464 replies to this topic

[UnitedPakistan]

Musharraf warns slogan-mongers
GADANI, May 22: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Monday that time had passed for elements trying to incite people with slogans of ‘sovereignty of Balochistan’ and ‘rights of Balochistan’. Inaugurating the Marble City established under the Lasbella Industrial Estate Development Authority, he said there was a difference between those raising provocative slogans of ‘our sovereign rights’ and those who supported the federation.

The president said that sloganmongers were rather blinded by immense natural resources of the province and they were daydreaming to ‘rule the land in royal capacity’. On the other hand, he stressed: “We are endeavouring for development and progress of the province.’

He warned those trying to impede the process of development in the province and said that terrorism in any form would be forcefully quelled.

He offered apologies for any injustices meted out to Balochistan in the past.

Gen Musharraf said that the people of Balochistan were true Pakistanis but certain elements were trying to befool them by raising empty slogans.

He expressed solidarity with Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousaf.—Agencies

[ASQ]

AS was the case in taking actions against those who perpatrated cimes in Balochistan, so shouild the aid be, swift, plenty and offered with genuine rspect, and not a hand out.

Baluchis are our proud people and they should be treated as such.

History of the Baloch people

The Seljuk invasion of Kerman in the 11th century CE stimulated the eastward migration of the Balochi. The Seljuk ruler Qawurd (Kavurt) sent an expedition against the Kufichis (Qufs), Balochi mountaineers whose banditry had long threatened the region's southern and eastern parts. After suppressing the Balochi, the Seljuks put watchtowers, cisterns, and caravansaries along the desert route to encourage trade with India. The Balochi remained rebellious under Safavid rule (1501–1736). Western Balochistan was conquered by Iran in the 19th century, and its boundary was fixed in 1872. The Iranian government began to assist settlement and economic development in the 1970s by building dams and thermoelectric-power plants, though these efforts slackened after the Iranian Islamic Revolution [2].
Balochistan is currently suffering from a low-level tribal insurgency led by tribal cheftains using violence and blackmail to keep the feudal system alive. The insurgency is so far artificial and is comprised of three tribal lords and their gunmen.





 Baluch_man.jpg   4.79K   0 downloads A Baluch Man

[UnitedPakistan]

AS was the case in taking actions against those who perpatrated cimes in Balochistan, so shouild the aid be, swift, plenty and offered with genuine rspect, and not a hand out.

Baluchis are our proud people and they should be treated as such.

NO AID!



We should just provide development and a good education and let things work naturally. Compulsory education for the entire country would shatter child labour and end a lot of our problems. The Balochi people must realize that being a Pakistani is more important than being a Balochi. I for one have no feeling towards Punjab even though I am from Lahore. I couldnt give two shits about Punjab or Lahore actually.

[ASQ]

I meant that the developments should be as fast as Army got there.

[Jilawatan]

I meant that the developments should be as fast as Army got there.

Thats not possible...

Until these retards have been caught or killed we can not put down longterm development. Once we can put them down we can start LONGTERM DEVELOPMENT.

[ASQ]

These so called retard have been there for decades, both our political and Army leaders ruled Pakistan since its inception, why it was left for so long.

As a result now we have to kill citizen, Had we opened up the channels of communications decades ago, May be this day would not have come.

Does same thing happen in other countries. I have never seen this happen in U.S.A.
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[Jilawatan]

Meh, these people dont deserve to live anyway considering that they use acts of terrorism and just how they treat the population under them. The only way to keep them quiet is through money.

[ASQ]

I would say let the Judiciary decide it, and if they are found guilty, And I am sure they will be. Than they should be punished suitable for their crimes.

But u and I cannot be judge, jury and executioners.

Remember good old U.S.A. Judiciary is the one to decide about the crimes and the punishments.

I would say the punishment should suit the crime. But I would let the Judiciary dicide about it.

[UnitedPakistan]

Sunday, June 18, 2006java script:;
Legislators need to know what they are saying

By Qamar Jabbar

LAHORE: Although the Punjab Assembly has completed 43 months in its 60 month-term, several legislators still don’t know about parliamentary traditions and rules of business.

