OIC

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations which has membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The Organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world and ensuring to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.
In 1970 the first ever meeting of Islamic Conference of Foreign Minister (ICFM) was held in Jeddah which decided to establish a permanent secretariat in Jeddah headed by the organization’s secretary general. Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu is the 9th Secretary General who assumed the office in January 2005 after being elected by the 31st ICFM.
The Organization has consultative and cooperative relations with the UN and other inter-governmental organizations to protect the vital interests of the Muslims and to work for the settlement of conflicts and disputes involving Member States. In safeguarding the true values of Islam and the Muslims, the organization has taken various steps to remove misperceptions and have strongly advocated elimination of discrimination against the Muslims in all forms and manifestations.
Under the Charter, the Organization aims, inter alia, to:

• Enhance and consolidate the bonds of fraternity and solidarity among the Member States;

• Safeguard and protect the common interests and support the legitimate causes of the Member States and coordinate and unify the efforts of the Member States in view of the challenges faced by the Islamic world in particular and the international community in general;

• Respect the right of self-determination and non-interference in the domestic affairs and to respect sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of each Member State;

• Ensure active participation of the Member States in the global political, economic and social decision-making processes to secure their common interests;
• Reaffirm its support for the rights of peoples as stipulated in the UN Charter and international law;

• Strengthen intra-Islamic economic and trade cooperation; in order to achieve economic integration leading to the establishment of an Islamic Common Market;
• Exert efforts to achieve sustainable and comprehensive human development and economic well-being in Member States;
• Protect and defend the true image of Islam, to combat defamation of Islam and encourage dialogue among civilizations and religions;

• Enhance and develop science and technology and encourage research and cooperation among Member States in these fields;
In order to realize these objectives, Member States shall act, inter alia, in accordance with the following principles:

• All Member States commit themselves to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter;

• Member States are sovereign, independent and equal in rights and obligations;

• All Member States shall settle their disputes through peaceful means and refrain from use or threat of use of force in their relations;

• All Member States undertake to respect national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of other Member States and shall refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of others;

• Member States shall uphold and promote, at the national and international levels, good governance, democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.


Pakistan enjoys an excellent privilege status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference. In terms of population, it is the OIC second largest member. It status as the Muslim Ummah only nuclear state, boosting a highly disciple world seventh-largest standing military force, with a unique ability to locally produce technologically demanding military hardware within Pakistan, through research at NESCOM and DESTO and a high quality labor workforce working in various Muslim countries plays a significant role in its prominence. Pakistan has one of the highest levels of economic integration with other Muslim countries.

OIC role in Pakistan-Bangladeshi relationship

It was under the pretext of the 2nd summit of OIC held in Lahore between 22–24 February 1974 that Pakistan recognized the former or ex-Eastern Pakistan as the People's Republic of Bangladesh.Pakistan had initially not invited Bangladesh to attend the summit. However as members of the OIC group gathered in Lahore, several heads of the state from the Arab world put pressure on Pakistan then prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, to invite Sheikh Mujibur Rehman to attend. A seven member delegation from OIC in fact visited Dacca to invite Mujib to participate in the summit. As a result of the 2nd OIC summit, Pakistan formally recognized Bangladesh on February 22, 1974, and Mujib was flown by a special aircraft from Dacca to Lahore to attend the summit. Bhutto subsequently visited Dacca in July 1974. Established relations on 18 January 1976.

OIC on the issue of Kashmir

See also Kashmir conflict, OIC dispute with Republic of India.
Pakistan has always used OIC as a platform to gather support on the Kashmir conflict against the Republic of India. In 1969 King Hassan of Morocco invited the Government of India for the 1969 Summit in Rabat. But after Pakistan then ruler Gen Yahya Khan threatened to walk out, an embarrassed King Hassan apologized and requested the Indian delegates not to attend the meeting.
During the OIC 1994 Conference in Tehran, Pakistan succeeded in persuading the member countries to create the "OIC Contact Group on Kashmir".

karachi firing

Five people including a political worker have been murdered while one Rangers personnel among eight others also killed in firing incidents in the metropolis.

According to the police, unidentified armed men opened fire in Baldia Town No. 8 near football ground, killing three people. Deceased were identified as Sajid Baloch, Jehangir and Zahid Hassan.
In Federal B Area, a man, identified as Jawad Afzal (24), was gunned down near Naseerabad area. ANP Sindh spokesman said that deceased was a worker of ANP Gulberg ward.
In another incident, unidentified gunmen opened fire at car on MT Khan road, killing 25-year old Zaran Ghazali.

QADHAFI not leaving yet

Libyan leader Moamer Qadhafi said yesterday he would never leave the land of his ancestors after fresh international calls for him to go and as rebels pressed their campaign to overthrow him "They are asking me to leave. That's a laugh. I will never leave the land of my ancestors or the people who have sacrificed themselves for me," he said in a loudspeaker address to supporters in Zawiyah, some 50 kilometres west of Tripoli.

Qadhafi blamed the rebels taking hostage of the people in Misarata, Bin Ghazi and western hilly areas and they were being used as the human shields, who soon be freed.
Western and regional powers met in Istanbul on Friday for the fourth gathering of the Libya contact group, which saw a new call on Qadhafi to go after more than four decades in power.
The Libyan leader has for five months been faced with an armed rebellion unprecedented since he came to power in 1969.

the arrivals

I don´t know if you´ve seen the documentary “The arrivals” .But if you´re into the paranormal and conspiracy theories….you will love this documentary.
Basically the conspiracy theory behind it is that the hidden secret new world order runs the world and the big events and revolutions around the world, and the documentary shows different signs and aspects of this.

The paranormal perspective of the arrivals documentary, is that the new world order has roots in back into the ancient Egypt and devil worshippers and that Freemasons are the ones that runs the new world order. An example of this is the pyramid and the all seing eye on the American u.s dollar.This is a great documentary, however it will chock you….and it will show and prove how the Bush family is connected to devil worshippers, by pictures and documents. I sound weird i know, and I’m not saying that I believe in all of it. But check it out yourself, and ask yourself this: What if 1 % of this documentary is true…..it will change your life.
That would prove the paranormal realities that so many people deny, and the secret new world order.

pso in trouble

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has sent an SOS to the ministries of finance and petroleum and natural resources for an immediate release of Rs60 billion enabling it to overcome the acute liquidity crunch getting beyond control.

Sources told Geo News that PSO facing difficulties in making payments to the international suppliers and Kuwait Petroleum. Therefore, the PSO payables to the international suppliers have piled up to Rs110 billion, which with the PSO payables to local suppliers added mounts to Rs135 billion.

In this backdrop, PSO has sought from the government immediate release of Rs60 billion enabling it to meet at least its international obligations so that the new purchase orders of oil in the days to come do not get dishonored.
PSO as against its payables of Rs135 billion has an accumulated outstanding amounts of Rs151 billion due for recoveries from different organizations.

MQM Deputy Convener, Farooq Sattar said that the Rangers were deployed to Kati Pahari after the intervention of DG ISI, Geo News reported.

Sattar said that the government and Interior Minister, Rehman Malik did not listen to the MQM and did not send the Rangers to Kati Pahari for four days. He said that MQM Chief Altaf Hussain contacted DG ISI, Lt General Shuja Pasha and informed him of the situation after which Rangers were sent to the area.

The MQM Chief informed the ISI Chief that it had become essential to deploy forces in order to bring an end to the killing of innocent people and firing on mosques and imam bargahs.

After the conversation took place, Rangers entered the area within 6 hours and cleared it.

elections 2008

In addition to winning the largest number of seats in Pakistan's National Assembly, Pakistan People's Party has demonstrated its national appeal by winning seats in all four provincial legislatures. In spite of its losses and third place finish, PML (Q) is the only other party with this distinction. All of the other parties, including the PML (N) with the second place finish, have won seats in only one or two Pakistani provinces.
The table on the right shows the respective positions of all the parties at the federal and provincial levels. There are several other observations that should be made based on Pakistan Election Commission's data.

