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WHY AMERICANS ARE HERE
It was a very cold morning on the 15th of February 1989 that the last Soviet soldier was crossing the bridge at HAIRATAN to TERMEZ on the Soviet side. During the previous weeks thousands of RUSSIAN troops had driven up the SALANG Highway in tanks, trucks and APCs, running the last gauntlet before gaining the sanctuary of the motherland. They had left Kabul a battalion at a time, usually at night, overloaded with Panasonic TV sets and other Western electrical goods unobtainable at home. They wore their medals and some took their pet dogs. It was more or less a dignified departure. The Russian diplomats did not climb desperately onto the last helicopter from the roof of their embassy, as the Americans had done with their tail between their legs in Saigon 14 years earlier.
The very last man to cross into the Soviet Union was the 45 year old widower, Lieutenant- General BORIS GROMOV. GROMOV was a veteran of three tours in Afghanistan. He walked over the bridge without a backward glance to embrace his teenage son, Maxim, who had been brought especially from Moscow to welcome him on the Russian side.
On the same date, thousands of miles away, at the CIA headquarters at LANGLEY, VIRGINIA, William Webster, the man who had replaced his predecessor as director CIA, gave a champagne party. The toasts were to victory; the Vietnam debacle had been reversed and avenged; now it was the Soviets in retreat and counting the costs in men and money of a nine-year war. The Soviets were out of Afghanistan. Revenge, for the rough handling and drubbing the US forces had received in Vietnam was squared. This was due in part to the Soviet Union’s supplying America’s enemies with the means to fight in the VIETNAM war was complete.
By and by it dawned on the central characters that, with the fulfillment of the GENEVA ACCORD, which had been signed in mid-April, 1988, the US lost interest in finishing the war. From that moment onwards the doubts were confirmed and it became clear to the game players and directors that their aims (Americans) had now diverged and digressed away from a military victory towards a compromise peace or rather towards a well planned stalemate. The objectives of the US became evident and more and more clear to ensure that no Islamic fundamentalist government was established in KABUL.
The Americans thought that if that happened, it would merely be replacing one adversary with another. Ironically, in this they had the support of the Soviets, who were equally fearful of Islam stirring up religious or nationalistic feelings in their republics north of the AMU River. From the moment the Soviets agreed to quit Afghanistan it was in the interests of both superpowers to prevent an outright military victory for the Mujahideen.
The Americans left an unfinished agenda with their hasty and premature with drawl from the Afghanistan / Pakistan. Many questions remain unanswered and unsettled.
What will be the form and mode of the future Government in Afghanistan? Who will be responsible for the reconstruction and development of the after math of the war? What will be the fate of the high profile weapons like stingers, sparrows and the lancets which were randomly distributed amongst the various Mujahideen Commanders? What will be the future of the region as regards its propensity and proclivity?
What steps will be under taken so that future adventurism of the BEAR must not be repeated?
All these questions even after passing of two decades still remain a big mysterious question mark in the archives of history.
The American role and their covert operation were simply to weaken and break the BEAR HUG of Soviet domination and Hegemony in Afghanistan. They did not come here to help the down trodden people of the third world nor were they concerned that Pakistan may be overrun by the soviet expansionist design.
If the Americans were so keenly interested in democracy and amelioration of the third world they would have stayed back and helped and supervised in the postwar reconstruction development of Afghanistan.
“Quote
The Taliban will ‘never be defeated’: Sunday Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6445981.ece
Colonel Amir Sultan speaks about his involvement in Afghan Jihad.
‘Colonel Imam’, the Pakistani agent who trained Mullah Omar and the warlords to fight the Soviets, says the US must negotiate with its enemies. The Pakistani intelligence agent who trained Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, to fight has warned that NATO forces will never overpower their enemies in Afghanistan and should talk to them rather than sacrifice more lives. “You can never win the war in Afghanistan,” said so-called “Colonel Imam”, who ran a training programme for the Afghan resistance to the Soviet Union’s occupation from 1979 to 1989, then helped to form the Taliban.
One of Imam’s biggest backers was Congressman Charlie Wilson, the Texan who was instrumental in securing funding for Operation Cyclone, the CIA programme to supply arms with which the Mujaheedin would fight the Soviet troops. “He used to dance with happiness at seeing our training camps,” said Imam. Within 10 years the Russians had been forced out. “Total expenditure just $5 billion and not a single American life,” said Imam. “Now the Americans are spending hundreds of billions and losing hundreds of lives.”
After the 1988 Geneva accords on the Soviet withdrawal. Imam told Charlie Wilson: “You’re abandoning the Afghans. They need financial support for rehabilitation.” Wilson replied: “Dollars don’t grow on trees.” “Do Afghan youth grow on trees?” asked Imam. “Over 1.5m Afghans have died.” Furious at the American betrayal and devastation caused by the result of the infighting in the Afghan resistance, he became close to Omar. “I love him,” he said. “He brought peace to Afghanistan.” Unquote”
The viewer of the motion picture CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR in which the central character was played by TOM HANKS will well remember that in the end he asks the US senate standing committee to sanction one million dollars for the building of schools in Afghanistan.
But his request was turned down by the Senate and in the last scene he is shown brandishing the stinger and toasting to the victory of UNCLE SAM in Afghanistan.
This ends the story of the American involvement in Afghanistan till 1989 and the start of the destruction of Afghanistan and the Destabilization of the region with the spillover across the DURRAND line into Pakistan.
The advent of the new millennium 2000 saw the global rise of American imperialism and its domination and sphere of influence in the South East Asia, Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.
Post 9/11 scenario saw the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq on the pretext and subterfuge for hunting for OSAMA BIN LADEN or weapons of mass destructions (WMD). The US faced one failure after another in both these countries culminating into stalemate yet the objectives were not achieved even at high cost of men, money & equipment.
