A QUICK DIVE HISTORY OF THE ISRAEL-PALESTINE CRISIS

The huge amount of aid that the US grants Israel is worrisome since most of it is directly used for the development of the Israeli military and weaponry, which is directly used against the Palestinian people

The region formerly known as the ‘Palestine region’ had not seen any conflict or bloodshed until the 19th century when a group of European colonisers known as the Zionists came to the region and started to colonise it. At that time, Muslims were 86 percent, Christians were 10 percent and Jews just four percent of the total population of the Palestine region. Colonisation started and so did the migration of a huge number of Jews into the region. The migration of Jews ignited the conflict between the Muslims and the Jews. However, when the group of colonisers later decided to leave, they wanted to create and leave a separate state for the Jews in the oil-rich Middle East.

Due to the intense conflicts between the Muslim and Jewish populations, the UN intervened in 1947 but, rather than sticking to the principle of self-determination, the UN decided to divide the region by itself as did the colonisers of the subcontinent divide the subcontinent unjustly between India and Pakistan. So, in 1947, the UN, under the immense pressure of the Zionist lobby, decided to give 55 percent of the Palestine region to the Jewish population, which at that time constituted only 30 percent of the total population of the region and occupied only seven percent of the total region. The Jewish land was named Israel. The rest of the region was thrown to the Palestinian people as if the UN had done them a great favour.

As a consequence, war erupted in the region from 1947 to 1949 and the Jewish population committed 16 massacres of the Muslims when the Arab armies decided to join their Muslim brothers and sisters and help them in the war. However, in the end, Palestine lost the war and the Zionist-led Jewish army got hold of additional parts of the region, i.e. 78 percent of the Palestine region, leaving the West Bank and Gaza Strip for the Palestinians. However, the expansionist ambitions of the Zionists of Israel did not stop here and another war started in 1967, in which the Zionists were again successful and gained control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Since then, the Palestinian population is being subjected to intense humiliation, their basic human rights are violated and a large number of the population is in jail, including children and women.

A few attempts have been made to find a solution to the conflict such as the Oslo Accord in 1993 and the Camp David talks in 2000, which were both held under Clinton’s administration. The single biggest reason behind the failure of the talks was that the ‘mother-state’ of Israel — the US — dominated the talks and wanted to reach an unreasonable solution in favour of Israel, though the failure of both the talks are attributed to the leadership of Palestine because it is claimed that it did not agree to the accord — which accord? The one unreasonably in favour of Israel? And then they wonder why the sane world at large is confused at all this!

 

Moreover, the mother-state of Israel has great cultural and religious affiliation with Israel whilst Israel has also adopted western democratic traditions, at least for its own citizens. The huge amount of aid that the US grants Israel is worrisome since most of it is directly used for the development of the Israeli military and weaponry, which is directly used against the Palestinian people — not sparing women and even children. Palestine receives no aid currently and what it has received in the past can never match the aid given to Israel.

Despite the wiping out of big chunks of factual history, one should be crystal clear about who has the right to the Palestinian land. The Zionist army is considered legitimate in the eyes of the world. On the other hand, the Palestinian army, which is fighting for its rights — Hamas — is labelled a terrorist organisation. Regarding Hamas and its role, I remember a quote by Gerald Seymour in 1975: “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” This fits pretty well here.

The Israeli military is looking for reasons to attack innocent Palestinians. It is also important to mention that they even lure and provoke Hamas to take the first step so that they have a justification for their cruelty. There is a popular quote making the rounds on social media these days: one does not have to be a Muslim to sympathise with the innocent Palestinian population and ask Israel to stop its cruelty; one just has to be human.

This is a plea to all those humanitarians out there around the globe to unite on one platform against the injustice being perpetrated against the innocent people of Palestine. If this matter is left to international actors such as the UN or the US, I bet we will not reach a conclusion any time soon, and in the meantime more Palestinians will continue to suffer. Massacres like the current one will become routine, in which more families will be killed, more mothers will lose their sons and daughters, more children will be orphaned, more old people will be killed and no innocent person will be spared — not even an 11-month old child, like we have seen in the latest bloodshed.

