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Archive for category BREAKING INTERNATIONAL LAW – DRONE ATTACKS

CRITICAL LOGISTIC IMPORTANCE OF KARACHI FOR US EXIT: The Pakistan supply routes are “critical,” Lt. Gen. Raymond Mason, deputy chief for Army logistics

Supply route closure impedes Afghan withdrawal 

 
 

 
 
By John Ryan
Staff writer
Soldiers run a 40-mile convoy, consisting of coalition and host-nation trucks, in southern Afghanistan. The convoy covered 63 miles of rugged terrain during the 15-hour mission.

 
Soldiers run a 40-mile convoy, consisting of coalition and host-nation trucks, in southern Afghanistan. The convoy covered 63 miles of rugged terrain during the 15-hour mission. (Army)
 

U.S. military commanders are pushing to reopen key supply routes through Pakistan and expand logistics lines in central Asia as the Army begins to draw down from Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s government shut down American cargo lines linking Karachi to Kabul after a Nov. 26 NATO airstrike accidentally killed more than 20 Pakistani soldiers.

Previously, one-third of American war supplies moved through Pakistan. Before the Pakistan shutdown, moving cargo into Afghanistan cost about $17 million a month.

Since then, coalition forces have relied on the Northern Distribution Network, a system of supply lines in countries such as Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan,http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/01/ap-us-costs-soar-for-new-war-supply-routes-011912/“>inflating supply costs by $87 million more per month, as of mid-January.

Retrograding materials and equipment from the war zone will require the Pakistan Ground Lines of Communications and the NDN in Asia, Lt. Gen. Raymond Mason, deputy chief for Army logistics, said at a House hearing March 28.

“We need to continue to negotiate and get that back open,” Mason said. “We need both methods to get out of Afghanistan.”

In late February, Air Force Gen. William Fraser III, head of the U.S. Transportation Command, told a Senate panel the NDN lines should be widened into a two-way route to facilitate a transition out of theater on schedule.

Marine Gen. John Allen, commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, has been talking terms with Pakistan, Pentagon press secretary George Little said in an April 3 news release.

“We remain hopeful that those routes will be reopened in the near future, and discussions with the Pakistanis continue,” Little said.

Meanwhile, the Army and TRANSCOM are experimenting with a concept Mason calls “back haul,” in which trucks drop goods in Afghanistan and carry out a load when they leave. Before, cargo vehicles simply left empty.

The commands are looking to run back hauls regularly, Mason said.

Unlike retrograde ops in Iraq, U.S. forces will probably have to carry home most military materials, Mason said. The U.S. sold about $1 billion in military equipment to Iraqis before departing last year.

“The vast majority of what’s in Afghanistan — because of the conditions here — we are probably going to have to move out of that country,” he said.

About 50,000 vehicles will be shipped stateside from Afghanistan, and roughly 2,000 personnel will deploy to help move gear, according to Army officials.

Once at U.S. depots, combat equipment might cost more than $15 billion to reset, Mason said.

In 2008, the NDN was developed as an alternative to Pakistan supply lines, expensive airlift and slow-moving sea transport, according to a Senate staff report from December.

The network carries non-lethal supplies, including construction materials, food and fuel, the Senate report said.

Eighty-five percent of the fuel supply flows through northern routes, along with 30 percent of supplies that had previously come through Pakistan.

Most NDN cargo enters Afghanistan through Uzbekistan’s Hairaton Gate. Transporting gear through the NDN may involve multiple travel modes — air and ground — which boosts costs, Mason said.

The U.S. has relied more heavily on airlift recently. Last year, aircraft delivered 80 million pounds of cargo in Afghanistan, up from 60 million pounds the year before, according to the Air Mobility Command.

The Pakistan supply routes are “critical,” he said.

 

 

 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

 

 
Apr. 10, 2012 – 08:30PM   |   Last Updated: Apr. 10, 2012 – 08:30PM  | 

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Terrorists are not Martyrs

                                                    Terrorists are not Martyrs

              Sajjad Shaukat

 

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People from different walks of life including politicians, religious scholars (Ulemas) and media persons have expressed their feelings of grief on the recent comments of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and especially of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Syed Munawar Hassan who evolved new theory on Shahadat (Martyrdom).  

 

Maulana Fazlur Rehman in an interview with senior journalist Saleem Safi on November 5, this year on a renowned TV channel program Jirga said, “Even a dog killed by the US is a martyr.” 

 

In a separate interview conducted by Safi on November 7, JI Ameer, Munawar Hassan stated, “If American soldiers being killed by the Taliban were not martyrs, how could Pakistani soldiers killed by Taliban be declared martyrs.” In an earlier statement made on November 3, Hassan had already triggered controversy when he declared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hakimullah Mehsud a martyr following his death in a US drone strike.

