:)

2010-05-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

زاھد تنگ نظر نے مجهے کافر جانا
اور کافر یھ سمجتا ہے مسلمان ہوں میں

Zahid-e-tang nazar nay mujhay kafir jana
aur kafir yeh samajta hai mosalman hoon main

(perhaps Iqbal but not sure)

Putting watermark to images in batch

2009-06-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

Looking for code: skip to this all pretext

Yesterday I bought Sony H50 point and shoot, how could I resist taking bulks of pictures! After filling up my PC with scores of pictures, my next task was watermark them IN BATCH. PIL striked my mind and the function in the end of the post followed.
While goolging, I have seen many tiny softwares doing same thing, but 1) none of them were capable with my Linux machine 2) and even on Windows, why should I make my registry dirty. So, here is the solution, only Python is needed.

import Image, ImageEnhance, os
from os.path import join

def test():
    batch("/media/disk/pics", "/home/hasanat/outputfolder/", "/home/hasanat/watermark.png")

def batch(infolder, outfolder, watermark):
    mark = Image.open(watermark)
    for root, dirs, files in os.walk(infolder):
        for name in files:        try:
            im = Image.open(join(root, name))
            if im.mode != 'RGBA':
                im = im.convert('RGBA')
            layer = Image.new('RGBA', im.size, (0,0,0,0))
            position = (im.size[0]-mark.size[0], im.size[1]-mark.size[1])
            layer.paste(mark, position)
            Image.composite(layer, im, layer).save( join(outfolder, name))
        except Exception, (msg):
            print msg

if __name__ == '__main__':
    test()

This is self explanatory. Function batch takes path of input folder, output folder and path to the watermark picture. Output folder must exist, it won't create it automatically.

Happy watermarking!

Cool way to ask a CS major to vote

2009-05-06T17:04:00.001-07:00

I received this email from a friend of mine, he was compaining for Student Council elections for his roommate. Here is what he wrote:

//Author: Saleem Ullah
//Not yet compiled but positive results expected
import org.politics.students.council.elections.Vote;
import org.politics.students.council.elections.Cast;
import org.politics.students.council.elections.Rules;
import God.utils.Bless;

public class Main{
private AndayList andayList = null;
static void main(){
Vote vote = new Vote();
vote.setDate("07", "may", "2009");
vote.startsAt("11", "am");
vote.endsAt("05", "pm");
vote.setVenue("RecRoom");
setCandidates();
castVote(vote);
}

public void setCandidates(){
andayList = new AndayList();
andayList.add(Abdul Rehman Qureshi);
andayList.add(item2);
andayList.add(item3);
andayList.add(item4);
andayList.add(item5);
}

public void castVote(Vote vote){
if(Rules.IDCARD.present || Rules.SMARTCARD.present){
Cast castVote = new Cast("Anonymous");
castVote.castFor(andayList[0]); // Please Please Please
for(int i=0;i Bless.godBless(andayList[i]);
}
}
}
}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLEASE VOTE FOR ABDUL REHMAN QURESHI (MY DEAR ROOMMATE)!!!
Time: 1100 Hrs, Thursday, 07 May 2009
Venue: Rec Room
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Saleem.

Ditch Network Sharing

2009-04-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

I always get into trouble when sharing files across computers. Windows share sucks and when I have Windows and Linux cluster, Samaba just can not do it....
I always use to think that there should be some HTTP based solution to it as HTTP is proven protocol for file transfer, so I found a way and luckily dam easy way.

All you need is to install python on your system, even if you are not a coder, 20 - 30 MB setup of Python wont bite you. After you install it (generally Linux has it by default), go to command line, change directory to the directory you want to share and write:
Python -m SimpleHTTPServer
thats it. Now you have exposed that folder on port 8000. Open web browser from a computer on the network, open http://your-ip:8000 and you can download any file from that computer you want :)

Sahana Proposal

2009-04-22T04:20:00.001-07:00

Sahana
Disaster Management System

Google Summer of
Code 09

P2P
Synchronization of Shana Servers

(ShanaPHP <>
ShanaPy, ShanaPHP <> ShanaPHP, ShahaPy <> ShanaPy)

1. Personal
Details

Name Syed
Hasanat Ali Kazmi

Email
hasanatkazmi@gmail.com

Freenode
IRC Nickname: hasanatkazmi

IM
gtalk/jabber: hasanatkazmi@gmail.com

Biographical
information:

Present
Address: Room 102, M3, Lahore University of Management Sciences,
Lahore, Pakistan.

Country:
Pakistan

TimeZone:
GMT+5

Education:
BSc Computer Science Major, Junior year.

CV: http://hasanatkazmi.googlepages.com/hasanat-cv.pdf

Overview
of your exposure to similar technologies and/or FOSS in general:

I
have hands-on experience of web development using LAMP (both Python
and PHP), MVC, Python, Linux (Debian), web services, .NET.

“Why
would you like to help the Sahana project?”:

I
hail from Muzaffarabad which was the center of 2005 Pakistan
earthquake. I have seen miseries and Sahana helping on ground.
Besides emotional reasons, I have interest in cloud computing and
clustering, synching two servers is first step in clustering and I
want to take first step.

2. Personal
Availability

Have
you reviewed the Important Dates and Times?

Yes,
I will be free in the whole coding part of project except first few
days (up to 5 days)

Do
you have any significant conflicts with the listed schedule? If so,
please list them here.

Will
you need to finish your project prior to the end of the GSOC?

Are
there any significant periods during the summer that you will not be
available?

No
(except for the first few days, around 4 days)

3. Project
Abstract

Syncing
two Sahana servers is basically about syncing their databases. It
cannot be simple database dump because we also have different
database semantics at SahanaPHP and SahanaPy. So first I'll create a
module in SahanaPy which exports database as in SahanaPHP. The idea
is to build upon presently exporting mechanism. I will also extend
Synchronization module in each Sahana server to add automatic
synchronization by adding a new feature called 'Sync Pool' (As shown
in diagram). It will basically list all those pools which that
instance of Sahana belongs to. A user (admin) can join new pools,
edit the relationship with different pools (like type of data to
import, time lag for each sync attempt etc).

Software
which implements Zero Configuration runs continuously in the
background. It has a search mechanism which is implemented by two
tasks, 1: It exposes services with the name of all those pools which
the instance of Sahana has subscribed to. 2: It 'searches' all those
Sahana instances which have also subscribed to its pools. Once it
finds servers which are in the same pool as it is, it fetches their
database using Synchronization methodologies currently present (HTTP
GET/POST). User can also specify server by IP/URL. Then it parses the
XML and adds unique records in the database. At the time of
installation, software needs to know administrative password of
database.

4. Project Plan

This
section is to provide the detail of your project proposal. Take as
much space as is necessary.

Project
Deliverable - What is the essence of the project? What capability are
you looking at adding to Sahana that will expand its capability for
emergency/disaster management?

The
core of the project is to implement automatic syncing between
different instances of Sahana servers irrespective of the fact that
whether they are PHP or Python servers. Syncing of Sahana servers is
very important because there are many cases when multiple instances
of Sahana servers are installed, e.g. in the event of Kashmir
earthquake, different groups leave for different villages. Each group
has a laptop with instance of Sahana server installed. Other group
members access the server using PDA and add data on the go. When all
groups return to the base camp, they have to export their data
manually and the central server imports the data manually. This
process needs to automate. This will dramatically increase the
capability of system in emergency as everyone will be able sync with
other servers on the go. Technical requirements of the system will
also be very low, as in most of the cases, admin/user needs not to
know IPes of other instances of Sahana (though this option will also
be provided to override automatic search of IP adresses).

Project
Justification - What is the relevance of your idea to the project?
Why do you think it’s important to *have* this idea integrated
to the Sahana system.

This
project is very much relevant to Sahana and the community has been
taken in confidence about this project. Community expressed a dire
need for automatic syncing. This project will enhance the
capabilities of the Sahana in practical situation as it will make two
different types of servers compatible with each other and will
streamline synching between them.

Implementation
Plan - How are you going to implement your project? Use this section
to expand in as much detail as possible how it should be constructed.

(Refences
for explanation: http://hasanatkazmi.googlepages.com/sahana-mod.jpg
http://hasanatkazmi.googlepages.com/sahana-rough.jpg
)

Here
is step to step implementation of this project:

1.
Manual synchronization module in SahanaPy:

The
first part of the system would be to make almost same synchronization
module in SahanaPHP as present in SahanaPy. SahanaPy is based on
web2py which provides smooth access to database. Converting the data
to XML would be carried out using XML libraries in Python. I will
implement same XML conversion mechanism as present in SahanaPHP so
that it is totally compatible with each other. Similarly importing
feature will also be implemented where XML will be parsed and data
will be added in database. I will closely follow all conventions
followed in SahanaPHP so that if a programmer with experience on
SahanaPHP starts developing on SahanaPy, he feels familiarity with
the system.

An
important point of this system is that this can be embedded in a
programmatic system and data can be imported and exported
automatically. As importing and exporting is completely based on HTTP
GET/POST requests, this can be embedded in automatic system, as I
will do.

2.
Sync Pools:

After
implementing manual synching, I will expand this module in both
versions of Sahana and will introduce “Sync Pool” in both
types of servers. As shown in the figure, Sync pool defines the
relation with that instance of Sahana has with other instances of
Sahana.

What
is sync pool?

Sync
pool can be basically understood as a table. A user (say admin) of a
system can add all those pools which he/she wants to join. He also
checks those types of data which he wants to import from that
particular pool. He also enters a time lap after which he wants to
look for new data. For simplicity, consider there is only one pool
which he can join. When he joins that pool, the system will raise a
flag in the network that server is in that pool, moreover, system
will also look for all those machines with that flag. When found,
system will fetch the type of data which he has checked. Software
will repeat the process after each said time.

Sync
pool will also give choice to add IP address / URI of the server in
case if the user wants to override automatic server searching
process.

A
practical use case: NGO wanting to sync all instances of Sahana.

There
is an NGO which has deployed many instances of Sahana, some run on
Python, other run PHP and NGO wants that all of its Sahana servers
must sync. In that case, the admin of NGO will instruct admins of all
instances of Shana that they must join a pool called "abc NGO".
When everyone (including that admin of NGO) joins the pool, checking
all option for data import, it will result in complete
synchronization between the all instances of that NGO. If the admin
wants that it should be one way synchronization, i.e. all data must
come to his main server and no data should be sent to field servers
(as this is not required in some cases), he can ask admins of Sahana
instances to uncheck all data import option and checks all options at
his main server, this will result in all data coming towards his main
server only.

Please
note that once you join a pool, you expose you data for importing at
other machines of the same pool.

How
will this be implemented?

The
whole system is based on Zero Configuration. Sahana community has
already worked on it. Zero Configuration automates the process of
finding machines which offers particular service.

Please
note the point that for this system to work, it has to continuously
expose services to the network, this can only be achieved if we have
software running continuously. So, it cannot be implemented as a
website, though we can append its executable in the executables of
server to make its execution apparent (I do not promise if I will do
this as my concentrations will not be on this part)

An
example can show how it works.

Suppose
we have multiple instance of Sahana where each instance has joined a
pool called “abc NGO”, checking all data type to be
imported after x hours. The software which now runs as a daemon will
interact with the network in two ways.

a:
It will expose service with the name of “abc NGO” to the
network.

b:
It will continuously look to servers which have exposed service with
the name “abc NGO”, for all those servers which expose
this service, it will fetch checked type of data (as described in
sync pool) using manual synchronization module not this software. As
I told earlier, you can fetch data using HTTP requests.

One
of the most important hatches in network communication is data
unavailability, server downtimes etc, therefore a log will be
maintained logging all data communication. The current data
synchronization module in SahanaPHP provides sync history that will
also be implemented in SahanaPy. As the system will use same module
for seamless data synchronization, therefore it will automatically
list past data synchronizations.

Documentation
is essential part of a software specially FOSS. A standard
documentation will be done with the code.

Future
Options - Identify some aspects of the project that may not be within
the scope of this submission, but could form the basis for future
work that would build upon the outcomes of your project.

The
implementation will be generic and expandable. Potential future
buildups include:

In
case Zero Configuration doesnt seem to meet the challenges (as feared
by someone on the mailing list), it can be plugged off as it will be
implemented as a 'plug-in' to the system and new codebase can be
introduced.

This
project will create the basic framework for inter server
communication, in future if the need for exchanging other data
between servers is required, that can be implemented on its
infrastructure. It can provide API for the system (SahanaPHP and
ShahaPy) to communicate with remote servers.

For
much larger system, exchanging large XML files can be impractical;
therefore, binary diffs can be introduced in the present
architecture.

Relevant
Experience - Please list all experience you have that is directly
relevant to the proposed project, and how they would help you deliver
the project. If you have contributed to the Sahana project
previously, please clearly outline your contributions.

I
have deep knowledge and expertise with PHP, Python, Linux, MVC. This
project basically requires Python, web2py, PHP, web development and
basic networking understanding. I have extensively coded in Python,
PHP, and made many websites. I have used MVC mode of web development
in JSP. So, I believe I am completely equipped with the knowledge
required to complete this project.

5. Project Goals
and Timeline

Work
already undertaken - What research have you undertaken in this area
in advance? (These can just be bullet points and are not required to
follow the SMART methodology)

I
have gone through web2py as I haven’t previously worked on it.

I
used python implantation of Zero Configuration to test if it works,
it worked across my router.

First trimester (20
April - 22 May) - identify the SMART goals you have for the
community bonding period. Most of these are likely to revolve around
further scoping of the project with the community, engaging with the
community, and updating and finalizing the project plan.

(I
have already discussed my idea on sahana-dev, but it definitely needs
further development)

Due
Data SMART Goal Measure

27
April Understanding of XML conventions / protocol used for XML
conversion write-up describing step by step method used for
conversion to XML

3
May Understanding of present work done by community for ZeroConfig
a write-up describing present ZeroConfig status in the project and
step by step description that how it is going to be used

10
May updating the proposal for last time with feedback from community
Confirmation email from mentor in support of all changes

22
May discussing my whole implementation plan with community, taking
their notes, giving final touch to project workflow a
technical write-up with step by step description on how the coding
will be done, confirmation email from mentor

Second trimester
(23 May - 6 July) - identify the draft SMART goals you have for the
first half of the project. These will be used to assess project
process and form the basis for the mid-term evaluation.

Due
Data SMART Goal Measure

8
June import part data of synchronization module completed demo
of import part

15
June beta version web2py module for manual data
synchronization a working (though buggy) and complete demo of
manual synchronization module for SahanaPy

6
July manual synchronization module completed. Demo
final version of web2py synchronization module

Third trimester (7
July - 10 August) - identify the draft SMART goals you have for the
second half of the project. These will be used to assess the whole
project and in conjunction with the mid-term goals, form the basis
for the final evaluation.

Due
Data SMART Goal Measure

11
July sync pool implementation in SahanaPHP without the software
Demo of working system

25
July sync pool implementation in SahanaPy without the software
Demo of working system

5
August beta of complete software Demo

10
August Final version/ Bug free and totally integrated Final
Demo, Confirmation from mentor

Aitheistism or Monotheism: What science says

2009-02-16T00:29:00.000-08:00

This isnt my work, nor do I endorse what this article says.

Professing to be wise, they became fools . . .. "

"Let me explain the problem science has with God." ...The atheist professor of philosophy at Oxford University pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.
" So you believe in God?"
"Absolutely."
" Is God good?"
"Sure! God's good."
"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"
"Yes."
"Are you good or evil?"
"The Koran says I'm evil."
The professor grins knowingly. "Ahh! THE KORAN!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help them?
"Would you try?"
"Yes sir, I would."
"So you're good...!"
"I wouldn't say that
." "Why not say that? You would help a sick and maimed person if you could... in fact most of us would if we could... God doesn't.
[No answer.]
How is this God good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"
[No answer]
The elderly man is sympathetic.
"No, you can't, can you?" He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. In philosophy, you have to go easy with the new ones.

