BENAZIR'S LETTER

Benazir Bhutto’s letter to U.S. Senator Gailbraith

‘Help Me Stay In Power, Please!’

A Muslim Leader’s Plea

To Her Foreign Masters

(By: M. Javed Naseem)

وَٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ لاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَكُمْ وَلاۤ أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَنْصُرُونَ

"But those you call upon besides Him, are unable

to help you, and indeed to help themselves."

(al-Quran 7:197)

Politics in South Asia is monopolized by a handful of feudal families, just like many other countries, but with one difference: Most of these feudal politicians are not very educated, enlightened or open-minded. They are neither honest nor sincere with the people whom they beg for votes during election season and trample afterwards. They might have fake or real degrees/diplomas but in reality, they are ignorant or uneducated people. They might claim to be Muslims but they do everything against the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet (s.a.w.). They are very prejudiced, racist and hypocrites (‘Munafiqeen’). Allah says:

وَلاَ تَرْكَنُوۤاْ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ فَتَمَسَّكُمُ ٱلنَّارُ

وَمَا لَكُمْ مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مِنْ أَوْلِيَآءَ ثُمَّ لاَ تُنصَرُونَ

“And incline not to those who do wrong, or

the Fire will seize you; and you have no protectors

other than Allah, nor shall you be helped.”

(al-Quran 11:113)

Those feudal lords who send their children to Europe and America for education, they don’t instill in them any ideology or concept of service to humanity through power. They are brain-washed and mesmerized by the luxurious lifestyle of the rich and famous of the West. And they like to copy that.

Politicians in general, and South Asian politicians in particular, enter the ring to gain power and get rich because these two elements help them rule the poor masses, stay in control of all the resources, and plunder the riches of the nation. They create a system, with the help of their foreign masters and local gangsters, crooks, corrupt administrators and conscienceless political collaborators – a system that gives them immunity from any accountability or punishment. And they live happily ever after! I have a news for them!

أُولَـٰئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱشْتَرَوُاْ ٱلْحَيَاةَ ٱلدُّنْيَا بِٱلآخِرَةِ

فَلاَ يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ وَلاَ هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ

“These are the people who buy the life of this

world at the price of the Hereafter. Their penalty

shall not be lightened nor shall they be helped.”

(al-Quran 2:86)

When a leader puts his own interest in front of the interest of his nation/country, he becomes selfish, dishonest and corrupt. Therefore, he is easily recruited by any foreign power that takes care of his personal interest, and keeps him in power to serve their master’s interests. It is an open fact that foreign ‘help’ comes with many strings attached. Only those leaders accept the humiliating terms and conditions of such support who don’t have strong faith in Allah but have total trust in conniving human beings.

لاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَهُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُمْ جُندٌ مٌّحْضَرُونَ

“They have not the power to help them; but

they will be brought up (before Our Judgment-seat)

as a troop (to be condemned).”

(al-Quran 36:75)

Today’s Muslim world is full of that kind of leaders who shamelessly carry out the orders of their foreign masters without any regard to their nations’ or countries’ plight. They don’t care about their nation’s or country’s interests. They have only brought misery to their own people. For their survival, they depend on others who can’t guarantee their own survival. Allah warns them in the Holy Quran:

لاَّ يَتَّخِذِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِنْ  دُونِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذٰلِكَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ فِى شَيْءٍ إِلاَّ أَن تَتَّقُواْ

مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً وَيُحَذِّرْكُمُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ وَإِلَىٰ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْمَصِيرُ
“Let not the believers take for friends or helpers

unbelievers rather than believers. If any do that,

in nothing will there be help from Allah, except

by way of precaution, that you may guard yourselves

from them. But Allah cautions you (to remember)

Him, for the final return is to Allah.”

(al-Quran 3:28)

Those who put their trust in Allah, they are never disappointed. Their faith is not shaky because they know that Allah’s help will come.

وَمَا جَعَلَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِلاَّ بُشْرَىٰ لَكُمْ وَلِتَطْمَئِنَّ قُلُوبُكُمْ بِهِ

وَمَا ٱلنَّصْرُ إِلاَّ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ
“Allah made it but a message of hope for you,

and an assurance to your hearts. (In any case) there

is no help except from Allah. The Exalted, the Wise.”