I strongly believe that we individuals are the biggest superpower but only if we unite on a single platform. The Muslim world must break out of its hypocritical silence and pressurise the international community to do something before more fatalities ensue.

Courtesy: Daily Times  

IT’S NOT ‘Mad’ IN BRASIL, (BRAZUCA) - IT’S MADE IN PAKISTAN

Pakistan ranks 164 on Fifa ranking table in football game. Although, unqualified for the Football World Cup Tournament, Pakistan is still present as a central part of every footbaall match, because of Brazuca The Adidas Brazuca is the official match ball of the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup. It is made by the company Adidas, a FIFA Partner and FIFA World Cup Official Match Ball supplier since 1970. 

When Adidas needed extra manufacturing help - due to a Chinese supplier's lack of capacity to produce the optimal amount of stock , they looked an alternate supply source. A Pakistani ball manufacturing company, Forward Sports Private Limited in Sialkot, who has made balls for the German Bundesliga, French league and the Champions League, stepped in and won the contract. 

Characteristics of Brazuca: The ball has a multi-color design to represent Brazil. Skilled labour have made Brazuka the world's best high tech, and error free football. It is different from balls used in previous world cup tournaments. It is formed from six identical panels. These Six polyurethane panels are bonded to keep the ball the same weight and shape in all conditions. 

Adidas have come up with a design where they've got a deeper and longer seam between the panels. It develops a rougher surface which is covered in little nubs and seams that have been deepened to help avoid "knuckling" (unreliable flight) and provide improved touch and accuracy. 

There is a latex bladder to provide the desired bounce and rebound. The Brazuca devoid of pitches of air, areas of turbulent, or smooth flow, and that will lead to its flight being more conventional, more like a normal football. 

It has an Increased weight (The Brazuca is half an ounce heavier) to enable faster flight speed. 

Critics declared the Brazuca as the most tested ball Adidas has ever produced. It took the company two years to design and test the ball. It was examined in 10 countries, across three continents by more than 600 players and 30 teams. The Brazuca was tested by teams including Argentina and Spain, Bayern Munich and Chelsea and current players such as Messi and Casillas. The ball tried on dry, slightly damp and very wet pitches, and in windy conditions, gusts and heavy rain. Brazuca has received positive reviews from many of the players who hope to kick and curl it to World Cup glory. Four-time world player of the year Messi said: "My first impression of the ball is that it's really good." It is estimated that over 42 million soccer balls have been distributed all over the world ahead of the FIFA Football World Cup 2014. 

In an interview to the media The factory owner, Malik Khwaja Masood Akhtar admitted that making Brazuca was a challenge. We normally make hand-made footballs. Manufacturing machine-made balls was a tough task. We had to use various computer programmes and modern equipment to produce the footballs. We didn't have experts who could do this job, but we worked hard and did not compromise on quality." 

Brazilian Ambassador Alfredo Leoni said: "It was a matter of great pride that the World Cup footballs were provided by a Pakistani company, giving Pakistan a connection with the global contest." 

It is an honour for Pakistan to play a major role in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. 

