PESHAWAR: In yet another grisly attack, at least five persons including two policemen were killed and twenty one received multiple injuries when a suicide bombers hit a checkpost located near the State Life building in Saddar bazaar locality on Thursday.

Reports reaching here said that suicide bomber blew himself up closed to the checkpost killing five persons and injuring dozens others who were later rushed to Lady Reading hospital. Sources said that some of the injured are said to be in critical condition. Senior minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour while confirming the death told said that it was a suicide attack, which played havoc in the busy Saddar bazaar locality.

People said that it was a powerful blast, which damaged the adjacent PIA building and leaving the windowpanes of nearby shops smashed. Some of the building developed cracks because of the intensity of the blast. Law enforcement officials, district administration and police and rescue staff reached the spot and started rescue operation and shifted the injured to nearby hospitals.

Meanwhile, in their separate messages, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the bomb blast near State Life Building on Arbab Road.

President Asif Ali Zardari, in his message reiterated the perpetrators of such heinous crime would not be spared. He expressed condolence over the loss of innocent lives and said the government was committed to root out terrorism from the country.The Prime Minister vowed that the terrorists were the country’s biggest enemies and effort would be made to banish the scourge of terrorism from the country.-SANA

This is not about Musharraf anymore. This is about clipping the wings of a strong Pakistani military, denying space for China in Pakistan, squashing the ISI, stirring ethnic unrest, and neutralizing Pakistan’s nuclear program. The first shot in this plan was fired in Pakistan’s Balochistan province in 2004. The last bullet will be toppling Musharraf, sidelining the military and installing a pliant government in Islamabad. Musharraf shares the blame for letting things come this far. But he is also punching holes in Washington’s game plan. This act of his, will lead him in a 6 ft ditch and no where else or may be in a pile of smoke and flames like his predecessor Gen Zia.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – On the evening of Tuesday, 26 September, 2006, Pakistani strongman Pervez Musharraf walked into the studio of Comedy Central’s ‘Daily Show’ with Jon Stewart, the first sitting president anywhere to dare do this political satire show. Stewart offered his guest some tea and cookies and played the perfect host by asking, “Is it good?” before springing a surprise: “Where’s Osama bin Laden?” I don’t know,” Musharraf replied, as the audience enjoyed the rare sight of a strong leader apparently cornered. “You know where he is?” Musharraf snapped back, “You lead on, we’ll follow you.” What Gen. Musharraf didn’t know then is that he really was being cornered. Some of the smiles that greeted him in Washington and back home gave no hint of the betrayal that awaited him.

As he completed the remaining part of his U.S. visit, his allies in Washington and elsewhere, as all evidence suggests now, were plotting his downfall. They had decided to take a page from the book of successful ‘color revolutions’ where western governments covertly used money, private media, student unions, NGOs and international pressure to stage coups, basically overthrowing individuals not fitting well with Washington’s agenda.

This recipe proved its success in former Yugoslavia, and more recently in Georgia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In Pakistan, the target is a Pakistani president who refuses to play ball with the United States on Afghanistan, China, and Dr. A.Q.Khan. To get rid of him, an impressive operation is underway:

A carefully crafted media blitzkrieg launched early this year assailing the Pakistani president from all sides, questioning his power, his role in Washington’s war on terror and predicting his downfall. Money pumped into the country to pay for organized dissent. Willing activists assigned to mobilize and organize accessible social groups. A campaign waged on Internet where tens of mailing lists and ‘news agencies’ have sprung up from nowhere, all demonizing Musharraf and the Pakistani military.

European- and American-funded Pakistani NGOs taking a temporary leave from their real jobs to work as a makeshift anti-government mobilization machine. U.S. government agencies directly funding some private Pakistani television networks; the channels go into an open anti-government mode, cashing in on some manufactured and other real public grievances regarding inflation and corruption. Some of Musharraf’s shady and corrupt political allies feed this campaign, hoping to stay in power under a weakened president. All this groundwork completed and chips in place when the judicial crisis breaks out in March 2007. Even Pakistani politicians surprised at a well-greased and well-organized lawyers campaign, complete with flyers, rented cars and buses, excellent event-management and media outreach. Currently, students are being recruited and organized into a street movement.

The work is ongoing and urban Pakistani students are being cultivated, especially using popular Internet Web sites and ‘online hangouts’. The people behind this effort are mostly unknown and faceless, limiting themselves to organizing sporadic, small student gatherings in Lahore and Islamabad, complete with banners, placards and little babies with arm bands for maximum media effect. No major student association has announced yet that it is behind these student protests, which is a very Interesting fact glossed over by most journalists covering this story.

Only a few students from affluent schools have responded so far and it’s not because the Pakistani government’s countermeasures are effective. They’re not. The reason is that social activism attracts people from affluent backgrounds, closely reflecting a uniquely Pakistani phenomenon where local NGOs are mostly founded and run by rich, westernized Pakistanis.

