پُتلے کا انجام

یوسف رضا گیلانی - جسے پاکستان کا وزیر اعظم کہتے ہوۓ سر شرم سے جھک جاتا ہے - کی حیثیت گزشتہ چار سالوں سے ایک ایسے پُتلے کی مانند ہے جو زرداری - جسے پاکستان کا صدر کہتے ہوۓ جھکا ہوا سر زمیں بوس ہو جاتا ہے - کے ہاتھوں میں ناچ رہا ہے اور اس کے ہر قابل نفرت فیصلے پہ عمل کرنے کو اپنا مقصد حیات بناۓ ہوۓ ہے- امید ہے کہ پیر ١٣ فروری کو یہ پتلا توہین عدالت کے جرم میں رسوا ہو کر وزارت عظمیٰ کے عھدے کے لئے نا اہل قرار دے دیا جائے گا اور مستقبل قریب میں اس کے لئے یہ ممکن نہیں رہے گا کہ انتخابات میں "کامیاب" ہو کر پاکستان کی قومی اسمبلی میں دوبارہ نمودار ہو جائے. 

بلندیوں پہ نہ آیا  کبھی  خیال  مجھے 

یہاں بھی ڈھونڈھ ہی لے گا مرا زوال مجھے 

قبر کا مقدمہ 

گیلانی نے اپنے آقا زرداری اور مرحوم مالکہ بینظیر بھٹو کے سیاہ کرتوتوں پہ پردہ ڈالنے کے لئے اپنی قربانی دے کر "شہید" بننے کا فیصلہ کیا ہے! گزشتہ دو سالوں سے گیلانی عدالت عالیہ کے حکم کے برعکس سوئتزرلنڈ کی عدالت کو مطلوبہ خط لکھنے سے مسلسل انکار کرتا رہا ہے کیونکہ یہ اس کے آقا کا حکم تھا- زرداری جیسا چالباز شخص NRO سازش کے کیس کو "شہید بینظیر کی قبر کا مقدمہ" کہتا ہے اور وہ ببانگ دھل اعلان کر چکا ہے کہ اس کی حکومت عدالت عالیہ کے حکم کی تعمیل نہیں کرے گی- زرداری نے گویا اپنے آپ کو آئین اور قانون سے بالا ہستی قرار دے دیا ہے! پاکستانی سیاست میں لفظ "شہید" کو جس بیدردی سے مسخ کیا گیا ہے اس کی مثال مشکل سے کہیں ملے گی- آج کے پاکستان میں سیاست دان قتل نہیں ہوتے، "شہید" ہوتے ہیں! اور جب غدار، وطن فروش، نااہل حکمران اپنے قبیح اعمال کی بدولت اپنے منطقی انجام کو پہنچتے ہیں تو "شہادت" کی پرچی اپنے ماتھے پہ چپکا کے عوام کو دھوکہ دینے کی کوشش کرتے ہیں- 

پچھلے دو برس کے طویل عرصے پہ محیط ، حکومت اور عدلیہ کی جنگ کے دوران مجھے یوں لگ رہا تھا کہ عدلیہ اپنی ہار مان کے خاموشی اختیار کر لے گی: 

                                                                                                            

پیچ ایسا  ہے  پتنگوں کا  کوئی  کٹتی  نہیں

ڈور کا اب تو سرا ہاتھوں سے نکلا جائے ہے 

مجھے خوشی ہے کہ افتخار محمد چودہری صاحب کے ہاتھ سے ڈور کا سرا نِکَلنے سے پہلے ہی گیلانی کی پتنگ کٹنے والی ہے-

خیرات کے لئے پھیلے ہوۓ ہاتھ 

 زرداری اور گیلانی کی غداریوں اور وطن فروشیوں کا حال آپ اسی بلاگ میں یہاں اور یہاں پڑھ سکتے ہیں- NRO کے متعلق آپ یہاں پڑھ سکتے ہیں- آیندہ چند دنوں میں غالباً ان دونوں کی بداعمالیوں  کی حکایات سے اخبارات بھرے ہوں گے- یہاں میں ان کے خیرات کے لئے پھیلے ہوۓ ہاتھوں کے متعلق کچھ عرض کرنا چاہتا ہوں- 

