Kayani urges national harmony to fight terrorism, extremism

[Perhaps the strategic pause to give the "forces of reconciliation" a chance, which exposed the militants' true colors, has given the General the upper hand over both the militants and Washington.]

Kayani urges national harmony to fight terrorism, extremism

RAWALPINDI: Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said that present security situation requires that all elements of national power should work in close harmony to fight the menace of terrorism and extremism.

He expressed these views at the start of the 118th Corps Commanders’ Conference commenced at the General Headquarters today (Thursday).

Chairing the conference, the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Kayani said that Pakistan is a sovereign state and the people of Pakistan under a democratic dispensation, supported by the Army, are capable of handling the present crisis in their own national interest.

He expressed his satisfaction at the standard and conduct of on going training in the filed formations as part of ‘Year of Training’. He said that Pakistan Army has developed full scale facilities to focus on Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) related operations.

Gen. Kayani stated that Pakistan Army is fully aware of the gravity of internal threat. It will employ requisite resources to ensure a decisive ascendancy over the militants.

Concurrently, Army is also fully prepared to meet the conventional threat.

In his final remarks, he appreciated the high morale of the Army and reiterated that with resolute conviction and faith, Pakistan Army with the help of People of Pakistan will successfully confront current and future challenges.

The participants were given a comprehensive briefing on prevailing security situation in the region. The matters of operational preparedness and professional interest were discussed in the meeting.

No military operation under way in Swat: Iftikhar

PESHAWAR: NWFP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain Wednesday said no military operation was underway in the restive Swat valley and the security forces were only retaliating against the illegal activities of the militants.

Speaking at ‘Open Forum on Swat’ organised by Law College, University of Peshawar, he said the militants had violated the peace deal reached between the NWFP government and Maulana Sufi-Mohammad-led Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM). “The Taliban have no Islamic agenda. They want to spread terror in the name of Islam and Shariah,” he remarked.

He said that the NWFP government had promulgated Nizam-e-Adl Regulation and established Darul Qaza in Malakand division that had started functioning. “This has exposed the designs of the elements creating unrest in the Swat and its adjacent districts,” he said.

The minister said the Awami National Party-led government was sincere in implementation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation as per the wishes and demands of the people of Malakand division. “Sufi Mohammad had nothing to do with the aspirations and miseries of the militancy-plagued Malakand division. He only wanted the government to surrender to the agenda of the militants,” he argued.

It was the ANP government that released Sufi Mohammad from prison soon after coming into power on the condition that he would remain peaceful and strive for promotion of peace, he added.

Iftikhar said the militants killed district police officer and a former nazim in Lower Dir in cold blood and crept into Buner district in sheer violation of the peace deal reached with the TNSM. The minister stressed that the militants should hand over the perpetrators of deadly Harichand (Charsadda) suicide blast to the government.

The function was also addressed by former vice-chancellor of the University of Peshawar Mumtaz Gul, incumbent vice-chancellor Dr Azmat Hayat Khan, local journalist Behroz Khan, Mahmoud Shah, Hashim Babar of ANP and others.

Dr Azmat Hayat said that arrangement of the open forum at this critical juncture was a step aimed at educating students about the issue. He said that Pakhtuns across the country were being exploited in the name of Islam.

The vice-chancellor said Islam called for education for both males and females, adding situation like this comes in the history of the nations but it was a fact that the unjust activities could not last for long.

Religious parties to agitate against Taliban, US

LAHORE: About two dozen religious parties from the Barelvi school of thought have decided to launch a countrywide campaign to resist Talibanisation, oppose the US drone attacks and Washington’s intervention

They also decided to launch simultaneously “Save Pakistan Campaign” in all the four provinces to counter the growing secessionist atmosphere in Balochistan and to create national harmony.

The decisions were taken at an all partiesí conference held under the aegis of the Jamaat Ahle Sunnat (JAH), which was chaired by its Ameer Allama Mazhar Saeed Kazmi. The other participants included Allama Riaz Hussain Shah, MNA Sahibzada Fazal Karim, Dr Sarfaraz Naeemi, JUP Secretary General Qari Zawwar Bahadur, Chairman Nizam-e-Mustafa Party Haji Hanif Tayyab, Sunni Tehrik President Sarwat Qadri, JUP-NS President Engr Salimullah Khan, Aalmi Tanzim Ahle Sunnat President Pir Afzal Qadri, Mufti Muhammad Khan Qadri, Pir Munawar Shah Jamaati, Mian Farooq Mustafai, Prof Muhammad Ahmad Awan, Hameed Jan Saifi, Rashid Gardezi, Daud Rizvi, Pir Masoom Shah Naqvi, JAH UK patron Pir Abdul Qadir Jilani, Allama Zafar Mehmood Farashwi, Muhammad Ashraf Saeedi, Mahboobur Rasool Qadri, Hamid Raza, Pir Khalid Sultan Qadri and others.

The APC decided to hold ‘Save Pakistan and Go Taliban’ rallies all over the country during the campaign besides holding an Ulema and Mashaikh convention in Islamabad on May 17. The leaderships of the mainstream parties would also meet ambassadors of different countries besides writing letters to the president, the prime minister, the Army chief, parliamentarians and editors of different newspapers.

The APC constituted a nine-member supreme council for evolving a joint strategy of the Ahle Sunnah parties. Addressing the APC, Riaz Hussain Shah said the US, Israel and India were using the Taliban to destabilise Pakistan. He stressed upon unity among the people for stopping the Taliban and liberating the country from the US clutches. Haji Fazal Karim said the Taliban were enemies of Islam and Pakistan.

ALTAF HUSSAIN, Voice of Reason, or Voice of the Empire?

ALTAF HUSSAIN > introduction

History and Background:
Altaf Hussain, The Founder & Leader of MQM, was born on 17th September 1953, in Karachi. On 11 June 1978, he formed the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation (APMSO) at the University of Karachi. The students who joined APMSO are from the poor and working class background. By 1984, the students’ organisation had taken its message into every corner of Sindh. It was, decided to formally launch Mohajir Quami Movement on 18th March 1984, which was transformed into Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) on 26th July 1997.

MQM’s Position:
MQM is the third largest political party of Pakistan and the second largest in the province of Sindh, southern Pakistan. MQM has attained this position by winning the local bodies and general elections held in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2002 and 2005. Currently MQM has its 25 Members in the National Assembly of Pakistan, 51 Members in the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, 6 Members in the Senate of Pakistan and 2 Members in the Legislative Assembly of Azad Kashmir. MQM is in the coalition government participate take part at federal and provincial level. Its nominated representative Dr Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan is the appointed Governor of Sindh Province. The City Nazim (Mayor) and Naib Nazim (Deputy Mayor) of Karachi and 14 Town Nazims of Karachi also belong to the MQM. The City Nazim and Naib Nazim of Hyderabad, District Naib Nazim of Mirpurkhas, Nazim and Naib Nazim of Taluka (Town) Mirpurkhas, Taluka (Town) Nazim of Sukkur, Taluka (Town) Nazim of Nawabshah and Naib Nazim Taluka (Town) Tando Adam belong to MQM.

MQM’s Philosophy:
MQM stands for equal rights and opportunities for all irrespective of colour, creed, caste, sect, gender, ethnicity or religion. MQM strives tirelessly for tolerance, religious or otherwise and opposes fanaticism, terrorism and violence in all their manifestations. MQM is committed to the introduction of an entrepreneurial free market economy, good governance and independent judiciary capable of dispensing justice, transparent accountability, free Press and participation of the women in all spheres of life. MQM’s political objective is to change the corrupt medieval feudal political system of Pakistan. MQM is, therefore, the only party of the lower and working classes, totally tree of feudal lords and army Generals. Altaf Hussain’s struggle is based on his philosophy of “Realism and Practicalism” (published in July 2003). He firmly believes that for the progress of the country it is essential to abolish the medieval feudal system and to get rid of the religious extremism to establish the rule of 98 percent working people, poor and downtrodden masses.

