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Peace prize and war crimes
By: Jalees Hazir | February 05, 2012 | 0
The Nobel Peace Prize winner and President of the United States, Barack Obama, confirmed last week that his country uses unmanned aerial vehicles to bomb targets in Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Though this has been an open secret, it was the first time that the international crime was publically admitted. He didn’t stop there and went on to defend these attacks that have killed thousands of innocent people in FATA. According to him, the US carries out these attacks to avoid more intrusive military action, that the bombing is carefully targeted and that these precision strikes are carried out to kill Al-Qaeda and its affiliates. He was not put on the spot about the innocent civilians, including women, children and the elderly, who have been killed by the US drones; not that it would have made him uncomfortable. Representatives of the wicked superpower have coined a standard term to justify that kind of thing. Very conveniently, they call it collateral damage.
The streets, fields and graveyards of Iraq and Afghanistan would give a good idea about what that collateral damage means. They are not the only examples of countries that have been ravaged by large scale death and destruction at the hands of the US, all in the name of high-flying principles like democracy and human rights and catchily-named fake bogeys like the war on terror and weapons of mass destruction. The badmash superpower doesn’t mind killing large numbers of people in whose name they wage these wars, people whose rights it seems so eager to defend and fight for. It doesn’t mind creating terror for millions of people on a daily basis to wage its spurious war on terror. It spends hundreds of billion dollars waging war in distant lands, killing innocent people, destroying their homes and cities, turning their lush fields to charred earth, but it has no money for its poor, no money for its citizens who might need the help of their country, supposed to be the richest on earth.
It is said that with great power comes great responsibility, but power seems to have produced strange results for the sole superpower that, instead of using it to create a peaceful and prosperous world, is hell bent to utilise that power to ride roughshod over the entire planet. And as it hurtles along on its dangerous mission, killing and destroying everyone and everything that stands in its way, manipulating societies to foment unrest and divisions so that the situation could be used to its advantage, it lectures the world about civilised behaviour and all that comes with it. In the case of the US, great power has brought with it hypocrisy and arrogance. The self-proclaimed torchbearer of humanity and human values has no qualms about saying one thing and doing another. It has the audacity to talk glibly about millions of precious innocent lives lost as collateral damage.
Of course, the US is made possible with more than a little help from accomplices in the targeted countries, whether they come in the form of pliant governments or disenchanted groups that are funded and armed to serve as tools of imperialism. In Pakistan, the most important ally of the US is the so-called democratic government. While we condemn the deaths and destruction, the loot and plunder, perpetrated by the US, it is important not to forget the support that it gets from those in charge of our destiny. According to confidential cables sent by the US Embassy in Pakistan and released by Wikileaks, President Asif Zardari is reported to have told US officials in a private meeting that they should carry on with their drone strikes and not worry about innocent lives lost. He is quoted to have said that collateral damage does not bother him. Officially, our stand is that these strikes are unlawful, counterproductive and unacceptable.
When a CIA agent posing as a US diplomat killed two Pakistanis in broad daylight on a crowded square in the centre of Lahore, our leadership engineered his escape from the country. When US commandos conducted their get-Osama raid deep inside Pakistani territory without so much as informing the so-called ally, our President congratulated the US in an op-ed piece published the very next day in a major American daily. What kind of signals are we sending to the US? The military leadership seems to have come out of the US hypnosis, but the government is obviously still ready to serve the two-faced master. Despite the unwillingness on part of the US to apologise for the death of Pakistani soldiers killed in the attack on the Salalah checkposts, or to even guarantee that it won’t happen again, government ministers are talking about re-opening the Nato supply routes after taxing the containers.
An elderly friend says that we should not blame the foreign invaders and colonialists for their crimes and exploitation, as they could not have been successful without help from local players. He is well versed in history and quotes many battles and intrigues to prove his point; the betrayals and selling out of insiders that made it possible for imperialism to thrive. Naturally, it gets worse if those willing to sell out the interests of their people are not few but an entire political elite, an elite that is so hopelessly sold out that it sees its own country and its people through the eyes of the imperialists, an elite weaned on loans and hemmed in by the framework of those who want to control what goes on in the country that it is supposed to govern, an elite that parrots what the master says and has no narrative of its own. We cannot hope to break the stranglehold of the global badmash with people like that calling the shots in Pakistan.
However, my elderly friend is only partially right. While citizens of Pakistan continue their struggle to rid themselves of colonial stooges pretending to be the leaders of a free country, and to put in place a government that will work for their interests, they must not turn a blind eye to the slithery machinations of imperialism that have been perfected over the years, complete with new divisions that it must sow to rule and new burdens of democracy and human rights that it must carry to the ends of the world. Whatever the crimes of our own elite, it does not absolve the leaders of the so-called free world of their crimes against humanity. President Obama’s drone attacks are a crime too big to be hidden by his Nobel Peace Prize.
The writer is a freelance columnist.
Email: hazirjalees@hotmail.com
This is a cross post from PakPotpouuri