پاکستان میں زلزلہ آے، سیلاب آے یا امریکہ کی جارحیت کے رد عمل میں پیدا ہونے والی دہشت گردی کا طوفان آے، یہ دونوں گداگر اپنا اپنا کشکول اٹھائے دنیا سے بھیک مانگنے اٹھ کھڑے ہوتے ہیں- ان کی اس گدا گری کی عادت سے وطن عزیز کی ناک کٹ جاتی ہے لیکن بھیک کے انبار دیکھ کر یہ فقیر پھولے نہیں سماتے- بعد میں اس بھیک کے متعلق بہت کم معلومات قوم کو دی جاتی ہیں- 

قرضوں کا جال

بھیک کے علاوہ غیر ملکی قرضوں ["امداد"] کی اپنی الگ دردناک کہانی ہے- ہمارے امرا اور جاگیردار براۓ نام ٹکس ادا کرتے ہیں- زرداری کے متعلق کہا جاتا ہے کہ یہ ارب پتی ایک پیسا ٹکس کا نہیں دیتا- گیلانی کی دولت کے مینار سنا ہے پچھلے چار سالوں میں تعمیر ہوۓ ہیں لیکن ان پہ ٹکس محض چند ہزار روپے سالانہ ہے- حکومت کے اخراجات پورے کرنے کے لئے بین الاقوامی مالیاتی فنڈ [IMF] سے جی بھر کے قرضے لئے جاتے ہیں- ایک حالیہ خبر یہ ہے کہ زرداری/گیلانی حکومت نے گزشتہ چار سالوں میں اتنے ہی قرضے حاصل کے ہیں جتنے ماضی میں تمام پاکستانی حکومتوں نے لئے تھے- ان قرضوں کو کس طرح استعمال کیا جاتا ہے اس کے متعلق مکمل تفصیلات دستیاب نہیں- کہتے ہیں کہ ایک اچھی خاصی رقم حکمرانوں - جن میں شہری اور فوجی دونوں شامل ہیں - کی جیبوں سے ہوتی ہوئ ان کے غیر ملکی کھاتوں میں منتقل ہو جاتی ہے- ان قرضوں کی ادایگی کے لئے IMF کی انسانیت سوز شرایط پہ عمل کیا جاتا ہے- عام استعمال کی اشیا پہ ٹکس بڑھا دیا جاتا ہے اور گیس، بجلی، تیل، پانی کی قیمتیں آسمانوں سے باتیں کرتی نظر آتی ہیں- ان بیرونی قرضوں کے جال میں پھنسے ہوۓ غریب عوام کی معاشی حالت بد سے بدتر ہوتی چلی جاتی ہے- 

طلوع سحر

جس طرح طلوع سحر سے پہلے تاریکی بہت گہری ہوتی ہے، شاید پاکستان کی تاریک رات بھی ایک شفاف اور امید افزا صبح میں بدلنے والی ہے- خیال ہے کہ عام انتخابات اسی سال ہوں گے- یہ پاکستانی قوم کے لئے ایک سنہری موقع ہے اپنے بد باطن سازشی حکمرانوں (اور حزب  اختلاف کی شکل میں رال ٹپکاتے ہوۓ سابق حکمرانوں)  سے چھٹکارہ حاصل کرنے کا جو جی بھر کے عوام اور قومی خزانے کو لوٹ چکے ہیں اور غیر ملکی حکومتوں سے وطن کی عزت اور آزادی کا سودا کرتے رہتے ہیں- پاکستان کو ایک ایماندار، خود دار، انصاف پسند اور جرات مند حکومت کی ضرورت ہے- اگر ہم نے ہوشمندی سے کام لیتے ہوۓ زرداری، گیلانی، اسفندیار، شریفوں، چودھریوں وغیرہ سے نجات حاصل کر لی تو یہ ایک بہت بڑی کامیابی ہو گی-

تری زندگی اسی سے،  تری آبرو اسی سے

جو رہی خودی تو شاہی، نہ رہی تو روسیاہی

اگر ہم نے بد کردار، جرائم کے مرتکب لوگوں کو دوبارہ ووٹ دے کر کامیاب کر دیا تو ہم اپنے پاؤں پہ خود کلہاڑی ماریں گے-

آندھیو جاؤ اب کرو آرام 

ہم خود اپنا دیا بجھا بیٹھے

  

Light at the end of the tunnel

For much of the year 2011 Train Pakistan had been hurtling through a dark tunnel. As the year drew to a close, however, it was possible to glimpse light at the end of the tunnel. The twin-headed monster of Zardari-Gilani, primarily responsible for pushing the train into the dark tunnel, is rapidly losing its strength and may well be in its death throes.

