ANP Leadership had received $30 million by the US for keeping silence over Drone Attacks

Khawaja M. Khan Hoti NA-9 Mardan-1 division

Sultan Hijazi | Terminal X Media Watch

The following news piece is a summary of what originally appeared on Pakistani newspaper The Nation’s website on the 27th of February, 2011.

The reporter of this news is Sikander Shaheen. However, a few hours after this headline was indexed, the whole report was mysteriously removed from the host’s website.

The cached version of this website is also not retrievable despite repeated efforts, hence we shall be pasting only the brief summary that appeared as it is on various search engines:

” ISLAMABAD – In a rare exhibition of moral courage, an incumbent parliamentarian has decided to move to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the killings of countless innocent civilians in the CIA’s drone hits in bordering areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, accusing his party of getting bribed by the US. Member National Assembly and former federal minister from Awami National Party Nawabzada Khawaja Muhammad Khan Hoti is in intensive consultations with law experts these days in.. ”

Another summary reads:” Hoti slammed his party’s role regarding the CIA drone campaign saying that ANP leadership had received $30 million by the US for keeping silence over drone … ”

Screen-grab that appears on search engines [Feb. 28 2011]

The original link to the article (now removed) is:

http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/27-Feb-2011/ANP-MNA-accuses-own-party-of-taking-30m-bribe

Instead of making unsubstantiated deductions, we believe the news is a harsh reality as our direction points to the following points:

On Feb. 1 2009, Khawaja Muhammad Khan Hoti had resigned from the cabinet as Minister for Narcotics Control in protest for being neglected in decision-making by his own party, the ANP.

On February 19 2011, Pakistani daily The News reported:

” Khwaja Hoti blasted the ANP leadership for not raising voice against the killing of innocent Pakhtuns in drone attacks. He said the ANP leaders had promised people to snatch their rights from the usurpers. He said he resigned from his ministry when he realised that the ANP was not sincere with the people. “We will launch Pakhtun Bachao Movement against the ANP leadership from the home constituency of the chief minister,” he declared ” [Source]

A day before on February 18 2011, another Pakistani daily Dawn News reported:

” Mr Hoti said that the ANP leadership had formed a jirga and launched movement against the drone attacks, but later they all adopted silence over the killing of innocent Pakistanis and preferred to serve their personal interests ” [Source]

The report about $30 million bribe to the ANP can only be deemed logical from the horse’s mouth himself. This can prove a big blow to the provincial government in KP province as Terminal X already reported earlier this month that ANP’s Minister Syed Aqil Shah has been providing shelter to Blackwater/Xe operatives in Peshawar.

The ANP has a long history of being against Pakistan’s interests. Their first achievement was getting Governor Owais Ghani removed. This was also done with the help of the US Embassy in Islamabad and the Consulate in Peshawar.

 

Strategic Punishment: A Program To Assassinate Pakistani Military Officers

A little over a year ago, before CIA agents were arrested in Pakistan working with anti-Pakistan terrorists, Pakistani military buildings and officers were targeted in brazen, commando-style attacks that were blamed on a ragtag army of mercenaries hiding at the Afghan border. Today we revisit an important argument made at the time: Not all terror attacks inside Pakistan can be blamed on Taliban or al-Qaeda.

AHMED QURAISHI | WWW.PAKNATIONALISTS.COM

The bombings in Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Multan are part of a strategic punishment of Pakistan’s military. This punishment has now entered a new stage: a systematic program for assassinating Pakistani military officers.

Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was a possible target during the commando-style break-in and siege at General Headquarters in October. Maj. Gen. Mushtaq Baig was assassinated earlier this year, near GHQ. Four senior Army officers were ambushed commando-style on the streets of the Pakistani capital, one Brigadier was killed. Police arrested a suspect who is linked to DynCorp, a military contractor deployed in Pakistan by the US Embassy in Islamabad. The latest is the daring Dec. 4, 2009 operation targeting a mosque frequented by military officers. The attack carried the hallmarks of Special-Ops training. While at least some of the attackers were Pakistanis from the tribal belt, the training, logistics and execution were impeccable, military-style by all standards, the kind of training not available except in military schools. Al-Qaeda is not known to have mounted similar attacks anywhere in the world. The list of the assassinated officers in this attack was long and deadly: a serving major general, 11 serving and retired army officers, five soldiers and 13 children, most of them sons of army officers. The wounded include a retired four-star army officer.