THE AMERICANS ARE HERE AND THEY ARE HERE TO STAY WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.
Their stay in the region as uninvited guests has been made more hospitable amenable and comfortable by the presence of subservient Governments and minions in the form of scullions, autocratic rulers and unpopular leaders for their personal gain and greater aggrandizement. The Americans need to admit that Pakistan, metaphorically speaking, has been their legally-wedded wife and has with due fidelity always helped promote the American agenda. But the Americans have treated us as a woman on hire while using us in times of need. (Incidentally, America has always been enamored of the flirt next door, which seems to have relented recently because of a very hefty nuclear dower gift).
THE MILLIONS DOLLAR QUESTION WHICH NOW ARISES WHY THE AMERICAN’S ARE HERE?
The answer lies in the start of the Great game II.
The Americans have come in this region only with a single agenda that is to play THE GREAT GAME again which was played between the British and the Russians in the later part of the Eighteenth century.
This is a repeat of the GREAT GAME but now the stage is very much the same but players and the actors are different and so are the directors.
What are the American interests in this Region??
Some of the probabilities are:
1. Are they after NUKES of PAKISTAN, IRAN and NORTH KOREA?
2. To salvage their deteriorating abysmal national image?
3. To redeem their badly tarnished EGO?
4. To establish MILITARY Bases for their covert operations and gain warm water access to the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf?
5. To set up eavesdropping and listening posts to contain and over look China?
6. To prevent the resurgence and renaissance of Islamic revival through basic fundamentalism and the waging of the JEHAD?
7. To monitor and launch strikes against non-compliant and rationally charged Iranian state, which may prove to be a potential impediment in their expansionist designs?
8. To set up a series of satellite and puppet states in the regions, which will be at the back and call of UNCLE SAM like a Pet Poodle?
9. To finds lucrative markets for their arms ammunition and military goods by escalating trivial frictions and tensions in the region into full scale Wars and insurgencies?
10. To bring the globe under its sphere of influence and domination?
The answer to all these questions is that the Americans have a far greater reaching and long terms plans in the region than what meets the eye of an ordinary reader.
About twenty five years ago in one of the TOP SECRET briefing rooms in the PENTAGON a young CIA operative from Langley Virginia was giving a briefing to a team of foreign MILITARY delegation under CHAIRMANSHIP OF MAJ. GEN SULLVIAN with senate committee on special projects in attendance about the future containment of Russians expansionist designs. This briefing was done under the ages of DAPRA (Defense advance research projects agency) a Futuristic thinking clandestine organization whose purpose was to ponder on far out problems like how to turn programmable matter into future transformers like weapons of war. He postulated and predicted the future breakup of USSR into sub domains of independent states. At that time his paper and presentation were subject to aspersion ridicule and mockery but later on this hypothecation became true and he was rewarded with one of their highest invisible award.
This person was no other than MAJ. RALPH PETERS at that time whose latest article by the name of BLOOD BORDERS can be found on the WIKIPAEDIA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Peters
I am quoting some of the relevant excerpts from his article which may be of some interest and amusement to the readers. The map that accompanies this article clearly defines the future boundaries and borders as UNCLE SAM would like to have so as to achieve their Great Game objectives. !
“Quote
International borders are never completely just. But the degree of injustice they inflict upon those whom frontiers force together or separate makes an enormous difference — often the difference between freedom and oppression, tolerance and atrocity, the rule of law and terrorism, or even peace and war.
MAP
Please click on the above link and view the map.
The boundaries projected in the maps accompanying this article redress the wrongs suffered by the most significant “cheated” population groups, such as the KURDS, BALUCH and ARAB SHIA, but still fail to account adequately for Middle Eastern CHRISTIANS, BAHAIS, ISMAILIS, NAQSHBANDIS and many another numerically lesser minorities.
The most glaring injustice in the notoriously unjust lands between the Balkan Mountains and the Himalayas is the absence of an independent Kurdish state. There are between 27 million and 36 million Kurds living in contiguous regions in the Middle East. Greater than the population of present-day Iraq, even the lower figure makes the Kurds the world’s largest ethnic group without a state of its own. Worse Kurds have been oppressed by every government controlling the hills and mountains where they’ve lived since Xenophon’s day.
What Afghanistan would lose to IRAN in the west, it would gain in the east, as Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier tribes would be reunited with their Afghan brethren. Pakistan, another unnatural state, would also lose its Baluch territory to Free Baluchistan. The remaining “natural” Pakistan would lie entirely east of the Indus, except for a westward spur near Karachi. Unquote”
So far what has written by me until now is nothing new and available on the net but a articulate and visionary reader can put two and two together and come to his own conclusions.
I have read as many books as I could find on the subject - book after book after book. And by the way, I urge you to read. In television you get capsules of news that someone else puts together what they want you to hear about the news. In newspapers you get what the editors select to put in the newspaper. If you want to know about the world and understand, to educate yourself, you have to get out and dig, dig up books and articles for yourself. Read, and find out for yourselves. As you'll see, the issues are very, very intricate, entangled and important.
THE AMERICANS ARE HERE AND THEY ARE HERE IN A BIG WAY.
WHY ?
