Aid with strings? Speaking to reporters at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh on September 27, 2009, President Barack Obama declared the world interest in Pakistan success. The US$1.5 billion a year Kerry-Lugar Aid bill reflects this desire to seePakistanemerge successful and stable despite raging insurgency in the northwest. However, even a cursory consideration of the strings attached to this aid helps understanding the real spirit behind the bill. No doubt, it is an attempt to bolster civilian rule by allocating more funds for health, education and greater accountability of funds thus spent. But the bill also clearly seeks to clip the wings of Pakistan mighty security establishment, still viewed with great skepticism as far its alleged role inAfghanistanis concerned. The US believes the Pakistan Army and its affiliated institutions constitute the biggest hurdle in the way of US-NATO objectives of achieving peace in Afghanistan. The repeated insinuations of the presence of Taliban shura in Quetta and the demands from within the US intelligence establishment to chase them in Balochistan, including subjecting suspected targets to drone attacks, must also be seen in this context. The entire clause 2 of the bill seems to have been authored with this objective. Under this, for instance, the Secretary of State will have to certify to the appropriate congressional committees that 'the Government of Pakistan during the preceding fiscal year has demonstrated a sustained commitment to and is making significant efforts towards combating terrorist groups, consistent with the purposes of assistance described in section 201, including taking into account the extent to which the Government of Pakistan has made progress on matters such as: Ceasing support, including by any elements within the Pakistan military or its intelligence agency, to extremist and terrorist groups, particularly to any group that has conducted attacks against United States or coalition forces in Afghanistan,...

Perverts contracted? As the US and British forces battle the hardened Taliban militants and the politico-military surge continues, an independent watchdog group, the Project on Government Oversight, delivered to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a video of scantily-clad security guards of the US embassy in Kabul dancing around a bonfire and urinating while others snap photographs. A video of other guards pouring alcohol down the bare backside of a new recruit and trying to drink it as it spills from the man's buttocks is also part of the report which flashed around the world in the first September week appear to show security guards employed at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in some highly embarrassing moments. (September 3, 2009 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty). Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, told media in Washington that the incidents her organization recorded are "not just a bunch of guys who are blowing off steam. It's supervisors who are...predatory, who are engaging young recruits into this really weird, deviant behavior." This is the latest of a series of abuses, misconduct and human rights violations by US soldiers or their private counterparts, hired to do jobs that the officials agencies cannot or do not want to perform. Undisciplined contracted (also): Citing written and video materials, the group accuses private security contractor Armor Group North America, which provides security guards for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, of "grossly deficient" management that it says poses "a significant threat to the security of the embassy and its personnel -- and thereby to the diplomatic mission in Afghanistan." Armor Group is a subsidiary of the Florida-based Wackenhunt Services, which did not comment on the report. It is under a five-year, $189 million contract that was extended in June through July next year. It is just one of the several contracts handed to private security groups such DynCorp, Black Water, and some...

Taliban were thugs and a strategic burden from the beginning: The army and civilians alike were shocked and alarmed in early April when the TTP militants taking cover under a controversial peace deal, began occupying strategic locations in Buner, Mingora, Malam Jabba and other parts of Malakand. Their worries multiplied when Taliban militants abducted four Pakistan army commandos in the mountainous Buner valley and eventually executed them. 'When the pet develops rabies and starts biting its own mentors, it must be put to sleep, no way around it.' This statement that a senior general involved in military operations in the Northwestern Frontier Province (NWFP) told CRSS in late April suggested a definite new realization -- if not change of heart altogether -- that as far as the military establishment was concerned, the militants had gone too far; until that point, the army claims that it was doing its best to hunt down 'miscreants' were met with skepticism across the board. The common perception in Pakistan and elsewhere is that the country security establishment -- because of old relationships with militant outfits -- was only shadow-boxing to impress the world and would not harm those it had once created. But the military efforts in the Swat Valley and now in Khyber have helped diminish this view -- partially at least. In the process, military officials claim, close to 350 soldiers and officers have lost their lives, since the operation in Malakand/Swat region was launched in early May. Militants being killed: It was the third major setback for the dreaded outfit since August 5, when a CIA-operated drone missile took out Baitullah Mehsud, the TTP founder and chief. Only a few days after Mehsud death, TTP spokesman Maulvi Mohammad Omar was captured in the Mohmand tribal region. Also, the fate of Hakimullah Mehsud, whom the organization shura purportedly picked as the new chief on August 25, is still uncertain, with virtually no sign of him since the day he was...

