Are there only mud-hut homes in Pakistan?

No. Here are pictures of just a few homes in the karachi suburbs of Clifton, Mohammad Ali Society, PCHS, KDA, Defence.

Employment, Investment and Entrepreneurship can change Pakistan!

By David Montero, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Tue Oct 24, 4:00 AM ET

KARACHI, PAKISTAN - When he started his software company, Omar Malik wasn't thinking about social responsibility - let alone changing society.

He wanted to make a bundle in Pakistan's exploding service sector, he readily admits. But now, eight years later, he's seen what a difference his company makes in the lives of his 35 employees, most of them educated at local universities. For Mr. Malik, a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, business has an underlying social mission.

"Even if you come from a lower class background, you will, through companies like ours, be able to get better opportunities," says Malik, whose Lahore-based firm, Trisoft Technology, develops software for clients as diverse as the government of Punjab and a semiconductor firm in Dallas, Texas.

Service sector businesses like Trisoft are exploding in Pakistan, reaching record growth this year and accounting for half the country's gross domestic product. They've helped the economy grow so fast - 8.4 percent in 2005 - that some are calling it one of Asia's hottest.

While such a rapid explosion of wealth among Pakistan's elite has raised concerns about a parallel explosion in social inequality, Malik is part of a wave of young entrepreneurs who see an emerging antidote: their businesses. By creating jobs for young people and exportable products that promote stability, they reason, they can give Pakistanis viable alternatives to extremism.

"How many people who have jobs would actually go to their employer and say, 'There's a protest. I'm going to go burn some American flags'?" asks Shakir Hussain, a Whittier College graduate who employs 45 people at his software-consulting business in Karachi.

And not only would such jobs keep youth away from violent activities - it could also help project a different face of Pakistan to the world and vice versa, young entrepreneurs say. American clients constitute the bulk of business for both Malik and Mr. Hussain.

Nearly every day their staffs interact via phone and e-mail with counterparts in the US or other Western countries. For most, it's the only time in their lives they would interact, and those interchanges are helping erase misconceptions on both sides.

"[My employees] realize, 'Hey, these people are exactly like us. They don't bring up politics and religion every time. There is no agenda,' " says Malik.

Cross-cultural currents are increasingly common in the country's new economy, which has by most accounts undergone a dramatic turnaround in recent years. In 1998, when it was bogged down with sanctions after detonating a nuclear bomb, the country was close to defaulting on its foreign loans; today Standard and Poor's gives it a B+ rating.

Economic liberalization has helped blaze that path, but so too, has 9/11. In a bid to win Pakistan's support in the war on terror following the attack, the US canceled $1.5 billion in debt. Remittances sent by expat Pakistanis jumped from $1.5 billion in 2001 to $4 billion last year. Many expats came with their capital, helping to spur real estate and stock market booms.

The government likes to brag that the dividends of growth are already trickling down. Poverty has fallen from 34.5 percent in 2001 to 23.3 percent in 2005, according to the Asian Development Bank, it points out. "Wherever you go you see traffic jams. This is a good thing to have. People are buying cars and automobiles," says Ashfaq Hassan Khan, an economic adviser to the finance ministry.

Not everyone agrees, however. Instead, there is a national debate as to whom Pakistan's new wealth is actually benefiting.

"If you look at where a lot of the money's being made, it's real estate and the stock market. And that's benefited few people," says Hussain. The employees at his business, Creative Chaos, come mainly from local universities typically attended by lower- and middle- class students. Hussain admits his staff is certainly not representative of the poorest of the poor. But he sees his business as a start to luring less privileged young people into a rapidly expanding industry. In the coming months his company will host a scholarship program to encourage this trend.

It's a vital effort, say some analysts, who see a storm brewing on the horizon. Wealth is increasing, but it's controlled by the upper classes, says Kaiser Bengali, a Karachi-based economist.

Mr. Bengali and others are worried that the economic expansion is only exacerbating disparities that lead to extremism, among other things. Unemployment has improved, falling from 8.3 percent in 2002 to 6.5 percent in the first half of 2006, according to the Asian Development Bank. But without the prospect of new industries where they can find jobs, analysts say, young people are susceptible to the lures of radical groups, who provide support and a sense of purpose.

"[Extremism] has an economic solution," says Mr. Khan, the economic adviser. "If you reduce the amount of inequality, you will remove the sources of extremism," says Bengali. It's a position Washington would like to bolster by beefing up small businesses. In August, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed an agreement with the Pakistani government granting $17.3 million to be used in part for 130,000 loans to small and micro businesses.

While young entrepreneurs are optimistic about their country's progress, they also know they can't just sit back and enjoy the spoils.

"[T]here's a possibility that the country can get out of the stagnant position it's in," says Umair Aziz, Hussain's business partner, who worked for a software company in Boston for several years before returning to Pakistan. "It's people like us ... who can make that change possible."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20061024/wl_csm/odynamo

Myth: Transportation infrastructure in Pakistan???

WORLD's 8TH WONDER: The Karakoram Mountain Range Highway linking China to Pakistan
ONE OF MANY MOTORWAYS LINKING PAKISTANI CITIES
KKH - Karakoram Highway
Karachi - to - Gwadar COASTAL HIGHWAY

Watch Video: http://www.whatispakistan.com



















The best book out there for Travel to Pakistan.

New Development: FIVE STAR HOTEL: This post dedicated to Talha...

The Centaurus complex is a 3 million sq ft (278,700 m²) concept for a mixed-use development in central Islamabad unveiled by Atkins UK. It is currently under construction and expected to be completed by 2008. The centrepiece of the mixed-use scheme, commissioned by Pak Gulf Ltd, is a 37-storey, 350-bedroom seven-star hotel topped by a panoramic restaurant capturing views of both the city and the mountainous skyline above it.
The design also incorporates a 300,000 sq ft (27,870 m²) shopping mall, 250,000 sq ft (23,225 m²) of office space, and more than 300 residential apartments. When complete, the Centaurus will be the second seven-star hotel in the world, and the first in Pakistan.
The building symbolises the growth of Pakistan along with its capital city of Islamabad, which will enable it to host conferences and seminars of international standards.

Myth: Pakistan is not a viable destination for IT & BPO Services

Pakistan is a great, cost-effective and stable environment for outsourcing bpo & IT Services. As of late, Even major Indian corporations have opened up IT shops in Pakistan. It is hoped that such mutually advantageous commerce will lead to peace between the two countries.

