Tag: Pakistan

  • Pakistan bans Facebook website

    Pakistan bans Facebook website

    A court in Pakistan has ordered the authorities temporarily to block the Facebook social networking site.

    facebook logo

    The order came when a petition was filed following reports that the site was holding a competition featuring caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

    The petition, filed by a lawyers’ group called the Islamic Lawyers’ Movement, said the contest was “blasphemous”.

    Internet is free in Pakistan but the government monitors content by routing all traffic through a central exchange.

    Justice Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court ordered the department of communications to block the website until 31 May, and to submit a written reply to the petition by that date.

    An official told the court that parts of the website that were holding the competition had been blocked, reports the BBC Urdu service’s Abdul Haq in Lahore.

    But the petitioner said a partial blockade of a website was not possible and that the entire link had to be blocked.

    The lawyers’ group says Pakistan is an Islamic country and its laws do not allow activities that are “un-Islamic” or “blasphemous”.

    The judge also directed Pakistan’s foreign ministry to raise the issue at international level.

    In the past, Pakistan has often blocked access to pornographic sites and sites with anti-Islamic content.

    It has deemed such material as offensive to the political and security establishment of the country, says the BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad.

    In 2007, the government banned the YouTube site, allegedly to block material offensive to the government of Pervez Musharraf.

    The action led to widespread disruption of access to the site for several hours. The ban was later lifted.

    BBC

  • Secretary Addresses Pakistan, Afghanistan…

    Secretary Addresses Pakistan, Afghanistan…

    By Donna Miles
    American Forces Press Service
    WASHINGTON, March 1, 2009 – As the United States reviews its strategy in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he’s gratified by Pakistan’s growing recognition of the importance of eliminating extremist safe havens along its border.Speaking on CNBC’s “Meet the Press,” Gates called the situation on the Pakistani side of the volatile border region “worrisome.” He noted that the region has become a haven for Taliban, al-Qaida and other extremist groups that work together to support common goals.

    “As long as they have a safe haven to operate there, it is going to be a problem for us in Afghanistan,” Gates said. “The key here is our being able to cooperate with and enable the Pakistanis to be able to deal with this problem on their own sovereign territory.”

    Gates said his talks with Pakistani leaders during the past week, part of the Obama administration’s review of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, left him convinced that Pakistan recognizes the importance of fixing the problem.

    “They clearly now understand that what is going on in that border area is as big a risk to the stability of Pakistan as it is a problem for us in Afghanistan,” he said.

    Gates said the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, along with military and civil support provided by other partner nations, is helping provide stability. This, he said, is preventing terrorists from reclaiming former safe havens in Afghanistan that could be used to plot against the United States and other countries.

    As the United States reviews its Afghanistan strategy, President Barack Obama is promoting broad dialogue and seeking input from not only Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also Europeans and other allies. “We’re bringing in an awful lot of people to get different points of view,” Gates said.

    Gates said the review, which he hopes will be completed in a few weeks, will help establish a way forward. He said it also will help determine whether more than the 17,000 additional troops already authorized will be sent to Afghanistan.

    The secretary addressed a variety of other defense-related issues during today’s Meet the Press broadcast.

    On Iran:

    The U.S. focus on Iraq — now or in the past — hasn’t distracted the past or current administration from “the growing problem with Iran and its nuclear program,” Gates said.

    “I think there has been a continuing focus on, ‘How do you get the Iranians to walk away from a nuclear weapons program?’ Gates said. “They are not close to a stockpile. They are not close to a weapon at this time. And so it is a question of whether you can increase the level of the sanctions and the cost to the Iranians of pursuing that program.”

    At the same time, Gates said it’s necessary to “show them an open door if they want to engage with the Europeans or with us” if they abandon the program.

    The global economic crisis and the drop in oil prices that’s left Iran cash-strapped could actually help the effort, he said. “Our chances of being successful seems to be a lot better at $35 or $40 dollar [a barrel] oil than they were at $140 oil, because there are economic costs to this program,” Gates said.

    On Mexico:

    The United States could help the Mexican government in its crackdown on drug cartels, Gates said.

    The secretary heralded President Felipe Calderón’s initiatives and said the United States could ultimately be in a position to help. Among assets the U.S. military might contribute, he said, are training, reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities and other resources.

    “It clearly is a serious problem,” Gates said.

    On the global economic crisis:

    The economic crisis poses a serious threat to international stability and international cooperation, Gates said.

    “Terrorism is a much more limited and defined threat,” he said. “They are both real. [But] the economic threat clearly affects many, many more people and countries.”

