Police Raids FAST-National University Lahore Campus

About 100+ Computers & Management Sciences Students alongwith Faculty Members of FAST-National University (including many Ph.D) started their peacfull protest against imposition of Emergency in Pakistan by Chief of Army Staff General (Retd.) Parvez Musharraf.

 But as soon as the protest started and students & faculty members started to gather near main entrance of a huge purpose built campus of the University, Police raided the University.

As per very latest from inside the campus, Police has entered inside the campus building and have so far arrested 3 students and deployed heavy numbers of sergeants inside and outside the University.

 FAST-National University of Computers & Emerging Sciences is the top notch CS University of Pakistan and is rated amongst the best in South Asia. Graduates of FAST-NUCES are working in Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Dell, Sun to name a few.

University Website : FAST National University of Computers & Emerging Sciences

Update – Coverage of Event by National & International Media

BBC Urdu Service

Protest in The News International

Covered by The Dawn

The Post

Daily Times

Emergency to be Imposed in Pakistan?

Varoius media news, various information sources have suggested that Emergency shall be imposed in Pakistan mid-night today. Almost all newspapers of the country have reported the same.

Hereunder are a few headlines of leading newspapers:

Daily Jang : “If emergency isn’t successful, martial law shall be imposed”

Daily Nawa -e- Waqt: “Government in discussion with allies to impose Emergency”

Daily Express: “Emergency to be imposed – Presidential order is ready”

Daily Awaz: “Political orphans are asking for emergency for last 1 year – Emergency shall be challenged in Courts – Benazir Bhutto”

Daily Pakistan: “Emergency shall be imposed in the country today – Ch. Shujaat Hussain”

and the most interesting of all

Daily Times: President Musharraf is shown in Uniform in Headline and its written “My Dear Countrymen….”

 There are also news that US Secretary of State Ms. C. Rice called President Musharraf regarding the same for about 17 minutes early morning today around 2 AM Pakistan Standard Time.

 Source: Various Newspapers

Court News from Pakistan

News related to court matters gathered through various sources are below.

Petition against Parvez Elahi & Sheikh Rasheed submitted in Lahore High Court

A petition against Chaudhary Parvez Elahi (Chief Minister Punjab) and Sheikh Rasheed (Minister of Railways) has been filed in Lahore High Court. Both of them addressed a rally in Islamabad on 12-May-2007 and specifically targetted their voices against Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary. Supplicant has written in his petition that Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhar is still the Chief Justice of Pakistan and as per constitution no one is allowed to directly address Chief Justice of Pakistan.  Both Mr. Elahi & Mr. Rasheed have been accused of Contempt of Court.

Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani sworn in as Acting CJ of Sindh High Court

Senior Judge of Sindh High Court, Mr. Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani has been sworn in as Acting Chief Justice of Sindh High Court in Karachi. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, Mr. Justice Sabeeh ud Din Ahmed is on a foreign tour of 1 week.

Proceeding of Suo Moto Action of Hammad Raza’s Murder

Supreme Court of Pakistan, yesterday took suo moto action over murder of Mr. Hammad Raza, Additional Registrar of Supreme Court of Pakistan. Mr. Hammad Raza was killed in his home yesterday early morning.

Full Court Bench of Supreme Court to start its proceedings today

Full Court Bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan would start its proceedings on 23+ petitions filed against the filing of reference against Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary. Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary is also amongst the persons who have filed such petition. President and Army Chief of Pakistan, General Parvez Musharraf sent this reference to Supreme Judicial Council on 9th March, 2007. Its pity that in our country – Chief Justice is asking for Justice and Chief of Army Staff is insecure. 

Some more news from Supreme Court of Pakistan

Full Court Bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan has upheld the stay order issued by a bench earlier constituted to halt Supreme Judicial Council. Full Court Bench has issued an order that unless there is a decision of CJP’s petition is announced – SJC is advised to stop its proceedings.

Supreme Court has also said that apex court itself is monitoring the investigations of the murder of Hammad Raza.