1. Pro-Musharraf parties (Q,MQM, Functional League, PPP Sherpao) together got
more votes than either PPP or PML(N). According to ECP statistics, former ruling alliance comprising Pakistan Muslim League, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan
Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and Pakistan People’s Party-Sherpao (PPP-S) secured 40% votes of the total while expected ruling parties PPPP and PML-N got 37% and 23% votes respectively.

2. Together, the pro-Musharraf forces won the second largest number of seats after PPP.

3. Out of total votes cast, the former ruling coalition received 10,844,233 votes followed by PPPP with 10,055,491 votes and PML-N with 6,240,343 votes.

4. The religious parties, represented by the MMA, suffered the worst ever defeat in Pakistan's history.

The fact that the PPP, the largest single party in the National Assembly, truly represents all parts of the nation is good for Pakistan's federation. The final result appears to be a split verdict: Without giving an absolute majority to any one party, the people wants the politicians of all parties to work together to serve the nation rather than dissipate their energies fighting each other. The defeat of the right wing religious parties explodes the myth that Pakistan is in danger of falling prey to the fundamentalists.

stupid politician

He was addressing the media at a dinner arranged by Awami National Party’s Sindh chief Shahi Syed’s residence, Mardan house here on Wednesday.
Mirza said that “if someone says that Afaq Ahmed is a criminal and a murderer, then I will say Altaf Hussain is a 100-times bigger criminal than Afaq.” he that Ahmed was facing jail time without being convicted of a crime.
He said that he will continue his fight against criminals, murderers, and extortionist as long as he was alive.
Talking about calls for the division of Sindh, Mirza said that no one had the courage to divide Sindh. He said “I appeal to the people of Karachi and Hyderabad to get rid of these people (who are asking for Karachi to be made a separate province)”.

I cannot express my feelings on this issue. I am very sad to see this entire situation and the worst part is that although we have been handicapped in 1971 we are still raising slogans of ethnicity. We have not learned anything from history. I accept that the statement of Zulfiqar Mirza was very stupid but there is some responsibility of the politicians also who fanned the flame and took political advantage.MQM must not spoil the issue and generalize this as an ideology of whole Pakistan. It is just some stupid’s like him who thinks like this but as a whole Pakistani public always respect the sacrifices.
The worst part of the situation is I am observing from days that politicians are repeatedly using the term “Urdu bolne walo ki qaum”,”Sindhi qaum” and others. This is stupidity at its extreme. There is only nationality and that is Pakistani.

economy decline

As the PPP and PML leaderships continue their political posturing, the larger story is the massive loss of confidence by business/investment community in Pakistan. It is worrying to see a sudden halt to foreign investments and the flight of capital by Pakistani investors to investments elsewhere in the world.
State Bank has raised interest rates from 10% to 12.5%, the rupee is in free fall, the dollar reserves are disappearing and both S&P and Moody’s have cut Pakistan’s credit ratings.
KSE 100 index has lost 2992 pts during May 2008 starting at 15122 & ending at 12130. The index has lost 879 pts during the week ended May 30th , 2008, standing at a nine month low.

Unfortunately, it takes time and serious effort to create confidence in markets and economy. But it is very quick and easy to destroy such confidence by ill-conceived, impromptu statements. Zardari's comments such as Pakistani economy heading toward a "meltdown" add fuel to the fire and weaken confidence in Pakistan's economy and drive away investors. What Pakistan needs more than anything else is a sense that the leadership understands the issues and working seriously in a focused manner to resolve the economic issues? They need some sense of political stability and predictability.

is this democracy ?

Pakistan has a new prime minister elected by the new parliament chosen by the people in largely free, fair and peaceful general elections held by President Musharraf's government last February. As expected, the new Prime Minister Makhdoom Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani comes from an influential feudal family in Southern Punjab. In the absence of a large, powerful middle class, this is the best that one could hope for as an outcome of the electoral process. But does this mean we are closer to a functioning democracy now?
In India's case, Prime Minister Nehru and the Indian National Congress leadership, mostly from the middle classes, seized control and successfully emasculated the Indian feudal class by extensive and real land reform immediately after independence. This never happened in Pakistan. Even though most of India is mired in deep poverty, an average Indian is better educated than an an average Pakistani and the enrollment rate of children in school is much higher, giving hope for a better future. India is beginning to emerge as an industrial economy and acquiring global industrial units like Corus steel and Jaguar.

