Loud Thinking

Archive for April, 2013

What a love affair?

An Article of Hamid Mir on the relations of Israeli leaders and Pervaiz Musharraf when Israeli President said that “Peres had openly said in October 2001 that he prayed for the life of Musharraf every morning as he (Musharraf) had signed his death warrant by changing the Afghan policy of Pakistan”.

Israeli President Shimon Peres, President Pervez Musharraf
Israel ready to provide security to Musharraf?

– Hamid Mir (Bio and Archives) Sunday, August 17, 2008
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ISLAMABAD: Israeli President Shimon Peres is desperately trying to help his friend President Pervez Musharraf and is putting indirect pressure on the coalition government through different diplomatic channels not to impeach him, Foreign Office sources reveal.

The sources claim that Peres wants a safe exit for Musharraf and he is also ready to provide security to his friend outside Pakistan. These sources also claim that Peres and Musharraf are in regular contact with each other for the last three years. Both met first in Davos in January 2005 and since then they have been writing letters to each other and exchanging pleasantries on telephone regularly.

According to the sources, Peres wrote his first-ever official letter to Musharraf in October 2007, appreciating his efforts in the fight against terrorism. Musharraf, in his response, thanked the Israeli president for his support and good wishes. These letters were exchanged through diplomatic channels of Turkey.

Peres called his Pakistani friend again a few days ago. Though the details of their conversation were not available with the Foreign Office yet it is believed that Peres offered his friend some help.

Informed sources are of the view that Israel has strong friendly relations with Turkey and is in a position to provide security to Musharraf in Turkey. One close friend of Musharraf is also busy in lobbying for him in the Jewish lobby in the US these days. This friend of Musharraf has met many leaders of the World Jewish Congress recently. Musharraf even praised this friend publicly in recognition of his services for facilitating him to address the Jewish lobby in New York. This special friend still enjoys ministerial status in Pakistan without being elected and despite the fact that he is an American citizen. It has been learnt that the same friend is requesting his American Jewish contacts to do something for the safe exit of Musharraf through Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Peres had openly said in October 2001 that he prayed for the life of Musharraf every morning as he (Musharraf) had signed his death warrant by changing the Afghan policy of Pakistan. After that, Musharraf also came into contact with the late Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon. He also met Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak in January this year in Paris.

Diplomatic sources claim that Musharraf is the most popular Pakistani leader in Israel. He was the first Pakistani leader who was invited to address the World Jewish Congress in the US in 2005. After that historic event, the then foreign minister of Pakistan Khurshid Kasuri met his Israeli counterpart Silvon Shalom in Turkey in 2005.

Musharraf had asked the Foreign Office in early 2007 to prepare a plan for the recognition of Israel but it did not materialise due to the political turmoil started in March 2007. It is also pertinent to mention here that Indian National Security Adviser MK Narayanan was the first foreign leader to come out openly in support of Musharraf on Wednesday, saying his impeachment would only help extremist elements in the country. The same Indian leader had declared on December 19, 2007 that India could trust Musharraf but not Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf knows that he is still popular among the Indian and Israeli establishments and has a lot of friends in Western capitals as well. If provided a safe exit, he can find a new role for himself in international diplomacy.

Highly placed sources in the coalition government claim that Musharraf is now completely isolated and he has informed Asif Ali Zardari, through the governor Punjab, that he would resign if provided special indemnity. However, the coalition government is not ready to provide him indemnity and in that case he would face the first-ever humiliating impeachment process, which would definitely make history in Pakistan.

Hamid Mir is the Executive Editor of Geo TV in Islamabad and he has also interviewed Osama bin Laden, Tony Blair, Condoleezza Rice, General Pervaiz Musharraf, Hamid Karzai, L K Advani and other international leaders.

Hamid can be reached at: hamid.mir@geo.tv
Older articles by Hamid Mir

Can someone confirm its true or false?

During Musharraf’s tenure I read somewhere that Israeli PM said that he don’t go to sleep without praying for the safety of Musharraf.

I don’t know it was true or false?

Making-A-Difference is to make a difference in a positive way.

Keep Your Company’s Secrets in the Digital Age

Through social sharing technologies like Facebook and Twitter, your employees may be unwittingly exposing company secrets. Even seemingly innocuous information like travel schedules or what online groups an employee joins can give competitors inside intelligence. Here are a few ways to shield your organization from prying eyes:

Assess and educate. Determine what’s important for your company to protect and make sure everyone understands what information might be sensitive. For example, a person’s list of LinkedIn connections can reveal her network and even potential partnerships in the works.

Disable geolocation. Make sure employees turn off these features so that they don’t inadvertently leave footprints that show where they’re visiting and who they might be meeting with.

Keep it inside. Implement and promote internal social networks that are walled off from the outside world. These platforms allow employees to talk shop without risking information leakage.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from “How Not to Unwittingly Reveal Company Secrets” by Martin Harrysson, Estelle Metayer, and Hugo Sarrazin.

“You cannot convince someone to see something that they do not
want to see, no matter how much you know it would improve their
lives. You have to love and accept them exactly as they are
today. If you cannot do that, you have to let them go and find
their own way, in their own time, if they ever choose to do so.

Otherwise, you’ll be giving them the power over your happiness,
too.”

— Doe Zantamata

PCB Must Stop Fiddling With the Future

PCB Drops Younis Khan From Champions Trophy ODI Squad

Dropping of Younis means nothing, when already, he was recalled from his retirement. PCB is again going, as usual, on a wrong path, by keeping faith with oldies who are absolutely spent cartridges. Players like Misbah, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik are not even fit for the Test matches; and PCB has selected them for the ODI Champions trophy. This is a highly retrogressive step, of wasting the future of young cricketers, for such a long time. When the ODI World Cup will begin in 2015, these oldies, by that time will be reduced to nothingness; and youngsters will be highly short of few years experience.

It looks the PCB people incharge of its helm of affairs, can’t see beyond their nose. They must realise that if these spent forces can’t give us reasonable stability, why to be afraid of losing with youngsters? At least six new players in place of the above named ones, will be a sound investment in future.

Come on PCB have a heart and have some faith in youth, all the oldies are past their prime and they can’t go anywhere, except downhill.

PCB Drops Younis Khan From Champions Trophy ODI Squad

Dropping of Younis means nothing, when already, he was recalled from his retirement. PCB is again going, as usual, on a wrong path, by keeping faith with oldies who are absolutely spent cartridges. Players like Misbah, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik are not even fit for the Test matches; and PCB has selected them for the ODI Champions trophy. This is a highly retrogressive step, of wasting the future of young cricketers, for such a long time. When the ODI World Cup will begin in 2015, these oldies, by that time will be reduced to nothingness; and youngsters will be highly short of few years experience.

It looks the PCB people incharge of its helm of affairs, can’t see beyond their nose. They must realise that if these spent forces can’t give us reasonable stability, why to be afraid of losing with youngsters? At least six new players in place of the above named ones, will be a sound investment in future.

Come on PCB have a heart and have some faith in youth, all the oldies are past their prime and they can’t go anywhere except downhill.