The Londoner

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Sun Weidong has said that Gwadar is going to become an economic belt which would be connected with Middle East and Central Asia, bringing a great boost in economy of the region. He was addressing a gathering of media persons, businessmen, tribal elders and politicians, here on Thursday which was organised by Balochistan Economic Forum.  He said: "This year handling of capacity of Gwadar Deep Sea Port has been increased due to joint efforts of Pakistan and China. Gwadar is going to become economic hub of the region which would be connected with Middle East and Central Asia," adding that Gwadar should be connected with other parts of the world.  He said that Chinese companies have been working in different sectors in Pakistan including energy, fuel, establishing power generation plants, science, technology, agriculture and defence. "Chinese companies have been shifting Chinese technology to Pakistan which  would ...

In a ceremony full of pomp in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi , General Ashfaq Kayani has handed over the reins as the country's army chief. It is one of the most important roles in South Asia in terms of regional stability, and many observers await to see how his successor General Raheel Sharif will approach the job particularly in relation to the conflict in Afghanistan. While many Pakistanis question whether or not their country is safer after General Kayani's tenure, he has been praised for not doing what some army chiefs have done there in the past - stage a coup. Read the full story here.  HOME 

By Sikander Hayat Recently Tahir Ul Qadri announced that he is going to lead a 4 million march to Islamabad to change the political system of Pakistan . He has also said that until his demands are met, he will not return from Islamabad. Not a very pretty thought for the people of Islamabad . So who is acting behind the scenes here? Who has asked Allama Qadri to return to Pakistan after a fairly long period of self exile ? Who is forcing MQM to back him in his quest to bring revolution to Pakistan? There are so many questions but very few answers. Two possible behind the scene actors here are Pakistan Army & guys from ISI but the puzzling question has to be this: Why now? Now that current government’s term is nearing an end and it will legally cease to exist from mid March 2013. Why end something which is ending anyway. It seems that army is terrified of the prospect that Nawaz Sharif might return to power and keeping in mind that this Nawaz Sharif is anti ...

President Asif Ali Zardari , in Dubai for nearly two weeks for medical treatment, may return to Pakistan on Sunday night, two sources familiar with the president's travel plans said. "He will fly out tonight (Sunday night)... he will leave in about two to three hours," a worker from Zardari's Pakistan People's Party told Reuters. "He is perfectly fine now and was just waiting for the doctors to give him a go ahead to travel." Another Pakistani source in Dubai said Zardari was expected to leave later on Sunday but gave no specific time for the departure. They said Zardari was flying back to Pakistan but did not say whether he would land in Islamabad or Karachi . Read the full story here. 

About 30,000 Islamists staged a protest on Sunday to condemn the United States and show support for Pakistan's military , which has reasserted itself after a cross-border NATO attack and a controversial memo that has weakened the civilian government. Speakers included Hafiz Saeed, a fiercely anti-American cleric suspected of links to the group blamed for the 2008 militant rampage in the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people. Also at the podium was Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, known as the father of the Afghan Taliban , who are fighting U.S.-led NATO forces across the border in  Afghanistan . Pakistan's military was humiliated by the unilateral U.S. special forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town in May, facing unprecedented public criticism. But many Pakistanis rallied behind it after a November 26 cross-border NATO air raid killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, and plunged already troubled ties with Washington to a low point. Read the full story ...

By Sikander Hayat December is the month when Pakistan lost its eastern half of  East Pakistan  which became Bangladesh in 1971. The cold chilly nights of December send shivers down the spine of Pakistanis forcing them to contemplate about what went wrong. Why our brothers who created Muslim League, who suffered partition of Bengal , who were at the forefront of the movement for the independence of Pakistan felt so angry that they decided to part their ways from the rest of Pakistan. I do not want to blame our brothers from Bengal (East Pakistan) for wanting to secede as they gave us 24 years to correct our wrongs but leaders of West Pakistan, the intelligentsia, the elite and the general public attitude never considered East Pakistan as their integral part. There was a hint of racial, intellectual and martial prejudice and then there was a feeling in Eastern Pakistan that West Pakistan considered them the insignificant other. It has been 37 years but the wounds are s...

By Sikander Hayat Why is everyone so hell bent on removing a democratically elected president by any means possible. Is it not the job of the people of Pakistan to give their verdict on the performance of this president. Zardari has made mistakes but has spent eleven years in jail and nothing has been proved against him yet. Please give democracy a chance so that people from Sindh , Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan can keep their trust in the federation. PML (N) is asking for Zardari's resignation on moral grounds but what about houses in Park Lane London and businesses in Spain. Now Nawaz Sharif is trying to pretend that he is the cleanest person in Pakistan. They are all corrupt but it is only the job of the people to tell who should be running the country. I am not a fan of Zardari , I know that he is president because all notable Bhutto’ s are dead but I cannot second guess the choice of Pakistani people. Army, if it is putting pressure on Zardari to resign, mu...