 

In this regard, a spokesman of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on November 10, strongly condemned the irresponsible and misleading remarks of the JI Ameer Syed Munawar Hassan, saying that he declared dead terrorists as Shuhada (Martyred), while insulting the Shahadat of thousands of innocent Pakistanis and soldiers of Pakistan’s armed forces. The spokesman explained, “Sacrifices of our Shuhada and their families need no endorsement from Syed Munawar Hassan and such misguided and self-serving statements deserve no comments,” demanding an unconditional apology from him.

 

Instead of apologizing for his derogatory and illogical remarks, Syed Munawar Hassan said on November 10 that he was stuck to his opinion of considering Hakimullah Mehsud as martyr and not viewing soldiers as such. General Secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami, Liaquat Baloch announced on November 11 that its Ameer’s statement was correct and according to Sharia (Islamic Jurisprudence).

 

While denouncing the ill-conceived thoughts of Syed Munawar Hassan, various leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party, Awami National Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement including law-makers and prominent figures pointed out, “We should salute to those mothers, widows and orphans whose dear ones sacrificed their lives for the cause of the motherland. Besides, all those personnel of the security forces who lost their lives for the integrity of the nation and all those innocent people who were killed in bomb blasts, suicide attacks and other terror-incidents are martyrs.”  They reminded, “Every child in Pakistan knows that 7,000 security officials and more than 40,000 innocent citizens including religious scholars have been killed by the TTP led by Hakimullah Mehsud…the JI Ameer’s statement means to scorn the sacrifices of our great martyrs who lost their priceless lives to save the lives of millions of Pakistani citizens in the ruthless terrorist attacks carried out by these Taliban.”

 

Some leaders suggested that If JI Ameer did not beg forgiveness over his controversial statement; the government should institute a case of treason.

In this respect, the members of Sindh Assembly in one voice also demanded from Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Munawar Hassan to apologize over his irresponsible statement which questioned the martyrdom of Pak Army and law-enforcing agencies.

Meanwhile, in order to clarify the controversy over martyrdom, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif of the ruling party (PML-N) visited the General Headquarters (GHQ) of Pakistan Army on November 12 and pad homage to the martyrs of the country. Afterwards, a statement released from the Prime Minister House quoted the PM as saying, “Those who have fought for Pakistan, Ghazis (living) and Shuhada (Martyred), have sacrificed their today for ensuring a better tomorrow for our future generations and all of them are our benefactors.”

However, on the issue of martyrs and terrorists, the opinion of Ulemas has great importance. In this context, on November 10, Chairman Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Hamid Raza Rizvi from a fatwa issued by 30 scholars and religious clerics, and terming statements by Munawar Hasan and Maulana Fazlur Rahman as “rubbing salt on the wounds of heirs of over 50,000 people killed in terrorist attacks in Pakistan,” announced, “Hakimullah was involved in killing of thousands of innocent people and army men. The fact that he was killed by a US drone could not purge him of his sins and he was not a martyr.” On November 12, accepting the challenge of TTP spokesman Shahhidullah Shahid on Shahadat-controversy, Hamid Raza replied that he was ready for debate with the Taliban on any channel.

It is mentionable that in the past few years, the militants of the TTP and its affiliated outfits killed thousands of persons across Pakistan through suicide attacks, bomb blasts, targeted killings, beheadings, assaults on military troops, police stations, sectarian violence etc. Besides blowing children schools and attacking the female teachers in order to deny education to girls, they also targeted mosques, Imambargahs, mausoleums, and disgraced dead bodies. Their nefarious acts resulted into deaths of several people in Pakistan. They continued their anti-social and un-Islamic practices to impose their self-created ideology of Islam.

In the Khyber agency, they also indulged in murdering and torturing Shias in their majority areas, forcing them to flee. Particularly, in some tribal areas and Swat these insurgents have been involved in a number of crimes such as drug-smuggling, forced marriages, hostage-takings for ransom and even car-snatching. They justify that they collect money through these unfair means to wage their holy war and in eliminating the moderate dissidents.

When Pakistan’s armed forces successfully ejected the TTP militants out of these areas by sacrificing their own lives, the new leader of the TTP Maulvi Fazlullah who had close connections with Pakistan-based TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud, had run to Afghanistan. Based in the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan—with the support of Indian secret agency RAW, Afghan spy service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) which also have tactical backing of the US, his insurgents intensified subversive activities in Pakistan by sending suicide bombers and heavily-equipped militants.

