9/11 conspiracy theories

It may be 10 years since the attacks in the US on 11 September, but conspiracy theories have not faded over time, says Mike Rudin.

Numerous official reports have been published since the Twin Towers fell, but just when a piece of evidence casts doubt on one theory, the focus then shifts to the next “unanswered question”.

Here are five of the most prominent 9/11 conspiracy theories circulating in online communities.

1. Failure to intercept the hijacked planes

The question: Why did the world’s most powerful air force fail to intercept any of the four hijacked planes?

Conspiracy theorists say: The then US Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the military to stand down and not to intercept the planes.

Fighter jets failed to intercept the hijacked planes

Official reports say: This was a highly unusual multiple hijacking with violence on board, and where the transponder, which provides the exact location of the plane, was turned off or changed.

What is more, a routine military training exercise happened to be taking place that day at US air defence command.

Air traffic controller Colin Scoggins was in constant contact with the military and did not see any lack of response. There was confusion and a lack of communication between the civilian air traffic control (FAA) and the military.

The military’s equipment was also outdated and designed to look out over the ocean to deal with a Cold War threat.

2. Collapse of the Twin Towers

The question: Why did the Twin Towers collapse so quickly, within their own footprint, after fires on a few floors that lasted only for an hour or two?

Conspiracy theorists say: The Twin Towers were destroyed by controlled demolitions. Theories relate to the rapid collapse (about 10 seconds), the relatively short-lived fires (56 minutes in World Trade Center 2 or 102 minutes in World Trade Center 1), reports of the sounds of explosions shortly before the collapse, and the violent ejections that could be seen at some windows many floors below the collapse.

Five new skyscrapers are being built on the World Trade Center site

Official reports say: An extensive inquiry by the National Institute of Standards and Technology concluded that the planes severed and damaged support columns and dislodged fire-proofing.

Around 10,000 gallons of jet fuel were spewed over many floors starting widespread fires. Temperatures of up to 1,000C caused the floors to sag and the perimeter columns to bend, causing the sounds of “explosions”.

The massive weight of the floors dropped, creating a dynamic load far in excess of what the columns were designed for. Debris was forced out of the windows as the floors above collapsed.

Controlled demolition is always carried out from the bottom floors up, yet this collapse started at the top.

No evidence has ever been found of explosive charges despite the extensive hand searches and there is no evidence of any pre-cutting of columns or walls, which is routinely carried out in a controlled demolition.

3. Attack on the Pentagon

The question: How could an amateur pilot fly a commercial plane in a complicated manoeuvre and crash it into the headquarters of the world’s most powerful military, 78 minutes after the first report of a possible hijack and leave no trace?

A memorial in the grounds of the Pentagon marks the deaths of those who died when Flight 77 crashed

Conspiracy theorists say: A commercial Boeing 757 did not hit the building but instead a missile, a small aircraft or an unmanned drone was used. But since evidence has increasingly shown that the American Airlines Flight 77 did hit the building, the emphasis has shifted to questioning the difficult approach manoeuvre. It is argued it was not under the control of al-Qaeda but the Pentagon itself.

Official reports say: Airplane wreckage, including the black boxes, were recovered from the scene and they were catalogued by the FBI.

Although some early video did not show much wreckage, there is a good deal of video and still photography which shows plane wreckage and evidence of the flight path, such as broken lamp posts.

The remains of crew and passengers on the plane were found and positively identified by DNA. Witnesses also saw the plane strike the Pentagon.

4. The fourth plane – United Airlines flight 93

The question: Why was the crash site at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, so small and why was the aircraft debris not visible?

Conspiracy theorists argue: United Airlines flight 93 was shot down by a missile and disintegrated in mid air, scattering the wreckage over a large area.

Forty-four people died when Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania

Official reports say: There are clear photographs showing aircraft wreckage and the cockpit voice recorder, which showed there had been a passenger revolt and the hijackers had deliberately crashed the plane.

Initial theories that heavy debris was scattered many miles from the main crash site turned out to be false. In fact the wind had blown light debris such as paper and insulation just over a mile.

Another theory was based on a misquote from the local coroner, Wally Miller, who said he stopped being a coroner after about 20 minutes because there were no bodies. What he also said was that he quickly realised it was a plane crash and there would have to be a large funeral service for the many victims.

In addition, the military never gave orders to the air force to shoot the commercial airliner down.

5. Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7

The question: How could a skyscraper, which was not hit by a plane, collapse so quickly and symmetrically, when no other steel-framed skyscraper has collapsed because of fire?

Offices for civil emergencies, the CIA and the Secret Service were based in World Trade Center Building 7

Conspiracy theorists say: The World Trade Center Building 7 was destroyed by a controlled demolition using both explosives and incendiaries.

Initially the focus was on the phrase “pull it” used by the owner, Larry Silverstein, in a TV interview. But in fact he was talking about pulling firefighters back. (Demolition experts do not use the term “pull it” as slang for setting off explosives.)

Now the focus has shifted to the speed of the collapse which reached near free fall for 2.25 seconds. It is argued only explosives could make it collapse so quickly and symmetrically.

Some scientists, who are sceptical of the official account, have examined four dust samples from Ground Zero and claim to have found thermitic material which reacts violently when heated up. They claim tonnes of thermite and conventional explosives were rigged inside, not just WTC7, but also the Twin Towers.

Official reports say: A three-year investigation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology concluded that the building collapsed because of uncontrolled fires, started by the collapse of the nearby North Tower, and which burnt for seven hours.