Honourable Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani,
 
AoA.
 
It will not be out of place to begin with a news item published in the news papers today i.e., Wednesday 1 Feb. 2012, stating that the Indian Supreme Court warned on Tuesday that corruption posed a “grave danger” to the world’s largest democracy quoted as below.
 
Quote ” Today corruption in our country not only poses a grave danger for the concept of constitutional governance, it also threatens the very foundation of Indian democracy and the rule of law.” Unquote. The above was said by Justice A.K. Ganguly, while delivering a ruling in connection with the alleged underpriced selling of telecom licenses, which the national auditors says may have cost the country up to $39 billion.

An excerpt from a Times of India news published on Wednesday, 2nd Feb. 2012 is also given below for the information of Mr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Finance Minister of Pakistan, who says he expects only $800 million from the COMBINED telecom auction of 3G, (4G LTE) and (5G LTE-A.) (India got $69 billion for ONLY 3G, exactly two years ago, as per TOI news quoted below.

“The 122 licences were given by Raja for over Rs 9,000 crore, while 3G auctions for a smaller number of licences had fetched the government a sum of Rs 69,000 crores.”

 
In the same context of selling of telecom licenses in Pakistan, a mega scandal is also brewing, for which your kind attention is invited to immediately intervene, so that the nefarious designs of  unscrupulous elements to defame the PPP and its government, is nipped in the bud.
 
                                          DETAILS OF THE CASE  

With the recent publication of the advertisement of PTA  in the news papers for “Invitation for Expression of Interest” (EOI) with application for AUCTION of Mobile License/Spectrum (3G/4G/LTE [long term evolution] etc), the following questions needs answers to safeguard the national interest by all and sundry.
 
1. Why the LOW base price of US $ 155 Million for one Mobile Cellular License/Spectrum (800 MHz), when this license was sold for 291 US $ Million eight years ago in the year 2002? OK, it is being auctioned for 8 years instead of 15 years, but is there no premium for above 68 % mobile teledensity which was not there eight years ago?
 
2. Why the license will be technology neutral? Which means no licenses will be required for any future launches of 4G, 5G so on so forth. this also means selling all future long term evolution inductions free of cost. This happens no where in the world. Even in Pakistan when 2G was sold in 2004, it was not permitted to launch 3G without fresh license. So why now 4G onwards is being sold free of cost?
 
3.i. Why the LOW base price of US $ 210 Million for the auction of Three Mobile Cellular Licenses/Spectrum (1900/211MHz/3G/4G/LTE etc.)? 
 
3.ii. Here it should be noted that 2G license was auctioned by PTA in 2002 at US $ 291 Million, when there was much less teledensity than 68% as of now and in the next 15 years (the period for which new licenses are being auctioned), it will obviously increase to higher levels. 
 
3.iii. And above all this auction is technology neutral, which means license for 3G is also valid for FREE for 4G, 5G onwards. Under this situation this base price of US $ 210 Million is ridiculously low.
 
