A Dozen Gifts of 20th Century

1. Realization that we are moving without knowing our direction or speed.
2. Relativity to predict illusions of a moving observer.
3. Cinema to enjoy the illusion of motion.
4. Atomic bomb and ability to destroy all mankind, creating a prpetual sense of insecurity.
4. Removal of difference between art and obscenity.
5. Air transport.
6. Transistors, integrated circuits and electronic devices.
7. Television and passive enjoyment of sport.
8. Satellite communication and conquest of distance.
9. Internet and unlimited instant uncensored information.
10. Prevalence of virtual reality and adultration of truth.
11. Erosion of gender uniqueness.
12. Spectre of Israel and growth of religious extremism and intolerance.

The Great Bluff

As the judicial probe of impropriety against prime minister Nawaz Sharif approaches its logical conclusion, there is a crescendo of noises by the ruling party that the imminent disqualification of their leader would apply brakes to the wheels of progress in the country. It is true that the motorcade of the prime minister’s daughter has grown from 3 to 15 vehicles and some highly cosmetic infrastructure development projects have emerged in Lahore which are of little use to the general public. There has been no improvement in education, health or water, gas and power supplies services. Crimes are as prevalent, roads are as unsafe and jobs are as scarce as before the PML(N) government came into power.

Let us look at some of the statistics.

1.       Power Supply: The government has been claiming that there has been tremendous economic and industrial progress as in the following tweet of the Defense and Power minister:

If you add the average generation and shortfall you get the total electrical power demand for the year in question. Simple arithmetic giver the average demand figures as follows:

Year                                         June 2012            June 2013            June 2016            June 2017

Total Power Demand               17070                   19742                 19684                  20841

This shows that there has been a growth of only 5.57 percent in 4 years ie less than 1.4 % annually which is even less than population growth rate. Thus there has been no growth in either industry or people’s standard of living. Actually there has been perceptible deterioration.

2.       Trade: The following trade data has been taken from the government website and tells a sad story of the utter failure of the businessman prime minister:

There has been a steady fall in the volume and value of exports over the last 4 year period and the government has done nothing to arrest the decline.  The textile and garment manufacturers have been running from pillar to post but have not had any success.

3.       Stock Exchange:  The success of Karachi Stock Exchange now Pakistan Stock Exchange has been told as the great achievement of the incumbent government. Here is the 5 year progress report taken from their own website:

Above chart shows that although the 100 index has been blown out of proportion, the number of listed companies has remained stagnant and a meager increase in base capital has taken place. The only IPO in 2017 so far was for an iron works owned by Sharif family.  During this period there have been about half a dozen upheaval and mini-crashes in which more than 4% market capitalization was lost in one day causing heavy losses to small investors.

4.       Currency Parity: When the present govt. came to power in 2013, the PKR-USD parity stood at Rs. 108. Mr. Dar played some quick tricks and brought it down to Rs.98 and touted it as a financial miracle. Soon afterwards heavy borrowings were made from WB and others and the parity was maintained at on average at Rs. 104 against the demands of exporters. Recently it jumped back to Rs. 108 and SBP declared that it reflects the current economic situation. The result of maintaining low parity is that Pakistani families that depend on remittances from family members working abroad have lost nearly 400 billion rupees in money exchange and textile and garments have become uncompetitive and reduced production and cut jobs. The only beneficiaries of this policy are those who have been sending their money abroad for buying properties in Dubai, Qatar and UK etc as they got more dollars for their Rupees.  It has also helped to show higher GDP in dollar terms to fool the world.

If one takes all above facts into consideration, it seems that the government of Mr. Nawaz Sharif has been working intentionally to harm national interests and the people of Pakistan. Take into account the Dawn story plant against the armed forces, the tirades against the judiciary and the family friendship with pm Modi and other Indians with deteriorating border situation and silence on the arrest of Indian terror mastermind one can’t help but wonder if the stage is being set for something like the French Revolution.

Swift justice and early elections may avert a disaster, I hope and pray.

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Literal Islam

Sometime in early 1970s I watched the Shakespeare play Richard III in a theatre in his home town of

Stratford upon Avon. At the very opening, a character walked on the stage and facing the audience said, "I have chosen to be the villain." I was shocked. It was beyond my comprehension that someone would

voluntarily choose to be a villain. Now I know better.

