Militarily Troubled Pakistan and Terribly Administered Tribals

The Cantonment Kutta called Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto a fascist...
Bhutto, a fascist?..the Prime Minister who could not stop an FIR against himself?...Simply because ZAB worked with the Maulanas , this kanjarr calls him a fascist and now the Kanjarr shamelessly & for the whole world to see is wagging his tail & whimpering to save his skin..& begging to get him in good books of anybody..benazir or Nawaz Sharif.

Soon the bay-Zamir KanjarrEe will know that the maulanaas will have both the KanjarrS for breakfast..the KanjarRs have no clue that without their masters backing the Kanjarroon will be decimated & Pakistan will no longer be Napaaked by the westoxicated scum.

Hamid Mir expresses similar sentiments..Brilliant scion of the most respected journalist Pakistan ever produced.

Echo,

I am ashamed that you posted that piece of sh-t article by Hamid Mir. This article truly shows where he stands and which groups he represents. It is a disgusting article and I am not sure what made his paymasters so uncomfortable that they asked him to write the non sense that you posted without actually following what he is saying.

I know exactly where Hamid Mir is coming from and believe me he is not on your side.

About this article.
I am surprised that Chowk has allowed this article under a pseudonym. It was chowk’s stated policy to make its NEW contributors use their real name. Why was it necessary to make an exception for this poorly written article?

Anyone using a Pakhtoon name should at least have some understanding and knowledge of the afghan crisis. Throwing some clichés does not make any one authentic.

The recommendations at the end of the article reminded me of a joke, which goes like this:

Drugee (afyooni)#1: Hey what is the easiest way to kill a mosquito.

Drugee #2: The easiest way to kill a mosquito is to get hold of it first; then lift one of its arm and tickle it in the armpit and when it opens it mouth to laugh shove a spoonfull of DDT down its throat.

Bhai Sahib it is little late for the recommendations that you are proposing. The fact of the matter is that the real war of independence that we should have fought in 1947 has only begun now. This was a debt upon generation after generation of Pakistan which this generation is paying with interest now. That war of independence would have been against those kaalay angraiz who aided their white masters to oppress the whole nation for so long. That class should have been eliminated right on the night of 14 August 1947. It has been long due. Now there is only one outcome of this war - soveriegn and independent Pakistan - free of Western oppression and free of corrupt westernized ruling class.

HP:

Every word that Hamid Mir has written is irrefutable and an established truth. Even after the masacre of well over 1000 school children in Islamabad, if you think that the unholy matrimony between Bushrraf & Bezamir (B& B)is not the convergence of LIberla Fascism , then what is??

#3 Posted by Urstruly

Having some wetdreams Urstruly?

Nothing of the sort is going to happen. Yes, the Jihadi will make life difficult in Pakistan and we may see a limited civil war in some parts of the country but the suicide bombers cannot and will not take over the country.

What makes you assume that these ragtag Afghan/tribal Pathan can conquer Sindhi Balochis and Punjabis? They may not even capture the Pathans in the NWFP.

Islamists are not looking for Pakistan independence, they are moving forward to destroy Pakistan and subjugated it to the evil forces.

#4 Posted by Urstruly

Liberal Fascist and you think it is political terminology? People throw around incoherent and ridiculous political terminologies when their purpose is to abuse their political opponents.

I have watched Hamid Mir shows several times, I personally don't think that he even wrote this whole thing.

There is someone else in this purdeh zingarri main.

HP

I view all the anti-establishment militants as the necessary catalyst that will help emerge a third force which will ultimately eliminate the westernized corrupt ruling class and custodians of the status quo of corruption lawlessness, and incompetence. It will establish Pakistan as a law abiding, soveriegn, Islamic republic as its founding fathers envisioned it. The militancy is the reaction to the acute oppression that this nation has faced from foeign agents and corrupt class of kalay angraiz. These are the birth pangs of new Pakistan.

#7 Posted by Urstruly

"The militancy is the reaction to the acute oppression that this nation has faced"

What a ridiculous assertion. I have read it at many places it is like saying we fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here.

It appears to me that only the tribal pathans in Pakistan are so oppressed that they are fighting the establishment to alleviate the poverty and oppression.
In fact most of the pathans in the tribal areas are better off than many baloch and Sindhi and even punjabi.
Since when a whole community of smugglers and car thieves becomes oppressed?

Balochi are fighting the Pakistani establishment but they don't invoke Islam to fight their battles. All this tribal Pathans and their sponsors want is the freedom to grow hash, steal cars and other luxury items from all over the country and sell smuggled goods in open market. These lawless people now wanna establish an order.What a joke!

There is nothing anti establishment in these goons. They are criminals and should be treated the same way.

This following is the third force that I am talking about. The people of Pakistan have overwhelmingly shown that their choice is rule of law, social justice, and sovereignty and not the state terrorism of libral fascists nor the militancy of oppressed:

Depart gently into the night


By Ayaz Amir

AT our first lesson in live grenade-throwing in the Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul, we were asked a simple question. What if, inadvertently, a live grenade, its pin pulled out and therefore about to explode in a few seconds, fell from somebody’s hand by mistake?

We gave different answers but the correct one was that, sacrificing yourself, you fell on the grenade, covering it with your body, to save the lives of your comrades.

That was more important than trying to save your own life. Capt (later Brigadier) Shahid Aziz, our platoon commander, could have said “…more important than trying to save your miserable little skin.” He did not but his meaning was obvious. Why do soldiers sacrifice their lives in battle? For something called honour, for the sake of country, etc. Whatever name you put on it, it is always for something larger than one’s self.

Consider then a commander-in-chief, a chief of men (with apologies to Cromwell who was called by this title), if his heart and mind are bent only on his self-preservation, the larger good, the collective good, not figuring in his calculation at all. Wouldn’t be considered much of a chief of men, would he?

What does this nation want? A predictable system of government based on the Constitution and the rule of law; a measure of self-respect so that the Pakistani people could take some pride in being Pakistanis; and an end to foreign — for which read American — dictation.

The people of Pakistan have no exaggerated idea of their country’s importance. National megalomania was perhaps once their failing, not any more. Even so, to the extent possible, they want to be their own masters. They want to settle the problems of Waziristan, etc, their own way, not according to how the United States tells them. Indeed, by now they are heartily sick of a government which gyrates to foreign music.

But what does our chief of men want? He wants to be Pakistan’s Hosni Mobarak, or like a ruler of one of the Gulf states, going on and on forever, no matter what the cost to the nation.

Parallel tracks, incompatible aims: the nation’s interest at variance with personal ambition, indeed at war with it. Army House is looking out only for itself. No danger in those hallowed precincts of anyone falling on a primed grenade.

Will this approach work? Consider the nation’s mood which is a long way off from it what it was eight years ago. Across the country (try this out in any bazaar conversation) people no longer evince much patience for the sham called military democracy. They have had enough of it and want to move on, especially now that My Lord the Chief Justice and the lawyers of Pakistan, more power and glory to them, have showed them a different road.

The 13-member Supreme Court bench headed by Lord Justice Ramday (whose name posterity will remember) has served the nation well. At last, after so long, the people of Pakistan have something to be proud of. The promised land is still far away but dictatorship has been dealt a blow, such a blow as it has not received before, and the people of Pakistan are full of hope (without which nothing is possible).