It seems the traitorous duo of Zardari-Gilani has fallen into its own trap and may be unable to escape this time. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has established a commission to investigate the so-called “Memogate” act of treachery by Pakistanis in highly influential positions. The first casualty has been Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s erstwhile ambassador to the USA, who liked to defend USA interests with great vigour. Not for nothing was he known as the USA’s ambassador residing in Pakistan’s embassy in Washington. He is the prime suspect in a plot to make Pakistan’s nuclear capability ineffective and to force Pakistan’s armed forces to serve American government’s interests. He is said to have instigated this act of treachery against his own country at the behest of his “boss”, generally believed to be a reference to Zardari -  who claims he is untouchable because, as President, he has “immunity” under the constitution of Pakistan.

Let’s await the findings of the judicial commission, which is expected to complete its investigation by the end of this month. If Zardari is nailed, it will then be a no-holds-barred contest between the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the criminal Government of Pakistan. Will the noble Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, be able to cut off the head of the monster threatening the very existence of Pakistan? If he wins then Train Pakistan will indeed emerge into brilliant light.

As the Train comes to a stop it will be time for a new driver to step up and take charge. Standing on the platform is the intrepid Imran Khan, the most popular man in Pakistan at the moment, ready to take charge when it is time for the Train to move on. Will these two valiant men be enough to save Pakistan from the web of conspiracies being hatched by in-house traitors and external enemies?

I think we need a third presence. You may be surprised by my choice. Some may accuse me of eating my own words. The fact remains that, following USA/Nato military’s cowardly attack on one of Pakistan’s border posts on 26 November 2011, which ended in the cold-blooded murder of 24 men and officers of Pakistan’s army, Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the head of Pakistan’s army, is a changed man. He immediately blocked the flow of supplies through Pakistani territory to the USA/Nato troops stationed in Afghanistan, and he finally summoned the courage to tell the Americans that their drone attacks on Pakistani territory would no longer be tolerated. Better late than never. So far he has stood firm against tremendous pressure being exerted by the Americans. General Kayani needs the support of the entire Pakistani nation in the courageous stand he has taken against Pakistan’s back-stabbing “friends”.

So, looking to the immediate future, I think that the three men I have mentioned above will be, at least initially, the architects of a New Pakistan, self-reliant, proud and truly independent.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry

General Ashfaq Kayani

Imran Khan, chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

!کبھی اے حقیقت منتظر

قدرت اللہ شہاب نے جو سب سے پہلا افسانہ لکھا اس کا نام "چندرا وتی" تھا، جس کی ابتدا یوں ہوتی ہے: "جب مجھے چندرا وتی سے محبت شروع ہوئی، اسے مرے ہوۓ تیسرا روز تھا- " یہ یقیناً ایک چونکا دینے والا فقرہ ہے- اس افسانے کے پس منظر پہ قدرت اللہ نے "شہاب نامہ" میں خاصی تفصیل سے روشنی ڈالی ہے- یہ افسانہ نوجوان قدرت اللہ کی نا تمام اور نا کام محبت کے گرد گھومتا ہے-   

مجھے جوانی کی لغزشوں یا حوادث سے سرو کار نہیں- رومانوی ادب میں محبت کے موضوع پہ بہت کچھ لکھا جا چکا ہے لیکن ایسی داستانوں میں اکثر دونوں فریق جوان ہوتے ہیں اور بہت سے لکھنے والے محبت اور ہوس میں تفریق نہیں کر پاتے- اگر شادی کو محبت  کی معراج سمجھ لیا جائے تو کیا یہ جذبہ باقی تمام عمرشوہر اور بیوی کے درمیان برقرار رہ سکتا ہے؟ محبت کیا ہوتی ہے اور یہ کب ہوس سے جدا ہو کرعشق کا روپ اختیار کر لیتی ہے؟ 

