In a few hours time it’s going to be a brand new 2009.
We thank our readers, viewers, contributors, well-wishers and sponsors for being there with us. We thank all other friends for being kind, gentle and supportive all the time.
Thanks everyone and once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR.
From all of us at Wonders of Pakistan
(wondersofpakistan.blogspot.com, wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com & www.nadeemkhawar.net)
I wish our readers, viewers, contributors, and all those friends, institutions who have been with us since day one, a very happy Eid Mubarik.
While I send these greetings, I do understand the challenges, the crises and dangers we are facing at the moment but dear readers, nothing is going to happen Insha’ Allah to this great land of ours.
It has persisted not for decades, centuries but for millennia, a beautiful land that has a history, not from 1947 but far beyond. It started from the time when man got to perceive the basics of a civilized life. Being inheritors of a great civilization, our nation demonstrated a unique type of resilience against all odds; all ups and downs and Insha’Allah will overcome its present predicaments too.
This Eid is a symbol of a great sacrifice. Let this symbol be a sacrifice for our beautiful land as well. And this sacrifice is nothing but a will that we are one, together do we celebrate, together do we stand and together do we win.
by Ahmed Quraishi
With a traumatized nation and an apparently paralyzed government, millions of secular ideologues and Hindu nationalists are executing a ’soft coup’ in New Delhi to bring to power the hawks who want to pursue America’s agenda of grooming India as a regional policeman, sort out Pakistan and confront China. India will self-destroy in the process. India’s military and intelligence has been penetrated. The man who uncovered the plot, Hemant Karkare, the antiterrorism chief of Mumbai police, was the first target of the mysterious terrorists. Patriotic Indians need to wake up and save their country.
Preliminary signs emerging from India’s power center, New Delhi, paint a picture of an unstable situation. Security is already compromised. But a bigger story is taking place in New Delhi, not Mumbai. There are disturbing signs that India, a nuclear-armed nation of a billion people, is witnessing a ’soft coup’ attempt involving secular rightwing ideologues and Hindu nationalists.
Exploiting the fears of a traumatized nation and a government caught sleeping at the wheel, a core group of rightwing ideologues within India’s military, intelligence and political elite are trying to overthrow Manmohan Singh’s government. The plan apparently is to help the rise of rightwing elements in power and firmly push India to a confrontation with Pakistan and some other countries in the region.
The objective of this core group is to see India emerge as a superpower closely allied with the United States. They are excited about American plans for India as a regional policeman and have no problem in confronting China and Pakistan to achieve this status. They think time is slipping and they don’t want a hesitant political leadership in their way. Already the instability in the wake of Mumbai attacks is being exploited to start a war with Pakistan. The fact that this will also help U.S. military that is facing a tough time in Afghanistan appears to be more than just a coincidence.
In the very first hours of the Mumbai attack, the unknown terrorists were able to achieve a singular feat: the targeted murder of Hemant Karkare, the chief antiterrorism officer in the Indian police. The man was responsible for exposing the secret links between the Indian military and Hindu terror groups. His investigation resulted in uncovering the involvement of three Indian military intelligence officers in terrorist acts that were blamed on Muslim groups. At the time of his murder, Karkare was pursuing leads that were supposed to uncover the depth of the nexus between the Indian military and the sudden rise of well armed and well financed Hindu terrorism groups with their wide network of militant training camps across India.
Curiously, a CCTV camera has caught on tape one of the unknown terrorists when he arrived with his group at their first target: a train station. The man, dressed in a jeans and a black T-shirt and carrying a machine gun [see picture below], is wearing an orange-colored wrist band very common among religious Hindus. As a comparison, a recent picture of a Hindu militant activist taken during an event this year is shown on the top where the militant is wearing a similar band.
A CCTV snapshot of one of the Mumbai terrorists, wearing the sacred Hindu armband and carrying a machine gun. Right, below, a picture of a typical member of Hindu terror groups, wearing the same armband. The band is sacred to fundamentalist Hindus who believe wearing it shows devotion and brings good luck from gods. An aggressive advertisement campaign has already begun across India urging a scared population to rise against the government.On Friday, front-page ads appeared in several newspapers in Delhi showing blood splattered against a black background and the slogan “Brutal Terror Strikes At Will” in bold capital letters. The ads signed off with a simple message: “Fight Terror. Vote B.J.P.”
