Azeem Daultana, he will be so missed, his lovely smile was so disarmig and he was so soft spoken, full of caring and gentleness and one of God’s finer Creations of humanity. He was my son’s very close friend like brothers from childhood, they were, a sad loss of a very fine person; RIP, Azeem Bayta.
Air Marshal Ayaz A Khan (R)
The disused Bhandari airstrip 200 miles south of Quetta in Balochistan was gifted to Shiekh Zahid Al-Nahyan the ruler of Abu Dhabi by the government of Pakistan in the 1990?s. The airstrip called Shamsi was developed by Emirates Shieks into a jet capable airfield , and was used for falcon hunting of rare Bustards in Balochistan.
It was leased out to US Central Intelligence Agency in 2001 by UAE with President Musharraf?s approval, and was developed by the United States Air Force as a military air base in great secrecy for bombing of Afghanistan. CIA occupation of the base clearly had his approval. General Pervez Musharraf as President should have comprehended the long time strategic implications of handing over Shamsi air base to Washington!
Development of of Shamsi for clandestine operations was kept a highly guarded secret, and Chief Minister Magsi and even Corps Commander were not allowed to visit it, when it was being developed for Drone operations and construction of the required infrastructure for this purpose was taking place. There is no evidence on record that the UAE government handed over Shamsi to the CIA for Drone operations. I was general Musharraf who handed over Shamsi and allowed US Air Force operations against Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants from some other PAF bases including the Shahbaz Air Base.
The PPP led government continued Musharraf?s policies till recently, and allowed CIA to launch Predator drones from Shamsi Air Base for the destruction of terrorist hideouts in FATA. Islamabad?s denials that the government was unaware of CIA drone operations from Shamsi till very recently, may be justified by being kept in the dark, by ally America, which has refused to share anti-terrorist intelligence with Pakistan.
The United States spent billions of dollars on the development of Shamsi air base. The USAF developed Bandari airstrip into a jet capable airfield with long runways for handling bombers and heavy transport aircraft. Shami has taxiways, tarmacs and refueling facilities for sustained bomber, fighter and drone operations. By 2006 Predator drones began to be launched against Taliban hideouts and selected targets in the tribal belt. Shamsi has remained a busy base for anti-terrorist operations in FATA.
Few weeks back Washington post reported that three months ago the US had stopped air and drone strikes from Shamsi base. This was soon after the Raymond Davis dispute exploded into a full fledged fiasco. The Post reported that US-CIA personnel and the Predator drones remain at Shamsi air base till further decision. Recently Google Earth showed three predator drones parked on the Shamsi tarmac, next to a hangar.
During the last six years Predator drones launched from Shamsi Air Base killed hundreds of militants and in collateral damage greater number of civilian men women and children have been killed and injured. It is shocking that Pakistani soil is being used for launching American missiles for bombing Pakistani villages and homes in FATA and killing Pakistani citizens along with foreign militants. The drones cannot distinguish Pakistani citizens from Al-Qaeda terrorists. Thus drone attacks kill peaceful citizens along with the terrorists. According to some defence specialists the collateral damage in Pakistan is minimal as compared to Afghanistan. The Tehrik-Taliban- Pakistan and its god father Al-Qaeda are engaged in suicide attacks across Pakistan including FATA and in Afghanistan. They bomb mosques, hotels, bazars, police stations, schools, military, Rangers, FC, CID and Navy installations. They kidnap and murder people and have killed 36000 Pakistani?s including 5000 military personnel. They are enemy number one of the Pakistani nation. Across the border in Afghanistan the terrorists target NATO, and Afghan National Army installations, hotels and shopping centers. It is unfortunate that thousands of Pakistani nationals have become terrorists and are sheltering foreign and local criminals in the tribal Agencies and elsewhere, with the motive to spread myhem, death and destruction in their own country. Washington considers Predator attacks on their Hujras and villages justified with drone missiles to end the terrorist menace. Pakistani protests to pressure America to stop drone attacks to wipe out terrorism have a humanistic face, but are difficult to justify, considering terrorist massacres and destruction, and adverse effect on national morale. Hillary Rodham Clinton the US Secretary of State, Robert Gates the Defense secretary and Director CIA Leon Panetta, who is the new US Defense Secretary have categorically rejected Pakistani pleas to stop drone attacks, asserting that the Pakistani establishment in the past had approved such attacks, which were being launched from Shamsi Air Base. The nation needs to be told the truth. The nation must be told the truth about the gifting, leasing out or renting of the Shamsi Air base to the UAE, the CIA and the United States Air Force. The terms and conditions must be known to remove the impression that the United States has forcibly usurped the Shamsi base, and has plans for perpetual occupation of the strategically important air base. A PAF officeer who declined to be identified said, ? We have told them to vacate the