اگر میں قدرت اللہ شہاب کی طرز پہ ایک افسانہ لکھوں تو اس کی ابتدا کچھ یوں ہو گی: "جب مجھے احساس ہوا کہ میں اپنی رفیقۂ حیات کے عشق میں گرفتار ہوتا جا رہا ہوں تو ہماری شادی کو بیس برس سے زائد عرصہ گزر چکا تھا"- میں اکثر سوچتا ہوں کہ مجازی عشق میں گہرائی عشق حقیقی کی محتاج ہے- جوں جوں انسان کا اس کے رب کے ساتھ تعلق گہرا ہوتا جاتا ہے، اسی  تناسب سے مجازی عشق میں ایک حیران کن عنصر داخل ہوتا جاتا ہے جسے بیان کرنا میرے لئے ممکن نہیں- یہ ایک کیفیت ہے جو جوانی کی محبت میں نہیں ہوتی- شاید یہ جسم و روح کا ملاپ ہے جو اپنے عروج پہ پہنچ کے بندے کو قرب الہی عطا کرتا ہے یا شاید اس فریب میں مبتلا کر دیتا ہے کہ ایک حد تک قرب الہی مل چکا ہے- واللہ اعلم- 

نہ ہو طغیان مشتاقی تو میں رہتا نہیں باقی

کہ میری زندگی کیا ہے؟ یہی طغیان مشتاقی

ان کیفیتوں سے آگے کی منزل کیا ہو گی؟ معلوم نہیں حقیقت ثابتہ تک رسائی میرے جیسے معمولی انسان کے لئے ممکن ہے کہ نہیں- تاہم اس امید پہ جی رہا ہوں کہ شاید حقیقت کی ایک جھلک کبھی نظر آ جائے- 

کبھی اے حقیقت منتظر نظر آ لباس مجاز میں

کہ ہزاروں سجدے تڑپ رہے ہیں میری جبین نیاز میں

O much awaited Reality, let me see thee once in illusory garb

For thousands of sajdahs lie restless in my humble forehead

A Change of Direction

It seems an eternity since I last posted a blog. The events of last May, culminating in the murder of the journalist Saleem Shahzad, shook me up. Posting blog after blog about the hopeless situation in Pakistan appeared to me to be a pointless exercise.

I wrote my last blog on 24 May, lamenting the internal and external evils which threatened the very existence of Pakistan. Some six months later, there does seem to be a wind of change blowing although the treachery, greed and moral depravity of Pakistan’s rulers, and ex-rulers scheming for a return to power, are as strong as ever. Well, what’s this ‘wind of change’ then? It began, I think, with the overwhelming success of Imran Khan’s rally at Minar-e-Pakistan on 30 October. The Wind seems to be gathering pace and it may one day sweep away the evil that is eating Pakistan from within: the collusion and treachery of corrupt rulers which has allowed the foreign presence in Pakistan to grow and multiply and occupy an obscene place in Pakistan’s politics, government, military and the westernised element of Pakistan’s society.

I am one of those who have been patiently waiting for Imran Khan to emerge as a credible political force in Pakistan. It does seem that he has at long last arrived on the scene. I last wrote about him in a blog posted on 1 January 2011, when I said: “Pakistan needs new leadership, which may take a little time to emerge. Right now, Imran Khan looks to be the one potential leader around, the only one who has the guts to look the Americans straight in the eye and outstare them. His integrity is beyond question and his popularity in the country, especially among the young, seems to be growing exponentially.” You might be interested in reading the full blog and the comments thereon here.  

The great danger that Imran faces now is the likely exodus of discredited politicians from other political parties, falling over themselves to climb on to the rolling bandwagon of Tehreek-e-Insaf. I very much hope that Imran will show them the door. If he fails to keep out these blood-sucking vampires, he risks losing his pre-eminent position as an honest and principled politician – which is his chief strength.

Looking ahead, I wish to open up my blogs, writing bilingually in Urdu and English about any subject that takes my fancy. At the moment my readership is concentrated in the UK and the USA - and I am aware that I am running the risk of losing some of my readers, especially those who come here for my political commentaries. However, a change of emphasis may also attract new readers, especially genuine Pakistanis who do not feel at home with a foreign language. So, if you come across a piece in Urdu which you cannot read, please bear with me – the next post might be in English.

Finally, thank you to all those readers who haven't deserted me during my long absence from my blog.