The mains water feeding the emergency sprinkler system was severed. No evidence has ever been found of explosive charges and there are no recordings of a series of very loud explosions that would have been expected with controlled demolition.

Furthermore, there is an alternative explanation for the “thermitic material” the sceptical scientists found in the dust – it is just a type of primer paint. It’s calculated 1,200,000 tonnes of building materials were pulverised at the World Trade Center and most minerals are present in the dust (not necessarily in a large quantity). More extensive sampling of the dust has not found any evidence of thermite or explosives, says a report from the US Geological Survey and another from RJ Lee.

Fighting Sexual Harassment at Hotels

By Akbar S. Ahmed

Who knows what’s happening in a hotel room, behind a closed door? The Dominique Strauss-Kahn debacle has hotel managements everywhere pruning their housekeeping policies. The threat of well-connected, important guests abusing their relative power and taking advantage of hotel staff has been highlighted like never before.

The risk is even greater in Pakistan. Principal among the reasons for this is the massive class divide between poorly (if ever) educated housekeeping staff and the guests they are employed to serve. Mutual understanding rarely manages to bridge the gulf quite as well as snobby disdain and nervous awe do. Much lower expectations about the dignity of labour contribute as well. ‘Service’ to some guests means anything and everything they could ever ask for, offered up willingly and subserviently.

That means a massive amount of social pressure is simply an occupational hazard of the job. Tie in rampant gender discrimination, and the clear conclusion is that women in the industry face a double disadvantage. Government efforts to protect working women have ostensibly been stepped up since the passage of the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act in 2010. But legislation is often nothing more than words on a piece of paper in this country, and so female hotel workers may remain especially vulnerable.

Leading hotels are aware of what is at stake. Riaz-ul-Haq Baloch, currently Executive Housekeeper at the Marriott in Karachi, does not mince his words on the issue. He recounts an assault he dealt with first-hand at an unnamed five-star hotel he worked at in the late 1980s: “A guest came up to [my worker] and, quite simply, pounced. [The worker] came running back to my office, clearly distressed. I told [them] not to worry…It’s something they have to be prepared for.”

What is significant is who needs to be prepared. The guest in question was a middle-aged woman, the staff member a 19-year old male working his first job.

Discussions with various training managers at both leading and (in the words of one disgruntled and/or excessively honest employee) “mediocre” hotels revealed that the Pakistani hotel industry pre-empted scandals like the Strauss-Kahn fiasco by simply using a preventive measure. As one source revealed, “80% of the housekeeping staff in most hotels is male.”

The logic behind this decision is simple. Hotel managers seem to believe that male housekeepers, despite incidents like the one described above, are generally less likely to be assaulted and more capable of dealing with the situation if they are. This means that few women are employed in housekeeping staffs, and they are usually only sent to rooms with female guests. Safety precautions for such women include video cameras in the hallways, having supervisors come up to rooms with them and carrying walkie-talkies.

Still, hotels remain leery. “These things happen,” says one manager who wishes to remain anonymous, a tired note in his voice.

Precautions, admirable as they may be, indicate not a lack of sexual harassment but an awareness of how likely its occurrence is. None of the housekeeping managers interviewed denied that they had witnessed such incidents during their tenure, instead mentioning them briefly and hurrying to a different topic. A clear thread running through interviews with managers at various hotels was a protectiveness towards the housekeeping staff, especially women.

Even the male-centric solution may sometimes fail. A recent article in the Indian magazine Outlook noted that Indian hotels see “incidents… involving the male staff once every two to three months.” In Pakistan, where the gender ratio among the housekeeping staff is evidently highly skewed, the frequency of such assaults would inevitably be higher. Whether one will ever know is uncertain. Many male staffers refuse to bring up such encounters, afraid of losing face or reluctant to admit vulnerability to anyone, female or male predators.

Worry now even overwhelms the old philosophy of always providing ‘service with a smile.’ The Marriott’s Baloch summed this new attitude up best: “It’s not ‘the guest is always right’ anymore. It’s ‘the guest is a guest – nothing more.’” While the initial reaction to an abusive or angry guest is to attempt to mollify them, a call to someone further up in the management hierarchy is recommended for when situations get out of hand. In Pakistan, it’s the guests that need to be convinced to conform to a certain standard of behaviour.

Sexual harassment was only made illegal in this country last year. Awareness about the issue can only have gotten so far. It seems almost impossible that Pakistan will soon reach a point where issues like male guests attacking male staff can be discussed openly and freely, without Ahmadinejad-inspired statements about “there [being] no homosexuals in our country.” And respect for women as equals, not tokens trotted out to smile at customer relations desks or easy targets, remains low. It is not policies that need to be changed, but mindsets. Until then, businesses, particularly hotels, will continue to tailor their practices to their very real fears.

Why three lion cubs died at Karachi Zoo and other tales of incompetence

By Dr A A Qureshi

The death of three lion cubs at the Karachi Zoo, and the disappearance of a fourth, highlights the dearth of professionals trained in the care of animals, and an apparent indifference on the part of senior officials charged with overseeing the upkeep of the country’s zoological gardens.

Sonu and Malka playing around at the Karachi Zoo.

The lion cubs were the latest in a long line of animal victims of human negligence and incompetence.

I was once asked by the Punjab government to determine why several of their most expensive and rare birds kept dying in the enclosures built for them. Upon examination, I discovered that the enclosures had been designed by an engineer with no knowledge of the habits of those birds.

