Another Drone shot down – Shame on coward Pakistan army – Army officials are transferring money out of Pakistan.

By: Earthman, International Professor

Today Taliban shot down second American Drone in Northern areas of Pakistan, any attempt to shoot down Drones was a matter of nerve and backbone that Pakistan government did not has at all. When first drone was shot down Pakistan media left no chance to prove that it was technical fault in the Drone itself. Whereas same media within 30 minutes of each drone attack has the aptitude to broadcast names, nationality with bio-data of each person killed in the drone attacks, with the label of terrorists or foreigners? In almost 99% cases the killing of civilians is kept hidden from the eyes of general public.

According to reports Taliban have used simple anti-aircraft guns to shot down both American drones and later one successful gunner was rewarded in honor to his bravery with a gift of brand new car. Public opinion against use of Drones and subsequently killings of Pakistani citizens is well known, and everyone is openly raising finger towards coward generals of Pakistan army and their lack of ability to defend borders of Pakistan, for which those are being paid. It also proves that Pakistan air force is a white elephant and Pakistan Defense forces have failed to retain their credibility.

Now come to politicians and review their statements, are such politicians have the capability to run any government? Not only those are liars but have been putting sands in the eyes of public on Drone issue. Zardari, Gaillani, Mukhtar Mochi, Kaira, Fauzia Wahab and every politician of coalition had been making fool to public. Rewind your memories and try to think who believed, “we don’t have technology to stop drones”, “Drones fly on very high altitude and F-16’s have no capacity to engage”, “Drones are coming from neighboring country”, and during a few weeks every one has admitted that four air force bases were leased to NATO and ISAF.

Pakistan army earlier refused to admit that Drones are violating international borders with their consent. But after murder of Baitullah Mehsud, army media cell started to acknowledge that Pak army is well behind in providing information for Drone attacks, and admitted that Government of Pakistan is being paid for intelligence sharing. It was a matter of morality and transparency to admit in public that whatever Pakistan Government is doing is logical and in the interest of Pakistan. But Government of Pakistan is working as street bandit.

Almost 95% Pakistani’s have firm belief that siding with America is a wrong decision and U.S. is fighting for its own interests. Some patriot and professional defense personals were aware of consequences of civil war that is why first ever person who received martyrdom was Abdul Salam Siddiqui, a Sindhi Bloch and lower rank army soldier, who was hanged by puppet military court. His grave is near Jacobabad and thousands of peoples visit to his grave. Later on suspicion dozens of high ranking army and air force officials, technicians and soldiers were put behind bars, nuclear scientists were imprisoned and ISI was completely purged. Here question again arises of morality and transparency, but generals and air chief are thieves, liars and suckers, none of the arrested person was brought to civil courts and fascist army courts hanged many soldiers without giving right of any appeal.

Daily Dawn has published a detailed story that shows how generals are playing with the lives of innocent peoples. And criminality of army Col’s and Brig.’s who are presiding such army courts. My article highlighting martyrdom of Abdul Salam Siddiqui Shaheed was published last year on a website and that has been pulled by flawed democratic government of Pakistan a few months ago. Moreover media that is trying to blame Taliban for murder of Journalists, my article about murder of Journalist Hayat Ullah Khan and later murder of his wife by the hands of ISI has also been pulled.

Shooting down second drone with the help of conventional air craft guns is a slap on the face of white elephants of Pakistan army and air force. It is time for all shameless politicians to think about suicide instead of showing face to public.

Does Habib group and its bank overseas is involved in money laundering?

A few days back someone sent reports about overseas tours of serving officials of Pakistan army and their presence in capitals of some countries, opening of bank accounts, and in this connection role of Habib group that is operating banks in Switzerland and other countries.

According to one report Brig. Haroon Malik, butcher of Swat, a war criminal involved in human rights violations including genocide, massacres, torture, kidnapping and target killings is on overseas trip. He also has been seen to float fabricated tales of his super natural heroism. Above report has some graphical images where he is seen standing with unknown persons. It is assumed that his main aim is to transfer money from Pakistan, open accounts in overseas banks and to save looted money like Zardari. 

