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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Today in History - Oct. 24


Today is Saturday, Oct. 24, the 297th day of 2009. There are 68 days left in the year. In Oct. 24, 1945, the United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect. (On this date in 1949, construction began on the U.N. headquarters in New York.) On this date: In 1537, Jane Seymour, the third wife of England's King Henry VIII, died 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, later King Edward VI. In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years War and effectively destroyed the Holy Roman Empire. In 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph message was sent as Chief Justice Stephen J. Field of California transmitted a telegram to President Abraham Lincoln. In 1901, widow Anna Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. In 1931, the George Washington Bridge, connecting New York and New Jersey, was officially dedicated (it opened to traffic the next day). In 1939, Benny Goodman and his orchestra recorded their signature theme, "Let's Dance," for Columbia Records in New York. Nylon stockings were sold publicly for the first time, in Wilmington, Del. In 1952, Republican presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower declared in Detroit, "I shall go to Korea" as he promised to end the conflict. (He made the visit over a month later.) In 1980, the merchant freighter SS Poet departed Philadelphia bound for Port Said, Egypt, with a crew of 34 and a cargo of grain; it disappeared en route and has not been heard from since. In 1989, former television evangelist Jim Bakker was sentenced by a judge in Charlotte, N.C., to 45 years in prison for fraud and conspiracy. (The sentence was later reduced to eight years; it was further reduced to four for good behavior.) In 2002, authorities arrested Army veteran John Allen Muhammad and teenager Lee Boyd Malvo near Myersville, Md., in connection with the Washington-area sniper attacks. Ten years ago: An Israeli court sentenced American teenager Samuel Sheinbein to 24 years in prison for killing an acquaintance in Maryland in 1997. Sen. John Chafee, R-R.I., died at Bethesda Naval Hospital at age 77. The New York Yankees took Game 2 of the World Series, defeating the Atlanta Braves, 7-2. Five years ago: A plane owned by top NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports crashed near Martinsville, Va., killing all ten people aboard. A Russian-U.S. crew aboard a Soyuz capsule returned to Earth from the international space station in a pinpoint landing in Kazakhstan. Cardinal James A. Hickey, former archbishop of Washington, D.C., died at age 84. The Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 for a 2-0 World Series lead. Arizona's Emmitt Smith broke Walter Payton's NFL record for 100-yard games rushing with his 78th. One year ago: Singer-actress Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were found slain in their Chicago home; the body of her 7-year-old nephew was found three days later. (Hudson's estranged brother-in-law has been arrested in the killings.) A Russian Soyuz capsule touched down in Kazakhstan after delivering the first two men to follow their fathers into space, a Russian and an American, to the international space station. Today's Birthdays: Football Hall-of-Famer Y.A. Tittle is 83. Rock musician Bill Wyman is 73. Actor-producer David Nelson is 73. Actor F. Murray Abraham is 70. Actor Kevin Kline is 62. Former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume is 61. Country musician Billy Thomas (Terry McBride and the Ride) is 56. Actor B.D. Wong is 49. Rock musician Ben Gillies (Silverchair) is 30. Singer-actress Monica Arnold is 29. Rhythm-and-blues singer Adrienne Bailon (3lw) is 26. Actress Shenae Grimes (TV: "90210") is 20. Thought for Today: "Progress might have been all right once, but it has gone on too long." _ Ogden Nash, 

