One day when Jesus Christ (PBUH) was teaching in the Temple, “the doctors of Law (Rabbis) and Pharisees brought in a woman caught committing adultery. Making her stand out in the middle they said to him, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. In the Law Moses (PBUH) has laid down that such women are to be stoned. What do you say about it?’... “Jesus (PBUH) bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they continued to press their question he sat up straight and said, ‘That one of you who is faultless shall throw the first stone.’ Then once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard what he said, one by one they went away, the eldest first; and Jesus (PBUH) was left alone, with the woman still standing there. Jesus (PBUH) again sat up and said to the woman, ‘Where are they? Has no one condemned you? She answered, ‘No, one sir.’ Jesus (PBUH) said, ‘Nor do I condemn you. You may go; do not sin again’ “ (John 8:1-11). REFERENCE: Stoning to death: Zia’s legacy By Qazi Faez Isa June 6, 2002 Thursday Rabi-ul-Awwal 24,1423 http://archives.dawn.com/2002/06/06/op.htm#1
Alleged Islamic Revolutionary Imran Khan & His Palace.
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR72vVjkYRo
Mr. Masood Sharif Khan Khattak Joins PTI:) "I hereby formally announce to join the PTI to serve the masses under its flag and leadership of Imran Khan,” he said this while addressing a news conference here. PTI Chairman Imran Khan was also present on the occasion. - Mr. Khattak had written in 2008 in The News International - Judge Asif from today Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - Having known Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto since 1987 I am proud of the fact that this exceptionally outstanding leader had chosen me to be the Director General, Intelligence Bureau (DG IB) in her government. I thus worked under her direct command. The unbearably tragic assassination of a leader as brilliant, brave and incomparable as her brought an untimely end to a very vibrant and purposeful life devoted to an unending effort to bring about true democracy in Pakistan. One could write unendingly on Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's personal courage, political acumen and her love for the people of Pakistan. She knew she was being hunted by ruthless assassins. Yet, this great courageous leader held rallies all over the country. The assassins finally caught up with her in Rawalpindi. Her biggest tribute is that she lived with the masses, commanded their love and respect and died amongst them, bravely, with a smile on her face and hand waving at the cheering crowds. Seventeen days before Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's coldblooded assassination I had expressed some differences on political matters openly. Little did I then know that I will never see her again. It is this aspect that weighs heavy on me and makes me regret what I had done. The grim situation arising out of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's assassination which saw Pakistan paralysed was handled by Asif Ali Zardari with dexterity and courage. The PPP was saved from likely fractures and was led through that turbulent period and the elections in such a manner that it emerged as the major party in the National and Sindh Assemblies. Zardari's handling of the post-election scenario brought about a grand coalition with the PML-N and others at the centre and he even managed to bring the MQM back into mainstream politics. These were no ordinary achievements. Why the coalition broke after Musharraf's resignation is too well known. Heartburning could have been buried after Asif Zardari apologised to Nawaz Sharif on TV and requested him to return to the coalition. Knowing each other from the sixties, I and Asif Ali Zardari were also imprisoned together in Karachi Central Jail for three long years. Prison days leave an indelible imprint. As director-general of the IB, I was arrested on the night between Nov. 5 and 6, 1996, in Lahore. Asif Ali Zardari was then at the Governor's House in Lahore. He had my secret telephone number which had not been disconnected. He called me but got through to my wife who told him that I had been arrested an hour ago. After a short sojourn at Kot Lakhpat Jail I was shifted to Karachi Central Jail where I and Asif Ali Zardari then spent the next three years together. In late 1996, Asif and I were also locked up in the cold cells of a police station. We were subjected to days of brutal torture and interrogation. Who would have then known that this man lying on the cold floor of the police station would one day become president of Pakistan? Bravo Asif. Experiences like jail bring forth the real man in anyone. I admired the man I saw in Asif while in jail with him. He was a man full of courage and fight, and was never cowed by the many cases that were being instituted against him. With each new case he would be taken away for investigation (actually torture). He was stronger than the state that was bullying him, not knowing that he would one day head it as president. He was subjected to months of solitary confinement after which, on a court order, I was allowed to visit him in his cell and, thereafter, we used to spend the day together. After sunset I would return to be locked up in my own dreadful cell. I can never forget Asif's concern for me all the time we were in jail. Asif helped many prisoners get a lawyer and helped numerous others in different ways. He was always a common man with the common prisoners and this ability to