Global Voices » Farhan Janjua

Pakistan: Reaction on NATO's Attack Killing 24 Pakistani Soldiers

Farhan Janjua — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:46:30 +0000

November 26, 2011, marked the death of 24 Pakistani troops as a result of a heavy attack by NATO helicopters and fighter aircrafts on Pakistan Army's border posts in Mohmand Agency of FATA in Pakistan. No less than 13 troops were also injured in the mission.

Pakistan in response had protested and vowed to consider all possible options of retaliation. The attack is being condemned and protested against by politicians, journalists, religious organizations and members of the civil society ever since.

As initial reaction, Pakistan asked the US to vacate the Shamsi airbase and the fuel supply routes, which passes through Pakistan's two provinces Balochistan and Khyberpakhtunkhwa, were also blocked. As reported by Awais Raza at Pakistan Defence Blog:

Pakistan gave the US Fifteen days to leave the Shamsi airfield. It also announced that NATO supply routes into Afghanistan will be shut down. The move comes after NATO troops killed at least 26 Pakistani soldiers in two separate air strikes in Pakistan. The Shamsi airbase is used by the CIA to carry out secret operations in the Pakistani desert[..]

Official sources confirmed the suspension of supplies, adding that all containers were stopped at the Takhta Baig checkpost in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency.

Supporters of Jamat-e-Islami hold banners and shout anti-America slogans during a demonstration against NATO. Image by Bilawal Arbab. Copyright Demotix (2 December, 2011)

Taking his rage out on the incident, Haris Hashmi of Pakistan Spectator blog writes:

It’s not a new thing if you jog your memory. It has happened before and perhaps will not stop here. It comes a little over a year after a similar but less deadly incident, in which U.S. helicopters accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border, whom the pilots mistook for insurgents. Pakistan stopped NATO supplies and kept it suspended until US apologized. Perhaps that would be the end this time too.

Pakistani hackers on the other hand have found a way to protest and take their anger out by hacking the popular American websites as reported by Voice of Greyhat blog:

More than 50 websites hacked and defaced by Pak Cyber Combat Squad. All those sites belongs to NATO.

The blog also quotes the shockingly angry anti-democracy message from the hackers which is:

We can see that you are trying to free us from the tyrannical regime of dictators where we have freedom, and are replacing it with a so called democracy where the political parties are just legalized form of street gangs, You killed our children in the name of revolution, You bombed and destroyed our homes in the name of collateral damage and left many of us disabled.

Pasban party arranges a Pakistan Defense Rally against NATO attack in Karachi, Pakistan. Copyright Demotix. 3rd December 2011

Pakistan boycotted the Bonn peace conference in reaction to the events.

Paul Pillar of National Interest blog gives his accounts on the proceedings of the conference in these words:

The conference on Afghanistan that was just held in Bonn was underwhelming in its results, and it was no surprise that it was. The Pakistanis stayed away, the Iranians attended but were rather snippy, aid donors held back to see what other aid donors would do, and Afghan president Hamid Karzai painted a discouraging picture of what looked like indefinite dependence of his country on international largesse. The conference communique hardly broke any new ground.

In an analysis on the Bonn conference, Ishan Tharoor of Time blog says:

Such rhetoric may be a diplomatic non-starter now, yet it’s hard to imagine how much further U.S.-Pakistani ties could deteriorate after a year of rancor and acrimony. U.S. and Western officials at Bonn are now trying to downplay the implications of Pakistan’s boycott. Sadly for all involved, it seems the struggle over Afghanistan will continue to be measured out in blood on the battlefield and not papers shuffled in Bonn’s rarefied conference halls.

Pakistan: Youth Gets Justice After Video of Extra-Judicial Killing Emerged

Farhan Janjua — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 23:33:24 +0000

On June 8, 2011, a 19 year old boy was shot dead at point blank by a Pakistan Rangers personnel in Karachi. Initial reports claimed that the armed youth was about to attack the security personnel and was subsequently killed. However, hours after the incident, Pakistani media flooded television screens with video footage which suggested that the youth was unarmed.

Kalsoom at CHUP blog broke the news:

On Wednesday, news outlets report that a young man was “brutally murdered” in an extrajudicial killing that took place in Benazir Park in Karachi. According to Express, the man was accused to be a “snatcher,” or a robber, and was arrested by police who then handed him over to Ranger personnel who cornered him and then shot him in the stomach, despite the man’s pleas. The man is reported to be a ‘matric’ (Editors Note: Secondary School Examination) student, as well as the brother of a Samaa television reporter, and he died on the spot.

Effigy of a Ranger officer hanging, seen during a protest against the extra judicial killing of Sarfaraz Shah. Image by Ayub Mohammad, copyright Demotix (11/06/2011).

Here's how Dr. Awab Alvi at Teeth Maestro expressed his outrage:

Words fail me, after I watched this video of a Sarfaraz Shah being shot down by our paramilitary law enforcement agency imparting justice in a mere ten seconds. Sarfaraz Shah was apparently brought to the Rangers checkpost positioned inside Benazir Bhutto Park across Boat Basin Karachi accused of holding a family hostage. A heated exchange of words between the two, with the alleged culprit pleading for mercy from the angered soldier requesting him to lower his gun – ends up in the soldier shooting two bullets into the abdomen of the victim, leaving him to bleed and ultimately Sarfaraz succumbs to death probably from excessive bleeding a few hours [?] later.

Ammar Yasir at TeaBreak.pk tweeted his reaction:

Just watched the Samaa footage and I feel like throwing up. This happened in Karachi, imagine the extra-judicial murders in Balauchistan.