Urdu translations of the Holy Quran I read in my childhood had marginal notes telling about the

circumstances in which verses were revealed or the incidents to which they referred. It created Awareness of Circumstantial implications of the Quranic injunctions. It was understood that you cannot pick a line from the Quran in isolation and assume it to be a universal statement. If you quote the Quran you should quote the whole passage with the background and explanations. The verse "kill in the path of Allah" has been used by opponents of Islam to propagate that Islam preaches violence and even some misguided Muslims believe that killing the opponents of Islam leads to the path of divine glory. That is a totally wrong impression and a sure way to lose the path of Allah.

The verse was revealed in a situation when Muslims, led by Prophet Muhammad, were travelling towards Makkah to perform a pilgrimage and were stopped by the infidels. It should be noted that the companions of the Prophet were restrained from violence and bloodshed unless allowed by him after receiving a divine revelation. As it happened on that occasion, nobody got killed as a peace formula was found.  In fact, even today all Muslims are restrained from violence and bloodshed unless faced with a situation similar to one for which the exception was made by the Prophet under divine guidance.

Unfortunately many translations of the Holy Quran, especially those in English now in circulation give the literal meaning of the verses without the necessary explanation leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions. Even worse is the case of Islamic madrassas and other organizations established mainly for financial considerations teach their students Arabic language so that they can understand what the Quran says literally without knowing the background and the historical significance of the texts. Not surprisingly, a lot of people are being led astray.

The Origins of Religious Identity

Perhaps a tribal chief in some fertile valley found that during the idle time between crops, his people would become lazy. So he started the custom that during the idle season he would take them out to the riverside at sunrise and conduct a series of calisthenics exercises. As time passed, innovations were made and the calisthenics were combined with songs and chants. After the death of that particular chief, the practice was abandoned and forgotten. Many years later, drought and famine hit the valley and people started wondering why the calamity had befallen them. Sooner or later, somebody remembered that in the good old days of chief so and so they used to assemble by the river and greet the Sun with chants and rituals. In desperation, the practice was revived though in a modified form reconstructed from memory and conducted with a totally different spirit. Simply by coincidence the drought ended, but those people were convinced that the Sun was pleased with them and had changed things for them.

So started the religion of Sun-worship, and spread with local innovations; and the resolve of those who practiced it may have been strengthened by the ridicule of others. Perhaps, most worship rituals are meant to demonstrate a resolve that one has the moral strength to be oneself in spite of the ridicule or contempt of others.

Now let us consider how idolatry may have started. Somewhere in a river plane there was a village where people lived on agriculture and farming. Once in a few years the river would overflow its banks and cause flooding. Normally, on the first signs of approaching flood the villagers would move out to safer grounds with their valuables and cattle and return when the waters receded, repair their homes and life would continue with the land having become more fertile. One year, due to reasons not known to them there was a flash flood and water rose so quickly that the villagers could not move to safety and many cattle were washed away and children and infirm people drowned. When they recovered from the shock of the tragedy, a wise man among them suggested building a podium in the middle of the village large enough to accommodate the whole population and their cattle with stairs all around to facilitate quick sheltering. On top of the podium they also built a house where food and other supplies were kept for use in emergencies. The trusted wise man was also housed there as the custodian. The podium gradually became the centre of local educational and political activities and every year after harvesting the crops a feast would be held to consume the old food stock and replenish it with new stock. The village became safe and prosperous. After a few years the wise old man died and as a tribute the villagers placed his statue in the podium house and people would pay tributes to him by garlanding the statue at every annual feast. In due course people from other villages came to learn the secret of our model village and went back and built similar podia with temple and statue that was considered the guardian of the village. Imaginative minds made up all sorts of stories to impress other visitors.

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Origin of Politics

Anthropologists tell us that initially the human race consisted of hunters who had to compete with animals for survival. Gradually, humans learned and developed home-building and cultivation which enabled them to establish agricultural settlements. However, although farming fulfilled the needs for grains and vegetables, a section of the male population still had to go out hunting to provide meat. Thus the communities divided into two distinct categories, namely farmers and hunters. The farmers concentrated on growing crops, developing new techniques of agriculture and experimenting with new crops to increase their output to feed the growing population. The hunters, apart from killing animals in the jungle and bringing their carcasses home, tried to develop new tools, weapons and methods of hunting. Soon it was found that it was more convenient to catch or herd the cattle to their villages, pen them and kill them when needed – and get milk as a bonus.