Courtesy: ZARINA PATEL

NO FOREIGN AID FOR IDP'S

When Operation Zarb-e-Azb was declared against militant strongholds in North Waziristan last month, the federal government made a very surprising announcement: it said that it does not wish to receive any international foreign aid from donor agencies, the UN and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for the management and care of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who were fleeing from their homes in North Waziristan. With the number of IDPs rising fast — latest estimates put them at close to one million — the government has once again reiterated its position on the subject of international aid with the Foreign Office announcing that no appeal had been made to the international community for help in meeting expenditures concerning the IDPs. One wonders why the PML-N government is so adamant about this point seeing that we can ill-afford to pass up any chance in which we are helped in the IDP crisis. We need money, rations, food items, clothing, shelter and all sorts of rehabilitation tools to aid in the timely relief of the many hundreds of thousands who are homeless and resourceless in the wake of the ongoing operation where their homes used to be. 
This is a mindboggling decision of the government. Operation Zarb-e-Azb is an ongoing war against the militants without any specific timeline or schedule. It is a full-scale operation for which the army has brought out its big guns: air strikes and ground offensives. When the battle is as big as this, the trauma being faced by the IDPs is bound to go on for an indefinite amount of time. Where are all these people supposed to go? How are they supposed to survive? The government’s track record really does not provide any solace to the people when it comes to taking care of their welfare. We still have IDPs from the army’s offensives in South Waziristan and Swat who are suffering without homes and relief. We even have flood-affected IDPs from the catastrophic floods of 2010 stuck without a hope in the world. How on earth is the government going to cater to this new influx without welcoming all the help it can get with open arms?

The Nawaz government has to come clean on why it is snubbing potential international efforts to help the IDPs. They are our people who have sacrificed their homes and peace of mind for the security of the nation. How is the government planning on doing them justice? While it is being reported that the UAE is donating to the IDP cause, we need to make a concerted effort to appeal to the international community to help the IDPs. It is the least we can do. 

Courtesy Daily Times 

PAKISTAN PROTECTION ORDINANCE (BILL)- GRADE 15 OFFICER & VICTIMIZATION

Now that the Protection of Pakistan Bill has been passed, a few points need to be considered very seriously. True, the security situation warrants extra ordinary measures, but just what extent should security agencies be allowed to go, and for how long, is important.

First of all, the Bill did not command complete unanimity among political parties. PTI stayed on the sidelines, and the Jamat and JUI-F were against it. MQM, too, agreed, but not without controversy. The chief, it turns out, was not in the loop when the decision was made. And he eventually agreed because the party had taken a position, but only grudgingly.

There is little doubt that the Bill incorporates some truly draconian measures. It is not very often, after all, that grade 15 officers are given the authority to kill. And anybody even vaguely familiar with the way our security agencies are used to operating will realise just what manner of political victimisation can be facilitated when such laws are put in place. Therefore, oversight will be very important, and high offices will need to be held to account in case of excesses.

It is also important to note that while Zarb-e-Azb is central to national survival, and government offices must facilitate the drive against insurgents in whichever way possible – and there will be blowback in cities – this law is not specifically for the operation. It is meant to deal with overall security breakdown which, actually, led to the operation.

Altaf Hussain has asked to law to be scraped immediately after the North Waziristan sweep, even though it is given an official lifeline of two years. Ironically, sections within law enforcement agencies are also skeptical about certain features incorporated in the Bill; they might not be able to walk away scot free from disputed incidents like the old days.

Surely the government would not want to be put in an awkward position because of initiatives meant to restore law and order. Two years might be too long, it should be rolled back sooner.

TALIBAN’S ‘SECRET LOVE’ FOR USA

A store owner from Miranshah confirmed that Taliban likes American soap and ladies perfume more than Pakistani products.

Rasheed-ur-Rehman who has migrated to Bannu with his family amid military action against TTP added that Taliban always paid high prices for US commodities.

Talking to a private news channel here, he said the daily sale at his shop was worth Rs 1.25 lakh and that the North Waziristan operation badly affected his business.

The vendor revealed that the Taliban who claim to be anti-America admire branded western products including Secret Love, Blue Lady, Rasasi perfumes among others. He added that Taliban did not like products manufactured in Pakistan.

Agencies

WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH

When a person like him dies, a library burns to the ground.

