Showing posts with label Ansar Abbasi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ansar Abbasi. Show all posts

Friday, May 9, 2014

Hate Speakers, Bigots, Patriots and Fascists in Jang Group - 1


There is no limit to the shamelessness of Jang Group, GEO TV, The News International because now they are discussing False Allegation of Traitor after declaring Apostate and Traitor every moving thing around the globe who differ with them . A known lunatic who has filed a petition against several leading Human Rights activists & Journalists in Pakistan and some of them are associated with the Jang Group but what an irony Zaid Hamid who filed this Treason petition http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-146926-SC-to-hear-treason-case-against-journalists used to be invited by the same newsgroup in one of its outlet AAG http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=199087&Cat=2&dt=9/20/2009 TO  Discover the Iqbal’s Pakistan on AAG Friday, September 18, 2009 KARACHI: What is Pakistan in the eyes of the youth today? The youth speak out on the true ideology of Pakistan on this gripping episode of Iqbal Ka Pakistan. It is introducing youth participation that makes the show more informative and interactive. Watch the youth speak their mind and discover the Pakistan Iqbal had dreamed of. With Zaid Hamid and Ali Azmat. Tonight (Friday) at 9:00 pm only on AAG. end quote. What an Irony that a newsgroup without any fear of accountability, checks and balance hurl worse kinds of insults, allegations, religious edicts for paving the way for his/her murder in the name of Blasphemy, invite leaders of banned sectarian outfits, 24/7 TV tickers loaded with Ethnic, Sectarian, Religious, Ideological bias in a worse possible way and at worse possible occasion to score some cheap points. This Jang Group is notorious for inciting masses to commit murder of those who belong to the most marginalized community "Ahmedis" in Pakistan (no matter what anyone say or rant, Ahmedis are still Pakistanis and they have every right on this country and if anyone disagree then he/she must drag Muhammad Ali Jinnah for appointing Sir Zafrullah Chaudhry as Pakistan's 1st Foreign Minister) and lest I forget Hamid Mir and Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain are very fond of spreading hate against Minorities , they even invite Pakistan Nuclear Scientist Dr A Q Khan to spread more hate in an already hate filled Pakistan. Yet this group has the audacity to take a quick somersault whenever they are in hot waters. I would just quote the Hate Filled News they filed in all these years and leave the conclusion to the readers to judge as to how Jang Group, The News International and GEO TV have turned Pakistan into a ticking time bomb through their Vile reporting. Yesterday they telecast a program with Ms. Asma Jahangir, Mr Imtiaz Alam, Mr Najam Sethi, and Mr Hasan Nisar discussing the History of those in Pakistan who were declared Traitors and what not, watch the program and then read the news Jang Group / The News filed and these Hate Filled reports then reflected in their Obnoxious GEO TV Programs.

Who is Traitor in Pakistan ? (Capital Talk 8th May 2014)



Who is Traitor in Pakistan ? (Capital Talk 8th... by SalimJanMazari


Asma’s tirade against Army - Viewpoint BY Ahmad Noorani Saturday, May 28, 2011  ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Asma Jahangir has launched an unprovoked but scathing attack against the Pakistan Army and has ridiculed the unanimous resolution recently adopted by the joint session of parliament. In a private television talk show aired Thursday night, Asma Jehangir spoke her venom against the Army and went to the extent of dubbing the army officers “duffers”. Crossing all limits of decency and constructive criticism, she even made serious allegations of corruption and supporting of terrorist groups without providing any evidence. Asma, known for her erratic responses, has also been using humiliating language against the parliament and the judiciary in recent times. In one interview she called parliamentarians ‘Ullo kay Phathay.’ Her outbursts against the present independent judiciary is already known to every one. After the apex court’s historic judgment on the NRO, which made the presidency unhappy, Asma used the expression of “17 jarvi bachiyaan bhaithi hain” for the honourable judges of the 17-member bench. Although the constitution expects from the people to respect state institutions like judiciary and defence, the President of SCBA has shocked many by using extremely objectionable language. Asma who is extremely controversial in Pakistan is respected in many foreign countries including in India and the United States. In her latest interview after the terrorist attack on India-specific strategic assets, she launched a scathing attack on the Pakistan army. Some of the her translated (in English) quotes are reproduced here; “The army men are duffers, duffers. They are politically duffers. If you will follow their policy, as you have (in the past), the country will never progress. I don’t care what USA or anyone else thinks. I only care that people of our country should save themselves from this Army. Pakistan Army is responsible for the present situation.” Ignoring the sacrifices of the army to curb terrorism, she instead said, “They have spread terrorism in every nook and corner of the country. The army supports terrorism and encourages it...I don’t allege all the army men. I am not alleging ordinary army jawans. But the army generals, who play golf all the time, gossip and look for the best pieces of land for themselves. Now see what has happened in Karachi; there was a marriage hall. Could you image marriage halls in such a sensitive location? The army has made us (citizens) slaves. Now the time has come to request them with all humility to go back to the barracks and let our children live here. We don’t want bloodshed here. If you really need some crown on your head please go, fight a war and show us that you can win a war. You did the Kargil misadventure, you kill light infantry soldiers.” She added, “You are using innocent children as human shields . You are not able to fight, you cannot run the country, and you cannot make policy. You are a Qabza Group. You are a Qabza Group of this country. We should now say this plainly. Ask me the examples and I can give you several examples of their duffer-ness. See, I want a proper protest procession to be held on the Mall Road (Lahore), named ‘Haath Bandh Jaloos’. This protest procession should say, ‘Fauji Bhaio, Thanks you very much. Please go back to your homes. Sit in the barracks. You have taken so many plots. Now enough is enough. Ooh the Group of corrupts; please leave us alone.” Asma concluded, “Now I say that either the Army will remain supreme or Pakistan. If both will remain supreme, the country may not move forward.” Asma also attacked the parliamentary resolution and termed it as mere toilet paper. In the same interview, Asma also said she was the first one to condemn Musharraf’s martial law in 1999. However, in the post-coup interview with BBC that is available on youtube, Asma criticized the out-thrown civilian democratic government of Nawaz Shairf and just added one soft sentence that what Mushrraf had done by launching a military coup was not allowed by the constitution. Most of her interview justified the coup by condemning the ousted democratic government of Nawaz Sharif. In yet another interview with The News she termed parliamentarians are fools by using the Urdu words ‘Ullo kay Pathay’. Asma has also been unpredictable in her statements towards the independent judiciary. She had opposed the historic July 31, 2009 judgment against the PCO judges and the November 3 Emergency of General Musharraf. She launched an aggressive attack on the independent judiciary after a 17-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry termed the notorious legislation of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) as illegal, unconstitutional and declared it void abi nitio. Referring to the 17-member bench, Asma had said it seemed that seventeen girls were sitting on the bench; “Satra Jurvi Bachiyaan Bhaithi hain.” While referring to use of article 62-f as the basis for striking down NRO by the Supreme Court, Asma said, “It was a ‘shararat’ (naughtiness) of the judges.” Asma has repeatedly questioned how all the seventeen judges reached the same reasoning while rejecting this law. She did this more than ten times in about six TV programs in the month of December 2009. Exact quote in Urdu was, “Thora bohat Ikhtilaf hota hay - Kaisay Yeh ho gia keh 17 kay 17 judgoon ki reasoning aik hi ho gi.” While claiming that the judiciary led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remained silent on the issue of missing persons during Musharraf’s regime, Asma said, “Why did this judiciary remain silent when during the regime of Pervez Musharraf people were being picked up, went missing and were being sent to Guantanamo Bay? Why did this judiciary not speak then and why is it speaking now?” This however, is a fact that beside the media, the judiciary was the only institution which was continuously taking up the issue of missing persons and even summoned officials of the security agencies for the recovery of these persons. While criticising the Supreme Court on NRO judgement’s operational part, Asma during the same programme, said, “Prosecutor will be the court, appeal will be heard by court, monitoring cell is the court, watching will be done by court, court will transfer the people and court will appoint its choice people.” At one point during this program after the NRO judgement, Asma even said, “We have not struggled for this judiciary. (In post Nov 3rd 2007 scenario) We have struggled for an independent judiciary. We have not struggled for such a judiciary.” Again while referring article 62-f Asma said about the Supreme Court judges, “They will be prosecutors, they will examine our eyes.” While referring to the NRO judgement Asma even said, “Please don’t take this judgment so simply.” Again while mentioning article 62-f in the NRO judgment Asma predicted that if in future some candidate was not liked by the Islamabadites and if the 62-f is invoked against him, then these 17 (judges) will see whether the person is sagacious or not and all the 17 (judges) will reach on unanimous verdict that person is sagacious. After NRO judgement, in a Dec 21, 2009 programme on TV, Asma even accused the apex court of conspiracy saying, “When the judgement is so controversial then one can smell conspiracy (Agar judgement Itni Mutnaza ho tu Is main say Saazish ki Boo Aati hay).” REFERENCE: Asma’s tirade against Army - Viewpoint BY Ahmad Noorani Saturday, May 28, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-6317-Asmas-tirade-against-Army

Asma Jahangir with Matiullah Jan on Memogate (Dawn News)



Asma Jahangir with Matiullah Jan on Memogate... by SalimJanMazari



The treasonous memo! by By Shaheen Sehbai & Mohammad Malick November 18, 2011 ISLAMABAD/DUBAI: From a smoking gun to a smouldering fuse, the mysterious memo earned many sobriquets even before its precise contents were known to anyone but a handful of highly secretive power players involved in its drafting and communication. The (in)famous, rather possibly game-changing, Mike Mullen memo, ironically contains six mutinous articles and is now being revealed after Admiral Mike Mullen also confirmed its existence and 'remembered' having received it at the height of the OBL crisis. After days of huddles between the troika and other major power players of the country resulted in a resignation offer by President Zardari's closest foreign and domestic policy adviser and Ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, the memo has acquired the importance of a political nuclear bomb. The memo was sent to Mike Mullen through mutually trusted contacts by US businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who claimed doing so at the behest of an unnamed senior Pakistani diplomat, who has now been identified as none other than Mr. Husain Haqani. The memo is said to have been approved by the President of Pakistan. Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani reportedly endorsed and seemed convinced with the evidence that Mansoor Ijaz has provided to the army and took this up in his latest one-on-one meeting with the president. Sources say without offering many options, the president was 'asked' by Gen. Kayani to immediately summon Haqqani for further enquiries. The President, who earlier through his spokesman had simply shrugged off the whole affair while rubbishing Mansoor's claims, readily obliged and Haqqani was summoned to Islamabad. So far however, the ambassador is still staying put in Washington on the officially offered explanation that he is finishing up prescheduled diplomatic commitments. Besides the Memo, the electronic correspondence between the diplomat and Mansoor Ijaz has also become available in full and is a graphic account of dates, time lines, words, and even emoticons, which are normally used by youthful SMS users. Part of this conversation was recently released by Mansoor Ijaz to the media in his almost 3,700 word long statement. All communications between Haqqani and Mansoor have now been transcribed from the cell phones and made available to The News. The Memo has reached The News from more than one source, both within Pakistan and from abroad, and is nothing short of being offensively repulsive, offering an alarming insight into a power-corrupt mindset willing to compromise national interest for petty personal power gains. It is, arguably, a document crafted by soul-less conspirators who clearly have no shame and dignity, no national pride or respect. The originator, writer, approver and the ultimate beneficiary of the Memo all look like vicious anti-state collaborators and traitors hiding under the garb of national leaders and proving themselves to be decision-makers occupying positions they never deserved and should never have been allowed to occupy in the first instance. All that has come in bits and pieces in the media so far are simply peanuts as compared to the 929 words of the Confidential Memo, which has been obtained and confirmed to be authentic by The News. Couched as a "Briefing for Admiral Mike Mullen," each word has a deep meaning and each sentence carries an offer, a plan, an incentive to demolish national security apparatus of Pakistan, play havoc with its nuclear assets, allow American boots on Pakistani soil and help and abet the US in accusing and proving the Pakistani armed forces and intelligence agencies guilty of "complicity" in the Osama bin Laden affair, his secret stay in Pakistan and his mission. To top it all and make such an investigation into a foolproof nutcracker, the memo also invites US authorities to hand pick the investigators panel. Aping Camp-Justice style justice, the memo also assures its recipient that the investigation process, "will result in immediate termination of active service officers". 



