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BALOCHISTAN: THE BNP ISLAMABAD MARATHON FOR SIX POINTS AGENDA

Written by --- Munir Mengal, France.
“The illiterate of the 20th Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Allvin Toffler
Initially it was stated by the BNP spokes person Sana Baloch and then also endorsed by the BNP President that "I am in Islamabad only to submit my statement to the supreme court of Pakistan regarding the missing persons issue" said Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal to the media in Islamabad.
Then within the next 48hrs a bang of six points was heard by the Akhtar Mengal by utilizing the media forums as way head for the resolution of the Balochistan issue. The rest of the three days were utilized by Akhtar Mengal and team for gaining political support from the main stream political parties of Pakistan i. e. Muslim league-Nawaz and Tahreek Insaf Imran Khan.
Before moving forward, it is highly important to have a brief view of the issues which forced Pakistan to drag down Akhtar Mengal to Islamabad.
Pakistan Army with its secret services wings, F.C., and dummy Armed organization neither been able to break the will of the Baloch people, nor been able to bring a succeeding distortion among the Baloch struggling groups.
The safe escape of Brahimdagh Bughti from Afghanistan to Switzerland highly demoralized the will of the Pakistani establishment.
The change of regime is expected to take place within the following six months, giving a good reason to both parties, i. e. Pakistan and BNP to look for new opportunities.
The Pakistan Army and the law enforcement agencies are highly under pressure from the Baloch insurgency, almost it had became impossible for them to eliminate the Baloch insurgents by military operations, on the contrary been accused for high levels of human rights violations in Balochistan even at International forums.
The US Congressional hearing about Balochistan also created a high panic in the Pakistani strategic thinkers’ corridors.
Then the visit of UN Body Working Group on Involuntarily / Enforced Disappearances less than the lapse of a period of four months rang a bang in the years of Pakistani establishment and related authorities announced it as interference in internal and judiciary issues.
The striking fear hanging on the heads of the Pakistani diplomats is the coming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Pakistan in the Human Rights Council on 30th October 2012.
The unprecedented US strategic policy after 2014 towards South Asia, a change of policy is expected, which has already posed a fear in the Pakistani strategic decision makers. Pakistani establishment has already started consolidating its assets, i.e. negotiations with Talibans, taking CBM measures with old Jehadi groups, etc.
In late 2011, the Pakistani strategic policy makers started to think it is right time to play the Balochistan card. They are trying to shift the move systematically, initially motivated the Punjab feudal politician on the plate form of friends of Balochistan and then the Supreme Court Bar was also seen organizing conferences for submitting proposals for the resolution of the Balochistan issue.
It hardly took Islamabad two months engagement at Dubai and Qatar to celebrate cheers with Akhtar Mengal in Islamabad. But highly tactful diplomacy was played. Neither the establishment nor the political regime took any responsibility or promise on his shoulders for resolving any issue of Balochistan. The ball was rolled between Ifthikhar Chaudary and Akhtar Mengal. After getting the response of establishment, which was very negative. Soon Akhtar realized that he has been trapped. He started presenting a six point’s agenda for bringing peace and calamity in Balochistan and equilibrium those with Sheikh Mujeeb’s six points to gain weight-age and pressurize the establishment. Akhtar Mengal turned to the facilitators some of them were media men. The Pakistani media declared the Akhtar Mengal visit and bowing in front of Pakistan Supreme Court as "ray of hope". The TV anchors started the jugglers game by giving Akhtar a star representation and presenting the game is over. For instance just have a look on the stance of Hamid Mir, who in the Supreme Court Bar Conference about Balochistan was claiming that the solution of the Balochistan is in the hands of middle class and none of the sardars and lords can play any role.
However the Pakistani strategic policy makers and thinkers are expected to claim this visit a great success particularly at International forums i.e. at UN, UN Human Rights Council Sessions, at Pakistan UPR, and at state level discussions. They will claim it as internal issue and present that the state is engaged with the Baloch political leadership to resolve the issues of law and order. This might be considered as the first strike on the Baloch struggle at diplomatic forums.
Akhtar Mengal and particularly his team of advisors failed to anticipate the impact of this visit on the Baloch struggle. They were seen focused merely on the form of the event having no calculation of the nature of the activity and its broad impact in the diplomatic forums. Where many seem to be hope less from the Islamic state. Particularly from the state rough elements, Islamic fundamentalism as strategic policy, dubious army role on war on terror, economically failed state, abusing human rights etc. After the current Islamabad marathon BNP leadership has to think twice infact many times for their stance of move a head towards the solution of Balochistan issue. The preceding year message to BNP representatives from international forums was to look forward for something new for the future. Which at all doesn’t mean to creat failed hopes from Ifthikhar Chaudhri and present a mismatch agenda of six points at least Baloch could expect nothing from that?
October 03, 2012
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OBAMA VS ROMNEY:SOME OBSERVATIONS
aB.RAMAN
I watched with fascination the first Presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Mr.Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate, at Denver on the morning of October 4,2012.
2.At the very beginning, my kudos to the American TV professionals from different channels who worked together as a team to organise a debate of very high quality.