Unlawful and Illegal Arrests:
During his struggle for the rights of 98 percent poor and working class people of Pakistan, Mr. Altaf Hussain has been unlawfully arrested and illegally imprisoned three times. Firstly, on 14th August 1979 while he was demonstrating in front of Quaid-e-Azam tomb for the repatriation of the stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh. On 2nd October 1979, the Martial Law Court unlawfully sentenced him to nine month imprisonment and five lashes. He served his sentence and was released on 28th April 1980. Secondly, Mr. Altaf Hussain was arrested on 31 October 1986, while wasreturning from the Pacca Qila Hyderabad after addressing the rally over there. Thirdly, on 13 August 1987 Mr Altaf Hussain offered his voluntary arrest to the Authorities on the condition that all his workers, companions and all the officials who have been arrested under fabricated charges would be released.

Assassination Attempts before he left Pakistan:
The handfuls of feudal who have dominated Pakistan since its inception they are apprehensive that the thought, philosophy and the ideology propagated by Mr Altaf Hussain would end their hegemony. They, therefore, contrived different means to finish Mr. Altaf Hussain including several assassination attempts. During these attacks the agents of deceptive forces used hired killers who tried all kinds of weapons with knives and other lethal weapons including hand grenades. When he was in New York in 1987, there was an assassination attempt on him. On 21st December 1991, when Mr. Altaf Hussain was returning from London, on his way from the Airport to Azizabad, there was an attempt near Aisha Manzil, Federal “B” Area, Karachi to blow up his car with hand grenades, however, the hand grenades blow up in the assassin’s hand who died on the spot but the police also killed his accomplice on the spot and claimed that he had been shot in an encounter. The assassination attempt of 21st December 1991 was a clear indication that the powers to be want to eliminate Mr. Altaf Hussain by any means. It was, therefore, unanimously decided by the Central Committee of MQM and the office bearers and workers that it was essential to save his life and that he must continue leading from abroad. It was now time that he needed to leave the country. On 1st of January 1992, he left Pakistan and came to London. It must be noted that not a single case of any kind was mentioned against him when he left the country.

Assassination Threats in London:
Soon after the tragic incident of 9/11 in New York, Mr Altaf Hussain was the only political leader of Pakistan who openly issued statement against the religious extremism and extended his unconditional support to the war against terrorism. MQM organised a mammoth public rally in Karachi (the only rally) in support of the war against terrorism on 26th September 2001. Most recently on 15th April 2007, MQM organised another huge rally in Karachi against the religious extremism and fanaticism in the name of Islam. This open support to the war against terrorism is not liked by the religious extremist and jihadi elements and since the announcement Mr Altaf Hussain has received several threats to his life in London, i.e. 31st January 2000, 7th June 2001, 6th November 2002, 22nd February 2003 and 21st March 2004. All these threats had been reported to the police. In view of the above it is abundantly clear that the threat to Mr Hussain’s life even in the United Kingdom is not only well founded but also well documented. Thus that free movement is restricted in view of his personal security.

Extrajudicial Execution of Elder Brother and Nephew:
Mr. Altaf Hussain’s 66 years old brother Mr. Nasir Hussain and 28 year old nephew Arif Hussain were illegally and unlawfully arrested on 5th December 1995. They were kept in custody and brutally tortured for four days and on 9th December 1995, their dead bodies were found in the Gadap Area of Karachi. This is a brief description of how Mr Altaf Hussain from a modest student has become the leader of the third largest political party in Pakistan. Since then his message has been spreading to every corner of Pakistan? And is now being heard worldwide with the MQM having overseas units in almost all the major cities of the world. This shows the truth and effectiveness of Altaf Hussain’s dynamic leadership, his philosophy and ideology.

We don’t accept the Shariah of Sufi Mohammad and the Taliban

Altaf urges Punjab to resist Taliban

Terms Sufi’s version of Shariah against teachings of Islam

By our correspondent

LAHORE: Muttahida Qaumi Movement Quaid Altaf Hussain has urged the people of the Punjab to rise up against the Taliban and resist the spread of Talibanisation in the country.

In a telephonic address to women activists of the party from Lahore, Faisalabad, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh and Rahimyar Khan on Wednesday, the MQM chief said the Taliban were a threat to the country as they wanted to disintegrate the federation. He said public flogging of a young girl by militants in Swat and destruction of girls’ schools were against the teachings of Islam.

Criticising Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Mohammadi chief Sufi Mohammad, Altaf questioned the kind of Islam or Shariah being imposed by him in Swat, which barred women from seeking knowledge. He said the Muslims believed in the teachings of the holy Prophet (SAW), who had always urged his followers to seek knowledge.

“What kind of Islam is this in which schools of girls are being destroyed and restrictions imposed on them from coming out of their houses to seek knowledge,” he said, adding that the cruel treatment meted out to women and young girls in Swat was condemnable.

The MQM chief asserted that the Shariah of Sufi Mohammad and the Taliban was against the teachings of the holy Prophet (SAW) and unacceptable to the nation. He said forcing girls to enter into Nikah by the Taliban was another factor against the Islamic teachings.

“We don’t accept the Shariah of Sufi Mohammad and the Taliban. This Shariah is not acceptable in any way. I say no to this Shariah,” he said. Condemning the attacks on saints’ shrines, Altaf said the mausoleums of all Sufis and religious figures, including Hazrat Ali Hajveri, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Bulley Shah and Rehman Baba, were sacred places and bombing or destroying them could not be accepted. He came hard on the Taliban for destroying the shrine of Rehman Baba and said such acts by the fanatics did not portray the teachings of Islam.

Urging the political leadership to feel the gravity of the situation, the MQM leader said the leaders must break silence and strive together to block the way of Talibanisation.

Talking about the failure of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation, he said the agreement could not come up to the expectations of politicians. He urged lawyers to hold rallies as they did in the recent past and play their role in countering the threat to the state. Altaf said he was worried about the integrity of the country and wanted to protect the country from the Taliban, adding that he had to save the Federation and foil any conspiracy against it.

Pakistan Army Helicopter Crashes Near Sargodha

Published: on May 7th, 2009 By: Superior in: Pakistan News

SARGODHA: Casualties are being feared as a helicopter of Pakistan Army crashed here Thursday.

The helicopter crashed near SalanwaliRoad, Chak 106 of Sargodha, the channel added. The reasons of the accident are yet to be determined.

102 killed in Swat clashes

Taliban pounded to recapture govt buildings; seven die in Batkhela violence

By our correspondent

MINGORA: In a bid to recapture the government buildings seized by the local Taliban, security forces on Wednesday pounded militants’ strongholds with gunship helicopters and artillery, killing 60 insurgents. In the daylong fighting across the restive Swat valley, 40 civilians and two FC men were also killed.

A major military offensive is expected in Swat and reinforcements have already been deployed in the valley. Fresh contingents of security forces continued reaching the valley. Local publications including Shamal, Salam, Aawaz Swat ceased publications while offices of two other publications, Aazadi and Khabarkar, owned by the same editor, were shifted to Islamabad. Some journalists along with their families were also reported to have left Swat for safer places.

Eyewitness said bodies and the injured were lying in the open and relatives were unable to shift the injured to hospitals. The main showdown took place in Shahdarra where gunship helicopters targeted the militants, who had captured the emerald mine, killing 35 of them and forcing the survivors to leave the mine. Security personnel took positions on the mountains surrounding the mine.

About 60 people also sustained injuries in clashes between the militants and security forces in different areas of Swat district. The militants descended from their mountain hideouts and seized homes and government buildings. They also looted four branches of banks, including the MCB Saidu Sharif branch and main bazaar Mingora city branches of the UBL, NBP and HBL.

Security forces also targeted the Takhtaband stronghold of the Taliban, killing 15 militants and injuring scores of others. The militants were seen patrolling the streets of Mingora. Their reinforcements that came down from the mountains late on Tuesday were still occupying the homes of local residents. They are in possession of many strategic points. The militants attacked a convoy of security forces in Kanju, killing one Frontier Corps man and injuring two others. The FC men retaliated and killed 10 militants. Similarly, another FC convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED), killing one soldier and injuring two others.

