Siffat Ghayur was a brave man, honest officer and a great commander. He had a strong faith in leading from front and was one of the leading officers dealing terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkwa.

He started his career as an ASP in Peshawar and remained CCPO of Peshawar as well. He served in National Police Academy too. His subordinates used to look up to him as an exemplary officer.

Police Service of Pakistan mourns the loss of a brave son. We offer our condolences to on his Shahadat to his family for this irreparable loss. Please extend Fateha for Esal-o-Sawab.

A Video Clip the News of Martyrdom

A Clip of one of his tasks he accomplished with Bravery

If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt asking yourself, “Why did this have to happen?”  The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time.  The writing process, started many months ago, was intended to be therapy in the face of the looming realization that there isn’t enough therapy in the world that can fix what is really broken.  Needless to say, this rant could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it.  I find the process of writing it frustrating, tedious, and probably pointless… especially given my gross inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in my head.  Exactly what is therapeutic about that I’m not sure, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

We are all taught as children that without laws there would be no society, only anarchy.  Sadly, starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed to believe that, in return for our dedication and service, our government stands for justice for all.  We are further brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers.  Remember? One of these was “no taxation without representation”.  I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap from only a few years of my childhood.  These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly labeled a “crackpot”, traitor and worse.

While very few working people would say they haven’t had their fair share of taxes (as can I), in my lifetime I can say with a great degree of certainty that there has never been a politician cast a vote on any matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind.  Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or anything I have to say.

Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it’s time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours?  Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies.  Yet, the political “representatives” (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the “terrible health care problem”.  It’s clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people don’t get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in.

And justice? You’ve got to be kidding!

How can any rational individual explain that white elephant conundrum in the middle of our tax system and, indeed, our entire legal system?  Here we have a system that is, by far, too complicated for the brightest of the master scholars to understand.  Yet, it mercilessly “holds accountable” its victims, claiming that they’re responsible for fully complying with laws not even the experts understand.  The law “requires” a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one can say truthfully that they understand what they are signing; if that’s not “duress” than what is.  If this is not the measure of a totalitarian regime, nothing is.

How did I get here?

My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early ‘80s.  Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English.  Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions.  In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy.  We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the “big boys” were doing (except that we weren’t steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God).  We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done.

The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living.  However, this is where I learned that there are two “interpretations” for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us… Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country.

That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0.  It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie.  It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their “freedom”… and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.

Before even having to make a shaky recovery from the sting of the first lesson on what justice really means in this country (around 1984 after making my way through engineering school and still another five years of “paying my dues”), I felt I finally had to take a chance of launching my dream of becoming an independent engineer.

On the subjects of engineers and dreams of independence, I should digress somewhat to say that I’m sure that I inherited the fascination for creative problem solving from my father.  I realized this at a very young age.

The significance of independence, however, came much later during my early years of college; at the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  My neighbor was an elderly retired woman (80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired steel worker.  Her husband had worked all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement.  Instead he was one of the thousands who got nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their retirement.  All she had was social security to live on.

In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to splurge) for months at a time.  When I got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of me).  I was genuinely appalled at one point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I would be “healthier” eating cat food (like her) rather than trying to get all my substance from peanut butter and bread.  I couldn’t quite go there, but the impression was made.  I decided that I didn’t trust big business to take care of me, and that I would take responsibility for my own future and myself.

Return to the early ‘80s, and here I was off to a terrifying start as a ‘wet-behind-the-ears’ contract software engineer… and two years later, thanks to the fine backroom, midnight effort by the sleazy executives of Arthur Andersen (the very same folks who later brought us Enron and other such calamities) and an equally sleazy New York Senator (Patrick Moynihan), we saw the passage of 1986 tax reform act with its section 1706.

For you who are unfamiliar, here is the core text of the IRS Section 1706, defining the treatment of workers (such as contract engineers) for tax purposes. Visit this link for a conference committee report (http://www.synergistech.com/1706.shtml#ConferenceCommitteeReport) regarding the intended interpretation of Section 1706 and the relevant parts of Section 530, as amended. For information on how these laws affect technical services workers and their clients, read our discussion here (http://www.synergistech.com/ic-taxlaw.shtml).

