Recently in Pakistan Category

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\03\25\story_25-3-2009_pg1_4

LAHORE: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued a list of members of banned outfits and ordered all banks to scrutinise the list before opening accounts or transferring money, sources told Daily Times on Tuesday.

A bank official, seeking anonymity, said the purpose of the list was to stop the banned outfits from operating their accounts and transferring money. However, people would face delays in opening accounts or transferring money, as it would take time to scrutinise the list, he added.

SBP spokesman Syed Waseemuddin said Pakistan was bound to follow the instructions of the United Nations, which had banned several religious outfits for their alleged involvement in terrorism. He said the list, provided by the UN, was regularly updated.

Last year, the United Nations Security Council had placed sanctions against Jamatud Dawa, a front organisation for
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LT), declaring it a terrorist organisation.

The council panel has designated four men linked to the Mumbai attacks as terrorists subject to sanctions.

http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=5185

Lawyers and campaigners against sexual abuse of children say that it is not uncommon in Pakistan, especially in the segregated surroundings of the country's estimated 20,000 religious schools, but cases involving members of the clergy are rarely - if ever - exposed. ... Haroon Tanoli, Abid's father, met strong resistance when he tried to take up his son's case with officials at the school. He says that they offered to help him secure a cash payment from the alleged attackers, provided that he did not involve the police. Since then, he has been threatened with harsh consequences for refusing to back down.

Even as Abid was receiving treatment, the religious authorities pressed the hospital to discharge him. Mr Tanoli managed to get him admitted to a different hospital, where he is being treated free, although the family cannot afford an operation to save his sight. Mr Tanoli refuses to back down, despite being offered one million rupees (£12,000) by the teacher's relations if he withdraws the charges. He has moved to a secret location for his own safety.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htwin/articles/20090119.aspx

One of al Qaeda's weaknesses is that it is dominated by Arabs. This often causes resentment when the non-Arabs find themselves left out of decision making, or on the short end when it comes to distribution of resources. This was first seen in Afghanistan, where the al Qaeda Arabs made themselves very unpopular several years before September 11, 2001. Now the bad feelings have spread to Pakistan. There, the hundreds of al Qaeda members hiding out in tribal areas along the Afghan border, have split along ethnic lines. The Arab al Qaeda, who still have access to lots of cash, have made themselves very unpopular with the al Qaeda members from Central Asia. The Central Asians, particularly Islamic radicals from Uzbekistan, always felt this was their turf, and that the Arab al Qaeda should recognize that, and not throw their weight, and money, around in a disrespectful (to the Uzbeks) manner. Over the last few years, Pakistani and U.S. intelligence operatives were able to use these bad feelings to get information on where al Qaeda leaders were hiding out. These men were either captured in Pakistan, or killed by American UAVs firing Hellfire missiles.

I think it is safe to say that anyone who has been following events in either of these countries is laughing at how obvious this report is. Come on! Both countries are fighting what are essentially civil wars but are not mobilizing forces to make it seem like they are NOT fighting those civil wars.

OK, that sounds convoluted, but it is true. Neither State wants to seem like they are failing or having a civil war, yet both are. The denial is killing both of them. If either wants to survive they will have to mobilize and declare open warfare on the insurgent elements. I do not think either country is strong enough anymore to do this, however. I wonder what they will look like in another five years?

With other information sources confirming this it is hard to understand why either country is not failed in the mode of Somalia

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479906,00.html

Military Report: Mexico, Pakistan at Risk of 'Rapid and Sudden Collapse'

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Mexico and Pakistan are at risk of a "rapid and sudden collapse," according to a recent report from the U.S. Joint Forces Command.

The assessment comes as President-elect Barack Obama prepares to tackle international challenges including the conflict in Gaza, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and tensions between India and Pakistan.

"In terms of worst-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico," the report says.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Joint Forces Command said the latest assessment was likely written before the Mumbai attacks which further inflamed tensions in South Asia.

The Joint Operating Environment report, meant to examine worldwide security trends, says Pakistan, in the event of such a rapid collapse, would be susceptible to a "violent and bloody civil and sectarian war" made more dangerous by concerns over the country's nuclear arsenal.

The report says that "perfect storm of uncertainty" by itself might require U.S. engagement.

The report says a collapse in Mexico seems less likely, but noted that the government infrastructure is "under sustained assault and pressure" from drug cartels and gangs. A collapse within the United States' southern neighbor would also "demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone."

