Baluchistan is on fire – report

TrendPK.com

QUETTA: It is time to through light upon the troubled situation existing in Baluchistan province. The latest news from the center is that internal and external elements both have substantially contributed to maximize catastrophes of the ill-fated province, that is striving on a number of fronts at a time, reports TrendPK.

It has been found, according to some reports, extremists are being provided with huge cache of forbidden arms and ammunitions from across the border (India) on one hand while on the other side, many ministers have found being involved in incidents of kidnapping for ransom.

The key militant groups operating in Baluchistan are of Barhamdag Bugti, Javaid Mengal, Harbiar Bugti and Dr. Allah Nazar which may end up hatching East-Pakistan like conspiracy. It’s been revealed that these terror groups have established their sub-offices even in Europe.

Many personnel of levies force are helping out these terror outfits, covert or exposed both, the report suggested.

Security officials said implementing on Katchi Kenal Project may pave progress the way needed for the betterment of the extremism-ridden province, Baluchistan. TrendPK

Firing on mourners in Libya; 15 dead

TRIPOLI: Snipers from Libya”s government forces fired on mourners attending a funeral for slain protesters Saturday, killing at least 15 people as demonstrations calling for the ouster of President Moammar Gadhafi continued for the fifth straight day.

Snipers targeted the thousands of people who were attending a mass funeral in Benghazi, Libya”s second-largest city and the site of violent protests. The mourners had gathered to honour the 35 protesters who were shot by government forces on Friday.

Dozens of mourners were also injured, with many of the victims suffering from gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

“Many of the dead and the injured are relatives of doctors here,” an official at the local hospital told The Associated Press. “They are crying and I keep telling them to please stand up and help us.”

Saturday”s killings pushed the overall death toll to 99 as Gadhafi”s forces crack down hard on protesters calling for an end to his more than 40 years of autocratic rule.

“The blood of our martyrs is still leaking from coffins over the shoulders of the mourners,” one protester told The Associated Press, as she stood beside about 20 coffins in Benghazi.

After Friday”s violence, the government moved to stifle online communication, a key public relations component for organizers of the demonstrations. U.S.-based Arbor Networks said Internet use in Libya ground to a halt shortly after 2 a.m. local time Saturday, with protesters confirming they were unable to get online.

A few hours later, government special forces broke up a camp of protesters, which included lawyers and judges, outside of the Benghazi courthouse. One protester told the Associated Press that soldiers dispersed the crowd by firing tear gas on the group.

After the violence at the funeral, local residents organized neighbourhood patrols through Benghazi as police disappeared from the streets. Residents feared the lack of police presence meant that government forces were preparing to raid homes, particularly of protest organizers, overnight.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called reports of guns and other weapons being used against demonstrators in Libya “clearly unacceptable and horrifying.” He also criticized limits on media access.

Malcolm Smart of Amnesty International said Saturday that during anti-government demonstrations across much of the Arab world, protesters have remained resolute even when they have been shot at by pro-government forces.

“I think that”s in a sense the inspiration that”s going to the protesters, and also in the minds of those in power and who do not want to go the way of those who were in power in Tunis and in Cairo,” Smart told CTV News Channel, referring to former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and former Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who were both forced from power by popular uprisings.

Canada”s Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said the federal government is monitoring events in Libya very closely and is “deeply concerned” about the attacks on peaceful protesters.

“We call on the Libyan government to respect the rights of freedom of expression and assembly and to engage in peaceful dialogue with its people to address legitimate concerns,” Cannon said in a statement.

In Libya, as in Egypt and other nations, protesters want solutions to dire poverty and high unemployment, as well as greater respect for human rights, including the right to peaceful protest.

The demonstrations have largely occurred in the particularly impoverished cities in the nation”s east, although protesters have taken to the streets in the capital of Tripoli.

However, the police and military presence have remained heavy in Tripoli, where one female protester described residents as being “under siege.”

Obama tells world to unite against Libya bloodshed

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama told the world Wednesday to unite to hold Libya accountable for a vicious protest crackdown, stiffening a US response that critics had cast as too mild.

In his first televised response to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi”s decision to unleash vengeance on demonstrators, Obama reached out to US allies and promised to deploy a “full range of options” to halt “outratrendpk.comus” bloodshed.