Officials of Habib Bank including their President Muslim Hasan was also seen with said Brig. at many occasions including public gatherings. The name of Brig. Haroon Malik is included in preliminary war crime reports submitted to International Courts of Justice as well along with other army and air force officials for records. The Habib group and overseas banks are playing an active role in establishment of “Shia Crescent” and its owners have not learnt any lessons from the past when those were caught red handed in such kind of activities. Since peoples are busy in gathering information about war crimes and embezzlement by army officials during American war of terror, and it is strongly believed that part of cash stolen out of $ 17 billion American money is still available at some army cantonments and that is now under disposal.

Some important part of reports published in press: First report shows that peoples who dared to witness drone operations within Pakistan were picked by army intelligence. And second report shows criminality and illegal actions of army courts working in Pakistan parallel to constitution of Pakistan, and attack on journalist. 

1.   Military court indicts two army officers (January 21, 2010)

ISLAMABAD (Online) – A military court based in Kotli, AK, has formally indicted two army officers and two civilians for holding membership of banned outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir. The accused, however, have pleaded not guilty and challenged the jurisdiction of the military court concerned.
According to BBC, military court, during the proceedings of court martial, had indicted two army officers among the four, accusing them of providing sensitive information about military installations to Hizb ut-Tahrir. About two civilians, it was said that they were planning to commit act of sabotage at a PAF airbase in Balochistan. The accused can be awarded capital punishment under military laws in case the allegations stand proved.
Mother of one accused Owais Ali Khan told BBC that counsels of the accused had taken the plea before the field general court martial headed by a brigadier that the accused were taken into custody from Rawalpindi and the alleged conspiracy was committed in Rawalpindi. Therefore, the case does not fall within the jurisdiction of the military court based in Kotli.
Military intelligence agencies had taken nabbed Col. Shahid Bashir and another colonel, former pilot of PAF advocate Nadim Ahmad Shah and engineer Owais Ali Khan during May last year from Rawalpindi. Initially they were charged with obtaining secret information about a PAF airbase in Balochistan and inciting other military officers to commit acts of sabotage.

About this airbase, former army chief Gen (r) Mirza Aslam Beg had claimed a few months back that it was used for US drone attacks on tribal areas. (Daily the Nation, Lahore)

2.   Convict by army court was denied appeal and hanged (24 Jan, 2010)

ISLAMABAD: Abdul Islam Siddiqui, a soldier of the Pakistan Army hanged in 2005 after an in-camera military trial for his alleged involvement in the Dec 2003 attack on then Musharraf’s convoy, was denied right to file writ in any superior court, Dawn investigations show.

The case of six other co-accused from the Air Force is currently in the apex court. Two of the soldiers turned prosecution witnesses, but alleged torture and coercion by military authorities nevertheless. “The military authorities tortured us to get a false statement against Siddiqui. Brigadier Feroz, who was supposed to be our defending officer, threatened us into get our signatures on an English-language statement. “Prosecutor Brigadier Liaqat threatened us with dire consequences unless we signed the statement and Siddiqui’s defending officer, a major whose identity I’ve been unable to ascertain, was browbeaten by military court officials every time he tried to argue in Siddiqui’s support,” claims a former soldier Hafiz M Ashfaq. He was subsequently released but dismissed from service without benefits. Havaldar Mohammad Younis, another witness who deposed against Siddiqui and is currently incarcerated in Gujranwala jail, also alleged torture. In an undated hand-written note to his family, he claimed that he was subjected to torture for 10 months in Rawalpindi cells to extricate a false statement against Siddiqui.

“I filed an appeal before Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha [current ISI Chief and the then military judge hearing appeals against conviction] who merely completed the procedural formality before upholding my sentence,” Younis said in his note.
“He did not provide a lawyer or summon my witness and did not even care for my refusal to depose before him.” Attempts to secure the army’s version of events failed as military spokesman Gen Athar Abbas did not respond.

