Saturday, December 25, 2010

Aid is charity...Trade is help with dignity.


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Aid is charity...Trade is help with dignity.



Aid is a temporary or make shift help out for economic uplift .I feel it reflects in a way as charity. It is fine to donate in the aftermath of man made calamity (war) or those caused by nature. But not as a means for economic long term sustainable uplift measures..



The above stated is the description of pure humanitarian type of aid.But there is another form of aid which is government to government under the garb of aid and is unfortunately the policy in vogue between Pakistani and donor governments..which is actually based on the principle of "You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.This type of aid is usually non-transparent a simple Government to Government pleasing.Hardly the fruits of such type of a deal reach the masses or result in any worthy development in the country It doesn't really help much to win hearts and mind of the people at grassroots.Till such time the fruit do not reach them ,no gain in this respect can be expected! Believe me it is really disappointing for a humanitarian like me to learn that you cannot even imagine. I mean demeaning the word which denotes a kind humanitarian gesture universally, abused in this way. If that is so then why go around falsely boasting that you are extending aid or assistance, as if it is for free and a great favor?Ironic isn't it.



In such tight situations it adds fuel to corruption, due to budgetary constraints in any economically starved country, then any thing meaningful. Moreover this gracious gesture of the donor apparently after a short span of time deems to be forgotten by the donees or recipients. Thus it can never prove be a reason for long lasting friendly relationship between the recipient and the donor. The old adage “Feeding fish to a starving man for a day would only kill his hunger for that period of time, instead provide the gear and teach him how to catch fish himself. This would ensure that he will be able to sustain on his own.



The best solution would be that the developed countries/superpower should make trade concession with extended opportunity for more quotas to underdeveloped and developing countries. Aid is acceptable and welcome in times of natural or man made disasters (Wars) and calamity that befall!



Pakistan knows how to fish all it requires is the pond where the fish are! Provide trade avenues into US and EU for Pakistani businessmen and traders. Instead of the financial assistance, encourage American entrepreneurs to invest in Pakistan. There are over 200 international companies successfully doing business in Pakistan and earning handsome returns.



The oil and gas sector in Pakistan offers huge potential for US oil, and gas exploration companies. At present there is no US based company in this sector. They should be encouraged to invest and reap profits and help Pakistan as well to explore its natural mineral resources which are lying untapped in huge amounts. Their presence will definitely encourage others to invest in Pakistan as well. Help Pakistan build an investment climate. Grant more quotas for their product for export to US and EU.



If the US sincerely wishes to help Pakistan then it should not put snags with regards to the help Pakistan is likely to receive from other quarters, like for instance the Iran gas pipeline and the Chinese civil nuclear reactor projects. Both these projects combined are the most important need of Pakistan energy requirements. The ground reality is that it is currently facing the worst energy crisis in the 63 years of its inception, leading to industrial closures and causing miseries to the people at all walks of life.







To conclude ,it is very clear that Pakistan is more deserving for assistance in the form of receiving trade and business incentives, opportunities and investments by the US and EU as compared to the self-proclaimed to be emerging super power neighbor, India.

Shariah laws are not inhuman!!!


Shariah laws are not inhuman!!!





In General: The Shariah law and punishments were embodied in Quran when it was revealed upon Prophet Mohammad through the angel Gabriel, some 1400 years ago.



Prior to the advent of Islam the period in history is known as the dark ages. Times when a girls’ birth was considered a matter of wailing! As if some one had died...They were inhumanly at the time of birth, buried alive by the idol worshipers. Incest was at its peak and women were treated as chattels, changing hands like a slave. There was no respect for their modesty or protection.



Islam brought about the change gave protection to women. Made the men folks respect them and declared the birth of a daughter equally as a blessing as that of a son. Infidelity and prostitution and rape which were rampant then were abhorred, prohibited by Islam and considered to be sinful, for many reasons a few which included health , hygiene, danger of spread of STD and question of bad morality etc.