Watch the video in Urdu: Plan To Assassinate Pakistan Military Commanders: Ahmed Quraishi

These attacks on military commanders mark a shift that most Pakistani pundits failed to notice. Before 2002, when foreign forces landed in Afghanistan, no group, political or militant, ever existed inside Pakistan that could be a match for the Pakistani military. It did not happen even at the height of the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s or during the Afghan Taliban government in the 1990s. The attackers in all of the incidents above have shown a level of training and organization that is beyond the abilities of a loose army of bandits holed up in the isolated mountains of South Waziristan. The only plausible explanation for the daring attacks inside Pakistan is that a source outside Pakistan is feeding the anti-Pakistan insurgency with money, expertise, equipment and weapons in a manner that renders ineffective any countermeasures by the otherwise highly professional Pakistani military.

When the above finding is coupled with the evidence that ISI chief Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha is reported to have shared with CIA director Mr. Leon Panetta in their meeting on Nov. 20, 2009, the picture gets clearer. While the US media, intelligence and politicians attack the Pakistani military and blame it for their regional troubles, a shadowy insurgent force supported by CIA, British and Indian elements in Afghanistan is used on the ground to launch direct attacks on Pakistani military officers and their families, possibly as a last-ditch effort to force the Pakistanis into compliance with US objectives.

Important segments of the Pakistani media, intelligentsia, political elite and the military remain in partial denial. But it is no longer possible – and might even be suicidal – to ignore the reality. Pakistan’s military is the only major roadblock for the Indo-US interests in the region. The Indo-US interests overlap more than the Pak-US interests. The rest is plain math.

STRATEGIC PUNISHMENT

Pakistan and specifically the military and ISI are being punished for a number of things:

1. The attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul in July 2008, which killed the Indian defense attaché
2. The attack on Mumbai in November 2008
3. The Jan. 2008 attack on Serena Hotel, Kabul.

Washington and New Delhi insist ISI is responsible for all of them, without evidence.

The punishment is eerily similar to the events of the 1980s when a foreign power occupying Afghanistan decided to punish Pakistan. At the time, India offered its intelligence expertise on everything related to Pakistan. The Soviets were glad and the security services of their client regime in Kabul helped unleash a wave of terror across major Pakistani cities.

POLITICAL INSTABILITY TAILORED BY UNITED STATES

The responsibility for the political turmoil in Pakistan partially rests with Washington and its interference in Pakistani politics.

US ambassador Anne W. Patterson has recently been personally involved in meeting politicians in private houses to rally support for US-installed President Zardari.

Under Ms. Patterson’s guidance, US Consul Generals and other diplomats posted in Pakistan take turns every couple of weeks or so to issue belligerent press statements claiming without evidence that Pakistan is sheltering al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. They indirectly threaten to bomb major Pakistani cities. These allegations draw little reaction from a government in Islamabad that is actively pursuing a US agenda.

This month, PakNationalists.com revealed that a handful of federal Interior Ministry officials were bribed over US$250,000 to issue illegal arms permits in a case that Ms. Patterson was personally involved in. The Personal Secretary to the Pakistani State Minister for Interior is under arrest in the case.

Pakistani officials have already told CIA chief Leon Panetta on Nov. 20 that CIA operatives are involved in supporting a wave of terrorism inside Pakistan.

This article was first published in December 2009 and republished in February 2011.

America’s Mala Fide Intent?

It seems there are some in the Pakistani media who will buy into the official US line on Davis and get irked, by the likes of this columnist, enough to name her in their rather histrionic defence of the murderer (regardless of his rather murky status he did kill in cold blood)!

By Shireen M Mazari

And seeing Christine Fair appear on these pages reminded me of the time her fiddling with statistics on Occupied Kashmir was questioned at a National Defence University seminar in Islamabad, some years ago. We now also know how the US clamped down on its own media on the Davis case and it was an impressive reminder of how ‘free’ the mainstream US media really is.

However, there has been a somewhat belated awakening amongst some even in the US media, including an interesting piece by Charles Savage in the New York Times, which seeks to question the whole immunity issue. Perhaps our unquestioning defenders of Uncle Sam should stop & pause, notwithstanding the aid flows into the media. Meanwhile, the US continues to muddy the grounds of the Davis case and, unfortunately, has succeeded in pushing into the background the issue of what happened to the murderer of the third victim and his car. Amongst the more bizarre logic being offered for freeing Davis, is the argument that the trial would not be seen as ‘fair’ — presumably by those in the US. This is ironic given how the Dr Aafia Siddiqi trial by jury in New York was a visible sham and yet, that has not prevented the US from penalising the lady in a most despicable fashion. In any case, are we to try murderers based on how the US views these trials and condemn the credibility of our judiciary proactively?