4. As per IM (Information Memorandum) on PTA website all three telecom companies winning the technology neutral AUCTION of Mobile License/Spectrum (3G/4G/LTE [long term evolution] etc) will be required to pay half of the bid value within 30 days in USD or PKR. Also Rest of the amount can be paid in USD or PKR in five equal yearly installments. This virtually means that Telecom companies will NOT bring any fresh foreign investment and also the remaining 50% amount will be deposited on PAY AS YOU EARN basis. This tantamount to robbing the nation of valuable FDI in the garb of auction terms, particularly when bidding is only allowed in minimum 2 million USD and maximum 10 million USD. So when bidding is in USD payment should also be in USD.
 
5. Why PTA has shown less figures of total Teledensity of Pakistan (68.39) in 2010-11 at para 3.7 of (IM [information memorandum] on its website) whereas, according to its own figures in the graph shown in  the para 3.7, the total comes to (68.43)?
 
6. Why the PTA advertisement published in the news papers of 24 January, 2012 states mobile teledensity as 62% against the figures of 64.9% shown in IM at their website? 

7. India is not 70 times bigger than Pakistan in economy or any way, but it got $69 billion, that too, two years ago, from it’s auction of ONLY 3G. Why our Finance Minister has kept a budgeted amount of ONLY $800 million as expected income from the auction of NOT only 3G but 4 & 5G as well?

 
Submitted for consideration and immediate corrective action before it is too late.

————————————————

It was reported recently on a TV channel, that Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh expects 800 million USD revenue, from the auction of 3G (fast Internet) license to telecom companies.
 
It is reported that government has fixed the base price for auction to held on March 28 and 29, 2012 for 3G and 4G as 210 million USD. Whereas, 8 years ago 2G was sold at 291 million USD. (Please check and confirm this data from PTA).
 
Here, I must forewarn all and sundry, that under no circumstances, the worth of this auction amount can be less than 10 billion dollars. India got 69 billion USD from the same auction in April 2010 i.e. two years ago. Details are available at link:- https://www.snayyar.com/3g-telecom-technology-pakistan-can-earn-billions-of-usd-by-just-selling-air.html.
 
It will not be out of place to state that as reported today i.e., Wednesday 1 Feb. 2012 the Indian Supreme Court warned on Tuesday that corruption posed a “grave danger” to the world’s largest democracy quoted as below.
 
All patriotic citizens and institutions must be alert, lest we may not be cheated again, by those who sold our valuable national assets, for even less than the peanuts, in Musharraf era.

As reported by the daily Tribune, President Barack Obama signed a sweeping US defense funding bill on Saturday, which includes new sanctions on financial institutions dealing with Iran’s central bank, and curtailing up to $850 million in aid to Pakistan. Link :- http://tribune.com.pk/story/314833/obamas-new-years-gift-signs-bill-freezing-aid-to-pakistan/

Now, (after President Barack Obama approved sanctions over Pakistan, effective 1st Jan. 2012), it is very appropriate time that Pakistan closes it’s air space for US and NATO planes, on the premise that sanctions are not imposed on friends.

It’s an extremely unfriendly act and sanctions means they consider Pakistan as enemy. So, we must also act in our own interest, in a firm and bold manner. Stand up Pakistan, its now or never.

If the US has no consideration of our enormous sacrifices of men and material, we should also not go with them any further mile in their imposed war on terror. Why should Pakistan suffer eternally, for the intelligence failure of American agencies in preventing 9/11 attacks on America, in which no Pakistani was ever found to have been involved. Moreover, if Osama Bin Laden was involved in 9/11 attacks, he too was a made in America product. All said and done, Pakistan is being  punished continously for the crime of  siding with America, in their imposed war on terror, for which no country on earth has suffered more than Pakistan.  

For Pakistan, enough is enough. America can’t have cake and eat it too.

Dear Mr. Barack Obama,

Salaam.

Pakistan still remembers that you said “Pakistan was an enormous country”, during your last visit to India and now Mr. Leon Panetta, has very rightly said that stable Pak-US relations are critical to Afghan success.

