Short Open Letter to Anwar al-Awlaki

In response to his blog posting “Nidal Hassan Did the Right Thing.”  I would post this letter as a “comment” on that blog entry, but I do not trust that that blog is legitimately his.  Some of the blog postings are so shortsighted and simplistic that I do not expect that they are from Anwar al-Awlaki or any scholar in his/her right mind.  Compare the loose accusations in the Nidal Hassan entry with the careful comments in this National Geographic interview.

Defending the Arsenal

In an unstable Pakistan, can nuclear warheads be kept safe?

by Seymour M. Hersh, The New Yorker, November 16, 2009

America’s dealings with Pakistan may be increasing the risk of radicalization.

Taliban In the tumultuous days leading up to the Pakistan Army’s ground offensive in the tribal area of South Waziristan, which began on October 17th, the Pakistani Taliban attacked what should have been some of the country’s best-guarded targets. In the most brazen strike, ten gunmen penetrated the Army’s main headquarters, in Rawalpindi, instigating a twenty-two-hour standoff that left twenty-three dead and the military thoroughly embarrassed. The terrorists had been dressed in Army uniforms. There were also attacks on police installations in Peshawar and Lahore, and, once the offensive began, an Army general was shot dead by gunmen on motorcycles on the streets of Islamabad, the capital. The assassins clearly had advance knowledge of the general’s route, indicating that they had contacts and allies inside the security forces.

The demons of Major Nidal Malik Hasan

This is a New York Times story that gives first glimpses of the internal demons haunting Major Nidal Malik Hasan, and the time line of events leading up to wanton murders at Fort Hood. All text is copied from New York Times website, all rights reserved with New York Times Company (AZW) 

Fort Hood Gunman Gave Signals Before His Rampage

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

By James C. McKinley Jr. and James Dao

Nov. 9 (New York Times) — KILLEEN, Tex. — It was still dark on Thursday when Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan left his aging apartment complex to attend 6 a.m. prayers at the brick mosque near Fort Hood. Afterward, he said goodbye to his friends there and asked forgiveness from one man for any past offenses.

 “I’m going traveling,” he told a fellow worshiper, giving him a hug. “I won’t be here tomorrow.”

“Where Have All the Friendships Gone…”

Uri Avnery writing for Outlook India

© 2009 Menassat

According to a Chinese saying, if someone in the street tells you that you are drunk, you can laugh. If a second person tells you that you are drunk, start to think about it. If a third one tells you the same, go home and sleep it off.

Our political and military leadership has already encountered the third, fourth and fifth person. All of them say that they must investigate what happened in the “Molten Lead” operation.

Your Prayers/Positive Thoughts Are Needed For Imran Khan

By YLH

The great Imran Khan is in the hospital- the same hospital he made for this nation.    There is so much he is needed for.   Let us join together in sending him positive thoughts and prayers.   Apparently he is suffering from collitis.    Some of us may not agree with what he has to say politically,  but to most of us he is the most enduring image of Pakistan’s finest hour.     So let us join together and pray for him in our own different ways whatever those might be.

Happy Birthday Allama Iqbal

Today is the birthday of Pakistan’s National Poet/Philosopher Dr. Muhammad Iqbal’s Birthday.    This above is a beautiful song that he wrote so many years ago and which has become the anthem of Pakistan’s children.

 

Poor Pakistan

by Bilal Qureshi

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein

We all know that Pakistan’s overall situation has been dedeteriorating for decades and it has entered a critical phase. And, regretfully, it seems that there is nothing that is going to reverse the tide in Pakistan.Therefore, people are asking – can democracy work in Pakistan? I don’t know the answer, but it sure seems that the overall mood in the country is awfully sour and if things didn’t change, which they can’t, people would come out on the streets demanding answers, but in reality, it would be a call for the army to come forward and take over. This is exactly how it has happened in the past and if Pakistan’s past is any guide as how Pakistan is going to move forward, it seems that the history is about to repeat itself.

“Bring Back Jinnah’s Pakistan” II

Secular And Nationalist Jinnah (Cover of a book by Dr. Ajeet Jawed, published JNU Press)

Ardeshir Cowasjee writing in Dawn:

There has to be something seriously wrong with a country in which many of its citizens are still arguing as to whether it should or should not have been made, or debating as to whether it came into being by accident, intent, design or even intrigue. All possible accusations have been levied against the logic of Pakistan’s making.

The fact is that Pakistan exists and has existed for 62 years — in what shape is quite another matter. Arguments on that score will never cease, and they should not as it failed initially to take off in the right direction.

More on Attack at Fort Hood

By Rafia Zakaria, writing  for Daily Times

 It is also not the first incident of soldiers killing soldiers. In May of 2009, five soldiers were shot dead by Sergeant John Russell at Camp Liberty in Baghdad; in Sept 2008 a soldier shot himself to death after killing another soldier at Fort Hood itself.