In other words, byebye to a recalcitrant Kayani, adios to a hardnosed Pasha? The memo brazenly accuses the Pakistan Army leadership of "brinkmanship aimed at bringing down the civilian apparatus in Pakistan" and calls the time it was written in May 2011 as "a 1971 moment in Pakistan's history" when the armed forces had been defeated in East Pakistan and civilians led by ZA Bhutto had gained the upper hand over the military. And what do the drafters of this treasonous memo have in mind for changing the security paradigm of Pakistan? In lieu of prolonging their own stay in power, the authors of the memo promised the US administration to replace the, "National security adviser and other national security officials with trusted advisers that include ex-military and civilian leaders favourably viewed by Washington". Talk of being his master's voice. The Memo talks of creating a "new national security team" which promises to give "carte blanche" or a blank cheque to the Americans to carry out Osama-type military raids inside Pakistan and any operation on Pakistani soil. Could there be a greater violation of national sovereignty? One wonders. Clearly the authors of the memo did not give two hoots about at least two unanimous resolutions of the national parliament, which categorically forbade any violation of Pakistan's sovereignty by a third country and any action by it against Pakistani citizens inside Pakistan. Not only this but the memo also promises that the US would be given the "green signal" to not only track down people on Pakistani soil but also to kill them if so needed. The memo stands in clear defiance of the binding resolutions adopted by the Constitutionally elected parliament. In a criminally dangerous development, the memo presents as an equivocal fact that the top al-Qaeda leadership is based inside Pakistan when the authors promise to hand over the likes of Ayman Al Zawahiri, Mulla Omar etc. This angle alone would have qualified Pakistan to be declared a rogue terrorist state but try telling that to a duo with vaulting ambitions who appear to have no qualms of destroying the state in order to perpetuate their stay in office and continue with loot and plunder. As an icing on the cake, the authors of the memo also promised to bring Pakistan's nuclear assets under a "more verifiable, transparent regime.. For those in the know, this translates into retooling the entire setup and providing unrestricted access to Pakistan's nuclear assets to United States, something that has long figured high on the US wish list. This offered concession also fits in neatly with the framework softly being pushed through the slower and circuitous Cooperative Threat Reduction regime (CTR) That the move to place our nuclear assets at the mercy of the US and its 'friends' has direct security consequences for Pakistan vis-‡-vis India, among other serious concerns, is clearly no priority for the authors. And understandably so because their only concern was to stay in power no matter how. Let the country pay the price of their avarice. What political repercussions this memo will have on the power politics of Pakistan is too early to predict but what has been established is that the military establishment is not happy at all with what was going on and the Opposition will jump on the government with a relentless campaign to bring the culprits to book. Will the President stick to his guns and refuse to abandon his man in Washington? Or will he move with ruthless efficiency and speed to sever any possible incriminating link? Will the expected sacking of the envoy signal the end of the crisis or mark the beginning of the next and possibly fateful phase? The political landscape is waiting for some more aftershocks, it appears. What is certain however is that the heat from the smouldering fuse is being felt by the keg. REFERENCE: The treasonous memo! by By Shaheen Sehbai & Mohammad Malick November 18, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-26760-The-treasonous-memo!

How Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain & GEO TV Incited Masses (BBC Urdu)

 

How Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain & GEO TV Incited... by SalimJanMazari



Excuse me, madam From whom we seek justice BY Ansar Abbasi Tuesday, November 09, 2010  Since her election as president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Asma Jahangir is repeatedly targeting the Jang Group and Geo. In her criticism, she has not only resorted to personal attacks, but has also pursued a posture that can never be expected from a person who claims to be the torchbearer of human rights, democracy and freedom of media. I never expected from her the attitude she displayed last week during a TV talk show, hosted by senior journalist and anchorperson Nasim Zehra. Zehra herself was amazed by Asma Jehangir’s passion to remain focused on the Jang Group and Geo, although the media group was not the topic of the show. In my presence, she taunted the Jang Group, Geo and me and accused us of practising yellow journalism. She interrupted me time and again all throughout the show. Such interruptions led to the show turning into a fish market, at least twice. I was amazed to observe Asma Jehangir emerging as the great defender of co-chairperson of the PPP and President Asif Ali Zardari. She told me that I am suffering from Zardari-phobia but displayed the kind of responses that left her so-called independence badly exposed. She reacted almost every time when I talked of President Zardari despite the fact that the PPP’s Senator Maula Bux Chandio was one of the participants in the show. What even surprised Ms Zehra was the strange interruption of Ms Jehangir when I named three politicians, including Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and Altaf Hussain, to discuss the powers given under 18th amendment to party leaders, she cut me and remarked that perhaps I was suffering with Zardari-phobia. At this stage the astounded anchorperson had to explain to Asma Jehangir that Ansar Abbasi is talking of different political leaders and not that of Asif Ali Zardari alone. Her strange reaction has further my earlier doubts with regard to the alleged understanding between her and the Presidential camp. 


Her conduct forced me to ponder if she possesses the patience and restraint that is expected from a person holding the coveted office of the SCBA president. I thought of her predecessors — Aitzaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmad Kurd and Qazi Anwar — who, despite the criticism of media, have always been decent and gentle and never lost their cool and composure. In the backdrop of a coordinated campaign, launched by the government and Zardari-PPP against the Jang Group and Geo, Asma Jehangir appeared like joining hands with the government to defame us. During the talk show, she maintained that Jang, The News and Geo had been publishing and broadcasting lies. She accused the Jang Group of mudslinging against her. “They talked about me being an Ahmadi,” she said and asked me as to who had told me that she was Ahmadi (Qadiani, who are declared non-Muslim). Though during the show she was not ready to listen to me but now may I ask her as to when did I say that she is a Qadiani or Ahmadi? Leave me; will she now explain to us as to when did Jang or The News write that she is a Qadiani? How the Jang Group, Geo or Ansar Abbasi could be blamed when such utterances were made during the elections of the SCBA. To set the record straight, let me explain that in his report on the lawyers’ politics, published on the polling day, Mr Tariq Butt wrote in the middle of his write up, “Among the lawyers who would be casting their votes in the SCBA election, there has also been talk of the ‘Qadiani’ factor against Asma Jehangir, which might play an important role.” Although Tariq Butt is a senior journalist and important member of our investigation team, he never told me what he was writing. Obviously like any other independent journalist he also did not write on my directive or desire. Above all Tariq Butt never described her as Qadiani, but had briefly referred to the talk of the town that was under way in the entire legal fraternity. He was very cautious while referring to that factor. Although Asma Jehangir had targeted the entire Jang Group, a scan of recent newspapers show that a lot of material has published in her favour also. In his recent column, it was the leading columnist of Jang Group Mr Hamid Mir, who dispelled the impression about Jehangir being a Qadiani. The column penned in her favour explains that some family members of her in-laws are followers of the Lahori Group of the Ahmadis, but her husband is not Qadiani. Apart from Hamid Mir, there is a lot of material written by others in favour of Asma Jehangir in Jang and The News. The writers included Munnoo Bhai, Ayaz Amir, Ghazi Salahuddin, Shakil Sheikh, Babar Sattar and Shafqat Mahmood. 


The Jang Group, termed by Asma Jehangir as liar, had also published an editorial in her favour after her victory in the elections. Was anyone prevented to write in her favour? Was any word written in her favour deleted from the write up of any columnist or writer of the Group? If not then where is the so-called campaign that she believed was launched by the Jang Group against her? I wonder what was the root cause of her rage, but one point needs mention. And that is, a day prior to her election, she and some senior journalists, supporting her, had tried to bring pressure on the Jang Group to black out the story of Ahmad Noorani wherein the budding journalist had submitted the exact contents of Asma Jehangir’s anti-judiciary statements made by her after the Supreme Court ruling on NRO. The matter is yet under probe within the department, but it’s anybody’s guess as to who had informed her and her supporters in the media that such a story was filed by Noorani. The Jang Group may be held guilty of not to succumbing to the pressure to block publication of that story. She maintains that Jang Group speaks and writes lies. Besides the reflection in other newspapers, some of our correspondents also wrote before the SCBA elections that Asma Jehangir enjoyed the support of the government and the PPP. We admit the guilt of having published the statement of Sardar Latif Khosa, head of People’s Lawyers’ Forum and a confidante of President Asif Ali Zardari, claiming that everyone, including PPP lawyers, the government and Babar Awan, would support her in the election of the Supreme Court Bar. Prior to the elections, we published two stories that to my reckoning had irked her. One of them had appeared 3-4 months before the elections and the other 8-9 months before. The first story had no relevance to her elections. It was her reaction to the decision of the parliamentary committee on 18th Constitutional Amendment not to touch any of the Islamic provisions of the Constitution. In her statement, Asma Jehangir had termed the parliamentarians fools (Uloo kay Pathay). Although the next day she had denied having given the statement, proof of the interview is in possession of the concerned correspondent of The News. The second story stated that she would be the candidate of the Zardari and PPP camp in the Supreme Court Bar Association elections. The said story contained the version of both Asma Jehangir and her chief supporter Justice Tariq Mahmood. Later, the statement of Sardar Latif Khosa also proved that what the Jang and The News had carried a couple of months earlier were based on truth. In case of a campaign against her, much would have been written and published a few weeks prior to elections. But that did not happen although Tariq Mahmood had been saying that Jang Group desired results according to its will. I was also accused of stating that I would not let Asma Jehangir win these elections. Those who know me would bear witness that neither I have neither such mentality nor I talk in such a tone. No doubt Asma Jehangir had served the cause of human rights, but it is also true that I have no personal grudge against her. We, however, do have differences on ideological ground. I have firm belief that Islam is a complete code of life and take pride in the Islamic foundations of our Constitution. She thinks contrary and at times even cross the limits. Despite our differences on beliefs and faith, I think it is vital that we should not consider ourselves something so special and someone beyond human beings. Those thinking of themselves as heavenly creatures could not be exempted from criticism just because they are in the habit of sitting in Ivory Tower. REFERENCES: Excuse me, madam From whom we seek justice BY Ansar Abbasi Tuesday, November 09, 2010 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-14666-Excuse-me-madam Wednesday, January 12, 2011, Safar 07, 1432 A.H http://jang.com.pk/jang/jan2011-daily/12-01-2011/col9.htm Jang Group & Ansar Abbasi Justify Salmaan Taseer Murder Friday, January 07, 2011, Safar 02, 1432 A.H http://jang.com.pk/jang/jan2011-daily/07-01-2011/col9.htm