“Recent Supreme Court verdicts have established that persons convicted by military courts have the right to file writs in high courts,” said former attorney-general Malik Qayyum. “I recently represented some Air Force personnel in a similar case in the SC, which upheld their right to move the judiciary against the military court verdict.” Siddiqui was prosecuted by in-camera trial and executed on Aug 20, 2005. Record shows that he was sentenced to death before Dec 25, 2004, when this fact was officially announced. Siddiqui’s family quote him as saying that he had filed appeals before military appellate courts right up to the army chief, but all were rejected. “The appeal process in the army is contradictory,” said Colonel (retd) Akram, a former military lawyer.

“When the army chief confirms a death sentence, the convict can file an appeal in a military court of appeal which is headed by a military officer subordinate to the army chief.” He added that it was strange that Gen. Musharraf — the target of the attempted murder — decided the fate of an appeal as the army chief. And, had Siddiqui been allowed the due process of the law, his mercy petition would have been presented to Musharraf in his capacity as president.
Under the law, such appeals — once rejected by the army chief and confirmed by appellant military courts — go to high courts and then the Supreme Court.

If the appeal is rejected by the apex court, a mercy petition is filed before the president. In Siddiqui’s case, the process of law appears to have been short-circuited. President Musharraf rejected Siddiqui’s appeal as army chief and when this was confirmed by an appellate military court, it was interpreted by jail authorities as a rejection of his mercy petition by Musharraf in his capacity as the president. “You are hereby informed that your son Islam Siddiqui, who was sentenced to death for an attempt on the life of the president and whose appeals have been dismissed, including a mercy petition that has been rejected by the president of Pakistan, will be hanged to death [sic] on Aug 20, 2005,” said the Aug 13, 2005, letter from the jail authorities to Siddiqui’s father Karim Buksh, mother Maria Kalsoom and brother Umer Islam Siddiqui.
Siddiqui’s family members accuse jail officials of stopping them from challenging the death sentence in superior courts.
“Ten days before his scheduled execution, I reached Multan jail accompanied by our lawyer and the prison authorities refused to let us meet my brother saying that the army had strictly forbidden it,” said Umer Islam Siddiqui.
Normally, jail authorities are responsible for filing appeals for such convicts from jail,” said Shah Khawar [then acting attorney-general and currently the deputy AG] when contacted in December.

Mr Qayyum said that military officials could still be held accountable.
“The family of the hanged soldier can still seek action against military authorities by filing writ in the High Court,” he said.
“The name of the Abdul Salam Siddiqui never formally appeared in the previous proceedings of the lower courts; we were told by the prosecutor that he was hanged in the same case but his case details were not provided,” said advocate Col (retd) Akram.
“If a military court awards the death sentence to any accused persons, it has to be verified by the chief of the respective armed forces; since he was the Chief of Army Staff at the time, Gen Musharraf must have signed his death warrant,” said another lawyer, advocate Altaf Malik who is representing the air force personnel.
Col. r Akram, said that they never knew that there was a seventh accused in the case. “We came to know about him through media reports after his execution and later the army prosecutor told me that since he was an army man, his case was separated from the Air Force persons,” said Akram.
“Even if he was involved in the assassination attempt, though, he should have been tried with the rest of the accused persons.”

35-year-old Siddiqui, a father of three who worked for Company No. 1 of the Defence Services Guard, was charged with pressing the button of the remote control device which caused an explosion on Jhanda Chichi Bridge on Dec 14, 2003.

Immediately prior to his execution, Siddiqui wrote a two-page letter to his family claiming innocence. (Daily the Dawn, Karachi).

Note: Above report is written by Mr. Aizaz Syed, reporter of Dawn at Islamabad and according to reports ISI officials attacked at his residence, damaged house hold and smashed his car. Do you still believe that Gen. Kiyani, Gen. Athar Abbas, Gen. Tariq Majeed Butcher and Gen. Shuja Pasha are human beings, either Muslims or not war criminals? If due to any reason you believe that those are Muslims than ask God for forgiveness.