At the same zoo, the reptile enclosure had no heating arrangements despite the city’s cold winters. Many of the reptiles died of hypothermia. When I asked why there was no heating for a cold-blooded animal, I was told that the low-powered bulb, hanging about 13 feet above the animals, had been deemed to be a sufficient source of heat for animals most commonly found on desert sands.

Similarly, the giraffe enclosure was very poorly designed. The architect who designed it seemed to overestimate the height of the animal and made the food basket too high for the poor giraffe to reach, resulting in the animal starving for not being tall enough.

Poorly designed enclosures seem to be a running theme across zoos in Pakistan. At one zoo, an elephant broke its leg when it slipped into a moat that had been meant to keep the animal in its cage. The elephant eventually had to be euthanised.

On some occasions, the thought process of zoo managements could have been described as comical, were it not quite so tragic.

For instance, when an elephant caretaker in Islamabad retired, the government was unable to find a qualified replacement. So zoo officials decided to hire a buffalo herdsman instead. Their logic: an elephant and a buffalo are both large, dark-skinned animals, therefore the caretaking methods of both animals should be interchangeable.

Two buffalo herdsman were employed, who then proceeded to treat the female Asian elephant exactly like they would treat a buffalo from Sahiwal: spraying it with water, feeding it out of a trough and goading it to walk by beating its hindquarters with a stick.

For some time, the elephant quietly tolerated this insult to its species, but finally lost her temper when the herdsmen started eating the sugar cane meant for her. She ambushed the two herdsmen while they were in a shed and crushed them to death.

This tragedy occurred not because of any fault of the animal or the herdsmen, but the indifference and incompetence of the zoo management.

The only personnel who should be charged with supervising the care of animals should be trained veterinarians who are comfortable around animals and not afraid of them. Zoologists or other professionals from supposedly related fields are unlikely to have the technical expertise required to manage a facility that takes care of animals.

Even veterinarians have a steep learning curve. Dr Masud, who has spent 15 years at the Bahawalpur Zoo, says, “It took me at least 10 years to really understand this zoo.”

Suspending the director of the Karachi Zoo for the lion cubs’ incident is not going to change the fact that he is not qualified for the job in the first place. It is the Karachi government that is responsible for having selected a zoologist for a job that should be done by a veterinarian.

Satellite contract: Local company signs $134m deal with NewSat

Satellite provider NewSat has signed a 10-year contract worth $134 million with Pakistani telecommunication company, 3A Technology, to provide it with satellite capacity following a similar $105 million deal earlier this month.

Special satellites – with the capacity for supporting both 3G and 4G bands – will be used for a cellular backhaul in Pakistan and Afghanistan..

Pakistani companies may be gearing up for the rollout of 3G and 4G networks, according to an analyst. Special satellites – with the capacity for supporting both 3G and 4G bands – will be used for a cellular backhaul in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The satellites may also be there to help expand the range of the network and allow for more remote areas to pick up the signals, analyst added.

NewSat is planning to launch the satellite, Jabiru-1, in 2012. It will be a hybrid Ku- and Ka-band satellite, which will provide coverage over South-East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

3A Technology president Ali Ather will use the capacity to provide services to companies such as Mobilink, Pak Datacom and the Pakistan government in areas of the Middle East with previously poor coverage, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, ZDNet.com.au reported on Monday.

“Pakistan and Afghanistan have poor terrestrial connectivity and rapidly growing consumer, business and government markets for internet, voice and secure data. Our large banking customers, along with mobile and broadband operators, rely on our satellite communications to support their network expansions and future business growth,” he was quoted as saying.

NewSat said that the capacity would also be used for cellular backhaul in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to support the roll-out of 3G and 4G networks.

2020: Year Of The Modern China Military

China appears on track to forge a modern military by 2020, a rapid buildup that could be potentially destabilising to the Asia-Pacific region, the Pentagon has said.

China’s People’s Liberation Army marches in Beijing

Fuelled by its booming economy, China’s military growth in the past decade has exceeded most US forecasts. Its aircraft carrier programme, cyberwarfare capabilities and anti-satellite missiles have alarmed neighbours and Washington.

Some China watchers, including members of the US Congress, note with apprehension that rising Chinese defence spending coincides with Washington’s plans for defence cuts.

“China clearly believes that it can capitalise on the global financial crisis,” said the house armed services committee chairman, Howard McKeon, adding that the US military presence in the Pacific must not be sacrificed in an attempt to control US spending.

The US defence department’s annual assessment to Congress on the Chinese military flagged all the major concerns about China’s growing military might, including Beijing’s widening edge over Taiwan. It also noted cyber-attacks in 2010 – including those on US government computers – that appeared to have originated in China.

“We have some concerns [on cyber] about some of the things that we’ve seen. And we want to be able to work through that with China,” said Michael Schiffer, a deputy assistant secretary of defence.

The report focused on 2010, a year when the Pentagon said China’s military modernisation programme paid “visible dividends”. It cited China’s fielding of an operational anti-ship ballistic missile, continued work on its aircraft carrier programme and the completion of a prototype of China’s first stealth fighter jet, the J-20.

The J-20 programme, the Pentagon report said, would not achieve “effective operational capability” before 2018.

“Despite continued gaps in some key areas, large quantities of antiquated hardware and a lack of operational experience, the PLA [China's People's Liberation Army] is steadily closing the technological gap with modern armed forces,” the report said.

A spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington said the report was “a reflection of cold war mentality” and would be used as a tool to depict China as a threat.