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Jang Group Wants The Treason Trial of General Pervez Musharraf "Alone"


ISLAMABAD: Lt General (R) Shahid Aziz, former Chief of General Staff, and once close buddy of General Musharraf, in his book, ‘Ye Khamoshi Kahan Tak?’ reveals, “Each one of you three will be authorised to issue orders for the toppling of the government. I hold you all three, General Mahmood, General Aziz and Shahid, you, responsible. General Musharraf directed us while concluding the meeting and explained, ‘I am saying this for the reason that if for any difficulty or other cause you could not contact each other there is no problem in the carrying out of coup,’ saying this Musharraf got up. “Perhaps General Musharraf said this to all three of us to ensure that even if anyone back tracks coup succeeds. We all said goodbye to General Musharraf and left for our homes. Before General Musharraf’s departure to Sri Lanka, it was our last meeting. The decision was that if during General Musharraf’s tour to Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif removes him as Army chief then there would be an immediate toppling of the government by the Army. For several days there had been meetings on this issue at Musharraf’s official residence. In these meetings besides me, Lt General Mahmood, Commander 10 Corps; Lt General Aziz Khan, CGS; Major General Ehsan, DG MI; Brigadier Quraishi, DG ISPR, and Principal Staff officer to Army Chief used to be present.” The above quotes from General Aziz’s book establish the fact that General Musharraf had planned the October 12, 1999, military coup merely to secure his job. It is also a fact that he removed the elected government by exploiting the muscles of the Army without even consulting his corps commanders. Did he serve the army or hurt it? On November 3, 2007, dictator Musharraf suspended the Constitution to get the judges of the superior judiciary, including the Supreme Court of Pakistan, removed. He also put almost all of them, along with their families, under house arrest. This unique attack in the history of Pakistan on judiciary was again planned squarely by Musharraf to protect his re-election as president of Pakistan in uniform. A large bench of the Supreme Court was all set to hand down an adverse judgment against Musharraf in Justice (R) Wajihuddin petition, challenging dictator’s re-election in uniform. By doing all this did Musharraf serve the Army, the country or his own vested interest? REFERENCE: Musharraf: the pride or shame! BY Ansar Abbasi Friday, April 11, 2014 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-243574-Musharraf-the-pride-or-shame!


How conveniently Jang Group and their Journalists forget that General Pervez Musharraf Imposed Emergency in 2007 in Pakistan with the consultation of the then Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Federal Cabinet and several member of that cabinet have now joined PML - N, PTI, PPP.


General Pervez Musharraf 3 November 2007 Emergency on PM Advice



General Pervez Musharraf 3 November 2007... by SalimJanMazari


Elections may be delayed for a year: Aziz Updated Nov 05, 2007 ISLAMABAD, Nov 4: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Sunday defended President Pervez Musharraf’s move to impose a state of emergency and said general elections could be put off for up to a year. Addressing a news conference, Mr Aziz acknowledged that 400 to 500 people had been rounded up. He was non-committal about how long the emergency would continue and just said that it would last for “as long as it was an utmost necessity”. However, Mr Aziz said a decision about rescheduling the elections would be taken after consultation with all stakeholders. Parliament was empowered, he said, to delay elections for a year under a state of emergency. The news conference in the Prime Minister’s House was held under the glaring lights of a host of television cameras, though the prime minister and his aides sitting with him were aware that barring the state-run Pakistan Television, none of the local or international news channels could be viewed in the country because of the government ban on private TV channels. Answering a question, Mr Aziz said the federal and provincial governments were working under the Provisional Constitutional Order, although the set-up remained parliamentary. Regarding rejection of the imposition of emergency by a bench of the Supreme Court, he claimed: “This ruling holds no significance as it came after the declaration of emergency and the judges on the bench had been removed from their office.” When asked if Gen Pervez Musharraf would doff his military uniform after taking oath as president for the next term, Mr Aziz said the matter was in the court. He insisted that no decision had been taken about the election date. The government remained committed to the democratic process, he said. Endorsing the views expressed by Gen Musharraf in his address to the nation, the prime minister said Pakistan was in a crisis caused by militant violence and a judiciary which had paralysed the government. He said the decision to proclaim emergency had been taken to “ensure the writ of the government, improve the law and order situation and maintain harmony among the judiciary, executive and legislature, so that the government could function smoothly”. He said the government wanted to be able to act effectively and protect the lives of people, which could not be done with ordinary laws. He said the security situation in the country and Afghanistan and the presence of foreign troops there had prompted the government to take extraordinary measures. Although the Constitution had been held in abeyance, all the activities would continue normally, he said. “The judiciary will function in the normal way. Army will not be called in any part of the country and only police and paramilitary forces will be used,” he said. Responding to a volley of questions about curbs on media, he said the government wanted an agreement on a code of conduct for setting parameters for the electronic media before allowing the blocked private television channels to resume their telecasts. REFERENCE: Elections may be delayed for a year: Aziz Updated Nov 05, 2007 12:00 am http://www.dawn.com/news/274430/elections-may-be-delayed-for-a-year-aziz Shaukat hints at extending NA term by one year by Asim Yasin Monday, November 05, 2007 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=10997&Cat=13&dt=11/5/2007


I am a hero Comment by Ansar Abbasi Wednesday, April 23, 2014 ISLAMABAD: I am a hero, no matter what I do. No law, no Constitution, no institution, nothing matters to me because I am the national interest and whatever I say or do, I do in Pakistan’s interest, whether others agree or not. I can do Kargil without even informing the prime minister. For this if the prime minister dares to challenge me, I can remove him through a military coup because I am more important than anyone or anything else. The Constitution does not matter to me. I have the power to use the muscle of my organisation to do whatever I think is right. I can use the army, I can use the ISI, I can use any other organisation, including the NAB, police, etc, to make a political party of my own. I don’t bother if it is a violation of the Constitution and law or the misuse of the institutions but still I do it because it serves my interest and keep in mind my interest is the interest of Pakistan. I can take a U-turn on the Afghan issue on a single phone call. I can join the US war on terror and offer everything, including my armed forces, my air bases, my intelligence and whatever Washington demands. REFERENCE: I am a hero Comment by Ansar Abbasi Wednesday, April 23, 2014 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-29879-I-am-a-hero

General (R) Shahid Aziz Praises General Pervez Musharraf on GEO TV.

 

General (R) Shahid Aziz Praises General Pervez... by SalimJanMazari


ISLAMABAD: Former chief of the general staff Lt-Gen (retd) Shahid Aziz on Monday issued a statement in continuation of his interview with Ansar Abbasi of The News, published on Sunday. He said: "The US invasion of Afghanistan and our involvement in this war were very difficult events to handle. The U-turn after 9/11 was a complex and historic decision. There were great reservations within the Army with what we had to do, but it was understood that in the national interest we had to take the events into account and do what was to be done. Within such psychological dynamics, Gen Musharraf had to handle the nation as well as the armed forces, and pull us through the crisis. What pressures and compulsions he had to balance cannot be understood by those who have not been in that position. Those were unique times and had their unique compulsions. "There was no formal agreement undertaken by the Army for operations in Fata. If there was any such agreement at the government level, the GHQ was not aware of it. When decisions were made at the government level, departments concerned, including the Army, were informed of their part in the process. All that transpired between Washington and Islamabad on the war on terror was not shared with the Army, since the canvas at the national level was far wider than that of the Army. This does not imply that the Army as an institution was kept in the dark. Regular corps commanders' conferences were held in which the president talked at length on these important issues. "In my capacity as chief of the general staff, I was handling a selected sphere of issues related to the war on terror. I could only speak from my purview. The government had its own very wide perspective, and the ISI had its own mandate. To ask me if I was aware of the Pakistanis which were handed over by us to the US, I could only respond that the militant prisoners taken by the Army were handed over to the ISI for interrogation. Beyond that is not in my knowledge. "However, one thing is sure that it was Gen Musharraf's stated policy that no Pakistani would be handed over to the Americans. As for the foreigners, the policy was that they would be handed over to their respective countries. It was much later that one read of Pakistani prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, and yes we all felt very bad about it. "These were, most likely, those arrested from Afghanistan; however, if ISI was involved in their handing over, it was certainly in violation of the government policy. Gen Musharraf was quite emphatic about this policy of not handing over Pakistanis to any foreign country. In fact a team led by an Army colonel visited Guantanamo to find out if any Pakistanis were imprisoned there and to arrange for their release and return to their homes. Likewise, the cooperation with the CIA, through the ISI, did provide the Army useful information regarding the presence of foreigners in Fata. This was necessitated because of the superiority of their technical intelligence means, which also included drones flown over Fata for intelligence purposes. These were tactical matters coordinated at lower levels, and did not require presidential clearance. Despite our reservations, there was little we could do to prevent this. "The colour of the article, as it has appeared in the paper, is much different than what I had meant or even implied. Gen Musharraf has a great contribution in leading the nation through a critical juncture of our history, and we should thank him, at least, for buying us the additional time to make us strategically a far stronger nation than we were seven years ago. Those who are concerned with Pakistan's security will realise this and the fact that he refused to be pushed beyond a certain point under continuous US pressure on Pakistan "to do more". Ansar Abbasi adds: Since Lt-Gen (retd) Shahid Aziz has not denied the content of his interview and since he has reconfirmed most of its points, there will be no point in stating that The News and I stand by our report. References: Ex-CGS gives more facts about Army-US relations News Desk Tuesday, September 16, 2008 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=136075&Cat=2&dt=9/16/2008  GHQ had strongly opposed handing over Pakistanis to US - Ex-CGS says Musharraf allowed US drones despite top commanders’ opposition by Ansar Abbasi Sunday, September 14, 2008 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=17248&Cat=13&dt=9/14/2008

General Hamid Gul supported Pervez Musharraf on 12 Oct 1999 (BBC)



General Hamid Gul supported Pervez Musharraf on... by SalimJanMazari


Hamid Gul, a retired general, accuses Mr Sharif of having presided over an administration which had failed to deliver the goods. "Sharif turned out to be a great destroyer of national institutions," he told the BBC. "Look at what he did to the judiciary. "He stripped them of power, put a set of judges against the chief justice, did the same to the press. "He gagged the parliament and finally he wanted to do the same to the army." REFERENCE: World: South Asia Pakistan's coup: Why the army acted Wednesday, October 13, 1999 Published at 23:20 GMT 00:20 UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/473297.stm

During the 2007 Emergency Rule which was imposed by the Pervez Musharraf Government , a senior Journalist of the Jang Group , Mr Kamran Khan was like this and please do read the stories given below the footage he filed during the democratic and elected government of Mr Nawaz Sharif.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz with Kamran Khan - (GEO TV 2007)

 

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz with Kamran Khan... by SalimJanMazari