Sirajuddin, former spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Swat, meanwhile, said none of their men was killed in the fighting. “We vacated the Shahdarra emerald mine on the directives of our Amir Fazlullah,” he claimed.

The former Swat TTP spokesman said that Fazlullah had also directed the Taliban to shift to safer places. It has been reported that four children and their parents were among the 40 people killed in Shahdarra Watkai clashes between the militants and security forces.

One Ali Jan and his wife were also killed in Shahdarra. Habibullah, his wife, Sahida and their children Zainab, Iqbal Hussain, Almas, and another local were killed in Watkai when security forces targeted militants’ positions. The bodies were lying in the open and the relatives were unable to retrieve them due to the curfew and continuing clashes between the militants and security forces.

Security forces pounded the militants’ suspected positions in many areas, including Malokabad, Shahdarra, Rung Mohallah, Rajabad, Zamrud Mine, Qazi Baba, Watkai, Naway Killay, Ingoro Dherai, Takhtaband, Balogram and Qambar.

Meanwhile, locals took out a procession from Barikot Tehsil and marched towards the Mingora city. Security forces opened fire to disperse the protesters when they reached Balogram. Three persons were reportedly killed in the firing of secuirty forces. They were identified as Muhammad Jan, watchman of Hira College, and son of Ghani. It was reported that Ghulam Muhammad and his two friends were sitting in the Hujra at Bacha Sahib when a mortar shell landed at the Hujra, killing all the three.

Tahir Khan Azikhel from Batkhela adds: Seven persons, including five security forces personnel, were killed and nine others injured in different incidents here.

Sources said a convoy of security forces was on way to Swat from Malakand when militants attacked it with a remote-controlled device near Jalawanan area, killing five personnel and injuring four others seriously.

The injured soldiers were rushed to the Malakand Fort for treatment. In another incident, 13-year-old boy, Fawad Hussain of Head Works area, was killed and three others wounded when security forces opened fire on them for violating the curfew in Batkhela Bazar.

The injured were identified as Fazal Karim, Muhammad Ghafar and Shehzad. The sources added that the wife of Sher Afzal and another unknown woman were also injured in firing during the curfew in Thana Bazar.

Separately, gunship helicopters also targeted suspected hideouts of the militants in Amandara, Jalawanan and adjoining areas, killing a man, whose identity could not be ascertained.

It may be mentioned that local administration all of sudden clamped down the curfew and closed down bazars and markets in Batkhela and Thana bazars ahead of security forces’ movement to restive Swat district.

Most of the candidates of intermediate examination could not reach the centres. Clashes between the militants and security forces were also reported from different areas of Malakand, but there was no word on loss of life or damage to property.

It was learnt that militants attacked a Levies post in Batkhela. The people of Thana staged a protest against the ongoing violence in their area and demanded of the government to stop the bloodshed. Migration of people to safer places continued on Wednesday, but it slowed down because of the curfew and movement of security forces.

The New American Plan–vs–the Old Plan

New political set-up on the anvil

Presidential circles reject report

By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD: Quiet preparations have begun to give shape to a new political set-up, sometime after the federal budget is passed in June, and several new “Sharifuddin Pirzadas” have been put to work to produce a blueprint, which will take care of constitutional and legal issues that may arise to bring about a major change.

Senior politicians and even government office holders privately admit that things are not working out for the PPP government and some change has to come. I even heard from one PPP source that a political storm was “heading our way”. Some backdoor channels have also being opened with the judicial establishment to make it understand the need for another “doctrine of necessity” of sorts, this time in the name of national security threats, which are clearly visible to everybody in the shape of the extremist Taliban, unrelenting politicians and unstopped corruption.

Nawaz Sharif, the seasoned politicians believe, holds the key to the new set-up. There is a mature realisation in some top PPP circles that Nawaz Sharif had acted wisely and saved the system on March 16 by calling off the long march despite the fact that conditions were ripe to fold the system.

Final touches to overthrow Zardari using the long march were being given, just in case it was needed. But a careful Nawaz refused to offer his shoulders to get rid of Zardari as he thought a politician was preferable to other trying to oust him.

But within the last two months Nawaz appears to have undergone a huge transformation, as he is finally getting convinced with the new logic of forces quietly trying to get rid of Asif Ali Zardari. The constant contacts through backdoor channels have apparently paid off and Nawaz was coming around. This was one strong reason why, despite the best efforts of Prime Minister Gilani and others, Nawaz was not ready to allow his party ministers to rejoin the Gilani cabinet. By his refusal, Nawaz was sending a loud message to all the concerned quarters that he was not interested in continuation of the present arrangement at Islamabad.

According to those working on the blueprint of a new regime, names and details of these people cannot obviously be disclosed, the National Assembly and provincial assemblies may be dissolved and a national government may be installed. Some establishment quarters having soft corner for PM Gilani were backing him as the new head of this national government of 20 ministers of reputation from different walks of national life. The new regime may last for a year or so during which a huge military operation might be launched against the Taliban, and those, who were involved in corruption, might also be taken to the task.

After one year, new elections may be held and if Nawaz Sharif emerges as a majority party leader, he may be given the chance to become prime minister. The establishment may not directly involve itself in the new set-up, but it would offer strong support to it. The names of the likely 20 ministers, according to those who know, are being finalised. Passage of the new budget is awaited as is always done in such cases.

Washington is also soft towards such an option as Asif Zardari has greatly annoyed the powers that are said to be quietly collecting evidence about any corruption in Islamabad and Sindh. Asif Zardari, many believe, is operating in total isolation as he had greatly annoyed his friends both at home and abroad.

Likewise the Saudi rulers having strong influence within the Pakistani establishment were seriously annoyed when he openly started not only defying them, but also started coming closer to its traditional enemy, Iran. The major irritant for the Saudis after the sacking of the Sharif government in Punjab was Zardari’s new love for relationship with Iran, as they feared it would revive the influence of Iran within Pakistan, and this is where the Saudis were concerned.

Likewise the Americans, who supported Zardari and had preferred him to Musharraf, had to send a loud message recently when they realised that Pakistani politicians were incapable of dealing with the Taliban. The Swat deal was the turning point when the foreign friends of Zardari decided to distance themselves from his policies. This controversial deal, which was struck on the insistence of the establishment, was said to have paid dividends now, as Zardari had lost his friends both at home and abroad.

President Zardari also knows about the political storm heading towards him and is desperately trying to lure Nawaz into a new deal to survive. But Nawaz has been burnt many times with his smiles and charm. He is now making new demands and Zardari believes even if he scrapped the controversial 17th Amendment and executed the main clauses of the Charter of Democracy, Nawaz would still not join the government at the Centre.

Nawaz is more interested in new elections as he could not wait for five long years for his return to power. He has already moved the Supreme Court to get his sentence set aside and he is expecting to get relief from the judges.

Many believe Zardari has actually sealed his own fate when on the wrong advice of his cronies he let Nawaz quit the government last year without realising the damage it had done to the political system.

Circles close to the president rejected the report on any move to change the government. They said Zardariís image was tremendously enhanced after he restored the deposed judges fulfilling the will of the people.

They said all the misunderstandings of the US about the president have been removed. That is why, they said, the US leaders, including Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Holbrooke, have lauded anti-terrorism efforts being made by President Zardari. They said there is no substance in the claim that the Saudi rulers are angry with the president. They said Zardari enjoys excellent relations with the Saudi government.

Swat mined by Taliban, cabinet told

Thursday, May 07, 2009

By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD: The Taliban have planted countless landmines and explosive devices around the populated areas of Swat to stop the people from leaving their homes and for using women and children as human shields against the military operation, a federal cabinet meeting was told on Wednesday.

The shocking evidence about the mining of the troubled areas was given by one of the federal ministers during the meeting, which was presided over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. The ministers had not expected that the Taliban would quietly obtain the capability to plant mines and take on the Pakistan Army like a trained guerrilla force.