They forget that 150 million Pakistanis are emotionally affiliated to Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pakistan, and other great leaders of the Pakistan movement and won’t tolerate any remarks against the Quaid.

Something similar happened in the Punjab Assembly on Saturday when Qasim Zia, opposition leader, floated the idea of printing President Pervez Musharraf’s picture next to that of the Quaid on the Rs 5,000 note.

His remarks stunned everybody and left them speechless, but the expressions of senior legislators indicated that the opposition leader should have behaved like a gentleman.

Does Qasim Zia, who was a good hockey player back in the day, need to be trained to become a good politician? If he does, he must learn some lesson from Maulana Fazlur Rehman who is the opposition leader in the National Assembly. Fazl is in charge of a rowdy opposition, but is tolerant and knows the rules of business.

Qasim Zia also said the government should print Rs 10,000 and Rs 50,000 notes with the pictures of Generals Ziaul Haq and Yahya Khan respectively to prove how democratic Pakistan was.

Although Qasim Zia was only teasing the treasury members over the issue, he went a bit overboard by saying Musharraf’s picture should be displayed with the Quaid’s during cabinet meetings.

The House could have experienced a major uproar over his remarks had it not been for Law Minister Basharat Raja who – behaving like a seasoned politician – did not object to the remarks and also waved to the treasury benches to keep quiet over the issue.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Benazir Bhutto and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif have signed the Charter of Democracy and have also finalised their future election strategy, but are definitely not ready to display pictures of Nawaz and Benazir together in the opposition chamber or on any party poster or banner.

The PPP and PML-N have their separate chambers in the Punjab Assembly and have displayed the pictures of their leaders there, but none of the ruling party members have objected to them. The opposition should take cue of this behaviour and tolerate Musharraf’s pictures in PML offices and meetings.

There is a chance that Musharraf invites the PPP to form government after the 2007 general elections and is ready to continue as a civilian president, but what will be the PPP’s policy if this happens?

A few months ago a social organisation called the ‘Citizens Action Committee’ had demanded Musharraf’s picture be published on the Rs 5,000 note along with the Quaid’s, but the ruling party did not support the idea. The opposition should avoid raising such issues so that no social organisation can come out on the roads to motivate the public to allow printing Musharraf’s picture on any note.

The ruling party should also arrange regular training workshops for legislators so that they pay attention to legislation and other businesses of the House and not waste time on debating non-issues.

[UnitedPakistan]

I am appalled by how negative the author was to the idea of having Musharraf's picture on the note. I also disagree with it but still some form of neutrality must be in place. I am also happy to see people are very enthusiastic about Musharraf for this debate to have even begun.

[UnitedPakistan]

If they shoot back at our soldiers then they are already enemies of the state. That gives our military the right to take these people out. The military therefore becomes the judge, jury, and executioner. They will fight till the last breath and so shall we!

[ASQ]

Once the shooing starts, it is too late, but for years it has been pastering and no one took responsibility and solved till it is too late.

And that is my point. Those who did not act in time and let it sit there and fester for decades should also bear the burdon of negligance.

They did not act in good faith for the urgency it had for the unity of the Nation. But passed it on to the next Rule.

[Jilawatan]

Once the shooing starts, it is too late, but for years it has been pastering and no one took responsibility and solved till it is too late.

And that is my point. Those who did not act in time and let it sit there and fester for decades should also bear the burdon of negligance.

They did not act in good faith for the urgency it had for the unity of the Nation. But passed it on to the next Rule.

The shooting started the day that bomb blew up in Karachi.

[ASQ]

It is sad that Jahiliat makes people do foolish things, to stop it we must not only educate our people, but we should also provide them with oppertunities of jobs, housing, health coversge, Electicity, water, and play grounds for kids.

Education, good facilities and a safe society with a attentive police, easy access to Govt. services such as making a Passport or domisile or a I.D. card swiftly and easily.

And i bet you it will make people proud of Pakistan and they will not dare to do foolish things and will dwell on goodness.

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[Jilawatan]

Be realistic, Shujaat tells politicians

LAHORE, June 25: Ruling PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Husain says the role of army in politics cannot be ended overnight and all political parties should make a realistic assessment of their position on the issue before issuing threats about taking on an institution which intervened only when 'invited'.