base. We are unable to provide security to their people?. In a tough response on June 30, US authorities responded, ? United States is rejecting demands from Pakistani officials that American personnel abandon the Shamsi military base used by the CIA to stage drone strikes against suspected militants. US Personnel have not left the remote military installation , and there is no plan for them to do so. The base is neither vacated, nor being vacated. This blunt rejection of the Pakistani demand was confirmed by another senior US official. Having spent billions on the base infrastructure, and being fully resolved to eradicate terrorist safe heavens in FATA, US drone operations from the Shamsi air base are likely to continue unabated. This will add fuel to the fire of the acrimonious Pak-US relationship over the intensified drone bombings and violation of Pakistani sovereignty by the Obama Administration. Undeterred by blunt US response Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar claimed that, ? Shamsi air base is being shuttered, and drone operations from it had stopped.? This claim was rejected by the US disclaimer from Washington. But Ahmed Mukhtar told Reuters, ? When the US forces will not operate from there, no drone attacks will be carried.? This expectation was rudely rejected by US officials. But a crafty CIA official remarked that no American military personnel had ever been stationed at Shamsi air base. The drone program from in Pakistan (from the Shamsi air base) is run by the CIA.? CIA Director Leon Panetta, who has been promoted as US Defense Secretary, during his last visit to Islamabad was urged by President Asef Ali Zardari and Prime Minister yusuf reza Gilani to bring an end to the drone attacks and devastation in FATA. Panetta bluntly rejected to halt drone attacks, and refused to assure the top Pakistani leaders that drone attacks could be halted. In an incisive article Brigadier Farooq Hameed Khan comments about the strategic advantages that the United States drives from the occupation of Shamsi air base. ?This airfiels provides a launch pad 200 miles south of Quetta, where the US believes hides the Afghan Taliban Shura led by Mullah Omar. CIA believes that Mullah Omar is hiding in Quetta, much like Osama bin Laden lived undetected in Abbottabad. Shamsi base is one hundred miles east of the Iranian border, and is ideally located for spying on Iran. It enables the United States to conduct spying and covert intelligence missions into and around Iran. Washington considers Tehran as its foremost foe, and will use Shamsi base to gather vital intelligence information about Iran. And importantly it is not too far from Chagai-Pakistan?s nuclear test site. Being close to the Balochistan coast it enables the US to spy over Gwadar, and keep an eye on Pak-China collaboration for the development of this important sea port, and an important trading center in the future. S hamsi will enable CIA to gather data about Pakistan?s coastal areas, with several vital Pakistan Navy installations there. In the adjoining Arabian Sea the massive presence of US Navy?s aircraft carriers, missile firing cruisers, destroyers, submarines and landing craft provide evidence of massive sea power, menacing deployed posing a very serious threat to Pakistan?s security and sovereignty. As a first step, Pakistan could urge the US by diplomatic means, to share the Shamsi air base with Pakistan Air Force, for joint operations against terrorists. ISI may offer to cooperate with the CIA for sharing intelligence information about Taliban and Al-Qaeda fugitives. This is a difficult exercise, but we cannot and should not allow permanent occupation of a strategic air base by a foreign power. Shamsi air base is being used for launching drone attacks by the CIA. While Pakistans sovereignty has been trampled under foot, The collateral damage has killed hundreds of innocent civilians. This must stop.
Ahmad Noorani
Sunday, November 27, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Shamsi Airbase was the major operational centre for US drones that was given to UAE which sublet it to American forces to launch attacks on targets in the tribal areas.
In the in camera session of the parliament the top military authorities had admitted that Shamsi Airbase was given to UAE by the government and now it turns out that it was in the use of the US and has been asked to be shut down. There were also reports that the notorious Blackwater people also remained stationed at Shamsi.
Shamsi Airbase was first given to the US by the Musharraf government under secret agreements after the 9/11 attacks. Some of media outlets had also published pictures of US drones parked at the base in 2004-05.
When the Musharraf regime was asked by the media to explain the pictures, US and Pakistani spokesmen had explained that the drones parked were used only for landing at the base, and not in the attacks. It was a ridiculous explanation as landings could not happen unless the planes took off with missiles to fire at Pakistani targets.
Some other airbases were also given to US forces immediately after the 9/11 when US forces attacked Afghanistan and a Nato website had then revealed, by mistake, that some 59,000 sorties took off from Pakistani bases to attack the Taliban government in Afghanistan in three months and hundreds of thousands of tons of bombs were dropped by aircraft which used Pakistani soil.
The cutting off of Nato supply through Pakistan will hit the major sources of furnishing all kind of goods ranging from oil to food, weapons to fuel for Nato forces fighting against Afghans.
