Wiki Leaks discloses another key point regarding Pakistan-US ties
Monitoring Desk
Voice of Hunza
ISLAMABAD, December 6: WikiLeaks has disclosed another key point regarding Pakistan-US ties, which is about putting a condition on Pakistan for securing a nuclear cooperation with superpower likewise India.
According to WikiLeaks, during a meeting with President Zardari in 2009, a US’s Senator John Kerry placed a condition on Pakistan that the latter would have to ink a ‘New Security Arrangement’ accord with neighbor India, if it wanted a civil nuclear cooperation with US, according to leaked memos of US diplomatic cables, cited in a letter of the then US ambassador N.W Patterson. Citing a letter of Patterson, WikiLeaks claimed that Senator Kerry wanted Pakistan to make agreement with New Delhi on New Security Arrangement, if latter was looking for winning a cooperation with US on Civil Nuclear deal. Kerry also urged Pakistan to strengthen democratic institutions first for the purpose, leaked diplomatic cables disclosed. Senator said AQ Khan network was key hurdle in way of progress of Pakistan. While, during the same sitting, President Zardari told him that India itself plotted Mumbai Attacks in November 2008. Courtesy: The Nation






Concern over damage done by leaks
Monitoring Desk
Voice of Hunza
ISLAMABAD, December 4: The Defence Committee of the Cabinet decided on Friday to convey to the US authorities the government’s reservations over the disclosure of confidential and secret information by WikiLeaks, reliable sources said. A meeting of the committee, presided over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, denounced the leak of sensitive information and warned that its continuation would endanger friendly ties among countries. The DCC meeting was attended by ministers for defence, interior, finance and information, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the three services chiefs.

PM Gilani chairing the meeting of Defence Committee of Cabinet (DCC) at PM House.—APP
The sources said that a formal stance of the government on the problem caused by the whistleblower website would be handed over to the US authorities through proper channel at an appropriate time. Some TV channels reported that after the DCC meting, Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani called on President Asif Ali Zardari, but neither the Presidency nor the ISPR confirmed the report. Although the Prime Minister’s Secretariat issued a press release of over 1,000 words on the proceedings of the committee, it did not say a word about the much-talked about leak of loads of top secret information about the country the US embassy had been sending back home through confidential cables.
“There are so many important issues than this (WikiLeaks disclosure) and whatever we have discussed at the meeting has been mentioned in detail in the official handout issued by the Prime Minister’s Secretariat,” Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told a private news channel. He kept quiet when repeatedly asked if the DCC, which represents the top civil and military leadership, had deliberated upon information released by WikiLeaks over the past few days.
But sources privy to the proceedings say that the issue was very much discussed by the participants during the four-hour meeting. Initially, they said, it was decided to include one paragraph about it in the official statement, but it was later dropped on the instructions of a ‘top official’.Some participants, according to the sources, wanted that a clear stand should be taken on the WikiLeaks issue in the official statement, but others advised that it should be played down for the time being. According to the press release, the prime minister said that Pakistan needed to depart from its ‘traditional thinking’ on national security and develop ‘alternative strategies’.
“The multiplicity and size of the challenges to our national security demand that we may have to make a departure from our traditional thinking and look for out-of-box solutions and alternative strategies,” he told the meeting. Mr Gilani also sought views of the participants on his visit to Afghanistan beginning on Saturday. But the press release did not say anything about what response he had received from the participants. Dawn, Islambad





Even If Acquitted, Pakistani Blasphemy Suspect Is In Mortal Danger
VoH News Monitor
By Majeed Babar, Charles Recknagel
December,01: A 45-year-old Catholic mother of two has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy. But the real danger Aasia Bibi faces may not come from her court case. That is because, to date, although she have been sentenced to death, no one has ever been executed in Pakistan for blasphemy. Instead, the danger is that she will be killed if she is freed. And forhat there are ample precedents.