I am no Rudyard Kipling neither I am an astrologist but as a defense analyst it is my theory that by the year 2015 all the fossil fuels and tangible mineral resources which is the lifeline of the west and from which the west draws its inherent energy & strength will be more or less depleted. The next centre of energy fuel and power will be the region as pointed out in the preceding paragraph. If one takes a big compass and keeps one of its point on one of the central Islamic states like AZERBAIJAN or TURKMENISTAN and opens the other leg for 3000 thousand miles then the area that comes within this circle stretches from the Sinai peninsula to the warm waters of the Arabian gulf and from the Ural mountains and the TUNDRA region to the bay of Bengal down below. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reko_Diq. This region contains more than sixty percent of the world s natural and mineral resources like oil gas precious stones and precious metals like gold, copper, uranium and chromium. The areas of the Central Islamic states, IRAN, CHINA, PAKISTAN, http://punctiliouspakistani.blogspot.com are the regions containing these natural and mineral resources.s
PAKISTAN amongst these countries is very important because of its geopolitical, geo-strategic location and the focus of paradigm attention as regards the Islamic World. To give inherent strength to the power roulette is the coercive factor of the presence of Islamic bomb and the rise of the Islamic fundamentalism of JEHAD. This has made the west Jittery and apprehensive lest the rise of Islamic Resurgence and renaissance may envelope the whole world.
The start of the next 2010 decade will see great changes in the world’s geopolitical scenario fueled and catalyzed by neocolonialism and remote proxy wars. The Americans are here as they want to have their hegemony and control over the world and whoever controls Pakistan and this region will control the world.
BY
DR. BABUR ZAHIRUDDIN.
Address 123/A, Market Road Saddar Rawalpindi Pakistan
Day Time 0092 -51 – 5584905, 5792836
Fax 0092 – 51 - 5792837
E-mail baburzahiruddin@yahoo.com
Blog punctiliouspakistani.blogspot.com
The writer is an Eye Specialist by Profession, Defense analyst, Social activist and Spokesperson of Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Association (PESA).
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Good Governance in Pakistan
Please follow this blog
http://ggovernance.blogspot.com/
For good and articulate reading about various social problems because of bad governance.
The need of the hour in Pakistan is GOOD GOVERNANCE
Please post your comments on this blog.
http://ggovernance.blogspot.com/
For good and articulate reading about various social problems because of bad governance.
The need of the hour in Pakistan is GOOD GOVERNANCE
Please post your comments on this blog.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
DEAR COUNTRY MEN
DEAR COUNTRY MEN
Here are a few facts about my beloved country Pakistan which one should know and propagate.
WORLD'S 1ST LARGEST SALT MINE:
Khewra salt mine has proven reserves of 300 million tons. This reserve could not be consumed in 600 years even at the rate of 5 lakh tons production every day.
WORLD'S 2ND LARGEST COAL RESERVE:
Thar Coal Reserve are around 850 trillion cubic feet which are equal 400 billion barrels of oil. These coal reserves equal 618 billion barrels of oil. If used for power generation can yield more than 20,000 mg watts of electricity.
WORLD'S 3RD LARGEST GAS RESERVES:
Pakistan with gas reserves of 28tcf (current reserves 32.8tcf) So far about 52.7 TCF of gas reserves have been discovered of which some are in the nascent state while some are in the pipeline. In view of large indigenous reserves we still have to beg IRAN to give us Gas.
WORLD'S 4TH LARGEST COTTON PRODUCER:
Pakistan is the fourth largest cotton producer, third largest cotton consumer, second largest importer and with fourth largest cotton area. Real performance is counted in terms of yield per hectare and Pakistan has yield around Kgs 650 per hectare lagging behind dozens of countries.
WORLD'S 5TH LARGEST COPPER & GOLD RESERVES:
The Reko Diq is a large copper-gold porphyry resource on the Tethyan belt, located in the dry desert conditions of southwest Pakistan within the remote and sparsely populated province of Baluchistan. The Tethyan belt is a prospective region for large gold-copper porphyries. Barrick has a 50% interest in Tethyan Copper Company (the other 50% is owned by Antofagasta plc), which has a 75% interest in the Reko Diq project and associated mineral interests (for a resulting 37.5% interest in Reko Diq). As of December 31, 2007, Barrick's share of measured and indicated and inferred resources are 3.7 and 10.5 million ounces respectively. Barrick's share of measured and indicated and inferred copper are 4.3 and 13.4 billion pounds respectively.
Reko Diq is a giant copper and gold project in Chaghi, containing 12.3 million tons of copper and 20.9 million ounces of gold in inferred and indicated resources. The copper-gold deposits at Reko Diq are believed to be even bigger than Sarcheshmeh in Iran and Escondida in Chile. The Reko Diq copper deposits which is in the neighborhood of Saindak copper project, is four times larger in copper ore tonnage than Saindak. The most credible international surveys suggest that Reko Diq is one of the biggest undeveloped copper projects in the world with over 11 billion pounds of copper and nine million ounces of gold.
Please visit punctiliouspakistani@blogspot.com for greater details
WORLD'S 5TH LARGEST ARMY:
It was amazing to know that my great country Pakistan has the 5th biggest army of the world, but this doesn't means that the biggest is also the strongest as well, because the strongest would be the one which would have the latest technology weapons where the morale of
Troops is high and the Army is a peoples Army and not a mercenary Army at the Beck and call of UNCLE SAM.
WORLD'S 5TH LARGEST MILK PRODUCER
WORLD'S 11TH LARGEST WHEAT PRODUCER
WORLD'S 12TH LARGEST RICE PRODUCER
BIGGEST SYSTEM OF CANNAL NETWORK (PUNJAB) IN THE WORLD.
AMAZING SYSTEM OF UNDERGROUND CANNAL NETWORK KARIAZ IN BALOCHISTAN
WORLD 3 TALLEST PEAKS ARE IN PAKISTAN
THE ONLY SOURCE OF PINK TOPAZ, KATLANG NEAR MARDAN
Only few countries on earth are lucky enough to have that much natural resources and wonders. THEN WHY ARE WE AT THIS STAGE?
What differentiates us from others? It's all about 'MINDSET'. Nothing will change as long as the 'MINDSET' of the leaders and the people remains in different and callous.
We're shameless now. We can't blame our leadership for everything. When we can force the Government to come on its knee and restore the CJ, who is of no use. Then why can't we force the government to use the resources of this country to make Pakistan the Next Super Power??? or at least REAL ASIAN TIGER???