Later when the art of animal husbandry was developed, the hunters found a new vocation in protecting the villages from wild animals and attacks from the hunters of other villages, resulting in the evolution of civil and martial factions within the villages. As time passed, new professions developed and artisans and traders also became part of the civilian community while the martial community organized itself into an army of sorts. It was also discovered that locating the animal pens in the centre of the villages reduced the chances of their loss to both human and animal predators.

Eventually, fortifications were built in the middle of the villages for safe-keeping of some of the crops and cattle, and most of the valuables of the villagers. Each fortification was, probably, manned by a respectable administrator, a team of record-keepers, and a group of armed hunters or soldiers led by the bravest individual in the village. As the population and prosperity grew, fortifications were built around the entire city and the central depositories were converted into royal palaces, thus creating city-states or capitals of kingdoms. At some stage in the ensuing history, greed and opportunism overcame the guardians of public assets. The custodians and the soldiers conspired and the custodians took control of all the wealth of the people, appointed a king from among themselves and began to rule with the help of the soldiers. The farmers and artisans were forced to pay a portion of their produce as taxes in return for protection from both internal and external predators. Frequent skirmishes were fought with neighboring villages to keep people in a state of insecurity. Naturally, the king and the soldiers were very unpopular among the people and ways had to be found to remove this feeling. The king sent his soldiers to plunder the nearby weaker villages and celebrated the victories with the civilians. After a few generations the original usurpation was forgotten and the king became the divine ruler and source of inspiration. The king's word became the law. It is interesting that even in those days the rulers had discovered the psychological principle that given a high enough state of stress caused by threat and insecurity the people would fantasize and persuade themselves to admire the person or group capable of protecting them, no matter how evil he might be or how much he debased them.

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Dr. Asim’s Bail

Dr. Asim Hussain was born in Karachi, Pakistan on 28 November 1953 to Ms. Ejaz Fatima and Mr. Tajammul Hussain, the founding members of the Dr. Ziauddin Group of Hospitals.

Dr. Asim Hussain received his early education from the Karachi Grammar School and later enrolled in the Cadet College, Petaro at about the same time as Asif Zardari. After serving a brief period in the Pakistan Army, Dr. Asim Hussain retired as a Lieutenant and chose to pursue the degree of MBBS. He graduated from Dow Medical College (now, Dow University of Health Sciences) Karachi in 1978 and went to Europe for further studies. He became a member of College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPS) in 1981 and continued his studies in Vienna, Austria.

He developed and expanded the hospital he had inherited until it became a teaching hospital and eventually a medical university. However, due to his political affiliation he also held the following positions:

·         Honorary Personal Physician to the President of Pakistan, since December 12, 2009

·         Advisor/Federal Minister Petroleum & Natural Resource from May, 2011 until May, 2013

·         Advisor to the Prime Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources/Federal Minister from November, 2008 until August, 2009

·         Chairman, National Reconstruction Bureau with the status of Federal Minister from May, 2008 until November, 2009

On the 27th of August 2015 Asim Hussain was detained by the Authorities in an ongoing operation within the city of Karachi launched by the Pakistani Army.

The charges against Dr. Asim range from providing protection and treating terrorists to embezzlement and corruption to the tune of Rs. 920 billion in course of his lucrative appointments.

I have never met him but have heard people talk about him. During Benazir’s reign as PM, steel products of Karachi’s Pakistan Steel Mills were sold officially @ Rs. 18,000/ton and in open/black market @ Rs. 30,000 per ton. The explanation given by the traders was that to buy any steel from the mills they first had to get a parchi or prescription form a certain doctor sahib after paying cash @ Rs. 6,000/ton.  The reason why nobody complained about this obvious extortion was that doctor sahib was a close friend of the first gentleman of Pakistan. Not surprisingly, the steel mill is now closed.

On March 29, 2017 Dr. Asim was released on bail, though his passport has been confiscated. For more details read Dawn.

It is interesting to note that whereas PPP leaders have been condemning the arrest and prosecution of Dr. Asim, the medical profession has kept quiet on the issue.