empathise with the downtrodden and to relate to them should now stand him in good stead. It is during these days that I gauged the extraordinary political acumen, courage, insight, understanding and fortitude that this much vilified man possessed. Today, Asif Ali Zardari will be taking oath as Pakistan's indisputable constitutional president. I plead to all his detractors to bury the bogey of all the negative propaganda of the past two decades and judge him from now. The democratically-elected structure is now in position and should gear up to solve the country's massive problems. These are challenging times. Only internal political stability and non-partisan national unity on issues affecting Pakistan's security and integrity will be able to deliver solutions. It is now incumbent upon all political parties to strengthen the hands of the new president and I am confident that Pakistanis may well be in for a pleasant surprise. As a patriotic Pakistani and someone who has remained in the corridors of power, in a responsible position, I shall make a humble request to all political forces, in particular to Mian Nawaz Sharif and his PML-N, to rise above and give Asif Zardari a huge helping hand. To Mr Sharif, my humble request will also be that, notwithstanding the genuine grievances he may have, he give the coalition one more chance. REFERENCES: Foes to friends: Imran’s one-time rival reposes faith in PTI By Zahid Gishkori Published: November 12, 2011 http://tribune.com.pk/story/290241/former-intelligence-chief-joins-pti/ Judge Asif from today Tuesday, September 09, 2008 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=134623&Cat=9&dt=9/9/2008
MULTAN: Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Monday resigned from Pakistan People's Party (PPP) as well as National Assembly memberships, Geo News reported. " My association with PPP goes back a long time and today it is coming to end," Qureshi said while addressing a press conference here. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he would make more significant announcements about future course of action on November 27. He said PPP was no longer a party of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto; 'it is now Zardari league'. He said he did not want to be a part of Zardari league and announced to resign from the party membership. "Zardari buried the politics of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto along with her," Qureshi regretted, adding Zardari has deviated from Benazir's vision. He also announced to resign from MNA seat. Expressing concern over PPP alliance with PML-Q, former minister said it is against Charter of Democracy (CoD). Regarding Mansoor Ijaz's allegations against President Zardari, he said if there was no substance in these allegations then President Zardari should have a legal notice taken against it. The Supreme Court should also take notice of the President's letter written to the US officials, he said. He claimed he had accepted the position of Foreign Minister on the insistence of President Zardari, or rather 'I was the only one who was not interested to take any such position'. The former minister called upon the opposition to resign for paving the way for fresh polls and then go to the people for their mandate. REFERENCE: Qureshi quits PPP, NA memberships http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=26521&title=Qureshi-quits-PPP,-NA-memberships Daily Jang Update Monday, November 14, 2011, Zil Hajj 17, 1432 A.H. Updated at: 1815 http://jang.com.pk/jang/nov2011-daily/14-11-2011/u87528.htm
Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi with Hillary Clinton at a Grave.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EifDaSULgNU
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has detached himself from the little known Balusa Group, a Track II initiative involving well known Pakistanis and Indians, funded by an American, Shirin Taherkheli. A spokesman at the Foreign Office when asked said that since Qureshi had taken charge as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, he no longer remained connected to the Balusa Group. Another prominent Pakistani, Major General (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani, who will take charge as the National Security Adviser, has also been part of Balusa, but it is not known whether he would still be part of this initiative after he took over as ambassador to the United States and now after his new charge in Islamabad. Some of the others are Syed Babar Ali, General Farrakh Khan, Shaharyar Khan and Toufiq Siddiqi. On the Indian side, some of the members are General Satish Nambiar, Kuldip Nayar, Raja Mohan, Bharat Bhushan and Salman Haidar. A former RAW official is also part of this group. Toufiq Siddiqi is an environmentalist and energy expert based in Hawaii and Shirin Tahirkheli, his sister, with support from the United Nations Development Programme and the Rockefeller Foundation, brought together a group of Indian and Pakistani generals, politicians, bureaucrats and others to discuss ways to bring "sense and direction" to the India-Pakistan relationship. This loose gathering that came to be known as the Balusa Group, is named after two adjacent villages in the Pakistani Punjab. In a July-August 2005 interview with the Nepalese magazine Himal, Durrani was asked how he got involved in lobbying for transnational natural gas pipelines in the Central and South Asian region. He replied, "Shirin Tahirkheli (now in-charge at the State Department for the UN reform effort) is really the 'mother hen' of all