In the process a new iconography has been born. Pakistan’s new heroes are Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Justice Rana Bhagwandas (to whom we owe a lot), Justice Ramday and his fellow judges, their lordships of the Sindh, Peshawar and Lahore High Courts who rallied to the CJ’s defence, judges who resigned in protest, the CJ’s lawyers, Munir Malik, Kurd et al, and Aitzaz. This is the new aristocracy ennobled in the eyes of the Pakistani nation.

Aitzaz, always well known, has risen so much in stature because of his advocacy in this case that his party leader, Benazir Bhutto, is finding it difficult to pronounce his name. Newspaper rumour has it that she is even in two minds about awarding him a party ticket for the forthcoming elections. Oh dear. Apart from women scorned, hell, it seems, also hath no fury like a Mohtarma caught in the coils of envy.

But I digress. As I was saying, the nation is in no mood to put up any longer with Army House-controlled democracy. Speaking for the bar, Munir Malik has already announced that after examining the detailed judgment when it comes, the Supreme Court Bar Association will challenge the general’s ‘re-election’ (when was he elected?) by the present soon-to-expire assemblies.

So the lines are being drawn. What then is to be done?

The judiciary has redeemed its honour, washing away the sins of the last 50 years. What about other institutions? One of the tasks of Hercules was to wash the Augean stables. The army’s stables can also do with some high-powered washing.

Time was when ordinary people respected the army. I say this with a heavy heart: respect has given way to harsher feelings. All because of one man rule which has harmed Pakistan and damaged the army.

How is lost respect to be recovered? By closing the gulf which has opened up between the army and the people. This is possible only if the army learns to respect the Constitution instead of seeing itself put at the service of personal ambition.

In the PMA we were also taught another thing. Honest mistakes, however serious, could always be forgiven (especially if someone owned up to them) but no forgiveness, none whatsoever, could there be for two things: lying and cheating. Before becoming an officer, a cadet had to be a gentleman and a gentleman, we were told, did not lie or cheat.

Officers don’t take an oath to serve one-man rule. Their oath is to defend the country and the Constitution. Lost respect won’t be recovered if this is not kept in mind.

As for the political parties, in the maze of which forest are they lost? Maulana Fazlur Rahman (Maulana Diesel to his fans) while living up to his reputation of being a juggler, is throwing too many balls into the air. At the All Parties Conference in London I don’t know what seized him when he criticised the Chief Justice, saying that he could cut a deal with Musharraf and leave everyone stranded. What a thing to say!

The Maulana was probably looking at his own face in the mirror and judging the Chief Justice by that. And this was the man who kissed the Chief Justice’s hand when he first appeared before the Supreme Judicial Council.

And Benazir Bhutto? The one overriding passion ruling her seems to be to somehow get rid of the money-laundering cases hanging over her head, to achieve which aim she seems ready for anything, even a bargain with the devil, which is what a deal with the powers-that-be in these circumstances amounts to. Does she want this perception to grow? The legacy of Bhutto reduced to this. What a pity.

As for the Sharifs, what’s still keeping them in London is a puzzle waiting to be solved. If they want to seize the moment, they will have to make up their minds soon about returning to Pakistan – whether by plane to Peshawar or by motor launch to Gwadar. Only when their plans are firmed up and they are actually returning to the country should they approach the Supreme Court for protection, not before. Politicians must fight their own battles, as the lawyers fought theirs.

Dictators, even of the tinpot kind, don’t quit just like that. They cling to power until the bitter end hoping for some miracle to save them. How do they change their minds? How do they start thinking of ‘exit strategies’? When the national mood turns ugly and people are roused to action, as lawyers were roused to action by the deposition of the Chief Justice.

By any objective standard, Gen Musharraf has not been much of a leader in war (remember Kargil) or peace (look at the last eight years). But as his time comes to an end, he can do the nation a favour by realising that the play is up and the curtains have come down. Let him not go raging into the night. For once Pakistan can do with a gentle transition.

Urstruly,

I had couple of bitter exchange of emails with Ayaz Mir in 1999 when he was writing against the civilian government and then he supported the Musharaf coup and we pretty much exchanged some sharp words and after that we never communicated in any form.

I have not read his articles since then. To me he is just another flat world type in Pakistan. I hope you know the guy who writes in NYT and is now famous for his " iraq unit of time". Yes I am talking about Friedman.

I am not going to read his article now so you just post what you wanna say. And don't use his non sense to support your argument.

There is no doubt that there is oppression in Pakistan, there is no doubt that army has brought misery to people of Pakistan and there is no doubt that People of Pakistan deserve democracy.
But your friends Afghans/pathans of the tribal areas are as against the democracy as the army is. They are as pro-oppression as the army is and they are as anti people as the army is.

You are trying to trade one monster with another and bigger monster. These Islamist jihadis are criminals and mark my words now. Time will prove them the criminals that they are.

Puktoon Khan

"It was the fallacious vision and vested interests of Pakistani leaders due to which genuine political leadership was not encouraged to come forward and take the reigns of power to empower the masses of Pakistan and lead them towards the goals of progress and prosperity."

Poor Mr Khan, the reason for the lack of leadership in pakistan can be traced to the ideology of creation of pakistan. Every where in the world, the freedom struggle from the colonial rule creates heroes, it created heroes in India, the US and teh like, but not in pakistan. Pakistan was created to get rid of the colonial masters, it was created because of the hatred created by one mans work, the Jinnah.

In an ideology of hatred, there is no scope for any leaders to emerge, there is no vision of the future, there is no ideology...and that is the underlying reason for the military rule, the failing democracy you name it.

At last pakistan is living up to its only possible ideology of creation, islam.

Lal majid is the equivalent of the boston tea party, the 1857 war if independence. At last a few people of pakistan have united together and they are asking, pakistan ka matlab kys, why is pakistan an islamic republic only in parts, they are demanding the full sharia laws, the beheading, the kit and kabootle.

This is what the world had been waiting, and finally the islamic bomb will come in the hands of the hands of the jihadis, and that is when pakistan will be iraquised.

The only change and rule of law in pakistan will come only after its iraquisation and its partition.

Pak army on the run

Today dawn has reported that army guys have been asked not to crowd arround move in small groups for fear of the suicide bombers, nearly a thousand of them are moving to islamabad.

The pak army will move to the cantonments and the barracks, to protect themselves. They used a similar tactics in Bangladesh, where they expected the Indian army to attack their barracks. Indian troops simply went for dacca, and rest is part pakistan disgrace. The same plan is put to practice by the pak army, teh streets have been taken over by the jihadis and criminals.

Puktoon

"Establish industries in the tribal belt. Industrialization creates its own culture and values and changes the thinking, lifestyle, needs and life goals of individual. It is a real and practical tool for cultural engineering. Values and culture are products of technology."

You should be really from paktoon, no idea about the industry location dynamics. Industries can be established only where the resources are available, both human and capital. You say that the people are un=educayed, and hence no engineering industry is possible. The people have a long history of war and killings and that is their skills. Thsi has been used by the pak army.

The kargill invasion was done by these jihadis. That is all they can do, kill, in fact most savage form of killing, as it happened to Captian Kalia of India army in Kragill.

Leave the tribals alone, give them a few daisy cutters if you are very particular.

