tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55248587999130425692024-03-08T00:42:32.963-08:00Beenish JavedBeenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-32301901655051037112021-08-19T02:20:00.003-07:002023-08-21T02:11:49.244-07:00Taliban Takeover: Fears of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtFgORdJuqCYDV1C3tHmysb8phHlxaOBZHcAJQnuZX2QOpATIdt4VmN-KWm06ruVa1NHhK1xeqLL-Qpcd1BBQmO-qv6WPmNujiq9JOg5A9BQ6mbT59zTX3zFR0F6cTLgJJsRDMif4_HWF/s2048/IMG_2382.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1127" data-original-width="2048" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtFgORdJuqCYDV1C3tHmysb8phHlxaOBZHcAJQnuZX2QOpATIdt4VmN-KWm06ruVa1NHhK1xeqLL-Qpcd1BBQmO-qv6WPmNujiq9JOg5A9BQ6mbT59zTX3zFR0F6cTLgJJsRDMif4_HWF/w463-h255/IMG_2382.jpg" width="463" /></a></div></blockquote><br /><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space: pre;"><i>Afghan refugees in Pakistan have expressed a mixed reaction to the takeover of their country by the Taliban. Some of them are hopeful that the Taliban will bring peace to the war-torn country. Many are worried of the strict implementation of laws and a crackdown on the freedom that women enjoy..
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45-year-old Hassan Khela is cooking a meal for her family of nine. The steam from the kettle further heats her already hot and humid kitchen. She doesn't know what her family will eat tomorrow. Her husband is a laborer and earns a daily wage if he gets work. In the evening he sells potato chips but the small venture is hardly profitable. The family lives in abject poverty in an Afghan refugee settlement in Peshawar, Pakistan. Dirty alleys, clogged sideways with garbage, clothes hanging outside as a covering on the rundown doors is how Hassan Khela’s street looked. Many of her neighbors like her are living with meager incomes.
Khela is an Afghan citizen. Nine months ago her son who was an Afghan refugee in Pakistan passed away in an accident. She had to leave her physically disabled brother and elderly mother to come to her grieving husband in Pakistan who is also an Afghan refugee. But after she came here fighting started in Baghlan, her native province, and she couldn't go back. Now that the Taliban have taken over, the family does not want to go back to Afghanistan at all. Even though they are poor, they feel safe here.
Whether it was the Soviet invasion in 1979, Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001, or the attacks by the US after 9\11, Afghans have had reason to flee to Pakistan for refuge. The country now hosts more than 3 million Afghan refugees, almost half of them undocumented. Many of the Afghans have spread into different parts of Pakistan. They run their businesses but most of the refugees continue to live in refugee settlements or
Worried about loved ones
Khela is not the only one worried about meeting her family. An Afghan refugee who did not want to be named also worries for his family and the future of his country. This refugee lives some 150 kilometers away from Peshawar, on the outskirts of Islamabad, in an Afghan refugee settlement. He tells me, ‘’My grandfather and my uncle are there. I worry for them. I think now the schools and colleges in Afghanistan will close because the Taliban does not approve of them. They even beat up those with sticks who go to school or colleges.’’ Even though the Taliban are promising a more moderate approach towards education and women's rights, he doesn't believe it. He says that there are those among the Taliban who don’t know anything about the Quran or Islam, they just beat up poor people.
Another Afghan refugee living in the same locality fears that the Taliban could hurt his relatives. He is pessimistic about the future of his country. ‘’Everything is finished in Afghanistan. The Taliban has taken over now - only God knows what will happen in the future,’’ he says.
Support for Taliban among Refugees
But unlike Khela, some refugees believe that the Taliban will be good for their country. Ali Khan, an Afghan refugee living in an unofficial camp on the outskirts of Islamabad, tells me, ‘’The Islamic Republic that we now have in Afghanistan should control the public. We are thankful that Afghanistan is an Islamic country. Now under the Taliban people should be allowed to work and run their businesses. The Taliban may bring peace.’’ A crowd of approximately twenty adults formed while we were speaking with Mr. Khan. Most of them nodded in agreement as he expressed his thoughts.
But Khela can't stop thinking of her disabled brother and mother. They need her care but It will not be easy for them to come to Pakistan. Pakistan is reluctant to accept any influx of Afghan refugees. According to Pakistani officials, they have already fenced more than 90 percent of the 2700 km long border with Afghanistan. The authorities believe this will prevent illegal migration from Afghanistan. Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told me that Pakistan has already done enough and cannot shoulder the burden of any more refugees.</span> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1HU3Qvza1X5ZDDdBmICkHCHPQlFB1rH7rGUgnIf7KPfC9BRKrNdyAClcHU6yY1C16u0YqWb_wpJV4V2_vCoEorW3Y5j-fbxqIEtoaQ4LqJ8M2BoR7Y7NXPMrKZPQofSGIwsvFKBqaem6/s2048/IMG_2381.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1140" data-original-width="2048" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1HU3Qvza1X5ZDDdBmICkHCHPQlFB1rH7rGUgnIf7KPfC9BRKrNdyAClcHU6yY1C16u0YqWb_wpJV4V2_vCoEorW3Y5j-fbxqIEtoaQ4LqJ8M2BoR7Y7NXPMrKZPQofSGIwsvFKBqaem6/s320/IMG_2381.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Although there is an element of support towards the Taliban among some Afghan refugees in Pakistan, most of them certainly don't show any willingness to go back to a country whose future at the moment looks bleak.<p></p>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-89887300401054649992018-06-04T06:00:00.000-07:002018-06-05T07:03:14.839-07:00From Oxford University to Kabul, the Story of an Afghan Girl<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Feshta Karim (25) “My education is in public policy and that’s why I want to work in Afghanistan.”</div>
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Freshta Karim is 25 years old. She is from Kabul, Afghanistan. Her family moved to Pakistan after the Taliban took power but she remained in Afghanistan until 2002. Later she went to Britain to study.</div>
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She recently returned to her homeland after graduating from Oxford University with a degree in Public Policy. She studied at this prestigious institute thanks to a Chevening Scholarship. She is one of the few Afghans to want to come back to this war-torn country after receiving an education.</div>
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“My education is in public policy and that’s why I want to work in Afghanistan,” she told DW by phone from Kabul. “I understand why people leave but I do not want to. I have to stay here and improve the situation of my country.”</div>
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In order to do this, Freshta launched a non-governmental organization last year. She wants to raise awareness about education and to inculcate critical thinking among young Afghans.</div>
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She also set up a mobile library in a bus. Every other day, Freshta and her colleagues go to a different part of Kabul and introduce children to the pleasure of reading. They are hoping to increase the number of destinations and the frequency of their visits over time.</div>
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This story of mine has originally been published on www.womentalkonline.com <a href="https://blogs.dw.com/womentalkonline/2018/06/01/from-oxford-university-to-kabul-the-story-of-an-afghan-girl/" target="_blank">https://blogs.dw.com/womentalkonline/2018/06/01/from-oxford-university-to-kabul-the-story-of-an-afghan-girl/</a></div>
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Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-82370253223850396382018-06-02T23:59:00.000-07:002018-06-03T00:14:49.052-07:00 Spy Chronicles: Raw, ISI and Illusion of Peace<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Pakistan’s army has ordered an inquiry into a former spy