All of this may appear to be spur-of-the-moment and Musharraf-specific. But it all really began almost three years ago, when, out of the blue and recycling old political arguments, Mr. Akbar Bugti launched an armed rebellion against the Pakistani state, surprising security analysts by using rockets and other military equipment that shouldn’t normally be available to a smalltime village thug. Since then, Islamabad sits on a pile of evidence that links Mr. Bugti’s campaign to money and ammunition and logistical support from Afghanistan, directly aided by the Indians and the Karzai administration, with the Americans turning a blind eye.

For reasons not clear to our analysts yet, Islamabad has kept quiet on Washington’s involvement with anti-Pakistan elements in Afghanistan. But Pakistan did send an indirect public message to the Americans recently.

“We have indications of Indian involvement with anti-state elements in Pakistan,”

declared the spokesman of the Pakistan Foreign Office in a regular briefing in October. The statement was terse and direct and the spokesman, Ms. Tasnim Aslam, quickly moved on to other issues.

This is how a Pakistani official explained Ms. Aslam’s statement: “What she was really saying is this: We know what the Indians are doing. They’ve sold the Americans on the idea that [the Indians] are an authority on Pakistan and can be helpful in Afghanistan. The Americans have bought the idea and are in on the plan, giving the Indians a free hand in Afghanistan.

What the Americans don’t know is that we, too, know the Indians very well. Better still, we know Afghanistan very well. You can’t beat us at our own game.” Mr. Bugti’s armed rebellion coincided with the Gwadar project entering its final stages. No coincidence here. Mr. Bugti’s real job was to scare the Chinese away and scuttle Chinese President Hu Jintao’s planned visit to Gwadar a few months later to formally launch the port city. Gwadar is the pinnacle of Sino-Pakistani strategic cooperation. It’s a modern port city that is supposed to link Central Asia, western China, and Pakistan with markets in Mideast and Africa.

It’s supposed to have roads stretching all the way to China. It’s no coincidence either that China has also earmarked millions of dollars to renovate the Karakoram Highway linking northern Pakistan to western China.

Some reports in the American media, however, have accused Pakistan and China of building a naval base in the guise of a commercial seaport directly overlooking international oil shipping lanes. The Indians and some other regional actors are also not comfortable with this project because they see it as commercial competition.

What Mr. Bugti’s regional and international supporters never expected is Pakistan moving firmly and strongly to nip his rebellion in the bud. Even Mr. Bugti himself probably never expected the Pakistani state to react in the way it did to his betrayal of the homeland. He was killed in a military operation where scores of his mercenaries surrendered to Pakistan army soldiers.

U.S. intelligence and their Indian advisors could not cultivate an immediate replacement for Mr. Bugti. So they moved to Plan B. They supported Abdullah Mehsud, a Pakistani Taliban fighter held for five years in Guantanamo Bay, and then handed over back to the Afghan government, only to return to his homeland, Pakistan, to kidnap two Chinese engineers working in Balochistan, one of whom was eventually killed during a rescue operation by the Pakistani government.

Islamabad could not tolerate this shadowy figure, which was creating a following among ordinary Pakistanis masquerading as a Taliban while in reality towing a vague agenda. He was rightly eliminated earlier this year by Pakistani security forces while secretly returning from Afghanistan after meeting his handlers there. Again, no surprises here.

SMELLING A RAT

This is where Pakistani political and military officials finally started smelling a rat. All of this was an indication of a bigger problem. There were growing indications that, ever since Islamabad joined Washington’s regional plans, Pakistan was gradually turning into a ‘besieged-nation’, heavily targeted by the American media while being subjected to strategic sabotage and espionage from Afghanistan.

Afghanistan, under America’s watch, has turned into a vast staging ground for sophisticated psychological and military operations to destabilize neighboring Pakistan. During the past three years, the heat has gradually been turned up against Pakistan and its military along Pakistan’s western regions:

• A shadowy group called the BLA, a Cold War relic, rose from the dead to restart a separatist war in southwestern Pakistan.
• Bugti’s death was a blow to neo-BLA, but the shadowy group’s backers didn’t repent. His grandson, Brahmdagh Bugti, is currently enjoying a safe shelter in the Afghan capital, Kabul, where he continues to operate and remote-control his assets in Pakistan.
• Saboteurs trained in Afghanistan have been inserted into Pakistan to aggravate extremist passions here, especially after the Red Mosque operation.
• Chinese citizens continue to be targeted by individuals pretending to be Islamists, when no known Islamic group has claimed responsibility.
• A succession of ‘religious rebels’ with suspicious foreign links has suddenly emerged in Pakistan over the past months claiming to be ‘Pakistani Taliban’. Some of the names include Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Baitullah Mehsud, and now the Maulana of Swat. Some of them have used and are using encrypted communication equipment far superior to what Pakistani military owns.
• Money and weapons have been fed into the religious movements and al Qaeda remnants in the tribal areas.

Exploiting the situation, assets within the Pakistani media started promoting the idea that the Pakistani military was killing its own people. The rest of the unsuspecting media quickly picked up this message. Some botched American and Pakistani military operations against Al Qaeda that caused civilian deaths accidentally fed this media campaign.

This was the perfect timing for the launch of Military, Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy, a book authored by Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa Agha, a columnist for a Pakistani English-language paper and a correspondent for ‘Jane’s Defence Weekly’, a private intelligence service founded by experts close to the British intelligence.