The farce of Abbottabad, part 3 : the consequences

This blog post is a continuation of the issues discussed in the previous two - hence the words "part 3" in the title. 


What made the farce of USA's "daring" raid on Abbottabad - in which the hapless Osama died a second death - believable was not so much the brazen lies of the USA president as the humiliating response of Pakistan's President and the Prime Minister. It was as if both these puppets had been pre-programmed to utter nonsensical and demeaning words in response to a seemingly illegal act which violated Pakistan's sovereignty. The Chief Puppet Zardari described the operation as something which was "highly appreciated" while his sidekick Gilani called the degradation of Pakistan "a great victory". This was clear proof that the US held the Pakistan government by the throat, a dysfunctional government which had lost all notions of independence and sovereignty. No wonder the USA's Psychological Operation (PSYOP), targeting Pakistan's Army and its intelligence service, the ISI, had succeeded brilliantly. 


Over the last few years the CIA has succeeded in establishing a huge network of agents and local collaborators, including retired officers of Pakistan's armed forces with close links to serving officers. This was made possible by the Zardari-Gilani duo giving authority to Pakistan's ambassador in the US, Haqqani, to issue hundreds of visas to Americans without any checks whatsoever. This exercise was later repeated in Dubai when the Pakistan embassy was opened up in the evening for the sole purpose of freely issuing visas, bypassing the standard procedures of verification of personal data by the Foreign Ministry and by the ISI.


The rot began many years ago when the USA administration adopted a conscious policy of buying off influential people in Pakistan, starting with the top man Musharraf [see the blog post The case of missing persons ]. However, this policy of recruiting Pakistani traitors to assist with implementation of US policies in Pakistan has seen a huge expansion in recent years. Pakistanis who have sold out to the Americans can be found in all walks of life: the government, the civil service, the armed forces and the media. Pakistan's English language press, especially, is teeming with USA sympathisers who will never criticise US policies but they will virulently attack anyone and anything that offers resistance to the success of those policies. The Army, the ISI, Imran Khan and the Urdu language press (and patriotic Pakistanis writing in the English language press) are obvious targets.

Pakistan's tattered reputation
On Friday, 11 May, the Heads of Pakistan's Army and Air Force addressed a joint session of both the Upper and the Lower houses of Pakistan's Parliament. This session was a great disappointment. The assembled Generals could not summon the courage to clash head on with the Pakistani government and its USA masters, and sweep away the web of lies the two governments had erected. To do this the Generals would have had to admit that they, or a section of Pakistan's armed forces, had colluded with a foreign power to violate the country's airspace and murder a man in violation of Pakistan's laws. It is this sordid collaboration between the Pakistani leaders and the USA which is so hurtful. 


All the indications are that Pakistan's armed forces are infiltrated with traitors in powerful positions. There is immense pressure being exerted by the Americans and their Pakistani collaborators for Generals Kayani and Pasha (the Head of ISI) to toe the line. Pasha, especially, is being targeted and a way may be found to prise him out if he resists the expanding American influence in Pakistan. He appears to have been the driving spirit behind the unanimous Resolution that the two Houses of Parliament had agreed after a mammoth 10-hour session. This Resolution had 12 points, among them were:


* The USA's action in Abbottabad, constituting a violation of Pakistan's air space and sovereignty, was condemned.


* The USA's drone attacks on Pakistani territory were condemned. The USA was warned that if these attacks did not stop, the government would consider the closing down of routes used for the transport of supplies to the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan. Generally, Pakistan would review its working  relationship with the USA.


* An independent commission will be established to investigate the Abbottabad debacle. So far, not a single name has been announced as a possible member of that commission!


Three minor revelations - which people suspected anyhow - were made by the assembled military men:


* Pakistan's Shamsi airbase was not under the control of Pakistan Air Force! Apparently, it was owned by the United Arab Emirates and was sub-contracted to the USA, giving that country a free hand to fly aircraft from Shamsi for its nefarious designs. No one seems to have asked if the base will now be taken back into Pakistan's control!.


* Pakistan Air Force has the technology to shoot down the US drones which have killed well over two thousand Pakistani citizens. It is up to the government to give an order for shooting down the drones if the US continues to violate Pakistan's sovereignty [as the readers of this blog know well, Pakistan is a willing party to this arrangement].


