Doubts Cast on Zardari’s Mental Health

By Michael Peel in London and Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad

Published: August 25 2008 23:31 | Last updated: August 25 2008 23:31

Asif Ali Zardari, the leading contender for the presidency of nuclear-armed Pakistan, was suffering from severe psychiatric problems as recently as last year, according to court documents filed by his doctors.

The widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was diagnosed with a range of serious illnesses including dementia, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder in a series of medical reports spanning more than two years.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Pakistan aims for nuclear acceptance – Aug-27

Pakistan campaign kicks off amid rift – Aug-26

Editorial comment: Pakistan’s turmoil – Aug-26

UN envoy’s ties to Zardari questioned – Aug-26

Sharif quits Pakistan coalition – Aug-25

Battle scars on show as Zardari in spotlight – Aug-25

Mr Zardari, the co-chair of the Pakistan People’s party, and its candidate to succeed president Pervez Musharraf, who stepped down last week, spent 11 of the past 20 years in Pakistani prisons fighting corruption allegations, during which he claims to have been tortured.

While Mr Zardari was not available to comment, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s high commissioner to London, speaking on his behalf, said he was now fit and well.

News of his medical records came as Nawaz Sharif, head of the junior partner in the government, pulled his party out of the coalition, partly because of differences over Mr Zardari’s presidential candidacy.

In court documents seen by the Financial Times, Philip Saltiel, a New York City-based psychiatrist, said in a March 2007 diagnosis that Mr Zardari’s imprisonment had left him suffering from “emotional instability” and memory and concentration problems. “I do not foresee any improvement in these issues for at least a year,” Mr Saltiel wrote.

Stephen Reich, a New York state-based psychologist, said Mr Zardari was unable to remember the birthdays of his wife and children, was persistently apprehensive and had thought about suicide.

Mr Zardari used the medical diagnoses to argue successfully for the postponement of a now-defunct English High Court case in which Pakistan’s government was suing him over alleged corruption, court records show.

The case – brought to seize some of his UK assets – was dropped in March, at about the same time that corruption charges in Pakistan were dismissed. However, the court papers raise questions about Mr Zardari’s ability to help guide one of the world’s most strategically important countries following the resignation last week of Mr Musharraf, under whose rule the corruption cases against the PPP leader and his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, were pursued.

Mr Zardari and Ms Bhutto, who was murdered in December while leading the PPP in elections that gave it the most seats in Pakistan’s parliament, were also the target of corruption investigations in Switzerland and Spain. The Geneva prosecutor said on Monday that money laundering charges against Mr Zardari were being dropped.

Mr Hasan, a long-standing political ally and friend of the Zardari/Bhutto family, told the Financial Times on Monday that Mr Zardari had subsequent medical examinations and his doctors had “declared him medically fit to run for political office and free of any symptoms”.

“You have got to understand that while he was in prison on charges that were never proven, there were attempts to kill him,” Mr Hasan said. “At that time, he was surrounded by fear all the time. Any human being living in such a condition will of course suffer from the effects of continuous fear. But that is all history.

“In fact, many people were very impressed to see Mr Zardari go through the trauma of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, but still hold himself together, hold his family, especially his children, close to him at this very difficult time.”

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

Pakistan’s New Qaumi Tarana

 

Zardari ki zamin shad bad

Bijli aay 8 ghantay baad

 

Tu nishanay corruption aalishan

Arz e zardaristan,shaad baad sindh abaad

 

Zardari ki zamin ka nizam

Aaatay,gas,bijli ka bohran

 

Quam mulk sub-gharak Nawaz,wakil paainda bad

Bainazir dunya say farar

 

Parchamay sitara-o-Hilal

Khoon main ranga sara saal

 

Bhool apna maazi Shan-e-haal, jaan ne istaqlal

saya-e-America sar pe sawar

Muneer Malik on the Pakistan Lawyers’ Movement

Who would have thought on 8th March 2007 that General Musharrf’s grip on power could be seriously challenged? With confidence bordering on cockiness, his allies taunted the opposition parties that they would elect General Musharraf as President in uniform not once or twice but as long as it was expedient. The opposition was seemingly all at sea lacking the will to mobilize the people of Pakistan to stand up for the Rule of Law. All of a sudden, as if struck by a bolt of lightning, a defiant “No” changed the dynamics of the power game. Since 9th Match, the Black Coats of Pakistan waged a relentless struggle to change mindsets. We had to teach the common man what justice really meant, who was the oppressor and who could deliver them from oppression. We preached that the realization of their fundamental rights was inextricably intertwined with the existence of an independent judiciary in which every judge across the land is pro-people with the courage to say that enough is enough – that all men and women, no matter howsoever high or howsoever low, are equal in the eyes of the law; that it is no longer acceptable that the weaker sections of society should remain in bondage as if they were subjects of some colonial power, that the people were sovereign masters of their destiny and captains of their fate and that the rulers were there to serve them and not to lord over them.. Our fight was to change mindsets within the judiciary so that they may liberate themselves from the reviled and thoroughly discredited doctrines of the past that were used time and again to justify the militarization of the institutions of state. We had to change the mindsets of our politicians – that political power emanates from the people and not from foreign capitols; that they turn anti-people when they welcome military takeovers or share the crumbs of power with usurpers; that democracy and tolerance are inseparable twins and that they must strive to strengthen institutions and not men. We wanted our armed forces to know that we honour the soldier who has laid down his life for the defense of the country but that we are bounden to resist when the watchman forcibly takes over the master’s house and that their guns should be pointed outwards to defend the frontiers of our lands rather than pointing inwards at the people they have sworn to protect.