SEC. 1706. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL PERSONNEL.

(a) IN GENERAL – Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

(d) EXCEPTION. – This section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. – The amendment made by this section shall apply to remuneration paid and services rendered after December 31, 1986.

Note:

·      “another person” is the client in the traditional job-shop relationship.

·      “taxpayer” is the recruiter, broker, agency, or job shop.

·      “individual”, “employee”, or “worker” is you.

Admittedly, you need to read the treatment to understand what it is saying but it’s not very complicated.  The bottom line is that they may as well have put my name right in the text of section (d).  Moreover, they could only have been more blunt if they would have came out and directly declared me a criminal and non-citizen slave.  Twenty years later, I still can’t believe my eyes.

During 1987, I spent close to $5000 of my ‘pocket change’, and at least 1000 hours of my time writing, printing, and mailing to any senator, congressman, governor, or slug that might listen; none did, and they universally treated me as if I was wasting their time.  I spent countless hours on the L.A. freeways driving to meetings and any and all of the disorganized professional groups who were attempting to mount a campaign against this atrocity.  This, only to discover that our efforts were being easily derailed by a few moles from the brokers who were just beginning to enjoy the windfall from the new declaration of their “freedom”.  Oh, and don’t forget, for all of the time I was spending on this, I was loosing income that I couldn’t bill clients.

After months of struggling it had clearly gotten to be a futile exercise.  The best we could get for all of our trouble is a pronouncement from an IRS mouthpiece that they weren’t going to enforce that provision (read harass engineers and scientists).  This immediately proved to be a lie, and the mere existence of the regulation began to have its impact on my bottom line; this, of course, was the intended effect.

Again, rewind my retirement plans back to 0 and shift them into idle.  If I had any sense, I clearly should have left abandoned engineering and never looked back.

Instead I got busy working 100-hour workweeks.  Then came the L.A. depression of the early 1990s.  Our leaders decided that they didn’t need the all of those extra Air Force bases they had in Southern California, so they were closed; just like that.  The result was economic devastation in the region that rivaled the widely publicized Texas S&L fiasco.  However, because the government caused it, no one gave a shit about all of the young families who lost their homes or street after street of boarded up houses abandoned to the wealthy loan companies who received government funds to “shore up” their windfall.  Again, I lost my retirement.

Years later, after weathering a divorce and the constant struggle trying to build some momentum with my business, I find myself once again beginning to finally pick up some speed.  Then came the .COM bust and the 911 nightmare.  Our leaders decided that all aircraft were grounded for what seemed like an eternity; and long after that, ‘special’ facilities like San Francisco were on security alert for months.  This made access to my customers prohibitively expensive.  Ironically, after what they had done the Government came to the aid of the airlines with billions of our tax dollars … as usual they left me to rot and die while they bailed out their rich, incompetent cronies WITH MY MONEY!  After these events, there went my business but not quite yet all of my retirement and savings.

By this time, I’m thinking that it might be good for a change.  Bye to California, I’ll try Austin for a while.  So I moved, only to find out that this is a place with a highly inflated sense of self-importance and where damn little real engineering work is done.  I’ve never experienced such a hard time finding work.  The rates are 1/3 of what I was earning before the crash, because pay rates here are fixed by the three or four large companies in the area who are in collusion to drive down prices and wages… and this happens because the justice department is all on the take and doesn’t give a fuck about serving anyone or anything but themselves and their rich buddies.

To survive, I was forced to cannibalize my savings and retirement, the last of which was a small IRA.  This came in a year with mammoth expenses and not a single dollar of income.  I filed no return that year thinking that because I didn’t have any income there was no need.  The sleazy government decided that they disagreed.  But they didn’t notify me in time for me to launch a legal objection so when I attempted to get a protest filed with the court I was told I was no longer entitled to due process because the time to file ran out.  Bend over for another $10,000 helping of justice.

So now we come to the present.  After my experience with the CPA world, following the business crash I swore that I’d never enter another accountant’s office again.  But here I am with a new marriage and a boatload of undocumented income, not to mention an expensive new business asset, a piano, which I had no idea how to handle.  After considerable thought I decided that it would be irresponsible NOT to get professional help; a very big mistake.

