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September 2016
Kashmir: Where the truth doesn’t matter
By Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai: NPR’s Julie McCarthy was in Kashmir earlier in September and reported on how different the unrest seems now compared to previous years. “First of all, there's this unprecedented kind of force being used. There's these high-velocity pellet shotguns for crowd control. And it's left thousands of people riddled with pellet injuries. And a lot of them have damaged eyesight. And some demonstrators have thrown stones, attacked police stations and government buildings. And, unusually, this started in rural areas. And it has spread throughout the Kashmir Valley. And it's lasted over 60 days. That's also unusual.” Read More
The Two State Illusion
By Arthur Kane Scott: Over the last ten years, the Two-State solution has languished, without any real energy to resuscitate it, despite sundry diplomaticinitiatives. This seemingly permanent stalemate raises the question ofwhy has Two-State lost its appeal. The answer may lie in history, politics and sociology. Read More
American Public Problem
By Habib Siddiqui: Too many things are going wrong inside the USA in this election year. On Friday night, a gunman killed four women and a man in a shooting at a Macy's store at Cascade Mall in Burlington, about 65 miles north of Seattle. After a massive manhunt, the suspectwas arrested in Oak Harbor at around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday while walking down the street.He was identified as Arcan Cetin (20), an immigrant from Turkey — a legal permanent resident of the United States who lives in Oak Harbor, according to police. The Sheriff’s office described the suspect - "He was kind of zombie-like."He seems to be a mental health patient who faced three assault charges in domestic violence cases in 2014 (but not convicted). Officials previously said it appears the gunman, reportedly a Hispanic male wearing grey, acted alone and they have no indication it was terrorism. Now that the identity of Cetin is known, they are not ruling out bringing terrorism charges. Read More
India alarmed at Pakistan-Russia joint military exercise
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: India is alarmed at the first Pakistan-Russia two-week joint military exercise which began Saturday, September 24. Around 70 Russian soldiers and officers along with some 130 Pakistani counterparts are taking part in the war games called Friendship 2016. The Russian Television (RT) said the name is a symbolical reference to the old Cold War tensions between Moscow and Islamabad, which the two capitals are now trying to overcome. Moscow and Islamabad were on opposite sides during the Cold War. Read More
Indian army denies cross-border raid on Pakistan controlled Kashmir
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali:
Indian Army sources have denied reports in a web magazine that Indian forces had crossed over the Line of Control near Uri to avenge the killing of 18 of its soldiers killed in Uri last week. The Times of India quoted the Indian Army sources as saying that no such action had been undertaken and the account was incorrect. The attack, which took place near the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the disputed region, was one of the deadliest on an army base in Kashmir since militant attacks began in 1989, according to CNN. Read More
India must remember that Balochistan is not Bangladesh
By Ashok Swain: Following Prime Minister Modi’s comments about Balochistan in his independence day speech, Ashok Swain warns that open support for Baloch separatists will not solve the Kashmir conflict. What is more, he writes that by threatening its neighbour’s territorial integrity India risks alienating key allies, and in the worst case scenario intervention could result in a nuclear conflict which would threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions. Read More
Pakistan's dirty civil war in Balochistan
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Indian government's recent decision to provide shelter to the secessionist Baloch leaders has internationalized the issue of low intensity civil war in Pakistan's largest province of Balochistan where the army of Pakistan has launched a brutal operation to control the rebellion of Baloch nationalists. Read more
Balochistan: The Indian Connection
India offers political asylum to Baloch secessionist leaders
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Indian government of Narinder Modi has offered political asylum to secessionist Baloch leaders, CNN-News18 reported the top Indian sources as saying. The sources said they wanted the Baloch leaders to formally apply for asylum and that this would be granted in a matter of a few weeks. Brahmagadh Bugti, the most prominent Baloch leader, told CNN-News18 welcomed the move and called it "historic". Bugti says the biggest difficulty for him and other Baloch leaders who are living in exile is the lack of travel documents. When granted asylum, Bugti would get an Indian passport which would enable him to travel to other countries. Read More
Thoughts on American presidential election - 2016
By Habib Siddiqui: American politics, as expected, has heated up since the Labor Day. In less than two months the American voters will choose between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and casino- and real estate mogul Donald Trump for the highest political post in the land. After five years of questioning President Barack Obama’s citizenship, Trump said last Friday morning, “President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period.” As usual, he offered no apology. Instead, he shifted the blame on his rival. “Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy,” he said, which is a lie. “I finished it. I finished it, you know what I mean.” He added, “Now, we all want to get back to making America strong and great again.” Read More
9/11 – Fifteen Years Later
By Habib Siddiqui: This Sunday the USA observes the 15th anniversary of 9/11. The attacks on the soil of the USA was committed not by a hostile state but reportedly by non-state Muslim zealots that were affiliated with OBL's al-Qaeda. Nearly 3000 individuals of all faiths died in the attacks. Fifteen years later, the USA remains a highly divided nation with no peace and security at home - especially, for many Afro-Americans and most religious minorities. In the last few weeks alone, 3 Bangladeshis got killed in New York City alone, which can only be described as hate crimes. With Donald Trump as a presidential candidate for the Republican Party, fascism seems to be making serious inroads within the American political landscape – further eroding the already weakened cohesion within the society and making many jittery or nervous. With the specter of violence everywhere, our world seems a more dangerous place today than it was 15 years ago. Read More
American Muslims 15 years after 9/11
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: - For Muslims now, 15 years since 9/11, 'it seems more people are more openly hateful' (Penn Live) - Muslim Americans still struggle with hate crimes, 15 years after 9/11 (AOL) - 15 years after 9/11, unwelcome spotlight returns to Islam (USA Today) - Muslims are still under attack for their beliefs 15 years after 9/11 (Desert News) These headlines best reflect the dilemma of the seven-million-strong American Muslim Community which remains target of assault, bigotry, hate-crime and profiling, one and half decade after the horrific terrorist attacks. Muslim men were attacked, some fatally, while Muslim women in headscarves were harassed and mosques and Muslim businesses were vandalized. In the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, U.S. Muslims were targeted by a slew of hate crimes, some tragically resulting in loss of life. But 15 years after the attacks, religious tolerance and assimilation into the fabric of the country continues to largely elude Muslims in America, whether they are from Middle Eastern or Asian countries, American-born and bred, white or black, says Ivey DeJesus of Penn Live. Tellingly, in the 15 years since the 9/11, hate towards Muslims has become more openly acceptable. Anti-Islam rhetoric is no longer playing out behind closed doors. It’s explicit, not implicit anymore. Read More
Malaysia’s Shameful Scandal
By Habib Siddiqui: What's happening in Malaysia? Are we witnessing some conspiracy to break the head of this emerging economic power, or something else? As readers may recall, the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed after being hit by a Russian-made Buk missile when it was travelling over the conflict-hit region over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014.Three months earlierMalaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370/MAS370) disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.The aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was carrying 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 15 nations. Its cause of disappearance still remains a mystery. Before those unfortunate disasters, Malaysian Airlines had one of the best safety records—just two fatal accidents in 68 years of operation, including the hijacking in 1977 of Flight 653 that resulted in 100 deaths. Those accidents exacerbated the airline's financial troubles and led to the renationalization of the airline. Read More
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