Hammad Raza – Target Killing?

Widow of Hammad Raza, the deceased additional registrar of Supreme Court of Pakistan, has said that his husband is a victim of target killing by the state. Shabana Hammad told BBC that 2 persons entered their house in Sector G-10/2 of Islamabad and were looking for Hammad Raza.

She has categorically rejected that persons entered were dacoit. Killers knocked at the bedroom, when door was opened they instantally killed Hammad Raza and within a minute or two they were gone.

Hammad Raza belonged to the District Management Group (DMG) of Civil Services of Pakistan. Hammad Raza was one of the main persons who were interrogated by agencies to find any evidence to support the notorious reference against Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary.

Shabana Hammad, who is british nationlist have also sought help from British High Commission in Islamabad.

Justice (R) Tariq Mehmood, a lawyer representing Chief Justice of Pakistan, has said that Hammad Raza was an important cogent evidence of Chief Justice of Pakistan. He also said that government agencies were pressurising Hammad Raza to say anything that goes against Chief Justice of Pakistan but he refused to do so.

Last night, Hammad was buried in graveyard of Lahore.

Courtesy: BBC Urdu Service

Musharraf’s leadership challenged in court

ISLAMABAD ( 2007-05-14 17:46:37 ) : Opposition alliance petitioned the Supreme Court on Monday, calling for the removal of President Pervez Musharraf from office as well as from his position as army chief.

The move by Qazi Hussain Ahmed, President of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance, came amid a deepening judicial crisis that represents the greatest challenge to Musharraf’s authority since he took power in a military coup in 1999.

“We have challenged both of Musharraf’s positions because he is not capable of holding either office,” Shahid Shamsi, a spokesman for Ahmed, told Reuters.

In his petition, Ahmed pleaded that President Musharraf be dismissed from the army because he had violated his oath by taking part in politics while remaining in uniform.

He said President Musharraf had also disqualified himself from holding the office of president by “dragging the army into politics”.

President Musharraf promised to stand down as army chief by the end of 2004 as part of a deal with MMA but later backed out of his commitment.

Constitutionally, he is due to quit the army by the end of December this year, but is believed to be reluctant to do so.

President Musharraf is expected to stand for a second term as president in September or October and wants to be re-elected by the national and provincial assemblies before they are dissolved for elections due around the turn of the year.

Many analysts say Musharraf’s move to suspend the country’s Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in March might be motivated by a desire to have a more pliable man at the head of judiciary in case of a constitutional challenge to his plans.

Courtesy : Aaj TV

Karachi violence to cost Musharraf heavily

Karachi violence to cost Musharraf heavily: analysts

ISLAMABAD ( 2007-05-13 21:29:25 ) :
President Pervez Musharraf’s grip on power has been dangerously weakened by the involvement of his political allies in violence that killed dozens of people, analysts said Sunday.

Musharraf faces a major challenge to put the lid back on the opposition movement that has formed around the country’s suspended chief justice.

More than 36 people, most of them opposition workers, have died in ongoing clashes between pro-government and pro-judge parties that have turned the streets of Karachi into a battleground.

“I think his (Musharraf’s) power is now diminishing rapidly. There is no doubt about it,” retired Pakistani army general and political analyst Talat Masood told AFP.

General Musharraf’s position has become increasingly tenuous as he seeks another five-year term as president-in-uniform before November 16 from the outgoing parliament, which is stacked with his supporters.

Opponents say the president, a key US ally in the “war on terror,” dismissed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on March 9 to ensure a pliant judiciary in the event of any legal challenges to the manoeuvre.

After two months of protests involving lawyers and opposition parties, the crisis turned violent on Saturday in Karachi.

The main bloodshed was sparked when Musharraf’s local ally, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party, prevented Chaudhry from addressing a bar association function in Karachi.

Musharraf blamed the judge and his supporters for the carnage, saying that they had politicised Chaudhry’s fate and stoked up tensions.