In the unfolding of the events, Twitter users started questioning whether the Chief Justice of Pakistan will take measures against this incident which actually happened as eventually he took the suo motu action.

Rangers soldiers beat a motorcyclist during clash with protesters during demonstrations by members of the public over the unavailability of fuel in Karachi, Pakistan. Photo by PPI Images, copyright Demotix (28/02/2011).

Just after 2 months of the incident, the accused rangers official who fired the shots was convicted with death penalty. The remaining officials, who stood by and watched silently, were sentenced to life imprisonment. The blogosphere has expressed mixed reactions on the judgment.

Zainab Imam commended the verdict with these words:

On August 12, history was made. A paramilitary soldier, standing trial in a civilian court, was sentenced to death for extrajudicial murder in Karachi – the city that lives under the watchful eyes of over 10,000 Rangers.

This verdict has not only criminalised an unlawful killing but has also declared that an act of terrorism is just that, even if the perpetrator is a security official. This anti-terrorism court has upheld “the rule of law”.

In a blog post titled “A Tale of Two Murders: Searching for Equal Justice” at NewsLine Blog, Kashif N. Chaudhry draws a comparison of the justice delivered to Sarfraz Shah with the justice delayed for the slain governor Punjab Salman Taseer. Chaudhry questions the inequality of justice:

These two murders prove the sombre fact that Pakistan’s judiciary will never be free as long as the status quo prevails. The words of Pakistan’s constitution that appear to respect the rights of all its citizens will continue to remain a mere ethereal bubble. The only way Pakistan could have an independent and virtuous judiciary is if more Pakistanis aspire to follow the brave example of Mr Taseer.

Pakistan: Protests Against Impunity for US Diplomat Raymond Davis

Farhan Janjua — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 19:48:57 +0000

On January 27, In broad day light, an alleged American security official, Raymond Davis was found wandering around on the busy roads of Lahore in a private car. Besides carrying arms Raymond was also found carrying wireless phones and other devices. Making the best use of his weapons, Raymond opened fire at two alleged robbers. Not just that, as he could not flee from the scene, a 4WD vehicle arrived and tried to rescue Raymond from the mob that started to gather there. The vehicle ran over a motorcycle and a rickshaw, thus killing another person and injured several citizens.

Hamza Malik at The True Perspective reports the story in his own words:

One such tragic and truly heart rending tale occurred yesterday when an American diplomat called Raymond Davis shot at and killed two young men – Faizan and Faheem at a traffic signal on Qartaba Chowk in Lahore. While the killer tried to flee from the shooting scene, his companions following him in a Land Cruiser entered the wrong side of the road and hit a motorcyclist killing him on the spot and injured another pedestrian seriously.

He expresses his concerns with these words:

And just as I was about to revel in the fact that justice might indeed be served, out came the news that he had been shifted to an undisclosed location. That undisclosed location is most probably his home in the United States and consequently once again the abhorred level of police professionalism came to the fore.

Activist group ‘Pasban Pakistan' protests against American diplomatic staff Raymond Davis at the Karachi Press Club in Pakistan. Davis, is under investigation for the double murder of two Pakistani motorcyclists in Karachi, Pakistan. Copyright Demotix.

The story got controversial to a huge extent when the US Embassy asked for the release of Raymond Davis, citing that according to the international laws, he enjoys the diplomatic immunity. Rai Muhammad Saleh Azam quotes from the US Embassy's press release at Teeth Maestro blog:

It may be pertinent to note that the U.S. Embassy’s press release of 29 January 2011 makes the following, rather surprising, claim:

“On January 27, the diplomat acted in self-defense when confronted by two armed men on motorcycles. The diplomat had every reason to believe that the armed men meant him bodily harm. Minutes earlier, the two men, who had criminal backgrounds, had robbed money and valuables at gunpoint from a Pakistani citizen in the same area.”

The case took depressing turn when on Feb 7, Shumaila Kanwer, the widow of Faheem, a Pakistani man allegedly shot and killed by Davis, committed suicide.

Sana Saleem voices her concerns in these words;

While her death should and will trigger a response from the public, it should be a response that is devoid of political agendas and hate-mongering. It should be a call for the rule of law to be upheld and justice to be served. After all, it is the hate-mongering, the conspiracy theories, the knee-jerk anti Americanism that made Kanwal believe that justice would never be served in her case.

She goes on to say:

Kanwal was not looking for justice from the US instead she was expecting her own government and the judicial system to rise to the occasion, to which they did. Regardless, her hopes were shattered by constant reminders that ‘the country has been sold to America’ and that the ‘Government is planning a safe passage for their ally’. References that Davis might be a part of a mercenary force, Blackwater or XE Services only fed her doubt.

There have been reports of alleged US threats to Pakistan over Raymond Davis's release to which Pakistani Ambassador to US responds on his twitter as:

Read my tweets: No US official, incl the NSA, has conveyed any personal threats 2 me or spoken of extreme measures as cited by @ABC

Following the US demand to release Davis, the protesters took to the streets in a country which already has increasing anti-US sentiments. Not surprisingly, the protesters include people from all walks of life. As Sarah Khan of CriticalPPP blog quotes Imran Khan's call for protest in following words:

“Come out on streets if you want to get justice and secure your rights,” he emphatically urged the people.

People from civil society gathered to protest on streets.

Image: CriticalPPP blog. Used under Creative Commons License

Taking full advantage of the opportunity, religious organizations such as JUI and Hizb ut Tahrir are also joining the protests.