The supplies are shipped to the Karachi port from where these are loaded on big Nato tankers and transported to Afghanistan through roads of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan had also blocked Nato supplies in October 2010 after a Nato helicopter strike, which had killed three soldiers then. However, after some calls from Washington and reported apologies both military and civilian leadership had reopened the supply line in a few days.
Most of Nato supplies mostly comprising big tankers and trucks are also sitting targets of anti-US fighters inside Pakistan.
By Asif Ali Zardari
(A Satire written by Jean Pierre Marches – Nom de plume)
Recently I have been in the news again. I thought it appropriate that
I gave a response, but my decency requires that I should not hit below
the belt as most have done in the past.
I am a democratically elected leader of the Great Islamic Republic of
Pakistan. Just as a reminder to my critics that 498 members of the
Senate out of a total of 500 voted for me as the President. They were
the representatives of the people of Pakistan. It is a great
compliment to me and rather reluctantly, I accepted the challenge to
serve my great nation.
For those who want to change the rules of the game now will have to
wait till the next elections when my term is over.
I have suffered at the hand of various governments in the past. My People have been talking about my past, my childhood and my family To clear the hot air surrounding these allegations I will take you I hail from a very humble Sindhi family of farmers. My father Hakim I was the most handsome guy in Sindh. My step-mother Mrs Zarina They all rose to high positions. Generals like Yahya Khan or Zia ul Haque became Presidents of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I do not have to teach you about My wife had full faith and confidence in me. When Benazir came to I am a bold and honest man. I will tell you the truth and will not Amer is a lawyer and he devised the entire scheme for By the way, according to NAB’s Saifur Rehman there were 40 Accounts identified with about US$1.5Billion in them. Wrong! I had more accounts in Spain, France, USA, UK and Well, I will again be honest and tell you the truth. The You want to know about Rockwood Surrey Mansion. I fail to understand It has had so much bad publicity of jealousy that I have By the way, I always had connections. Sarkozy was My Chateau is called Manoir de la Reine Blanche (Manoir of As regards the politicians in Pakistan I decided to choose these Take for example Aitzaz Ahsan, a barrister and a Cambridge As regards the question of a Degree to become eligible to be a member My European Visit was planned well ahead. I had to visit France Visit to UK was essential. I had to meet PM David Cameron to clear This visit had been planned by The High Commissioner and Disrespect to the Presidency. Then there was this bearded man who I hear that there were some people who were very upset about this Thank you, Thank you and Thank you very much. Pakistan Zindabad
loving wife Benazir Bhutto was murdered by the political enemies. I
was incarcerated in the jail for 8 long years. I was ill and suffered
from innumerable diseases as I had very little medical attention. The
scar left from that period still haunts me. I have nightmares and
sometimes I find myself floating from Islamabad to Manhattan in USA or
to an unknown Chateau in Normandy, France. These are terrible visions
and I hope and pray to the Almighty that no one should suffer such
ignominy.
background. Well, I am proud of all these things and I do not wish to
disown my past. I am also proud to admit that I am a classic example
of “rags to riches” story. Whilst there are many in Pakistan who can
easily be given the same title but they shy away with embarrassment,
timidity or secrecy. I am not one of them.
for a joy ride into my past.
Ali Zardari broke away from the clan and set up a small cinema in
Karachi called “Bambino Cinema”. It was a good start though it made no
large money.
Zardari is a very shrewd and visionary lady.. She suggested that I get
married to this lady the daughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who had
finished her studies at Oxford. People accuse me that I do not have a
degree. Quite right! Did education matter in politics or the Army?
Generals Musa Khan, Tikka Khan or Yahya Khan never had any kind of
degrees. They all rose from the ranks.
what kind of mess these people got us into. I have maintained a status
quo all around. Look at the politicians like Pehlwan Nawaz Sharif, and
younger Pehlwan Shahbaz Sharif who have “degrees’ and what have they
contributed towards the betterment of Pakistan. I digressed so I will
continue about my own career.
power in her second term she appointed me on a very sensitive
assignment as The Minister of Investment. It was a tough assignment
and I fulfilled my assignment with due diligence. In the process, as
luck would have it I had the chance to make, as they say; “a buck or
two”. This was done without hurting anyone. I shared the profit
element with the rich people of Pakistan; otherwise these rich people
would have become super-rich.
hide the facts like the barons of Raiwind, who continue to hide how
they made their fortunes. There was this Agosta submarines and Exocet
Missiles deal. I was approached by the Naval Chief at the time and
suggested easy way of making large sums. Vow! I exclaimed, and said
how? I was told to use the services of one Amer Lodhi (brother of
Maleeha Lodhi – colloquially who has one leg in PPP and one leg in
Nawaz’s camp!).
me “gratis” but retained certain portion for himself and Admiral
Mansur ul Haque. I was the innocent man who simply made it convenient
so that there were no impediments. Unfortunately, US$60 Million is
still owed to me as “my commission”. This NAB chap called Saifur
Rehman, now in self imposed exile sits in Qatar, put a case against me
and as a result these funds are still stuck in Swiss. I am just
waiting for an opportune moment to go and claim these funds i.e. “my
funds” – hard earned commission.
