SEVEN Afghan civilians were killed and 45 more were wounded in a blast outside the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital today, police sources said.
The blast came from a bomb placed inside a car at the scene, police said, but it was not immediately clear if it was a suicide attack.
Courtesy: Shanghai Daily
Source: Agencies | 2009-10-8 |
US President Barack Obama has received a request for more troops by the top US commander in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said yesterday, moving him a step closer to a long-awaited decision on a new military buildup.
The document recommends sending up to 40,000 additional US and NATO troops to support the stalled, eight-year-old Afghan campaign on top of the 104,000 currently in place, according to congressional officials.
Obama, who has launched a review of his administration’s six-month-old war strategy, remains undecided on whether to send in more troops — the recommendation of the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, to try to reverse gains by a resurgent Taliban, officials said.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama received the request from Defense Secretary Robert Gates last Thursday before traveling to Europe, where he met with McChrystal. It was unclear how long Obama would take to act on the troop request.
“We’re going to go through this process of evaluating the goals and the strategy, and … at a point after that, we’ll get to discussing resources,” Gibbs said.
Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said in Washington he expected Obama to settle on a strategy and troop levels later this month or in early November.
A US official said Obama held a roughly three-hour strategy review on Wednesday focusing on Pakistan, ways to improve cooperation with Islamabad and how to continue “disrupting, dismantling and defeating al-Qaeda.” Another session on Friday will focus primarily on Afghanistan.
The decisions may be the most important, and difficult, of Obama’s young presidency, congressional leaders say.
BACKLASH OR CRITICISM?
US and NATO casualties have risen and public support for the eight-year-old war has eroded. Sending as many as 40,000 additional troops could spark a backlash within Obama’s own Democratic Party.
Sending a smaller number of troops, or no troops at all, will open Obama up to further criticism from congressional Republicans and, possibly, the military, for taking a more politically palatable middle-road approach.
CBS News, without citing named sources, reported that McChrystal wanted to ask for 50,000 troops but was convinced to lower the request to 40,000.
An alternative to the current counter-insurgency strategy, backed by Vice President Joe Biden, would focus more narrowly on air strikes against al Qaeda targets.
But Obama has told congressional leaders that he would neither substantially reduce the US mission in Afghanistan, nor shift the strategy to focus mainly on hunting militants.
Officials said strong consideration was being given to a war strategy that incorporates both counter-insurgency and counterterrorism operations inside Pakistan’s tribal areas.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said McChrystal’s request, which will be kept secret, was based upon the assumption that the United States was pursuing a counter-insurgency strategy. This would focus more on securing the support of the Afghan people than killing militants.
“If the decisions that are made in the coming weeks are different from that, there can be adjustments made to the request,” Morrell said.
Gates has yet to provide the president with his personal recommendations, the Pentagon said.
A pivotal player in the decision making, Gates has said that many of his earlier reservations about adding forces have been addressed. He remains a strong proponent of a counter-insurgency strategy, which could signal that he may be leaning toward a further buildup.
Pressure has been mounting on Obama for weeks to make a swift decision. Republican Sen. John McCain, who was defeated by Obama in last year’s presidential election, repeated his call for Obama to implement the commander’s recommendations and not take “half-measures.”
Courtesy: Shanghai Daily
KABUL, May 29 (Xinhua) — The U.S. military besides expressing its sorrow over the bloody road accident that left a number of civilians dead and injured on Monday morning a press statement of the troops said.
“In accordance with appropriate polices, compensation will be paid to those who are entitled. At this time, we are still determining the facts of what happened, but we will provide updates as soon as that information is available,” said the U.S. military.
In the statement, the military also accepted responsibility for the fatal accident, saying “the accident occurred at about 8 a.m. this morning when a large cargo truck apparently experienced a mechanical failure, striking as many as 12 civilian vehicles.”
It also admitted that one civilian was killed and at least six others were injured in the accident.
“This was a tragic incident and we deeply regret any deaths or injuries resulting from this incident,” the statement added.
