A French doctor, who served for three years in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences’ Intensive Care Unit (ICU), is returning home next month, driving a truck art-adorned 1974 Beetle dubbed Foxy Shahzadi to celebrate Pakistan’s artistic and cultural potential; and promoting Pak-French friendship.

Dr Vincent Ioos, who specialises in critical care medicine, will be accompanied in the 10,000km Islamabad-Paris trip by one of his colleagues from Pims, Dr Haroon Khan, as well as Salman Rashid, an IT expert.

The 25-day journey – ‘Art on Wheels Tour’, which starts from Faisal Mosque on October 31 would take the trio to Iran, Turkey, Greece, Italy before ending up in France.

‘We want to highlight the huge cultural potential of Pakistan through indigenous truck art and tell the world that Pakistan is not just about terrorism,’ said Dr Ioos, while proudly showing his cherry red Foxy Shahzadi decorated with landscapes of mountains, waterfalls, flowers and animals and inscribed with truck poetry. The car represents the ethnic heritage of all the four provinces of Pakistan.

The front is decked gloriously with floral motifs; pictures of Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Iqbal; flags of Pakistan and France; and a poetic inscription – Maa Ki Dua Janaat Ki Hawa, translating ‘mother’s prayer is breeze from paradise.’

The team has got the car especially reconditioned for this trip.

Most of the art designing was done by Ustad Habibur Rehman, a painter who the team claims ‘understood the purpose of the journey and incorporated that spirit in his work.’

‘It is a popular common man’s car and for us it is a collector’s item,’ Dr Haroon said explaining the choice of Beetle for the journey.

It took the team four months to prepare the car. Starting with the reconditioning from a scratch by a local mechanic and later being painted at one of the truck paint shops in downtown Rawalpindi, it was a moment of great joy and satisfaction for the team when the car was finally handed over to them around Eid time.

‘It was a fabulous experience seeing the car ready and the reaction on the way back to Islamabad was tremendous,’ Dr Haroon recalled. He still remembers someone exclaiming ‘Shahzadi (princess) is getting out’ as the car rolled out of the paint shop.

‘Almost everyone stared at the car in amazement and appreciated it,’ he said, adding one of the traffic cops in Rawalpindi stopped the traffic to let Foxy Shahzadi clear the crossing.

During the Paris trip, the car would be received in Pakistans embassies in Iran, Turkey, Greece, Italy and France.

All preparations are almost final except for an authorisation for Dr Ioos to travel through restive Balochistan while on the way to Taftan border with Iran.

‘We hope to get the permission well in time,’ Dr Haroon said.

He expects the Pakistani authorities to be considerate enough to help a foreigner, who wants to portray Pakistan positively.

The team is also looking for sponsorships in their effort to project a positive image of Pakistan internationally.

{Source: Dawn}

Eminent artist, Iqbal Hussain’s exhibition opening at Tanzara Gallery showcases his old muses in newer colours and shades.

Back to the capital city after two years, Iqbal brings new works in new colours and fragrances of life, as he sees it. And looking at his fresh works, he seems to look at things through a coloured glass this time.

As one of the finest painters of Pakistan, Iqbal Hussain has been painting woeful tales from the forbidden zone, depicting characters spurned and neglected by our hypocritical cultural norms. In his statement on his latest works, Iqbal says that he is inspired by the life in Lahore’s Shahi Mohallah and paint the people living there, as the hard core reality of life, reflecting the day to pain and pleasures of the common people.”

However, in all his new works displayed at the exhibition, Iqbal has added a touch of brighter colours, as if to lend new hue of hope to the otherwise hopeless lives of his characters. Using lighter shades of all seasons, Iqbal seems to express the fact that they too fare affected and touched by the beauty of the changing seasons and the colours of life. With bright yellows and orange colours, Iqbal’s old buildings and narrow lanes are no more dark and dreary, but illuminated with splashes of bright colours on his canvas.