And indeed what an incredible movement it has been. Putting personal interest aside, the overwhelming majority of lawyers galvanized the masses and paved the way for the political leadership to assert the supremacy of civilian institutions. We did not rest with the restoration of the Chief Justice to his rightful position but went to met out the cause of the injustice that pervades our society. It is our position that this injustice rests on the foundations of arbitrary and dictatorial rule and in order to establish a just society we must uproot the old foundations.

I have often been asked that judges were sacked on previous occasions as well and why was it that only this time was such an incredible movement launched. My answer has always been that the legal fraternity has raised its pretest in the past as well but this time the turf was different. In the age of information -and globalization the media is a key player. Muzzle them if you want but you can never shut them off completely and when you muzzle them you only strengthen the belief that the truth is being suppressed. We acknowledge that but for the courageous media that carried our message to the people of Pakistan and abroad, ours would have been an extremely difficult if not impossible straggle. We gratefully acknowledge the role of civil society, the political leadership, and the political worker in strengthening our hands.

I am also asked whether the judiciary post – 20th July threw caution to the winds and moved too fast before consolidating its gains. My answer has been that it was a catch 22 situation in that the people’s expectations from the judiciary had never been higher, in fact so high that if it failed to deliver it risked being accused of regression and if its image suffered it risked being attacked again by the executive. Accordingly it had to grapple with some issues which the parliament tiled to look into though duty bound to do so. The case of missing persons is a classic example – when the judiciary intervened it was accused of releasing terrorists and this absurd charge became one of the bases for the imposition of Emergency and the resort to the extra-constitutional steps taken on 3rd November. History teaches us that a tottering dictatorship will use three to crush resistance to its will but it also teaches us that the just cause of the people will ultimately prevail. The results of the general elections are now in and we have seen the massive rejection of General Musharraf and his collaborators. We were buoyed with the victory of the democratic forces and were confident that together we would see the restoration of the pre 3rd November judiciary. We are dismayed at the breach of the Murree Declaration and the proposed constitutional package but we refuse to give up. The Long March has renewed our vigour and determination to press ahead with our movement

In the process of our struggle we have learnt some invaluable lessons too. We have learnt that we have no monopoly on wisdom and that it is for the Political leadership of this Country to navigate the ship of the state to the safety of the harbor. We are conscious of the dangers ahead and the need to consolidate our gains, to move forward but with unity of purpose and to tread with caution whilst we consolidate our gains.

The idea of penning my reflections came to me as I lay on my concrete mattress in a cell at Attock jail. As a chronicler who was in the midst of events, I cannot help being inundated with the emotional undercurrents of the Lawyer’s Movement. It is my perception of the events as I saw them and I will be the first to concede that others may disagree. My perception may be tainted by my belief in the righteousness of our cause.

Summer Classes for Men

Summer Classes for Men at
THE
ADULT LEARNING CENTER

REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED
by Friday, August  29 th 2008
NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL
OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM

Class 1
How To Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays–Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.
Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM .

Class 2
The Toilet Paper Roll–Does It Change Itself?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3
Is It Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and Avoiding The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub?–Group Practice.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor–Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5
Dinner Dishes–Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen Sink?
Examples on Video.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning
at 7:00 PM

Class 6
Loss Of Identity–Losing The Remote To Your Significant Other.
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

Class 7
Learning How To Find Things–Starting With Looking In The Right Places And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming.
Open Forum
Monday at 8:00 PM , 2 hours.

Class 8
Health Watch–Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health.
Graphics and Audio Tapes.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9
Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost–Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined

Class 10
Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks?
Driving Simulations.
4 weeks, Saturday’s noon, 2 hours.

Class 11
Learning to Live–Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife.
Online Classes and role-playing
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM , location to be determined

Class 12
How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion
Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM .

Class 13
How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy–Remembering Birthdays, Anniversaries and Other Important Dates and Calling When You’re Going To Be Late.
Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 14
The Stove/Oven–What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM , location to be determined.

 

Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

Send this to all the guys that you think can stand the heat, and to all the ladies for the best chuckle of their day!

Humanity of the Taliban

Lyse Doucet, who has been at the BBC since 1983, also spoke out against the nature of the reports on Prince Harry’s deployment in Afghanistan.

The veteran correspondent and presenter, who played a key role in the BBC’s coverage of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, told the Edinburgh International Television Conference: “What’s lacking in the coverage of the Afghans is the sense of the humanity of the Afghans.

“In the Prince Harry coverage for example, there were all these people out there you never really saw them. “You knew that the bombs were dropping in that direction and the guns pointing in that direction but you never got a sense of how Afghans are as a people.”

Asked what was missing in British coverage, she added: “It may sound odd but the humanity of the Taliban, because the Taliban are a wide, very diverse group of people. “Some of them would like to talk to the British Government. Some of them don’t want to be fighting British troops. Some of them would. This is the ideological Taliban.

“We never have the ability or sometimes the desire to present this in a different way, so that people would be interested … it’s a regret.” She told the conference: “In a country which is as complex, and as difficult and dangerous as Afghanistan you can’t really cover it properly and get the full picture unless you are there day in, day out. Unless you are living there and feeling and eating the heat and the dust.”