“We hope the US will take practical steps to work with China for stable and healthy military ties by following the spirit of mutual respect, mutual trust, reciprocity and mutual benefit,” the embassy spokesman Wang Baodong said in an email.

The military buildup could have a destabilising effect on the region, Schiffer said, calling for greater openness by the PLA and more bilateral military dialogue.

“The pace and scope of China’s sustained military investments have allowed China to pursue capabilities that we believe are potentially destabilising to regional military balances,” Schiffer said.

The Pentagon said that despite its progress at becoming a more potent regional military power, Beijing was not expected to be able to project and sustain large forces in high-intensity combat operations far from China before 2020.

That is something the United States, still the predominant military power in the Pacific, has been able to do throughout the world for decades.

One of the best ways for a military to project power is with aircraft carriers and China launched its first carrier – a refitted former Soviet craft – for a maiden run earlier this month. Schiffer said he believed Beijing was working towards building its own domestically produced aircraft carriers and sources told Reuters China was building two carriers.

Still, the report said any domestically produced Chinese aircraft carrier would not be operational until at least 2015 if construction were to start this year.

“Whether or not this [China's carrier programme] proves to be a net plus for the region or for the globe or proves to be something that has destabilising effects and raises blood pressure in various regional capitals I think remains to be seen,” Schiffer said.

One of the biggest irritants in the US-Chinese relationship is Taiwan. The PLA suspended military ties with the United States for most of 2010 over US arms sales to Taiwan and warned that a renewed flurry of engagement could again be jeopardised by new arms sales to an island China sees as a renegade province.

Schiffer said the US government had not yet made a decision on any new arms sales to Taiwan, comments echoed at the state department.

A Reuters report this month said the US sale of 66 new Lockheed Martin F-16 C/D fighter jets to Taiwan appeared unlikely.

Kashmir drifting in cross-currents of regional politics

KashmirWatch

Kashmir is drifting in turbulent cross-currents of the regional politics in South Asia, a highly dreary situation, unfolding itself in a fast paced mode, making it imperative for anyone who indulges in journalistic pursuits of sorts, to speak out his mind and stated stand point, not with a view to pontificate, but to inform public opinion in performance of one’s conscionable public duty.

I venture to break the eleven month hiatus of silence self imposed of course for various reasons, and, draw public attention to the crises looming large on the horizon. I have never viewed the Kashmir problem as an unfinished agenda of the great divide of Indian Sub-continent in 1947. In my book [ KASHMIR ENIGMA ENTANGLE STRANDS ] I painstakingly expatiated that the provenance of the Kashmir Enigma were laid down by the British strategists in 1707 and not 1947 as is the popular perception. After taking a second hard look at the situation, I still find my adherence to this stand point.

1707 A.D was the period of revival of high caste Hindu Nationalism and British, were invited by the propertied class of High Caste Hindus to subvert Mughal Rule in India. It was agreed that when British depart from the Indian Sub-continent, the mantle of power will be passed on to the propertied High Caste Hindus, who would resurrect the Unified India of Ram Rajya era. Elimination of Pakistan as a State is compatible with the ideals of Hindu Nationalism.

The interim resolution of this conflict of ideals is the ideation of a federal SAARC on economic basis, with common market, common currency, common defense and common forums on regional basis for the resolution of interse territorial disputes. Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh’s strategic asseveration that Indian markets shall be opened to SAARC countries, translated into explicable parlance means that domination of the economies of the SAARC countries, by the pre-dominant and ascendant Indian economy that would gradually lead to the exclusion of rival China from South Asia and will corrode the pretentious sovereignty of the SAARC countries.

The only stumbling block in the pathway is Pakistan, that for its own existential reasons, willy nilly, has how to align with China. I am of the firm view, that U.S and China, shared common perception to dust U.S.S.R from Afghanistan since 1978, and, the Jihad against U.S.S.R was funded in a vast measure by China, through the conduit of Pakistan Army.

The second limb of my thesis is grounded upon the speculation that the Pakistan Army was never totally dependant on U.S military assistance. Mr. A.Q. Khan the Pakistani nuclear scientist should be in a position to corroborate my speculation that actualization of Pakistani nuclear ambitions and surrealistic dreams had the tacit financial approval of China. My own financial difficulties prevented me from visiting China and Pakistan to verify the actual facts. I honest to goodness, wanted to meet Late Mr. Z.A. Bhutto, then facing a murder trial to obtain his version of the scenario. I applied to Amnesty International Indian Chapter for permission to observe Bhuttoe’s trial. The request was disregarded and I tendered my public resignation from Amnesty International Kashmir Chapter as founder member. This explains why I can only characterize my view point as a speculation.

However, this speculation, leads, to still another illation that since 1978 itself U.S.A and India reached a tacit understanding that the radicalization of Talibans for fighting Jihad against Russians would inevitably lead to clericalisation of the Pakistan polity. That would in turn lead to distrust of U.S and Indian policies towards Af-Pak region.

