[...]The Nation's Confused Concept of Justice | Pakistan Media Watch –– پاکستان میڈیا واچ[...]…

‘MI handed Dr Aafia over to US’ By Faraz Khan Friday, August 08, 2008

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C08%5C08%5Cstory_8-8-2008_pg7_7

KARACHI: The Sindh Home Department has alleged Military Intelligence (MI) detained Dr Aafia Siddiqui in 2003 and then handed her over to United States-based agencies, Daily Times learnt on Thursday.

Six months after her divorce, she married Ammar al-Baluchi, a nephew of the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, at a small ceremony near Karachi. Siddiqui’s family denies the wedding took place, but it has been confirmed by Pakistani and US intelligence, al-Baluchi’s relatives and, according to FBI interview reports recently filed in court, Siddiqui herself. At any rate, it was a short-lived honeymoon. The mystery of Dr Aafia Siddiqui Declan Walsh The Guardian, Tuesday 24 November 2009http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/24/aafia-siddiqui-al-qaida

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is believed to have been born in either 1964 or 1965 in Kuwait into a family originally from the Pakistani province of Baluchistan, which borders Afghanistan. He is said to be fluent in Arabic, English, Urdu and Baluchi. He graduated in 1986 from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in the US. Profile: Al-Qaeda ‘kingpin’ Page last updated at 14:04 GMT, Friday, 13 November 2009http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2811855.stm

Terror mastermind captured – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is thought to be the man who masterminded the attacks on 11 September. His capture in Pakistan was seen as a key success in the US fight to counter al-Qaeda. BBC News Online presents key video reports following the arrest. Tuesday, 4 March, 2003, 22:56 GMT http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/2820179.stm

Mohammed was captured on March 1, 2003, at a safe house in Rawalpindi, a garrison town near the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. The photograph that flashed across the world after the arrest was of a slovenly, overweight man. When Mohammed, an avid reader of press reports about him, later saw it, he was furious. ‘THE MASTERMIND’ For smug KSM, federal court could be perfect arena By Peter Finn Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, November 14, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/11/13/ST2009111300917.html?sid=ST2009111300917

In a surprise move this week, Pakistan’s federal minister of the interior, Faisal Saleh Hayat, listed a number of incidences in which members of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), the premier fundamentalist party in the country, had been tied to al-Qaeda, and called on it to “explain these links”.
Pakistan turns on itself By Syed Saleem Shahzad Aug 19, 2004http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FH19Df05.html

“It was published in the national press on the very first day after this raid that the police conducted two raids in Rawalpindi and arrested Arabs. I believe that they arrested these people from some other location and showed them arrested at the residence of Ahmed Abdul Qudoos, who is a relative of a leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami’s women’s wing,” the chief of the Jamaat-i-Islami, Karachi, Dr Merajul Huda, told Asia Times Online. The Jamaat-i-Islami is Pakistan’s most prominent Islamic party and a part of an ultraconservative coalition that gained an unprecedented number of seats in last October’s elections, largely on the strength of a virulently anti-American platform. Khalid: A test for US credibility By Syed Saleem Shahzad Mar 6, 2003 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC06Df04.html

CIA’s ‘preeminent source’

Is There More to the Capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Than Meets the Eye? http://www.historycommons.org/essay.jsp?article=essayksmcapture

Missing US Connections [why in every such US Citizens are involved] Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s disappearance The following is a chronological account of Dr Siddiqi’s disappearance and the current status of the situation: 30 March 2004 Tuesdayhttp://www.dawn.com/2004/03/30/letted.htm#5

Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s husband breaks his silence after six years – Wednesday, February 18, 2009 – Claims most reports in the local media are false, suspects his two ‘missing’ children are in Karachi – By Aroosa Masroor http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=20404

’عافیہ نے جہاد کرنے پر زور ڈالا‘
احمد رضا
بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، کراچی
وقتِ اشاعت: Wednesday, 18 February, 2009, 21:32 GMT 02:32 PST
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2009/02/090218_aafia_husband_interview_rh.shtml

Musharraf recalls in his memoir, “In the Line of Fire.” Within months Kiyani had unraveled the two plots and arrested most of the participants. He was rewarded in 2004 with a promotion to chief of ISI, and the next year his agency scored big with the arrest of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the senior Qaeda lieutenant who masterminded the attempts on Musharraf’s life. A former U.S. intelligence official who dealt personally with Kiyani says the ISI “took a lot of bad guys down” under his leadership. REFERENCE: The Next Musharraf A Westernized, chain-smoking spy could soon become the most powerful man in Pakistan. By Ron Moreau and Zahid Hussain NEWSWEEK From the magazine issue dated Oct 8, 2007 http://www.newsweek.com/id/41883

By: Ahmed Naqvi

Aafia Siddiqui’s legal case has done its round in Pakistan’s media. From the anti-government newspaper The Nation, to the relatively liberal and seemingly unbiased Dawn, everyone has taken a swipe at this jaw-dropping, mind-numbing political situation. Yes, political situation. Though her curious case may have been shrouded under a dark cloud, the manner in which the opponents of this government have turned her case into a ticking time bomb is truly disgusting.

