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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (48378)	4/26/2005 2:31:51 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

An example of world becoming smaller for the diehards- Change in mindset is only possible when reality hits the rank and file of the faithful, the reality of cohabitation and coexistence in the contemporary world as a team player to ensure global prosperity and oneness......It is gratifying to see that the fringe elements all around Islamic crescent of instability are on the run; the connection between seminaries and Wahabi Islam and the funding of intolerant ideological education is for the first time being choked. The enlightenment and renaissancethat missed the Islamic societies en masse is now being surely but forcefully introduced to the most hardened of the Jihadis from Kashmir, to Chechnya to Iraq. Another MMA embarrassment Just as we were recovering from the embarrassing episode in Brussels where one of our senators, Maulana Sami ul Haq, was detained and interrogated because he routinely breathes fire against the West and Western values, news came in that the authorities in the United Kingdom detained and interrogated another Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal leader, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed Srodi, at Manchester Airport. Mr Srodi was released only after intervention from some UK-based pro-MMA leaders. We wrote an editorial on the Sami ul Haq episode and explained the rationale of the Belgian authorities’ decision. Why was a Pakistani senator stopped at the airport when he had a valid Schengen visa and had already visited Germany, the country that issued him the visa? Under the Schengen arrangement, anyone holding a Schengen visa can visit 11 countries and Belgium is one of them. However, every EU country reserves the right to deny entry to a foreign national even if he/she holds a valid visa. This right can, and is, exercised by all countries, including Pakistan, at any time they deem fit. Further, no one can challenge this sovereign right of a country to deny entry to a foreign national or restrict it even after such rights have already been given. This is as far as the technicality goes. On the broader point of why Mr Haq was denied entry, we detailed Mr Haq’s politics and worldview and also noted that he, like other religious firebrands, is in the habit of exploiting the softness of democracy and democratic principles to attack these very values. Hence, he may not be allowed to make use of them in such blatant manner. We had thought, wrongly it now seems, that Pakistanis would draw the correct lesson from this episode instead of giving in to the gut reaction of attacking Belgium and standing by Mr Haq simply because he — a Pakistani and a senator — was denied entry to a European country. This is unfortunate. The issue needs to be put in the proper context whether it deals with Mr Haq or before him Qazi Hussain Ahmed (who was refused visa by Holland) or the recently detained and released MMA leader in the UK. It amounts to abdicating responsibility at our end to dump it on European countries on the pretext that the West is hell-bent on degrading Muslims and Pakistanis. If that were the case, Pakistanis would have faced the same problems travelling to the West in the 1950s and 1960s. But at the time Pakistanis didn’t even need visas to many of these countries and the Pakistani passport was looked upon as a ‘respectable’ document. If today, we have to face the embarrassment of arrests and interrogations, it is not least because of the very elements that have now been denied entry to Europe. The MMA leaders have to ask themselves the question of why they have been meted out this treatment. Belgium is host to a rising Indian community that is playing a dynamic role in that country’s economy, especially in the diamond trade. On the other hand, the Muslims (not Indian exceptions incidentally) are looked upon as potential troublemakers. They are perceived as a community that lives in the West to enjoy its liberties but is not averse to striking at many of its values. And much of it is traced, not wrongly, to the millenarian groups that want some kind of Armageddon with the Christian world. Let us therefore not fool ourselves. If we were seen as responsible citizens of the world, no country would deny us entry. On the contrary, we would be sought-after, just like the Indians who are emerging as a respectable Diaspora in most parts of the world. But even there we find an ‘objectionable’ Hindu like the chief minister of Gujarat state, Narendra Modi, who is persona non grata in the US because of his atrocious human rights record. Surely we need to understand that the West believes in certain values and is prepared to enforce them. We can’t support a denial of entry to Mr Modi in the US and then turn around and fulminate against the West when it does the same with our pious fascists. Stop Press: We have just learnt that the good Maulana Sami ul Haq was detained and interrogated for an hour at Heathrow Airport in London before being allowed to enter the UK. Clearly, the British do not want to add to his miseries. But they also don’t want him to create trouble for them. So they have given him a message in no uncertain terms and he would be advised to heed it in future. *

