Nuggets from the Urdu press

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These nuggets are culled from the Urdu press. They are summarised here without comment.
Absurd or ridiculous, TFT takes no responsibility for them

Shah Mehmood proved right?

Quoted by daily Pakistan Ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the payment of diyat by America to the heirs of the youths killed by Raymond Davis proved his point that Davis had no diplomatic immunity. According to Nawa-e-Waqt the US said it paid no blood money and therefore its stance on immunity was right. And Islamabad said acquittal was under Islamic law and therefore it was not to blame.

Majid Nizami and eating sand

Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt chief editor Majid Nizami said that if the jugular vein (shah rag) of Pakistan, Kashmir was not conquered by Pakistan then Pakistanis should get ready to eat sand (rait phankna) because the rivers will go dry. He said Pakistan should get ready for jihad because that was the only way.

ISI official played role in Davis acquittal

Reported in daily Pakistan that a high official of ‘sensitive agency’ (hassas idara) usually taken to mean ISI was on hand to get Raymond Davis released and relocate the families of the killed youths. All the papers of release of Davis were also prepared earlier.

Boycott America!

Daily Jinnah conducted a survey where people said that Pakistan should boycott America because of the desecration of the Quran in Florida and make laws to punish Americans. People were sorry that OIC and Muslim states were fast asleep, but they wanted Pakistan to give hard reply (sakht jawab).

Pakistan’s sovereignty assailed!

Famous jihadi leader Hafiz Saeed was quoted by Jinnah as saying that Raymond Davis’s release was an attack on the sovereignty of Pakistan. Hamid Gul added that the next target would be Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. Munawwar Hassan of Jamaat Islami said signatures of diyat were taken by force.

‘Qaumi ghairat’ put on auction

People at large among the trading community told Nawa-e-Waqt that the honour (qaumi ghairat) of the nation had been auctioned by the politicians and that the grief over the release of Raymond Davis recalled the grief felt over the Fall of Dhaka.

Another CIA spy agency in Pakistan

According to Nawa-e-Waqt CIA had sent another contractor called Guard World to Pakistan whose manager had made his way in through dubious contacts including registration through bribery while his visa is expired. The activities of Guard World were extremely mysterious, according to the newspaper.

Shehbaz Sharif played his part

Daily Jang reported that Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was persuaded by Saudi Arabia to play a role in the release of Raymond Davis. He got some of his influential friends to talk to the heirs of the youths killed by Davis and persuaded them to accept blood money (diyat).

The Sharifs ran away to London!

Quoted in daily Pakistan Jamaat Islami boss Munawwar Hassan said that because of their fear of the wrath of the people the Sharif Brothers (Nawaz and Shehbaz) had run away from Lahore to London after joining in the plot of letting Raymond Davis go free.

Shehbaz Sharif swears on Allah

Reported by Jang Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that he was ready to swear by Allah that he took no part in the release of Raymond Davis and that he was ready to resign from his chief ministership if it was proved that he was involved in the release of Davis.

Army disappointed Hamid Gul

World famous general and TV guest of high ratings ex-ISI chief Hamid Gul was quoted by Express as saying that he was disappointed and put to shame (sharamsaar kiya) by the army and the ISI (meray idaray) by releasing Raymond Davis. Retired Admiral Fasih Bukhari said that he held army, government and ISI answerable for the release of Davis.

‘Salibi’ nations doing ‘gustakhian’

World famous religious leader and head of Jamaatud Dawa Hafiz Saeed told daily Pakistan that because of cowardly (buzdil) Muslim leaders the crusaders (salibi) were insulting Islam (gustakhian). He said every child (bacha-bacha) was ready to get himself cut to pieces for Islam (kat marna).

Iqbal Geoffrey and ‘diyat’

Famous lawyer Iqbal Geoffrey told Express that after the families of the killed youths accepted blood money (diyat) only the death sentence would be condoned, not the case of murder itself. Hence, the case against Davis was still pending. He said the acquittal was against national and international law and Islamic sharia.

Raymond was to be killed in jail!

Reported in Jang Raymond Davis was to be killed by unknown killers if he was allowed to go back to jail after being acquitted by the Lahore court. The police officials who had brought Davis to court were wearing stickers of an extremist organisation and refused to take them off. They said they would resign from the police but not take off the stickers.

‘Tamacha’ for India Cricket Board

Daily Jinnah that Pakistan Cricket Team will go to India trampling the restrictions placed on Pakistani cricketers by IPL organised by Indian Cricket Board. This was tantamount to a tamacha (slap) on the face of the Indian Board.

Nation will be killed like flies!

Famous Pakistani cricketer and great leader of Tehreek Insaf Imran Khan told daily Pakistan that if the nation (qaum) did not rise it will be killed like flies. In some other papers he was quoted as saying that qaum will be killed like sheep and goats (bhair bakri) by CIA agents. He said Davis’s release was the result of ‘match-fixing’ between America and Pakistan.

Corruption in ‘diyat’

A famous conservative lawyers of Lahore were quoted by Nawa-e-Waqt as saying that the blood money (diyat) paid to the heirs of the killed youths by Raymond Davis was Rs 20 crore. They swore that out of this sum was not Rs 20 crore but a hundred crore. The middlemen who brokered the diyat deal ate up Rs 85 crore. The Americans had proposed Rs1.5 billion.

Imran thinks Altaf ‘voice of the people’!

Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt Imran Khan rang up MQM leader Altaf Hussain and told him that he was a man of great courage and had become the voice of the people of Pakistan. Altaf Hussain replied that for the sake of Pakistan’s future old bitterness (between him and Imran Khan) should be forgotten. Imran Khan promised that contacts (rabitay) should be maintained between MQM and his Tehreek Insaf.

‘Amn ki asha’ is waste of time!

Quoted in Jinnah Indian veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar said that the movement called Amn ki Asha (Hope for Peace) was a waste of time because UN resolutions were of no validity after the Simla Agreement. He said Kashmir could get autonomy but never independence. He said Indian TV did not defame India but Pakistani TV was negative about Pakistan.

Pakistan can withstand American pressure

Famous strategist and ex-ISI boss Hamid Gul told daily Jinnah Pakistan was not only able to withstand the pressure of America but all the powers put together. He said political parties were dividing the nation and civil disobedience was Imran Khan’s own thinking and had nothing to do with the nation.

Hindus are free in Pakistan!

Reported in Express the Hindus celebrating holi in near Nila Gumbad in Lahore shouted Pakistan Zindabad and were heard saying that Hindus were free in Pakistan. Hearing their love for Pakistan, PMLN leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi said that Hindus were free in Pakistan.

April 22-28, 2011 - Vol. XXIII, No. 10