberation war of Bangladesh, NOT 1971 Indo-Pak war.

B. Raman, former deputy chief of India’s external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)adds the right perspective in his book ‘The Kaoboys of RAW’:

‘India’s role was more of a facilitator than a creator. It was a war jointly won by India and the people of East Pakistan’.

‘Without the desire and the will of the people of Bangladesh, there would have been no Bangladesh. Their sacrifices for their cause were immense. How many were brutally killed by the Pakistan Army!

‘How many Bengali intellectuals were massacred by the Pakistan Army and by terrorist organisations such as Al Badr and Al Shams created by the ISI! It is their sacrifice which laid the foundation for an independent Bangladesh.

What India did under the leadership of Indira Gandhi was to make sure that their sacrifices were not in vain. (Source)

Khalid Shahinshah, the chief security officer of PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and a key suspect in BB’s murder was assassinated in Karachi.

Khalid Shahinshah, who was hired by Bhutto on the recommendation of her security advisor Rahman Malik, has been on the run ever since footage emerged of the strange gestures he had made while standing on the dais next to Bhutto while she addressed an election rally.

Shahinshah was standing on Bhutto’s left during her speech and ran a finger across his throat which implied slitting the throat. Security officials have expressed concern at his “suspicious gestures” which could not be ignored.

The Teeth Maestro has details.

April 24 was the Armenia Genocide Memorial Day. 93 years ago approximately 1.5 million Armenians were brutally killed in Ottoman Turkey in this first genocide of the twentieth century.

From a post in Global Voices by Onnik Krikorian we note the ever present hatred of Aremnians against Turks:

Every year on 24 April, a date marking the roundup of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in what is now Istanbul, Armenians commemorate the massacres and deportations worldwide. In Yerevan, this is particularly the case with hundreds of thousands marching up to the Tsitsernakaberd memorial overlooking the capital to lay flowers and pay their respects.

In fact, the Genocide is one of the most contentious and defining aspects of the present-day identity of most Armenians, especially in the Diaspora. Nevertheless, remembers Hrag Vartanian, who posts a photograph of Armenian-American artist, Kardash Onnig, holding up a sign reading “Un-Hate a Turk This Day,” there are some who believe in the importance of recognizing the Genocide, but also consider that blind hatred towards Turkey is unfortunate.

Bangladesh also suffered a major genocide in the hands of Pakistan Army in 1971. Bangladeshis don't have blind hatred against Pakistanis now but there is a notion of forgetting everything. Quoting words from Onnik Krikorian - remembering man's inhumanity towards man can prevent such tragedies from ever happening again.

Part 1:



Part 2:



Related:
* Bangladesh's long wait for justice
* 1971 Bangladesh Genocide Archive

Image: Reuters

"A Pakistani television channel broadcast on Sunday grainy still pictures of what it said appeared to be two men who attacked and killed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

One was a clean-cut young man wearing sun glasses, a white shirt and dark waist coat. Behind him stood a man with a white shawl over his head, who Dawn said was believed to be the bomber.

Two other photographs showed the clean-cut man pointing a pistol at Bhutto as she left the rally."

More news: Reuters.

Update: Video footage of the assassination and teh declaration of Benazir's son being the new chairman of PPP courtesy the Jawa Report:




Update: McClatchy reports:

The day she was assassinated last Thursday, Benazir Bhutto had planned to reveal new evidence alleging the involvement of Pakistan's intelligence agencies in rigging the country's upcoming elections, an aide said Monday.