Pakistan can possibly evolve from feudal to industrial society with a large middle class but it is likely to be a very long and slow evolution, given the history of our recalcitrant feudal leadership. Under Musharraf, the middle class has grown rapidly. I think this is likely to slow down to suit the whims of the feudal class for continuation of the patron-client society they prefer.

TEA , Good for economy

Pakistan is the world’s third-largest importer of tea with nearly 175 million kg of annual consumption, costing an estimated $500 million, and increasing at about 4% a year. It imports tea from 21 countries, with the lion's share of black tea imports coming from Kenya, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The country's green tea requirements are met by imports from five countries led by Indonesia and Vietnam. Only a small fraction of Pakistan's tea imports come from neighboring India.

Tea prices, which hit record highs in 2009 due to droughts in India, Sri Lanka and Kenya, should stabilize in 2010 as weather has returned to normal in the main producing regions in Asia and Africa, the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) said. It is estimated that global tea production has been cut by as much as 20% this year.

With the rising tea consumption and growing import bill, it is important for Pakistan to give incentives for investments for tea cultivation. Such a policy can help create jobs in the northern regions where they are most needed, while at the same time providing economic opportunity to young people to take a step toward creating the much-needed peace and political stability for the entire nation.

ZARDARI-MUSHARRAF BONDING

Asif Ali Zardari reviews his political options and the PPP-PML(N) coalition takes shape, there are clear indications that the PPP is ready to work with President Musharaf rather than seek confrontation. "The ground reality is that we do not have two-thirds majority in both the houses of Parliament" that would be required for a successful impeachment. Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and leader of the party that won the most seats in parliamentary elections last week, said his coalition will be unable to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, and that he would instead seek a working relationship with the embattled leader.

I believe that it is in the best interest of Pakistan, its democracy and its economy for all the key players to move forward in a conciliatory manner and focus on the serious challenges ahead rather than waste energies fighting each other. The conciliatory course is the wisest course for Mr. Zardari as the senior partner in the new coalition. Let's hope that Mr. Zardari can persuade Mr. Nawaz Sharif to abandon his personal vendetta against Musharraf. This will be the first real test of the coalition being formed.

U.S GO WRONG

Eighty-one percent of Americans believe the US is headed in the wrong direction, says the latest NY Times/CBS poll conducted recently. This is the worst ever reading of dissatisfaction since this particular poll began in the 1990s. Although the public unhappiness has been rising since the early days of the Iraq war, it has taken a new turn for the worse in the last few months, as the economy has seemed to slip into recession. There is now nearly a national consensus that the country faces significant problems.

While it is not clear from the polls whether the people see a direct connection between the misguided conduct of the war on terror, the recent books such as "The Three Trillion Dollar War" by Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz are helping make that connection.

This poll confirms that Pakistanis are not alone in how they feel about the negative impact of the US policies on economy and security. Like their American counterparts, Pakistanis share similar feelings of dissatisfaction . Pakistanis have already spoken in recent elections. All the indications are that the Americans will also send a similar message in the November elections to the US Congress and elect a Democrat as the new President. The real question is whether the new governments in US and Pakistan will listen and act on what they are hearing from their people.

WOMEN'S EXCEPTANCE

As the world celebrates International Women's Day today, it is natural to ask if Pakistani women have made substantial real progress in the last 5 years under President Musharraf. The answer to this question depends on who you ask and how you judge women's progress. In terms of the women's political representation in the nation's parliament, there has clearly never been a better time. The discriminatory laws such as the Hudood ordnance have been repealed. There are other indicators such as women's presence in the traditional male professions such as law, medicine, business, the police and the military. We have seen women inducted and grow in numbers in each of these male-dominated areas. Women's ranks have also grown in the nation's mass media and they are much freer than ever to express themselves in the choice of appearance, speech, dress, arts, entertainment etc. The women in parliament have not been particularly vocal in raising the women's issues in parliament and they have not offered any serious legislation other than the Women's Protection Bill that was offered and passed because of President Musharraf's personal intervention.