(al-Quran 3:126)

Those with weak and shaky faith are doubtful of Allah’s help and ask men for assurance. Instead of asking the Creator for help, they beg the creation for support. They are not aware of the fact that Allah gave us guarantee of His help in the Holy Quran:

                                                                                                        

أَمَّنْ هَـٰذَا ٱلَّذِى هُوَ جُندٌ لَّكُمْ يَنصُرُكُمْ مِّن دُونِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ

إِنِ ٱلْكَافِرُونَ إِلاَّ فِى غُرُورٍ

“Nay, who is there that can help you, (even as)

an army, besides (Allah) the Most Merciful?

In nothing but delusion are the unbelievers.”

(al-Quran 67:20)

                              

To benefit from this promise of Allah, we need to hold on fast to the two basic elements of Islam: ‘Sabr’ (patient perseverance) and ‘Salaat’ (prayer):

يَآأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ ٱسْتَعِينُواْ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلاَةِ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّابِرِينَ
“O you who believe! Seek help with patient

perseverance and prayer; for Allah is with those

who patiently persevere.”

(al-Quran 2:153)

All help and protection comes from the Almighty Allah and there are no strings attached. You need to be a true believer (worshipping Him alone, honestly and sincerely in all circumstances; submitting to Him and obeying His commands).

وَمَآ أَنتُمْ بِمُعْجِزِينَ فِى ٱلأَرْضِ وَلاَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ

وَمَا لَكُمْ مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلاَ نَصِيرٍ
"Not on earth nor in heaven will you be able (fleeing)

to frustrate (His plan), nor have you, besides Allah,

any protector or helper."

(al-Quran 29:22)

Today, those who are asking the evil forces for help should know what kind of help they will get. They should open their eyes and learn lessons from Vietnam, Korea, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Palestine, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Syria.

فَلْيَدْعُ نَادِيَه سَنَدْعُو ٱلزَّبَانِيَةَ ُ
“Then, let him call (for help) to his council

(of comrades); We will call on the angels of

punishment (to deal with him)!”

(al-Quran 96:17-18)

The message is loud and clear; and the signs are visible everywhere. We must be blind not to see them.

The True Face of a ‘Shaheed’

A few years ago somebody shared this document with me but I couldn’t use it in my book. So I am sharing it with you now along with the links.

Here’s the transcript and translation of Benazir Bhutto’s letter that she wrote to the U.S. Senator Peter Gailbraith on 14^th September, 1990 (when she had been removed from power). It was already published in Pakistani newspapers (e.g., The Nation, dated 4/7/1997). May Allah protect Pakistan from traitors and hypocrites (‘Munafiqeen’). … Ameen.

If this letter is real then it shows the true face of PPP politicians. Self-interest is more important than the country's interest. This is what all politicians, irrespective of "N" and "Q" and others, are endeavoring for. Is there any honest and sincere politician in Pakistan?