The minister, who gave these details, belonged to a religious party of the NWFP. He told his fellow cabinet colleagues that he had come to know from his own sources in Swat that the delay in action against the Taliban had enabled them to mine the areas and as the time was passing by, the Taliban were gaining strength and were better placed to challenge the security forces.

The minister, who in the past had been greatly supporting the cause of the Taliban and their drive in the name of Shariah, however, now criticised them. The sources said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said innocent people could not be allowed to suffer at the hands of Taliban, who were now taking extremely dangerous measures.

However, sources close to the Taliban vehemently denied mining of the area. They said those charging the Taliban with such inhuman acts may themselves have made such plans. They said the Taliban could not think of using civilians as human shields. The government and their allies have launched a smear campaign against the Taliban, they added.

Persevering at her own peril

[The following article and comments captured the bravery and the frustrations of the women of Pakistan so clearly that I included all the comments, as well.]

Peshawar-based journalist Farzana Shah fires back with a weekly blog from the Frontier.

Two days after I celebrated my birthday with friends and colleagues at my workplace, I received the following message on all my email IDs.

Farzana Begum,
We have been noticing your movements in and around Peshawar and see that you are going around in western dress and not dressing as per Islam. We want to see you in Hijab, else we will take suitable action like throwing acid or giving you lashes.
Hukum,
Taliban-i-Peshawar

For a moment, the email worried me. But after a few seconds I shook my head and assured myself that the email could not be serious. ‘It must be some prank,’ I thought, laughing it off and dismissing it as another antic by my sworn friends from India. After all, my Indian readers and I have an ongoing love-hate relationship. I am constantly receiving abusive emails as well as those full of praise from them for articles in which I criticise Indian democracy and bring up other matters vis-à-vis the Indo-Pak rivalry. Like many Pakistani readers, my Indian friends also think it is strange that a woman sitting in the heart of Pashtun territory is taking a critical view of the political situation, and that too while writing in English!

And so it is that I did not take the email seriously. ‘It is just another email from my worried readers beyond the NWFP and Pakistan reminding me that Taliban reaching the gates of Peshawar,’ I tried to fool myself into thinking. ‘They’re reminding me that the Taliban could soon be knocking at my door for putting my picture in the paper alongside my articles, and that too without covering my head!’

But I can’t help but wonder: what if it’s for real?

While that thought is too terrifying to mull over for long, I feel sad that I cannot tell my family about the message. If my brothers find out, they might ask me not to be critical of extremists in my articles, or prevent me from venturing out of house in light of security issues. And that would be a real victory for the Taliban, if indeed they have sent this email.

I know that the whole world thinks that all women in NWFP now sit at home and do not go out, but nothing could be farther from the truth. We still do go out and try and persevere. Just yesterday, I traveled to Jamrud and met a lot of people. No matter how dire the situation might seem, I know I am not ready to leave my life and lose the sense of normality that I am accustomed to – and that’s why I have to put up a fight.

But here’s the dilemma: that email stares me in the face and it may be the first of many to come in the future. Will I continue to persevere at my own peril?

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US bombing a sovereign country: US lawmaker

By Anwar Iqbal

‘We are bombing a sovereign country. Where do we get the authority to do that? Did the Pakistani government give us written permission? Did the Congress give us written permission to expand the war and start bombing in Pakistan?’—AP/File

WASHINGTON: The House Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Congress heard an unusual speech from a Republican lawmaker who described US drone attacks as the bombing of a sovereign country and questioned America’s right to do so.

US special envoy Richard Holbrooke disagreed with this description of America’s military operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan and reminded Congressman Ronald Ernest Paul that US troops were there because people living in that region had invaded their homeland on Sept. 11, 2001.

But the explanation came only after Rep. Paul had completed his speech, urging policy makers in Washington to review the US foreign policies which were causing worldwide resentments against the United States.

‘We are bombing a sovereign country. Where do we get the authority to do that? Did the Pakistani government give us written permission? Did the Congress give us written permission to expand the war and start bombing in Pakistan?’ asked the US lawmaker.

‘Why do we as a Congress and as a people and as our representatives within the executive branch just so casually and carelessly expand the war and say, ‘Well, today we have to do this; we’ll worry about tomorrow.’

Mr Paul is an American physician and Republican Congressman from Texas, who gained widespread attention during his unsuccessful bid for the 2008 Republican Party presidential nomination. During the campaign he attracted an enthusiastic following which made use of the Internet and social networking to establish a grassroots campaign despite lack of traditional organization or media attention.

Rep. Paul wasted little time in formalities when the committee’s chairman, Congressman Howard Berman, invited him to speak.

After thanking the chairman and welcoming Ambassador Holbrooke, the lawmaker went straight to the question that seemed to be bothering him.

‘The main concern I have is I was hoping to see maybe a change in our foreign policy from the last administration, but, of course, we see just more of the same — more nation-building, more policing of the world, more involvement,’ he said.

‘And it just seems like we never learn from our past mistakes. We don’t learn from what kind of trouble the Soviets got into, and yet we continue to do the same thing.’

Referring to Mr Holbrooke’s earlier statement before the committee, Rep. Paul reminded him that he too had set ‘a grandiose goal.’

‘We want to work for a vibrant, modern democracy. Wow, what a dream. But think of how we’re doing this. I mean, we label everybody that opposes what we’re doing, we call them Taliban,’ he said.

While the US fought this war, ‘all of a sudden … many, many thousands of Pashtuns that are right smack in the middle, getting killed by our bombs, and then we wonder why they object to our policies over there.’

The bombing of this area, Mr Paul said, made him believe that the US was there for the long haul. ‘It’s going to cost a lot of money and it’s going to cost a lot of lives.’

The US lawmaker said that if the members of Congress had ever realized what Iraq would end up costing America in the number of deaths, in the number of dollars, ‘now trillion dollars,’ they would have been a little more hesitant to approve it.

‘They admit that now – ‘Well, maybe we shouldn’t have.’ But who knows what this is going to end up costing in terms of lives?’ he asked, reminding other lawmakers that the odds of the US policy for Afghanistan and Pakistan working were very slim. ‘This is what my great concern is,’ he added.

Congressman Paul then explained Pakistan’s recent history to other lawmakers, recalling that in 1999 the country had an elected prime minister who was toppled by the military. ‘And (Gen.) Musharraf comes in and we support him.’

Mr Paul then accused the US administration of trying to engineer yet another change in Pakistan, a charge Mr Holbrooke vehemently denied.

‘So now it’s said that we have relationships with Sharif, which everybody knows exactly what that means. It means that we’re involved in their elections. That’s the way that we’ve done it for so many years,’ said the congressman.

‘But, you know, the Pakistani papers report it as ‘US taps Sharif to be the next Pakistani prime minister.’ Now, whether or not we literally can do that — I think we can have a lot of influence — that’s what they believe in.’

He then asked: ‘How do you win the hearts and minds of these people if we’re seen as invaders and occupiers? And here we are, just doing nothing more than expanding our role in Pakistan and in Afghanistan. I don’t see any end to it.’

Addressing Mr Holbrooke, the US lawmaker said he had several specific concerns about the current situation in Pakistan.

‘It has to do with Pashtuns that have been killed by our bombs. What about our national debt? We have $1.8 trillion debt facing us.’

He said that while the administration was currently seeking $3.5 billion to support its efforts in Pakistan, ‘it will turn out to be tens of billions of dollars after this.

‘So I’d like to know where you stand on this, the innocent killing of Pashtuns. Are they all Taliban, or are there some innocent people being killed?’

As Congressman Paul finished, a Pakistani in the audience commented: ‘This American lawmaker has defended Pakistan more eloquently than our ambassador ever has.’

Obviously displeased with the questions the congressman raised, Ambassador Holbrooke said he did not say exactly what Mr Paul imputed to him, but he had thought a long time about the issues raise.

‘And you mentioned Iraq. Afghanistan-Pakistan is not Iraq. The reason we are in this area, notwithstanding its immense difficulties, is because the people in this area attacked our country on September 11th, 2001, and have stated flatly they intend to do it again.’

