Musharraf: From CIA with love?
5.27.01   B. Raman, dir. Inst. for Topical Studies

These circles attribute this decision not to disturb Tenet from his post to an important behind-the-scene role, which he has reportedly been playing since last year in working for a rapprochement between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) & Israel in West Asia and between India & Pakistan over Kashmir. Bush & his senior aides, who do not want the President to personally play an active mediatory role in West Asia or elsewhere similar to the high-profile roles played by Clinton, reportedly felt that US interests could be better served by continuing to use the deniable, stealth services of the CIA chief. It is said that Tenet was involved in the secret goings-on which preceded the subsequently-aborted cease-fire between the India govt & the Hizbul Mujahideen and in the events preceding & following the non-initiation of combat operations in Kashmir by the India govt. He operated directly as well as through Maj.Gen. (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani, who like Gen.Musharraf, was a blue-eyed boy of the late Gen.Zia-ul-Haq and who is now a close confidante of the self-styled Chief Executive.
Maj.Gen.Durrani had in the past served as ISI station chief in Washington and was responsible for the ISI's liaison with the CIA & the FBI. Last year, Jamaat-e-Islami circles in Pakistan had alleged that he had, at the instance of the CIA, played a role, in consultation with Gen.Musharraf, in persuading the Hizbul Mujahideen to agree to a cease-fire. However, the whole exercise was sabotaged by Lt.Gen.Mohammad Aziz, the then Chief of the Gen. Staff (CGS), who is a Sudan from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and had not been consulted by Gen.Musharraf & Maj.Gen. Durrani. Gen. Musharraf had him subsequently transferred to Lahore as a Corps Commander. It is claimed by these circles in the US that the Ramzan initiative of the India govt (non-initiation of combat operations) was to have been reciprocated by the Gen. with an order to his troops for restraint along the Line of Control (LOC) and action to moderate the activities of the jehadi terrorist organisations in Jammu & Kashmir which, in turn, would have been reciprocated by India with permission to the Hurriyat leaders to visit Pakistan.

While the Gen. issued the restraint order to his troops, he allegedly went back on his word to the CIA to issue a similar restraint order to the jehadis on the ground that this was being opposed by some of his Corps Commanders. It is said to be correct that some of his Corps Commanders & retired military officers such as Lt.Gen.Hamid Gul & Lt.Gen. Javed Nasir, former chiefs of the ISI, had strongly urged that any restraint by the jehadis should be conditional on progress in a resumed political dialogue with India. Lt.Gen.Nasir reportedly even urged that if the dialogue was resumed, any restraint on the jehadi organisations should be only as a quid pro quo to a similar restraint by the India govt on the alleged anti-Muslim activities of the RSS, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad & the Shiv Sena, but his advice on this issue did not reportedly enjoy the support of other officers, serving or retired.
It is claimed that in the face of this log jam, Tenet once again stealthily stepped into the scene through his recent visit to Islamabad and worked out a formula, which could be projected by both India & Pakistan as a vindication of their respective stand hitherto. Ever since capturing power in October,1999, Gen.Musharraf has been repeatedly expressing his desire for talks at any place, at any time and at any level. Even if the forthcoming summit has really been midwifed by the CIA as claimed, this need not detract from the significance of the turn of events. But, one has to keep one's fingers crossed till the summit actually takes place. Gen.Musharraf, sarcastically called in Pakistan General Retreat, had in the past repeatedly reversed decisions which were opposed by the jehadis. If the jehadis outside & inside the army continue to oppose the summit, it is to be seen whether he would resist their pressure and stick to his decision to come to India.

The summit would at least provide an opportunity to our Prime Minister to test the military dictator's sincerity and to judge whether the reasonableness projected by him is an act of desperation to move Pakistan out of its continuing diplomatic isolation & economic difficulties or just one more crafty move to catch India on the wrong foot. In the past, India had had no qualms about negotiating with Pakistan's military dictators, but Gen.Musharraf cannot be compared to them: The past dictators were either Punjabis or Pakhtoons, who hold the majority of the posts in the military. Gen.Musharraf is a Mohajir, who is looked down upon by the Punjabi officers as a Mohajir parvenu. As Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, often points out, the past dictators seized power themselves, but it was Gen.Musharraf's subordinates who seized power in his absence and made him the ruler. He, therefore, owes his gratitude to them and cannot easily over-rule them. The past dictators enjoyed absolute power, but Gen. Musharraf is only the first among equals.
He has conceded more demands of the Islamic fundamentalists during his 19 months in office than Gen.Zia. Till now, he has been extremely amenable to pressure from the Jehadis. In recent weeks, significant sections of Pakistan's civilian bureaucracy and, particularly its economic managers, have been coming round to the view that Pakistan's continued involvement in Afghanistan & J&K was coming in the way of its economic recovery and that the harping of the military leadership on the nuclear flashpoint theme in the hope of thereby internationalising the Kashmir issue was scaring foreign investors away There has been a dramatic drop in foreign investments since the Gen. seized power.
[ "involvement in Afghanistan and J&K was coming in the way of its economic recovery" = Pakistan charged in Congressionally required human rights reports of aiding terrorists which auto-suspends foreign aid delivery; "dramatic drop in foreign investments" = cut-off of U.S. tax$ welfare checks ]

The Corps Commanders, however, do not share this perception and continue to believe in their present policy of keeping Indian security forces bleeding in J&K in the hope of thereby weakening them and keeping the jehadis fighting & dying at the hands of the Indian security forces in order to prevent their returning to Pakistan and talibanising the country.
India should guard itself against any illusion that the summit could lead to peace in J & K. What will really lead to peace is better governance and attention to the grievances of the people in the State , effective control of human rights violations by the Security Forces and a willingness, capability and readiness to take the proxy war to Pakistani territory.