3.We too have world class TV professionals such as MadhuTrehan, BarkhaDutt, Prannoy Roy and Karan Thapar.Individually, they might have been able to organise a very good debate, but I am not sure of their ability to work as a team despite their belonging to different channels and project a debate in which the focus and attention remain on the debaters and their ability to debate issues of public and national interest.The egos of our TV professionals might come in the way of the kind of team work that we saw in Denver today.
4. In the discussions among the panellists before the debate started, the focus was not on the past, but on the future. What the panellists were trying to foresee was what kind of a promised land each candidate would offer to the voters. Jim Lehrer, the moderator, kept the focus of the debate on the future and gently nudged Mr.Romney to talk of what he would do and not what he did as the Governor.
5.One was amazed by the kind of homework the candidates had done before the debate with the help of their aides and the kind of insight and comprehension they displayed throughout the debate.
6.A debate of this nature will be very difficult to organise in India. Firstly,a Presidential form of Government as in the US lends itself better to such debates than a parliamentary style of Government with a multiplicity of parties. Secondly, we have very few political leaders with the kind of knowledge, insights, comprehension and debating skills that both Mr.Obama and Mr.Romney exhibited throughout the debate.Our TV debates are largely cock-fights and slanging matches with the anchors and moderators unable to impart gravitas and intellectual depth to the discussions.
7. I watched the post-debate discussions in the CNN, the BBC and other Western TV channels. The overall impression among independent panellists not belonging to either of the two political parties was that it was Romney's night. He was more self-confident, less testy and more engaging than Mr.Obama. Mr.Romney's body language and facial expressions were more Presidential than Mr.Obama's. As one panellist remarked, Mr.Obama was rusty. His classy style and debating skills of 2008 were missing.
8. One panellist remarked that Mr.Obama was condescending in the beginning, but as he realised that Mr.Romney he was facing today was different, he became defensive.
9.Mr.Obama had to be defensive because today's debate was on the state of the economy which has not been doing well. The next debate is going to be on foreign policy in which Mr.Romney is likely to be aggressive focussing on the murder of the US Ambassador to Libya and three other Americans at Benghazi in Libya on September 11 by a group of terrorists suspected to be from Al Qaeda and themessy situation in Syria and Egypt.
10. Mr.Romney came to today's debate with the image of a potential loser in the elections. He managed to have this perception of himself changed and left the debate with the image of a candidate who might repeat the challenges of Ronald Reagan to Mr.Jimmy Carter in 1980 and Mr.Bill Clinton to Mr.George Bush Sr in 1992.
11. Mr.Romney is very much in the fight and cannot be prematurely written off.Mr.Romney we saw today is not a bungler and sure loser. ( 4-10-12)
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com Twitter @SORBONNE75)
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October 02, 2012
LACK OF SECURITY FOR GEN BRAR IN LONDON: SHOCKING INEPTITUDE
B.RAMAN
Lt.Gen. (retd) K.S.Brar, who played a prominent and courageous role in the military action code-named OP Blue Star in the Golden Temple in Amritsar in June 1984, was the target of a pre-planned and determined attack by unidentified elements in London on the night of September 30,2012.He escaped death.
2. In an interview to Sonia Singh of NDTV on the night of October 2,2012, his wife said that before they left India for London, the Army unit responsible for their physical security in India was informed of their travel plans and their planned stay at London.
3.Despite this, the British security agencies do not appear to have been informed of their visit to London either by the Indian High Commission in London or by the Indian intelligence agencies in order to ensure their protection till they returned to India.
4.Their physical security in India is taken care of by the Army. Their security during their foreign travels is the responsibility of our intelligence agencies and diplomatic missions.
5.For reasons that are not clear, neither our intelligence agencies nor our mission in London appear to have taken any action to ensure his protection.He escaped largely due to his bravery, alertness and military reflexes.
6. Many senior officers of the security forces---military and civilian--- have over the years played leadership roles in counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. Some of them like those who played a role in Ops Blue Star in 1984 and Black Thunder in 1988 against Khalistani terrorists are vulnerable to retaliatory attacks by the terrorists.
7. Their security is taken care of by their units while they are still in service. After they retire, they are dependent on their units and the concerned civilian departments for their continued protection.
8. In retirement, military officers are more vulnerable than civilian officers. Retired civilian officers have a web of contacts in the civilian departments concerned and in the Ministry of External Affairs. They use these contacts to ensure security for them when they go abroad.
9. Military officers spend their career mostly in barracks or cantonments. They do not have that kind of contacts in the civilian security bureaucracy.They intimate their travel plans to the Army unit responsible for their security in India and presume that necessary follow-up action will be taken. That is what Gen.Brar seems to have done.
10. Shockingly, there does not appear to have been any follow-up action on his intimation. He and his wife found themselves without protection in London.
11. Nothing can be more embarrassing or distasteful for a military officer than to go around asking for physical security in retirement. They expect and presume that the Government in recognition of their brave role would do whatever needs to be done on its own to ensure their protection.
12.This was apparently not done in the case of Gen.Brar, one of the most vulnerable officers. The Government should immediately hold a detailed enquiry into this and see that such instances of ineptitude are not repeated. ( 3-10-12)
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com Twitter @SORBONNE75)
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