But Human Rights Watch accused police and the provincial government, which is run by the MQM, of being “silent spectators” to the breakdown in law and order and of deliberately “fomenting” trouble.

“It was a great blunder, a major mistake of horrendous proportions. It was a sure recipe for confrontation,” Masood said.

Masood said the current situation could lead to early elections, but Musharraf was unlikely to be able to retain his position as chief of the huge army, his main source of power.

“All actions subsequent to March 9 reflect a sense of insecurity in government ranks leading to a situation where elections could be held ahead of time,” Masood said.

Political commentator Najam Sethi said the violence in Karachi, an ethnic tinderbox wracked by political fighting in the 1990s, had set the scene for a national confrontation.

“The battle lines are now drawn. There is Musharraf and the ruling political party and the MQM on one side and the rest of Pakistan on the other. He is facing the worst period of his rule,” Sethi told AFP.

As Karachi was in flames, Musharraf was addressing a massive rally in Islamabad organised by his cronies to demonstrate public support for the military-led administration.

Musharraf has conveyed a message to the chief justice that “we will use the machinery of the state to stop you and you will not be allowed to reach out to people,” Sethi said.

“It is very depressing. We are more divided as a nation than we were in 1999 when he took over in a coup.”

A senior security official who worked in Sindh province during the late 1990s feared that the current spate of violence in Karachi could hurt the commercial hub and home of the Pakistani stock market as in the past.

“There was an uneasy calm in Karachi since the MQM government came into being. That calm has been broken,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The official said that it was distressing to see that law enforcement agencies did not intervene at all. “They looked to be part of the whole carnage,” he added.

Aaj TV

Supreme Court News from Islamabad

Islamabad : Justice Falak Sher, one of the members of full court, constituted by acting CJ Mr. Justice Rana Bhagwan Das, has refused to sit in the full court. As per Mr. Justice Falak Sher, there is pending case in Supreme Court over Seniority Issue of Mr. Justice Falak Sher and Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary – hence he can not sit in court which has to hear the case of Mr. Justice Iftikhar Chuadhary.

Justice Khalil Ur Rehman Ramday has sent the case back to Mr. Justice Rana Bhagwan Das to re-constitute the full court. Mr. Justice Rana Bhagwan Das has now constituted full court excluding Mr. Justice Falak Sher. Full Court will now start its proceeding from tomorrow, Tuesday 15-May-2007

S. M. Zafar, one of the most prominent lawyer of the country has advised Government to not to send another reference against CJP. He also advised CJP to postpone his addresses to the bar councils of the country till the judgement of Full Bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Islamabad: Additional Registrar of Supreme Court of Pakistan was murdered earlier around 3 AM in Islamabad. As per reports, some dacoits entered his house in Islamabad and on resistance shown by Hammad Raza, the additional registrar of Supreme Court of Pakistan – they opened fired, Hammad was rushed to PIMS (Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences) but couldn’t succumb to injuries and died.

Update on Murder of Additional Registar of Supreme Court : Unidentified gunmen killed a senior Supreme Court official in Islamabad early Monday after a weekend of deadly violence over the suspension of the chief justice, police said.

Syed Hamid Raza was shot dead hours before the court was due to start a hearing into the legality of charges against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

“Unknown gunmen broke into the house of Supreme Court additional registrar Raza and shot him dead,” Islamabad police officer Mohammad Aslam told AFP.

Police were still investigating the motive for the killing, he said.

Syed Hammad Raza was serving in Baluchistan High Court and he was brought to Supreme Court in the era of Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary – it might be another killing by the state???

Throughout the country, lawyers have staged protests and have boycotted the proceedings of the court in protest to killings of innocent civilians by the ruling party in Karachi.

Bring Back Naseer Ullah Babar

The current state supported terrorism, brute use of heavy arms on innocent people including media asks for some extraordinary measures to be taken. Government & its allied party in Provincial Government of Sindh as well as in Federal Government used all of its power to kill dozens of innocent people to stop them from welcoming Chief Justice of Pakistan.