Dear Peter Gailbraith,  عڑیز پیٹر گلبرائتھ۔ I do not know how to thank you for your so many favors to me and my family. As you know that the orders of my dismissal were drafted in the JAG branch of the GHQ, and it was not possible for me to pull along with the army and they subverted my Government.  مجھے نہیں معلوم کہ آپ کے انُ احسانات کا کس طرح شکریہ ادا کروں جو آپ نے مجھ پر اور میرے خاندان پر کرے۔ جیسا کہ آپ کو معلوم ہوگا کہ میری حکومت کی برطرفی کے احکامات جی ایچ کیو میں لکھے گئے اور میرے لئے فوج سے ٹکر لینا ممکن نہیں تھا تو وہ میری حکومت کو گرانے میں کامیاب ہو گئے۔ I have already communicated to various friends in the Congress and especially Stephen Solaran to use their good office with President Bush so as to put maximum pressure on President Ishaq and the army in Pakistan that they do not disqualify me from the elections as it will be unjust and negation of all democratic principles for which we have struggled.  میں پہلے ہی کانگریس میں موجود دوستوں، خاص طور پر اسٹیفن سولاران، سے درخواست کر چکی ہوں کہ وہ صدر بش کہ زریعے صدر اسحاق اور پاکستانی فوج پر بھرپور دباؤ دلوایں کہ وہ لوگ مجھے نا اھل کرار نہ دیں کیونکہ یہ بہت ناانصافی ہو گی بلکہ جمہوری اُصولوں کی بھی منافی ہو گی جن کے لیۓ ہم نے بہت جدوجہد کری ہے۔ It would be more appropriate, if military as well as economic assistance to Pakistan is stopped and all the international agencies like World Bank, IMF are told to squeeze the Government of Pakistan and if possible all supply to Pakistan should be disrupted so that normal life in Pakistan comes to stand still.  یہ بہت بہتر ہو گا کہ پاکستان کو دی جانے والی دفاعی اور معاشی امداد روک دی جائے اور تمام عالمی ادارے جیسے ورلڈ بینک، آیئ ایم ایف کو ہدایت دی جاۓ کہ پاکستانی حکومت کو ہر طرف سے ڈرایا جاۓ اور اس کہ ساتھ ہی پاکستان کو دی جانے والی تمام امداد روک دی جاۓ تاکہ عام پاکستانی کی زندگی مکمل طور پر رکُ جاۓ۔ As long as I was the Prime Minister I kept a check on the Nuclear device but now I do not know what are the plans of Government.  جب تک میں حکومت میں تھی تو میں نے نیوکلیَر ہھتیاروں پر کڑی نظر رکھی پر اب مجھے اس حکومت کے ارادوں کا اندازہ نہیں۔ The suspension of F-16 and its spares will bring the army to its senses.  ایف-۱۶ طیاروں اور انُ کے فازل پرزہ جات کی رسد کی روک تھام بھی فوج کی عقّل ٹھانے لے آۓ گی۔ Dear Peter, please use your influence on V. P. Singh, the Indian Prime Minister to engage the Pakistani army on the borders so that they do not impede in my way. I wish Rajiv Gandhi had been the Prime Minister of India, things would have been easier.  عڑیز پیٹر، بھارتی وزیرِ اعظم پر بھی اپنا اثر استعمال کر کے پاکستانی فوج کو سرحد پر پھسانے کی کوشش کریں تاکہ فوج میرے راستے میں رکاوٹ نہ ڈال سکے۔ کاش راجیو گاندھی بھارت کے وزیرِاعظم ہوتے تو بہت سے کام آسان ہوجاتے۔ Thank you with warm regards, Sincerely yours, Benazir Bhutto. بے نظیر بھٹو۔

The links:  A. Saghar <asaghar@gmail.com>
Subject: Pakistani Americans: The True Face Of Shaheed-e-Jamhooriyat
pakistaniamericans@yahoogroups.com, &  pakistaniawam@yahoogroups.com

***********

From Australia, With Love.

Some Real Questions/Answers

From GCSE Examination

It is said that Learners (or students) reflect their Teachers. Somebody wrote the word ‘teach’ in an artistic way and it reflected as ‘learn’ (see image). How beautiful (and correct)!

Now, something serious! This is the age of computer and video-games. Our kids enjoy them but it is taking its toll by pushing our children in a different direction. The following questions were set in 2009 GCSE examination in Australia. Here are the genuine answers from some of the 16-year-old would-be High School Graduates. Enjoy!

Q. Name the four seasons.
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar

Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large 
     pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists 
    (Note: I like ‘flirtation’).

Q. How is dew formed?
A. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.
 
Q. What causes the tides in the oceans?
A. The tides are a fight between the earth and the moon. All water tends 
     to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and 
     nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins the fight.

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on?
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed
 

And this one is the best:
Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election
 
Q. What are steroids? 
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs
 
Q. What happens to your body as you age?
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental
 
Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery 
 
Q Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.
A. Premature death
 
Q. What is artificial insemination?
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow 
 
Q. How can you delay milk turning sour? 
A. Keep it in the cow (Simple, but brilliant)
 
Q. How are the main 20 parts of the body categorized (e.g. the abdomen)?
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts - the brainium, the borax and the 
    abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the 
    heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A, E, 
    I, O and U 
 
Q. What is the fibula?
A. A small lie
 
Q. What does 'varicose' mean?
A. Nearby
 
Q. What is the most common form of birth control 
A. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium 
 
Q. Give the meaning of the term 'Caesarean section'
A. The caesarean section is a district in Rome
 
Q. What is a seizure?
A. A Roman Emperor. (Julius Seizure?)
 
Q. What is a terminal illness? 

A. When you are sick at the airport. (Irrefutable)
 
Q. Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A. Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and they look like umbrellas
 
Q. Use the word 'judicious' in a sentence to show you understand its meaning.
A. Hands that judicious can be soft as your face.
 