In my opinion, after you Excellency, your Secretary of Defense, is the only man in the world, who can restore the snapped relations with Pakistan, provided he is given the ultimate authority to negotiate new terms of engagements, which in the end, must be a win win situation, for both the parties.

However, it must be remembered  that stability of our relations won’t come over the blood of our martyred soldiers. Muslims are never taught to offer the other cheek, if slapped on one.

US and the NATO must understand our psyche, before even thinking of building stable relationship with Pakistan.

The only way to reach out Pakistan, for it’s cooperation and friendship, is to first recognize what it has sacrificed, for the imposed war and then deal on mutual and equal terms. Else, acrimony will stay permanently, even if some ad-hoc measures, diffuse the situation for the time being.

Wishing you, your family and all Americans, a very happy Christmas and Seasons Greetings.

Best regards,

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Lahore – Pakistan.

Daily the Nation reported today under a head line, that “Pak nuclear asset unsafe as its military penetrated by extremists: Gingrich” link :-http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/08-Dec-2011/Pak-nuclear-asset-unsafe-as-its-military-penetrated-by-extremists-Gingrich

In this regard,  Leading Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has reported to have said that the Pakistani Army is so penetrated by extremist elements, its nuclear assets of about 100 weapons are not safe.

Mr. N Gingrich should leave the phobia of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and purge his own military killing machine, which has killed in recent years, millions of Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan & Pakistan, on the wrong inte…lligence of WMD’s (as admitted by Bush, Blair and Powel) and false war on terror.

America has specialized in killings of innocent Muslims and the latest example is it’s attack on Pakistani check post on 26/11, at Pak-Afghan border killing our 28 troops, who were there to protect American and NATO soldiers, from the attacks of Taliban.

The best way to safeguard the consumer interest, is to make it mandatory by law, the printing (at a prominent place) of retail prices, on the product packing of all and every item sold in the market. Plus,  mentioning of retail prices in all media advertisements of any item, advertised in any media of Pakistan.

In this regard, all Senators, MNA’s & MPA’s of Pakistan are urgently requested to legislate the above proposal at the earliest.

The nation will hold the democracy in high esteem, for this monumental favour by the elected representatives.

Today, Times of India reported (Link:- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Black-money-India-to-sign-agreements-with-42-more-nations/articleshow/10793795.cms) that After signing agreements with 48 countries, India will shortly ink pacts with 42 more nations to bring back black money stashed abroad, Union minister of state for parliamentary affairs Harish Rawat said. Once these agreements are signed, India will be in a position to bring back black money stashed in different banks abroad, he told reporters here.

In Pakistan, every body knows that we are no less behind any nation in corruption. Moreover, we are also no less behind in raising hue and cry against corruption. But, the problem is that corruption can neither be curbed with hollow slogans nor by declaration of assets by the politicians and government employees. Corruption can only be minimized by deterrent legislation; which ensures that crime of corruption will not pay, neither in the short nor in the long term. And effective judicial verdicts, like the one announced today by the Delhi court in which former Indian 86 years old telecom minister Sukhram, has been sentenced for five years jail, for taking Rs 3 lakhs as bribe to give a lucrative contract to a private firm in 1996. He pleaded for leniency in court on grounds of his old age while the CBI called him a “habitual offender” and sought maximum punishment for him.The 86-year-old former minister was held guilty for misusing his official position during his tenure as telecom minister in P V Narasimha Rao’s cabinet in giving a contract worth Rs 30 crore to a private company, Haryana Telecom Limited (HTL), to supply 3.5 Lakh Conductor Kilometers (LCKM) of Polythene Insulated Jelly Filled (PIJF) cables to the telecom department.

We in Pakistan must realize that our main problem is not the existence of corruption. Rather, the fertile culture which help breeds corruption pay as the most lucrative and profitable activity in Pakistan. Till such time we attack the very roots of this cancerous culture of corruption in Pakistan, no positive improvement should be expected in any sphere of life.

