Go America, Go Back
Lahore: Daily Jasarat, Nov06, 2009. Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Syed Munawar Hassan announced that the JI will soon increase its anti-America and anti-India agitation while addressing a rally in Mianwali in Sargodha, Punjab. Amidst loud shouts of ‘Go America Go’, Hassan demanded the Pakistan government of Pakistan to break its diplomatic ties with India after the government accused India of funding terrorist groups in Pakistan. He also accused President Asif Ali Zardari of supporting the US policy to a greater extent than even Musharraf. He blamed the current government of failing to stem the food crisis and in fact blamed it for looting the common man. He claimed that the food crisis was instigated by ‘American agents’.
India involved in NWFP and Balochistan: Pakistan National Assembly
Islamabad: Daily Jang, Nov 5, 2009. The Pakistan Parliamentary Committee for National Security (PPCNS) on Wednesday directed the government to highlight Indian involvement in terrorist activities especially in the North West Frontier Province and Balochistan. The PPCNS chairman Senator Raza Rabbani signed the directives after Interior Minister Rehman Malik submitted evidence of Indian involvement in the region. PPCNS chairman Raza Rabbani said—“Committee calls Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to finalise the strategy to counter external involvement.”
Three Fourths of Pakistanis back the Taliban –A survey
Islamabad: Daily Jasarat, Nov 4, 2009. According to the Gillani Research Foundation, a survey conducted by Gallop International found that three-fourths of Pakistanis support the Taliban and remain staunchly against the current state of US-Pakistan relations. The poll revealed that 35 percent of the respondents singularly blamed the United States while 31 percent blamed their own government for the nature of US-Pakistan relations. 36 percent of people thought the ongoing offensive against militants would improve the security situation. 37 percent took ownership of the war against terrorism while 39 percent still considered it to be America’s war.
Hizb ut-Tehreer will work continue to legitimize Khilafah System
Lahore: Daily Khabrain, Nov 5, 2009. The judge of an Anti-Terrorism Court at Karachi released 28 members and supporters of Hizb ut-Tehreer on bail and observed that such weak cases should not be presented before him in the future. The court had already passed a verdict against the ban on Hizb ut-Tehreer as the government failed to provide reasonable justification for the ban. A writ petition of challenging ban over the HuT is still pending in Rawalpindi bench of Lahore High Court. Hizb ut-Tahreer started in 2003 during the Musharraf regime.
The HuT has emerged as the largest Islamic political party in the world, with robust organisations working in more than forty countries. According to experts, Hizb has entered in the final stages of its non-violent political struggle to establish Khilafah system in Muslim countries.
Taliban Prepared for Long War
Peshawar: Daily Ausaf, Nov 3, 2009. A Tehrek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson on November 2 dismissed the army’s claims of decisive victories in South Waziristan. “The Taliban is drawing troops into a trap, and we are well-equipped and prepared for a long war”, Azam Tariq told the Urdu Associate Press reporter via telephone. He added, “areas that the army is claiming to have won are being vacated by us as part of strategy to lure the army into a trap, and then fight a long war.” He refuted the army’s claims that hundreds of Taliban were killed, and insisted that in fact, only 11 died. He did, however, agree that six army officials were killed by his fighters.
Defending the Taliban
Islamabad: Daily Khabrain, Nov 6, 2009. The veteran journalist Asadullah Ghalib in an editorial accused the media of causing harm to Pakistan by branding communities as Taliban in order to boost sales while ignoring the underlying grievances against the politicians and administrators. He rubbished the media’s tendency to create terms like Afghani Taliban, Sawati Taliban, Pakistani Taliban, Punjabi Taliban, and off late even Sindhi and Baloch Taliban. Mr. Ghalib accused the media of adopting an elitist stance and colluding with the government. He observed that many of the popular media personalities spend more of their times abroad in places like Dubai, Gulf, France, Italy, Spain and Germany; rather than conducting honest field work.. He also questioned their integrity, citing unprecedented affluence in recent times. He also criticized the media for calling the ‘freedom of expression’ boogey as the government is trying to regularize their charter.
An Islamic Blue Print for Pakistan
Islamabad: Daily Deen Islam.Com, Nov 06, 2009. Hizb ut-Tahreer scholars recently published An Islamic Blue print for Pakistan, a book that prescribes practical alternatives to adopt an Islamic economic model using Pakistan as a case study on which to build a dynamic economy in conformity with the world economy. The book argues that given the dominance of capitalism, it becomes critical that a working alternative model is presented to the world.
The book is also highlights the political implication of adopting the Islamic model. It agues that adopting such a model will result in the political unification with the rest of the Islamic world and can act as a catalyst for economic development and the establishment of a modern Islamic state with unparalleled power and influence.
Shahid Raheem is a media researcher with ORF |