Iqbal Hussain always painted the plight of the women in despair and despondency, but in his new works, he has chosen to give them newer shades of colours, though their faces wear the same forlorn looks. Iqbal’s favourite Ravi and surrounding landscapes also come in a brighter and translucent shade. Iqbal follows his own visions and continues to paint his unconventional and radically innovative paintings. Even with new splashes of colours adding a new creative zeal to his works, Iqbal continues to immortalise his subjects in paintings that belong to Lahore’s Old Walled City streets, courtesans, dancers, musicians, and the Ravi River landscapes. The gravity of the social divide will always exist, but artists like Iqbal Hussain will always find space for light and colour to infiltrate in to the desolated lives. For many viewers, Iqbal’s paintings are like windows of the reality of this world. His work is synonymous with this subject. As an artist he has taken on the onerous task of keeping an issue alive. For Iqbal, the show goes on no matter what. The exhibition would continue at Tanzara till October 15th.

{Source: The News}

By Dr A Q Khan

In my previous column I wrote about Pakistan as I remember it when I came in 1952. There are many more pleasant memories to reminisce on. In this article I would like to dwell on our stay in the Sher Shah area near the Lyari river. We all recently saw on TV and read in the papers about the riots and disturbances there as a result of gang warfare and the murder of Rehman Dakait who was hailed as a benefactor by the local poor community.

I have already mentioned that I came to Pakistan on August 14, 1952, via Khokhrapar, took a goods train from there to Karachi where I reached about 10 p.m. From there I took a tonga to Nazimabad where my elder sister and brother-in-law were living. The next day my two older brothers, Rauf and Quiyum (who were both in the police department), together with their friends, Saeed, Rais, Ehsan and cousin Inayat, came to see me. They took me to where they were living in Sher Shah. There were three large rooms in their building, each with its own small kitchen and bathroom. My brothers had one room, their friends, Ehsan, Eng Qayyum and cousin Inayat the second and the third was occupied by a Pathan family from Bhopal. Their son, Iqbal, was an old friend of ours from school days in Bhopal. A very friendly Sindhi lady, a widow, used to come in the morning, prepare dough mixed with butter and take it to the nearby tandoor to have the rotis baked. These fresh rotis we took for breakfast with tea before going our respective ways for the day. There were many Pathans, Sindhis, Makranis and a few refugees living in the area. An extremely cordial atmosphere reigned. In the evenings the Pathans would sit outside, play daf and sing “Bhayya Qurban, Bhayya Qurban”. I can still hear their singing in my mind.

My special interest here is to tell you about the wonderful character of the Makrani people of the area at that time. They were in the majority; were tall of stature with short curly hair and dark complexion. They looked very similar to Bedouins and were probably descendants of the Arabs who came to this area centuries ago with the Muslim armies. They were an extremely jolly people, with shiny eyes and smiling faces. Most of the men worked at Keamari port, as guards at cinema houses or plied donkey carts for the transportation of goods. Those of us who have seen their donkeys have not failed to notice how healthy these are and how well they are treated. There seems to be an understanding between owner and donkey and this is apparent in every behaviour. I noticed at the time that they would stop work punctually at 4 p.m., return home to rest for a short while and then take their donkeys to a place near our building and let them roll in the sand. After this they would brush them down, often hugging and kissing them in the process. Never once did I see a Makrani mistreating his donkey. They used to carry an old cigarette tin in which they had collected a few pebbles. When they wanted the donkey to speed up, they would simply shake this tin, making a rattling sound. The donkey understood what was required and would trot or gallop. They also held donkey cart races on Sunday mornings from Khaliq Dina Hall to Keamari. The donkeys were decorated with colourful beads and garlands for the occasion. It came as a shock to me when I saw some of the painfully cruel behaviour meted out to donkeys, ponies and horses in this part of the country. They are beaten with long sticks, made to pull overloaded carts and work long hours, often with open sores. When they get old or sick, they are simply left somewhere out in the open to suffer and die.