P@SHA
Pakistan Software Houses Association

If you are not doing business here already, you must have missed the news: Pakistan - the world's seventh populous state. With so many people, there was bound to be a revolution.

A revolution indeed. Pakistan has entered the 21st century.
2 million internet users and growing fast.
Over 1000 cities and towns connected
to the internet.
Almost 5 million cellular users growing at over 100% per annum.
Almost 50 national and international airlines serving millions of
passengers annually.
Over 250,000 kilometres of country-wide road network.
Over 52 million passengers using country wide railway network
per annum.
Located at the foot of Himalayas off the depths of the Arabian sea, Pakistan is the intersection of East and West. While its northern areas offer routes - both geographical and political - into the uncharted economies of central Asia and the fast growing economic giant - China, its southern shores offer unencumbered traffic to and from Australia, South Asia, the far East, Middle East, Europe and Africa.
That is yesterday's Pakistan.
While still securely located in one of the world's most commercially and politically strategic areas, Pakistan today offers a gateway into any and every conceivable medium.
As the country grows by leaps and bounds, we invite you to grow by gigabytes and megahertz.
The stage is set.
Our destination is your destination.
Our fuel is cost-efficiency and product
effectiveness.
Our vehicle is information technology.
Putting the Capital in Human Capital
Pakistan's government is cognizant of the value of its labor pool, and even more conscious of the importance of value-added skills information. With Pakistan's entry into the digital age, Pakistan's population growth is being outdone by its massive investment in human capital.
Within the past two years, the government of Pakistan has:
Committed almost Rs 1.5 billion to the development of human
capital.
Distributed nearly Rs 1.1 billion to over 45 human capital projects.
Set up facilities that will impart training in a host of value-added
skills and services to over 30,000 students. Among the areas of
training: systems integration, (such as Microsoft, Cisco) business
application (such as Oracle) and networking (such as Linux).
Established a fund that caters annually to over 4,000 graduate
and post-graduate students, specializing in information
technology.
Begun the process of training the entire spectrum of government
servants in the use of information technology, as specific to their
area of work/expertise.
Pakistan's population, one of the youngest in the world has consistently provided the country with its greatest wealth - a steady stream of skilled labor. The demographic profile of the country ensures that it will be supplied with a continued and growing labor pool. In particular:
33% of Pakistan's total labor force of 41.2 million workers is
composed of urban labor.
Over 43% of Pakistan's population is below 15 years of age.
The skilled urban labor force of Pakistan is over 15 million, strong
and growing.
There are clear and obvious advantages of doing business in Pakistan. Low costs, a wealth of trained professionals and a government actively engaged in creating a facilitative and enabling environment.
And its not just one area for which Pakistan should be considered.
Software development
Call centers
Transcription services
Business process improvement
Systems integration
Since attaining freedom in 1947, sustained economic growth has been a hallmark of Pakistan's economy. The country has never experienced negative growth. Indeed, the new millennium has only served to whet the economy's appetite for growth.
Countless consumer goods, financial, insurance and technology firms have set up shop in Pakistan.
Pakistan, now more than ever before, offers a low cost, high quality information technology frontier like none other.
The world is doing business with Pakistan. Why aren't you?
Companies like;
Citibank Nortel
Cisco Systems ABN-AMRO
Merrill lynch Invislign Technology
HSBC Siemens
Intel Motorola
Ericsson Microsoft
Oracle Compaq
and a battalion of other foreign companies are successfully doing business in Pakistan.

Myth: Public Debate is not allowed anywhere in Pakistan

The truth is arguing and debating is our national obsession. Even little school girls get into the act. Here some girls in Lahore present pros and cons to the government's decision to go ahead with nuclear tests. The girls interact with an Indian journalist.

Video:

Myth: Pakistan is a divided nation with little or no unity

It is possible that this myth is perpetuated by Pakistanis themselves. We can be a nation of argumentative, cynical complainers! However, After the Earthquake in Pakistan the whole nation had galvanized to help their fellow countrymen. Although, the earthquake was a horrific catastrophe, the atmosphere in the cities and towns and villages of Pakistan was electric with a sense of purpose. The poor gave their warm clothes to the less fortunate. The common gave money from his small income to the victims. The middle and upper class purchased medicine and sent their sons to help out in the mountainous regions. People lined up to give blood and donations. Schoolchildren collected money for the survivors. Pakistan was a nation united.


On behalf of the people of Pakistan, the prime minister assured through the leadership of the AJK to the people of Kashmir that they would not be left alone in this hour of distress and all out support in the reconstruction process.
The meeting reviewed the rescue and relief operations so far, and also noted various suggestions and proposals to ensure coordination in the reconstruction operations. Shaukat once again expressed his deepest condolence for those who lost their lives in the earthquake.
APP adds: The prime minister said he had issued special directives to all the departments concerned and agencies involved in relief, recovery and reconstruction phases to focus on the early rehabilitation of the people.
Explaining 12-point strategy plan for reconstruction and rehabilitation, he said there was a need to shift survivors from rubbles to tents and temporary shelters as quickly as possible. Ultimately they would move towards construction of model cities for permanent settlement of homeless people.
He said there was need to identify overlaps and gaps in relief to affected areas, regulate private, foreign and public sector relief goods and services and fill the gaps.
The prime minister directed to gear up medical and trauma treatment for the injured and arrange for transitional schools, hospitals and other public offices to restore the government structure.
Shaukat Aziz further explaining the plan directed the authorities and departments concerned to prepare reconstruction plan for the impacted areas including full restoration of infrastructure, setting priorities, coordinating support at ground level and implementation of the plan in more accountable and transparent manner.
The prime minister said the people of Pakistan and government stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in this difficult hour and assured full support in the reconstruction process.
Shaukat Aziz said the immediate priority of the government was to open roads, hospitals, schools and other buildings.
The prime minister appreciating international support to Pakistan for the help of earthquake victims said the government had asked the friendly countries to provide technical assistance in reconstruction.
The prime minister said the earthquake of October 8 was one of the worst natural disaster in Pakistan’s history and more than 39,000 lives have been lost so far, many remained missing and the exact number of victims will probably never be known.
He said over three million people had lost their homes and livelihoods.
Shaukat Aziz said the catastrophe had galvanized the nation in a spirit of common humanity to provide help to their fellow citizens in their hour of need.
Appreciating the response of people, the prime minister said they responded as one nation with an immense, spontaneous outpouring of compassion and generosity, on a scale never witnessed before.
The prime minister said the participation of the people and their enthusiasm was a source of strength for the government. He said the people must know that they are not alone.
Shaukat Aziz said: “we are also greatly encouraged by the resilience of the people in disaster stricken areas.”
The prime minister said a tragedy of this magnitude required a long-term commitment of resources to rebuild the shattered communities and provide some hope to the survivors.
He said the federal government provided leadership in the aftermath of earthquake and mounted largest relief effort ever.
He said the uniformed personnel, police, civil authorities, doctors and nurses, volunteers were doing their utmost despite many constraints. He said they were providing relief, carrying out search and rescue operations, doing forensic work to help identify the victims.
The prime minister said this rapid response yielded substantial dividends and widespread starvation was avoided and there were no epidemics.
He said the federal relief commissioner was coordinating and keeping track of all the activities while Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority will coordinate the damage and needs assessment as well as reconstruction in a transparent manner.