The daughter and wife of the governor of Punjab Province speak to Aasia Bibi (right), who has been sentenced to death for blasphemy. RadioLiberty Photo

In July, two Christian brothers accused of writing a blasphemous pamphlet critical of the Prophet Muhammad were shot dead within the premises of a court in Punjab. One of the brothers was a pastor. That happened as they exited a court hearing in Faisalabad city, wherE hundreds of protesters had demanded they be sentenced to death. Those same crowds of protestors have gathered in Bibi's case like ominous storm clouds hovering over the proceedings.
Angry Demonstrations Last week, an Islamic party Jamat-e-Islami held a demonstration outside a mosque in Karachi after Friday prayers. The protesters demanded that Bibi be hanged as sentenced. Other groups have held other demonstrations, including the banned charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which the United Nations has blacklisted as aterrorist organization. It demonstrated in the streets of Lahore, wherePunjab's high court must confirm Bibi's November 8 death sentence before it can be carried out. The demonstrations have the support of many Islamic clerics, who see blasphemy as attacking the very heart of Pakistan's Muslim identity. As one Islamic scholar, Dr. Qasim Mahmood told to representative of European Radio service Mashaal:"The most sacred name is that of Allah and after that it is Muhammad, peace be upon him, and if somebody talks low about them, the Islamic clerics in Pakistan already describe the details of the punishment forthose who commit blasphemy, and now it's the law of the land inPakistan that they have to be awarded the death sentence." Islamic political parties and militant groups have seized upon the blasphemy case to cast themselves yet again as defenders of religion and show their street power. But the blame for the intensity of the issue lies with the blasphemy laws themselves and the willingness oflower courts to enforce them mercilessly.
The case of Bibi, the first woman ever to be convicted under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, provides a textbook example. In June 2009, a group of her co-workers accused Bibi of blaspheming Islam as the group worked in the fields around her home village in Nankana district, about 70 kilometers from Lahore. The trouble began on a searing hot day as she harvested the berry-sized fruit Grewia Asiatica, also known as falsa, which is used throughout the region as a flavor for juices and sorbets. She had forgotten to bring her own water pitcher so she drank a glass of water from a pitcher belonging to her female Muslim co-workers -- an act which some considered defiling. Bibi could not pacify her Muslim co-workers despite saying sorry. The co-workers asked her to convert to Islam and she refused and left the scene with tears rolling down her cheeks. Taking his cue from three of the Muslim women, a prayer leader of a local mosque, Qari Muhammad Salam, filed a case against Bibi in the district court. From there the accusations against her mounted. According to the lower court's verdict, obtained by RFE/RL, witnesses against her during the proceedings stated she had said the Koran is fake and "your prophet remained in bed for one month before his death because he had insects in his mouth and ears." She also allegedly said the Prophet Muhammad had married his wife, Khadija, who was wealthy, "just for money" and after stealing from herkicked her out of the house.
Judge Naveed Iqbal, in sentencing her to death, "totally ruled out" anychance that Bibi was falsely implicated and said there were "no mitigating circumstances." Speaking about why the judge passed a death sentence, Secretary-General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan I.A. Rehman told Mashaal Radio: "In Pakistan, mullahs are stronger then the courts, and due to fear the lower courts can't let anybody go free because the lower courts always feel under threat and pressure from the mullahs." Now, as the case has gone to the provincial high court in Lahore, it presents the Pakistan government with a major dilemma. Human rights groups in Pakistan and abroad are incensed by the case and hard-liners' implicit threats to carry out the execution themselves if necessary.
Christians are a minority in PakistanAsim Malik, spokesman for Aurat Foundation, a women's-rights watchdog in Pakistan which is closely watching the case, says Bibi has already had to suffer harsh conditions because of the danger from hard-liners. "For the past year, Aasia Bibi, who is 45 years old, has been kept in isolation by the police because of the fear that somebody will end her life," Malik said. Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI has called for the release of Bibi, and
political pressure has been growing for her pardon. Showdown So far, the government in Islamabad and conservatives appear locked in a showdown over the case. Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti has presented a report to President Asif Ali Zardari recommending a pardon for Bibi. The report concluded that "the blasphemy against Asia Bibi has been registered on grounds of personal enmity." But conservative lawyers have petitioned the Lahore High Court this week not to let Zardari to use his office to pardon Bibi so long as the case is pending in the courts.
The only certainty is that the blasphemy law itself is never likely to be repealed. Minority Affairs Minister Bhatti, who is a Christian, toldReuters on November 23 that a repeal "is not being considered, though we are considering changing it so that misuse of the law should be stopped." But the pernicious effects of the blasphemy laws -- and the threat they resent not just to victims, but to the rule of law in Pakistan -- runtoo deep to be mitigated by simply guarding against misuse. Since the controversial blasphemy laws were introduced by then-dictator General Zia-ul- Huq in 1980, at least 1,035 men and women, including Muslims, Ahmadis, Christians, and Hindus have been accused, although all the accusations were dropped when the cases reached the higher courts. Some have languished in jail for years awaiting a final resolution of their case. Waji ul-Hassan, a Christian, has been on death row since 2002. Perhaps worse still, the laws have helped to legitimize the physical attacks, social stigmatization, forced conversion, and continued institutional degradation that characterize the position of religious minorities in Pakistan. Around 3 percent of Pakistan's population of about 170 million isestimated to be non-Muslim, and most of those are Christian or Hindu. Both communities are marginalized economically as well as socially, with both men and women commonly limited to working as street sweepers or in other odd jobs. The blasphemy laws also encourage a sense of majority power, even mob rule, over religious minorities that the Pakistani state cannot assure the safety of those accused of blasphemy even if they are acquitted. That is particularly true in Punjab, which is home to most of Pakistan's militant groups and where most of the attacks on Christians have taken place. Source: Radio Liberty




