Abhishek Behl
Political events unfolding in Pakistan have raised adrenalin in most parts of the world but the average Pakistani on the streets is oblivious of the hype created by chasm between the army and Pakistan politicians.
PEOPLE FEEL that this is a just a war of interests between Military and political mafia of the country, who wants to serve their own selfish ends. Battle is not between dictatorship and democracy but for owning Pakistan and using, rather misusing her resources like a personal fiefdom, feels an average Pakistan citizen.
Striking a despondent note on the future, Abdul Sattar, an electrical engineer, living in Karachi, says, “Forget about democracy in Pakistan. It is basically feudal-cum-military society ruling at the top, either one of them will be owning us and any one point of time.”
Not ready to discuss the political situation, Sattar told merinews that future of Pakistan was decided in America and an average Pakistani had no role to play in the entire game.
“We are still a colony and decisions are made in Riyadh, Dubai, London and Washington,” he said, echoing the views of large number of citizens on the streets.
Interacting with Pakistanis it becomes clear that they want to break from the extremes imposed by religious fundamentalists as well the military rule.
Sandwiched between the devil and the deep sea, Adnan, a software professional from Karachi, said, “People are fed up with the military rule of Musharraf. They want democracy but they are helpless.” He added that Pak president had outlived his utility and was more of a burden to the country.
Accusing Musharraf of diluting the concept of Jehad, which was one of the most fundamental precepts of Islam, Adnan opined that Pakistanis do not like the blind modernism promoted by him.
“We want to live peacefully and are least concerned with politics of the country,” he added.
From what is emerging it becomes clear that people are resigned to their fate and though angry at the treatment meted out to Sharif are obviously not in love with ‘Mian Sahib’, as Sharif is popularly called.
Identified more with Punjab than with other areas of Pakistan, Sharif’s arrest and subsequent deportation has not caused much stir outside Punjab.
A resident of Lahore, Mohd Imran Zafar, Network engineer, said that situation was quite normal.
“Yahan par sab kuch normal hai aur traffic bhi aam dinon ki tarah hi chal raha hai (everything is normal here and the traffic on the roads too is normal)”, he told this scribe over the phone from Lahore. He however said that there was lot of support for former Pakistan premier and people want that he should come back.
Instead of talking about their political future, if you talk to Pakistanis they prefer discussing Indian heroines particularly Ashwarya and Kareena. This became evident when, Abdul Sattar, the electrical engineer from Karachi said “Forget about democracy in Pakistan tell me how is Aishwarya Rai and how is her marriage with Abhishek?”
Adding somewhat wistfully, “Yeah, the situation in Pakistan is really sad and depressing but actresses from India give us the high.”
Meanwhile, ignorant of what majority of Pakistan wants, the military government in Pakistan barred the former Prime Minister from participating in the ensuing elections saying that he had already been convicted in a case.
On the contrary the Federal Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz endorsed the re-election of President Musharraf, to ensure the stability, security and growth of Pakistan.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Pakistan tense, Nawaz Sharief deported to Saudi Arabia
Abhishek Behl
Pakistan witnessed high drama today as a defiant Nawaz Sharief reached Pakistan to challenge the military might of Musharraf regime. A tension full day came to a close when Mian Sahib was deported to Saudi Arabia.
EVEN AS THE Pakistan president tried to defuse the explosive situation by deporting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Nawaz Sharief to Jeddah, the mood in the country is volatile.
The former Premier had reached Jeddah on Monday evening. He was taken to an undisclosed location in Saudi Arabia under heavy security.
In Pakistan, a virtual martial law was imposed in Punjab, considered to be the bastion of the Sharief clan.
Thousands of PML-N activists were put behind bars by the Army regime including central as well as provincial leadership across the country.
Eyewitnesses said that all roads leading to Islamabad were closed and heavy containers were stationed at bridges to stop the movement of vehicles in the city.
http://merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=126194
Pakistan witnessed high drama today as a defiant Nawaz Sharief reached Pakistan to challenge the military might of Musharraf regime. A tension full day came to a close when Mian Sahib was deported to Saudi Arabia.
EVEN AS THE Pakistan president tried to defuse the explosive situation by deporting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Nawaz Sharief to Jeddah, the mood in the country is volatile.
The former Premier had reached Jeddah on Monday evening. He was taken to an undisclosed location in Saudi Arabia under heavy security.