On the afternoon of November 5, 2009 Major Nidal Hasan opened fire on people in a medical waiting area in Fort Hood, Texas. Twelve people were killed and nearly thirty-one were injured. Major Hasan was finally taken down by a female military police officer. At the time of writing this article, it was alleged that Major Hasan was still alive after having been wounded.

Terrible Tragedy at Fort Hood Texas

By Yasser Latif Hamdani

An Arab American Army Psychiatrist,   Major Nadal Malik Hasan,  opened fire after allegedly shouting Allah hu Akbar.  The immediate consequence,  13 brave Americans who had signed to serve their country are dead on their own base.   It is true that soldiers are put in harm’s way but that decision is not taken by the soldiers themselves.  Soldiers of any country are brave young men and women who have signed up to defend their country.   To be subjected to a cowardly attack by one of their own is therefore tragic.   We at PTH and in Pakistan join the families of those soldiers who died at Fort Hood in mourning those who lost their lives due to this unnecessary and senseless act of cowardice and butchery.

The Baloch insurgency is no bluff

By Rahimullah Yusufzai, The News, November 03, 2009
 
Shafiq Ahmed Khan described himself as a Balochistani, spoke about the rights of the Baloch people and publicly mourned and condemned the assassination of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti at the hands of Gen Pervez Musharraf. Even then he was killed by those who insist they are fighting for the Baloch cause.

Kinhar-Part II

In old pages and pictures of my existence
Lurks somewhere, the old tales of purity
The river that flows across those valleys
Where I once grew up in protection

Through its peace and tranquillity
The old valleys, sheltered in my books
Stand there by its side, from years of travel
Stand there by its side, the old monuments
The old stories of blunder and danger

Travels with me the people of that land,
Strange and few, the beauty and its demise
As I breathe that air from years of distance
As I grow old, with memories of separation

Never there dwells darkness only the light
The silence in that land, where once fairies grew
So I thought as my desire to grow old embolden
Walk as I towards those places, in hesitation

Will I find what I left behind?
Will it find me as I move away from its tranquillity?
The old lake saif-ul-malook and its serenity
As Indus snares in its awake, all that arrives

The old imprints within my mind, as I travel
From footsteps of Kashmir to Sindh,
To meet its creators, to meet the creation
The adventures of distant times of nature and mankind!

Kashkin

Cunning or Wisdom?

Gone with the grin?

by Shyema, Dawn Blog, November 6th, 2009

Could it be that President Asif Ali Zardari is finally ready to part with his power? Reports this week state that the president is ready to hand over some of the authority given under Article 58-2b to the parliament – sounds familiar? Perhaps it reminds of you the time Zardari first stated this well over a year ago. Since then Prime Minister Gilani has often spoken about restoring the parliament’s powers and the president himself has gone before the parliament and vowed to give away his powers but maybe he just isn’t good with keeping promises.

The Politics of Symbolism

The Indian national song, Vande (or Bande) Mataram, has officially been accorded, at least since the time of independece, the same status in terms of reverence as the official national anthem ”Jana Gana Mana”. The song has a history of controversy surrounding it, surfacing from time to time, stretching back to much before Partition. What makes history relevant if not the present?

More on Pakistan Fashion Week

 

Dawn Reports:

KARACHI: Pakistan’s fashion week was to kick off with an opulent opening ceremony on Wednesday Nov 4, 2009, against a backdrop of militant violence and security fears that delayed the event and kept away foreign glitterati.

Models will sashay down catwalks for four days, flaunting the latest creations by local designers in the nuclear-armed Muslim nation, where most women cover up and observe varying degrees of Islamic dress.

Pakistan Fashion Week Defies Terrorists

Pakistanis will not give up.  Pakistanis will not surrender.  This was the message that came from Pakistan’s resilient fashion industry which is putting itself at stake by coming out full force for the country.   Karachi Fashion Week is bigger, better and sexier this year.

Pakistani Fashion Week Begins With Models Exposing Their Navels

KARACHI – Bare shoulders, exposed navels and a lot of skin show ruled the ramp at the Pakistan fashion week that begun here Wednesday defying the Taliban’s preference for the burqa.

A Dream Turned Nightmare

By Samson Simon Sharaf

When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto entrusted Major General Naseerullah Babar to create a student dominated resistance in Afghanistan, he ignored a very important lesson of power politics. Hans Joachim Morgenthau in his book, Politics Amongst Nations, had observed: “The statesman must think in terms of the national interest, conceived as power among other powers.” Was this ignorance or deliberate? Determined to create a new Pakistan, Bhutto was riding a wave of diplomatic successes. It seems he decided to taste the forbidden fruit.

Caught Between Yaghistan and Talibanistan

Defeating the Taliban in Pakistan

By Mehreen Farooq and Waleed Ziad – from The Hill

It’s the strategy, stupid. Once again, we’re hoping that Pakistan’s latest offensive in the tribal belt will solve the Taliban problem. Our military-centric strategy, which has cost us eight years and $10 billion tax dollars, is incomplete. What’s missing is the complementary soft-power component necessary to secure the pivotal conflict zone in the war on terror.