Central Punjab holds 41 key posts - Disparity may deepen deprivation in smaller provinces - News Intelligence Unit By Kamran Khan The NEWS International, Karachi December 17, 1997  KARACHI: Less than four dozen individuals from Central Punjab, who had either lived or served in Lahore in the past 15 years, are currently holding the country's 41 most important official assignments -- a situation that is bound to aggravate the prevailing sense of deprivation not only in the three smaller provinces but also in Southern Punjab, according to an investigation by the News Intelligence Unit (NIU). The situation took a delicate turn late on Monday night when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stunned the federal cabinet by announcing that he had decided to nominate the former Supreme Court judge and a known Sharif family friend, Mr Justice (retd) Rafiq Ahmed Tarar, as the president of Pakistan. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took the decision to appoint a Central Punjabi president against strong recommendations from his cabinet members, parliamentary party members and even his younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, urging him to pick a presidential candidate from smaller provinces, the sources said. The NIU investigation found that before Senator Tarar's nomination as the president, at least 41 individuals -- mostly with permanent residences in Lahore -- were holding almost all of the, what an independent observer labelled as, "make-or-break appointments" in the country. The NIU study showed that though all of these appointments were not made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, but under his nine-month-old administration the domination and influence of Central Punjabis over the government departments multiplied manifold. With the election of Justice Rafiq Tarar as the president of Pakistan by the end of this month, the country would have a Lahore-based president, prime minister and chairman Senate. Although Justice Tarar hails from Wazirabad near Lahore, he has lived most of his life in Lahore and is believed to be a personal friend and constitutional and legal adviser to the Sharif family. Both Nawaz Sharif and Wasim Sajjad have lived their personal and professional lives in Lahore, where their families are permanently settled. Seniority, merit and professionalism may have been the criterion, but the fact remains that all three present services chiefs incidentally have Central Punjab background. The present Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Fasih Bukhari, and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal P Q Mehdi had been appointed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while Chief of Army Staff General Jehangir Karamat was selected by President Farooq Ahmed Leghari. The present government handed dual charge of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee to Gen Karamat. When Nawaz assumed the charge of the prime minister in February this year, each and every member of his personal team at the Prime Minister's Office had a Central Punjab, particularly Lahore, background. He appointed seasoned civil servant and a scion of a known Lahore family, A K Z Sherdil, as his principal secretary. Because of his Lahore background, Sherdil was personally known to Saifur Rahman Khan, who had initially suggested his name to the prime minister. Even before Sherdil's appointment, Nawaz had decided to appoint another former civil servant, Anwer Zahid, as his special assistant. The Lahore-based Anwer Zahid was the principal secretary to the prime minister during Nawaz's first tenure. Closest in Nawaz Sharif's personal team at the Prime Minister's Secretariat was, and still is, Saifur Rahman Khan -- the chief of Ehtesab Cell. Saifur Rahman like Sherdil and Anwer Zahid, cherished his Lahore background. "The prime minister feels very comfortable with Sherdil, Zahid and Saif. They speak his mind and the language," noted an informed official. The prime minister not only favoured the individuals with Lahore background for top positions of his office, he invited the people with similar background even for mid-level posts in his personal setup. He appointed Rauf Chaudhry and Khayyam Qaiser as his personal staff officers and Qamaruzzaman as his personal secretary. These three personal staff members, like other senior aides in the Prime Minister's Office, have strong Central Punjab background. They not only manage the prime minister's days and weeks, but also serve as his eyes and ears. REFERENCE:Central Punjab holds 41 key posts - Disparity may deepen deprivation in smaller provinces - News Intelligence Unit By Kamran Khan The NEWS International, Karachi December 17, 1997 http://www.karachipage.com/news/punjab_rules.htm

General Pervez Musharraf with Kamran Khan - 1 (GEO TV 2007)



General Pervez Musharraf with Kamran Khan - 1... by SalimJanMazari


 Similarly, his Press Secretary Siddiqul Farooq has always lived and worked in Lahore and Central Punjab with no work experience in smaller provinces. The prime minister appointed another old Lahore hand and a former Ittefaq Group employee, Major General Sikander Hayat, as chief of the Prime Minister's Monitoring and Evaluation Cell. He appointed Colonel (retd) Mushtaq Taher Kheli, an individual of similar background, as his political secretary. With the accountability placed at the top of his priority list, Nawaz Sharif decided to operate through his most-trusted Lahore aides. While Senator Saifur Rahman was placed at the driving seat, Nawaz decided to continue with Justice (retd) Ghulam Mujaddid Mirza, another famous Lahorite, as the chief Ehtesab commissioner. He appointed another Central Punjab PML leader Mumtaz Ahmed Tarrar as the chief of Ehtesab Council. Not surprisingly, officials and politicians wanted or arrested in corruption cases from Punjab escaped the net laid by the much-dreaded Ehtesab Cell, while those arrested from Sindh faced a totally different situation. For instance, under extremely intriguing condition a corruption case registered against former RECP chairman Kabir Sheikh, a Lahore-based official, was hurriedly withdrawn. Under identical circumstances, the corruption charges against former petroleum secretary Capt Naseer Ahmed had been withdrawn. While appointing the federal cabinet, Nawaz Sharif, once more, preferred his trusted Lahore and Central Punjab associates for important cabinet assignments such as commerce. Senior official sources conceded in their background interviews that because of his extreme closeness with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar's influence reaches frequently the decision-making levels in the Ministry of Finance. Because of his Lahore and Model Town connections, Ishaq Dar has emerged as the prime minister's most trusted aide in the federal cabinet. Dar's closeness with the prime minister can be gauged by the fact that it was he and Saifur Rahman who had negotiated and finalised the power-sharing agreement with the MQM. No PML member from Sindh was included in the team that had negotiated with the MQM after the change of government in February this year. Other Central Punjab PML parliamentarians who received important cabinet slots included Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan (Petroleum), Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain (Interior), Mushahid Hussain (Information), Shaikh Rashid Ahmed (Labour and Culture), Begum Abida Hussain (Population Welfare), Raja Nadir Pervaiz (Water and Power), and Khalid Anwar (Law). Surprisingly, the entire national security team that is reporting to the prime minister on important security matters also has the similar Central Punjab background. The present director generals of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) shared this common background. Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed and Major General (retd) Enayat Niazi had been appointed as the IB director general and the FIA director general, respectively by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while Lt Gen Nasim Rana had been appointed as the ISI director general by the Benazir Bhutto government. Smaller provinces were completely ignored over Central Punjab when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to appoint members of his party as heads of various government and public sector organisations. He appointed 37-year-old Shahid Khaqqan Abbasi, MNA from Murree, as the PIAC chairman and picked Khawaja Asif to head the Privatisation Commission. Similarly, Humayun Akhter Khan, the MNA from his home town Lahore, was appointed as the chief of Board of Investment (BoI). When it came to the appointment of the attorney general of Pakistan, the prime minister once again preferred a candidate from Lahore. Sources said that before his appointment as the Attorney General, Chaudhry Muhammad Farooq had long served the Sharif family in their business and family matters. While selecting the team of bureaucrats for his government, the prime minister apparently decided not to disturb the officials with Lahore or Central Punjab background, notwithstanding the fact that they had been appointed by President Farooq Leghari during the caretaker set-up. In a policy decision, the prime minister decided to continue with Dr Muhammad Yaqub as the governor of State Bank of Pakistan, absolving him of his responsibility in the collapse of banking and DFI sector in Pakistan in the past four years. Similarly, he also decided to continue with Chaudhry Moeen Afzal as the secretary of finance and Hafizullah Ishaq as the chairman Board of Revenue -- both gentlemen had a Central Punjab background. The prime minister also appeared comfortable with Afzal Kahut as the establishment secretary and Mian Tayyab Hussain as the cabinet secretary. The Central Punjab criteria apparently played a significant role as he appointed secretaries to some of the important ministries, for example he selected Mian Iqbal Fareed as the secretary commerce, Mehar Jivan Khan as the interior secretary and Gulfaraz Ahmed as the secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum. The Central Punjab may not exactly be the reason behind the appointment of Lt Gen (retd) Chaudhry Iftikhar Ali Khan as the secretary defence, but it may be the first time that no one from a smaller province is attached to any significant position in the entire Ministry of Defence. Like in Justice (retd) Rafiq Tarar's case, most observers do not dispute the fact that many of the Central Punjab bureaucrats or politicians given important tasks in the government by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif enjoy good reputation, but they do not believe that the smaller provinces cannot offer individuals with similar reputation and competence. These observers felt that to give a truly national look to his government, particularly after the election of Justice Tarrar as the president, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would have to go an extra-mile to neutralise the impression of his being the Central Punjab government. REFERENCE: Central Punjab holds 41 key posts - Disparity may deepen deprivation in smaller provinces - News Intelligence Unit By Kamran Khan The NEWS International, Karachi December 17, 1997 http://www.karachipage.com/news/punjab_rules.htm

General Pervez Musharraf with Kamran Khan - 2 (GEO TV 2007)