Zardari worried military may take him out: WikiLeaks
Monitoring Desk

WASHINGTON, Dec.1: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari told US Vice President Joe Biden that he was worried the powerful military in his country might 'take me out,' according to US diplomatic cables published in US and British newspapers on Tuesday. Zardari's comments reflect the influential role the Pakistani military holds in a country with a long history of coup d'etats, and further raises questions about the effectiveness of civilian rule. It was unclear whether Zardari's comments suggested he could be killed or merely forced out of office.
The US cables from the embassy in Islamabad were part of a massive cache of internal American diplomatic correspondence acquired by WikiLeaks and distributed to a handful of news organizations, including Indian, British, German and US newspapers and in France and Spain too. More than 250,000 documents were being released this week despite the strong objections of the US government, which considers them stolen and says their public release undermines international diplomacy. The cables underscore the difficult relationship between the United States and Pakistan and US skepticism about whether Islamabad is fully committed to defeating Islamic extremism despite billions of of dollars in annual military and civilian aid.Source: Geo Tv





Sherry submits bill for amending blasphemy laws
VoH News Watch

By Amir Wasim

Voice of Hunza
ISLAMABAD, Nov.30: Amid announcements by the religious forces in the country to resist any move to change the blasphemy laws, former information minister and Pakistan People’s Party MNA Sherry Rehman has submitted a bill to the National Assembly Secretariat seeking an end to the death penalty under the existing blasphemy laws.

Right: Former information minister and Pakistan People’s Party MNA Sherry Rehman had submitted a private member’s bill as she believed that blasphemy laws as set out in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) found their roots in colonial laws. – AFP Photo


Talking to Dawn here on Monday, Ms Rehman said that she had submitted aprivate member’s bill as she believed that blasphemy laws as set out in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) found their roots in colonial laws and had in their present form become a source of victimisation and persecution of the minorities in the country. The amendments to the Blasphemy Act, she said, were intended to ensure that all citizens of Pakistan had an equal right to constitutional protection and that miscarriages of justice in the name of blasphemy were avoided at all costs. “The bill amends both the PPC and the Code of Criminal Procedure, the two main sources of criminal law. The aim is to amend the codes to ensure protection of Pakistan’s minorities and vulnerable citizens, who routinely face judgments and verdicts in the lower courts where mob pressure is often mobilised to obtain a conviction,” she said.
According to Ms Rehman, the definition of the term “blasphemy” is currently vague, yet it carries a mandatory death sentence. Also, she said, there were serious problems with the mechanisms to implement the law. She said her proposed bill would rationalise the punishments prescribed for offences relating to religion provided under Sections 295 and 298 of the PPC. share save 120 16 Sherry submits bill for amending blasphemy laws. Source: Dawn