When we received the forms back I was very optimistic that they were in order.  I had taken all of the years information to Bill Ross, and he came back with results very similar to what I was expecting.  Except that he had neglected to include the contents of Sheryl’s unreported income; $12,700 worth of it. To make matters worse, Ross knew all along this was missing and I didn’t have a clue until he pointed it out in the middle of the audit.  By that time it had become brutally evident that he was representing himself and not me.

This left me stuck in the middle of this disaster trying to defend transactions that have no relationship to anything tax-related (at least the tax-related transactions were poorly documented).  Things I never knew anything about and things my wife had no clue would ever matter to anyone.  The end result is… well, just look around.

I remember reading about the stock market crash before the “great” depression and how there were wealthy bankers and businessmen jumping out of windows when they realized they screwed up and lost everything.  Isn’t it ironic how far we’ve come in 60 years in this country that they now know how to fix that little economic problem; they just steal from the middle class (who doesn’t have any say in it, elections are a joke) to cover their asses and it’s “business-as-usual”.  Now when the wealthy fuck up, the poor get to die for the mistakes… isn’t that a clever, tidy solution.

As government agencies go, the FAA is often justifiably referred to as a tombstone agency, though they are hardly alone.  The recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies in their eight years certainly reinforced for all of us that this criticism rings equally true for all of the government.  Nothing changes unless there is a body count (unless it is in the interest of the wealthy sows at the government trough).  In a government full of hypocrites from top to bottom, life is as cheap as their lies and their self-serving laws.

I know I’m hardly the first one to decide I have had all I can stand.  It has always been a myth that people have stopped dying for their freedom in this country, and it isn’t limited to the blacks, and poor immigrants.  I know there have been countless before me and there are sure to be as many after.  But I also know that by not adding my body to the count, I insure nothing will change.  I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at “big brother” while he strips my carcass, I choose not to ignore what is going on all around me, I choose not to pretend that business as usual won’t continue; I have just had enough.

I can only hope that the numbers quickly get too big to be white washed and ignored that the American zombies wake up and revolt; it will take nothing less.  I would only hope that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard, knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and their mindless minions for what they are.  Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn’t so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer.  The cruel joke is that the really big chunks of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing, at and using this awareness against, fools like me all along.

I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different.  I am finally ready to stop this insanity.  Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

Joe Stack (1956-2010)

The today’s bomb blasts is something that belongs to a series of such blasts in major cities of Pakistan. The other day, Rawalpindi witnessed one such occasion. In this hour of worry and grief, we need to send a strong signal to those who are involved in such cowardly activities. We as a nation must make it clear to these elements that we are united and will not let anyone mar the name of our nation.

Lastly, I would like to pay homage to all the Shuhada Karam who have accepted martyrdom in these blasts and other such incidences. May Peace Prevail in Pakistan! May Peace Prevail on Earth!

Gilani said it was necessary to keep the age limit at the existing level in order to attract the best among the country’s youth.

Retirement age: Commenting on the issue of increasing retirement age from 60 to 63 years, the prime minister informed the cabinet that the federal government was not considering any such proposal, as it would hamper the promotion prospects of younger officers.

The cabinet also approved in-principle to start negotiations on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding bilateral political consultations between the governments of Pakistan and Namibia.

Gilani said once the MoU were signed, efforts should be made towards its implementation.

The cabinet also granted permission to a summary moved by the Ministry of Labour and Manpower to start negotiations with the Italian government for an agreement to strengthen co-operation on migration matters. The MoU will facilitate formalising arrangements with the Italian government for job placement of Pakistani professionals and workers in Italy.

The water and power minister briefed the cabinet members about the water and power situation in the country. He said although water in dams was less than the required level, every effort would be made to ensure adequate water supply to farmers.

Gilani directed all ministers to maintain close liaison with the media and facilitate access to information, so that government policies for socio-economic development of the people are properly projected.