General Pervez Musharraf with Kamran Khan - 2... by SalimJanMazari


Ambitious Ziauddin steered Nawaz to political disaster News Intelligence Unit By Kamran Khan / An Open Letter to Gen. Pervaiz Musharaff October 14, 1999 ISLAMABAD: Within half an hour of his surreptitious climb to the post of the Chief of Army Staff on Tuesday afternoon, the former Inter-Services Intelligence chief, General Khawaja Ziauddin knew that the Army he was supposed to lead was not prepared to accept his command. The News Intelligence Unit (NIU) has gathered that all of Ziauddin`s phone calls to the Corps Commanders and the Chief of General Staff -- placed from the Prime Minister`s House in Islamabad on Tuesday -- drew a blank, a reaction that almost instantly drew down the curtains on former prime minister Nawaz Sharif`s second term in office. Debriefing sessions with detained aides of the Nawaz Sharif administration by security officials here have disclosed that the former ISI chief-led operation to stage an in-house coup in the Army was driven by his personal ambitions ignoring the actual situation on the ground. ``Even a layman in Pakistan is aware that any operation of this sort can never be completed without the active support of the troops and commanders posted in the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi,`` an Army official commented. ``It was foolish of the former prime minister not to be aware that his nominee for the Army chief didn`t have the key support of the 10 Corps and more specifically the 111 brigade,`` he added. It has now become clear that Lt. Gen. Ziauddin was the architect of the secret operation that envisioned the official announcement of his promotion to the post of COAS once Gen Pervez Musharraf boarded PIA Flight PK 805 in Colombo for a journey that severed his contact with the GHQ for a good 200 minutes. It was also Lt. Gen. Ziauddin who, along with the former principal secretary Saeed Mehdi, had suggested to Nawaz Sharif that General Pervez Musharraf`s plane must not be allowed to land at Karachi so that he could be arrested at any other less busy airports in Sindh. Sources said that Ziauddin had assured Sharif that he would gain the full command of the Army much before the landing of General Pervez Musharraf`s plane at Karachi airport, a dream that suddenly transformed itself into Sharif and Ziauddin`s worst nightmare. Officials here believe that because of his family and, more particularly, his father`s old ties with Khawaja Ziauddin`s family, Sharif always wanted to appoint him to the coveted post of the COAS, but he couldn`t do that since he had ignored a senior-most three star general as General Jehangir Karamat`s replacement. Several close aides to Sharif had often conceded in the past that Gen Kuli Khan Khattak was ignored because Sharif was not comfortable with a Pathan general. Ziauddin, an officer from the Army`s Corps of Engineers, was one course junior to Gen. Ali Kuli Khan and Gen. Pervez Musharraf at the Pakistan Military Academy, but even before Karamat`s dramatic exit from the Army, Ziauddin had told his friends about the likelihood of his replacing Gen. Jehangir Karamat. Sources said that General Karamat had posted him as the Corps Commander, Gujranwala in response to a personal request from Sharif, who wanted to give him a fair chance at the time of Karamat`s retirement. Those who had close access to Sharif always contended that his decision to appoint Gen Musharraf was a stopgap arrangement between Gen. Karamat`s abrupt resignation and Ziauddin`s eventual appointment as the COAS. Ziauddin`s appointment as the ISI chief, minutes after Musharraf`s posting as the COAS, spoke volumes of Sharif`s bent of mind at the time. With the knowledge that doubts deliberately created about Musharraf`s tenure as the COAS would further deteriorate worsening relations between the Army and the former prime minister, Ziauddin using his position as the ISI chief nonetheless invented an intriguing conspiracy theory on the Kargil crisis and helped fuel misinformation that the Army leadership got Sharif trapped by launching the Kargil operation. During the Kargil crisis, Gen. Ziauddin`s exclusive briefing to the former prime minister almost always contradicted the GHQ`s version. ``He was responsible for planting the seeds of intrigue on the Kargil issue in Sharif`s mind,`` according to a reliable official source. In his rash drive to convince Sharif that Musharraf`s removal as the COAS would ease tension with the Army, Ziauddin is believed to have also encouraged the former Intelligence Bureau chief Colonel (retd) Iqbal Niazi, to invent a variety of Army-backed threatening scenarios for Sharif, who apparently had an unlimited appetite for stories that painted a highly negative picture of Musharraf and the corps commanders considered close to the COAS. Khawaja Ziauddin`s desperation to please Nawaz Sharif became evident on the first day of his appointment as the ISI chief when he readily confirmed a police-doctored version about the culprits allegedly involved in the ghastly murder of Hakim Mohammad Said. On Ziauddin`s report, submitted without any independent verification, Sharif got an excuse to knock out the democratic set-up in Sindh, an act that later emerged as part of a well-engineered plot to make way for the installation of an exclusive PML-run unelected administration in Sindh. An independent Army probe later discovered that the Sindh Police`s version of the Hakim Said case, with a stamp of ISI confirmation from Gen. Ziauddin, was nothing but ``a pack of lies.`` Neither Sharif nor Ziauddin, however, ever acknowledged the blunder. In another desperate attempt to please the former prime minister, Ziauddin ordered the illegal detention of Najam Sethi, the editor Friday Times, for more than two weeks. Despite the Army`s blunt refusal to initiate sedition or treason charges against Sethi, Ziauddin obliged Sharif and Saifur Rahman by keeping Sethi locked up for about 20 days. Sethi had been handed to Ziauddin`s ISI after being abducted by IB goons from his Lahore residence. Sources said Ziauddin agreed to hold Sethi in illegal detention in response to a single phone call from Saifur Rahman, who later also made Sharif speak to him on the subject. Reliable sources said that Ziauddin was also behind severe criticism of the Kargil crisis by at least two corps commanders, who later met Sharif in Ziauddin`s presence. These meetings were never reported to the COAS, who later reacted by removing both corps commanders from their posts. For Sharif, sources said, Ziauddin`s mission was to divide the corps commanders on ethnic and professional lines and to create an anti-Musharraf lobby amongst the corps commanders. ``Since his appointment as the DG ISI, Ziauddin was playing a dangerous game that pitched his boss against the Army,`` observed a senior official. ``His operation ultimately turned out to be hara kari (suicide).`` REFERENCE: Ambitious Ziauddin steered Nawaz to political disaster News Intelligence Unit By Kamran Khan / An Open Letter to Gen. Pervaiz Musharaff Mueen Batlay and Rahal Saeed October 14, 1999 http://www.chowk.com/interacts/4646/1/0/104#95665

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Swinging Pendulum of Jang Group on Civilian Control & Patriotism In Pakistan.

Monday, July 28, 2008 EDITORIAL : As the key decision-makers jetted their way towards the US, they left the country in a state of confusion by first issuing an ill planned, sort of arbitrary, notification to place the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) under the interior ministry and then hastily clarifying its intent in a press release issued very late in the night. The confusion did not end just there, and now it appears that the initial decision to place the intelligence agency under the control of the interior ministry has been reversed. The fact that a second press release had to be issued a few hours after the initial story that the ISI had been placed under the interior ministry, (the second one) saying that the intelligence agency was already under civilian control because its chief reported to the prime minister may have to do with negative feedback but also suggests some level of confusion and an apparently ham-handed attempt to resort to some type of damage control. As for the government’s clarification and eventual reversal, it needs to be pointed out that under the old arrangement, where the agency would report to the prime minister through the defence or cabinet division, the wide perception among most people was that it tended to be an institution unto itself and very much under the control of the army chief, who may or may not have had a good working relationship with the executive. To that extent, the transfer to the interior division would have been beneficial simply because the person who heads this ministry is supposed to be any government’s point-man, so to speak, as far as law and order is concerned. The sudden, literally overnight, reversal of the decision also highlights the fact that certain institutions in the country seem to most jealously guard their control over the state’s intelligence apparatus. PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari said after the decision was made public that the move will improve the image of the military, since in the past it had received much flak for being the sponsor of devious doings and of pursuing a foreign policy independent of the elected government. However, there is one valid criticism of the decision and this is that placing the agency under the control of the interior ministry may make it even more vulnerable to being misused to suit a government’s political and ulterior ends. Having said that, as pointed out already it is imperative that all the state’s intelligence-gathering institutions be controlled by civilians eventually and be answerable to parliament. This is because the ISI and the IB have often been accused of in fact working to undermine elected governments. To this effect, the remarks of both the interior and defence ministries made to the Supreme Court in 2006 (while a habeas corpus hearing into some citizens who had disappeared was being conducted) that neither exerted any command over the ISI are instructive. The key is for the ISI and also the IB to be made answerable to parliament, and that their roles be restricted to within the ambit of the Constitution and focused on gathering information and intelligence on those involved in terrorism — and not to harass on innocent citizens or a government’s political opponents. The misuse of agencies to spy on politicians must end but it should also not be handed over to unelected politicians to use it for their own political ends. The ISI in particular is seen by many as a state within the state, pursuing its own agenda. This perception needs to be corrected. While there are questions over whether the Interior Ministry control can cut it down to size, the effort should be to keep the country’s most notorious agency on a tight leash, under existing civilian control. How it works out in practice will depend on the competence and collective wisdom of our ruling political class. REFERENCE: ISI fiasco Monday, July 28, 2008 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=126617&Cat=8&dt=7%2F28%2F2008


The dark cloud of despair rising again BY Ansar Abbasi Wednesday, July 30, 2008 ISLAMABAD: The country's security establishment, often working quietly behind the scene and more often working at odds with elected political power players, has started raising serious doubts about the competence and even credentials of the present ruling set-up, implicitly warning that things may not go on for long if they do not improve. Signs of disapproval of many things that the present regime has done or is doing are thus adding to the fears that the system may be under threat again, hardly weeks after it was born and is still trying to find its feet. Circles close to the establishment say President Musharraf is no more relevant. Neither are his conspiracies. Now the establishment is worried for what the country has seen during the last few months of the civilian rule. In his background interaction, a trusted source and a politician from the ruling coalition shared with this correspondent discussion of a senior Member of Parliament (MP) with some key players of the establishment. Without identifying these key players, the source said that the MP was asked to advise his influential top political leadership that the things as they are today could not prolong if not corrected. The MP's encounter with the establishment's players had occurred before the recent ISI fiasco, which has further eroded the credibility of the present regime. Bad-governance, highly objectionable appointments made during the recent months, growing corruption etc are causes of concern for the establishment but more worrying is the loss of trust between the ruling leadership and some important players of the establishment. REFERENCE: The dark cloud of despair rising again BY Ansar Abbasi Wednesday, July 30, 2008 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=127114&Cat=2&dt=7%2F30%2F2008

 Ansar Abbasi Attacks Nawaz Sharif and ISI.

 
Ansar Abbasi Attacks Nawaz Sharif & ISI. by SalimJanMazari


Has PPP any faith in institutionalised decisions? Comment BY Ansar Abbasi Tuesday, July 29, 2008 ISLAMABAD: The ‘ISI fiasco’ has proved yet again that the present regime has very little faith in institutionalised decisions. Last week’s official order issued to shift the ISI and the IB to the Interior Ministry without consulting the federal cabinet, any parliamentary body or the stakeholders is one such example. It was all done in indecent haste and without even going through any detailed inter-ministerial consultation between the ministries of defence, interior, cabinet, etc. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior, Rehman Malik, and his secretary Syed Kamal Shah had reportedly persuaded Asif Ali Zardari to get the Rules of Business amended to bring the ISI under the Interior Ministry apparently for better coordination between the intelligence agencies. While Rehman Malik was initially reported to have claimed that the decision to shift the ISI and the IB was taken with the consent of the president and the Army chief, but later he told a private television channel in London, on his way to Washington, that he was not aware of any notification about putting the chief spying agency under the ministry’s control. Hamid Mir of Geo’s ‘Capital Talk’ told The News that he spoke to Rehman Malik on July 26, the day the contentious notification was issued, for almost 20 minutes and the adviser had assured him that the decision was taken in consultation with President Musharraf, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and Asif Ali Zardari. But on July 27, the private TV channel quoted Malik as saying he was not aware of any notification. REFERENCE: Has PPP any faith in institutionalised decisions? Comment BY Ansar Abbasi Tuesday, July 29, 2008 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=16284&Cat=13&dt=7%2F29%2F2008



ISI chief should step down by Ansar Abbasi Sunday, April 20, 2014 ISLAMABAD: Director General ISI Lt. Gen. Zaheer-ul-Islam should step down to protect the respect and sanctity of his institution, which is now burdened with the challenge of catching the real culprits. Whether or not Gen Zaheer or any member of the ISI is involved in this cowardly attack, Hamid Mir’s earlier warning that if an attempt was made on his life the DG ISI and a few others would be responsible has made the institution of the ISI the focus of criticism. This is too serious an allegation against the top spymaster of the country to be ignored. Since Hamid Mir had pointed his finger directly at Gen Zaheer, his name would continue to be taken as a ‘suspect’ by the national and international media till such time as the real culprits are caught. Sometime back during his routine visit to the office of The News Investigations Cell, Mir had told all those present there, including this correspondent, that his life was under threat from the ISI chief Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam and a few of his subordinate officials. He informed us that besides the management of Geo, he had shared his statement about his possible attackers with a few others including an international journalists’ organisation. Keeping in view the profile of Hamid Mir, his warning could not be set aside or pushed under the rug. Mir though did not share the precise reasons as to why he suspected the DG ISI, for any reason Zaheer-ul-Islam is now facing the serious blame of attacking Mir. Because of Zaheer-ul-Islam, the institution of the ISI is also being dragged into the controversy. Even otherwise, there have been complaints about the presence of some “disgruntled elements” in the prime intelligence agency of the country that are said to be serving the vested interest of individuals. They could be dubbed as an “ISI within the ISI”, and there is a need to identify and isolate such elements. The institutions of the Pakistan Army and the ISI are critical for the defence and security of Pakistan but certain individuals, including dictators, have seriously dented the repute and working of these institutions by using them for their vested interests. These institutions badly require reform to get them focused for the prime job they are assigned and this could only be possible by cleansing these institutions of those who are in the habit of using the muscles of these institutions for vested interests. No less a person than Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief General Raheel Sharif have been informed a few months back of the serious threats to some top members of the Jang Group management. Here too some elements within the ISI were named but neither any inquiry has been ordered nor any security has been provided to those facing threats. Instead, a complete aloofness is shown by those who are required to take action in such matters. Consequently, those threatened have been compelled to live abroad. So many journalists have been killed in the past but hardly in any case have the murderers been caught. A few years back when our colleague Umar Cheema was kidnapped, thrashed and thrown in a deserted area, I had demanded the then DG ISI Lt Gen (retd) Shuja Pasha that if someone in the ISI was not involved in the attack than it was capable enough to get to the culprits. But till this day no one knows who had attacked Cheema. In Hamid Mir’s case, despite his earlier notice and naming of the few, it is premature to finally conclude who did it. But Mir’s complaint has put the institution of the ISI under a shadow. One is sure if the ISI uses its resources and skills, it could get hold of the culprits. Will it do it? REFERENCE: ISI chief should step down by Ansar Abbasi Sunday, April 20, 2014 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-29830-ISI-chief-should-step-down