Pukhtoon Khan Sahib,
There is a saying out west it says "you can't have your cake and eat it too". Similarly Paktoons cant have a region where they call the shots "legally speaking" and be called law abiding citizens of pakistan. Its quite a joke to attack your own army, and police, and when retaliated the same pathan cries woe is me, woe is me. Pakistan Army should quarantine FATA from Pakistan side and invite the crusader army to come and bulldoze the cesspool in the indegenous Pakhtoon area. Down with Pakhtoonwali and long live the civil institutions.

P.S you mention, see quote
"The people in the tribal belt and Pushtoons are totally innocent and they have no idea whatsoever about Al-Qaeda....."

Do you really, honestly, whole heartedly believe that. If you do I have a brooklyn bridge for sale. A Sindhi, Punjabi, Kashmiri(jammu), a Mohajir (proud Pakistani) or a Baluchi is not allowed to come visit FATA, but uzbeks, saudis, yeminis are allowed, because the poor pakhtoon people cant tell the difference between an arabic speaking yemeni or a russian speaking uzbek.
Paktoon bhai jan,
A pathan loves his radio. Venture into Nowshera,pubbi, qisa khawani bazaar, all pathans are holding a short Wave radio playing with the dial to tune into BBC Pashtu, or VOA urdu. If BBC and VOA havent spoken about Al Qaeda, I could take your argument with a grain of salt. Even that doesnt fly though. Its Time to wake up and smell the morning coffee paktoon bhaijan.

banneditem,

In fact FATA will be quite happy if you removed your troops from there and let them join Kandhar.

Are you willing to do that?

Please stop your ignorant rant.

Zeemax,
Sure lets say FATA joins Kandahar, and now they get pummeled by US and NATO troops, are the Paktoons gonna a come back crying "lemme in lemme in"?

P.S There are no troops stopping pashtuns from crossing over the durand line. Thats been the point of contention between Pakistan and US for a long time post 9-11, please show some intelligence in your comeback remarks.

Re: # 10 HP

I know the Libral Fascist propaganda machinery is working overtime to protray the current sedition of people of Pakistan against fascist state machinery as "just an NWFP phenomenon, which is present nowhere else" but truth needs no vehicle to desseminate itself. Isn't it a fact that the hotbed of sedition is not in NWFP , but in the capital of Pakistan, in the heart of Northern Punjab which is the Na Pak fouj's own constituency? Isn't it the fact that most vicious and deadly attack by Liberal Fascists and their armed goons upon the people of Pakistan has happened in Islamabad and not in FATA where hundereds of school children have been masacred mercilessly by the state machinery? Isn't it a fact that overwhelming majority of those martyred school children and their teachers belonged to Punjab and elswhere other than FATA?

Look, we belonging to the sensible segment of the society, where we do not have immediately something at stake here, shoul not find every door of hope closed for good. Pakistani nation, given the chance has always made the right decisions for itself. There is a way to save our society from Iraqization, which is to support the movements such as independence of judiciary and true democracy. Look, no army in the world can fight people. The defeated and humilitaed but proud people of Iraq and Afghnaistan has proven that to the worlds most fearsome war machine of US and NATO combined. NaPak fouj kis khait ki mooli hay. Remember, on the day when Khomeini's plane landed in Tehran Iran's Royal army masaccred 23,000+ Irani citizens in less than few hours. We know the result of what happened. All pakistan needs is a chance for sovereignty, social justice, and freedom from the oppression of liberal fascism.

#9 urstruly: Funny that you should quote Ayaz Amir, and talk glowingly of "This following is the third force that I am talking about. The people of Pakistan have overwhelmingly shown that their choice is rule of law".

If the rule of law was to break out in Pakistan, the first to go will be Musharraf, and the next to go will be the bearded ghoondas he props up as the only alternative to his rule. And indeed this third force, the rule of law refelcting the will of the Pakistani people, is on the march in Pakistan. The Chief Justice is in place - thanks to his own personal courage, the courage of the lawyers, and the courage of the Pakistani people who shed blood on May 12 and who turned out in vast numbers to support them. And lal masjid ghoondas and FATA ghoondas, far from being the heroes that you think of them when you post pictures of gun-toting mullahs, are mere distractions that work to the advantage of Musharraf and will be the first to be brought to justice once the forces of rule of law and the will of the Pakistani people finally prevails, at it Inshallah will.

There will be no place in a free Pakistan for FATA ghoondas and maulvi-khalifa wannabes, as you try to find by glowingly posting Ayaz Amir's article.

#18 urstruly: "Pakistani nation, given the chance has always made the right decisions for itself."

And that is why it has inflicted humiliating defeat to the religious parties any time it has had free elections.

17 Posted by banneditem,

banneditem, please tell me what have you done for FTATA in return for your using them in Kashmir (the AK was won by them for you), Afghan Jihad, Kargill ... besides being your unpaid volunteer army at your North Western border.

They don't need Pakistan. Pakistan needs them. Remember it was MA Jinnah who had ordered all forces to be removed from FATA. They've always been independent and all they have is a kind of agreement to remain with Pakistan. Pakistan has abrogated that agreement.

They won't leave easily now. First they will avenge all the betrayals you have heaped on them.

... as for their being pummeled by Nato troops, that doesn't appear to be the case, wouldn't you agree? It is they who are pummeling NATO which is why it is crying all the way to mama ... and threatening Pakistan.

[UAE in the Middle East and Finland in Eastern Europe are good examples.]

Only a brave pakhtoon could change the geographical location of Finland.As for the article, I am all for the pakhtoons joining Afghanistan and letting us live in peace.

Re: # 20

I have explained it many times before that "a corrupt westernized ruling elite", which acts as a custodians of western intersts in our country is the oppressor of the people of pakistan. This ruling elite has evolved over the past 60 years from just feudal lords to now include memebrs from all walks of life in Pakistan. Sirkari moulvis, such as Qazi Hussain, Fazlurehman, and many many more are part and parcel of this corrupt elite. The fact of the matter is that whenever so called "saaf aur shaffaf election" happen in this country some members of this corrupt elite becoem ruling party and rest become "opposition". But they work in unison to keep the status quo of corruption, incompetence, and submission preserved and strengthened. The prime example is the government in NWFP and Baluchistan which has been in the hands of these sirkari moulvis for the past 5 years, and it is as corrupt, as incompetent as the rest of Pakistan. Have you noticed that sirkari moulvi governments of both Baluchistan or NWFP never speak against the masacres of citizens of Pakistan in their territories? even when they are supposedly ethnically and ideologically closer to the mascared citizens of Pakistan?

The militancy and sedition in Pakistan is aagainst this corrupt social class.

Zulm phir zulm hai, bart-ta hai to mitt jata hai
Khun phir khun hai, tapkay ga to jum jaiga

#18 Posted by Urstruly,

Urstruly, the news today is that a mosque has been taken over by the Wazirs in S. Waziristan, and named it Lal Masjid, and have vowed to build a girl's madrassa alongside it named "Jamia Hafsa- Umme'Hassaan" ... .

It is quite revealing that they are equating Umme-Hassaan, a Punjabi, with Bibi Hafsa ... no less.

But the liberal fascists will never understand anything in their arrogance. They think they can crush Waziristan and it will all be gone ... just like they thought they could 'smoke out' Lal Masjid/Jamia Hafsa by cutting off their electricity and gas and playing loud rock music outside like they did with Noriega. Press hasn't reported that but that happened as well.