However, the locals at the site put the number of casualties, which triggered bloody clash with security forces over 30. In the incident, according to locales nearly 100 others were wounded.
Protest demonstration, which began immediately after the occurrence of fatal incident, is still going on as hundreds of angry demonstrators are attacking public and private properties.
Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has expressed his deep sadden over the fatal traffic accident, by saying that the government of Afghanistan is the sole protector of the lives and property of Afghans. He also called on his people to exercise restraint. Enditem
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Afghans throw stones at a U.S. vehicle in Kabul, May 29, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) |
The Government of Afghanistan declared a six-hour curfew in the capital Kabul Monday after one of the worst riots broke out across the city since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Afghan people look at a burning police vehicle in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 29. Afghan people look at a burning police vehicle in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 29, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) The riot was stirred by a road accident involving a U.S. military truck reportedly slamming into civilian vehicles. The fatal accident took place in Sarai Shamali, some 10 km north of the Presidential Palace, and killed at least 25 and damaged 15 civilian vehicles, according to eyewitnesses. The U.S. military has expressed its sorrow and accepted responsibility after the bloody road accident. However, the locals of Kabul gathered and started stoning the troops Monday. The riot soon snowballed with demonstrators torching buildings and scores of police posts as well as trying to force their way into compounds for the United Nations office and massing near the U.S. embassy. Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has expressed his deep sad over the traffic accident, by saying that the government of Afghanistan is the sole protector of the lives and property of Afghans, and called on his people to exercise restraint. At least eight people have been killed and more than 100 injured in riots. The toll and number of injured are expected to rise. Enditem (Agencies)
Courtesy : Xinhua
Afghanistan’s political and social turmoil has been aggravated by different intentions of the participating nations that constitute the coalition forces. In the short term, the fragile Afghan regime is finding it difficult to tame its restive domestic situation. Still, a prescription could help bring the country out of the mess if key players adopt a peaceful and reconciliatory approach in their push for the end of the war.The United States should first put an end to the war. The anti-terror war, which the former US administration of George W Bush launched in 2001, has turned out to be the source of ceaseless turbulence and violence in the past years. To promote much-needed reconciliation among the parties concerned, the US should end its military action. The war has neither brought the Islamic nation peace and security as the Bush administration originally promised, nor brought any tangible benefits to the US itself. On the contrary, the legitimacy of the US military action has been under increasing doubt.
Public opinion within the US on the war has undergone dramatic change. According to a recent poll, opinion in favor of the war has declined from 53 percent in April to 39 percent, while opinion opposed to the war has increased to 58 percent from 46 percent. The US Congress has also cast doubt over the Obama administration’s Afghanistan strategy. The opposition from 74 percent Democrats and 70 percent independent votes to the war would be a big restraint on the Obama administration’s larger military strides given that the new president cannot afford to bet his political fate on a unpopular war. Since taking office as president, Obama has been under pressure from the Pentagon for military reinforcements in Afghanistan. The calls of war opponents over that of supporters will give the young US president the best chance to extricate himself from the Pentagon’s pressures. If Obama resolutely decides to stop the war, that would not only meet the US public expectations and save more American lives, but also help recover the US’ peaceful image and enhance the president’s personal political prospects.
Another way to help Afghanistan break the current deadlock is to promote reconciliation among the Afghan government, the Taliban and the country’s major warlords, all being key actors that can play an influential role in deciding the country’s prospect. In addition to the US factor, the chaos in Afghanistan is also closely related to the long-standing domestic strife between factions. Afghanistan experienced numerous wars and conflicts in history, including invasion by the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and the US war. The war-ravaged Asian nation is undergoing a chaotic battle that has involved the US-led coalition forces, its government troops and domestic warlords, the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces. The disorderly confrontations and strife do no good to anyone but have only caused untold suffering to Afghan people.