* Raymond Davis was freed on the order of the central government - but the ISI top man, Pasha, declined to provide further details relating to that mysterious case.

The USA's hammer blow
The show of defiance by Pakistan's National Assembly was too much for the American masters. Scarcely had the ink dried on the 12-point Resolution than the world's only Superpower delivered a hammer blow by launching drone attacks on Pakistan and daring it to implement its worthless Resolution. Separately, the USA's creation, the Pakistani Taliban, launched a suicide attack which destroyed almost a hundred Pakistani lives (most died on the spot, others in hospital later). Further terrorist bombings followed on a smaller scale, culminating in a sophisticated assault on the Mehran Naval base on 23 May, which destroyed reconnaissance aircraft on the ground and inflicted immense damage. This was not a random act of terrorism. The attackers had precise instructions about the layout of the naval base and the targets to destroy. This attack came a couple of days after the announcement by Pakistan's Defence Minister, Ahmed Mukhtar, to the effect that China would be asked to build a new naval base in Gwadar and the  operational control of Gwadar port would be transferred from a dubious Singapore company to reliable Chinese hands.


With the exception of those who have sold themselves for dollars, Pakistanis are coming to a realisation that the sophisticated weaponry supplied to the terrorists through Afghanistan and, more importantly, the timing of attacks which coincides  with American warnings to Pakistan, can only mean one thing: the mastermind behind this human slaughter is the world's foremost terrorist state (aided and abetted by other arch enemies of Pakistan). Having terrorised Iraq and destroyed the spirit of its people through indiscriminate killings, the USA is engaged in similar bloodletting in Afghanistan (which it already occupies) and Pakistan (which it occupies through its proxies). This immoral superpower will go to any lengths in pursuit of its selfish policies.

A glimmer of hope
The government and the opposition are both silent, having already forgotten the brave wording of the 12-point Resolution. No orders were given to shoot down the drones and the supply routes to Afghanistan remained open. It fell to Imran Khan to stage a sit-in in Karachi over the two days 21-22 May, which resulted in the temporary suspension of USA/Nato supplies. Imran is expected to announce a long march in protest against the USA's drone attacks on Pakistan's citizens and the US's interference in Pakistan's affairs.


In the midst of the destruction unleashed on Pakistan following Parliament's  Resolution, Imran Khan's dharna (the sit-in) has been the only show of defiance. The day after his dharna ended,  John Kerry, chairman of the US Senate's foreign relations committee, came to Pakistan, wagging his finger and telling the Pakistanis that he had not come to apologise for the raid on Pakistani territory. The sheer arrogance of his words and his body language, and the way the Pakistani leaders cowered before him, may have been the last straw for the long suffering Pakistani nation. More and more people, including the judiciary, are able to see that Pakistan's fake democracy - effectively, subjugation to the USA - needs to be replaced with the genuine article. The first priority is to clean up the electoral register which contains no less than 37 million bogus names (some 44% of the eligible voters). Millions more who are eligible to vote need to be added to the voting lists. Free and fair elections in the near future are needed desperately to get rid of the criminals and traitors who rule Pakistan.

The Tojan Horses in Pakistan
In the blog post The Fall of the American Empire I mentioned the American-financed newspaper, The Express Tribune, which defends the policies of the US government irrespective of the harm they inflict on Pakistan. The online version of that publication had censored my comments on its editorial relating to the notorious Raymond Davis case. More recently, I offered comments on ET's story relating to the discussions in Pakistan's National Assembly. People were being provoked to demand that "heads must fall" - a euphemism for the heads of Kayani and Pasha - but my comments, which opposed that view, were censored. My unpublished comments are given below, which also show how badly my judgement was affected at that time by the "tsunami of lies" unleashed by the Americans:


Are the Americans taking the Pakistani nation for a ride? Why do so many people echo the Americans' sentiments and accusations?

Go back to 9/11 when the sole super power was hit at the heart of its military and commercial centres. Were there any resignations? Not one!

Let us, therefore, keep things in perspective and avoid shooting ourselves in the foot. No one is perfect and mistakes will always be made. After each mistake, we need to re-assess the situation and correct any weaknesses that come to light. If we weaken our military and the ISI at this time the obvious winners will be the USA and India.

