A dozen bombs, at least fifty dead and more than three hundred injured…
The government remains clueless…
“It is very early to make a conclusion but ULFA has a history of triggering serial blasts,” Assam’s Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters minutes after the explosions.
even as “…ordinary people believe it as an HuJI attack and Congress government was protecting them by bringing ULFA’s name into picture.”
Their view is echoed by Assam Police:
“The needle of suspicion points to jehadi outfits who are behind subversive activities in the state,” IGP (Special Branch) Khagen Sharma said here.
The jehadi elements, including Bangladesh-based HUJI, could be working in groups or individually, the senior police official said the modus operandi pointed to their involvement.
“While investigation will go on, the police have been zeroing in on Islamic fundamentalist forces which of late have been active in the state and the region,” he said.
…Kamrup (Metro) Deputy Commissioner Prateek Hajela also suspected the involvement of HUJI militants [ link ]
All the blasts took place almost simultaneously…which suggests a high degree of sophistication and coordination.
Sad statistic of the day: With 19 bomb blasts over a period of last six years the Ganeshguri point of the Guwahati city is arguably one of the most bombed place of country. [ link ]
A Roll Call of Terror:
Dec ‘05: New Delhi: Four Years, Two Attacks, One Story
Mar ‘06: Varanasi: Anger, tears and despair
Jul ‘06: Mumbai: Blasts? What Blasts? ‘Yeh to hota hi rahta hai‘
Aug ‘07: Hyderabad: Another day, another blast - “Kuch nayee baat batao yaar”
May ‘08: Jaipur: Jihadi attack in Jaipur?
Jul ‘08: Bangalore: Blasts in Bangalore…3 killed already
Sept ‘08: New Delhi “Dastardly terror blasts” in Delhi
Jul ‘08: Ahmedabad: Attack in Ahmedabad: Time to say NO MORE
.
Also see Tackling Terrorism: One Step at a Time
October 30th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, India & Its Neighbours, LeT, SIMI etc., Politics and Governance in India, Terrorism in India |
29 comments
…in which I get annoyed by Praful Bidwai’s gratuitous reference to “ethnic cleansing” and “communal clashes” while conveniently forgetting Assam where these words have taken on an entirely different meaning…and the scale of human misery has well surpassed the killings and attacks in Orissa, Karnataka etc..
Related Post:
The not so “communal” clashes in Assam
October 20th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Godhra, Human Rights and Legal Issues, India & Its Neighbours, Politics and Governance in India |
2 comments
For the last few days, I have been following the twists and turns of the “clashes” in Assam with great interest…Not least because I have a very strong personal bond with the region but also because I know the region a little better than many other states in India…
As is the case in most situations, initial reports about the killings were sketchy and appeared to be more conjecture than facts…E.g.
…The communally tense twin districts of Assam, Udalguri and Darrang, witnessed yet another day of rioting as the death toll climbed to nine on Saturday. Over 50 people have been injured in clashes between Bodo tribals and Muslims that broke out on Friday…”
Udalguri police said reports about hoisting of a Pakistani national flag at Sonaripara caused fresh turmoil. [ link ]
A report from HT suggested another angle to the attacks:
The immediate provocation for the clashes was the attack on a group of Village Defence Party (VDP) volunteers early Friday by armed miscreants.
“The VDP members belonged to the tribal Bodo community and were attacked by members of a religious minority group and that sparked off the clashes,” the official said.
Meanwhile the death toll continued to climb…but the matter appeared to have dropped off the radar of mainstream media…Latest reports suggest that the death toll is already higher than the number of people killed in attacks in Orissa (49 according to this report)…but I have not yet seen any detailed report on the attacks and what triggered them…
Could it be because the reality appears to be slightly more complicated here?
According to this report, the clashes are not really between “tribals” and Muslims or Hindus and Muslims or even Hindus and Christians but between Christians and Muslims:
“…Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the root cause was a programme of “ethnic cleansing” implemented by the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), a rebel group fighting for an independent tribal homeland.
“They want to drive out all non-Bodos from the area… it’s a systematic pogrom,” Sarma told IANS.
The NDFB, which is a largely Christian outfit, entered into a ceasefire with the Indian government in 2005, but has never renounced its independence struggle.”