Afghanistan’s political disorder is also the main cause of its domestic chaos. The country’s presidential election on Aug 20 has so far failed to produce a final result. The recount of votes in more than 600 polling stations alleged to have suffered fraud is expected to last another two or three months, which will add to the chaos. The US has urged Afghan president Hamid Karzai to hold a second round of voting. It seems that Karzai has hammered home the perception that the US is not a reliable partner that can help end Afghanistan’s current predicament. Talks, he thinks, is the only way out. The Afghan president is likely to open the process of tri-party peace talks with the Taliban and major warlords provided that the US ends its military action.
Support from the international community is needed to help Afghanistan make a substantive move toward peace. The international community can take advantage of the ever-mounting anti-war calls within the US to prompt the Obama administration to end the war and withdraw US troops. Germany, France and Britain have planned an international conference this year to discuss the gradual withdrawal of Afghanistan military deployment. International pressures may offer Obama another excuse to withdraw US troops. The UN Security Council should carry the baton from the three European nations to convene a conference on the Afghanistan issue and try to reach a consensus among its five permanent Security Council members and draft a roadmap and timetable for resolution of the thorny issue. In the process, a ticklish issue is whether parties concerned can accept the Taliban as a key player in Afghanistan and how to dispose of the Al Qaeda armed forces, an issue that has a key bearing on the outcome of any international conference on the Afghanistan issue.
Surely, an international peacekeeping mission is needed in the absence of US troops. With the aid of international peacekeepers, the Afghanistan government and its security forces can be expected to exercise effective control over domestic unrest and maintain peace and security.
The author is deputy secretary-general of the China Council for National Security Policy Studies
KARACHI: Senior Pakistani officials in New York have revealed that the United States has sought to extend drone attacks into Quetta and other areas of Balochistan.
‘It wasn’t so much a threat as an understanding that if you don’t do anything, we’ll take matters into our own hands,’ a report in British newspaper Sunday Times quoted an official as saying.
It said the US was threatening to launch air strikes on Taliban leadership allegedly present in Quetta.
‘Western intelligence officers say Pakistan has been moving Taliban leaders to the volatile city of Karachi, where it would be impossible to strike.
‘US officials have even discussed sending commandos to Quetta to capture or kill the Taliban chiefs before they are moved,’ the paper said.
It said suspicions remained among US officials that parts of Inter-Services Intelligence agency were supporting the Taliban and protecting Mullah Omar and other leaders in Quetta.
The threat came amid growing divisions in Washington about whether to deal with the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan by sending more troops or by reducing them and targeting the terrorists.
This weekend the US military was expected to send a request to Defence Secretary Robert Gates for more troops, as urged by Gen Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Afghanistan, the report said.
However, with President Barack Obama under pressure from fellow Democrats not to intensify the war, the administration has let it be known that it is rethinking strategy.
Vice-President Joe Biden has suggested reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan and focussing on Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan.
The camp argues that attacks by drones on Pakistan’s tribal areas, where Al Qaeda leaders are allegedly hiding, have been successful. Sending more troops to Afghanistan has only inflamed tensions. ‘Pakistan is the nuclear elephant in the room,’ said a western diplomat.
The Afghan election has strengthened the position of those in Washington who advocate eliminating Taliban leaders in Pakistan.
There have been complaints that fraudulent ballots may account for up to 20 per cent of the 5.5 million votes cast in the polls won by President Hamid Karzai.
The election has left many European leaders struggling to justify sending soldiers to support a government facing accusations of having been fraudulently elected.
Richard Barrett, head of the UN Commission on Monitoring Taliban and Al Qaeda, also believes that the presence of foreign troops has increased militant activity in Afghanistan and made it easier for the Taliban to recruit.
The Sunday Times report warned that drone attacks on Quetta would intensify anti-American sentiment in Pakistan. Some British officials argued that such missions would be ‘unthinkable’.
It said that while the government of President Asif Ali Zardari was committed to wiping out terrorism, the country’s military did not entirely share this view.
It was to shore up President Zardari’s domestic standing that President Obama attended a Friends of Pakistan summit in New York on Thursday. On the same day, the US Senate tripled non-military aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year.