Taliban were thugs and a strategic burden from the beginning: The army and civilians alike were shocked and alarmed in early April when the TTP militants taking cover under a controversial peace deal, began occupying strategic locations in Buner, Mingora, Malam Jabba and other parts of Malakand. Their worries multiplied when Taliban militants abducted four Pakistan army commandos in the mountainous Buner valley and eventually executed them. 'When the pet develops rabies and starts biting its own mentors, it must be put to sleep, no way around it.' This statement that a senior general involved in military operations in the Northwestern Frontier Province (NWFP) told CRSS in late April suggested a definite new realization -- if not change of heart altogether -- that as far as the military establishment was concerned, the militants had gone too far; until that point, the army claims that it was doing its best to hunt down 'miscreants' were met with skepticism across the board. The common perception in Pakistan and elsewhere is that the country security establishment -- because of old relationships with militant outfits -- was only shadow-boxing to impress the world and would not harm those it had once created. But the military efforts in the Swat Valley and now in Khyber have helped diminish this view -- partially at least. In the process, military officials claim, close to 350 soldiers and officers have lost their lives, since the operation in Malakand/Swat region was launched in early May. Militants being killed: It was the third major setback for the dreaded outfit since August 5, when a CIA-operated drone missile took out Baitullah Mehsud, the TTP founder and chief. Only a few days after Mehsud death, TTP spokesman Maulvi Mohammad Omar was captured in the Mohmand tribal region. Also, the fate of Hakimullah Mehsud, whom the organization shura purportedly picked as the new chief on August 25, is still uncertain, with virtually no sign of him since the day he was...

Taliban thugs strike again: Two deadly attacks within a space of 24 hours ´ one in the Khyber agency on Aug 28 and the other in Mingora/Swat next day took over 40 lives. The target again was the security apparatus. In the first instance it was the Khasadars , and in the second members of a new community police force set up to patrol the region were being trained when the attacker detonated his explosives. With these attacks, the militants primarily underscored their resolve to keep intimidating the security apparatus, a pattern Baitullah Mehsud had repeatedly vowed. Even Muslim Khan, the spokesperson for the Swat Taliban, had openly declared the army and other organs of the security apparatus as enemy targets. Are terrorists reorganizing? Earlier on August 17, the Taliban had claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings in Swat saying the blasts were a message to a visiting US envoy Richard Holbrook that the militants remained strong despite recent army gains there. All these attacks underscored that ´ despite the loss of Baitullah Mehsud in the August 5 drone attack and the confusion thereafter, the extremists remained undeterred, and ready to strike at will. The bombings were "a gift to Holbrook," Muslim Khan had said. The latest string of bombings apparently was a reaction to the claims that the military keeps churning out regarding losses to the militants. This also means the Tehreeke Taliban Pakistan has recovered, even if not fully, from the shocking death of Baitullah Mehsud, who had indeed become an icon of terror in the last two years. But on August 25, Hakimullah Mehsud finally put to rest all the speculation about Baitullah by calling up journalists in Peshawar. Hakimullah also insisted he had been unanimously made the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief by its Shura, while Maulana Waliur Rehman was named leader of the Mehsud Taliban in South Waziristan. Thugs fighting for money and power: Faqeer Mohammad, the TTP chief for the Bajaur agency ´ one...

