Posted on 30 December 2009 by PakBee - Total hits: 334
Aag TV Message:
With the intention of celebrating and changing the face of live music in Pakistan, Aag is taking the first major intiative to turn this dream into a reality. In the spirit of the famous events such as Woodstock and Live Aid that simply made the art of live music more popular all over the world , we present to you… Aag Alive ’09, the first ever music festival of the youth in Pakistan.
Posted on 24 December 2009 by PakBee - Total hits: 55
RAWALPINDI: The PPP Punjab President Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan and senior provincial minister Raja Riaz Ahmad Khan have declared that enough is enough and from now on, the party would adopt the course of confrontation instead of the traditional conciliatory policy so far adopted.
They said Kamran Khan, Shaheen Sehbai, Ansar Abbasi and Dr Shahid Masood should not become movers and shakers in politics. The hands of those who are attempting to demolish the government would be amputated.
They were talking at the PPP provincial secretariat in Lahore on Monday after presiding over the meeting of the party’s executive council, federal council, district presidents and general secretaries. They said right from the beginning our politics had been based on ideology.
They warned that those targeting the Aiwan-e-Sadr and residing in palaces built of glass would not be spared. They said the PPP had offered tremendous sacrifices for democracy and the country’s security. Now that we are in power it is because of the leadership of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari.
Raja Riaz said power to the PPP had not come through charity but because of a heavy mandate given by the people. Criticizing Geo TV channel, he warned Kamran Khan and Dr. Shahid Masood to avoid becoming champions of politics. The hands of those who tried to dismantle the democratic government will be amputated.
Expressing complete confidence in the party leadership Raja Riaz said the PPP is facing a media trial but everyone must know that the party and Pakistan are inseparable.
PPP leaders also criticised Shaheen Sehbai, Group Editor of The News, and Ansar Abbasi, Editor Investigations of The News for their writings. It was alleged that Ansar Abbasi writes an elegy every day.
Earlier while addressing the meeting, PPP Punjab General Secretary Samiullah Khan said the party of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed would not be run according to “Terey, Merey Mutabiq” but the aspirations of the people. Lambasting Geo television channel, he said out of the 841 NRO beneficiaries only one man and the Swiss case was being singled out. Samiullah said the PPP would resist if the judiciary oversteps its constitutional mandate.
The PPP Punjab President Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan warned each and every organisation to confine their activities within the given parameters. He said we are not afraid of jails or police stations as we consider them as medals. Rana Aftab lambasted the intriguers and others who had launched criticism of the party leadership and said henceforth they will be confronted with full force
Posted on 19 December 2009 by PakBee - Total hits: 49
UPDATE: Reports in the Pakistan media suggest that the Lal Masjid leader has finally been arrested while trying to escape wearing a burqa. According to a BBC update:
The leader of a radical mosque besieged by Pakistani security forces in Islamabad has been caught trying to escape wearing a woman’s burqa. Security forces seized Abdul Aziz as he tried to leave the Red Mosque amid a crowd of women… He was wearing a burqa that also covered his eyes,” a security official told the AFP news agency about the cleric’s escape bid. “Our men spotted his unusual demeanour. The rest of the girls looked like girls, but he was taller and had a pot belly.“
ORIGINAL POST: Things are moving fast and the showdown at Lal Masjid, Islamabad that began this morning is now ready to turn into an even more real battle. The day took the lives of at least 10 people, possibly more. These included policemen, soldiers, by-standers, a journalist, and a number of Madrassah students. (For details see our earlier post and update comments on it, here).
The latest – and this keeps changing by the minute – is that in a mid-night press conference the government has given an ultimatum to the management of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) to surrender. There is no indication that they will. In the past things have always ended with ‘negotiated settlements.’ This time the likelihood of this happening is much less. A curfew has been imposed in the area. Tanks have been called in. So have special forces.
Metroblog Islamabad is doing a wonderful job of keeping abreast with breaking news. It reports, through Dawn TV, that 111 Brigade (Army) from Rawalpindi has already assembled around the mosque. Ambulances have been fully stocked. Hospitals are on alert. An ultimatum for time has been given (3.30 PST… NOW!). The entire area has been cordoned off.
Here is a news clip from ARYOne, broadcast earlier.
In an article written last week for The News, I had argued that inaction was not a solution and because of so many delays and policies of apeasement some confrontation was now becoming inevitable.
This episode [i.e., the Chinese massage parlor case] will further embolden the already violence-prone brigands at the two madressahs and we are likely to see an escalation in their demands as well as their tactics. Meanwhile, the government has once again demonstrated an inability and/or unwillingness to act decisively. The much-cherished ‘writ of the state’ continues to rot in tatters.
This, it seems, is what happened when earlier the Lal Masjid management incited this escalation in response to the government’s build-up of force around the mosque. In that article, I had gone on to argue that:
Just like standing still in the middle of the road at the sight of the blinding lights of a truck speeding towards it does not save the life of the stunned deer, doing nothing about this escalating crisis out of fear that doing anything will only make things worse is not going to help the government, or Pakistan. Something needs to be done, and done fast.
I had called in the article for the government to “act to judiciously dismantle militancy at Lal Masjid.” This situation has to be responded to. But the key word remains “act judiciously.” What is really important is how that action is taken. Further bloodshed should be avoided. At least minimized. One hopes that any action is intelligent action and all steps are taken to minimize loss of life. Not just because one does not wish to create needless ‘martyrs.’ Much more so because all life – and everyone’s life – is precious.
The technologies to undertake low casualty offensives are available. The will and sagacity to do so is needed. The test for the government – acting with force in the very center of the Federal Capital – is not only what it does, but how it does it.
Posted on 21 November 2009 by PakBee - Total hits: 104
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said he will resign if Blackwater, found operating anywhere in Pakistan.
Talking to media in Islamabad, Malik denied presence of Afghan Taliban leader Mulla Umar in Pakistan and termed such reports as baseless.
He said operation will be launch against militants in adjoining areas of Peshawar and also said that more troops will be dispatched to Waziristan.
He said the mobile scanners from China will reach Pakistan next month, which will help to foil terror attacks.
Interior minister praised the role of citizens of Peshawar against terrorism and said security will be strengthened more in NWFP.
Malik said 75 persons have been arrested so far during anti terror drive. Replying to a question about Dr. Aafia, he said Dr. Aafia’s issues had been came under discussion during recent visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and he will meet Dr. Aafia in his next US visit.
********************************************* Updated at: 1209 PST, Saturday, November 21, 2009 ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik, strongly defying reports of being operational in Pakistan, the Blackwater, an alleged US underworld terrorist organistation, has said he was ready to step down from office if Blackwater existed anywhere in Pakistan or there are evidences of its engagements in Pakistan, Geo news reported.
This Malik boosted talking to media in Islamabad on Saturday morning after attending a high-level meeting in connection with the efforts for release of detained Pakistani Dr. Aafia Siddiqui from US custody.
UPDATE: Reports in the Pakistan media suggest that the Lal Masjid leader has finally been arrested while trying to escape wearing a burqa. According to a BBC update:
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said he will resign if Blackwater, found operating anywhere in Pakistan.
