Replies to post #875 on 'Idea of the day' trading in and out for profit

[Ike Latif]

The facts are this, truth is a big vicitim in that post..if this was true Pakistan would not be a PART BUT target today and Mehmood would not live scott free in Islalambad..


Deposed ISI Chief Lt Gen Mahmood Ahmed became a victim of his "over-ambition" in the glory of powers he was enjoying as Pakistan's super spymaster.

He tried to outmanoeuvre his seniors in hasty moves to grab the coveted office of Vice Chief of Army Staff, and at the end himself fell flat. Three key incidents were reported to have terminated his career, though many saw in the person of 'retired' Lt Gen Mahmood as an emerging dark horse for the office of the Vice Chief of Army Staff.

Firstly he prevented President Gen Pervez Musharraf from visiting Kandahar for a one-to-one meeting with Taliban spiritual leader Mulla Mohammad Omar.

Secondly he misbehaved with almost all the key military and civil aides to the President and one of the service chiefs in a meeting held after his return from the United States in the second week of last month.

Finally he refused to accept President Gen Pervez Musharraf's offer to become Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and tried to influence the President to change his mind through common friends.

Top sources in the power circles told The News that Lt Gen Mahmood as ISI Chief turned down President Musharraf's desire to visit Kandahar some months back. He argued that the President should travel to Kandahar only when he (Mahmood) had prepared the ground for him.

By pursuing the President not to visit Kandahar, he managed to influence the mind of the President to approve the visit of Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider to meet Mulla Omar. That exercise, as reported by military circles, was in vain.

Mahmood also blocked an opportunity for the President to talk to Mulla Omar for resolution of the problems, bringing Taliban in the mainstream and tackling the issue of terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.

The President, said an insider, started watching Mahmood more carefully, although he was one of those who helped him come to power in October 1999. General Musharraf gave him the benefit of doubt.

But things started moving in the reverse direction when on his return from the United States, Lt Gen Mahmood snubbed or misbehaved with some military and civilian officials in a closed-door meeting held to analyse the situation emerging out of September 11 developments. He was probably over-confident after his visit to the US where he met important Bush Administration people.

One of the participants of that meeting told The News that Mahmood even shouted at some participants and snubbed one of the service chiefs who tried to give his opinion on a matter under discussion. It all happened in front of President Musharraf, who gave Mahmood a hard dose the following day.

When President Gen Musharraf decided to announce new appointments as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and creating new office of VCOAS, he offered CJCSC post to Lt Gen Mahmood.

"Instead of taking the offer in good faith, Mahmood thought that the President was trying to throw him outside his team of inner-circle," confided a top source. "Mahmood used a common friend and conveyed his non-acceptance of the offer with a request to allow him carrying on as DG ISI. He even indirectly conveyed to the President that he wanted to be adjusted as VCOAS, which displeased the President.

It is not sure whether before taking decision to appoint Lt Gen Yousaf as VCOAS on his promotion as General and General Aziz Khan as CJCSC, President Musharraf consulted any body. It appears to be his own decision based on various facts he himself witnessed and scrutinized," said a senior official. The President, said the source, took these decisions with a heavy heart as both Mahmood and Usmani were his closest friends and comrades and whose opinions he heard seriously.



Iqbal Latif

[Ike Latif]