Osama was supposed to have died some years ago as a result of kidney failure. That, I think, was the view of the ISI as well. However, it was obvious that the Americans were driven insane by their own obsession with Osama, but they wouldn't say why they thought he was alive and they wouldn't share with the ISI the underlying reasons for holding that view. That being so, ISI was simply passing on any information it picked up about Al-Qaeda to the CIA - which eventually succeeded in pinpointing Osama. All the time the CIA kept the ISI in the dark about the follow-up investigations based on the intelligence that the latter had made available.

It is clear that the Americans, our so-called "friends" and "allies", have stabbed Pakistan in the back and, very cunningly, rubbed our collective nose in the dust while the whole world stood watching aghast.

دیکھا جو تیر کھا کے کمیں گاہ کی طرف

اپنے ہی دوستوں سے ملاقات ہو گئی

A tsunami of lies

Those who feel overwhelmed by the tsunami of lies which has come roaring from the governments of the USA and Pakistan following the OBL drama in Abbottabad should not despair. Help is at hand!


FIRST, let us go back to an earlier blog, Anne Patterson, Queen of Pakistan , at the end of which there is a quote from Roedad Khan, a retired senior civil servant who had worked closely with several Pakistani rulers:


The independence of Pakistan is a myth. Pakistan is no longer a free country. Today it is not just a “rentier state”, not just a client state. It is a slave state with a puppet government set up by Washington.


Bear these words in mind as you read on.


SECOND, today the British newspaper The Guardian has published a stunning report by its Pakistan correspondent, Declan Walsh, a first rate journalist with extensive contacts. You can read the full report here .


Briefly, what Walsh is saying is that some 10 years ago the USA and Pakistan had signed a secret agreement - a humiliating sell-out by the dictator Musharraf - under which the Americans had been given a free hand to launch raids into Pakistani territory in the event of the Al-Qaeda leadership being spotted in Pakistan. The term "leadership" included Osama himself, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and whoever happened to be the Al-Qaeda No. 3. If such a raid did take place, "Pakistan would vociferously protest against the incursion"! Later, in 2008, when Musharraf was still president but a PPP civilian government had been formed, this dirty deal was renewed. By then Ashfaq Kayani was the Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan's army and he would have been fully in the picture.


So, the "bravery" and "courage" of US Navy Seals is little more than a myth which has been created by the US publicity machine. The truth is that the Pakistanis knew what was taking place and they looked the other way, which made it an easy, risk-free operation for the Americans. Indeed, shortly after midnight on 1 May, men of Pakistan army had gone round knocking on the doors of people living in the vicinity of the run-down house occupied by Osama, warning them to stay indoors. 


The Pakistan Prime Minister, Yusuf Gilani


This slippery, chameleon-like individual is an expert at saying contradictory things to different people and reversing his own statements without batting an eyelid. Following the US raid into Pakistan, which humiliated and stunned the Pakistani nation, this man strutted around smugly, justifying the USA's seemingly illegal action and violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. He declared that the operation was "conducted in accordance with the declared US policy"! People wondered what was Pakistan's declared policy when international laws are broken and the honour of the country is trampled underfoot. Thanks to Declan Walsh, we now know the answer.


The reaction to Gilani's idiotic statements was a rising crescendo of demands for him and Zardari, the president, to resign. Eventually, a week after the event, General Kayani was able to knock some sense into this two-headed monster, and Gilani stood up before Pakistan's National Assembly on 9 May, "to take the nation into confidence". This calculating man, who seems devoid of common sense, chose to deliver his lies in English for foreign consumption! The Pakistani nation understood only that some sort of trick was being played on it and Gilani was up to his old tricks which had been fully disclosed by Wikileaks (see "Anne Patterson, Queen of Pakistan" for full details). In a nutshell: for domestic consumption, publicly issue loud warnings to the USA but, privately, tell the Americans not to worry and go ahead with whatever they planned to do.


Ashfaq Kayani's opportunity to emerge as a hero


In 2008 General Kayani would have been aware of the humiliating terms of the deal that Musharraf-Zardari-Gilani had entered into with the Americans. He can claim that his hands were tied by that deal and he could not have stopped the American violation of Pakistani airspace. Many people think highly of him, some even consider him to be a man of honour. If he is that, then he needs to divulge the terms of the secret deal to the nation and seek a consensus on the type of working relationship Pakistan should have with the USA. Musharraf had heaped humiliation upon humiliation upon Pakistan. Does Kayani have it in him to redress the wrongs of the past and end the lopsided, demeaning relationship with the USA?