It is the 70% of the silent majority which remains wordless, speechless & has a couldn’t care attitude that makes the difference.
YOU ARE THE SILENT MAJORITY
Stand up and be counted.
Show your social activism
Ask yourself What Pakistan are we leaving behind for posterity ?
Spread my message as much as possible.
Reject the present budget as it is a Jugglery of figures and it is like Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.
Here are a few facts about my beloved country Pakistan which one should know and propagate.
WORLD'S 1ST LARGEST SALT MINE:
Khewra salt mine has proven reserves of 300 million tons. This reserve could not be consumed in 600 years even at the rate of 5 lakh tons production every day.
WORLD'S 2ND LARGEST COAL RESERVE:
Thar Coal Reserve are around 850 trillion cubic feet which are equal 400 billion barrels of oil. These coal reserves equal 618 billion barrels of oil. If used for power generation can yield more than 20,000 mg watts of electricity.
WORLD'S 3RD LARGEST GAS RESERVES:
Pakistan with gas reserves of 28tcf (current reserves 32.8tcf) So far about 52.7 TCF of gas reserves have been discovered of which some are in the nascent state while some are in the pipeline. In view of large indigenous reserves we still have to beg IRAN to give us Gas.
WORLD'S 4TH LARGEST COTTON PRODUCER:
Pakistan is the fourth largest cotton producer, third largest cotton consumer, second largest importer and with fourth largest cotton area. Real performance is counted in terms of yield per hectare and Pakistan has yield around Kgs 650 per hectare lagging behind dozens of countries.
WORLD'S 5TH LARGEST COPPER & GOLD RESERVES:
The Reko Diq is a large copper-gold porphyry resource on the Tethyan belt, located in the dry desert conditions of southwest Pakistan within the remote and sparsely populated province of Baluchistan. The Tethyan belt is a prospective region for large gold-copper porphyries. Barrick has a 50% interest in Tethyan Copper Company (the other 50% is owned by Antofagasta plc), which has a 75% interest in the Reko Diq project and associated mineral interests (for a resulting 37.5% interest in Reko Diq). As of December 31, 2007, Barrick's share of measured and indicated and inferred resources are 3.7 and 10.5 million ounces respectively. Barrick's share of measured and indicated and inferred copper are 4.3 and 13.4 billion pounds respectively.
Reko Diq is a giant copper and gold project in Chaghi, containing 12.3 million tons of copper and 20.9 million ounces of gold in inferred and indicated resources. The copper-gold deposits at Reko Diq are believed to be even bigger than Sarcheshmeh in Iran and Escondida in Chile. The Reko Diq copper deposits which is in the neighborhood of Saindak copper project, is four times larger in copper ore tonnage than Saindak. The most credible international surveys suggest that Reko Diq is one of the biggest undeveloped copper projects in the world with over 11 billion pounds of copper and nine million ounces of gold.
Please visit punctiliouspakistani@blogspot.com for greater details
WORLD'S 5TH LARGEST ARMY:
It was amazing to know that my great country Pakistan has the 5th biggest army of the world, but this doesn't means that the biggest is also the strongest as well, because the strongest would be the one which would have the latest technology weapons where the morale of
Troops is high and the Army is a peoples Army and not a mercenary Army at the Beck and call of UNCLE SAM.
WORLD'S 5TH LARGEST MILK PRODUCER
WORLD'S 11TH LARGEST WHEAT PRODUCER
WORLD'S 12TH LARGEST RICE PRODUCER
BIGGEST SYSTEM OF CANNAL NETWORK (PUNJAB) IN THE WORLD.
AMAZING SYSTEM OF UNDERGROUND CANNAL NETWORK KARIAZ IN BALOCHISTAN
WORLD 3 TALLEST PEAKS ARE IN PAKISTAN
THE ONLY SOURCE OF PINK TOPAZ, KATLANG NEAR MARDAN
Only few countries on earth are lucky enough to have that much natural resources and wonders. THEN WHY ARE WE AT THIS STAGE?
What differentiates us from others? It's all about 'MINDSET'. Nothing will change as long as the 'MINDSET' of the leaders and the people remains in different and callous.
We're shameless now. We can't blame our leadership for everything. When we can force the Government to come on its knee and restore the CJ, who is of no use. Then why can't we force the government to use the resources of this country to make Pakistan the Next Super Power??? or at least REAL ASIAN TIGER???
It is the 70% of the silent majority which remains wordless, speechless & has a couldn’t care attitude that makes the difference.
YOU ARE THE SILENT MAJORITY
Stand up and be counted.
Show your social activism
Ask yourself What Pakistan are we leaving behind for posterity ?
Spread my message as much as possible.
Reject the present budget as it is a Jugglery of figures and it is like Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Jewel in the Crown
On June 14, 2008 there was a well attended demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club.
This incident was well reported in the National news papers, but it did not make any headlines nor any ripples were caused in the national way of life of an ordinary Pakistani citizen. This event passed un-noticed and was soon forgotten as many fiascoes and malfeasance are wiped like dust under the carpet in Pakistan.
Why were these people agitating? This will be deliberated subsequently, but the point of concern and worth noting is that no one from the Government whether it was the CENTRAL or the PROVINCIAL took any note of this minor incident.
One NGO by the name of AZAT foundation tried to highlight the rights concern and miseries of these demonstrators.
The reason for this commotion, brouhaha and demonstrations were the termination of the services of out sourced workers by Pakistani Contractors such as Capital drilling, Security 2000, RAK MOR Drilling, Zain Company, Zia & Brothers.
In April 2008, Zain Company terminated the services of 40 (forty) drilling assistants and recruited novices and non-locals. This caused a lot of resentment and indignation amongst the local population and this was the focal point and reason for the demonstrations in front of the Quetta Press Club.