One of the things I vividly remember is a moving moment that occurred in Lyari. We used to walk to Chaikiwara and catch a bus to Nazimabad from there. One day I took the bus and after only a short drive, when we reached Miran Muhammad Shah area, the driver suddenly stopped. He raised both hands, smiled and said: “Aray bheran (oh brother), what you think you are doing – taking a stroll in your garden?” I got up to see to whom he was talking and saw not a person but a kitten sitting in the middle of the road. The driver actually got down from the bus, carefully picked up the kitten with both hands and softly put it down on the footpath. After that we went on our way. I will never forget this show of kindness to one of God’s creatures.

Contrast this to the two following painful episodes that happened in our area upcountry. Once, when I was on my way to Kahuta and after having passed the airport crossing, I saw a truck in front of me frantically swerving from left to right. I thought that something had gone wrong with his truck and he was losing control. Nothing of the kind! A mongoose was trying to cross the road and the driver was trying to run it over with his truck. Just how cruel does one have to be to unnecessarily extinguish a life! The second episode relates to the unnecessary killing of a beautiful dove. Again on my way to Kahuta (I took that road every day) I used to regularly see a pair of beautiful doves pecking grain by the side of the road near Aliot. I was so used to seeing them there that I would look forward to passing by. One day when we were near the spot I saw the car in front of us swerve suddenly to the side, hitting one of the doves and killing it. I can’t describe the pain I felt. Why intentionally kill an innocent bird? It still hurts me to think of it. Doves, parrots, etc. mate for life. If one partner dies, very often the other dies too.

We lived at Sher Shah for about a year. It was considered a poor suburb of Karachi, but it was peaceful and the people were extremely friendly, jolly and helpful to each other. The Makranis were very fond of dates and one could find date stall everywhere. Whenever there was a plague of locusts, they would catch them, fry them by the side of the road and then sell them. I tried one once and found it to be quite tasty. Almost every evening you could find elderly ladies sitting by the side of the road frying small fish, just like they do in Chad, Mali, Niger, Sudan, etc. The smell alone was enough to tempt. Very often, on my way back from college, I would buy some. Though small, they were very tasty.

Makrani children are extremely cute (all small children are, but these were cute in a different way). They looked very much like African pikaninis with dark curly hair and shiny eyes. They were very playful and loved practical jokes. Near where we lived there was a depression in the road in which rainwater would collect. One day, after it had rained, our friend Ehsan was passing by on his bicycle while I was at the same place, but in a tonga. I saw Ehsan gain speed and raise his feet in anticipation of riding through the puddle. Once he was in the middle of the puddle, a Makrani boy ran out and caught the bicycle from behind, causing Ehsan to fall off right into the middle of the puddle. He ran away laughing. Ehsan was not angry, recognising it for what it was – a harmless prank.

These children were also very fond of playing football, which they were good at. Some of them even went on to represent Pakistan in international events. It was a pity that we did not have the facilities to groom this talent to the full.

Look now and see what this nice area and these friendly people have become. Is it their fault or have they been let down by successive governments and been forced to become terrorists, killers, kidnappers, etc.? How sad!

{Source: The News}

By Faryal Leghari

A recent visit to Islamabad after a rather long hiatus of nine months was quite a harrowing experience. Greeted by innumerable security blockades, the once sterile but politically vibrant, capital resembled a city at siege. It was heartening to see people tentatively preparing for the Eid festival despite the biting recession and soaring inflation, not to forget the fear of terror attacks, still hovering menacingly in the background.

From the security perspective, it was interesting to note how vehicles with women were waved through the barricades. God forbid, if terrorists got onto this they’d be having a field day, placing suicide bombers in burqas or even using female bombers to stage attacks. Looking at the weary faces of the security officers at these check posts, brought home the realisation at the arduous task they faced. The very real possibility of getting blown in view of the recent few years of bombings targeting security apparatus—including military and police—is probably engraved in their minds.