 And the same Ansar Abbasi in 2009



Establishment — the main target in current fiasco - Politicians point finger at Army, ISI for debacles; all except the president are losers ISLAMABAD: No matter who has authored the script of the ongoing Brig Imtiaz tamasha, engulfing the political arena, the establishment that includes the military-led intelligence agencies and the Pakistan Army have emerged as the main villains, presumably as the authors of the fiasco wanted. Nawaz Sharif and his party are uncomfortable; demand for Musharraf’s trial has been sidetracked at least for the time being; the MQM gets into a position where it believes that its stand is vindicated but the Jinnahpur controversy also created an opportunity for its opponents for a much open criticism of the party and its policies; the issues like the scrapping of 17th Amendment have now become more complex with the two leading parties setting up for a political confrontation after the PML-N finds the Presidency behind the current smear campaign against its top leadership; however, President Asif Zardari is least affected by this recently started political wrangling. It rather has favoured him by temporarily silencing the guns that were targeting him and the government from all around for their alleged misrule, on charges of corruption, the sugar scandal and the reported ruining of the state institutions. REFERENCE: Establishment — the main target in current fiasco - Politicians point finger at Army, ISI for debacles; all except the president are losers BY Ansar Abbasi Wednesday, September 02, 2009 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=24254&Cat=13&dt=9%2F2%2F2009


Guess what it was the same Jang Group of Newspapers which should be blamed for the above



That is not the end because it was the Jang Group of Newspapers, GEO TV, Salim Safi, Shaheen Sehbai, Rauf Klasra and Ansar Abbasi who started giving undue attention to Brigadier (R) Imtiaz much earlier. “How a jilted Karachi woman saved Pak N-programme” that appeared in the daily The News on May 28, 2009 How a jilted Karachi woman saved Pak N-programme Thursday, May 28, 2009 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=22396&Cat=13&dt=5/28/2009Brig Imtiaz reveals 30-year-old secret By Rauf Klasra Watch Imtiaz's Interview Jirga 23rd July 2009 Jirga - with Saleem Saafi, read Brig Imtiaz reveals CIA plots Tuesday, September 01, 2009 By Ansar Abbasi. http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=24241&Cat=13&dt=9/1/2009


Then comes Ansar Abbasi's wild accusations and sweeping statements against the Parliamentarians based on Paranoia that Parliamentarians could be be Foreign agents, hence Traitors, "The most dangerous aspect of the 18th Amendment is to open the doors of parliament to any convict, who may have been sentenced for propagating or acting in any manner prejudicial to the ideology, sovereignty, integrity and security of Pakistan. This provision of the 18th Amendment might even allow convicted local spies of the RAW, the CIA, the FBI and even Mossad to become members of parliament and even aspire to become the prime minister of the country" Convicts can grab top political posts by Ansar Abbasi Saturday, April 24, 2010 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=28471&Cat=13&dt=4/24/2010 Please note that the Brigadier Imtiaz which was targeted by Ansar Abbasi above for blaming the civilians that they are hatching conspiracy against Establishment by using Imtiaz. Whereas the same Imtiaz is being praised by no one else but some Editor in the same newspaper -- Brig Imtiaz defends agencies’ non-cooperation with UN mission Editor Reporting Sunday, April 25, 2010 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=28488&Cat=13&dt=4/25/2010


PAKISTAN Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Credible reports indicated that the authorities routinely use wiretaps and intercepted and opened mail. The Supreme Court directed the Government to seek its permission before carrying out wiretapping or eavesdropping operations; however, the judiciary's directive has been ignored widely. No action was taken during the year in the 1996 case of 12 government agencies accused of tapping and monitoring citizens' phone calls and no additional action was expected. REFERENCE: PAKISTAN Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor 2002 http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18314.htm


In 1997 the Supreme Court directed the federal Government to seek the Court's permission before carrying out any future wiretapping or eavesdropping operations. Nonetheless, that same year, a lawyer for a former director of the Intelligence Bureau, charged with illegal wiretapping during Benazir Bhutto's second term in office, presented the Supreme Court with a list of 12 government agencies that still tapped and monitored telephone calls of citizens. The case is pending in the Supreme Court. A press story in October 1998 quoted anonymous cabinet ministers who complained of wiretapping of their telephones by the Intelligence Bureau. EFERENCE: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor 1999 http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/1999/441.htm

Pakistan's Constitution of 1973 says (Jang Group/GEO TV/The News International flagrantly violate the following article) 

 "QUOTE" 

 14. Inviolability of dignity of man, etc.

(1) The dignity of man and, subject to law, the privacy of home, shall be inviolable. REFERENCE: PART II Fundamental Rights and Principles of Policy http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/part2.ch1.html The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/

 "UNQUOTE"

Now note the conduct of these Journalists in Jang Group of Newspapers

Kamran Khan on Ansar Abbasi & Illegal Telephone Tapping - 1

 

Kamran Khan on Ansar Abbasi & Illegal Telephone... by SalimJanMazari


Failed coup against ISI was to appease US BY Shaheen Sehbai Monday, July 28, 2008 WASHINGTON: The politically ill-advised developments in Islamabad to take over control of the otherwise notorious ISI are deeply linked to Prime Minister Gilani’s US visit, as the most painful and probably the only sticking point in his talks with the Bush administration would be the role of Pakistani agencies inside Afghanistan, Fata and against the US interests. Informed members of the PM’s entourage, who have arrived in advance, privately say Gilani will be put on the spot in some of his top-level meetings, confronted with evidence that some out-of-control parts of the Pakistani agencies, either with or without Islamabad’s nod, were working at odds with the US goals and this has to be curbed by the political government if it wants generous economic and political support from Washington and even its allies and friends, including Saudi Arabia. Pakistani diplomats are confident that while the visit will sail through without hitch, the issue of controlling the undesirable role of the agencies will be too hot to handle for an inexperienced prime minister. Thus, he was more than eager to take some decision on who would control the ISI before landing at the Andrews Air Force Base on the outskirts of Washington at 12:30 am Monday morning (Pakistan Standard Time). The US side is prepared with all kinds of evidence, videos, audios plus transcripts to show Gilani that his agencies were playing double games in seriously stopping the terrorists inside Pakistan from operating freely. One such example to quote is the press conference addressed by Baitullah Mehsud with dozens of journalists travelling inside Fata to secret locations which, the US side claims, could never have remained secret from the vigilant Pakistani agencies. But if a terrorist can call and address a news conference with all TV and media presence in full force, there is no excuse for the agencies not to know where he was located. The Pakistani side is also preparing its own counter arguments claiming that if the US can immediately track down the voice of Baitullah Mehsud, within hours after Benazir Bhutto’s murder claiming responsibility for the heinous act, why could they not track down and share the information with Pakistan on the whereabouts of the militant leader so that Pakistan could act in real time. But all these arguments bring into sharp focus the role of the agencies and by ordering that, henceforth, the ISI would be controlled by the interior ministry, Gilani was trying to arm himself with talking points to assure the Americans that he was serious in dealing with the situation and should be given time and support to handle what has been a long and ongoing notorious operation without any civilian political oversight. Yet the manner in which Gilani and even Asif Ali Zardari handled the matter so casually and without deep thought has now caused not only a public embarrassment for the prime minister, even before he landed on the US soil, but he will be hard pressed to avoid the gazing looks of uniformed US generals when they seek answers to their pointed questions. Both Pakistani and US sides preparing for these serious discussions are deeply skeptical of the role of some of the Pakistani leaders, specially the over-zealous interior ministry bosses, in misleading and misguiding their own leadership as well as the people and the media on how and why the sensitive ISI affair was handled. Rehman Malik has repeatedly said on Pakistani TV channels that the president, the Army chief, the prime minister and Asif Ali Zardari were not only consulted but had agreed to the change of command of the ISI but each of these players, importantly the presidency and the GHQ, have said categorically that they were not on board. So, Malik has to do a lot of explaining on what was going on and why he was making misleading claims. It is not the first time that Malik has been acting in such an arbitrary manner and his action of postponing the by-elections without consulting anyone, a decision which had to be reversed, was a similar attempt at exercising power that did not exist in the manner he wanted to use it. The cryptic remarks of some of the military people made to important journalists about imagining a situation in which the ISI would be run by Malik indicate the level of mistrust and contempt about some of the unelected leaders in the PPP government. But they are thriving and it is a deepening mystery why. So when Prime Minister Gilani lands in Washington, he will not only have to worry about what he will face in meetings with the US leaders but will also have to prepare some convincing explanations for his own party leader, who is believed to have already reprimanded the PM for not being able to comprehend the seriousness and sensitivity of the decision that he took and caused a huge backfire. REFERENCE: Failed coup against ISI was to appease US BY Shaheen Sehbai Monday, July 28, 2008 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=16258&Cat=13&dt=7%2F28%2F2008