Obama spoke as officials said that Washington was considering fresh sanctions and other steps against Libya, and as political pressure mounted on his administration for a tougher response.

The administration”s careful previous line on violence that a former Libyan minister said had killed 1,000 people, appeared to be dictated by fears that American diplomats and citizens in Libya could face reprisals.

But by late Wednesday, a US-chartered ferry with a capacity of 575 passengers was riding out bad weather in Tripoli harbor ready to cast off on an evacuation mission to Malta.

“The suffering and bloodshed is outratrendpk.comus, and it is unacceptable,” Obama said at the White House.

“So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya. These actions violate international norms, and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop.”

Obama defended his administration against claims its response to the violence, the latest wave of unrest crashing across the Middle East, had been too tempered.

“Over the last few days my national security team has been working around the clock to monitor the situation there and to coordinate with our international partners about a way forward,” he said.

The president did not mention Libya”s ruthless and unpredictable leader Kadhafi, who has ruled for four decades and frequently defied the United States, by name.

In an angry rambling speech on Tuesday, Kadhafi, 68, threatened to purge opponents “house by house” and “inch by inch” and vowed to fight to the finish.

“The army is still very strong,” Kadhafi”s son Saadi Kadhafi told the Financial Times in an interview Thursday. “If we hear anything, we will send some battalions. When people see the army, they will be afraid.”

Seeking to corral international action on Libya, Obama said that in such a volatile situation, it was “imperative” for nations to speak with one voice.

He said he would dispatch Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to a ministerial-level meeting in Geneva on Monday of the UN Human Rights Council.

“Like all governments, the Libyan government has a responsibility to refrain from violence, to allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need and to respect the rights of its people,” Obama said.

“It must be held accountable for its failure to meet those responsibilities and face the cost of continued violations of human rights.”

Though officials said that sanctions were among options being discussed, it was unclear whether calls for NATO to establish a “no fly zone” over Libya to protect civilians were on the table.

Obama”s call to US allies appeared to be a signal that Washington, which has sought not to inject itself into the Middle East revolts, preferred the safety in numbers of multilateral action.

Europe had already moved Wednesday to isolate Kadhafi, readying sanctions that one diplomat said could include an assets freeze, a travel ban, an arms embargo and the legal pursuit of those involved in violent repression.

Washington lifted sanctions on Libya in 2004 under a deal which helped the former pariah state back into the global community after it gave up its nuclear and chemical weapons programs.

Influential US lawmakers, including Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry and his Republican House of Representatives counterpart Ileana Ros-Lehtinen have called for US sanctions to be reimposed.

US officials apparently feared that robust US rhetoric on the crisis could have made the plight of Americans even more perilous than that of other foreigners, given the tortured recent history between Washington and Tripoli.

In 1986, then president Ronald Reagan sent US warplanes to bomb Libya, in retaliation for the bombing of a discotheque in West Berlin. Kadhafi”s adoptive daughter was killed in the US raids on Libya.

On Wednesday, Libya”s former justice minister Mustapha Abdeljalil told the Swedish daily Expressen, that Kadhafi had then personally ordered the bombing of a US Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, that killed 270 people. (AFP)

Brahmdagh Bugti seeking political asylum in Switzerland

Chief of Baloch Republican Party (BRP) Nawabzada Brahmdagh Bugti has sought political asylum in Switzerland.

Brahmdagh has submitted an application to the Swiss authorities seeking political asylum, Mir Sher Muhammad Bugti, his spokesperson maintained. He will continue to take up the issue of human rights violations in Balochistan at the UN and other international forums, the spokesperson added. Brahmdagh had gone into hiding following the death of Baloch chieftains Nawab Akbar Bugti and Balach Marri. He avoided contacting people for security reasons. Brahmdagh also advised his supporters to continue their struggle for the rights of the Baloch people. The government has made repeated claims about Brahmdagh Bugtis presence in the Afghan capital of Kabul from where he has been leading the Baloch insurgents. He had founded the outlawed Baloch Republican Army (BRA) which is engaged in attacks on government installations and security forces in volatile parts of Balochistan. Pakistan authorities had taken up Brahmdaghs matter with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, when he visited Islamabad last time. And the Afghan leader had promised to look into the matter. Brahmdagh has been denying reports that he was hiding in Afghanistan and instead claimed that he was leading a struggle for the rights of the Baloch people from somewhere in Balochistan.Recently, Nawabzada Hyrbyar Marri was also given political asylum in Britain on a British courts orders. Earlier, Britains Home Office had rejected his application for political asylum.