Switzerland. The total is now three or four times the figure stated.
People have been trying to damage my reputation by calling me by the
epithet “Mr. Ten Per Cent”. They think I was raking off 10% on any
deal that went past my eyes. So wrong!. How do they know such intimate
details?
deals that I brokered in my privileged position ranged, between 10% to
50%. I had the power to approve the deals. My nation had elected me as
the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan to do as I willed. I did
exactly that. There is nothing in the Constitution that says I cannot
make money. They call me “King of Thieves”, “Mr Ten Per Cent” or
“Zardari 100% Pure Corruption” – all these are sour grapes. Saifur
Rehman had frozen 40 accounts in Switzerland, United Kingdom.. He is
very nasty man. This was hard earned money that he managed to block
but thanks to Musharraf’s NRO I have now managed to move all
elsewhere. Who is going to have the last laugh?
as to why people are interested in our Rockwood Surrey Mansion? We
have the money at our disposal and we decided to splash it the way we
wanted to do it i.e. in style. We bought the Mansion for over
£4Million in 1994. It had 400 acres of land, 15 bedrooms. We furbished
it with a beautiful Lalique Glass Dining Table which cost a small sum
of £120,000. Then we had beautiful crystal Chandeliers, and Gilded
furniture.
decided to sell it and is on the market for £7.5Million (say
US$11.25M). Villa in Spain. It is a palatial Villa but I do not get a chance to go
there that often.I managed to acquire a 5 acre Chateau in Normandy, France. President Sarkozy of France on his present tour was kind enough to provide his
personal helicopter to enable me to visit my father Hakim Ali Zardari
in this Chateau.
then the Minister of Defence when I was negotiating a deal of Agosta
submarines and Exocet Missiles. If you see the recent footage of my
visit to his official residence Quai d’Orsay you would have observed
that he received me with such warmth at the steps along with my son
Bilawal.
the White Queen). It is 16th Century Chateau and was built for the
widow of Phillippe the 4th. It is a feather in my cap. There is no
Pakistani who owns a Chateau in France. Pakistan Zindabad!
Mansion in Manhattan, New York, USA
people; Salman Taseer, Zulfiqar Mirza, Qayyum Soomro, Rehman Malik,
Farhatullah Babar, Babar Awan, Aitzaz Ahsan, Amin Faheem, Salman
Siddique, Raza Rabbani and interalia many others. There is an old
saying “Every dog has its price”. They are my pedigree dogs and I
use them at will. They are hungry for money all the time. I just need
to throw crumbs at them to keep them satisfied. Do you see them bark
at all?
graduate. What has he contributed to democracy and well being in
Pakistan. I have hired Aitzaz Ahsan and Babar Awan to protect me.
They are my ramparts. They know that if they turn away and oppose me
in any form I will have their backside kicked. That will put a stop
to their steady and regular income from me, which makes up to millions
of Rupees on a regular basis. Like Faustus, they have sold their
souls to the devil! That is the way to operate and you must give me
full credit for my method of operation.
of the Senate, well I am told that half the members at present Senate
have fake degrees. In December a study by Pakistan Institute of
Legislative Assembly and Transparency reveals that the average net
worth of a Pakistani parliamentarian is US$ 900,000 and the richest
tops US$ 37M. So much for the parliamentarians with DEGREES. At
least I confess I do not have a degree but I have done well. I had
nothing and I am a billionaire three times over. Not bad!
which was also convenient for me to see my Dad. I wanted to
re-establish my old contacts with Sarkozy. What people forget is that
all these trips abroad by the Head of State are paid for by the
Government. I cannot change the rules. I was not wasting
government’s money. To maintain the dignity of the Head of State, one
had to stay in a £7,000 suite, which was a bargain. It is slightly
cheaper than what the Rulers of Middle Eastern countries pay.
the air regarding his statement in India on Pakistan and Terrorism in
Pakistan. I had also planned to induct my son Bilawal to the PPP as heir
apparent. I want to give up politics and I plan to get him become the
Head of PPP.
he insisted that I go ahead. The floods in Pakistan have been worst
for 100 years but my presence would not have made any difference.