One Ponders why such high profile companies are working with alacrity in Balouchistan and what are the stakes? The stakes must be very high for such mega conglomerates who are rapacious and reticent to work in remote undeveloped hazardous, hostile and barren terrain.
The reasons are the high deposits of gold and copper which are found in REKO DIQ and SAINDAK in Balouchistan.
Reko Diq is a small town in Chaghi District, Balouchistan having the worlds largest Gold and Copper reserves. Reports emerging from various sources indicate that the US $ 65 Billion natural deposits might have been sold for a meager US $ 21 Billion to TETHYAN COPPER of Australia which has taken the contract to develop this mine while BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION of Canada (a JEWISH Company) and ANTOFAGASTA of Chile have a joint-ownership of the copper-gold deposit at REKO DIQ.
The Reko Diq deposit is being explored by TETHYAN COPPER COMPANY PRIVATE LTD (75%) and the (BDA) Balochistan Development Authority (25%). TETHYAN COPPER COMPANY is held jointly (50:50) by Barrick Gold Corporation and ANTOFAGASTA Minerals.
Currently the deposit is at scoping / pre feasibility stage. It is a world class copper / gold porphyry style deposit, typical of the TETHYAN belt. It has been sold to the Zionist controlled regimes by the Pakistani Government under the enigmatic and esoteric dictator General ® Pervaiz Mushrraf at a throw away price of $ 21 billion. Rough estimates suggest that the gold and copper at the surface accounts for $ 65 billion worth of deposits.
REKO DIQ is a giant copper and gold project in CHAGHI, containing 12.3 million tons of copper and 20.9 million ounces of gold in inferred and indicated resources. The REKO DIQ copper deposits, which is in the neighborhood of SAINDAK copper project, is four times larger in copper ore tonnage as compared to that of SAINDAK. The most credible international surveys suggest that REKO DIQ is one of the biggest undeveloped copper projects in the world with over 11 billion pounds of copper and nine million ounces of gold deposits.
So far, three foreign companies have purchased stakes in the well poised lucrative and strategic copper and gold assets setting off a cycle of chain of foreign ownership of REKO DIQ copper project. Pakistan has only 25 per cent stake in the REKO DIQ copper project. The rest of the 75 per cent stakes had first been transferred to BHP BILLITON, the Anglo-Australian mining giant and then BHP BILLITON under a deed of waiver and consent transferred it to the Australian TCC and now TCC has sold its 19.95 per cent stake to ANTOFAGASTA Minerals.
ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA:
Reko Diq is a small town in CHAGAI DISTRICT, BALOCHISTAN, PAKISTAN, in a desert area 70 kilometers north west of NAUKUNDI, near to the Iran-Afghan border.
Reko Diq, also the name of an ancient volcano, literally means SANDY PEAK, but this is something of a misnomer. It could be called TANGAV DIQ, or gold peak, because according to development expert Syed Fazl-e-Haider, below the sands lie some 12.3 million tons of copper and 20.9 million ounces of gold. The copper-gold deposits at REKO DIQ are believed to be even bigger than those of SARCHESHMEH in Iran and ESCONDIDA in Chile.
THE MINE
Reko Diq is a giant copper and gold project in CHAGHI. The main license (EL5) is held jointly by the GOVERNMENT OF BALOCHISTAN (25%), ANTOFAGASTA MINERALS (37.5%) and BARRICK Gold (37.5%).
BHP BILLITON, the world's largest mining company, started this project with the Australian firm TETHYAN, entering into a joint venture with the Balochistan government and estimating an annual production of 200 to 500 million pounds of copper. A large number of porphyry rocks are also known to exist.
The interests of the Australian company in REKO DIQ and its surrounding areas were taken over by the Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corporation and the Chilean ANTOFAGASTA Minerals. Under a surreptitious and clandestine wheeling and dealing these companies were handed a very lucrative deal. The terms agreed upon show that there is more to the issue than meets the eye. Royalties were reduced from the initial four to two per cent. Terms for the provision of cost-free land for an airport and a 400 km REKO DIQ-GWADAR road were accepted. An unjust clause is that a 25 per cent share will be paid to the Balochistan Government, but only after it invests 25 per cent in the project. This is a paradoxical clause with a catch that at the end of the day the Government of Balouchistan ends up with the dirty end of stick while the poor people of Pakistan and the Balochs in particular are denied of the profits and royalties from such a lucrative project.
ANTOFAGASTA'S net assets at the end of 2007 grew to almost $ 5 billion. In December 2005 it said: "TETHYAN'S principal assets are a 75 per cent interest in the highly prospective Chagai Hills region of North West Pakistan known as REKO DIQ, including the Tanjeel Mineral Resource. This mining district hosts significant copper-gold porphyry deposits as part of an extended copper-gold belt. Total indicated and inferred mineral resource estimates at these properties are 1,213 million tonnes with a copper grade of 0.58 % and a gold grade of 0.28 grams per tonne. Estimates include probable reserves at the Tanjeel of 128.8 million tonnes with a copper grade of 0.7 %.
According to Rob Maguire of the Dominion paper, Barrick is the foremost gold mining corporation in the world, with sales exceeding $2.6bn in 2005 and the largest reserves in the industry, at nearly 90 million ounces. Proponents of this project state that the mines will create thousands of high paying jobs and give a massive boost to the local economy. However the main fear and apprehensions many have is that revenues generated by this project will be plundered & squandered by corrupt officials and Politicians. Therefore it is imperative that a mechanism be evolved to ensure that revenues generated actually lead to better infrastructure, education and health.
There are many advocates of such mega projects who claim that the BALOCHS have benefited from their trickle-down effect but this trickle town effect is yet to be seen in Balouchistan which is still the most undeveloped and most primitive in the provision of basic civic amenities like drinking water sanitation and health.