"Let's start again, young fella." "Is God good?"
"Err... Yes."
"Is Satan good?"
"No."
"Where does Satan come from?" The student falters.
"From... God..."
"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he?"
The elderly man runs his bony fingers through his thinning hair and turns to the smirking, student audience.
"I think we're going to have a lot of fun this semester, ladies and gentlemen." He turns back to the Muslim.
"Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"
"Yes, sir."
"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? Did God make everything?"
"Yes."
"Who created evil?
[No answer]
"Is there sickness in this world? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All the terrible things - do they exist in this world? "
The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."
"Who created them? "
[No answer]
The professor suddenly shouts at his student.
"WHO CREATED THEM? TELL ME, PLEASE! "The professor closes in for the kill and climbs into the Muslim's face. In a still small voice: "God created all evil, didn't He, son?"
[No answer]
The student tries to hold the steady, experienced gaze and fails. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace the front of the classroom like an aging panther. The class is mesmerized.
"Tell me," he continues, "How is it that this God is Good if He created all evil throughout all time?" The professor swishes his arms around to encompass the wickedness of the world. "All the hatred, the brutality, all the pain, all the torture, all the death and ugliness and all the suffering created by this good God is all over the world, isn't it, young man?"
[No answer]
"Don't you see it all over the place? Huh?" Pause. "Don't you?" The professor leans into the student's face again and whispers, "Is God Good?"
[No answer]
"Do you believe in God, son?"
The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor. I do."
The old man shakes his head sadly. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you? "
"No, sir. I've never seen Him."
"Then tell us if you've ever heard your God?"
"No, sir. I have not."
"Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God or smelt your God...in fact, do you have any sensory perception of your God whatsoever?"
No answer
"Answer me, please."
"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."
"You're AFRAID... you haven't?"
"No, sir."
"Yet you still believe in him?"
"...Yes..."
"That takes FAITH!" The professor smiles sagely at the underling.
"According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son? Where is your God now?"
The student doesn't answer
"Sit down, please."
The Muslim sits...Defeated.

Another Muslim raises his hand.
"Professor, may I address the class?"
The professor turns and smiles. "Ah, another Muslim in the vanguard! Come, come, young man. Speak some proper wisdom to the gathering."
The Muslim looks around the room. "Some interesting points you are making, sir. Now I've got a question for you. Is there such thing as heat?"
"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."
"Is there such a thing as cold?"
"Yes, son, there's cold too."
"No, sir, there isn't."
The professor's grin freezes. The room suddenly goes very cold. The second Muslim continues. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.
"There is no such thing as cold, otherwise we would be able to go colder than 458. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."
Silence. A pin drops somewhere in the classroom.
"Is there such a thing as darkness, professor?"
"That's a dumb question, son. What is night if it isn't darkness?
What are you getting at...?"
So you say there is such a thing as darkness?"
"Yes..."
"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, Darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker and give me a jar of it. Can you...give me a jar of darker darkness, professor?"
Despite himself, the professor smiles at the young effrontery before him.
This will indeed be a good semester.
"Would you mind telling us what your point is, young man?"
"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with and so your conclusion must be in error...."
The professor goes toxic." Flawed...? How dare you...!""
"Sir, may I explain what I mean?" The class is all ears.
"Explain... oh, explain..." The professor makes an admirable effort to regain control. Suddenly he is affability itself. He waves his hand to silence the class, for the student to continue.
"You are working on the premise of duality," the Muslim explains.
"That for example there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science cannot even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism but has never seen, much less fully understood them. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, merely the absence of it."
The young man holds up a newspaper he takes from the desk of a neighbor who has been reading it. "Here is one of the most disgusting tabloids this country hosts, professor.
Is there such a thing as immorality?"
"Of course there is, now look..."
"Wrong again, sir. You see, Immorality is merely the absence of morality.
Is there such thing as injustice? No. Injustice is the absence of justice.
Is there such a thing as evil?" The Muslim pauses... "Isn't evil the absence of good?"
The professor's face has turned an alarming color. He is so angry he is temporarily speechless.
The Muslim continues. "If there is evil in the world, professor, and we all agree there is, then God, if he exists, must be accomplishing a work through the agency of evil. What is that work, God is accomplishing?
The Koran tells us it is to see if each one of us will, of our own free will, choose good over evil."
The professor bridles. "As a philosophical scientist, I don't view this matter as having anything to do with any choice; as a realist, I absolutely do not recognize the concept of God or any other theological factor as being part of the world equation because God is not observable."
"I would have thought that the absence of God's moral code in this world is probably one of the most observable phenomena going," the Muslim replies.
"Newspapers make billions of dollars reporting it every week! Tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"
"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."
"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?" The professor makes a sucking sound with his teeth and gives his student a silent, stony stare.
"Professor. Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a priest?"
"I'll overlook your impudence in the light of our philosophical discussion. Now, have you quite finished?" the professor hisses.
"So you don't accept God's moral code to do what is righteous?"
"I believe in what is - that's science!"
"Ahh! SCIENCE!" the student's face splits into a grin.
"Sir, you rightly state that science is the study of observed phenomena. Science too is a premise which is flawed...
"SCIENCE IS FLAWED..?" the professor splutters. The class is in uproar. The Muslim remains standing until the commotion has subsided.
"To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, May I give you an example of what I mean?"
The professor wisely keeps silent. The Muslim looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out in laughter. The Muslim points towards his elderly, crumbling tutor." Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain... felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain?" No one appears to have done so. The Muslim shakes his head sadly.
"It appears no-one here has had any sensory perception of the professor's brain whatsoever. Well, according to the rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science, I DECLARE that this professor has no brain." The class is in chaos. The Muslim sits...

Because that is what a chair is for!!

A car in LUMS

2009-02-01T16:09:00.001-08:00

DSC00471
Originally uploaded by hasanatkazmi

I saw it parked outside M5. It was without an 'eye' so I just shot this snap

Feroz Abbasi

2009-01-21T10:37:00.000-08:00

On July 12, 2006 the magazine Mother Jones provided excerpts from the transcripts of a selection of the Guantanamo detainees.[10] Abbasi was one of the detainees profiled. According to the article his transcript contained the following exchange:

Abbasi: So, you are telling me I am an enemy combatant. I am telling you by special Geneva Conventions, I am a non-combatant….
Tribunal president: Once again, international law does not matter here. Geneva Convention does not matter here. What matters here and I am concerned about and what I really want to get to is your status as enemy combatant based upon the evidence that has been provided and your actions while you were in Afghanistan. If you deviate from that one more time you will be removed from this tribunal and we will continue to hear evidence without you being present….
Abbasi: I know, but I have the right to speak….
Tribunal president: No, you don’t.
Abbasi: And the personal representative told me I can say whatever I like.
Tribunal president: He was mistaken if he told you that….
[Abbasi continues to speak at length.]
Tribunal president: Once again…international law…. [Abbasi interrupts.] Mr. Abbasi, your conduct is unacceptable and this is your absolute final warning. I don't care about international law. I don’t want to hear the words “international law” again. We are not concerned with international law.

Apathy of XP for Linux..... no more

2008-11-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

I didnt know that installing XP alongside Ubuntu Linux can make problems except overwriting Grub. Tonight, after installing XP on my another partition ( off course, not the one which Ubuntu :) ) , when I tried to reinstall (rather resume) Grub by replacing windows boot loader using Ubuntu live CD, I received some unfamiliar errors, I wondered what has happened because I have did this times before (on different machines though) and never had any problem. All I always did was to follow this

Deeper and deeper I digging this problem, I was becoming sure that NT boot loader and NT itself has done some odd. Soon I was live using Ubuntu Live Cd ( I am writing this in Live mode ), even GParted showed two drives overlapping as their sectors were overlapping, running TestDisk cleared the situation:
Current partition structure: Partition Start End Size in sectors 1 E extended 0 1 1 38911 254 63 625121217 2 * HPFS - NTFS 6374 1 1 16572 254 63 163846872 Space conflict between the following two partitions 1 E extended 0 1 1 38911 254 63 625121217 2 * HPFS - NTFS 6374 1 1 16572 254 63 163846872

Ahhh!!!!, I lost my all Ubuntu Linux drives to Windows. My Ubuntu drive as well as swap space was lost. Can't understand why the hell Windows corrupted those partitions which it can't recognize. What it had to do with Linux drives ?????
Had I be having licensed XP and lots of $$, I would have sued MicroSoft, because none of XP Help Center's multiple boot support http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306559 or any other document in Microsoft Support Center for XP precautions that it can corrupt partitions. MicroSoft is happy to Tell us "How to remove Linux and Instal XP" but they can state that how dangerous NT can be.

Spades URL Poll

2008-10-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hello people, please Poll for URL for SPADES:

Click Here for Poll Survey Software
| Polls
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View MicroPoll

Marriot Attack

2008-09-23T21:40:00.001-07:00

Software Houses were situated in this building. This is very next neighbour of Mariot. Microsoft Pakistan Headquaters were also located here, all shatered.

a cup with LUMS logo on it

Coca-Cola Afghanistan :P

2008-08-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

Some days ago, I and Farrukh went to LUMS khokha where he showed me something which shocked me, here it is:

Note the circled text, it says made in Kabul, Afghanistan. ................ Now we are importing Coke from Afghanistan because our local Coca Cola's factories are no more producing tinned coke :P

Auto Wikipedia Article Locator

2008-08-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

Well, tonight after failing to get required results from my algorithms and after getting really bored with extreme Python, I decided to write a cool sniped:
Often blogs have links to Wikipeida articles, e.g. if I am writing something about Lahore University of Management Sciences, I write as Lahore University of Management Sciences :P, To make it generic so that people don't waste time searching Wikpedia for the link to article, I wrote a small PHP snippet which automatically forwards to the first article which wikipidia has about this topic.
BUT There is only one limitation, it forwards to the first result in Wikipedia which might not be the required one, but if you want some obvious article ( I mean if you are writing for Pakistan then the link to Pakistan's article is quite known and is obvious), it will guide you to the correct article.

Usage: use this as hyperlink as LUMS

Wikipedia.php

$tosearch = trim($_GET['go']);
$tosearch=str_replace(" ","+",$tosearch);
//using wikipedia API here
$result = file_get_contents("http://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=opensearch&search=".$tosearch."&limit=1");
$result= split('"',$result);
$result= $result[3];
$forwardto="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/".str_replace(" ","_",$result);
header('Location: '.$forwardto);
?>

Story of Installing Conexant modem chipset in Ubuntu

2008-08-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

After struggling with the GPRS modem which Sharjeel gave me, finally I decided that I have no choice but to use my poor ISP. SCO is the only company which can provide internet in Muzaffarabad as it is the only one allowed to do so. SCO is controlled by Army!!!!!
Well, when I decided to use dial up, soon I came to know that I have never installed drivers for my modem in Ubuntu, of course I never bothered before. But now I was without internet, so how could I run my synaptic??? And 2ndly, I don't want to install non-proprietor's drivers, because they are not as good as propertier: this is my personal preference.
Well, so the search began. I rebooted into Windows where I had my modem installed. So, soon I came to know that the chipset of my modem is made by Conexant.

So I simply googled and in secs I was on www.conexant.com and after a little searching, I was amazed to found that they had a dedicated Linux development team and they had a separate URL which has Linux drivers, wow. I was soon sent to www.linuxant.com . It was quite healthy to browser the site, looked good. They even had detailed support for each Linux distributions. But wait wait wait, what they are charging for Linux driver. What the yak. How can they charge for Linux driver only while they don't charge for Windows driver and how can they charge because driver is supposed to come to come with hardware. ok ok , I had this modem pre-installed in my laptop. hmm, Acer, errrrrrrr, you guys cheated on me. Acer sold me the laptop without telling me this. Acer support is no doubt one of the crappy support which laptop vendors have. Only Acer Europe Support's website opens and they only offer Windows drivers as no one can use any other OS. and now they charge.
Well, I downloaded the free version of driver which limits my speed to 14.4 kbps and also another package which was must for Ubuntu 8.04 only. But still its Ok, because I know my crappy SCO can never give me more than 3 kbps.

Fall of Dhaka, Thread on Rediff

2008-08-06T17:08:00.000-07:00

Some years back, I had a discussion on rediff.com and my thread followed some good number of replies.
http://mboard.rediff.com/board/board.php?boardid=news2006dec05msg&page=13
it talks about India's role in fall of Dhaka

Many things to come here

2008-05-24T23:44:00.001-07:00

I have done alot but havnt found time to make posts. I (and Farrukh) stood 4th in MIT's hardware competition, I wrote an article in Spider (May 2008) and We won Imagine Cup Pakistan, and now we are going to Paris in first week of july to participate in world finals...hmmmm i'll make some posts about all these things soon.

Speedzzzz

2008-04-01T13:52:00.001-07:00

Thats the max speed I could get in LUMS, :)

X64 and Live Messenger

2008-03-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

After a long time, a post:
I have gone through many shifts and changes, done a lot...

but the thing I am going to write about is my new laptop, its Acer travel mate 5520 with AMD Turion 64 bit processor, this architecture is extension of 32 bit, not altogether new technology, so it has 'backward compatibility'. If you install even 32 bit OS on it, it will run fine as if it is 32 bit (Infact many people use 32 bit version of windows on it because they often dont know the power of their AMD64), Thanks to AMD's technology which is also used by Intel.
Microsoft provides 64 bit version for Windows XP. Microsoft calls their versions of OS for 64 bit processors as x64. As the hardware architecture is extension of 32 bit, so OS installed on it can do a lot many things which a 32 bit processor is supposed to do. Microsoft has exploited this feature, they have given us an interface in x64 where we can install and use 32 bit programs: x64 provides a middle layer between assemble layer and software layer which converts programs to 64 bits, you would be thinking that this is emulation, infect its not so. On hardware level its not much different then putting 32bit equilant zero es before every data which is sent into a register - or, if I am wrong, its not much different from this.
Well, I have tried scores of 32 bit programs made using different technologies and frameworks, and they all work fine, but the problem is with only one software: Live Messenger
I gaze and laugh at Microsoft at their bull shit team who made installer for Live Messenger. Live Messenger is made using Microsoft's own tools and those tools would be .net or if they would have de-standardized it (which they often do), they would have made it using something on the lines of .net. The Messenger should work and I find no reason that why shouldn't it work on x64 where all 32 bit softwares including all versions of .net softwares work on x64. The problem is with its installer. As soon as you start the installer, its pops an error, that it can not be installed on x64 architectures, deferring Microsoft's own claim that infers that there is no 32 bit software which can not be installed on x64. Well, once again Microsoft has done what is their legacy.

LUMS Fire

2008-02-18T08:04:00.000-08:00

Time: Today around 1 PM
Place: behind store which is found behind under construction SSE (School of Sciences and Engineering ) Building, and under the 11KV electricity line.
Fire Lasted for: maybe less than 15 mins

Ahmedi Nijad

2008-02-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Fox News TV (USA) asked the Iranian President Ahmedi Nijad;
"When you look into the mirror in the morning what do you say to yourself"?
He answered: I see the person in the mirror and tell him "Remember"
you are no more than a small servant, ahead of you today is the heavy
responsibility, and that is to serve the Iranian nation".
Ahmedi Nijad, the Iranian President who astonished many when he first
reached to the office of the Presidency by donating all the high valued
Iranian carpets to one of the mosques in Tehran by replacing them with the
low cost ordinary carpets.
He observed that there was a huge extravagant lounge for receiving and
welcoming the VIPs and he ordered it to be closed and asked the protocol
office to arrange for an ordinary room only with the wooden chairs.
On many instances he joins the cleaning staff of the municipality
for cleaning the streets in the area where his home and the Presidency are
located.
Under his authority whenever he appoints any minister to his post he
gets a signed document from him with many points, particularly
highlighting that he shall remain poor and that his personal and his
relatives accounts will be watched and the day he leaves the ministry
shall be with dignity, and therefore it is not lawful for him or his
relatives to take any advantage of his office.
First of all he declared himself for all the "Big" wealth and the
property he owned was a Peugeot 504 car, model 1977, an old small
house inherited from his father 40-years ago in one of the poorest
zones in Tehran . His accounts with a zero balance and the only money
comes in to his a/c was from his salary from the university as a
lecturer with an amount of US$ 250 only.
For your information the President still lives in that same house. This is
all what he owns; the president of one of the world's important countries;
strategically, economically, politically and with regard to its oil and
defence.
He even doesn't take his personal salary with the argument that all the
wealth belongs to the nation and he is the safeguard over it.
One of the things that impressed the staff at the presidency is the bag
the President brings with him every day, which contains his breakfast;
some sandwiches or bread with olive oil and cheese prepared by his
wife and eats and enjoys it with all happiness.
One of the other things he changed was his personal carrier "the
President's Aircraft" to a cargo aircraft in order to save the
spending from the public treasury and he ordered that he will be
flying with the ordinary airline in the economy class.
He organizes meetings every now and then with all the ministers to know
their activities and efficiency and he closed down the office of the
Manager of the president and any minister can enter to his office without
any permission. He also stopped the welcome ceremonies like the red
carpet, the photo session or any personal advertisement or respect of
any kind while visiting any place in the country.
Whenever he has to stay in any of the hotels he asks them to make sure not
to give him a room with any big bed because he doesn't like to sleep on
beds but rather likes to sleep on the floor on a simple mattress with a
blanket.
Refer to some of the photographs which also confirm the above.
The Iranian president is sleeping in the guest room of his house after
getting away from his special guards who follow him wherever he goes and
photo is taken by his small brother according to the Wifaq Newspaper which
published this photo and the next day the photo was published in most of
the world's newspapers and magazines and particularly the Americans.
During the prayer you can see that he is not sitting in the first row.
And the final photo is of his dining room where the president is busy
eating his simple meal.
============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ====
Following are the inducements for Ministers in Pakistan :
Salary & Govt.concessions for a Member of NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (MNA):
Monthly Salary: Rs.120,000 to 200,000
Expense for Constitution per month: Rs.100,000
Office expenditure per month: Rs.140,000
Travelling concession (Rs.8 per km): Rs.48,000 (For a visit to Islamabad &
return: 6000 km)
Daily BETA during Assembly meets: Rs.500
Charges for 1 class (A/C) in train: Free (For any number of times & All
Over PAKISTAN )
Charges for Business Class in flights: Free for 40 trips / year (With wife
or P.A.)
Rent for Govt. hostel any where: Free Electricity costs at home:
Free up to 50,000 units
Local phone call charges: Free up to 170,000 calls.
TOTAL expense for a MNA per year: Rs. 32,000,000 (approx.)
TOTAL expense for 5 years: Rs.160,000,000
As such for 534 MNAs, the expense for 5 years comes to
Rs.85,440,000, 000 (about 9000 crores).
Think of the Great Democracy we have & Great Politicians we are......... .
PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO ALL CITIZENS OF PAKISTAN .... ..Before
Elections 2008 so that everybody can apply for a post of MNA!