MQM was given freehand to kill anyone and everyone on Saturday. The only motto was to stop people coming on streets to welcome Chief Justice of Pakistan. CJP was scheduled address professional attendance of Sindh High Court Bar Association on Golden Jubilee of Sindh High Court.

Polie, Rangers and other paramilitary forces were asked to be a silent observer and let the MQM do whatever it wanted to do. City was burning, roads were filled with deadbodies but Home Secretary Sindh and Inspector General Sindh Police was enjoying tea & smoking next to CJP’s arrival lounge.

Sindh High Court took suo moto action and called IG, Home Secretary & Corps Commander. IG & Home Secretary simply said that this is out of their control and orders were from high ups. Corps Commander Karachi simply didn’t take any notice whatsoever of Court’s order and put the orders under his boots.

While the economic hub of Pakistan, the city of Founder of the Nation, the city once termed as ‘the city of lights’ was filled with deadbodies, ruling party was celebrating their show of ‘power’ in Islamabad. They were beating drums, they were dancing over their show of powers.

Let me tell you inside about this show of powers. Provincial & City Government in Lahore paid amounts ranging from 400 to 1,800 rupees per participants including 3 times food, water and sweets, air-conditioned buses to participate in the rally of ruling party. On Saturday morning I was on my way to drop my family members to their offices, Daewoo buses were on the roads and people were openly calling that ‘Go to Islamabad and get 1500 rupees’ – is this what we call ‘show of Powers’?

In Karachi, MQM staged its so called ‘peaceful rally’ and about 2-3 km ago from that area, A TV Channel (Aaj TV’s) building was under heavy fire with automatic weapons. All the world saw the visuals. The firing continued for 6+ hours and no security whatsoever was provided to them. They contacted everyone possible, they called for help but no one took notice.

This is what we call state-terrorism. None other that General Parvez Musharraf, the great US Ally on war on terror was doing. It was all ordered by him.

There is one and only solution this crisis. Restore CJP on his position unconditionally. Governor rule should be imposed in the province of Sindh and Gen (R) Naseer Ullah Babar should be given freehand, the way he was given authority and powers a few years back. Musharraf should resign. A care-taker government should be there to conduct free & fair elections. Army should do what it is supposed to do – they should go back to barricks.

India tests fire Pirthvi Missile

India has reportedly test fired Pirthvi I missile. Indian army has termed the test as a success. Missile test was conducted in Orissa state. Details awaited.

 Update

Pirthvi – the missile test fired, is a surface to surface medium ranged (range upto 150 KM, nearly 100 miles) is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons. Missile test was conduced in Chandipur area of Orissa district. As per defence officials in Orissa – missile test was carried out on military’s request to check its working.

Chief Justice vs Chief General

Court rulings have started to come, though moon soon is a bit away but suffocation that has lasted over 7 years, now seems to be ending.

Its worth pondering that a dictator backed byUS Support, empowered with 17th amendment, weaponed with National Security Council, leader of the universal political party of Pakistan i.e. Muslim League (Q) – would turn out to be so weak, debile and decrepit that a single journey would make him to talk about emergency?

Lawyers are getting warned to avoid getting politicise? One may ask Mr. General that when was issuing a warning to the lawyers, where was he? He is serving Army Chief of Pakistan but was addressing a political gathering of Pakistan Muslim League (Q). More than a dozen times, he have asked people to vote for PML (Q) so that PML (Q) would elect him as President? Isn’t he politicising Pakistan Army? He, when was made Army Chief he accepted that he wouldn’t take any part whatsoever in any types of Political activities.

 If a General can not be by force retired or sent on leave or by-passed (as Nawaz Sharif did with General Musharraf) – even though it was Prime Minister’s right and he is empowered to overthrow Army Chief – when an elected Prime Minister used his constitutional right to do so – PM alongwith his goverment was overthrown and is now in exile! — in same manner, how can an army chief in an army camp wearing khaki uniform ask Chief Justice to surrender or to resign? and when opposed, army chief files a reference in haste, puts CJ in house arrest, makes in non-functional, deprives him of very basic human rights which are applicable even in emergency! What are we talking about? Isn’t Army Chief violating his own court of conduct? Hasn’t General himself politicised anything?