According to Marcel Claude, vice-president of the international environmental group Oceana, gold mining dumps 79 tonnes of waste for every 28 grams of gold and produces 96 per cent of the world's arsenic emissions which are notorious for slow arsenic poisoning in workers.
There is another great diabolical dilemma which involves industrial hazard diseases and ecological upsets because gold / copper mining uses sodium cyanide, arsenic and other chemicals which produce toxic by-products. These toxics and hazardous by products of gold and copper mining cause diseases like pneumoconiosis, lung cancer, breathing disorders, skin disorders and musculo-skeletal anomalies to which the poor mine workers are exposed to with out adequate precautionary measures like gas masks, oxygen breathing air filtration apparatus and frequent and periodic medical checks. Radiation is also a cause of concern in such areas where radio active minerals like uranium and beryllium may be found though in very low concentration but at the same time very lethal and toxics even on small exposures.
The total accumulated debt burden of Pakistan is estimated to be more than 2 Trillion US $. This is causing a burden on our economy and hindering our development and growth. The need of the hour is to develop and rely on our own resources like Petroleum, Gas and Minerals, which if properly handled will make Pakistan into a prosperous and developed nation.
REKO DIQ and SANDIK are two such jewels in the crown of Pakistan that if handled properly and with Nationalistic spirit will in the long run make Pakistan a prosperous and developed country no longer dependent on UNCLE SAM, IMF or the Begging bowl.
The people of Pakistan must realize their hidden potentials their inherent strength and their un-matched capabilities which if channelized and handled properly under a truly peoples representative to Government will turn the tables in a short time.
As a humble Pakistani and social activist am I asking for too much?
This incident was well reported in the National news papers, but it did not make any headlines nor any ripples were caused in the national way of life of an ordinary Pakistani citizen. This event passed un-noticed and was soon forgotten as many fiascoes and malfeasance are wiped like dust under the carpet in Pakistan.
Why were these people agitating? This will be deliberated subsequently, but the point of concern and worth noting is that no one from the Government whether it was the CENTRAL or the PROVINCIAL took any note of this minor incident.
One NGO by the name of AZAT foundation tried to highlight the rights concern and miseries of these demonstrators.
The reason for this commotion, brouhaha and demonstrations were the termination of the services of out sourced workers by Pakistani Contractors such as Capital drilling, Security 2000, RAK MOR Drilling, Zain Company, Zia & Brothers.
In April 2008, Zain Company terminated the services of 40 (forty) drilling assistants and recruited novices and non-locals. This caused a lot of resentment and indignation amongst the local population and this was the focal point and reason for the demonstrations in front of the Quetta Press Club.
One Ponders why such high profile companies are working with alacrity in Balouchistan and what are the stakes? The stakes must be very high for such mega conglomerates who are rapacious and reticent to work in remote undeveloped hazardous, hostile and barren terrain.
The reasons are the high deposits of gold and copper which are found in REKO DIQ and SAINDAK in Balouchistan.
Reko Diq is a small town in Chaghi District, Balouchistan having the worlds largest Gold and Copper reserves. Reports emerging from various sources indicate that the US $ 65 Billion natural deposits might have been sold for a meager US $ 21 Billion to TETHYAN COPPER of Australia which has taken the contract to develop this mine while BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION of Canada (a JEWISH Company) and ANTOFAGASTA of Chile have a joint-ownership of the copper-gold deposit at REKO DIQ.
The Reko Diq deposit is being explored by TETHYAN COPPER COMPANY PRIVATE LTD (75%) and the (BDA) Balochistan Development Authority (25%). TETHYAN COPPER COMPANY is held jointly (50:50) by Barrick Gold Corporation and ANTOFAGASTA Minerals.
Currently the deposit is at scoping / pre feasibility stage. It is a world class copper / gold porphyry style deposit, typical of the TETHYAN belt. It has been sold to the Zionist controlled regimes by the Pakistani Government under the enigmatic and esoteric dictator General ® Pervaiz Mushrraf at a throw away price of $ 21 billion. Rough estimates suggest that the gold and copper at the surface accounts for $ 65 billion worth of deposits.
REKO DIQ is a giant copper and gold project in CHAGHI, containing 12.3 million tons of copper and 20.9 million ounces of gold in inferred and indicated resources. The REKO DIQ copper deposits, which is in the neighborhood of SAINDAK copper project, is four times larger in copper ore tonnage as compared to that of SAINDAK. The most credible international surveys suggest that REKO DIQ is one of the biggest undeveloped copper projects in the world with over 11 billion pounds of copper and nine million ounces of gold deposits.
So far, three foreign companies have purchased stakes in the well poised lucrative and strategic copper and gold assets setting off a cycle of chain of foreign ownership of REKO DIQ copper project. Pakistan has only 25 per cent stake in the REKO DIQ copper project. The rest of the 75 per cent stakes had first been transferred to BHP BILLITON, the Anglo-Australian mining giant and then BHP BILLITON under a deed of waiver and consent transferred it to the Australian TCC and now TCC has sold its 19.95 per cent stake to ANTOFAGASTA Minerals.
ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA:
Reko Diq is a small town in CHAGAI DISTRICT, BALOCHISTAN, PAKISTAN, in a desert area 70 kilometers north west of NAUKUNDI, near to the Iran-Afghan border.
Reko Diq, also the name of an ancient volcano, literally means SANDY PEAK, but this is something of a misnomer. It could be called TANGAV DIQ, or gold peak, because according to development expert Syed Fazl-e-Haider, below the sands lie some 12.3 million tons of copper and 20.9 million ounces of gold. The copper-gold deposits at REKO DIQ are believed to be even bigger than those of SARCHESHMEH in Iran and ESCONDIDA in Chile.