In Memory of

Alhaj Allama Bashir Hussain Nazim

 (January 01, 1937 – June 17, 2012)

 Please join us

as we commemorate the loss of eminent Naat poet, reciter, linguist, intellectual, religious scholar and above all our great father 

BASHIR HUSSAIN NAZIM

 (Pride of Performance)

on his 2nd death anniversary on 15^th June (Sunday), 2014.

  

Program (In Sha Allah)

Qura’n Khawni/ Naa’t Khawni ………. 10:00 am
Dua’ ………. 12:30 pm
Lunch ………. 12:45 pm

At House # 2026, Street # 32, I-10/2, Islamabad

RSVP

Mahtab Bashir & family

0345- 5069323

0333- 5363248

THE BUDGET (2014-15) & THE POOR

"It seems that the fiscal budget for the year 2014-15 has been made by 'A Clerk' rather 'An Economist'. -anonymous 

Stung by criticism that the Budget 2014-15 is tilted in favour of the rich and offers only scraps and crumbs from the table for the poor, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was at great pains to defend the Budget as not anti-poor during his post-Budget press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday. However, persistent questioning by media people on the concessions and relaxations to the busi

ness community and the impact, for example, of the withdrawal of subsidies on the electricity tariff put the minister on the mat. 

Dar admitted that over 50 percent more than 90 million people are below the poverty line of an income of $ 2 a day some estimates put this figure at 69 percent. He claimed his government was committed to raising this huge mass of people out of poverty. However, the consensus on the Budget is that it is business-friendly, with hardly any relief for the poor, the youth loan schemes, Benazir now National Income Support Programme and educational facilitation for deserving students notwithstanding. 

Laudable as these schemes are in themselves, they are a drop in the ocean of poverty that laps our shores. Admittedly, the straitened finances of the state leave little if any room for meaningful interventions, innovations and creative measures to offer the people groaning from inflation, unemployment and insecurity anything meaningful except token sops. Dar threatened those intending to increase prices using the excuse of the budget with strict measures “iron fist” to control prices. It is strange to hear an advocate of the market economy as the panacea for all our woes speak in this language. How would this ‘iron fist’ control the market and its inherent dynamic was left to the imagination. 

The claim that the fiscal deficit, which panned out at 8.8 percent of GDP last year, would be incrementally reduced over some years to four percent was not fleshed out, while critics point out that the raise in salaries and pensions was likely to act in the opposite direction, with resort to borrowing to meet the gap the most likely course, having its own implications for inflation. The measure to impose higher taxes on non-registered non-filers of tax returns is both a punitive step as well as an incentive to document the informal economy, a laudable objective that seeks to broaden the tax net, a badly needed policy to raise revenues and lighten the burden as far as possible on the honest tax payer being treated as the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg. Large scale retailers such as shopping malls and smaller retailers in the bazaar have been dealt with by imposing the condition of electronic sales registers for the former and a presumptive tax based on electricity consumption on the latter. Parliamentarians have been put on notice, quite rightly, that they would be deprived of all allowances if they fail to file tax returns by June 10.

The finance minister may have bent his back to defend the budget from charges of being pro-business and anti-poor, but the reactions of the respective communities says it all. The business community has been full of praise for what they call a growth oriented budget, while the working classes see nothing in it for themselves. That perhaps is why the clerks and teachers protesting against the budget were dealt with harshly in Islamabad on Wednesday (beaten black and blue according to accounts. The trade unions are up in arms, the agriculture sector feels it has been treated like a poor relative and the apprehension that without some relief to the masses the government may face more than its share of protest over the coming fiscal year cannot be dismissed lightly. 



The problem with the government’s approach is that it still adheres to the theory that the business class will pull the economy out of the doldrums and the discredited trickle down theory will do the necessary for the people at large. A perceived business-friendly government may have the luxury of indulging in such flights of fancy that recent history belies even in stronger economies than ours. But the government will have to burn some midnight oil to find ways and means to lighten the crushing burden of the masses or face increasing trouble on the streets ahead.

Courtesy: Daily Times