Kamran Khan on Ansar Abbasi & Illegal Telephone Tapping - 2



Kamran Khan on Ansar Abbasi & Illegal Telephone... by SalimJanMazari



Is Rehman Malik himself on the chopping block? The question being asked is whether the adviser acted on his own or on party recommendation BY Ansar Abbasi Thursday, July 31, 2008 ISLAMABAD: Rehman Malik has hinted from Washington of the possible rolling of some heads in the bureaucracy for causing the recent ISI fiasco but the reports making rounds in Islamabad suggest that the prime minister's adviser on interior might find his own head on the chopping block. While a renowned defence analyst and writer privately told this correspondent on Wednesday that Asif Ali Zardari would possibly be required to fire Rehman Malik sooner than later, the PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that he was not aware of any such move. A PPP leader though confided to this correspondent that the controversies generated by Rehman Malik might force the party leaders to review his role, admitting at the same time that it would be a "tall order". Farhatullah Babar, however, said that the PPP coalition government believes in accountability even if it involves its own people. For this purpose, he explained that the party's co-chairperson has set-up an ethics committee also. Malik told journalists in Washington on Tuesday that he had absolutely nothing to do with the controversial notification to take over the ISI and the IB and said that when he would return to Pakistan he would see that some heads rolled immediately for this blunder. Malik explained that the notification was issued by some bureaucrats who, according to him, included the name of the ISI without getting proper approval from the competent authority and he would see that those responsible were taken to task. Before his latest statement, the security czar had told a private television channel that he was not aware of any notification about putting the ISI under the control of the Interior Ministry. And before that, on July 26, when the controversial notification was issued, he was quoted to have said that placing the ISI and the IB under the interior ministry was the consequence of consultation between the president, the prime minister, the Army chief and Asif Ali Zardari. Zardari House knows that the latest ISI fiasco is too serious a thing to be ignored or pushed under the rug. Though Malik now claims he was not part of this controversy, sources even in the PPP admit that it was the adviser on interior who had sold the controversial idea to Asif Ali Zardari. Previously, at least on two occasions, Malik became the centre of controversies. In May he surprised everyone by his role in the postponement of the by-polls. Although, he denied his role in that case too, it was the Frontier Chief Minister Amir Haider Hoti, who told the media that he was approached by Malik to write to the federal government seeking postponement of the by-polls, which interestingly the young chief minister did. The CM said that he was told by Malik that all the other provinces were also conveying similar requests to the federal authorities. Later, Secretary Election Commission Kanwar Dilshad also said that he too was contacted by Malik, who sought the postponement of the by-elections and informed the secretary that the NWFP government was writing for the postponement of the by-polls whereas the other three provinces also had security concerns. On another occasion, Malik hit the headline by announcing that Swat peace deal had been scrapped. The statement shocked both the Army and the Frontier government. However, a day after in his televised press conference, Malik said that he never talked of scrapping of the deal. Malik had been quoted by different news agencies as telling a group of reporters, "The Swat agreement is scrapped as the militants have continued their attack on the security forces." The Frontier government had reacted sharply to Malik's statement while the military spokesman too said that the Army was not aware of any such development. Because the party has not taken any action against Malik earlier, the question is being asked whether he took those decisions on his own or on the recommendations of the party. REFERENCE: Is Rehman Malik himself on the chopping block? The question being asked is whether the adviser acted on his own or on party recommendation BY Ansar Abbasi Thursday, July 31, 2008 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=127298&Cat=2&dt=7%2F31%2F2008





‘Angels’ blocking Geo, The News, Jang : Channel shut down, papers blocked in cantonments, defence organisations; Geo pushed to last numbers on TVs in civilian areas - ISLAMABAD: Who says the chief of the ‘angels’ is ordering and monitoring the closure of all channels of the Geo Group through cable operators and stopping the distribution of daily Jang, which existed even at the time of the creation of Pakistan, and The News in cantonment areas? This is indeed happening in all cities across the country. Geo has been blocked, and the circulation of Jang and The News stopped in all cantonments and companies and corporations under military officials’ control. Besides, in civil areas, attempts are under way to block Geo, and it has been pushed to the last numbers on TV in some areas. Following the life attempt on Hamid Mir, the well-known anchor of Geo News, the transmission of Geo group channels was initially being stopped in the cantonment areas but now the ISI has started contacting the cable operators in civilian areas and operators are being “asked” to block all Geo channels even in non-cantonment areas. The Geo/Jang Group, which according to its spokesman, was already facing the worst financial crisis in recent months has been badly damaged financially by the most recent blackout of its channels in many areas of different cities across the country. REFERENCE: ‘Angels’ blocking Geo, The News, Jang Channel shut down, papers blocked in cantonments, defence organisations; Geo pushed to last numbers on TVs in civilian areas by Ahmad Noorani Friday, April 25, 2014 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-29919-Angels-blocking-Geo-The-News-Jang

 Ahmed Noorani Tapped Nazir Naji Telephone Calls

 

Ahmed Noorani Tapped Nazir Naji Telephone Calls by SalimJanMazari

Jang Group star reporters often attack International Human Rights Organizations in a worse possible way and not only that they also threaten Human Rights Activists in Pakistan  , here are few examples




Let’s see what HRW could not see in Pakistan News Analysis by Ahmad Noorani ISLAMABAD: In yet another display of politically motivated opinions, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has ignored the PPP government’s failure to check massive human rights violations in Pakistan in its latest global report for the year 2012 but has once again come up with a charge-sheet against the country’s independent judiciary. Implicitly favouring the present regime, the HRW has based its opinion on half-truths, complete lies, distorted facts and subjective views. The US-based HRW report seems to be a clear attempt to further fuel already intense sectarian violence and to create chaos and disorder in Pakistan. Once again the organisation has repeated its allegation in an indirect way that Shia Muslims in Pakistan are being killed at the behest of the Pakistan Army. HRW has again alleged that media independence is being hurt in Pakistan because of the judiciary despite the fact that HRW failed to carry out an independent inquiry into the November 2012 press release on the same subject which was rejected by the whole Pakistani media and HRW’s credibility was badly hurt. REFERENCE: Let’s see what HRW could not see in Pakistan News Analysis by Ahmad Noorani Saturday, February 02, 2013 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-157664-Lets-see-what-HRW-could-not-see-in-Pakistan





HRW again interferes blatantly in Pak judicial matters By Ahmad Noorani US-funded body ignores personal attacks on judges, due criticism on media; analysts say HRW Pakistan chapter highly politicised; serving interests of a particular class of rulers; rights body fails to mention reasons behind court’s action; restraining orders were issued after some highly abusive and derogatory programmes; Brad Adams either ignorant or misled about facts in Pakistan; Justice Wajih says HR bodies should focus on executive, not judiciary - The Human Rights Watch (HRW), an American-funded international NGO, has blatantly interfered in the Pakistan’s judicial system and has acted in a highly politicised manner to serve the interests of a particular class of the rulers, directly attacking Pakistan’s independent judiciary, analysts say. No doubt, HRW is considered as one of the leading human rights organisations in the world but unfortunately its Pakistan’s chapter is highly politicised and has close links and affiliations in Islamabad with the ruling PPP. Justice Wajihuddin Ahmad, former chief justice of Sindh High Court and judge of the Supreme Court who refused to take oath under Musharraf’s first martial law, said any order categorically ordering media not to criticise the judiciary will not only be a violation of human rights but will also be against the constitution. REFERENCE: HRW again interferes blatantly in Pak judicial matters By Ahmad Noorani Wednesday, November 28, 2012 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-19130-HRW-again-interferes-blatantly-in-Pak-judicial-matters





HRW presented one-sided view on Balochistan to US panel by Ahmad Noorani ISLAMABAD: Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan director of a US NGO, Human Rights Watch (HRW), was the only Pakistani who appeared as a witness on Balochistan issue during the illegal hearing of US House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs and gave testimony against Pakistan by presenting wrong facts and figures. Leading politicians from government and opposition parties have condemned in the strongest words the conspiracy of some Pakistanis to take the indigenous issue of Balochistan to the American government and US Congress Committee and have demanded strict legal actions against such elements. While the US is all out to balkanise Pakistan initially by supporting independence of Balochistan and by siding with the angry Baloch separatist elements, American planted NGOs and some so-called liberal elements are also all out to implement US agenda to destabilise Pakistan by disintegrating and isolating its social ranks. Reference: HRW presented one-sided view on Balochistan to US panel by Ahmad Noorani Tuesday, February 21, 2012 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-12612-HRW-presented-one-sided-view-on-Balochistan-to-US-panel





HRW launches campaign against media - HRW Pak director’s sayings and deeds do not match; Ali Dayan sent questions and his response will be used as it is BY Ahmad Noorani ISLAMABAD: Human Rights Watch (HRW), the leading human rights organisation of the world, has launched an offensive against the media instead of responding to journalistic criticism by ‘The News’ on its World Report-2013. HRW director in Pakistan Ali Dayan Hasan, in different media interactions, instead of elaborating the points of HRW World Report-2013 regarding Pakistan or discussing the points of criticism in ‘The News’ story, has started attacking the newspaper and leveling different baseless allegations. The News has discussed with the leaders of the religious and political organisations about the findings of the HRW World Report-2013 regarding Pakistan and journalistic objections raised by the newspaper. HRW, in its present report and the earlier testimony before US House committee working on Balkanisation of Pakistan, has held that there is Shia-Sunni infighting in Pakistan and Sunni militant groups are killing Shia Muslims. HRW has also held that it is believed that Shia Muslims, especially Hazara community in Balochistan, are being killed at the behest of Pakistan Army. After The News article, Dayan is now holding the government responsible for such killings in his recent media interviews but, in his report, he never held the PPP government responsible and never discussed the government’s failure to control these terrorists. REFERENCE: HRW launches campaign against media - HRW Pak director’s sayings and deeds do not match; Ali Dayan sent questions and his response will be used as it is BY Ahmad Noorani Saturday, February 09, 2013 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-159017-HRW-launches-campaign-against-media





HRW jumps into memogate in controversial move - Accuses SC of subverting the civilian government, cutting president’s term ISLAMABAD: The otherwise neutral and objective organisation Human Rights Watch on Friday took a highly objectionable and partisan position against the superior judiciary of Pakistan accusing the Supreme Court of indirectly “truncating parliamentary and presidential terms” and “subverting the civilian rule.” A statement of HRW said that it had noticed a tendency for the courts to find themselves embroiled in matters that they would not otherwise be an appropriate forum to consider. Ali Dayan Hasan, the Pakistan Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a statement issued after the SC verdict to set up a judicial commission in the memogate case said: “All parties to the memogate affair must understand that a legal dispute cannot be made the vehicle for truncating parliamentary or presidential terms through the backdoor or as a mechanism for subverting civilian rule.” The highly controversial HRW statement said: “As the ‘memogate’ case proceeds, all arms of the state must act within their constitutionally determined ambit and in aid of legitimate civilian rule. In this context, justice must both be done and be seen to be done. Pakistan desperately needs a full democratic cycle and a peaceful transfer of power from one civilian administration to another. Should this process be derailed, the constitutional safeguards and legal rights protections created since 2008 may suffer irreparable damage. Reference: HRW jumps into memogate in controversial move - Accuses SC of subverting the civilian government, cutting president’s term News Desk Saturday, December 31, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-11389-HRW-jumps-into-memogate-in-controversial-move





Ex-chief justice raps HRW for interfering with SC - HRW rep Dayan defends his organisation which fears for democracy  ISLAMABAD: Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saeed-ul-Zaman Siddiqui has strongly criticised what he called an attack on the integrity of Pakistan’s state institutions like the superior judiciary by a foreign organisation working in Pakistan under the cover of human rights, writes Ahmad Noorani. “No one can be allowed to attack the sanctity and integrity of the state institutions or scandalise them,” he told The News while reacting to the controversial statement issued by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticising the SC verdict in the memogate case on Friday. Justice Siddiqui said that the sentences used in the press release are a direct intervention into the internal affairs of Pakistan and no such organisation could be allowed to extend its comments to this level. He said that Supreme Court should take immediate notice of such dirty attacks and that too by a foreign American-funded organisation. The HRW Pakistan Friday issued a highly contemptuous press release minutes after the announcement of judgment in memo case, apparently backed by the PPP government, attacking national institutions, judiciary and army and alleged that there is a perception that judiciary is discriminating against the civilian government. The human rights organisation having its headquarters in New York directly maligned the institution of judiciary over a case which is still under hearing of the Supreme Court. Referring to memo case, the press release of HRW “instructed” the Supreme Court that “justice must both be done and be seen to be done.” REFERENCE: Ex-chief justice raps HRW for interfering with SC - HRW rep Dayan defends his organisation which fears for democracy Saturday, December 31, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-11390-Ex-chief-justice-raps-HRW-for-interfering-with-SC