    On Russia:

    Russia represents “a real challenge” as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin asserts Russian’s role as an international player by blocking initiatives it doesn’t support, Gates said.

    But “there is a chance to reset the relationship, because there are a number of areas where we have common interests,” including arms control, he said, reiterating Vice President Joe Biden’s recent comments at a security conference in Munich, Germany.

    “So we will be looking for opportunities to see if we can make some progress with the Russians,” Gates said. “But it has been tough.”

    On serving as defense secretary:

    Gates remained mum on how long he intends to serve as Obama’s defense secretary, saying he has no specific date in mind to leave his post.

    The decision, he said, is “clearly up to the president.”

    But asked if he would remain on the job through the end of Obama’s four-year term, Gates responded: “That would be a challenge.”

    Biographies:
    Robert M. Gates
    Related Articles:
    Gates: Plans on Track for New Transition Force Role in Iraq
  • A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Marching on the Pentagon

    A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Marching on the Pentagon


    Want information on the March 21st March on the Pentagon?
    Go to

    Why We’re Marching on the Pentagon
    Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine … Occupation is A Crime

    Please post this event on your Facebook and MySpace pages, and forward it widely to your friends and family.


    Download the 2-sided color ANSWER flyer, which has this statement on the back

    Why are we still marching even after the war criminal George W. Bush has left office? Because the people must speak out for what is right. More than 1 million Iraqis have died and tens of thousands of U.S. troops have been wounded or killed.

    The Iraq and Afghanistan war will drag on for years unless we act now. The cost in lives and resources is criminal regardless of whether the Democrats or Republicans are in charge of the government.

    We must also act to end U.S. support for Israel’s ongoing war against the Palestinian people. The Bush Administration gave the green light and provided the weapons and the money for Israel’s recent war against the Palestinian people in Gaza. More than 5,000 Palestinians were killed or wounded; the majority of casualties were civilians, including hundreds of children, in this high-tech massacre. “We the People” pay the bill as the U.S. provides $2.5 billion a year for Israel’s massive military machine.

    Why We Say “Bring All the Troops Home Now Not Later!”

    If Bush’s war and occupation of Iraq was an illegal action of aggression—and it was—how can the new government say that it can only gradually end the war over a number of years? The Iraqis don’t want foreign military forces running their country. No one would!

    The Pentagon has employed 200,000 foreign contractors (mercenaries) and 150,000 U.S. troops to maintain the occupation of Iraq. They have no right to be there. A few thousand are being brought out of Iraq only to be redeployed to occupy Afghanistan, and the fools in the media proclaim “the war is winding down.” That is not true.

    President Obama decided to keep the Pentagon just as it was under Bush. He even selected Bush appointee Robert Gates to keep his position as chief of the Pentagon. Gates announced that the new administration would double the number of troops sent to Afghanistan. That is certainly not the “change” most people thought was coming following the end of Bush’s tenure.

    These are wars for domination in the Middle East and Central Asia.

    The people of the United States want change. We are sick and tired of wars of aggression waged abroad under false slogans of “national security.” These are wars that reap massive profits for corporate weapons-makers with the promise of winning control over the vast oil and natural gas reserves in the Middle East and Central Asia.

    Working people may have another definition for “national security.” What really makes the people “insecure?” Ask the 2.3 million families who are losing their homes because they are being foreclosed when they can’t pay their steep debts to the banks. Ironically, when these same parasitic bankers couldn’t pay their debts, the federal government rushed in with a $2.5 trillion bailout using our tax dollars.

    Or ask working-class students who are being laid off from their jobs just as tuition costs soar out of reach. What defines “security” for millions of young people whose future is at stake? Do they want tax dollars spent to kill poor people abroad or to finance education?

    We will march on Saturday, March 21, the sixth anniversary of the start of the Iraq invasion, to demand that taxpayer dollars be used to meet people’s needs—here and everywhere. This year’s real Pentagon war budget will top $1 trillion.

    This amount could create 10 million jobs, provide healthcare and education for all, rebuild New Orleans, and repair much of the damage done in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. We need money for jobs, housing, health care and education, not for wars of aggression.

    The occupation of Iraq alone costs $12 billion each month. This amounts to $400 million each day, $16.7 million per hour and $278,000 per minute.

    The Pentagon war machine does not act in our interests. Its wars benefit the biggest corporations and banks that seek to control the markets and riches of the Middle East. The people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine are not our enemies. They want to live free from colonial-type domination. Only a people’s movement demanding an end to U.S. wars and militarism can win justice for people here and abroad.

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