In summary, the Musharraf era has seen measurable progress in improving the situation for women. However, a lot more needs to be done. What is really needed is a fundamental change in social attitudes toward women, particularly in rural Pakistan. A massive effort is required to make both men and women aware of the need and the benefits of women's empowerment for a better future of Pakistan. Healthy, educated and empowered women can help bring up better children to build Pakistan as a modern society that cares for its people.

HOLY PROPHET (P.B.UH)

As the Muslim world celebrates the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) today, it's important to remember his teachings and the life he lived to learn how to deal with the serious crises Muslims face today. Here is how I remember the Prophet I know from my reading about his life:

Secular Education:
The Prophet I know instructed Muslims to "go as far as China to seek knowledge". It was clear at the time that China was not a Muslim nation. It is therefore safe to conclude that the Prophet encouraged all necessary efforts to seek all knowledge including secular education.

Faith and Reason:
The Prophet I know brought the Holy Quran to humanity, the Book that repeatedly and emphatically challenges readers to "Think" and "Ponder" for themselves. This is the best proof that Islam wants Muslims to embrace and reconcile faith and reason. It was this teaching that brought greatness to Muslims in seventh through thirteenth centuries following the death of Prophet Muhammad.

Compassion:
The Prophet I know showed compassion and understanding when a Bedouin person entered the Prophet's mosque in Medina and urinated, an act that infuriated the Prophet's companions. He restrained his companions and asked them to show understanding for the ignorance of the Bedouin.

Brevity:
The Prophet I know spoke softly and briefly. His last khutbah was a mere 430 words lasting a few minutes. He did not make long, fiery speeches.

Response to provocation:
The Prophet I know responded to abuse by prayer. When the people of Taif threw rocks at him, he responded by praying to Allah to give guidance to those who abused him.

Respect for Life:
The Prophet I know brought the Holy Quran, the Book that equates " unjust killing of one person" with "the killing the entire humanity". It commands respect for life.

It is more important than ever for Muslims to make a serious effort to understand what Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) stood for and how he lived his life. The issues of education, faith, reason and compassion need to be understood in the light of the Quran, the Sunnah and the Hadith. It is this understanding that will help guide the Ummah out of the deep crisis it finds itself in.

peace foe economy

The business community in Karachi welcomed the support of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement for the new Prime Minister Mr. Gillani. Good relations between Pakistan People’s Party and the MQM are considered vital for the business community in Pakistan.
Peace in Karachi is considered crucial for Pakistan's economic growth and prosperity. According to Wikipedia, Karachi is the financial capital of Pakistan and the biggest port city; it accounts for the lion's share of GDP and revenue. It generates over 65% of the total national revenue (federal and provincial taxes, customs and surcharges. Karachi produces about 42 percent of value added in large scale manufacturing and 25% of the GDP of Pakistan. In February 2007, the World Bank identified Karachi as the most business-friendly city in Pakistan.

In the past, the clashes between the ruling parties and the MQM, Karachi's biggest political force, have resulted in serious economic difficulties in Pakistan. The last several years, however, have seen robust economic growth and a close cooperative relationship between the MQM and the ruling coalition in Islamabad. Any progress toward maintaining a positive relationship between the MQM and the PPP would go a long way in sustaining Pakistan's economy for the benefit of the entire nation.

pakistan decline

A recent report on Pakistan’s Geo TV said that Pakistani real estate companies have been moving capital out of the country to the tune of at least $15 billion so far to invest in Gulf real estate. Such steep loss of capital will inevitably lead to job losses in Pakistan and contribute to further economic and political instability.