The Obama administration hopes such moves will reduce anti-American feeling. A survey last month by the Pew Research Centre found that almost two-thirds regarded the US as an enemy.
Meanwhile Interior Minister Rehman Malik said: ‘The Americans have never told us any location. We need real-time intelligence’ to take action.
However, ‘There has been tacit cooperation over the use of drones. Some are even stationed inside Pakistan, although publicly the government denounces their use,’ the paper said.
Courtesy: Dawn News Paper
ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Pakistan has evidence with regard to Indian involvement for promoting terrorism in Pakistan but without concrete evidences allegations cannot be leveled against India.
‘Yes it is true the terrorists arrested from Swat and tribal areas of the country have confirmed Indian involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan’, he said in an exclusive interview with a private TV channel.
‘Pakistan has retaliated with full force whenever India started a blame game against us,’ he said, adding that, ‘Pakistan had offered unconditional support to India after last years Mumbai attack but our sincere efforts to bring the culprits of this incident to justice are not being replied constructively.’
The interior minister went on to say the international community after listing to the stance of India and Pakistan in the Mumbai attack has backed Pakistan. He also held India responsible for the delay in investigations of the attack.
Replying to a question, he said, ‘leveling allegations against each others would further harm relations between Pakistan and India. Here we are asking India to come to the table for talks to resolve all outstanding issues. If India has any reservation in investigating the Mumbai attack then it should come forward and hold talks with us,’ he said. -Online
Source: Dawn
By: Presstv
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Pakistan’s former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Hamid Gul
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A:They are expanding the embassy and they are bringing in security staff, in the garb of security staff which is not according to the diplomatic norms. And I think the Chinese are objected to that. The Chinese ambassador held a press conference here in Islamabad about a week or ten days ago and he said that, for instance, this is infringement of Pakistan’s sovereignty and secondly that we have also struck at expansion of embassy but we trust Pakistan’s security apparatus to look after us and why are the Americans are doing that. So I think this is a quite big indicator that the Chinese are concerned about our security and so should be everybody else because we know that these security contractors which are being brought like the old Blackwater now under the name of, the new name of Xe and there is the Extreme Dynamic company and there are several others. They are recruiting people from here at very high wages. They are mostly the ex-servicemen, ex-Army officers and men. And besides we think that there are special forces who operate into the garb of locals but basically are American agents and it is a cross mix of the CIA which is known as Delta Force, which is the Marines and the Navy Seals and the Orange Force, which means the Orange Force are actually the hired killers. They are either recruited locally or from abroad or brought in from America and they speak the local lingo. They wear the same dress. And they sort of grow beard, etc. So this is a very dangerous move they are making. So that is the basis on which I said. Besides, I have feared that the new policy which Obama will probably announce in March next year as they have already said so. That is going to be taking bases on long leases in Afghanistan because of the weak Karzai government which is likely to emerge after the announcement of the polling results. And secondly, they are making a tremendous investment in Afghanistan. They are bringing in troops again as security guards but really they are the hardened, trained military men. There are already three thousand five hundred of them and one thousand more are coming. So slowly and gradually, the Indians are moving into this area. The same model is going to be, I think, applied rather at a limited scale in Pakistan because of these security arrangements they are making. They have an excuse. They are trying to create an excuse. They have announced for Pakistan over a period of five years 7.5 billion dollars that is 1.5 billion dollars per year and so far for this year they have disbursed only 174 million dollars which is nothing to the government. There is still the money they are making it quite open that it is going to be spent directly by the Americans in Pakistan in various areas. So they are going to set up a large intelligence network inside Pakistan. And for that the excuse is that because we are spending this money directly on projects, therefore we need the security guards and we are bringing in the contractors. But in reality, what I fear is that, they really want to go for Pakistan’s nuclear assets. They are inching close to those nuclear assets day by day. They are getting very close and I am sure they are, because of their intelligence tentacles there, they are trying to gather information so that whatever surgical operation they have to carry out against our nuclear assets in connivance with Israel and India those will be totally taken out and nothing will be left in the hands of Pakistan. And there is plenty of evidence to suggest this because they have been saying in the past that the end game of war against terrorism is going to be in Pakistan. And that is what disturbs us the most because now they are saying that Taliban are in control of 80 percent of Afghanistan and that al-Qaeda is no longer present in Afghanistan but that a large number of al-Qaeda people are present inside Pakistan and if we think that they are there then we have a right to strike them and we will. That is what the last statement, a very categorical statement made by Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen that was very alarming because he very categorically said that if they find that there are targets inside Pakistan, al-Qaeda targets, then we will strike them. So it is a preparation which is being made. A psychological conditioning which is being done of the international communities, the real powers as well as the Pakistani nation and the Pakistani government.