Every Country has Army, Pakistan Army has a country

2007-12-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

-- from Khizzer

All credits are due to Sami for forwarding this on emailing list. I checked root & found Mr Moin as first sender & i guess probably he is the one who wrote this (as he didn’t credited anyone else ) but whateve, an excellent job done by the educated fellows. I felt using the word educated because as i see, majority of the educated have hardly any contribution towards awareness about important national issues. They are the ones least active in politics, an irony we are paying price for. Because we have left everything on either the illiterates or the ill-educated we have come this far into this mess so Its important to spread the word so next generations prepare for an action.
Some one recently mentioned that our Army is no more an Army, it has become a class that is acting now as a parasite like a its predecessors ( the colonial masters) & has decided probably not to let the nation progress their biggest help being the Mullah’s on whom people trust, thus an alliance of convenience for both & a hold on a land that can be one of the greatest nations if utilized to its full potential. Ever since 70’s we see these two designing, developing & maintaining a series of events to keep the nation busy & distract it from its core issues i.e poverty, education, health etc. One after another a new drama comes on stage & the unaware forget their miseries and become spectators to gain nothing in the end. I see the Lal-Masjid drama nothing short of this. While there is no hope from this class itself (a rebellion within ) & useless to hope from any illiterates the only hope is the middle class educated group which understands issues at both level, naturally. I said naturally becaue they are connected to upper & lower class equally. It has a keen eye on bigger issues (including international ) and has its hands on the nerve at the poverty stricken 40% population.
Enough Silence , its time we speak up against this drama of continuous eye wash. Thats it from me.
Read the email now . . .
Besides tens of thousands of Army Men working in government-owned airline and other government-owned industries here’s list of Army Officers in Civilian Govt. Departments and Government owned industries and civilian institutions of Pakistan including Universities. Pakistan should be called “Army Inc.”
General Pervez Musharraf (President of Pakistan)
Major General (Retd) Muhammad Anwar (President of Azad Kashmir);
Lt Gen (Retd) Khalid Maqbool (Governor Punjab);
Commander Khalil (Governor NWFP);
Lt General (Retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi (Federal Education Minister);
Col (Retd) S.K. Tressler (Federal Minorities & Culture Minister);
Lt Gen. Hamid Javed (Chief Executive’s Chief of Staff);
Lt General Muneer Hafeez (Chief of NAB);
Major General Usman Shah (Deputy Chief of NAB);
Major General Shujaat Zameer (Deputy Chief of NAB);
Major General Abdul Jabbar Bhatti (Chief, Regional Accountability Bureau, RAB,Punjab);
Air Vice Marshal Zakaullah (Chief of RAB NWFP);
Major General Tariq Bashir (Chief of RAB Sindh);
Major General Owais Mushtaq (Chief of RAB Balochistan) ;
Lt General (Retd) Hamid Nawaz (Secretary Defence);
Air Marshal (Retd) Zahid Anees (Secretary Defence Production);
Lt General (Retd) Saeedul Zafar (Secretary Railways);
Major General (Retd) Fazal Ghafoor (Ambassador to North Korea);
Brigadier (Retd) Abdul Majeed Khan (Ambassador to Tajikistan);
Major General (Retd) Salimullah (Ambassador to UAE);
Major General (Retd) Muhammad Hassan Aqeel (Ambassador to Thailand);
Lt General (Retd) Asad Durrani (Ambassador to Saudi Arabia);
Vice Admiral (Retd) Shamoon Aslam Khan (Ambassador to Ukraine);
Air Marshal (Retd) Najeeb Akhtar (Ambassador to Brazil);
Major General Syed Mustafa Anwar Hussain (Ambassador to Indonesia);
Lt General (Retd) Muhammad Shafeeq (Ambassador to Bahrain);
Major General (Retd) Agha Masood Hassan (DG of Postal Services);
Major General Farrukh Javed (Chairman National Highway Authority);
Rear Admiral Ahmad Hayat (Chairman Karachi Port Trust);
Rear Admiral Sikandar Viqar Naqvi (Chairman Port Qasim Authority);
Vice Admiral Tauqir Hussain Naqvi (Chairman National Shipping Corporation) ;
Major General (Retd) Muhammad Hassan (Chief of National Fertilizer Corporation) ;
A Lt. General (Chairman Pakistan Steel Mills);
Lt Colonel (Retd) Akbar Hussain (Export Processing Zone Authority);
Major General Shehzad Alam Malik (Chairman Pakistan Telecommunications Authority);
Air Vice Marshal Azhar Masood (Chairman National Telecommunications Authority);
Brigadier (Retd) Muhammad Saleem (Chairman NADRA);
Brigadier Mirza Babar Aziz (DG NADRA);
Brigadier (Retd) Muhammad Anwar Khan (DG NADRA NWFP);
Major General Raza Hussain (Chairman SUPARCO);
Major General Sabihuddin Bokhari (Surveyor General of Pakistan);
Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema (DG National Crisis Management Cell);
Air Marshal (Retd) Shafeeq Haider (Chairman Federal Public Service Commission);
Lt General Arshad Hussain (Member Federal Public Service Commission);
Lt General (Retd) Jehangir Nasrullah (Chairman Punjab Public Service Commission);
Major General (Retd) Arshad Chaudhry (Member Punjab Public Service Commission);
Major General (Retd) Arshadullah Tarar (Member Punjab Public Service Commission);
Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Aliuddin (DG Civil Aviation Authority);
Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Arshad Saleem (Deputy DG Civil Aviation Authority);
Major General Zafar Abbas (DG Anti-Narcotics Force);
Major General Syed Haider Javed (DG National Logistics Cell);
Major General (Retd) Inayatullah Khan Niazi (DG Auqaf, the Deptt. of Historical Relics);
Major General Pervez Akmal (MD OGDC);
Brigadier (Retd) Rizvan Ashraf (General Manager OGDC);
Brigadier (Retd) Ishtiaq Ali Khan (MD Pakistan Mineral Development Authority);
Major General (Retd) Hamid Hassan Butt (Chairman Pakistan Railways);
Lt General (Retd) Syed Shujaat Ali Khan (Rector Engineering University Lahore);
Lt General (Retd) Arshad Mehmood (Vice Chancellor Punjab University);
Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Sardar Khan (Vice Chancellor Engineering University Peshawar);
Captain (Retd) U.A.G. Isani (Vice Chancellor Islamabad University);
Lt General (Retd) Sardar Ali (DG National Institute of Public Administration) ;
Brigadier (Retd) Maqsoodul Hassan (DG Directorate of Education);
Brigadier Muhammad Ejaz (Home Secretary Punjab);
Brigadier Abdur Rehman (Director Health NWFP);
Brigadier Shadab (Secretary C&W Punjab) Brigadier Anees (Chairman Punjab Privatisation Commission);
Colonel (Retd) Shahid Qureshi (DIG Sindh Telecommunications) ;
Colonel (Retd) Ghulam Hussain (Secretary S&GAD NWFP);
Brigadier Mukhtar (Home Secretary, Sindh);
Brigadier Zaheer Qadri (DG, KDA, Sindh and not Secretary C&W NWFP);
Brigadier (Retd) Akhtar (Secretary to Governor Sindh);
Major General (Retd) Imtiaz (Chairman Pakistan Athletics Federation);
Brigadier Saulat Abbas (DG Pakistan Sports Board).
Brig. Khalid Javed, DG Projects Directorate, NADRA, Islamabad
Col Talmeez Abbas, DG Dataware Housing, NADRA, Islamabad
Maj Tahir M. Alvi DDG, Project Directorate, NADRA, Islambad
Brig Safdar Husain Awan is the Secy (C&W) NWFP Brig Qadri is DG KDA;
Brig Mohtarim is Home Secretary Sindh
Major General (Retd) Hashmi, Registrar, Pakistan Engineering Council;
Major General (Retd) Anis Bajwa, Chairman PTDC;
Major General (Retd) Asif Riaz Bokhari, NRB;
Brig Muhammad Toseef Uz Zaman Khan, Civil Aviation Authority;
Brig Saeed Ahmed Malik, WAPDA Head Qtrs Lahore;
Brig Muhammad Iqbal, WAPDA HQ Lahore;
Brig Mushtaq Ahmed, WAPDA HQ, Lahore;
Brig Khalid Sohail Cheema, DG Pak PWD;
Brig Shamshad Khan, GM NWFP NHA;
Brig (Retd) Zareen Khan, Project Incharge Ghazi Brotha Dam WAPDA;
Brig (Retd) Mukhtar Ahmed Tariq, GM Admin OGDC;
Brig (Retd) Muhammad
Hamayoun Khan, GM Procurement OGDC;
Brig (Retd) Sardar Javed Ashraf, MD KW&SB;
Brig (Retd) Nisar, IG Prisons (Sindh);
Brig (Retd) Zafar Ahmed
Malik, Karachi Building & Control Authority;
Brig (Retd) Aftab Ahmed, DG PHA;
Brig (Retd) Dilbar Husain Naqvi, MD National Construction Company;
Colonel Rauf, IG Prisons, NWFP;
Colonel Asif Jamal, MD, Multan
Development Authority;
Colonel (Retd) Najam ul Hasan Malik, TMO Rawalpindi;
Colonel (Retd) Hafiz Abdur Rehman Malik, MD WASA, Rawalpindi;
Colonel (Retd) Kanwar Muhammad Sherbaz Khan, GM CS&E OGDC;
Lt Col Muhammad Azim, GM NHA;
LT Col Naqeeb Amjad Malik, Manager CS&E OGDC;
Lt Col (Retd) Aziz ul Haque Mirza, Member (Operations) NHA;
Lt Col (Retd) Hafeezullah Awan, MD WASA Quetta.
Major General (Retd) Shujaat Ali Khan, Ambassador to Morocco;
Major General (Retd) Badruddin, Ambassador to Brunei;
Vice Admiral(Retd) Khalid Mir, Ambassador to Lebanon;
Brig (Retd) Muhammad Nisar, Ambassador to Argentina;
Brig. Sikandar Ali, Director, Anti Narctics Force;
Brig (R) Saeed Ahmad Rafi, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (He was inducted by Gen Musharraf into Foreign Service as incharge of overseas polling for Presidential Referendum in April);
Brig (R) Mian Khalid Habib, Chief of Protocol, M/o foreign Affirs;
Brig Tipu Sultan, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
Group Capt (R) Khalid Aziz Babar, Director General, M/o Foreign Affairs;
Naval Lt (R) Ghalib Iqbal, Consul General, Toronto (son-in-law of former Air Chief Anwar Shamim) {Anwer Shamim is a Quadiyani and had served General Zia, Anwer Shamim has huge ranches in California, USA, which he and his brother in Law Khursheed Anwer Mirza made through trafficking Narcotics during so-called
Afghan Jihad {the Time Weekly that carried this news was banned in Pakistan in 80s}.
Naval Lt (R) Qasim Raza Mutaqqi, Counsellor, Rome;
Col (R) Salik Nawaz, Deputy Chief of Protocol, M/o Foreign Affairs;
Capt (R) Masood Akhtar,Deputy Chief of Protocol, M/o Foreign Affairs;
Capt (R) Shaukat Muqaddam,Counsellor, Dublin;
Capt (R) Zaighamuddin Azam Khan, Counsellor, Berlin;
Capt (R) Sohail Ittehad Hussain, Director General,M/o Foreign Affairs;
Capt (R) Khalid Durrani, Director, M/o Foreign Affairs.
General ® Jahangeer Karamat, Ambassador of Pakistan in USA.
Brigadier ® Ejas Shah, Director General Intelligence Bureau. The above list was of 2002. In 2003, as many as 104 serving and retired Lieutenant Generals, Major Generals or equivalent ranks from other services are among the 1,027 military officers inducted on civilian posts in different ministries, divisions and Pakistani missions abroad after Oct 12, 1999 military takeover. The number of army Brigadiers or their equivalent ranks from the Navy and Air Force is even higher at 160, according to an annexure placed before the Senate library.There have been 14 ambassadors and a high commissioner from the military ranks during this period. Of these 1,027 military officers inducted on civilian posts, 27 military officers have been given the prized grade of 22 while 62 officers have been adjusted in grade 21. A whopping figure of 150 officers occupy civilian positions in Grade 20. There are 276 officers between grade 20 and 22 alone. The nature of their jobs varies from deputation, secondment, re-employment to contract basis. These military officers occupy civilian posts
in a situation where, according to Incharge Cabinet Division Raza Hiraj, there are 700 ‘unabsorbed’ surplus civilian employees. There are 33 officers on special duty (OSD) just in grades between 19 and 21.The range of fields where military officers are working on civilian posts encompasses every sector of human endeavour including communications, education, diplomacy, water and electricity management, information, post office, jails, local bodies, think tanks, industrial production, shipping, minority affairs, population welfare,
health, agriculture, railways, highways, housing, labour and manpower, social and women development, law and justice and sub-sectors of sports from cricket to hockey.A close look at the figures shows that these military personnel occupy 13 posts in the cabinet division, 5 posts in the commerce ministry, 98 in communications ministry, 113 in the defence division, 52 in the defence production division, 9 in the education ministry, 16 in the establishment division, 24 in the ministry of foreign affairs, 6 in the ministry of food, agriculture and livestock. There are 88 military officers working in the
ministry of interior, 2 in the health ministry, 6 in the housing and works ministry, 29 in the industries and production ministry, 3 in the information and broadcasting ministry, 58 in the ministry of Information Technology, 25 in the Kashmir affairs and northern affairs ministry, five in the labour and manpower division, 17 in the ministry of minorities affairs, 39 in the ministry of petroleum and natural resources, just one each in the ministry of population welfare, the planning and development division and the ministry of religious affairs. There are two military officials working in the revenue division (CBR), 21 in the ministry of science and technology, 72 in the ministry of railways/railway board, 37 in the ministry of water and power, 5 in the ministry of women development, 6 in the Wafaqi Mohtasib (Federal Ombudsmen). There are another 37 officers who have been inducted under the military’s 10 per cent quota in civilian posts over and above these appointments. In the Foreign Affairs 13 Lieutenants and Major Generals were appointed as ambassadors in different countries, while one Brigadier and a Major also got ambassadorial positions. Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani was appointed as ambassador in Riyadh (contract expired on October 2002).
Vice-Admiral (retd) Shamoon Alam Khan was appointed as ambassador in Kyiv (up to August 28, 2003), Vice-Admiral (retd) Khalid M Mir was appointed ambassador in Beirut (up to July 2003), Lt-Gen (retd) Nasim Rana as ambassador in Kuala Lumpur (up to July 2003), Air Marshal (retd) Muhammad Farooq Qari as ambassador in Tripoli, Lt-Gen (retd) Agha Jehangir Ali Khan as ambassador in Mexico, Maj-Gen
(retd) Shujaat Ali Khan as ambassador in Rabat (up to September 2003), Maj-Gen (retd) Fazal Ghafoor as ambassador in Tashkent (contract expired on April 2002), Maj-Gen (retd) Salim Ullah as ambassador in Abu Dhabi (up to June 2003), Lt-Gen (retd) Mohammad Shafique as ambassador in Bahrain (contract expired on October 2002), Maj-Gen (retd) Muhammad Hassan Aqeel as ambassador in Thailand (up to June 2003), Maj Gen (retd) Syed Mustafa Anwar Hussain as ambassador in Indonesia (up to August 2003) and Maj-Gen (retd) Sultan Habib as ambassador in DPR Korea (up to October 2003). Brigadier Abdul Majid Khan was appointed as ambassador in Dushambe (contract expired on June 2002), while Major Badruddin was posted as high commissioner to Bender Seri Begawen. In the cabinet division, Maj-Gen Khalid Bashir was appointed as Member (Tech) Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) (up to November 2001), Maj-Gen Raza Hussain as chairman SUPARCO and Maj-Gen Shahzada Alam Malik as Chairman PTA.
These inductions were made on regular basis. Similarly, in the ministry of communications, Maj-Gen Tariq Javed was inducted as National Highway Authority chairman on November 11, 2000 but was later repatriated. In his place Maj Gen Furrakh Javed was appointed as NHA chief on November 5, 2001 on a secondment
basis. He already had served as deputy director general (Dev) in the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Likewise,
Maj-Gen (retd) Agha Masood Hasan was appointed as Director General Pakistan Post Office on a contract basis, Vice-Admiral Taj Muhammad Khattak was appointed as Chairman Port Qasim Authority (PQA) on secondment, Rear Admiral Muhammad Asad Qureshi was appointed as Director General PQA, Vice
Admiral (retd) S Tauquir H Naqvi as Chairman Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) on contract,
Vice Admiral (retd) S Abaid Ullah Khan as chairman (PNSC) (contract terminated on October, 2000), Rear Admiral Bakhat Ali Jumani was appointed as Executive Director (Ship Management PNSC), Rear Admiral (retd) Sarfraz Khan was appointed as Chairman Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), Rear Admiral Muhammad Nashat Raffi as General Manager Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Vice Admiral Ahmed Hayat was appointed on a contract basis as Chairman Karachi Port Trust (KPT), but prior to him Vice Admiral (retd) Khalid Mohammad Mir was serving as chairman. Maj Gen (retd) Mohsin Ahmed Vahidy was appointed as Executive Directive PNSC Karachi on a contract basis but he is not serving now, while Rear Admiral Sikandar Viqar Naqvi was appointed chairman PQA (not serving). Similarly, in the ministry of defence, Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Nawaz Khan was re-employed on a contract basis as secretary ministry of defence but earlier Lt-Gen (retd) Nasim Rana was serving in this capacity whose contract was terminated on July 8, 2001. Rear Admiral Irfan Ahmad was appointed as Additional Secretary (contract terminated), then Maj-Gen Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry was made Additional Secretary, defence ministry, on secondment basis. Maj-Gen Javed Iqbal was appointed as Director General Military Land and Cantonments (ML&C) on secondment but he was later retired. Later,
Maj Gen Muhammad Jawed was appointed as DG ML&C on secondment. Maj-Gen Mahboobul Muzaffar and Maj-Gen Sabihuddin Bokhari were appointed as Surveyor General of Pakistan. After their retirement, Maj-Gen Tariq Javed was appointed in their place on secondment basis. Rear Admiral Arshad Munir Ahmed was appointed Ex-Managing Director Karachi Shipyard (contract expired), Air Vice Marshal S Javed Raza as Director Pre Engineering PIA, AVM (retd) Niaz Hussain Director (Engineering) PIA and AVM
Arshad Rashid Sethi as Deputy Director General, CAA (not working).
In the Defence Production Division, Air Marshal (retd) Zahid Anis was appointed as secretary D P Division. Earlier Lt-Gen (retd) Lehrasab was working in his place. Similarly, Maj-Gen Ali Baz was appointed as Additional Secretary D P Division. Earlier, Maj-Gen Rehmat Khan was serving as Additional Secretary D P Division. Maj-Gen M Salimuddin was re-employed after his retirement from the army as Chief Scientists and Scientific Adviser DESTO in place of Maj-Gen Akbar Saeed Awan, while Maj-Gen Syed Ali Hamid was appointed as Director General DEPO on secondment basis while AVM Aurangzeb Khan was appointed Chairman Pakistan Aeronautical Complex board, Kamra. In the Establishment Division,Maj-Gen (retd) Rahmatullah was appointed as Managing Director Federal Employees Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance. Earlier, Maj-Gen (retd) Inayatullah Khan Niazi was working in his place. Air Marshal (retd) Shafique Haider was appointed as Chairman Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) while Lt-Gen (retd) Arshad Hussain was appointed Member, FPSC.Maj-Gen (retd) Sikander Shami was appointed as Director General of Head of Institute of NIPA, Lahore, while Lt-Gen (retd) Sardar Ali as Director NIPA, Lahore, both on a contract basis. Maj-Gen Muhammad Iqbal Khan was appointed as Managing Director PASSCO on contract in the ministry of food, agriculture and livestock, Maj-Gen Ahsan Ahmad as Director General health on secondment but was replaced by Maj-Gen (retd) Muhammad Aslam also on secondment/contract in the health ministry.In the interior ministry Maj-Gen (retd) Zahid Ehsan was appointed as Chairman Nadra (posted out) while in the ministry of industries and production Maj-Gen (retd) M Mohsin was appointed as chairman NFC (national finance commission) on contract. AVM Azhar Maud was appointed National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) chairman.In the ministry of information and broadcasting Maj-Gen (retd) Jamshed Ayaz Khan was appointed as president Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad, on contract. In the minorities, culture, sports, Maj-Gen (retd) Inayat Ullah Khan Niazi was appointed Chairman ETPB (contract expired), while Maj-Gen Anis
Ahmad Bajwa was appointed as Managing Director PTDC Islamabad on contract. He had already served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Chief Executive in the Prime Minister’s secretariat. Lt-Gen Hamid Javed was appointed as Chief of Staff to the President in the president’s secretariat.Similarly in the Prime Minister’s secretariat Lt-Gen Ghulam Ahmad was appointed as chief of staff to Chief Executive in place of Lt-Gen Hamid Javed. Maj-Gen Abdul Jabbar Bhatti, Maj-Gen Shafaatullah Shah and Maj-Gen Muhammad Yousaf were also appointed as deputy chief of staff to chief executive. Maj-Gen Haroon Sikandar Pasha was appointed as Director Chief Executive’s secretariat. Maj-Gen Nadeem Taj had also served as Military Secretary (MS) to Chief Executive (posted as MS to the president from January 2002). Lt-Gen Khalid Maqbool (now Governor Punjab) and Lt-Gen Syed Muhammad Amjad were appointed as Chairm an National Accountability Bureau (NAB), while Maj-Gen Abdul Jabbar Bhatti, Maj-Gen Ijaz Ahmed Bakhshi and Maj-Gen Ovais Mushtaq Qureshi, AVM (retd) M Saleemud Din, Maj-Gen Muhammad Sabir, Maj-Gen Nazakat Ali Khan, Maj-Gen Shujaat Zamir Dar, Maj-Gen Syed Usman Shah and Maj-Gen Tariq Bashir, Rear Admiral Ihsanul Haq, Real Admiral Ubaid Sadiq, AVM Masood Akhtar, AVM Zakaullah Khan and AVM (retd) Khuda Dad were subsequently appointed as Director General, NAB Maj-Gen (retd) Syed Asif Riaz Bokhari was appointed as Member, NRB on a contract basis.Maj-Gen Parvez Akmal was appointed as Managing Director Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) (not working) while Maj-Gen (retd) Syed Usman Shah was appointed as Director General Intelligence and Investigation. In the railways ministry Lt-Gen (retd) Javaid Ashraf Qazi was appointed as secretary/chairman Pakistan Railways. After his contract was terminated Lt-Gen (retd) Saeeduz Zafar replaced him. On termination of his contract, Maj-Gen (retd) Hamid Hassan Butt was appointed as General Manager M & SPR but his contract too was terminated. Lt-Gen (retd) Zulfiqar Ali Khan was appointed as WAPDA Chairman on secondment/contract while Maj-Gen (retd) M Aslam Zuberi was appointed Adviser in the Wafaqi Mohtasib secretariat (contract expired). Those who were appointed in the attached departments include Air Marshal (retd) Sharbat A Changazi who was appointed as Director State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan and Rear Admiral (retd) Ejaz Husain appointed as General Manager Special Project, Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd. {4}