She added: “What does it feel like to be a British soldier under fire? It’s bloody frightening and difficult and dangerous, exhilarating as well.

“But we also want to know what it feels like to be an Afghan involved with such hopes in 2001 that things would get better and they’ve got a lot worse.”  She said that it was “getting more and more dangerous” to cover the country. Of the news black-out on Prince Harry’s trip to Afghanistan, she said: “It’s a hard one because with an issue like Prince Harry it meant that there was a series of decisions taken all along the way. Journalists were one bit of a very long chain. “If Harry went, there was no doubt that he was going to put himself and the lives of his commanders at risk. “We are making these deals all the time. When Gordon Brown goes to Afghanistan we are not allowed to report. Perhaps it (the deal) won’t happen again.”

Canadian-born Doucet said: “It probably did bring a lot of people to think about Afghanistan who normally wouldn’t ordinarily think about Afghanistan. If the Prince Harry story can bring more people to think about Afghanistan then that’s a good thing.

“There was a lost opportunity. There was hardly any mention of Afghans, even of Afghanistan … (just a) sense of ‘I went to a country far away’.

But she added: “Viewing figures went up, Prince Harry got a hero’s welcome and recruitment for the British Army went up so an objective was achieved. Did that mean people knew more about why Britain was there? I don’t think so. “Journalists focused on the human story but it should part of a wider picture.” Doucet, who also covered Iraq in 2003, and the war between Israel and Hizbollah in 2006, added: “The right questions were not asked.”

BJP on Kashmir: Reversing its own Legacy

 

Vidya Subrahmaniam

 

 

 

The BJP leadership is flirting with danger in Jammu and Kashmir. Lal Krishna Advani must end the brinkmanship — as much for the sake of the Vajpayee legacy as his own credibility.

 

 

 

 

 

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s nimble-footedness when it comes to snatching a chance is hidden from no one. So it came as no surprise when BJP leaders, led by Lal Krishna Advani, swiftly sussed out the electoral potential of the inflamed Hindu passions in Jammu, and the separatist counter-response playing out in the Kashmir Valley. The Sri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti (SASS)-led land-for-pilgrims movement fitted the BJP bill as no other recent issue: the Ramar Sethu controversy had emotional appeal but lacked the spark, volatility and spontaneity of the Sangharsh Samiti-led agitation. Similarly, while terrorism was a nationwide concern, it had not coalesced into a people’s movement; the issue had also been the staple of many previous elections.

The Jammu protests, on the other hand, resembled the Ramjanmabhoomi movement, matching it in intensity and potential, if not in scale and reach. Most attractively for the BJP, Amarnath was a mint-fresh, mass-driven movement and, therefore, much more authentic than any campaign originating from within the party. The Amarnath movement pulsated with promise in terms of two party objectives — the immediate one of winning seats in Jammu in the coming elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and the subsequent one of carrying that momentum to the rest of the country in time for the 2009 general election.

Yet the plot is riddled with contradictions: The divisions within the Sangh Parivar on the approach to the Amarnath agitation, Mr. Advani’s reinvented moderate image, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s grand Kashmir legacy, all complicate identification with the Amarnath project.

The BJP-RSS divergence has been clear ever since Jammu exploded in anger against the revocation of land allotment to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. The BJP would like to take political leadership of the agitation while the RSS and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad fear precisely such a situation. The RSS and the VHP do not want a repeat of the Ayodhya agitation which passed into the hands of the BJP only to become a pawn in the party’s political games — to be used and discarded at will. VHP general secretary Pravin Togadia said as much at a recent press meet when he insisted that political parties intending to join the Amarnath campaign must “leave behind their party flags.” The warning had the intended effect: the BJP, which had planned a series of energetic agitations around Amarnath, in Jammu and outside, has had to temper its enthusiasm. For its part, the SASS, though welcoming of the BJP’s support, seems keen not to change the bipartisan, if increasingly belligerent, character of the movement.

The changed nature of the agitation is itself a barrier against the BJP’s leadership ambitions. Initially restrained, the protests have since become lumpenised and violent, damaging the party’s claim that it was a peaceful, nationalistic movement which contrasted sharply with the hostile, separatist uprising in the Valley. BJP spokespersons had delighted in pointing out the difference: In Jammu, the security forces were helpless, in fact, sympathetic, because the protesters carried the Indian flag and raised pro-Army and pro-police slogans. In the Valley, the protesters were fired upon because they attacked and abused the security forces.

“Who would attack people who carry the tricolour,” asked a BJP leader even as he unveiled the party’s new slogan: nationalism versus separatism. An aggressive, rampaging mob charging at police posts, torching vehicles, and attacking politicians comes in the way of the BJP claiming ownership of the Jammu agitation — and more so on the eve of a general election where it could be faced with charges of irresponsibility.

This is the crux of the problem for the BJP leadership, especially for its shadow Prime Minister. Over the last couple of years, Mr. Advani has worked hard to live down his reckless Ayodhya warrior image. His journey to Pakistan, where he lavished praise on Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s 1947 secular vision, was intended to undo the perception of a frenzied hardliner forever pandering to the Hindu cause, thereby surrendering his claim to be elected Prime Minister of a multi-cultural, multi-religious, essentially tolerant country. During his stay in Pakistan, the architect of the disruptive Ayodhya movement strongly supported the peace moves between India and Pakistan, as also the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government-sponsored initiatives for resolving the Kashmir dispute.