Many media reports though have conveniently forgot to mention the word “Christian” and are instead referring to “Ethnic Bodos” or “Bodo Tribals” or a lame “clashes between two communities”…
I will be watching this with interest…and sadness in my heart…
Who is there to cry for the innocents that have been murdered and the lives that have been displaced (1.1 lakh according to official reports)?…or is this something that happened so far away…in such a distant land that all this is merely statistics…and something to be read and forgotten with your next cup of tea?
Related Posts:
“India Breaking” - Read this and Weep
North-East “burning”
Some startling stats from the eastern front…
October 7th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Identity, India & Its Neighbours, Politics and Governance in India, Post Independence History |
20 comments
Excerpts from a review of Arun Shourie’s “Are we deceiving ourselves again?” by Brahma Chellaney:
…having forsaken the Kautilyan principles, has proven no match to China’s Sun Tzu-style statecraft. From Nehru’s grudging acceptance of Chinese suzerainty to Atal Behari Vajpayee’s blithe acceptance of full Chinese sovereignty, India has incrementally shed its main card — Tibet.
…it wasn’t geography but guns — the sudden occupation of the traditional buffer, Tibet, soon after the communists seized power in Beijing — that made China India’s neighbour.
…Shourie’s well-researched, powerfully written book relies on Nehru’s letters, speeches, notes and other correspondence to bring out the significance, in Nehru’s own words, of the events from the 1950-51 fall of Tibet to China’s 1962 invasion.
Keep Reading…
September 24th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
China related, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), India & Its Neighbours, Politics and Governance in India, Post Independence History |
no comments
From a BBC report: “‘Another US strike’ hits Pakistan“ (emphasis mine)
Five civilians and seven militants have been killed in north-west Pakistan in a suspected US missile attack, local officials say. Missiles hit two buildings near Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border.
It has emerged that President Bush recently authorised US raids against militants in Pakistan without prior approval from Islamabad.
There is growing concern in Pakistan over unilateral US military action.
…It is the fifth time since the beginning of this month that US forces have carried out cross border strikes, according to local people.
…The attacks follow persistent US accusations that Pakistan is not doing enough to eliminate Taleban and al-Qaeda sanctuaries in the border region.
An unnamed senior Pentagon official told the BBC that at some point within the past two months President Bush issued a classified order to authorise US raids against militants in Pakistan…
Contrast this with:
(National Security Adviser) Mr. Narayanan said the government had proof of how terrorism was controlled from Pakistan and in this regard mentioned the arrest of two foreign nationals in the aftermath of the Mumbai blasts…
…”What (evidence) we have is stronger than what the US had (against Taliban) after 9/11″ which prompted America to launch a war on Afghanistan. [ link ]
But thats nothing new…we have been saying this for almost 10 years now and Pakistan has consistently rejected “…(the) baseless Indian allegations of support for so called cross-border terrorism”.
Related Posts:
We know its Pakistan but we hope its not!
Blasts? What Blasts? ‘Yeh to hota hi rahta hai’
Now You See Him, Now You Don’t*
September 13th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Global Terrorism, India & Its Neighbours, Jammu & Kashmir related, Pakistan related, Politics and Governance in India, Terrorism in India |
one comment
Some links for weekend reading:
1. From the Telegraph, an excellent article by Ambassador K Sibal on why borders are (still) relevant.
2. A revealing interview with Govindacharya: Jaitley is BJP’s best, Rajnath saboteur
3. Why Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam may not mean what you think it does and finally,
4. Why India..while enjoying all the characteristics of great power, is unlikely to become one (a 2005 article but still relevant, in my view).
Excerpts from all the three articles are below. Enjoy the weekend.
Keep Reading…
September 5th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Ancient Hindu Political Philosophy, Ancient Indian History, Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), India & Its Neighbours, Jammu & Kashmir related, Politics and Governance in India |
no comments
Courtesy, this article on the CounterTerrorism Blog, I came across this fascinating survey conducted almost exactly a year ago which has some revealing insights. A small sample:
- 33% Pakistanis view Taliban, Al-Qaeda and radical Pakistani Jihadi groups favourably (while 43% oppose them)
- 38% favour Taliban (while an equal percentage oppose it)
- 37%-49% favour local radical Pakistani Jihadi extremist groups (only 24%-29% oppose them)
- 46% of Pakistani’s view Osama bin Laden favorably (only 26% have an unfavourable view of him) and finally,
- 76% of those polled believe that implementing strict Sharia law throughout Pakistan is either a “very important” or “somewhat important” long-term goal for the government of Pakistan.
