Naval War Games

Writing in again from Lahore ...

Zardari Pakistan's beloved President is a clever saavy politician. He is doing his best to consolidate power for his political party the PPP in Punjab and is gunning for Nawaz Sharif and his brother Nawaz who have been stirring up a storm here in Punjab by rallying with the support of the masses against Zardari.

Pakistan has seen the Lawyer's movement grow very quickly and Nawaz and deposed Judge Iftikhar have joined hands against the government and are preparing for that long march where they will stage a sit-in on constitutional avenue.

Zardari has his Interior Minister Rehman Malik threatening Nawaz and his brother by telling them publically he will have a police case against them if there is any loss of life or property during the march. Interestingly the Lawyer's movement has lost steam since Nawaz and his brother have been rallying for reinstatement of their party in the Punjab. The media frenzy seems to be feeding on the nawaz brothers and not on the "Lawyer's Movement".

As a citizen I will say that his government has managed to stabalise the power situation we had up to 12 hours of blackouts a day and now that has dwindled to 2 hours maximum. I'm not sure if it's IMF loans or the shaking up of the Water and Power Development Authority or a combination of both that has power almost 24 hours a day in most homes in the cities. It keeps citizens sane to say the least.

In an interesting development 5 Chinese ships harassed an American surveilance ship as reported in today's paper. I can say from my own experience  that I have witnessed myself a satellite many times hovering over this region very close to the land in the "Leo Orbit" very similar to the satellite shown in the movie "Body of Lies" with Dicaprio. Most people think it's sci-fi but it is very real. On a similar note the Pakistani Army is trying it's best to get their hands on American drone technology, just yesterday an unmanned Pakistani Airforce craft crashed somewhere in the desert.

The Pakistani Navy sponsored Counter-Terror naval drill is in full swing and is in it's second phase in the Arabian Sea. Besides Pakistan 15 warships and more than 2,000 sailors from 38 countries are taking part in this exercise including America and China. Which makes the news concerning a US spy ship in Chinese waters an amusing piece of news indeed. Ah the double games !

In Peshawar the tip of Pakistan's Wild Wild West in the North the loony Bajaur tribe gave an undetaking to the government to end militancy. These men are mixed up with the Pakistani wing of the Taliban so let's see who committed these religious zealots are to this undertaking.

Musharraf has been telling the local newspapers that the Army is ready to step in and impose martial law. At this point in time I feel that if the present government is removed or weakened anymore than it already is total chaos and anarchy will set in permanently. We have already had one long spell under the General's rules and are not looking forward to anymore this flat foot who once dressed in khakis and lived in government housing who now wears Armani suits and has a Palace in Turkey has obviously grown too big for his boots. His recent tour of America lecturing Americans in Ivy League universities has finally done it. He thinks he is another "Kammla Attaturk" the truth is he was hated as President lead a coup against an elected government and had a brief stint as president of Pakistan where he was revered as much as Bush and his republicans were. History will not remember Musharraf kindly I'm sure he has made zero contribution to this nation. I am going to end my personal rant right there.

As far as the investigation into the Lankan team shooting is concerned citizens were promised that there would be answers last week the investigation is inconclusive our bungling Police are 50 years behind the rest of the world in criminal investigations and there is no concept of DNA evidence here. In most police stations here you will still see old fashioned filing cabinets here (no computers) the cops walked onto the scene contaminate evidence take a few photos write a report file it and shut one of their dusty cabinets and then go back to their Nihari ... Nihair is to cops here what Donuts are to cops in the States. Yes it was an open and shut case the Lankan team shooting was. Police admit it through their in action and stupidity that the team got shot. Now they are going back to their guard duty playing body guard to all the VIP's and fat cats that need protection in this city. Well they have to justify their salaries somehow ?

And that's today's news ladies and gentlemen I won't bore you with the details of the everyday kidnappings and bombings that the taliban are guilty of in the North. I want bore you with the daily news of how some poor schmuck can't find employment and massacred his wife and children and then blew his own brains out. News like this is common and is every day news.

Today is Eid-Ul-Miladul Nabi which is Islam's Prophet Muhammad's birthday. Entire nights are spent praying because it is said angles come down from heaven and grant the worshippers what they wish for. This country needs lots of prayers and I'm sure people are praying for this country, problem is I don't know where God stands on the issue of the future of Pakistan.