Pakistani Supreme Court Gives Benazir Bhutto Major Victory 4.7.01   Barry Bearak NYTimes NEW DELHI   … Since 1999, Ms. Bhutto, the Radcliffe and Oxford-educated heir to a political dynasty, has been living in self-exile in Britain and the United Arab Emirates. The court decision raises the possibility of a return to the country where her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected prime minister in 1971 and hanged in 1979 by the military govt that had supplanted him. Pakistan is under the control of a military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who deposed Ms. Bhutto's archrival, Nawaz Sharif, in a coup in Oct. 1999. Mr. Sharif is living in exile in Saudi Arabia. Although the general promises an eventual return to civilian govt, he has repeatedly said that he considers Mr. Sharif & Ms. Bhutto crooks and that neither is welcome to return to Pakistani politics. Nevertheless, Ms. Bhutto was talking about just such a comeback today. "I have called all my colleagues over for a consultation as to setting a date," she said to Sky News, the British-based outlet. "One big hurdle to my return has been removed, and it's important for me to go back and be part of the democratic process in my country." Ms. Bhutto and her husband were convicted in April 1999 of accepting kickbacks from a Swiss company. They were sentenced to 5 years in prison & fined $8.6 million. At the time, Mr. Zardari was already in jail on other charges. In setting aside Ms. Bhutto's conviction, the Supreme Court issued a statement that did not explain the reasons for the decision. All along, Ms. Bhutto has insisted that the case against her was a political maneuver set in motion by Mr. Sharif. In February, that accusation gained credence when The Sunday Times in Britain published transcripts of reported conversations between the original trial judge and pivotal figures in the Sharif govt. Today in an interview with the BBC, Ms. Bhutto said of the judges in her case, "They can stand up to the forces of dictatorship and uphold the scales of justice." … Numerous allegations of corruption remain against Ms. Bhutto. If she does go home, she may well be taken into custody and find herself facing additional charges. Her career has been a series of such pinnacles and canyons. In the male-dominated world of politics in a Muslim country, she managed to become prime minister from 1988 to 1990 & again from 1993 to 1996. She was once considered a great hope for good govt in notoriously corrupt Pakistan. But her years in office were marked by the familiar scenes of scandals, favoritism & political vendettas.	British court releases Bhutto's bank records 4.12.01   AFP ISLAMABAD   Govt said today a British magistrates court had released 22,000 documents detailing assets & bank records of Benazir Bhutto and jailed husband Asif Ali Zardari. An official statement said the court had released the documents to Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) through the British High Commission here. Court Orders Retrial for Bhutto 4.8.01   Pamela Constable WashPost pA23 KARACHI Pakistan   Politics are back. 18 months after the army seized power in Pakistan, banning all political activity and vowing to build a new system of sanitized grass-roots democracy under military tutelage, its carefully scripted scenario has suddenly changed. Benazir Bhutto, two-time former prime minister who has lived in exile for years to avoid being jailed after being convicted on corruption charges, received an unexpected reprieve Friday when the country's Supreme Court set aside her conviction and ordered a retrial. The decision elated her followers in the Pakistan People's Party, who danced and shared sweets outside party offices. It also raised the sudden prospect of a political comeback for Bhutto, who now lives in London but immediately began consulting with party leaders about when and whether she should risk returning to Pakistan. "This will create a huge challenge to the regime's agenda. It makes her look both morally clean and politically resurgent," said Rifaat Hussain, a political scientist in Islamabad, the capital, and a former diplomatic aide in Bhutto's govt in the early 1990s. "It has given a whole new twist to the political climate in Pakistan." At the same time, Pakistan's other major political party, the Pakistan Muslim League, held elections two weeks ago and chose Mian Azhar, a reformist politician from Lahore, as its new president, reportedly with the tacit approval of the military govt. Before the vote, the Muslim League had been mired in bickering and confusion. Its standard-bearer, former PM Nawaz Sharif, Bhutto's longtime rival, was overthrown in the military coup of Oct. 1999, imprisoned for months and then sent into exile in Saudi Arabia last December.
Both parties are still weak & discredited after 2 decades of disappointing leadership by Bhutto & Sharif, who were each elected twice as prime minister and then driven from office. But after 18 months of enforced dormancy, both parties have been given new life and relevance. Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, has also been acting increasingly like a politician instead of a general. Last month, he announced he would not retire from the army as planned this fall, and in interviews and news conferences since then he has hinted that he might want to become president. Musharraf has pledged to restore civilian rule by Oct. 2002, and the military govt has begun holding elections for local, regional & national parliamentary seats. But political analysts suggest Musharraf might now want to form an earlier, interim govt in conjunction with the Muslim League. "Without wanting to sound haughty or arrogant, I have a feeling that I have a role to play in ensuring continuity & sustainability. … Therefore, I cannot retire," Musharraf said in a magazine interview last week. "The govt is examining all aspects of my becoming the president in 2002." In one way, the court's decision on Bhutto reflects well on the Musharraf govt, because it shows the judiciary to be independent of military influence. But in another way, it injects a wild card into the govt's careful script for a controlled political transition. Musharraf & his aides have been counting on the continued absence of Bhutto & Sharif, the country's two leading politicians. Sharif is out of the picture, unable to return for 10 years under his exile agreement. But Bhutto's unexpected legal reprieve has opened the door for her political homecoming. In a BBC interview Friday, Bhutto said the court ruling has "removed the biggest hurdle for my return to the country." Earlier, she said she had planned to come home after local elections were completed in August, "but today's judgment creates a whole new situation. It will now be sooner than later," she said. Nevertheless, legal & political analysts said it was far from certain whether Bhutto, who has been raising 3 children in comfortable exile while her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, serves a prison sentence in Pakistan for corruption, would risk facing a new trial and the possibility of being sent to prison herself. "Does she have the raw will to stage a comeback? I don't think so," said Ayaz Amir, a leading political columnist for Dawn newspaper. "I think the political keenness she had in the '80s has been dulled by time, children and the millions she has made." Even attorneys for Bhutto said they were not certain what she would do next. In addition to the charge on which she was convicted, allegedly accepting 6% kickback for a govt contract when she was prime minister, Bhutto & Zardari still face charges in 9 corruption cases. The Supreme Court has not yet announced its reasons for setting aside her conviction, but it is widely believed that the justices were responding to recent revelations of judicial impropriety in the case. The country was scandalized late last year when secret telephone tapes came to light in which aides to Sharif could clearly be heard pressuring a senior judge to convict Bhutto quickly. "She is now presumed innocent until proven guilty, and legally she can come back. But I believe she'll think twice," said Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, a lawyer who represented Bhutto in appealing the corruption conviction. "If our appeal had failed, it would have been curtains. Now she can keep herself alive."
Pakistani junta arrests 100s in opposition party crackdown 4.3.01   Vilani Peiris WSWS Pakistan's military regime headed by General Pervez Musharraf carried out a widespread crackdown on opposition parties to prevent a protest rally in the provincial capital of Lahore on March 23 Pakistan Day calling for the restoration of parliamentary democracy & early national elections. In the days leading up to the demonstration, police rounded up an estimated 2,000 activists from the 16-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) formed last December to oppose the junta. The alliance includes the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP). Among those detained were 28 political leaders, including ARD leader Nawabzada Nasurullah Khan, PML acting president Javad Hashmi and ARD secretary general Zafar Iqbal Jhagra. On the day of the rally, 6,000 police were deployed to prevent people from assembling at the venue, Mochi Gate Park, which was sealed off with barbed wire barricades. Hundreds of people were arrested trying to take part in the rally and others were detained when they marched to the Nawabzada's house. The district military administration in Lahore attempted to justify the repression by saying that the measures were taken "to protect general public and the property" and claimed that most of those detained had been released. However, the real purpose of the police crackdown, most widespread since Musharraf seized power in Oct.1999, was to shore up the regime, which is facing sharp economic difficulties as well as growing social tensions and unrest. The detentions coincided with the second phase of local elections being held in 20 of the country's districts. No political parties were permitted to stand candidates in the poll, which is being held to provide democratic window-dressing for the military regime. The first phase took place in December and the protracted process is due to be completed in August. Two days before the police crackdown, on March 19, the ruling junta met in Islamabad to discuss how to consolidate their rule. According to a report in the Times of India, the commanders discussed among other issues a comprehensive political strategy to consolidate the army's hold on power. One plan was to appoint Musharraf as the country's president with greater powers under a changed constitution. Musharraf also used the meeting to promote eight generals loyal to him. Musharraf has since hinted at his plans to retain power beyond October 2002 deadline for elections by the Supreme Court. In an interview with the Washington Times, Musharraf said "the Pakistani environment is not fully conducive to real parliamentary democracy, as it is understood in the West" and alluded to the possibility of changing the constitution to strengthen the presidency. At a press