The Indians had a nostrum to this menacing scenario. Down right at the birth of Pakistan in 1947 itself the Indian National Congress adopted a policy of supporting Baluchi and Pushtoon Nationalism. Khan Abdul Gauffar Khan and Dr Khan Sahib at the public request of Sardar Patel then voicing the sentiments of Indian National Congress boycotted 14th August 1947 Celebrations. Gous Bux Bizenjo and other ultra nationalist Baluchis, who had a personal rapport with Pundit Jawahar Lal Nehru, [Patron All State Peoples Conference] were totally averse to the idea of a theological State of Pakistan. The ambiguities of the Durand Live made it possible for successive Nationalist Governments in Afghanistan to support the idea of Pukhtoonistan. Russian financial support ably fuelled the fires of Afghan Nationalism. The scenario is vividly characterized by Anthony Arnold in his book Afghanistan, the Soviet Invasion in perspective in these words:-

“…..In the spring of 1955, Afghan mobs were permitted if not encouraged by the authorities to tear down the flag from Pakistan Embassy in Kabul, and from its consulates in Jalallabad and Kandhar and to loot these establishments. Pakistan promptly withdrew its ambassador, suspended Afghanistan’s transit privileges, and unleashed its own mob-violence against Afghan businesses and officials in Pakistan. The border remained closed for five months, until the United States finally prevailed on Pakistani’s to allow transit of US aid materials and equipment to Helmund Valley. The United States turned down as impracticable, however, an Afghan request to build over a thousand miles of highway through Iran to give Afghanistan an alternative route to the sea.” Unquote In my view now a reversal of situation has morphed. The killing of Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabd did not elicit any reaction from President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia. The million dollar question is why? What about Viladmir Putin? His studied silence is eloquent. It was Bin Laden who organized Jihad against U.S.S.R in 1980. The reason is obvious. First and foremost, Russia now has been able to persuade the Islamists in Russia that they should delink themselves from Al-Qaeda. Russia in fact is turning a blind eye to the Russian Islamists getting financial support from other sources.

Now Moscow realizes that there is a present a nexus between India and U.S.A to fuel Pushtoon Nationalism, and, fund the Taliban to raise a direct insurgency in North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.

This is the only plausible explanation why USA has overtly by passed Pakistan and continued negotiations with Talibans. If Talibans delink themselves from Al-Qaeda and form a government in Afghanistan the USA will support the idea of Pushtoonistan.

In the aftermath of such a situation, the U.S will be able to withdraw from Afghanistan by the year 2014. The upshot of this discussion is that Pushtoon Nationalism is now getting direct succour from India and U.S.A. The situation is to force Pakistan to federate with India at least for defense and foreign policy matters, in the name of bringing stabilization in Afghanistan. In such a dire situation, Russian and the China now have a joint interest to collaborate with Pakistan. Sergi Rogov, the Director of Moscow based institute for [U.S and Canada studies] has cautioned that avoiding this strategy will jeopardize Russian interests in Central Asia. There is reason to believe that both Russia and China would like to delink Indian – U.S.A policies in South Asia. The best way to achieve this objective is to open an Islamic insurgency in Kashmir. This theory has to some extent the support of Russian think tank led by Ruslan Ghereyer of [North Caucasus Centre of Islamic Studies]. His comment on the killing of Osama Bin Ladin was succinct in say:-

“…..The liquidation of Bin Laden will have no impact on terrorism in the world and still less in North Caucasus: on the country, it will open a Pandora box of extremism.” He in a mood of sub-audition has in fact cautioned that the Pandora Box of extremism is to be opened in Kashmir Valley. Revival of militancy in Kashmir will be fully supported by Pakistan Army. The Russians will encourage the Chinese to take the burden of Kashmiri Islamic insurgency so that the attention of USA is diverted and it is prevented from devising further strategies in Afghanistan and Central Asia. Water scarcity in Pakistan will force army to forestall any federating strategy with India even on the economic front, not to speak of defense and Foreign affairs. However, granting MNF status to India is a smoke screen.

It is my perception that water scarcity in west Punjab and the changing Russian stance towards Afghanistan and Central Asia will open up the way for Pak-China defense pact coinciding with the rise and revival of Islamic insurgency in Kashmir. The prospects of Kashmir future are bleak and dreary indeed! The downing of a NATO Helicopter with thirty eight U.S special operation group by Taliban using Rocket fire shows direct involvement of both Russia and China in arming Talibans. In the back drop of this intense hugger-mugger, India fully well knowing, the internal situation in Pakistan, that shows, that at present Pakistan is severely caught in the coils of a ferocious turbulence, the genesis of which stems from the demands for re-organization of States in Pakistan on ethnic and linguistic considerations. India is also aware that the overwidening hiatus between Pushtoons and Mahajirs in Karachi, has become unbridgeable, as three hundred people were killed in this blighted city in the deadliest month of July 2011 still invited Hina Rabbani Khar the young Foreign Minister of Pakistan for intense parleys. Such a meeting was inevitably bound to prove a non-sequitur.

Full credit goes to Hina Rabbani Khar, the brilliant, dashing smart and stylish youngster from the jetset sybaritic family of Khars, who with a broad smile, completely flummoxed the ageing old Geezer Mr. S.M. Krishna. He in his nervousness could cobble up together some incoherent, pretentious, high flown, high sounding words, more suitable to a fawner, assuring the Foreign Minister of Pakistan about India’s sincerity towards “Pakistan Integrity.”

The parleys were full of platitudes, and a lot of words were scattered higgledy piggledy about the resolution of Kashmir dispute. The two high powered executives agreed to obvious procrastination.

Hina was able to achieve her target, as procrastination should now enable Pakistan and China to announce formally about a defense pact. They are not announcing it, as they expect Iran to join them soon within a year.

A new regional situation is emerging in South Asia. It is in the interest of Pakistan and China to push the Kashmir issue to the back burner to divert attention from the construction of a huge dam in Gilgit by the Chinese P.L.A.