Activists shout slogans during a protest against the Islamabad killing of two Pakistanis by a US citizen Raymond Davis. Hyderabad, Pakistan. Copyright Demotix. 11/02/2011

Inspired by Egyptian revolution, many Pakistani digital activists are also also gearing up for organized protests under the banner of Pakistan Revolution Movement.

As of today, the protests continue and the fate of Raymond Davis is undecided.

Pakistan: The Desperation Cards

Farhan Janjua — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:14:43 +0000

The Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer distributes Watan cards to flood victims. Image by Flickr user Salmaan Taseer. CC BY-NC-SA

The story of mismanagement of the donations collected for flood relief in Pakistan has been widely reported. Not only that, the methods of distribution of reliefs and utilizing those funds for other purposes have also been questioned. One such controversial campaign is the “Watan Cards” (literally National Cards or Country Cards) program, under which VISA powered electronic debit cards are to be issued and distributed among the flood victims. The solution may sound very simple, but there are a lot of complications and difficulties involved.

Not just the usability, the issuance of the cards has been troublesome too. Taha Kehar at Pak Tea House writes:

In the month of October, there have been various controversies surrounding the issuance of Watan Cards. It has become exceedingly difficult to acquire a Watan Card. Mob tendencies have intensified as a result of which the constabularies have been forced to take extreme action. The events that led to the death of one man when police personnel issued a baton-charge in the Shehr Sultan region of South Punjab, exemplifies the extremities of such a reaction.

And then to worsen the situation, there had been the reports of sale of Watan Cards as Tazeen informs at The Pak Spectator blog:

Sources in Nadra said a careful examination of the ATM transaction through Watan Cards showed that in several cases, cash was withdrawn from ATM machines in big cities which were far away from the districts of persons to whom the cards were issued.

The sources said a large number of Watan Cards were sold and the government had started a high-level probe into the matter. There were reports that many people sold their Watan Cards for Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 in Rahimyar Khan, Muzaffargarh, Jacobabad and other interior Sindh districts.

Also, there have been reports and buzz in the social media about the provincial governments blocking the Watan Cards to use for their own purpose. Marvi Sirmed, a writer, urges for a proper investigation:

I invite some of the holy anchors/reporters to investigate why Punjab MNAs are trying to block Watan Cards, like they did with BISP forms?

It seems that most of the projects that have been initiated for the flood victims are somehow benefiting the stakeholders involved. If we even consider that issuing VISA powered, ATM enabled Watan cards to the flood affected people, who hardly have access to ATM machines, is a good idea, we have to admit that its management was disastrous.

The worse thing is that the desperation among the flood victims is so huge that it's making them do just anything for the food and relief goods.

Pakistan: Bloggers Reject Religious Hatred

Farhan Janjua — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:29:03 +0000

Ahmadiyya mosque - image courtesy Guppu.com, used under a Creative Commons License

Despite the muted response in the mainstream media, there has been a lot of buzz in the Pakistani blogosphere after the Ahmadiyya religious community was attacked in Lahore around a week ago in which around 93 innocent lives were lost. Pakistani bloggers, netizens and activists have rejected the attacks in strong words.

Sana Saleem, on her blog Mystified Justice, expresses her grievance as follows:

I remain enraged that most of us refuse to recognise the attacks as a human rights issue, and, most importantly, as a violation of minority rights. And by ‘most of us,’ I am referring to those of us who are neither politicians, scholars, clerics, or media personnel. I have lived in Pakistan long enough not to expect the authorities to be sensitive towards the real issues of the people. But the public framing of Friday’s attacks is about the underlying hate, discrimination, and religious bigotry that has been suffocating us for years. This is about those of us who choose to use religion to justify inhumanity despite the gory images showing attacks on innocent civilians.

Journalist blogger Naveen Naqvi, writes on her personal blog that the response of the activist community is a ray of hope amidst the apathy that many have shown to the Ahmadi killings. She says:

One thinks there is hope yet. There is the activist community. A few members of Karachi’s civil society collected at the Press Club to agitate against the assault on the Ahmadis. They could only assemble for half an hour, and had to cut their protest short. Why? Because, reminiscent of a “Monty Python” skit, next in line was the anti-Israel protest. Of course, this was the real crowd-puller. They easily managed to nudge and jostle their way in. ‘Well, it’s our turn now, innit?’ The liberals, having been threatened by a bunch of murderous thugs just a week before over the Facebook fiasco, complied and withdrew.

Adil Najam and Owais Mughal at the Pakistaniat blog express their outrage in the following words:

There can be nothing but rage and loathing for those who kill for the pleasure of killing. Who kill for the purpose of spreading terror and mayhem. Who kill to hide their own inadequacies of faith. Who breed in the fires of hate and kill as an expression of hate.

The Ahmadiyya religious community is facing challenges of existence around the world and especially in Pakistan after they were declared a non-Muslim minority by the elected Parliament of Pakistan back in 1974. Though many people believe that the State does not have authority to interfere in the religious affairs of the citizens, the religious clerics breathed a sigh of relief after this constitutional declaration of terming the Ahmadi sect as a non-Muslim minority. You can read more about the general attitude towards the Ahmadiyya faith on my blog Guppu.com, where I wrote:

Most will tell you how blasphemous this community is! They would even tell you the things that you might have never heard. And when you ask their source of information, they will tell you that they heard this from some so called “Aashiq-e-Rasool” maulana saab. I’d like to quote here my encounter with a bully kind of guy who started shouting that Ahmadies are worse then Hindus and they deserve to be persecuted.

[…]

(However) I believe killing someone on religious grounds is NOT justified in any case! And if you believe you are the accurate and true Muslims and Ahmadies are not, then instead of killing them, why don't we invite them to what we call the true Islam? What are we afraid of?

Pakistan: Terror Hits Cricket!

Farhan Janjua — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:11:15 +0000

Today morning a dozen of gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team ahead of a cricket match with Pakistan team in Lahore. This bloody onslaught has left seven people including five Policemen dead and six Sri Lankan players were amongst the number of injured. The terrorists were armed with latest weapons including hand grenades, rockets, rifles etc. Luckily, there were no casualties among the Sri Lankan players and they are on the way back to their country.

I was in classroom when we heard the loud bangs of those firings. We got curious and started making speculations about what really was happening and one of my friends even passed on a joke as we carried on. But I was sensing that something is really wrong and something terrible has happened. After just five minutes I received an SMS from a friend and learned about the attack.

Everyone including our instructor got scared and he was kind enough to let us go. My University is just near the place of attack, Liberty Chowk. We could already see the traffic jam and a panic situation on the road outside my university. Rumors kept on coming from allover that there was a huge casualty in this attack, few said that Sri Lankans were also amongst them.

I immediately ran to the Internet lab hoping to watch the live TV streams about what had really happened. I was shocked to see the bloody fight between terrorists and the Police as SAMAA TV were airing the footage of the attack. I got relieved to know that Sri Lankans are safe, but at the same time, I was sad to hear about the casualties of the local Policemen.

For more details about my personal accounts, please go to my blog.

AlJazeeraEnglish uploaded the following video at YouTube including footage of the attack:

Naeem Sidhu breaks the news with the following words:

On Tuesday morning, our revered Cricketing friends from Sri Lanka were attacked in Lahore, leaving the whole nation embarrassed, shocked and with our heads shaken in disbelief. With the approval of the Colombo Government, SL team decided to tour Pakistan despite security fears and they courageously defied the advice by other Cricketing nations. India was more vocal against the tour by SL team. Due to our security lapse, Tuesday shooting has helped in vindication of their stance and has resulted in closing doors of International Cricket in Pakistan for many years to come – the worst set back to game in its history.

Yasir Imran tries to wake up the current government with these words:

یہ ایک انتہائی افسوس ناک واقع ہے، جو یقیننا پاکستانی کرکٹ کے لیے بہت خطرناک ثابت ہوسکتا ہے ، مگر حکومت وقت کی کچھ توجہ اس خطرے کو کم کر سکتی ہے، پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کو اپنے مفادات سے کچھ ہٹ کر اس قوم کے لیے بھی کچھ وقت نکالنا چاہیے کیونکہ بھٹو کے بعد سےپیپلز پارٹی کا کوئی بھی دور حکومت پاکستان کے لیے اچھا ثابت نہں ہوا، پیپلز پارٹی کے تمام ادوار میں مہنگائی میں اضافہ ہوا کرپشن بڑھی

“This is an extremely sad incident, that can certainly be proved as quite bad for Pakistani cricket. But the current government's attention can lower this danger. Pakistan Peoples Party should think beyond their own benefit, to spare some time for the nation because after the rein of Bhutto's Rule, none of the Peoples Party governments have been proved good for the country. In all of their governments, inflation and corruption has increased”

Pakistani Housewife blog expresses frustration:

What has happened to the world we live in? Is there an end to this madness? The situation in the world in general and in Pakistan in particular is getting worse everyday. These are the streets we walk in, the roads we drive on with our kids but nothing seems to be the same. I think these terror attacks kill a few people but terrorize the minds of hundreds and thousands of us. They make us numb, takes away the desire to live and the hope for a happy future is missing from our lives, in these terrible times.

Teeth Maestro says:

It is now certain that this tragic event marks the end of Cricket in Pakistan for sometime, the blame game with India is already nearing a frenzy, analysts like Kamran Khan on Geo and Hamid Gul have pointed fingers towards India already. One must note that the attack looks erringly too similar to the Mumbai attack but logically one must understand that this could very well be a cover up to instigate a war of words between India and Pakistan. Our politicians, intelligence agencies and media were blood thirsty looking for an excuse to kick back at India for the Mumbai assault and todays events in Lahore might serve them with an opportunity.

Kamran Abbasi at cricinfo summarizes:

The least of the consequences of this disaster is that those who have advocated the continuation of international cricket in Pakistan - including me - have been proved wrong. No international team will now visit Pakistan, and the Pakistan Cricket Board should voluntarily arrange all future tours at neutral venues for the next year, may be longer. This the darkest day in the history of Pakistan cricket and it occurred in a pleasant suburb of Lahore, a once great city of gardens and tranquility,

Pakistan: Deadly Bomb Blast in Peshawar

Farhan Janjua — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:57:58 +0000

Peshawar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province in Pakistan was rocked with a high intensity car bomb blast today. The car was parked near the assembly hall laden with almost 30-40 KG explosive materials. It was not a suicidal attack as there was no one inside the car. As per the latest reports Police confirmed that 21 people were killed and more than 90 were injured.

Ayesha writes in her post “Peshawar Bleeds”:

How many more blasts and how many more deaths this historic city would see?

Koocha Risaldar, Kissa Khawni is the congested and populated area. The blast took place at such time when most people were out shopping as Eid is also round the corner. Although the blast occurred close to Imam Bargah but in my view that wasn’t the target.

The situation got worse when the electricity of that area failed and a huge fire spread out due to an explosion in an adjacent gas pipeline. Nearby Warehouses and shops were also engulfed in fire. Sources have been suspecting that this blast could be a reaction to the recent Mumbai terror attacks and the usual blame games are on in the media and news channels from Pakistan that the Indian Intelligence RAW could be behind this. The Chief Minister of NWFP has also mentioned that a foreign hand could be involved behind this attack.