The Emergency Times

2007-11-23T21:55:00.000-08:00

Quote of the Day

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled”.

-Plutarch

Pakistan suspended from Commonwealth

Pakistan has been suspended from the Commonwealth because of its imposition of emergency rule, the organization has announced after a meeting in Uganda.

Secretary General Don McKinnon said Pakistan was being suspended "pending restoration of democracy and the rule of law". Earlier Pakistan's Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to Pervez Musharraf's re-election as president.

Quaid-e-Azam University Protest continues

1500 students shout their defiance

Students from Quaid-e- Azam University continued to protest against the emergency on Thursday, observing a Black Day and marking the event by making a human chain. One of the largest ever student protests in the country for decades, it consisted of around 1500 students and faculty members, chanting anti-emergency slogans and demanding the restoration of the judiciary and the constitution. The QAU protest campaign is nearing the end of its third week, interrupted only by holidays and Fridays.

We reaffirm our support to and solidarity with the QAU students. Our struggle against injustice is one and the same.

LUMS protest continues: Press Release

Lahore 22.11.2007: The protests at LUMS continued unabated on Thursday and throughout the week. Two flash protests were held in DHA earlier in the week, while today, a banner was signed by students not just from LUMS but also by students from all over Pakistan attending the LUMS Model United Nations. The students were demanding the restoration of the judiciary, freeing the protest prisoners, and the independence of the media.

The recent crackdown on political debate in universities by the federal government was widely condemned by the student body. It directly contradicts General Musharraf's proclaimed agenda of bringing 'enlightened moderation' to this country. Building walls around people's minds can never achieve any kind of enlightenment.

This move is evidence that the government's increasingly oppressive policies are now beginning to cast a shadow in the private sphere as well. As one student in LUMS put it, one wonders if the next ban will be on political debate in the household. The question is, does General Musharraf want to turn this country into Stalinist Russia?

Political Debate banned in Colleges, Universities

(Courtesy DAWN)

ISLAMABAD, Nov 21: The federal government on Tuesday imposed a ban on open debate on media curbs, suspension of judges and emergency in all colleges and universities in the country. Well-placed sources said students of various universities and colleges in Islamabad had been strongly protesting against emergency rule, curbs on the media and suspension of judges, for the last few days to express solidarity with the electronic media. Taking notice of the situation, the federal government has banned debate in all colleges and universities and warned of strict action against violators. Students, civil society activists and others have been continuously protesting against the imposition of emergency for the last 12 days.

(Yet another milestone of the Police State. One wonders if a separate directive will be issued for households soon.)

We Shall Overcome

S.M

Then they came for me

But by that time

There was no one left to speak up

-Martin Niemoller

Once the lawyers, political activists and journalists were either in jail or being beaten half to death, Musharraf expected little opposition. But opposition came from an unexpected corner – the students.

As protests continued in different parts of the country, Musharraf saw that the students' involvement gave heart to the activists, lawyers and journalists who had feared their movement might die as they were jailed. So, piqued, he thought to himself, 'Obviously, since I've spent about 2% of the budget on education, these students can't have been taught very well. They really don't understand what an emergency means. I must make it clear to them, say it out in so many words!'

And so, along came our fearless leader's and his regime's latest pearl of wisdom to lead this country away from extremism and political suicide – NO POLITICAL DEBATE ALLOWED IN ANY UNIVERSITY! Why is this a problem? Why don't we all just go to college/university, study our economics, maths, computer science, and social sciences, and graduate safely?

It's important because the very point of a university is to encourage debate, to analyse, criticise and demand change. If there is to be a restriction on what we can or can not discuss, then we might as well sit at home, read our books and take our exams privately. But we do not do that. We go to schools and universities so that we can meet people with ideas and opinions different from our own. Such interaction stimulates us to think and accept a variety of views.

Therefore, by cracking down on political debate in universities, Musharraf is attacking the education system itself. On the one hand, this development does chalk one up for the students. The protests being held by a generation thought to be entirely politically apathetic are clearly bothering General Musharraf and his posse. On the other hand though, it causes some concerns. Can our professors still have a discussion in class as to the legitimacy of our 'President', his chosen minions, and their policies? Does this mean that Musharraf himself can not come and address a gathering of students? How about Benazir? Or Negroponte? One could go on with this list of questions.

There is also of course the problem of the government actually trying to stifle political debate on campuses. Will we let it do so? Maybe it's my imagination, but I can hear a resounding 'NO' coming from somewhere.

As part of an academic community, it is every student's right to hold political debates. Furthermore, it is also every student's right to critique their government. Musharraf has already placed restrictions on what media we can access. He has taken away our right to movement, assembly, speech – oh wait, he's taken away ALL our rights!

Now, he's interfering with what we can talk about at university. Tomorrow, he'll be telling you that you can't hold a political debate in your house, and the day after, it'll be that you can't put up an anti-emergency banner in your room. No one should have to remind you that history has seen crackdowns like this before. No one needs to tell you what happened as a result of them. We've all heard of Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin (to mention just a few).

At the end of the day, this fight is about you. It is about your life and what you deserve as human beings and as citizens of Pakistan. It is unfortunate that we have to fight for our basic human rights at all, but if we must, then we shall!

Teachers joining the Movement

By now it should become apparent to this government, that their up against not just lawyers. With students and civil society members already behind the legal fraternity in the protest movement, teachers have now begun to step up protests in universities across the country.

University teachers announce two-hour boycott of classes (The News):

PESHAWAR: Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff has decided to boycott classes from 10 a.m. to 12 noon in all public sector universities of the province to protest what they called the non-cooperation of the Higher Education Commission (HEC). A statement issued here Tuesday said that teachers would not deliver lectures in the duration but would attend a protest meeting in the convocation hall and would arrange a walk to show solidarity with civil society and condemn human rights violation, curbs on media and imposition of emergency by the government.

Punjab University Teachers charged with Sedition

As a continuation of the attack on all civil institutions, the illegal and unconstitutional government of Gen. Musharraf has instituted sedition charges against the following 14 members of the academic staff of Punjab University:

1. Dr. Mumtaz Salik, President, Punjab University Academic Staff Association (PUASA)
2. Dr. Asmatullah, Secretary General, PUASA
3. Dr. Haris Rashid, Director, Centre for High Energy Physics
4. Samee Uzair, Law College
5. Amanullah, Law College
6. Mujahid Mansoori, ICS
7. Dr. Shafiq Jallandhari, ICS
8. Nayyar Raza Zaidi, Director, IBIT
9. Dr. Mujahid Kamran, Chairman, Department of Physics
10. Ziaullah Shah, IER
11. Rana Majid IER
12. Prof. Bashir Ahmad, Pharmacy College
13. Prof. Chaudhry Muhammad Nazir, Department of Geology
14. Prof. Abdul Ghaffar, Department of Geography

These academics have been charged with sedition and provoking the masses against the government for its action of imposing emergency and promulgating the PCO. This FIR was registered after the above teachers had taken part in demonstrations against the promulgation of emergency and for the restoration of the constitution and the judiciary. These were peaceful protests held inside the campus.

It should be noted that the maximum penalty for sedition is death.

FAST Administration threatened by Military Intelligence

Military Intelligence has threatened the director of FAST, one of the country’s premier educational institutions, with closure of the university if students are not barred from holding protests, rallies or distributing anti-government pamphlets or blogging. An alumnus of the institution, an active member of the protest movement, on condition of anonymity said that their phones were being tapped, their activities monitored and they were on the ‘Red Line’.

General Musharraf: What he says, what he does

Academics for Freedom

General Musharraf has been unusually prolific with his statements over the last 10 days. Here are some things he said (in bold text) followed by what he actually did, and therefore, what I think he may really have been trying to say.

“This has been the smoothest transition from one government to the next” (at the swearing-in ceremony of the interim Prime Minister):

I put the entire country under a state of emergency; barred the real judiciary from commenting on the legitimacy of political processes; arrested all my political opponents; and once everyone, and their supporters, were safely behind bars or under house arrest or denied entry into the country (even though the silly courts said we should allow them back in); I dissolved the assembly and brought in my OWN party’s sitting Senate Chairman as Prime Minister. I’m told this is a complete violation of the Constitution. My response – what’s one more!

“I want balanced politics and democracy” (from the Sky News interview).

With my party still in power in the interim government, with my party’s nazims firmly in place in most districts, thanks to a highly rigged 2005 local government election, with political rallies banned and with political leaders and their supporters under constant threat of arrest, we should now be able to have completely fair and free elections. “This is the essence of democracy” (Musharraf’s favourite new phrase).

“I want freedom of expression” (from the Sky News interview).

I know I’ve closed all media channels, but that’s because “I don’t like the intentional distortion of facts by the media” (his own words). I’m much happier with my own distortion of facts, and I am particularly comfortable with the twisted facts that my pet Chaudhries present in their speeches. That’s why I have allowed one neutral channel, PTV, to keep operating. These are the only distorted facts that you should have to see. You see, I am once again thinking only about Pakistanis.