While most arguments dealing with Davis continue to touch on the same issues, some new developments are interesting. The first is the growing evidence that Davis was indulging in spying, which makes it relevant for the Pakistani state to formally frame charges of espionage against him. In this connection, his links to banned terrorist groups are also coming to light (including in a report in this newspaper). Under the law, no one can maintain contact with such groups without being questioned at the very least. To allow foreigners to freely have truck with such groups is even worse — whatever their intent. Nor is it far-fetched to assume that Davis may have had something to do with attacks against Pakistan’s security establishment, specifically the military. After all, why were pictures of sensitive military areas found on his person? The point here being that, at a minimum level, the espionage issue should not be neglected and if, as most Pakistani experts think and his visa shows, he is not a diplomat then, he can certainly be tried and punished for this very serious crime. If nothing else, the duplicity of our successive governments, in terms of hidden deals with the US, certainly needs to be exposed through this case and, perhaps, other Davis-like characters expelled forthwith.

The US has now floated another idea — intended to be a threat of sorts from their blinkered perspective — and that is to take the whole issue of Davis’s immunity to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the Optional Protocol attached to the 1961 Vienna Convention. Presumably Pakistan is also a signatory to this Protocol and, therefore, if the US decides to take the issue to the ICJ, according to the Protocol, it becomes incumbent upon Pakistan to accept, not only this move, but also the decision that may follow, since, under Article I, disputes of interpretation or application of the Convention “shall lie within the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ”. Of course, Articles II and III allow a certain time period in which other options can be exercised, including an arbitral tribunal or a conciliation procedure, since, once the ICJ is approached, its decision in this context will be binding on both parties.

The ICJ option is a viable one since it will clear the issue for both the US and Pakistan but this Optional Protocol (where the word “optional” is actually a trifle deceptive) is applicable to the 1961 Vienna Convention and the whole issue is whether Davis is covered by this or by the 1963 Convention relating to Consular matters, since the US itself first claimed that Davis was attached to the US Consulate in Lahore. It is yet another irony produced by the Davis case, that the US, which is loathe to have anything to do with the ICJ and with the notion of international courts per se, (one can still remember how the US rubbished the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the US mining of the harbour in Nicaragua and how the US has rejected the idea of the International Criminal Court (ICC) precisely to allow its Davis-like characters to kill with impunity), is now going to initiate proceedings in the ICJ. Or, perhaps, that is merely a new form of pressure with which to browbeat the present government. Whatever the purpose, the ICJ is a viable option and Pakistan should not be fearful of it but, surely, first the issue of whether it is the 1961 or the 1963 Convention that applies to Davis, needs to be settled.

One issue has become evident: the US agenda for Pakistan has growing question marks to it. The appointment of Marc Grossman as Holbrooke’s successor is a case in point. A known critic of the ICC, as vice-chairman of the Cohen Group, he has been closely associated with furthering US-India relations, including in the aerospace and defence fields. The Cohen Group was in the forefront of lobbying for the US-India nuclear deal. Earlier, as undersecretary of state for political affairs, Grossman was the main architect of the “Next Steps in Strategic Partnership between the United States and India” initiative. An active Indophile will now be dealing with Pakistan on behalf of the US. This really says it all about US intent in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26th, 2011.

 

Pak-India Water War

It is rumored that the Indian government is taking seriously a statement made by the Pakistan Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, during his visit to the United States. The assertion is “water is taking the centre stage to an array of disputes between India and Pakistan”. Why to make so much fuss about this, in fact every Pakistani today feels that India is way bent to convert Pakistan into a desert by controlling its rivers and diverting the flow towards Mother India. The Indians are probably perturbed because they think that the issue has now come under the security spotlight.

by Abid Latif Sindhu

The water crisis of Pakistan is directly affecting the food security of the agriculture based country. Like Egypt, Pakistan is also a single-river system-based country which is of course, the Indus. The Ganges-loving Indians are after Pakistan’s Indus – a war of geographical deities. Pakistan is a hydraulic society, whose complete economy is agrarian based; even its industry is nothing more than value addition to agricultural produce. Pakistan’s economy is based on informal sectors, therefore is outside the proper evaluation network. 80% of this is based upon agriculture. India has realized the real Achilles heel of this economy and is trying to steal Pakistan’s share of water. The Indians are even having a second thought over the Indus water treaty, rather they have almost redefined the terms and conditions as per their own national interests.

The biggest dispute between Pakistan and India in coming months is going to be the Indus water treaty. It is the declared water aggression which the Indians have perpetrated. The Indus Basin Treaty is based upon four cardinal principles of agreement; one is the division of three eastern rivers to India and three western rivers of the Indus water system to Pakistan. Second was the financial support to assist Pakistan in making dams and canals to make with the loss of eastern rivers. Third was the harnessing of hydroelectric potential of Pakistani rivers by India with specified caveats of no storage, no diversion and no tunneling. Fourth was the dispute resolution mechanism revolving around Indian and Pakistani Indus water treaty commissioners? If that fails, then were the provisions for external arbitration through World Bank or international court of arbitration.

