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Pervez Musharraf's Second Coup in Pakistan: Amends Constitution to
retain Power
Burqa-clad Woman Opens Fire in Kandahar killing 4 U.S. troops
Families of Jihad Martyrs meet to Affirm struggle for liberation of
Kashmir plus
[CAIR's Concept of "martyrdom"]
1. Pakistan's military coup leader, Pervez Musharraf, has struck
again.
He has unilaterally made 28 amendments to the Constitution of Pakistan.
Among
the most important are amendments which will give him the right to
continue
as military chief AND president for another five years. Also, he will
have
the right to dismiss the parliament which is to be elected in October.
To sidetrack Pakistani political parties, Musharraf has baited
them with
the promise of free elections in October. Although the politicians saw
in the
referendum he held that he can rig such exercises, the bait of
elections is
so enticing that the politicians took it and will be busy with this
exercise.
Musharref thinks that the religious parties are no match for any
coalition he will support because the election process in Pakistan is a
very
dirty and corrupt one. He senses danger from two politicians who oppose
him
and are experts in the dirty game: Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.
Hence he
has instituted criminal cases against them which would stop them from
returning. [They are also his competitors for the favor of the White
House.]
In this gloomy picture, the ray of light is the coalition of
Islamic
parties, Jamaate Islami, Jamiatul Ulemae Islam and others whose unity
seems
to be holding. Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Ameer of JI, has condemned
Musharref's
constitutional amendments and urged him to step down.
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2. An astonishing news item which has appeared in Pakistan's
Islamic
publications and newspapers is the story of the burqa-clad Afghan woman
who
opened fire on U.S. troops in Kandahar. According to these reports, the
woman
who was standing in front of a drainage canal in the middle of
Kandahar,
approximately on July 23, motioned to an open jeep driven by an Afghan
mercenary in which there were four U.S. troops. The woman was in full
burqa
but when she drew up part of it to motion with her bare hand, the
troops
probably thought she needed help or was begging. She had something
bulging in
the burqa which was at first taken to be a baby by onlookers.
The jeep drew up to her, attracted by her gesture, unusual for an
Afghan
woman (even begging women do not gesture). Onlookers reported that
probably
the troops thought they were going to have some ‘fun', very rare in
Afghanistan. As soon as the jeep stopped, the woman opened up with an
automatic rifle, killing all four soldiers. There was complete
pandemonium in
the area as onlookers ran for their lives. In the confusion, the woman
escaped.
Pakistani commentators are excited by the report and its strange
irony
that Americans who went in claiming to have gone in to liberate Afghan
women
from the burqa lost their lives in the process to a damsel in burqa.
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3. Pakistan as seen by Musharraf is very different from the Pakistan
which
the followers of Islam live. Early in August 2002, seminars were held
in
LAHORE, CHUNIAN and QASUR to honor the martyrs of the Jihad in Kashmir.
The
seminars were attended by thousands of people, foremost among them the
parents and families of the martyrs. A number of fathers of martyrs
spoke to
evoke the pride and honor they feel in having sacrificed their sons in
the
jihad to stop Indian atrocties in Kashmir.
Leaders of various jihad groups spoke. Some of their comments are
given
here verbatim:
Hafiz Abdur Rahman Makki, political affairs organizer of Jamaat
ad-Da'wah
(formerly Lashkare Taiba) said: "When Musharraf speaks against jihad,
martyrs
and ghazis, he insults and infuriates the Pakistani people. We are not
politicians but we challenge Musharref to hold a referendum on the
Kashmir
Jihad so that his eyes may open." He added: "The people will not permit
the
rulers to destroy the ideology of Islam and to throw Pakistan at the
feet of
America
and Vajpayee. Pakistan was achieved on the basis of the kalima
of
tawheed. There is no alternative here to the implementation of the
Qur'an and
the Sunnah. The jihad to free Kashmir is continuing and will continue,
inshallah, and no power on earth can stop it."
Prof. Sajid Meer, Ameer of the central Jamiate Ahle Hadith, said
that by
accepting America's dominance, the government has betrayed Islam and
Pakistan. "Till yesterday, the rulers who used to differentiate between
jihad and terrorism, surrendered at one phone call (from
Bush).
First the rulers
gave their personal and logistical support to America to ruin the
Afghans and
then made a U-turn even on Kashmir of which they used to claim to be
guardians". "Hafiz Saeed (the imprisoned leader of jihad) is more of a
patriot
than Musharref." "The nation gives 80% of its budget to Musharref for
the
defense of Pakistan but he has developed such a taste for the palace of
power
that he has no desire to return to the barracks." "The rulers say that
jihad
is the task of governments; then why don't you (the government)
announce that
you will do what Lashkare Taiba and Jamiat al-Mujahideen are doing?"
"The
rulers should fear the wrath of Allah. It is our task to take revenge
for the
mass murders of the helpless Muslims in Gujarat (India)."
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AN INTERESTING ADVERTISEMENT appeared in a Pakistani newspaper
published from New York. It is called Pakistan Post,
is the size of the New York Times and
is in Urdu language. It is dated August 15-22, 2002. On page three
there is a
large (quarter page) ad in ENGLISH about CAIR's Annual Banquet
featuring
pro-government speakers like Nihad Awad and Siraj Wahhaj.
One of the speakers, printed in the middle of the ad, will be Talat
Hamdani. She is described thus: "Mother of martyred Mohammad Salman
Hamdani (WTC)"
Thus it would seem that Hamdani, killed in the attack on WTC, is
seen
as a martyr by CAIR. The question arises what makes him a martyr? Why
are the
other people killed in the attack on WTC not considered martyrs?
Perhaps our readers will help us to understand this new concept
of martyrdom offered by CAIR.
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2002-08-24 Sat 08:40ct