Read the full report here: http://www.terrorfreetomorrow.org/upimagestft/Pakistan%20Poll%20Report.pdf
August 11th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Global Terrorism, India & Its Neighbours, Jammu & Kashmir related, Pakistan related |
3 comments
Apparently, when it becomes a training ground for Jihad.
Chinese authorities have…closed down 41 “illegal” places of worship (in the Muslim dominated Xinjiang province).
These places of worship were used as training ground for conducting a “holy war”, Chen Zhuangwei Chen, the police chief of Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang province, said. Xinjiang, which borders central Asia and Pakistan, has been the scene of a pro-independence movement by a section of the eight million Uighurs living there for a long time. [ link ]
What about these Madarsasthough? and what about the Deobandi madarsas where the Taleban were trained?
Highly Recommended: Mosque Demolition meets Deathly Silence
Related Posts:
When is it OK to storm a place of worship?
Chinas Afzal Guru
July 17th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
China related, Current Affairs, Global Terrorism, Human Rights and Legal Issues, India & Its Neighbours, Islam & Terrorism |
4 comments
Continuing from Part I of this guest post by Ashutosh on India, Pakistan and geo-strategic issues…
A few days later (after the Tehelka Summit), I attended the book launch of the second edition of Natural Gas in Asia - The Challenges of Growth in China, India, Japan and Korea by Oxford Institute of Energy Studies…
I took with me experiences of the previous week and also the knowledge that at the launch of the previous edition in 2004 (which I had attended too), the popular viewwas summed up in a single sentence India and Pakistan can play cricket with each other but energy co-operation, no Sir, that is not yet on the cards
Cut to July 2008 - Launch of the second edition, the same old projects: Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline- the roller coaster that is the Iran-India LNG deal- and this time the view about energy co-operation - a possibility- even call it distinct possibility. Just the previous week, at the Tehelka conference a few participants- Imran Khan, Asad Durrani and a few others had mentioned Iran-Pakistan-India collaboration but the same people said a lot more about a lot of otherissues too..and one cant ignore or forget what was said.
The view in this very knowledgeable energy crowd, albeit dominated by western oil and gas company executives was: “India-Pakistan energy collaboration, really?”
Had I not attended the Tehalka conference, I would have just about given these much bandied about projects,agrudging chance- may be, just may be. But then again I ask why now? And why with Pakistan in between? Whats wrong with an energy cooperation with other states in the Middle East like Qatar, or a nuclear energy pact with US?
Dont we have some of the best engineers and technical manpower to provide a solution to the big global crew change in oil and gas? How are we leveraging that strength as a country? In the light of these, how important is this Iran-Pakistan-India gas deal and who wants it more badly? The Iranians? The Pakistanis or the Indians? I can say for certain, the Indians dont need it as bad.
Shantanu, thanks for alerting me about the Tehelka event- even its attendee composition was quite telling- a relatively large number of expat professional Pakistanis compared to Indians attended this event.
Having experienced a range of insinuations at the Conference may I add my own?National enlightened self interest wins over personal economic aspirations amongst expats from Pakistan. To use a phrase, made popular once again by the book of the same name - We are like that only entrenched in our compassionate Capitalistic (the latter word purposefully with a capital “C” and the former with a small “c”) mindset and to an extent, perhaps it is for the better; we have become great role models of tolerance - too great for our own good, I think!
Related Posts:
India - Pakistan: Notes from an Island
On Nano, global warming, India and China
India, Iran and the IPI pipeline
India-China-Japan-US and the politics of energy
July 15th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Enviroment Related, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), India & Its Neighbours, Indian Economy, Pakistan related, Politics and Governance in India |
no comments
From the original post by Dr Andrew Bostom, “End the Moral Idiocy on Kashmir”
*** EXCERPTS BEGIN ***
I participated in a forum on Kashmir last night at MIT in Boston, as this Muslim supremacist, jihad-inspired conflictreally a tragic ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Hindus by Muslim jihadists which began in earnest during the 14th centuryre-emerged in the news recently when the Indian government had the temerity to want to transfer 99 acres of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board…
…Please watch the video linked below, which chronicles in gory detail the brutal ethnic cleansing of some 350,000 indigenous Hindus from Kashmir during early 1990, orchestrated by Pakistan and its moderate Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto.
