Protest against naturalisation

A DEMONSTRATION against political naturalisation yesterday was described as "ironic" by organisers. As thousands of Bahrainis held the protest in Sanabis, organisers described how hundreds of naturalised Bahrainis in full riot gear stood by. But other than the demonstration ending half an hour earlier than intended, everything went smoothly and as planned, said National Democratic Action Society (NDAS) general secretary Ebrahim Sharif.
"It was a very peaceful demonstration," he told.
"The only thing we did not understand was why we were asked to change our route by the Interior Ministry."
"The original plan was to start the demonstration near the Bahrain Mall and finish near the Dana Mall," said Mr Sharif.
"But if you look near the Dana Mall, there were hundreds of riot police, all naturalised Bahrainis, waiting and what's more shocking was that they blocked the roads with barbed wires.
"We refused to change the route because we have used this many times.
"The government said this is a major highway, but we said it was going to be at 3.30pm on a Friday during Ramadan.
"Not a lot of people would be using this highway.
"They have allowed demonstrations here in the past before Ramadan and we do not see why we can't have it now, except maybe that they want to limit our movement."
"Because of the blockade, we decided to end things sooner than we wanted to," said Mr Sharif.
"There must have been at least 5,000 of us here, and we proved (the police) wrong.
"They thought there were going to be riots, but we showed them that we are all very civilised and just wanted to make a point to our government."
Critics argued that many people are being given Bahraini nationality for political purposes. Mr Sharif said that in 2002, there were about 243,000 voters in Bahrain. In just four years, voters have increased to 295,000.
"This is an increase of 52,000 in a four-year period, how could this be?" he asked.
"We have taken into consideration the changing of the minimum voting age from 21 to 20, but then the number should have only increased to about 36,000.
"There are 16,000 that have come out from nowhere.The only explanation is naturalisation in the last few years."

Prayer....

Musharraf, Karzai Avoid Eye Contact, Hand Shake During Bush Dinner

Sept. 28: President Bush sits with Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as they host a working dinner at the White House with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, left, and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

Pakistan clears $43b Emaar plan

Emaar, the largest Arab property developer by market value, yesterday received government approval for a Dh157.81 billion ($43 billion) project to develop two island resorts near Pakistan's port city of Karachi. With 85 per cent equity in the project, Dubai-based Emaar will build apartments, offices resorts and entertainment facilities at Bundal and Buddo Islands over 13 years, Ashfaque Hasan Khan, Pakistan government's economic adviser, told the media in Islamabad yesterday. Pakistan's Port Qasim, which has 15 per cent stake in the project, will provide the land to Emaar.
This is the company's single largest project announcement and supercedes the $26.7 billion King Abdullah Economic City project in Saudi Arabia announced last year.
Emaar in May signed a series of MoUs worth $18 billion with the Pakistani government to build a mixed-used development comprising homes, hotels and a golf course in Karachi.
It also plans $2.4 billion of its signature master-planned communities in Islamabad and Karachi, due for completion by 2011.
With the latest announcement, the combined value of Emaar Properties' projects in Pakistan rises to Dh166.61 billion much higher that Dubai's annual GDP.
It is aiming to tap real estate demand in Pakistan, a $129 billion economy forecast to expand seven per cent this fiscal year, compared with 6.6 per cent last year.

'We mastered reverse swing'

Former captain Wasim Akram claims the art of reverse swing, which is practised by Pakistan's fast bowlers, is being mistaken for ball-tampering. Akram, one of the most feared seam bowlers "We are accused of ball tampering because we have mastered the art of reverse swing.
"No body knew for 15 long years what we were actually doing. They taught it was ball-tampering. But in fact it is reverse swing."
Nobody can be more qualified than Akram, often referred to as the "Sultan of Swing" to elaborate on the art form.
Akram, who is in Dubai as a guest of the HSBC cricket challenge pointed a finger at England and said: "Last year when England bowlers won the Ashes through reverse swing, no one from the British media said they had tampered with the ball.
"They said they were bowling reverse swing and they know the art. Before making such a claim they should have asked themselves from whom did they learn this art. It is from the Pakistanis."
Akram went on to explain what really constitutes ball tampering.
"Ball tampering is done in different ways in different countries. In England when I was playing county cricket, they said ball tampering was when one scratched the ball. Later in England and Australia bowlers resorted to applying Vaseline and mint on to the ball. All these were nothing but tampering of the ball."
Akram even went on to candidly admit that at times he has lifted the seam of the ball. "Ball tampering is not something that can be done quickly and make the ball swing immediately. First of all one can tamper the ball only after it is nearly 50 overs old."

Musharraf uses book deal to dodge "bomb" spat

WASHINGTON - Pakistan's leader cited a book deal during an appearance with President George W. Bush on Friday to avoid talking about a purported U.S. threat to bomb his country back to the Stone Age after the September 11 attacks. With his memoir due out on Monday, President Pervez Musharraf managed to plug his book while smoothing diplomatic waters after talks with Bush on their partnership in the war on terrorism and efforts to combat a Taliban resurgence.
Musharraf, in an interview with CBS News magazine show "60 Minutes" to air on Sunday, charged that after the September 11 attacks, the United States threatened to strike Pakistan if it did not cooperate in America's campaign against the Taliban.
Musharraf said Richard Armitage, then deputy secretary of state, told Pakistan's intelligence director, "'Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age.'"
Bush, hailing Musharraf as an important ally, insisted on Friday he knew of no such U.S. threat, and Armitage said he never issued such a warning.
"The first I've heard of this is when I read it in the newspaper today," Bush said as he stood next to Musharraf at a White House news conference. "I guess I was taken aback by the harshness of the words."

بش مشرف ملاقات

امریکی صدر بش اور پاکستان کے صدر جنرل مشرف نے 22 ستمبر کو وائٹ ہاؤس میں ملاقات کی۔ امریکی صدر کا کہنا تھا کہ جہاں تک انہیں یاد ہے امریکہ نے 11 ستمبر کے واقعے کے بعد پاکستان پر حملے کی دھمکی کی تردید کی اور کہا کہ پاکستان پر حملہ کی کوئی دھمکی نہیں دی گئی تھی۔ اس سے قبل صدر مشرف نے ایک امریکی ٹی وی چینل کو بتایا تھا کہ امریکی دھمکی تب کے نائب سیکریٹری خارجہ رچرڈ آرمیٹیج نے ان کے انٹیلیجنس ڈائریکٹر کے توسط سے ان تک پنہچائی تھی۔ اس کے علاوہ بھی چند معاملات پر دونوں سربراہان کے بیانات میں اختلافات سامنے آئے ہیں جس سے دونوں ملکوں کے تعلقات کے بارے میں کئی سوالات جنم لے رہے ہیں۔

US threatened to bomb Pakistan says Musharraf

Typhoon in Arabian Sea within 72 hours

Ramadan Kareem

Photographer Deyana Ahmadi

BAHRAINI photographer Deyana Ahmadi will highlight Bahrain's rich culture, heritage and traditions during a solo exhibition to be held in Paris next week. Under the title Retrovision, the exhibition will showcase a mounted collection of 29 fixed montages of more than 140 photographs taken from Ms Ahmadi's portfolio of 40,000 photographs created over the past 20 years. A 30-minute, multimedia presentation of the photographs, accompanied by contemporary-Arabic music created by Bahraini musician Nawaf Kamal, will add another dimension to the show.
Best of luck Deyana!

Musharraf backing for Shaikha Haya

PAKISTANI President General Pervez Musharraf yesterday pledged his full support towards making Shaikha Haya's one-year term a success. Gen Musharraf flagged off his speech to the assembly by congratulating Shaikha Haya on her appointment. "I am very happy to see a sister from fraternal Bahrain presiding over this important session of the General Assembly," he said. "Your election symbolises the increasingly significant role women are playing in the Muslim world. Madam President, you will have Pakistan's full support in fulfilling your challenging responsibilities."

Isolated and 'in the dark'

Approximately a dozen men at a holding facility at the Al Baraha Hospital in Deira claim they are HIV-free.

Dubai: A longtime UAE resident with a Pakistani passport says he has lost everything after being told that he has contracted the HIV virus and landed in an isolated facility awaiting deportation to a country he has never known.
Born and bred in the UAE, Mohammad Hanif, 28, considers the UAE his home. Although he, along with other members of his family, were given Pakistani passports several years ago, he has never left the UAE. His entire life revolves around his work as a baggage handler. He and his extended family live in a dilapidated house outside Dubai. Speaking from his cell at a holding facility at the Al Baraha Hospital in Deira, Hanif questions his HIV positive diagnosis, which was apparently discovered after a trip to the doctor for a food poisoning complaint. Hanif, along with many of the inmates, complain of not being given access to their medical records or reports, and dispute the claims that they are suffering from infectious diseases. According to Hanif, he has only been notified about his alleged condition verbally.
"I have asked to see the medical reports several times since being told about being infected, but have been told that there's no need for me to see them," he told Gulf News.
Admitted to Dubai Hospital twice between July 16 and August 5, it was only after a routine check-up that the doctor insisted on an HIV test, which came back positive.
"I simply went in for a check-up because I was ill, and now two months later, I find myself in a place that feels like prison," he told Gulf News. "I was told that I have hepatitis, HIV, so many things, but I have not been given a report that makes me believe these claims."
Medical sources maintain that Hanif has been provided with reports confirming his condition and that it is normal for patients to go through a period of denial after being diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Hanif maintains that he is ready to accept his condition when he is given access to a second opinion and receives confirmation of his condition in writing.
With the family's primary breadwinner out of a job and in a holding facility, Hanif's mother Khadeeja (not her real name) said the family was struggling to make ends meet.
Prior to his incarceration, Hanif shared a two bedroom house with six other members of his family. One bedroom was assigned to his older brother, wife and their daughter, and the other to his parents, sister and himself.
According to Khadeeja, her elder son Abdullah's entire income goes towards paying rent and the family of seven has long relied on Hanif's income for living expenses.
"Our sister's contribution is minimal. We don't ask her for much money," added Abdullah.
When asked how the family would pay for utility bills and food, Abdullah pointed a finger to the ceiling. "God will help us," he said.

Businessmen's role in Bahrain Economic growth

Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa yesterday hailed the crucial role played by businessmen in backing up economic changes and stimulating commercial activity. Co-operation between private and public sectors helps create a sound national economy in line with the government's efforts to achieve sustainable development, he said. He was speaking as he received at his Court yesterday the Bahrain Businessmen Association's newly-formed board of directors, headed by Khalid Almoayyed.

Pope sorry for offending Muslims?

He said the medieval text which he quoted did not express in any way his personal opinion, adding the speech was an invitation to respectful dialogue. The Pope has been under intense scrutiny amid angry reactions from throughout the Muslim world.
The 14th Century Christian emperor's quote said the Prophet Muhammad brought the world only evil and inhuman things.
"I hope this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with mutual respect"

Gwadar

Gwadar is located on the southwestern coast of Pakistan, close to the important Straits of Hormuz, through which more than 13 million bbd of oil passes. It is strategically located between three increasingly important regions of the world: the oil-rich Middle East, heavily populated South Asia and the economically emerging and resource-rich Central Asia.

The Government of Pakistan has initiated several projects, with majority financial and technical assistance from China, to develop Gwadar's strategic location as a goods transit and trade point. The primary project is the construction of a deep-sea port at Gwadar to enable high-volume cargo movement to and from the landlocked Central Asian states. The new port will also encompass conversion facilities to allow for the movement of natural gas as a part of plans for a termination point for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan natural gas pipeline. The secondary project is a coastal highway connecting Gwadar to Karachi, whose $200 million cost will be completely financed by the Chinese. Gwadar will serve as a port of entry for oil and gas to be transported by land to the western regions of China.

The significance of Gwadar is great to both Pakistan and China. Pakistan will be able to have a strategic depth southwest from its naval base in Karachi that has long been vulnerable to blockade by the Indian Navy. There have been many reports that China, with permission from Pakistan, will also be able to dock naval ships in or around Gwadar. This has caused much concern by both the United States and India as both of these nations do not wish to see a Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean.

60 bodies found in Baghdad in 24 hours

Baghdad: A total of 60 unidentified bodies have been found in various parts of Baghdad over the past 24 hours, an Interior Ministry source said on Wednesday. The source said most bodies were bound and shot in the head and many bore signs of torture - trademarks of sectarian death squads and kidnap gangs plaguing the capital.

Ipod with new features ………Beauty

Your are the MAN.......

West responsible for extremism: Musharraf

BRUSSELS: President General Pervez Musharraf has blamed the West for breeding terrorism in his country by bringing in thousands of mujahideen to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and then leaving
* President says Pakistan not inherently prone to terrorism or extremism
* Blames 1979 US mission in Afghanistan for militancy in region

I Had a Car Accident

Pakistan's first 'Miss Bikini' is here!

Mariyah Moten, a 22-year-old US-based Pakistani, is being billed as "Pakistan's first Miss Bikini" after she topped the 'Best in Media' category at the Miss Bikini Universe pageant in China last week.

Having won the title at Beihai resort in southern China, wowing crowds there and alarming conservatives in Pakistan, Moten is currently in Mumbai for a "special interview" assignment with a major Indian newspaper chain.

The News International newspaper reported with the comment: "A few Pakistani women in the past have ventured to compete in beauty pageants but none has gone this far in terms of unsheltered territory."

The Houston girl has "created a frenzy by participating in an international bikini contest and even landed a prize - even if not exactly for skin", the newspaper said.

پاکستان کے وزیر ثقافت سید غازی گلاب جمال نے کہا ہے کہ چین میں Miss Bikini کے مقابلے میں کسی پاکستانی نے شرکت نہیں کی اور نہ ہی پاکستان سے کسی کو اس مقابلے میں شرکت کی دعوت دی گئی تھی۔

انہوں نے کہا کہ اٹھائیس اگست کو چین میں ہونے والے اس روایتی تقریب میں امریکہ کے شہر ہیوسٹن کی رہائشی اور پاکستانی نژاد امریکی شہریت رکھنے والی بائیس سالہ ماریہ متین بطور پاکستانی نہیں بلکہ انفرادی طور پر شریک ہوئیں تھیں۔

وزیر نے کہا کہ اس طرح کے مقابلوں میں شرکت کی نہ اسلام اجازت دیتا ہے اور نہ پاکستان کی ثقافت۔

ماریہ متین جو کراچی میں پیدا ہوئیں اور اطلاعات کے مطابق آٹھ برس قبل امریکہ گئیں انہوں نے وہاں کی شہریت حاصل کرلی ہے۔ وہ ’مس بکنی‘ کا مقابلہ تو نہیں جیت سکیں تھیں البتہ پاکستان کی نمائندہ کہلوانے کی وجہ سے اس مقابلے میں شریک لڑکیوں میں سب سے زیادہ میڈیا کی توجہ کا مرکز رہیں۔

Celebrating Defence Day today

The nation is celebrating Defence Day today (Wednesday) with traditional spirit, zeal and solemnity to pay homage to the brave sons of the soil, who rendered supreme sacrifices in the defence of motherland during war of September 1965.

The day started with special Dua after Fajr prayers in all the mosques for well being and prosperity of the country. Defence Day messages from the services chief will be read out in all the unit darbars and formation headquarters.

Hilal-e-Istaqlal will be hoisted in Sialkot, Sargodha and Lahore, the cities directly targeted by the enemy. Wreath laying ceremonies will be held at the mazars and monuments of recipients of Nishan-e-Haider, the highest gallantry award of Pakistan.

All television channels have organized special transmission on the eve of Defence Day and the newspapers will bring out special supplements to commemorate the day in a befitting manner. Fauji Melas will be held at all the major garrisons of the country.