conference on March 25, he bluntly ruled out retiring as scheduled this Oct. and indicated that time was already short to prepare for national elections next year. When asked whether he planned to seek the presidency, Musharraf said it was within the "strategy and parameters of the govt … whatever needed to be done would be done surely." While the opposition is seeking to exploit the junta's growing unpopularity, its leaders have made clear that their aim is not to get rid of the dictatorship but to reach a political accommodation with it. During a recent press conference, Nawabzada warned the military that the suppression of opposition parties would only "create a gap which would be filled by undemocratic forces" and lead to further protests. He also held out the possibility of talks with the junta, saying that ARD "has not closed doors for negotiations." There are already splits in the opposition ranks. Members of the PML loyal to Sharif, who is now in exile in Saudi Arabia, supported the Lahore rally but his opponents refused to collaborate with Bhutto's PPP. Sharp divisions have also emerged within the PML over the election of a new party president. The intl response to the police roundup has been distinctly muted. The US State Dept issued a perfunctory statement saying that the arrests "hamper Pakistan's return to democracy". The British Commonwealth called on Musharraf to announce a plan for democratic rule. Far from seeking Musharraf's removal, these routine protests are simply a means to keep the pressure on the military to implement the policies demanded by the major powers, including the economic measures dictated by the IMF and World Bank. Pakistan is in desperate need of further financial assistance. At his press conference on March 25, Musharraf admitted "debt servicing has gone up to $US36 billion from $14 billion during last 11 years." The amount is now equal to 55% of the budget expenditure and equivalent to the country's total foreign exchange earnings. Most of what is left of the budget, 26% goes to the military, leaving little for health, education and other services. Musharraf made an appeal to the country's rich to each lend $200,000 to help the treasury out of its precarious position. The administration has been forced to successively revise its estimates for economic growth for the financial year to June from 5.5 to 5% and to the current estimate of 4 percent. The trade deficit for the first seven months of this financial year has increased to $1.4 billion up by 22.5% over the same period in the previous year. According to an Intl Labor Organisation report, 6% of the workforce is unemployed and another 15 million people are underemployed. The regime is proceeding with its restructuring and privatisation program, which will inevitably lead to more job losses. It plans this month to auction 868 indebted private sector companies, which have 107 billion rupees in outstanding public sector loans. At the same time, state-owned banks will close 588 branches and retrench 50 percent of their workforce. Franco Passacantando, head of a World Bank delegation to Pakistan, last week called on the junta to speed up its economic restructuring. "We appreciate the govt's structural economic reform which we believe needs faster implementation," he told a press conference. So far the IMF has released only one installment of its loans to Pakistan last year after the regime imposed a general sales tax and began the privatisation of state enterprises. In a revealing statement, the Finance Minister Saukhat Aziz admitted last month that "more and more people are slipping below the poverty line and social indicators are deteriorating …	Pakistan Arrests 1200 in Crackdown 4.27.01   AP KARACHI   About 1,200 arrested in major crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, police & politicians said Friday. Military govt launched crackdown Thursday, sending police & paramilitary troops to homes & political party HQs throughout Sindh province, (capital is Karachi). Regime ruling Pakistan launched crackdown to prevent pro-democracy rally planned for Karachi 5.1.01 organized by Alliance for Restoration of Democracy representing 15 political parties in Pakistan. Rally is to press army to return the nation to democratic rule. Army took power 10.99, throwing out civilian govt of Nawaz Sharif on charges of massive corruption, economic incompetence and mismanagement. Army sent Sharif into exile in Saudi Arabia after he was found guilty of hijacking & terrorism and sentenced to life in jail. Military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf promised general elections by the end of 2002 in keeping with a Supreme Court order. But the alliance is demanding immediate polls. Military banned public protests & demonstrations almost 1yr ago. Several religious groups defied the ban to hold large gatherings without any interference from military regime. Several members of alliance gone into hiding say they will resurface May 1 to defy the ban & hold rally. Pakistani Police Quash Protest 3.25. 01   Pamela Constable WashPost pA22 PESHAWAR, Pakistan The first serious public confrontation between Pakistan's military govt and opposition groups has left scores of activists in jail and the eastern city of Lahore in shock, after police quashed an attempted protest rally there Friday. At the same time, the crackdown has focused domestic and intl attention on the fledgling opposition movement, giving an unintended surge of morale and unity to the factionalized parties that had been trying for months, with little success, to rally support. "The govt's overreaction has gone according to the opposition's script," said Arif Nizami, editor of the Nation newspaper in Lahore. If the rally had been allowed to proceed as planned, he said, "it would have fizzled out." Thousands of police fanned out across Lahore on Friday, as activists began moving toward the rally site, a historic archway. They arrested at least 200 protesters. Much of the city was cordoned off until night, and opposition leaders said several thousand more activists were detained throughout Punjab province, which surrounds Lahore. "Punjab became like a jail," said Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, 80, a veteran politician who is president of the opposition Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy. "Police paraded in the streets with guns, and public meeting places were barricaded with barbed wire. There was no rhyme or reason for it." The scenes of mass arrests and armed forces blanketing the streets of Lahore contrasted sharply with the martial pomp and precision of an official parade in Islamabad, the capital, held to commemorate Pakistan National Day on Friday. The parade featured tanks, missiles, helicopters and thousands of smartly uniformed marching troops. "The images of the 2 events … . will define two opposite portraits of Pakistan," wrote columnist Imtiaz Alam in today's News Intl newspaper. The parade, headed by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's ruler, "will define a capital under military rule," he wrote, while the repression of protesters in Lahore "will convey an image of Pakistan still struggling for the original democratic justification of its very existence." Atizaz Ahsan, a former senator from the opposition Pakistan People's Party, said that if the rally had been allowed to go ahead, "people would have had a cathartic release and then gone home." Instead, he said, "the recurring image of human rights being violated will do a lot of damage to the regime's image abroad. It will be very counterproductive for the govt." Musharraf's govt has banned all political activity since it took power in a coup in October 1999. But it has also vowed to restore civilian rule by October of next year and to hold local, regional and parliamentary elections before then. The opposition campaign is led by newly allied figures from Pakistan's two major parties, once bitter rivals. The leaders of the two parties, former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto of the Pakistan People's Party and Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League, both live in exile. But the rally highlighted sharp differences in Sharif's party, which is scheduled to hold elections for a new leader Sunday. Sharif loyalists backed the rally, but party dissidents have refused to collaborate with Bhutto's forces. As preparations were underway for Friday's rally, which was intended to coincide with the national holiday, military authorities warned that the event was illegal and would not be permitted. They said they would not tolerate any breach of public order or allow any group to jeopardize the govt's agenda. Wednesday, Maj. Gen. Rashid Qureshi, the military spokesman, reiterated the govt's commitment to holding elections. A number of opposition leaders were arrested Thursday but released. Khan, who was placed under temporary house arrest Friday, said by telephone from Lahore that the opposition would continue to organize and plan future rallies despite the crackdown. "This govt said it would not impose martial law, and it was our fundamental and constitutional right to hold a rally," he said. "But this govt is very much allergic to political activity. They don't have popular support. They think those who are demanding the restoration of democracy are their real rivals, and they want to eliminate us." Some opposition leaders suggested that the govt, in forcefully quelling the rally, was also trying to prevent Sharif supporters from allying with Bhutto's party, possibly in hopes of persuading them to participate in the elections. "The regime probably thought the rally would upset its apple cart while trying to make deals with like-minded anti-Sharif leaders," said Ahsan, a senior People's Party figure. "It may have thought people might be dissuaded from crossing over if it came down heavily."
Above all, the people of Pakistan are losing confidence in the govt's ability to manage its affairs." But he emphasised govt had to proceed with restructuring to get "strong support from the intl donors." Small farmers faced with severe drought have carried out a number of demonstrations. On March 22, the Awami Teherek carried out a protest calling on the govt to provide water. Police responded by arresting around 220 people including the organisation's president Rasool Baktish Paligo. According to media reports, the protesters were shouting: "We are at war with General Musharraf." In a recent press statement, Musharraf's press secretary, Major General Rashid Qureshi, pointed to the mounting social tensions in Pakistan. "The country has witnessed strikes, lockouts and breaks in everyday life causing the loss of billions of rupees," he said. "[We] can no longer afford to put the process of stability and the execution of our policies framed in the best national interest at risk …" When Musharraf seized power in 1999, he was able to capitalise on the widespread opposition to Sharif and his economic policies. Eighteen months later the junta has proven incapable of resolving the country's economic and social crisis and is resorting to police repression to try to stamp out opposition.   more