India is defying all these four principles of agreement. First of all it is building a number of hydro electric power projects on Chenab and Jhelum rivers. It is diverting Pakistan’s water by making link canals and under ground tunnels. In case of Baglihar dam, it is funneling the water out on the plea that this is necessary to avoid sedimentation. Dams are made on head waters. In this case all the Pakistani head waters are being utilized to bolster and support Indian economy and agriculture. In case of Baglihar India won their case through international arbitration on the plea that dams have two storage levels: one, the live storage which is at, and, above the spill ways, other, is at lower level dead storage which is below the spillways level, therefore cause sedimentation, for this India has made tunnels to divert water to their rivers. Same is true for Kishenganga project on Neelum – Jhelum River. India is constructing number of water projects on these rivers, even new Jammu city is supplied with the stolen waters form Chanab.

Secondly the Pakistan has failed to built water reservoirs on its rivers, which India is propagating as another plea to apply technical digression, thirdly India is invoking a provision to utilize the hydro electric potentials of Pakistan’s rivers before these waters can reach Pakistan. On the name of mere using India is actually transferring the water resource.

Fourthly the level of arbitration is intentionally raised by India from that of Indus commissioners to that of international arbitrators. The World Bank as a guarantor of this treaty supports India due to India’s growing clout in international arena. Basha Dam is a case in point, when India objected about the site of Basha dam, being in northern area as disputed territory, World Bank which has promised to finance the project backed off. A whimper from India is worth plethora of arbitration requests from Pakistan, what parity. Pakistan is now in a precarious situation; water crisis is a phenomenon which is more detrimental to its security than extremism or Talibanization. There is a rapid internal population growth, the pie is shrinking and there are more mouths to feed.

The other cause of concern is that Kabul River contributes 20% water to Indus system. The big brother, India is working on a number of projects in Afghanistan to harness this flow into Pakistan.

Ghairat Brigade

by Aisha Aijaz

So, you belong to The Ghairat Brigade, and you know exactly why! It hurts you, when you hear a bad news about Pakistan or the Islamic world and you have a very narrow mind-set which is not evolving with the ‘changing world’. You weigh everything ‘unnecessarily’ against morals, values, traditions and faith. How boring and dry! You try to look for a conspiracy theory behind everything that goes bizarre. How schizophrenic! You are so blinded by your love for roots, religion and the word of God and the Prophet (SAW) that you cannot see the benefits that could come your way if you keep saying ‘YES’ to your ‘masters’ and blindly follow their path. How unrealistic!

The Ghairat Brigade, a newly invented term which groups all ‘old-fashioned, conservative-minded, grumpy lot’, has become a favourite style of blogs and articles discussing almost all the painful issues of the country. Thanks to media which is actually getting a perfect price for dividing the nation into ‘backwards’, ‘liberals’ and the ‘enlightened moderates’. I’d list only a few stories out of the news.

The civil society, the dollar-funded NGOs, human right activists and the so called liberal bunch is remarkably quiet on Raymond Davis issue and the the suicide of Shumaila Faheem. In one of the many talk shows discussing him and his crime, one of the very prominent human right activists Ms Farzana Bari had actually got no point to discuss, for or against this CIA agent. She found nothing to be ferocious about, as the murderer was an American and not an Imam of a Masjid.

The Ghairat Brigade talks about torture and pain of Aafia Siddiqui, her unjust handing over to the US and illegal detention of her children and gets labelled by the liberals as ‘The Aafia Mafia’.
They feel ashamed when they are reminded of Mullah Zaeef, who was a diplomat and who did have immunity under Vienna convention. He was not a murderer of innocent Pakistanis (unlike Mr Davis) but was beaten brutally before being flown to Guantanamo Bay.

They shout loud when innocent civilians are killed as ‘inevitable collateral damage’ in their very own homeland and the sovereignty of the state is attacked. They consider ‘Laal Masjid’ massacre as mishandling of the issue, not justified by any law and carried out just to please the masters.

The Ghairat Brigade feels the pain when fellow brothers are killed and attacked on an aid ship called Mavi Marmara where peace activists are shown as ‘terrorists’. Their nights go sleepless when they see the most horrifying images from Abu Ghraib prison, which show the most inhumane crimes of US soldiers against their helpless preys. They are then labelled as ‘Thaykaydaars of the Ummah’.