These political animals were making a big hullabaloo about my being
here and not returning to Pakistan. They are simply idiots.
got up in his madness and threw his shoes. He showed utter disrespect
to the President of Pakistan and that too abroad. This is not the way
to behave.
man’s behaviour. They protested tooth and nail in their columns and
in their BLOGS. My hats off to these people for their courage to
support me.
_
Mehtab Haider
Sunday, October 30, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Who says the billions looted by our corrupt rulers are not coming back into the country? Ironically they are, but only after being cleansed and sanitised by being brought back through official legal avenues while a clueless State Bank looks on helplessly.
An investigation by The News revealed that a substantial portion of the foreign remittances of $23.8 billion, during the almost four-year rule of the PPP led govt, is actually a major source of re-routing of dirty money earned through corruption and tax evasion by the political mafia and its business associates. To cite one instance, while there have been no mentionable increases in salaries or the number of Pakistani ex-pats working in the UAE, there are instances where the remittances have surged three-fold from Abu Dhabi, a favourite fund parking choice of our dirty elite.
The foreign remittances stood at $6.4 billion in 2007-08 and went up to $7.6 billion in 2008-09. The remittances witnessed another jump and touched $8.6 in 2009-10 and surged to $11.2 billion in the last financial year ending on June 30, 2011. This rising trend continued in the first quarter (July-Sept) period of the current fiscal year as it stood at $3.297 billion during this period. The figures of the Bureau of Immigration showed that the number of employed workers in the Gulf region did not witness any unprecedented increase but the received remittances jumped up three times in the case of Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, the European Union and maintained the same level from the USA despite the fact that the developed economies such as the USA and EU were facing an acute financial and debt crisis.
The economists describe this funds-movement phenomenon as money laundering, pure and simple, and the easiest method of turning black illegal wealth into legal white money. No questions asked, no taxes paid. And the method is one of the cheapest money laundering tools as well. The entire exercise of taking dirty funds out illegally and bringing them back clean and legal costs a mere 2 percent of the cost of the entire value of the involved sums.
As put by one economic crime investigator, “This is what we call the Dutch disease that needs to be investigated because if it evaporated it could cause us to plunge into a default on our external account.” This is not a baseless apprehension as proven in the wake of emerging realities. Workers’ remittances showed a declining trend by a massive 32% to $890 million in September 2011 compared to $1,310 million in August 2011.
“One should not see development on the remittances front for the first quarter as it is a worrisome indicator if closely reviewed by the economic managers. In terms of remittances, Pakistan can be compared with the Philippines as its growth is almost flat with authorities expecting a 4.5 percent jump keeping in view the economic outlook of major economies such as the USA, United Kingdom, European countries and the Gulf region. But there is a complete mismatch in the case of Pakistan as the country is witnessing a phenomenal increase by 25 percent without having any economic justifications,” a top officer of the government’s economic team told The News here on Saturday.
Former economic advisor to the government of Pakistan, Dr Ashfaque Hassan Khan who is currently serving as Dean NUST Business School (NBS) opined that there was a mysterious growth in remittances which was not consistent with the level of economic activities in countries from where the bulk of expatriate Pakistanis were sending their money. For example, he said, the US has been the single largest source of remittances and its economy is near to recession as millions of people have lost their jobs. He asked how Pakistanis are still maintaining the same level of remittances as had been the case during the good times in the USA.
He said that another major source of remittances was the European countries, which had been suffering a severe debt crisis for the last two years and economic growth there was almost flat. How one can justify that Pakistanis can afford to continue sending money despite experiencing a standstill economic growth in the EU countries, he asked.
Dr Ashfaque said that another major source is the Middle East and remittances from there witnessed a three-fold increase in recent years. Neither the wages nor the number of overseas employees increased in this period so there is no justification for the sudden jump, he said, arguing, “What is happening on remittances is an unknown phenomenon,” and lamented that so far no credible response had come from the SBP.–
Photographs by Zahid Husain
by Khurshid Anwer
I cannot recall an instance when one pillar of the state had made such scathing observations about another pillar of state. To wit, the remarks of the chief justice of the supreme court about the executive.
But the executive is unmoved, neither defending the charges, nor going for course correction. ‘Business as usual’ appears to be the strategy. ‘Catch us if you can’, the PM and his boss seem to be saying to the chief justice. Literally thumbing their nose at him.
The CJ calls the “Affair of the probes chaotic”. This is putting it mildly. The term chaotic fails to describe the NICL probe.
As the PIA boss said to the reporter, “We are the PPP government, we don’t fire, we only hire”. The message coming through here is, “We are the PPP government, we are friends of friends, we don’t allow our friends to be held accountable”. We are a law unto ourselves.
Talking about the officials involved in the RPP scams, he has said, “The court could not shut its eyes to corruption”. As the PPP government so conveniently does.