chief for co-writing a book with the ex-chief of an intelligence agency from
arch-rival India that has stirred controversy on a range of issues.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the election fast approaching, it is not business as
usual in Pakistan’s electoral politics. Contrary to expectations it is not
because for the second time in its history an elected government is passing on
the baton to another. Unexpectedly the most stable mainstay of Pakistan’s real
politic, the military, is for once not in the polity’s good books. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In a tale of many firsts for the boys, the list of charges against
the military is rapidly getting longer. It has been targeted by Pahtun Tahafuz
Movement for killing and abduction of Pashtun population. It has been blamed
for running a vicious campaign against the three time elected - and as many
times ousted - former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The latest dagger in its side however has been thrust from
within the ranks. <i>Spy Chronicles: Raw, ISI and Illusion of Peace</i>, a book
co-authored by the former Chiefs of premier intelligence agencies of Pakistan
and India is stirring equal measure of controversy both home and abroad. So
much so that General Asad Durrani (the former ISI head) has been barred from
leaving the country. The book is a
discussion between Durrani and former RAW chief Amarjit Singh Dulat and
moderated by journalist Aditya Sinha.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The media wing of Pakistans powerful military issued a
statement saying, that attributions in the book have been taken as violation of
Military Code of Conduct applicable on all serving and retired military
personnel. The official twitter account of ISPR said,’’ A formal Court of Inquiry
headed by a serving Lt Gen has been ordered to probe the matter in detail.
Competent authority approached to place his name on ECL.’’<o:p></o:p></div>
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So what is it that has pushed military to taken this action?
It could primarily be his statements on Osama Bin Laden, the deceased and
former head of Al-Qaeda. “At some point the ISI probably learnt about Osama bin
Laden and he was handed over to the United States according to a mutually
agreed process,” says Durrani in his book. This is contrary to official
stance of Pakistan which stresses that it had no idea about the where about of
the worlds most wanted terrorist at that time and it only came to know about it
when the US navy seals had taken him on 2nd May 2011. On his statements on OBL
operation Durrani told me,’’ I gave my assessment, which could be wrong. In any
case critical decisions are not taken to “build images.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency ISI, has over the
years developed a reputation for extending its jurisdiction beyond the
constitutional parameters. It is often blamed for instigating and supporting Kashmir
insurgency in Indian controlled Kashmir. On Kashmir A.S Daulat the former RAW
chief and Durrani have detailed discussion in the book and a significant part
of the book is dedicated to it. Durrani says that India wants to stick to the
policy of maintaining the ‘Status quo’as it is favorable for India. In his
book he says,’’ Conflict is manageable, there will be occasional firing across
the border, and people may die. But the price of peace may entail accepting the
old division of Kashmir or arrangement with Pakistan, changing the former Indus
Water Treaty, etc. That might trigger other dynamics.’’ Durrani tells me,’’Status
Quo is not static. If the current uprising is contained, the status quo at
another level may be India’s preferred option.’’ Durrani believes that now the
establishments of both the countries should be given a chance to take on the
negotiation process.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Durrani also criticises the lack of cooperation between
institutes in Pakistan. In the book he says, ‘’If in India you are working
together, you are one step ahead of us. We hardly see any cooperation between
our agencies. In Pakistan, cooperation between government departments,
civil-military, and generally is far from desirable. It may be because of our
history.’’ Durrani criticizes former military dictator Musharraf and
holds him responsible for a ‘failed Kargil Operation’. Durrani tells me, ‘’Both
Nawaz Sharif and Musharraf take their part of responsibility.’’ Durrani also believes
that the ‘Lal Masjid Operation’ carried out by Musharraf was a disaster and resulted
in more suicide bombings.</div>
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Durrani seemed obviously unhappy with politicians in
Pakistan. He tells me,’’That’s the struggle: improve the political system to
get the right type of people in.’’<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lastly, reacting on the criticism he has received on his
book he says,’’I do not have to respond to any criticism. I have co-authored
it. If a civilian were to write a similar book—and was “frowned upon”—it would
be up to him to react.’’<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The article was originally produced for DW Urdu <a href="http://p.dw.com/p/2yX7s" target="_blank">http://p.dw.com/p/2yX7s</a></span><br />
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Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-8865564316042371352012-05-05T10:41:00.001-07:002012-05-05T10:42:07.544-07:00MALEEHA LODHI SPEAKS ON PAKISTAN U.S RELATIONS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Maleeha Lodhi is a well known expert on Pakistan and U.S. relations. I
spoke to her about the complicated relationship between two countries
and if she sees any improvement in ties among two countries.<br />
Beenish: Is the recent engagement between Pakistan and U.S.
officials, especially the visit of Marc Grossman to Pakistan, has helped in improving
ties between two countries or not?<br />
Maleeha: The U.S. has not responded to many demands of Pakistan.
U.S has not offered an apology on Salala check post attacks, payments of
Coalition Support Fund to Pakistan have not been made, and no agreement
on drones have been made. The parliamentary recommendations are very
clear on stopping drone attacks, but the U.S. has not agreed to stop
them. I think it’s not only about opening up of NATO supply routes, the
U.S. has not responded positively on what Pakistan wants. We have to see
if the deadlock between two countries can be resolved or not? And
whether the new terms of engagement can be created on the basis of
parliamentary recommendation?<br />
Beenish: Is opening up of NATO supply route not only in the interest of NATO, but also in interest of Pakistan?<br />
Maleeha: The U.S. wants Pakistan to open NATO supply line before the
upcoming NATO Summit, which will be held in Chicago on 21-22 May. If
U.S. wants Pakistan to participate in the conference than it must accept
Pakistan demands. Because the relationship cannot be unilateral, the
problem can only be resolved if the U.S. responds positively to
Pakistan’s demands which have come out in form of parliamentary
recommendations.<br />
Beenish: The words, “Realistic Expectation” are being used by both
sides, do you think it’s a realistic expectation from Pakistan that the
U.S. stops drone attacks.<br />
Maleeha: The U.S wants to leave this region, it wants to withdraw its
forces and it says that the threat from Al-Qaeda is reduced; most of
its members have fled to North Africa and Yemen. If this assessment is
correct than drones attacks are not needed here. During the recent
talks between two countries, Afghan reconciliation process was also
discussed. Peace is not achieved from waging a war; it can only be
achieved by political and peaceful efforts. So, the U.S. should also
think, would it be able to achieve its targets in Afghanistan with a
continuation in drone attacks.<br />
Beenish: Do you see any progress in the Afghan reconciliation process and what role should Pakistan play in this process.s<br />
Maleeha: There is a consensus that peace cannot be achieved in
Afghanistan without talking with Taliban and by involving them in the
peace talks, but the talks between Taliban and the U.S. are suspended.