Video courtesy YouTube user Kabirrind

Pakistani bloggers were slow to react to this news probably due to the weekend, Hajj and Eid ul Adha holidays. But some were seen active on Twitter in disseminating the news. For the latest updates on the tragedy you can follow the Twitter updates here or at my own Twitter Channel here. You can also find a roundup of media reports at my own blog Guppu.com.

Pakistan: Bloggers Meetup in Lahore

Farhan Janjua — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:51:06 +0000

On November 23, 2008 more than 100 Pakistani bloggers gathered in Lahore in a meetup, the first of its kind in the city. The event was organized by LUMS IEEE Students Chapter (in collaboration with CIO Pakistan and Google Pakistan). The idea was to get the bloggers together to discuss about the blogging scene in Pakistan and promote this medium. The bloggers exchanged their views and shared success stories.

Initially this was planned to be an informal meeting for the twenty odd Lahore based bloggers. The only source of information on this meet up was an event posted at Facebook by Badar Khushnood (Country Consultant, Google). Quite unexpectedly more people showed interest and the number of probable attendees kept on increasing. The event organizers could succeed in collaborating with CIO Pakistan and RedBull, and the event turned into a mega bloggers meet where bloggers from across the country could participate.

Here's what Rabia Garib (editor CIO Pakistan) wrote about this phenomenon:

What started off as a really small 20 person event at LUMS has grown into something more than 100 attendees overnight… literally!

I also attended there as a blogger and am happy to cover this event for Global Voices. In my opinion the event was more like a seminar to encourage the beginners. Badar Khushnood explained the importance of blogging in today's world.

The key points discussed in the Meetup were:

Blogging can earn you a decent living
How blogging enables freedom of speech and expression
Passion is important
Tools for professional blogging were also discussed.
Some success stories were also featured.

You can find the details of the event here at my blog or at the official coverage page at CIO Pakistan website.

All photos by Farhan Janjua

Pakistan: Blame Game On Mumbai Terror - The Blogosphere Speaks

Farhan Janjua — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:05:37 +0000

Recent terror attacks in Mumbai have seriously disturbed and complicated the on-going peace dialogues between India and Pakistan. Where Indian officials are not hesitating to point fingers to Pakistan, the Pakistani officials have been denying Pakistan's involvement in the attacks. Pakistan authorities have further requested not to play the blame game and have offered their full support in the investigation. While all these are happening the Pakistani Blogosphere has a lot of important things to say:

Dr. Awab Alvi at Teeth Maestro says:

What has also sadly transpired within the following day is that the ‘official’ blame game circus is in full swing, contrary to my initial message where I expressed my relief that Pakistan was not being blamed since Deccan Mujahideen were taking the blame, but much to my dismay the good news [?] was short lived and very soon the Indian government was livid at the Pakistani intelligence agencies for having masterminded this attack, in all honesty it might even had been the ISI [ironically we cant trust them either] but whosoever created the mess, Indian or Pakistanis it must be condemned at all costs.

M Junaid Khan at Pro-Pakistan publishes a newsletter that was being distributed publicly:

Even when the shootings were going on in hotels, Indian media and army were blaming ‘Pakistan' for the attacks. The game is clear and sinister. The Indian Intelligence have diverted the global attention towards another issue where they would blame Pakistan for this slaughter and use Barack Obama’s doctrine of attacks on Pakistan to encircle Pakistan from both sides. It is such a shame that Pakistani media is not highlighting this issue and is only repeating what Indians want the world to see and believe.

tperacha at Lahore Metblogs writes his reservations:

Times of India is already reporting that Pakistani militants have been captured and that this whole incident could not have happened without support from across the border. Now I am sure that similar to 2001 Indian Parliament Attack, NADRA issued ID cards will be found in possession of all these terrorists and then it requires not much wit to figure it out! The western media are also jumping on the bandwagon and trying their best to portray this as another al-qaeda attack.

Maybe we should also borrow a page from our neighbor’s book and God forbid, next time when we have a terrorist attack in Pakistan, simply blame it on RAW and get on with our lives. In fact a lot of analysts believe that foreign elements have played part in the recent attacks in Pakistan, but unlike the Indian government, our government doesn’t have the balls to blame any external element.

Adil Najam at Pakistaniat shows his solidarity with Indians in these words:

I, too, am a Mumbaikar today.

I wish I could reach out and for just one moment hold the hands of the woman in this AP photograph. Maybe shed some tears on her shoulder. But I do not know what I would say to her. I do not think she would want me to say much. The expression on her face matches the feeling I have at the pit of my stomach and in the depth of my heart. I think - I hope - that she would understand how I feel. I can only imagine what she is going through.

Rana at The Pakistani Spectator tries to unfold the facts in his opinion:

1. They came on speed boats from Pakistan. WOW :). Indian coastguards intercept fisherman that cross the maritime borders into Indian waters everyday. Thousands rot in Indian jails and here we have guys with sophisticated weapons entering India and their coast gaurds were fast asleep…….hmmmm fishy.

2. Mumbai police intercepted calls made to/from Pakistan….what idiot would do that?? maybe the Mumbai police. Hey there is my number…come get me.

3. They had the “footprints” of the ISI…..did the ISI leave behind its footprints….hmmm

Jokes apart…so who were behind the attacks?

Where all these rumors were flying around, the Indian mainstream media has nonetheless been irresponsible with the blame game. At my blog Guppu.com I have posted a video of a sensationalist reporting by the Indian media speculating about accents of the terrorists.

On a request of the Prime Minister of India a representative of ISI is to visit India for sharing of intelligence. The Prime Minister of Pakistan has promised his country's full support in the investigation. But still fingers are being pointed out towards Pakistan and the blame game continues. A portion of Pakistani media is playing along with the game inciting rumors.

Pakistan: Blogosphere Stands United With India Against Terrorism

Farhan Janjua — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:16:01 +0000

Pakistani bloggers have reacted and strongly condemned the terrorist attacks carried out in Mumbai, India at 11 PM local time yesterday (November 26, 2008). It was expected that these attacks would be blamed on Pakistan's intelligence (ISI) as before, but so far this is not the case. Although the Indian Prime Minister has mentioned that a foreign hand is responsible, a Hyderabad based little known terrorists group claimed responsibility for these attacks. This mindless act of terrorism has claimed the lives of more then 100 innocents and injured more than 300 people terrorizing the whole city.

Deadpan Thoughts condemns the attack with these words:

I would like to condemn what has occurred in Mumbai in the strongest possible terms and urge everyone to put aside their differences and stand together in the face of this atrocity. We really cannot let these terrorists play havoc with our lives any longer and separate us on the basis of religion caste or creed. This is a global problem and will only be solved if we come together and stand tall against these animals.

Pro-Pakistan shows his sympathy and urges Indian government to carry out proper investigations:

The recent conditions in Mumbai can be pretty well understood by the normal people in Pakistan. Its almost obvious how we can relate to the Indians at the moment. Although this might later transform into a blame game between the two nations but at the end of the day its the people who continue to be victimized. It is extremely tragic for the people of India and as a neighboring country we not only sympathize with the people but also support those putting a brave front in the current circumstances. It is really important that during this time we continue to hope for peace and strive against those who continue to spread havoc on both sides of the border.

At my blog Guppu.com, I also condemned the attacks and concluded:

These attacks have proved one thing, that terrorism is not a monopoly of Pakistan. There are terrorists in other countries also, so the scenario is getting like an international war against terrorism.

But, whatever were the causes, we condemn this type of attacks. There is no room for such attacks in any religion. And just like other Pakistani bloggers, I too stand united with Indians against terrorists. We demand that Indian government should arrange proper inquiries and investigations.

This post is part of the Global Voices coverage on the terror attacks in Mumbai, India on November 26, 2008.

Pakistan: Obama the Revenge!

Farhan Janjua — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 11:21:10 +0000

For years, many people in Pakistan hated the policies of US President George W. Bush. Most Pakistanis believed that the policies of Mr. Bush to fight terrorism were failed policies. Yes that is right! Because almost every step taken by him had ironically empowered the fundamental forces like the Taliban and spread the hatred against USA. Many innocent youngsters have joined Taliban just to take revenge of the murders of their innocent loved ones, who died as a collateral damage in this war against terrorism. In short, instead of bringing harmony and peace between Muslims and the West, President Bush has actually increased the hatred between the two. And probably this is the reason why not only Pakistanis but also the citizens of USA wanted a change and they have succeeded on November 4th.

With the victory of Barack Obama, the US president elect, many Pakistanis believe that Americans have taken their revenge by exercising their democratic power. Before the elections the blogosphere was divided on Obama's views about Pakistan. He once suggested that if he is elected he will unilaterally attack inside the Pakistani territory to hunt down the terrorists. Although some stood by Obama, many Pakistanis had reservations about him because of this. The other candidate John McCain was not popular among Pakistanis, so many decided not to support either of them at this stage.

But Obama was able to regain some Pakistani support when he cleared the confusion regarding his statement on Pakistan in a debate with McCain:

Video uploaded to YouTube by Townhalldebate08

Another reason for Pakistanis supporting Obama is that the people believe that he is the person who understands Muslims better than John McCain. And of course, the hope is there that Obama can play a positive role in building bridges between Muslims and the West.

Let us have a look at the recent posts of Pakistani blogosphere on this issue.

Teeth Maestro Explains the reasons why he is supporting Barak Obama:

The conclusion I have achieved is most definitely debatable, I choose to look beyond mere words and see a possible solution for the mess in Pakistan. For me Obama represents a fresh change in the White House, it is my understanding that they both propose ‘approximately’ the same line of action for Pakistan. Obama wishes to quickly clean up the terrorism threat in Pakistan, while McCain proposes a slow but extensively drawn out plan of action, which I feel actually means a long term American presence in Pakistan. If they are both generally coming with the same mindset then I feel I would carefully put my eggs into Obama’s basket.

Temporal at Teeth Maestro writes about Obama's victory:

Will the US ever be the same again?

Since life is all about flux, we continuously change, therefore any questions of change can be rhetorical in nature.

Yes, caution is advised and one must never underestimate the shenanigans of the neconzix, but the looming victory of Barack Hussein Obama (according to these pundits and this study of polls by Nat Silver) to come (on) November 4, 2008 will be a global watershed event.

R. MAK at Lahore MetBlogs tries to compare US and Pakistan Election scenarios:

Where else an immigrant family can rise to such riches… A true personification of “American Dream”. As I watched the speech, I was trying to find similarities and differences between Pakistan and America.

The way Obama interacted with the crowd reminded me of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Only one leader in known history of Pakistan had such a charisma… Also I do see some sparks of such charisma in Lawyers Movement.