Q:Do you think the Americans are trying to disintegrate Pakistan through this process?
A:I know the Indians are playing games inside Baluchistan. They are trying to create subversion and acts of sabotage are occurring every day. And they are trying to destabilize Pakistan. But disintegration is a very strong word. I do not think this words needs to be used. But I think they are trying to destabilize Pakistan at the moment so that it feels weak and economically has to go begging on its knees to Americans and ask for succor and help. And in that process they will want to expect certain concessions with regards to nuclear power and also with regards to setting up their facilities here in Pakistan.
Q:And the United States who wants to use Pakistan as a front against China, Iran and other countries in the region.
A:No, I do not think Pakistan can be [used for this purpose]. Even if Pakistan is very weak and is lost hypothetically, I do not think they will pluck out all the nuclear assets of Pakistan. It is not possible. I think the Americans should think twice before they attempt this because a frustrated Pakistan can do a lot of damage. But off course they have designs against Iran. They have designs against China. But, at the moment, I do not see Pakistan being used as a proxy for America against China or Iran for that matter.
Q:You talked about Blackwater. What role these contractors have been playing in the region? Mr. Aslan Beik said on a television interview in Pakistan that Blackwater has played a role in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and Rafik Hariri in Lebanon.
A:I do not know about Aslan Beik’s statement but what I think is that Blackwater has a very bad record. They were operating in Iraq and they were guilty of many acts of misconduct and killings and rape and kidnapping and also pillage of property but this was settled at that time because I think North Carolina indicted them and they were banned. But now they have started operating under a new name, a new title of Xe Worldwide Services. So, as far as this issue is concerned, I think this comes out from some report from Seymour Hersh, the famous American journalist. He has supposed to have said that Dick Cheney’s agency Blackwater had something to do with the assasination of Benazir. So that is what I know.
Q:You earlier said that American is going to establish military bases in Peshawar and there was a hotel which was bombed in the city and it is said that the hotel was going to be used by the Americans as their base. Can you comment on that?
A:Yes, that is right, because initially they were trying to come in the days of Pervez Musharraf. I think he had entered into some kind of agreement for them to allow 750 people from Blackwater to claim Frontier Corps which is a paramilitary force operating on our border with Afghanistan. And they were to set up this in a fort in Peshawar. Then their presence was reported in this hotel. And this was bombed and it was commonly believed, although no official reports have ever come out, that two floors of that hotel had been occupied by Blackwater basically, I mean, this security contractor. But some people suggested that the marines were also there. It is possible that they were the special forces because, when we say marine, it formally becomes the Armed Forces of America. But the Special Forces are known to have been operating in this area for some time now and they were the ones who created probably some of the trouble in Swat valley where the Pakistani army is still engaged in operations.
Q:If you wanted to put it in one sentence, what is America’s long-term goal that it is seeking in Pakistan?