Pakistan maps out road to democracy
8.15.00   Zahid Hussain London Times

Pakistani Retreats In Battle for Reform
6.5.00   Pamela Constable WPFS

Ebola-type disease strikes in Pakistan
9.25.00   ABCNews

US to help catch corrupt Pakistani officials
9.25.00   AAMIR SHAH UPI

Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report
9.9.00   incl Population of Bangladesh (E.Pakistan) went from 75 million in March 1971 down to 68 million in Nov. 1971 (as recorded by a subsequent census). That does not include the 10 million who fled to India to escape the atrocities.

Pakistan after 10.99 military coup special report 7.31.00   BBC NewsOnline Pakistan National Reconstruction Bureau "charged with formulating policy/strategy options for national reconstruction, and a return to democracy, with approval by National Security Council." 3.26.00   NRB Chairman Gen. (Retd) Syed Tanveer Hussain Naqvi has said that NRB is open to have ideas from people on the proposed framework of devolution of powers. He was addressing a workshop on "Devolution of Power to the Grassroots Level: Optimising the Govt's Framework" here 3.25.00. 2 day workshop organised by Liberal Forum Pakistan in cooperation with the Friedrich Naumann Fndtn. Poor should ask for return of colonial loot 9.26.00   A.B.S. Jafri It is absurd to expect good governance in Pakistan after forty years during which the U.S. ensured that Pakistan shall be ruled by General Ayub who would take the country into the Baghdad Pact. Then by General Ziaul Haq who would willingly ruin his own country to fight the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Washington has gone along blithely with a military ruler who had the nerve to proclaim that the term "democracy" did not exist in his book, nor the word "election". Now the same Washington insists on democracy in Pakistan. The hierarchy of relationships in Pakistan work as follows. The nucleus family is tied into other networks - the extended family, beradari, clan, and tribe. The Pakistani individual when not operating within this nexus of family, beradari, clan and tribe does not have other institutional connections. If his workplace has a union it is probably weak. He probably is not actively involved in political work since political organizations that have dominated the Pakistani scene have not developed deep structures. He has, therefore, few reference points outside the family and the clan and he drifts without focus. He drifts unless he joins two well-organized institutions: the military or a religious group. Putnam as well as the institutional economists who have begun to highlight the importance of institutions in promoting economic development would immediately see in this description of Pakistan a problem. They will notice that a typical individual in Pakistan, in defining his values, has very little to go beyond his allegiance to a family or to a clan. Unless, of course, he works in the military or is actively engaged with a religious group. Various nation-building efforts have failed in lifting the individual's sense of belonging from the narrow base of the family and beradari to institutions at a higher level. I am told of a little experiment once carried out in a class in a military school. The students were asked to list five things that came to their minds when they think about the characteristics of a typical Pakistani. Most lists had many more negative than positive attributes. A little later, they were asked to do the same thing with reference to Punjabis, Pathans, Sindhis, Mohajirs, and Balochs. This time around many more positive rather than negative characteristics were identified. NGOs   research links Pakistan NGOs INCORE IDRF   Reliefweb HRts Watch re Pakistan OMCT Women's Rights Project & Asia Watch   "Over 60 percent of women prisoners in Pakistan are detained under the Hudood Ordinance, penal laws prohibiting sex outside of marriage devastating women's rights." Double Jeopardy 1993   Forced trafficking of Bangladeshi women into Pakistan for domestic or sexual slavery has been going on for at least ten to fifteen years. more re women Family Killed in Pakistan Revenge 4.10.01   AP MULTAN, Pakistan   A revenge killing in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province Tuesday left 11 members of the same family dead, police said. 4 women & 3 children were among those killed in Vehari, 60 miles east of Multan, they said. There were few details about the killing, but police said it appeared to be in retaliation for a killing several days earlier in the same village. In rural Pakistan feuds are often settled by retaliatory killings that include women and children. Police were investigating. Pakistan Special Weapons News World Wildlife Fund United Nations   research links UNMOGIP peacekeepers U.S. Finding Tangled Alliances on Rights 4.8.01   Barbara Crossette NYTimes … The American position is made even more difficult because of the composition of the current Human Rights Commission. Among the members are Syria, Libya & Vietnam, backed by a strong lobby from the nonaligned movement, which has been resurgent in the UN system. Leaders of this group, including India & Pakistan, do not always allow scrutiny of their rights practices by commission-appointed monitors. … Russia Seeks Sanctions Against Pakistan for Aid to Taliban 4.9.01   Barbara Crosette NYTimes Russia is expected to lead a drive this month to persuade the Security Council to impose sanctions on Pakistan, strongest supporter of Afghanistan's militant Islamic govt, the Taliban, diplomats & UN officials say. The Russian campaign, coming after 2 rounds of UN sanctions against the Taliban, has the potential to place the Bush administration in a quandary. Pakistan, which Washington considers an ally, has serious economic & political problems and faces a rising tide of more than a million Afghan refugees. But Washington has also led the drive to isolate the Taliban for harboring Osama bin Laden, who is wanted for masterminding the bombings of two American Embassies in Africa in 1998.