this. I was still in service when I told her of wanting to retire and devote my life to promoting India-Pakistan peace. Within two years, she and her brother Toufiq (Siddiqi) had organised a group of Pakistanis and Indians to discuss energy cooperation. I attended the first meeting with the backing of the Pakistan military. There was a feeling that we needed peace. There was even an ex-RAW chief in our group." However, DG Institute of Strategic Studies, Dr Shirin Mazari, is skeptical about the Balusa group and says, "The Americans have increased their intrusive activities on all fronts. We have had rising Predator and missile attacks from across the international Pakistan-Afghanistan border even as US-linked/supported personnel continue to occupy positions in the corridors of power. The Balusa Group members funded through an American, Shirin Taherkheli, are a key US investment in Pakistan's power echelons that continue to pay dividends for the US, and this is only one of the many influence-generating channels." Dr Ayesha Siddiqua, an independent strategic and political analyst, who seldom agrees with Mazari, recently noted that "The PPP selected Washington's dream team to run foreign relations and national security. One is not sure that appointing Durrani as the National Security Adviser will do the job. The appointment (of Durrani) is in consideration of the general's close ties with the US Pentagon. Not to mention the fact that Durrani owes his intellectual growth to Shirin Tahirkheli, a Bush administration adviser and former senior official of the UN National Security Council". REFERENCE: FM Qureshi quits American-funded Balusa Group MONDAY, 07 APRIL 2008 16:11 The News Sunday, April 06, 2008 By Mariana Baabar http://www.khilafah.com/index.php/multimedia/books/2428 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=105094&Cat=2&dt=4/6/2008
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former foreign minister called on the country’s president and prime minister to resign on Saturday, following the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden, one of the highest-profile calls so far for senior officials to be held accountable. Some Pakistanis have focused their anger on the country’s powerful army and intelligence chiefs. But former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani are the ones who should be held responsible. “This is a great violation of our sovereignty, but this is for the president and prime minister to resign and no one else,” said Qureshi in press briefing. Qureshi is now a lawmaker for the ruling Pakistan People’s Party.
He has said he was pushed out of his position as foreign minister in February after he clashed with party officials over the case of Raymond Allen Davis, a CIA contractor who shot and killed two Pakistanis in the central city of Lahore, apparently in self-defense. Qureshi insisted Davis did not enjoy blanket diplomatic immunity, but he was ultimately released after the families of the victims were compensated. REFERENCE: President, PM should resign: Shah Mehmood QureshiAP May 7, 2011 (3 weeks ago) http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/07/president-pm-should-resign-shah-mehmood-qureshi.htmlPir Saeen Aanda Hay Mithay Chawal Khanda Ay - (A line from PTV Drama Jhok Siyal) - (Saint would arrive and have sweat rice)"QUOTE"
143433 2/28/2008 11:09 08ISLAMABAD872 Embassy Islamabad CONFIDENTIAL 08ISLAMABAD691|08LAHORE698 “VZCZCXRO9625
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INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 8250
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 7390
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 2913
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 9124
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 4973
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 3660
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY” “C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000872
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2018
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PK, PREL
SUBJECT: POTENTIAL PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER SHAH MEHMOOD
QURESHI
REF: A. ISLAMABAD 691 B. LAHORE 698
Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, Reasons 1.4 (b), (d)
1. (C) Summary: This is one of several profiles on political leaders who will play a large role in Pakistan’s new government. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is in the process of coalition negotiations on forming a government but still faces a leadership struggle within its own ranks. With his separate power base in the party, Amin Faheem remains the front-runner for the job as Prime Minister, but PPP Co-Chair Asif Zardari sees Faheem as personally weak and politically positioned to rival Zardari. Shah Mehmood Qureshi is an experienced politician but remains controversial within the PPP in Punjab. Although polished and pro-western, Qureshi is a relative newcomer to the PPP, as he began his political career with Nawaz Sharif but fell out with him. PPP Co-Chair Asif Zardari, however, considers Qureshi a viable candidate for Prime Minister. End summary.
2. (C) Qureshi, the PPP’s Punjab President, is a smooth and sophisticated interlocutor, and he appears sincere in professing that his and PPP’s interests are congruent with those of the United States. He believes the PPP has more in common ideologically with Musharraf than with Nawaz. He is ambitious and has been self-promoting his candidacy for Prime Minister with foreign diplomats.