They hit the streets when the world calls ‘drawing of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)’ in most indecent fashion, as ‘freedom of speech’.

And, guess what! The liberal lot stays stunningly quiet!

When the Ghairat Brigade talks about existence and multiplication of American security contractors in Islamabad, and now all over the country, they are labelled as paranoid, unnecessarily hunting for conspiracy theories behind the unrest. But when the western journalists talk about same theories, now turning into realities, the liberals rather prefer to talk about something else.

While the Ghairat Brigade moans about the disintegration of moral fabric of the society, the liberals make Veena Malik a ‘National Hero’ and celebrate ‘party culture’ of Valentine’s day and New year’s night more than it’s celebrated anywhere in the West.

So, is the world really changing or is it just an illusion, hyped up by the media, controlled and influenced by a handful of ‘enlightened moderates’? I am sure the majority in Pakistan wants to change the sickening situation of the country by reviving tradition, values, religion and of course, ‘Qoumi ghairat’. But the silence of such people, who can really bring about the change and snatch back the sovereignty and national dignity, is utterly criminal. I firmly believe that conspiracy theories have existed since the time of origin of mankind. But, they only become successful if you are mute or weak enough to create room for them. So, again, the problem needs mending at home.

Chashm e num jaan e shoreeda kaafi nahin
Tohmat e ishq posheeda kaafi nahin
Aaj bazaar main pa ba jaulan chalo..

Mourning and lamenting would not help changing the current state. If you believe in something, stand for it. Surely, the people equally responsible for this hype are ‘the silent majority’. I quote George Orwell,

‘During the time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act’.

By the way, could someone please find me an antonym dictionary? I need to look for the opposite of the term ‘The Ghairat Brigade’..

Aisha Aijaz is a medical doctor, currently in UK for specialty training. She writes about Pakistan politics and current affairs and likes to read Urdu poetry. She can be reached at aisha[at]mybitforchange.org

 

Security Concerns – Pakistan Supreme Court asks Army to weigh in on Reko Diq

Apex court wishes to know if the project violates any defence concerns. The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Deputy Attorney General to seek the army’s opinion on the Reko Diq project in light of national security, and inform the court on Wednesday.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary heard a number of petitions challenging the award of the contract to the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), a Canadian consortium of Barrick Gold and Antofagasta Minerals for exploiting gold and copper in Reko Diq.
“There was no clause in the agreement on the protection of areas geographically sensitive from a defence point of view,” the chief justice remarked during the hearing. “National Interest and sovereignty should figure prominently in such agreements.”

The Pakistan army had no objection to mining after a briefing on the agreement, counsel for TCC Khalid Anwar apprised the court. Chaghi is a sensitive area but 20 other companies are operating there, he said, adding that TCC has given an application for a lease licence.

“No licence will be issued until the final judgment of the apex court,” Advocate General Balochistan said, adding he had yet to receive the application. The chief justice asked why the former governor of Balochistan relaxed regulations while awarding the contract for exploration and was informed by the counsel for BHP-Billiton Abdul Hafeez Pirzada that “the agreement was not approved by the Governor but the Balochistan government.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2011.

 

US Embassy helps murderer escape from Pakistan

The US Embassy has not turned over the driver of the vehicle that came to rescue Mr. “Davis” the man who killed two motor-bikers. That vehicle drove rashly on the wrong side of the road and then mowed down an innocent bystander. The Embassy has not handed over that vehicle not revealed the identity of that driver either. Was he a diplomat too? Clearly these types of “diplomats” need driving lessons! are not needed in Pakistan.

The Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court Friday directed the Punjab police to arrest the driver of the US consulate’s vehicle which ruthlessly mowed down a Pakistani following murder of two citizens by a US national, “Raymond Davis”.

The court passed this order in response to a petition submitted by Ijazul Rehman, the brother of deceased Ibadur Rehman. The petitioner sought free and fair investigations into the case. Bob Woodward in his book clearly describes the 3000 strong “CIA Army” present in Pakistan. Mr. “Davis” is part and parcel of that army that has been subcontracted to unsavory characters like Mr. “Davis”. Several times during the past months, characters like Mr. “Davis” have scuffled with the local police and then gotten away. This time he was caught. If 3000 of these are running around in Pakistan–then there will be many more incidents like these.

The Chief Justice  held: “It is duty of the police to investigate the case in fair and impartial manner and bring on record and consider evidence which they wish to rely on.” He further ordered: “The investigation officer is directed to record the statements of the complainant (Ijazul Rehman) and eyewitnesses, provided that the investigation of the case has not so far been completed, and proceed with the matter in accordance with the law.”