A:Well, long-term goal for America is that they want to keep Pakistan destabilized; perhaps create a way for Baluchistan as a separate state and then create problems for Iran so that this new state will talk about greater Baluchistan and, I think, a Baluch leader in London held a press conference and he talked a greater Baluchistan and he talked about the Kurd areas, he talked about Iranian Baluchistan and he talked about the Pakistani Baluchistan. So it appears that the long-term objectives are really to fragment all these countries to an extent that they can establish a strip that would be pro-America, pro-India, pro-Israel. So this seems to be their long-term objective apart from denuclearizing Pakistan and blocking Iran’s progress in the nuclear field.
In the recent times due to rendezvous between political forces and media, an ugliest picture about my country has been portrayed in front of the world, a picture that holds no color or I am not wrong to say “It’s all black just black”. I’m struggling to unveil the true picture that hold millions of colors, so bright and so shiny that can dazzle one’s eyes. If you are son of a soil, and you love your country as much as I do then you will help me fight against those who are painting your land as a black corner of this world. “Spread the truth as much as you can, fight for the right”
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Pakistan meaning the “The land of pure” where each day the sun rises with a new hope, with an enduring majesty as the rays of light flushing down towards the snowcapped peaks of Himalaya’s and Nanga Parbat. A land where love finds a meaning in the heart warming hospitability of people, a land where history and ancient civilization mystifies one’s heart, a land where spiritualism unveils its mystery at the shrines of Sufi Saints. This is the land I belong to, this is the land I’ll die for and this is the land that defines my identity.
The invincible 167 million Pakistani’s progressing forward with high hopes and a mission holding an unquenchable thirst to be the world leader’s soon. Despit the chaos, despite the ill spilled by the westeren media to demoralize the nation and to uproot the patriotism from the hearts and minds of people of this country, despite the foreign funded terrorists bombing hundreds of Pakistani’s each day painting the roads red with the blood of young children, women and men. Every drop of it shouts back loud ” You can never take us down, We’ll fight back till our last breath“. Reminding you this is the nation which has a 7th largest pool of scientists and Engineers in the World[1]. and the country that is ranked 9th in the world where English language is spoken and used as an official language [1].
Pakistan: World’s 9th Largest English Speaking Country | Photo by Sultan Dogar: Abbotabad Medical College
Pakistan: World 7th largest Pool of Scientists and Engineer | Photo : Moin Ali Nawazish making a World Record by passing 23 A level Exams
On May 28, 1998, Pakistan became the 7th nuclear power of the world giving a loud and clear message to the enemies that this nation is fully equipped and ready to defend it’s sovereignty. Pakistan has world 7th largest standing arm forces [1] well trained possessing state of the art technology. Pakistan Air force (PAF) is the symbol of pride for the nation and a galaxy of highly trained professionals emerged in latest technological developments. The highly skilled PAF personals are renowned for their excellence and handling of aircraft and surely are the worst fear for the enemies.
Pakistan: 7th largest Standing Arm Force in the World
Air force :Air Commodore MM ALAM has a world record of shoting down 5 Indian planes in less than a Minute
Pakistan : The Roof Top of the World
Pakistan the land of grand mountain ranges, a land that holds 4 out of 14 most highest peaks in the world. K2 the second highest mountain in the world with all it’s grandeur symbolizing the pride and strength of the people of Pakistan.
Pakistan: K2 the 2nd highest mountain peak in the World
Hunza is said to be a place ” Where Time Stops and Fairy Treads“, Kalash and Chitral are the natural wonders of the world where poetic verses find their inspirations from the beauty and elegance of high peak mountains, lush green fields and the fragrant breeze singing across the poplar trees. Some of the places which are not highlighted by the media but still due to their magnitude find their places on the World record books are ; Aisa’s Highest Railway Station Kan Mehtarzai [2] that is located 2240 meters above sea level near Quetta.
Pakistan: Asia’s Highest Railway Station “Kan Mehtarzai “
Pakistan: Lalazar often termed as most beautiful place on earth
Pakistan: Nanga Parbat 9th Highest Peak in the World
What it would feel like to play a sport that is wild, challenging and manly at the top of the world surrounded by the drumbeats and the music of the reed instrument. Yes Shandur Polo tournament is played every year at World’s highest Polo ground at Shandur, Northern Pakistan.