As the average Pakistanis' suffering deepens with the growing lack of "roti, bijli and paani" (food, electricity and water), the elitist media and the self-proclaimed "civil society" led by the lawyers and the Nawaz league appear to be completely disconnected from the ground realities. They continue to harp on restoring deposed judges and are bent on exacting revenge from Musharraf, regardless of the disastrous consequences of their actions on common people's livelihood.

This coalition, while well-intentioned, now appears to have been a serious negative distraction for Mr. Zardari and the PPP government. It is time for Mr. Zardari and Prime Minister Gillani to acknowledge this reality and get on with focusing on the real priorities of the people to address their basic economic issues of survival.

energy deal

This hydroelectric project, first formally announced by former Minister Omar Ayub on June 10, 2007, is finally starting in earnest under the PPP government of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. Prior to this project, the new Pakistani Prime Minister signed a deal with a Chinese company, Dong Fong, for setting up 525 MW thermal power plant with an investment of $450 million at Chichoki Mallian (Sheikhupura). Both of these projects are expected help partially close the 3000 MW gap that exists today between supply and demand in Pakistan.
Both power and water projects are crucial for Pakistan's economy in the intermediate and long term. The challenge for the Pakistani government is to make up for the neglect of several years in the power and water sector. It means that the government must ensure that the water and power projects get started and stay on schedule to begin to address the growing shortage of water and electricity in Pakistan.

pakistan facing problems

Pakistanis are facing growing dangers to their political, economic and physical security. There is almost a total leadership vacuum in addressing the growing dangers and reassuring the people. This situation raises many questions: How long cans the current situation last? What options are there for Pakistan, in case the current political leadership fails? Will there be fresh elections? If so, can Pakistanis expect a more competent leadership to emerge? Or will there be the return of the military rule as a lesser evil? Does the military even want to enter this mess? Is Pakistan in danger of collapsing and becoming a failed state like Afghanistan or Somalia or Iraq?

These are troubling questions, particularly because Pakistan possesses a nuclear arsenal. I hope the current leadership is thinking about these questions. I hope they are capable of providing the leadership necessary under the most difficult circumstances Pakistan finds itself in today. The stakes are much higher now than they have ever been for Pakistanis.

Economy boost

Regardless of the criticism of President Musharraf's politics or personality, there is general agreement among independent economists that, through his structural reforms and economic management, President Musharraf left Pakistan's economy in much better shape than he found it when he seized power in 1999
Here are some of the key highlights of the results of Musharraf era economy:

Pakistan's tax base and government revenue collection more than doubled from about Rs. 500b to over Rs. 1 trillion. Pakistan's GDP more than doubled to $144b since 1999.Most recent figures in 2007 indicate that Pakistan's total debt stands at 56% of GDP, significantly lower than the 99% of GDP in 1999.Pakistan attracted over $5 billion in foreign direct investment in the 2006-07 fiscal year, ten times the figure of 2000-01. The Karachi stock market surged tenfold from 2001 to 2007.
Pakistan positioned itself as one of the four fastest growing economies in the Asian region during 2000-07 with its growth averaging 7.0 per cent per year for most of this period. As a result of strong economic growth, Pakistan succeeded in reducing poverty by one-half, creating almost 13 million jobs, halving the country's debt burden, raising foreign exchange reserves to a comfortable position and propping the country's exchange rate, restoring investors' confidence and most importantly, taking Pakistan out of the IMF Program.
Since the takeover by the PPP-PML (N) coalition, there has been a sharp decline in Pakistan's economy.
It was on "dictator" Musharraf's watch that Pakistan saw unprecedented deregulation of the mass media, prolific growth, and vibrant debate that had never occurred before him. None of the "democrats" or "dictators" who ruled before him gave such a gift to the people of Pakistan.

It is this media freedom that I think is Musharraf's best legacy that cannot be easily denied or reversed. It'll serve Pakistan well by shining light on the misdeeds of Pakistan's leaders now, and in the future.
Musharraf was doing a good job under the circumstances, to modernize and raise the std of living in Pak. Seriously, i am feeling sad on his departure, he was a brave leader who faced crises both internally and externally, but now challenging period has been started for existing government, let’s see that what government elected by people can do for them. :-)