Govt 1   2   3   4 4 regions •   great highlands in N w/ world's highest peaks, Himalayas •   Balochistan Plateau in W & SW sectors; broken highlands of many 1000ft ridges crossing NE to SW •   Indus Plain, most prosperous agricultural region 300 thousand sq.mi in E and from N to Arabian Sea in south •   desert areas in SE Admin. divisions provinces Punjab Sindh Balochistan NW Frontier NWFP Federal Capital Territory (Islamabad) 2 other regions Northern Areas Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) 130 million population (1998) concentrated in fertile Indus River valley & along river's major tributaries in N & NE. W & SW sparsely inhabited. Est. annual 3.0% growth rate (Human Dev. in S.Asia 1997) is highest of any developing country. Ranks 134th of 173 nations on UN Development Pgm index (Human Development Report, 1998). At least 35 million people live in abject poverty. Public access to health, education, clean water, sanitation and family planning remains low. Almost half of the population is less than 15 years old. Developing mixed economy based largely on agriculture, light industries & services. GNP increasing more rapidly than population but GNP per capita, est. US$430, is among lowest for developing countries. Growing industrial sector, manuf. generates half of country's exports. Gas, oil & mineral deposits contribute to economic growth which is uneven; widespread poverty persists, particularly in rural areas, where two thirds of the population lives. Up to 50% of workforce is agriculture. Development is failing to keep pace with the population growth. Common practice in urban areas for scavengers to burn solid waste in open air. Most hospitals burn waste close to facility. Major industrial sectors in Pakistan are textile, metal, dying chemicals, pesticides, cement, petrochemical, energy & power, leather, sugar processing, construction, steel, engineering, pulp, paper, tanning, food processing, beverages, electronic consumer goods and mining. Toxic and hazardous wastes in Pakistan are mainly the by-product of the chemical and petrochemical dying industries. Soil loss, waterlogging and salinity results in lower agricultural productivity. Intensification of agricultural production is reducing field margins & diversity in crops. Pollutants strain ecosystems and contaminate the food chain. Sewage & industrial waste discharge seriously affect aquatic ecosystems. Noise pollution is higher than the permissible limits of 85 dB in most big cities. Air in towns & cities getting worse from industrialisation & very rapid increase in number of vehicles. Av. motor vehicle emits 20 times as much hydrocarbons, 25 times as much carbon monoxide and 3.6 times as much nitrous oxide g/km compared to av. U.S. vehicle. Motor fuel adulteration, 2stroke rickshaw engines and old vehicles. Addition of lead to petrol to be completely phased out by 2005. Unleaded gasoline introduced throughout the country by 7.1.00. 40% Pakistan deaths are related to water borne diseases. WHO reports 25-30% hospital admissions connected to water borne bacterial & parasitic conditions which cause 60% of infant deaths. Drinking & bathing in polluted water are most common routes for diseases' spread. Symptoms like abdominal pain, hair loss, numbness in hands, loss of appetite, eye infections, irritation of skin, and fever. In many urban areas, proper sewerage systems are still not available. Domestic wastewater collects on the streets and sewage water is thrown into canals or rivers without any prior treatment. Rivers change into stinking pools of stagnant water during low water discharge. Drinking water lines and sewage lines in most areas are laid side by side, resulting in frequent contamination of potable water when the fresh water pipes erode. Pollutants penentrates subsoil water. Cotton cultivation requires large inputs of irrigation water and pesticides. 10,000 farmers are poisoned annually by indiscriminate use of pesticide in cotton growing rural areas. More than 70- 80% of pesticides used in this country are being used on cotton crops. Strong media campaign by 200 local, national & multinational companies with 6000 dealer distribution network has convinced farmers it is essential to use pesticides. Use of pesticides is increasing at the rate of 25% a year. Due to a complex cropping system & small land holdings, ground spray is preferred; aerial spraying is restricted to epidemics. Estimated 1,935 stockpiles of obsolete pesticides in the 41 agriculturally active districts of Pakistan are threaten thousands. Natural habitat loss & fragmentation accelerated in the last few decades. Most apparent in remaining upland forests, scrub forests & mangrove forests; arid and semi-arid rangelands; inland wetlands, Indus Delta and coastal waters. One of highest rates of deforestation in the world. Network of 225 Protected Areas comprising 14 National Parks, 99 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 96 Game Reserves, and 16 unclassified (private, proposed or recommended) are 10.4% of total land area (Biodiversity Action Plan for Pakistan, 1998). Based on global significance, 9 wetlands designated as Ramsar sites. Size, distribution and management of these areas do not meet the needs of the ecosystems they are meant to safeguard. Main causes of habitat loss are deforestation for fuelwood & timber, grazing & fodder collection for rapidly increasing livestock population, soil erosion, agricultural activities & overstocking which reduce vegetative cover, water diversion & drainage for irrigation and over-dependence on unsustainable use of natural resources. 4 four mammal species (tiger, swamp deer, lion and Indian one-horned rhino) are known to have disappeared within the last 400 years. In addition, the Asiatic cheetah & Kashmir stag have probably become extinct in the last few decades. Main activities causing species or population loss include hunting & trapping for sport, meat, trade, and eradication of livestock predators, over- fishing in both wetland, freshwater & marine habitats for commercial purposes, and over- collection of plants for medicinal & cosmetic uses apart from their fuelwood and fodder uses.

Moreover, there are signs that Pakistan, which initially backed the Taliban in hopes of creating a pliable govt next door, is now having doubts about its support, as the Taliban have become heroes to radical Islamic forces in Pakistan. The Bush administration, now engaged in a general review of sanctions as a foreign policy tool, has given no indication of how it will deal with Afghanistan. The first review of sanctions imposed on the Taliban in January at American & Russian insistence will come before the Council on Thursday. The Russians & French have compiled dossiers accusing Pakistan of direct support for the Taliban in its fight against an opposition army based in northeastern Afghanistan, diplomats say. But some Western diplomats & UN officials say that they have yet to see concrete proof of those allegations.

There are also questions about whether aid to the Taliban is coming from the administration of Pakistan's leader, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, or from freewheeling elements inside Pakistani intelligence agencies in league with Islamic parties. Pakistan continues to deny that it is giving material support to the Taliban. At a news conference, Shamshad Ahmad, Pakistan's UN envoy, dismissed the allegations of support. He said his country is "a law-abiding member of the UN, in full compliance with Security Council resolutions." He referred to resolutions that ban military aid to the Taliban but not to its armed opposition. "There is no ground for any sanctions on Pakistan," he said. UN officials, some of whom opposed the sanctions, say Russia, Iran and lately India have been equally to blame for fueling the war in Afghanistan, by supporting the armed opposition against the Taliban. Barnett Rubin, Ctr on Intl Cooperation director of studies at NYU, said in an interview that it was useful to bring the discussion of outside military assistance to Afghanistan into the open.
But he was critical of the sanctions policy as it is currently constructed. "What's totally missing to complement the sanctions is incentives to give Afghan people a concrete idea of what reconstruction might be available if they change their behavior," he said. Mr. Rubin, an expert on Afghanistan & Central Asia, added that a policy of sanctions without incentives "is not the way to get people to reorient their behavior more toward peace-building and to strengthen moderates who are either in the Taliban or on the Taliban side at the moment." He also questioned the support for Ahmad Shah Masood, a cosmopolitan former general in a previous Afghan govt who is leading the armed opposition and has long attracted Western support as the face of moderate Islam in Afghanistan.
In anticipation of Security Council review of the sanctions this week, Mr. Masood went to garner support in Europe, where he received praise from French Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine, aspokesman for the French Foreign Ministry said. "Among the leaders who exist in Afghanistan," Mr. Rubin said, "Masood is the best, but the fact is that he represents very little in Afghanistan," noting that Mr. Masood is a member of the Tajik minority. "He has a very narrow political base."

Pakistan backs Taleban to 'avoid antagonism'
8.3.00   London Times

Can Pakistan spawn its own Talebanesque regime   satire
2001   Minos Ragistan

Powerful President is must for balance of power, observes Supreme Court
3.20.01   PMS

Bangladesh
3.16.01   UN World Food Pgm

3.15.01   Asian Immigration News

Illegal Afghan refugees to be expelled: Abbas 3.13.01   DAWN ISLAMABAD   Pakistan is firm on its stand to expel illegal Afghan refugees, said the minister for Kashmir affairs & Northern Areas, Abbas Sarfaraz Khan, in an interview with IRNA. "Islamabad will soon take a decisive step to expel the illegal Afghan refugees. Pakistan, on account of its financial difficulties, cannot host the illegal refugees and may even use force to expel them," he added. He said Pakistan had been hosting Afghan refugees during the years of Soviet occupation but now it believed that they should return to their country. "We are persistent on our position of closing the border and ask the UN and relief agencies to shift the Afghan refugees camps inside Afghanistan,"he added. He said, "From our point of view, those among the refugees who lack essential food and need assistance are real refugees but there are others who come to Pakistan just to seek jobs." About the problems of refugees, he said many refugees were facing problems due to lack of facilities at the camps inside Pakistan. But he did not endorse the recent press reports that many of the refugees, particularly children, had died in their camps due to cold and lack of food and medicines. Pakistan recently closed its border for fresh Afghan refugees after the UN reported that 150,000 more refugees have crossed over to the country during the past five months. Over 500,000 Afghans have been rendered displaced due to continuing fighting and drought in Afghanistan. The UNHCR has asked Pakistan to open its borders for these refugees as they are confronted with bitter conditions in their country. It has also demanded of the government of NWFP to allocate a new site for setting up more camps for these people, but the latter rejected the demand saying the newcomers were not real refugees. Afghan refugees have started enterting Pakistan through unmanned passes along the Pakistan- Afghan border abutting on Bajur & Mohmand Agencies, Peshawar Bureau adds. Though the local police had arrested 10 Afghan refugees within two days and sent them back home to discourage new comers, but this proved a fruitless effort. 5 were arrested on a ring- road on Monday and the rest were picked up