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (48378)	4/26/2005 3:31:44 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

Era of conflict management was over and it was time to move forward towards sincere conflict resolution addressing his 58th formation commanders ‘meeting the brain and heart of armed forces.. Affects- taming of the political Islam- look who is talking, instead of message of Jihad it is about cohabitation and coexistence as we highlighted in this iranian.ws President Pervez Musharraf said on Monday that the era of conflict management was over and it was time to move forward towards sincere conflict resolution. Briefing the 58th formation commanders’ meeting about his visit to India, President Musharraf said resolving Kashmir was the key to India-Pakistan relations. “And for this, confidence-building measures and dispute resolution will have to move in tandem,” the Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) quoted him as saying. Talking about the prevailing environment encompassing international, regional and national issues with particular reference to their impact on Pakistan, the president said, “These (issues) offer both challenges and opportunities to us.”He said that with pragmatic policies and careful utilisation of the nation’s potential, Pakistan could play an important role and become an important economic hub in the region. “With its important geo-strategic location, Pakistan will continue playing its role and contribute positively towards peace and harmony in the region,” he added.

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (48378)	4/27/2005 12:32:07 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

World after 911; post mortem of a strategy-Villainous for the faithful and defender of the ungodly! In 2004-President George Bush has said that America's shuttle diplomacy prevented a war between India and Pakistan three years ago. "2001 was the year that we had shuttle diplomacy to convince Pakistan and India not to go to war with each other," said Mr Bush while addressing the Newspaper Association of America's annual convention here on Wednesday. AFP He referred to the events that took place in the summer of 2001, when India deployed hundreds of thousands of troops along Pakistan's border following a terrorist attack on its parliament building in New Delhi. Pakistan responded with similar deployments. With media reports suggesting that both sides might also have moved nuclear weapons to strategic locations, the Bush administration feared that the tensions could lead to yet another war between South Asia's two nuclear rivals. To prevent the war, Mr Bush said, the United States and Britain sent several senior officials to New Delhi and Islamabad to defuse tensions. The emissaries included US Secretary of State Colin Powell, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Mr Powell's deputy Richard Armitage. "Powell went, and then Straw went from Britain, and then Armitage went, and then whoever his equivalent is from Britain went, with the idea of kind of talking everybody down," Mr Bush said. The shuttle diplomacy, he said, not only reduced tensions between India and Pakistan but also paved the way for further improvement, and now, quite the opposite, they're talking with each other in a positive way." Mr Bush hoped that the ongoing talks would allow the two neighbouring states to get some sticky issues resolved, for the sake of world peace and stability in that part of the world. He said both India and Pakistan had made some progress in resolving their disputes and offered to work with them to bring stability to that region. "We can always - we will always find ways to improve our alliances," he added. During the speech, Mr Bush also reviewed America's relations with Pakistan, showing how the ties had improved greatly after the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. "Just think about what life was like prior to Sept 11 in Pakistan. Pakistan was friendly to the Taliban," said the US president while comparing the pre and post 9-11 situations. "And, fortunately, our government, thanks to the good work of Colin Powell, convinced President Musharraf that that was not in his interests. His interests were to be working with us and fighting off the terror," he recalled. Mr Bush acknowledged that Gen Musharraf had earned the wrath of Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups for supporting the United States, but said it only confirmed that the Pakistani ruler had made the right decision. "Of course, since then Al Qaeda has tried to kill him twice. I think it confirms the fact that he's chosen the right side." Mr Bush praised Gen Musharraf as "a good and strong ally" and said his administration was "trying to help him" deal with terrorist threats. "And he's active in the war on terror but he's got issues, just like any of these countries have got issues in my judgment, he's been a good, strong ally," said Mr Bush. The US president also praised President Musharraf's efforts to improve relations with India, saying that he was "pleased with the fact that progress is now being made on the relationship between Pakistan and India".