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Monitoring every regional historical development

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Discerning social Change in Gilgit-Baltistan

Discerning social Change in Gilgit-Baltistan
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Mission Statement & Weekly VoH Publishing team


VoH
Voice of Voiceless

The blog aims to disseminate the accurate regional information without consideration of race, color, ethnicity, religion and ideology to the valuable readers across the globe. We promise to abide with the moral and professional ethics of citizen journalism through this medium of communication. The voiceless masses of this one of the most beautiful places on earth, situated in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan experience hard times due to continuous natural and man made disasters which have left them at surviving stage. Shortly speaking, in a short span of time, Hunza valley has embraces a steady socio-economic and ecological development making it self an authentic book to read about or take a model for rest of far flung valleys bordering Chines Sinkiang province in the extreme north of the country. The haphazard material development in this comparatively small area has also served to create various socio-economic and ethical problems which ultimately served to shake the fabrics of very roots and foundations of culture and civility among dwellers. On geo-political front, analysts find a very little say of a common man in the major decisions related to regional socio-economic development, violation of meritocracy by mafias in political parties, pressure groups which safe guard their own interests, a unbridled bureaucracy, corrupt regimes that patronizing nepotism or favoritism and who wield powers in Gilgit, the main hub and capital of Gilgit-Baltistan. Rapid increase in expenditures ranging from general commodity price hikes to transportation has left no option or time for people to think on other issues.
The so called Economic-Recession, unequal distribution of wealth, concentration of opportunities towards certain beings, lack of social responsiveness and transparency in government sector and no check and balance on private sector has brought its ugly implication in terms of high unemployment, depression among the youngsters, anxiety and hatred towards system of governance.
We vow to bring fore the issues of common man at grass root level, strive to highlight irregularities in government sector and flaws in public policy and finance in a democratic way. We shall continue to give our opinion on issues of importance and determine to prove a viable platform to have a positive role for public welfare, inter-communal harmony, integrity and social justice.
Amid such a situation when even the survival of country is on stake and is defamed due to continual terrorist incidents throughout the our county, we may pray for a peaceful and prosperous future of the nation. May Lord save the peaceful Gilgit-Baltistan region from the evil designs of devils in human form.

The blog has been developed and upgrading by the efforts of the following dedicated volunteers.


Board of Editors
Editor: Shamsuddin Muhammad
Email:jaashams@gmail.com


Co-editor: Inam Karim
Email: inamkarim02@gmail.com


Reporting Team
Karachi: Sartaj Karim
Email: sartaj_compaq@hotmail.com



Hunza: Naeem Hamoon
Email: naeemhmn@hotmail.com


Gilgit: Aslam Shah

Email: hunzaishah@gmail.com


Islamabad: Ikramullah Baig
Email: hunza_havenonearth@yahoo.com

Voice of the voiceless!