The Forgotten Famine 5.1.01   Anne Applebaum Slate … because of war, displacement and 2 decades of chaos, Afghan poverty is so difficult to measure Afghan GNP frequently appears on lists as "not available." World Bank has no operations there; U.N. High Commission for Refugees considers Afghans to be the largest group of refugees in the world for the 19th year running. It counts 1.2 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, 1.3 million in Iran, and many thousands more around the world, … perhaps another half-million pouring into new camps within the country: One U.N. camp near Herat is said to be receiving 1,500 people every day. Having abandoned their farms, eaten what remained of their resources, and watched their sheep and cattle die for lack of water, they have nothing to return to either. War & politics have compounded natural crisis: Afghanistan is now experiencing a second year of drought and may be on the brink of a terrible famine. … infamous Jalozai refugee camp, where 80,000 Afghans, many opponents of the fundamentalist Taliban, are crammed into a dried-out Pakistani riverbed without much food or sympathy from Pakistani govt. &133; an alternative, although it isn't a secret either. barely figures in the collective consciousness. Ahmed Shah Masoud continues to command the Northern Alliance, the moderate Islamic group that is still fighting against the Taliban in the north of the country. Masoud, who is far better known in Europe than US, was recently in Paris, where his presence attracted 250 journalists, as well as in Strasbourg & Brussels accompanied by Dr. Abdullah, the alliance's foreign minister, who then went on to Vienna and Warsaw. … The Northern Alliance is not so hubristic as to request Western military support, which, given the general distaste for fueling further fighting in the region, would probably not be forthcoming anyway. They would like, simply, more humanitarian aid-and for the general policy of Western (and particularly American) "neutrality" to shift in their favor. They are confident that even small shows of support would be enough to swing the country behind them and against the Taliban whom, they claim, are increasingly hated.

at a bus stand in Bhana Mari. All of them had no valid documents. Two weeks ago, police had arrested 240 refugees and handed them over to Taliban officials at Torkham. Police have also starting a drive in the city to arrest those refugees who have entered Pakistan illegally, and send them back home . Though the Torkham border is completely sealed, hundreds of fresh refugees are trying to enter Pakistan. Those who had tried to trickle into Pakistan through the southwest mountainous border on Sunday had been pushed back by the militia, policing the area. The Taliban officials present there termed it an "unpleasant gesture" by Pakistan, sources told Dawn.
A Pakistan official at the border, however, told Dawn by telephone that it was a routine matter for the Afghans. "They come, stay at the border and then go back. They know that now it is difficult for them to cross the border," he added. The sources said that refugees were seen crossing the border during night via Nawan Pass in Mohmand Agency. This area was close to Dir district, he said and added that they travelled through the nearby Kunar province and waited till evening, to enter tribal area.

West & Central Asia
3.09.01   UN World Food Pgm

Tajikistan
a)   WFP has received confirmation for a new pledge of 2,400 tons of wheat flour. Still, only 33,645 tons (26 percent of the total requirement), has been made available since November.
b)   In Kurgan Tyube, WFP is observing a deteriorating food security situation, with people affected by drought becoming increasingly desperate after selling their last household assets. In Khatlon province, WFP have frequently come across agitated hungry people demanding food. An abnormally large number of institutions, such as orphanages, schools, and even local government departments, have been approaching WFP for food aid. Circumstances are likely to get worse before the next harvest in July.
c)   Recently, WFP monitored 11 land-lease projects in Kurgan Tyube. WFP interviewed 79 female heads of households and found the living conditions of all beneficiaries very difficult. Most of the families had no livestock and for 99 percent of the beneficiaries interviewed, the only source of sustenance at this critical pre-harvest period was WFP's food assistance.
d)   WFP is currently distributing food to 22,142 people in Kabodian and 3,499 people in Dangara, also in Khatlon. The International Federation for the Red Cross (IFRC) and CARE, two implementing partners of WFP, continue to distribute food to the drought-affected in Regions of Republican Sub-ordination and Sughd province, respectively. Mission East, another WFP partner, and IFRC have been preparing distribution of WFP's food in the Kulyab zone, covering some 35,000 vulnerable people. WFP is monitoring the implementation.

Pakistan
a)   As of 29 January, the Government of Pakistan halted the verification of approximately 70,000 Afghans at the Jalozai transit centre. The condition of these people continues to give rise to concern.
b) The UN Secretary-General is expected to visit the Shamshatoo camp and Jalozai transit centre on 12 March.

Iran
a)   Due to disturbances reported by the provincial government in Yazd, a mission including WFP was invited to the area to get a first hand impression about the conditions of the Afghan refugees and to hear the concerns of the local population, as explained by the authorities. The Office of the Governor-General drew attention to the rise in tensions between the locals and Afghan refugees and warned of possible security implications in the not too distant future.

UNHCR likely to get $4.3m more for Afghan refugees
1.24.01   Intikhab Amir DAWN

Meanwhile, the UNHCR and the Commission for Afghan refugees, on Wednesday, jointly started counting of the number of Afghan refugees living in the Jallozai makeshift camp. "The final figures of the number of Afghan refugees would be available by Thursday as some 50,000 people had been counted till Wednesday," said the spokesman. Similarly, an exercize to verify the number of new entrants had also been carried out to know as to how many new refugees had taken shelter there, he said. The verification exercize was necessary to move the new entrants to other places for which, according to the spokesman, negotiations with the Pakistani officials, were under way. Negotiations were also continuing with the Afghan refugees commission for some new sites to settle the new entrants, said the UNHCR official. Some 10,000 displaced Afghan families [or 50,000 refugees] recently entered Pakistan, had been settled to new Shamshatu refugees camp, some 26 kilometres from Peshawar. Some 2,000 more families (10,000 refugees) would be shifted to the new camp from the Jallozai makeshift camp in the near future. He claimed that situation at the Shamshatu refugees camp was stable and it was getting better with every passing day as the water, health, education and sanitation facilities had been improved.

1.2.01   CWS

People flee as yet another drought looms large over Thar
11.30.00   Muhammad Khalid Intl News

Working Group being established to facilitate Afghan refugees return
3.2.00   APP

Afghan Refugees to be shifted to alternate places: Moin
2.11.00   APP

1998   Pakistani refugees in Bangladesh

House   John Millis RIP 6.6.00   § archive

4.01   Pakistan pays $30,000 a month for services of former Cong. Charlie Wilson, D. Even though Wilson cautioned Pakistani Govt last year about hiring another lobbyist, just this month Pakistan signed contract premier law firm Patton, Boggs & Blow for $ 22,500 a month; former Clinton special counsel Lanny J. Davis, who helped WHouse navigate 1996 Democratic fund-raising imbroglio, is handling Pakistan account.

