By M K Bhadrakumar The Greeks have a saying that the past is the vista that lies ahead while the future lurks furtively. The improbable symbolism sums up the Indian perspective on the announcement by the Pakistani civilian leadership last Thursday to extend the term of army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kiani for another three years. Quite clearly, the Barack Obama administration is pleased with the work Kiani is doing and he is now assured of a term lasting until November 2013 – until the date Afghan President Hamid Karzai has penciled in for the foreign military occupation of his … Continue reading India has limited Afghan options

Pakistani students prefer guns to books By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – Several hundred students in the southern port city of Karachi have left the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT), Pakistan’s largest student union, to join al-Qaeda training camps in the North Waziristan tribal area on the border with Afghanistan, Asia Times Online has learned. The IJT is an offshoot of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the country’s premier Islamic party. “This is true. They now have their own camp in North Waziristan and it is purely the work of the late Dr Arshad Waheed that such a huge number of people are joining … Continue reading Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba joins al-Qaeda?

By Spengler The 92,000 American classified military documents released by WikiLeaks add to the evidence that Pakistan’s intelligence service backs the Taliban, to the point of helping the Taliban plan assassinations of American and Afghan officials. This raises the question: Who covered up a scandalous arrangement known to everyone with a casual acquaintance of the situation? The answer is the same as in Agatha Christie’s 1934 mystery about murder on the Orient Express, that is, everybody: former United States president George W Bush and vice president Dick Cheney, current US President Barack Obama and Vice // <![CDATA[// <![CDATA[ //<![CDATA[ var … Continue reading Murder on the Khyber Pass express

By Gareth Porter WASHINGTON – The 92,000 reports on the war in Afghanistan made public by the whistleblower organization WikiLeaks, and reported on Monday by selected international publications, offer no major revelations that are entirely new, as did the Pentagon Papers to which they are inevitably being compared. But they increase the political pressure on a war policy that has already suffered a precipitous loss of credibility this year by highlighting contradictions between the official assumptions of the strategy and the realities shown in the documents – especially in regard to Pakistan’s role in the war. Unlike the Pentagon Papers, … Continue reading Leaks make war policy vulnerable

By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – Some of the 92,000 American classified military documents released by WikiLeaks at the weekend point to Pakistan’s intelligence service backing the Taliban, an issue that has been seized on by the international media, although Islamabad’s ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani said the release consisted of “unprocessed” reports from the field. Pakistan overtly supported the Taliban while they were in power in Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 when they were forced out by the US-led invasion. Islamabad then signed onto the US’s “war on terror” and committed to fighting the Taliban insurgency. However, … Continue reading Pakistan has its own battle to fight

By George Friedman On Sunday, The New York Times and two other newspapers published summaries and excerpts of tens of thousands of documents leaked to a website known as WikiLeaks. The documents comprise a vast array of material concerning the war in Afghanistan. They range from tactical reports from small unit operations to broader strategic analyses of politico-military relations between the United States and Pakistan. It appears to be an extraordinary collection. Tactical intelligence on firefights is intermingled with reports on confrontations between senior US and Pakistani officials in which lists of Pakistani operatives in Afghanistan are handed over to … Continue reading Thousands of reasons to leave

By Saban Kardas Iranian Petroleum Minister Masoud Mirkazemi visited Turkey last week to discuss Turkish-Iranian energy cooperation. The Iranian oil ministry announced that during the visit a deal was concluded with a Turkish private energy company, worth US$1.3 billion to build a pipeline from Iran to Turkey. The projected 660 kilometer pipeline will be constructed within three years, allowing Iran to export 50 million to 60 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas daily to Turkey and Europe, by paying transit fees to Ankara. Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz clarified immediately that // <![CDATA[// <![CDATA[ //<![CDATA[ var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https://asianmedia.com/GAAN/www/delivery/ajs.php&#039;:'http://asianmedia.com/GAAN/www/delivery/ajs.php&#039;); var … Continue reading Turkey ‘not party’ to Iran pipeline deal

IslamToday / Agencies 20 July 2010 Muslims in Germany who want to quit extremist movements will be offered help finding new jobs and housing under a program started Monday by Germany’s domestic intelligence service. An agency spokeswoman said that users would be guaranteed confidentiality and help with security measures if they were threatened by radicals. Germany began a similar programme for right-wing white extremists in 2001. The intelligence service estimates there are more than 36,000 Islamically-oriented extremists in Germany, but only a fraction of those are considered potentially violent. Participants and their family or friends can now find help via … Continue reading German Intelligence Agency Offers Help Hotline for Religious Extremists

Is Arabic the Language of Adam? or of Paradise? Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi [This article is a full translation of the fifth chapter of Ibn Hazm’s Ihkâm fî Usûl al-Ahkâm. It’s original title is: “The Origins of Language: Divine Providence or Human Codification”. It is presented here for the interesting points it makes about matters of general interest, and should not be taken as the final word on linguistic matters.] Regarding how languages came about – was it by divine instruction or by human codification – is a question that people have debated considerably. The correct view is that the origin … Continue reading Is Arabic the Language of Adam?

The Story of Zayd bin Amr bin Nufayl Sheikh Salman al-Oadah In the days before the advent of Islam, Arabia had become a corrupt environment, steeped in idolatry and injustice. There were still a few solitary individuals who adhered to the true faith established centuries ago in Arabia by Abraham and Ishmael (peace be upon them both). These people eschewed worshiping idols and all that idolatry involved. One of these people was Zayb b. `Amr b. Nufayl. He would never offer sacrifices to idols or eat carrion and running blood. He used to say: Is there one Lord or yet … Continue reading Zayd bin Amr bin Nufayl