The blog is a venture with exclusive news updates, unbiased analysis and opinion on historical, cultural, ecological, socio-economic, geopolitical and administrative issues and events occurring in country in general and the region particular. It would serve as a portfolio of credible information retained first hand from own and secondary reliable electronic and print media sources and aspire to become a powerful voice for a common man. We are committed to adhere with the professional ethics of citizen journalism, a new trend to shackle the chains of excessive curb over dissemination of reality either for any cause in the name of so-called sensor, with maximum possible accuracy and least deviation while delivering information to show the real side of picture of events so that our valuable readers will have an alternative portal to know what developments are going on various levels, particularly backward areas like that of Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan, Azad Jamu and Kahsmir, Tribal areas etc., across the country. One can easily discern a great social change in terms of attitudes, perceptions both in individual and society; values and reaction to the variables in daily life patterns among the dwellers of the comparatively backwards areas like Gilgit-Baltistan, a deprived region of its fundamental rights for more than six decades of its liberation from colonial yolk. In a quest to voice over issues of vital importance, keeping closer to circle of concern, Hunza, a name famous for its beauty and rich cultural heritage has been selected to represent as a case to further the cause and issues of the rest of the region. Virtually, the region especially Hunza-Nagar retained a rapid development with a short span of time after remaining isolated for centuries to out side world. The blog also aims focus largely to identify core areas from on bottom or grass root level to the top. Keeping due consideration of inter-religious harmony, tolerance, respecting pluralism, diversity, mutual respect, democracy, equal opportunity and other aspects of human rights and professional values of journalism, the blog will serve as a binding force and medium of voice of the voiceless people of the area with reference to Gilgit-Baltistan region.