Indians have no answer to these questions of new emerging regional formations in South Asia. They vainly hope Pakistan would implode, but China has already shored up Pakistan. Indo-Pak parleys have shown that true politics is after all the end game of crass crackpots. This is the lesson which history teaches us.

American aid

AS America and Pakistan struggle to redefine their relationship in the aftermath of a series of challenging developments this year, one issue that has come up for debate in the US is aid to Pakistan. President Zardari warned a congressional delegation on Tuesday that cuts in assistance will further damage America`s image in the eyes of the Pakistani public. But while there are good reasons to maintain the aid programme, anti-Americanism is not a convincing argument, and using it could come across as little more than a calculated pressure tactic. The fact is that despite billions of dollars in aid from the US over the last decade, polls and anecdotal evidence have shown that America`s approval rating among Pakistanis has been declining, and that this has largely been driven by an American foreign policy seen as being against the interests of Pakistan and other Muslim countries. In fact, aid can even strengthen anti-American feeling if seen as a tool used to buy Pakistan`s leadership.

More logical arguments for maintaining assistance are the resource shortages and economic problems Pakistan is facing and the condition of the US-Pakistan relationship at the state level. The worst of the tensions between the two countries that began in January may be calming down, but this crucial relationship is not yet back on track. In the current circumstances, US aid is one of the programmes keeping it going. President Zardari`s comments came again the backdrop of legislation approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee that would tie assistance to Pakistan`s cooperation with American counterterrorism efforts. As the legislation makes its way through Congress, one hopes that lawmakers who recognise the value of a close relationship and the tangible ways in which US aid can help Pakistan will ensure that the restrictions are not more onerous than Pakistan can reasonably handle. Aid by itself, except in natural disasters, has not shown itself to be a tool for winning Pakistani hearts and minds. But as a potential means of building infrastructure and supporting the economy, it can have positive effects on Pakistan`s own security and its progress against militancy and terrorism.

Originators of Sectarian Violence

Sajjad Shaukat

Although various sorts of violence-related terrorist acts continue in Pakistan and these have intensified in Karachi, yet sectarian violence which is part of the same game also needs our focus.

In this regard, on August 20 this year, more than 50 people, belonging to the Shia community were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a mosque in Jamrud. In another violent attack, on July 30, 12 persons were shot dead in Quetta when unidentified armed men opened fire at Suzuki van. During the months of June and July, in four separate incidents, around 40 Shia Muslims were gunned down in Quetta. However, after the August 20 incident, the enraged people went on a rampage and set tyres on fire to block the road. They also opened fire and one man was killed. In these terms, the originators of sectarian violence need particular analysis.

It is of particular attention that faced with an unending resistance in Iraq, the US had planned to spark a civil war between the Sunnis and Shias. In this context, a study of the Rand Corporation, titled ‘US Strategy in the Muslim World After 9/11′ was conducted on behalf of the then US Deputy Chief of Staff for Air Force.

The report of the Rand Corporation-a leading think tank, released on December 27, 2004 advocated that Sunni-Shia sectarian division should be exploited to promote the US objectives in the Muslim World. The study indicated that a majority of the world’s Muslims are Sunni, but a significant minority, about 15 percent of the global population is Shias.

The report of the Rand Corporation was first implemented in Iraq. In this context, American CIA also got the services of Israeli secret agency Mossad and Indian RAW in order to fuel sectarian violence in Iraq. In 2004, major terror-attacks were conducted against the Shias in Karbala and Baghdad, while US-led some countries accused Iran and Al-Qaeda for the incidents to divert the attention from the said secret agencies.

Arab leaders said that they feared the bombings were meant to sow discord between Iraqi Shias and Sunni Muslims. Likewise both the Sunni and Shia leaders of Iraq have found it difficult to believe that Al-Qeada were behind the bombings. In that respect, the prayer leader, Syed Ahmed Bukhari at the Jama Masjid of India stated, “America is fully involved in sectarian violence” in Iraq.

Nevertheless, afterwards, a chain of Shia-Sunni clashes started between Iraqi Shias and Sunnis, targeting each other’s mosques through bomb blasts, suicide attacks, and killings of their religious leaders. The general masses of both the sects, which could not grasp the reality, began to blame each other’s group for the subversive activities.

After experiment in Iraq, more deadly pattern of sectarian violence and clashes was conducted in Pakistan.

In this connection, the year of 2011 witnessed a number of sectarian events. For instance, on January 25, a suicide bomber struck in the Urdu Bazaar area of Lahore, killing 10 people including a woman and three Policemen. On February 22, a prominent leader of the Shia community was shot dead by the unidentified attackers in the vicinity of Peshawar. On April 3, 51 persons were killed when two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the shrine of Sufi saint Ahmed Sultan in Dera Ghazi Khan. On July 16, the militants ambushed a bus carrying Sunni Muslims and massacred 10 passengers in Parachinar. On July 28, a prayer leader of Jamia Albadar mosque, Abdul Karim Mengal, was shot dead by unknown activists in Quetta.

In 2010, terror-related sectarian incidents continued. For example, on September 2, triple blasts killed more than 35 persons in Lahore when miscreants targeted the procession of Shias who were celebrating Hazrat Ali’s day of martyrdom. On the same day, seven people including a police constable were injured in Karachi when terrorists opened fire at the Youm-e-Ali rally. Next day, a deadly suicide attack in Quetta killed more than 55 people who participated in the rally of the Al-Quds Day. On May 28, armed assaults on two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore killed more than 70 people. On July 1, in Lahore, more than 45 persons were killed by the two suicide bombers at the Data Darbar.