In Pakistan, a virtual martial law was imposed in Punjab, considered to be the bastion of the Sharief clan.
Thousands of PML-N activists were put behind bars by the Army regime including central as well as provincial leadership across the country.
Eyewitnesses said that all roads leading to Islamabad were closed and heavy containers were stationed at bridges to stop the movement of vehicles in the city.
http://merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=126194
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Indian websites hacked: Swiss hacker offers free solution
Abhishek Behl
The man, who hacked the email addresses and websites of Indian embassies and government sites throughout the world has offered to fix the problem in five minutes and that too free of cost.
DAN EGARSTAD, a Swiss, who runs the site derangedsecurity.com during an exclusive interview with merinews.com said that hacking the emails and sites was a two minute job for him and he would rectify the same if different governments contact him.
“I am a security expert and I was just doing a simple experiment, when I hit upon this discovery, wherein I could break into the websites and email addresses of a majority of Indian Embassies located in foreign countries,” he said, adding that this could prove to be major security risk as very sensitive data is handled by some of these organisations.
When asked if he had tried to contact Indian government, Dan replied in negative, saying that his experience with private companies and governments has been extremely bad. “I tried to contact a private company but they behaved very badly with me and threatened to take legal action against me” said the security maverick.
The reason behind first hacking and the posting the email addresses and passwords of these establishments on his website, he said was only to create awareness among the governments and administrators regarding internet security.
“What is surprising is the attitude of the establishments which do not care about the security of their internet platforms. No one has cared to contact me and ask the fix for this problem,” said the Swiss citizen while talking to Merinews.
Asserting that he was an ethical hacker and had no axe to grind, Dan Egerstad said that if the governments and companies can call for a fix of the problem fee of cost, “I won’t charge them any money,” he reiterated.
How easy it is to break into a site or someone’s email address becomes clear, when he says, “I can teach a person with basic security knowledge to break into a website or email address within 5 minutes,” he however, refused to teach the same to this correspondent, when asked to do so.
Ready to help anyone and everyone in this regard, Dan said “If the authorities have not yet figured to plug the holes then they can contact me and I am ready to help.” He further revealed that despite the security breach a number of websites and their administrators had not responded so far. “They are still having the same password and have not made any changes which is not very professional and is quite irresponsible,” he added.
The Indian sites which have been hacked include Indian embassy in Sweden, Defence Research Development Organization, Indian Embassy in USA, Indian Embassy in Germany, Indian Embassy in Finland and a number of other important websites and emails belonging to different countries and users.
The man, who hacked the email addresses and websites of Indian embassies and government sites throughout the world has offered to fix the problem in five minutes and that too free of cost.
DAN EGARSTAD, a Swiss, who runs the site derangedsecurity.com during an exclusive interview with merinews.com said that hacking the emails and sites was a two minute job for him and he would rectify the same if different governments contact him.
“I am a security expert and I was just doing a simple experiment, when I hit upon this discovery, wherein I could break into the websites and email addresses of a majority of Indian Embassies located in foreign countries,” he said, adding that this could prove to be major security risk as very sensitive data is handled by some of these organisations.
When asked if he had tried to contact Indian government, Dan replied in negative, saying that his experience with private companies and governments has been extremely bad. “I tried to contact a private company but they behaved very badly with me and threatened to take legal action against me” said the security maverick.
The reason behind first hacking and the posting the email addresses and passwords of these establishments on his website, he said was only to create awareness among the governments and administrators regarding internet security.
“What is surprising is the attitude of the establishments which do not care about the security of their internet platforms. No one has cared to contact me and ask the fix for this problem,” said the Swiss citizen while talking to Merinews.
Asserting that he was an ethical hacker and had no axe to grind, Dan Egerstad said that if the governments and companies can call for a fix of the problem fee of cost, “I won’t charge them any money,” he reiterated.
How easy it is to break into a site or someone’s email address becomes clear, when he says, “I can teach a person with basic security knowledge to break into a website or email address within 5 minutes,” he however, refused to teach the same to this correspondent, when asked to do so.
Ready to help anyone and everyone in this regard, Dan said “If the authorities have not yet figured to plug the holes then they can contact me and I am ready to help.” He further revealed that despite the security breach a number of websites and their administrators had not responded so far. “They are still having the same password and have not made any changes which is not very professional and is quite irresponsible,” he added.