This creates colossal problems of for the US Consulate which is now seen as assisting a criminal escape from Pakistan. The driver of the vehicle had a similar visa as that of Mr. “Raymond Davis”. A diplomat has to use his real name and his credential and identity has to be approved. The State Department has publicly stated that Mr. “Davis” was using a pseudonym. This is clearly a violation of any Vienna Conventions.

http://rupeenews.com/?p=35639

A diplomat is not allowed to carry arms. Mr. Davis did not have a license to carry arms in Pakistan. http://rupeenews.com/?p=35732

A diplomat has “immunity” during the course of his work assignment. Mr. “Davis” was going to strange places on the border, took pictures of sensitive military establishments, utilized a GPS tracking devise and was armed to the teeth. The Vienna Convention and “diplomatic immunity” is not universal and it is not a license to kill. The US itself has arrested Eastern European diplomats and prosecuted them in a court of law for committing murder. The placed a Saudi diplomat in jail for abusing and then killing his servant.

In fact Mr. “Davis” demeanor, mannerisms, body build and actions are that of a trained mercenary and killer. Mr. Munter is a diplomat–and looks it. Mr. “Davis” (or whatever his real name is) has none of the qualifications of a diplomat. The area from which Mr. “Davis” was arrested in a slum area in Lahore. No decent diplomat would be caught dead in the area during the day or night. Mozung is like Harlem or Bronx at night. Why would a diplomat be present in such an area in the wee hours of the night?

How many diplomats in the world are co-owners of Hyperion Security Agencies (a pseudonym for soldiers for hire). What are the educational qualifications of Mr. “Davis” Perhaps a degree in International Relations, or a “Political Science” would make sense. Mr. “Davis” credentials show a military background and his experience displays working for security agencies.
It is quiet obvious that Mr. “Davis” and his acolytes are spies, and agents who were part of the drone operations. It is pedagogical to note that since his arrest several days ago, there have been no drone operations and no suicide bombings in Pakistan.

Mr. “Davis” is not a diplomat. He has abused his stay in Pakistan. The court will decide whether he fired in self-defense or not. The Foreign Office of Pakistan has clearly stated that his name is not present on the list of diplomats that is kept in the Foreign Office. See statements of the Foreign Minister at the time.

CIA May Shut Up DAVIS By Killing Him

Pakistan has never arrested an American mercenary before, so there is a learning curve. Islamabad has increased the security around the US national “Raymond Davis”. Fearing that the high-profile prisoner may be killed the Pakistani Police, Intelligence, Civilian and Military authorities have taken a few extraordinary security measures to protect Davis. They have also planned to keep Davis at some distance from the U.S. officials visiting him. The ajil authorities decided to disallow physical contact between Davis and U.S. officials, who visit him. “Davis’ visitors would now be allowed to interact with him from across a glass wall, as it happens in the West and the United States. There is apprehensions about a possible attempt on “Davis” life. Some suspect that the Americans could take “Davis” out because he knows too much. The Russian Agencies have him identified as part of the CIA Task Force with deep links to the terrorists.

According to news reports emanating from Pakistan the new security measures include limiting physical contact between Davis and the U.S. officials and diplomats. According to officials a directive has been issued to strictly check the food provided to the American killer. Outside food will not be allowed to be given to the CIA mercenary. According to a new report “A food committee has been constituted, which would ensure that he is not provided poisoned food in the jail.” According to the pres reports “Even chocolates, brought by the U.S. officials, would not be provided to Davis.” Surveillance cameras had also been installed zeroing in on Davis in the Kot Lakhpat Jail.

“Davis”, despite being a lowly technical assistant, has the kind of importance that U.S. President Barack Obama had to ask for his early release and an influential Senator John Kerry rushed to Pakistan to try to take him back to the U.S.. It snot often that Pakistan arrests a diplomat, especially one carrying a customized Block Pistol which uses an illegal bore.

Police in Lahore arrested “Raymond Davis” after he shot dead two Pakistanis on Jan. 27. He shot the kids in the back (shooting them through the front windshield of his vehicle) and then got out of his vehicle walked over the injured cyclists and then pumped five bullets into each young man. Davis claimed that he killed them in self defense because they were trying to rob him. Davis was in his colossal bullet-proof SUV, they were on puny 70 cc motorbikes. How could they rob him?

The U.S. government demanded the urgent release of Davis with conflicting statements about his status. The case is still in the Lahore High Court which has placed Davis’ name in the exit control list. The court has directed the Pakistani government to decide within 15 days that whether Davis is a diplomat or not. The Court has also directed the Police to find the other murderer.