Notably, the capture of a senior TTP leader Latifullah Mehsud by US Special Forces (USF) from Afghan custody, confessed that Afghanistan and India were involved in promoting terrorist activities inside Pakistan. He also revealed that while waging proxy wars in Pakistan, terrorist attacks on Gen. Sanaullah Khan Niazi in Upper Dir, at Peshawar Church, in Qissa Khawani Bazar and elsewhere had been planned by Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies. Especially, regarding terror-attack at Peshawar church, TTP did not claim responsibility, but it proved when the outfit misinterpreted Islam by indicating that it was in accordance with Sharia.

However, the militant groups also recruit very young boys, and after their brainwashing through indoctrination, they train them for suicide bombings. The planners misguide these Muslims by convincing that they will have a noble place in the Heavens in exchange of suicide attacks.

Nevertheless, Islam considers killing one innocent person equal to murdering the entire humanity, while jihad is a sacred obligation, but its real spirit needs to be understood clearly, as targeting innocent women and children is not jihad. These Taliban and their banned affiliated outfits are defaming Islam which is the religion of peace, democracy, moderation and human rights.

In this connection, in the recent past, more than 50 Islamic scholars declared “killing of innocent people, target killings and suicide bombings in Karachi, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa along with sectarianism…is not Jehad” and “is against the spirit of Islam.” They explained, “The terrorists’ self-adopted interpretation of Islam is nothing, but ignorance and digression from the actual teachings of the religion…the suicide attacks and related violence smeared the name of Islam and weakened Pakistan.”

Everyone knows that besides responding to Indian military’s unprovoked firings at the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, which killed a number of soldiers of Pak Army and innocent civilians, thousands of personnel of the armed forces and law-enforcing agencies lost their lives in Khyber Paktoonkhwa, Karachi, Balochistan and tribal areas in coping with terrorists so as to maintain the integrity and security of the country. So, they are the true martyrs.

Another notable contradiction is that when the JI workers were fighting the forces of the former Soviet Union in the first Afghan war, sponsored by the US-led west, they were calling their killed Mujadeen as Shaheed. But, now this party has forgotten the term of martyrdom.

Nonetheless, the JI Ameer’s self-created definition of Shaheed means that there is a state within a state where Taliban could be allowed to slash the throats of security forces and to shed the blood of innocent persons.

No doubt, Munawar Hassan’s statement has exposed the extremist thinking of JI and its vilification propaganda campaign to harm, defame and denigrate the prodigious sacrifices of Pakistan’s soldiers, with criminal object to glorify the enemies of the state, while terrorists are not martyrs.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

 

 

 

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آئیں اپنی آواز بلند کریں & PHOTOESSAY ON BRUTALITY OF DRONE ATTACKS ON CHILDREN

 
 