The Indian, the Pakistani and the international media has not woken up yet to this ’soft coup’ taking place in New Delhi. Some observers and journalists are beginning to catch its first signs. This is how a New York Times reporter, Somini Sengupta, has characterized it today:
“Mr. Singh’s government had lately hit back at the Bharatiya Janata Party with evidence that its supporters, belonging to a range of radical Hindu organizations, had … been implicated in terrorist attacks. Indeed, in a bizarre twist, the head of the police antiterrorism unit, Hemant Karkare, killed in the Mumbai strikes, had been in the midst of a high-profile investigation of a suspected Hindu terrorist cell. Mr. Karkare’s inquiry had netted nine suspects in connection with a bombing in September of a Muslim-majority area in Malegaon, a small town not far from Mumbai. “
Evidence is emerging that Karkare knew he was facing the prospect of a violent death because of the investigation he was pursuing. What Karkare probably didn’t know is that his elimination would come in such a perfectly executed operation.Only hours before Karkare’s violent death, his close friend, retired Colonel Rahul Gowardhan, received an envelope. Karkare called him to say he was sending him a confidential letter. This is how Times of India has reported the story:Just some hours before that, Karkare had sent a letter to him in an envelope which had some “personal” content. “Hemant had called me up on Wednesday,” said Gowardhan, a top official with MSEDCL. “As I was in a meeting, we decided to postpone the talk. He hung up saying he would be sending me an envelope. When I wanted to know the content, he told me to just read the letter that’s inside it. I returned home and read it. I cannot share the content of the letter with anyone,” said Gowardhan.
The highly sophisticated nature of the attack in Mumbai, lasting for almost 60 hours, diminishes the chances of a foreign invasion and increases the possibility that influential elements in Indian intelligence and Hindu militant organizations might have helped orchestrate this incident, pretty much like they did in the Sept. 29 Malegaon attack, in which they tried to simulate a Muslim terrorist group. In that attack, in which three Indian military intelligence officers have been arrested, the objective was to provoke a Muslim backlash that could justify a massive state crackdown against minorities.
Observers are already seeing how the hawks within the Indian establishment and Hindu militant organizations have seized the initiative from a paralyzed government. The Indian army and intelligence are already penetrated. Now the real culprits are channeling the fears of a traumatized people toward Pakistan.
India is on the same path today that the Bush administration hawks took the American nation on after 9/11. But this time, patriotic Indians have the benefit of hindsight. They should stop the secular warmongers and Hindu militants from hijacking their country. The future of the entire region depends on it.
Ahmed Quraishi is a Pakistani writer, TV Anchorman and a Political Commentator
© 2007-2008. All rights reserved. AhmedQuraishi.com & PakNationalists
by Nayyar Hashmey
The recent video conference by the President was a well thought out approach—stitch in time and a piece of statesmanship. In a world marred by terrorism and a history wrapped in mistrust on both sides of the sub continent; it has been like cool breeze in a blistering desert.
While taking down this preamble, I do give in, when AAZ took oath as a civilian President, I had a good number of reservations about his having come into power, especially in view of his past record which apparently is smeared with certain scams involving our President as the key player in the wheeling dealing he reportedly had during two stints of power in the premiership of her late wife. As a matter of fact I still have a lot – yet the latest footage of his video conference shows the man does have a vision at least on country’s foreign policy.
In the past, both counties have been in a state of perpetual aggrandizement. The havoc caused upon people and economy during successive wars was colossal, though India – to a large extent did come out of their effect on its economy, it wasn’t so with Pakistan. Interjections of military Raj, the war in Afghanistan and post 9/11 terrorism seriously hit the economy.
There are stark differences between the two over Kashmir, on bilateral trade, on SAARC and on a south Asian approach over international issues, but that doesn’t mean they should continue fighting on these issues. A new millennium has already dawned. Lot of changes have taken place. The world has entered an era where many things, events and happenings (which in yesteryears were engulfed in thick smoke screens) have started getting transparent, because of revolution in information science and allied disciplines; last but not the least, the compulsions of economy are such that many warring nations now take a very different course to what otherwise their history would demand. Traditional foes in Europe; France and Germany who fought one war after another sometime in the Saarland, another time in Alsace and Lorraine, Italian versus Austrians, the British and the French rivalries, all have been done away with. And all this, to reap economic benefits through collaborations instead of fighting wars, because wars eat up resources, men and many a time the countries’ geographical borders too. Economy defines their road map now. Therefore, these countries are gradually turning towards a United States of Europe. A similar road map can equally benefit the south Asian nations as well. But to achieve this objective, both need to come out of their historical rigmarole, the biases, the prejudices. Once this is done, President Zardari’s initiative especially the core theme of his address (quoting her late wife Benazir Bhutto) on ‘little bit of India in every Pakistani and a little bit of Pakistan’ in every Indian should beckon the subcontinent to enter a new era of collaboration, an ambition that can guarantee this subcontinent a permanent peace and prosperity.
And now the Mumbai Bombings:
While taking down these lines, all of a sudden, the news flash before me of the Mumbai Taj Hotel blasts and firing by some militants supposedly belonging to an Islamic religious outfit called Deccan Mujahideen. It’s so tragic that whenever Pakistan and India think of coming closer to each other, a hidden hand starts sabotaging the whole process.
Whereas it’s yet to be seen who the culprits are, regrettably the Indian Govt. have started blaming Pakistan. Best would be a joint investigation by officials of Pakistan and India to find the culprits, and whoever they are, they must be brought to book because killing innocent civilians whether in Pakistan, India or anywhere else is a heinous act which no sane person even with a bit of morality would be able to condone – whatsoever reason, whosoever the perpetrator!
by Swaraj Chauhan
President Asif Ali Zardari is Pakistan’s first head of state to promise a “no-first nuclear-strike” against India. He talked of the need for change and reconciliation in India-Pakistan relationship, and the possibility of doing away with passports for travel between two countries.