Kayani can seize this opportunity and emerge as a hero or he can sink into oblivion. 


Is Osama really dead?


A lot of people - I among them - had believed that he had already died as a result of kidney failure. In view of developments over the past week, I now think that the sick Osama had survived somehow. Pakistan's ISI had handed over significant pieces of information to the American CIA, which eventually led them to Osama's hideout. The way the Americans have humiliated Pakistan and hogged all the plaudits for themselves has been an unedifying, disgusting spectacle. 


I agree with the Pakistani journalist Saleem Safi, who writes for Jang newspaper, that Osama has probably been abducted by the US raid party and he is being held in secret for questioning. If he is waterboarded and tortured, no one will know since the world has been led to believe that he is already dead. 


Tailpiece (added 12May)


This blog post has attracted abusive comments, which will not be published.  If people wish to post here an essential requirement is to avoid abuse. The opinions expressed should be well argued and backed up with identifiable sources of information. You should also be aware that a citizen of Pakistan is called Pakistani, and there is no acceptable abbreviation. If you insist on using an abusive term then your comment will not be published.

One person says that I have erred in saying that prior to the helicopter attack men of the Pakistan army had spread out in the neighbourhood, warning people to stay indoors. My recollection is that this is what the unfolding story on The Daily Telegraph’s website said, which I was following. I tried to look up a record of the commentary at the newspaper’s website but it no longer seems to be there.  The BBC website, however, has kept a record of the developments in the aftermath of Bin Laden’s assassination.  Relevant extracts are given below, the link to the report is:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13257330

“Early reports suggested that residents had been commanded in Pashto - not the common language of the area - to turn off their lights, and that the order may have come from Pakistani security forces.

But residents told BBC reporters that Pakistani forces had not arrived on the scene until after the raid was finished, and that US personnel involved in the raid may have warned residents off in rudimentary Pashto.

A senior official at the Pakistani foreign ministry, Salman Bashir, said Pakistan was only alerted to the raid when one of the US helicopters crashed.

But a Pakistani intelligence official has also told the BBC off the record that the US did inform Pakistan that a raid was under way against an unidentified "high value" target, once their helicopters entered Pakistani air space.

This led to the scrambled Pakistani jets being called back in, the official said.”

Make of it what you will. Most people would consider this a roundabout way of saying that Pakistan knew what was going on.

The death of Osama Bin Laden

According to the Americans, they killed Osama Bin Laden in the very early morning today in a raid on a mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan. This is the main news item on British television as it no doubt is in the rest of the world. As the day wore on I found myself becoming more and more confused thinking about the claims that the Americans have made, and their uncritical acceptance by the BBC and the British newspapers. Eventually, I expressed my thoughts in a discussion taking place in the online version of a British newspaper. This is what I wrote:

"Surely, someone must have photographed the dead body of OBL or, perhaps, made a video. Why are the pictures not being shown? A photograph of a dead man's bloodied face was shown today on a Pakistani TV channel. Though viewers were asked to accept the face as that of OBL, it looked quite different: a younger, broader face and with a mostly black beard.

There is also the American claim that the dead man's DNA identifies the body as OBL's. Well, this is just a claim. Who carried out the tests?

The helicopters flew all the way from Afghanistan and the Pakistan army, which recently shot dead 5 Nato troops when the latter violated the border, was caught napping! is it possible that this is just a sleight of hand that the CIA/ISI have played on the world? Is this a face-saving formula to allow the Americans to make an "honourable" exit from Afghanistan?

OBL_Bush

Finally, the Americans celebrating a death brings to mind the images of people in the Middle East gloating over American deaths. What's the difference between the two? Deep down, they are all barbarians.

I shouldn't be asking these questions. I am simply amazed at the gullibility of so many journalists who have swallowed the American announcements uncritically."

OBL_Bean

Somehow, I omitted to mention the most comical aspect of this story: the disposal of the dead OBL in the deep blue sea! It has made me guffaw all day.

These are my thoughts on day 1. These may change in the coming days - we'll have to wait and see what transpires.