The Indian sites which have been hacked include Indian embassy in Sweden, Defence Research Development Organization, Indian Embassy in USA, Indian Embassy in Germany, Indian Embassy in Finland and a number of other important websites and emails belonging to different countries and users.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Hyderabad bomb blasts demonstrate holes in Indian establishment
Abhishek Behl, www.merinews.com
Even as UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi called for fighting terrorism in the Gandhian way, two terrible blasts ripped apart Hyderabad killing at least 40 persons and injuring many more.
She said this while delivering a lecture in Cape town University in South Africa, while terrorists, who obviously have no faith in Gandhian ways planned and executed their attack to perfection.
The inhuman blasts in Hyderabad have once again proved the failure of Indian intelligence and security agencies in preempting the actions of terrorists operating in the country. Political failure of the Indian establishment is evident and as a usual Home Minister Shiv Raj Patil is scheduled to visit the spot where the actual blasts took place.
National security Guards are already there, the Leader of the opposition will be visiting Hyderabad and the usual post blast voices will be made. Money and jobs will be offered to the families of those killed, a special investigating team will be constituted and and after few months all will be forgotten, till another blast hits the nation.
Being the most powerful politician in the country, Sonia’s statement assumes significance as her words set the tone for the administration and governance of the country. Congress government particularly Home Minister Shiv Raj Patil have time and again failed to ensure that justice is done to the perpetrators of these crimes.
Even as hundreds of Indians have been mowed down by terror attacks in Hyderabad, Kashmir, Delhi, Varanasi, Bombay, Malegaon and many other places, the UPA government has failed to provide leadership to the country.
The most important question is whether the government has any concerted plan to fight terrorism? After suffering for so many years have we evolved a plan as to how to check the global terrorists, who are bent upon killing the people?
Are the local police and security men trained to take on the might of these highly motivated but misguided men.
The answer to these questions is plain no. Even if the Indian government has any poper plan to tackle terror its results are evident, India is not safe. Terrorists are planning and executing their operations with impunity and government has no concrete solution to offer against this menace.
Only thing which the government can do is add more Zs to the security of its own ministers and bureaucrats, who are already well protected and over fed. If a proper audit of the Indian security system is done then it will be obvious that ninety percent of the resources meant for protecting the public are usurped by Indian politicians, VIPs bureaucrats and their families.
Hyderabad has been on the hit list of terrorists and this is what the pan-Islamic jihadi terrorist organisations in Pakistan, which are members of Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front (IIF), have been saying even long before the IIF was formed in February, 1998.
Top Indian Terrorism expert, BV Raman, writes “They look upon Hyderabad and Junagadh as Pakistani territory, which should have come to Pakistan in 1947. They also look upon them as legitimate lands of the Ummah, which should be restored to the Ummah. They project their jihad as a three-phase struggle. Under Phase I, they would "liberate" J&K. Under Phase II, they would "free" Hyderabad and Junagadh from "Hindu control." And under Phase III, they say they would "liberate" the Muslims in other parts of India.”
Indian government must wake up from the deep slumber and formulate an effective policy against the Pakistan based terrorists. The Congress government and its Left allies will have to stop appeasing Pakistan, a country which has been branded as exporter of global jihad.
Life of every Indian is precious and the government should stop treating this loss of lives as routine which it has been doing for the last many years. If this is not done at the earliest, chances are more blasts will rip through the Indian cities and kill many more.
And it is not that only ordinary Indians will die, but even those rich, powerful and influential Indians, who do not visit the chaat Bhandars, public parks and bus stands will face annihilation, though their number may come next in the game of global jehad.
Even as UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi called for fighting terrorism in the Gandhian way, two terrible blasts ripped apart Hyderabad killing at least 40 persons and injuring many more.
She said this while delivering a lecture in Cape town University in South Africa, while terrorists, who obviously have no faith in Gandhian ways planned and executed their attack to perfection.
The inhuman blasts in Hyderabad have once again proved the failure of Indian intelligence and security agencies in preempting the actions of terrorists operating in the country. Political failure of the Indian establishment is evident and as a usual Home Minister Shiv Raj Patil is scheduled to visit the spot where the actual blasts took place.
National security Guards are already there, the Leader of the opposition will be visiting Hyderabad and the usual post blast voices will be made. Money and jobs will be offered to the families of those killed, a special investigating team will be constituted and and after few months all will be forgotten, till another blast hits the nation.