Upon returning home, Mr. Advani held firm to his belief that his support of Jinnah’s “secular” vision was an opportunity for the BJP to shed old shibboleths and recast itself as a modern, conservative party. Unable to stomach the insubordination from its ideological heir, the RSS extracted his resignation from the party chief’s post. That the Sangh resiled from its position and anointed him Prime Minister-apparent was seen as a vindication of the transformed Mr. Advani, now acceptable also to the previously hostile allies of the BJP.

Today the BJP’s Prime Minister-in-waiting is speaking a language that mocks at all that he has strived to achieve. Consider his incendiary August 9 speech to a gathering of the BJP’s youth wing in Delhi. The speech, peppered with phrases such as “quit India” and “do or die,” was ostensibly on the significance of the Quit India movement. Yet used in the context of the flare-up in Kashmir, the words acquired a deliberately provocative meaning: Who needed to quit post-Independent India?

The answer was self-evident. Nonetheless, Mr. Advani stressed the point. He called Jammu a “volcano” which meant he admitted to a potentially explosive situation. Yet he egged its people on, calling them “patriotic and self-respecting” and complimenting them on their “do or die” spirit. “To tolerate injustice is a sign of cowardice,” he thundered.

The address raises a pointed question, given the BJP’s recently reiterated position that Kashmir is an integral part of the Indian state. Is the territory integral but not its people? True, the Valley is once again resounding to cries of “azadi” but for a mainstream party consciously and calculatedly to distinguish between the people and their land is to play with fire. This is tragic — for the country, for Mr. Advani who appeared to have buried his divisive past, and even more for Mr. Vajpayee who has left behind a formidable legacy in the form of his path-breaking initiatives in Kashmir and on India-Pakistan relations.

Look at the breathtaking nature and range of what Mr. Vajpayee attempted on either side of the Line of Control. In 1999, he made bold to visit the Minar-e-Pakistan — the ultimate toast to the idea of Pakistan. In 2001, overlooking Pakistan’s Kargil misadventure, he invited its architect, Pervez Musharraf, to walk with him on the “high road to peace.” A year earlier, he had unilaterally called off the use of force (non-initiation of combat operations) against Kashmiris to coincide with the holy month of Ramzan. In 2001, he extended the overture for the third time while simultaneously declaring in Parliament that he was ready to talk to “every group in the State.”

In January 2003, Mr. Vajpayee invited the separatist All-Party Hurriyat Conference for talks. The ground work for this was done by none other than Mr. Advani, Deputy Prime Minister in the Vajpayee government. The Hurriyat leaders met Mr. Advani and issued a joint statement that called for a “step by step solution” to the Kashmir problem. Two months later, Mr. Vajpayee became the first Prime Minister since 1987 to address a rally in Srinagar. The rally, high on atmospherics and symbolism, drew a 30,000-strong, applauding crowd that watched as the Prime Minister unwound a series of spectacular initiatives — from talks with secessionist groups through engagement with Pakistan to offers of jobs, reconstruction and peace. In January 2004, Mr. Vajpayee and General Musharraf announced the resumption of the composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan — a decision hailed as historic in India, in Pakistan and across the world.

The point here is not to project Mr. Vajpayee as a statesman truly above partisan considerations. The former Prime Minister was as apt to play the Hindu card as his less distinguished colleagues. Yet when the big idea called, he responded gallantly, displaying a maturity and sense of purpose completely at odds with the obscurantist world view of the Sangh and much of his own party. During Mr. Vajpayee’s tenure, India and Pakistan warred and engaged repeatedly. Mr. Vajpayee’s USP was his ability to recognise when to engage, and to engage disregarding previous history. On a visit to Germany in 2003, he admitted that the resolution of the Kashmir problem would require “serious compromises” which he was willing to explore through negotiations with General Musharraf. In 2004, he attempted to fulfil that promise.

Forget attempting a compromise between Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP is today pitting one against the other, which is a complete negation of the Vajpayee legacy. Mr. Advani must end this brinkmanship — as much for Mr. Vajpayee’s sake as his own. For he knows as does India that only a moderate Prime Minister can hold it together.

US Seeks Control Over Pak Nukes: Dr Qadeer Khan Wakes Up

By Dr. ABDUL QADEER KHAN
Founder of Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons Defense Systems

August 24/ 2008 – It has been a long time since I expressed my feelings to my nation. I had a great mission in front of me at the time of my return from Europe. The mission was to make Pakistan move ahead, independent and exceptionally capable in its defence.

During those busy days, I could hardly spare any time to convey my
feelings to the Pakistani masses, but even then my work spoke louder than words. I mean I believed that my day and night hard work for the country somehow made me feel constantly in touch with my people. Besides this, I frequently used to voice my emotions and thoughts for development and prosperity of the country and practically worked on them myself. My ideas also reached you through my presence at various events and seminars until that sad day when the country for which I worked so diligently came under the rule of Musharraf.

This dictator mistreated the whole nation for the delight of his
foreign allies and even I could not escape his victimization. He deceived me in the first place and later put me into detention. He not only [unlawfully] confined me but also mentally tortured me and my family, and his sole aim was to make me feel guilty and eventually die with the guilt. Bugging devices were used to interfere in my private family life just to please his foreign heads.

