Shabaz Sharif & PML-N appeasing terrorists?

[sonicboom]

Cornered PML-N launches bid to limit damage

Dawn Correspondent
Tuesday, 16 Mar, 2010

During the national uproar, the PML-N continued to make failed efforts to control the situation, but without much success.

ISLAMABAD: The entire counter-terrorism effort being spearheaded by the country’s security forces went into a tailspin on Monday following a bizarre statement made by Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif a day earlier, pleading the Taliban to spare Punjab from terrorist attacks, prompting a strong reaction from those supporting the efforts to eradicate religious extremism from the country, with Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) making desperate efforts throughout the day to dilute the effects of the controversial statement.

The statement, mainly for its parochial overtone, also came as a rude shock to those who otherwise have their reservations about the army’s efforts to eliminate Taliban, Al-Qaeda and foreign militants from the country’s lawless tribal region.

While Punjab Governor Salman Taseer — for obvious reasons — was the first to denounce the chief minister and accuse him of being an ally of the Taliban, many others thought Shahbaz Sharif’s appeal to the Taliban to “spare Punjab” amounted to justifying terrorist attacks in the rest of the country.

It was amid this raging controversy that the Punjab chief minister had an unscheduled meeting with Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Rawalpindi. What transpired during this one-to-one meeting was not made public, but at least two private television channels, in their late-night bulletins, said the main topic of discussion was Mr Shahbaz’s controversial statement, and its possible repercussions on the army’s fight against religious extremists. One of the TV channels even claimed that the Punjab chief minister was told that his remarks could undermine the entire military operation in which over 2,000 army personnel had lost their lives. Shahbaz reportedly clarified his remarks and claimed that they had been presented “out of context”.

General Kayani has expressed his displeasure over the statement issued by the Punjab Chief Minister regarding the Taliban, DawnNews reported.

He expressed these sentiments during the meeting with Shahbaz Sharif.

According to DawnNews sources, the Punjab Chief Minister, explained to the Army Chief that his statement regarding the Taliban had been twisted by the media. He claimed that he did not support nor did he want any alliance with the Taliban.

After his meeting with the army chief, the Punjab chief minister clearly avoided talking to the waiting journalists at Islamabad airport and quietly left for Lahore. Even on his arrival in the Punjab capital he refused to say anything in front of the cameras.

However, several senior members of his party took pain throughout the day in defending him. Party’s secretary general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra’s logic was that since Mian Shahbaz Sharif was the chief minister of Punjab it was understandable that he only spoke in terms of his province while referring to the Taliban’s actions in the country.

An official statement issued by the Punjab government, quoting the chief minister, indirectly criticised the media for what it said was an incorrect interpretation of the statement. “I had expressed my views on incidents of terrorism in Punjab and bomb blasts in Lahore. Therefore, I also referred to Punjab in my speech which some persons tried to twist to their own liking,” the clarification quoted him as saying.

“I have always talked about Pakistan and have also stated on numerous occasions that the proud people of NWFP were fighting for the survival of Pakistan,” Mr Sharif said.

But the Punjab governor was not impressed. He described the chief minister’s statement as an attempt to create divisions within the federation. Expressing regrets over Mr Sharif’s statement, Governor Salmaan Taseer said that the PML-N had proved that they and Taliban were ‘natural allies’.

“The chief minister’s statement gives an impression as if the PML-N and Taliban are like brothers,” Mr Taseer wondered. He was talking to journalists after attending the convocation of Pak-Aims on Monday. He said the federal government’s foreign policy on war on terror was independent and it was not the duty of the chief minister to form foreign policy of the country.

“The president and the prime minister have made it clear that we will not quit the field in fight against Taliban and extend full support to the army. On the one hand our jawans and citizens are being martyred in the war on terror and on the other Shahbaz Sharif is pleading before them (Taliban) to spare Punjab,” the governor said and questioned the chief minister as to what message he was trying to give.

“We are first Pakistani and then Punjabi, Sindhi, Baloch and Pathan. Shahbaz’s statement gives an impression that Taliban should spare Punjab and carry out terror activities in other provinces of the country,” he said.

The reaction in other parts of the country was even stronger, with many members in the provincial assembly of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) lashing out at the Punjab chief minister for playing politics with the war that had been imposed on the country by religious extremists.

During this uproar, those from the PML-N continued to make failed efforts to control the situation, but without much success.

Political observers say it’s difficult to say what may have prompted Shahbaz Sharif to make such remarks. However, many of them were convinced that it had done more damage to the PML-N and its politics in nearly three years than all other actions.