THE MINE
Reko Diq is a giant copper and gold project in CHAGHI. The main license (EL5) is held jointly by the GOVERNMENT OF BALOCHISTAN (25%), ANTOFAGASTA MINERALS (37.5%) and BARRICK Gold (37.5%).
BHP BILLITON, the world's largest mining company, started this project with the Australian firm TETHYAN, entering into a joint venture with the Balochistan government and estimating an annual production of 200 to 500 million pounds of copper. A large number of porphyry rocks are also known to exist.
The interests of the Australian company in REKO DIQ and its surrounding areas were taken over by the Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corporation and the Chilean ANTOFAGASTA Minerals. Under a surreptitious and clandestine wheeling and dealing these companies were handed a very lucrative deal. The terms agreed upon show that there is more to the issue than meets the eye. Royalties were reduced from the initial four to two per cent. Terms for the provision of cost-free land for an airport and a 400 km REKO DIQ-GWADAR road were accepted. An unjust clause is that a 25 per cent share will be paid to the Balochistan Government, but only after it invests 25 per cent in the project. This is a paradoxical clause with a catch that at the end of the day the Government of Balouchistan ends up with the dirty end of stick while the poor people of Pakistan and the Balochs in particular are denied of the profits and royalties from such a lucrative project.
ANTOFAGASTA'S net assets at the end of 2007 grew to almost $ 5 billion. In December 2005 it said: "TETHYAN'S principal assets are a 75 per cent interest in the highly prospective Chagai Hills region of North West Pakistan known as REKO DIQ, including the Tanjeel Mineral Resource. This mining district hosts significant copper-gold porphyry deposits as part of an extended copper-gold belt. Total indicated and inferred mineral resource estimates at these properties are 1,213 million tonnes with a copper grade of 0.58 % and a gold grade of 0.28 grams per tonne. Estimates include probable reserves at the Tanjeel of 128.8 million tonnes with a copper grade of 0.7 %.
According to Rob Maguire of the Dominion paper, Barrick is the foremost gold mining corporation in the world, with sales exceeding $2.6bn in 2005 and the largest reserves in the industry, at nearly 90 million ounces. Proponents of this project state that the mines will create thousands of high paying jobs and give a massive boost to the local economy. However the main fear and apprehensions many have is that revenues generated by this project will be plundered & squandered by corrupt officials and Politicians. Therefore it is imperative that a mechanism be evolved to ensure that revenues generated actually lead to better infrastructure, education and health.
There are many advocates of such mega projects who claim that the BALOCHS have benefited from their trickle-down effect but this trickle town effect is yet to be seen in Balouchistan which is still the most undeveloped and most primitive in the provision of basic civic amenities like drinking water sanitation and health.
According to Marcel Claude, vice-president of the international environmental group Oceana, gold mining dumps 79 tonnes of waste for every 28 grams of gold and produces 96 per cent of the world's arsenic emissions which are notorious for slow arsenic poisoning in workers.
There is another great diabolical dilemma which involves industrial hazard diseases and ecological upsets because gold / copper mining uses sodium cyanide, arsenic and other chemicals which produce toxic by-products. These toxics and hazardous by products of gold and copper mining cause diseases like pneumoconiosis, lung cancer, breathing disorders, skin disorders and musculo-skeletal anomalies to which the poor mine workers are exposed to with out adequate precautionary measures like gas masks, oxygen breathing air filtration apparatus and frequent and periodic medical checks. Radiation is also a cause of concern in such areas where radio active minerals like uranium and beryllium may be found though in very low concentration but at the same time very lethal and toxics even on small exposures.
The total accumulated debt burden of Pakistan is estimated to be more than 2 Trillion US $. This is causing a burden on our economy and hindering our development and growth. The need of the hour is to develop and rely on our own resources like Petroleum, Gas and Minerals, which if properly handled will make Pakistan into a prosperous and developed nation.
REKO DIQ and SANDIK are two such jewels in the crown of Pakistan that if handled properly and with Nationalistic spirit will in the long run make Pakistan a prosperous and developed country no longer dependent on UNCLE SAM, IMF or the Begging bowl.
The people of Pakistan must realize their hidden potentials their inherent strength and their un-matched capabilities which if channelized and handled properly under a truly peoples representative to Government will turn the tables in a short time.
As a humble Pakistani and social activist am I asking for too much?
Bear Bating
On 24 and 25 March 09 Pakistan’s TV watchers suffered the anguish and ignominy of watching the recordings of Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf’s “Performance” during a Conclave of ‘India Today’ at Delhi. What compelled the retired COAS to undertake this trip is a beguiling and reprehensible question, so much so, that his own daughter was at a loss to understand its necessity? Whatever his reasons, the overall optics were BAD FOR PAKISTAN as it exposed Pakistan, its Army and the ISI to ridicule, infamy & derision by the biased Indian audience. Gen (Retd) Musharraf put up an animated and futile defence, yet it does not detract from the fact that it was a flummoxed rank poor judgement by him expressing immutable proclivity to go to Delhi at this juncture.
The spectacle he presented bore close resemblance to that of a bear during Bear Baiting; in this despicable “sport “a hapless bear whose teeth have been extracted and claws removed is chained to the ground and ferocious dogs are set loose on it; in this unequal contest, the captive, defanged and clawless bear provides entertainment to the audience by taking ineffective swipes against frenzied hounds who have the freedom to attack from any direction they like. As this unfair contest progresses the owners of the dogs and the audience cheer madly at the cost of the poor bear.
Unfortunately, as the Question and Answer Session progressed at Delhi, Gen (Retd) Musharraf appeared more and more beleaguered and enigmatic and his discomfiture and hectored attitude made Pakistanis wince in pain indignation and apprehension.