TARGET: PAK MILITARY

The book was launched in Pakistan in early 2007 by Oxford Press. And, contrary to most reports, it is openly available in Islamabad’s biggest bookshops. The book portrays the Pakistani military as an institution that is eating up whatever little resources Pakistan has. Pakistani military’s successful financial management, creating alternate financial sources to spend on a vast military machine and build a conventional and nuclear near-match with a neighboring adversary five times larger – an impressive record for any nation by any standard was distorted in the book and reduced to a mere attempt by the military to control the nation’s economy in the same way it was controlling its politics.

The timing was interesting. After all, it was hard to defend a military in the eyes of its own proud people when the chief of the military is ruling the country, the army is fighting insurgents and extremists who claim to be defending Islam, grumpy politicians are out of business, and the military’s side businesses, meant to feed the nation’s military machine, are doing well compared to the shabby state of the nation’s civilian departments.

A closer look at Ms. Siddiqa, the author, revealed disturbing information to Pakistani officials. In the months before launching her book, she was a frequent visitor to India where, as a defense expert, she cultivated important contacts. On her return, she developed friendship with an Indian lady diplomat posted in Islamabad. Both of these activities travel to India and ties to Indian diplomats – are not a crime in Pakistan and don’t raise interest anymore. Pakistanis are hospitable and friendly people and these qualities have been amply displayed to the Indians during the four-year-old peace process.

What is interesting is that Ms. Siddiqa left her car in the house of the said Indian diplomat during one of her recent trips to London. And, according to a report, she stayed in London at a place owned by an individual linked to the Indian lady diplomat friend in Islamabad .The point here is this: Who assigned her to investigate the Pakistani Armed Forces and present a distorted image of a proud an efficient Pakistani institution?

From 1988 to 2001, Dr. Siddiqa worked in the Pakistan civil service, the Pakistani civil bureaucracy. Her responsibilities included dealing with Military Accounts, which come under the Pakistan Ministry of Defense. She had thirteen years of rich experience in dealing with the budgetary matters of the Pakistani military and people working in this area. Dr. Siddiqa received a year-long fellowship to research and writes a book in the United States. .

There are strong indications that some of her Indian contacts played a role in arranging financing for her book project through a paid fellowship. The final manuscript of her book was vetted at a publishing office in New Delhi. All of these details are insignificant if detached from the real issue at hand. And the issue is the deionization of the Pakistani

Military as an integral part of the media siege around Pakistan, with the American media leading the way in this campaign.

Some of the juicy details of this campaign include:

• The attempt by Dr. Siddiqa to pitch junior officers against senior officers in Pakistan Armed Forces by alleging discrimination in the distribution of benefits. Apart from being malicious and unfounded, her argument was carefully designed to generate frustration and demoralize Pakistani soldiers.
• The American media insisting on handing over Dr. A.Q. Khan to the United States so that a final conviction against the Pakistani military can be secured.
• Mrs. Benazir Bhutto demanding after returning to Pakistan that the ISI be restructured; and in a press conference during her house arrest in Lahore in November she went as far as asking Pakistan army officers to revolt against the army chief, a damning attempt at destroying a professional army from within.

Some of this appears to be eerily similar to the campaign waged against the Pakistani military in 1999, when, in July that year, an unsigned full page advertisement appeared in major American newspapers with the following headline: “A Modern Rogue Army with Its Finger on the Nuclear Button.”

Till this day, it is not clear who exactly paid for such an expensive newspaper full-page advertisement. But one thing is clear: the agenda behind that advertisement is back in action. Strangely, just a few days before Mrs. Bhutto’s statements about restructuring the ISI and her open call to army officers to stage a mutiny against their leadership, the American conservative magazine The Weekly Standard interviewed an American security expert who offered similar ideas: “A large number of ISI agents who are responsible for

Helping the Taliban and al Qaeda should be thrown in jail or killed.

What I think we should do in Pakistan is a parallel version of what Iran has run against US in Iraq: giving money [and] empowering actors. Some of this will involve working with some shady characters, but the alternative-sending U.S. forces into Pakistan for a sustained bombing campaign-is worse.” Steve Schippert, Weekly Standard, Nov. 2007. In addition to these media attacks, which security experts call ‘psychological operations’, the American media and politicians have intensified over the past year their campaign to prepare the international public opinion to accept a western intervention in Pakistan along the lines of Iraq and Afghanistan:

• Newsweek came up with an entire cover story with a single storyline: Pakistan is a more dangerous place than Iraq.
• Senior American politicians, Republican and Democrat, have argued that Pakistan is more dangerous than Iran and merits similar treatment. On 20 October, Senator Joe Biden told ABC News that Washington needs to put soldiers on the ground in Pakistan and invite the international community to join in. “We should be in there,” he said. “We should be supplying tens of millions of dollars to build new schools to compete with the madrassas. We should be in there building democratic institutions. We should be in there, and get the rest of the world in there, giving some structure to the emergence of, hopefully, the reemergence of a democratic process.”
• The International Crisis Group (ICG) has recommended gradual sanctions on Pakistan similar to those imposed on Iran, e.g. slapping travel bans on Pakistani military officers and seizing Pakistani military assets abroad.
• The process of painting Pakistan’s nuclear assets as pure evil lying around waiting for some do-gooder to come in and ’secure’ them has reached unprecedented levels, with the U.S. media again depicting Pakistan as a nation incapable of protecting its nuclear installations. On 22 October, Jane Harman from the U.S. House Intelligence panel gave the following statement: “I think the U.S. would be wise – and I trust we are
• Doing this – to have contingency plans [to seize Pakistan’s nuclear assets], especially because should [Musharraf] fall, there are nuclear weapons there.”
• The American media has now begun discussing the possibility of Pakistan breaking up and the possibility of new states of ‘Balochistan’ and ‘Pashtunistan’ being carved out of it. Interestingly, one of the first acts of the shady Maulana of Swat after capturing a few towns was to take down the Pakistani flag from the top of state buildings and replacing them with his own party flag.
• The ‘chatter’ about President Musharraf’s eminent fall has also increased dramatically in the mainly American media, which has been very generous in marketing theories about how Musharraf might “disappear” or be “removed” from the scene. According to some Pakistani analysts, this could be an attempt to prepare the public opinion for a possible assassination of the Pakistani president.
• Another worrying thing is how American officials are publicly signaling to the Pakistanis that Mrs. Benazir Bhutto has their backing as the next leader of the country. Such signals from Washington are not only a kiss of death for any public leader in Pakistan, but the Americans also know that their actions are inviting potential assassins to target Mrs. Bhutto. If she is killed in this way, there won’t be enough time to find the real culprit, but what’s certain is that unprecedented international pressure will be placed on Islamabad while everyone will use their local assets to create maximum internal chaos in the country.

A dress rehearsal of this scenario has already taken place in October when no less than he U.N. Security Council itself intervened to ask the international community to “assist” in the investigations into the assassination attempt on Mrs. Bhutto on 18 October. This generous move was sponsored by the U.S. and, interestingly, had no input from Pakistan which did not ask for help in investigations in the first place.

Some Pakistani security analysts privately say that American ‘chatter’ about Musharraf or Bhutto getting killed is a serious matter that can’t be easily dismissed. Getting Bhutto killed can generate the kind of pressure that could result in permanently putting the Pakistani military on a back foot, giving Washington enough room to push for installing a

New pliant leadership in Islamabad.

Having Musharraf killed isn’t a bad option either. The unknown Islamists can always be blamed and the military will not be able to put another soldier at the top, and circumstances will be created to ensure that either Mrs. Bhutto or someone like her is eased into power.

The Americans are very serious this time. They cannot let Pakistan get out of their hands. They have been kicked out of Uzbekistan last year, where they were maintaining bases. They are in trouble in Afghanistan and Iraq. Iran continues to be a mess for them and Russia and China are not making it any easier. Pakistan must be ’secured’ at all costs.

This is why most Pakistanis have never seen American diplomats in Pakistan active like this before. And it’s not just the current U.S. ambassador, who has added one more address to her other most-frequently-visited address in Karachi, Mrs. Bhutto’s house. The new address is the office of GEO, one of two news channels shut down by Islamabad for not signing the mandatory code-of-conduct. Thirty-eight other channels are operating and no one has censored the newspapers. But never mind this. The Americans have developed a ‘thing’ for GEO. No solace of course for ARY, the other banned channel.

Now there’s also one Bryan Hunt, the U.S. consul general in Lahore, who wears the national Pakistani dress, the long shirt and baggy trousers, and is moving around these days issuing tough warnings to Islamabad and to the Pakistani government and to President Musharraf to end emergency rule, resign as army chief and give Mrs. Bhutto access to power.

PAKISTAN ‘S OPTIONS

So what should Pakistan do in the face of such a structured campaign to bring Pakistan down on its knees and forcibly install a pro-Washington administration in Islamabad? There is increasing talk in Islamabad these days about Pakistan’s new tough stand in the face of this malicious campaign. As a starter, Islamabad blew the wind out of the visit of Mr. John Negroponte, the no. 2 man in the U.S. State Department, who came to Pakistan last week “to deliver a tough message” to the Pakistani president. Musharraf, to his credit, told him he won’t end emergency rule until all objectives are achieved.

These objectives include:

1. Cleaning up our northern and western parts of the country of all foreign operatives and their domestic pawns.
2. Ensuring that Washington’s plan for regime-change doesn’t succeed.
3. Purging the Pakistani media of all those elements that were willing or unwilling accomplices in the plan to destabilize the country. Musharraf has also told Washington publicly that “Pakistan is more important than democracy or the constitution.” This is a Bold position. This kind of boldness would have served Musharraf a lot had it come a little earlier. But even now, his media management team is unable to make the most out of it.