Myth: India is a paradise for Muslims, Pakistan is hell for Muhajirs

There is a belief in the Indian circles that Muhajirs (refugees from India) live under terrible circumstances and discrimination. They claim that Muslims in India are infinitely better off than Pakistani Muhajirs.

To debunk this myth: Let us read the account of a brilliant and highly conscientious young man (a non muslim) from India regarding his observations about the state of Muslims in India. He does not feel minorities in Pakistan are in a perfect situation but nor does he subscribe to the popular belief about conditions of muhajirs in Pakistan.

Mayank Austen Soofi is a bit of a scholar with a massive library of 25000 books. He blogs at pakistanpaindabad.blogspot.com

Here is his posting - I invite Pakistanis, Indians and others to visit all of his thoughtful blogs.

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All Muslims are not Terrorists, but all Terrorists are Muslims
by Mayank Austen Soofi

After the death of more than 200 commuters in the coordinated Mumbai train blasts in July, 2006, the city police in an effort to prove that no stone is being left unturned to catch the culprits raided the shanties and flats of the Muslim ghettos throughout the metropolis. Houses were searched, cupboards were emptied, and mattresses were turned upside down. While the women were spared, the men in the house - fathers, sons, uncles, cousins - were taken to the nearest police station for further interrogation. Almost all of them were later released.

It is believed that Islamist terrorists were behind the blasts and this logic gave a moral license to the country's authorities to put an entire community to suspicion.

Muslims in India

Islam is the second largest religion in India. True. India has the largest number of Muslims after Indonesia. True. Indian Muslims are the only Muslims in the world who are fortunate to repeatedly caste votes in free democratic elections in their native lands. True. Some of India's top film stars are Muslims. True. There have been three Muslim Presidents in India, including the present one. True. India's richest man is a Muslim. True. The Indian whose company manufactures cheap AIDS medicines for the world's poor is a Muslim. True. India's greatest ornithologist was a Muslim. True. Taj Mahal was built by a Muslim. True.

So what's the problem?

Muslim Pie in India

According to the 2001 Census of India, Muslims constitute 13.4% of the country's population. But they account for just 3% of government employees, and an even smaller percentage are employed by private Hindu businesses. Meanwhile, in the cities, 30% of Muslims are illiterate, vs. 19% of Hindus. Literacy rate of Muslims is 59.1, vs. 65.11 of Hindus. Work participation rate is 31.3%, vs. 40.4 of Hindus. The statistics of the Hindus, who constitute more than 80% of the total population, should be kept in perspective while comparing these figures.

Islam in India's Domestic Politics

Muslims are generally sympathetic to the country's apparently secular political parties. They are advised to vote for these parties if they do not wish to be eaten alive by the Hindu fundamentalists, who happen to have a very impressive following in the country.

Sadly, these secular parties have done nothing to lift Muslims from their pothole of primitive madrasa education and abject poverty. They treat Muslims as mere vote banks.

Muslims Not Wanted

Salman Rushdie in his novel The Moor's Last Sigh observed that if somebody hates India, he just needs to destroy Mumbai. We Indians are quite up to the task.

Mumbai is considered to be the most cosmopolitan city of India. In a land where everything is ancient and thousand-years-old, Mumbai stands out as a New World where old identities can be jettisoned to shape a new one. What New York City is to the world, Mumbai is to India. People from all corners and communities of the country are attracted to this dream city for the realization of a better future. Mumbai is said to accept all in its arms.

Do not believe it. It is a myth. If you are a Muslim, no matter how much money you have, you will find it difficult to rent a flat in any respectable middle-class locality. A Muslim in an otherwise-cosmopolitan Mumbai is bound to end up in a ghetto. The story repeats itself in cities like Delhi, too.

Those Dirty Muslims

Muslims are generally deemed by a majority of Hindus as minorities in bigoted nations are usually considered to be: unclean, uneducated, and unpatriotic. But if anyone in the community tries to get himself out from this cliché, he is quickly dumped back to his old place.

So, why not continue to live within the frames of the stereotype picture?

The Culture of Riots

Indian spirit, if vaporized down to its essence, consists of four essentials: Politics, Bollywood, cricket and Hindu-Muslim riots.

According to a 2005 report in the TIME magazine, in all the communal riots since independence, official police records reveal that three-quarters of the lives lost and properties destroyed were Muslim.

It would be seriously biased to only blame the Hindus but it is the Muslim community which always suffers the most.

One of the worst tragedies that could have befallen on independent India was not Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, but the 1992 destruction of the abandoned Babri Masjeed in Ayodhya, which many Hindus believed and still maintains so, was built on the ruins of an ancient temple. The event led to riots breaking out between the Hindus and Muslims throughout the country. Thousands of Indians lost their lives. Muslims were the worst victims. The Hindu fundamentalist leaders who were responsible for this tragedy nevertheless reached to power during the later years. In spite of the blood of innocent people sticking on to their hands, they remain as some of the most respectable politicians today.

Lesson of the story: In India, you could kill innocent Muslim men, rape their women, burn their children and still could become the country's prime minister. A Musslamaan's life, or death, do not matter in this country, where everybody's life is cheap anyways.

Justice to Muslims? No!