A D Khawaja

The Sindh Police (Sindhi: سنڌ پوليس‎, Urdu: سنده پولیس‎) is a Law enforcement agency established in 1843 under proclamation issued by Sir Charles Naipiar, who became the conqueror of the State of Sindh by defeating the forces of Talpur rules at battle of Miyani near Hyderabad on 20 March 1843. This was the first ever Police force established in the Indian subcontinent.^{[citation needed]} Ever since its inception, the organization raised on the model of Irish Constabulary to maintain law and order and law enforcement in Sindh, Pakistan. The department serves an area of ~140,914 km²., and has about ~105,234 police officers and staff to serve in the department. As of current, Allah Dino (AD) Khawaja is the current Inspector-General who was appointed in 2016.^[2]

In March 2016, A.D. Khawaja took charge as IG Sindh Police. He could retain the post for only nine months, he was sacked by the Sindh government, reinstated by court order and again sacked on 2^nd April, 2017

Khawaja, then AIG, led a three-member fact-finding committee to inquire the allegation of corruption, illegal appointments in the police and a lack of transparency in allocation of cost of investigation to investigation officers. The findings of the reports led to the sacking of former Sindh IGP Gulam Haider Jamali over corruption charges.

The former IG Sindh Police Ghulam Haider Jamali was sacked in March 2016 after the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to probe the alleged corruption in Sindh Police.

Some other headlines about Khwaja are as follows:

Court halts Sindh govt’s decision to send IG on forced leave

KARACHI: In a setback to PPP-led Sindh government, the Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued a stay order against sending the provincial Inspector General of Police (IGP) A.D. Khawaja on forced leave. The order was issued on a petition filed by seven citizens including Karamat Hussain, the head of an NGO and singer-cum-activist Shehzad Roy….

IGP seeks report on gun attack at PTI’s leaders in Karachi

KARACHI: The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Sindh, A.D. Khawaja, has sought an inquiry report from the SSP South regarding the reported firing incident in Karachi’s Delhi Colony on Friday on the vehicle of Faisal Vawda, a leader of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI). The IGP instructed that all the available evidences should be collected and…

IGP Sindh chairs meeting on upgradation of Madadgar 15

KARACHI: The Inspector General of Police (IGP), A.D. Khawaja, on Saturday chaired a meeting regarding the upgradation of Madadgar 15. A statement said that the meeting also reviewed steps for effectively curbing crimes. It said that the meeting considered issues faced by Madadgar 15 such as response time, call connecting and prank calls etc and…

Sindh Police raising new unit in Counter-Terrorism Department: IGP

KARACHI: The Sindh Police is raising a new unit of 1500 personnel in the Counter-Terrorism Department that was set up after the initiation of the National Action Plan (NAP). This was informed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh, A.D. Khawaja, in an interview with the APP here. He pointed out that the new…

Police encourage citizens to shoot down dacoits with licenced firearm

While rewarding a citizen for shooting a robber, Inspector General Sindh Police A.D Khawaja advised people of Karachi to use their licenced weapons in self-defense. Watch this report…

LEAs very close to Amjad Sabri’s killers: IG Sindh

KARACHI: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh A.D. Khawaja has said that law enforcement agencies (LEAs) are very close to the killers of prominent Qawwal Amjad Sabri.

‘No target-killing in Karachi’

IG Sindh Police, A.D Khawaja claims that law and order situation has improved in Karachi with no sign of target-killing anywhere. Watch this report…

It is a fact that ever since A.D Khwaja took charge of Sindh police, there has been reduction in street crimes in Karachi and oppression of the poor by landlords in interior Sindh. The thing that seems to have broken the camel’s back is his recent order asking thousands of plain clothes men in police service to put on uniform and contribute in normal police service. Although it seems like a very reasonable action it reminds me of a conversation I had with a young Sindhi police officer many years ago. The young man was convinced that anything that happened under the supervision of the Chief Secretary and the IG had to be legal and honorable. So he described how in the small police station where he was posted plain clothes men used to deposit about three lac (300,000) rupees every day by extortion from street hawkers, encroachers gambling den and prostitution centre runners and other wrongdoers. According to him the money was divided into three parts according to some formula, and the Chief Secretary and IG’s representatives collected their shares. Of the money left with SHO, most was spent on delivering groceries and buying plane tickets for the families of “high officials” and “leaders”. Of course, there is also the question of boosting party coffers for the coming elections when votes may cost more than before. 

Good Hindu in Kashmir

The following is a copy of a sensitive Indian's account and feelings about what is everyday occurrence in Kashmir as posted on facebook:

The following video is a graphic evidence of what Rahul has written:

Terrorism in India

The following is a report on terrorist activities in India Published by Indian Times. This should serve as an eye opener for those who are blinded by the Indian propaganda of Terrorist activities in Pakistan. Most terrorist activity takes place in India far from Pakistani borders by local separatists who want to have a free homeland outside the British cobbled Indian Union.

http://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/india-had-the-highest-number-of-blasts-in-the-world-in-the-last-two-years-more-than-iraq-syria-and-pakistan-271391.html

India Had The Highest Number Of Blasts In The World In The Last Two Years, More Than Iraq, Syria And Pakistan

 MANINDER DABAS 

FEBRUARY 12, 2017

17.5K SHARES

   

Though India isn't at war at present like many countries in Middle-East, yet India had the highest number of bomb blasts in the world in the past two years. According to the statistics of the National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC), which is part of NSG, India's number in terms of having blasts is even greater to countries like Iraq, Syria and Pakistan which are more or less at war for the last decade.

