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Showing posts with label Drone Attacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drone Attacks. Show all posts
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan - COMMENT : Is PTI turning into a fascist party? — Yasser Latif Hamdani
They have used pictures from the Balochistan earthquake and Gaza as evidence for their claim that drones killed innocent civilians in the recent Hangu drone strike
When I voted for the PTI on May 11, 2013, I did so for very good reasons and none of them had anything to do with drones. That Imran Khan, the tallest figure in Pakistani politics, was contesting from NA 122 — my constituency — was just icing on the cake. I felt that the PTI had not only managed to bring the apoliticised urban middle class into the democratic process but had also managed to wean a significant portion of the right wing vote from traditional right wing parties. The hope underlying my decision was that the PTI would become a party of the centre right and, with time, would absorb other right wing parties and lead Pakistan towards a genuine two party system.
The results, however, returned PTI as the second largest party of the right. Having been placed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and in opposition at the centre, the PTI positioned itself to the right of the centre right PML-N, which had the overwhelming majority. The impact therefore has been precisely the opposite of what one had expected of the PTI’s rise. Instead of pulling the extreme right to centre right, the PTI has allowed itself to be pushed into the extreme right. To be fair, the first indication of this came when the party abandoned its principled stance on equality of citizenship by targeting an already demonized group, the Ahmadis, just before the elections. Next came the angst on display in Lalak Chowk in DHA, Lahore. The hitherto apoliticised urban middle class was upset that, despite having voted for Hamid Khan — the PTI candidate from NA 125 — the PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique won the election. He did so because the overwhelming majority in NA 125 was not of DHA dwellers but of the slums around it. Saad Rafique had done his homework. Hamid Khan failed to do his. Yet PTI supporters were unable to reconcile themselves with the results; they wanted to know why, when they had braved the heat in May to vote for their favourite candidate, he was not elected. This is a dangerous attitude in a democratic process.
The PTI won fair and square in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It did so because its anti-corruption slogan and pro-development stance resonated with the people in that province, who were sick and tired of the previous government’s woeful performance. Admittedly the PTI’s government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been unable to overcome the multitude of problems confronting their province, and it is also not their fault. Instead of working hard at delivering on the many promises of their manifesto, the PTI has chosen the easy route; the unconstitutional politics of agitation. The agitation has been centered solely on the drone issue. I do not wish to go into the merits or demerits of drones but suffice it to say that the PTI’s rhetoric on the issue is composed largely of false statements and outright distortion of the facts. They have used pictures from the Balochistan earthquake and Gaza as evidence for their claim that drones killed innocent civilians in the recent Hangu drone strike. The Hangu drone strike killed Afghan Taliban leaders but the PTI’s information secretaries, not just in Pakistan but also in places as far off as New Jersey, continue to mislead the ordinary rank and file of PTI supporters with false evidence.
These ordinarily intelligent and amenable folk become rabidly fanatic when someone holds a point of view contradictory to their own. Their charge is always the same: anyone who disagrees with them is being funded by the US. Imran Khan must share the blame for this. He has openly accused everyone who criticises him on his policies of being a US agent. I do not say that there are absolutely no critics with ulterior motives but to accuse everyone of being an agent is just plain wrong. In a democratic society there can be and there should be many voices. Dissent is the central feature and the strongest attribute of an inclusive and democratic country.
In comparison, we must consider the main attributes of fascism. Obviously, fascism in the 21st century is not going to be the same as fascism in the 20th century. The paraphernalia of the Nazi regime and Italian fascists may be the most enduring historical symbols of fascism but they are irrelevant to the modern reality. The three core ideological components of fascism are said to be the rebirth myth, populist ultranationalism and the myth of decadence. Let us see how the PTI fares on these. The rebirth myth is self-evident in the ‘Naya Pakistan’ (new Pakistan) slogan. Drone agitation is a classic case of populist ultranationalism. Finally, every PTI worker believes that the system is completely decadent and must be brought down by radical politics outside the constitutional realm. The nature of the radical politics that PTI supports is also opposed to all forms of anti-conservative nationalism. These are the makings of a genuinely fascist party.
Let me state here that I believe Imran Khan to be a humanist. His work with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust and Namal College indicates that he believes in positive and progressive change through education and provision of healthcare for all. His politics through the PTI in recent times, however, indicate otherwise. I hope Imran Khan can pause and reflect on where he is taking his political supporters and whether his political supporters in the end will overwhelm his humanist aspirations. Instead of committing PTI to an extreme agenda, would it not be worthwhile to focus on issues that have been entrusted to him? After all, foreign policy is not a provincial subject and the people of Pakistan have not given him a mandate on the federal level. Is it not prudent then to understand the limitations of the mandate that Imran Khan has received? Pakistan is bigger than any political party and the hour calls for statesmanship and not politics.
The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore and the author of the book Mr Jinnah: Myth and Reality. He can be contacted via twitter @therealylh and through his email address yasser.hamdani@gmail.com
They have used pictures from the Balochistan earthquake and Gaza as evidence for their claim that drones killed innocent civilians in the recent Hangu drone strike
When I voted for the PTI on May 11, 2013, I did so for very good reasons and none of them had anything to do with drones. That Imran Khan, the tallest figure in Pakistani politics, was contesting from NA 122 — my constituency — was just icing on the cake. I felt that the PTI had not only managed to bring the apoliticised urban middle class into the democratic process but had also managed to wean a significant portion of the right wing vote from traditional right wing parties. The hope underlying my decision was that the PTI would become a party of the centre right and, with time, would absorb other right wing parties and lead Pakistan towards a genuine two party system.
The results, however, returned PTI as the second largest party of the right. Having been placed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and in opposition at the centre, the PTI positioned itself to the right of the centre right PML-N, which had the overwhelming majority. The impact therefore has been precisely the opposite of what one had expected of the PTI’s rise. Instead of pulling the extreme right to centre right, the PTI has allowed itself to be pushed into the extreme right. To be fair, the first indication of this came when the party abandoned its principled stance on equality of citizenship by targeting an already demonized group, the Ahmadis, just before the elections. Next came the angst on display in Lalak Chowk in DHA, Lahore. The hitherto apoliticised urban middle class was upset that, despite having voted for Hamid Khan — the PTI candidate from NA 125 — the PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique won the election. He did so because the overwhelming majority in NA 125 was not of DHA dwellers but of the slums around it. Saad Rafique had done his homework. Hamid Khan failed to do his. Yet PTI supporters were unable to reconcile themselves with the results; they wanted to know why, when they had braved the heat in May to vote for their favourite candidate, he was not elected. This is a dangerous attitude in a democratic process.
The PTI won fair and square in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It did so because its anti-corruption slogan and pro-development stance resonated with the people in that province, who were sick and tired of the previous government’s woeful performance. Admittedly the PTI’s government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been unable to overcome the multitude of problems confronting their province, and it is also not their fault. Instead of working hard at delivering on the many promises of their manifesto, the PTI has chosen the easy route; the unconstitutional politics of agitation. The agitation has been centered solely on the drone issue. I do not wish to go into the merits or demerits of drones but suffice it to say that the PTI’s rhetoric on the issue is composed largely of false statements and outright distortion of the facts. They have used pictures from the Balochistan earthquake and Gaza as evidence for their claim that drones killed innocent civilians in the recent Hangu drone strike. The Hangu drone strike killed Afghan Taliban leaders but the PTI’s information secretaries, not just in Pakistan but also in places as far off as New Jersey, continue to mislead the ordinary rank and file of PTI supporters with false evidence.
These ordinarily intelligent and amenable folk become rabidly fanatic when someone holds a point of view contradictory to their own. Their charge is always the same: anyone who disagrees with them is being funded by the US. Imran Khan must share the blame for this. He has openly accused everyone who criticises him on his policies of being a US agent. I do not say that there are absolutely no critics with ulterior motives but to accuse everyone of being an agent is just plain wrong. In a democratic society there can be and there should be many voices. Dissent is the central feature and the strongest attribute of an inclusive and democratic country.
In comparison, we must consider the main attributes of fascism. Obviously, fascism in the 21st century is not going to be the same as fascism in the 20th century. The paraphernalia of the Nazi regime and Italian fascists may be the most enduring historical symbols of fascism but they are irrelevant to the modern reality. The three core ideological components of fascism are said to be the rebirth myth, populist ultranationalism and the myth of decadence. Let us see how the PTI fares on these. The rebirth myth is self-evident in the ‘Naya Pakistan’ (new Pakistan) slogan. Drone agitation is a classic case of populist ultranationalism. Finally, every PTI worker believes that the system is completely decadent and must be brought down by radical politics outside the constitutional realm. The nature of the radical politics that PTI supports is also opposed to all forms of anti-conservative nationalism. These are the makings of a genuinely fascist party.
Let me state here that I believe Imran Khan to be a humanist. His work with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust and Namal College indicates that he believes in positive and progressive change through education and provision of healthcare for all. His politics through the PTI in recent times, however, indicate otherwise. I hope Imran Khan can pause and reflect on where he is taking his political supporters and whether his political supporters in the end will overwhelm his humanist aspirations. Instead of committing PTI to an extreme agenda, would it not be worthwhile to focus on issues that have been entrusted to him? After all, foreign policy is not a provincial subject and the people of Pakistan have not given him a mandate on the federal level. Is it not prudent then to understand the limitations of the mandate that Imran Khan has received? Pakistan is bigger than any political party and the hour calls for statesmanship and not politics.
The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore and the author of the book Mr Jinnah: Myth and Reality. He can be contacted via twitter @therealylh and through his email address yasser.hamdani@gmail.com
Not a single PTI leader, central or provincial, has so far joined workers at the protest camps set up in four districts, including Peshawar. The protest that entered ninth day on Monday has blocked a key ground supply line to Nato forces in Afghanistan.
The blockade has great national and international significance, but the PTI leaders have chosen not to join it, giving no reason for their continued absence from the protest.
The workers are left to handle such a significant protest, which points to a lack of commitment by the PTI leaders, particularly Imran Khan, who launched the campaign with great pomp and show on November 23. After the Peshawar rally that launched the campaign to block supplies for Nato troops in Afghanistan, Imran Khan did not come to Peshawar or join the sit-in in any district. Other central leaders too have stayed away from the protest.
Most provincial leaders, if not all, are part of the government and cannot participate in the protest as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has distanced itself from the blockade of Nato supplies. This again underlines the importance of separation of government and party offices. Currently, most of the PTI leaders simultaneously occupy the party and government offices, a fact that often makes them the subject of criticism.
PTI provincial president Asad Qaiser is speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and general secretary Shaukat Yousafzai is a cabinet member. Thus, the provincial leadership’s participation in the sit-ins is almost impossible
The central leadership has also no plans to sit in these protest camps this week, according to PTI’s provincial information secretary Ishtiaq Urmar. “The central leaders do take interest in the sit-ins. Imran Khan sometimes asks me through messages and I inform him,” he said. “But none of the central leaders has plans to participate in the sit-in this week,” he added.
He said most of the provincial leaders were cabinet members and the provincial government had yet not taken any decision to join the protest.
The leaders’ failure to join the sit-ins with workers is diminishing their importance. Media is losing interest in it and workers are becoming less enthusiastic. They don’t come to the camp at the Ring Road before 10am, allowing an opportunity to Nato trucks to have more than half of the day to pass through Peshawar. At night, workers abandon the camp.
The PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami workers continued to stop trucks and check their shipment documents on Monday to find Nato containers for the ninth straight day. They forced a container-laden truck to turn back as it was allegedly taking goods for Nato troops.
“The sit-in’s importance is not diminishing,” said Younas Zaheer, general secretary of the PTI Peshawar chapter. “We are not inviting leaders because they attract a huge crowd which we can hardly handle,” he argued.
A PTI worker Malik Tahir Raees and former provincial minister of the Jamaat-e-Islami Kashif Azam were Monday booked on the charge of breaking seal of a container. However, they were not arrested.
Younas Zaheer said he had set 12pm Tuesday as deadline for the police to quash the first information report against the two workers or else the protesters would close the Ring Road to traffic.
Woman alleges sexual assault during anti-war demo
The protest on 23 November was organised by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) to coincide with the start of anti-drones sit-ins and the blockade of the Nato supplies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The huge anti-drones protest started from 10 Downing Street and marched till the US Embassy in London. Nearly a thousand Pakistanis including a large number of women had attended the demonstration which called for an immediate end to the drone campaign against Pakistan and asked the US to stop providing any secret assistance to America’s secret war on Pakistan through the use of unmanned drones.
Both the accuser and the accused, who is in his late 20s, are volunteers in the party. The woman, who is in her 30s and cannot be named for legal reasons, has complained that she was sexually assaulted during the march.
Sources within the PTI have said that the allegation is baseless and the activist who has been named in the police complaint is a “decent worker” who was leading the sloganeering on the day of the protest. The police had been told that the accused allegedly touched the woman during the march on the footpath.
The police arrived at the house of the accused on Sunday to arrest him but he was not present at that time. He handed himself in for questioning at the Charing Cross Police station in Central London on Monday afternoon where he was being interviewed at the time of filing of this report. He was being supported by the entire elected body of the PTI who have said that the accused is of “good character”.
The woman confirmed that she had approached the police and registered a complaint. When asked if there are any witnesses to the alleged sexual assault, she said that “such people don’t do nasty stuff in the presence of witnesses.
They pick their targets and the timing carefully”.She confirmed that some people in the party are “against my activism in the party”.She added: “I have recently become very active in the party affairs and that has not been liked by some people within the party. Some people want to create bad impression about me and want to demoralise me. I will fight back and will work for the vision of the party to promote it.
Touching without consent is a criminal offence in this country and must be investigated.”She said that the matter has also been reported to the party and hopes that the party will scrutinise the matter.
Capital suggestion
To be certain, the PTI’s sit-ins have absolutely nothing to do with the blocking of Nato supply because sit-ins are not required to block NATO supply routes (all that is required is a police constable to do the job). To be sure, the PTI’s sit-ins have absolutely nothing to do with drone attacks. History is witness that in 2011 we had shut down the supply routes for seven months but there were a total of 73 drone attacks that year – th 2nd highest on record.
What then is the circus about? In the simplest of terms it is downright dirty politics. It is an attempt to maintain or build a vote bank by exploiting voter sentiments. In more complex political terminology it is called ‘constituency control’. In political history this is referred to as the ‘practice of creating and maintaining vote-banks through divisive policies encouraging voters to vote on the basis’ of negative sentiments rather than community or national interests. Or the Pakistani coinage, ‘ghairat politics’.
Generally, there are two types of politics: politics of delivery and politics of deception. Generally, politicians who fail to deliver then adopt politics of deception (in order to maintain their vote bank).
The PTI’s election manifesto had 10,160 words. The word ‘corruption’ appears 7 times, ‘law’ 31 times, ‘reform’ 19 times and ‘accountability’ 9 times. There was also a specific pledge to de-weaponise. On February 24, the PTI organised a seminar titled ‘Energy: From crisis to solutions’. Speaking on the occasion, the PTI chairman committed to “end corruption in 19 days and terrorism in 90 days.”
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s real issues are a deteriorating law and order situation, a battered infrastructure, worsening unemployment and a failing social services delivery mechanism. Is there any link between the supply route and any of these real issues?
Has there been a cost-benefit analysis of the sit-ins? For the record, the GLOC Agreement (Ground Lines of Communication) earns Pakistan $1,500 per container for around a million dollars a day; Coalition Support Funds are about $3 million a day and Kerry-Lugar funds are $4 million a day. That’s a total of Rs1 billion a day every day of the year.
Plus, our exports to the EU stand at $6 billion a year. Plus, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Rs118 billion developmental budget has a Rs35 billion grant component from Nato countries. Plus, $500 million from USAID makes Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the largest of the four provincial recipients. Then there’s Security Council’s Resolution 1386 under which Pakistan is under international obligations to provide logistic support.
The PTI’s circus is going to divert Pak-Afghan transit trade to Iran’s Port of Chahbhar. The PTI’s circus has strategic losses, credibility losses and financial losses. The PTI’s sit-ins are all about maintaining a vote bank – maintenance at the cost of national interests. The PTI’s sit-ins are all about cheap politics. The PTI’s sit-ins are all about petty politics – party interests at the risk of international isolation.
The PTI may complain that the media turns its sit-ins into a circus. As a matter of fact, the circus was already there; the media is merely demonstrating that the performers are bent upon making Pakistan a laughing stock around the world.
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com
Twitter: @saleemfarrukh
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-217476-The-sit-in
JUI-S chief asks Imran to charge Obama in drone FIR
MARDAN: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) chief Maulana Samiul Haq said on Sunday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan should charge US President Barack Obama in the first information report (FIR) of the Hangu drone attack.
Talking to reporters at the Mardan Press Club, he said the federal government should order the Pakistan Army to shoot down the US drones. He said on November 29, 2011 the Defence of Pakistan Council had submitted an application against drone attacks in the Supreme Court, but the registrar rejected it saying Fata didn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the apex court.
The Maulana added that after the passage of the 18th Amendment all the areas of the country came under the jurisdiction of Supreme Court and the high courts. He added that on May 13 the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had given verdict against the drone attacks and the federal government should order the Pakistan Air Force to shoot down the drones in accordance with the PHC order. The JUI-S chief said his party would file a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court against the federal government if it didn’t issue such an order.
“Now the chief justice of Pakistan should direct the federal government to ensure halt to the drone attacks after the Hangu strike as the drones can even target the Parliament, Lahore and some other city in the country,” he added. He said his party supported the blockade of Nato supplies by the PTI. He added that the JUI-S would support Maulana Fazlur Rehman if he had the courage to block the Nato supply routes.
Maulana Samiul Haq advised PTI chief Imran Khan to hold peace negotiations with the Pakistani Taliban. The JUI-S leaders including former deputy speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Ikramullah Shahid and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed were present on the occasion.
MARDAN: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) chief Maulana Samiul Haq said on Sunday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan should charge US President Barack Obama in the first information report (FIR) of the Hangu drone attack.
Talking to reporters at the Mardan Press Club, he said the federal government should order the Pakistan Army to shoot down the US drones. He said on November 29, 2011 the Defence of Pakistan Council had submitted an application against drone attacks in the Supreme Court, but the registrar rejected it saying Fata didn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the apex court.
The Maulana added that after the passage of the 18th Amendment all the areas of the country came under the jurisdiction of Supreme Court and the high courts. He added that on May 13 the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had given verdict against the drone attacks and the federal government should order the Pakistan Air Force to shoot down the drones in accordance with the PHC order. The JUI-S chief said his party would file a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court against the federal government if it didn’t issue such an order.
“Now the chief justice of Pakistan should direct the federal government to ensure halt to the drone attacks after the Hangu strike as the drones can even target the Parliament, Lahore and some other city in the country,” he added. He said his party supported the blockade of Nato supplies by the PTI. He added that the JUI-S would support Maulana Fazlur Rehman if he had the courage to block the Nato supply routes.
Maulana Samiul Haq advised PTI chief Imran Khan to hold peace negotiations with the Pakistani Taliban. The JUI-S leaders including former deputy speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Ikramullah Shahid and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed were present on the occasion.
So IK protests against the US yet KPK govt doesn't blame the US in the FIR once a buzdil always a buzdil
— Aseefa B Zardari (@AseefaBZ) November 23, 2013
ایف آئی آر نا معلوم افراد کے خلاف کیوں درج کی گئی، آپ کی حکومت ہے سی آئی اےڈائریکٹر کے خلاف کیوں درج نہیں کی گئی، فاروق ستار ایم کیو ایم
— Wajih Sani (@wajih_sani) November 23, 2013
KP govt should disclose names of all those innocent children and others killed in Hangu attack.."Masoom bachay" is not a name..
— shahzeb khanzada (@shahzebkhanzda) November 23, 2013
Despite threats, KP still main beneficiary of US dollars
ISLAMABAD: Political rhetoric and threats to block Nato supplies through the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) apart, the USAID (US Agency for International Development) is completing a number of development projects worth over $500 million in the KP. This number is more than USAID has sponsored anywhere in Pakistan, credible figures show.
On Monday, the KP Assembly passed a unanimous resolution calling for blockade of Nato supplies in the province to protest the November 1 killing of outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud when a delegation of mutually acceptable religious leaders was to hold preliminary peace talks with the militants’ representatives. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has threatened to stop the Nato supplies on November 20 if the Nawaz Sharif government did not succeed in getting drone attacks halted by then.
However, neither the provincial assembly nor the PTI chief has talked about scrapping of the USAID funded projects in the KP, which are being executed with the cooperation and involvement of the provincial government.
While the KP and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) are the focus of such spending for obvious reasons, the Punjab government has been tactfully but politely averting the launch of USAID funded schemes in its province, an informed official told The News.
Some of the projects in the KP were started in 2007 while others in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. They have varying periods of three to four, five and eight years for completion. The funding is part of the allocations under the Kerry-Lugar Bill, which was once seen as a sell-out by the previous federal government.
Some of the following projects are national programmes while others are confined to the KP alone. These include Pakistan Transition Initiative $102m; KP Reconstruction Programme $82m; Conflict Victims Support Programme $2.5m; Entrepreneur $1.8m; Firms 5.25m; Gomal Zam Irrigation Project $80m; Agriculture Policy Project $10m; Agribusiness Project $45m; Agricultural Innovation Project $30m; Power Distribution Programme $170m; Merits and Needs Based Scholarships $7m; Teacher Education Project $37m; The Deliver Project $100m; Fata-KP Health Programme $26m; Civil Society Support Programme $25m; Assessment & Strengthening Programme $19.5m; Water & Sanitation Programme $15m; and Municipal Services Programme $87.46m.
All these projects amount to $868m. Of this funding, more than $500m are being spent in the KP.The Pakistan Transition Initiative (2007-2015) is aimed at strengthening relations between government bodies and Fata communities through short-term, quick-impact projects. It engages villagers with the local authorities to identify and realise small-scale projects, such as paving streets and improving drinking water supply systems. It also enhances income generation opportunities through activities such as agricultural training for farmers and home-based skills training for women.
Under the Conflict Victims Support Programme, in-kind assistance is provided in the form of short-term relief, small business support and vocational training to civilian victims of the ongoing conflict in the Fata. The project improves the capacity of health facilities to respond to trauma victims.
The Agribusiness Project is intended to increase incomes and create additional employment opportunities in agriculture by introducing innovative technologies and building the capacity of farmers and processors in the Fata to improve production of various crops particularly higher value fruit and vegetable crops.
It is stated that the Fata is inhabited by 3.17 million people belonging to various Pashtun tribes. It is the most underprivileged and underdeveloped part of Pakistan with the lowest literacy rate, (17.4% overall/3% of women), the highest rate of child morality under 5 years old (135 deaths per 1,000 live births) and the lowest per capita income ($250 per year). Exacerbating these development challenges is the conflict and violent opposition to the state authority that the area has endured for more than a decade in the post 9/11 episode.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-212708-Despite-threats-KP-still-main-beneficiary-of-US-dollars
ISLAMABAD: Political rhetoric and threats to block Nato supplies through the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) apart, the USAID (US Agency for International Development) is completing a number of development projects worth over $500 million in the KP. This number is more than USAID has sponsored anywhere in Pakistan, credible figures show.
On Monday, the KP Assembly passed a unanimous resolution calling for blockade of Nato supplies in the province to protest the November 1 killing of outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud when a delegation of mutually acceptable religious leaders was to hold preliminary peace talks with the militants’ representatives. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has threatened to stop the Nato supplies on November 20 if the Nawaz Sharif government did not succeed in getting drone attacks halted by then.
However, neither the provincial assembly nor the PTI chief has talked about scrapping of the USAID funded projects in the KP, which are being executed with the cooperation and involvement of the provincial government.
While the KP and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) are the focus of such spending for obvious reasons, the Punjab government has been tactfully but politely averting the launch of USAID funded schemes in its province, an informed official told The News.
Some of the projects in the KP were started in 2007 while others in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. They have varying periods of three to four, five and eight years for completion. The funding is part of the allocations under the Kerry-Lugar Bill, which was once seen as a sell-out by the previous federal government.