"The army can throw the civilians out (of power), but civilians can't revolt against them," he said while talking to this correspondent at his residence on Sunday.

Chaudhry Shujaat, who held the post of prime minister for about two months before stepping aside in favour of Shaukat Aziz, said politicians must bear in mind that the army was not the name of an individual, nor should anyone assume that by sacking the army chief he would 'conquer' the institution.

In his opinion the role of the army in politics will end only when democratic institutions become reasonably strong.

The PML president was asked about plans being made by various opposition parties to launch what they call a decisive struggle to drive the army out of politics. He said that before making tall claims all politicians should honestly ask themselves whether the armed forces had been taking over power on their own or each time they had done so when invited by a political party to intervene.

Referring specifically to the October 12, 1999, takeover, he said the then prime minister had tried to kill Gen Musharraf after which the army was left with no option but to throw him out.

He said before criticising the army, two former prime ministers should look into their past conduct. Mian Nawaz Sharif, according to him, came into politics — and rose to top positions — only with the support of the army, and Benazir Bhutto struck 'bargains' with the army on various occasions.

The PML president also said he had doubts about the ability of the opposition parties to launch a movement against the government. "Movements can't be launched while sitting abroad," he said in an obvious reference to Mr Sharif and Ms Bhutto, heads of the two major opposition parties.

He reiterated the government position that Ms Bhutto would have to face cases on her return to Pakistan. The Sharifs, he claimed, could not come back before completing their 10 years in exile under an agreement they had reached to leave the country in December 2000.

He said it was wrong to say that the government had violated the Supreme Court order by deporting Mian Shahbaz Sharif when he had landed in Lahore in May 2004.

The apex court's order was not clear, the PML chief said, adding that the former Punjab chief minister had been deported also because he was 'wanted in Saudi Arabia'.

Replying to a question, Chaudhry Shujaat said the government would welcome any measure proposed by opposition parties to ensure free and fair elections. He said the government was willing to extend a formal invitation to opposition parties, represented in parliament, for talks on the subject.

About the re-election of Gen Musharraf and whether he would retain his uniform, the PML president said all decisions would be taken in accordance with the law and the Constitution. Declining to elaborate, he said anybody could move the Supreme Court to get the matter clarified.

[UnitedPakistan]

PPP, PML-N deny contact with govt



By Amir Wasim
ISLAMABAD, June 29: The People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Thursday rebutted the government’s claim that former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were in contact with the Musharraf regime.

The media managers of both opposition parties lashed out at Minister of State for Information Tariq Azeem at a press conference on Thursday for wrongly claiming that the exiled leaders of the two parties were still busy in talks with the military regime to get their share in power.

PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal said the government had once again launched a “shameful” disinformation campaign in an effort to create rift in the ranks of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy before a grand meeting of the Alliance in London on July 2.

In a statement, PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the government’s assertion that talks were underway between Ms Bhutto and the regime was yet another desperate bid by the rulers to sow dissension within the ranks of the opposition.

[UnitedPakistan]

I wonder why they do not want to make their talks with the Musharraf Rejime public

[Lahori paa jee]

All components of Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) have signed the Charter of Democracy (CoD), while passing a resolution which demanded President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will have to resign before July 31st, if not a mass protest movement will be launched against the government, an ARD meeting announced here on Sunday.

Criticising the government on privatising Pakistan Steels, the meeting -- which was jointly chaired by PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and PML-N president Nawaz Shareef -- concluded that no deal would be made with the present regime.

[Lahori paa jee]

The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) on Sunday demanded resignation of Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz by July 31, “failing which a vote of no-confidence shall be moved against the Musharraf regime”.

The demand was made in a resolution adopted at the concluding session of a day-long meeting of the alliance, the first of the ARD in more than five and a half years attended by Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif.

In his speech in the inaugural session, the PML-N chief had proposed a no-trust resolution against the prime minister and impeachment of the president.