However, if there was any consolation, a TV report quoted the PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif as saying in London that he regarded the Taliban as mercenaries and “paid killers”, thus suggesting that he too was on the side of the army and government as far as dealing with religious extremism and terrorism in the country was concerned.

DAWN.COM | Front Page | Furore over Shahbaz?s remarks: Cornered PML-N launches bid to limit damage: Punjab CM meets Kayani

 

[sonicboom]

TTP offers conditional truce
Published: March 16, 2010

BANNED outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has offered to Punjab government a two-way truce.

“If you (Punjab Government) don’t take action against Taliban, we’ll not launch attacks in Punjab”, said a Taliban leader.

A private TV channel reported on Monday, Hakeem-ullah Mehsud’s Naib and Mohmand Agency Ameer, Abdul Wali alias Umer Khalid has asserted that if the Punjab government ensured that it would not take steps against them, Taliban would spare Punjab. He said this offer would hold good only if the Punjab government desist from taking action against the TTP.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/16-Mar-2010/TTP-offers-conditional-truce

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

^^^ yeah - the TTP will 'spare' Punjab the way they 'spared' Swat and Malakand division, by whipping women in the streets and butchering any who speak against Taliban barbarities and hanging their bodies from lampposts.

IPhone, the criticism coming the way of Shahbaz Sharif is justified - as you can see even the TTP understood it to mean a position 'favorable to the Taliban', though SS denies he meant anything like that.

 

[Gin ka Pakistan]

Saudi and Iranian are living fine in their countries and have made Pakistan their proxy war area.

 

[sonicboom]

I think it’s about time for TTP to rethink her strategy and can give a big favor to people of Pakistan by helping to get rid of all those corrupt politicians who have looted Pakistan for the last 62 years instead of killing innocent people and acting as a terrorist organization.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

The Taliban's presence on either side of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is largely unwelcome, but increasingly so in Pakistan, where Gallup surveys show they have lost much of the little appeal they had. Four percent of Pakistanis in a November-December 2009 poll, conducted prior to Pakistan's current push to rout the Taliban within its borders, said the Taliban's presence in some areas of the country has a positive influence, down from 15% in June.

Taliban Increasingly Unpopular in Pakistan

 

[All-Green]

It is comments such as these that create mistrust.
Shahbaz Sharif is a Pakistani first and war on terror is not something which has impacted Punjab alone.
It has impacted FATA/NWFP the most and then Punjab...however it does not matter...in summary it has impacted Pakistan and all Pakistanis should stand united.
He should not have mentioned Punjab,we are all in this together and we shall prevail, inshallah.
Now it maybe that some of what he said is taken out of context, however the fact that he did not condemn Taliban openly and aggressive even in this recent speech is something that is of genuine concern.
It is an irony that this statement needs clarification...a clarification which shall lead to a much clearer statement from the PML-N than they have ever wanted to make public for fear of the hardliners whom they want to work with in the future...

PML-N has been playing a political game.
They are not at all participating actively in the war efforts and have never openly denounced Taliban ideology in clear cut terms.
When the parliament wanted to issue a statement praising the army role in the war, the PML-N leadership was the one which did not agree to this...it shows how shallow the PML-N thinking is.

All they say is that we condemn the attack...they never condemn the attackers or the movement which has started this bloodbath.
Instead of educating the public they are actually creating a negative effect on the minds.
They hope that if the war becomes too difficult and the burden too heavy, they will offer an alternative in being a party which can appease to the militants and broker a ceasefire, such a thought is retarded.

I vividly remember last year when Lahore and Peshawar were being hit many times in one week, this is what the tiger Nawaz Sharif said.

"We condemn the daily terrorist attacks"
...as if once in a month it is fine!!!

These guys are not only displaying a lack of courage but a lack of sense as well.
They talk tough but are ensuring that Punjab Police is facing severe issue of manpower due to its protection duties for VIPs, elite force is all being used to escort our beloved CM and his amigos...this is the level of sincerity the CM has when it comes to ensuring the security of his province.
He just replaces a few people to show that he is very proactive but such a step actually backfires without providing the resources to the police...changing a few heads will not change everything.
The police can do a lot if it is allowed to be free of political duties and if the constant politically motivated shufflings are ended.

As a leader, as an administrator and as a Pakistani...Shahbaz has hugely disappointed the province under his charge!