“I want positive vibes and non-confrontational politics” (from the Sky News interview):

And the best way to ensure that is to turn this into a police state. I want the police to confront and attack every citizen in this country if he/she should speak against my enlightened form of democracy and non-confrontational politics, and to lock up any political opponents. You see, if they are locked up, there will be no confrontation, and that “is the essence of democracy”.

And the best for last – “In my mind and in my heart, I want democracy”:

It’s just in my actions that I cannot seem to reveal that to anyone. I’m very good at keeping matters of the heart secret”.

Letter of Support by LUMS Students to SHC, LHC and SC Judges

Dear Sir,

Our generation - born and bred in the politically disappointing decade of 1990s that ushered in another military rule in Pakistan - had always doubted the possibility of change. Our parents and peers told us that the only way to live in the country was to subject our ideals to the “system” and that the only code of conduct was that of bribery and bullying. They quoted history books and told us how pointless it was to struggle for justice and democracy in Pakistan. Newspapers and TV channels simply added facts that proved their arguments and our own little experiences with “practical life” verified them.

We didn’t see people around us as good and bad, or right and wrong, but simply as the smart and the stupid in terms of their dealings with political reality. We weren’t able to take any sides because we didn’t see any. All we saw was a jumble of interests, each and every one of which could be compromised at a certain price. The theories and principles we learned at school and college seemed utterly devoid of any relevance to our real lives.

But then we saw some people fighting, not for their personal material interests, but for ideas and institutions. Ideas and institutions that form the basis of justice and democracy. We saw them fighting with a passion and selflessness that simply astounded our conventional understanding. We also saw them being oppressed and tortured with such heartlessness that offended the very notion of being human. For the first time in our lives, we saw a conflict where compromise was not an option. For the first times in our lives, we were in doubt about which side to take.

Many judges of superior courts have been put under house arrest. Hundreds of lawyers have been arrested, put under house arrest or forced to go underground. Despite all this, thousands of them are resolved to take the fight to its rightful end, and are bravely facing the inhumane violence being meted out to them on the orders of a power-hungry military dictator. But let us assure you, the lawyers are not alone in this struggle.

We, the students of LUMS and those of many other universities, have joined lawyers in many protests for the independence of judiciary and have witnessed the despicable yoke of dictatorship with our own naked eyes. We have also witnessed the purity of intentions with which lawyers have struggled to throw off this yoke. This purity of intentions and resolve has shown us a much-awaited glimmer of hope. It has shown us the possibility of change.

For giving us this glimmer of hope, this tangible inspiration, this possibility of change, we thank you.

For your courage and resolve, for your steadfastness, for your selflessness, we salute you.

For carrying on the struggle and showing all of Pakistan what a principled stand really means, we congratulate you.

And rest assured, we won’t let you down.

Signed,

The Student body of the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Most dangerous country of the World

2007-11-23T21:52:00.001-08:00

The cover of Newsweek’s last issue dubbing Pakistan as the most dangerous country in the world, not merely stunned Pakistanis but the entire world, which earlier considered Iraq and Afghanistan as the most dangerous states.

The cover stating " the most dangerous country in the world is not Iraq. But it’s Pakistan" sent a wave of shock and anger all over Pakistan with analysts fearing the Newsweek’s move as part of ongoing campaign against the country’s nuclear programme.

Ironically, the Newsweek’s report does not contain any comparison or facts and figures about suicide bombings, killing of civilians, and personnel, and other terrorist incidents in Pakistan and Iraq.

According to analysts, the Newsweek’s report is totally baseless, and nothing more than a cock and bull story. Surprisingly, the Newsweek analyst totally forgets the facts that in Iraq, killing of US soldiers, hundreds of civilians, Iraqi troops, and suicide bombing have been an everyday affair.

Around 4000 US soldiers have so far been killed in Iraq since 2004, whereas the entire infrastructure of the country has been destroyed by everyday suicide bombings and bomb blasts.

The analyst also forgets the fact that there is no normal life in Iraq, while Pakistan is the second fastest growing country in Asia.

Here are some questions.
1)what is your opinion about Newsweek’s report?
2)Is this a calculated attempt to prove that Pakistan’s nuclear pro gramme is not safe and may go in hands of extremists?
3) Is this a move to pave the way for foreign forces in Pakistan?

I was dead

2007-11-23T21:48:00.001-08:00

I couldnt log into my blogger account and couldnt blog for some important days - I dont know why?

Emergency Times No. 6

2007-11-11T04:28:00.000-08:00

The Emergency Times

Iqbal Day Rally

V

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The LUMS student body, in keeping with the spirit of Iqbal day, organized yet another protest rally, their 4th this week, to express their collective disapproval of Musharraf's declaration of emergency, and his outright subversion of the Judiciary. Even with the final exams beginning the next day, the student participation in the event was commendably substantial, around 300 people being present. The rally started with speeches by students, who all stressed the importance of continuing the dedicated protest, in whatever manner or form against the Executive's unjustified actions. Some students recited poetry written by the national poet – Allama Iqbal – to show how his poetry reflects youth awakening, and its crucial role in the country's future. It was also decided that a hunger strike would commence from Monday; students participating in the hunger strike will be on the LUMS campus, studying for their exams yet stressing their continued protest against the President's outrageous escapades.
Two LUMS Faculty members also spoke at the rally, once again stressing the need for continued action against the Executive, and giving the students a perspective on how to strategize for the future. Pamphlets were distributed and placards were raised against the state's actions. The rally then took to the streets of LUMS, with the students walking in a circle around the academic block. This was, once again, a silent protest – to signify the way in which the media is being treated, and
to signify the attempt to silence the entire society through the suspension of their fundamental right to peacefully assemble. At the end of the march, a student passionately recited original poetry about the Hobbesian state of affairs prevailing the country, to great applause..
The LUMS student body pledged to continue to express its vehement disapproval of the illegal and oppressive way in which the Executive has dismissed the judiciary, imposed martial law, and suppressed the fundamental rights of the citizens of Pakistan.

FAST Protest Continues

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The Students of FAST-Lahore continued their protest today, with around 3-400 students gathering on their campus after Juma prayers, and staging a peaceful rally. A number of students and faculty members spoke at the meeting and spoke about the emergency and martial law enforcement. The Police presence outside their campus remains..
We salute our fellow students, who remain steadfast in their defiance.

Let’s Make History

Will it work this time? All these protests, with all the risk they are taking – will it mean something? Will it be different this time?
The short answer is, "I don't know," but I am going to tell you this:
I am too busy resisting all day and coordinating online to waste time thinking "What if?"
In fact, I have stopped trying to pick arguments online. If the person is receptive, fine, else move on and do something useful elsewhere. Time is valuable. And quite frankly even if this does not succeed, it will have changed the face of the top universities of our country. THAT won’t go away easily. It will have changed the upper middle class! THAT wont go away easily either. It's a paradigm shift, what is happening today. It's like a communal memory. People will remember this time and use it as a precedent for further resistances. It doesn't matter if this one fails! It will become a symbol and a teacher for the next one! It will be a thorn in the side of corrupt politicians and general for a long long time - this attitude of ours that we are spreading. Every time someone tries to kill the media or the judiciary or play soccer with the constitution, THESE memories will rise up
Our sweet little la la land slumbers are over.
If you have read any history you will realize that we have already sown the seeds of resistance for DECADES to come. Pakistani political landscape has been changed forever. It might take a long time, but it has started. It begins, nay it BEGAN here. And we are the focus, the originators, and the center.
We are making history. (Good God!)
Even BB, who was all set to join up with Mush, with Amreeka behind her, has had to come out and say, we will protest and have rallies. You think she would have done that without the international outcry? Without the lawyer's rallies? Without the students rising up on their campuses?
And now, whether she likes it or not, looks like her party and all the political leverage it has, has been allied to the cause of the lawyers. (Hopefully!)
It is time.
Let's make history.

Bleak News from Pindi

Message from Aasim Sajjad in Pindi:

Situation in Pindi/Islamabad is very bleak. They have shut down Pindi completely
and people are in hiding. Make sure you make mention of this escalation in
the repression in your press releases today.

Please visit the blog to see pictures of nauseating violence wreaked upon peaceful protesters by the riot police in Peshawar and Islamabad.

CNN Hails Student Bloggers!

Bloggers have played such a key role in this current crisis that CNN has produced a special report on this today.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2007/11/10/sesay.pakistan.blogs.cnn

pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com has been shown as a frontrunner in creating awareness, among others.

(The Emergency Times Eds- We will be trying our level best to upload the video among others at the blog as soon as possible mean while please use the links)

New York Times Calls for Eye Witness Accounts

The following is an excerpt from the New York times:

A Call for Eyewitness Photos, Video and Text From Pakistan
By Robert Mackey

With opposition protests blocked by the authorities in Pakistan, NYTimes.com is asking readers in Pakistan to help us report on events in the country by sending us eyewitness accounts of protests in photographs, video or text.
To submit a picture, please send it by e-mail to the following address: world.nyt@gmail.com — and let us know when and where the photograph was taken and what it depicts. Please also include your name, but if you would prefer not to be identified, let us know that as well.
To submit written descriptions of events, please use the comments field at the foot of this page. To submit video, please use the form below and provide the same information.

(The emergency times- Eds- The form being referred to above is available on the website the link of which is given below. Please do send all videos pictures and accounts to NYT; it would make a world of difference.)

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/a-call-for-eyewitness-photos-video-and-text-from-pakistan/index.html

The Real Supreme Court

The government has taken down the names and bios of the SC judges from the official website of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. I have acquired the domain name http://www.supremecourtpakistan.org/ which I plan to maintain as the website for the constitutional Supreme Court. I would appreciate if someone can give me the names and the bios of the Honorable Justices. You might have it cached with Google Desktop. Please forward to relevant people if you can.

(The Emergency Times-Eds- Let us also make a concerted effort to flood all news papers’ ‘letters to the editors’ sections with strong condemnation of their referral to the dummy supreme court comprising of lame puppet judges who have taken oath under the PCO, as Pakistan’s Supreme Court. Our Supreme Court comprises of those principled and honorable judges who have defiantly refused to take the oath and have thus far been subjected to sub human treatment by the government. We strongly urge all the media people not legitimize the kangaroo courts comprised of the spineless lap dog judges, especially in the case of the Supreme Court. Moreover could we please also extend this condemnation to Dogar, who is not the Chief Justice of Pakistan. We all know who our Chief Justice is and it is a title Mr. Dogar is certainly not worthy of. We might be willing to refer to him as the Chief lap dog. If were feeling generous that is.

20 Ex-Generals Ready to Join Fight for Democracy

2007-11-10T10:01:00.001-08:00

20 Ex-Generals Ready to Join Fight for Democracy By Ansar Abbasi
The News, November 09, 2007

DUBAI:
A considerable number of prominent ex-servicemen including many retired
generals are all set to join the civil society and the legal fraternity
to fight for the country's return to democracy and for the restoration
of the deposed Supreme Court judges who rejected the new PCO.

More
than one dozen retired Generals, including the former colleagues and
seniors of General Pervez Musharraf, would even court arrest to resist
the brutal suppression of the civil society, lawyers and political
parties.

Things are being kept secret right now to avoid any
pre-emptive crackdown by the government that is showing zero tolerance
to any protest against the second martial law, named emergency by the
government. Some senior lawyers are in contact with retired generals,
who are enthusiastic to play their role to save the country's future at
this crucial juncture.

A leading lawyer, who is in contact
with a group of retired generals, told The News from Islamabad on phone
that he was expecting some 20 retired Generals to join the lawyers'
movement in the days to come. "They (ex-servicemen) have assured us
that they would even be ready to court arrest," said the lawyer, who
has requested not to be named to avoid the government's possible
"pre-emptive strike".

The lawyers community, which is
presently facing the worst state-brutality that includes arrest of
hundreds of lawyers all over Pakistan, would remain focused on the
restoration of the deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and
all other judges of the apex court and the high courts who did not take
fresh oath under Musharraf's latest PCO.

Although, during the
initial days of the recently promulgated emergency-cum-martial law the
general demand has been for the lifting of the emergency and holding of
early elections, the restoration of the deposed CJ and others and
revival of the pre-November 3 judiciary has not been in the focus.

However,
the situation has now changed. The lawyers' struggle to revive the
pre-November 3 judiciary has now been joined by the two leading
political voices – Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto. Nawaz Sharif was
the first politician to insist that the likes of honourable Justice
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry be reinstated to their positions that they
were holding before the imposition of the renewed military rule.
Benazir Bhutto, who had not previously talked of the deposed judges'
restoration, on Wednesday demanded that the revival of the Constitution
and lifting of emergency should come along with the restoration of the
deposed judges.

Without the revival of the independent
judiciary, it is believed, the cause of sustainable democracy and
moderation in Pakistan would remain a far cry.

It is generally
believed that the November 3 unconstitutional action was mainly
targeted against the "defiant" judges, whose removal and incarceration
is believed to be due to their upholding the rule of law,
constitutionalism, and the rights of the downtrodden people of
Pakistan.

These judges were considered by the masses as the
last bulwark against executive excesses in Pakistan. They were involved
in enforcing habeas corpus petitions, hearing cases against the missing
persons many of whom were recovered from intelligence agencies, hearing
petitions against illegal land grab by the mighty and the powerful. In
numerous cases, these judges were responsible for hearing petitions
regarding violence against women and providing relief.

Iqbal Day --- anti-Martial Law protest

2007-11-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

The following image was taken by the student body at LUMS (Lahore University for Management Sciences) where students marked Iqbal day in a peace rally on-campus while calling for the imposition of the state of emergency also known as martial law, to be lifted in Pakistan. People’s faces have been blurred in these images after Pakistani security forces have begun using such pictures to identify students and arrest them which has been the practice since police arrested students at a peace rally at the university earlier this week. More pictures are available here:

The Emergency Times - Issue 5

2007-11-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

The Emergency Times

LUMS enters 4th day of Protest

LUMS saw its fourth consecutive day of protest against the Martial Law on November 8th, 2007. Despite the avalanche of overdue assignments and impending examinations, approximately 150 students showed up, along with several members of the faculty at the Sports Complex to show their continuing dissent against the martial law, the blatant abuse of human rights and the tyrannical suppression of our judiciary and media.

Other than the students who came up to speak in front of a peacefully assembled crowd we had speeches by Aasim Sajjad, faculty member of the Social Sciences department, an Alumnus lawyer, and our Vice Chancellor.

Defying the poor acoustics of the hall, Aasim Sajjad’s voice rang out clear, congratulating the students for fulfilling their duty to their conscience and their country and for successfully making their voices heard all over the world. He related the incidents that transpired during the peaceful protest held in Islamabad, of which he and his wife were both a part; the group of 20-30 civilians were surrounded by a police force ten times their number and brutally manhandled. He clarified that this is not just a political war but a moral one which must be fought by all people at all fronts. Nothing, he said, can justify the heinous manner in which innocent people are being beaten, tear-gassed, tortured and arrested without regard to their gender, age or any other factor that characterizes a human being. It is not only our right to raise our voices against the State which has sanctioned such barbarism but our duty to do so. He urged the students to be organized and safe, and to make this movement strong by striking a balance between caution and courage; his final words expressed his firm belief in the success of this struggle.

A member of the LUMS alumni, who is at present one of the defiant lawyers upholding the struggle on the judicial front, came up to express his happiness over the students’ support. Being a former LUMS student he was especially proud that the faculty and students of his university were among the first to raise their voice against the tyranny of the government. He emphasized the need to ensure our own safety first, to exercise caution and to avoid getting arrested, which, he maintained, should be left to the lawyers. He urged the students to continue the struggle and not to stop till our goals are achieved.

Our Vice Chancellor also expressed the administration’s support regarding freedom of expression; he reminded us to fulfill our academic responsibilities, to speak our minds clearly and loudly but at the same time tolerate others’ opinions. He said the students’ right to speak their hearts and their minds would be protected by him and the administration however he also asserted the need to keep our protest within the normal parameters of university rules. The day we cannot express our opinions and our views freely, he said, LUMS will stop being the academic institution it prides itself to be.

Aasim Sajjad also sang a revolutionary song to the beat of the students’ rhythmic clapping, while the Students Action Committee showed two presentations covering the massive protest held in LUMS on 7th November, 2007, further raising the spirits of those present.

Among the things discussed and ideas passed around two of the most important suggestions were: to write letters of support and comfort to the lawyers who are under house arrest and are completely deprived of any outside information, and to flood the CNN ireports (www.cnn.com) with messages expressing our dissent against the martial law and human rights’ abuse in the country.

In the meantime, Police remained stationed outside LUMS the entire day, monitoring students moving in and out. Reports abound of phone lines being tapped and emails being monitored. Attempts to intimidate and silence us continue.

But is essential that the fervor remain, that we persevere in whatever manner possible, against the injustice, against the oppression, until we bring them to their knees.

In Complete Unity.