Now note how Mr. Hamid Mir and Jang Group of Newspapers justify the Brutal Murder of Former Governor Punjab, Pakistan, Salmaan Taseer

Liberal fascism? by Hamid Mir Tuesday, November 03, 2009 Jonah Goldberg is a columnist for The Los Angeles Times. He recently wrote a book on liberal fascism. He started his book with Mussolini who was the father of fascism in Italy. Jonah also discussed American liberalism as a new totalitarian political religion very close to fascism. Finally Jonah Goldberg declared Hillary Clinton as "The First Lady of Liberal Fascism." Jonah avoided using the term of liberal fascist for President Barack Obama but he feared that America was slowly becoming a fascist country. It was difficult for me to believe that Hillary could be a fascist because she is a fascinating person. I read the book just a few days ago when I was travelling from the US to Pakistan. Luckily I got a chance to meet Hillary Clinton during her official visit to Pakistan on the evening of Oct 28 at the Islamabad residence of the US ambassador. I was one of the six TV anchors invited for a candid talk with the secretary of state. She was very much concerned about the bad image of her country in Pakistan and she said that "we must listen to each other and we must be honest with each other." I put just three short questions to Hillary Clinton. My first question was about the rule of law. I referred to the Kerry-Lugar bill in which the US expressed desire for the rule of law in Pakistan and humbly asked why US officials were breaking Pakistani laws again and again in Islamabad. I informed her that four US marines were arrested at 3 a.m. on Oct 27 in Islamabad with illegal weapons in their hands. They were released within one hour of their arrest. I asked: "Who ordered them to patrol the roads of Islamabad? Will you allow Pakistani soldiers to patrol the roads of Washington DC with weapons in their hands?" Hillary said that diplomats enjoyed immunity and they carried weapons. I again informed her that diplomats did not come out on the roads at three in the morning. She said: "I will look into this matter." I was not satisfied with her answer. She told us that the US wanted a strong and vibrant democracy in Pakistan. I again asked her that if the US cared too much about democracy, then why it didn't care about the unanimous resolution of our new parliament against US drones attacks. I said, "Instead of listening to the voice of democracy coming through our parliament you have increased drone attacks which means that you have no respect for our democracy." Once again she just said, "We have to win the war against terror and we have to support democracy in Pakistan." My third question was about the American desire for civilian control on the security establishment of Pakistan expressed in the Kerry-Lugar bill many times. I asked, "Do you want a civilian to head the ISI?" She never said no, but explained, "We can have a head of the CIA both from military and civilians and you can also have the head of the ISI from military and civilians." The answer clearly gave a message that the US wants a civilian to head the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. Hillary Clinton never said anything new to us. When I was coming back after meeting her I was thinking about Liberal Fascism written by Jonah Goldberg. Hillary Clinton must give clear and straight answers to the questions burning in the minds of common Pakistanis. Otherwise, we will be forced to believe that she is taking America into a new era of liberal fascism. Reference: Liberal fascism? by Hamid Mir Tuesday, November 03, 2009 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=206525&Cat=9&dt=11/4/2009


Taliban Journalist of Jang Group Justify Salmaan Taseer Murder (GEOTV 2011)

 

Taliban Journalist of Jang Group Justify... by SalimJanMazari



 Liberal extremism vs religious extremism — both are wrong by Hamid Mir Tuesday, January 11, 2011  ISLAMABAD: It’s very difficult for me to write about Salmaan Taseer, the assassinated Punjab Governor. Once he was a good friend and later he became a ferocious enemy. He spoke against me and against Geo TV on many television shows as the governor and I wrote against him many times in the last couple of years because he had joined hands with dictator Pervez Musharraf after the imposition of emergency on November 3, 2007. I was standing with the deposed chief justice of Pakistan and Taseer tried to stop the restoration of deposed judges, first by helping Musharraf and then by helping President Asif Ali Zardari. Musharraf appointed him the governor of Punjab in May 2008 with the hope that Taseer will convince Zardari to accept the former dictator as the president for five years. Musharraf was wrong. Zardari ultimately forced him to resign and occupied the Presidency with the help of Taseer. Within a few days of becoming the President, Zardari arranged my meeting with Taseer and forced us to forget our past differences because Zardari was aware that we enjoyed a friendship of 20 years (from 1987 to 2007). Unfortunately, President Zardari failed to remove the mistrust between his governor and a journalist. We embarrassed the President of Pakistan. In the next two years, we spoke against each other many times, especially when Zardari imposed the Governor’s Rule in the Punjab to suppress the movement for the restoration of deposed judges. Zardari and Taseer failed to stop that movement and finally they were forced to restore the judges. My differences with President Zardari and Taseer were over after that. Thanks to the floods last year, Taseer showed a big heart and made truce with me. It was August 2010 when Taseer surprised me. He saw me in the flood affected area of Multan and sent a message of reconciliation through his media adviser Farrukh Shah. I accepted because I was impressed that the governor was trying his best to help the flood victims. We had tea together after many years. He praised my visits to the flooded areas in boats and I praised his commitment to the flood victims. Taseer wanted to discuss many things but I was going to Muzaffargarh with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. We talked and laughed and then I said goodbye to him with a promise to meet him again in Lahore. I saw him again in the reception for the Chinese premier in Islamabad. Just one day before his assassination, I was in Lahore and tried to contact him. I wanted his views on the gas loadshedding in the Punjab. I was informed that he was in Islamabad. The next day, I arrived back in Islamabad and in late afternoon my colleague Rana Jawad told me that Taseer was shot in front of my favorite restaurant in the capital. I was stunned but then I smiled. I told my colleague “Taseer is a hard nut to crack, he will survive.” My colleague said that only a miracle could save him because Taseer got more than one bullet in his neck. Now I was nervous. After a few minutes, I came to know that a police guard had fired more than 27 bullets on Taseer. He was angry with Taseer because he took a position against the country’s blasphemy laws. There was no justification for any individual to kill someone just for criticising a law. I was more disturbed when I started receiving SMS in support of his killer the same evening. Many religious leaders refused to condemn the assassination of Taseer. I took it as a challenge and decided to get condemnation from the head of the biggest religious party of the country — Jamiat Ulema Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. I contacted him on phone on my television show and just asked, “Will you condemn the murder of Salmaan Taseer?” I was surprised when Maulana Sahib tried to avoid my question. He was not in a mood to condemn the murder but I was repeating my question again and again. Finally, the Maulana Sahib condemned the murder of Taseer. It was not my victory. It was the victory of all those who believed in the teachings of founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He believed in the rule of law. No individual has the right to become a judge and punish someone without hearing his point of view. When I finished my show, many extremists started threatening me. But I was not alone. A big majority of my colleagues encouraged me, including the critics of Taseer. More than 500 religious clerics issued a statement in support of the assassin and declared that no Muslim should participate in his funeral prayers because the late governor was trying to release a Christian woman convicted under the blasphemy case. This statement came from the anti-Taliban Barelvi scholars, who lost their leaders like Mufti Safaraz Naeemi at the hands of the Taliban in 2009. All the top religious scholars of the Lahore city refused to lead the funeral prayers of Taseer, including the prayer leader of the mosque in the Governor House of Lahore. The Barelvi Ulema took a very extreme position. On the other side, some English newspapers declared that blasphemy law was the main cause for the killing of Taseer. It was also an extreme position. It is a very difficult situation for the host of a popular TV talk show. I took another risk. On the day of the funeral, I interviewed another important Islamic scholar Mufti Muneebur Rehman, who expressed his condolences with the family of Taseer. Mufti Muneeb belongs to the Barelvi school of thought. He was one of the first Islamic scholars who came out openly against the suicide bombings of Taliban in my TV show five years ago. Mufti Muneeb also opposed Taseer’s views on the blasphemy laws but he never approved the murder of Taseer. I was relieved after the statement of Mufti Muneeb. At least, someone from religious clergy came out openly against the killing. I think Salmaan Taseer was a misunderstood person. His son Aatish Taseer portrayed his father as an enemy of Jews and Hindus in his writings just because Taseer left his Indian Sikh mother Talveen Singh in 1980. In fact, Taseer represented the western way of life in his private life but Aatish wrongly accused his father for having a religious hatred against the Jews and Hindus. The assassin of Taseer also had a wrong impression about Taseer and he killed him as an enemy of Islam. Aatish Taseer and the assassin, Malik Mumtaz Qadri, represent two different extremes. One is a liberal extremist who leveled unfounded charges against his father. The other is a religious extremist. I am sure that both these two extremes are very dangerous for our values. We must fight both, the religious extremists and the liberal extremists. I must say that the ruling Pakistan People’s Party is also responsible for Taseer’s death. When Taseer criticised the blasphemy laws, his own party, including President Zardari, never took a stand for him. Law Minister Babar Awan said that nobody would be allowed to make a change in the blasphemy laws. The views of Taseer were misunderstood because the US is also demanding that Pakistan repeal the blasphemy laws. The common Pakistanis don’t like the US interference and that was why Taseer was declared an American agent by many rightwing parties. We can compare this controversy with the cases of Binayak Sen and Arundhati Roy in India. They are facing sedition charges because they are outspoken like Salmaan Taseer and they are hated by the right wing like Taseer. They are facing death threats and they are supported by the US and unfortunately the support from the US is definitely a disadvantage in South Asia. Personally, I also believe that there is no need to change the blasphemy laws right now because these laws were passed by our parliament in 1992 and we cannot afford new controversies these days. Prime Minister Gilani has written in his autobiography published in 2006 that the late Benazir Bhutto was also an opponent of changing the blasphemy laws. But we must not allow a person to kill another person just for criticising these laws. Freedom of expression is assured in Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan. I think that human rights bodies must fight the case of poor Christian woman convicted in blasphemy in the high court and the Supreme Court. They should not force the President of Pakistan to announce a pardon because it will create further divisions in our society. We must resolve our problems through the rule of law. Religious parties once again showed their street power on January 9 in Karachi in support of the blasphemy laws. Interestingly, Sunni and Shia scholars never condoned the murder of Taseer but they were together in defending the blasphemy laws. The Punjab Assembly showed maturity on Monday by condemning the murder of Salmaan Taseer. I think that blasphemy law is a safety valve against violence but I also believe that we must condemn the murder of Salmaan Taseer. Now some PPP leaders are trying to put the blame of his assassination on the PML-N. This is dirty politics. We need unity to fight extremism. I am sure we can defeat extremism not with the help of US but with the help of our own values based on tolerance. We need a made-in-Pakistan solution for fighting terrorism and extremism. A made in US solution will completely destroy us. REFERENCE: We need a ‘made-in-Pakistan’ solution for fighting terrorism - Liberal extremism vs religious extremism — both are wrong by Hamid Mir Tuesday, January 11, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-3234-We-need-a-made-in-Pakistan-solution-for-fighting-terrorism Hamid Mir on Liberal Fascist in Pakistan Thursday January 20 2011 Safar 15 1432 AH http://jang.com.pk/jang/jan2011-daily/20-01-2011/col5.htm