 
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آئیں اپنی آواز بلند کریں

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

میں تقریبا تیس منٹ تک سڑک کنارے سٹاپ پر دیگر لوگوں کیساتھ کھڑا گاڑی آنے کا انتظار کررہا تھا دن کے اوقات میں گاڑی تو آسانی سے مل جاتی ہیں لیکن رات کے وقت دس بجے کے بعد گاڑیاں بہت کم ہی چلتی ہیں اسی وجہ سے پشاور جیسے شہر میں لوگ سٹاپوں پر انتظار کرتے رہتے ہیں اور جن کےجیب میں پیسے ہوں تو وہ رکشہ یا ٹیکسی میں بیٹھ کر اپنی منزل کو روانہ ہو جاتے ہیں تقریبا پینتالیس منٹ بعد ایک گاڑی آکر رکی  اس سے کنڈیکٹر اترا اور پشاور صدر تک آواز لگائی ساتھ میں گاڑی میں بیٹھنے والوں کو کہہ دیا کہ کرایہ پندرہ روپے ہوگا  حالانکہ کرایہ دس روپے تھا  میں بھی سنی ان سنیکرتے ہوئے گاڑی میں بیٹھ گیا گاڑی روانہ ہوگئی اور کنڈیکٹر نے کرایہ مانگا میں نے جیب سے سو روپے نکال کردئیے اس نے بقایا 80 روپے مجھے دئیے میں نے اس سے پوچھا بھائی میرے دس روپے اور بھی دو کیونکہ ہشتنگری سے صدر تک کرایہ دس روپے ہے کنڈیکٹر نے جواب دیا کہ صاحب میںپانچروپے واپس کردیتا ہوں میں نے اسے کہا کہ دس روپے واپس دو  اس نے جواب دیا کہ  میں نے گاڑی میں بیٹھنے والے تمام مسافروں کو کہا تھا کہ کرایہ پندرہ روپے ہے  میں نے اس سے پوچھا کیوں یہ تمھارا فیصلہ ہے  اگر کرایہ نامہ ہے اور اس پر پندرہ لکھا ہے تو مجھ سے بیس روپے لو  لیکن اگر کرایہنامہ نہیں تو پھر مجھے دس روپے واپس کردو  کنڈیکٹر نے جواب دیا کہ بھائی میرے یہ گاڑی میری ہے اور آپ اپنے پیسے واپس لیکر اتر جائیں میں نے اسے جوابا کہا کہ گاڑی اگر تمھاری ذاتی ہے تو پھر مسافر وں کو کیوں اٹھا رہے ہوں اور سڑک جس پر تمھاری گاڑی چل رہی ہیں یہ میرے جیسے لوگوںکی ٹیکسوں کی کمائی لگی ہے اگر خان ہونگے تو اپنے لئے  مجھے تم اتار بھی نہیں سکتے  کرایہ مجھے پورا لو اور مجھے اپنے سٹاپ پر پہنچائو گے  اس پر کنڈیکٹرکو غصہ آیا لیکن مجھے کہنے لگا کہ خاموش ہو جائو  تم سے دس روپے لیتا ہوں لیکن دوسرے مسافروں کے سامنے بحث مت کرو کیونکہپھر یہ بھی نہیں دینگے  میں نے اسے کہا کہ غلط بات مت کرو مجھے اپنے پیسے واپس کرو اس نے بادل نخواستہ مجھے دس روپے واپس کردئیے اسی دوران گاڑی میں مسافر بیٹھے ہوئے تھے لیکن سب نے میرے بعد اسے پندرہ روپے دئیے اور وہ کنڈیکٹر مسافروں پر یہ احسان کرتا رہا کہ اس وقت گاڑی نہیںتھی اگر میں نے آتا تو آپ لوگ کھڑے رہتے  اس لئے میرا احسان مانو کہ میں پندرہ روپے میں تمھیں پہنچا رہا ہوں  یہ ایک چھوٹی سی مثال ہے جس سے اندازہ کیا جاسکتا ہے کہ ہمارے آگے پیچھے چھوٹے بڑے کس طرح دوسروں کی مجبوریوں سے فائدہ اٹھاتے ہیں اور ہم بے حس لوگوں کی طرح خاموشبیٹھے انہیں دیکھ رہے ہوتے ہیں کہ اگر میں نے کچھ کہہ دیا تو شائد مجھے کوئی نقصان ہو جائے ہم لوگ آواز نہیں اٹھاتے نہ ہی اپنا احتجاج ریکارڈ کرتے ہیں حالانکہ ہمیں پتہ ہوتا ہے کہ ہمارے ساتھ زیادتی ہورہی ہیں لیکن صرف اپنی بے عزتی  چھوٹے سے نقصان  ڈر اور خوف کی وجہ سے خاموش رہتےہیں اور یہی وہ چیز ہے جس کا فائدہ ان کنڈیکٹر جیسے بے حس بے غیرت لوگ اٹھاتے ہیں اور شریف لوگ کڑھتے ہی رہتے ہیں کہ شائد ہماری آواز سے کچھ نہ ہو اور یہی ہماری سب سے بڑی غلطی ہوتی ہے-