 

[fawwaxs]

Sharif and the Taliban

EVEN by the wretched standards of the cesspit of lies and cravenness that can be the Pakistani political establishment, the comments made on Sunday by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif are extraordinary and demand the most vigorous condemnation possible. Essentially, Mr Sharif has argued that his party, the PML-N, shares a common cause with the Taliban —that of opposing Gen Musharraf and his policies and rejecting ‘dictation’ from abroad — and therefore the Taliban should ‘spare’ Punjab. The very thought that any mainstream politician, let alone one as high-profile and powerful as the serving Punjab chief minister, could find anything in common with the Taliban ideology is despicable. But Mr Sharif has gone so much further than that. By asking the Taliban to ‘spare’ Punjab, what does the Punjab CM mean? Does he mean that the Taliban should launch their attacks elsewhere, in Sindh, Balochistan, the NWFP, Fata, Pata or other places? And what does the CM mean when he says that his party is fighting foreign ‘dictation’ just like the Taliban are? Does he mean that Pakistan should not fight the threat of militancy? What does Mr Sharif want to do instead — accommodate the Taliban like they were accommodated in Swat last year? Or should ‘peace deals’ be struck with the Taliban like they were in South Waziristan for years? The chief minister’s half-hearted ‘clarification’ issued later will not suffice; he must apologise to Punjab and the nation.

That Mr Sharif could possibly be ignorant of the threat posed by the Taliban is impossible. As chief minister of Punjab he has sat at the apex of that province’s administration for over a year and a half now. Countless secret and not-so-secret memos will have arrived on his desk detailing the atrocities and crimes committed and planned by the Taliban. The secret interrogation cell that was attacked in Model Town, Lahore, only a few days ago was run by provincial authorities. The Punjab chief minister is mocking the sacrifices made by the very people who serve his administration by finding common cause with the enemy.

Why is it so difficult for the PML-N to condemn terrorism outright, with no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’? It surely cannot be a question of the reluctance to use violence against ‘fellow Pakistanis’. Like Mr Sharif’s first tenure as chief minister in the late 1990s, Punjab is once again witnessing a spike in ‘encounter’ killings of alleged dacoits, kidnappers and sundry criminals. The men who have been killed in dubious circumstances are also ‘fellow Pakistanis’. But Mr Sharif has no sympathy for these men; in fact, he has on many occasions announced rewards for the policemen for ‘cleaning up’ the province of criminal elements. There has been no talk of an amnesty for such criminals, no appeals to their better sides, no exhortations to recognise that they have much in common with the largest party in Punjab. The ordinary criminals must be wondering what they must do to get on Mr Sharif’s good side. Perhaps a statement against Mr Musharraf will do the trick.

The PML-N needs to come clean with the people of Pakistan. On which side of the divide does it stand? Is it against militancy in all shapes and forms or is it ideologically sympathetic to the ‘justness’ of some facets of the militants’ cause? This is not about political expediency but about the very worst form of moral corruption. Pakistan’s leaders have a sacred duty to protect the people and the sovereignty of the state. There is absolutely nothing in the Taliban’s agenda that is any way even remotely compatible with that sacred duty. In fact, finding common cause with the Taliban is to take the country one step closer to the abyss. Ordinary Pakistanis have shown remarkable courage in resolutely backing the fight against the militants for a year now. Shahbaz Sharif and the PML-N need to accept who the enemy is. Otherwise, they have no business being involved in the affairs of the state.
DAWN.COM | Editorial | Sharif and the Taliban

 

[fawwaxs]

Nawaz Sharif threat to Pakistan’s stability: Musharraf

WASHINGTON: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has slammed PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and labelled him as a ‘closeted Taliban’, media reports said.

The reports claimed that while talking to journalists at a dinner reception near Seattle, Mr Musharraf said that the former prime minister was a great threat to the stability of Pakistan.

Mr Musharraf also said that Pakistani politicians were being hypocritical on the issue of the NRO as those who favoured the controversial ordinance when it was issued were now opposing it.

But the organisers of the reception contradicted media reports, saying that the former general did not call Mr Sharif a “closeted Taliban”.

“He did not say anything of the sort,” said Rizwan Nasr, a member of the executive board of the Friends of Pakistan First group which had organised the dinner and Mr Musharraf’s visit to Seattle.

“He did not utter these words at any event in Seattle,” Mr Nasr said.

In his address to the reception, Mr Musharraf said India and Pakistan must end their confrontation and go for peace.

