Pak Tea House » Archive
Pakistan, India and U.S. Begin Sharing Intelligence
By JAY SOLOMON and SIOBHAN GORMAN WASHINGTON — Pakistan and India have begun sharing intelligence on Islamic extremists, with the prodding of the U.S., in an arrangement that represents unprecedented cooperation between the two nuclear-armed South Asian nations. Washington hopes the cooperation will get a lift from last week’s Indian elections, in which the incumbent Congress Party won by a wide margin over a Hindu nationalist party traditionally more hostile to Pakistan. An India-Pakistan Alliance? With the Congress party’s recent win in India’s elections, intelligence reporter Reporter Siobhan Gorman explains why the time may be right for longtime rivals Pakistan and India to forge an alliance that allows for greater intelligence sharing with the U.S. … Read entire article »
RAHUL GANDHI IS NOT A PETER PAN ANY MORE
Frank Huzur has sent this exclusive piece for Pak Tea House from New Delhi. I’m youth, I’m joy, I’m a little bird that has broken out of the egg. These words of legendary Scottish Novelist James Matthews Barrie were ringing in the ear of Indian pollsters and Pundits with resonant frequency by the early afternoon of 16 May. The verdict over 15th Lok Sabha elections was trickling in thick and fast. Citadel after citadel, bastion after bastion of fanciful imagination was … Read entire article »
Lahore bids farewell to a hero who was fighting a war for Pakistan's survival
Daily Times reports: Major Abid laid to rest * Lahore corps commander lays floral wreath on behalf of COAS LAHORE: Major Abid Majeed, who was martyred while fighting the Taliban in Nazarabad area of Matta tehsil, was laid to rest at the Army Ground, Shaudha Graveyard, with full military honours. The body of Major Abid reached Lahore on Tuesday. His family considered his martyrdom a sacrifice for the country and the will of God. They urged the people to support the army against anti-state elements in the ongoing operation in the country’s north. He was buried with full army protocol. Lahore Corps Commander Lieutenant General Ijaz Ahmed Bakhshi and other civil and military officers attended the funeral prayer. The corps commander laid a floral wreath on the grave on behalf of Chief of Army … Read entire article »
Pakistan Calls on Islamic Scholars to Help Combat Extremism
By Ed Johnson May 20 (Bloomberg) — Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called on Islamic scholars to help root out extremism, as security forces waged an urban offensive against Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat Valley. Terrorists are perverting the teachings of Islam and scholars should speak with one voice against the militants, Gilani said yesterday. “It is time that they stand united to protect the country from all challenges,” Gilani said at a religious affairs conference in the capital, Islamabad, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported. Pakistan’s government is trying to build support in the world’s second-most populous Muslim nation for its offensive against Taliban insurgents. The militants reneged on a peace accord and last month advanced on the capital, even after the government agreed to impose Islamic law in Swat … Read entire article »
Filed under: Islam, Pakistan, Philosophy, Terrorism
Hersh denies accusing ‘Cheney squad’ of killing Benazir
WASHINGTON, May 19: American journalist Seymour Hersh has rejected news reports that quoted him as saying a ‘special death squad’ working under former US vice-president Dick Cheney killed Benazir Bhutto. The award-winning journalist described as “complete madness” the reports that the squad headed by Gen Stanley McChrystal — the new commander of US army in Afghanistan — had also killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafique Al Hariri and a Lebanese army chief. “Vice-President Cheney does not have a death squad. I have no idea who killed Mr Hariri or Ms Bhutto. I have never said that I did have such information. … Read entire article »
Stop creating sensationalism about Pakistani nukes
Posted by Raza Rumi We are posting this excellent piece by Peter Lee who challenges the drum-beating on Pakistani nuclear assets. There can be many opinions on whether poor countries should have guns before butter but cheap sensationalism on this sensitive issue needs to be avoided. PTH condemns Pakistan’s thrashing to sell stories and gain prominence at the expense of 180 million people. Out of Control! The World Doesn’t Have a Pakistan Nukes Problem … It Has a David Albright Problem By PETER LEE As AFP tells us, the Institute for Science and International Security just published a report on Pakistan’s nuclear program that seems designed to pour gasoline on the “the Pakistani nuclear program is outta control” story. And, when you look at the story, there isn’t a whole lot of there there. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Clinton announces $100 million for Swat IDPs, vows sustained US support for ally
WASHINGTON, May 19 (APP): The United States on Tuesday announced $ 100 million in humanitarian relief aid for Pakistanis displaced following insurgent violence and Islamabad’s military drive to purge the northwestern Swat valley and adjoining areas of Taliban militants. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, making the announcement at the White House, said the US stands by the people of Pakistan and the democratic government in their struggle against insurgents. The assistance will help meet some basic requirements of people encamped under hot weather, she said. The United States and Pakistan face common threat, she said. … Read entire article »
Filed under: North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, USA