By Sikander Hayat It has been a week now and we are still waiting for the top military people in Pakistan t o make us understand what really happened. Nobody is coming forward and all we are hearing is just idle gossip on our army's part. Pakistan Army is responsible fro the security policy of Pakistan and it is their duty to inform Pakistanis directly of what really is happening in our midst. On my part, I refuse to believe that Pakistan army did not know about the raid at all. Pakistan was told by the Americans that this attack was taking place so that they don't intercept their helicopters. Americans were in Pakistan for about three hours, the actual operation lasted 40 minutes and it is unbelievable that nobody knew what was happening amid loud explosions and gunfire. Unbelievable indeed. It will be better for the Generals to come clean & answer and to explain their part in this raid otherwise Pakistani people will not forget this episode. These people will eve...

Related Posts: 1.  Did Muhammad Ali Jinnah Want Pakistan To Be A Theocracy Or A Secular State? 2. The Relationship Between Khadim & Makhdoom In Pakistan 3. Battle for God; Battleground Pakistan - a time has finally come to call a spade a spade 4. Pakistan - Facing Contradictory Strategic Choices In An Uncertain Region 5. Pakistan, Islamic Terror & General Zia-Ul-Haq 6. Why Pakistan Army Must Allow The Democracy To Flourish In Pakistan & Why Pakistanis Must Give Democracy A Chance? 7. A new social contract in Pakistan between the Pakistani Federation and its components 8. Birth of Bangladesh / Secession of East Pakistan & The Sins of Our Fathers 9. Pakistan Army Must Not Intervene In The Current Crisis - Who To Blame For the Present Crisis in Pakistan ? 10. Balochistan - Troubles Of A Demographic Nature

By Sikander Hayat I am writing the following lines to refute the biggest fallacy associated with Pakistan Army that it is actually a Punjabi Army which takes care of the interests of the Punjab and does not take care of the other federating units. It is outright false and wrong to say such a thing because from the time of Pakistani independence 14 Generals have commanded Pakistan Army. Out of these 14 Generals 2 were British , 4 were Pakhtun, 1 was Hazara, 1 was Baloch, 1 was a Rajput, 3 were Mohajir and 2 were Punjabi. In 64 years after independence, Pakistan has been ruled by 4 Generals for 32 years. These Generals are General Ayub Khan (9 years), General Yahya Khan (3 years), General Zia Ul Haq (11 years) and General Pervez Musharaf (9 years). Not a single one of these Generals was a Punjabi. So much for the myth of a Punjabi dominated army. Here is the list of all the Generals who have lead the Pakistan Army: 1. General Sir Frank Walter Messervy was born in 1893 in ...

By Sikander Hayat Why is everyone so hell bent on removing a democratically elected president by any means possible. Is it not the job of the people of Pakistan to decide after another three years to give their verdict on the performance of this president. Zardari has made mistakes but has spent eleven years in jail and nothing has been proved against him yet. Please give democracy a chance so that people from Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan can keep their trust in the federation. PML (N) & PML (Q), both Punjabi dominated parties, are asking for Zardari's resignation on moral grounds but what about houses in Park Lane London and businesses in Spain. Now Nawaz Sharif is trying to pretend that he is the cleanest person in Pakistan. They are all corrupt but it is only the job of the people to tell who should be running the country. I am not a fan of Zardari, I know that he is president because all notable Bhutto’s are dead but I cannot second guess the choice of Pakistani people. Army...

By Sikander Hayat I am not a fan of Asif Zardari & the family concern that is Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with the entire corruption allegation hanging over the party and its leader. I appose NRO and I appose the way nepotism/cronyism is being promoted by the PPP but all these are lesser evils than a military takeover of Pakistan. Military takeover is the worst option available in any situation but especially when there is war on in many parts of the country. Pakistan army can not seem to be solely responsible for the military action in any part of the country and must have the backing of the people. That backing can only be provided for in a functioning democracy when elected members of the legislature are a living proof that the state will not do anything which will be against the common interests of the people of Pakistan. A democracy provides legitimacy to the army action which was lacking while Musharaf was in power and people saw his actions as the actions of a single instit...

PESHAWAR: The army said Saturday it had captured Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud's hometown after fierce fighting as it pressed a major offensive against the militants into a second week. Security sources said they had overrun Kotkai overnight after three days of aerial bombardments which had underlined the huge challenge facing the military in taking on the Taliban in their tribal heartland in the northwest. With the militants continuing to carry out attacks country-wide since the army assault began, including one Friday outside an air force base, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the unrest had hit every sector of society. Although figures are impossible to verify, the army says more than 140 militants and 20 troops have been killed in the week-long army offensive to date. Earlier Saturday, the military said another six militants had been killed in clashes with security forces in Kotkai. While no current casualty figures were immediately available from Kotkai, several securi...

Let there be no doubt, that battle lines stand drawn between Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and there should be no surprises if even the fig leaf of institutional propriety is blown away by the fiery gusts of bellicose rhetoric in the coming days. Clearly, the military, which added a critical new dimension to the ongoing debate on Kerry-Lugar Bill by eschewing official decorum and going public with its serious apprehensions, has thought through the consequences and appears willing to go even further. The Presidency for its part, judging by the spate of statements from Mr Farhatullah Babar, appears to be digging its heels deeper for a standoff. And while even the US ambassador has conceded the wrongful insertion of clauses, pertaining to national security and military, the Presidency continues to advocate the inviolable correctness of the aid offer. Tension in the twin cities is thick enough to be cut with a knife. Two power centres are eyeballing one another each waiting for the other to ...