I was privileged last night to meet the astute, courageous, and passionate filmmaker, Ashok Pandit, who produced this documentary, And the World Remained Silent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCRFWStxV_4 (Part 1)
Focus on the time period 2:15 to 4:00 minutes, from part 1 above, and witness the jihadist speech of the late, much ballyhooed modernist reformer Benazir Bhutto. She was a jihadist, plain and simple; the head of what remains a jihadist state, our ally Pakistan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2vsztUdkpU&feature=related (Part 2)
Here is the text of the comments I delivered last night for historical background:
Islamic Separatism & Kashmir: A Panel Discussion Exploring the Relationship Between Religion and Kashmiri Tangle, July 9, 2008,
During mid-November, 2007, a grim milestone was recorded in the macabre tally being kept assiduously in cyberspace by blogger Glen Reinsford: the 10,000th attack by jihad terrorists resulting in some 60,000 dead and 90,000 injured since the cataclysmic acts of jihad terrorism on September 11, 2001.
Reinsford does not include combat-related statistics…His tally also excludes the genocide in Darfur committed by the Islamic government in Sudan…whose murderous ravages the UN estimated last year had resulted in some 400,000 dead, and 2 million displaced.
Reinsford identified three episodes of such continuous, mind numbing jihadist carnage which had perhaps unsettled him most: Nadimarg, Kashmir India (3/23/03), dozens of Hindu villagers roused out of their beds and machine-gunned by Lashkar-e-Toiba; Beslan, Russia (9/3/04), some 350 people slaughtered by jihadistshalf of them children; Malatya, Turkey (4/18/07), three Christian Bible distributors bound, tortured for hours, then gruesomely murdered by men who acted explicitly in the name of Islam.
These data should remind us that there is just one historically relevant meaning of jihad despite contemporary apologetics. Jahada, the root of the word Jihad, appears 40 times in the Koranunder a variety of grammatical forms. With 4 exceptions, all the other 36 usages (in specific Koranic verses) are variations of the third form of the verb, i.e. Jahida. Jahida in the Koran and in subsequent Islamic understanding to both Muslim luminariesfrom the greatest jurists and scholars of classical Islam (including Abu Yusuf, Averroes, Ibn Khaldun, and Al Ghazzali), to ordinary peoplemeant and means he fought, warred or waged war against unbelievers and the like, as described by the seminal Arabic lexicographer E.W Lane. Indeed, Lanes, An Arabic English Lexicon (6 volumes, London, 1865) is still used to this day by Muslim and non-Muslim scholars for definitive Arabic to English translation. Thus Lane, who studied both the etymology and usage of the term jihad, observed, Jihad came to be used by the Muslims to signify wag[ing] war, against unbelievers.
Keep Reading…
July 12th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Conversions, Missionaries in India, Hindu Dharma, Identity, Impact of Islam on India, India & Its Neighbours, Islamic Rule in India, Jammu & Kashmir related, Medieval Indian History, Modern Indian History, Pakistan related |
no comments
About two weeks ago,the Royal Society of Arts in UK, together withTehelka, organised a Summit on India and Pakistan in London. It had a stellar line up of speakers and panelists (Jaswant Singh, Farooq Abduallh, Arun Jaitley, Mushahid Husain, Imran Khan, Asma Jehangir, Ram Jethmalani…et al) and I am sure it generated a lot of animated discussions…
I am delighted to present a guest post by my dear friend Ashutosh who attended the summit and graciously agreed to pen down his thoughts to share with everyone on this blog…Ashutosh has a blue-chip CV and he left McKinsey a few years ago to start his own consulting firm in London…Needless to say, he also has a deep and abiding interest in politics and international affairs. Without further ado, here are Ashutosh’s thoughts…in two separate posts…This is the first one (emphasis is mine).
*** POST BEGINS ***
Allow me to begin by saying that I attended the events over two days wearing essentially two separate hats- one that of a politically aware global citizen (after all vasudhaiva kutumbakam has not been a more relevant concept that today and best describes the world view of us expat desis) and the second more practical hat of a energy geo-politics analyst (and there is probably no other region than the sub-continent where geo-politics of nuclear- natural gas- renewable energy and climate change is most relevant, fragile and least appreciated); my thoughts on the meeting therefore are in that sequence…
As a relatively more aware follower of international affairs- I question the need to have any reconciliatory relationship with Pakistan. What follows is a brief summary of my thoughts…
A]Pakistan wants India to forget the recent past (and in my view the most important past of the last 60 years) and reflect on our much longer history before…when we were one country.