The militants, he said, not only killed Americans on 9/11 but also killed hundreds of Pakistanis and Afghans and committed gross human rights violations.

‘And therefore, it is not Iraq and it’s not Vietnam, despite the fact that many people say it is. It’s about defending our country,’ he said,

Ambassador Holbrooke said he agreed with the lawmaker that the fight against the extremists was not easy and it was not cheap either.

‘And having seen wars on three continents, having been shot at for my country, I sure don’t feel comfortable in a situation where you ask brave young American men and women to risk their lives and sometimes pay the ultimate sacrifice,’ the ambassador said.

‘However, the president of the United States reviewed everything in regard to this and came to the conclusion … that our goal has to be to defeat al Qaeda. We cannot let them take over an even larger terrain, move into other parts of the world, and then plan what they’re planning,’ he concluded.

Victims of conflict

Dawn Editorial

Children growing up today in squalid refugee camps may well be the militants of tomorrow.

The humanitarian crisis in the country’s conflict zones is deepening by the day. Caught in the crossfire between militants and security forces, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been forced to leave their homes in Bajaur, Darra Adamkhel, Kurram, Mohmand, Orakzai, Swat and Waziristan. This human tragedy, which was years in the making, has now reached critical proportions.

Making a dire situation even more appalling, the ranks of the displaced have been swelled in recent days by those fleeing the bloodshed in Dir and Buner. And now, with the military taking on the Taliban in their stronghold, a mass exodus is taking place in the valley of Swat. As mortar shells fired by both sides explode around them and helicopter gunships strafe militant targets on the ground, helpless civilians are trying to grab what they can and escape before the fighting becomes even more intense. The ceaseless violence aside, their plight is exacerbated by strict curfew restrictions.

The UN has so far registered nearly 600,000 internally displaced persons in the NWFP and the tribal belt. The actual number of IDPs who need to be housed and fed could, however, be as high as one million. What is a grave humanitarian crisis that must be addressed immediately also carries with it longer-term social and political ramifications. For the first time, a clear division can be sensed between the people of Malakand and the Swat Taliban.

Local residents have seen how the government lived up to its side of the bargain by enacting the Nizam-i-Adl Ordinance and thereby laying the framework for Sharia law in the region. The Taliban, in return, were supposed to disarm but they consistently refused to do so. Instead, they went on to capture new territory. Meanwhile, the TNSM’s Sufi Mohammad, who brokered the deal, publicly denounced democracy and the superior judiciary as ‘un-Islamic’.

It is open to question whether the government foresaw such developments and introduced Nizam-i-Adl to unmask the Taliban as people who will accept nothing short of absolute power. In any case, many locals now seem convinced that the militants cannot be trusted to keep their word.Such anti-Taliban sentiments may prove to be short-lived if the state does not look after these new as well as older refugees.

So far they have not received the help they deserve. At this critical juncture in Pakistan’s history, it is imperative the government does all that it can to provide the displaced with adequate shelter, food and other basic necessities. Our friends abroad too must be asked to pitch in on an emergency footing. Forsaking the IDPs now could one day drive them into the arms of the Taliban. Children growing up today in squalid refugee camps may well be the militants of tomorrow.

Signs of disquiet in Washington

By Tariq Fatemi

Washington’s nostalgia for the military regime will be counter-productive. — Reuters

It does not take long to realise that Pakistan continues to cast a huge shadow on the political landscape in the US capital. I got a taste of this soon after my arrival in Washington last weekend, when I saw the wide media coverage that Pakistan, described as a ‘mortal threat’, is receiving.

Expressions of concern are voiced so often by US leaders that one can easily attribute motives to such pronouncements. How else could one explain Gen David Petraeus’s recent Delphic claim that the next two weeks were ‘critical to determining whether the Pakistan government will survive’?

Admittedly, Islamabad’s performance has left much to be desired and the opposition is gaining in popularity, but what was so magical about the two-week period he mentioned? It was inappropriate of the Centcom chief to have expressed misgivings about a democratic setup, voted to power after nearly nine years of military rule. Does one detect nostalgia for the reviled dictator?

It was, however, President Obama’s remarks at the press conference marking his first 100 days in office that caused considerable speculation. In comments open to conflicting interpretations, Obama declared that ‘the obsession with India as the mortal threat to Pakistan has been misguided and that their biggest threat right now comes internally’. This is backed neither by historical evidence, nor supported by Delhi’s current policies in the region. Try telling this to those who have experienced India’s efforts to destabilise them including Nepal.

The seemingly cavalier manner in which he referred to the elected government as ‘very fragile’, while reflecting confidence in the army, was unfortunate, especially in its timing, given that he had invited President Zardari (along with Hamid Karzai) to Washington only days later for crucial talks. No less worrying was Obama’s claim that while he respected Pakistan’s sovereignty, he had to recognise US national interests, which meant ensuring Pakistan did ‘not end up being a nuclear-armed militant state’.

The Obama-Zardari meeting has yet to take place at the time of writing, but the fact that these doomsday scenarios are being touted when there appears to be evidence of a new resolve in the Pakistani establishment to tackle the militants is disquieting. Pakistan’s paramilitary forces, supported by jet fighters and gunship helicopters, have been engaged in operations in strategic areas. More importantly, the army chief has made it clear that his forces are willing to confront the militants, should that be the wish of the political leadership. And the government is speaking with greater conviction, encouraged as it has been by outpourings of support from across the country for firm action against the militants.

Do the operations in Dir and Buner represent a fundamental shift in the Pakistani establishment’s attitude to increasingly militancy? Has the political leadership finally decided that the country stands on the edge of a precipice and unless pulled back, could be headed towards disaster? Only time will tell, but the most urgent need is for the government to take advantage of the support extended to it by the political parties and civil society to galvanise public opinion in favour of confronting the militants.

The government should also show signs of good governance. Not surprisingly, the US has welcomed Pakistan’s military offensive against the Taliban and offered full support while expressing the hope that unlike in the past, the operations would be sustained. But this will not be easy, nor will Washington’s accolades determine the final outcome. This is because of the long-held perception that the struggle against extremism is America’s war into which Pakistan was dragged because it suited Gen Musharraf’s desperate need for international legitimacy. What made it worse was that Gen Musharraf, viewed as indispensable by Washington, played a double game not only with the US but with his own people, accepting funds to fight the extremists, while quietly mollycoddling them as well.

Consequently, there are conflicting views about the Taliban in Pakistan. Some see them as nothing more than a bunch of misguided, over-enthusiastic but well-meaning religious people, who deserve sympathy and understanding, rather than hostility. Some in the security and intelligence agencies continue to view them as a potential asset that could come in useful, at some stage, in relations with India and Afghanistan. This will remain a cardinal element of faith, however much Obama may want to think otherwise, as long as Pakistan-India differences remain unresolved.

Then, there is the other view of the urban intelligentsia that fears the militants represent a philosophy that would not only take Pakistan back into the past, but make it increasingly difficult for the country to be treated as a responsible member of the international community. To make matters worse, it is clear that Pakistan’s possession of nuclear weapons makes it a bigger worry for the world than would otherwise have been the case.

More recently, the situation has become even more complicated. Increasingly, the militants, especially in Punjab, are injecting politics, reflective of class sentiments, into their ideology. This could become a highly explosive mix, given that some of the areas where the Taliban are most active are home to the biggest landowners, who have been unconcerned, even cruel absentee masters, denying their tenants even the bare minimum. Thus the militant message is even more potent in non-Pakhtun areas, especially amongst the disempowered.

Given that we have had either short spells of inefficient civilian governments or long unresponsive and repressive military regimes, state institutions have become both corrupt and ineffective. The common man has been pushed deeper into poverty and has lost faith in the state, making it easier for the militants who promise them utopia. It will take much more than US weapons and economic largesse to restore the confidence of the people in their leaders. The road ahead will be long and tortuous. Washington’s expressions of impatience and hints of nostalgia for the military regime will be counter-productive.