Asma Jehangir calls for solidarity with the Lawyers

Appeal for support to lawyers and judges in Pakistan.

I am fortunate to be under house arrest while my colleagues are suffering. The Musharraf government has declared martial law to settle scores with lawyers and judges. While the terrorists remain on the loose and continue to occupy more space in Pakistan, senior lawyers are being tortured.

The civil society of Pakistan urges bar associations all over the world to mobilize public opinion in favor of the judges and lawyers in Pakistan. A large number of judges of superior courts are under arrest. Thousands of lawyers are imprisoned, beaten and tortured.

In particular the cases of Muneer A Malik, Aitzaz Ahsan, Tariq Mahmood and Ali Ahmed Kurd are serious. Muneer A Malik, the former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and leader of the lawyers' movement has been shifted to the notorious Attack Fort. He is being tortured and is under the custody of the military intelligence. Tariq Mahmood, former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, was imprisoned in Adiala jail. No one was allowed to see him and it is reported that he has been shifted to an unknown place. Mr. Ali Ahmed Kurd, former Vice Chair of the Pakistan Bar Council is in the custody of military intelligence and being kept at an undisclosed place. Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan, President of the Supreme Court Bar is being kept in Adiayala jail in solitary confinement.

Representatives of bar associations should approach their governments to pressure the government of Pakistan to release all lawyers and judges and immediately provide access to Muneer A Malik, Tariq Mahmood, Ali Ahmed Kurd and Aitzaz Ahsan. The bars are also urged to hold press conferences in their country and express their solidarity with the lawyers of Pakistan who are struggling to establish the rule of law.
Asma Jahangir
Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan
Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

A Solemn Pledge of Solidarity

(The Emergency Times Eds)

We thoroughly condemn the government’s atrocious behaviour, especially after learning the dark details of the imprisonment of Aitzaz Ahsan, Muneer A Malik, Tariq Mahmood and Ali Ahmed Kurd, lawyers who have become the icons of our struggle for justice. We take this opportunity to express solidarity with them all, including Asma Jehangir and her colleagues from the HRCP protest. We also thoroughly sympathize with the families of all the lawyers and activists who are bearing the brunt of the government’s criminal high handedness. We express our support and unity with their pain and their cause and urge them that they are not alone. Inshallah, we will be trying our level best towards contacting them all soon and let it be known that we rally behind their cause with every ounce of our beings. Let us also not forget the valiant defiance of those judges who have refused to take oath under the insulting and shameful PCO. We would like to take this opportunity to urge all readers to reflect on the level of commitment and bravery shown by these inspiring individuals and to take something of their tireless commitment back with us. You urge us on. You keep the hope in us alive. You keep our spirits soaring and our hearts strong. God bless you. We are all with you. In complete Unity.

A Lament to Iqbal

Kehtey hain:
"Khamosh raho tu sukhi raho ge
Ghar mein raho tu sukhi raho ge
Kitabon mein jo tum ne seekha hai
Bhool jao tu sukhi raho ge
Sola crore jo bhooke mar rahe hain
Marney do, tu sukhi raho ge"

Insaaf per nafiz nazar-bandi hai
DiloN ke milne pe pabandi hai
ZubanoN pe taale laga rahe hain
Niyyat in hukamranoN ki gandi hai

kia yeh aik mushkil faisla hai?
kia ab bhi intizaar ki gunjaish hai?

Nahi chahiey mujhe yeh
Sisk'ti hoi lachaar zindagi
Dari hoi, murda, bekaar zindagi

Bohat kos chuke tareekh ko
Bohat pooj chuke iblees ko
Haq ki roshnai jab ragoN mein ho
Farz hai badlna taqdeer ko

Jeena hai tu dil se jeo
Dil ki baat her bol ke jeo
Jin haathoN mein bandoqeiN hain
Mal-e-haraam ki sandooqeiN hain
Un zalim hathoN ku tor ke jeo
Dil ki baat her bol ke jeo

Lahore School of Economics Passes Resolution

The student union at the London School of Economics today passed a resolution condemning the imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan and expressing solidarity with the movement against martial law. The Union also mandated the General Secretary of the Students Council to write a letter to the Pakistani High Commissioner for the UK condemning the Pakistani government's actions, and to also write letters to the students of LUMS and FAST expressing solidarity.

Three Pakistani politicians charged with treason

Pakistan on Thursday charged three politicians and a trade union leader with treason for making speeches against President General Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule, court officials said.

The four were remanded in custody for two weeks by a court in Karachi, two days after they were arrested for criticising Gen Musharraf in addresses at the city's press club, they said.

Treason -- or sedition, as the activists have been formally charged with, carries a maximum sentence of death.

The arrested men are Baloch nationalist leader Hasil Bizenjo, his party's provincial chief Ayub Qureshi, the vice-president of the National Workers Party, Yusuf Mustikhan, and trade union leader Liaquat Sahi.

Flash Protests in Karachi

People, especially students and university alumni, are devising ever more innovative ways to express dissent in these testing circumstances. People communicating through e-mail lists, facebook and other networks are holding ‘flash protests’ to help create the atmosphere of resistance. The idea is to assemble at public places, brandish their placards, shout slogans, distribute pamphlets and scatter before the police arrive. Such events have taken place around Clifton and Defence, with the public’s response reportedly overwhelmingly supportive of the protestors. A number of LUMS alumni have been a part of such protests.

From the Eds

We encourage all artistic expression of our revolutionary and unyielding thoughts and feelings. We have a rich tradition of poetry, literature, theatre and music and want to see more of the same. Let us also revisit the works of our historic greats such as Iqbal, Habib Jalib, Faiz and Manto. It is time we found inspiration within ourselves and within our history, and devised novel ways of raising our voices into a war cry to battle all forms of oppression. Any such purposeful work, be it in the form of theatre, music, poetry or art is more than welcome. Contribute pictures videos, audio files and other web links.
The artist. The intellectual. The revolutionary. In perfect harmony. This is how our movement must crystallize.

"Proud of you"

2007-11-09T12:42:00.000-08:00

Dear all,
You cannot imagine how proud we (the LUMS overseas community) are of you.
All the Pakistani newspapers are now talking about the reawakening of
students in Pakistan, the student movement, the end of student
depoliticisation.
Media across the UK and US are also mentioning students' protests.
And LUMS is at the forefront!
Yesterday Brasilian MP Fernando Gabeira called me to ask news of Pakistan.
He latter addressed the Brasilian parliament and mentioned the student
movement in Pakistan has now allied to the lawyers. LUMS has been
mentioned in Brasil!
A few senators have seconded Gabeira's views and they are going next week
to visit the Pakistani embassy in Brasilia.
Gabeira (especially for the CRD students) was one of the founding members
of PT and is now the head of the Green Party in Brasil. He is one of the
most respected politicians in Brasil. Senator Eduardo Suplicy (another
"big" political figure) is the one that together with Senator Heraclito
Fortes (president of the senate's foreign affairs) proposed to meet with
the Pakistani embassador and demand the end of emergency rule.
These Brasilian MPs and senators have asked me to send their regards and
solidarity to all students of LUMS.

Tomorrow we're staging a protest in front of Downing Street at 2 p.m
Hina Jilani, Jemima Khan, the "LUMS alumni network", students from all the
unis in the UK, Pakistani diaspora, the anti-War on Terror coalition, and
many others will join their voices to yours.

Keep the good work and don't get arrested!

In Portuguese:

"Caro Miguel;
Já estava preocupado com a situação do país. recebi uma comissnao de
deputados paquistaneses, logo após aquela invasão da mesquita. Falamos
inclusive sobre a possibilidade de enviarmos uma comissão para conhecer o
país. Isto foi antes da volta da Bhutto e também antes do estado de
emergencia. Fiz um discurso na reunião do Congresso,ontem, expressando
minha preocupação e pedindo que o Brasil também se manifeste na mesma
linha do secretário-geral da ONU. Junto com o presidente da Comissão de
Relações Exteriores do Senado, pretendo visitar a embaixada do Paquistão
esta semana.
Vamos continuar em contato. Desejo boa sorte a todos e contem com nossa
solidariedade, apesar do tema aqui soar muito distante, em função do
tamanho e dos problemas do país e também das crises na Venezuela, Bolivia
e Equador.
abraços
Fernando Gabeira"

Student risen in unversities across Pakistan

2007-11-08T14:07:00.001-08:00

Students at FAST Lahore, Hamdard University, Quaid-e-Azam University, Punjab University, GIKI and many more (news coming in) have started some sort of protest against martial law. I'll update this post as news develops.

Changes in Army Act are ridiculus

2007-11-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

Pakistani security forces, amendments have been made to the Army act of 1952 and any civilian can be arrested under the act and tried in military courts while hoarders and profiteers are to be tried in special courts. The revised act also states that attacks on armed forces is now an offense under the new act. This act of dictator has further deprived us of our basic rights.
I wish Mush death so that People of Pakistan can live.

Media flashing at LUMS anti-martial law drive

2007-11-08T13:33:00.000-08:00

LUMS students body is getting success by realizing the world that students of Pakistan has risen alongside media and judiciary to protest against illegal act of Mush. World media - ranging form LA times, NY times, CNN and local media including every second media group has published stories about students coming out in streets agitation against Mush martial law.
Following are the links and images of some of the prominent media coverages of LUMS students driven movement for restoration of democracy and law.
CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/11/06/pakistan.irpt/index.html?iref=topnews

New York Times: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/pakistan-protest-drama-unfolds-online/

The News:

Dawn:

Daily Times:

Nation:

Business Recorder:
(The story which business recorder published was not totally correct, LUMS admin wanted us to limit our moves for security reasons only, follow previous post )

LUMS stages biggest anti-martial law demostration yet

2007-11-08T12:47:00.000-08:00

Around 1000 LUMS students and faculty gathered in University Sports complex to raise voice against Mush's cop. People spoke out against Mush aggression on people by curbing free speech and this was evident by that fact that almost 100 armed policemen were standing outside LUMS, they stopped media personals from covering the event, they stopped media personals from entering university. LA times and a notable German journalist was bared from entering the campus, meanwhile the only journalist who could manage to get into the campus had to give away his photos to policemen. But the LUMS active students did what journalist had to do, the voice of LUMS is all over, NYtimes published the LUMS story on the front page, and local newspapers are flooded with happening in LUMS, today again CNN showed what happening in LUMS.
The story was not finished in sports complex, the mob moved out, within premises of university, raising slogans against dictator and demanding restoration of power of people and judiciary. The procession wanted to register their protest in front of main entrance of university but VC moved in and stopped students to stage infront of main gate because it may be risky for the safety of students and an educational institute like LUMS should restrain itself by involving in a battle against police. The student body responded positively to what VC said, but after popular demand, VC allowed students to have slogan less demonstration in front of main gate, facing police in front. Students and faculty jam packed the road entering the campus, students had put tapes on their lips with cross signs on it showing that they are being suppressed by government. Policeman soon backed off with out clashing with students.
Meanwhile the worst part played by police was that some policemen/ISI/secret services officers were roaming around campus, asking students about those students who are at the center of these protests. According to one unconfirmed source, atleast one of them joined the procession and wanted to drive the procession out of campus for possible battle with police. Mush should be ashamed of this.
The uprising in LUMS students has been viewed as surprising by those people who are foreign to this institute because LUMS students have an image which is totally different. General perception about Lumiites is that we are "mummy dadies". But the events in HRCP fulled students.

for complete pictures please navigate to http://www.flickr.com/photos/21982845@N00/

NOV 7, 2007 - LUMS joined together against a deictator

Even foreign studnets, who are privileged because they are lucky enough to enjoy true democracy joined us

Massive police buildup outside gate, they were around 100 loaded with weaponry to battle with peaceful procession.

Mr. VC Zahoor Hassan, worried about safety of students.

Video of procession

http://www.teeth.com.pk/ adds "An email has just come in that the Inspector General Police has given orders to the Police, Rangers and Ant-Terrorist Force to arrest the students from LUMS where a protest rally was scheduled today at 13:00

Four Army trucks and a police convoy have been positioned outside LUMS. The protest is still to proceed only the venue has been shifted to the Sports Complex." more on http://www.teeth.com.pk/blog/2007/11/07/update-1340-police-outside-lums-lahore/

LUMS protest noticed: CNN to local media

2007-11-06T01:27:00.000-08:00

Wow, so the student initiative is working, yesterday's demonstration against Mush' martial law was noted by local and international media. Even CNN came out with a footage from LUMS.
CNN's report:

This is what "The News" printed:

And "Dawn" had following item from LUMS

And the last source I could track, "Business Recorder":

I hope there will be a greater show tomorrow at 1 PM in LUMS.
There were some police inside the campus today, I wish safety for all Luminites but remember when you strive, you may loose loved onces, you may loose your lives. Lets make this a movement which the world in future, refers to.

Karachi Stock Exchange Suffers biggest Downfall in a day

2007-11-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

Mush's act costs us a lot much on local and international front, here is yesterday's one of the biggest economic stories for Pakistan

along with this, 40 million Euros Holland's inflow of money in Pakistan is also stopped. Look how much Mush loves Pakistan

Country-wide Anti marshal-law protets gear up

2007-11-05T17:29:00.001-08:00

Right after declaration of martial law in Pakistan, country-wide protests started to condemn this move of military. LUMS is doing its best to fuel this movement. As, LUMS faculty has also suffered from this 'emergency', LUMS students have initiated a nation-wide movement along-side judiciary and media to raise a student voice. Some notable LUMS faculty members including Mr. Abid Hassan Minto, Dr. Ali Cheema and Asim Sajjad have been arrested.
LUMS staged the first anti-Mush demonstration in LUMS. I have never seen LUMS students gathering for any cause like this ever before. LUMS politics society plans to expand this movement to other other institutions including LSE, FAST and PU.

and Professor Ali Cheema, Head of Economics at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), in Police Van

Mr. Asim Sajjad being draged by a policeman

I hate you Mush, the people who truly are literate enough to run economy of this country are behind bars. Shame

Another Martial Law!! this guy is freak

2007-11-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

Wait wait wait, I am naming it wrong, its not martial law, its "emergency". Sacking by using the powers of Chief of Army can't be constitutional so its martial law. Any person with a quarter of cent persent intelligence can understand this but seems puppet in GHQ cant.
When the news broke in media, the official media was saying, "The Chief of Army Staff has imposed the state of " + blah blah , but later today the "Chief of Army Staff" thing started to get replaced by "President", meanwhile local and foreign media kept at using the later title with Mush.
Mush would be too happy today, as he would be the only military Chief in the history of modern times who has won his own land twice, definitely doing more than what previous dictators in Pakistan did. Every one from home and abroad condemned his act, no one, even not his US tried to pamper his act. Poor Pakistani ambassador to US was really unable to satisfy CNN people when their pinching questions was hard for him to answer and similar is the story with his supporters but on the other hand, Mush appeared on PTV late Yesterday and gave us quite laughable reasons to go for this act.

The whole story ended with (sadly, former) CJ Ifkithar Chaudary being sent home with a really amazing statement, "Your services are no more needed", 7 Supreme Court judges sent home after refusal of taking oath under PCO. Hmm, its wasn't that bad. Our judiciary has really learnt to oppose unconstitutional moves of government. In previous such happening almost half of judges agree to PCO to remain in job, but this time the Supreme Court Judges have really proved to be amazing, even declaring the "emergency" unconstitutional and ordering PM and other officials not to cooperate.

Media: I feared that any one who will loose most from this act of Mush will be media. Previously he tried to curb he influence of media by an ordinance which he couldn't restrain after media started to bash him, but this time, coupled with "emergency", he also introduced the new ordinance to shape the media the way he likes. The new media ordinance is even more hash.
Meanwhile Aaj TV Islamabad Office was raided today, they might be after Talhat Hussain. Private news TV channels went off air and we the people were subjected to foreign media. Thanks to Geo, Dawn and Aaj websites which kept us telling what Mush's Cops are doing. Geo's site got so much traffic that it went off, then they issued a temporary site, on some other server and reduce the graphics to accommodate visitors. Thank you Pakistani Media for this coverage but I fear Mush wont allow you cover things like this again.

Mush's Pakistan is not a democracy, its a puppet dictatorship which does whatever his US masters tell. Rather than moaning and whining the people of Pakistan need to take responsibility and act for what they believe in. Stop reading to the blog and go and do something, please, as only you can.

This is just like an carpenter's move. He makes a decoration piece, cuts if, makes deep cuts, stylize it , blah blah , and in the end he checks each and every corner of the decoration piece for possible errors and then amends it, at corners etc. This is what Mush did, he made the present governmental structure (a decoration piece, even in literal terms), tried to let it work, after a period of 5 years (what a long test drive), it started to slip off his hands then he used the powers (the CAS powers) to fix it to get the results which he wants (so that he can sell it better in foreign markets, US's the most desiring one).