However, in the resolution, which was prepared after consultations between the two former prime ministers, the matter was left vague by using the term ‘Musharraf regime’. When a reporter asked for a clarification, Ms Bhutto said a committee was being constituted which would decide whether both options — impeachment of the president and no-confidence motion against the prime minister — would be exercised. Also, she pointed out, it would be decided by the committee whether to take along parties outside the ARD fold.

Mr Amin Fahim and Iqbal Zafar Jhagra are members of the committee who will hold talks with parties in the ARD and outside. The Supreme Court’s decision in the privatisation case of Pakistan Steel Mills has been made the basis for the demand. “The Supreme Court’s decision in the matter of the privatisation of the Pakistan Steel Mills has vindicated the position of the ARD on the issue,” the resolution said, adding that the “indictment against the military regime is complete”.

Ms Bhutto said the ARD’s move would expose the corruption of the present government. She said if there was any law in Pakistan, those behind the privatisation should be arrested.

The PPP chairperson, ostensibly, ruled out cooperation with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, saying: They have their own programme, and we are going to activate the ARD”. She had been asked if the ARD could go along with the MMA which had already announced a programme of protests against the regime.

Mr Sharif, answering a question, said that if Gen Musharraf tried to get himself re-elected by the present assemblies, all ARD legislators would quit. Asked whether the ARD would take part in elections under the supervision of Gen Musharraf, he said: “We’ll not walk into the trap laid by the general to get legitimacy for himself”.

Free and fair elections under the general were not possible, he said, adding that the opposition alliance would mobilise the masses to frustrate his plans. In reply to a question about the US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ms Bhutto said the ARD would like to negotiate with the governments of the two countries to create conditions for withdrawal of foreign troops. Both the leaders made it clear that they would not allow the ‘turncoats’ to rejoin their parties.

Mr Sharif, however, said that people who had not joined hands with the dictatorship but had kept silent could be taken back.

Both the leaders said they would be returning to Pakistan before the elections. They said any attempt by rulers to block their return would be resisted by people.

The signing of the Charter of Democracy by all parties of the ARD was the major objective of the meeting. Heads of the parties signed it one after the other.

ARD Information Secretary Syed Zafar Ali Shah requested the two former prime ministers to give him the pens with which they had signed the charter. The request was accepted.

Earlier, leaders of various parties expressed views about the situation in the country and how the movement against the rulers could be stepped up. They had differing views about cooperation with the MMA.

Online adds: The ARD said the opposition parties were determined to launch a movement against the regime from August 1 if incumbent regimes failed to meet their demands.

[Lahori paa jee]

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rahman has said that decisions taken by the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy in London on Sunday, without holding consultations with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, may prove counter-productive in the prevailing circumstances.

Talking to newsmen in his Parliament House chamber on Monday, the Maulana said none of the decisions taken at a joint opposition meeting held at the residence of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in Islamabad last month were reflected in the ARD’s London documents. In that meeting, he said, a consensus had emerged to mount pressure on the regime by holding big rallies, which would have taken a decisive turn with a call to march on Islamabad.

He said the proposed joint struggle by the opposition might fizzle out without achieving its objectives as the deadline given to the Musharraf regime to step down was not achievable without a practical struggle. He said the opposition lacked the required strength in parliament to impeach the president or to adopt a no-confidence motion against the prime minister.

He said that while the MMA had been struggling both inside and outside parliament against the government, the ARD had remained confined to parliamentary agitation for the past four years and it had failed to go to the masses.

He expressed disappointment over the decisions taken by the ARD and said they gave an impression of the leadership’s indecisiveness.

It would have been far better if the decision of forming a grand political alliance had been taken after consultation with the MMA, he said.

The MMA leader, however, said talks on cooperation with the ARD would continue and efforts for a grand alliance would not be abandoned.

He said there was consensus among all opposition parties that President Pervez Musharraf would not be allowed to seek re-election from the present assemblies and all options, including resigning from the assemblies, would be used at an appropriate time.

He denied that the MMA was involved in negotiations with the government on the issue of educational qualification of parliamentarians.

He said although the MMA had recently decided to launch a public mobilisation campaign while keeping the option of resigning from the assemblies open, the timing selected by the Jamaat-i-Islami in this regard was its own decision. He maintained that success in politics depended on playing right cards at the right time.

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