Intellectual hostility of Indians: Following the summary dismissal of Jaswant Singh from the BJP for praising Jinnah, several questions keep coming to mind as far as the Indian claim to secularism, democracy and socio-economic justice is concerned. Is most of 'shining' India ´ as a mindset -- gridlocked between the desire to be lauded as a secular, liberal society, based on socio-economic justice, and the reality of a society, based on an unjustifiable caste system that stratifies human beings as superiors (Brahmans) and inferiors (Dalits)? Is it a country that justifiably boasts being numerically the largest democracy but whose political leadership, unfortunately, remains guided by undemocratic whims and intolerant attitudes vis-à-vis its neighbors and their leaders? These are some of the paradoxes that struck us during a brief visit to the bustling Indian capital ´ New Delhi -- where the controversy Jaswant Singh's voluminous book, Jinnah, India, Partition, Independence, had just erupted. Some were lambasting him for being a hypocrite. More defense; more poor in India: Strangely, it is a state that raises hell when Pakistan, for instance, raises its defense budget but justifies its own almost $40 billion defense spending by pointing to a border dispute with China, which is one of its largest trading partners. This huge resource allocation flies in the face of the 38 per cent population that, according to an ex-prime ministerial advisor, S M Tendulkar (Hindustan Times, Aug 20) lives in poverty ´ almost 400 million souls. Some friends dubbed Singh as an opportunist who, through his book, pretended to "speak for and expand the constituency of peace in South Asia." That is why a few Indians were surprised over the unanimous decision to expel Jaswant Singh from the party. For some, the reaction within the embattled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its parent organization, Rashtria Swamysevak Sangh (RSS) and similar entities ´ the proponents of Hindutva -- was quite...

Who is he and what are his beliefs? Ruthless campaigner with his penchant for media publicity, Hakimullah is around 27 years of age and considered as one of the closest lieutenants of the killed Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud. Hakimullah was responsible for TTP operations in Khyber and Orakzai agencies where until recently he spent most of his time. He is also known for his ruthless anti-Shia campaign in Kurram agency, where the presence of TTP zealots has been wreaking havoc on the Shia minority Pashtuns. Many media personnel met him in Orakzai agency in the last week of November 2008 and saw a deputy emerging for Baitullah Mehsud. It was in this meeting when he said that Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was in his hit-list along with many other government officials for their 'pro-American' policies. Hakimullah, over six feet tall, radiates a certain charisma, and has also threatened on occasion to cut off supplies to American forces in Afghanistan if U.S. drone attacks continued. His people also displayed one of the two American Humvee military vehicles they had hijacked in Khyber Agency on November 10, 2008. He also accused members of the central and provincial governments of 'working to break up Pakistan in collaboration with the US.' That is why Hakimullah men not only unleashed a string of vicious attacks on the US-NATO military cargo vehicles destined for Afghanistan, particularly between November 2007 and March 2009, but also conducted several suicide attacks across Pakistan. Hakimullah owned up many of these attacks, which involved TTP-trained bombers. He studied in a madrassa for some years but didn–t graduate as a mullah but rose to the level of becoming a Taliban commander and led nearly 4,000 Taliban fighters in Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber agencies. Hakimullah closest contender was Waliur Rahman, cousin of Baitullah and equally ruthless and now is commanding Taliban fighters in South Waziristan. Hakimullah confirmed Baitullah death: By...

Washington, February 6, 2009: Senator Kerry, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said: 'In my conversations with Admiral Mullen … there is a sense of some transformation-of a willingness to engage in some transformation. I also find that both General Pasha and General Kayani are likewise committed.' Tokyo, April 17: Within 71 days of Kerry statement, Friends of Democratic Pakistan, upon U.S. prodding, pledged $5.28 billion. Washington, June 11: Within 125 days of Kerry statement, the U.S. House of Representatives passed The Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act authorizing $1.5 billion per fiscal year for non-military assistance to Pakistan plus $300 million for FY2010 and such funds as may be necessary for ¿Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capabilities Fund– plus $300 million in Foreign Military Financing. Washington, June 24: With 138 days of Kerry statement, the U.S. Senate passed The Enhanced Partnership With Pakistan Act authorizing $1.5 billion per fiscal year for nonmilitary assistance to Pakistan. Washington, June 2009: Congressional conferees authorized $1 billion for coalition support fund reimbursements (Pakistan receives around 80 percent of the total) plus $896 million for embassy expansion plus $539 million in Economic Support Funds. Islamabad, July 24: Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times Online Bureau Chief in Islamabad, one of Pakistan most perceptive journalist, wrote: 'The seamless friendship between … Admiral Mullen and General Kayani has cemented the relationship between the military establishments of the two countries to levels not seen since the 1950s…. The result is that Islamabad and Washington are in a position to implement coordinated, long-term policies in the region, which include action against militants, moves to improve ties between Pakistan and India, especially their dispute over divided Kashmir……..' Islamabad, July 30: Syed Saleem Shahzad wrote: 'Intense U.S. efforts...