Zeemax,
Its not about what I have done or what you have done, if someone can be so stupid as to take arms because of a slogan "Allah Akbar" and fight a war that has nothing to do with religion, but a geo-political agenda...be it water dispute, or gas pipelines. I say more power to the people that can sell pathan a war in exchange for a mercedes bus. Similarly what good is pashtunwali if the pathan himself is a hypocrite.
Pakisan ka mutlab kiya
FATA kai Illawa Insha-Allah.

Re: # 25 Zeemax

And following is the picture of new Lal Masjid:




Just in case the picture doesn't print, following is the hyperlink:
http://www.express.com.pk/images/NP_LHE/20070730/Sub_Images/11002338 93-1.jpg

tahmed32,

Please comment on the Musharraf/BB deal.

Is this what you liberal fascists are? Who tell lies all the time?

Compare BB with Ghazi who stood by every single word he said and died in the process, just as he had promised.

BB, on the other hand, was called all kinds of names by Musharraf, her accounts frozen (unfrozen today), litigated against to the hilt (some already withdrawn like Oil for Food, plus payment of her legal costs of Surrey mansion), promised never to let her return, she signing the 'Meesaq-e-Jamhuryat' with PML (N), being a part of ARD, part of the APC ... all that. And then turning around and sitting in Musharraf's lap to save his skin in return for his saving her skin? When no one else wants Musharraf in any capacity in Pakistan?

I look forward to your response.

#20 Posted by tahmed32 on July 30, 2007 8:08:29 am


And that is why it has inflicted humiliating defeat to the religious parties any time it has had free elections.


And yet ahmedis are non-muslims, fundamentalism is rampant and there a bunch of lal masjids...

#28 Isn't Ghazi's brother the hero who ran wearing a burqa. LOL LOL LOL on the proud ghazi borthers that defied governemnt and civil insititutions by rallying 15 and 16 year old girls to do thie dirty job. Zeemax there is no difference between them using women to do their dirty job or you posting pics of women in off the wall to make your useless point. FATA will be "serviced" by BATA.

I love the FATA khyber pass with a the flag of Paistan flutteringso proudly and gracefully with the back drop of a calm blue sky with a few F-14s and B-190 bombers dropping their loads off.

#27 Posted by Urstruly,

Thanks Urstruly.

The problem is that these liberal-fascists will read the Washington Post, NY Times, at best Daily Times/Friday times, some will even read Dawn. But they will NEVER read Daily Express, Khabrain, Daily Jinnah .... because that is the lowly Urdu press which every ordinary Pakistani (non-elite) reads.

This is what MUSLIMS, from all over the world & not just Pakistan, are wishing praying & looking forward to..a complete removal of the Western & Westoxicated scum from the Paak-Saaf SarZameen..
The Cantonment-Kuttaas on the other hand want the United Satans to continue their eveil presence among the advanced & GHAIRATMAND civilization of muslim Afghanistan, Iran & Pakistan.

Whenever a west-loving mangy, flea-infested, Cantonment mongrel ventures near shareef & learned Mohallas he must be bambooed to the edge of the town..In order to move among muslims he MUST express hatred for the westernised scum.
____________________________________________________________


The greatest defeat ever experienced by the British Army was that in the Mountain Passes of Afghanistan.

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.

Dear HP,

Your knowledge about Pakistan, and perhaps even India, is much more than mine. Therefore I shall not question the totality of your assertions. Nevertheless, it seems to me that your predictions about the future and your analysis about the current situation is based solely on past history. Isn't it plausible that something quite different from the past is happening in Pakistan? Could it be the case that the common woman in Pakistan is reacting to state oppression by coalescing around Islamic ideals (in whatever manner it is understood by her)? Isn't it possible that this nascent 'awakening' is actually leader-less as of now but could develop into a full blown agitation against present institutions (state or otherwise)? Note, I like you, do not believe that the people behind the bombings etc. are providing any sort of LEADERSHIP across Pakistani masses, at least not as of now. But aren't they keeping the moot issue alive - the issue that a small segment of the population have been ruling Pakistan without allowing for the political participation of the masses? If so then isn't it possible that if the liberals do not wake up and smell the coffee then the leadership which will emerge to channel this movement is going to be anti-liberal?

If the above possibilities have even an iota of probability then I believe that liberals should move beyond definitions of 'liberal-fascism' and the like. I, actually, think that the label 'liberal-fascist' could be quite appropriate for certain sections of the population in Pakistan and India.

Dear HP,

In #33, I highlighted some of my disagreements with you. Needless to say that I agree with a lot of what yu say. In particular, I strongly agree that if the political leadership that emerges is fundoo then God help Pakistan. The ruling cabal may try to Talibanize Pakistan. If so, a civil war along the lines of the Spanish Civil war (you know what I mean) could well emerge. Foreigners may not be participating ONLY in the Taliban camp!

#32 Posted by echoboom,

Yes Echoboom:

Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains; An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.

It amazes me when some morons claim the technology is now predators, hellfires ... etc ... What they forget is that the gora was defeated with his superior technology of THAT time, and is being now defeated with his superior technology of THIS time ...

...sigh...

Below is not for the westoxicated scum (copyright echoboom) because they can't read Urdu:

#34 Posted by GT,

GT, I'm still waiting for an answer from HP regarding his assertion of just yesterday, based on the past, that Lal Masjid/Jamia Hafsa was just a 'drama'.

Pathan warrior is so great that when he takes a piss next to a wall that has death to Israel written on it, and someone honks their horn he jumps and hugs the very sign he was pissing on. Bravo Bravo.
This other pathan decorated his sohrab bicycle with two bells to give it a stereo ring to it. Nothing like a pathan dressed up in his shiny skull cap riding his bike covered in gold "haars", ringing his stereo bell trying to impress his brothers good looking boys for a date. Its all in the family.

{"The latest gift of wrong Pakistani policies is the US warning of challenging the sovereignty of Pakistan by attacking the Tribals who have been serving as volunteer army for Pakistan and offered volunteer services in conquering the current Azad Kashmir while the army has been enjoying all the perks and portfolios for more than four decades in Pakistan history. "}

Khan Sahib,
Very good article, placing the blame where it belongs - the upper ruling elite of Pakistan!

Whether Mohajir, Sindhi, Baluch, Pathan, Poor Punjabi, or Kashmiri, the long-suffering people of Pakistan have been had by these kala Angrez. They have divided us, manipulated us, killed us, and even bifurcated our country at the altar of their own material well-being. Maybe we need a French Revolution.

Re: # 11

Wrong again dear ignorant fool,

Tribal Areas were riled up and politicised in the name of Islam by none other than Frontier Gandhi and his cohorts when they riled up people in the Frontier that Pakistan would not be a sharia-based Islamic state. It was then that Fakir of Ipi was encouraged against the Pakistani state by these brothers who claimed to be "secular" and yet used Islam in the most cynical way.

But one can forgive you for being the ignorant Hindu fascist fanatic that you are... after all you had no idea about Gandhi's role in the Khilafat Movement and Gandhi's encouragement of the Mullahs either did you?