It is fairly obvious that Gen (Retd) Musharraf with his penchant and Idiosyncrasy for publicity had walked into a well laid out trap of ‘India Today’, which being an Indian Magazine primarily catered for an Indian audience that would encourage and enjoy a prominent Pakistani’s discomfiture.
‘India Today’ played their cards astutely and eruditely by not only “arranging” a suitable audience but also gave further evidence of their talent by screening an “ugly” rapacious, dilettante villain-like profile of Musharraf at the beginning and end of each part. An individual’s dignity, generally speaking, is his own business but when a person has enjoyed a high position, then it is incumbent upon him to ensure that none of his actions damage the dignity of his country and the prestige of his office.
Unfortunately, this was not the case at Delhi, because Gen (Retd) Musharraf’s ill conceived soliloquy and decision to go to Delhi allowed numerous Indians to poke fun at Pakistan and its institutions. Similarly, pride in itself is a priceless possession of any Army, which takes a very long time to build and must never be allowed to be tarnished, least of all at the hands of an adversary with whom they have fought four wars.
After discussing the issues mentioned above, we the members of Pakistan Ex Servicemen Association (PESA) would like to know whether the Rule of Not Participating in Politics for two years after retiring, applies to Gen (Retd) Musharraf? If it does as indeed it should, then the Government of Pakistan (GOP) must enforce it. Similarly, the GOP must force Gen (Retd) to vacate the old Army House; not only is it long overdue, but the fact is, that Gen (Retd) Musharraf owns two houses in the Askari Housing in Karachi alone.
Precedence exist in the past that Ejaz Ul Haq was forced to vacate the Army House when he indulged in Politics and Gen (Retd) Pervaiz Musharraf did not allow his course mate whom he superseded to stay on for 02 months in his official accommodation.
Finally, if Gen (Retd) Musharraf’s malevolence and urge for politics is over powering then he must learn to do so within his own legitimate means and not cower behind G.O.P facilities, of Accommodation, Transport or Security. We hope he also realises that the people of Pakistan and members of P.E.S.A are demanding accountability of his actions and deeds during the period he illegally usurped power and caused incalculable damage to Pakistan.
PESA demands that Gen (Retd) Musharraf must be tried under article 6 of the constitution and made accountable for all his misdemeanours and crimes against humanity.
Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Association which comprises of Retired Armed forces personnel is a think tank and social activation plat form for purging the society of all monolithic anathemas egalitarianism and pugnacious fount of injustices and wants to up hold the supremacy of the Parliament and to make Pakistan an UTOPIA…. Is like asking for the moon.
The spectacle he presented bore close resemblance to that of a bear during Bear Baiting; in this despicable “sport “a hapless bear whose teeth have been extracted and claws removed is chained to the ground and ferocious dogs are set loose on it; in this unequal contest, the captive, defanged and clawless bear provides entertainment to the audience by taking ineffective swipes against frenzied hounds who have the freedom to attack from any direction they like. As this unfair contest progresses the owners of the dogs and the audience cheer madly at the cost of the poor bear.
Unfortunately, as the Question and Answer Session progressed at Delhi, Gen (Retd) Musharraf appeared more and more beleaguered and enigmatic and his discomfiture and hectored attitude made Pakistanis wince in pain indignation and apprehension.
It is fairly obvious that Gen (Retd) Musharraf with his penchant and Idiosyncrasy for publicity had walked into a well laid out trap of ‘India Today’, which being an Indian Magazine primarily catered for an Indian audience that would encourage and enjoy a prominent Pakistani’s discomfiture.
‘India Today’ played their cards astutely and eruditely by not only “arranging” a suitable audience but also gave further evidence of their talent by screening an “ugly” rapacious, dilettante villain-like profile of Musharraf at the beginning and end of each part. An individual’s dignity, generally speaking, is his own business but when a person has enjoyed a high position, then it is incumbent upon him to ensure that none of his actions damage the dignity of his country and the prestige of his office.
Unfortunately, this was not the case at Delhi, because Gen (Retd) Musharraf’s ill conceived soliloquy and decision to go to Delhi allowed numerous Indians to poke fun at Pakistan and its institutions. Similarly, pride in itself is a priceless possession of any Army, which takes a very long time to build and must never be allowed to be tarnished, least of all at the hands of an adversary with whom they have fought four wars.
After discussing the issues mentioned above, we the members of Pakistan Ex Servicemen Association (PESA) would like to know whether the Rule of Not Participating in Politics for two years after retiring, applies to Gen (Retd) Musharraf? If it does as indeed it should, then the Government of Pakistan (GOP) must enforce it. Similarly, the GOP must force Gen (Retd) to vacate the old Army House; not only is it long overdue, but the fact is, that Gen (Retd) Musharraf owns two houses in the Askari Housing in Karachi alone.
Precedence exist in the past that Ejaz Ul Haq was forced to vacate the Army House when he indulged in Politics and Gen (Retd) Pervaiz Musharraf did not allow his course mate whom he superseded to stay on for 02 months in his official accommodation.
Finally, if Gen (Retd) Musharraf’s malevolence and urge for politics is over powering then he must learn to do so within his own legitimate means and not cower behind G.O.P facilities, of Accommodation, Transport or Security. We hope he also realises that the people of Pakistan and members of P.E.S.A are demanding accountability of his actions and deeds during the period he illegally usurped power and caused incalculable damage to Pakistan.
PESA demands that Gen (Retd) Musharraf must be tried under article 6 of the constitution and made accountable for all his misdemeanours and crimes against humanity.
Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Association which comprises of Retired Armed forces personnel is a think tank and social activation plat form for purging the society of all monolithic anathemas egalitarianism and pugnacious fount of injustices and wants to up hold the supremacy of the Parliament and to make Pakistan an UTOPIA…. Is like asking for the moon.
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