Recently a protest was carried out in Gujranwala at the behest of the Jamaat-e-Islami. Why? They wanted to “condemn” the jury decision made by a US court, which went against their wishes. I have no complaints with holding a protest, it is a privilege we all share given by our constitution, but tell me, how many of the protestors knew the details surrounding the case? Is it not ironic that people argue for the supremacy and sovereignty of courts in their own country, but “condemn” the courts of another? Furthermore, you want the United States to be respectful, but all you can do is burn the US Flag and effigies of their political leaders. Practice what you preach; it is really not that hard.

It is unfortunate that whenever Pakistan is mentioned in the media, we seem to be under a cloud of negative news stories. With the amount of media covering the case, one would think that Mrs. Siddiqui would take the opportunity and prove her innocence on an emotional front. What did she end up doing? Much to the delight of Zaid Hamid, Aafia Siddiqui lambasted Israel and Zionism (which has nothing to do with her legal case) and refused assistance provided by her government. I find it truly amazing that the MIT graduate did not take a smarter route and ended up looking like well – not innocent.

What is more regrettable in such situations is not the outcry we witness in Pakistan but the instigators who enjoy making the situation a political mountain. These nincompoops play with the emotions and sentiments of the Pakistani nation. One of them seems to be enjoying the spotlight with a fashion designer, while the other is nothing short of a brilliant fable writer. You guessed them – Zaid Hamid and Ahmed Quraishi. Zaid Hamid is a comic story and it is hilarious to see how he is making rounds in schools and colleges promoting the Pakistan Allama Iqbal envisioned. It is an insult, that a character as shady and repulsive as Hamid’s, is trying to create parallels with one of our most noble and revered leaders.
To truly understand the fable writing of Ahmed Quraishi, one only needs to go through his website and find all the predictions he has made. Sadly, none of them have come true. How I wish they had, it would have saved me some research and allowed me to concentrate elsewhere! Working in collaboration with The Nation, Mr. Quraishi has gone to great lengths slinging mud on diplomats, bureaucrats and elected officials. Singing a populist tone, he lambasts the United States for constant drone attacks, but refuses to pen a single word against the Pakistan Army who has sanctioned such strikes. He loathes Anne Patterson and the United States with a passion, but had no issues applying for employment opportunities with US companies. Does he truly think that he is our messiah by making himself look like a fool?
The Nation enjoyed the verdict against Aafia Siddiqui. Using the political storm created by the case, the paper blasted their favorite punching bag, Ambassador Haqqani and the federal government for not securing the release of Aafia Siddiqui. It is strange that they would think that an Ambassador has the ability to give an innocent verdict and advocate a criminal case. It was the same logic that led them to believe Mr. Haqqani wrote the Kerry-Lugar Bill!

In a recent article, Kaswar Klasara articulates that Mr. Haqqani flew all the way from the United States to the PM Secretariat in order to clear his position after he badly failed to pursue Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s case efficiently. Mr. Klasara believes we live in a day and age without any telephones or emails. Surely, Mr. Haqqani could have made a simple phone call to PM Gilani instead of enduring a grueling fifteen hour flight?
Also, how could The Nation possibly publish an article without calling for the Ambassador’s resignation? Using information from his beloved “source”, Klasara states the Presidency and PM Secretariat were proposed by certain quarters to replace Hussain Haqqani by a suitable career-diplomat. Now this rings a bell! Oh yes, it was Ahmed Quraishi and his little gang sitting at their writers cubicle in The Nation offices some time ago, creating a rumor where Mr. Haqqani was being removed within 48 hours. That “time ago” was October last year.

Stop the hate Mr. Quraishi and Mr. Hamid! Nothing good can possibly come out of it. All you guys are doing is taking advantage of the gossip and drawing room politic culture present in Pakistan by instigating downright lies. Fuelling conspiracy theories is not the solution to the problems we face today. It is not going to help anyone’s cause. This path of destruction that you two are leading conservatives on is not going to stop the militants from blowing up another school in Peshawar or them killing a few innocent civilians in Karachi. Too many lives have been lost; too many politics have been played. Stop indulging in these malicious activities; it is time you two started acting with some maturity and dignity.