The surprise statement came when Zardari was addressing the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit at New Delhi on Saturday via a satellite link from his official residence in Islamabad. Telecast live from India by CNN-IBN, the session was picked up simultaneously by news channels in Pakistan.
“Zardari borrowed a quote from his late wife (Benazir Bhutto), who once said that there’s a ‘little bit of India in every Pakistani and a little bit of Pakistan’ in every Indian. He also talked about Indians’ and Pakistanis’ ’shared bloodlines’.
” ‘I do not know whether it is the Indian or the Pakistani in me that is talking to you today,’ Zardari said, amid applause from his high-profile audience, which included diplomats, politicians and industrialists.
“The President also talked of a common South Asian economic bloc with other countries. He suggested a ‘flexible Indo-Pak visa regime’, eliminating the travel documents now required and replacing them with a smart-card enabled e-visa system.” More here…
The deteriorating relationship with the US administration seems to be prompting Pakistani leaders to abandon the traditional 60-year-old bitter rivalry with India. India and Pakistan have a shared heritage going back to centuries. But that came to an abrupt end in 1947 with the end of the British colonial rule and a bloody partition.
“Polls show that the U.S. already faces ‘mounting popular opposition’ in Pakistan, which has not been significantly influenced by the election of a new civilian government in February,” wrote Jim Hoagland in July 2008 under the heading “India the Key to U.S.-Pakistan Relationship” in RealClearPolitics.
“Pakistani politicians, civil servants and military men have told me in recent months that open ‘collaboration’ with the United States is so ‘dangerous’ that they cannot afford to be seen working with the U.S.
“India’s growing economic power will leave its neighbor in the dust unless Pakistan becomes part of that prosperity. Pakistan’s future will be determined by its relations with India, not by increased U.S. aid or maintaining its support for tribal war in Afghanistan.” More here…
The New York Times has an interesting take on India-Pakistan-US tangle…Please click here.
Courtesy: The Global Voice
MUMBAI ATTACKS – INDIA’S 9/11
Upcoming Post by Michel Chossudovsky
A few days back, I inserted a post by Ahmed Quraishi on India’s so called 9/11. (You can see more here). I say it’s so called because what happened on 9/11 in New York was highly tragic, yet it turned into a bonanza for the neocons in the US who covertly used it as a ploy against Islam and the Muslims.
The real cause and the master mind / s of this act, are still shrouded in mystery. Yet the information gathered from relevant books, interviews and videos creates a lot of doubts on what has been reported in the western media. All research into this incident points to the master minds who seem to have a global agenda to control the world, but the whole blame has solely been shifted to certain extremist Muslims.
Extremism in any form is not desirable, yet it prevails in every religion, every faith, and every society. Highly tragic though the 9/11 was, yet a powerful lobby in the corridors of power in Washington D.C. meticulously used it to bracket extremism only with Islam. With power over the mass media, the west particularly USA succeeded to influence the public opinion there. However, there are also the voices who know the real reason of this tragic incident, the root cause of this propaganda war, and therefore, are raising their voice at every forum, every platform and above all, with the force of their pen because these men believe the pen, the human conscience and the humanity are mightier than the sword even today. One such voice is Michel Chossudovsky’s. WOP readers are familiar with writers like Eric Margolis, John Maszka, Ron Johnson and so many others who through their writings and the media are doing their best to fight out neocons’ agenda.
I am inserting now for the first time a thought provoking, highly analytical post from Prof. Michel Chossudovsky. Professor’s analysis enables us to find the way even in the darkest of darkness created by the western media and therefore highly relevant and a “must read” for our policymakers as well.
61 years of independence has not delivered the ‘independence’ our leaders had then thought. From British colonialism we landed into US imperialism. In this regard both Indian as well as the successive Pakistani leaderships played into the hands of the US who fuelled differences between the two neighbors to an extent that we fought three wars, wars which brought no benefit either to the Indians or the Pakistanis. The only beneficiary was US whose war industry sold billions worth of military hardware to both India and Pakistan.
In Pakistan’s context it’s also the oil and in case of India it’s the military sales; and thirdly to install India as Asia’s policeman especially against China. But as the former Shah of Iran, also one time policeman of Asia built up by the US in the area failed miserably, so will India.
Both neighbors need to understand that they have a shared history. Instead of fighting each other, they can peacefully work together to contribute not only towards economic well being of their own people but also play a highly constructive role in the global economy as well. Prof. Chossudovsky’s analysis too points in almost the same direction.
Coming up next
To find answers to these questions, see next the first part of Chossudovsky’s article on these pages.
- Political Essays & Commentaries
on December 8, 2008 at 7:43 am Comments (2)Tags: 9/11, Islam and Millitancy, Mumbai Attacks, Neocons' Agenda