But how about blaming the right people for the right mess for once in you life?

zeemax #28 You asked for what I think of the BB-Musharraf deal. No doubt this is Plan B for Musharraf to prolong his stay in power that he loves so much. Plan A being to stay in power by appearing as the lesser of two evils to the outside world and to Pakistanis.

And any plan to deny Pakistanis the right to free and fair elections within the legal framework is a plan to continue denying Pakistanis their right to have political leaders who are accountable to them. This does not change what I wrote to Urstruly, of course.

The westoxicated scum in Pakistan would lose their "ELITE" status in a minute if ALL official work is done in URDU.

The Paper-pushing work, can be done by upto any senior middle management level by a PancNchVeen jaamaat paas from the lowest-level madrassa in Pakistan. 9)% energies of the westoxicated scum is wasted in trying to communicate the gobbledygook called "english" by these turkeys to the ones who are more advanced and learned themselves. ..such energy is also watsed to tryingb to look as if they are not their father's son but an Amreekan kaa bachhaa..black or white..white still ranks higher on the taTTa-pole.

Hope the westoxicated ones are reading this to commit hara-kiri..if they have an iota of ghairat left in them.
____________________________________________________________
A TRUE American writes

WAKE UP GUYS,
We sell guns and arms for a living. this is how we make our nation so GREAT. It even put the GREAT in our good friends GREAT BRITAIN.

We make money from War, Famine, Natural Disasters and any other world event that needs fixing. And the profit does not all go to the military

Who funds more than 90% of all conflicts in the world? THE BANKS DO. (including our own)

If we had no war in the ME or Africa we would have an economy on the run.

Where there is War, there is opportunity.
So we should appreciate Bushs actions as its another step to boosting our economy and keeping our long-term allies in good-stead

Posted by: A True American | July 30, 2007 12:36 PM

If you look at Military speanding of muslim countries, its the highest amongst other nations including G8 nations. I was talking to a drug dealer the other day, and asked why he sold drugs knowing that they kill people, his response was a simple "sir, if people stop buying them I will be out of business, so rather than condemn me for simply making a living, why dont you condemn them that have the money and keep buying weapons".

Echoboom, you are simply jealous of US not selling M-16s to muslim fanatics. Tell your sad story to the Russians and tell them to stop making Ak47s, lets see how fast they push a big tanks gun up your al-Qaeda cave and leave it in that area for others as an example.

#42 Posted by tahmed32,

That was not my question. My question was 'Are these the lying cheating liberal fascists?'

#44 Posted by cicada,

We will just fight with kalashnikovs and in chappals and at best sneakers ... fool ...

#46 more like lobbing rocks and sticks just like your palestinian brothers in an intifada will be more like it, you need some technical know how in order to operate an Ak47, which the pathan lacks. AK47 is not like your ghulail or a 12 gauge dazza. Ooooh now I see what the issue is the real issue is not the western powers making weapons, its the fact that they have to send in technical specialists "white boys" to train the donkey brains " the great pathan suits" and that is a big no no, because god forbid if the outside world saw the squalid conditions the "pathan suit" lives in.

#38 Posted by zeemax

"GT, I'm still waiting for an answer from HP regarding his assertion of just yesterday, based on the past, that Lal Masjid/Jamia Hafsa was just a 'drama'."

Zee:

I do not disagree about the 'drama'. 'Drama' it was. A trivial point is what does one mean by 'drama'. More serious are the consequences of this 'drama'.

zeemax #45 Excuse me for not reading your post too carefully, and simply commenting on the first line which seemed like a request for comments on the Mush-BB deal-making.

I went back and read it more carefully, and see that the sentence with the specific question was "Is this what you liberal fascists are? Who tell lies all the time? "

This reduces your post to another in the piles of posts on chowk that are nothing more than gibberish: What is a "liberal fascist" if not a contradiction in terms, and therefore gibberish? And since when am I a supporter of BB (or any of the other third rate individuals seeking to come to power in Pakistan by hook or by crook?)

#48 Posted by GT,

What HP meant was that it was all orchestrated by the government.

But I get your point. What you mean is characters come and go, but the consequences remain.

arjun #29 What part of "any time it has had free elections." did you have trouble understanding?

#51 Posted by tahmed32 on July 30, 2007 12:41:45 pm

you had free elections in the 90s, didn't you? yet that's the time you became the fountainhead of islamic terrorism...that's the time when you had john jihad walker training at a madrassah in the land of the pure..that's the time you had the indigenous kashmiri freedom fighters get training and arms in the land of the pure...

#49 Posted by tahmed32,

There are only two liberal forces in Pakistan. One is Benazir, the other is Altaf Hussain. Surely if you're a liberal, you would support one of these two.

But I'll let it go. You, Sir, cannot answer this question. Regardless of how well-meaning you are. And I acknowledge and respect that.

#50 Posted by zeemax

Yup ....

... you should edit some of my current working papers ... I am pretty bad with this language thingy.

Re: # 53

Calling charlatans and murderers like BB and Altaf liberals is insulting the very notion of liberalism. Same thing goes for some other riff raf on chowk as well. I think Hamid Mir has coined the very appropriate term "Libral Fascists" that describes them perfectly. i.e. Fascists pretending to be liberals. I think top brass of na pak fouj falls into this rabies infested category as well.

...i think one has to accept that, on the whole, pakistan has been ruled by, "lying cheating liberal fascits".....actually the fascist part is a bit of an exageration......but they certainly were lying and cheating (and quite liberal by pakistani standards)......the only exception was zia, who was a, "lying cheating religious fascist"......a bit more of a fascist than the liberal ones....

jinnah (and liaqut also) were neither liers, nor cheats, nor fascists.......though they were liberal.....

.......the next combo to rule will also be lying cheating liberal combo of musharraf and benazir......musharraf is a constitutional crook, while benazir is a financial crook.....both are about as liberal as it gets in pakistan.....

.....the only group more liberal than them is the mqm.....which actually is a lying cheating liberal fascist group....fascist in their case does apply.......

......so one cannot blame pakistanis, if they turn away from liberalism......they have tried it for 60 years, and what has it giving them.......a chowk-like elite and poverty.......

......which way are they going to turn.....hard to tell......i don't think they wil turn en-masse towards the lal masjid leadership type groups......these leaderships are criminals, who play with the lives of brainwashed students..........

.....they may towards the religious political parties like mma.......however they have also turned out to be liers and cheaters.......

......not too many places to turn to........who else is left as a leader.........

i think urstruly may have to return to pakistan, to take over the leadership.....or perhaps hp or hamidm........

Whatever Mr. Jinnah and Mr. Liaqut Ali Khan were, they
sure were communal with hatred of Hindus and Sikhs
deep in their blood and bones, may be that is why they
were appealing to an average Pakistani!

#55 Posted by Urstruly,

Just trying to use common terminology. Liberal-Fascists is a new term which many will not comprehend so soon.

#56 Posted by bulleya

".......who else is left as a leader........."

Rest assured. Leadership will emerge and most probably it will be driven by young idealists. But, IMO, successful leadership will be provided by only those who understand and are in tune with the common man's 'religious ideals'.

{Rest assured. Leadership will emerge and most probably it will be driven by young idealists. But, IMO, successful leadership will be provided by only those who understand and are in tune with the common man's 'religious ideals'.
}

GT Jai Sri Krishna,

is this also true for the colonial cousin india? if not, why not? if so, which religions religious ideal?