And we must be aware of the fact that corruption is a bigger menace than terrorism.

Since we have all the required intitutions and no dearth of honest and honourable people, what is required is developing  a system to post these DYNAMITE people to be head of NAB, FIA and Anti-Corruption deparments of provincial governments.

Towards the achievement of this goal, a committee is proposed to be constituted, consisting of Chief Justice of Supreme Court, all Chief Justices of High Courts and leader of the opposition of National and all provincial assemblies, for appointing on a tenure post, all heads and key personnel of NAB, FIA and Provincial anti-Corruption departments. Moreover, NO person in the country from civil, military, judiciary and any other department should have the immunity from interrogation on corruption matters before these departments.

It is earnestly hoped that the above said mechanism if put in place, will strike such a fear in the hearts of all and sundry, that no one will dare even think of doing corruption in Pakistan.

This has reference to the news published on November 04, 2011 in the daily “Pakistan Today” under the heading ” Pakistan going after extremists will be a ‘real wild card’: Rice” Link :-  http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2011/11/pakistan-going-after-extremists-will-be-a-real-wild-card-rice/

Ms Condoleezza Rice let me tell you that your words Calling Pakistan “a continuing problem” for both the US and Afghanistan are very offensive, uncalled for and an insult for a nation, who gave more sacrifices in men and material, than combined losses of 49 NATO countries, fighting your sown and harvested terrorism in Afghanistan.

And don’t forget Ms C. Rice that Pakistan and this region is suffering, just because your agencies failed to stop 9/11 plotters, who got training in aeroplane flying right inside your country; and none of them belonged to Pakistan.

America has a habit of waging wars on innocent people on false pretexts.

We in Pakistan wonder, what wrong we have done over the last 64 years, in looking after your needs and helping you as a friend e.g. in Korean war era under various pacts, allowing overflights for your U2 planes to spy over USSR, connecting USA with China, bringing down USSR in Afghanistan war in 80s, saving American soldiers from being lynched by Somalian war lords, saving US staff from burning Islamabad Embassy,  making America a single super power and fighting so called American war on terror  imposed on this region that too because of sheer incompetence of US intelligence agencies, in stopping 9/11 attacks in the first instance.

Ms Condoleezza Rice, the fact is that America has time and again proved, with its betrayal in its friendship with Pakistan, that you people are and never were worthy of Pakistan’s friendship and all the sacrifices we gave for you. Moreover, now there is no doubt that you understand one and only one language, learnt in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

And the moral of the story is, that a nation may survive being not a friend of America but, it can’t survive, being a friend of America. 

The news reported in the daily “Pakistan Today” (link:- http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2011/09/pakistan-has-97-billion-dollars-in-swiss-banks-director-swiss-bank/#IDComment194865889) that Swiss banks have 97 billion dollars, is a smoke screen to mislead the general public. By no means this figure can be less than 200 billion dollars i.e. more than three times the existing foreign debt of Pakistan.

Leaving aside the exact amount of Pakistan’s money in the Swiss banks, our civilian government & parliament, military establisment, bench and bar & the media must devise some mechanism (following the US government’s successful initiative with the Swiss government) to very strongly take up the issue with Swiss government, to immediately return back our money deposited in Swiss banks.

This is all the more necessary for the very survival of Pakistan (Indian defense budget is going to increase from 36 billion dollars to 60 billion dollars in next few years versus Pakistan’s current defense budget of 4-5 billion dollars). Moreover, Pakistan’s economic growth and development is absolutely necessary to stabilize the country to successfully fight the war on terror for the entire world. And we will not be demanding any charity from the Swiss government.

This money belongs to the people of Pakistan and the entire nation (including ruling parties and the opposition) is fully united on this issue. Rather, it will be the biggest gift from the Asif Ali Zardari led PPP to the nation for which voters will elect them to serve the nation for at least 100 years. So come on PPP, rise to the occasion, it is the golden chance for you to re-build a new properous & peaceful Pakistan.