Q. What does the word 'benign' mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight
 
Q. What is a turbine?
A. Something an Arab or Shreik wears on his head.

**********

THE MIDNIGHT MOSQUE

The Power of Faith

THE MIDNIGHT-SUN MOSQUE

A Miracle in The Arctic

The Midnight Sun Mosque    A remarkable story: Inuvik is an arctic town in Canada’s Northwest Territories with a population of about 3,500 people. It’s located right at the tip of North America facing the Arctic Ocean. With a polar climate and harsh living conditions, one wouldn't expect to find a town there, let alone a town with Muslims. But there is a Muslim community there and a growing one, too. So much so that the trailer that was being used as the mosque ran out of room and this community now needed a new mosque. Building a mosque in the Arctic, however, is far more complicated than it is anywhere else. The scarcity of skilled labour and material makes the cost of such a project skyrocket and this undertaking is simply impossible for a small community of a 100 people. Their situation is akin to that of the Muslims in Edmonton, who despite all odds managed to erect Canada’s first mosque in 1938. With faith in God anything is possible. At a time like this, the Inuvik Muslims could have simply prayed for a mosque to be shipped over. And that’s exactly what they were about to get. Enter, the Zubaidah Tallab Foundation. The Zubaidah Tallab Foundation is a charity based out of Manitoba. The remarkable individuals at this organization decided to give the Inuvikans a hand and took it upon themselves to ensure that the mosque got built. After evaluating the cost of locally building the mosque, they came up with a plan which at first sight would easily be dismissed as insanity. Build the mosque in Winnipeg and ship it 4,000 km away to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. As insane as that may sound, this was the most economical way of getting the mosque built. Part of the mosque’s journey was going to be on roads (2400km) and part on water (1800 km). The goal was to get the mosque on to the last barge heading towards Inuvik for the season. Not only was this going to be a logistical nightmare but it was to be a race against time as well. With receding water levels in the Mackenzie River, the shipping company decided to push up the departure date by 3 weeks. The 1,500 square-foot mosque was built in Winnipeg and started its journey on a semi-trailer. The over-sized trailer made its way through back roads and country highways, struggling to make it to the barge in time; it was delayed further by Labour Day celebrations and highway regulations. To complicate matters even more, the bridge across Reindeer Creek proved too narrow for the trailer. The driver had to remove the back wheels and a second truck was brought in to balance the back of the flatbed as the mosque was moved carefully across bridge. But this wasn't the biggest scare. All hopes and dreams came close to being shattered when the mosque almost fell off the trailer into a creek near the Alberta border. The organizers managed to request the shipping company to hold the barge for two extra days and perhaps by divine intervention, the barge was delayed further due to poor weather. With lots of prayer and a little bit of luck, the trailer managed to get to the barge just in time. The mosque was loaded on to the barge and set off for its journey towards the North Pole. The barge arrived in Inuvik, on September 24th2010. After an excruciating 3-week journey, the little mosque arrived at its destination; all in one piece. The Inuvik Muslims gathered around the port to witness the historical event. They chanted prayers to praise and thank God as they waited. Some jumped around with joy while others were overwhelmed with gratitude and came to tears. Numerous finishing touches needed to be added and it took about a month to get the mosque ready for use. Fathallah Fargat, a carpenter from St. Catherines, Ontario was inspired by the story and traveled all the way to Inuvik to help set up the mosque. He even helped build a 10-meter minaret to accompany the newly erected mosque. The Midnight Sun Mosque, as it is now called, was inaugurated on November 10th 2010 to become North America’s northern most mosque. All in all, the entire project cost about $300,000. The Zaid Tallabah Foundation, which still has outstanding payments to make, is looking to raise another $21,000. (Note: This has, probably, been settled already as the story was published in 2010) The Inuvik mosque is a stellar example of what can be accomplished by unity, hard work and faith in God. For those let down by the petty attacks on mosques around the West, this story should rejuvenate your spirit and give you hope. If people can manage to build a mosque in the Arctic, then building one anywhere else should be far from impossible, Insha-Allah.

__._,_.___

THE WAY OF THE KNIFE:

C.I.A., A Secret Army, And

A War At The Ends of The Earth

(From: The New York Times World)

RISE OF THE PREDATORS

A Secret Deal on Drones, Sealed in Blood

Kamran Wazir/Reuters

Nek Muhammad, center, was a Pashtun militant who was killed in 2004, in the first C.I.A. drone strike in Pakistan.