Even the Chief Justice of the country was dragged by his hair to hide this dictator’s crimes. One thing I want to share with you is that even in these times of hardships I did not loose my connection with God and I kept praying for the stability and development of my country. It always soothed me that the love of thousands of Pakistanis for me would never end no matter what this evil ruler of the time might do against me. This feeling kept my relation with my countrymen alive. I passed my days fighting illness while I was thrown into [unlawful] confinement but still my mind could not be detained.

On August 18/ 2008 we have gotten rid of a dictator and the whole
nation is celebrating this day of liberation. At this important juncture I would like to share my few feelings with all of you. I
believe that we all have to make some important decisions at this
stage. The end to dictatorship is no doubt a healthy sign but more
importantly we need to get rid of the policies of that dictator who
brought the country to the verge of destruction.

We need to build our place as an independent sovereign country in the world and for this we would have to take steps that ensure the growth of democracy and end to dictatorship. The democratic parties on the other hand should get ready to address the issues of the masses. The people should strive to get enlightened and fight for their legal rights. The media can play a pivotal role in this regard by giving voice to people’s sentiments.

Many forces have been conspiring for the disintegration of our country and all of us need to join hands in order to defeat them. The conspirators are creating misunderstandings against which the masses should be enlightened.

My dear countrymen, the rule of a dictator has come to an end and I
appeal you all to adhere to the fact that all of us our Pakistanis no
matter we our Punjabis, Sindhis, Balochis, Pathans or migrants [mohajirs]. This country is not a property of any dictator or
personal interests seeking ruler. All Pakistani should work together
to change the system that gave way to dictatorship.

It is to be remembered that every individual, whether Punjabi or
Sindhi, is suffering the same adverse situation but the enemies of
our integrity want us to get parted. We need to defeat these forces
and I would like to quote my own example. I was detained in 2002 and suffered severe mental torture but my love for the country
remained as it was and I kept praying for its stability.

I know the people have faced a lot of cruelty but you should stop and cut the hand of the tyrant who made it all happen to us. You should boldly face the enemy with complete unity. Had Pervez Musharraf read the word of God as well as the past history and taken guidance from it, he might have corrected his actions and doings.

But we all know that God takes away the reasoning power of those He wants to be doomed. The same fact was quoted by a Greek philosopher, centuries ago:

“God maketh those go mad (snatches away their reasoning), He wants destroyed and destructed.”

The God first gave way to Pervez Musharraf, then took away his ability to think and made him miserable in front of 170 million people. He was destined to this fate since he could have become a
hero, had he resigned right after February 18/ 2008 elections. He got punished befittingly for his wrong doings as the person who used to act like a Pharaoh, swinging forth his clenched fist, could not even come out on streets, fearing of being ripped apart by the angry masses. No doubt my God is great and just in his doings.

In the end, I would like to say that uncountable Pakistanis were
facing uncertainty, thinking how God could give way to a tyrant,
murderer and hypocrite that forced them to loose hope, but I always made them remember the word of God. To conclude I pray that may Allah preserve the integrity of Pakistan, help us solve the issues confronting our nation and bestow prosperity on us (Amen).

Musharraf’s Chak Shahzad Residence

Asif Zardari’s – List of Local & International Wealth

Posted by Teeth Maestro

August 17, 2008

I have been in receipt of this extensive list of Asif Zardari’s Local and International holdings sent to me via a number of sources, in all honesty I have no way of precisely confirming the authenticity of this list but place it on this blog in an attempt to figure out what true what is simply hype. There is little doubt in my mind that this list may be quite close to being authentic considering the massive corruption that has plagued Pakistan in his previous two tenures in power, little to know that the Metamorphosis of 2008 which changed the way he appeared orchestrated after the assassination of his wife on 27th December 2007. Are we to believe in a ‘rejuvenated, honest by-the-books leader’, or are we gearing up to push Zardari further up into Pakistans Rich List of 2008 where he was previously ranked at #2.

I can also suspect that the sudden revelation if this list could be a deliberate retaliation by the ‘agencies’ to push Zardari on the back foot and move off Musharraf’s impeachment attack. Whatever be the case this massive list is jaw dropping amazing, I have no idea about the total valuation of the wealth itemized here but I suspect it could easily be an aggregated wealth as listed = £900m / ($1.8billion) or more

ZARDARI’S LOCAL ASSETS ARE:

1. Plot no. 121, Phase VIII, DHA Karachi.
2. Agricultural land situated in Deh Dali Wadi, Taluka, Tando Allah Yar.
3. Agricultural property located in Deh Tahooki Taluka, District Hyderabad measuring 65.15 acres.
4. Agricultural land falling in Deh 76-Nusrat, Taluka, District Nawabshah measuring 827.14 acres
5. Agricultural land situated in Deh 76-Nusrat, Taluka, District Nawabshah measuring 293.18 acres
6. Residential plot No 3 (Now House) Block No B-I, City Survey No 2268 Ward-A Nawabshah
7. Huma Heights (Asif Apartments) 133, Depot Lines, Commissariat Road, Karachi
8. Trade Tower Building 3/CL/V Abdullah Haroon Road, Karachi
9. House No 8, St 9, F-8/2, Islamabad
10. Agricultural land in Deh 42 Dad Taluka/ District Nawabshah
11. Agricultural land in Deh 51 Dad Taluka Distt Nawabshah
12. Plot No 3 & 4 Sikni (residential) Near Housing Society Ltd. Nawabshah
13. CafT Sheraz (C.S No.. 2231/2 & 2231/3) Nawabshah
14. Agricultural land in Deh 23-Deh Taluka & District Nawabshah
15. Agricultural property in Deh 72-A, Nusrat Taluka, Nawabshah
16. Agricultural land in Deh 76-Nusrat Taluka, Nawabshah
17. Plot No. A/136 Survey No 2346 Ward A Government Employee’s Cooperative Housing Society Ltd, Nawabshah
18. Agricultural land in Deh Jaryoon Taluka Tando Allah Yar, Distt. Hyderabad
19. Agricultural land in Deh Aroro Taluka Tando Allah Yar, Distt. Hyderabad
20. Agricultural land in Deh Nondani Taluka Tando Allah Yar, Distt. Hyderabad
21. Agricultural land in Deh Lotko Taluka Tando Allah Yar, Distt. Hyderabad
22. Agricultural land in Deh Jhol Taluka Tando Allah Yar, Distt. Hyderabad
23. Agricultural land in Deh Kandari Taluka Tando Allah Yar, Distt. Hyderabad
24. Agricultural land in Deh Deghi Taluka Tando Mohammad Khan
25. Agricultural land in Deh Rahooki Taluka, Hyderabad
26. Property in Deh Charo Taluka, Badin
27. Agricultural property in Deh Dali Wadi Taluka, Hyderabad
28. Five acres prime land allotted by DG KDA in 1995/96
29. 4,000 kanals on Simli Dam
30. 80 acres of land at Hawkes Bay
31. 13 acres of land at Maj Gulradi (KPT Land)
32. One acre plot, GCI, Clifton
33. One acre of land, State Life (International Center, Sadar)
34. FEBCs worth Rs. 4 million

SHARES IN SUGAR MILLS INCLUDE:

1. Sakrand Sugar Mills Nawabshah
2. Ansari Sugar
3. Mills Hyderabad
4. Mirza Sugar Mills Badin
5. Pangrio Sugar Mills Thatta
6. Bachani Sugar Mills Sanghar

FRONT COMPANIES IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES:

1. Bomer Fiannce Inc, British Virgin Islands
2. Mariston Securities Inc, British Virgin Islands
3. Marleton Business S A, British Virgin Islands
4. Capricorn Trading S A, British Virgin Islands
5. Fagarita Consulting INc, British Virgin Islands
6. Marvil Associated Inc, British Virgin Islands
7. Pawnbury Finance Ltd, British Virgin Islands
8. Oxton Trading Limited, British Virgin Islands
9. Brinslen Invest S A, British Virgin Islands
10. Chimitex Holding S A, British Virgin Islands
11. Elkins Holding S A, British Virgin Islands
12. Minister Invest Ltd, British Virgin Islands
13. Silvernut Investment Inc, British Virgin Islands
14. Tacolen Investment Ltd, British Virgin Islands
15. Marlcrdon Invest S A, British Virgin Islands
16. Dustan Trading Inc, British Virgin Islands
17. Reconstruction and Development Finance Inc, British Virgin Islands
18. Nassam Alexander Inc.
19. Westminster Securities Inc.
20. Laptworth Investment Inc 202, Saint Martin Drive, West Jacksonville
21. Intra Foods Inc. 3376, Lomrel Grove, Jacksonville, Florida
22. Dynatel Trading Co, Florida
23. A..S Realty Inc. Palm Beach Gardens Florida
24. Bon Voyage Travel Consultancy Inc, Florida

ZARDARI’S PROPERTIES IN UK ARE:

1. 355 acre Rockwood Estate, Surrey (Now stands admitted)
2. Flat 6, 11 Queensgate Terrace, London SW7
3. 26 Palace Mansions, Hammersmith Road, London W14
4. 27 Pont Street, London, SW1
5. 20 Wilton Crescent, London SW1
6. 23 Lord Chancellor Walk, Coombe Hill, Kingston, Surrey
7. The Mansion, Warren Lane, West Hampstead, London
8. A flat at Queensgate Terrace, London
9. Houses at Hammersmith Road, Wilton Crescent, Kingston and in Hampstead.

ZARDARI’S PROPERTIES IN BELGIUM ARE:

1. 12-3 Boulevard De-Nieuport, 1000, Brussels, (Building containing 4 shops and 2 large apartments)
2. Chausee De-Mons, 1670, Brussels

ZARDARI’S PROPERTIES IN FRANCE ARE:

1. La Manoir De La Reine Blanche and property in Cannes

ZARDARI’S PROPERTIES IN USA — in the name of Asif Zardari and managed by Shimmy Qureshi are:

1. Stud farm in Texas
2. Wellington Club East, West Palm Beach
3. 12165 West Forest Hills, Florida
4. Escue Farm 13,524 India Mound, West Palm Beach
5. 3,220 Santa Barbara Drive, Wellington Florida
6. 13,254 Polo Club Road, West Palm Beach Florida
7. 3,000 North Ocean Drive, Singer Islands, Florida
8. 525 South Flager Driver, West Palm Beach, Florida
9. Holiday Inn Houston Owned by Asif Ali Zardari, Iqbal Memon and Sadar-ud-Din Hashwani