Pakistan: Shundur Polo festival at the World’s highest Polo ground
Karakoram Highway runs through the northern areas connecting Pakistan with China’s Xingjiang province is often described as ” Eighth Wonder of the World” due to the marvel of civil engineering as it has taken 15 years to complete by the Pakistan Army Engineers in collaboration with China. It’s been labeled as ” World’s highest paved international Road” under world’s toughest terrain
Pakistan: Karakoram Highway World’s highest paved international Road
“Gwa” means Air and “Dar” means door, and the word Gawadar means ” The door of the wind” is the world’s largest deep sea port lies in southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan. The design and construction of the port is carried out in collaboration with China and it has just started it’s operation.It’s going to emerge as a world’s biggest skyline due to it’s capacity and infrastructure of handling bulk carriers. It has been declared as a Duty Free Port and Free Economic Zone by the Pakistani government that has increased the commercial worth manifolds. It has an immense geostrategic importance as it is the entrance to the Persian Gulf and is considered to be a substitute of Dubai Port.
Gawader: World’s Largest Deep Sea Port
Khewra Salt Mine located in Khewra, Jehlum Punjab, Pakistan is the second largest Salt Mine in the world and is considered to be the oldest in the subcontinent. It was said that discovery of Salt mines were not done by Alexander or his army but by their horses as they started licking the stones when they stopped here for rest. Thousand of visitors each year visit Khewra Salt mines and get fascinated by the nature’s miracle in the heart of mountains.
Khewra Salt Mine: Second Largest Salt Mine in the World
Pakistan is a land of serene beauty , a country with diverse wild life , fresh water lakes, a 1046 km coast lines. Some of the most unique species of birds are found in northern Pakistan with awe-inspiring natural wonders like Lake Saiful Maluk, Lake Shandur, Dudipatsar Lake, kutwal lake, Zalzal lake and many more. But Haleji has it’s own significance as it is Asia’s largest waterfowl reserve. During winter thousands of birds of different species fly down to Haleji from Siberian colder areas
Pakistan: The heavenly Shandur Lake
Thar is a arid region in the north western part of Indian subcontinent, it lies mostly in Indian state of Rajasthan but it covers eastern Sindh province and the southeastern portion of Pakistan’s Punjab province. It is amongst one of the largest deserts in the world rich multifaceted culture, heritage, traditions, folk tales, dances and music. The poetic expression of Kafi written by Sufi poets of Sindh resonates in the cold nights as the Thari musicians start singing them on sorrowing rhythmic beats. In the night the granules of the sand lit up like stars as the moonlight walks on them.
Pakistan: Tharparker
Moenjodaro is the province of Sindh, Pakistan and archeology trace back it exitence 5000 years ago. It provides an earliest instance of exemplary form of town planning and community organization and found to be as one of the oldest cities known today. It is said to be the pilgrimage of ancient ruins. The splendor of Indus Valley civilization spread over a thousand mile from the high peak snowy mountains of Kashmir to the glittering sand dunes facing the Arabian Sea. One of the oldest known civilization that flourished in the Indus river Basin embraced within its fold almost the entire country now known as Pakistan.
One of the oldest Civilization Known today
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This is just an effort to provide a glimpse of blazzing glory of the culture, heritage, beauty within my country. In the next part of Amazing Pakistan I will try to cover the traditions, the culture and the city life that defines a spirit of being a Pakistani. All the facts given above have been checked and can be verified
Courtesy:
http://ahmedzoha.wordpress.com/2009/04/19/amazing-pakistan-a-picture-hidden-from-the-world-part-1/
For a couple of months, the world has seen pictures of Pakistani men, women and children with flushed faces stuffed in buses, braving oppressive heat and winding roads. Their mission was to return to the scenic Swat Valley, known as the Switzerland of Pakistan. Newspaper headlines have read: ‘The long journey back home.’ The Pakistan military has been lauded and applauded for beating back the Taliban. Even the displacement of three million people in the process was forgiven, though criticised. The Pakistani people, after being under attack for at least two years from its most dangerous enemy yet – one that lies within – were celebrating victory against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
All the while, the crucial question hung in the air unanswered, casting a dark shadow over the self-congratulatory military: Will the Taliban re-emerge? It appears they have.