In fact Islam laid the foundation of a civil society. Now in order to control these uncivilized and uncultured ways strict measure as laws and punishments were needed and thus shariah laws suited perfectly well in those times, proving extremely affective to the extent that today Islam is the second largest religion of the world having over 1.5 billion faithful followers.



If it was so repulsive and inhuman do you feel it would have grown in such numbers? Even today in this day and age it is the most fastest growing religion in the world nearly every month thousands of people of other faiths or non-believer are converting and accepting Islam...can you tell me why ?.No you wouldn’t be able to because you are from those people who have personally not read the Holy scripture of the Muslims, the Quran.You are possibly out of those people who are the victim of the media propaganda, made to create a wedge between each faiths to sell their own product. It is a undeniable reality that the largest numbers of conversions have taken place amongst the US and other EU countries and that to without the enforcement of the shariah laws. In spite of the fact they are such modern and liberated countries.



As regards to the ignorant claim that it is not democratic? It is, quite similar to the Monarchy cum Parliamentary system of governance prevalent in most European countries. However, thanks to the super so-called champs, democratic powers interference and covert support to dictators; most Pan-Islamic countries couldn’t at long intervals continue democracy in their respective country. As a matter of fact in my country (Pakistan) recently, a bill was passed in the parliament in protection for women, facing harassment or abuse of any kind in a working environment or publicly or privately. The male can be sentenced up to 3 years



The suicide bombing: Suicide is Haram (Prohibited and sinful) committed in any manner.Having said that allow me to clarify the misconception that a suicide attack (also known as suicide bombing, homicide bombing, or "kamikaze") was not invented by the Muslim's.



Historically,the Bible Book of Judges recounts the story of the Jewish hero Samson and how he killed himself by bringing down the temple of the Philistines in order to kill three thousand Philistines.

In the late 17th century, Qing official Yu Yonghe recorded that injured Dutch soldiers fighting against Koxinga's forces for control of Taiwan in 1661 would use gunpowder to blow up both themselves and their opponents rather than be taken prisoner. However, the Chinese observer may have well confused such suicidal tactics with the standard Dutch military practice of undermining and blowing up positions recently overrun by the enemy which almost cost Koxinga his life during the siege.During the Belgian Revolution, Dutch Lieutenant Jan van Speijk detonated his own ship in the harbor of Antwerp to prevent being captured by the Belgians. In the 18th century John Paul Jones wrote about Ottoman sailors setting their own ships on fire and ramming the ships of their enemies, although they knew this meant certain death for them.



Modern suicide bombing as a political tool can be traced back to the assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia in 1881. Alexander fell victim to a Nihilist plot. While driving on one of the central streets of Saint Petersburg, near the Winter Palace, he was mortally wounded by the explosion of hand-made grenades and died a few hours afterwards. The Tsar was killed by a member of Narodnaya Volya, Ignacy Hryniewiecki, who died while intentionally exploding the bomb during the attack.



Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff intended to assassinate Adolf Hitler by suicide bomb in 1943, but was unable to complete the attack.During the Battle for Berlin the Luftwaffe flew Selbstopfereinsatz against Soviet bridges over the Oder river. These missions were flown by pilots of the Leonidas Squadron under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Heiner Lange. From 17 April until 20 April 1945, using any aircraft that were available, the Luftwaffe claimed that the squadron destroyed 17 bridges, however the military historian Antony Beevor when writing about the incident thinks that this was exaggerated and that only the railway bridge at Küstrin was definitely destroyed. He comments that "thirty-five pilots and aircraft was a high price to pay for such a limited and temporary success". The missions were called off when the Soviet ground forces reached the vicinity of the squadron's airbase at Jüterbog.



Following World War II, Viet Minh "death volunteers" fought against the French Colonial Forces by using a long stick-like explosive to destroy French tanks.