The key document governing diplomatic immunity is the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specifically articles 29, 31, 37, and 39. :

Article 29: A diplomatic agent “shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention.”

It is obvious that Mr. “Davis” was not a diplomat. Pakistan Law requires the diplomat be identified as such and that his name be submitted to the Pakistani Foreign Office which has the option of approving the diplomatic immunity or not. Mr. Davis’s name was not on the list of US diplomats on the day of the accident. The US Embassy tried to submit his name the next day

According to Brig (Retd) Shaukat Qadir “On January 25th 2011, just two days before Davis shot and killed the two young Pakistanis, the US Embassy submitted a list of its diplomatic and non-diplomatic staff in Pakistan to the Pakistani Foreign Office (FO), as all foreign nations are required to do annually. The list included 48 names. Raymond Davis was not on the list. The day after Davis shot and killed the two Pakistanis, the US Embassy suddenly submitted a “revised” list to the Foreign Office which added Davis’ name!

When Pakistani police took Davis into custody on January 27th, he had on his person an ordinary American passport with a valid ordinary Pakistan visa, issued by the Pakistan Embassy in Washington. On January 28th, a member of the US Consulate wanted the Pakistani police to exchange that passport in Davis’ possession with another one. The fresh passport being offered was a diplomatic passport with a valid diplomatic visa dated sometime in 2009. This visa was stamped in Islamabad by the FO!”

It gets ridiculously funnier. The prosecutor representing the Punjab government has presented two letters from the US Embassy as evidence before the Lahore High Court, forwarded to the Punjab government through the FO. The first letter, dated January 27, reads: “Davis is an employee of the US Consulate General Lahore and holder of a diplomatic passport.” The second, dated February 3rd, states that Davis is a member of the “administrative and technical staff of the US Embassy Islamabad!” Just how gullible do the Americans take Pakistanis to be!

The Washington Post admits that “The U.S. embassy complicated matters by first sending a diplomatic note to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry on Jan. 27 describing Davis as “an employee of U.S. Consulate General Lahore and holder of a diplomatic passport.” A second note, on Feb. 3, described him as “a member of the administrative and technical staff of the U.S. embassy.”The difference in the phrasing of Davis’s employment confirms that if his status had been accpeted “Davis” would have been covered by 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and thus has a lesser form of immunity. Foreign Minsiter Mahmood Quresh clearly stated that “Davis” did not have blanket and universal immunity that the the US has claimed”

“But consular staff also enjoy immunity from the jurisdiction of the receiving state with respect to their consular functions.” Mr. “Davis” was not perfoming any Consular functions in Mozung Chungi.

Article 31:”A diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State,” with certain exceptions involving property and commercial activity.

Article 37: “Members of the administrative and technical staff of the mission, together with members of their families” will have the same privileges and immunities in articles 29 and 31 as long as they are not nationals or permanent residents of the country. The one exception is that they are not immune from civil suits for acts performed outside the course of their official duties.

Article 39: “Every person entitled to privileges and immunities shall enjoy them from the moment he enters the territory of the receiving State on proceeding to take up his post or, if already in its territory, from the moment when his appointment is notified to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs or such other ministry as may be agreed.”

The Notification is missing in the case of Mr. “Davis”.

Article 43 of that Convention states that “consular officers and consular employees shall not be amenable to the jurisdiction of the judicial or administrative authorities of the receiving State in respect of acts performed in the exercise of consular functions.” There are exceptions for some civil disputes, such as “damage arising from an accident in the receiving State caused by a vehicle, vessel or aircraft.”

–the key words are in respect of acts PERFORMED IN THE EXERCISE OF HIS CONSULAR FUNCTIONS.” Mr. “Davis” while he was shooting two kids in the back (through the front windshield of his SUV) with an illegal Block pitol was obviously not performing his Consular functions. In fact there are no identifiable Consular Functions which Mr. “Davis” performed at any time. He was visitng places whic are no go areas and taking pictures of places which photography is prohibited.