Washington will not stand by watching as its plan for regime change in Islamabad goes down the drain. In case the Americans insist on interfering in Pakistani affairs, Islamabad, according to my sources, is looking at some tough measures:

1. Cutting off oil supplies to U.S. military in Afghanistan. Pakistani officials are already enraged at how Afghanistan has turned into a staging ground for sabotage in Pakistan. If Islamabad continues to see Washington acting as a bully, Pakistani officials are seriously considering an announcement where Pakistan, for the first time since October 2001, will deny the United States use of Pakistani soil and air space to transport fuel to Afghanistan.
2. Reviewing Pakistan’s role in the war on terror. Islamabad needs to fight terrorists on its border with Afghanistan. But our methods need to be different to Washington’s when it comes to our domestic extremists. This is where Islamabad parts ways with Washington. Pakistani officials are considering the option of withdrawing from the war on terror while maintaining Pakistan’s own war against the terrorists along Afghanistan’s border.
3. Talks with the Taliban. Pakistan has no quarrel with Afghanistan’s Taliban. They are Kabul’s internal problem. But if reaching out to Afghan Taliban’s Mullah Omar can have a positive impact on rebellious Pakistani extremists, then this step should be taken. The South Koreans can talk to the Taliban. Karzai has also called for talks with them. It is time that Islamabad does the same.
4. The Americans have been telling everyone in the world that they have paid Pakistan $10 billion dollars over the past five years. They might think this gives them the right to decide Pakistan’s destiny. What they don’t tell the world is how Pakistan’s help secured for them their biggest footprint ever in energy-rich Central Asia.

If they forget, Islamabad can always remind them by giving them the same treatment that Uzbekistan did last year.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Electric Power Company has instructed its power distribution companies to establish and operationalize efficacious control mechanism in order to monitor and regulate increasing electricity consumption by its domestic, industrial, agriculture and commercial consumers in urban and rural areas in coordination with National Power Control Center.

The over all electricity consumption is for Domestic 44%, Commercial 6%, Industrial 24 %, Agriculture 12 %, Bulk supply 14 % for over 18 million consumers. The peak electricity demand has been recorded up to about 16000 MW in the recent days. The major cause of this abrupt climb has been the rise in temperature and induction of about 60 million home appliances to the distribution system proliferating the electricity demand to almost 2000 MW, out of which the maximum electricity is consumed by the air conditioners and micro wave ovens.

To manage this situation, balancing of customers load by phases is being done, conversion of LT –HT lines is in progress and consumers are being educated for implementing energy discipline and make contributions for energy conservation. Grid system operations are being revamped and their technical audit has been planned for ensuring their operation worthiness. Power transformers are being replaced and ,on many grids , upgraded to cater for the increased load. Repair , maintenance and safety equipments and necessary vehicles have been provided to the field staff which has facilitated them to enhance their performance in dealing with power disruptions and break downs, expeditiously.

PEPCO load management system has been consistently working to control the power deficit. On 19 July 2009, the demand of electricity went up to 16390 Megawatt. The load of 2492 MW was managed to provide maximum relief to consumers. NNI

ISLAMABAD: Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain was re-elected unopposed PML-Q President on Monday. Mushahid Hussain Syed was also re-elected as Secretary General in the General Council meeting at the PML -Q house. PML-Q dissidents known as ‘Like Minded’ did not attend the meeting. The Like Minded group says the meeting was unconstitutional and that one person can not elected for the 3rd time. NNI

I am daughter of Indus, I am daughter of Taxila, I am an heir of this 5000 years old civilization, the Benazir Bhutto who had lived and died for the well being of her beloved country Pakistan, had introduced herself. Benazir Bhutto was a strange leader; she became myth in her life like her assassinated in limitable father Z.A Bhutto. She was the most loved leader of the century and became the symbol of resistance, her politics merged with pain and love. She had faced every difficulty but had not bow before dictator Zia. She gave her life but could not keep herself away from the people of Pakistan. When the daughter of East, Indus and Taxila and the Queen of Tribal was killed in Rawalpindi, we understood who she was: ritualistic chest beating started in Parachinar, Kashmir, Northern areas and spread all over the world. Parachinar was on fire those days because of ongoing Zia given sectarian clashes who had lost thousand of lives. They had forgot their grieves and had wept for Benazir. The grief and reaction was exotic, from small villages and goths from Jam pur, Bhakkhar, Ghotki, Chagi, Qalat, Waziristan, kurram. Benazir Bhutto was a courageous and determined leader with a charming and highly intelligence, who was strong-willed in her ambition to bring democracy to her country and alleviate the suffering of the poor. She was a citizen of the world, an international leader, spirit of democracy and hope of future. Benazir was multi-talented leader that is not replaceable. She had loved the people of Pakistan in its true meanings. She was called Queen of Tribal in a grand Jirga by Pakistan Tribal area elders because she was the only leader who loved the people of tribal areas. She after her father is first who had visited Pakistan backward tribal areas as Prime Minster of Pakistan. Z. A. Bhutto in his speech at Parachinar had praised the beauty, talent and fertile lands of Parachinar and promised: “I will make Parachinar a piece of Heaven“.

Afterwards, the Zia regime gave the region a culture of war and terror and sectarianism. He pushed this beautiful area through ongoing sectarian clashes. From the time of Zia’s regime till now, thousands of people from both sides have lost their lives, many becoming homeless and disabled while in past the people had been living there with love, peace, affection and mutual understanding and respect since centuries.