No one but US or a suicide bomber can make Mush to remove form power, the dictator's version of so called democracy is no democracy. No one in home or abroad what him. He has zero percent support home.

I wish him death so that Pakistan can live longer.

Imran Khan in LUMS on the eve of Martial Law

2007-11-03T21:50:00.001-07:00

After days of wait, finally Imran Khan appeared on a talk in LUMS organized by LUMS Politics Society. In LUMS he is highly anticipated politician and has more support than any of the other politician. He addressed to a jam-packed auditorium for more than two hours, in which he moved out the circle which he had normally drawn around him on TV. One of the most interesting comments he made involved an answer to Baber Ghauri's allegation which he made in a program on Geo (about Seta White and his illegitimate daughter) and Shaukat Aziz's Shortcut method to get into office. But the most amazing and dramatic situation which evolved during the span of his address was the martial law. When he started to speak, the country was calm, but in the course of his address, martial law was imposed (yeh yeh that "emergency") and when he was near to the end of his address, police came to take him away. (Wow, see how vigilant is our police!!!! ) The great part, when he came to know that police is out there and the county is seeing another cop, his face was still lifted, he seemed totally OK and continued in address in full zeal and ant-musharraf moot.

Bravo Imran

(As I mentioned, the auditorium was packed so I hardly managed to take the pic, sorry for blurness)

Text of emergency proclamation (Source dawn.com)

2007-11-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD, Nov 3 (AFP): This is the full text of the proclamation of the emergency:
PROCLAMATION OF EMERGENCY
Whereas there is visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist
attacks, including suicide bombings, IED explosions, rocket firing and bomb explosions and the
banding together of some militant groups have taken such activities to an unprecedented level of
violent intensity posing a grave threat to the life and property of the citizens of Pakistan.
Whereas there has also been a spate of attacks on state infrastructure and on law enforcement
agencies;
Whereas some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive and
legislature in the fight against terrorism and extremism, thereby weakening the government and
the nation's resolve and diluting the efficacy of its actions to control this menace;
Whereas there has been increasing interference by some members of the judiciary in government
policy, adversely affecting economic growth, in particular;
Whereas constant interference in executive function, including but not limited to the control of
terrorist activity, economic policy, price controls, downsizing of corporations and urban planning,
has weakened the writ of the government; the police force has been completely demoralized and
is fast losing its efficacy to fight terrorism and Intelligence Agencies have been thwarted in their
activities and prevented from pursuing terrorists;
Whereas some hard core militants, extremists, terrorists and suicide bombers, who were arrested
and being investigated were ordered to be released.
The persons so released have subsequently been involved in heinous terrorist activities, resulting
in loss of human life an property. Militants across the country have, thus, been encouraged while
law enforcement agencies subdued;
Whereas some judges by overstepping the limits of judicial authority have taken over the
executive and legislative functions;
Whereas the Government is committed to the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law
and holds the superior judiciary in high esteem, it is nonetheless of paramount importance that
the honourable Judges confine the scope of their activity to the judicial function and not assume
charge of administrations;
Whereas an important constitutional institution, the Supreme Judicial Council, has been made
entirely irrelevant and non est by a recent order and judges have, thus, make themselves immune
from inquiry into their conduct and put themselves beyond accountability.
Whereas the humiliating treatment meted to government officials by some members of the
judiciary on a routine basis during court proceedings has demoralized the civil bureaucracy and
senior government functionaries, to avoid being harassed, prefer inaction;
Whereas the law and order situation in the country as well as the economy have been adversely
affected and trichotomy of powers eroded;
Whereas a situation has thus arisen where the government of the country cannot be carried on it
Accordance with the constitution and as the constitution provides no solution for this situation,
there is no way out except through emergent and extraordinary measures;
And whereas the situation has been reviewed in meetings with the Prime Minister, governors of
all Provinces, and with chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, chiefs of the armed forces, vicechief
of army Staff and corps commanders of the Pakistan army;Now, therefore, in pursuance of
the deliberations and decisions of the said meetings, I, General Pervez Musharraf, Chief of the
Army Staff, proclaim emergency throughout Pakistan.
I hereby order and proclaim that the constitution of the Islamic republic of Pakistan shall remain in
abeyance.
This Proclamation shall come into force at once.

‘Israel Kahuta planned to hit from India’s Jamnagar base’ AFP

2007-10-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI, Oct 28: India and Israel secretly planned to hit nuclear facility in Kahuta near Islamabad in 1983-84 but backed off when the CIA tipped off Pakistan’s then president Gen Ziaul Haq.
This was claimed in a report from London published in The Asian Age, citing details revealed by investigative journalists Adrian Levy and Catherine ScottClark in their book titled ‘Deception: Pakistan, the US and the Global Weapons Conspiracy’.

The authors highlighted India’s intelligence links with Israel at the time when the two countries did not have any diplomatic contact.

“In February 1983, with the strike plan at an advanced stage, Indian military officials had travelled secretly to Israel, which had a common interest in eliminating (Dr A.Q.) Khan, to buy electronic warfare equipment to neutralise Kahuta’s air defences,” the book said.

India put its plans on hold after Dr Raja Ramanna, the then director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, was warned by the then Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Munir Ahmed Khan in Vienna in the autumn of 1983 that Islamabad would attack Trombay if its facilities in Kahuta were hit.

At this juncture, the book said, Israel suggested that they would carry out the raid on Kahuta, using India’s Jamnagar base in Gujarat to launch its jets and use another base in northern India for refuelling the aircraft. “In March 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signed off (on) the Israeli-led operation, bringing India, Pakistan and Israel to within a hair’s breadth of a nuclear conflagration.” However, the authors said India and Israel backed down after the CIA tipped off Gen Zia and the US state department warned India that “the US will be responsive if India persists.” The book further said Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had aborted the operation despite protests from military planners in New Delhi and Jerusalem. —APP

new delhi, oct 28: india and israel secretly planned to hit nuclear facility in kahuta near islamabad in 1983-84 but backed off when the cia tipped off pakistan’s then president gen ziaul haq. this was claimed in a report from london published in the asian age, citing details revealed by investigative journalists ad- rian levy and catherine scott- clark in their book titled ‘decep- tion: pakistan, the us and the global weapons conspiracy’. the authors highlighted in- dia’s intelligence links with israel at the time when the two countries did not have any diplo- matic contact. “in february 1983, with the strike plan at an advanced stage, indian military officials had trav- elled secretly to israel, which had a common interest in eliminating (dr a.q.) khan, to buy electronic warfare equipment to neutralise kahuta’s air defences,” the book said. india put its plans on hold af- ter dr raja ramanna, the then director of the bhabha atomic research centre, was warned by the then chairman of pakistan atomic energy commission munir ahmed khan in vienna in the autumn of 1983 that islamabad would attack trombay if its facilities in kahuta were hit. at this juncture, the book said, israel suggested that they would carry out the raid on kahuta, us- ing india’s jamnagar base in gu- jarat to launch its jets and use another base in northern india for refuelling the aircraft. “in march 1984, prime minister indira gandhi signed off (on) the israeli-led operation, bringing india, pakistan and israel to within a hair’s breadth of a nucle- ar conflagration.” however, the authors said india and israel backed down af- ter the cia tipped off gen zia and the us state department warned india that “the us will be responsive if india persists.” the book further said prime minister indira gandhi had aborted the operation despite protests from military planners in new delhi and jerusalem. —app

The power of windows mobile

2007-10-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

I was always fan of Symbian, specially when Nokia adopted it for its N series of mobile phone product range. But when I got and Windows Mobile Pocket PC, it was great. I got my cell a week ago, it is I-mate Jam (an old model but I had it now), it is simply awesome. So what It has (Pros):
the greatest feature: remote desktop!!!!!!
You can control your PPC from PC, with mouse and keyboard by using a free software MyMobiler
You can use internet when device is connected to computer.
Great Synchronize system.
eXPerience : a great app which transforms the overall OS into the desktop edition of Windows XP.
Office.
You feel power to control........
You can use it as modem, even over bluetooth.

Oks enough, now come to cons:
Slow, even 416Mhz Intel PXA272 processor with 64MB RAM can not hold good programs, Skype cant even load. WMP often sucks.
Messengers, what? what are they ? Even pre-loaded MSN Messenger never connects.
No Wi-fi / WLAN , but in this size and wait (150 g), its OK not to have Wifi.
Weak Bluetooth, whatever it is, it cant be 2.0 or better

One Last thing, Error reports, low on memory, and even cant load because RAM is full are common errors.

I-MATE Jam

2007-10-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

I got an Imate Jam dramatically!
It originally had Windows Mobile 2003, though I transformed it to much extent in the very first night so Now it is much like 2005 version.
More posts will follow with what have I dont with this PDA.

Pakistan: from Liberal state to more Islamic

2007-10-10T18:44:00.001-07:00

This isn't strange, Yes! This is way back in 1960s when Pakistan was more moderate than what it is NOW. This is PIA ad, a government run institution. Just imagine if PIA has such an ad now, what would have happened ----- atleast a strike in Karachi or a suicide bomb somewhere in NWFP.
Zia made our mind more centered, I hate him.

Microsoft has got Open Source Lab !!!!! Wow!!

2007-10-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

This was really a news for me,

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2005/aug05/08-10OpenSourceLab.mspx

LUMS triple play IpTV

2007-10-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

I am sure Wateen has spent millions to create there Triple Play thing. You people would have watched those wateen adds which popped up at least during 20-20 world cup - ("Tv, phone, internet , want solutions?? ") Yes, I am taking about that same thing which you people have thought to be some new technology coming in Pakistan or may be some techi people have knowledge that what is it really about.
But LUMS take on it even more amazing. LUMS has really got some great thinkers and scientists. A single guy in LUMS made an application by using open source software which can make all students in hostels watch TV right on there desktops using the software. Its streaming on LAN, Multi casting on IpV4 - no jam packed LAN traffic!!

(IpTV client application as running on the server machine which also hosts the server application)

And whole credit goes to Amar Tahir (amertahir at gmail dot com)

LUMS struck with Scheme

2007-10-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

I can not understand who drafted the new curriculum for poor Computer Science / Computer Engineering majors at LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences), We are to compete in local computer industry where people want us to code. Why do LUMS copy MIT? Why??? Our students to not enter the market where people from MIT go.
We will be taught no language but we are 'expected' to learn these ourselves, wow!!!! and the language which they teach us is Scheme - you would be thinking that what the hell is Scheme - well, its a basic language mainly meant to teach how to abstract etc. And once again LUMS proved to be different - because Scheme is taught nowhere in whole Pakistan and even LUMS library has only one book discussing Scheme.

Pakistan Turns 60

2007-08-13T17:02:00.001-07:00

Pakistan wasnt working and now we have turned 60, so we got retired!! I feel pitty.

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT FROM PAK GENERAL PERVEZ MUSHARRAF'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

2007-05-14T18:29:00.000-07:00

The converstation between Musharraf and Armitage:

MUSHARRAF: Deputy Secretary, allow me to express my condolences…

ARMITAGE: Yeah. Uh-huh. Whatever.

MUSHARRAF: It goes without saying that as always, Pakistan stands with her ally and –

ARMITAGE: You done? You done yapping, kebab breath? Tell you what, take a moment to clean your h-mo moustache of terrorist cock nectar and let me paint you a picture of the new world order, okey-doke?

MUSHARRAF: I'm... I'm sorry?

ARMITAGE: Look, I don't have time to talk Muslim. FA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA! Happy now? Got your attention? We know, pal, we know what you did, and we're not happy. You're not dealing with President Hillbilly Facefuck, capiche? The Republicans are in charge and we are scared stupid. You people have FLOWN PLANES INTO BUILDINGS HERE AND YOU ARE GOING TO PAY!!!!

MUSHARRAF: I assure you that is not the case at all!

ARMITAGE: I have been authorized to put all Musliacs on notice there are now two types of you people in the world: dead ones, and cab drivers. Anyway, why can't you Paks be more like Indians? Smiling, contented little phone monkeys who give good tech support?

MUSHARRAF: As has been in the past, we are in America's corner, of course. However, though I am secular by disposition, this country is an Islamic state and is therefore complicated. There are many who feel a kinship with those extremists that see America as the sole source of all their problems. But surely...

ARMITAGE: Bottom line: if you don't do what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it, America will bomb you back to the stone age. Which, by our calculations, was exactly forty years or so ago.

MUSHARRAF: I... I...

ARMITAGE: That's right. We will bomb you back to the stone ages, and then send in helicopters with napalm flamethrowers and set fire to whatever survives, and then we'll send in Navy SEALS with chainsaws to cut up whatever smoldering bodies continue to twitch. Then we'll airlift in millions of gallons of impure pig shit and shampoo the landscape with the stuff. And once that's done, we will hunt down every single Muslim in the United States and put them into camps and beat them retarded with the Holy Bible and bleach them Aryan.

MUSHARRAF: These remarks are very rude...

ARMITAGE: You don't GET IT, DO YOU MUSLIM?! You fucking people are actually fucking dangerous! Who the fuck knew? The GOP sure as fuck didn't and now we know that you people HATE JESUS CHRIST AND WANT TO MURDER PERFECTLY INNOCENT FINANCIAL BANKERS! Have you no shame? Couldn't you have taken out Brooklyn or something? Doesn't matter. We're not gonna have that, no sir. We're America. We're smarter, better, and more fucking noble and good and amazing than all of you faggot bastards! We're America!

Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain. For purple something majesty, across the fruity highway lanes! AMERICA, AMERICA, YOU'RE SO GODDAMN BEAUTIFUL... oh... ohgodoohgod...

MUSHARRAF: Deputy Secretary?

(Sounds of uncontrollable sobbing)

MUSHARRAF: Are you there?

ARMITAGE: USA! USA! USA!

MUSHARRAF: I think you're being very emotional, sir... This is partially understandable, considering the circumstances...

ARMITAGE: REMEMBER THE ALAMO! GRANDMA AND APPLE PIE! PLAY BALL! You miserable asswhores... all of you... Mommy... bomb you all, nuke you fuckers... doom... cock...doom...

MUSHARRAF: Have you been drinking?

ARMITAGE: We're going to invade Afghanistan...

MUSHARRAF: I figured as much. I'm not where I am today because I respect civil rights and peace. Do you want to talk, Deputy Secretary?

ARMITAGE: ...and Iraq…

MUSHARRAF: Oh, motherfuck me. Are you kidding? Do I have to start sleeping in my kevlar Fruit of the Looms again?

[Sound of gagging]

ARMITAGE: ...I think I just puked a little out of my nose...

MUSHARRAF: Are we done?

ARMITAGE: ...I have to call the Saudis... hate you all... you wipe your butts with your fingers and I have to... shake... your hands. No, no... the Presidential Emergency Keg is tapped... Oh god...

MUSHARRAF: We're all screwed, aren't we?

ARMITAGE: Pretty much.

MUSHARRAF: At least your checks don't bounce...

ARMITAGE: Do we bitch about those couple of ghetto nukes you got strapped to the back of all those attack yaks? Huh, do we? You owe us.

MUSHARRAF: Duly noted.

ARMITAGE: God Bless America.

Second Captive Letter

2007-03-31T05:13:00.001-07:00

Updated: 19:47, Thursday March 29, 2007

This is the second letter purportedly from captured Leading Seaman Faye Turney to British MPs that was released by Iranian authorities:

I am writing to inform you of my situation.

I am a British service person currently being held in Iran.

The Iranian people are kind, considerate, warm, compassionate and very hospitable.

They have brought me no harm, but have looked after me well. I have been fed, clothed and well cared for.

Unfortunately during the course of our mission we entered into Iranian waters.

Even through our wrongdoing, they have still treated us well and humanely, (for) which I am and always will be eternally grateful.

I ask the representatives of the House of Commons after the government had promised that this type of incident would not happen again.

Why have they let this occur and why has the government not been questioned over this?

Isn't it time for us to start withdrawing our forces from Iraq and let them determine their own future?"

Faye Turney
27/3/07

Letter sent to the Chief Justice by Naeem Bukhari

2007-03-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

February 16, 2007

Mr. Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry
Chief Justice
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Islamabad

Subject: Open letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan

My Lord,

I write this letter as an Officer of the Supreme
Court, as an Advocate enrolled in the apex court since
1984 and in the High Courts since 1972, as an Attorney
who has paid more income tax from his earnings in the
legal profession than many of my friends, colleagues
and seniors elevated to the Bench and as a stake
holder in the dispensation of justice, intimately and
vitally interested in the functioning of the Supreme
Court.

Many judges who adorn the Bench in the Supreme Court
and the High Court know me over decades, as a person
endowed by nature with a pleasant disposition and
acceptance of human failings. Towards the courts, my
approach has always been of consistent and continuous
display of respect and humility. I bow out of
conviction, not compulsion. I use the words “My
Lords”, because I want to, not because I have to. As
an Attorney, I look up to the court and want to see it
on a high pedestal of dignity, compassion and justice,
tempered with mercy.