There have been two spectacular attacks over the last few weeks. They came after the ‘end’ of the Swat military operation, and after Baitullah Mehsud’s was killed in a suspected drone attack. (Notably, Mehsud was not killed by the Pakistan army, but by the United States. None of the Taliban leadership was killed or apprehended in the Swat operation.)
The most recent manifestation of the ‘return’ of the Pakistan Taliban is the audacious attack on the Religious Affairs Minister, Hamid Saeed Kazmi, in the federal capital earlier this month. A sniper on a motorbike opened fire at the minister’s car in broad daylight, chased him on a main road of Islamabad, and riddled the car with at least 25 bullets. The minister was injured, his driver killed and a police guard injured in the stunning assassination attempt.
However, Islamabad-based analyst, Farhan Bokhari of the Financial Times is less than shocked. ‘No one should be surprised,’ he says. ‘A military victory in Swat just took back the territory but the militants are still out there. The Pakistan army will have to go all the way.’
Bokhari also accredits the attack to the minister’s political beliefs. He points out that Kazmi was a vocal opponent of hardline Taliban militants. ‘He condemned suicide attacks,’ he says. ‘If you recall, Mufti Sarfraz Naeemi was assassinated for condemning suicide attacks.’ The Taliban do not stand for dissenting views even from those committed to Islamic teachings, as was Mufti Naeemi, who ran a madrassah in Lahore.
Before the attack on Kazmi, a suicide bomber sneaked into a police training centre in Mingora, Swat, on August 30 and detonated explosives, killing 16 new recruits and injuring four others. Targeting new police recruits has been a strategy of the Taliban as it demoralises young people who may be eager to serve in the security apparatus and discourages others from joining the forces.
Now if the Pakistani Taliban have regrouped and found a leader in the newly elected Hakeemullah Mehsud, is it a good time for the Pakistan military to launch a new offensive in Waziristan?
Defence analyst and retired General Talat Masood doubts if the Pakistan army would launch a massive ground operation in the Waziristan agencies. He claims, ‘For one, it would unite the entire FATA and the tribes would be up in arms against the state, even if they don’t like the Taliban. Secondly, winter is approaching and holding ground may be exacting on the army.’ General Masood predicts that the Pakistan army would instead keep the pressure on the Taliban by blocking their routes, hitting them with missiles, rockets and artillery shelling. The additional support from US drones would keep them unhinged. More and more Pakistani experts are acknowledging the usefulness of US drone missile attacks, but asserting that they remain unpopular with the local people.
Zafar Hilaly, a former ambassador, answers the question of whether the Pakistan army should strike Waziristan now with a resounding ‘yes’. But he makes an argument that is not very different from General Masood and cautions, ‘In Swat, the insurgents were an invading, external force. In Waziristan, the insurgents are from within. They are of the indigenous tribes. So if anything, the people of the area will fear the army.’
If the natives of Waziristan see the Pakistan military as the invading force, it would be a tougher battle to ‘win.’ Perhaps the way to woo the people would be through a hearts-and-minds campaign. Security expert, Rustam Shah, suggests a revision in the military tactic that would serve to alienate less people. ‘In Swat, there was too much reliance on the air force which resulted in massive displacement. It would do the army well to do less of that in Waziristan.’
As I said in the beginning of this peace, there were close to three million displaced as a result of the military offensive in Swat. According to latest reports, about a million have returned, leaving well over a million still in refugee status.
And those who have made the long journey home have not returned to much at all, as illustrated by this slideshow from The New York Times. The photographs on the website show what is meant by ‘normal life’ in Swat. What you see is distressing to say the least, and very far from being normal.
Monitoring Asia 