When Bombay was still not renamed Mumbai by Hindu conservatives, a riot, as a repercussion of the mosque demolition mentioned above, erupted in the city in 1993. Mr Bal Thackeray, the former cartoonist, was believed to have used his speeches to inflame the 'sentiments' of his thuggish partymen who took up the hint by massacring the Muslims in the streets. The Mussalmans were told to go to Pakistan or else...

More than 1000 innocent Muslims were killed.

One could be sure that some semblance of justice would be delivered to the recent blast victims who happened to be mostly Hindus. Some show of punishment would be accorded, this year, next year, or after fifteen years, to the perpetrators of that heinous attack. But as for the daylight murder of the 1000 Muslims, no justice has been provided yet. There has been not even a single conviction for the murder of thousands of Muslims. Mr Bal Thackeray has meanwhile retired from active politics and is expected to die a respectable natural death.

More Stories of Inhumanity and Injustice

In 2002, the wealthy state of Gujarat witnessed the first live televised riots of Indian history. More than 2000 Muslims were killed in order to avenge the burning of 58 Hindus in a train compartment. The then political party that was governing the state during the time of riots and which had encouraged this massacre was later re-voted to power by the Hindu majority as a thank-you gift for teaching a fitting lesson to those Muslims.

It was like Adolf Hitler being re-elected after the Final Solution by the jubilant Aryan Germans.

The Gujarat government, which markets itself as the icon of Hindu Asmita, had even went so far as to price Muslim lives below those of Hindus, offering Rs 1 lakh in state compensation for Muslims killed but doubling that amount to Rs 2 lakhs for those 58 Hindus.

Besides, the government of that state continues to adopt aggressive postures to deny justice to the Muslim victims of the riot.

If these are not giving reasons to the Islamists terrorist to increase their rank and numbers, then what else could be?

India Shies Away

Following the London subway blasts, the British authorities there prepared a comprehensive study titled Report of the Official Account of Bombings in London on 7 July to find out the conditions and causes which prompted otherwise decent middle-class young Muslim men to carry out terrorist attacks. The effort was not to serve an excuse for the Muslims but to identify the areas that create a breeding ground for such acts.

However India doesn't want this kind of introspection. Any public personality who tries to reason the possibility of violent discrimination against Muslims as a cause for the induction of Muslim men among the Jehadi terrorist groups are instantly hooted as pseudo-seculars, Muslim-appeasing and unpatriotic citizens who are bent on destroying the country's fair name.

It is like as if the country doesn't want to remind itself that its earlier sins could come back to haunt its soul.

Strictly For Dummies - A Chemical Formula for Detecting Terrorism

So, according to the accepted wisdom in India, a train blast is always a terrorist attack. But the killing of innocent people by swords and tridents is not. The Hindu massacring of the Muslims is merely a communal riot, an internal problem. But the Muslim blasting of Hindus is of course one more instance of international terrorism.

Problems simplified.

But the Accepted Wisdom is turning to Reality; Our Muslims are Changing...Now

Indian columnists always boasted that their Muslims are decent and civilized. They do not associate themselves with Al Qaeda. They were not in the 9/11 hijack team. They were never a part of the Talibani barbarians. They were not terrorists.

The country could teat them like a doormat but they would still be tame and loyal like the ugly luckless wife of a philandering man who has nowhere to go.

However, the world is changing, and so are our Muslims. Pakistan could be blamed for every terrorist act taking place in Indian cities but it so happens that educated, English-speaking, computer-literate, Muslim men are nowadays planting the bombs and setting the timers in trains and buses. And they are home-grown Indians. And no, they have never traveled to Pakistan or Afghanistan for indoctrination.

India itself suffices.

The Coming Scare

Indian Muslims have begun to pay attention to bin Laden broadcasts in Al Jazeera. They think he makes sense when he rants about injustice and powerlessness and arrogance of the empires. They look around and they nod their heads understandingly. Muslim children are being killed. Haanji. Islam is in danger. Sahi bola. Muslims are the victims. Haan haan. The roots of the rage are growing right under the bloodied soil of this nation. How True.

Indian passport is destined to be a problem in the airports of the western world. Very soon.

THE END

===============================================
== India's extra-judicial killings and human rights violations in Kashmir and elsewhere
===============================================

The Amnesty International in its report dated 10-08-2001 about torture in West Bengal observed, "Police are being urged to use whatever means necessary to deal with crime and are often allowed to use torture as a substitute for investigations, while action is rarely taken against the perpetrators. This system of policing is having little if any impact on crime." CPI (M) leader Benoy Konar, defending police brutality once said, "It must be viewed whether police is carrying out torture with a correct aim or an incorrect aim...In a class divided society, the police has the duty of carrying out repression.... You [journalists] have the pen in your hands, the police has the stick." Hence, it would be a mistake to view human rights abuse from an ideological perspective.

The wide prevalence of encounter deaths or extra-judicial killings at the hands of the police has been documented by human rights organizations and remains a part of our dark history in post independent India. A study conducted by the Asia Pacific Human Rights Network noted that encounter killings were not isolated incidents but occurred throughout India. They are part of a "deliberate and conscious state administrative practice" for which successive Indian governments must bear responsibility. Indeed, successive Indian governments have adopted a de facto policy sanctioning extra-judicial killings by members of the police forces, army and security personnel.

The most horrific examples include the operations against Naxalite movements in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and the operations against Punjab extremists. Tamil Nadu and Kerala committed the excesses of encounter killing during the days of Emergency. The Vimadlal Commission took the lid off so-called encounters in Andhra Pradesh during the mid-1970s. Uttar Pradesh is noted for it's encounter deaths and this has assumed alarming proportions in recent times. The paramilitary operations in Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur and Assam cause grave concern as human rights activists report wide spread instances of encounter killings, rape and torture of militant suspects.

The complicity of State and Central governments in encounter killings could be gleaned by the fact that they do not vigorously conduct prosecution of the guilty nor is the investigation thorough to bring the guilty to book. The National Human Rights Commission has not proved very effective in checking encounter killings, as it's recommendations are not implemented by the State and Central governments. The guidelines issued by the NHRC in matters regarding encounter killings are rarely followed. The long delays in courts in prosecuting the guilty police personnel creates a climate of impunity for such crimes to flourish. The governments also reward policemen or paramilitary personnel, which actually encourage encounter killing. The compensation paid to the surviving members of the victims murdered by the police personnel remains a pittance.