Queen Elizabeth becomes great-grandmother

LONDON: Queen Elizabeth, 84, became a great-grandmother for the first time when the wife of her grandson Peter Phillips gave birth to a baby girl, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.

Autumn Philips, a Canadian, gave birth on Wednesday.

“The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal, Captain Mark Phillips and Autumn”s family have been informed and are delighted with the news. The baby”s name will be confirmed in due course,” the statement said.

Peter Phillips is the only son of the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, and her first husband Mark Phillips.

The baby is 12th in line to the throne.

Her birth also made Peter Phillips”s sister Zara an aunt. The royal family said last week that Zara, a successful equestrian athlete, was to marry rugby player Mike Tindall.

Peter and Autumn Phillips, who courted controversy by selling the rights to their wedding to Hello! magazine for a reported 500,000 pounds ($770,000), live in Hong Kong, where he works for the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Limited Pakistan Progress on Rights: US Report

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has made only limited progress in improving human rights with reports of thousands of disappearances despite US pressure on its wartime partner.

In a report mandated by Congress, the State Department assured lawmakers that the United States was vetting forces’ human rights as it extends billions of dollars to the frontline nation in the battle against extremism.

In October, President Barack Obama’s administration said for the first time that it had cut off training to several units after a graphic video emerged that appeared to show summary executions.

The State Department, in the report completed in late November, said that Pakistan “has made limited progress in advancing human rights and continues to face human rights challenges.”

“The State Department continues to press military and civilian authorities in Pakistan, at the highest levels, to take serious and sustained action to eliminate extrajudicial killings, provide humanitarian access and investigate all cases of disappearances,” it said.

The assessment, which was first reported Thursday by The New York Times, voiced particular alarm about Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan where a long-running insurgency has grown more violent in 2010.

Non-governmental organizations “have reported thousands of disappearances, mostly in Baluchistan. Hundreds of cases are pending in the courts and remain unresolved,” the State Department said.

The State Department also pointed to some progress, such as hearings by the Supreme Court of Pakistan into the missing in Baluchistan.

Javed Akhtar ousted by the film industry?

The way Hollywood works is that an actor works as a partner in a film project incurring losses and earning a percentage of the share of profits. It’s sensible, it’s fair and it’s a whole hearted indulgence in the creative process. Similar trend is now finding place in Bollywood, therefore when a certain Javed Akhtar stands up and lobbies in Parliament for the rights of writers and singers, eyebrows are raised.

No wonder then The Film Federation of India has “advised members of the film federation to not employ the services” of the iconic writer. The decision that was taken by its newly elected president, T.P. Agrawal, is based on the fact that it’s really the producer who takes the maximum risk in the movie business. Therefore if a certain writer wishes to be eligible to be a part of the royalties then they must also be party to the risk involved.

Mukesh Bhatt in the capacity of a Vice President of The Film & Television Producers Guild Of India has issued no official statement on this but did express the fact that the decision was one taken emotionally and not rationally. He blamed the way in which the government has handled the whole copyright issue which has created the divide in the film industry.

SRK to work with Vishal Bhardwaj in Nadiadwala’s adaptation of novel Two States

This has to be the biggest development of the year as 2010 comes to a close. No one could see it coming but the fact is that Shah Rukh Khan has been signed by Sajid Nadiadwala for the screen adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s ‘Two States’. The film would be directed by Vishal Bhardwaj which is again a first.

Says our source who broke the news, “This announcement is going to shock quite a few. All this while one had been hearing about Saif Ali Khan to act in ‘Two States’ adaptation which was to be directed by Siddharth Anand. Sajid Nadiadwala had the rights and while there was an announcement in this regard a few weeks back, there was some road block as the screenplay was taking some time to shape up.”