The idea of creation of this blog came into my mind during a visit after spending few years of career at Karachi, capital of Southern province to the region. While traveling from south pole of the country to north, I experienced many new changes nearly in all aspects of life explicit in urban areas and implicit in rural belts: people have opted to modern technology, availed faster means of communication; task centered behavior, selfishness, following short-cuts, chase of wealth and more opportunities in their career and many more that made their lives much more easier but crazier than before. Nevertheless, the scene suddenly turned bit dim when I entered the region of Gilgit-Baltistan. I could not believe my eyes that this was the Gilgit I saw four years ago. Many things, except the faces were utterly unchanged formats primitive outlook. The Chinese bridge that linked Danyore and Gilgit and a main source of transportation was no more. Few people told me that few journalists have lost their lives in lethal road accident due to lack of arrangements on part of concerned authority to avoid the incident. Karakorum High Way (KKH), one of the highest truck able route and so-called eighth wonder in the world is under construction and many places portray nothing but a passage through a rough stony pasture. It took nearly twenty four hours from Rawalpindi to reach after an exhaustive journey to Hunza, my home town, compared to nineteen hours in past. The scenario seemed worse in Hunza, my home town which remained unchanged for last four years except a drastic decline in standard of living of more than fifty percent of the population. One may think that people have replaced muddy homes with cement ones but that are not the real yardstick of measurement of both mental and material development. Infrastructure, fixtures, telecommunication systems were largely depreciated to their estimated life coupled with inappropriate number of personnel required in educational, administrative and health institutions. The so-called economic meltdown that started from American giant Leman soon took the world into its tyrant claws, shaking many stable economies of the world including the rural areas of developing states- a big example of negligence and subjugation by the rulers of respective countries where people live not above the level of animals. Apart from the allegations on policy makers of industrialized nations having economic interest only, the poor, irrational, incompetent, self-centered and corrupt leadership in Pakistan like other third world countries where immature economies spends it larger portion of budget expenditure on defense could not resist the negative consequences of economic crisis in terms of high rate of unemployment, recession, right or down sizing, price hikes, violation of consumer rights and so on. Hunza-Nagar, like other parts of Gilgit-Baltistan was no exception. The smiling faces that greeted us once warmly few years ago turned unhappy for the crisis brought its ugly implication on the daily life pattern of an individual thus sucking down the unique attributes of population: courtesy, generosity and hospitality. Having a so-called high rate of literacy in the country unfortunately, the region is facing many problems ranging from health to drinking water and energy sector. To many, it was because of lack of geo-political awareness and excessive tendency towards NGO culture where people little bother to beg their rights from the states besides emphasis on duties. Historical chronicles vindicate that the region remained in isolation for many centuries due to a specific location and lack of access to out side world. Many dynasties ruled the area that hardly accepted change in a traditionally sophisticated feudal based society. The wheel of transition continued to move and finally the area got librated through a mutiny with the help of indigenous population from the clutches of Dogra subjugation. Later, the area was affiliated with Pakistan vide a secret treaty called Karachi Treatise as defacto part, unconditionally. Gilgit-Baltistan region got on real terms an impetus to grow from zero level with the visit of three icons of development: Aga Khan, President Ayub Khan and Z.A.Bhutto- a historic event of its nature with long standing implications on live of the people of the region.The area could hardly observed any impulse for more than half dozen years of affiliation with Pakistan when Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan (3rd) first time introduced Diamond Jubilee Schools network during mid fifties in the region. A real phase of development gain impetus when Shah Karim Alhusaini, Aga Khan (fourth) stepped in the region, a population with miserable conditions in 1960. He initiated many new projects in different aspect of life, strengthening the existing educational network under the umbrella of Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) for the betterment and uplift standard of living of masses lived under poverty line. Aga Khan Development Network in collaboration with donor agencies, with a view to bring social change from grass roots level, initiated rural support programme and other services for less-privileged societies in the region. In simple words, initial projects were stretched to new areas under AKDN umbrella ranging from self-entrepreneurship to planning and building services. These development programmes served a catalyst for a common man who, earlier was confine to a certain limit where facilities and perks were confined to a specific creed, definitely a big change in society led to process of decline of so-called nobility. By, 1974, Z.A.Bhutto, chief of Pakistan Peoples Party and his cabinet undertook a disintegrated country following the fall of Dhaka, albeit eliminating princely status of numerous states gave them democratic structures, initiated socio-economic, political and administrative reforms in civil services cadres under 1973 constitution of Pakistan. These reforms opened a path for further reforms in tribal and affiliated princely states, mostly in mountain regions. Elders assert, by 1976, when Bhutto abolished the princely status of the units and replaced the princely flag with that of the country declared region formally its de-fecto part. The new development allowed for the first time a limited right of franchise and representation in a parallel council governed from capital. He in collaboration with international donor agencies like UNICEF and World Food Programme helped ensure provision of basic necessities like food to indigenous population still in poor conditions. He gave word to poor and enables to build his destiny. The facility fell a prey of Zia-ul-Haq who abolished the programme to benefit his favorite breed. He altered such programmes to facilitate Mujahideen busy fighting Afghan war against Soviet invasion on behalf of American assistance. By, 1988, before the withdrawal of USSR, Zia regime played a dirty game: as an integral strategy to get parallel success, he supported a breed of militants to eliminate all those against his faith in Gilgit-Baltistan. Unfortunately, the indigenous people could not understand his nefarious designs under the veil of religion that had to sustain his regime using divide and rule tactic and nothing to do with public welfare fell a prey of communal discord. Thousands of innocent people were brutally killed without a reason from both sides and this in turn sowed the seeds of sectarianism thus introducing a Kalashnikov culture in this region. On country’s political front, frequent interventions of military in politics in the wake of undemocratic moves of leadership, double standard attitude of bureaucracy and excessive influence of establishment forces harmed political evolution during last sixty two years of country's history. A finest dictatorship is considered worse than a worse democracy for it largely overlook the opinion of masses. The undemocratic regimes since 1952 onwards in general and during dictators’ regimes left people with no option but to support immature, corrupt and unable leadership confined to their self interests coupled with narrow vision. On global front, with the withdrawal of USSR from Afghanistan, American administration started to shift its strategy of dependency and support for Pakistan especially that to check movement and expansion of communist philosophy, an anxiety among the then US policy planners. Political front once again passed through a new change in 1999 when military took over in October 1999. Numerous Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), both national and international rapport delivered remarkable work since 1990s to 2004 in many sectors like education, health, cultural preservation, design and building.