The use of torture and third degree methods against suspects in police lockups remains standard operating procedure in post-Independence India. Human Rights organizations note that torture is used against secessionist groups, against suspects belonging to the poorer sections of our society for extracting confessions and bribes and also used as extra-legal punishment (teach you a lesson).

In areas such as Jammu & Kashmir, there exist a number of detention cells where militant suspects are beaten and electric torture is meted out as routine punishment and to extract confessions or information. The methods of torture vary. For instance, in Assam, Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab (particularly in areas where the Punjab police or Punjab paramilitary units operate) dislocation of ball and socket of the suspect appears to be the preferred mode of torture. Sometimes the choice is more eclectic with a judicious combination of aeroplane treatment (tying the hands of the suspect behind his back and suspending him over a beam, leading to shoulder dislocation), electric torture with cattle prod and roller treatment (crushing the muscles of the suspect with a wooden log being rolled on his leg). Of course, beating of suspects with belts and lathis is standard fare in most police lockups. Human Rights groups have recorded cases involving rape and sexual humiliation of woman suspects.

While the reported cases of custodial deaths are increasing in India, statistics are difficult to come by, as there is government apathy to transparency. However, on 12th May 2006, The Indian Evidence (Amendment) Bill, 2006 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha with a view to curb custodial deaths. The amendment provides the presumption that when a suspect dies in police custody it is presumed that the police have caused the death and the onus of proof rests on the policemen to prove their innocence. While the amendment is certainly a welcome change in official attitude towards custodial deaths, it remains to be seen whether it would be effectively implemented in the courts.

Human Rights activists have also warned against Anti-terrorism and security laws in India as facilitating human right abuse by primarily targeting lower castes and minority communities. The security laws abuse specially targeted groups by prolonging detention without trial and by inflicting torture, which is responsible for custodial deaths. On September 25, 2006, the Committee on International Human Rights of the New York City Bar Association released a report, Anti-Terrorism and Security Laws in India, calling on the Indian government to limit its application of anti-terrorism laws. The report notes "Attentiveness to these human rights concerns is not simply a moral and legal imperative, but also a crucial strategic imperative. As the Supreme Court of India has recognized, 'terrorism often thrives where human rights are violated' and '[t] he lack of hope for justice provides breeding grounds for terrorism.'"

The report chillingly concludes that the sweeping powers given to the authority in such enactments as TADA [Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act], POTA [Prevention of Terrorism Act], and UAPA [Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act], were used predominantly not to prosecute and punish actual terrorists, but rather as a tool that enabled pervasive use of preventive detention and a variety of abuses by the police, including extortion and torture. Another unpopular act called the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has been sharply criticized for its 'oppression and high-handedness' by the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee and has asked for the scrapping of this draconian law. This act (AFPSA) was the rallying point of widespread protests in Manipur and in other parts of North East as it offered immunity to the army personnel guilty of indiscriminately killing innocent people.

Legislation to eradicate torture, encounter killings and custodial deaths may be effective up to a point and may decrease human rights abuse marginally. But laws need the backing of robust public opinion to be fully effective. Here, Sunshine India is seriously flawed. The middle class and the upper class seem to be totally self-absorbed in greed creed and its consumerist pretensions. Moreover, there is wide acceptance of 'tough police tactics' by the middle and upper classes. The issues of liberalism, values for a just and humane society do not resonate well with this class. Instead there is, in the words of Praful Bidwai, a social commentator, "growing illiberalism and intolerance... lack of moral clarity among large sections of middle class on issues of justice, fairness, pluralism, secularism and other constitutional values, leave alone compassion for the underprivileged."

With public opinion fragmented, human rights violations would continue unchecked with the brunt of abuse borne by the marginalized poor. A prospect, which we must admit, bodes ill for our Republic.

Myth: Women in Pakistan have no rights

The two time democratically elected prime minister of Pakistan: Ms. Benazir Bhutto

Artists
Figher Pilots in the Armed Forces.
Cadets in the Naval Academy.

Pakistan almost elected a woman as early as the 1940's to lead the country. (Fatimah Jinnah)
The world's most famous democracy, the United States, has not yet had a female president in its history.

Myth: Pakistan's so called democracies were better than the current regime

Excerpt from Copyrighted Material. Permission Granted by holder of copyrights.
Internationaly Copyrights apply.
© 2006 M. Usman

The Decade of Darkness: Shamocracies in Pakistan

Pakistan’s decade of democracy can be more aptly described as a decade of darkness. The era of democracy witnessed two democratically elected governments destroy the very fledgling democracy that brought them to power. The Sharif and Bhutto regimes were marred in corruption, economic stagnation, civil disorder and a culture of nepotism. Pakistan was on the verge of bankruptcy barely able to pay interest on 38 billion dollars of back-breaking debt. Critical government positions became a revolving door for unqualified party lackeys. The economy was in shambles, the youth disaffected and a middle class stretched to its limits. Karachi was paralyzed with fear, strikes, curfews, ethnic and sectarian violence. Economic indicators were placing Pakistan just above the ranks of Rwanda, Somalia and Haiti. This was the state of the 'union’ when general Musharraf took over the country. The ensuing seven years have shown Pakistan is better off with a goal-driven, result-oriented military leadership than a corrupt, self-serving, ethno-centric democracy.

Harvard alumnus, Ms. Bhutto, gave the people great hope after the incompetent dictatorship of general Zia-ul-Haq but her government was embroiled in corruption and civil disorder. So blatant was the level of nepotism that Ms. Bhutto’s husband, Asif Zardari, was appointed federal minister of investments. Mr. Zardari’s kickback schemes were documented in detail by various BBC specials. The urban centers of Sind were on the verge of a full-blown war between various ethnic factions. Journalists from Jang were beaten for unfavorable editorials in this sham democracy. Karachi’s law and order situation had deteriorated into a national nightmare. Pakistan’s fickle public was openly demanding for a military takeover.