Such black days ended when the golden days of Benazir Bhutto came. She as prime minister visited Parachinar, had women colleges opened and promised that she would improve the living standard of the people of this area. The unemployed were given jobs, roads were paved and extended, and a broadcasting station was opened and many more things were done. The words of Z.A Bhutto had repeated by her daughter there “I will make Parachinar a piece of heaven”.

Z.A Bhutto had opened Degree College for Men there and Benazir Bhutto had opened Degree College for Women there. Z.A Bhutto had opened Agency HQ hospital and Benazir upgraded it. For the elevation of poverty the unemployed were given job, sent abroad and for the upgrading of society schools and colleges had opened.

Benazir Bhutto was a true leader who had loved the people of Pakistan in very true meaning. She was above vested interests and had never played the politics of any specific region, language or province. For her all were same and of equal importance. Today when Pakistan is surrounding by multi problems and enemies are trying to declare Pakistan as a terrorist country but the slain leader Benazir brought a good image to Pakistan when UN conferred its top award on Benazir posthumously in recognition of her courageous struggle for restoration of democracy in Pakistan and for promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms. She was great messenger of democracy and peace. Benazir was determined regardless of the risks to her life to return as she believed Pakistan had a great future and she considered she had a major contribution to make in shaping a better future for her country. Today democracy is on its right track in Pakistan and a public government under the leadership of Asif Ali Zaradari is trying to its best to fulfill all the dreams of Z.A Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto Shaheed. These all are because of the sacrifices made by Benazir Bhutto for the restoration of democracy and for the well being of this country.
Benazir departed forever but she will live in our hearts forever.
May Allah rest her soul in piece..

When Pak President says that Swat deal for the enforcement of Nizam-e-Adl, was aimed for the provision of speedy justice, to some he is bemusing himself as Sufi Mohammed had no doubt at all that he has been given ‘carte blanche’ in Swat and thus he roared like a lion after the announcement declaring all infidels who are working under constitution other than Sharia. At the time of ordinance, in a rushed strategy rather than using this opportunity by extending political parties Act to FATA, Swat and other regions and bringing them all under one flag of constitution and jurisdiction of superior courts as was chartered in their 3D strategy in parliament, a new one sided ultra constitution court system was agreed.

A system where a judge’s quality was to be measured from the length of his beard than his intellect a mental capacity to administer justice. And hence some who do not wish peace in the region and has the capacity to call shots, pushed those disillusioned to advance on Buner and Dir district portraying a fear that soon Islamabad will be under those thugs, and questions on security of Atomic weaponry. To me they achieved desired results as in fear both a ‘half hearted pact’ and ‘ prospect of peace’ blown away. I will say, its haste, and poor negotiations on all fronts.

Army operation in any part of current Pakistan must be used as a last resort, due to variety of international vested interests in the region. It is open secret that no one can work at that length and breadth against Pakistan on its soil unless foreign money, weapons and money is involved. In Swat and other districts Pakistan army is not facing common criminals, the enemy has paid personnel alien to the concept of sympathy for locals, have heavy guns, latest wireless systems, intel and locations of pak forces and foreign currency. Pakistan is being cornered to a weaker kneeling position to barter. Any negotiated settlement which could bring calm to the area is not acceptable to those who matters, if it is made without their ‘nod’ people will start seeing videos of ‘whip lashing’, open court decisions shooting on site punishments and media avalanche against the myth.

As long as US forces are working in Afghanistan it is unthinkable that peace may return in the region unless a solution is achieved. When Mr. Zardari says, Pakistan Army was a “big institution and does have influence in the affairs of the country’ and that, the Army had now realised that its job was to defend the frontiers of the country and keep away from politics’ I think he still lives in Cukoo’s land. The whole idea is to sabotage that control and influence which hinders the greater goal and either finish it or coercively manipulate it for its own advantage. This Govt failed to eliminate, control or decrease that influence single handedly or by joint collaboration amongst political forces, though it tried to woo its main intelligence agency. West is now working on the second option which ha a history. Pakistan is facing a greater menace of a calculated and targeted campaign to keep its forces busy in those terrains.

It is ironic that groups like Bait Ullah Masud are working freely inside Pakistan and have the highly sensitive intel and appliances to create havoc, and are untouchables. As long as West does not realise that Pakistan needs to be aided militarily and otherwise to bring normality in that part of the land and that border security must be the prime concern for NATO with heavy walls, and mining the Durand line with security cameras and check post and army is provided watchdog heli’s and night goggles to combat to and from infiltration effectively to halve the attacks on each other’s forces. Army must be provided equipments to fight this war with intelligence sharing and joint collaboration without compromising each other’s jurisdiction and sovereignty and if both fight this war with mind rather than pride of might, there is a possibility to come close to a solution. We must not forget that wars are often fought on tables, going to battlefield is but to achieve that consulted and calculated target. The way it is fought now, is a way wire strategy. On top of it, Pakistan’s one sided hugs and kisses for India under pressure are embarrassing when the response to their zealous courtship wishes are returned by capturing its water with demands of the returns of the culprits of ‘bombay attacks’.