According to Taliban, they have suspended the talks because the U.S.
didn’t comply with agreement between them. The Taliban had asked to U.S.
to send Taliban prisoners in Guantanamo Bay to Qatar, but the U.S.
didn’t do it. In my opinion, the talks with Taliban are stalled because
of U.S. domestic political environment. So if there is no progress in
the reconciliation process it is not because of Pakistan or because of
Afghanistan, the momentum of talks has been broken by U.S. domestic
election politics.<br />
Beenish: What role does U.S. wants Pakistan to play in Afghanistan after 2014 when its troops are withdrawn from the region?<br />
Maleeha: The U.S. would need Pakistan’s assistance to carry back the
heavy war equipment. Other than this, the nations of this region want
that once NATO forces leave, they leave a peaceful and stable
Afghanistan, so the situation of 1980s does not recur. So, very
challenging times are coming ahead and for that it’s important that
Pakistan and U.S. relations are normalized. And it is also important
that Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, countries with high stakes in the
region, are also on the same page.<br />
Here's link of my video<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwAXJxxAFmc&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwAXJxxAFmc&feature=player_embedded</a></div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-50724549420968813822012-03-04T10:43:00.002-08:002012-03-04T10:43:27.353-08:00NEW SHOW AT ARY NEWS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Islamabad is a city of diplomats. The team at ARY NEWS noticed that
there was no show covering diplomatic activities in the city. ARY NEWS
came up with the idea to start a new show called, Diplomatic Enclave.
This show has different segments. All the segments are named
differently. The segment called, Diplomacy, has an interview with a
diplomat or with the foreign office spokesperson. The segment, Saqafti
Sargarmian (Cultural Activites), include some cultural events arranged
by different embassies, mostly on their national days. The segment
called Aalmi Naza( World view), include all important news covered by
international media world wide in the current week. Here are links of
the last week's segments that has already gone on air. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_HLAchEtTM&context=C318aa1bADOEgsToPDskJg2Dd05e1O8-BA00k7na3g" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_HLAchEtTM&context=C318aa1bADOEgsToPDskJg2Dd05e1O8-BA00k7na3g</a><br />
This segment includes a detailed analysis of Congressman Dana Rohrabecher's act of submitting a resolution in Congress, about separating Balochistan from Afghanistan, Indian parliament's speaker Mira Kumar's visit to Pakistan and also comments of cCongressman David Drier.</div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-42935386912939910322012-02-13T11:37:00.000-08:002012-02-13T23:32:39.689-08:00Roundup of Pakistan's Foriegn Policy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The third episode of Diplomatic Enclave went really well. This episode includes a quick roundup of last week's news. A great report on Iran's cultural aspects and a report explaining the importance of this week's Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran Strategic Agreements. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLmuB81AROw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLmuB81AROw</a><br />
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For translation in English like the page<br />
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http://www.facebook.com/pages/DiplomaticEnclave/168947873189364</div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-79597848260663494672012-02-12T12:24:00.000-08:002012-02-12T12:24:18.902-08:00DIPLOMATIC ENCLAVE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Islamabad is a city of diplomats. The team at ARY NEWS noticed that there was no show covering diplomatic activities in the city. ARY NEWS came up with the idea to start a new show called, Diplomatic Enclave. This show has different segments. All the segments are named differently. The segment called, Diplomacy, has an interview with a diplomat or with the foreign office spokesperson. The segment, Saqafti Sargarmian (Cultural Activites), include some cultural events arranged by different embassies, mostly on their national days. The segment called Aalmi Naza( World view), include all important news covered by international media world wide in the current week. Here are links of the two segments that have already gone on air.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVAgyaQ_3hg&list=UUS_oMLaaEiM13_HBJjZueHw&index=2&feature=plcp&noredirect=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVAgyaQ_3hg&list=UUS_oMLaaEiM13_HBJjZueHw&index=2&feature=plcp&noredirect=1</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK6ttRM87Fw&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK6ttRM87Fw&feature=related</a></div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-43246203247710559442012-01-21T00:48:00.000-08:002012-01-21T20:41:42.743-08:00Relations between Pakistan and India will improve, Mani Shankar Aiyar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IfgUpdcdj7e3XixP3rtXZLOmhgeTxgZN642Hf0Xp6bKGm6utpKZd77G_7-xWVmops5VZ_OTV5q8CaDboFH9TJTKHBKZfo45XEe9UXEAJE54SJfOgSoUM25D9JguMfcbl_8Rk4Px9FsVM/s1600/01.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IfgUpdcdj7e3XixP3rtXZLOmhgeTxgZN642Hf0Xp6bKGm6utpKZd77G_7-xWVmops5VZ_OTV5q8CaDboFH9TJTKHBKZfo45XEe9UXEAJE54SJfOgSoUM25D9JguMfcbl_8Rk4Px9FsVM/s320/01.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US">Here's a small video clip of Mani Shankar's interview.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fSSQnsARGs&feature=youtu.be&a" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fSSQnsARGs&feature=youtu.be&a</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_958693011"> </a></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mani_Shankar_Aiyar" target="_blank"><span lang="en-US" style="text-decoration: underline;">Mani Shankar Aiyar</span></a><span lang="en-US"> is a known member of Indian Parliament. He has also served as Indian counsel in Karachi for three years in early 90s. I was fortunate to talk to him on his recent visit to Pakistan. He came to Pakistan with 15 other Indian Parliamentarians including , film star turned politician, Shaturgan Sinha. This was the third round of Parliamentary dialogue between Parliamentarians from both India and Pakistan. For this session, the main topic of discussion was how to improve trade between the two countries. Parliamentarians from both countries have devised a set of recommendations, which they will present to their respective governments.