The Obama administration has to demonstrate faith in the democratic dispensation, for a multi-ethnic state, such as Pakistan, cannot but be a democracy, where all the constituent elements believe they are equal stakeholders. True, our democracy has been messy but only a government enjoying legitimacy can create the national consensus essential to confronting the militants. American threats and blandishments will only make matters worse.

Washington Wants the Keys to “Islamic Bombs”

Obama must press Zardari on nukes: Lugar

Obama must press President Zardari to accept more help in securing US aid to secure his country’s nuclear arsenal: US Senator Richard Lugar.—File

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama must press visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to accept more help in securing US aid to secure his country’s nuclear arsenal, a top senator said Wednesday.

‘He must convince President Zardari to accept more assistance and embrace cooperation,’ said Republican Senator Richard Lugar, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Lugar, a leading US foreign policy voice, cited global concerns that unrest in Pakistan could lead to its nuclear weapons, or the raw materials for chemical or biological weapons, ‘falling into the wrong hands.’

‘President Obama must use this opportunity to gain clarification on the status and security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, chemical weapons precursors, and pathogen samples,’ said Lugar.

Zardari was in Washington for three-way talks with Obama and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.

Lugar urged the expansion into Pakistan of the Nunn-Lugar counterproliferation regime conceived at the fall of the Soviet Union to keep Moscow’s weapons out of the hands of rogue states or terrorists.

Lugar pointed to the global concern over the spread of so-called ‘swine flu’ and underlined: ‘Imagine if the spread were intentional, not natural, and the virus’s lethality had been artificially enhanced.’

‘Pakistan has many dangerous diseases and pathogens under its control. The Nunn-Lugar program can help secure the pathogen strains to ensure they do not fall into the wrong hands,’ he said.

‘Equally important, the US can assist Pakistan in establishing a system designed to detect, characterise and respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases,’ said the senator.—AFP

Shadow of the Taliban

Dawn Editorial

It may require years to neutralise the Taliban threat in this deeper sense. — AFP/File Photo

While the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and its supporters constitute a direct challenge to the authority and resources commanded by the state, it is equally worrying that the extremist right-wing ideology they represent and the tactics they employ are casting a shadow that looms far beyond their strongholds. Large sections of the citizenry living far from the actual theatre of war are being threatened in this manner. This is dangerous for the former threat, it can be hoped, may be countered through superior weaponry and sufficient political will; but the latter threat, being nebulous and diffuse, is almost impossible to control.

In recent weeks, educational institutions in urban centres such as Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi — which stand in little danger of being physically overrun by the Taliban — have been receiving threats of varying intensity. Security has been tightened, and staff and students work under the fear of attacks by either militant ideologues or shadowy copycat criminals. The fact that at least two educational institutions have enforced stricter dress codes —mainly for female students — shows just how far the fear invoked by the Taliban has spread. In some cases women have been threatened for what the extremists consider ‘liberalism’ or ‘improper behaviour’.

Although the women of this country are no strangers to harassment, the gravity of the threats they now potentially face is greater than ever before. Women are usually the first and most vulnerable targets of the extremist right-wing thinking that now holds Pakistan at gunpoint. Yet they are now accompanied in their peril by others such as media personnel, who have been told to ‘mend their ways’, and thousands of citizens — including teachers, barbers and CD shop owners — whose businesses or workplaces have been destroyed or otherwise targeted by the extremists.

Instances of such targeting include the blackmail, harassment and intimidation of citizens at the hands of a dark ideology that has seeped into the very fabric of society, the tactics of which are most horribly apparent in the activities of the Taliban. The fact is that the Taliban have already extracted a heavy toll in terms of civil liberties and freedoms of citizens.

While the government and the security forces mull over methods to defeat the Taliban militarily, they would also do well to recall that the basic purpose of the state and its apparatus is to ensure the safety and personal freedoms of the citizens. It may require years to neutralise the Taliban threat in this deeper sense.

US, Pakistan, Afghanistan face common foe, says Obama

[Karzai doesn't look too pleased, neither does Obama, but Zardari is beaming, as usual.]

President Barack Obama meets with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Washington.—AP

WASHINGTON: The US, Pakistani and Afghan presidents began trilateral talks on Wednesday, hoping to come out with a joint strategy for defeating extremists operating in the Pak-Afghan region.

US President Barack Obama held separate bilateral talks with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts before joining them again for the trilateral meeting.

The first bilateral — between presidents Obama and Karzai — continued for about an hour while President Zardari arrived at the White House at 2.20pm local time for a similar meeting with the US leader.

He was accompanied by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmud Qureshi, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Salman Farooqi and Ambassador Husain Haqqani who also attended the trilateral talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier in the day.

Only yards from Mr Zardari stood more than 100 demonstrators protesting military actions against Baloch nationalists. They were holding placards with slogans such as ‘End Genocide in Balochistan, Freedom Our Motto, Free, Free Sindh, Balochistan’.

In a brief speech after the talks, Mr Obama said the three nations were cooperating in new ways to fight terrorism and to improve the lives of Pakistanis and Afghans, AFP reported.

Obama said he expected more ‘violence and setbacks’ in the war against the militants as he pledged US commitment to the two countries.

‘We meet today as three sovereign nations joined by a common goal —to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda and its extremist allies,’ he said.

Speaking in the aftermath of US air strikes believed to have killed more than 100 civilians, Obama said the United States would work with its Afghan and Pakistani allies to ‘make every effort to avoid civilian casualties.’

The United States had made a ‘lasting commitment’ to defeat al Qaeda, Obama said. ‘This support will not waver and it will be sustained. No matter what happens, we will not be deterred.’

In Pakistan, ‘Great Rage, Great Fear’

A young refugee from Buner, the district next to Swat, travels with his family toward Swabi and away from fighting between Taliban and government forces. (Daniel Berehulak – Getty Images)

In Pakistan, ‘Great Rage, Great Fear’

Refugees Fleeing Swat Valley Tell of Taliban Crimes, Abuses

By Pamela Constable and Haq Nawaz Khan

Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, May 7, 2009

GOLRA, Pakistan, May 6 — Hajji Karim and his extended family of 70 were camped in a dirt-floor stable 10 miles outside Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. It was as far as they could get from the Swat Valley, where thousands of people are fleeing from the ravages of the Taliban and the imminent prospect of war with government forces.

When Taliban fighters first entered Karim’s village last month, he recounted, they said they had come to bring peace and Islamic law, or sharia, to Swat. But the next day, two of the fighters dragged a policeman out of his truck and tried to slit his throat. Horrified, a crowd rushed over, shouting and trying to shield the officer. The fighters let him go, but the incident confirmed the villagers’ worst suspicions.

“We all said to each other, what sort of people have come here? And what kind of sharia is this? Cutting off people’s heads has nothing to do with Islam,” recounted Karim, 55, a bus driver. “The people were filled with great rage, and great fear.”

Authorities in North-West Frontier Province said that with the conflict intensifying, they expect half a million people to flee the once-bucolic Swat region

near the Afghan border, much of which is now occupied by heavily armed militants. Officials announced Tuesday that they plan to open six refugee camps in the safer nearby districts of Swabi and Mardan, but until then, many who leave home to escape the violence are facing the arduous task of finding their own shelter.

As the refugees begin streaming out of Swat and the neighboring Buner district in northwest Pakistan, they carry with them memories of the indignities and horrors inflicted by occupying Taliban forces — locking women inside their homes, setting donkeys on fire — as they tried to force residents to accept a radical version of Islam.

The government has not helped, refugees said, with its erratic, seesawing efforts to appease and fight the militants. Some said they felt confused and trapped, unsure

whether to trust the peace deal forged by the government and Taliban leaders last month, or to flee in anticipation of the fighting that has begun as the peace accord collapses.

Sher Mohammed, a property dealer from Mingora, the main town in Swat, was one of the first people to reach a new refugee camp in the Mardan district with his wife and children Tuesday night. On Wednesday, he kicked the dirt outside their tent despondently, saying that after enduring two years of fighting and Taliban abuses, he had had enough.

“I feel like I have lost my mind,” he said. “I work hard to make a respectable life and educate my children. Now we are living in a camp, and my sons are talking of guns.”