Even the Washington Post admitted that “President Obama, however, may have pushed the envelope when he referred to Davis as “our diplomat.” Davis may have had diplomatic cover, but not many diplomats carry a Glock pistol — and then use it with lethal results. The circumstances of his employment — and the incident in Lahore — remain too murky to make a definitive judgment on the president’s statement at this point”

The Youth Have to Step Out

By: Masood Sharif Khan Khattak

Pakistan’s manipulative executive, legislature and judiciary have been oppressive due to which the country is possessed by an explosive silence. Unless that silence is gone completely the status quo will remain.
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Having started a few years ago the ring of the alarm bells for Pakistan has been getting louder by the day but it does not seem to have reached a pitch that is loud enough to penetrate the well-padded eardrums of the Pakistani nation. The country stands devastated and is being ruthlessly ravaged. Yet, complacency has remained the order of the day through all these years.The Pakistani nation lives on in a state of denial regarding the fatal dangers the country faces.
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All young Pakistanis must strive hard to rectify the image of our beautiful country as one of a progressive country that desires for its citizens uniform development across the whole country, tolerance of all sorts, good educational and employment opportunities for all with no discrimination whatsoever. A nation without pride is like a man without clothes and to win back our pride we will have to work towards peace, tranquility, progress and good governance. There is no other alternative to that. Pakistan has to change for the better and every Pakistani today has a responsibility towards the future.
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The young generation of Pakistanis need to step out of their confines in order to help Pakistan move forward towards becoming a country that it was designed to be. Pakistan was designed by our forefathers to be a progressive country with tolerance built into the society, a country that ought to have peace within itself and on its borders, a country that provides equal opportunities to all its citizens without any discrimination whatsoever, health facilities for all, the best of education in every nook and corner of the country and a uniform development layout throughout the length and breadth of the country. We are, unfortunately, far from achieving any of this to any degree that could be reasonably categorised as satisfactory. All these goals are attainable yet we have fallen short by miles.
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In order to now catch up with time Pakistan requires good governance that is executed free of personal control of individuals. There are many agitated minds in Pakistan today who think hard, are very motivated and full of conviction to see the country move on from the troubled waters that it is in towards becoming a country that is positioned amongst the developed and respectable countries of the world. They need to now enter the political domain and play their role effectively without let or fear of any kind.
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There is little doubt that the salvation of Pakistan now lies in restructuring the political structure of the State so that the political restructuring brought about then allows for politics to flourish in a manner that the new generation takes over from the older generation in a shorter than usual span of time as the older generations have not been able to deliver to the country the leadership and conditions that could make it a truly progressive nation. The younger generation will now have to stop thinking of politics (public service) as dirty business if they hope to make the difference and change that Pakistan so desperately requires.
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The feudalistic politics now thriving in the country can only be overcome by the new generation of Pakistan if they enter the political arena under a new leadership from that generation itself. Any effort made by the the new generation to make a qualitative difference will most certainly receive unqualified support from the now emergent civil society and an ever growing segment of the rural population too that have had enough of feudalism now that their upcoming generations are also reasonably educated. They now do not succumb to the pressures of feudalism as their ancestors did.
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Pakistan today is ripe for a revolution and it is time that the new and dynamic younger generation takes the bull by the horn and tames the brewing bloody revolution into a massive vessel for positive change in the country. This will avert the inevitable blood shed that stares us strainght in our eyes besides putting the country back on an even keel. The country today beckons the young dynamic people of Pakistan to step forward and take charge of the destiny of Pakistan and, rest assured, they will be amply supported by all Pakistanis except the current vested interests that have (mis)ruled the country over the past 63 years.
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Enough has happened to Pakistan that has brought us all collective shame and sufferings and it is about time that all of it ended and Pakistan gets steered back to the path of normalcy. None but the dynamic young generation can acheive this for Pakistan. The challenge lies right before our eyes. The young generation has to step out and pick up the challenge in right earnest. One can see it happening. It is bound to happen. The earlier it happens the faster will be the recovery that we all yearn for.

 

US Embassy Employee involved in Third Death in Davis Lahore Killings Slips back to America

The US Embassy employee who ran his car over a Pakistani citizen- Ibadur Rehman- while rushing to assist American official Raymond Davis on January 27 in Lahore has slipped out of Pakistan, according to a senior US official.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley had confirmed during a press briefing this week that it “was US Embassy staff driving the car that allegedly hit the civilian.

On Friday, the Lahore High Court ordered provincial authorities to impound the vehicle and arrest the accused involved in Rehman’s death. But the car driver as well another US official involved in the incident are no more in Pakistan, in fact they are back on American soil, ABC News quoted the US official, as saying.

Davis is accused of gunning down two Pakistani men, allegedly in self-defence during a “botched robbery.” American officials said that the driver of the vehicle held the same diplomatic visa as Davis. Authorities in the Punjab province have said that they sent five letters to the US Embassy, asking it to hand over the driver and that vehicle, but have received no response so far.

It is unclear when the driver and his passenger were spirited out of Pakistan, but a senior US official said that it happened soon after the shooting incident. Meanwhile, Davis is in a high-security detention centre in Lahore and is expected to stay there until a court hearing next month, despite repeated demands by the US to release him immediately on the grounds of diplomatic immunity. (ANI)