History repeated itself, but in a new form under different circumstances after cold war, when terrorists attacked twin towers of World Trade Centre, an icon of prestige and glory of America killing thousands of innocent people as a response to US policies inviting a fresh hostility between US and Islamist groups or in other words initiated an open conflict between two countering forces. To some, hidden forces worked behind the incident: Muslims thought it was a Judaist elements while to Europe and US a strike of Islamist elements; even the then Bush administration alleged Islamist groups behind this nefarious act to initiate an open armed struggle to defy its policies and interests. The September 11 incident served a cause to create sufferings for the Muslim communities residing in America and Europe. Being a sponsoring source of Jihadist elements, Pakistan was in real trouble as it was asked either ally the US or ready to go into stone age. Consequently, Pervez Musharraf took U-turn in state policy against billions of dollars as assistance. Once again, US dependency on Pakistan after Afghan war, in an endless war against an invisible enemy in terms of Osama started, leading farmer to think to gain control over natural resources in Afghanistan and Central Asian states. As a state, Pakistan endured many hardships, mostly from inside elements, Majority of our political leadership, for instance is largely nurtured under the aegis of military establishments and always ready to achieve their own interest lest it comes to compromise on national matters, evident from the successive overthrowing of representative regimes. They could not deliver any remarkable to uplift the standard of living of a common man except false promises. It was the Musharraf regime which can be given credit for many reasons: allowed a national government to complete its five year tenure, introduced local government systems for dicentralization of power though a move to by pass the then political and administrative forces like his predecessors military dictators to bolster one man show. Apart from few of blunders in terms of killing of Akbar Bugti, subjugation of judiciary, appointment of army on service and retired personnel in institutions offering higher education, other key positions in major public organiztions and using force as a decisive force instead of dialogue his regime can be recalled for many things during last eight years. He was the first who put hand on non-state actors, brought changes in status of deprived regions like Gilgit-Baltistan bringing reforms and took initiatives to improve education and health facilities. He gave us an International University, increased woman representation, empowered Northern Light Infantry, established N.A scouts and notified Hunza-Nagar district and many more. Yet, at the same time on mass level, despite many accomplishments, it failed to address the real issues of poor. Giant fishes got most and poor further got depressed as the regime greatly revolved around the interests of Chaurdhries and lords. December 2007, shall be remembered a black day when Benazir Bhutto, a female leader of international repute was assassinated at the same place where one of the most famous Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan as killed. Country fell into chaos and observed an extreme internal and internal threat to her existence second time after 1971. Good heaven, the situation soon normalized. With the dawn of democracy, based on Benazir Bhutto's sacrifice has brought a hope of change of image of the country in global economy. PPP led contemporary government has given a new Self Governance Reforms Package 2009 ahead of poles to empower the assembly to legislate on various subjects not allowed in past and choose their own Chief Minister unanimously with the consent of Prime Minister, the head of set up-a good initiative after Z.A Bhutto's compassions for the region. The package has opened a door for more autonomy resembles to that of Azad Kashmir. Though, there are many flaws in the package yet, it will serve to reduce feeling of deprivation among the masses.

There is another side of the picture that the poor performance in many of the departments in government sector during last two years has raised many questions in our mind regarding its capability to cope the challenges that the country faces internally and externally. Public welfare, security from internal and external aggressions and provision of basic necessities to the citizens is the fundamental responsibilities of modern states. Yet, more focus on external threats under security syndrome has left the country nothing but to expend on defense-thus neglecting other sectors like education, strategic personnel planning, health, trade and industry and exploitation of natural resources to strengthen our economy. As for as the private sector especially the NGOs are concerned, the are now confine to reporting to get funds, roam and measure the length of roads in their luxury vehicles. Now it depends on flow of events that will decide the future course of history.





Shamsuddin Muhammad,

Author and Editor,

VoH



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Hyderabad,, IslamicRepublic of Pakistan, Pakistan
I am social person with a tendency towards learning knowledge that will balance the material world and the hereafter, a legacy obtained from the family. I earned my MA (General History with specialization in Modern History) and M.A.S (Master of Administrative siences with speciliazation in HRM) both from University of Karachi in 2005 and 2007 respectively, am fond of social work and public welfare. The blog focuses on social change caused by socio- economic and geo-political impulse in the country in general and the region particular.

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