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"> The current trade volume between Pakistan and India is roughly 2 billion dollars annually, this is a very low figure. According to many financial experts, the unregistered trade between India and Pakistan, through Dubai and through smuggling of goods, is approximately 10 billion dollars. There is no doubt, that with more relaxed policies, trade volume between two countries can increase significantly. With more trade, people on both side of the border will eventually prosper. It is interesting to note that at the time of partition in 1947, more than 70 percent of Pakistan's trade was with India and 63 percent of India's trade was with Pakistan. But this trend couldn't continue for long. And the trade between the countries came to a complete halt after the 1965 war. The trade remain suspended until the bilateral trade agreement was signed between the two countries in 1975 for only a period of three years. Many positive steps have been taken in recent history to improve this very complicated relationship, but no significant results were seen</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"> However, seasoned Indian politician Mani Shankar, believes that the relationship between Pakistan and India will strengthen. While talking to me he emphasized that trade helps build relationships and good relationships help getting more business opportunities. Shankar said that government from both sides have full backing of their nations. People from both India and Pakistan and especially the business communities want better relations. The business community overall in Pakistan is also in favor of granting MFN status to India. They believe that this would open a market of more than 1 billion people for Pakistan. Mani Shankar very optimistically closed the conversation saying that he along with other Indian parliamentarians will give the set of recommendations to Indian Commerce Minister, who will soon visit Pakistan. And he expects that the minister will make some important announcement when he comes to Pakistan.</span></span></div>
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Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-9001219163635742822012-01-15T22:48:00.000-08:002012-01-16T01:01:01.016-08:00A Rift between Pakistan's Military and Government<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I also made a news report on this topic for ARY NEWS, have a look at it<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvKx9BqR3P0&feature=g-all-u&context=G262098fFAAAAAAAAAAA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvKx9BqR3P0&feature=g-all-u&context=G262098fFAAAAAAAAAAA</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihh8Qkedxsq1mxA44YmYkaMQji623aDblYVFwgeIKWrmAKLRLCDiky08lMH5EaA3L11l0ujfgpgjBlztkcVXmdHrH-4WTKRcotEXtHEpd1tOrsOId3bEcQS3yh7CsrvDsChvHriEPw6SYb/s1600/New+pics+010.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihh8Qkedxsq1mxA44YmYkaMQji623aDblYVFwgeIKWrmAKLRLCDiky08lMH5EaA3L11l0ujfgpgjBlztkcVXmdHrH-4WTKRcotEXtHEpd1tOrsOId3bEcQS3yh7CsrvDsChvHriEPw6SYb/s320/New+pics+010.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFR_btQZR4Bwy6gApylgebRRSFHq-ujORgP4Fe9ao1hAeo5-FaDqH86S0dENP8uqtHd6rK060W5RKL7-NSsodhRapunJU6qtGNalxXtO6to58gmPjY9mkwR5U7AaQP3IWE2IkMttaefsk/s1600/New+pics+011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFR_btQZR4Bwy6gApylgebRRSFHq-ujORgP4Fe9ao1hAeo5-FaDqH86S0dENP8uqtHd6rK060W5RKL7-NSsodhRapunJU6qtGNalxXtO6to58gmPjY9mkwR5U7AaQP3IWE2IkMttaefsk/s320/New+pics+011.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Pakistan has seen decades of military
rule, which understandably has created rivalry among Pakistan's military
establishment and the civil government. It is obvious that there is huge trust
deficit among Pakistan's present government and military. This trust deficit
has become more apparent with the controversial memo case. We saw that while
Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani was in China, Prime
Minister gave an interview to Chinese newspaper, China Daily. PM stated in the
interview that the affidavits presented directly to Supreme Court by DG ISI and
the COAS for the memo case investigation were unconstitutional and illegal.
This got a lot of attention on media as COAS was still in China. As a reaction
of the interview, the information wing of military, ISPR, issued a press
release, highly criticising PM's interview. The press release by ISPR stated
that there could be no blame on COAS more serious than calling his actions
unconstitutional. Immediately after issuance of ISPR's statement, the Prime
Minister hurriedly took a decision which for a moment made us thought that
there is actually going to be a military coup. PM, sacked the defence secretary
and gave this position as additional charge to a well known and a qualified bureaucrat,
Nargis Sethi. This action of PM, not only got huge coverage in the national
media, but was widely reported in international media. Things got better when
the PM the same evening, while talking to reporters said that the COAS had
informed him before issuing the press release.</div>
<div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFR_btQZR4Bwy6gApylgebRRSFHq-ujORgP4Fe9ao1hAeo5-FaDqH86S0dENP8uqtHd6rK060W5RKL7-NSsodhRapunJU6qtGNalxXtO6to58gmPjY9mkwR5U7AaQP3IWE2IkMttaefsk/s1600/New+pics+011.jpg"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></a> <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
Although it seems that things are getting better between the two, especially
after President's meeting with the COAS, but in reality we know that the two
very important entities are not on the same page. This tension among Pakistan's
military and government and between the judiciary and government are
disastrous for Pakistan. This creates anxiety among the public. People start
fearing of an unpredictable future. And not only domestically, this badly
tarnishes Pakistan's image worldwide. The investors get more suspicious of
investing in Pakistan. Foreign companies already working in Pakistan become
unsure about political stability.</div>
<div class="separator" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Only political stability in this country can bring economic stability. No
matter how bad this government is, there should be no unconstitutional steps
taken. Many analysts do believe that in current scenario there is no fear of a
military coup, but the fear of this overwhelms the civilian government. And
this fear is reflected when the PM, takes hasty decisions such as sacking of
the defence secretary. We hope that our political and military leaders sit
together and talk, negotiate and plan things privately for the betterment of
Pakistan. By giving statements on media against each other, we make the world
believe that we are not together and this is dangerous for Pakistan. </div>
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<br /></div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-18843232058206273522012-01-03T08:17:00.000-08:002012-01-03T09:22:28.740-08:00Tumultous Relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. in 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Pakistan has a history of having difficult relations with the U.S. It has always been a relationship based on interests and that is the primary reason for Pakistan not having a stable relationship with the U.S. But in past ten years, 2011 has been extremely tough for these two countries.<br />
<br />
The biggest set back to this relationship in 2011, started with the Raymond Davis case. The CIA contractor had killed two Pakistani citizens in Lahore. It was this particular case which made the general population aware of CIA's presence in Pakistan. Although Raymond Davis case was resolved, but it highly ignited Anti-American sentiment in Pakistanis. The memory of this particular issue was still fresh among Pakistanis that an another devestating incident took place. This was the attack of U.S. forces on Pakistan's land to kill Osama Bin Laden. This was highly embarssing for Pakistanis all over th world. Worl'd most dangerous and top terrorist was found just few miles away from Pakistan's Military Academy. Killing Osama Bin Laden was a big success for the U.S., but it left Pakistan divided. Killing of OBL created huge differences among Pakistan's military establishment and the civilian government. Those differences still exist among the two institutions.Presence of OBL in Pakistan also raised Anti-Pakistan sentiment among Americans, and the distrust among two countries was now at its peak.<br />