The Sharif regime certainly did not fare any better. An increasingly authoritarian Mr. Sharif rewrote the constitution, demoted the president to a ceremonial figurehead, dismissed the chief justice due to corruption charges, coached general karamat into retirement and promoted some amiable fellow named Pervaiz. In short order, the democratically elected industrialist had effectively become king of Pakistan. His policies and expensive projects bankrupted the Pakistani treasury. Indian editorials gleefully pointed out the fact Pakistan’s per capita income had dipped to the level of sub-Saharan countries. An increasingly empowered India was prematurely celebrating the final death blow to the two nation theory. By the end of the 90’s, Mr. Sharif and Ms. Bhutto had ravaged the nation under the façade of democracy.

It is inconvenient to recall these dire circumstances inherited by General Musharraf after his atypical coup d’etat of October 1999. This selective amnesia may be the result of 7 years of relative prosperity. Pakistan’s economy has experienced unprecedented growth of 6% to 8% for the last 6 years. The economy is experiencing the second fastest growth in Asia. If such robust growth can be sustained for another 7 years, Pakistan could be a transformed into a middle income nation. Per capita income has increased to 815$ which is the highest in the region. 10 million people have been rescued from poverty. Exports have increased by 22 per cent. For the first time in history, foreign exchange reserves have crossed the 13 billion dollar mark. In 1999, India’s foreign exchange reserves were 40 times higher than Pakistan. By 2002, this disparity declined to a more proportionate 8 times the reserves of Pakistan. External debt has been rescheduled and restructured. The tax code was simplified and a record amount was collected from loan defaulters and tax evaders. Revenue collection has increased by 22%. International attitudes about Pakistan have shifted dramatically attracting 2 billion dollars annually in foreign direct investment. FDI has increased by a whopping 120% versus the decade of democracy. Even the staunchest critics of Pakistan’s economic policies such as IMF and World Bank now praise President Musharraf’s economic initiatives. The man appointed by President Musharraf and credited with much of the accelerated economic growth is Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Not since Berkeley graduate Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto has Pakistan been lead by such an astute and qualified individual. Mr. Aziz was declared Finance Minister of the year by EuroMoney and Banker’s Magazine in 2001. Mr. Aziz’s repertoire includes leading the global finance division of one of the world’s biggest and most profitable companies. The Armani suited Shaukat could be living a life of luxury on some island resort after his illustrious career in banking. Inexplicably, he has chosen a life of repeated assassinations, suicide bombs and political mudslinging to become the principal architect of Pakistan’s economic turnaround. The pair has managed to do the seemingly impossible by attracting foreign capital to a country advertised as the epicenter of terrorism by foreign media. Development can be seen all over the country. A seven-star 250 million dollar hotel is being built in Islamabad by investors of Dubai’s Burj-al-Arab fame. IT and BPO exports, while small, are increasing yearly. Gulf Countries are investing heavily in President Musharraf’s vision for gwadar. The economy even absorbed a devastating earthquake, political tremors, regional wars, drought and floods. The Musharraf–Aziz tandem is a far cry from the days when Mr. Zardari was the caretaker of the country’s financial “interests”. Even the harshest critics of the military have reluctantly conceded that President Musharraf’s tenure has been the best Pakistani administration for decades. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment is the restoration of hope and pride in a cynic Diaspora. Droves of Pakistanis have returned to their homeland with dollars, pounds and riyals in hand, further supplementing a growing economy. In a recent interview, an Analyst from the widely respected Economist magazine stated “he (President Musharraf) has made some sensible moves such as privatizing 5 billion dollars worth of state assets to bidders. Needless red tape has been removed, tax regulations and tax collection has been improved. If he is able to complete his objectives, history will smile upon him”.

Politically, President Musharraf has taken some courageous actions. Who can argue with his u-turn against misguided extremists in the post 9/11 world? The Talibanization of Pakistan has been reversed. Feudal lords, the scourge of Pakistan, are feeling the wrath of the military. Ethnic and sectarian violence is relatively subdued despite the best efforts of covert foreign intervention. Semi-literate mullahs that misinterpret Islam by preaching hatred have been arrested. An open exchange of ideas is taking place in a vibrant media that enjoys unprecedented freedom. He has walked a tightrope and chosen a path of sanity by joining the world against extremists evicted from the Sudan and Afghanistan. No international forum is spared without a mention of Kashmiri and Palestinian struggle.

The Musharraf administration has reformed many public services and upgrades to the social sector. Roads and infrastructure are being upgraded and local governance has improved. 400 million dollars is being spent on renewable energy. Karachi is visibly cleaner due to energetic and youthful local governance. 100 million dollars is being spent on the Karachi mega-city project. While previous administrations have paid lip service to development of the smaller provinces, President Musharraf has converted words into action. A record amount of the national budget has been allocated for the smaller provinces. An intelligent and coherent strategy has been put forward for the development of an energy, transportation and trade corridor from Gwadar to Central Asia. 3 major pipelines (TAPI, IPI, QP) are being pursued to transfer energy to thirsty neighboring giants India and Pakistan. Makhran highway among other infrastructure projects has been seen through completion. Money has been poured into education although much of the funds are stolen by a corrupt lower-level bureaucracy. Educational reforms introduced by Chaudary Pervez Elahi in Punjab are being adopted nationally to check corruption. While previous administrations have bickered endlessly over water and energy y shortages, President Musharraf has undertaken the initiative of building dams and reactors that will cushion the nation from energy outages, droughts and floods.

This is not to say Mr. Musharraf’s resume is free of blemishes. Undoubtedly, President Musharraf has made several mistakes and these errors in judgment are dissected regularly in countless editorials. A hastily organized referendum was certainly a major mistake. Propping up a theocratic MMA was another. The kargil fiasco is widely attributed to then General Musharraf. Incursions into Wana have done nothing but expose the federation’s weakness. Unnecessarily blunt and insensitve comments about Mukhtar Mai is yet another blow to our already battered public image. Purchases of expensive, high-maintenance F16s from a notoriously unreliable supplier is yet another mistake. Pakistan’s economic losses due to the American invasion of Afghanistan were underestimated thus undercutting foreign aid. However, Mr. Musharraf’s vision, reforms and track record far exceeds that of his so-called democratic predecessors. While previous military and democratic leaders have been self-serving failures, President Musharraf has actually strengthened many of the institutions required for a proper democracy. By all accounts, Pakistan was headed on a nose-diving trajectory. It was resurrected from the depths of failure by the astute leadership of the current military regime. From restoring civil liberties, empowering women and minorities, promoting education, upgrading infrastructure to reviving the economy, the statistics are indisputable. The general has been good for the country. Some day, we will have a true democracy. Until that day, we will choose an honest military man over ineffective, authoritarian 'democracies'.