If the meeting was about burying the past and moving forward- well it was a very good first step but we have barely scratched the surface in establishing trust at a human level. One example of self contradiction- Mushahid Hussain opening his speech by greeting (read insinuating) the audience in every other language and style but (conspicuously) avoidinga single hindu greeting like namaskaar and then closing his speech (suggesting to India) by - Thoda Dil Bada Karein- this was just one example of several self contradictions in Mushahids speech. Grow up dude, look at that inexperienced Sachin Pilot, measured and moderated responses in face of insinuations- logical and consistent- through out.
B]Search for that sameness - another theme that came out…We are similar so there is no reason we cannot move forward.
Well- I challenge this notion of sameness- yes , we have common food habits, similar languages and to some extent a common civilization but our life experiences of the last 60 or more years driven by our national ethos have been totally different. Tolerance versus Fanaticism- and so have emerged our relative positions as a function of our individual national ethos.
Why should we desperately seek out that same-ness and struggle in this relationship? When we deal with China, be it at a Governemnt level or in business, the first thing we do is recognize our differences- much stronger footing to craft our way forward. Pakistan and India may have common history and gene pool but our ethos is totally different- we will not only struggle but even get frustrated more easily in making this relationship work. Lets recognize our differences first- tolerance v/s fanaticism then figure out what is the relative value at stake for each of us!
C] Dont Use the T-word. If you do, then at least dont use it as IT (Islamic Terrorism)…
Will someone please explain to me why not? Speaker after speaker mentioned that terrorism has no place in Islam. Good passionate rhetoric but frankly this is the 800 pound gorilla in the room and calling it militancy or freedom struggle aint any good, any more. Well done Tarun Vijay, for bringing it out into the open, chapter and verse with examples included. Of course no answer/response was forthcoming except a Humphrey Appleby-esque Dont use the T word and if you do dont call it IT
Keep Reading…
July 9th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Debates & Discussions, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), Global Terrorism, Identity, India & Its Neighbours, Jammu & Kashmir related, Miscellaneous, Pakistan related, Politics and Governance in India, Post Independence History, Terrorism in India |
4 comments
From a Sify report on a seminar held last Friday at IIC on ‘1914 Shimla Convention Agreement and Consequences’ (emphasis mine):
The fact that the Chinese refused to ink the 1914 Shimla Convention agreement between India and Tibet puts question mark over the legality or morality of China’s claim of sovereignty over Tibet, a group of India’s top jurists, scholars and security experts feel.
…The participants - who included senior Supreme Court Advocate Rajeev Dhavan, Arunachal MP Khiren Rijuju, Lt Gen. (Rtd.) F.R. J. Jacob, veteran diplomat Dalip Mehta, and writer Dr Parshotam Mehta - felt that this could make a strong case for India to press for autonomy of the Tibet in its negotiations with China during sixth round of discussions on Indo-China border that started today.
…Dhawan argued that China’s case for sovereignty over Tibet was inconclusive, contradictory and un-established. I have gone through all relevant documents. At best, a nominal suzerainty was imposed by the imperial powers, which lapsed when the Chinese did not sign the agreement, he said.
Writer Parshotam Mehta and Dr Anand Kumar of Jawaharlal Nehru University drew attention to the July declaration signed by the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and Tibet which said if China did not sign the agreement she will be debarred from all privileges.
It was an agreement between the government of India and Tibet and did not accept any claim by China if the latter did not accept the conditionalities, they contended.
But all the legalities in the world pale against lack of political will and resolve…I am not in the least optimistic thatthe sixth round of discussions with China would be any different from the previous ones…
Related Posts:
Of sound bites, Shilpa Shetty and Arunachal
Tibet - not always part of China
Dancing with the Dragon
.
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July 6th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
British Rule in India, China related, Current Affairs, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), India & Its Neighbours, Miscellaneous, Modern Indian History, Politics and Governance in India, Post Independence History, World History |
one comment
in other words… “try very hard to please someone“.
New Delhi, Jun 22 (PTI) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad today instructed authorities to install signboards in Urdu at the Old Delhi railway station so that passengers from Pakistan can get the information in their own language.
Lalu, who visited Old Delhi Railway station late this evening, met passengers from trans-border Samjhauta Express…
The passengers…made use of the opportunity (and)…complained about their problems in reading signboards, which are in Hindi and English languages. [link]
I wonder if there are any signs in Hindi in Lahore? or in Gurumukhi?
.
P.S. I guessI should not really be surprised - this is the same government which last year had announced a “unilateral liberalisation” of visa policy to “our South Asian neighbours…without insisting on reciprocity.”