Ironically, the inevitable sadness of departure was numbed with reports of lethal suicide attacks in Peshawar and Bannu in the Frontier province, the very same day. After a relatively peaceful period, the Taleban had struck again, sending a powerful reminder of their capability and intent. Though the recent successes in capturing and killing key anti-state militants, and regaining control of Swat and key areas in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas was indeed a cause of celebration, the fight is far from over. There are plans to launch operations in other restive areas including Waziristan, where despite Baitullah Mehsud’s assassination, the Taleban network and terror infrastructure needs large scale military engagement. This in itself will need strategic preparations by the intelligence agencies and the security forces to counter the threat on another front, off the battlefield. There are alarming reports of young men being smuggled in from Southern Punjab to the tribal areas for recruitment and training as suicide bombers. It may be a good idea to get the public onboard and step up the security across the country before a fresh wave of terror is unleashed to turn public opinion against the military operations.

Many people I met recently share a growing sense of outrage over where the country is headed. It was not enough to fight the perennial sinking feeling over reports of massive corruption in key industrial sectors of power and steel and everything under the sun, where a few or lots of quick bucks can be made by all and sundry. We now have the outrageous Kerry Lugar Bill, promising a measly $1.5 billion annual aid package over five years by Washington. The Bill as it stands today — already passed by the US Senate and awaiting the final nod from Congress — is so obvious an attempt to control the state by the US and its bunch of yes-men in Islamabad and Washington, that it could only merit disbelief at the sheer audacity of the whole sham exercise! What comments it may elicit for the government who are dancing in glee at the great feat they have accomplished at finally getting the much sought after ‘aid’—albeit at a heavy cost—is anybody’s guess. The opposition parties have already donned armour in preparation for debating the controversial bill in the parliament.

The establishment—translate, the military — has so far remained silent, as it was expected to do so. It rarely vents its views in public. But what message the Oracle at the GHQ relays to the government — read Presidency — on this issue is obvious. It will not be accepted, for the supposedly diluted Kerry Lugar Bill comes with a string of conditions that are a flagrant usurpation of state sovereignty, that too at the nominal sum of $7.5 billion — a small price indeed! Maybe certain segments of the government and their intermediaries abroad should instead double efforts on milking the US for the much coveted and fantasised $100 billion. Reportedly, this is the bidding price for Pakistan’s nuclear programme, as maliciously whispered about in the media. The ongoing comedy of errors, no matter how ridiculous does leave a bad taste in the mouth. It is not a question of deliberate conspiracy theories that are hatched to sabotage civilian-military relations. Indeed, such is the nature of politics. Especially in a country like Pakistan where absence of intrigues and attempts at destabilising governments would make you question such a dream existence. Rather, it is the conditions that have set the stage for such suggestions to be even aired in the first place.

A clumsy and poorly disguised attempt at subjugating the Pakistan establishment with the aid of grovelling sycophants, the Bill, cannot but be rejected unless certain conditions are struck down. On this the establishment should be assured of public support. The attempt is to bring military under greater civilian control, blessed by US supervision. The government’s plans to rein in both the GHQ and the intelligence agencies’ serves both the ruling setup and the US. President Asif Ali Zardari is not likely to have forgotten how he was made to swallow a bitter pill in restoring the judiciary and removing Governor rule in Punjab earlier this year, under pressure from Army Chief, General Pervaiz Kayani. More significant is the implications for Pakistan in case there is a terror attack on either side of the border. In such a scenario, who will decide what will be Pakistan’s fate, if Karzai or Manmohan Singh decide to cry wolf and blame their favourite whipping boy, the ISI. The transnational nature of terrorism and subversive elements within all these neighbouring states has often led to attacks being orchestrated — by even third parties — with the broader aim to derail inter-state relations. All said and done, how this Bill fares at home remains to be seen. State sovereignty is more important than billions of dollars for the nation, something the ruling hierarchy should not forget.

As for the US it should take a closer look at its predicament in Afghanistan that reached this point by pursuing a policy based on the logic of expediency, conveniently ignoring rampant corruption. The same mistakes in Pakistan could create a bigger nemesis the US cannot afford or deal with, at present 
or in future.