Coming back to the topic there are a couple of Islamic country’s which implement Shariah laws as a stand alone and that to for good reasons. Otherwise the rest of the Muslim states are governed by the normal Penal Codes with the provision of the Shariah law and court set-up separately for those crimes and complaints, depending on the nature of the violation. Very clearly no court of law has or does pass death sentence in infidelity case (Not sure about Saudi). For instance since most marriages take place under the Shariah law their annulation’s accordingly sought by the partners under the same law or in case of a murderer to be pardoned a system or law known as qiyas or Diyat (Forgiveness by the heirs for reasons and settlements best decided between the grieved and the aggrieved).Mind you to the best of my knowledge no court of law in Pan-Islamic countries has yet handed out that stoning to death punishment during these times.





As regards to the conditions enshrined in the Shariah about proving rape it was made stringent so that women of those dark age period wouldn’t be able to take unjust advantage and use the rape charge as a pretext to blackmail or take revenge from any male, she had a bone to pick with. Keep in mind there were no DNA testing facilities in those days. Today rape cases when lodged are investigated on the same modern scientific procedures and tried and punished according to the modern laws. Not Shariah in nearly all Muslim country except. Saudi Arabia, since it is the holy land with the house of Allah the Khan-e-Kaaba being located there and its sanctity is to be maintained. Thus the strictness of law of Shariah, acts as a successful deterrent. For better and good control of crime and sinful immoral acts.



To conclude, I would add that the sharia law was most appropriate in dark and grave era to bring about a controlled civil law and order and to bring about a change to civilize the illiterate idolaters. Though some of the laws in it may sound inhumane or harsh in this modern day and age like execution carried through means of beheading by sword (Islamic),but let us not forget that the French and European had similar method of carrying out executions too, with the apparatus called the Guillotine. Now they have been replaced by other painless invented tools such as Lethal injection or electric chair etc.



The truth is that is that these laws even to the extent of a comma or full stop cannot undergo any textual amendment by any one, because Quran has to be retained in its truest and original form and content from the time it was revealed upon Prophet Mohammad by angel Gabriel (saw).This in fact is the beauty and solemn attribute of it by virtue of which it is a heavenly scripture and not man made.





I believe the true essence of: ISLAM is: I—Shall--- Love—All--- Mankind. I give below a quote which is self explanatory and in a nut shell vindicates Islam and all faiths, as well.



That "Assess a religion on the basis of its teachings. The deeds of its followers are a different matter; whether good or bad, they belong to individuals and not the teachings. Don't mix up the two."





N.P



The above opinion is my personal assessment based on my own perception as a non-scholar, but a common individual Muslim faithful.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

410 million Indians living below poverty line....



This the true picture of the country being projected as the emerging power and the group comprising Brazil,Russia,India and China called BRIC are endorsing it for a permanent member status in the UN security Council ???.They must be deluded to have done that !

"We want India, Brazil in UN security council: BRIC nations"
http://www.indiavision.com/news/article/topnews/45557/



  • India now has 100 million more people living below the poverty line than in 2004, according to official estimates released on Sunday.
  • The poverty rate has risen to 37.2 per cent of the population from 27.5 per cent in 2004, a change that will require the Congress-ruled government to spend more money on the poor.
  • The new estimate comes weeks after Sonia Gandhi, head of the Congress party, asked the government to revise a Food Security Bill to include more women, children and destitutes.
  • “The Planning Commission has accepted the report on poverty figures,” Abhijit Sen, a member of the Planning Commission said, referring to the new poverty estimate report submitted by a government panel last December.
  • India now has 410 million people living below the UN estimated poverty line of $1.25 a day, 100 million more than was estimated earlier, officials said.
  • India calculates how much of its population is living below the poverty line by checking whether families can afford one square meal a day that meets minimum nutrition needs.
  • A third of the world’s poor are believed to be in India, living on less than $2 per day, worse than in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, experts say.
  • The Indian government spends only 1 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on healthcare facilities, forcing millions to struggle to get medicines, Oxfam and 62 other agencies said in a report called: “Your Money or Your Life” last year.
  • While India’s economy is slowly recovering from a global recession with a GDP growth of 7.2 per cent, millions of poor in rural India are finding it difficult to cope with around 17 per cent food price inflation.
Source http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/410-million-indians-living-below-poverty-line-940

Can anyone give a plausible reason for the discontent giving rise to insurgencies like Khalistan ,Kashmir, Maoists/Naxalite and Assam etc ?.Especially in a country which is known to be one of the biggest Democracy, about to become one of the new emerging economy in the world having a high rate of GDP and many Dollar Billi...on rich tycoons to boast.