Talking about emergency – lets consider some scenarios. Article 232 allows emergency to be imposed in the country provided that there are circumstances which are beyond the control of Government functionaries. Article 234 allows emergency to be imposed in any province of the country provided that constitutional machinery has failed in that province. Article 235 allows emergency to be imposed under worst economic situations. I don’t think that any such is the case in Pakistan.

Lets look at some other possibilities in case of emergency. If emergency is imposed in NWFP and/or Baluchistan – Political parties wouldn’t let it happen at any cost – the current constitutional and political crisis will only get extra fuel if such an emergency is imposed. If an emergency is imposed in Sindh and/or Punjab – the most beloved of General would go home – their gardens will turn out into deserts. Emergency would also be taken as a political, moral, social, psychological and constitutional defeat of the Government.

Anyhow,

• Chief Justice has not overthrown anyone (Chief General has).
• Chief Justice is just Chief Justice, he owns single designation – (Chief General owns more than 1 – as he is President, He is Chief of Army Staff, He is all in all)
• Chief Justice has not made any Political Group of his own – Chief General made PML (Q).
• Chief Justice has not done horse-trading – Chief General made PPPP-P
• Chief Justice has never owned any political party – Chief General has more than several times declared that he owns PML (Q).
• Chief Justice has not asked votes for anyone – Chief General has been begging votes for his owned party.

ISI & ‘The Men in Black’

Several ‘funny’/’interesting’ incidents took place outside the apex Supreme Court of Pakistan’s building. 

1. Lawyers caught a mini group of ‘men in black‘ – who were shouting slogans in favor of General Musharraf when CJP appeared before SJC for to defend his reference.  

Later on the people who were airing these slogans ;when interrogated by the lawyers who were in great numbere protesting against the reference; a person named Fayyaz said that he belongs to a ‘sensitive department’ & is a resident of Punjab Province. The ‘sensitive’ department is usually used for either Pakistan Army or ISI (Inter Services Intelligence).

?? Musharraf is now using ISI’s men to regain popularity by the cheapest means ever.

2. A lawyer, Col. (Retd.) Anwar Afridi threw away all the medals & insignias which were awarded to him by Pakistan Army during his service times.

Protests by lawyers & opposition parties are going on throughout the country – last night almost 300+ workers of different parties were arrested in Lahore only. Qazi Hussain Ahmed was put in house arrest for 2 days.

Details would be updated as soon as I get them.

CJP’s Son is General’s Son in Law

Main character in the reference against CJP Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary is his son Dr. Arslan Iftikhar. Dr. Arslan is not related only to CJP but he (Dr. Arslan) is also Son-in-Law of Major General Retd. Zia ul Haq.

As per law expert, CJP Justice Iftikhar Chuadhary & his lawyers would present the point in Supreme Judicial Council that it was not the father (CJP) but the father-in-law (Major General) who was behind all this.

Father didn’t but father-in-law did use his authority & powers to give his son-in-law a career boost.

If such a point is presented it will definately involve army directly in the matter – hence opening another Pandora’s box.

 hmmmmmm…

Thank You Mr. President General

President General of Pakistan, Mr. General Parvez Musharraf did a wonderful thing in public gathering a couple of days ago.

He clarified that not a single out  of 150+ missing person is in possession of any security agency. He further said that Extreme Islamic Jihadi Organizations might have picked these persons by force for brain washing etc.

Almost 150+ people throughout Pakistan are missing for many months and even for years – this case is under hearing of Supreme Court of Pakistan.

That’s a positive, good & excellent gesture of the General atleast he elucidated the matter otherwise the woman who went up on the stage by breaking all security means was hoping that his relative is in custody of security agencies.