#59 Posted by GT,

That commodity is missing in Pakistan ... but not for long. Events will take their natural course.

...contd...#61,

... I mean one emerged, but they killed him. They wouldn't be able to kill the next one.

#60 Posted by jang

Jango,

Jai Shiri Ram,

I am confused here. Help me out .... Isn't it true that Indian democracy (post 1977) has induced political parties to closely adhere to the 'religious beliefs' of its constituents? I do not only mean caste, breaking coconuts before flagging of sulabh sauchalays etc. I mean things like the lyrics of say Gadhar (CPI-ML, Andhra) etc. You know .... If anything democracy, post 1977, has become disgustingly pleasurable .... e.g. the evolution of the speeches of Mayawati and Laloo over the past decade ... they might sound vulgar and cheap to you and me but by jove they are able to carry the message through ... And please do not tell me that the CPM do not use it. Nevertheless, nobody perfected it like the half naked fakir. Anyway, you like democracy ... well then learn to live with it ... I have had the pleasure of seeing M.M. Singh slurp his puri aloo and discuss religion with people ... You are free not to believe though.

Jai Hanuman.

Listen to the one who HAS been there , done that...

Mujahid Margolis was in Afghanistan, Kashmir, Chechnya, Bosnia, and Iraq WITH muslims, with the Mujahideen..

He knew each and every leader there...

His judgement has never been wrong or questioned...
He knows what he is talking about.


_________________________________________________________


Ju ly 23, 2007
IS THE US PREPARING TO ATTACK PAKISTAN?


The Bush Administration may be preparing to lash out at old ally Pakistan, which Washington now blames for its humiliating failures to crush al-Qaida, capture its elusive leaders, or defeat Taliban resistance forces in Afghanistan.

One is immediately reminded of the Vietnam War when the Pentagon, unable to defeat North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces, urged invasion of Cambodia.

Sources in Washington say the Pentagon is drawing up plans to attack Pakistan’s `autonomous’ tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Limited `hot pursuit’ ground incursions by US forces based in Afghanistan, intensive air attacks, and special forces raids into Pakistan’s autonomous tribal region are being evaluated.

This weekend, the US national intelligence chief and other intelligence spokesmen confirmed that strikes against `terrorist targets’ in Pakistan’s tribal belt are increasingly possible. These warnings were designed to both further pressure Pakistan’s beleaguered strongman, President Pervez Musharraf into sending more troops to the tribal areas to fight his own people, and to prepare US public opinion for a possible widening of the Afghanistan war into Pakistan.

Pakistan’s 27,200 sq km tribal belt, officially known as the Federal Autonomous Tribal Area, or FATA, is home to 3.3 million Pashtun tribesmen. It has become a safe haven for al-Qaida, Taliban, other Afghan resistance groups, and a hotbed of anti-American activity, thanks mostly to the US-led occupation of Afghanistan which drove many militants across the border into Pakistan. Osama bin Laden is very likely sheltered in this region, as US intelligence claims.

I spent a remarkable time in this wild, medieval region during the 1980’s and 90’s, traveling alone where even Pakistani government officials dared not go, visiting the tribes of Waziristan, Orakzai, Khyber, Chitral, and Kurram, and meeting their chiefs, called `maliks.’

These tribal belts are always referred to as`lawless.’ Pashtun tribesmen could shoot you if they didn’t like your looks. Rudyard Kipling warned British Imperial soldiers over a century ago, when fighting cruel, ferocious Pashtun warriors of the Afridi clan, if they fell wounded, `save your last bullet for yourself.’

But there is law: the traditional Pashtun tribal code, Pashtunwali, that strictly governs behavior and personal honor. Protecting guests was sacred. I was captivated by this majestic mountain region and wrote of it extensively in my book, `War at the Top of the World.’

The 40 million Pashtun – called `Pathan’ by the British – are the world’s largest tribal group. Imperial Britain divided them by an artificial border, the Durand Line, which went on to become, like so many other British colonial boundaries, today’s Afghanistan-Pakistan border. When Pakistan was created in 1947, the Pashtun were split between that new nation and Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s Pashtun number 28-30 million, plus an additional 2.5 million refugees from Afghanistan. Pashtuns, one of the British Indian Army’s famed `martial races,’ occupy many senior positions in Pakistan’s military, intelligence service and bureaucracy, and naturally have much sympathy for their embattled tribal cousins in Afghanistan. The 15 million Pashtun of Afghanistan form that nation’s largest ethnic group and just under half the population.

The tribal agency’s Pashtun reluctantly joined newly-created Pakistan in 1947 under express constitutional guarantee of total autonomy and a ban on Pakistani troops ever entering there.

But under intense US pressure, President Pervez Musharraf violated Pakistan’s constitution by sending 80,000 federal troops to fight the region’s tribes, killing 3,000 of them. In best British imperial tradition, Washington pays Musharraf $100 million monthly to rent his sepoys (native soldiers) to fight Pashtun tribesmen. As a result, Pakistan is fast edging towards civil war, as the bloody siege of Islamabad’s Red Mosque and a current wave of bombings across the nation show.

The anti-communist Taliban movement is part of the Pashtun people. Taliban fighters move across the artificial Pakistan-Afghanistan border, to borrow a Maoism, like fish through the sea. Osama bin Laden is a hero in the region, and likely shelters there.

The US just increased its reward for bin Laden to $50 million and plans to shower $750 million on the tribal region in an effort to buy loyalty. Bush/Cheney & Co. do not understand that while they can rent President Musharraf’s government in Islamabad, many Pashtun value personal honor far more than money, and cannot be bought. That is likely why bin Laden has not yet been betrayed.

Any US attack on Pakistan would be a catastrophic mistake. First, air and ground assaults will succeed only in widening the anti-US war and merging it with Afghanistan’s resistance to western occupation. US forces are already too over-stretched to get involved in yet another little war.

Second, Pakistan’s army officers who refuse to be bought may resist a US attack on their homeland, and overthrow the man who allowed it, Gen. Musharraf. A US attack would sharply raise the threat of anti-US extremists seizing control of strategic Pakistan and marginalize those seeking return to democratic government.

Third, a US attack on the tribal areas could re-ignite the old irredentist movement to reunite Pashtun parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan into independent state, `Pashtunistan.’ That could begin unravelling fragile Pakistan, leaving its nuclear arsenal up for grabs, and India tempted to intervene.

The US military has grown used to attacking small, weak nations like Grenada, Panama, and Iraq. Pakistan, with 163 million people, and a poorly equipped but very tough 550,000-man army, will offer no easy victories. Those Bush Administration officials who foolishly advocate attacking Pakistan are playing with fire.

Copyright Eric S. Margolis 2007
Posted by Eric Margolis at 01:19 PM | Comments (57)

#64 Posted by echoboom:

"...and India tempted to intervene." by Mujahid Margolis.

So this is what the great analyst thinks? Even I do not believe that the Indian govt. is that stupid!

Guys,

I am no political pundit, but I do remember talking about Mayawati being the PM someday. Check this out:

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/30nazar.htm

car was told to stop, when it didn't stop, the occupants got whacked...if this was in iraq, the pakis would have their undies in a knot...

Seven killed in Pakistan tribal area

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) - A Pakistani helicopter gunship fired on a suspicious car that was following an army convoy near the Afghan border on Monday, killing four suspected Islamic militants, officials said.