It is really beyond my comprehension as what make India with the above picture of its true internal conditions can ever be deemed as an emerging power.Only on the basis of its High GDP.If that be the case Bhutan, has thrice higher GDP rate.

We are not at all envious of their, growth, nor would prefer to compete with in the manner they are achieving it....

Our leaders don't have breakfast with the US leadership in the morning and dessert with the Russians at night. Our business community competes with honesty and does not wish to thrive on scams. To quote an example substantiating the aforesaid I append two links below:...
1) India's Friends: Dinner in the U.S., Dessert in Moscow
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1946236,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-sidebar#ixzz0Zgp7WmEh

2) Indian software/outsourcing company crashes after fraud exposed
http://eideard.wordpress.com/2009/01/07/indian-softwareoutsourcing-company-crashes-after-fraud-exposed/

Moreover what good are such growth figures when the wealth is concentrated in a few hands, while the rest of the people are naked, homeless, under nourished, starving and dying of hunger and dreaded diseases?.

We are growing slowly but steadily with the resolve that Inshallah in due course of time we shall be far stronger and healthier, economically in all aspects, but with honor and dignity. We shall achieve this success due to our hard and honest work and not through conniving, fraudulent and boot licking methods.
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There is no denial that India's economy is not better then that of Pakistan. Definitely it has increased manifold since the 1990.This is owing to the fact that Pakistan has suffered greatly due to setbacks brought upon it during the course of its history. Firstly it the eastern wing of the wing got separated in 1971.Secondly, being proxy for the US in the cold war fought to drive the Russians out of Afghanistan and then being left with the heavy burden of having to play host to the influx of millions of Afghan refugees till today. Last but not least the huge losses it is enduring since 9/11 for being the front line ally in the war against terror.
Undoubtedly, the Indians have made great inroads in the software industry and their entertainment industry. Having said this you also must accept the fact that the economy maybe the best in the world yet if its benefits do not reach the masses and lays concentrated in few hands then it is like a treasure box buried somewhere with no map to locate it. Indians masses are poor, hungry and homeless, whereas their government maybe very rich or a couple of dozen families maybe having billions of dollars stashed away. No one can deny that US is the Nos.1 Super power, read the yesterdays news and you will be shocked to know that in spite of their world best economy their citizens are suffering from what I claimed India is:
Number of homeless soars in New York
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/number-of-homeless-soars-in-new-york-130...
Hungry in America
Published: February 9, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/opinion/10wed4.html?th&emc=th

I could provide more such links, but I feel they should suffice enough to let you feel the drift

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

The KASHMIR dispute between Pakistan and India requires to be on,President .Mr.Obama's agenda too,while being on tours !


Yes,it is certainly heartening to view the relentless efforts which .President Obama is taken upon himself by embarking upon a great mission to trot around the Muslim states in particular and the African country's to remedy the pending issues and disputes and evolve solutions for economic development and uplift programs within those regions and as well improve relations between them and the USA.

I sincerely remain hopeful that since he is attending one of the oldest dispute pending in the that region the other tough and long over due settlment of the struggle of the Muslims of Indian held Jammu Kashmir dispute will not escape his agenda too.

It must be kept in mind that The Kashmir dispute is the oldest unresolved international conflict in the world today. Pakistan considers Kashmir as its core political dispute with India. So does the international community, except India.