June 24th, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, India & Its Neighbours, Pakistan related, Politics and Governance in India |
11 comments
On Bal Thackeray and his call for Hindu suicide squads/ Hindu terrorists: Nip it in the bud by Offstumped. A short excerpt:
Bal Thackerays remarks are reprehensible. There is no moral sanction for Terrorism by any tenet of Hindu Dharma. Those responsible for the Thane bomb blast must be brought to trial and any attempts by them to appropriate moral sanction under Hindu Dharma must be denounced unequivocally. There is no room or place for Terrorism by Hindus for Hindus with Hindu Dharma as moral cover.
Terrorism is Adharma let there be no ambiguity on this.
On Narendra Modi’s comment re. taxes and aid: Two curious legal cases by BarbarIndian. Excerpt:
The first involves the following statement by Narendra Modi:
“I want to tell the government in Delhi, lets sign a year-long pact, you don’t take any money from us and dont give us any aid. And then we will show the Centre how we run the state. You all tell me, am I not right,” he was quoted as saying. [link]It is not known if these were the exact words uttered by Modi, but calling these statements seditious is quite ambitious. As a matter of fact, Congress bigwigs have not made any public statements, leaving the hatchet job to foot soldiers like Manish Tewari.
Given that the UPA top brass have basically maintained a wall of silence about the Gujjar and Gorkha issues, one can only imagine the seriousness of this regime about the nation’s security. Perhaps this is a moot point, since many of UPA’s partners are unabashedly seditious, especially the communist factions.
As a side point, Congress claims that the Government does not have “any system to determine how much a state government contributed in taxes to the Centre”. This is quite funny. Evidently the Government does not have any mechanism to determine which castes qualify for OBC privileges either. The Government does not even have a mechanism to determine how much of social spending actually go to intended recipients (15% if you believe the late Rajiv Gandhi, 5% if you believe Rahul).
The center-state resource allocation issue is nothing new. A plethora of studies have been done on this issue, as an example - here. The fact of the matter is, there is a well defined system that determines these issues. That system is called “electoral opportunism”.
I will try a summary of the study in a future post.
On Jihad Against Freedom of Speech at the United Nationsby Jeffrey Imm. Excerpt:
The United Nations’ Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has no problem with its members suggesting that the 9/11 attacks were an “inside job” perpetrated by the United States on itself. …
Denying the role of Jihadists in the 9/11 attacks is apparently perfectly acceptable freedom of speech for the UNHRC, but criticizing Sharia law is another story.
On June 16, 2008, UNHRC president Doru Romulus Costea announced that criticism of Sharia law will not be tolerated by the UNHRC, based on the complaints and pressure by Islamist delegates to the UNHRC. In effect, the Islamist nations represented at the UNHRC have effected a Jihad against freedom of speech at the United Nations when it comes to criticizing Sharia or Islamic supremacist (aka Islamist) theocratic ideologies that threaten the freedom and lives of innocents around the world.
On Pakistan Army fires strategic broadsides at United States and Indiaby Dr Subhash Kapila. Excerpt:
General Ashfaq Kiyani, Pak COAS has been quoted by the respected Pakistan journalist, Ahmed Rashid in a Los Angeles Times feature as follows:
- General Kiyani has told US military and NATO officials that the Pakistan Army will not retrain or re-equip its troops to fight the counter-insurgency war on the Afghan frontier as demanded by the Americans.
- Pakistan will deploy the bulk of its troops on Pakistans borders with India and prepare for possible conflicts with traditional enemy India.
Related observations emanating in this report are as follows:
- More than 80% of the $ 10 billion aid provided by USA to Pakistan was diverted to buy advanced major weapon systems for the Indian front.
- Pakistan Army after its peace deals with Taliban leaders has virtually withdrawn from the seven districts of FATA
- Posts vacated by Pakistan Army now stand occupied by Taliban cadres.
- The peace deal with the Taliban has only one proviso that they will not attack Pakistan Army troops. There is no proviso that they will not attack US/NATO troops in Afghanistan and therefore the Taliban has now a free run against them.
Have a thoughtful weekend.
Related Posts:
Some good links for weekendreading
*Must Read* links for theweekend
Recommended weekendreading
June 22nd, 2008
Posted by
B Shantanu |
Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Global Terrorism, Hindu Dharma, Human Rights and Legal Issues, India & Its Neighbours, Indian Economy, Jammu & Kashmir related, Pakistan related, Politics and Governance in India, Terrorism in India |
one comment