Myth: All women are forced to wear the Burqa in Pakistan

This will be an easy one to debunk. Enjoy these pictures of Pakistani models.
Please note that the women that do wear the burqa do so by their own choice based on their interpretation of modesty.
Women that wear the hijab do so by their choice. Men also have to adhere to norms of modest clothing.
Majority of Pakistani women simply wear a dupputta - a long scarf. There are no laws requiring a burqa or hijab on women.
We believe that not wearing a burqa is freedom. However, an individual CHOOSING on their own accord to wear burqa or hijab is also freedom. This is actually a freer policy than places like Turkey which allow bikinis but not head covering.
Finally, one need not go any further than our shopping malls, markets, middle & upper class households to realize who is really in charge!

Photos: Courtesy of Pak Sunday Times.

We need to make much more progress to give more opportunity to Pakistani women. However, out ultimate goal is not to duplicate the norms and values of other countries. We have our own national consensus.
Pakistani women believe that making mere sexual objects of women is not necessarily liberation. Perhaps, no article can properly convey our national sentiment then an Article by an American Phd, Dr. Henry Makow.


Burka Vs Bikini - The Debauchery Of American Woman
By Henry Makow, Ph.D.


On my wall, I have a picture of a Muslim woman shrouded in a burka. Beside it is a picture of an American beauty contestant, wearing nothing but a bikini. One woman is totally hidden from the public; the other is totally exposed. These two extremes say a great deal about the clash of so-called "civilizations."
The role of woman is at the heart of any culture. Apart from stealing Arab oil, the impending war in the Middle East is about stripping Arabs of their religion and culture, exchanging the burka for a bikini. I am not an expert on the condition of Muslim women and I love feminine beauty too much to advocate the burka here. But I am defending some of the values that the burka represents for me. For me, the burka represents a woman's consecration to her husband and family. Only they see her. It affirms the privacy, exclusivity and importance of the domestic sphere. The Muslim woman's focus is her home, the "nest" where her children are born and reared. She is the "home" maker, the taproot that sustains the spiritual life of the family, nurturing and training her children, providing refuge and support to her husband. In contrast, the bikinied American beauty queen struts practically naked in front of millions on TV. A feminist, she belongs to herself. In practice, paradoxically, she is public property. She belongs to no one and everyone. She shops her body to the highest bidder. She is auctioning herself all of the time.In America, the cultural measure of a woman's value is her sex appeal. (As this asset depreciates quickly, she is neurotically obsessed with appearance and plagued by weight problems.) As an adolescent, her role model is Britney Spears, a singer whose act approximates a strip tease. From Britney, she learns that she will be loved only if she gives sex. Thus, she learns to "hook up" rather than to demand patient courtship and true love. As a result, dozens of males know her before her husband does. She loses her innocence, which is a part of her charm. She becomes hardened and calculating. Unable to love, she is unfit to receive her husband's seed.

The feminine personality is founded on the emotional relationship between mother and baby. It is based on nurturing and self-sacrifice. Masculine nature is founded on the relationship between hunter and prey. It is based on aggression and reason. Feminism teaches woman that feminine nature has resulted in "oppression" and that she should convert to male behavior instead. The result: a confused and aggressive woman with a large chip on her shoulder, unfit to become a wife or mother. This, of course, is the goal of the social engineers at the NWO: undermine sexual identity and destroy the family, create social and personal dysfunction, and reduce population.


(See: http://www.inoohr.org/worldpopulationcontrolpromote.htm)


In the "brave new world," women are not supposed to be nest makers, or progenitors of the race. They are meant to be neutered autonomous creatures that indulge in sex for physical pleasure, not for love or procreation. At his press conference on Sunday, Donald Rumsfeld said that Iranian women and youth were restive under the rule of the Mullahs. He implied that the US would soon liberate them. To Britney Spears? To low-rise "see-my-thong" pants? To the mutual masturbation that passes for sexuality in America? Parenthood is the pinnacle of human development. It is the stage when we finally graduate from self-indulgence and become God's surrogates: creating and nurturing new life. The New World Order does not want us to reach this level of maturity. Pornography is the replacement for marriage. We are to remain stunted: single, sex-starved and self-obsessed. We are not meant to have a permanent "private" life. We are to remain lonely and isolated, dependent on consumer products for our identity, in a state of perpetual courtship. This is especially destructive for woman. Her sexual attraction is a function of her fertility. As fertility declines, so does her sex appeal. If a woman devotes her prime years to becoming "independent," she is not likely to find a permanent mate. Her long-term personal fulfillment and happiness lies in making marriage and family her first priority. Feminism is another cruel New World Order hoax that has debauched American women and despoiled Western civilization. It has ruined millions of lives and represents a lethal threat to Islam.
I am not advocating the burka but rather some of the values that it represents, specifically a woman's consecration to her future husband and family, and the modesty and dignity this entails.

The burka and the bikini represent two extremes. The answer lies somewhere in the middle.

Myth: Pakistan has no moral, legal case for Kashmir

Pakistan wishes for peace with our much larger neighbor India. However, Pakistan along with a large majority of Kashmiris contest India's occupation based on a very strong moral and legal case. If this core issue is resolved, Pakistanis would live in harmony with India. Here is our case for an independent or Pakistan Kashmir:

At the time of the British withdrawal from the Sub-continent and its partition, into India and Pakistan, the numerous princely states like Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagadh were given the option to join either India or Pakistan. States in which rulers were from the same religion as their populace had no trouble deciding. Hindu states acceded to India and Muslim states naturally went to Pakistan. However in the aforementioned states the rulers belonged to a different religion than that of their respective populations and there was a clash of interest. The Muslim rulers of Hindu Junagadh acceded to Pakistan and that of Hyderabad wanted to remain independent. But the Indian army soon overran these states and annexed them. 
The Hindu Maharajah of Muslim Kashmir wanted to remain independent but his people wanted union with Pakistan, which had come into existence as a result of a union of the Muslim majority areas of pre-partition India. Maharajah's refusal to do so led to disturbances and widespread protests and his subsequent flight from his capital. His subsequent attempts to effect a crackdown failed and he turned to India for help, which immediately invaded the state (27 Oct, 1947). Later the Indians claimed that the Maharajah had acceded to India. There was no public comment from the Maharajah.
However as Alistair Lamb, a journalist of world repute, reports in his in-depth study of the dispute (Jammu & Kashmir; summary of which is available as "The myth of Indian claim to Jammu & Kashmir"), the chronology of events as reported by the Indian government leading to the signing of the "Instrument of Accession", is fraught with obvious inaccuracies and lies. In fact, to date, no satisfactory original of the "Instrument of Accession" has been produced. Realizing the dubious nature of the 'accession' would spark world-wide protests, Indians declared that the "Instrument of Accession" executed by the Maharajah was "provisional" and subject to a "reference to the people". Indeed in a broadcast on 
All-India Radio on 2nd November 1947, the first Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru pledged "We have declared that the fate of Kashmir is to be ultimately decided by the people. That pledge we have given, and the Maharajah has supported it, not only to the people of Kashmir but to the world. We will not and cannot back out of it". Similar statements were also given by him at other forums, including the Indian parliament, and are on record 
Sir, how ironic and sad is the fact that this pledge, given by the first prime minister of world's largest democracy and further mandated by the United Nations, as is clear from the statement the President of Security Council of the UN made on 28 January, 1948, remains unfulfilled to this day 46 years later. The above mentioned address by the President of the Security Council reflected the various General Assembly and Security Council resolutions which emphasized that the accession of Kashmir to either India or Pakistan shall be decided by a fair and impartial plebiscite conducted under the aegis of the United Nations. The forceful subjugation by Indian troops was rejected by the Kashmiri people and this has resulted in constant upheavals and revolts against the Indian occupation in the last four and a half decades. This problem has caused two out of three Indo-Pakistani wars. Now this uprising has reached a decisive point and India has resorted to deploying 600,000 troops (50% of its total army and greater than the Army of neighboring Pakistan) against the civilian population of that small state which numbers less than 4 million people. 
even this horrifying imbalance of 1 soldier for every 6 Kashmiris (majority of whom are old men, women and children) has failed to suppress the freedom movement. Kashmir is under direct President's rule since 1990, after the state legislature was dissolved (the federally appointed governor had admitted that the Kashmiri legislature had a history of rigged elections). The nature of State-sponsored terrorism is exemplified by such unbelievable laws as "The Armed Forces (J&K) Special Powers Bill (1990), which have been passed by the parliament of world's largest "democracy". This Bill grants authorization to members of Indian Security Forces to "fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death against any person" without fire orders. No wonder, more than 60,000 people have been brutally murdered by the Indian Security Forces in the past eight years and thousands more have been intimidated and terrorized. What else would you call State-terrorism? And ironically it was Pakistan which almost had the distinction of being branded a terrorist state for professing support for these oppressed people. The Indian security forces have flouted all norms of civilized conduct. Kashmiri youths have been murdered in cold blood in fake encounters and Kashmiri women of all ages were and are gang-raped in the prescence of their families. International human rights organizations and the international press has been refused entry into the State by the Indian government. They can only visit the 
These human rights organization like Amnesty International and Asia Watch constantly report of indescribably inhumane treatment meted out to Kashmiris in government run torture cells and elsewhere. 
While the world has responded to the Bosnian Civil War, it has so far failed to act to stop an even greater problem of abuse of human rights and mass genocide of Kashmiris by an invading army. It seems that commercial interests have taken precedence over the dignity of human life. even as you read this, people who have dared to stand up for their basic human rights are being tortured and killed in Kashmir.




Q: How many resolutions have so far been adopted by the Security Council on Kashmir? How many of them clearly spell out the prescription for the settlement of the dispute?


A: The Security Council has so far adopted 18 resolutions directly or indirectly dealing with the Kashmir dispute, the latest being resolution 1172 adopted in 1998, which while addressing the nuclearization of South Asia urges Pakistan and India in its para 5 to find mutually acceptable solutions that address the root causes of tensions (between them) including Kashmir.




Q: India says that the resolutions on Kashmir have lost their relevance. It further contends that the resolutions are not binding on it. How far is this true?



A: Legally and politically it is not correct. No UNSC resolution can lose its relevance unless the Security Council adopts another resolution calling for its supercession for whatever reasons. This has been confirmed by the UNSG in a Statement on 6 January 1994.

Politically, the resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir have become even more relevant because of the on-ground political situation in Jammu and Kashmir where a legitimate freedom struggle is being suppressed by the Indian army and the situation now poses a grave danger to international peace and security.

India charged Pakistan of committing aggression against India. But it based its complaint on article 35 of Chapter VI of the UN Charter which relates to the "Pacific Settlement of Disputes" and not Chapter VII which deals with acts of aggression. Subsequently, India tried to evade the provisions of the resolution adopted by the Security Council saying that the resolutions were passed under Chapter VI and not under Chapter VII and as such its recommendations were not binding on it.

Contrary to India's distorted logic, under international law all UNSC resolutions which confirm agreements reached among the parties to a dispute-as was the case in Kashmir- become legally binding on all parties concerned- in this case India, Pakistan and the UN.




Q: What decision did the Security Council take in its resolutions?



A: Through its resolutions 47 (1948), later reaffirmed by resolutions 51 (1948), 80 (1950), 91(1951) 122 (1957), the UNSC decided that the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through a UN supervised plebiscite.



Q: Why was this decision not implemented?



A: UNSC resolution 47 of 21 April 1948 called for "the withdrawal from the State of Jammu and Kashmir of tribesmen and Pakistani national not normally resident therein" and the reduction of Indian forces in the state to "minimum strength required" in order to facilitate a plebiscite. The Security Council modified its decision by resolution 98 of 23 December 1952 which provided for synchronized reduction of troops on both sides of the ceasefire line to 3000 to 6000 on the Pakistani side and 12000 to 18000 on the Indian side. Pakistan agreed, India did not. India's reluctance to demilitarize the State of Jammu and Kashmir was confirmed by Sir Owen Dixon, Head of the UN Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP), in his report to the Security Council on 15 September 1950. He sated that, "in the end I became convinced that India's agreement would never be obtained to demilitarization in any form or to provisions governing the period of plebiscite of an such character, as would in my opinion, permit the plebiscite being conducted in conditions sufficiently guarding against intimidation and other forms of influence and abuse by which freedom and fairness of the plebiscite might be imperiled".