Faryal Leghari is Assistant Editor of Khaleej Times and can be reached at 
[email protected]

{Source: Khaleej Times}

By David Ignatius

The headquarters of Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence directorate is a black-ribbed stucco building in the Aabpara neighborhood of the capital. Its operatives, described by wary Pakistanis as “the boys from Aabpara,” play a powerful and mysterious role in the life of the country. Their “tentacles,” as one ISI officer terms the agency’s spy networks, stretch deep into neighboring Afghanistan.

The ISI agreed to open its protective curtain slightly for me last week. This unusual outreach included a long and animated conversation with Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the agency’s director general, as well as a detailed briefing from its counterterrorism experts. Under the ground rules, I cannot quote Pasha directly, but I can offer a sense of how his agency looks at key issues — including the Afghanistan war and the ISI’s sometimes prickly relationship with America.

At an operational level, the ISI is a close partner of the CIA. Officers of the two services work together nearly every night on joint operations against al-Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal areas, perhaps the most dangerous region in the world. Information from the ISI has helped the CIA plan its Predator drone attacks, which have killed 14 of the top 20 targets over the past several years.

But on the political level, there is mistrust on both sides. The United States worries that the ISI isn’t sharing all it knows about Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. The Pakistanis, meanwhile, view the United States as an unreliable ally that starts fights it doesn’t know how to finish.

A test of this fragile partnership is the debate over the new Afghanistan strategy proposed by Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The ISI leadership thinks the United States can’t afford to lose in Afghanistan, and it worries about a security vacuum there that would endanger Pakistan. But at the same time, the ISI fears that a big military surge, like the up to 40,000 additional troops McChrystal wants, could be counterproductive.

ISI officials believe Washington should be realistic about its war objectives. If victory is defined as obliteration of the Taliban, the United States will never win. But the United States can achieve the more limited aim of rough political stability, if it is patient.

In the ISI’s view, America makes a mistake in thinking it must solve every problem on its own. In Afghanistan, it should work with President Hamid Karzai, who, for all his imperfections, has one essential quality that American strategists lack — he’s an Afghan. ISI officials suggest that Karzai should capitalize on the post-election ferment by calling for a cease-fire so that he can form a broadly based government that includes some Taliban representatives.

ISI officials say they want to help America with political reconciliation in Afghanistan. But they argue that to achieve this goal, the U.S. must change its posture — moving from “ruler mode” to “support mode” — so that Afghan voices can be heard.

The American suspicion that the ISI is withholding information about the Taliban, or is otherwise “hedging its bets,” makes ISI leaders visibly angry. Pakistanis have the most to lose from a Taliban victory in Kabul, they argue, because it would inevitably strengthen the Taliban in Pakistan, too. A Pakistani version of Mohammad Omar is anathema to them, the ISI leaders say.

As for American allegations that the ISI maintains direct links with Siraj Haqqani, a key ally of the Taliban, the ISI officials insist it isn’t so. They do have a network of agents within the insurgent groups and tribes, but that’s part of a spy agency’s job. America’s suspicion that Pakistan secretly pulls the Taliban’s strings is many years out of date, they contend.

One ISI analyst loudly calls my name at the end of a briefing and then recites a summary of Pakistani casualties since Sept. 11, 2001, from terrorism. The list totals 5,362 dead and 10,483 wounded. “Trust us,” says another ISI official, referring to this casualty toll. “Do not interfere in a way that infringes on our sovereignty and makes us look bad in the eyes of the public.”

Talking with ISI leaders, I am reminded of something you see around the world these days. People want to help America more than we sometimes think. But they want to be treated with respect — as full partners, not as useful CIA assets.

Trust is always a conditional word when you are talking about intelligence activities, which are built around deception. But in this case, where America and Pakistan share common interests, the opportunities are real.

- E-Mail Writer: [email protected]

{Source: The Washington Post}

Dubai: A Dubai-based Pakistani has been murdered during a robbery and many others have been mugged during their vacations back home, Gulf News has learnt.