Adil Najam at Pakistaniat shares his concerns:

Without losing sight of the fact that Americans will, and should, elect the President they think is best for America, not for Pakistan - and not withstanding my own expressed view that Pakistani-Americans will also be voting this time on their own domestic policy concerns and not on Pakistan’s foreign policy preferences - one does wonder how a new administration in Washington (now that there is already a new administration in Islamabad) might impact Pakistan.

M. Junaid Khan at Pro-Pakistan hopes:

With an Democrat sitting in White House, I am sure less focus will be placed on wars and more focus will be on the economic betterment of America and its allies.

Lets hope the 44th American President proves himself a good choice for the large number of Muslims in America as well as outside who voted for him.

I personally appreciate the power of democracy in America and I would like to end with the following words of Obama:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

Pakistan: Zardari flirts and the Blogosphere reacts

Farhan Janjua — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:00:18 +0000

The president of Pakistan Mr. Asif Ali Zardari met with the US Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin in New York recently and used flirtatious words during the discussion. It seemed more like a courtship than a political meeting. Zardari made the following comments:

“You are even more gorgeous in life. . .”

“Now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you”

When a photographer asked to shake hands for the second time, Zardari responded candidly:

“If he is insisting, I might hug. .”

Pakistani blogosphere has responded to this critically; some joked about it while others were furious at him. Let us have a look:

Altaf Khan at The Pakistani Spectator writes:

Just after showing his intense mourning (with ashen face) of the assassination of his late wife Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari met the beauty Queen of Alaska and the Republican runner for the Vice President, and twice admired her stunning looks. Sexy and dazzling Palin was ecstatic, though now as she is being painted as a Barbie doll for the foreign presidents by the Democrats, there is another row to haggle upon for the political analysts. […]

Shakir Lakhani at Chowrangi mentions that the president's behavior was against Islamic principles:

I wonder how the president of an Islamic Republic can even think of hugging a woman who is not closely related to him. But Mr. Zardari even said (that) he would hug her if his aide insisted (the aide had merely asked him to shake hands with her). […]

Dr. Awab Alvi at Teeth Maestro notices:

It seems to have been the perfectly scripted conversation as temporal had predicted well before the actual Sarah Palin and Asif Zardari meetup. There maybe some fanatics in Pakistan who may even cringe at seeing him shaking hands with a women, but whatever the objection and whether we like it or not it has become a routine in western interactions and I might even suggest that such flirtatious comments might even be the norm but I dare to say, at least not on camera. It is quite possible that Sarah Palin considered these as a complement, but if you were to observe the video footage of the exchange she does feel a little uneasy.

Adnan Siddiqi was not courteous to Zardari in his words:

We must thank Zardari as he represented (the) Pakistani nation, especially Pakistani men in front of (the) Americans. Yesterday when Zardari met Sarah Palin then he could not control his emotions and showed all his teeth (not sure they are genuine since I heard they were pulled out when he was in jail) and expressed love in a typical (..) style which is common among Pakistani men. […]

During the whole meeting Zardari was not found mourning about BiBi like he is used to mourn in every press conference in Pakistan.

On my own blog I depicted the meeting and the flirtatious life of President Zardari in a humorous video. Here is the video of an original news report [ur].

Pakistan: “Hey! Why is Google ignoring us?”

Farhan Janjua — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:02:20 +0000

Pakistanis are using blogs as a medium to raise their voices about an important issue regarding the biases of technology giant Google. The issue we are talking about is Google Doodles for Pakistan. Google Doodles refers to the Google's logo designs project that Google displays occasionally. Google celebrates and pays tribute to certain world festivals, events and personalities using these doodles. But never have we seen doodles for famous Pakistani or Muslim festivals. Some major festivals like Eid and Ramadan are celebrated across the entire Muslim world.

Image of a Google Doodle from Flickr , by egg™: Used under a creative commons license

Bloggers are having different views and opinions regarding reasons and suggestions. The voice was first raised by Bites85 at ProPakistani, later supported by many bloggers. Let's see what Pakistani bloggers are saying:

Sohaib Athar at ReallyVirtual writes:

I personally think that Google not showing any Doodles for Islamic events has something to do with their “Do No Evil” policy Seriously though, while Google can not be forced to cater to each segment of their customer base, especially since doodling is the secondary responsibility of the guy who creates them, but given that

Google has doodles for other religious holidays

Muslims form a huge chunk of their customer base - much larger than, say, Pakistanis, or people who like Escher

Google has doodles for birthdays and other days that only a tiny portion of the world celebrates

Google is a PUBLIC company (which does matter)

… by not having a doodle for a single Islamic event/holiday so far, the message they are sending out, to many Muslims, says something like ‘We are the biggest website around and are a global company, but we don’t really care about the Muslim culture and won’t even consider it to be worth a doodle’ - really bad marketing.

On the other hand, some bloggers are bit polite and expressing their views that it might be the reason that Google doesn't want to get into any cartoon controversy.

Here is what Teeth Maestro has to say:

What has been seriously missing in its endless inventory of hundreds of Google Doodles is any logo commemorating a Muslim celebration, be it Eid or any other Islamic celebration, that said I am sure there maybe a little hesitancy on making a graphic image of an Islamic event and not fall into a potential cartoon controversy, but I assure you there are way to ensure that these innocent efforts dont back fire.
[..]
Pakistan has been on the Google map for sometime but we have yet to be honored with an Independence day Google graphic on Google.com.pk, our neighbor India has instead been on the receiving end of quite a few celebratory doodles gifts from Diwali to an 15th August doodle on Google.co.in website. But we here in Pakistan sit doodling our fingers in jittery anticipation.