However, this sudden development means that the film has now taken an entirely new dimension. While Saif and Siddharth (who had earlier collaborated on Salaam Namaste and Ta Ra Rum Pum) are no more associated with the project, a long standing wait of watching Shah Rukh Khan in a Vishal Bhardwaj film is also over.

“That’s right”, continues our source, “For a long time Shah Rukh Khan and Vishal Bhardwaj wanted to work with each other. In fact there were also rumours of how both of them were upset with each other during one of the films that they wanted to make earlier. There were some creative differences pertaining to the script and both had to part ways as they couldn’t converge at a common point.”

The duo still didn’t give up on the idea of working together. In fact a few days back there were also rumours of Shah Rukh and Vishal coming together for the remake of The Departed. However, there is a complete turnaround in the proceedings with Sajid Nadiadwala being the producer who has actually got them together and that too for an altogether different film.

“This immediately makes ‘Two States’ adaptation as a huge film to be made in 2011. This Chetan Bhagat novel is a hit as well, just like his previous ones”, says a trade expert, “In any case, when you think Vishal, you know that it is going to be quality cinema. When such a film maker comes together with Shah Rukh, you know that the film would have a definite aesthetic value to it and would cater to mainstream. However, the moment Sajid comes on board as a producer, you know that this one is going to be one big budget commercial masala entertainer. Sajid can’t be expected to think any lesser.”

Well, one has to believe the statement being made here. After all even at the production level, the film would also be collaboration between Sajid Nadiadwala and Shah Rukh Khan as Nadiadwala Grandson and Red Chilles Entertainment would be jointly producing this film.

Now this is indeed a coming together of ‘two states’!

Michael Jackson photo sells for just under $35,000

PARIS: A photograph of Michael Jackson posing as an Egyptian pharaoh sold for 26,000 euros ($34,880) Monday at an auction featuring four never-before-seen portraits of the “King of Pop.”

The portrait of the late “Thriller” singer as a pharaoh, dressed in a gold cape and with dark shaded eyes, was bought at the Paris auction by Ora-Ito designer Ito Morabito. With the added commission, the final price ran at 32,240 euros.

“I have been a fan since I was born,” Morabito said. “It is unique and really represents who he was. 50 percent man, 50 percent god.”

Since his sudden death in June 2009 due to an overdose of drugs, Jackson photos and memorabilia have sold for record prices. The “Billie Jean” singer”s trademark white glove sold at an auction of Jackson memorabilia for $350,000 last year in November, a few months after his death.

A posthumous album with new material and entitled “Michael,” hits the stores this week.

A second portrait showing Jackson with sparkling blue glitter around his left eye soared to 25,000 euros in less than a minute. A third picture showed the singer in a black shirt pulled up to below the eyes standing against a screen of multicolored beads. It sold for 22,000 euros.

The fourth portrait, featuring Jackson standing in front of a red curtain, fetched 9,000 euros. Most of the other lots sold for around 1,500 euros.

The pictures were taken in 1999 by French photographer Arno Bani, then just 23. Jackson had reportedly wanted him to take the pictures for his 10th album “Invincible,” released in 2001, the singer”s last studio album.

The photographer signed over the rights to Sony for 10 years but the pictures were never used by the record label.

About 200 fans and dealers turned out at the Hotel Salomon de Rothschild, a private mansion in Paris. The sale was run by the house Pierre Berge associes.

Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Rejects RGST

Lahore, News Trends :- The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) will not support the federal government on the issue of the Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) and will not allow the government to increase the burden on the masses, party Chief Nawaz Sharif has said while
addressing a public gathering in Sheikhupura on 11th December. Nawaz Sharif took a right stand and suggested the Pakistan People’s Party-led government should focus on eliminating corruption instead of increasing taxes. He urged the need of a revolution needed to combat the troubles faced by the people, and to fight unemployment, poverty and injustice.

An IMF team is present in Islamabad to ensure implementation of tax reforms. The reforms in the general sales tax to be introduced through proposed General Sales Tax Act, 2010 would help achieve the desired target of documentation of economy and would remove exemptions available to various sectors. Some informal sectors are also to be brought under GST regime which is even more than formal sector. Documentation required through the proposed legislation would not only to document each and every transaction after import or local production at all levels but also to help document annual turn over of the businesses for determination of income tax liability of the registered entities.