Obama met earlier this week with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Joint Forces spokeswoman Kathleen Jabs told FOXNews.com the purpose of the assessment is not necessarily to predict future crises with 100 percent certainty, but to start a dialogue among world leaders by "looking at the trends."

Click here to read the report from the U.S. Joint Forces Command.

Also, check out this map of Mexico to see where the current fighting is:
http://www1.stratfor.com/images/interactive/Mexico_Weekly_01_12_09.htm

When StratFor makes a prediction, then I believe it. They have made mistakes, but not as many as other groups.

Any more terrorist attacks in India will force it to either become more totalitarian or to go to war. I am sure that they will choose the later. They have in the past.

If I was a Liberal, I am sure that I would choose option C - allowing the terrorists to continue slaughtering innocents in the name of Peace.

http://www.stratfor.com/memberships/129587/analysis/20081224_india_pakistan_signs_coming_war

Several major signs of a coming Indian-Pakistani war surfaced Dec. 24.

Indian troops reportedly have deployed to the Barmer district of southwest Rajasthan state along the Indian-Pakistani border. Furthermore, the state government of Rajasthan has ordered residents of its border villages to be prepared for relocation. The decision reportedly came after a meeting among the state's director-general of police, home secretary and an official from the central government. Stratfor confirmed the report with an Indian army officer.

According to India's ZeeNews, the Pakistani army replaced the Pakistan Rangers that regularly patrol the border with India. The Pakistani troop movements were later confirmed by U.K. Bansal, the additional director-general of India's Border Security Force (BSF) in Barmer, Rajasthan.

http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD214008

Zaid Hamid, a former mujahid who fought the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s, is the founder of the Pakistani think tank BrassTacks.

Following are some excerpts from the interview: [1]

"[If] they thrust a war on us, then the war will be fought on the other side of the border, on their side [in India], not within Pakistan Insha Allah..."

"This is not the 9/11 he [George W. Bush] was talking about [recently], but the Indians have themselves always wanted to orchestrate a 9/11, to create the same drama [9/11] in which they could include Americans and Israelis. We have no doubt this was [the result of] a joint plan by Israelis, Americans and Indians - in other words, this was a joint plan by Western Zionists and Hindu Zionists; in it Israelis are directly involved, there is involvement of Mossad.

"The details that are coming up - see, if you look at the images, the terrorist they [Indian television channels] are showing firing in the hotel with machine gun in his hand, he has tied in his hand a saffron band of Hindu Zionists; Muslims do not wear this type of band [on their wrists] - their faces are like Hindus, the language in which they are speaking, this language no Pakistani uses."

"The big part of the game has slipped out of their [Indians'] hands. We have not seen a more badly planned operation than this [the commando operation in Mumbai hotels]. The 9/11 that the Americans committed, they very beautifully camouflaged that in the media; they did a better perception management of that, and the Americans created the pretext to thrust a war on Afghanistan by fooling the entire world.

"The Indians tried to repeat the same game; but [they don't] have intellect; these idiots made a complete disaster in handling this [terrorists' occupation of the hotels]. The game was exposed in the beginning itself, so that now they have lost the moral credibility. They would have probably promised to those terrorists that we will not kill you, we will arrest you, [but] now they are killing them and apparently they are resisting them.

From a military stand point, this was a really great move on the part of the Taliban. The fact that there was so little security is a really stupid move on the part of the Pakistani and NATO military. Who failed?

Lets just abandon the Pakistanis for a while. Take their nukes on the way out of the country so that the fanatics can't get them, so that India and Israel don't have to nuke the country flat. Pakistan is about to fail and nothing the West can do will help, because the barbarians are insisting that it is only the West allowing the non-fanatics to stay alive. We need to allow them to stand on their own feet! If they fail, we can then kill all the survivors.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,463124,00.html

Militants blasted their way into two transport terminals in Pakistan on Sunday and torched more than 160 vehicles destined for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, in the biggest assault yet on a vital military supply line, officials said.

The U.S. military said its losses in the raid near the northwestern city of Peshawar would have only a "minimal" impact on its operations against resurgent Taliban-led militants in Afghanistan.

However, the attack's boldness will fuel concern that Taliban militants are tightening their hold around Peshawar and could choke the supply route through the famed Khyber Pass.

Up to 75 percent of supplies for Western forces in landlocked Afghanistan pass through Pakistan after being unloaded from ships at the Arabian sea port of Karachi. NATO is already seeking an alternative route through Central Asia.

The attack at the Portward Logistic Terminal reduced a section of the vast walled compound to a smoldering junkyard.