ZARDARI’S BANK ACCOUNTS IN FOREGN COMPANIES ARE:

1. Union Bank of Switzerland (Account No. 552.343, 257.556.60Q, 433.142.60V, 216.393.60T)
2. Citibank Private Limited (SWZ) (Account No. 342034)
3. Citibank N A Dubai (Account No. 818097)
4. Barclays Bank (Suisse) (Account No. 62290209)
5. Barclays Bank (Suisse) (Account No. 62274400)
6. Banque Centrade Ormard Burrus S A
7. Banque Pache S A
8. Banque Pictet & Cie
9. Banque La Henin, Paris (Account No. 00101953552)
10. Bank Natinede Paris in Geneva (Account NO.. 563.726.9)
11. Swiss Bank Corporation
12. Chase Manhattan Bank Switzerland
13. American Express Bank Switzerland
14. Societe De Banque Swissee
15. Barclays Bank (Knightsbridge Branch) (Account No. 90991473)
16. Barclays Bank, Kingston and Chelsea Branch, (Sort Code 20-47-34135)
17. National Westminster Bank, Alwych Branch (Account No. 9683230)
18. Habib Bank (Pall Mall Branch).
19. National Westminster Bank, Barking Branch, (Account No. 28558999).
20. Habib Bank AG, Moorgate, London EC2
21. National Westminster Bank, Edgware Road, London
22. Banque Financiei E Dela Citee, Credit Suisse
23. Habib Bank AG Zurich, Switzerland
24. Pictet Et Cie, Geneva
25. Credit Agricole, Paris
26. Credit Agridolf, Branch 11, Place Brevier, 76440, Forges Les Faux
27. Credit Agricole, Branch Haute – Normandie, 76230, Boise Chillaum

DISCLAIMER: We have no way in confirming the authenticity of this list, and would appreciate help in confirming some/all items listed here, errors and omissions will be corrected as identified

 

Musharraf linked Benazir’s Security to Her Ties with Him

 

By Umar Cheema

Saturday, August 09, 2008 

The US intelligence agencies taped Benazir Bhutto’s phone calls, prior to her arrival in Pakistan, in a bid to “play under-the-table, cut-throat games more effectively”, a new book has revealed.

 

“The Way of the World” authored by a Pulitzer Prize winning US journalist Ron Suskind, is full of disclosures, with its fair portion about Musharraf-Benazir conversation including Musharraf’s quote “You should understand something, your security is based on the state of our relationship”.

 

Suskind writes that Benazir Bhutto’s case of returning to Pakistan was strongly backed by Condoleezza Rice-led State Department and equally opposed by Vice President Dick Cheney who considered Bhutto “complicated and unpredictable”.

 

The book said whenever Benazir Bhutto went harsh on Musharraf, the US ambassador in Islamabad advised her to “tone down any criticism of Musharraf”. The author said Bhutto often regretted that Vice President Cheney never called Musharraf asking him to “behave” and instead kept her pressing for coming to terms with him.

 

As Musharraf, during telephonic conversations, refused entertaining her demand of revoking provision barring her becoming PM for third time, Bhutto said: “What you can give me (then)? May be some real reform in election commission”.

 

Musharraf said: “She should not be hoping for much there (reforms), either”. The book revealed US intelligence once intercepted Bhutto’s conversation with her son, Bilawal. “They’ve been listening to her calls for months, including an earlier call she made to her son.”

 

In that call, the book said, she told him (Bilawal) about the secret bank accounts that hold the family’s fortunes that investigators have long suspected are ill-gotten. Therefore when Bhutto once floated the idea of freezing foreign accounts of “key people around Musharraf”, a US official let her understand that the United States could, if need be, “constrain her assets” just as she was now suggesting they do to Musharraf.

 

According to the author, Bhutto’s representative started approaching the State Department, in spring 2006 to work out a plan for her return, but White House began taking her seriously after the widespread demonstrations in backdrop sacking of Chief Justice. And this plan was aimed to shore up an embattled Musharraf, a single-issue ally.

 

Bhutto would consider, the book said, the lawyers and especially Iftikhar Chaudhry were a “problem” and that they owned the “high ground of principle. While she was sprouting democratic rhetoric, the book said, she was caught in the deal room — a position in which she came close to mirroring the “say one thing but do another” behavior of the United States.

 

The book also discloses details of Bhutto’s meeting with US Senator John Kerry requesting for her security and his reply that “United States is generally hesitant to ensure the protection of anyone who is not a designated leader”.

 

The notable excerpts from the book related to Pakistan have been given below:

 

Telephone tapes:

 

Author said the US National Security Agencies (NSAs) were doing this job. Regarding Bhutto’s conversation with Bilawal, he writes: “The NSA was listening. They’ve been listening to her calls for months, including an earlier call she made to her son, Bilawal. The subject of the secret is often aware that evidence has been collected that may be used to drive judgments and may be even destructive actions…The NSA, meanwhile, has harvested a number of portentous conversation of Benazir Bhutto. This should help the United States play its under the table, cut-throat games more effectively. The intercept will be cited inside the US government as evidence of Bhutto’s unfitness, her corruption. It will be used as part of a wider “carrot and stick” programme in which the United States let Bhutto know they were happy to work with her in setting up a marriage with Musharraf, but they could make her life difficult if she started to improvise and freelance. What they’ll overlook is the context and her tone in the many calls they eavesdrop or overlook the fact that she’s scared and preparing for the possibility of imminent death… Bhutto didn’t know about the NSA’s intercepts, but a US official let her understand that the United States could, if need be, “constrain her assets,” just as she was now suggesting they do to Musharraf.”