Being the most powerful politician in the country, Sonia’s statement assumes significance as her words set the tone for the administration and governance of the country. Congress government particularly Home Minister Shiv Raj Patil have time and again failed to ensure that justice is done to the perpetrators of these crimes.
Even as hundreds of Indians have been mowed down by terror attacks in Hyderabad, Kashmir, Delhi, Varanasi, Bombay, Malegaon and many other places, the UPA government has failed to provide leadership to the country.
The most important question is whether the government has any concerted plan to fight terrorism? After suffering for so many years have we evolved a plan as to how to check the global terrorists, who are bent upon killing the people?
Are the local police and security men trained to take on the might of these highly motivated but misguided men.
The answer to these questions is plain no. Even if the Indian government has any poper plan to tackle terror its results are evident, India is not safe. Terrorists are planning and executing their operations with impunity and government has no concrete solution to offer against this menace.
Only thing which the government can do is add more Zs to the security of its own ministers and bureaucrats, who are already well protected and over fed. If a proper audit of the Indian security system is done then it will be obvious that ninety percent of the resources meant for protecting the public are usurped by Indian politicians, VIPs bureaucrats and their families.
Hyderabad has been on the hit list of terrorists and this is what the pan-Islamic jihadi terrorist organisations in Pakistan, which are members of Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front (IIF), have been saying even long before the IIF was formed in February, 1998.
Top Indian Terrorism expert, BV Raman, writes “They look upon Hyderabad and Junagadh as Pakistani territory, which should have come to Pakistan in 1947. They also look upon them as legitimate lands of the Ummah, which should be restored to the Ummah. They project their jihad as a three-phase struggle. Under Phase I, they would "liberate" J&K. Under Phase II, they would "free" Hyderabad and Junagadh from "Hindu control." And under Phase III, they say they would "liberate" the Muslims in other parts of India.”
Indian government must wake up from the deep slumber and formulate an effective policy against the Pakistan based terrorists. The Congress government and its Left allies will have to stop appeasing Pakistan, a country which has been branded as exporter of global jihad.
Life of every Indian is precious and the government should stop treating this loss of lives as routine which it has been doing for the last many years. If this is not done at the earliest, chances are more blasts will rip through the Indian cities and kill many more.
And it is not that only ordinary Indians will die, but even those rich, powerful and influential Indians, who do not visit the chaat Bhandars, public parks and bus stands will face annihilation, though their number may come next in the game of global jehad.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Japanese PM draws a new painting of Indo-Japan relations
“Stronger India is in the interest of Japan, while a strong Japan is in the interest of India and both countries have started working towards building an enduring relationship which is mutually beneficial to the people of both countries”- Shinzo Abe.
AT THE FUNCTION organised by India Center Foundation on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minster Mr. Abe, inaugurated and added colours to a canvas to portray the new picture of Indo-Japan relations.
Cutting across political ideologies, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi joined hands and came together on stage with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to add colours to the canvas, signifying a rare unanimity on Indo-Japan relations.
While Abe painted the red hued Sun, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje Sindhia added her own signature style and engulfed the sun with vibrant orange and brown, signifying energy and power.
A large number of dignitaries, who were present on the occasion used the brush with enthusiasm and panache and filled the canvas with vivid colours signifying the improving relations between the two countries. An abundance of red, yellow, green and browns ware filled by leading politicians, industry leaders and bureaucrats including Minister of State for Planning MV Raj Shekharan, former Defence Minister George Fernandes, Gautam Adani, chairman Adani Group, Rajesh Shah, chairman Mukund Steel, President FICCI Amit Mitra, Girish Kumar Sanghi, MP; Suresh Prabhu, MP; Aloke Mehta, MP;Vijay Darda, MP, Lalit Modi, Ram Jethmalani, Dilip Padgaonkar, Sudeendhra Kulkarni, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and many others.
Japanese Ambassador Yasukuni Enoki was also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that India and Japan have entered a new phase of friendship, which would significantly impact the world.
The relations which had been silent for the past 10-years are now growing at a rapid pace as Japan has re-discovered India and both are natural allies in the road towards progress, said the Japanese Prime Minister while appreciating the work done by India Center Foundation in strengthening the relations between the two countries. The Foundation and particularly it’s chairman Vibhav Kant Upadhyay, he said has played a vital role in building cultural, social and economic linkages between the two countries.
Welcoming the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said that Abe’s visit to India was a historic one and marked the high watermark of Indo-Japanese relations.