High $ D.C. lobby battles
2.14.00   UNI

Issue is Suppression of Self-Determination
10.93   R.A. Khan dir. L.A. based Kashmir HRts Fdtn WashRpt p37

In a letter to Pres. Geo.Bush dated 9.1.90, Rep. Stephen J. Solarz (D-NY), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asian & Pacific Affairs, said that if Pakistan continues to pursue the development of nuclear devices, and U.S. aid continues, the credibility of U.S. global nonproliferation policy would be undermined. U.S. aid to Pakistan may not be extended unless the president certifies annually, per the Pressler amendment certification for Pakistan under the provisions of Sec. 620E(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act, that Pakistan is abiding by its pledge not to possess nuclear weaponry or nuclear explosive devices.
[ A decade later, Solarz still feeds well off Indian & Turkish lobby$ ]

State Dept   brief   links

Sec. Albright announces Asian Ctr for Democratic Goverance
3.14.00  

3.8.00   Harold Hongju Koh IOHR testimony re 1999 HRts report
economic report
1999 State Dept HRts report

In N-weapons, Pakistan ahead of India, Jane's report
3.26.01   PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Contrary to this, Pakistan's nuclear forces are controlled by the Army and have been more fully incorporated into the country's overall military strategy, the weekly reportedly said. It said Pakistan officials believe Islamabad's nuclear capability gives it the option of strongly supporting insurgency in Kashmir. The view is based on the belief that India would not dare hit back with strong conventional weapons for fear of such a conflict escalating to a nuclear exchange, it said. The weekly reportedly said that official proclamations by India's nuclear scientists notwithstanding, it has not proceeded to develop an effective missile-based nuclear deterrent as quickly as Pakistan and is yet to deploy a missile force in quantity. India's nuclear delivery systems consist of assault aviation Mirage 2000H fighters, which will be supplemented by Sukhoi SU-30MK multi-role fighters, along with a limited number of Prithvi-I and II short-range ballistic missiles and Agni medium-range ballistic missiles, it said.
While none of the nuclear delivery systems possessed by India is capable of providing deterrence against China, it developed the long-range ICBM, Agni, to fill the vacuum, it said. Pakistan, on the other hand, has nearly completed development of a solid-fuelled missile that could strike key Indian cities from deep within Pakistan territory. Islamabad will use its Ghauri series of liquid- fuelled missiles for offensive operations while the Shaheen series would be retained for defensive purposes, it said. As part of its efforts to put in place a command and control system, Pakistan established the nuclear command authority and the Pakistan nuclear regulatory authority, the weekly said, according to the newspaper. Despite all these moves, Islamabad is yet to fully develop its nuclear force structure, it said, adding that Pakistan had steadfastly refused to quantify the nuclear weapons it required for minimum deterrence.
[ Paki nukes = BCCI = CIA drugs = Geo.Bush. U.S. gave R&D under the table; China sold manufacturing capability incl megamagnets. ]

Pakistan 'has the missiles to wipe Delhi off map'
9.16.00   S.Farrell & Z. Hussain London Times

Pakistan Aid Cutoff   U.S. Nonproliferation & Foreign Policy Considerations
12.6.96 Richard P. Cronin Foreign Affairs & National Defense Division

4.18.96 WashPost reported Pres. approved transfer of equipt despite evidence that some time in 1995 Pakistan had acquired 5,000 "ring magnets" from China that could be used in its covert uranium enrichment program. The Senate action followed several committee hearings & briefings in both houses, and similar House action in passing legislation authorizing foreign assistance for FY1996 & FY1997 H.R. 1561. The changes were adopted despite fact that Pakistan has continued to increase its capability to build nuclear weapons since the Oct. 1990 aid cutoff, and may possess one or more bombs.
Those supporting the relaxation argued that the aid cutoff has been counterproductive and had jeopardized ties with a long standing ally. They also pointed to unequal treatment of Pakistan and India under nonproliferation sections of the FAA. India exploded a nuclear device in 1974, well before Pakistan acquired a similar capability. Against this view, other Members of Congress argued that the amendment had worked in a rough fashion to constrain Pakistan's program and warned against sending the "wrong signal" to other potential nuclear proliferators.

India & Pakistan On the Nuclear Threshold Joyce Battle   National Security Archive briefing book #6

Commerce

Iraq to import pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments from Pakistan
4.2.01   Iraq-Pakistan, Economics

Pakistan stresses importance of D-8 summit
2.21.01   ArabicNews

Forced devotion
2.17.01   The Economist U.S. ed.

Instead of paying interest on deposits and charging it on loans, Islamic banks aim to enter into profit- and loss-sharing agreements with depositors and borrowers. Under mudarabah, for instance, a bank will give money to a borrower on the understanding that it will later share the resulting gains according to a ratio agreed upon beforehand. The bank's depositors will then take a share of the bank's profits on its mudarabah and other contracts, instead of receiving fixed interest. Some Islamic bankers claim that this system is superior to interest-based banking, for reasons beyond religion. Islamic institutions, they argue, think more about the future profits of their borrowers than about their present creditworthiness. Lending decisions are therefore longer-term and more likely to be prudent. Banks are less likely to fail as a result (but see article).
In other ways, however, Islamic banks are less obviously suited to modern economies. Judging whether a company will make profits in the future is harder than making a decision about its current ability to repay a loan. A possible perverse consequence of a pure Islamic banking system is that a smaller number of companies end up getting financed. In addition, Islamic banks offer far fewer kinds of financing than the conventional sort. Pakistani companies may find that they can no longer borrow with the degree of flexibility to which they have become accustomed.

In fact, the great majority of Islamic transactions are not based on profit- and loss-sharing at all but on murabaha, another structure that bears a suspicious resemblance to an interest-bearing loan. In a murabaha contract, the provider of capital buys, say, a piece of machinery for $1,000, and the borrower buys it back from the bank later for $1,100. According to the murabaha rules, the $100 represents a "mark-up", but it works much the same as interest in everything but name.
[ False.This is collateral secured lending, not interest based lending. The mark-up is a transaction fee, not interest. That fee does not accrue based on time, at least as described. ]

Murabaha lending is likely to be the mainstay of Pakistani banks in the next year or so. From a bank's point of view, mark-up loans are a relatively easy way to lend without receiving interest. The more complex profit-and-loss ransactions will probably have to wait till later. Transforming Pakistan's banking system will involve other, more immediate kinds of difficulty, however. Although Mr Musharraf has said that interest payments on the govt's external debt of $36 billion will continue, it is not known what it will do about its domestic borrowing of 1.6 trillion rupees ($25 billion). According to Fahim Khan, a member of the team that Pakistan's central bank asked to plan the reform, the country's biggest challenge in the next few months will be to find a way for the govt to raise money domestically without paying interest.

Then there is the vital question of what to do about old loans and deposits. Will depositors suddenly be deprived of their accrued interest and given another type of "profit-related" return in its place? Legal havoc would follow. Or will Islamic methods apply only to new loans and deposits? So far, says Mr Khan, no final decision has been made. The path of least disruption would no doubt be to respect existing contracts. The success or failure of Pakistan's experiment in Islamic banking will also depend on whether the central bank chooses to be liberal or strict in its interpretation of Islamic law.
There is something of a divide between places like Malaysia, which tends to be flexible and innovative, and the Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, which are more dogmatic. Malaysian Islamic banks, for instance, think they have an Islamic justification to buy and sell existing murabaha contracts once they are in place. The Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia and other authorities in the Gulf frown on this. The Pakistani central bank would do well to lean towards the Malaysian model. The more freedom Pakistan's banks are allowed within their new Islamic framework, the more likely they are to obey it.