This relationship got worse when in September, Admiral Mike Mullen, blamed Pakistan's ISI, for supporting Haqqani network in Afghanistan against American forces. Things got a bit better when Hilary Clinton along with military leadership of U.S. came to Pakistan. But this betterment in the relationship was only temporary. The last major incident that completely changed the relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. was NATO forces attack on Pakistan's two border checkpostst. In this unfortunate incident 24 Pakistan's military men were martyred. Finally, Pakistan took some major steps to show Americans that it will no longer tolerate any such action by U.S. forces. Pakistan cut NATO supplies to Afghanistan which is essential for Americans to continue war in Afghanistan. Not only this , Americans were forced to vacate Shamsi airbase and Pakistan also refused to attend Bonn conference on Afghanistan. <br />
Many analysts believe that if Pakistan had taken such serious steps right after the Raymond Davis incident, the checkpost attack might have been avoided. Now Pakistan has finally decided that it wants new terms of engagement with the U.S. Sherry Rehman, the new Pakistan'a ambassador in the U.S. will be negotiating these new terms with the U.S. adminstration.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaDKU81Oc7oel7QUEgp6PTRGyVQYTmJL1cv_NGx4UY2io4V3BJzHv8ParMm-lK06UA91TqVZw6ogX2AM5uGeZ7ROzOAh-oDe6t4VNwsK2kMI8y3OxknnlcAiXyBc9gLs2q45XormLNUTa/s1600/PAK+U.S.+RELATIONSHIP+012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaDKU81Oc7oel7QUEgp6PTRGyVQYTmJL1cv_NGx4UY2io4V3BJzHv8ParMm-lK06UA91TqVZw6ogX2AM5uGeZ7ROzOAh-oDe6t4VNwsK2kMI8y3OxknnlcAiXyBc9gLs2q45XormLNUTa/s400/PAK+U.S.+RELATIONSHIP+012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The relations between Pakistan and the U.S. will not be perfect in 2012. However, both countries on the basis of their interests would not want to completely suspend this relationship. I also made news reports on the same topic. Here afe the link.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogvXRn8MX94&feature=g-all-u&context=G262098fFAAAAAAAAAAA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogvXRn8MX94&feature=g-all-u&</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfOfmPkLpC4&context=C3933359ADOEgsToPDskJStljjRYhLATz4FOTCzT2i" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfOfmPkLpC4&context=C3933359ADOEgsToPDskJStljjRYhLATz4FOTCzT2i</a><br />
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context=G262098fFAAAAAAAAAAA<br />
<br /></div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-86159142398828392522011-12-27T23:32:00.000-08:002011-12-31T19:09:47.510-08:00Christmas Celebrations in Pakistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Christmas celebrations are enjoyed world wide. I also was very eager to make some reports on how christmas is celebrated in Pakistan. To fulfill my desire, I went to one of the oldest churches in Rawalpindi city, called the St. Pauls's Church, to cover a chruch service. This church service was organized almost fifteen days before christmas. The Pastor of church, Samuel Titus, told me that Christmas celebration start well before the actual Christmas date.<br />
During the Christmas service, Pastor prayed for the prosperity of Pakistan and asked the affluent christans to help the unprivileged Christan families, especially those who want to send their children to schools but don't have enough funds. Many carols were also sung in memeory and praise of Jesus. But the best part of the service was the surprise appearance of Santa Claus. Santa came running in the church on lovely tunes of Jingle Bells. All the children got really excited to see the Santa. Santa gave lovely gifts to kids. This was not enough, there was another Santa for the kids. This Santa was actually a professional juggler. He entertained the people with his amazing juggling tricks. I loved this church service and realized that Christans are such an important and a vibrant part of our society. And still, theres a lot to be done for this and other minorities in Pakistan.<br />
After covering this event, I got more excited and thought to do something on the traditional Christmas dishes. I had attended Christmas dinners while I was in the U.S. and I understand how important Christmas dinner is, it is an event when the entire family gathers and they eat, watch t.v and have a fabulous time. <a href="http://www.pchotels.com/PCHR/" target="_blank">Pearl Continental</a>, a five star Hotel in Rawalpindi City, had organized special Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day. So, I took benefit of this opportunity and went to this hotel. I met the chefs there and saw how the Turkey and special steaks are made for Christmas. Turkey is one of the most important part of Christmas meal. The chef at this hotel had baked Turkey with stuffings of fruits, bread crumbs and dry fruits. The turkey was served with a delicious Cranberry sauce. The chef also served us special Jason's Steak House beef steaks. I loved watching the chefs cooking in the kitchen. I have always been inspired by these creative individuals. It was a great experience to meet the chefs and get to know more about them. One of the chefs, Mr. Azeem Khan was awarded the best Chef of Pakistan award this year.<br />
Overall, enjoying the Christmas celebrations in Pakistan was a great learning and a wonderful experience. I am thankful to the admistration and Pastor of St. Pauls chruch for being so welcoming and also to Manager Pearl Continental Asad Shah, Chef Azeem Khan and Chef Hina for their cooperation and for especially cooking us a delicious Christmas Dinner.<br />
Here are links of my news reports<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXz_ZraZnu0&context=C3933359ADOEgsToPDskJStljjRYhLATz4FOTCzT2i" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXz_ZraZnu0&context=C3933359ADOEgsToPDskJStljjRYhLATz4FOTCzT2i</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDtjwcJErvI&feature=context&context=C3933359ADOEgsToPDskJStljjRYhLATz4FOTCzT2i" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDtjwcJErvI&feature=context&context=C3933359ADOEgsToPDskJStljjRYhLATz4FOTCzT2i</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNipi9bndyeEzWw1SDkcMd-0LHMbz9dFuqF0IzYvzBs7J4fvb74ZcNlNRZ4_gaWHZuqB7SyB1tIzOTKCMS2RYIvV9L6rz9rChEL0DdY4whoQEInVNpsEkuWlxoW1KcdVxXfN8AekGgBsZR/s1600/Christmas+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNipi9bndyeEzWw1SDkcMd-0LHMbz9dFuqF0IzYvzBs7J4fvb74ZcNlNRZ4_gaWHZuqB7SyB1tIzOTKCMS2RYIvV9L6rz9rChEL0DdY4whoQEInVNpsEkuWlxoW1KcdVxXfN8AekGgBsZR/s320/Christmas+006.