He said FIA is showing no progress on the cases sent to it. And if the court orders action against the relevant officer he is promoted to high rank next day. While an honest and capable officer is posted to Gilgit.
Those who should be probed are being appointed secretaries. All the inquiries sent by the court are pending.
Every institution in the country is infested with corruption and there is not even a single institution which could be trusted.
Circumstances have come to a point where a file from the minister’s table reaches to secretary’s table in five months.
The CJ needs to fall back on folk wisdom:
‘Latun ke bhoot batun se nahi mante’
A few contempt-of-court notice would be in order.
Obituary By Air Commodore (retd) Sajad Haider
Air Commodore (retd) Sajad Haider pays tribute to an unsung Christian warrior of the 1965 war
Wing crews in front of a B-57, with leader Bill Latif in centre
Come September, much exaggeration is fed to the ignorant nation to distract it from the chaos, corruption and bloodshed that is today’s Pakistan. Each September 7th, the Defense Services are shareholders in this bizarre state’s corporate extravaganza by the celebration of Defense Day to commemorate the 1965 war as a victory.
Retired veterans are put up by ignorant TV anchors and much unsubstantiated rhetoric unfolds about shooting down the enemy like partridges. The official history of the 1965 War by the Pakistan Air Force is in fact biased and evasive of the real happenings.
In truth, celebrating the war as a victory was a ruse, which was cleverly devised by Ayub Khan’s state propaganda machine to masquerade the debilitating failure of leadership.
However, no one should underestimate the gallantry of the soldiers of the army and the pilots of the PAF who halted the juggernaut of the Indian invasion comprising two army corps supported by their air force (four times the size of the PAF), against Sialkot, Lahore and Kasur in the North.
It is in this context that I would like to share the story of one of those many real heroes whose legacy as a fearless warrior in war and a thorough professional in peacetime is a legend amongst the men in blue of the vintage PAF. Air Commodore Nazir (Bill) Latif had brilliant eyes, which mirrored his soul and a massive, generous heart. I can still picture him today standing in his uniform, his exceptional pilots’ golden wing on the right breast pocket and the highest individual gallantry award in the row of distinction medals on his left chest.
Bill Latif was born to a Christian family – his father Professor Latif was the renowned psychology professor at the Forman Christian College in early 1950s.
Towards the end of his life, Bill Latif never spoke about his legendary achievements or tribulations. It was unthinkable for this non-controversial warrior to publicly boast to the media about his exemplary career as a consummate professional. That is why few in this nation would have heard about this gallant son of the soil.
Tragically, this legend glided gently, silently into the sunset on the 1st day of July, 2011 (I believe that is the date because no one from the PAF or the retired officers who knew about his death had the compassion to inform me about his sudden death, knowing how very close I was to him as he braved through the last three distressing years).
Sabres in the 1971 war
Both of the founding Commanders-in-Chiefs of the PAF, Air Marshals Asghar Khan and Nur Khan, had held Bill Latif in the highest professional esteem and helped him during his recent desolation when he was hit by a stray bullet, losing one eye, followed by a stroke and prostate cancer. They were not informed of Bill’s demise.
Bill Latif had been alone in the world, after having lost his wife years ago. I was one of his closest colleagues during his difficult years but I never heard a whisper of complaint through his most tenuous moments. Every single day he would call me at 11 am with the words: "How are you today; is everything alright? It will be alright, don’t worry.
" How could one respond to a friend so positive even as he braved a lost eye, a stroke following the extraction of the bullet, and prostate cancer? "Sir, I am on top of the world" was my only reply, even if it was far from reality.
Bill Latif was undoubtedly one of the best fighter pilots, bomber pilots and commanders during peace and in both the wars. He was an exceptional case, the only one to my knowledge who was kicked up even as a cadet to a higher batch because he was so good from the start.
He commanded several fighter squadrons, all the fighter wings of the PAF; twice commanded the B-57 Bomber wing, especially when he replaced two mediocre predecessors to perk up the poor performance of the bombers. Bill Latif also commanded the prestigious Fighter Leader’s School (Top Gun School) where I was his flight commander.
I had the honour to serve under him again as squadron commander of No.19 Squadron when he was the Commander of the largest No. 32 Fighter wing at Mauripur (Masroor Base). Later I served with him when he commanded the famous No. 33 Tactical wing at Sargodha, and finally when he was base commander Peshawar, where I left him to join the Air Staff College.
Four PAF F-86F fighter-bombers return from an interdiction mission – September 1965
He was a spectacular flyer, instructor and commander; and he never ever raised his voice or used expletives so common in our profession. That was the quality that made every subordinate and superior place him on the highest pedestal.