If Pakistan carrying on this adhoc policy of running the state of affairs on day to day basis , I am afraid its running short of time and fuel, however a concerted effort to keep federating unit intact with due consultation may be the ultimate solution to bring about peace and stability in Pakistan, in return in Afghanistan and the region. Pakistan is a small but a nasty piece of this big jig saw puzzle having the capacity, and geo strategic location. It can only safeguard its territorial integrity if it survives as winning is not on card, and survival is not possible if civil and military do not work together. As long as they can be divided, they can be ruled.

NATO and Pakistan must realise that ‘trust deficit’ between each other will cost both. This region, in particular Afghanistan has become a pivotal point for international experiments. China, Russia, Iran, India, and USA along with KSA have vested interests in the region due to close proximity or future scene of the globe. At present, world needs to focus on the 1.5 million refugees coming to cities of Pakistan from Swat. Pakistan is not new to this mass people movement. It could never return the same amount who came from Afghanistan during Russian invasion, with courtesy of USA who told Muslims how to do ‘jihad’ against infidels. Millions are marching again leaving their homes and what will happen to them if operation continues is any body’s guess, and again thanks to USA for being there to tell Pakistan that its their war, and extremism is a threat to them.

Swat operation is opening a window of international experiments in Pakistan and intl forces are frightening the country to come and do the job, unless they do it themselves. They want Pakistan to ruin itself first, so that they can aid later on receipt of disbursements, and as beggars can not be choosy so aid is not replaced with the slogan of trade. If army achieves the objective under civil, its fine, otherwise, people must be ready for a long haul as we are trying to crush a ‘myth’ not a visible enemy. A little weaker, Pakistan is used to the change of the chain of command in the middle of the battlefield

ISLAMABAD: All Parties Conference (APC) would be held today (Monday) to discuss issues relating to national security with particular reference to Swat, Fata, Balochistan or any other part of the country.
The conference was convened by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on proposal of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Former Premier Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.

The opposition has been urging the government to adopt a clear and transparent policy on war against terrorism without interference from any country in our internal affairs. The APC would be held at the Prime Minister’s House at 10am in which leaders of all political parties inside and outside the parliament have been invited. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani would preside over the conference.

The Government has dispatched invitation to 43 national parties. Five Former Premiers of the country would also participate in the conference.JI Ameer Syed Munawar Hussain, PTI Chief Imran Khan, Ameer JUI-S Maulana Sami-ul-Haq and head of other religious parties have also been invited.

Quaid PML-N Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif would arrive Islamabad today (Monday) for participation in APC.The APC is being convened in consultation with the entire political leadership and in-camera briefing to parliamentarian over swat operation was also given to Parliamentary leaders of different political parties by Chief of the Army Staff and DG MO on Friday.-ONLINE

ISLAMABAD: A car bomb destroyed an Internet cafe and tore through a bus carrying handicapped children in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 11 people and wounding many more, police said.

Elsewhere in the troubled region, an apparent US missile strike hit a Taliban training camp, killing 29 militants, while Pakistani troops killed dozens of Taliban in their bid to reconquer the Swat Valley, officials said.

Violence is engulfing Pakistani territory along the Afghan border as American and allied forces crank up the pressure on Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants entrenched in the forbidding and barely governed mountains and valleys.

Washington and other nations are pouring in billions of dollars in aid and military assistance to prop up the pro-Western government in Islamabad, which yesterday sought to allay concerns that its nuclear weapons could fall into extremist hands.

The car bomb devastated a street in the main northwestern city of Peshawar yesterday afternoon as it was busy with shoppers, traffic and worshippers heading to mosques to pray.

Television images showed several vehicles burning fiercely and a stricken white-and-green bus that had been dropping handicapped children at their homes around the city.

All eight students still on board were injured, one seriously, along the driver and an assistant, medics and police said. Four other children and seven adults were killed, and dozens more were injured, they said.

Safwat Ghayur, a senior police official, said one of a string of shops wrecked by the blast was an Internet cafe – a favorite target for violent extremists in Pakistan who consider the Web a source of moral corruption.

In the latest strike, Pakistani officials said several missiles hit a religious school and a nearby vehicle yesterday morning near Mir Ali, a town in the North Waziristan tribal region.

Two intelligence officials, citing reports from agents in the field, said 29 people were killed, including four foreign militants, and dozens more were wounded.

The identity of the victims was not immediately clear, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly to the media.

- With input from agencies

KARACHI: Thar Coal & Energy Board is the only notified legal and authorized body to exercise all powers for deciding the matters and aspects pertaining to mining and power generation for Thar Coal in the province of Sindh. This was clarified by Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah while presiding over a high level meeting in connection with “Thar Coal” held at Chief Minister House yesterday.

He said that the only legal body which exists is Thar Coal & Energy Board and all other matters and schemes, projects will be discussed and processed by the Board. It was informed that TCEB has full support of President of Pakistan Mr. Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, and Thar Coal & Energy Board will deliver the good results under the objectives of the Board. Syed Qaim Ali Shah also maintained that Gorakh Hill Station, being developed as a tourist resort, will soon be completed and opened for tourists and people.