U.S. Senators Write to the US President on Pakistan
WASHINGTON,DC 20510 May 18, 2009 The President The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: As you know, the humanitarian crisis in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, which is the result of increased fighting between the Pakistan Army and militants, is reaching historic and catastrophic proportions. Over one million people have already been displaced, in what is believed to be the single largest civilian migration in the region since the 1947 Partition. … Read entire article »
Filed under: North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Taliban, Terrorism, USA
"Internships are useless!” -Juniad Jamshed
By Malik I recently came across a news report on Textile Institute of Pakistan’s Independent newspaper blog called Quack!. For those of you who don’t know, Textile Institute of Pakistan is a well ranked Karachi based institution that offers degrees in textile science, design and management. From what I had heard about this place, it had a secular environment with no endorsement of any religion, sect or ethnicity, since it always reportedly functioned under the ideals of its great chancellor, Eqbal Ahmed. Under the very ideals, an educational institution should serve the purpose of exposing its students to all forms of ideas, knowledge, facilitation towards absorption of that knowledge, and development of raw minds into useful people who can think and decide for themselves. … Read entire article »
Emergency Response Unit NWFP
Emergency Response Unit (ERU) has been setup to strengthen the working of the Provincial Relief Commissionerate (PRC) to provide shelter and relief to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), migrated to down districts of NWFP from Buner, Swat & Dir Districts due to military operation carried out by the security forces against the miscreants. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
U.S. stirs a hornet's nest in Pakistan
PARIS — Pakistan finally bowed to Washington’s angry demands last week by unleashing its military against rebellious Pashtun tribesmen of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) — collectively mislabelled “Taliban” in the West. The Obama administration had threatened to stop $2 billion US annual cash payments to bankrupt Pakistan’s political and military leadership and block $6.5 billion future aid, unless Islamabad sent its soldiers into Pakistan’s turbulent NWFP along the Afghan frontier. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, North-West Frontier Province, Northern Areas, Pakistan, Taliban, Terrorism, USA
Tommorrow is too late!
by Ghazala Minallah On October 8th 2005 the Pakistani nation rose to the occasion and proved their worth. We all stood as one and tried to ease the pain and suffering of the survivors of that awful calamity. Why is that spirit missing today? Why isn’t every single one of us doing our bit in this hour of desperate need? Why don’t we realize that these poor innocent souls are paying the price for the policies of our successive governments ? They did not leave their homes out of choice; nor did they invite those inhuman scoundrels to shatter the peace of their beautiful valleys; nor did they ever expect that they would be forced to leave their homes in such a hurry that other than the clothes on their backs they … Read entire article »
UK teenager reveals how he was trained for jihad
LONDON – A teenager has revealed how he was recruited and trained to be a suicide bomber by Al-Qaeda-inspired terrorists in Britain. The youth was first approached by Islamists at a mosque in south London that was used by the failed 21/7 bombers, and indoctrinated at a secret network of squats. The then 15-year-old was the youngest of about 50 recruits who were shown “martyrdom” videos and encouraged to travel to Pakistan to receive terrorist training. … Read entire article »
State follies and the dangerous IDP situation
Pak Tea House is supportive of Pakistan’s military operation. It has revived hope among many that perhaps the Pakistani state is trying hard to overcome the mistakes of the past. PatExpat has sent this exclusive piece for PTH that traces the trajectory of some unwise decisions, sins of commission that we as a country are paying, in the words of the author. It also points to the dangers that we face if the IDP crisis is not handled properly. (editor RR) It is a fact that does not need reminding that Taliban are our own creation. In their search for ‘strategic depth’, the army has created a monster, a Frankenstein that has gone out of their control. This is not the first time we have done something like this. The short … Read entire article »
Filed under: FATA, Islam, Islamism, Pakistan, state, Taliban, Terrorism, violence, World
Pakistan's Existential Challenge
The trouble for a country defined mostly by what it is not. By Bret Stephens About Iran, Henry Kissinger once asked whether the Islamic Republic was a country or a cause. About Pakistan, the question is whether it’s a country or merely a space. Mr. Kissinger’s point was that if Iran were a country like France or India, its bid to acquire nuclear weapons wouldn’t pose an apocalyptic threat: It would merely be seeking the bomb in pursuit of rational, and limited, national interests, like prestige and self-defense. But if Iran is a cause — the cause being world-wide radical Islamic revolution — then there’s no telling where its ambitions end. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
PTH biweekly Cartoon
Picture of the Week
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Sunrise at the Arabian Sea, Charna Island
24 Dec 2011
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