I hope this clarification would have provided peace of mind to that woman.

About 2 years ago, Gohram Saleh, one of the missing vanished from Tilhar mountains. He was suspected to be an activist of Baluchistan Liberation Army(BLA  is an organization fighting for Baluchistan’s Independence from Pakistan). Since then, his mother & sisters are observing hunger strike outside Karachi Press Club – They also had the same misunderstanding that Gohram was picked by Inter Services Intelligence (ISI – Pakistan Army’s Intelligence Agency).

A writer from Baluchistan Dr. Hanif Sharif was missing for about 13 months. Those who picked him dropped him in Turbat. Since his freedom he is hesitant to say anything about the ‘Extremist Organization’ which picked him.

Mubarak Qazi stayed in Turbat Jail for 10 months. It is now believed (after General’s clarification) that he was put in lock-up for his own safety, for his safety from such ‘Extreme Islamic groups’. He was taken into custody for his own good, otherwise such groups might have trained, brainwashed and sent him for ‘Jihad’ to Iraq, Kashmir, Chechnya or Afghanistan.

Thank you Mr. President – Thanks indeed. 

What a Country – What a Persident – What a Clarification!

English Translation of : Wusat’s Blog on BBC’s Urdu Service

Suicide attack on Pakistan Army

Kharian – Army Training Center in one of the largest cantonment of Pakistan has been attacked by suicide bomber around 1400 local times (0900 GMT).

As per latest news thru The Jang & BBC – atleast 1 soldier alongwith attacker has died on the spot while 7+ are injured.

As per information available the suicide bomber was an old man.

Monsters & Critics Reports

At least one soldier was killed and seven others injured Thursday in a suicide attack on a training ground in the garrison town of Kharian, about 150 kilometres south-east of Islamabad, news reports said.

The identity of the dead bomber was not immediately known, according to local television reports citing official sources.

The attack was similar to one in November in which a suicide bomber killed 42 army recruits on a training ground in Dargai, north-western Pakistan.

That attack was linked to al-Qaeda sympathisers and was in retaliation for a Pakistan airstrike that killed 82 at an Islamic school compound near the border with Afghanistan 

International Herald Tribune Reports

A suicide attacker, possibly an elderly man, blew himself up at a military training ground in eastern Pakistan on Thursday, killing one soldier and wounding at least six more, officials said.

The bomber detonated explosives at a training ground near Kharian, 130 kilometers (80 miles) southeast of the capital, Islamabad, a military official said.

Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said one soldier was killed and six others wounded. The military official said seven were wounded.

The bomber, who also died, appeared to be an elderly man, the official said, asking for anonymity in accordance with military policy.

He said soldiers at the Guliana training ground, about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from Kharian, were learning driving skills when the bomber approached on foot and detonated himself.

Talibanization of Pakistan?

A few weeks or days ago Mohtarrma Benazir Bhutto said in an interview that Talibanziation (‘spreading of Talibans/radical – extreme islamists’) is feared in Pakistan; at that time almost everyone including myself didn’t seem to agree with BB.

Recent events of last week and so have shown what BB had forecasted earlier. It includes

• Stopping (issuing & distributing warning letters) barbers from making shaves in the areas adjacent to tribal areas of Northern & North-Western Pakistan.

“The government is unable to protect us so we will abide by what the Taliban tells us to do and stop shaving beards,” said Niamat, a barber in Khar, the headquarters of the Bajaur tribal agency along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

And the Taliban mean business, On a night, bombs destroyed two barber shops and three others suffered partial damage after the owners refused to follow the orders.

“I am a Muslim and I know that no one can force me to shave or not to shave. This should be my decision,” said Nasir, a regular customer, wearing a green turtleneck sweater and jeans. “But I was threatened. They asked if I will obey the new laws; I will obey because I am afraid.“

A couple of weeks earlier, in the middle of the night, someone slipped leaflets under barbershop doors throughout the Bajaur Tribal Agency. The warning was hand-written in Pashto, the language of the Pashtun tribes who inhabit the border regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The leaflets read: “SHAVING BEARDS AND TRIMMING BEARDS IS UN-ISLAMIC AND IS FORBIDDEN. VIOLATORS WILL BE KILLED.”