Once as a squadron commander he was leading a flight of four fighters, with Flt. Lt. Rehmat Khan as deputy with two younger pilots as wingmen. The weather at Mauripur began to deteriorate and a general immediate recall to all aircraft was ordered by the air traffic control. Bill Latif brought his formation back but the visibility had dropped to below the minimum required for landing.
Low on fuel, he made a swift though ominous decision. He ordered all three in the formation to head in different directions and eject. Three F- 86s crashed to the ground as their pilots parachuted down to safety to live and fly another day.
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The aerobatic team of black F-6s (call sign Rattlers) perform over Sargodha. This team was led by Wing Commander Nazir Latif
What about Bill Latif? Tinchoo Zaheer, my old buddy, batch mate and a fighter as well as bomber pilot, recalls: "The weather had moved in too fast and when we heard Bill’s formation overhead, the runway visibility was down to 100 yards at the most.
We had a prayer on our lips, as there was no alternative for diversion and the formation had been gone long, thus it was low on fuel. Lo and behold, after the thunder of the four fighters had swished away, we heard the sound of a fighter engine as though someone had landed in that treacherous weather.
Suicidal was the only word to describe the act, and it could only be Bill Latif!" That was my commander, friend and a real warrior. Bill Latif saved one fighter that day at the risk of his own life. This is but one of a thousand episodes which filled the life of this legend.
The performance of the Bombers in the 1971 war was spectacular but it came as a surprise when the Indian historians Jagan Mohan and Samir Chopra (and the Official Indian record of war) exposed the truth about the PAF performance during the 1965 war and the Indian Air Force losses to PAF bomber raids in the 1971 war.
Bill Latif not only could take credit for the overall performance by the bombers but he was also the only commander in his air rank that flew dangerous daylight and night missions against the Indian deluge in Khokhrapar sector threatening Hyderabad. He led his men in both wars with great leadership, aplomb and courage.
In 1965 his last mission was the deepest penetration in enemy territory against their farthest bomber base in Agra – with Mig-21s, SAM missiles and the inferno of light and heavy anti-aircraft shells emblazing the sky over the target.
Nazir Bill Latif with a PAF Martin B-57 Canberra bomber
It is an ominous indicator that a Christian warrior, who along with many of that faith fought with exemplary courage (some even gave their blood for Pakistan), it is ominous that such a man was given little recognition by the Government of Pakistan.
He was the true legend for whom the Hilal-e-Jurat was created, but instead it went to losers in high quarters. This odious fracas goes on relentlessly with the highest medals being pinned on ignoble quislings whose only achievement is bootlicking and looting.
Farewell Bill the great fighter, you will always live on in the brave hearts who loved and admired you. I can see a new shiny star in the firmament and know it must be you with such brilliance, in the holding pattern, awaiting your turn for scrutiny. Surely, the most Compassionate and Merciful Creator will judge you justly as you were fair and good to everyone in your life. May your soul be in eternal peace, far away from this cruel and unjust world.
By:Humayun Gauhar Sunday, 16 Oct 2011
Once upon a time a man called America enticed a woman called Pakistan, promising all kinds of things that Lotharios always do. The giddy girl fell for it. America fathered many children with her. A woman called Saudi Arabia the midwife every time. One child was named ‘Mujahideen al Amreeka’ and later renamed ‘Taliban bin CIA al ISI’. Another, conceived with ova supplied by the midwife, was named ‘Al Qaeda bin Amreeka’. A third was named ‘Haqqani bin Amreeka al Jaal’. There were many others. America fathered them for a purpose.