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUC1IhllTYkf9a0y8dJStyEvNb17ZZ7E99DSRG0-ljvHAEher3ncL5RBrxQ9hJ7vK_DT3VPUQHf9OCXBI4qjkORAbh8zkoD3FjvtW_B8iX09wGQNBz4dhYT8efkGqoiFhyphenhyphenB0xhu64fnCzK/s1600/Christmas+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUC1IhllTYkf9a0y8dJStyEvNb17ZZ7E99DSRG0-ljvHAEher3ncL5RBrxQ9hJ7vK_DT3VPUQHf9OCXBI4qjkORAbh8zkoD3FjvtW_B8iX09wGQNBz4dhYT8efkGqoiFhyphenhyphenB0xhu64fnCzK/s320/Christmas+005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6ySQ80-LWOSmrboyZHj5IAlVzZvxPCwpo5VX6AIKXXxkwSpVEI7sUSQgCoZIJnOX3EoZwMhOr4bCOQcn2NkXPKmnhZPtk7o8b5B-rhQ1ezH6YEf9IkvKnBHGjolhcy8o51z-nXRNDDkv/s1600/Christmas+007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6ySQ80-LWOSmrboyZHj5IAlVzZvxPCwpo5VX6AIKXXxkwSpVEI7sUSQgCoZIJnOX3EoZwMhOr4bCOQcn2NkXPKmnhZPtk7o8b5B-rhQ1ezH6YEf9IkvKnBHGjolhcy8o51z-nXRNDDkv/s320/Christmas+007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-78812855776026572922011-12-25T02:51:00.000-08:002011-12-31T19:11:06.062-08:00History Of Moti Bazar, Rawalpindi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Moti Bazar is one of the oldest bazars in Rawalpindi city. It is hub of business activities, many people visit it but only few are aware of its interesting history. I was fortunate to get to know some interesting facts about this lively bazar. Almost, 200 years ago, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_%28practice%29" target="_blank">Satti practice</a> was common in India. Like any vibrant society, there were a group of people who were against this practie. Mr. Moti Lal Nohri, a prominenet sikh from Rawalpindi was one who spoke against this practice openely. To help widowed women, Moti Lal opened a centre for these women. In this centre women who were afraid that there families or their in laws would burn them to death after their husbands death, took protection in this centre. Women would stich clothes, do embriodery on clothes and sell them outside their centre. This provided them some money to feed themselves. After partition , this centre was closed and the building was alloted to a school. So, next time if you happen to go to Moti Bazar, do visit M.C. Boys High School, which is in the centre of Moti Bazar. This school was the centre for those widowed women. The name given to Moti Bazar is after name of Moti Lal Nohri, and the reason why Moti Bazar has many shops of women embroided clothes is also because of those women who 200 years ago made their living by selling clothes outside their centre. M.C Boys High School, still runs and comes under federal board. Th school also has old record. According to school adminstration many people who come from India, visit this school, where they studied for a year or two. <br />
Following is the link of my news report on this historical centre.<br />
<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Vh-tQbrj4&context=C37b9c16ADOEgsToPDskJlh56BQc_5jljgRiOuDucq" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Vh-tQbrj4&context=C37b9c16ADOEgsToPDskJlh56BQc_5jljgRiOuDucq</a><br />
<br /></div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-1616256435367734432011-12-20T23:51:00.000-08:002011-12-22T06:53:32.603-08:00Peace Award to Malala yousafzai from Prime Minister Pakistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaFpM8HKuak&context=C3a625acADOEgsToPDskJg2Dd05e1O8-BA00k7na3g" target="_blank"></a>Malala Yousafzai is a fourteen year old girl of Swat, Pakistan. She has recently been awarded the first National Peace Award of Pakistan. The award in future will be associated with Malala's name. Between 2007 and 2009, there was a military operation going on in Swat against militants. Militants were bombing girls's schools throughout Swat, and killing people who were favoring the military and government of pakistan.This was the time when people were shifting to other cities, when people had hidden themselves in their homes. But Malala was brave enough to talk to national and international media. She openely talked about girls education, how harmful bombing girls schools would be. She became a part of Newyork Times documentaries ,<i> A school girl's odyessy</i>, and <i>A class dismissed in Swat</i>. She also was a regular writer for BBC Urdu website. On 20th Decemeber 2011, she recieved Pakistan's first peace award, in recognition of her services to raise awareness about girl's education. On her meeting with the Prime Minister she demaded that a seperate campus of Swat University and a post graduate college for women, be opened for Swat's girls. I was fortunate to meet this exceptionally talanted girl . I spoke with Malala and her father. Malala is thankful to the Prime Minister and to the media of Pakistan, for highlighting her efforts. Malala wants to become a honest politician of Pakistan, someone who would sincerely work for the people of Pakistan. She also wants to establish, Malala Foundation trust. Through this organization she wants to work for children rights. She wants that all girls of Pakistan should be given a chance to go to school. Malala's sheer determination and passion proves that she will achieve all her dreams. The best part is that her dreams are not associated only with her growth and success. Her dreams are associated with millions of young girls of Pakistan and most importantly her dreams are associated with the bright future of Pakistan. <br />
<br />
Here's the link of my conversation with Malala and her father.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaFpM8HKuak&context=C3a625acADOEgsToPDskJg2Dd05e1O8-BA00k7na3g" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaFpM8HKuak&context=C3a625acADOEgsToPDskJg2Dd05e1O8-BA00k7na3g</a></div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-36809887724625437992011-12-19T21:41:00.000-08:002011-12-22T06:54:44.028-08:00U.S. not Freezing Military Aid to Pakistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I got a chance to interview Mark Stroh, spokesperson of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, for ARY NEWS. Following is the summary of the interview. <br />
<br />
The U.S. says its not cutting the military aid of 700 million dollars nor it is freezing the aid to Pakistan. The senate has passed a defence authorisation bill, which bounds Pakistan to cooperate with the U.S. in combating the IED's, which have been a primary sources of deaths of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. If the defence departement of U.S. sends a report to the congress that Pakistan is cooperating than the aid money will go to Pakistan. This bill will most likely be soon signed by President Obama, and than Pakistan would be bound to control the flow of IED's to Afghanistan. Experts of International affairs, here in Islamabad have been talking about a clear shift in Pakistan's policy regarding war on terror. So I asked Mark, what would be the reaction of the U.S. government if Pakistan withdraws itself from the ongoing war on terror ? and would U.S. appreciate Pakistan's efforts of talking and negotiating with the militants rather than fighting as its new policy ? As expected , Mark's response was not very encouraging for Pakistan. According to him, Pakistan is a soverign country and it can take its own decisions, but the militantscontinue to be a threat to not only Pakistan , and Afghanistan , but to the entire world including the U.S.. Than clearly there are other avenues to confront this threat rather than only talking and negotiating with the.<br />
Here's link of my interview. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcmDaAp8kgY&feature=g-all-u&context=G262098fFAAAAAAAAAAA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcmDaAp8kgY&feature=g-all-u&context=G262098fFAAAAAAAAAAA</a></div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-53024704598990693902011-12-18T23:34:00.000-08:002011-12-22T06:55:36.133-08:00Environment Friendly Handicratfs of Muzaffarabad, Pakistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We all know how hazardous can the plastic bags be to our environment. Burning them , releases poisonous gases, just throwing them away can cause sewage problems not only this, they can also be harmful for agricultural land. Yet plastic bags are commonly used in Pakistan and there is no proper mechanism to recycle them. On my recent visit to Muzaffarabad, I was pleasantly surprized to cover a project for ARY NEWS. This project is about utilising plastic bags to make useful household items. This project is sponsered by NGO,Idara e Taleem o Agahi, and the U.S. State department. Under this project, Tahir Alam, a school teacher, has guided girls of a local school of Muzaffarabad to weave plastic threads and make household items. By cutting the plastic bags in a certain way, the girls are able to get 9 yards of plastic thread. Girls have made useful items such as table mats, baskets, school bags and other decorative items by weaving plastic thead. The project head , Tahir Alam, says that this is a unique example of putting plastic bags, something extremely harmful for the environment to an excellent use. The girls who weaved these lovely products said that if they get help and support from the government, than not only would they be doing something good for their environment , but also be able to earn good amount of money. If such projects are sponsered all over Pakistan , than there is no doubt that we could help recycle plastic bags on a larger level, and thus help keep our environment cleaner.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do9Mio0c8Aw&list=UUS_oMLaaEiM13_HBJjZueHw&index=2&feature=plcp" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do9Mio0c8Aw&list=UUS_oMLaaEiM13_HBJjZueHw&index=2&feature=plcp</a></div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-63361166615724842812011-12-14T23:43:00.000-08:002011-12-22T06:56:59.639-08:00Beautiful Swat Valley<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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On Tuesday 21st Sep 2010 Sarah, my friend who also works as a news
reporter called me to join her on a day trip to Swat. I was a bit
reluctant to accept the invitation as I had taken three days off with
the Eid holidays to attend quite an amazing wedding in Peshawar. But
somehow she convinced me and I was ready for an adventurous trip.<br />
<br />
So
early in the morning at around 7 we got in to a 20.5 million armored
vehicle. This was World food program’s car. We were traveling with them
as media reporters to cover their projects in Swat. This seemed to be a
cool, comfortable car and I was just excited to travel in an armored
vehicleJ. Anyway we had a pretty good ride to Swat without any lunch
break we went to a village where we met the WFP people, they served us
food in a small village house. It was nice they served us fruit which
they picked from the tree in their home. It was a very simple home, the
women in that home couldn’t speak Urdu and the girls there had only
studied till grade 7. They couldn’t continue their studies because they
had no school in Takhtabad which is a union council of Swat Valley.<br />
<br />
After
having food at the home in that village we went to a rice field which
was literally filled with sand as the flood in Swat river had brought in
a lot of stones and sand. The whole rice crop in that particular area
is completely destroyed. One of the men in our squads told me that
Takhtaband produces 80 percent of the rice of Swat valley. The rice from
this valley is send all over Pakistan. It was quite depressing to see
that. Men were working hard to open the river channels by digging. It is
an extremely difficult job, but these men were doing it because in
return they were being given food for 15 days for their families from
world food program.On the way we could see buildings that were once
occupied by Taliban and signs of artillery fire and shelling were quite
visible in few buildings.We had crossed areas such as Khwazakhela,
Mingora, which were once strongholds of Taliban and were later cleared
by military after the operation. Military was very visible in the entire
area. There were many checkposts and Army rather than Taliban seemed to
be a dominant force.<br />
<br />
We had planned to come back to
Islamabad the same day but due to security clearance we had to spend the
night in Saidusharif, union council of Swat.<br />
<br />
PTDC Motel
Saidusharif is beautiful, but the rooms are not that clean and the
blankets were not clean either… anyway by this time Sarah and I were
hungry like anything. We did not want to have food in PTDC motel so we
called our correspondent in Swat, Fayyaz Zafar. This guy was really nice
he took Sarah, me and our cameraman to Serena Swat. I had the yummiest
fish and chips there. We came back and slept peacefully in the not so
clean room.<br />
<br />
Next day Sarah had some work in Swat’s office
and we were not getting the security clearance either so I decided to
explore Saidusharif’s market J It was great I bought few shawls for my
mom they were beautiful and not very expensive. So after shopping our
news reporter in Swat, Rafiullah, Sarah, and I went to the famous White
palace hotel in Marghzar, where Queen Elizabeth once stayed. On the way
to Murgazar we crossed beautiful fields, mountain, the weather was
perfect. It seemed I am in heaven there were trees filled with fruits
and everything was so clean and fresh. The white palace hotel is almost
100 years old. It was a cool place after spending half an hour there we
came back to our office. The UN armored car was ready to pick us. We
reached home safely at around12:00am.<br />
<br />
It was a wonderful experience, I loved the hospitable, and simple people in Swat. Love my country and its people more and more.</div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-56272548504591750292011-12-14T23:21:00.001-08:002011-12-31T19:08:11.613-08:00GRANTING MFN STATUS TO INDIA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMphhm4esSk&context=C318bb22ADOEgsToPDskKKTDq5K-7hfXWRwHy_0P8Z" target="_blank"></a>GRANTING MFN STATUS TO INDIA <br />
<br />
Syed Asad Hussain is a leading economist of Pakistan and currently
serving as Director SZABIST Islamabad. I had a discussion with him on
what benefits Pakistan could achieve but giving India the status of most
favourite nation or MFN. Here are some excerpts from the conversation.<br />
<br />
No country in the world is self-sufficient
in natural and technical resources. To share these resources it’s
important that countries trade with each other and get rid of
unnecessary trade barriers. Trade between regional economic blocs such
as ASEAN and NAFTA have proven to be successful. The volume of trade
between Far East Asian countries is almost 193 billion dollars
annually. The trade between countries in European Union is
approximately 2000 billion dollars annually. The trade among countries
in South Asia is only 9 billion dollars. Mexico and Canada are both
one of the biggest trading partners of U.S. Despite being neighbour of
China and India, Pakistan because of its poor policies and tense
relations with India has not benefitted. China and India being economic
and military rivals have a trade volume of more than 60 billion
dollars. To break the shackles, Pakistan has given status of MFN to
India. India already had given us this status in 1996. So what benefits
can Pakistan achieve from this step. Firstly, the trade would open
for Pakistan for the first time the door to an economy catering to one
billion people. Under this agreement Pakistan can export leather
goods, fruits and vegetables and pharmaceuticals to India. Not only
this, Pakistan has a huge vendor industry that supports the automobile
industry in Pakistan. These vendors can now gain huge economic
benefits as they have potential to facilitate the India automobile
industry. Secondly, India cannot export steel, pharmaceutical an
automobile industrial products to Pakistan. This should encourage the
local traders of these industries to be not afraid of MFN. According
to a survey by SDPI, after granting India MFN status, the consumers in
India could save 4 billion dollars annually and Pakistani consumers
could save more than 280 million dollars annually. If this is true it
definitely shows that Pakistan would benefit more. Another suggestion
could be in long-term both countries could swap their currencies,
which means that both countries would trade in their own countries
rather than using dollar which is beneficial for both countries.