In a recent incident, 33-year-old Mohammad Sharif was shot dead in Lahore while resisting a mugger. He was shot in the head by his assailant who escaped.

Sharif, who worked as a driver in Dubai, had gone to Pakistan to spend Eid with his family, a friend said. The father of two daughters had moved to Dubai around a year and a half ago to earn his living.

“The mugging incidents are on the rise and there are many unfortunate incidents involving overseas Pakistanis who get robbed at gunpoint,” said Tanveerul Islam Khawaja, former chairman of the Pakistan Business Council.

He said that he himself had been forced to hire security guards and sought police help after his family had received threats during the wedding ceremony of his daughter in Lahore.

“I would suggest that people do not take taxis from the airport, and ask their relatives or friends to pick them up. Also, don’t exchange your currency at the airport as you may get noticed by gangs operating there,” he said.

Arshad Anjum, a Dubai-based journalist from an Urdu newspaper, was also injured during a robbery at his house.

“Three armed robbers entered our house wanting my Dubai money,” he said.

Meanwhile, banker Touq-eer Ahmad said that during his summer vacation he was mugged at gunpoint for his mobile phone, watch and wallet.

“The worse part is that the police do not help and even do not register the report if you are common man,” he added.

Tahir Muneer Tahir, a correspondent for a leading Pakistani Urdu newspaper, said he knew a number of UAE-based Pakistanis who were robbed while on holiday back home.

“There has been an increase in such incidents recently and people are scared to carry with them expensive items and even cash,” he said, adding that the main reason behind these incidents was unemployment and poverty.

An official at the Pakistan Consulate General in Dubai said Pakistanis going back home should take extra care while travelling in the country.

He said the Pakistan government had already announced that it would recruit more than 100,000 security personnel to protect investors and Pakistanis going back home.

{Source: Gulf News}

The losses incurred to the exchequer due to unchecked corruption at every level was costing Pakistan Rs500 billion annually, admits Auditor General of Pakistan.

According to the government official the massive scale of 
corruption was costing the country dearly and if the trend continued the losses will soar further in 
coming years.

Due to corrupt practices especially loopholes in legal system prevalent in the country was also a contributing factor for the low tax-to-GDP ratio that also must be addressed without delay, an essential ingredient to economic recovery and stability.

The worst-affected area due to misuse and corruption is in the development expenditure where the country was losing almost 20-30 per cent totalling around Rs120 billion each year.

Basic reasons cited for the unabated corruption are that every segment of the society including politicians, bureaucracy, judiciary and armed forces have been involved in the malpractices as there is no system to check and balance.

The greed to accumulate wealth through corrupt practices has become a culture in the country and successive rulers did nothing to eradicate this menace as they too benefited immensely and amassed billions of rupees assets in Pakistan and abroad.

While everyone who is someone in Pakistan this correspondent talked to agreed that corruption has been rampant and needed to be checked. (News source: Khaleej Times)

Balochistan and Drones; Mushtaq Minhas and Nusrat Javed discuss with Mahmood Khan Achakzai ANP, Kamran Bukhari, Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo and Rana Azhar Javed

Discussion on Kerry-Lugar Bill and Pakistan’s Sovereignity. Guests: Hanif Abbasi PML-N, Omer Ayub Khan and Noor Alam Khan PPPP

Kerry-Lugar Bill; Corruption in Pakistan; Friendly Opposition; COD, etc. Guests: Khawaja M. Asif PML-N, Syed Sumam Ali Bukhari PPPP and Senator Prof. Muhammad Ibrahim Khan JI

Corruption in Pak and Transparency Intl’s latest report on increase of corruption in Pak. Guests: Syed Adil Gillani (Transparency Intl Pak), Fouzia Wahab (PPPP), Ahsan Iqbal (PML-N)

Is Kerry-Lugar Bill a sellout or an evil neccessity? Guests: Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah (PPP), Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan (PML-N), Senator Prof. Ibrahim Khan (JI) and Sheikh Waqas Akram (PML-Q).