Source: Daily Times

Pakistan is passing through a difficult phase of its history. BBC reports that Pakistan is facing fiscal pressure due to wider trade deficit in wake of transport strike. The New York Times writes that Foreign exchange reserves have shrunk to $5.7 billion, with only about $3 billion available to cover payments for oil and food. Moreover the foreign exchange has decreased to record. Consequently, Moody’s, the international credit rating agency, cut Pakistan’s credit outlook from “stable” to “negative” on Tuesday, citing dwindling foreign exchange reserves, risks from extremists and high inflation. This situation is increasingly worrisome for political leadership and intelligentsia. In this sorry state of affairs, the formation of Friends of Pakistan by President Asif Ali Zardari is under discussion.

It is being reported that, Friends of Pakistan is a brain child of President Asif Ali Zardari that got materialized on September 26, 2008 with its inaugural ceremony held on the occasion of 63^rd General Assembly Meeting of United Nations Organization.

The idea initially was floated by President Zardari and was finalized in a meeting at 10 Downing Street London between President and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. In this meeting both the leader agreed upon its launch on the auspicious occasion of UN General Assembly meeting at New York, US and Prime Minister Gordon Brown assured his full support to Pakistan.

It is being quoted by media that inspiration of formation of friends of Pakistan Group came from a similar group named Friends of Afghanistan (FOA) locally named as ‘Dostan Afghanistan’ that is affiliated with National Peace Crops association (NPCA) based in Washington DC, US. National Peace Corps Association was established in 1961 and was incorporated in 1983 and it has 130 affiliate groups working in 134 developing countries. Apart from this two other groups with similar name, ‘Friends of Pakistan’ are functional. One of them is part of Association of Pakistani Professionals and has 40 chapters in US, Canada, Europe and Pakistan. The second group with the name Friends of Pakistan is an affiliate of NPCA like FOA. Here, it is important to note that none of these groups have backing of Government.

In aftermath of dialogue between President Zardari of Pakistan and British PM Brown, the launching ceremony of FOP took place on Friday September 26, 2008 at New York. The ceremony was attended the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, representatives of China, the European Union, the United Nations, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. This launch was co-chaired by President Zardari.

Hours latter, a statement from US state department was issued from Chairman of Friends of Pakistan Group. This statement gives the details of agreements that Friends of Pakistan will help Government of Pakistan in five sectors namely, stability, development, border areas, energy and institution building. Further, it was told that the group will meet in month’s time at Abu Dhabi to discuss the measure required to achieve the goal.

Soon after launch, President Zardari, Secretary Rice, Secretary Miliband and UAE Foreign Minister Abdallah bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan spoke with media. “I hope that the President and the Pakistani people were assured today that the international community will be by their side as they take difficult decisions and move toward a more stable and prosperous Pakistan”, Said Secretary Rice. When a question was asked about financial assistance to Pakistan She pointed out the US is engaged with Pakistan through Financial Institution (IMF, WB and ADP). “Every single one of our countries stands shoulder to shoulder with the Government of Pakistan, the democratically elected Government of Pakistan, and the people of Pakistan in their struggle against terrorism which is a threat to them as well as a threat to us.”, remarked Secretary Miliband. “We fully back Pakistan. The UAE has been a very close ally, friend in Pakistan. But we want to further our relationship with Pakistan. We want to show our Pakistani friends and brothers our commitment towards them.” said Foreign Minister Al Nuhayyan. President Zardari thanked the dignitaries, “I look at U.S. support as a blessing. I look at the world support as a blessing to Pakistan.” remarked President Zardari.

‘Friends of Pakistan group’ is under discussion among political analyst at the moment. Questions are being raised about its success. In the first meeting no pledge of grant in aid was promised though Secretary Rice gave a clue that US will not engage with Pakistan directly but will work through international financial institution but this support was conditional too. The conditions Secretary Rice was talking will not be new. Pressure on Pakistan is mounting and it is multicentric. In such a situation I wonder if Pakistan has any other option left except to succumb to the demands of so called ‘Friends of Pakistan’. As President Zardari said that he is not asking them to give us fish but want to learn how to fish but leaning fishing from US and fishing for them can cost a lot because at times they hunt for big Fishes like Laden and Saddam! At the moment, the things are not yet clear and it is no time for prediction. The sky will get cleared once the first meeting is takes place as scheduled in Abu Dhabi.

Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan. It is told that the this area is sensitive since many high profile figures use to live in the area. Apart from this Marriot Hotel is the five star hotel and it is a routine that many foreigners use to stay there. It is reported further that at this moment, the hotel was a hosting a World Bank delegatation.

The attacks follow the speech of President Asif Ali Zardari to joint session of Pakistani Parliament where he reaffirmed his resolve to continue war against terror.

Analysts believe that War on Terror is without ownership that is why Pakistani government is not able to mobilize the public opinion in their favour. Apart from this, attacks by US drones in Pakistani areas bordering Afghanistan has raised strong sentiments amongst Pakistani against US. President Zardari is set to visit US so it is being expected that he should carry a strong message to US where he should make it clear that Pakistan is face enemy on both sides.

It is reported that Marriot Hotel is an old structure and it can collapse any time. For rescue operation in wake of collapse of building, Army Engineering Core is on standby.

It is reported by GEO TV that around one ton of explosive was used by the suicide attackers. Most of the dead and injured are security men and other by standers. Fours German Citizens are among injured.

I being Pakistani National condemn this terrorist activity.

It is not for the first that this has been done from across border by American and NATO forces such attacks are gaining the status of a routine in the region. In the light of the statement of British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, that such military incursions on Pakistani soil will do no good, in fact, it will result in a fatal blow to so called War on Terror. Not only this but it offers a clear picture of American motives in the region.

Baghar Cheena is an area at a distance of about half a Kilometers from Afghan Border.

The attack came after the visit of Admiral Michael Mullen today who happened to meet top government officials in Pakistan including Pakistani Prime Minister and assured them of no further attacks by American forces in the Area.

In the wake of today’s attack, defense analyst and commentator Dr. Shireen Mazari thinks that Pakistan should take a firm stand on the issue and must stop facilitation of supplies to American and NATO forces in Afghanistan sent through Pakistan to Afghanistan. Further, Pakistani Ambassador to Washington may be called for consultation.

It is being speculated that this attack is a message to Pakistani authorities that the promise by Admiral Mullen was for something else and attacks like this will continue in future too. Hence, the tension between two nations is high.

Being a Pakistani national, I wonder to how I should take it? Do I consider it an aggression by a foreign nation? Do I think that it should be dealt diplomatically or militarily? It is quite clear that our military capabilities are nothing compared to America but it does not mean that weaker nations have no human rights? I want to ask at this moment that where the human rights advocacy groups are when this is being done in the guise of so called war on terror? What else Pakistan should do when its 100, 000 soldiers are already deployed there who are very much professional in performance of their duties and doing whatever humanly possible. Our military casualties are more than that of American casualties in the region than why we are target of such aggression? Don’t we deserve a much better treatment? In my view, it is a high time that international community should take up this matter and do the justice to those who are suffering in the hands of American and NATO forces else Pakistan must consider reviving its foreign policy including its stand regarding War on Terror.

In that video, he was surrounded by armed men who were apparently Taliban militants. It is the first public statement by the envoy since he disappeared in the border area between the two countries, on his way to the Afghan capital Kabul.

In that video, he appeared helpless and requested the Ambassadors to Iran and China to help in his release. Apart from this he requested all who were watching to pray for his safety.

If you like reading my posts, you must consider subscribing to Silence Feed via email or feed reader.

Having read all this, I can’t stop thinking about this important industry where we can make some progress. Pakistan is known as an Islamic country and we can step ahead in this sector to gain some benefits. It is not about the religious prejudice of any kind, it is about thinking innovative to identify markets that we can explore and exploit to our advantage. Mr. Mohammad further adds, “Islam teaches us that life is important but when in an emergency – or darurat (need) – and faced with a choice of life or death, the issue of whether a medicine is halal or haram is not of prime importance. What is important is your life, halal products need to be consumed if it is available.”

Here, our policy markers must come forward and give a serious thought to this important industry. I think, if we are jumping into this arena, our country can gain a good deal.

Source: CSS Blog

If you like reading my posts, you must consider subscribing to Silence Feed via email or feed reader.