Extending warm welcome to Japanese entrepreneurs in Gujarat, Modi said that they were aiming at building a mini-Japan in Gujarat that would be a hub of industrial growth in the country.
CPI(M) general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, recalled that Prime Minister Abe was the grandson of the first post-war Prime Minister of Japan and was playing a crucial role in improving the Indo-Japan relations. Both India and Japan complement each other and if they build a strong relationship, they can reach the pinnacle of the new pecking order in the world, he added.
Dwelling on the role played by India Center Foundation, chairman Vibhav Kant Upadhyay said “India and Japan are natural friends and friendship between two countries will benefit and service the world besides the two nations.”
Here it must be mentioned that India Center Foundation has played a crucial role in promoting India-Japan relations and it was instrumental in the successful creation of India-Japan global partnership which was announced by the Prime Ministers’ of both the countries in the wake of post-Pokharan sanctions. India Center Foundation was established in 1996 with the vision of catalyzing the relationship between the two countries.
Earlier, addressing a business meeting organised jointly by FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe underlined the need for a bilateral currency swap agreement and called upon the private sector in both countries to assist their respective governments in meeting the challenge of climate change that Japan and India have decided to tackle at the global level.
Mr. Abe reiterated his government’s commitment to assist India in infrastructure development, particularly the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata Dedicated Freight Corridors and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.
AT THE FUNCTION organised by India Center Foundation on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minster Mr. Abe, inaugurated and added colours to a canvas to portray the new picture of Indo-Japan relations.
Cutting across political ideologies, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi joined hands and came together on stage with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to add colours to the canvas, signifying a rare unanimity on Indo-Japan relations.
While Abe painted the red hued Sun, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje Sindhia added her own signature style and engulfed the sun with vibrant orange and brown, signifying energy and power.
A large number of dignitaries, who were present on the occasion used the brush with enthusiasm and panache and filled the canvas with vivid colours signifying the improving relations between the two countries. An abundance of red, yellow, green and browns ware filled by leading politicians, industry leaders and bureaucrats including Minister of State for Planning MV Raj Shekharan, former Defence Minister George Fernandes, Gautam Adani, chairman Adani Group, Rajesh Shah, chairman Mukund Steel, President FICCI Amit Mitra, Girish Kumar Sanghi, MP; Suresh Prabhu, MP; Aloke Mehta, MP;Vijay Darda, MP, Lalit Modi, Ram Jethmalani, Dilip Padgaonkar, Sudeendhra Kulkarni, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and many others.
Japanese Ambassador Yasukuni Enoki was also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that India and Japan have entered a new phase of friendship, which would significantly impact the world.
The relations which had been silent for the past 10-years are now growing at a rapid pace as Japan has re-discovered India and both are natural allies in the road towards progress, said the Japanese Prime Minister while appreciating the work done by India Center Foundation in strengthening the relations between the two countries. The Foundation and particularly it’s chairman Vibhav Kant Upadhyay, he said has played a vital role in building cultural, social and economic linkages between the two countries.
Welcoming the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said that Abe’s visit to India was a historic one and marked the high watermark of Indo-Japanese relations.
Extending warm welcome to Japanese entrepreneurs in Gujarat, Modi said that they were aiming at building a mini-Japan in Gujarat that would be a hub of industrial growth in the country.
CPI(M) general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, recalled that Prime Minister Abe was the grandson of the first post-war Prime Minister of Japan and was playing a crucial role in improving the Indo-Japan relations. Both India and Japan complement each other and if they build a strong relationship, they can reach the pinnacle of the new pecking order in the world, he added.
Dwelling on the role played by India Center Foundation, chairman Vibhav Kant Upadhyay said “India and Japan are natural friends and friendship between two countries will benefit and service the world besides the two nations.”
Here it must be mentioned that India Center Foundation has played a crucial role in promoting India-Japan relations and it was instrumental in the successful creation of India-Japan global partnership which was announced by the Prime Ministers’ of both the countries in the wake of post-Pokharan sanctions. India Center Foundation was established in 1996 with the vision of catalyzing the relationship between the two countries.
Earlier, addressing a business meeting organised jointly by FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe underlined the need for a bilateral currency swap agreement and called upon the private sector in both countries to assist their respective governments in meeting the challenge of climate change that Japan and India have decided to tackle at the global level.
Mr. Abe reiterated his government’s commitment to assist India in infrastructure development, particularly the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata Dedicated Freight Corridors and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.
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