اب اسی چیز کو آپ بڑے کینوس پر دیکھ لیں کیا یہ ملک کل کے چور وں اور آج کے ڈاکوئوں کیلئے بنا ہے جو جمہوریت کی راگ الاپ رہے ہیں ملک میں جمہوریت کی مضبوطی جیسے نعرے بلند کرکے اس قوم کو بے وقوف بنا رہے ہیں ایک دوسرے کو باری آنے پر حکومت دینے والے میڈیا اور اپنے چندخوشامدی صحافیوں کو استعمال کرکے پوری قوم کا استحصال کررہے ہیں لیکن اس ملک سے کوئی آواز ہی نہیں اٹھ رہی ہر شخص یہی سوچ کر خاموش بیٹھ جاتا ہے کہ میرے آواز بلند کرنے سے کچھ نہیں ہوگا کیا یہ ملک مخصوص خاندانوں اور ان کے بچوں کیلئے کھیلنے کا میدان ہے کہ جب ان کا دل چاہاسیاست کے میدان میں آئے ایک دوسرے کے خلاف آواز بلند کی اور ہم جیسے بے وقوف صحافی ان کی آواز بن گئے اور پوری قوم کو چور اور ڈاکوئوں کے پیچھے لگا دیا اور آوے اور جاوے کے نعرے لگنے شروع ہوگئے-آوے جاوے کی سیاست کرنے والے اور بھاری مینڈیٹ لیکر آنیوالوں کا یہ حال ہےکہ دو ماہ میں بجلی کی قیمتیں کہاں سے کہاں تک پہنچا دی ہیں کل تک عزت غیرت کے دکانداری کرنے والے آج قرضے مانگ کر اس قوم کو بیڑہ غرق کرنے پر تلے ہوئے ہیں سابق حکمرانوں کو اس صورتحال کا ذمہ دار ٹھہرا کر اب حالات بہتر کرنے کے دعوے کئے جارہے ہیں اب کوئی یہ نہیں پوچھتا کہپانچ سال تک تو آپ ہی ان کے اپوزیشن لیڈر بنے ہوئے تھے اور انکو سپورٹ کررہے تھے خوشامدی چمچوں اور مخصوص صحافیوں کی مدد سے اپنا کام نکالنے والے یہ لیڈر قوم کو بتانا پسند کرینگے کہ آخر کیا وجہ ہے کہ جب بھی بیرون ملک دورہ ہوتا ہے اپنے خاندان کے بچوں کو سرکاری خرچ پر دورےکیوں کرواتے ہیں کیا عوام کا ٹیکس ان کی اور ان کے خاندان کی عیاشیوں کیلئے ہے کہ جب چاہا بیرون ملک دورے پر نکل گئے اور بعد میں ایجنڈا طے کردیاکہ ہم نے یہ کرنا اور یہ کردیا –

رون حملے کررہے ہیں اس سے قبل بھی یہی ڈرامہ جاری تھا اور یہ ڈرامہ اب بھی جاری ہے ہاں کل اگر آپ چوروں کیساتھ ملے ہوئے تھے تووہ چور آجڈاکوئوں کاساتھ د ے رہے ہیں خارجہ اور دفاع کے وزارت رکھنے والے حکمرانوں کا یہ حال ہے کہ انہیں امریکی سفیر رچرڈ اولسن نے ائیرپورٹ پر ریسیو کیا کوئی اعلی عہدیدار انہیں ریسیو کرنے ہی نہیں یا نہ ہی سٹیٹ گیسٹ کے طور پر انہیں بلایا گیا تھا اسی وجہ سے ہوٹل میں رہائش اختیار کی جس کیادائیگی بھی پاکستان کے بھوکے  ننگے عوام ہی کرینگے انہی کیساتھ مشیر کے طور پر کام کرنے والے ایک صاحب نے کچھ دن قبل بیان دیا تھا کہ امریکہ بہادرپاکستانی حکمرانوں سے افغانستان سے نکلنے کے بعد تعاون سمیت غداری کے الزام میں گرفتار ہونیوالے ڈاکٹر شکیل کی رہائی چاہتے ہیں جس کامطالبہ بھی کیا گیا لیکن یہ بات چھپا لی گئی اور صحافیوں کے سوال کرنے پر اس پر گول مول جواب دیدیا گیاپہلے سب کچھ غلط تھا اور اب ٹھیک کرنے جارہے کے نام پر کونسل آف یورپ کنونشن کے معاہدے کرنے والے حکمران کیا یہ بتانا پسند کرینگے کہ کیا یہ غداروں کو نکالنے کیلئے راستہ فراہم کرنانہیں ہے-باتیں تو بہت ساری ہیں لیکن کیا یہ آواز بلند کرنا صرف صحافیوں کا کام ہے کیا اس ملک کے عوام شعور نہیں رکھتے جو آئی ایم ایف کے غلام حکمرانوں سے یہ سوال کرے کہ آخر انہیں کس چیز کی سزا دی جارہی ہیں اور یہ حکمران کب تک عوام کیساتھ جھوٹ بولتے رہیں گے – سو موجودہ حالاتمیںیہ اس ملک کے ہر شہری کا فرض ہے کہ اپنی آواز بلند کریں سوال کریں کب تک خاموش رہینگے صرف اس طرح کے پیغامات موبائل فون پر ایک دوسرے کو بھیجنے سے سے کچھ نہیں چلے گا کہ شیر کتے سے زیادہ کھاتا ہے –

 
 

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Musarrat Ullah Jan
Blogger , Photo Journalist , Columnist

 سرکار کے کھاتے میں امریکہ یاترا کرنے والے حکمرانوں سے کوئی یہ پوچھے کہ ڈو مور کا مطالبہ کرنے والے امریکی کیسے آپ کی مرضی کے بغیر ڈ

 
 

 

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