It was informed that work on Gorakh hill station is going on in speedy manners. He added that work on Keenjhar tourist spot will be finalized soon. He also said that work on Hyderabad – Mirpurkhas dual carriage road will also be started soon.

Earlier, in a briefing it was informed that the proposal for Thar Coal Mining Company was floated in October 2006 by placing it in CDWP and Government of Sindh objected before CDWP meeting through the then Minister, Mines and Mineral Development. Previously the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission made a presentation to the Prime Minister and President of Pakistan on “Energy Security Action Plan” on 15.2.2005, wherein the recommendations for the establishment of National Integrated Coal Mining and power generation authority like WAPDA (could a joint venture of Government of Pakistan, Government of Sindh and local/foreign private sector) was approved.

Earlier, it was proposed that a Pakistan Coal Development Company, with an investment of Rs.2 billion from the Government of Pakistan, be formed to establish the initial framework to attract foreign investment for coal which was initially attempt to take over the coal resources of Sindh. The establishment of Thar Coal Mining Co was approved by CDWP on 19.10.2006 at the estimated cost of Rs.241.790 million including FEC of Rs. 23.700 million.

The meeting was further informed that the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural resources in its letter dated 10.6.2007, launched a company namely “Establishment of Thar Coal Mining Company” with 80% share holding for Federal Government i.e 20% share for Ministry of P&NR, 20% share for NLC and 40% share for private sector; and only 20% share for Sindh Government.

It was further informed that under the letter from Mines & Mineral Development Department; the Federal Government vide its Notification dated 8.7.2008, Thar Coal Authority was constituted, which abolished the Thar Coal Mining Company. Later another notification was issued on 11.10.2008 for withdrawal of Thar Coal Authority after constitution of “Thar Coal & Energy Board”. The meeting was further informed that CDWP approved two similar schemes of coal gasification and revived TCMC without any consultation from provincial government.

The meeting was also informed that the CDWP approved two similar schemes of coal gasification and also revived Thar Coal Mineral Company, without any consultation from the provincial government. It was further informed that the Sindh Government raised objection vide letter dated 8.5.2009 by conveying serious objections and reservations to the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, and the Chief Minister Sindh, who is also the Chairman of Thar Coal & Energy Board, had also talked the Prime Minister regarding the situation.

The meeting was attended among others by Sindh Minister for Irrigation & Power Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh Revenue Minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Sindh Minister for Law & Parliamentary Affairs Mr. Muhammad Ayaz Soomro, Chief Secretary Sindh Mr. Fazal-ur-Rehman, Additional Chief Secretary (P&D) Mr. Nazar Hussain Mahar, Secretary to C.M Syed Sohail Akbar Shah, Secretary Finance Mr. Fazalullah Pechuho, Secretary Mines & Minerals Mr. Aijaz Ahmed and others. NNI

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has appreciated the political leadership of the country for their continuous support and sagacious guidance on different occasions. In-camera briefing on Swat and IDPs situation here on Friday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani.

He said the in-camera meeting has been organized to take the political leadership of the country into confidence on the real situation and answer their questions on the necessity of army action in Swat and the issue of IDPs. The Prime Minister said the country is at the crossroads of its history as militants are trying to impose their will through coercive measures.

He said the government had tried to resolve all issues democratically and peacefully. We had evolved a new strategy of 3-Ds to deal with the situation and Swat peace agreement was endorsed in the same spirit. He, however, regretted that sincere efforts of the Government to bring peace in the area were taken as its weakness. He said instead of decommissioning themselves, as agreed, the militants started challenging the whole system of governance and started spreading their influence to other parts of the country as well.

The Prime Minister said having exhausted all political and peaceful means, the government was left with no other option but to call in the armed forces to take stern action against the miscreants. The armed forces are carrying on the operation with full commitment and high degree of operational professionalism.

He said the army operation is not the permanent solution to the problem and political dimensions need to be incorporated to reach out consensus for guaranteeing lasting peace in the disturbed areas. He assured that the input of the meeting along with the suggestions and observations from the forthcoming APC will be incorporated in the national security policy to deal with the situation.

The briefing is attended by PML (N) Quaid Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif; Parliamentary Leader JUI(F)Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman; Chief Minister Punjab Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif; Parliamentary Leader PML(Q) Ch. Pervaiz Elahi; Parliamentary Leader MQM Dr. Muhammad Farooq Sattar; Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Ch. Nisar Ali Khan; Parliamentary Leader PPP-(S) Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao; Parliamentary Leader FATA Munir Khan Aurakzai; Parliamentary Leader BNP(Awami) in the Senate Mir Israr Ullah Zehri; Governor NWFP Owais Ahmad Ghani; Chief Minister NWFP Amir Haider Khan Hoti; Federal Ministers Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah, Babar Awan, Raja Parvez Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira; ANP leader Muhammad Zahid Khan; Chairman Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Senator Mian Raza Rabbani; Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar; PML(F) leader Pir Sadr Uddin Shah; Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani; Coordinator Special Support Group Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmad; DG Coordination ISI Maj. Gen. Muhammad Zaheer ul Islam and DG Military Operations Maj. Gen. Javed Iqbal. NNI