Some of the following projects are national programmes while others are confined to the KP alone. These include Pakistan Transition Initiative $102m; KP Reconstruction Programme $82m; Conflict Victims Support Programme $2.5m; Entrepreneur $1.8m; Firms 5.25m; Gomal Zam Irrigation Project $80m; Agriculture Policy Project $10m; Agribusiness Project $45m; Agricultural Innovation Project $30m; Power Distribution Programme $170m; Merits and Needs Based Scholarships $7m; Teacher Education Project $37m; The Deliver Project $100m; Fata-KP Health Programme $26m; Civil Society Support Programme $25m; Assessment & Strengthening Programme $19.5m; Water & Sanitation Programme $15m; and Municipal Services Programme $87.46m.
All these projects amount to $868m. Of this funding, more than $500m are being spent in the KP.The Pakistan Transition Initiative (2007-2015) is aimed at strengthening relations between government bodies and Fata communities through short-term, quick-impact projects. It engages villagers with the local authorities to identify and realise small-scale projects, such as paving streets and improving drinking water supply systems. It also enhances income generation opportunities through activities such as agricultural training for farmers and home-based skills training for women.
Under the Conflict Victims Support Programme, in-kind assistance is provided in the form of short-term relief, small business support and vocational training to civilian victims of the ongoing conflict in the Fata. The project improves the capacity of health facilities to respond to trauma victims.
The Agribusiness Project is intended to increase incomes and create additional employment opportunities in agriculture by introducing innovative technologies and building the capacity of farmers and processors in the Fata to improve production of various crops particularly higher value fruit and vegetable crops.
It is stated that the Fata is inhabited by 3.17 million people belonging to various Pashtun tribes. It is the most underprivileged and underdeveloped part of Pakistan with the lowest literacy rate, (17.4% overall/3% of women), the highest rate of child morality under 5 years old (135 deaths per 1,000 live births) and the lowest per capita income ($250 per year). Exacerbating these development challenges is the conflict and violent opposition to the state authority that the area has endured for more than a decade in the post 9/11 episode.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-212708-Despite-threats-KP-still-main-beneficiary-of-US-dollars
احتجاج اگر سپلاءی روکنے کے لیے ہوتا تو میں خود جاتا جیسا پشاور دھرنا میں گیا تھآ
مگر یہ صرف فوٹو شوٹ ہے اور اپنی گھٹیا کارکردگی چھپانے کی کوشش
1. جب خیبر پختونخواہ حکومت سپلایی ایک ایگزیکٹو آرڈر کے ذریعے روک سکتی ہے تو کیوں نہیں روک رہی صرف اس لیے کہ پانچ سو ملین ڈالر کی امداد کا مسلہ ہے
2. خیبر پختونخّواہ حکومت اگر احتجاج نہیں کر سکتی تو دو ہفتے قبل عمران نے کیوں کہا تھا حکومت جاتی ہے تو جایے ہم سپلایی روکیں گے