Pakistan is dangerously water stressed. The World Bank, in a report back in 2006, stated that Pakistan is sprinting from a ¿water scarce– country to becoming a ¿water stressed– country and within a decade a ¿water famine– country. Major factors behind this sprint are: negligence in developing a national water strategy, public inappropriate attitude toward water conservation & consumption and lack of population planning. To be certain, per capita water availability in Pakistan is plummeting-falling hard and falling fast. To be sure, water resource management is yet to be taken up by the government and the society as a serious development issue. Rivers are running drier, ground water polluted and over-exploited, water infrastructure in shambles. And yet, Pakistan water usage is categorized among the worst in the world. According to the World Bank 2006 Study, Pakistan is more water stressed than is Ethiopia. The study showed that among the 25 most populous countries in 2009, 'South Africa, Egypt and Pakistan are the most water-limited nations.' The report claims that: 'India and China, however, are not far behind with per capita renewable water resources of only 1600 and 2100 cubic meters per person per year. Major European countries have up to twice as much renewable water resources per capita, ranging from 2300 (Germany) to 3000 (France) cubic meters per person per year. The United States of America, on the other hand, has far greater renewable water resources than China, India or major European countries: 9800 cubic meters per person per year. By far the largest renewable water resources are reported from Brazil and the Russian Federation - with 31900 and 42500 cubic meters per person per year.' In addition to the World Bank report, the UN World Water Development Report states that the 'total actual renewable water resources in Pakistan decreased from 2,961 cubic meters per capita in 2000 to 1,420 cubic meters in 2005.' That indeed is a 50 percent drop in...

In 1985, Xenel Corporation of Saudi Arabia conceived the setting up of a mega-power plant in Pakistan's private sector. The sponsors of Hub Power Company had to negotiate for nine long years with 11 successive Pakistani governments and at least 40 different bank-lenders before they could sit and sign an Implementation Agreement (IA) with the government of Pakistan then led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (the IA was signed on August 3, 1992). Hub Power's four steam turbines of 323 MW each, for a total of 1,292 MW, were commissioned on March 31, 1997. In 1993, the Pakistan Peoples Party won elections. In 1994, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto unveiled Power Policy 1994. The Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) was inundated with 116 applications amounting to an accumulated generation capacity of 26,000 MW. The PPIB selected 75 applications -- amounting to an investment of some $20 billion -- to whom it issued its Letter of Intention (LoI). After further scrutiny and a deposit requirement of Rs100,000 per MW, a total of 33 applicants were issued Letters of Support (LoS). Eventually, 14 of the 33 applicants were able to reach financial close. In 1997, Mian Nawaz Sharif was elected prime minister once again and he unveiled Power Policy 1998. Power Policy 1998 was a complete failure. In 2002, General Musharraf unveiled his Policy for Power Generation Projects 2002. The Policy for Power Generation Projects 2002 over its seven-year life span has so far added a paltry 165 MW. According to the PPIB, we now have 17 private power producers with a capacity of around 4,500 MW. Of the 4,500 MW, private power producers with a capacity of some 800 MW have been shut down. All other private power producers are operating way below their full generating potential. Two questions: why have some private power producers completely shut down? Why are private power producers operating way below their full generating potential? Two answers: political score-settling plus the circular...