 

Telephonic conversation with Musharraf:

 

Referring to conversation that took place three weeks before her return when she was meeting US lawmakers at Capitol Hill, including John Kerry, and State Department officials, he writes: “Suddenly the couple (Bhutto-Zardari) turns. One of Bhutto’s aides is rushing towards them, saying he’s just gotten a call from one of Musharraf’s aides. The aide says that Musharraf can’t support Bhutto on a key demand — the repeal of the provision prohibiting a third term for the prime ministers — and he wants to talk to her… Bhutto takes the call from Islamabad. “The twice-elected provision is important to me,” she tells Musharraf. “If you’re retreating from that, what can you give me? May be some real reform in the election commission?” He says she shouldn’t be hoping for much there, either. In their many calls, he’s been surprisingly cordial, often quite reasonable. But something has changed. His voice is harsh, almost mocking her. She asks if the US officials have had conversation with him that makes it clear that her safety is his responsibility. “Yes, someone has called”, Musharraf says, and then laughs. “The Americans can call all they want with their suggestions about you and me, let them call,” he tells her… He finishes the call with a dose of fair warning. “You should understand something,” Pervez Musharraf says, finally to Benazir Bhutto. “Your security is based on the state of our relationship.” She hangs up the phone feeling as though she might be sick.

 

Regarding Musharraf’s call to Bhutto after assassination attempt on her arrival in Karachi, the author writes: “By the next day, Musharraf calls Bhutto at her estate near Karachi. She accepts his sympathies reluctantly. “I’m not the enemy, Bibi.” She says little. She knows the lines are tapped. It’s a new hand and she is not showing her card.”

 

Conversation with Senator John Kerry:

 

As Bhutto met John Kerry in Washington, three weeks before going back to Pakistan, author writes: “The priority of this trip is to get Bhutto the security support she lacks. October 18 is only three weeks away. Kerry is swift off the mark: “This is a volatile situation you’re walking into, Benazir.” The United States, he says, is generally hesitant to ensure the protection of anyone who is not a designated leader, a provision to prevent US forces from becoming embroiled in the internal disputes of sovereign nations. “Senator Kerry, I want Pakistan to provide me with the security I am entitled to under the laws of my country. I’d be grateful if you would talk to the Musharraf government and tell him the US expects he will fulfill those obligations.” Kerry sighs. Of course, he, a senator, can’t conduct unilateral foreign policy. “Well, Benazir, I will certainly talk to the State Department about that point being made to Musharraf,” he says as forcefully as credulity will allow… Her current fortune, however, are in hands of a half-a-dozen people beyond her orbit: a tight circle of policy makers in senior posts at the State Department and in the Vice President’s Office. All official contacts with Pakistan on Bhutto’s behalf must be channeled through this small group, overseen, in essence, by Cheney and Rice, a duo with a long history of internecine combat. Most of it dominated by the vice president.”

 

Condoleezza Rice Vs. Dick Cheney:

 

“The initiative to reinsert Bhutto into Pakistan, was, in fact, launched and led by Rice and her State Department. Cheney’s position, expressed to the president on several occasions, was ‘don’t mess with this,’ according to one of his senior foreign policy advisers. ‘Our feeling,’ said Cheney’s adviser, summing up the view of the vice president, “was that arranging this marriage can only backfire on us. Bhutto is complicated and unpredictable. It’s best to just support Musharraf, give him whatever he wants or needs to stay in power.’ ‘Our position,’ the advisor added, ‘is that this whole thing with Bhutto is being run out of state. Let them fly or fall on their own.”

 

Rice-Bhutto telephone talk:

 

Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, who’s been handling the Bhutto-Musharraf talks, falls ill and needs to be hospitalized. Condi Rice tries to step in. She calls a London hotel where Bhutto is meeting Pakistani supporters. Bhutto does not take the call. “Someone said that Condi Rice was on the phone,” she (Bhutto) said later, I thought they were joking”… She and Bhutto talk several times through a long night and into the next morning, ironing out some sticking points with Musharraf. Bhutto tells her she’s concerned about her security… She’s suspicious that the United States sees her value mostly as a means to shore up Musharraf — rather than as a champion of democratic ideals — and to describe her exchange with the general would show just untenable a couple they would make.

 

Musharraf’s visa denial to security firm:

 

Two days before she boards the plane, Bhutto is concerned. Her team has been frantically trying to beef up her security… Mark Siegel and Larry Wallace, Bhutto’s American advisers, have been working the problem with Blackwater. In September, representatives from the firm flew to meet with Bhutto at her home in Dubai and laid out several security plans, each costing about $400,000 per month. They intended to work in conjunction with affiliated firms inside of Pakistan, because Musharraf had blocked visas from being issued to imported Americans security personnel for Bhutto… She turns the firm down. She knows that the United States has accepted Musharraf’s assurance that he had her security under control, but she does not trust him and sends an “in the event of my death” note, identifying various hard-line Islamist officials in his orbit who should be held responsible in the event that she is killed.