Mohammed said he did not understand why the country’s powerful army had not been able to defeat the militants before they took over the valley. Even now, after a week of sporadic fighting, military officials have not announced an offensive against the militants who occupy much of Swat and Buner. The Taliban has repeatedly rejected government overtures to salvage the peace deal, in which the militants agreed to disarm if sharia courts were made the exclusive form of justice in Swat.

Army officials said 35 militants and three soldiers were killed Wednesday in Swat in sporadic fighting, including a shootout near several emerald mines that Taliban forces are using as hideouts. They said militants looted three banks and occupied police and civil administration buildings in Mingora. The military reported that an additional 50 militants had been killed in Buner.

The United Nations humanitarian office in Islamabad said it has already registered more than 2,200 families in new camps, “many of them arriving with little more than the clothes they are wearing.” In a statement, the office said it would also increase assistance to help about 6,000 additional families in existing camps for Afghan refugees.

One private relief agency based in Swat said that it has been relocating hundreds of families at scattered sites in the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi but that no local government or international agency had offered to help. Its officials said they were concerned that Taliban fighters would try to recruit displaced people relocated in large camps.

“People in Swat are angry and confused, because the government is reaching out to the Taliban and fighting them at the same time,” said Mohammed Riatullah, a relief agency official. “There are huge numbers of people with nowhere to go. We are trying to provide them with decent shelter and support, but we need more help so they won’t fall into Taliban hands.”

Pakistan has hosted millions of refugees from conflicts in Afghanistan during the past two decades, with networks of camps in the northwest and in the southwestern province of Baluchistan. There have been frequent accusations that militant groups infiltrate the camps to use them as sanctuaries and recruiting pools. Military analysts say they suspect that the Taliban leadership of Afghanistan uses refugee camps in Baluchistan for these purposes.

Since militants began staging attacks and occupying territory inside Pakistan several years ago, thousands of inhabitants of the northwest tribal region have been displaced by fighting and have relocated to camps around Peshawar.

In Buner, army forces have been battling Taliban fighters for the past week, and the army said Wednesday that the operations were going smoothly. But several people who have fled from Buner to the provincial capital of Peshawar, or who were reached in Buner by cellphone, said that the situation was dire and that Taliban forces were still occupying many homes,

They said Buneris were especially vulnerable to Taliban attacks for several reasons. The district is famous for its Sufi shrines, where people practice a mystical form of Islam that is anathema to the fundamentalist Sunni Taliban. In addition, residents formed militias to resist the Taliban last year, and one village paid dearly for its defiance when voting stations were bombed in December, killing 42 people.

“When the militants entered our area, the people held a jirga to discuss what to do. They said they would never accept them and vowed to fight to the death,” said Sirmir Khan, director of an educational charity in Buner who fled to Peshawar last week after Taliban forces occupied his offices. “They are not Muslims, they are criminals who are defaming our religion, and the people of Buner are not their friends.”

Afsar Khan, the mayor of a town in Buner who had also fled to Peshawar recently, said that the militants had burned many houses and fields in his area and that last year he had joined an armed posse that attempted to drive them out. “We only had about 100 men, and the militants were coming down from the mountains,” Khan recounted. “They fired on us from 5 p.m. to midnight and we were running out of ammunition. We called for help, and the officials kept telling us helicopter gunships were coming, but they never did. Finally we told all the farmworkers to run away, because we could not protect them, and we had to give up.”

In a relief agency office in Islamabad on Wednesday, two teenage sisters from Buner huddled on a flour sack next to a few cooking pots, covering their faces with veils. They said they had fled their village four days ago after their father, a farm laborer, was warned by his landlord that the Taliban was coming.

“I don’t know what the Taliban are, but everyone was very afraid,” said one of the girls, who gave her name as Abzanan. “I am very worried because my father went back to get my brothers, and we don’t know what happened to him.”

Khan reported from Mardan.

US no longer trusts Karzai

By Anwar Iqbal

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zadari in Washington.—Reuters.

WASHINGTON: In a strange reversal of fortunes, the United States on Wednesday appears to be distancing itself from Afghan President Hamid Karzai while expressing unflinching support to his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari.

‘Today … skepticism drives the (Obama) administration’s evolving policy toward Afghanistan and the battle against Taliban insurgents, a conflict whose outcome will in part define Barack Obama’s presidency,’ says the Washington Post.

On Tuesday, US special envoy Richard Holbrooke told a congressional panel that the United States had ‘the highest strategic interests’ in supporting the Zardari government.

The US media reported that senior members of President Obama’s national security team say Karzai has not done enough to address the grave challenges facing his nation. They deem him to be a ‘mercurial and vacillating chieftain’ who has tolerated corruption and failed to project his authority beyond the gates of Kabul.

Underlining America’s dilemma in dealing with the Afghan president, the Post notes that while the Americans distrust Mr Zardari, ‘the consensus view among State Department, Pentagon and CIA officials is that he almost certainly will win reelection to another five-year term this August.’

The new US strategy ‘takes Mr Karzai to task for not meeting even the most basic Afghan expectations,’ the report adds. ‘The implication is clear: Karzai is not our man in this upcoming election.’

Although the administration says it will make no endorsement in the Afghan elections, Ambassador Holbrooke has made little secret in diplomatic circles of his desire to see candidates challenge Mr Karzai.

Chief among them is former finance minister Ashraf Ghani, who has a doctorate from Columbia University and has worked at the World Bank. But Mr Ghani and others do not appear to have the support needed to trump Mr Karzai, who has installed governors and sub-governors who can help his get-out-the-vote efforts.

To deal with this situation, Mr Obama’s advisers have crafted a two-pronged strategy: maintaining an arm’s-length relationship with Mr Karzai while seeking to bypass Mr Karzai by working more closely with other members of his cabinet and by funneling more money to local governors.

Given the likelihood of a Karzai victory, the US administration is seeking to increase its engagement with local and tribal leaders —not to persuade them to forsake Mr Karzai but to get them to be more effective administrators.

The Post reports that earlier this spring, the Obama administration rebuffed Mr Karzai’s request for a bilateral visit to Washington, telling him he could come only as part of this week’s tripartite summit with President Zardari.

In a discussion at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday, Mr Karzai acknowledged ‘bumps and ups and downs’ in his relationship with the United States, but he insisted that ‘the fundamentals are strong and steady.’

The traits that made Karzai so appealing to the Bush administration are what the Obama administration now regards as his chief weaknesses.

‘What are now considered his flaws are the obverse of what had been considered his assets,’ said James Dobbins, the Bush’s administration first special envoy for Afghanistan. ‘We were drawn to him, in part, because . . . he was not the sort of person who would force issues or take positions that would antagonize factions.’

In November 2003, the Bush administration dispatched Zalmay Khalilzad as ambassador to Kabul. This further weakened Mr Karzai. Mr Khalilzad was given the role of the country’s chief executive —with Mr Karzai as the figurehead chairman —for the 19 months of his ambassadorship.

The Post reported that former US President George W. Bush’s frequent contacts – sometimes once a week – and the content of his videoconferences also weakened Mr Zardari.

‘The president of the United States had become the case officer for Afghanistan,’ said a senior Obama foreign policy adviser. ‘It was a profound misjudgment of how to handle the situation.’

Informants allege proposed Blackwater weapons dump

By MIKE BAKER, Associated Press Writer Mike Baker, Associated Press Writer – 44 mins ago

RALEIGH, N.C. – A defense contractor charged with trying to smuggle firearms out of Iraq claimed Blackwater guards asked him to help get rid of weapons after a deadly 2007 shooting in Baghdad, two government informants say in court documents.

The contractor told one of the informants that Blackwater guards wanted to dispose of the weapons before an investigation into the September 2007 shooting that left several civilians dead, according to a criminal complaint filed in the smuggling case. The contractor, John Houston, did not work for Blackwater.

Both informants, whose names weren’t revealed by federal investigators, were Army reservists stationed in Iraq. Houston approached them for help with smuggling, the complaint states, and one of them tipped off investigators about the scheme.