By MARK MAZZETTI

Published: April 6, 2013 445 Comments

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Nek Muhammad knew he was being followed.

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The C.I.A. has carried out hundreds of strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas.

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On a hot day in June 2004, the Pashtun tribesman was lounging inside a mud compound in South Waziristan, speaking by satellite phone to one of the many reporters who regularly interviewed him on how he had fought and humbledPakistan’s army in the country’s western mountains. He asked one of his followers about the strange, metallic bird hovering above him.

Less than 24 hours later, a missile tore through the compound, severing Mr. Muhammad’s left leg and killing him and several others, including two boys, ages 10 and 16. A Pakistani military spokesman was quick to claim responsibility for the attack, saying that Pakistani forces had fired at the compound.

That was a lie.

Mr. Muhammad and his followers had been killed by theC.I.A., the first time it had deployed a Predator drone in Pakistan to carry out a “targeted killing.” The target was not a top operative of Al Qaeda, but a Pakistani ally of theTaliban who led a tribal rebellion and was marked by Pakistan as an enemy of the state. In a secret deal, the C.I.A. had agreed to kill him in exchange for access to airspace it had long sought so it could use drones to hunt down its own enemies.

That back-room bargain, described in detail for the first time in interviews with more than a dozen officials in Pakistan and the United States, is critical to understanding the origins of a covert drone war that began under the Bush administration, was embraced and expanded by President Obama, and is now the subject of fierce debate. The deal, a month after a blistering internal report about abuses in the C.I.A.’s network of secret prisons, paved the way for the C.I.A. to change its focus from capturing terrorists to killing them, and helped transform an agency that began as a cold war espionage service into a paramilitary organization.

The C.I.A. has since conducted hundreds of drone strikes in Pakistan that have killed thousands of people, Pakistanis and Arabs, militants and civilians alike. While it was not the first country where the United States used drones, it became the laboratory for the targeted killing operations that have come to define a new American way of fighting, blurring the line between soldiers and spies and short-circuiting the normal mechanisms by which the United States as a nation goes to war.

Neither American nor Pakistani officials have ever publicly acknowledged what really happened to Mr. Muhammad — details of the strike that killed him, along with those of other secret strikes, are still hidden in classified government databases. But in recent months, calls for transparency from members of Congress and critics on both the right and left have put pressure on Mr. Obama and his new C.I.A. director, John O. Brennan, to offer a fuller explanation of the goals and operation of the drone program, and of the agency’s role.

Mr. Brennan, who began his career at the C.I.A. and over the past four years oversaw an escalation of drone strikes from his office at the White House, has signaled that he hopes to return the agency to its traditional role of intelligence collection and analysis. But with a generation of C.I.A. officers now fully engaged in a new mission, it is an effort that could take years.

Today, even some of the people who were present at the creation of the drone program think the agency should have long given up targeted killings.

Ross Newland, who was a senior official at the C.I.A.’s headquarters in Langley, Va., when the agency was given the authority to kill Qaeda operatives, says he thinks that the agency had grown too comfortable with remote-control killing, and that drones have turned the C.I.A. into the villain in countries like Pakistan, where it should be nurturing relationships in order to gather intelligence.

As he puts it, “This is just not an intelligence mission.”

From Car Thief to Militant

By 2004, Mr. Muhammad had become the undisputed star of the tribal areas, the fierce mountain lands populated by the Wazirs, Mehsuds and other Pashtun tribes who for decades had lived independent of the writ of the central government in Islamabad. A brash member of the Wazir tribe, Mr. Muhammad had raised an army to fight government troops and had forced the government into negotiations. He saw no cause for loyalty to the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, the Pakistani military spy service that had given an earlier generation of Pashtuns support during the war against the Soviets.

Many Pakistanis in the tribal areas viewed with disdain the alliance that President Pervez Musharraf had forged with the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. They regarded the Pakistani military that had entered the tribal areas as no different from the Americans — who they believed had begun a war of aggression in Afghanistan, just as the Soviets had years earlier.

This article is adapted from “The Way of the Knife: The C.I.A., a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth,” to be published by Penguin Press on Tuesday.

A version of this article appeared in print on April 7, 2013, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: A Secret Deal on Drones, Sealed in Blood.

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