After the children had served their purpose, the father abandoned them. Naturally, they turned against him and became his enemies. Ever since, he has been doing everything to kill them. The children are killing him back. The children are winning. The father is desperate. He has gone bankrupt. His political system is paralysed. He cannot think logically. He hypocritically blames the mother and the donor-midwife for having fathered them too like self-procreating organisms and also turned on them. But he never blames himself for abandonment as callous fathers do. So he is paying the price, as are the mother and the midwife. Lacking logical answers, America scoffs at those that question it by trying to portray them as inferior life forms: “That was history. This is now. Forget the past”. Pseudo ‘intellectuals’, themselves looking to help America father more illegitimate children, say, “Right on. Look to the future.” Problem is: the past never allows you to forget itself. If you try, the future becomes bleak. That is America’s prime hypocrisy in this region. Hypocrisy: There were times when Ronald Reagan likened the Haqqani Network’s founder Jalaluddin Haqqani and America’s other children to the “moral equivalent of America’s founding fathers” who were freedom fighters against the British. America’s children then were freedom fighters against the Soviet Union. Today, they have become the “moral equivalent” of freedom fighters against American occupation. That’s the only difference – just a detail. Hypocrisy: Retiring Admiral Mike Mullen’s assertion that the ‘Haqqani Network’ is “a veritable arm of the ISI” is a parting-kick of desperate petulance. He forgets that the Mujahideen-Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the Haqqanis started life as “veritable arms of the CIA”. If America’s callous, hypocritical and irresponsible personality hadn’t caused it to become an abandoning father, they would never have turned against it. America forsook its strategic and moral responsibility of looking after its children and is now reaping the harvest. Hypocrisy: What would you do if someone broke into your house and tried to occupy it? You would bring out your gun and shoot him, wouldn’t you? Well, that is exactly what the Haqqanis and Taliban are doing. Contrarily, America wants Pakistan to wage war on the Afghan Haqqanis on its behalf because they are killing Americans in Afghanistan. That begs the question: what are you doing in Afghanistan in the first place? It is not your country. It belongs to the Afghans. They are fighting to free it. They have every right to do so. Wasn’t that the logic when the Soviet Union was the occupier? Or does logic change with occupier? Hypocrisy: While America wants Pakistan to wage war against the Haqqanis, it itself wants to negotiate with them. What sense does that make? Talk of being two-faced. Europe followed crazy American economic nostrums cooked up by bankers who by definition are limited of living on more and more credit. Today their economies have flatlined. Afghanistan has been totalled. Pakistan followed America slavishly virtually from the beginning and today its very existence is being wondered about. Learn lessons from our pathetic histories, my dear neighbours, learn lessons. Don’t commit suicide in an effort to do Pakistan down. Keep pestering us if it pleases you, but for your own sakes don’t do it by getting into bed with America, else you will get an unmentionable disease. We have. Hypocrisy: The events of 9/11 started it all. Ten years on and America has still not provided incontrovertible proof that it was Al-Qaeda that did it. Oh, I forget, I’m a ‘conspiracy theorist’. Hypocrisy: On May 2 this year America claims to have killed Osama Bin Laden in a decrepit house in Abbottabad, while many important Americans say that he died in late 2001. But they are ignored as – you guessed it – ‘conspiracy theorists’. No one was shown the body, not even their own media. They claim to have done a DNA test in 24 hours, which experts say is impossible. They quickly dumped his body in the Arabian Sea. They don’t even show us the photographs because they are too gruesome. Since when did ‘gruesome’ bother America? Since they saw the bodies of cooked Japanese in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? There goes the ‘conspiracy theorist’ again. When people don’t have cogent answers to what you are saying, their defense is to discredit you by labeling you a ‘conspiracy theorist’. Their puppets parrot them. When the ‘conspiracy theorist’ abuse is hurled at me, I’m convinced that there is something to what I am saying. Yes, I am a ‘conspiracy theorist’ and proud of the label. You keep hatching conspiracies; I will keep questioning them. When you cannot answer rationally and in a civilised manner, you have lost and I have won. Hypocrisy: America keeps moaning about the growing heroin addiction in its country. Having ‘successfully’ occupied Afghanistan and installing its satrap Karzai there, couldn’t it have prevented the growth and refinement of poppy? The Taliban government made poppy cultivation history. But if America did it too, how could it assert that the drugs trade is financing its abandoned children, when actually it is financing America’s war: enough has been written about how America part-financed its wars in Latin America, Indo-China and Afghanistan through drugs as a matter of policy. As you sow so shall you reap: there was a time when America and Britain deliberately exported so much opium to China that it turned it into a country of addicts. Today, China is an audacious world climber and America is a pathetic world descender. Too many Americans are drug (and credit) addicts. Which is worse? Such is the bitter fruit of perfidy and hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is the product of stupidity. So, my two-faced ‘friend’, let’s forget history and talk of today. European economies are finished. America’s economy is in terminal decline. The dollar isn’t dead yet not only because China keeps it on life support to save its loans to America, its investments in America and America’s investments in China. It is more because the dollar still remains the reserve currency till an alternative is found, which it will be. When people buy dollars (or US bonds), they don’t do so because they think that, “it is as good as gold”. They do so because with all other dollar-pegged currencies also in decline, stock markets in turmoil, equities unstable and real estate falling, they might as well go with the reserve currency until they have something more solid and stable to park their money in. With America’s political system too incompetent to throw up quality leadership to solve its myriad problems, confidence is zero. That, my dear America, is today. If America doesn’t see sense, stop its hypocrisy and get out of the many messes that it has got into, I wouldn’t bet on it surviving as the global bully much longer. But that is how empires fall: hubris, strategic and intellectual decadence, and imperial overreach. The writer is a political analyst. He can be contacted at humayun.gauhar786@gmail.com
Hypocrisy: America allows its unstable drug lord stooge Karzai to cozy up to India, giving it undue entry and influence in Afghanistan. India should be careful. History shows that whoever befriends America eventually comes a cropper, and not just in the Third World.