I urge Google to seriously consider our humble request it wont hurt if they surprised Muslims or Pakistani with a customized doodle.

Google services have won the hearts of many Pakistani and Muslim internet users. Many prefer Google's services over its competitors. Therefore, it doesn't go with the Google's image to be biased to any community. So I hope Google will listen to us and will place an Eid Doodle this time :)

Pakistan: Another 9/11, We are Burning

Farhan Janjua — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:13:22 +0000

Yesterday night, about 8 PM local time, Islamabad was rocked with the worst suicide attack ever in the history of Pakistan. This attack was carried outside Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. It is being said that about 1000 KG explosive material was used in this attack that resulted in the casualties of at least 67 and injuries of at least 203 people. This attack is being termed as “Pakistan's 9/11″ by the officials. Pakistanis from all fields have expressed their anger and condemned this cowardly and deadly attempt.

Pakistani Blogosphere also expressed various opinions, some associated the attacks to the Taliban, militants, and Indian involvement while others called it a result of American policies.

Dr. Hassan Asfahani at The Pakistani Spectator blames the officials. He states:

If this attack has been carried out by the Taliban, then how it is possible that they got the car without any scanning all the way through FATA to Islamabad? That is not possible.

That means that the terrorists have the inside help and network fully active in Islamabad and it’s adjoining areas. Just last month a gory attack was carried out in Wah Cantt, a suburb of Islamabad, where more than 200 people died. Last year, an attack was carried out the plane of Pervez Musharraf in Rawalpindi, and all those people had insider help.

People are also associating this attack with the Delhi Blasts, concluding that RAW could be involved in it. Dr. Awab Alvi at Teeth Maestro analyzes:

It is my analysis that the Indian spy agency RAW is the most likely to have a hand in this blast more in retaliation to the recent blasts in India. To make a killing blow on the eve of President Zardari speech to the joint session is a brilliant ploy to over shadow Zardari’s new making comments.

What can we do !!! Simply sitting at home, writing emails and sending SMS’s will achieve nothing and the terrorists will run our country to the ground. If you believe in Pakistan we need to join hands and say STOP TO TERRORISM, mind you this STOP means a full out right condemnation against Talibans, against the American raids on Pakistan and our local armed uprising.

Here's what Adnan Siddiqi has to say:

The question is, what have we been doing? What I see we always became victim of propaganda which at times turned true too but then we usually ignored to figure out whether the things which are told to us are actually true or not.

In last two decades when every bad incident happened, we were told that Ghair Mulki Hath is involved. Usually that ghair mulki hath (external hand) was India. I say if India is really involved then why don’t we have balls to say it clearly while our all governments say that they had proof too? When people asked it was said that it’s due to national interest.

We Cite declares it as a symptom of state of war:

“War has come to Pakistan’s door step a long time ago. It is most unfortunate that even till yesterday, many of us denied this fact. Not any more. Not when War has pushed in to our house and is now in our living rooms, in our bedrooms, in our backyards, every where around us.

Pakistan is under attack!”

Almost every Pakistani blog has written much about this terror attempt, I wish I could quote all of them. For ages, people have been blaming Pakistan to be the responsible of terrorism. In fact we are the one who have suffered the most out of this terrorism, We've been targeted and at the end, these are innocent Pakistanis who die unnatural and horrible death.

Pakistan: “Yet Another Cowardly Attack by the US”

Farhan Janjua — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:59:00 +0000

United States attacks within Pakistani boundaries are not new to anyone. A few days ago, an attack on the Angoor Adda area of South Waziristan claimed the lives of at least 20 Pakistanis. But that’s not all. It is the fifth recent attack, and it claimed no less then 20 lives. The victims were innocent, they neither were terrorists nor supporters of terrorists, and they lost their lives in the “War against Terror”.

Brig (r) Junaid Zaman writes at The Pakistani Spectator:

The blood thirst of US forces hasn’t appeased yet and they are asking for “MORE”, and in their madness they have inaugurated their attack on the Pakistani soil. They have started from the Angor Adda, Waziristan, and they would not stop there. Scores of American soldiers came in four CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters, blasted their way into several houses and gunned down men they found there. All who died were civilians busy in preparing the Sehri, the start of the next fast. The causalities included women, children and men. When the other people reached there, they found all of them dead outside their homes with scores of bullets in their heads.

People from all fields including bloggers have condemned these attacks in strong words. Farhan at Guppu calls the attacks shameful, cowardly and a threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty and dignity.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi condemned this incident in strong words stating that they reserve the right to attack in response. The Jamat Islami Party leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed also condemned it with strong words saying that the government should not only reserve the right to attack in response, but that they should do it as it is necessity. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party (PTI) leader, Imran Khan blamed the government saying that US forces attacked with the consent of government officials who are carrying forward President Musharraf’s policies.

People seem disappointed by the government’s actions.

NEA at Buzzvines expresses his anger with the Pakistani government with these words: “How can someone attack Pakistan, when the attackers first rent Pakistan's army for selling and killing its few countrymen and then plan and jointly conduct the weeks-long war of terror in Pakistan. What a shame both for the army and the defence minister!!!!”

While Fahad at Chowrangi expresses his feelings with these words: “Allegedly Pakistan on Wednesday summoned the United States Ambassador Anne W. Patterson in the Foreign Office here to lodge a protest over Angoor Adda incident. Now it’s not really clear as Pakistani authorities lashed at the Patterson or Anne dear spewed venom at the Pakistani authorities for not giving enough blood to spill in Angoor Adda.”

Many bloggers have protested those attacks by displaying a badge that says “We Protest Against US attacks on Pakistan”.