I have seen my Supreme Court headed by Justice
Hamood-ur-Rehman, Justice Yaqoob Ali Khan, Justice S.
Anwar-ul-Haq, Justice Haleem Ahmed and how the court
functioned under them in the seventies / eighties.

I witnessed the proceedings for the ouster of Justice
Sajjad Ali Shah, became aware that the then Prime
Minister of Pakistan had ‘worked’ on some judges of
the Supreme Court and saw the physical assault on the
court.

I was appalled at the manner in which Justice Irshad
Hasan Khan led the Supreme Court and pained at the
insinuations against Justice Sheikh Riaz, when he was
the Chief Justice.

I was horrified by the establishment of a Bench of
five judges constituted by Justice Nazim Hussain
Siddiqui to determine whether reduction in the
retirement age for judges was constitutional or not.
This was clearly designed to block your appointment.
I was against the idea of Mr. Amirul Mulk Mengal being
made the Chief Justice before you. Within the limits
of my influence (which I readily admit to be very
limited), I was totally for you to become the Chief
Justice. Justice Javed Buttar is aware of my position,
as is the Attorney General for Pakistan. The
accelerated issue of the notification appointing you
the Chief Justice put Justice Siddiqui’s move to rest.

I believed that you were vigorous, capable of lifting
up the Supreme Court, creating an espirit-de-corps
among your brother judges, restoring the dignity and
grandeur of the apex court, particularly considering
the long tenure before you.

Alas this has not come about.

I am not perturbed by your insistence on protocol
(despite my belief that the Chief Justice would rise
in the eyes of everybody if he walked from his
residence to the court and hooters, police escort,
flags is just fluff not the substance of an office).

I am mildly amused at your desire to be presented a
guard of honour in Peshawar. I am titillated by the
appropriation of Mercedes Benz car or is it cars, the
use of the Government of the Punjab’s plane to offer
Fateha in Multan, to Sheikhupura for Fateha on a
Government of the Punjab helicopter, to Hyderabad on a
Government of the Sind’s plane for attending a High
Court function, the huge amount spent in refurbishing
the chamber and residence of the Chief Justice, the
reservation for yourself of a wing in Supreme Court
Judges guest house in Lahore, the permanent occupation
by the Supreme Court of the official residence of the
Chief Justice of Sind, who per force lives in the
basement of his father’s house. As his class fellow
in the Government College, Lahore, I can vouch that
living in the basement will do him no harm.

I am not perturbed that Dr. Arsalaan (your son)
secured 16/100 in the English paper for the Civil
Services Examination, that there is some case against
him in some court in Baluchistan, that from the Health
Department in Baluchistan he has shifted to FIA, that
he has obtained training in the Police Academy, that
he reportedly drives a BMW 7-Series car, that there is
a complaint against him with the National
Accountability Bureau.

My grievances and protests are different.

I am perturbed that the Supreme Court should issue a
clarificatory statement on his behalf. I am perturbed
that Justice (Retd.) Wajihuddin Ahmed should be
constrained to advise you on television that “people
who live in glass houses should not throw stones at
others”. I am perturbed that the Chief Justice should
summon Mir Shakeel-ur-Rehman to his chambers on Dr.
Arsalaan’s account.

I am appalled that you announce decisions in Court,
while in the written judgment an opposite conclusion
is recorded.

In the Petition for leave to appeal filed by Dr Sher
Afghan Niazi, Federal Minister for Parliamentary
Affairs (in which Respondent’s Counsel were Mr Khalid
Anwar and Mr Qadir Saeed), you refused to grant leave
in open Court and yet in the written order, leave was
granted to Dr Sher Afghan Niazi.

On 15.2.2007, Mr Fakurddin G. Ebrahim complained that,
in open Court you had accepted his appeal but
dismissed the same in the judgement, subsequently
recorded.

If Mr Khalid Anwar, a former Minister of Law and
Parliamentary Affairs and Mr Fakrhuddin, Senior
Counsel are treated in this manner, the fate of lesser
known lawyers would certainly be far worse.

My grievances also concern the manner in which the
last and highest court of appeal is dispensing
justice, under your leadership.

My Lord, the dignity of lawyers is consistently being
violated by you. We are treated harshly, rudely,
brusquely and nastily. We are not heard. We are not
allowed to present our case. There is little scope
for advocacy. The words used in the Bar Room for Court
No. 1 are “the slaughter house”. We are cowed down by
aggression from the Bench, led by you. All we receive
from you is arrogance, aggression and belligerence.
You also throw away the file, while contemptuously
announcing “This is dismissed”.

Yet this aggression is not for everyone. When Mr.
Sharifuddin Pirzada appears, your Lordship’s demeanour
and appearance is not just sugar and honey. You are
obsequitious to the point of meekness. So apart from
violating our dignity, which the constitution commands
to be inviolable, we suffer discrimination in your
court.

I am not raising the issue of verbal onslaughts and
threats to Police Officers and other Civil Servants,
who have the misfortune to be summoned, degraded and
reminded that “This is the Supreme Court”.

The way in which My Lord, conducts proceedings is not
conducive to the process of justice. In fact, it
obstructs due process and constitutes contempt of the
Supreme Court itself.

I am pained at the wide publicity to cases taken up by
My Lord in the Supreme Court under the banner of
Fundamental Rights. The proceedings before the
Supreme Court can conveniently and easily be referred
to the District and Sessions Judges. I am further
pained by the media coverage of the Supreme Court on
the recovery of a female. In the bar room, this is
referred to as a “Media Circus”.

My Lord, this communication may anger you and you are
in any case prone to get angry in a flash, but do
reflect upon it. Perhaps you are not cognizant of
what your brother judges feel and say about you.

My Lord, before a rebellion arises among your brother
judges( as in the case of Mr Justice Sajjad Ali Shah),
before the Bar stands up collectively and before the
entire matter is placed before the Supreme Judicial
Council, there may be time to change and make
amends.

I hope you have the wisdom and courage to make these
amends and restore serenity, calm, compassion,
patience and justice tempered with mercy to my Supreme
Court.

My Lord, we all live in the womb of time and are
judged, both by the present and by history. The
judgement about you, being rendered in the present, is
adverse in the extreme.

Yours faithfully,

Naeem Bokhari
Advocate
Supreme Court of Pakistan

Iraq massacre video

2007-02-25T23:07:00.000-08:00

beautiful people - Click here for the funniest movie of the week

iphone demo

2007-02-25T19:12:00.000-08:00

A Closer Look At The IPhone - Celebrity bloopers here

US has got a lot of problems at home, rather then fixing these problems US keeps on putting head in middle east

2007-02-25T18:53:00.001-08:00

america's inner problems - More amazing video clips are a click away

General Niazi's interview

2007-02-25T00:18:00.000-08:00

General Niazi, , spoke to India Abroad -- the
largest circulated Indian-American newspaper, which is owned by
rediff.com -- in December 2001. A rare interview conducted by Amir
Mir.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. The release of the Hamoodur Commission report has generated a fresh
debate, with the public endorsing the recommendation for action
against those army officers responsible for the 1971 debacle. How do
you react?

A. I agree with the general public's demand that those responsible for
the East Pakistan crisis, especially the uniformed ones, should have
been punished. Having returned to Pakistan after the debacle, I
volunteered to face court-martial proceedings. But my offer was denied
by the then army chief, Tikka Khan. He did not want the Pandora's Box
to be reopened. Any such action could have exposed the general
headquarters' inept conduct of war and Tikka's role as army reserve
commander. As a matter of fact, we were denied the right to
self-defense before the Hamoodur Rehman Commission, which would not
have been denied in a court-martial.

Under the Pakistan Army Act, you can cross-examine and call a witness
in your support, especially when your character and reputation are at
stake. Since such an opportunity would have exposed the GHQ's own
weaknesses, we were never court-martialed. Even otherwise, had there
been a court-martial, I would have been exonerated quite easily. The
commission had agreed with my contention that the orders for surrender
were given to me by President Agha Yahya Khan.

Q. You say the commission had agreed with your contention that the
surrender orders were given by President Yahya Khan. But the report
released by the Musharraf regime holds you and a few other generals
responsible for the debacle.

A. If I was responsible for such a big tragedy, why was I not
court-martialed, although Tikka was out to damage me? Being the army
chief, Tikka cancelled two squares of borderland allotted to me in
Kasur. In his January 1991 statement published in an English daily,
Tikka had stated: 'We even did not find any potential material against
Lt Gen A A K Niazi, who surrendered to the Indian Commander, Lt Gen
Jagjit Singh Aurora, because he had permission to surrender from Yahya
Khan. But we did not take him back in the army and through an
administrative action, retired him with normal benefits.'

Q. You mean to say then President Yahya Khan was solely responsible
for the fall of Dhaka and you were just following his orders?

A. No. Besides Yahya Khan, there were a few more personalities equally
responsible for the East Pakistan crisis who have not been blamed in
the report. The commission did not unravel the whole truth about
various personalities and factors, which fuelled the separatist
movement in East Pakistan and caused the final break-up of Jinnah's
united Pakistan.

The report concludes there was no order to surrender. However, 'in
view of the desperate picture' painted by you [being the commander of
the Eastern Command], the higher authorities only gave you a consent
to surrender, and that too, only if necessary. The report says that
you could have disobeyed such an order if you thought you could defend
Dhaka.

I swear on oath that I was given clear-cut orders from Yahya to
surrender, but still I was determined to fight till the end. I even
sent a message that my decision to fight till the end stands. However,
General Abdul Hamid Khan and Air Chief Marshal Rahim rang me up,
ordering me to act on the GHQ signal of December 14, 1971 because West
Pakistan was in danger. It was at this stage that I was asked to agree
on a cease-fire so that the safety of the troops could be ensured.

However, I still believe that had a counter-offensive been launched by
the Pakistan Army Reserves, composed of two armored and three infantry
divisions, Pakistan would have remained united and the war results
would have been much different.

Q. What do you say about the commission's findings that your troops in
East Pakistan indulged in loot, arson, rape and killings?

A. Immediately after taking command in East Pakistan, I heard numerous
reports of troops indulging in loot and arson, killing people at
random and without reason in areas cleared of anti-state elements.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, I approached my bosses through
a letter dated April 15, 1971, informing them of the mess being
created. I clearly wrote in my letter that there have been reports of
rapes and even the West Pakistanis are not being spared. I informed my
seniors that even officers have been suspected of indulging in this
shameful activity.

However, despite repeated warnings and instructions, the respective
commanders failed to curb this alarming state of indiscipline. And
this trend definitely undermined our troops' battle efficiency.

Q. How do you justify your failure as a military commander and do you
accept responsibility for the Pakistan army's humiliating surrender in
East Pakistan?

A. Our 45,000 troops were fighting against half a million Indian
troops, lakhs of Mukti Bahinis (Bengali freedom fighters supported by
India) and a hostile Bengali population. I actually needed around
300,000 troops to simply combat insurgency. By that time, we were
already cut from the base but still fighting without any respite.

If Hamood thought we were on a picnic, he should have joined us. Let
me make it clear that the army fought bravely under my command in East
Pakistan. However, it was an unabated power struggle, which finally
led to the 1971 debacle, especially when the barrel of the gun blocked
the transfer of power.

The 1971 imbroglio was the outcome of an unabated struggle for power
between Yahya, Mujib (founder of the Awami League, Sheikh Mujibur
Rehman) and Bhutto (former Pakistan prime minister, Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto). Yahya wanted to retain power while Bhutto wanted to attain
it. This was despite the fact that Sheikh Mujib's Awami League had
emerged victorious and he should have been handed over the government.
Bhutto's fiery speeches were not mere rhetoric, but the actions of a
desperate man vying for power at any cost. Had power been transferred
to Mujib, Pakistan would have remained united. However, it is pity
that the commission absolved Bhutto of any blame.
Q. The commission recommended that a coterie of generals be publicly
tried for the 1971 debacle. However, General Tikka, Sahibzada Yaqoob
Ali Khan (former commander of Eastern Command) and Rao Farman Ali
(advisor to Niazi) were exonerated. Were they were innocent?

A. I don't agree with the commission's act of exonerating these three.
It is surprising that no responsibility for the break-up of Pakistan
has been apportioned to Tikka, Yaqoob and Farman. In fact, Yaqoob's
inaction as commander of the eastern command resulted in aggravating
the situation in East Pakistan. Having messed up everything, Yaqoob
deemed it fit to desert his post and resign, while taking cover behind
his conscience. He should have been sent to the gallows for betraying
the nation. Yahya demoted him. However, Bhutto restored his rank and
sent him as ambassador to the USA. What a prize for desertion!

The Hamoodur Commission exculpated him, thus paving ground for
officers to resign instead of fighting out the enemy, whenever a
difficult situation develops. Similarly, Tikka has not been mentioned
in the report, although his barbaric action of March 25 earned him the
name of butcher. The commission overlooked his heinous crimes.

As far as Rao Farman is concerned, he was in-charge of the Dhaka
operations.

Q. Why didn't the Bhutto government make the Hamoodur Report public?

A. Bhutto was afraid of making it public given the fact that he was
equally responsible for the circumstances that finally led to the
dismemberment of Pakistan. A sub-committee of seven Bhutto aides was
permitted to have a glance at the report. The committee recommended
that the report should not be made public. Bhutto later used his
powers to modify 34 pages of the report.

Q. You insist that the Hamoodur Report is faulty, partial and
influenced by Bhutto. On the other hand, no one in the corridors of
power seems ready to court-martial the generals responsible for the
Dhaka debacle. With this in mind, do you have any solid suggestion to
bring the culprits to task?

A. To find out the truth about the 1971 debacle and punish the guilty,
it is essential to appoint a new commission with wider terms of
reference. This exercise should be presided over by the chief of army
staff. Two syndicates should take part.
It would be a very interesting exercise, with many useful lessons to
be learned. A military exercise should also be held to find out how
and why the small, tired and ill-equipped eastern garrison completed
all the given tasks under the worst possible conditions against
overwhelming odds, and why the western garrison, with enough forces
and resources and having the initiative, failed and lost 5,500 square
miles of territory in less than 10 days under conducive conditions.

After my return to Pakistan from Indian captivity in 1974, while
preparing my report on the East Pakistan debacle, I heard persistent
hints from GHQ sources that the Eastern Command had been sacrificed
according to a detailed plan, and that its senior commanders were made
the scapegoats for the loss of East Pakistan. My initial doubts turned
into conviction when, over the years, I pondered over this episode and
discussed it with people who knew that the GHQ Eastern Command had
been deliberately cheated, tricked and misled as part of a grave
conspiracy by the high command.

In fact it was so obvious that even the Indian Major General Shah Beg
Singh told me, "Your goose is cooked, sir. They have decided to put
the whole blame on you and your command for this episode." I am
therefore convinced that the fall of East Pakistan was deliberately
engineered.

Q. Can you substantiate your contention that the East Pakistan debacle
was deliberately engineered?

A. Yahya and Bhutto viewed Mujib's victory in the 1970 election with
distaste, because it meant that Yahya had to vacate the presidency and
Bhutto had to sit in the Opposition benches, which was contrary to his
aspirations. So these two got together and hatched a plan in Larkana,
Bhutto's hometown, which came to be known as the Larkana Conspiracy.
The plan was to postpone the session of the National Assembly
indefinitely, and to block the transfer of power to the Awami League
by diplomacy, threats, intrigues and the use of military force.

Connected to this conspiracy was the 'M M Ahmed plan', which aimed at
allowing Yahya and Bhutto to continue as president and prime minister,
besides leaving East Pakistan without a successor government. After
the announcement of the date of the assembly session (to be held at
Dhaka), there was pressure on the politicians to boycott it. The
reason given was that East Pakistan had become a hub of international
intrigue, therefore, it should be discarded.

In the end, this clique achieved its aim.

Q. Don't you think that the time has come for India and Pakistan to
shun their differences and enter into a peace dialogue for the
betterment of the masses?

A. We should never trust India. Successive Indian governments have
never reconciled to the idea of a strong Pakistan and have always
tried to weaken our country. Previous records show that India has
always damaged Pakistan. Whenever they get a chance in future, they
would never spare Pakistan. Even now in Kashmir, India has more than
hundreds of thousands of troops, killing innocent Muslims in the name
of fighting militants.

Even otherwise, Pakistan cannot enter into a peace dialogue with India
until and unless the latter gives a commitment to resolve the Kashmir
dispute in accordance with United Nations resolutions.

Q.If given a chance, would you like to play a role in the ongoing
diplomatic efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute?

A. No. I would rather prefer to be even with India. Though I am too
old to fight now, I am still ready to command Pakistani troops in
Jammu and Kashmir to fight Indian troops.