Five Blackwater guards face manslaughter and weapons charges in the shooting, which prosecutors say was an unprovoked attack on civilians. The shooting strained relations between Baghdad and Washington and led Iraqi leaders to order Blackwater out of the country.

A spokeswoman said the North Carolina-based company, now known as Xe, only recently learned of Houston’s claims and has never been contacted by investigators about them.

“This individual’s claims may make for a juicy story, but time may tell a more truthful one,” spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said in a release.

Houston, a retired Special Forces soldier, was indicted last week in federal court in Maryland on a charge of conspiracy to smuggle firearms into the United States and attempted smuggling. Houston was working with New York-based SOS International Ltd. at the time of the 2007 shooting but left the company a year later to work for another defense contractor.

A second man, Michael Henson, was charged with the same attempted smuggling counts and making false statements. Court documents do not describe Henson’s employer or role in Iraq.

An attorney for Houston did not return a call seeking comment, and court documents didn’t list an attorney for Henson.

Court documents say Houston offered to ship weapons for Henson to Fort Bragg, N.C., and asked Henson to pick up the weapons when they arrived.

Houston told one informant that Blackwater guards gave him firearms after the Nisoor Square shooting, and Houston asked the reservist to ship the weapons to the United States, court documents say. In return, the informant could keep two guns, but the person instead reported the matter to military investigators.

Houston told the second informant that “after Blackwater ‘got into trouble,’ they had to get rid of the firearms so that they didn’t get caught with them,” court documents say.

It’s not clear, though, whether the weapons Houston discussed with the informants were used in the shooting, or if they could have been confiscated firearms. Houston told both informants that Blackwater employees had filled a shipping container with firearms they seized from Iraqi insurgents, a possible violation of company policy.

After they were tipped off, investigators seized eight machine guns and a pistol from an Iraq base that they say Houston intended to smuggle. At that point, Houston claimed he had asked one of the informants to hand the weapons over to authorities.

Two of the firearms seized were AK-47 style rifles — a type favored by insurgents but likely not allowed for use by Blackwater contractors.

“The company has strict policies and procedures in place regarding the possession of firearms by its contractors overseas and they are prohibited from possessing any other than those issued to them by the company or the U.S. government,” Tyrrell said.

Police and protesters clash in Georgia’s capital

By MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI – 1 hour ago

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Police armed with truncheons beat opposition leaders and stick-wielding protesters Wednesday in the first major outbreak of violence in a month of demonstrations against President Mikhail Saakashvili, police and government opponents said.

Police and opposition leaders accused each other of starting the clash, which occurred when opposition leaders and hundreds of protesters marched to police headquarters in the capital, Tbilisi, to demand the release of three jailed supporters.

Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said police used truncheons to beat back protesters who were climbing over a fence surrounding the building. Television footage showed protesters on one side of the fence swinging long wooden sticks at police on the other side.

It also showed at least two opposition leaders and several other people with blood on their bodies and clothing. A top opposition leader, Levan Gachechiladze, and other protesters appeared to have head injuries.

Opposition supporters said dozens were injured, and the Russian news agency Interfax cited medical personnel as saying at least 32 were hospitalized. Deputy Interior Minister Eka Zguladze said 22 protesters, six police officers and a journalist were injured, and that none of the injuries was life-threatening.

Several opposition leaders said police fired rubber bullets, but Utiashvili denied that.

Zguladze said that police “only protected the building” and did not venture outside its grounds. She said both sides in the clash appeared to have thrown objects at each other, including the staffs of protest flags.

TV footage showed that some protesters managed to get over the fence, but they later ended up back outside. Utiashvili said there were no arrests.

Gachechiladze’s brother Giorgy told opposition Maestro TV that he got into the courtyard of the police headquarters and asked to see the jailed activists, but was thrown to the ground and beaten by about police with truncheons.

Shortly after the clash, some 2,000 protesters milled near the police building, blocking a major street not far from its gates. As midnight came, a crowd was swelling outside parliament on Tbilisi’s main avenue — the usual locus of the persistent street protests against Saakashvili.

Saakashvili’s opponents have been protesting since April 9, demanding he resign over Georgia’s disastrous war with Russia in August and over allegations of authoritarian rule. He has refused and said he will remain in office through the end of his term in 2013.

The violence deepened tension and raised the possibility of a chaotic denouement to Georgia’s confrontation.

It came after Saakashvili angered opponents with a claim that he talked down mutineers at a military base Tuesday. Georgian authorities backed down from initial allegations of a Russian-backed coup plot and said the aim of the mutiny was to disrupt NATO exercises that began near Tbilisi on Wednesday, despite complaints from Moscow, which has warned the West against helping Saakashvili rebuild Georgia’s military.

Opposition leaders called the incident a charade cooked up by Saakashvili to rally support amid pressure from the protesters.

There have been isolated incidents of violence during the demonstrations, but the authorities have vowed not to interfere as long as protesters do not instigate violence, fearing that a crackdown could swell the ranks of the opposition.

After Wednesday’s clash, Zguladze said police had been ordered to show restraint and to use force only if protesters threaten to break into public buildings.

A violent police crackdown on similar protests in 2007 damaged Saakashvili’s reputation and prompted some former allies to join the opposition.

Saakashvili, a U.S.-educated lawyer, was first elected in 2004 after leading peaceful street protests.

He was initially wildly popular, but many Georgians say he mishandled the war with Russia, which resulted in major damage and a loss of territory. Russia has recognized the independence claims of two separatist provinces in Georgia and stationed thousands of troops on their territory.

Georgia straddles a key route for Caspian Sea oil and gas exports, and is at the center of tension between the West and Russia, which vocally opposes Saakashvili’s efforts to bring the former Soviet republic into NATO.

The United States and European Union accuse Russia of trying to redraw borders in the volatile Caucasus and say its military presence in the separatist provinces violates a cease-fire deal that ended the war.

Georgian anti-government Riotint

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Israel’s Nuclear Closet

Andrew Sullivan

This is one of those things that to someone coming across the debate for the first time seems utterly mysterious. Why should the United States have to pretend that Israel has no nuclear weapons when everybody knows it does? I’ve been reading the usual suspects on this for insight and … not much luck. From the point of view of, say, Iran, it seems perfectly reasonable for them to ask why they can’t have a couple of nukes when their chief regional rival, Israel, has scores. And how do you have an adult conversation with a country like Iran when we are required to keep lying about the regional arms situation … because the Israelis want to have their nuclear cake and eat it too?

Since I’m a believer in nuclear deterrence – it worked pretty well with the Soviets – you could even argue that a formal, MAD-style Iran-Israel stand-off, like the US-USSR stand-off, would help keep the Middle East from the apocalypse the way the world was from the 1940s to the 1990s. But what do I know? Even hinting at some basic public honesty on this matter will presumably unleash another wave of accusations that I’m a nineteenth century Jew-baiter. But isn’t it obvious that Israel would be smarter to develop a more normal relationship with the US as a sounder basis for its long-term security than the cloying and unhealthy clusterfuck we currently have? This gets it about right to me:

Why couldn’t Israel just declare that it is a nuclear power?

It is one of those secrets that everyone knows about but nobody publicly acknowledges. Expect the smirking President of Iran which gives him credibility he certainly does not deserve. Israel should just come clean about its nukes and also its intent to use them on anyone desiring to erase Israel off the face of the earth (as some adversaries dramatically like to put it). It would make certain negotiations a lot easier. Of course, it would also force us to acknowledge our double standards on why only certain select countries (that we like) deserve to have nukes. But I think that would also be a positive outcome.

Maybe I’m missing something here. I’m not versed in the history of this. But it begins to look once again as if Israel is privileged not as normal allies are privileged, but as a very special case which has the right to have nukes, while demanding none of its neighbors does, and that we cannot even say it has such a capacity; that it has the right to launch wars and threaten wars against its neighbors, but its neighbors have no right to do the same, and so on. It doesn’t seem healthy to me – for the US or for Israel.