"The army spotted the car and ordered them to stop and they ignored the warning. They were fired on by a helicopter escorting the convoy," the security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"Four people inside the car were killed, they are suspected militants."

North Waziristan has seen a spike in violence since pro-Taliban militants scrapped a peace deal with the government on July 15 and after the army stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad earlier in the month.

Hours after the gunship attack, a remote-controlled bomb exploded near a military vehicle killing three paramilitary soldiers near Miranshah, security officials said.

GT:
India, has always been in the thick of things in Afghanistan..not of course militarily but " watching its interests" and why not? As an awake nation it must do to be ready in a pre-emptive way.

Indian ambassador was with Ahmad Shah Masood & helping to prop up & buttress the National Alliance when Massod was killed by the "TV camera man". I believe the ambassador was injured as well.

I as a Pakistani may not welcome such incursion but then the thousands upon thousands of afghans who chose India over Pakistan as refugees & a l;ot many of them got indoctrinated at the JawalLal Univ... The hotbet od Secularism & socialism in India.

I personally know a lot of these guys...and they thought they will be the new maadren & westoxicated civil servants
when & if muslims lose. A fw were even part of the Grand Jigaa...but they returned Disgusted with the UNited Satans & the West even more..

and am I happy that they are even more FUNDAMENTALISTS now!

#68 Posted by echoboom

Echo and HP:

Echo, OK I barely know these big time sh*t. So you rule. BUT PLEASE READ THE REDIFF ARTICLE WHOSE LINK I PROVIDE. I bet you 10 to 1 that both you and HP will love it.

Pukhtoon khana, you cant have your cake and eat it too. This "Pride" of the Afghan/Pukhtoon was maintained because of Saudi/American money overseen by the ISI and Pakistani establishment. If the Afghans (read Pukhtoons) take pride in remaining "un conquered" then why give the credit (of the soviet defeat) to the ISI?

Time has come to look inside our own giraban, you say our people dont know about Al-Qaida!?! look around you zma wroora, the CD shops in kharkhano are plagued with videos of the latest attacks carried out in Afghanistan and Iraq, talk to the average rickshaw driver or the fruit wala and you will know how big a hero osama really is around peshawar. The time to blame islamabad was in the 80s, now its too late for the blame game. we have to deal with this monster our selves,as it is "WE" the Pukhtoons who are at the recieving end of this onslaught, both in terms of life casualties and in terms of our own culture.

This new "LAL MASJID" that zeemax ascribes to Wazirstan is infact in Ghazi Abad, Momand agency, and is the shrine of none other than "Haji Sahib Turangzai", this is a slap in the face of Pukhtoon nationalism, and given the new "hum bhi muslman hain" attitude of ANP and PKMAP I wonder if Asfandyar or Mahmood Khan are even going to speak out against it.

This is also an example of the weakening of barelvi islam in our region, all thanks to the "Haji Sahib" and "Amir Sahib" protocol given to these zombies.

banneditem: The current onslaught is not being carried out under the banner of "Pukhtoonwali" but under "Jihad". If it was Pukhtoonwali, the bombs wouldnt be going off in Peshawar and Bannu. I know its frustrating to see this senseless carnage, BUT channel your frustration to the culprits, this has nothing to do with ethnicities.

Mantolives: Snap out of the Gandhi hatred mindset for once. You are overdoing it. The Barbara Massacre was avenged by not even a single death, and the perpetrator (abdul Qayum Khan) died a peaceful death in "Peshawar". Keep that in mind before you start ranting about some "secret" document that only you have seen.

GT, IMHO, the key there is "common man's" religious ideals. Just like Mayawati who understand India at grassroots level.

The person will have to speak the language and understand the twists and turns.

Difficulty: There is too much diversity in Pakistan. Far more than it is in India. So the person will have to be a super mayawati, while even one mayawati is rare... :(

Alternative: Perhaps some combination of democratic appeal and skilful use of institutional force/coercion of some sort, because convincing any reasonable majority may be tough in the near future.

"banneditem: The current onslaught is not being carried out under the banner of "Pukhtoonwali" but under "Jihad". If it was Pukhtoonwali, the bombs wouldnt be going off in Peshawar and Bannu. I know its frustrating to see this senseless carnage, BUT channel your frustration to the culprits, this has nothing to do with ethnicities."
AK,
Unfortunately paktunwali and jihad is a cocktail of which taliban is the product. One of the examples of that is when the western govt/s asked taliban (predominantly pashtun) to hand over OBL, they refused with one of the reasons being "our guest", besides many others (jihad,money,inter marriages, "yeah right", "dream on" etc). Channeling frustrations Naah. Not my cup o' tea mate.

hey zeemax: looks like your hero didn't blow himself up but was iced by the paki army..

Security forces killed Mehsud, claims cousin

KARACHI: Abdullah Mehsud did not die in a suicide blast but was shot dead by security forces who should now refuse the support of the US in FATA, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Khyber, otherwise bomb blasts will occur all over the country and especially in Karachi.

This was stated by a man claiming to be Abdullah Mehsud’s cousin, Major (retd) Muhammad Zaman Mehsud, also chief of the Mehsud tribe in Karachi. He held a press conference on Monday at the Karachi Press Club.

Zaman said that Abdullah was sleeping in the house of Sheikh Alam Mandukhel when some informer tipped off the security forces of his whereabouts. They raided the house and shot him. Zaman said that after this, the ISPR’s Major General Waheed Arshad appeared on television and said that the Taliban leader Abdullah Mehsud had blown himself up during an operation.

Zaman said that Mehsud took part in the Afghan jihad and that he also lost his leg while fighting. He added that Abdullah was satisfied with the peace agreement between the government of Pakistan and the tribals.

Zaman asked how Abdullah’s body could have survived if he had indeed blown himself up. Why did the government not have a postmortem conducted and bury him “in silence”. Zaman claimed that Abdullah did not belong to Al Qaeda but was a Taliban leader. His family had been freedom fighters and one of his brothers is in the Pakistan Army, Zaman claimed.

zeemax: you write "There are only two liberal forces in Pakistan. One is Benazir, the other is Altaf Hussain. "

Herr Altaf Hussain is a liberal? This is possible only through liberal use of the word liberal to mean any group you dont like. And the only thing common between him and BB is that both are happy to make deals with Musharraf.

As for dropping further discussion out of respect - I thought one dropped further discussion out of lack thereof. Just tells you how little I know. :-(

adamkhan: kher raghalay day. Welcome back to chowk. And great post, telling it like it is.

urstruly #55 I agree with what you write. Only thing is: dont blame the entire army for the shenanigans of Musharraf. There are well over half a million Pakistanis in uniform - the vast majority are patriotic Pakistanis and I assume most are as frustrated by Musharraf's attempts to remain in power as Pakistanis not in uniform. And that is the reason why the only group Musharraf could force to fire upon peaceful demonstrators (as opposed to the armed thugs of lal masjid) was MQM on May 12.

Dear Author,

Plz see the videos (6+) given here.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pceJDg_tANk

Pl comment on the videos.


The legacy provinces of Pakistan i.e NWFP and Balochistan are yet to be confederated on the same footing as Punjab & Sindh.

If some of the clips in the videos are the ground facts then it's very dengaerous for Pakistan in the medium term.