The customers panicked and the barbers panicked too. In almost every barber shop the owners put up signs begging their customers not to force them to give a shave.

A shave costs less than 2 cents — but the Taliban edict forbidding barbers to shave or even trim beards will cause severe economic hardship, and put many of the 200 barbers in Bajaur out of business.

“Barbers are poor people, they have no other business,” said Ikram, another regular customer. “If they can’t give shaves, they will not be able to feed their children.”

A group of barbers told NBC News that their business had declined by 70 percent since the Taliban issued the edict.

• Some video & music shops have also received such warnings in Mardan & Peshawar
• Tank (prounounced as Taank) – an area very near to the Waziristan Agency (one of the tribal administrated area of Pakistan) has seen one of the bloodiest nights of its history.
  • Some schools were attacked by militants; students and teachers were made hostage
  • Militants forcefully took students with them to train them regarding
    • Fighting against NATO forces in Afghanistan
    • Suicide bombings
  • A night ago, they came to the Tank, looted state run banks and shops and went back to the tribal areas
  • They have also attacked Police stations, Frontier Constebllary & even Army Posts

Now the army, FC & police has imposed curfew in Tank and they have set up their positions in the area.

Ok, this is in the tribal areas; so what? Let’s come to Islamabad – the capital of Pakistan.

Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) is situated Near Aab Para Market in Sector G-6/I (not very much sure – its been 4-5 years since I lived there in Islamabad).

This market is almost in centre of the city. Blue area is no more than half a kilometer from Aab Para.

Inter Services Intelligence Agency (ISI)’s office is neither that far. Pakistan Printing Press, CDA and several other offices & building are at an arm’s distance from the market. A 4 star (Holiday Inn) Hotel is situated right next to Lal Masjid. Serena (5 star hotel) is very next to Aab Para.

Diplomatic Enclave (where almost all embassies are) is roughly 1 km from aab para. Parliament house shouldn’t be more than 2 to 3 km from this place. Other offices including ILO, World Bank, State Bank of Pakistan, NADRA, Radio Pakistan, JICA, Supreme Court of Pakistan is between 1 to 2 km from this place.

Last day, some female students of the mosque having bamboo stickes in their hands, went to a nearby government employee’s colony, attacked a house and kidnapped a woman, her daughter and her daughter’s daughter (who is roughly 6 months old) and put them in the mosque on the charges that they are into the “sinny business” (adultery/fornication)

Around 1130 am, some police vehicles were passing by the market & these students alongwith their ‘brothers’ (male students of the mosque) attacked the vehicles with the sticks and captured some policemen alongwith their vehicle. Police in return also captured a couple of teachers of the same mosque.

A few days ago these students went to the market and distributed literature to the music & video shop owners that they should stop this business at once or they should be ready for the consequences.

A month earlier, these students also captured a library of kids.

Then, it was aired on the loud speakers of the mosque that if police didn’t free the teachers then ‘Jihad’ (the holy war – fighting in the name of God/Allah in Islam) would be waged on the government.

The Mosque has also established an illegal Frequency Modulation (FM) Radio Station. To establish a Radio station one requires permissions from the authorities.

After striking a deal with the students & teachers of the mosque – Government has been able to rescue their policemen but the woman, her daughter and her grand-daughter is still in hold of the students.

whats going on?

Can’t government handle this matter? When a Chief Justice can be sacked by the man in uniform – when a CJ can be mishandled by the police, when a media office can be attacked by civil servants of the society – why can’t they handle this issue?

Is there something going on?

Do such elements have support from people high ups?

Are there people in the Army or agencies who have soft corners for these people?

I don’t know – but its now sure that there is something seriously wrong!