Currently Pakistan and Turkey have signed this agreement. All these
benefits look great but it is important that the government creates
conditions at home to enable businessmen to bolster production,
complementing the grant of MFN status to India. Heres link of my report<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMphhm4esSk&context=C318bb22ADOEgsToPDskKKTDq5K-7hfXWRwHy_0P8Z" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMphhm4esSk&context=C318bb22ADOEgsToPDskKKTDq5K-7hfXWRwHy_0P8Z</a></div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-22016149935638253962011-12-14T23:20:00.000-08:002011-12-19T00:25:42.642-08:00Memorable trip to Muzaffarabad, Pakistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Memorable trip to Muzaffarabad, Pakistan.<br />
<br />
Muzafrabad is a beautiful city with great hospitable and beautiful
people. I feel lucky to have travelled with staff of NGO Idara e Taleem
o Agahi, Riffat and Sadia, to Muzafrabad. Riffat like me is a U.S State
dept alumnui and since our last meeting I have done almost three
reports with them.<br />
<br />
The road to Muzafrabad is with
sharp turns so if you are like me who gets sick while travelling to
hilly areas than you must take some good medicine so the nausea doesnt
spoil your trip. It took us about three and a half hours to reach
Muzafrabad. Our first destination was Pilot High School. This school was
established in 1924 during Dogra rule, which makes it the oldest school
of Azad Kashmir. President of AJK Raja Zulqarnain has been a student
at the same school. Idarae Taleem o Agahi wanted us to cover a small
ceremony organized at the school to highlight a project in which young
girls of a nearby village have made lovely household products using
plastic bags. Plastic bags, as many people are aware, are harmful for
natural environment. They have been banned in many countries but in
pakistan they are commonly used. The young girls undersupervision of
their teacher Tahir Alam have worked hard by collecting plastic bags
from their homes and from their neighbours. The girls literally cut the
plastic bags and from each bag they can get 9 yards of plasic thread and
by weaving that thread they make up things like school bags, table mats
and other decorative items. It was great to give coverage to this
wonderful and unique project. The girls were excited and were telling me
that if they get more support they could easily make more money by
selling these products and their work would also help clean the
environment.<br />
<br />
Once I was done with this , I went to
Muzafrabad main bazar, and it was a fantastic experience. I love food
and I had heard that Kashmiri food is delicious so I wanted to make a
small news report on street food of Muzafrabad. I started with a small
restaurant called, Pakistan Hotel, The place was selling a famous
kashmiri dish called , Gushtamba. This particular dish is made with beef
meatballs and it has a white curry. Its served with boiled rice. So
after talking with the cook I talked with some local people who were
enjoying eating this dish. One of the person at the restaurant actually
said that he comes to this place all the way from Rawalpindi once a
month to have this dish. After this we headed to a famous shop in the
bazar which was selling Kulchay. This small shop had many customers.
These kulchas are quite small in size, they are salty and are made with
flour, eggs, salt and ghee (saturated fat ). I loved them too. The next
stop was the baqarkhani shop, which is also a famous local snackfood. A
lot of people were buying baqarkhani too and they said they have it with
green tea or Kashmiri tea, which is pink in color and ofcourse many of
us love pink tea :) .<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uITO5EdOydo&context=C36a4f67ADOEgsToPDskJP-GhfAIeURVEeEDy0xiO-" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uITO5EdOydo&context=C36a4f67ADOEgsToPDskJP-GhfAIeURVEeEDy0xiO-</a><br />
<br />
When my work was done I got to buy a nice
Kashmiri embrodied suit for my mom and she liked it a lot. I am glad I
got a chance to travel to Muzafrabad. The staff at the school was very
nice to us. It was wonderful to see so many women working and so many
girls studying there. The following link shows my conversation with
lovely girls of Muzafrabad.<br />
<br />
http://www.youtube.com/user/beenishary?feature=mhee.<br />
<br />
It was only a day trip , but the beauty of the people there, the huge
mountains, the river , lovely food, great company of my friends Riffat,
Sadia, our driver and my cameraman Javed Altaf and the lovely chilly
weather<br />
have surely made this one of my best trips.</div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524858799913042569.post-46416869236123307252011-12-14T22:55:00.000-08:002011-12-19T22:03:49.348-08:00Child Labor In Pakistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This blog is about a small child Zeba who works as a domestic servant but is also a student at a loacl school in Islamabad. Must watch this link and you can read the translation for better understanding.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMH6lv3slN0&context=C29836ADOEgsToPDskK24NyzohU1OEZsKaxmlWQB">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMH6lv3slN0&context=C29836ADOEgsToPDskK24NyzohU1OEZsKaxmlWQB</a><br />
<br />
Translation: <br />
<br />
This is 12 year old girl Zeba. Because of poverty, she is forced to work at a home. As a child labor Zeba with her small hands sweeps, cleans the dishes and do other household chores. Despite working so hard at such a tender age, after cleaning she goes to a local school nearby her home run by NGO, Idara e Taleem o Aghai, where she doesnt have to pay any fee. . Zeba studies in grade 3. Zeba understands that only with proper education she can liberate herself from shackles of poverty and social injustices. Along with her studies she is also learning sewing so that in futre she is able to help her poor parents. ZEBA, "I want to study like others. I will not work at other peoples homes when I growup.. I am doing this because I am needy". TEACHER," We have convinced her to come to our centre even for lesser time, but she must come". Circumstances have forced her to work instead of playing, but she doesnt believe that she is going to work like this forver. <br />
Zeba, " I want to become a doctor, thats why I am studying."<br />
If organizations like Idara e Taleem o Aghani get support from the government than many children like Zeba would be able to become educated, aware and responsible citizens of Pakistan. Zeba does not want to compromise with poverty at anycost. Her hard work and passion has proved that in future she will become the shining star of Pakistan.</div>Beenish Javedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03541180531704659606noreply@blogger.com0