Mush advising Pak armymen to avoid being seen in uniform in NWFP and the police avoid being seen in uniform in Isloo sounds surreal.

Your suggestions sound good.............

Where there is a weapon, there is a need to use it

Today:
INVENTION IS THE MOTHER of NECESSITY.........echoboom.

Such is the power of the most monstrous Popes of Power today..the ORGANISED SCIENTISTS!

the juggernaut of "PROGRESS" is out to crush humanity at any price.
____________________________________________________________
July 30, 2007
THE US AIR FORCE RULES THE SKIES

WASHINGTON - The capital may be buzzing with talk about the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, but the US Air Force appears to be planning for a long stay in Mesopotamia and Central Asia.

The USAF is reported to be expanding its air bases in Iraq, including lengthening a second 11,000 ft runway at Balad Airbase, a nerve center for American air operations. There are persistent reports from the Pentagon that the US intends to keep four to six major military bases in Iraq, each with a powerful air component, and a 3,500-man helicopter-mobile, rapid reaction infantry brigade. Other US operating air bases
in Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Pakistan, and Central Asia are being steadily improved.


Bush Administration hawks hope to retain control of oil-rich Iraq, and sharply decrease the number of US battle casualties, by using American air power and Iraqi troops. Iraqi `native’ troops, or `sepoys,’ as the British used to call its local mercenaries, will do all the dirty work on the ground and keep the populace under control.

US air power and infantry will only intervene when Iraqi sepoys get into trouble. This is precisely the same formula use by the British Empire to rule Iraq after World War I. Winston Churchill even authorized use of mustard gas by the RAF against rebellious Kurdish tribesmen – and troublesome Pashtun tribesmen on India’s Northwest frontier.

The US Air Force recently moved new squadrons of advanced F-16C’s fighters and workhorse A-10 ground attack aircraft to Iraq. Powerful B-1B heavy bombers have been repositioned from remote Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to the Gulf.

The $220 million each B-1’s can carry up to 41,000 lbs of bombs. Their deadly accurate GPS-guided 500-lb and 1,000-lb bombs have inflicted heavy casualties on resistance fighters and, inevitably, civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thanks to amazingly accurate targeting, the USAF is now developing a new small, low blast radius 250lb bomb specially configured for anti-guerilla operations in civilian areas.

Without US fighters, B1’s and B-52’s heavy bombers, and AC-130 gunships constantly flying top cover, over-stretched US infantry in Iraq, and US/NATO forces in Afghanistan, might very well face defeat. Western forces could not protect their long, vulnerable supply lines and mall, scattered outposts against local guerillas without immediate, intensive air support.

Deprived of constant air support, US and NATO bases in Iraq and Afghanistan would become little Dienbienphu’s: surrounded and isolated, like the infamous French field fortress in the Vietnamese highlands, under heavy bombardment, and forced to rely on always insufficient air drops of munitions, supplies and reinforcements.

Afghanistan’s previous invaders, the British and Soviets, were primarily defeated by their inability to protect their long lines of communications. During World War I, a British army in Mesopotamia met the same fate at Kut after the Turks cut its supply lines to Basra.

By contrast, the mighty USAF maintains 24-hour combat air patrols that can respond within minutes to calls from ground units, directing devastating cluster munitions, smart bombs, and cannon fire onto attackers. When the Soviets occupied Afghanistan, the Red Air Force’s response time to attacks by mujahidin on Russian ground units was often as much as 30-60 minutes, by which time the attackers had escaped.

Consequently, assaults on US and NATO ground units are near suicidal affairs. So Iraqi and Afghan resistance forces have adopted as their weapon of choice roadside bombs command detonated by a single fighter from a safe distance.

US and NATO units, under mounting attack, are increasingly calling in close air support and bombing runs. This over-reliance on air support is causing civilian casualties to mount sharply in Afghanistan and Iraq. Guerilla forces can be suppressed and dispersed by air power, but not decisively defeated. Israel’s shocking failure to defeat Hezbullah guerillas in southern Lebanon last year by air attacks was a graphic example.

Whenever the US and NATO claim `100 dead suspected Taliban’ or `50 dead Iraqi insurgents,’ many are actually dead civilians. There is no way fighter and bomber pilots flying at over 300 mph can distinguish between un-uniformed fighters and civilians. In both Afghanistan and Iraq, the general rule is to attack any groups of men numbering more than two or three, and, as the old line from the Vietnam War went, `let God sort them out.’

The US has also developed reconnaissance capability of formidable capacity and coverage. US satellites can read license plates through clouds, smoke, rain or foliage, and track human infrared signatures. Drones, U-2 spy planes and a fleet of electronic warfare aircraft provide unblinking, 24/7 `eyes in the sky’ over almost all of Afghanistan and Iraq. The flood of data from all these sensors is consolidated and distributed to field commands or shared with HQ units in what is called `actionable’ information.

The US Air Force has become to the American Imperium what the Royal Navy was to the British Empire, the source of its might, and means of power projection.
While the Royal Navy ruled only the waves and littoral regions, the USAF can today reach and strike any point on the globe with devastating accuracy, speed and force. It is the mightiest, most technologically accomplished military force in history.

In fact, the USAF, with its new stealthy F-22 and upcoming F-35, are now so technologically advanced, they are at least 1.5-2 generations ahead of the rest of the world.

Russia has advanced technology and anti-stealth systems on the drawing board but cannot yet afford to deploy them in sufficient numbers. Russia, China, and India are unlikely to catch up with US military technology for the next 25 years – if ever.

The US accounts for 50% of total global military spending, and is simply too far ahead for any other powers to catch up – unless some radical new military technologies suddenly emerge that neutralize or make obsolete today’s advanced weapons systems.

Only Europe could compete militarily, had it the will, which it does not. In fact, America’s air force and naval aviation have enjoyed near absolute air superiority since 1943 with only temporary challenges during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

The USAF also has the US military’s smartest, best educated, and most forward-thinking officers. The US Army’s thankless role – and I say this as a former Army infantryman - has become to pin down enemy units so they can become targets for the USAF’s smart bombs.

Today, the only real challenge facing the US Air Force comes from its old enemy, the US Navy, which is determined not to let the flyboys blitz its budgets and steal all the glory.

copyright Eric S. Margolis 2007

Dear Adam Khan mian,

I've never started off about any "secret" document that "I have". It would help if people like you atleast don't insult other people by ridiculing them like you do.

The very declassified documents which form part of the US National Archives are letters and reports by Howard Donovan, the US Charge d' affairs in Karachi, who had written extensively to US Secretary of State Marshall on the NWFP situation.

They are also part of the appendix of Jinnah Papers Volume III - July 1-25. The letters and reports are the American view of the happenings in Waziristan and NWFP in 1947.

As for Sardar Abdul Qayyum ... how ironic that he was one of Khan Brothers' closest Congress allies till 1946... was the feud between Qayyum and Khan brothers then something personal?

PS: This is not to say that Abdul Qayyum Khan and the NWFP Muslim Leaugers were any angels... they fought the Khan brothers tit for tat.

But then one had to make do with what one had... and in case of NWFP, all of the "leaders" there were those who had fallen out with Khan Brothers and the Congress Party and were otherwise unconvinced and unconcerned withn the Pakistan movement.