Speaking to several hundred mostly Pakistani-Americans, Gen (retd) Musharraf also said he would return to politics if he believed he had enough support to make a difference.

“We must stop this confrontation between India and Pakistan... We must go for peace for the sake of the world, because the world considers us to be a nuclear flashpoint,” Seattle Times quoted him as saying at a press conference in the city on Sunday.

Denying that Pakistan had supported terrorist activity in India, he accused it of “hyper reactions” after the 26/11 Mumbai carnage that India blamed on Pakistani terrorists.

Mr Musharraf also accused India of supporting terrorism in Pakistan, including in Balochistan.

Mr Musharraf has been on an extended lecture tour of the US and Europe since stepping down in August 2008.

His visit to Seattle prompted more than 70 protesters to gather on Sunday evening outside the Westin Hotel in Bellevue where he spoke after the press conference.

Responding to a question about his return to Pakistan, Mr Musharraf said he would do so if the people wanted him and if he believed he had enough support to make a contribution.

“If I have to just go there and join a political fray and be involved in accusations and counter-accusations ... like most of the politicians are doing...I am not interested in that kind of politics,” he maintained.

 

[Luftwaffe]

There is absolutely no doubt Bhutto was a genuine leader and his genuine close contacts with Shah Faisal of Saudi Arabia..There should have been a complete investigation into Bhutto's murder when PPP came into power after zia..all those who were involved should have been thrown into life imprisonments instead benazir took a twisted turn a vengeance from the people of Pakistan.
But to me i think Army is the only one to take care and eradicate this party nawaz and lot once and for all.

 

[shuakataftab]

PMLN used terrorists organizations like SSP to win elections from Jhang
and now they are again teaming up with them for local government elections

 

[Ahmad]

perhaps he was scared of the Taliban.

 

[qsaark]

Us mulk aur us key logoN ka Allah bhi haafiz nahiN hota jahaN baat ko baghair tanazur key liya jyey aur us par dashnaam tarazi ki jye. Pehley samjh to leiN kis baat key jawaab mein kya baat hoi!

How many members of this forum particularly those who are expressing their expert's opinion were present at the occasion when Mr. Shabaz made the alleged comments? Any one of these able members got the chance to listen the conversation first hand? Suni sunai par itna shour kar diya? Rasool Allah hi ka farman hey na, Jhootey honey key liyeh itna hi kaafi hey key suni sunai baat baghair tahqeeq aagey kar dey.

Is qoum ka Allah bhi haafiz nahiN hey.

Source: http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/mar2010-daily/17-03-2010/col2.htm

 

[qsaark]

TTP offers conditional truce
Published: March 16, 2010

BANNED outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has offered to Punjab government a two-way truce.

“If you (Punjab Government) don’t take action against Taliban, we’ll not launch attacks in Punjab”, said a Taliban leader.

A private TV channel reported on Monday, Hakeem-ullah Mehsud’s Naib and Mohmand Agency Ameer, Abdul Wali alias Umer Khalid has asserted that if the Punjab government ensured that it would not take steps against them, Taliban would spare Punjab. He said this offer would hold good only if the Punjab government desist from taking action against the TTP.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/16-Mar-2010/TTP-offers-conditional-truce

How credible is this report? On the 'condition of anonymity', anybody can provide any sort of nonsense to the press and if the person is from the Government, who will investigate? This is a very dirty game being played out by the Zardari regime to alienate the PML(N) run Punjab government.

 

[SSGPA1]

TTP offers conditional truce
Published: March 16, 2010

BANNED outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has offered to Punjab government a two-way truce.

“If you (Punjab Government) don’t take action against Taliban, we’ll not launch attacks in Punjab”, said a Taliban leader.

A private TV channel reported on Monday, Hakeem-ullah Mehsud’s Naib and Mohmand Agency Ameer, Abdul Wali alias Umer Khalid has asserted that if the Punjab government ensured that it would not take steps against them, Taliban would spare Punjab. He said this offer would hold good only if the Punjab government desist from taking action against the TTP.

TTP offers conditional truce | Pakistan | News | Newspaper | Daily | English | Online

Thanks for the link. Both Jang Group and Nation are large news papers. If we have to disregard one then it means we have to disregard the other one also.

Why the TTP didn't offer the same truce to other provinces because they are not lead by closet Talibans.

For the supporters of the Talibans and the closet Talibans, there will always be one excuse or other. From Dawn to Nation to all talk shows, everyone condemned these closet Talibans but people still don't get it.