Pakistan under Talibanisation




As the state machinery took its time before launching the operation in Waziristan, the Taliban outflanked it by launching an offensive of their own, bringing the war to the heartland of the country. After taking on GHQ, the proverbial nerve centre, they have shown a change in the tactics of terror: the militants’ attacks have now metamorphosed into a full-blown urban war. The brazen attack on GHQ, which was quickly followed by three synchronised raids on security establishments in Lahore, is a change in the tactics of the Taliban. Until recently they would attack military convoys with improvised devices or their frenzied cadres would blow themselves up near a target or in a crowd. Now they have descended from the hills of Waziristan (as the common understanding goes) to extend the theatre of war. It will divide the focus of the armed forces and put many people’s lives at risk. The day GHQ was attacked two words seemed to stick out in the local and international media: brazen and audacious. But there is more to it than merely an attack by the Taliban who have challenged the writ of the state everywhere and at will. No less than six terrorist attacks in Punjab — one targeting the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, another the Manawan police academy, the GHQ assault in Rawalpindi and three synchronised attacks against security establishments, including Manawan once more, in Lahore — bear the hallmark of militants other than the Taliban of Waziristan. According to the New York Times, these attacks showed the deepening reach of the militant network, as well as its rising sophistication and inside knowledge of the security forces. These attacks are enough to jolt the country’s establishment out of its belief that nothing is brewing in the backyard of Punjab. The sophisticated attacks across the Indus highlight a stark reality: the phenomenon of the Taliban is not ethnic, but a national one. The most alarming aspect of this saga is that militants belonging to sectarian terror outfits have been in the forefront of these attacks. The mastermind of the GHQ attack, Aqeel, has been associated with Lashkar-i-Jhangvi — a sectarian terror group active in Punjab since long. He was also allegedly involved in the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team. It shows how dangerously these sectarian groups have, over the years, transformed into a force capable of taking on the state. The southern part of Punjab shares many things with the tribal areas of the NWFP. If the century-old Frontier Crimes Regulation had imposed maliks on the common tribesmen for their control and exploitation, feudalism has sucked the life out of the common Punjabi. Exploitation and alienation is on the same level in Fata and southern Punjab, which gives common cause to the Taliban and the sectarian groups to team up against an identical enemy — the FCR in the tribal areas and feudalism in Punjab. Things went awry when the state started patronising such organisations, which played on the inherent contradictions in society. The state wanted to privatise Kashmir and the Afghan war, but little did it know that one day the militants could turn their guns on it. The whole of the NWFP in general and Peshawar in particular had been the staging post for the so-called Afghan jihad for no less than 10 years, which is enough time to contaminate the local cultural and religious ethos. Besides, given poor economic indicators, state patronage of militancy and its long porous border with Afghanistan, the NWFP was bound to be the breeding ground for obscurantist forces like the Taliban. When inculcating ‘jihad’ became the state policy during Gen Ziaul Haq’s dark rule and ‘jihad fi sabeelillah’ became the motto of the armed forces, the first seed of Talibanisation was sown. Genuine political leadership was banished from the country while political activity was stifled. The vacuum was then filled by sectarian and linguistic groups which left the social fabric in tatters. People started seeking identity in narrow ‘ideologies’ in the absence of national parties that could give representation to everyone. Public display of ostentatious religiosity became the norm with small militant outfits becoming an extension of the state’s foreign policy, while mainstream leaders — including nationalists — were branded as traitors, corrupt and inept. Religious vigilantes started stalking every segment of society, especially campuses. Conformity replaced diversity of opinion; anyone falling on the wrong side of the establishment was either chased out or condemned to silence. After years of mayhem in Afghanistan the Taliban emerged victorious, in the process attracting jihadis of every hue to the country. For the first time sectarian militants found a safe haven in Afghanistan after spilling a lot of blood in Pakistan. When the Taliban took over Kabul, it bolstered the many obscurantist factions in Pakistan. However, when the Taliban were toppled by the US after 9/11 and found sanctuary in the tribal badlands of Pakistan, a local version of the extremist militia emerged to challenge the writ of the government in the name of the Sharia. The sectarian groups of Punjab found an ally in Fata. The rot does not lie only in the tribal areas. While they provide sanctuary to every group that challenges the writ of the state, they have their own grievances. They may fly in the same flock but they are not birds of a feather. Once done with Waziristan the state’s focus should turn to Punjab, where sleeper cells are not sleeping anymore. This should be done before southern Punjab becomes another Swat. Sectarian crimes accentuated by economic deprivation and socio-cultural contradictions have clothed themselves in petty identities. In the short term they need to be removed physically; in the long term the inherent contradictions have to be addressed, for which drastic steps have to be taken.

Iran to decide on nuke deal 'next week'


Iran said Friday it needs more time to decide whether to sign onto a deal that could help end the international showdown over its nuclear activities. Tehran is "studying the draft proposal" and will have an answer next week, said Iranian diplomat Ali Asghar Soltanieh, on state-run Press TV. Soltanieh is Iran's representative for meetings with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog. It was at IAEA headquarters in Vienna on Wednesday that representatives from the United States, France, Russia, the United Nations and Iran settled on the draft proposal. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei gave all the representatives until Friday to say whether they would sign the document, which he called "a balanced approach to the problem." The other parties have expressed support for the deal.

Hillary Clinton to visit Pakistan soon


The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will arrive in Pakistan on an official tour soon however the dates of her tour have not been announced because of security concerns, reported Dunya News. The US emissary for Afghanistan and Pakistan told that P.J. Crowley had informed Pakistani officials about Clinton’s wish to visit Pakistan. The US officials have also talked to Pakistani officials about the security arrangements during Clinton’s visit. According to US officials, security arrangements hinder her visit and Pakistani officials are being talked to on these concerns. Crowley said that Clinton would hold meetings with Pakistani leadership, important opposition leaders, civil society and businessmen in her visit. He maintained that Pakistan was undergoing a very dramatic situation and Clinton would try to meet maximum people during her brief visit to the country.

Operation close to achieving goals: Kayani



Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday chaired a high-level meeting on the security situation in the country, highlighting an unprecedented cooperation and coordination between the top civilian and military leadership. The prime minister assured that requirements of all agencies involved in combating militants would be met on a priority basis. The meeting was attended by Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, all chief ministers, the president and the prime minister of Azad Kashmir and the governor of Gilgit-Baltistan, all corps commanders and army staff officers, chiefs of the Inter Services Intelligence, Federal Investigation Agency, Intelligence Bureau, inspectors-general of all provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, chiefs of the Frontier Corps and Frontier Constabulary, federal ministers for finance, information, interior and defence. Mr Gilani ordered the reopening of all educational institutions closed following twin blasts in the Islamic University in Islamabad after ensuring full security arrangements. The prime minister ordered heads of sensitive security and intelligence agencies to streamline their performance to pre-empt the recurrence of terrorism, and promised to provide a generous flow of funds and equipment. Chief of Army Staff Gen Kayani briefed the meeting about the ongoing military operation in South Waziristan and said it was successfully moving towards desired objectives, adding that the army was trying to minimise collateral damage.