IMF opens new talks with Pakistan
1.24.01   AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

US to provide soyabeans to Pakistan
9.16.00   DAWN

LASMO assures expansion of operations in Pakistan
2.11.00   APP

Kashmir   more
most recent PakNews NYTimes  

12 killed in Occupied Kashmir violence
4.12.01   Radio Srinagar

India Rebuffed on Proposal for Kashmir Talks
4.6.01   AP p A29

President raps Pakistan for militant violence in Kashmir
2.20.01   EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

Kashmir on the Brink
9.00   WashPost

Pakistan, India Trade Shellfire In Kashmir
9.21.00   Greg Myre AP

Pakistan ready for talks with India 'anytime, anywhere & at any level'
Gen. Musharraf, press conf. after 3.25.00 Clinton conf.
3.26.00   APP

… To a question about the removal of US sanctions on Pakistan, Gen. Musharraf said, the question of US sanctions did not figure in the talks. "We did not ask for lifting of the sanctions. … Re issue of restoring democracy, he could not give time-frame as the Govt has to achieve certain objectives in the economic sector and bring about the electoral reforms. "But I will not perpetuate myself," he added. … Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said the present set-up was a temporary phase and the first step for holding local and district level elections has already been taken, to be followed first by provincial elections and then national assemblies elections. "We in the govt are very cognizant of the fact that we have limited period and we have to perform in that limited period for bringing good governance to Pakistan". Economic mismanagement and rampant corruption of the democratic govts, during which 39 billion US dollars of debt was accumulated while 57 percent of GDP went to debt-servicing. He said the govt is spending 175 million US dollars on preparing new voter lists and ridding those lists of bogus registrations. Sattar said democracy is taking time to have roots in Pakistan as it did in the U.S.."Here, elected representatives need to realise that the crime of corruption does not pay". Re ban slapped by the Govt on the political activities on the eve of Clinton's visit to Pakistan, Musharraf said, the Govt would review it in due course of time. The Chief Executive told the press that the local bodies elections in Pakistan had never been on a party basis.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Parliament passes reparation law
4.8.01   AP

E. Pakistan surrender was premature & shameful: Pak report
12.30.00   REUTERS

The report also said the military's continued involvement in running the government by martial law was cited by witnesses as a reason for corruption among senior military officers. "This moral degeneration & inefficiency of senior army commanders had been attributed by and large by all concerned to their prolonged and continued involvement in martial law duties since 1958,'' it said. "Even responsible service officers have asserted before us that due to corruption resulting from such involvement, the lust for wine & women and greed for lands & houses, a large number of senior army officers, particularly those occupying the highest positions, had lost not only their will to fight but also their professional competence for taking vital and critical decisions.'' The commission blamed the start of the 1971 violence on the Awami League Party of Bangladesh, but said excesses were also committed against the people by the military. It recommended the setting up of a high powered court to look into the allegations of atrocities committed by the Pakistani army.
"Our examination of the available evidence shows that there is substance in the allegations that during and after the military action, excesses were indeed committed on the people of east Pakistan, although the versions and estimate put forward by Dhaka authorities are highly coloured and exaggerated,'' it said. The govt has not given any indication whether it will take any action against surviving former Pakistani generals for alleged crimes committed in Bangladesh. Musharraf said in Oct. that the incidents in 1971 had been a political as well as a military debacle, and that calls for generals to be tried were not fair. Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina has demanded in the past that Pakistan make a public apology for alleged massacres by its troops and the rape of women in Bangladesh. Islamabad has asked Dhaka not to revive such memories, saying they could damage the prospects of better relations.

Iran

sudra   Afro Cubans & Colombians

Y-CHROMOSOMAL DNA VARIATION IN PAKISTAN
1999 R. Qamar Biomedical & Gene Eng. Labs, Islamabad, Pakistan

The term Shudra first appears in Sanskrit texts around 1500 BC denoting one of the black aboriginal tribes that the Aryans conquered. It was subsequently expanded to all blacks subjugated, and the term Dasa or Dasyu , or slave, was used to denote the servitude to which most Sudras were subjected. Sanskrit texts refer to the Shudra as the black varna or colour. Thus Shudra is equivalent as a racial term to the Latin Negra . Initially it only referred to subjugated aboriginals and not the aboriginals themselves who were referred to as avarna and later Adiavasi. Thus the terms Adivasi and Sudra were exclusive. Later under Muslim rule Arabic: sudd, black & hence Sudra, not Shudra, became the generic term for Indian blacks. In its modern sense Sudra denoted any black man in India and hence includes the following sub-races:

Dravidian language speakers incl South Indian Dravidians or Settled Dravidians Tamils Mallas/Malabaris : Malayalis, Mallas Karanad Adivasi or Aboriginal Dravidians (eg. Tulu, Kurumba)

Kolarians - Kolarian speakers, incl. Mundas, Oraons, Santal, Ho Dalits - Hindicized Sudras incl Habshis or Hindicized Abyssinians Hindicized Kols, eg. Bhuiyas

Sindhi Society & Culture
caste rainbow clouded by long history

Karachi Sindhis   nee Abyssinian

Punjabi people in Pakistan
Punjabis in Pakistan are a majority. The Prime Minister of Pakistan is a Punjabi. The heart of Punjab, anciently called Loh Pur aka Lahore, is a bubbling city, seat of culture & education. Lahore has given some of the most prominent people of arts, letters and other fields to both India & Pakistan. Lahore is unique and we wish every Punjabi can visit it, just like other cities of Punjab province. Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot and Gujranwala are major urban centers of Punjab State of Pakistan.

purdah

Westside women, girls reach out to Afghans   Feminist Majority Fndtn 888.939.6636
organizes school fund-raisers to support underground education in mostly Taliban-controlled country
3.30.01   Tami Min LATimes

Since the fund-raiser began on the Westside, students have raised $500 from collection cans set up throughout the school. Katherine Spillar, a national coordinator for the Feminist Majority Foundation, organized the campaign to give women and girls in the U.S. a focus. "Last fall . . . as American school girls were returning to schools, we launched the campaign to make the connection that their counterparts in Afghanistan were not being able to go back to school," she said. Spillar said Afghan women struggle to teach, using broken doors as chalkboards and have virtually no other school supplies. She said students, women and community organizations have created 320 action teams to raise awareness and funds for Afghan women since the campaign began in September.
"These clandestine home schools that women in Afghanistan run [come] with great risk to themselves," she said. "They're against such horrible odds. They're making sure that a whole generation of girls are not lost." Mavis Leno, wife of "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno & chairwoman of the campaign, spoke at a recent West Hollywood news conference. She described Afghanistan as an increasingly isolated place where children are not allowed to play music or laugh. "The world has to know," she said.

Forced marriage & intl HRts norms
3.12.01   Regional, Culture

… Forced marriage entails a violation of one or more of a number of internationally recognized human rights norms. Recognition of the human rights issues arising from forced marriage is critical to framing adequate responses to the problem and providing effective redress to victims. All cases of forced marriage involve the right to marry and to personal liberty and security, including freedom from arbitrary detention. The more extreme cases may also implicate the right to life, the right to bodily integrity, including freedom from gender- based violence, the prohibitions on slavery or practices similar to slavery; the right to access to justice, the right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law; the right to an effective remedy and the right to freedom from gender- based discrimination.
Each of the rights enumerated above is recognized by the International Declaration of Human Rights. In addition Bangladesh & Pakistan are bound to respect these rights by their treaty obligations under several major international human rights instruments. They are parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against women, 1979 ( CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1990 (CRC), and the Supplementary Convention on Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery 1956.
Furthermore, General Recommendation No.21, UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women says: "A woman's right to choose a spouse and enter freely into marriage is central to her life and her dignity and equality as a human being.. A woman's right to choose when, if, and whom she will marry must be protected and enforced at law."

The Fate of Pakistani Women
4.11.99   Yasmeen Hassan Intl Herald Tribune

Revolutionary Assoc. of the Women of Afghanistan
S.Asian Women's Network
Intl Org. of Pakistani Women Engineers   Berkeley CA
Women's Caravan & CyberHarem
Himalayan mountain women
Sulekha forum

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