The more real truth is that Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has asked his External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to visit Pakistan at a reasonable time.
Foreign Office spokesman Riaz Muhammad Khan told journalists on Tuesday that the Indian Foreign Minister will arrive in Pakistan very soon to hold talks on various topics.
He said that during a conversation with President General Pervez Musharraf the Indian PM said that India was ready for broad-based talks on all issues.
The spokesman said that President Musharraf had also invited Vajpayee to Islamabad but he showed unavailability due to his ‘engagements’.
The officials of both the countries will contact each other to schedule the proposed visit, the spokesman said.
India ready to strengthen trust in Pakistan
Our Delhi Correspondent adds: India Tuesday said it was prepared to make new initiatives to strengthen confidence and trust with Pakistan provided Islamabad carries out ‘adequate’ and ‘satisfactory’ responses and ‘moves away from its unifocal approach of talking on Kashmir only.’ Indian External and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh here also for the first time Tuesday admitted providing assistance to Afghan opposition Northern Alliance.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee Tuesday morning briefed the union cabinet about various aspects of the US-led air strikes against Taliban. It was the first full cabinet meeting since the US started its air campaign on Afghanistan.
Among other things, Vajpayee briefed his cabinet about his recent meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and his phone conversations with the Russian President and Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf.
The meeting also discussed in detail the nature of support that India could provide to the US-led coalition. Jaswant Singh gave a detailed presentation on US attacks, developments in Afghanistan and its impact on India.
Meanwhile, India here for the first time admitted providing logistical support to Afghan opposition Northern Alliance holding almost 10 per cent of the total area of Afghanistan. Defence and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh here said that India was extending help to Northern Alliance, as it recognises the Alliance as “true” and “legitimate” government of Afghanistan.
He said that India has built a hospital near Parakhor town on the Tajkistan-Afghan border for the benefit of “true” and ‘legitimate’ government of Afghanistan. Saying it was part of Indian humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people, Singh said the hospital had already started functioning, catering to both inpatients as well as outpatients.
The Defence Minister’s statement comes amid reports that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has cleared a proposal to send humanitarian assistance to Kabul. However, Singh declined to elaborate on when and how the assistance would be routed.
In the meantime, official spokesperson of External Affairs Ministry here said that India was ready to open new chapter of relation of confidence and trust with Pakistan, provided the rulers in Islamabad reciprocate India’s gestures and leave behind “unifocal approach on Kashmir only.”
“We are prepared to make initiatives to further strengthen confidence and trust between the two countries. It takes two to tango,” said Mrs. Nirupama Rao, spokesperson of India’s External Affairs Ministry.
She was asked about government’s reading of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s telephonic call to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee advocating resumption of Pak-Indo dialogue.
India, she said, had taken the Lahore and Agra initiatives. ‘We have approached the question of normalisation of relations with Pakistan in a very comprehensive, rounded manner.’ she said, “it is very necessary for Pakistan to make adequate and satisfactory responses to meet the gestures we have made.”
“The way forward in the future is for that kind of response which confirms that Pakistan fully reciprocates India’s desire for peace and dialogue and confidence-building that will help open new vistas for peace and cooperation between the two countries,” she said.
Earlier, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Monday night spoke to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee over telephone. The spokesperson said that Pakistani President was told by Prime Minister Vajpayee that “harping on Kashmir issue alone would not result in meaningful dialogue.”
In their first contact in the last two months, Musharraf suggested that the two countries should resume dialogue and should not do anything to heighten tension in the region.
During the 15-minute conversation beginning at around 9 pm, Vajpayee told Musharraf that dialogue cannot be meaningful “if Pakistan remained unifocal by talking only about the Kashmir issue,” Indian spokesperson said.
Vajpayee said ‘for meaningful progress in bilateral relations, the two countries have to work for their all-round development taking into account the totality.’

Iqbal Latif

[Ike Latif]

The press has their own agendas, look at this one!! Iti s the question of who you are reading, if yuo reading Pakistan's you find things different..a satirical article I suppose...

This was a report from a mole in the White House. The editor had underlined the word ‘mole’ in red pencil and written in the margin, ‘Impossible. Destroy’. Here is the text of the report.
Bush: ‘Mr. Jaswant Singh, the reason why I pulled you away from that meeting was, that at this moment of crisis, the biggest democracy of the world should talk to the largest democracy of the world.’
Jaswant: ‘My very sentiments sir. And may I add sir that I am greatly honoured by this gesture of trust in India that you have shown by granting me a private audience.’
Bush: ‘The purpose of this meeting is to take you into confidence about what we intend to do in Pakistan.’
Jaswant: (happy) O, then you have decided to bomb Pakistan.’
Bush: ‘On the contrary, we have decided to pump in money and material there to stabilise its government.’
Jaswant: (Upset) — ‘That is bad news for India. What I fail to understand is...’
Bush: (Interrupting him). ‘What you fail to understand is that if Pakistan is destabilised you may end up having a Taliban style of government sitting right next door to you. So instead of their being in Kabul with their Kalashnikovs, they would be sitting in Lahore with their nukes and long range missiles.’
Jaswant: ‘I see your point. And yet I want to say that these Pakistanis are bad enough as they are.’
Bush: ‘So what would you want us to do?’
Jaswant: ‘At least get them out of Kashmir.’
Bush: ‘My problem is that the Pakistanis want us to get you out of Kashmir.’
Jaswant: ‘We are the legitimate rulers there. How can they ask you to remove a legitimate ruler. It is they who have in fact taken away part of our Kashmir.’
Bush: ‘My Law Department tells me that unless the Kashmiris decide in a free vote which side they want to go, both you and Pakistan are there unlawfully.’
Jaswant: ‘Kashmir is an integral part of India.’
Bush: ‘Not according to the UN.’
Jaswant: ‘As a friend of India and a powerful member of the Security Council, you can surely make the UN accept our position.’
Bush: ‘We can try but so far no other country in the world accepts your position. All the world maps show Kashmir as a disputed territory. So when we go and tell our NATO friends that India is suffering terrorism they can turn round and say what are they doing in a disputed land any way.’
Jaswant: ‘Our position sir is that India was unfairly divided in 1947. The British did wrong to us by giving chunks of our land to others. Since then we have been trying to get that back. We got back Junagarh and Munawadar from Pakistan, Goa from Portugal, Hyderabad from Nizam and Kashmir from Sheikh Abdullah. All of India is ours regardless of what the International community thinks. We are not on any disputed land. We are on our own land. Therefore, you should bomb Pakistan because that land is ours too. After all what are friends for.’


Iqbal Latif