Besides these subversive acts, similar pattern of attacks have kept on going in 2009. On December 4, suicide assaulters stormed a mosque in Rawalpindi, killing 40 people. On December 28, a blast in the middle of the Muharram procession killed more than 25 persons in Karachi as the Shias across the country were celebrating the key holy day of Ashoura. On June 12, a suicide bomber killed five people including anti-Taliban cleric Dr. Sarfraz Naeemi in Lahore.

Notably, in some cases, hand grenades were also used by the culprits and exchange of firing took place between the insurgents and security forces.
It is mentionable that some banned religious organisations have claimed responsibility for various sectarian attacks, but it is the game of RAW and CIA which arrange a message for media from an unidentified place in order to divert the attention of people towards these groups, and sometimes towards the Taliban. Otherwise, particularly RAW is well-known for carrying out sectarian terror attacks against minority Shias, Ahmadis, Sufis, Christians and Sikhs in Pakistan.

Especially, RAW has hired the services of the Indian Muslims who are on its payroll, and these agents have joined the ranks and files of the Taliban and other sectarian groups of Pakistan. Posing themselves as staunch believers, these agents target religious leaders and places of worship in Pakistan with a view to inciting the sentiments of the people of the opponent sect. The main aim behind is to continue sectarian disturbance in Pakistan.

In this respect, sinister role of Indian RAW could also be judged from some other events of sectarian violence. In 2008, in Khyber Agency, intermittent fighting between Lashkar-e-Islam and Ansar-ul-Islam had claimed as many as 1500 lives. Lashkar Islami is led by fanatic cleric Mangal Bagh who follows the puritanical Deobandi form of Sunni Islam and has close connections with the extremist Taliban of Afghanistan. Besides other areas of Pakistan, more than 2000 people died in sectarian riots in Kurram Agency, bordering Afghanistan. Its areas have been hit by fierce clashes, pitching Sunni Muslims against the minority Shias. A number of ceasefires was concluded between the warring sects with the help of government officials and the tribal Maliks, but the same proved fruitless owing to the support from Afghanistan where more than hundred training centers covertly established by RAW are supervising anti-Pakistan activities with the tactical help CIA and Mossad.

Although the whole Islamic world is target of Indo-Israeli plot, yet the same has intensified in case of Pakistan and Iran. It is due to the fact that Pakistan is a declared atomic country, while Iran is determined to continue its nuclear programme. In this regard, US-led some countries, especially India have been sabotaging Pak-Iranian ties covertly, while sectarian unrest is also part of their game. Notably, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and a Sunni militant group Jundollah (God’s soldiers) which get arms from RAW and CIA are responsible for many sectarian assaults on Sunnis and Shias. In the past few years, their militants with the cooperation of foreign agents also kidnapped and killed Iranian nationals in Pakistan. In this respect, on October 18, 2009, a suicide attack had killed several officers in the Iranian Sistan-Baluchistan. On December 15, 2010, two suicide bombers blew themselves up near a mosque in Iran, killing 39 people. Jundullah claimed responsibility for these incidents. Regarding all these attacks, Tehran had directly accused CIA for funding of that type of terrorist attacks, while diverting the attention of Iran towards Islamabad through secret propaganda.

In this context, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei disclosed, “The bloody actions being committed in Iraq, Pakistan and Iran are aimed at creating a division between the Shias and Sunnis…those who carry out these terrorist actions are directly or indirectly foreign agents.”

No doubt, CIA, RAW and Mossad are the real originators of sectarian violence in Iraq and now in Pakistan as part of other subversive acts which keep on going.

Urgent appeal to support flood affectees in Pakistan

By beenasarwar

I wanted to take the opportunity to apprise you of the recent torrential rains that have caused tremendous damage in Pakistan’s southern provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. According to the NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan) over a million people have been displaced. In Badin district (Sindh province) alone the count is estimated at over 200,000 people affected as a result of 100 villages that have been swept away due to flooding from a 200 foot wide gap in the salinity drain there.

Villagers struggle to save their livestock, Badin, 2011.

Upon hearing of the situation PkRelief, an organization based on the partnership between the Offroad Pakistan and SA Relief went into full action by reaching out to the local community and infrastructure to determine what is needed. As an organization we have worked on several relief efforts since 2005 and have a strong local contact base. In 2010 alone our organization collected and distributed relief valuing well over 170,000 USD for the flood relief efforts.

Presently we have adopted 3 camps in Badin, Sindh with the support of Nishat Welfare Organization who have already housed 1,000 IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons). Our plan initially is to provide the IDPs with cooked meals for the next 15 days.

The daily cost of doing this comes to 40,000 Pakistani Rupees (or 500 USD). The typical cost of a single person’s meal is 20 Pakistani rupees (1 USD) per day or 2,000 Pakistani Rupees (25 USD) will feed 100 people per day. If translated into ration per hampers, 2,000 Pakistani Rupees (25 USD) will feed a family of four for one week.

Currently we have funds for 7 days, and request support from our broader community. In the second phase of the Badin Mission we will include medicine and clothing, and in the third rehabilitation of the IDPs.

I humbly request your support, and encourage you to visit our website at www.sarelief.com. Additionally we were recently profiled in the Newsline Magazine and the CIO Magazine – Pakistan Edition, and endorsed by the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC, personally by Ambassador Husain Haqqani (and MNA Farahnaz Ispahani).

To gain an indepth understanding of the situation you can watch the following Express News report.