There is no doubt the State is in dire need of increasing its tax revenues by broadening its tax base which has increasingly became distorted and narrow-based due to poor Government policies. But it is duty of the Government to keep the tax burden as low as possible and increasing the numbers of taxpayers simultaneously ensuring that taxes are applied equally and fairly to everyone. The government should rather reduce tax rates on income and business profits that help to sharpen incentives to work and create wealth in the economy as a strategy to enhance long-run growth. Tax base should be broadened by levying Direct taxes on “pay as you earn” basis instead of levying frequent indirect taxes like RGST which is highly inflationary and passed on by the suppliers to the final consumers, or highly taxing the people through escalation of prices of oil, electricity and gas etc. The overall taxes that a person pays can be reduced by proper planning and making appropriate adjustments; it should be governed by people’s ability to pay, that is, wealthier individuals or firms with greater incomes should pay more in tax while those with lower incomes should pay comparatively less and every sector of the economy should be taxed.

The current system of taxation is completely ineffective – which needs to be revolutionized by bringing more people in the tax-net. Corrupt, inept, dollar-hungers and downright cheesy characteristics sums up the personal attributes of the vast majority of Pakistani politicians and generally the closed club of Pakistan’s ruling elite, barring few gentle exceptions. They formulate the policies keeping in view their personal interests instead of that of the nation. Policies are modified even for one person or one class. Due to these reasons a good tax culture could not find roots in Pakistan. Only poor of the poorest and salaried class persons comes in the net of taxation and “elite club” is always exempted from all sorts of taxes. The MNAs, MPAs, Minister and other Government dignitaries who want taxes from the poor public, themselves do not pay taxes. Pakistan’s Taxation system is characterized by widespread tax evasion, and annual tax evasion by the “Elite Club” comprising politicians, military and civil bureaucracy, and some businessmen stands at around Rs.1000 billion. Just imagine many ministers – majority of whom are feudal lords with big land holdings – including Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, paid taxes based only from their salaries as lawmakers, not from their private fortunes. There are even ministers who have paid less than 10,000 rupees (US$117 ) as their annual income tax. Due to a non-transparent process and weak accountability system, public sector expenditures are officially misused by the ruling elite, thereby, kickbacks and pilferage of revenue is in connivance with the public officials.

The state is responsible to provide basic fundamental rights and facilities but has totally failed to fulfill expectations of the poor people. People are more frustrated when they see the ruling elite’s social life and their living standards. If you go down in the markets or any other public places and listen to people’s views, you would wonder whether our politicians are in touch with their people or doing something for them. This is in sharp contrast to the common people. We should admit that non state actors, militants and extremists have again consolidated their positions due to the government’s poor policies. This is perhaps the last chance for our ruling elite to mend their ways and restructure their policies and politics in line with the people’s expectations. To impose a Reformed General Sales Tax on an already highly impoverished society is not the answer, especially since this is more likely to worsen an already untenable situation as legions of micro-businesses react to the new tax by shifting to the informal sector. The correct response is to strengthen direct taxation, especially on the wealthy land-owning elites who dominate Pakistan’s quasi-feudal society. Introducing land value taxation and strengthening tax compliance among rich people and companies should be the medium term priorities. They should keep in mind; only a surfer knows the feeling.

In the end, I would humbly request my brothers and sisters countrymen for God sake; your vote is your voice and there is more power in it then in most things you do. It is a lost pleasure, the power of that voice. Use it. It should make no difference if that one comment does not carry the decisive power, but it will resound in Pakistan. Raise your voice for an independent judiciary; rule of law and social justice, rake over coals the renegades and traitors. Choose your brave and honest heroes out of your own rows, salute them, and help them help you! Due to our constant wrong use of vote or avoiding its use, corrupt politicians have created the issue of survival of Pakistan and Pakistani society. On the one hand people are committing suicides due to starvations and financial hardships and on the other hand assets of a few politicians, bureaucrats, and some businessmen are expanding with each past day. Stand for your rights and social justice from today. God will help us, Inshallah.

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