Obama’s AfPak Dilemma

If Pakistan is able to properly handle its current military operations and economic issues, it is likely to come out stronger from the current crises.

By Khalid Aziz, Dawn Wednesday, 04 Nov, 2009

When President Barack Obama took office he commissioned an inter-agency review of US policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan. The recommendations emerging from this review were issued in a white paper.

The paper reflected opinions held by disparate groups in the highly saturated think-tank world of Washington, yet it lacked consistency and proposed contradictory policies, thus leading to more confusion rather than bringing clarity to the policy debate. After the publication of the white paper, US policy in the region is in disarray.

“We Refuse to Be Held to Ransom By Terrorism”

Cross-post: Beena Sarwar interviews VEENA MASUD, Pakistan Women’s Swimming Association

KARACHI, Oct 29 (IPS) – Karachi-based, Trinidad-born and educated Veena Masud is a school principal who wants to see Pakistani women shine in the international sports arena.

Honorary Secretary of the Pakistan Women’s Swimming Association, president of the Sindh Women’s Swimming Association, and executive committee member of the Pakistan Olympic Association, she has cheered Pakistani swimmers as they returned to the Olympics after 40 years.

Tablighi Jamaat Coming of Age?

Ex-servicemen belonging to Tablighi Jamaat meet in Raiwind ahead of its annual Ijtimah to discuss the party’s future agenda

By Waqar Gillani, The News

Ahead of the Tablighi Jamaat’s annual congregation in Raiwind near Lahore — one of the largest congregations of Islamic world attended by at least one and half million Muslims — there has been a day-long meeting of at least 50 former officers of Pakistan’s armed forces in Raiwind to discuss the future agenda of the rapidly-expanding movement.

New US policy to raise aid for Pakistan

By Anwar Iqbal, Dawn

WASHINGTON: The new US policy for the Pak-Afghan region will be a combination of continued military presence in Afghanistan and an increase in military and economic assistance to Pakistan, officials and lawmakers say.

US President Barack Obama holds his final meeting with his senior military advisers on Friday to finalise the policy. Mr Obama has already held six such meetings with senior military and political advisers since late last month.

Through Spider’s Web

In the bars of Havana, let’s sit down together
Let’s stumble upon conversation of new dimensions
Let’s go fly fishing, in the deep blue ocean
Where once characters were drawn
The old sketch book and its torn pages
Let’s see it ourselves again, through antiquity

Echoes that are drawn out from that stillness
Inside you, the celestial objects, as I turn to look
As dolphins follow the human touch, amidst that chaos
As tales of laughter and journeys return to paper
Relief from the episodes of madness, the momentarily bliss
The old sketch book and its torn pages,
Let’s see it ourselves again, through antiquity

As I make notes in haste, as I write on yellow sheets
All that destruction that the mind has created
The old relationship of the intellect and reasons
As the old butterflies find refuge in metaphors of deserts
The masses on the move, stories of revival and its spirit
As moons follow us in its stupor, as I walk out in Havana

Let’s roar ourselves into these deep blue oceans
Let’s speak of the world and its clocks in between
The beautiful faces entombed in its own reflections
In bars of Havana, let’s sit down together
You catch and I watch, through spider’s web
The old moons and the world in between
The old dust as the characters begin to born
Let’s see it ourselves again, through antiquity
Stands there alone, with all the stories of time
In the bars of Havana, as I watch the distant moon
From the days of the desert to the eternal times
Through spider’s web, for momentarily bliss!

Kashkin

Pervez Dispenser

Musharraf lets loose in Baltimore.

By Michael Schaffer, The New Republic

Some simple rules of thumb for the foreign ex-dictator out to make a mint on the U.S. lecture circuit: Get yourself included in a speakers’ series that features non-controversial names like Laura Bush and Jean-Michel Cousteau. Promise your “august audience” a “frank exchange.” Maybe drop the names of one or two revered American leaders who are your close friends. And perhaps it is best not to admit that you wish you still had the power to “sort out” an impolite member of the audience.

Khan-Ahmed Bill

Pakistan to Provide Massive Foreign Aid to the American People

  

The Bill’s sponsors seen here promoting friendship between the United States and Pakistan

 Islamabad: The Pakistani Parliament today signed into law the Khan-Ahmed Bill – proper title the Enhanced Partnership with America Act (EPA) 2009 - to promote the un-wielding, life-long, and un-testable relationship between the people of Pakistan with the democratic institutions and military of the United States of America. The bill, sponsored by Senators Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan from NWFP and Senator Hafiz Rasheed Ahmed from FATA, was unanimously signed into law amidst hollering and fist-thumping jubilation in the Senate, and demonstrates the ‘undying commitment’ of Pakistan’s support for the United States. Despite the passage of the bill, however, there have been widespread demonstrations against the bill by the American public, calling it a ‘slap in the face’ and ‘peanuts.’