In 1947, India and Pakistan went to war over Kashmir. During the war, it was India which first took the Kashmir dispute to the United Nations on 1 January 1948. The following year, on 1 January 1949, the UN helped enforce ceasefire between the two countries. The ceasefire line is called the Line of Control. It was an outcome of a mutual consent by India and Pakistan that the UN Security Council (UNSC) and UN Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) passed several resolutions in years following the 1947-48 war. The UNSC Resolution of 21 April 1948--one of the principal UN resolutions on Kashmir—stated that “both India and Pakistan desire that the question of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan should be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite”. Subsequent UNSC Resolutions reiterated the same stand. UNCIP Resolutions of 3 August 1948 and 5 January 1949 reinforced UNSC resolutions.

KASHMIR ISSUE IN A NUTSHELL

The current agitation in Indian-Held Kashmir is rooted in the struggle of the people for the exercise of the right of self-determination. Peaceful processions chanting demands for freedom were fired upon by Indian Army and police. Thousands of men, women and children have been killed or wounded.

1. New Delhi's allegation of assistance to the Kashmiri people from the Pakistan side is unfounded. Objective reports in foreign media testify that the Kashmiri agitation is indigenous.

2. Pakistan upholds the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to self-determination in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. These resolutions of 1948 and 1949 provide for the holding of a free and impartial plebiscite for the determination of the future of the state by the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

3. The basic points about the UN resolution are that:

• The complaint relating to Kashmir was initiated by India in the Security Council;

• The Council explicitly and by implications, rejected India's claim that Kashmir is legally Indian territory;

• The resolutions established self-determination as the governing principal for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. This is the world body's commitment to the people of Kashmir;

• The resolutions endorsed a binding agreement between India and Pakistan reached through the mediation of UNCIP, that a plebiscite would be held, under agreed and specified conditions.

1. The Security Council has rejected the Indian contention that the people of Kashmir have exercised their right of self-determination by participating in the "election" which India has from time to time organized in the Held Kashmir. The 0.2% turn out during the 1989 "elections" was the most recent clear repudiation of the Indian claim.

2. Pakistan continues to adhere to the UN resolutions. These are binding also on India.

3. The Simla Agreement of 2 July 1972, to which Pakistan also continues to adhere, did not alter the status of Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory:

· Para 6 of the Agreement lists “a final settlement of Jammu and Kashmir" as one of the outstanding questions awaiting a settlement.

· Para 4 (ii) talks of a "Line of Control" as distinguished from an international border. Furthermore, it explicitly protects "the recognized position of either side." The recognized position of Pakistan is the one, which is recognized by the United Nations and the World Community in general.

· Article 1(iv) obviously refers to the Kashmir issue when it talks of "the basic issues and causes of conflict which have bedeviled the relations between the two countries for the last 25 years"

Politicians of India and Pakistan need to sit down with commitment and a perfect time period assigned to resolve this issue.All ,sane politicians of the countries involved in this dispute should act wisely!! We have paid extremely heavy price of our mishandling of this core issue. We lost our great amount of wealth in building armies and ammunition stockpiles. We fought wars and but this time it is different scenario for the reason that both the Country's are now Nuclear states with stock pile of nuclear arsenal.In view of the same war isn't and cannot be a wise way to sort the matter out only dialogue is the best and the wisest method of resolving it.

While concluding I must add that resolution of the Kashmir dispute is without any doubt a key to a durable peace in South Asia,at least to the extent of these two neighboring country's,India and Pakistan. It is also a fact that Pakistan remains committed to finding a just settlement of the dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the people of Indian occupied Kashmir. It should be resolved through sincere dialogue in order to open up vast opportunities for socio-economic development of the region.

It is the people of this region who should come out and pressurize their respective Government to resolve this bleeding issue once and for all. It is our responsibility otherwise our generations would be thrown in trauma and distress for another long and endless period

Moral of the tale: Kashmiris should be allowed to choose their own destiny. Enough blood has been spilled already. India is the belligerent one here to the point of embarrassment. But all belligerent nations have had to eat the humble pie at some point.

Written By Mushtaq Sethi

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