3. جس دن سپلایی چلا ہی نہیں رہی اس دن دھرنا دینے سے ہم امریکہ کو کیا پیغام دے رہے ہیں ؟
4. طورخم کی سپلایی روکنے کا دعوی کرنے والے یہ بتایں جو چمن سے سپلایی جا رہی ہے اس کا کیا کیوںکہ سپلایی کا ستر فیصد حصہ تو وہاں سے جاتا ہے
5. اگر عمران خان اور منور حسن سچ میں قوم کی ترجمانی کر رہے ہیں تو کب پانچ سو ملین ڈالر کی امداد واپس کریں گے ؟
6۔ اگر عمران خان اتنا ہی اینٹی امریکہ ہے تو ڈرون کی ایف آی آر "نا معلوم " افراد کے خلاف کیوں درج کروایی جا رہی ہے کیا ہم نہیں جانتے کون ڈرون اڑاتے ہیں اور بم گراتے ہیں ؟
خدا کے لیے یہ شعبدہ بازی بند کریں اور جنہوں نے 2005 میں امریکہ سے یہ معاہدے کیے وہ معاہدے منظر عام پر لاییں جن تک وزیر اعظم سمیت کسی سویلین کی رسایی نہیں
مگر یہ صرف فوٹو شوٹ ہے اور اپنی گھٹیا کارکردگی چھپانے کی کوشش
1. جب خیبر پختونخواہ حکومت سپلایی ایک ایگزیکٹو آرڈر کے ذریعے روک سکتی ہے تو کیوں نہیں روک رہی صرف اس لیے کہ پانچ سو ملین ڈالر کی امداد کا مسلہ ہے
2. خیبر پختونخّواہ حکومت اگر احتجاج نہیں کر سکتی تو دو ہفتے قبل عمران نے کیوں کہا تھا حکومت جاتی ہے تو جایے ہم سپلایی روکیں گے
3. جس دن سپلایی چلا ہی نہیں رہی اس دن دھرنا دینے سے ہم امریکہ کو کیا پیغام دے رہے ہیں ؟
4. طورخم کی سپلایی روکنے کا دعوی کرنے والے یہ بتایں جو چمن سے سپلایی جا رہی ہے اس کا کیا کیوںکہ سپلایی کا ستر فیصد حصہ تو وہاں سے جاتا ہے
5. اگر عمران خان اور منور حسن سچ میں قوم کی ترجمانی کر رہے ہیں تو کب پانچ سو ملین ڈالر کی امداد واپس کریں گے ؟
6۔ اگر عمران خان اتنا ہی اینٹی امریکہ ہے تو ڈرون کی ایف آی آر "نا معلوم " افراد کے خلاف کیوں درج کروایی جا رہی ہے کیا ہم نہیں جانتے کون ڈرون اڑاتے ہیں اور بم گراتے ہیں ؟
خدا کے لیے یہ شعبدہ بازی بند کریں اور جنہوں نے 2005 میں امریکہ سے یہ معاہدے کیے وہ معاہدے منظر عام پر لاییں جن تک وزیر اعظم سمیت کسی سویلین کی رسایی نہیں
ہنگو: خیبر پختونخوا حکومت کا کارنامہ، ہنگو میں ہونے والے امریکی ڈرون حملے کی ایف آئی آر ’نامعلوم‘ افراد کے خلاف درج کرلی۔
ایکسپریس نیوز کے مطابق جمعرات کو ہنگو کی تحصیل ٹل میں ہونے والے ڈرون حملے کی ایف آئی آر تھانہ ٹل کے ایس ایچ او فرید خان کی مدعیت میں درج کی گئی ہے، جس میں قتل، اقدام قتل اور دہشتگردی کی دفعات شامل کی گئی ہیں۔ ایس ایچ او کے مطابق زور دار دھماکے کی اطلاع پر ٹل کے علاقے افغان مہاجر کیمپ پہنچا تو وہاں معلوم ہوا کہ ایک مدرسے پر ڈرون حملے کے نیتجے میں 6 افراد ہلاک اور متعدد زخمی ہوگئے ہیں۔ ایس ایچ کا کہنا ہے کہ مقامی افراد سے ملنے والی اطلاعات کے مطابق مرنے والے افراد کا تعلق افغانستان سے ہے اور وہ حملے سے ایک دن قبل ہیں یہاں آئے تھے جن کے نام نور اللہ، حمیداللہ، احمد جان، گل مرجان اور عبدالرحمن ہیں۔ ان کا کہنا تھاکہ جب میں موقع پر پہنچا تو کوئی لاش یا زخمی موجود نہیں تھا اطلاع کےمطابق انہیں تدفین کےلئےافغانستان منتقل کردیاگیا تھا۔ پولیس نے عینی شاہدین کے بیانات اور شواہد کی بنیاد پر ایف آئی آر درج کر کےتفتیش شروع کردی ہے۔
واضح رہے کہ جمعرات کو ہنگو کی تحصیل ٹل میں ایک مدرسے پر ہونے والے امریکی ڈرون حملےکے نیتجےمیں 6 افراد ہلاک اور متعدد زخمی ہوگئے تھے۔ اس سے پہلے پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقوں میں متعدد ڈرون حملے ہوچکےہیں تاہم خیبر پختونخوا میں یہ پہلا حملہ ہوا تھا۔