Rejecting new US Consulates

The American efforts to gain a permanent foothold in Balochistan and South Punjab by establishing Consulates in Quetta and Multan suffered a serious blow after the opposition from Pakistani security establishment, especially after the Raymond Davis and Abbottabad episodes. Reportedly, the Foreign Office denied the US to open these new Consulates. Meanwhile, US Ambassador Cameron Munter’s recent declaration that “Balochistan was very significant for the United States”, reveals the superpower’s intentions when viewed in the context of its obsession to open up the new Quetta Consulate.

In early 2010, US Ambassador Anne Patterson had cited two main reasons for the Quetta Consulate: To oversee the development activities carried out by the Americans in Balochistan, and ensure a close liaison with the Baloch people for speedy visa facility, instead of dealing with US Consulates in Karachi and Islamabad. Pakistanis, however, view these as a cover for greater sinister US designs in the province.

However, Ambassador Munter is not willing to give up so easily. He recently visited Quetta, where he met with Balochistan’s Chief Minister and Assembly Speaker to lobby for the Consulate, which was obviously not agreed to. The Baloch leaders, too, rejected the American suspicions about the presence of Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders in the province, or Taliban intrusion from around Quetta into Afghanistan. Such narrative also points towards a US agenda of expanding the Afghan war into Balochistan.

The question is: Why is the US Consulate in Quetta considered to be against Pakistan’s security interests? Probably, because this would serve as a launching pad for greater American interference in Balochistan’s affairs to further American interests in the region. It is feared that US security personnel are likely to intensify their clandestine activities and further fuel the insurgency in the province in coordination with the RAW sponsored Baloch militant groups.

A recent media report quoting top level sources in our Foreign Ministry is significant: “In fact, we have received a lot of secret correspondence by security agencies about the CIA operatives’ involvement in a number of nefarious plots against Pakistan. This is the reason we refused them establishment of new consulates.”

The US has clear strategic interests in mineral-rich Balochistan, which provides a regional trade and energy corridor to Afghanistan and energy-rich Central Asian states. According to media reports, the US is eyeing a setup at Gwadar to watch over Chinese activities in the area. Therefore, its presence in Balochistan could threaten the security of strategic projects that are likely to take off in 2011 and 2012, including the Chinese sponsored second phase infrastructure development of Gwadar Port , construction of Pak-Iran gas pipeline, and the mega Reko Dik copper and gold mining facility, which do not converge with the Indo-US strategic interests in the region.

Nevertheless, America’s interest in the province’s division on linguistic and ethnic lines was reflected in a senior ANP leader’s recent statement suggesting carving out a ‘South Pakhtunkhwa’ province in Pashtun-dominated regions, which links with the long-term designs of Greater Pakhtunistan. Incidentally few months ago, Ambassador Munter had participated in a Pashtun tribal jirga in Quetta – an event that raised eyebrows in Islamabad. It seems that the Baloch leaders are conscious of such a conspiracy and have rejected any plan to break up the province.

In the article titled The Destabilisation of Pakistan dated May 12, 2011, Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall writes: “Following a familiar pattern, there are indications that the Baloch insurgency is being supported and abetted by Britain and the US. Washington favours the creation of a ‘Greater Balochistan’, which would integrate the Baloch areas of Pakistan with those of Iran and possibly the southern tip of Afghanistan, thereby leading to a process of political fracturing in both Iran and Pakistan. The US course consists in fomenting social, ethnic and factional divisions and political fragmentation, including the territorial breakup of Pakistan.”

USA’s interest in South Punjab through their newfound love for Sufism/Barelvism has led to the renovation of a few Sufi shrines. Ambassador Patterson had announced lavish grants for the conservation and restoration of three shrines (Hazrat Rajan Qattal in Uch Sharif, Hazrat Musa Pak Shaheed in Multan, and Hazrat Khawaja Ghulam Fareed in Rajanpur) in South Punjab under the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. However, it is not known how much of these funds were actually used for the intended purpose. Munter, too, maintained the traditions of his predecessor when during his latest visit to Multan, he laid floral wreath at the shrine of Hazrat Shah Shams, and reassured US aid to restore the shrine in its original shape. Undoubtedly, America’s double game is clearly visible. While, on one the hand, they present themselves as supporters of Sufi Islam, on the other, the US Embassy in Islamabad organised the despicable first ever gay, lesbians, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) pride celebration ceremony and assured its Pakistani participants that Washington would continue to support their cause in the country.

Reportedly, after CIA’s failure in acquiring land in Dera Ghazi Khan, the next station of choice is obviously Multan. Thanks to the US funded mango processing project, the American ingress will be facilitated into the interior of South Punjab. We have also currently witnessed a coordinated US and UK effort to engage the leaders and influentials of South Punjab.

Some questions are: Is American support for Sufism designed to promote intersect hatred and divide in an already polarised religio-cultural environment in the Pakistani society? Or is the strategy to penetrate the shrines culture a cover to establish links with some banned religious/militant outfits to destabilise South Punjab? Do we see an American or British link with the sudden move for creating a Seraiki province by the ruling party? Are a few top gaddi nashins and power hungry opportunist politicians and waderas of the South Punjab falling into the American or British trap? Is this a conspiracy to unnerve and divide Punjab, and create hatred on linguistic and ethnic lines to weaken Pakistan? It is also essential that movement of foreign diplomats be monitored?

Indeed, new US Consulates in Quetta and Multan pose a threat to Pakistan’s security and our principled stand against their opening must not be compromised for short-term political gains and vested interests.