3. (C) Benazir Bhutto in early 2007 appointed Qureshi–a relatively junior member of the party’s leadership–president of the PPP in Punjab Province. Party insiders speculated that Qureshi’s appointment was intended to diminish the rising popularity and influence of Yousef Raza Gillani, the PPP Vice President and an alternate candidate for Prime Minister. Qureshi and Gillani are political and spiritual rivals from Multan; Qureshi’s elevation was a direct snub to Gillani and may have exacerbated splits within the provincial party. Qureshi was optimistic about his appointment as PPP Punjab President, and told post that he believed his appointment was well-received by local party leaders (REF B).
4. (C) However, some senior PPP Punjabi leaders, including Gillani, consider Qureshi an outsider and have refused to accept his leadership. Qureshi faced further isolation because he is unfamiliar with the PPP’s power structure in Punjab. As a hereditary spiritual leader, he demands separate seating arrangements at party functions, a trait that has antagonized grassroots supporters. Critics also accuse Qureshi of accepting money in exchange for granting party tickets for the February 18 parliamentary elections, although Qureshi supporters argue he is untainted by scandal or corruption.
5. (C) Zardari told NSA Tariq Aziz he was considering Qureshi as a candidate for Prime Minister. Aziz was unenthusiastic and told Zardari he thought Qureshi would not work well with other parties, was very ambitious, and might threaten Zardari’s authority. Qureshi views himself as capable and independent front-man who can advance the party’s objectives. “”If I am Prime Minister,”" Qureshi told us that “”I am not going to be Zardari’s ‘yes-man.’ I am loyal to the party and to Zardari, but I am my own man.”" Qureshi explained that if he was made Prime Minister he expected to be able to choose his own Ministers and would not passively accept directives from a behind-the-scenes Zardari.
Career and Personal History
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6. (C) Qureshi originally joined Nawaz Sharif in 1985, and won seats in the Punjab Provincial Assembly in 1985, 1988, and 1990. He was Punjab’s Finance Minister (1990-1993) under Nawaz’s administration. Nawaz refused to give Qureshi a National Assembly ticket in 1993 because they differed over how to administer the province; Qureshi then left Nawaz to join the PPP. In exchange for switching sides, Qureshi won a National Assembly seat (1993) and became Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. He lost his seat in 1997 after Nawaz swept the elections.
7. (C) Qureshi was District Nazim (mayor) of Multan
ISLAMABAD 00000872 002 OF 002
(2000-2002); party critics say he ran in the local (non-party) election without Benazir’s blessing but with Musharraf’s tacit support. Qureshi was a capable administrator and oversaw a number of development projects in the Multan district. He used his influence as a nazim to win reelection to the National Assembly on a PPP ticket (2002-2007). During this time he developed a reputation as a forceful orator and championed strengthening and reforming parliament. Qureshi’s critics, however, accuse him of failing to deliver substantial development to his Multan constituency. He retained his seat in the 2008 elections.
8. (C) Qureshi was born in Multan on June 22, 1956. He hails from a religious and politically active family and is the hereditary caretaker of two of the city’s main Sufi shrines, which provides him with substantial income. Qureshi also claims the Sufi spiritual titles of Makdhoom and Pir. His attempt to assert spiritual authority in Multan has been controversial within the city’s Sufi community, as many other Sufi leaders–including Gillani–reject his claims of spiritual authority. Their dispute probably is what led Qureshi initially to join Sharif’s party in 1985, as Gillani was already associated with the PPP. Qureshi is married with one son and two daughters. He holds a B.A. from University of the Punjab and a Masters degree from Cambridge University. Qureshi is fluent in Urdu, English, Punjabi, and Seraiki.
9. (C) Comment: We have multiple and repeated indications that Zardari does not want Faheem to be Prime Minister. Zardari considers Faheem to be weak and lazy, but the real problem we suspect is that Faheem has his own significant power base in Sindh and would not be willing to vacate the PM job if/when Zardari wants to take it over himself. Beyond Faheem, however, Zardari does not have many good choices within the party. Choosing a Punjabi like Qureshi or Gillani (see septel for his profile) could alienate the PPP’s Sindh base but could help the PPP expand its reach into the vote-rich Punjab heartland.
PATTERSON
2008: Tariq Aziz advises Zardari against Shah Mehmood’s PM candidacyDAWN.COM (15 hours ago) Today http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/22/2008-tariq-aziz-advises-zardari-against-shah-mehmood%E2%80%99s-pm-candidacy.html
"UNQUOTE"
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