The NBDC analyses and disseminates data related to bombing incidents in India and across the world. 

Bombshell Tells how India fares when it comes to blasts

In 2016, India witnessed over 337  Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) blasts. According to Bombshell, the journal published NBDC, nin  2015, a total of 268 IED blast rocked various parts of the country whereas country saw 190 blasts in 2014, 283 blasts in 2013 and 365 in 2012.

In comparison, Iraq, one of the most hostile places at present in the world, witnessed a total of 221 IED blasts last year to be in the second spot in the list.

Our neighbour Pakistan with 161 IED blasts remained at fourth spot to be followed by another hostile place Afghanistan with 132 IED blasts, Turkey with followed by  71 in Thailand, 63 in Somalia and 56 in Syria.

In 2015, Iraq witnessed 170 IED blasts, Pakistan 208, Afghanistan 121, Iraq 170 and Syria 41. 

The states which suffered the highest number of IED blasts last year were Chhattisgarh-60, Jammu and Kashmir-31, Kerala-33, Manipur-40, Odisha-29, Tamil Nadu-32 and West Bengal-30. 

Last year, one among many high-casualty bomb blasts took place in Bihar on July 18. Ten commandos of an elite CoBRA battalion of the CRPF were killed when a squad of 200 Maoists trapped and cordoned the troops and exploded about 22 IEDs in the Aurangabad-Gaya forest area in Bihar. 

Some of the other major IED incidents in India were:

Analysis of IED blasts in India 

Last year, there was a 26 per cent increase in IED blast incidents vis-a-vis 2015 and casualties have increased by 3 per cent vis-a-vis 2015, according to the NBDC. 

An analysis of IED data for the last 10 years (2007-2016) has revealed that there has been an average of 277 blasts, 223 fatal casualties and 724 non-fatal casualties over the years. 

Submission on Article 66.

To

Honorable Justice Asif Saeed Khosa,

Supreme Court of Pakistan,

Islamabad.

Sir,

After following the proceedings of the court on Panama Papers today, I feel compelled to seek your permission to make the following submissions of which the court would perhaps be already aware.

Article 66 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan reads as follows:

66. Privileges of members, etc.- (1) Subject to the Constitution and to the

rules of procedure of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), there shall be freedom of

speech in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and no member shall be liable to any

proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in

Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), and no person shall be so liable in respect of the

publication by or under the authority of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) of any report,

paper, votes or proceedings.

The key words in this clause are “anything said or any vote given by him in

Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament),”

This provision of immunity has been made irrelevant by Article 63A inserted in the 18^th Amendment which reads as follows:

63A Disqualification on grounds of defection, etc.- (1) If a member of a Parliamentary Party composed of a single political party in a House-

(a) resigns from membership of his political party or joins another Parliamentary Party; or

(b) votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the

Parliamentary Party to which he belongs, in relations to-

(i) election of the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister; or

(ii) a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or

(iii) a Money Bill;

he may be declared in writing by the Head of the Parliamentary Party to have defected

from the political party, and the Head of the Parliamentary Party may forward a copy of the declaration to the Presiding Officer, and shall similarly forward a copy thereof to the

member concerned:

Provided that before making the declaration, the Head of the Parliamentary Party shall

provide such member with an opportunity to show cause as to why such declaration may not be made against him.

This clearly means that the vote cast or sound of Aay or Nay made by a member of the House is subject to proceeding in the court of the Head of the Parliamentary Party. There is no reason why a speech or statement should be exempted. In fact the stipulations of Article 63G should also be subject to scrutiny by a court of law.

Finally, Clause 63A (5) states as follows:

(5) Any party aggrieved by the decision of the Election Commission may within thirty days, prefer an appeal to the Supreme Court which shall decide the matter within three months from the date of the filing of the appeal.

This without doubt means that the Supreme Court of Pakistan is the final arbiter of the conduct of a member of any house of Parliament in Pakistan within the Parliament or outside.

Sent to: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk