RAWALPINDI: Troops entered Bahrain town in the Swat Valley early on Thursday as the Operation Rah-e-Raast continued, and were welcomed by locals holding national flags.Troops destroyed an explosives-laden vehicle and killed two Taliban at Sattal, near Bahrain, and killed two Taliban in Malam Jabba. They consolidated their positions in Mingora, Qambar, Kanju and Kabal areas, and carried out cordon and search operations in Nawagai, Nawan Killi, Gulabad and Landaikas.Seven Taliban and four soldier were killed in the fighting in 24 hours, the ISPR said in a statement.The forces also carried out a cordon and search operation in Peochar village. They ambushed a group of 15 to 20 Taliban at Mano Derai and killed three of them and arrested four. The Taliban ambushed a convoy of eight Army trucks carrying relief goods and food for Chakdarra, Barikot and Mingora near Barikot and killed four soldiers.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Locals greet security forces in Bahrain
RAWALPINDI: Troops entered Bahrain town in the Swat Valley early on Thursday as the Operation Rah-e-Raast continued, and were welcomed by locals holding national flags.Troops destroyed an explosives-laden vehicle and killed two Taliban at Sattal, near Bahrain, and killed two Taliban in Malam Jabba. They consolidated their positions in Mingora, Qambar, Kanju and Kabal areas, and carried out cordon and search operations in Nawagai, Nawan Killi, Gulabad and Landaikas.Seven Taliban and four soldier were killed in the fighting in 24 hours, the ISPR said in a statement.The forces also carried out a cordon and search operation in Peochar village. They ambushed a group of 15 to 20 Taliban at Mano Derai and killed three of them and arrested four. The Taliban ambushed a convoy of eight Army trucks carrying relief goods and food for Chakdarra, Barikot and Mingora near Barikot and killed four soldiers.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
PAF capable of destroying drones: Air Chief
Updated at: 0957 PST, Thursday, May 28, 2009 RISALPUR: Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman Thursday said that air force destroyed several hideouts and caches of ammunitions of militants and paved the way for the military to make advance in the troubled areas of Swat.He said that air force is completely supporting the military in its ongoing efforts in the tribal areas and Swat, adding F-16, F-7 and Mirages are taking part in the Swat operation.The Air Chief maintained that Pakistan armed forces are grappling with not only the greater external enemies but also the problems of extremism and terrorism within the country.Later talking to journalists, he said targeting the drones and taking them down is not a problem and Pakistan Air Force is fully capable for the purpose; however, any decision in this regard rests with the parliament and the government.However, the Air Chief added that the action could lead Pakistan to confrontation with Nato or US.Air Chief Marshal Rao said that Pakistan shot down Indian UAV drone during the 2001-02 standoff with India.He hoped that Pakistan is likely to receive AWACS planes in November or October, adding India was given the same aircrafts which could lead to fresh escalation and arms race in the region.Rao Qamar Suleman said that the country has a lot of expectations from the Air Force, which it will try to fulfil at all cost without fail.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Religious parties to stop acting on their “dual policies” about operation against militants
PESHAWAR: NWFP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain has asked the religious and political parties to stop acting on their “dual policies” about operation against militants and settlement of IDPs as the time was not ripe for gaining political mileage but to cleanse the country of insurgency.Briefing journalists on the latest situation in Malakand division and exodus of local population, the minister said that until top leadership of militants were killed or nabbed, the apprehension of general public about operation might increase.“Keeping in view the plight of displaced families and those stranded in the troubled areas, the NWFP government wants successful completion of the operation at the earliest and elimination of top leadership of the militants in Swat, Lower Dir and Buner districts,” he said, adding, the credibility of the ongoing operation was dependent on the killing of prominent militant leaders.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Every Pakistani flag raised on Indian occupied territory or mainland is a slap on 'secular' India's face.
With the Cooperation of DAN............... Thanks Dan Bahi
India faces a greater threat from China than Pakistan
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India faces a greater threat from China than Pakistan because New Delhi knows little about Beijing's combat capabilities, India's air force chief told a newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.
The world's two most populous nations fought a brief but brutal war over their 3,500 km (2,200 mile) Himalayan border in 1962, and both sides claim the other is occupying big but largely uninhabited chunks of their territory.
India has also been pursuing closer relations with the United States, something that worries China............
Friday, May 22, 2009
Martyrs Of Rah-E-Rast 4 - Pakistan Army
Officers Of Pakistan Army Who Laid Down Their Lives In Operation Rah-E-Rast 4. Maj Abid SHAHEED (19th Punjab) Maj Azhar SHAHEED Capt Bilal Zafar SHAHEED (BALOCH\SSG) 108 PMA L\c Capt Najam Riaz SHAHEED (SSG) 108 PMA L\c Capt Asim SHAHEED Lt Saifulla SHAHEED 117 PMA L\c Lt Zia Long Live
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
4 Indian spies arrested in Lahore
LAHORE: Intelligence agencies are reported to have arrested four persons on suspicion of working for Indian spy agency Research and Analyst Wing (RAW) during raids at different places of the provincial capital on Tuesday.According to sources, the suspected agents, residents of Sheikhupura, Nankana and Kamonke, have been identified as Khalid, Abid, Karamat and Khizar. The sources said initial investigation revealed that the accused used to enter India from the border area of Bado Malai where Indian agents would take them to Amritsar.They were being paid Rs.40, 000 in exchange of completing one task.The sources further said that agencies were carrying out more raids at other places in order to apprehend their accomplices.
Children developing behavioural problems
In spite of the relatively short duration of their dislocation, children who have been displaced from their homes in the wake of the military operation around their homes in NWFP, are exhibiting behavioural problems and experiencing sleep disturbances.Talking to ‘The News’ here on Tuesday, Dr. Rizwan Taj, focal person of the mental health programme of the Ministry of Health and head of the Department of Psychiatry at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), shared that parents of children as small as a few months to 11 years of age are complaining of the sudden development of behavioural problems in their children, not to mention frequent sleep disturbances. “Living in tents, these children represent the real short- and long-term horror of this tragedy,” he commented on his return from a camp. He said, “A majority of the displaced children is aged between 3 months to 11 years. These children can, over a period of time, develop a wide range of psychological problems including depression, phobias, acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and poor academic performance,” he calculated............
Full Story: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=178516
US paper urges India to resolve Kashmir
NEW YORK: A US newspaper on Tuesday called on India to work towards resolving the decades-old Kashmir dispute with Pakistan. “Ignoring Kashmir is no longer an option,” The New York Times said. It added, “It is past time for India... to find a way to resolve tensions with Pakistan over the Kashmir dispute. If that festering sore cannot be addressed directly... then broader regional talks on environmental and water issues might be an interim way to find common ground.” app
Kayani meets Sarkozy: France wants to be Pakistan’s strategic partner
ISLAMABAD: French President Nicholas Sarkozy expressed his country’s desire for a strategic partnership with Pakistan during a meeting with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani in Paris on Tuesday.According to APP, the French president told the army chief that Paris would help Pakistan build the capability to meet the challenges it was facing.Gen Kayani also met the French foreign minister, defence minister, chief of defence staff and chief of army staff, and visited the French Army Headquarters. Later on Tuesday, the army chief briefed NATO’s top officers in Brussels about the fight against the Taliban in northwestern Pakistan, AP said.Officials discussed plans to provide training for Pakistani officers in NATO training centres, and reviewed the status of NATO’s main supply route to landlocked Afghanistan, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said. Gen Kayani also held talks with Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. agencies
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Every PML-N MNA to donate Rs500,000 for IDPs
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday announced that every MNA of the party would donate Rs500,000 for the rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The decision to this effect was taken in a meeting of the party’s central working committee. PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif presided over the meeting.
Nawaz said the Punjab government would run a camp for the IDPs in the province. “The whole nation should take this humanitarian responsibility to meet this challenge,” he added.
No linkage between US aid and Pak nuclear program: State Department
WASHINGTON: Chairman US Joint Chiefs Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen on Monday said Pakistan has not diverted any US assistance to advance its nuclear weapons program as his remarks quashed apprehensions cited in an American newspaper report. The State Department also categorically stated that there was no linkage between the US aid and Pakistan’s nuclear capability. The top US military officer also acknowledged that Pakistan has bolstered the security of its nuclear assets, saying it made use of American aid specifically targeted toward that end in the recent years. “I am not aware of any US aid that has gone towards nuclear weapons, save that which is very focused in the last several years, last three or four years on improving their security, which is exactly what we would like. And they have done that,” he said in response to a question. Mullen’s comments came after a story in The New York Times claimed that members of US Congress are concerned that Islamabad might divert US aid to it nuclear program. Mullen, who spoke on wide-ranging security issues at a leading Washington think tank, also rejected characterizations that the key anti-terrorism partner somehow might near a failure. He said both civilian and military leadership in Pakistan is conscious of the extremism threat to their country and advocated a long-term US relationship with Pakistan. At the State Department, spokesman Ian Kelly advised against drawing “any links between the issues of our assistance package and their nuclear capability.” “We shouldn’t connect these dots..Because this assistance package is for very specific purposes and we’re going to work very closely with the government of Pakistan for us to meet our joint goal...Of helping them re-establish stability. I don’t see necessarily a connection between the two,” he said. “We’re going to work closely with Pakistan to make sure that the money is spent for the specific purposes that the US Congress had in mind,” he said at the daily briefing.
Tamil Tigers’ surrender
It would be premature to assert that the final chapter has been written in a conflict that has claimed over 70,000 lives in nearly three decades of resistance and all-out war. Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers surrendered on Sunday and their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has apparently been killed along with other commanders.
Yet, the Sri Lankans who are celebrating these days must be aware that a rout of the LTTE fighters does not necessarily signal the end of Tamil resistance. There is every possibility that remnants of the Tigers or their sympathisers, now deprived of an army, will shift their focus to more terrorist attacks and perhaps even sporadic guerrilla combat. The grudge, to put it mildly, runs deep and only the brazenly partisan can deny the institutional discrimination that Sri Lanka’s Tamils have faced for decades. Their rights have been denied and it must be recognised that the LTTE, for all its atrocities, was a reaction to the politics of ethnicity — if not outright racism — practised by many Sinhalese and their leaders.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Rejects Propaganda Against Pakistan Army
Reacting to comments from various quarters on the ability of the troops to handle low-intensity conflict (LIC) and the reported need for army men to be moved away from the country’s eastern borders and near the western frontier, he said the army had developed a full range of counter-insurgency training facilities tailored to train troops for anti-terrorism operations.
In a statement released here by the army spokesman Gen. Kayani said that the Pakistan Army generally didn’t need foreign training, except in the case of some specialised weapons and equipment. Owing to its vast experience, the army was suited to operate in Pakistani territories.
He said uncalled for aspersions from various quarters on the army’s training methods and orientation were apparently due to lack of knowledge and understanding of its training system.
He reaffirmed that strategic decisions regarding where, when and how many troops should be deployed were for Pakistanis to make, based on objective analysis and full understanding of the threat spectrum.
The decisions were made in accordance with national interests by the leadership, keeping in view the aspirations of the people of Pakistan. “Any outside advice or subjective comments towards this end are counter-productive and divisive in effect, rather than being helpful,” he remarked.
Suicide attacks are un-Islamic: Ulema
ISLAMABAD: Leading Ulema of the country declared on Sunday that suicide attacks and beheading of people were ‘un-Islamic’ acts and said that militants in Swat and Fata were pursuing the agenda of Pakistan’s enemies.
The edict was issued at a convention of Ulema and Mashaikh from different parts of the country. This is the first time that prominent Ulema and religious scholars, mostly belonging to the Sunni school of thought, have denounced the Taliban and their inhuman acts in such a categorical manner.
A unanimous resolution adopted at the convention said: ‘The assassination of Ulema should be stopped and sacred places, including shrines, should be cleared of extremists. Suicide attacks and beheading is Haram’.
The convention also condemned the killing of innocent people in the US drone attacks and urged the government to raise the issue at the United Nations.
The Ulema said the US drone strikes were challenging the country’s sovereignty. ‘The government must take effective measures to force the US to halt these strikes.’
They supported the military operation in Swat and other parts of Malakand and declared it a ‘war for Pakistan’s integrity and sovereignty’. The elements engaged in creating a state within the state must be crushed, they added......
Pakistan’s N-weapons are safe: Obama
NEW YORK: US President Barack Obama has expressed confidence that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are safe and said that the Pakistani military is equipped to prevent extremists from taking over the nuclear arsenal.
In an interview with Newsweek published on Sunday, the president stressed that ‘Pakistan’s sovereignty has to be respected’ and said he felt strongly that Pakistani military was up to the task.
He was asked if he would be willing ‘to keep the option alive to have American troops secure those nuclear weapons if the country gets less stable’?
President Obama said there was ‘decided shift’ in Pakistan army’s recognition that ‘the threat from extremism is a much more immediate and serious one than the threat from India’.
‘We are trying to strengthen them as a partner, and one of the encouraging things is, over the last several weeks we’ve seen a decided shift in the Pakistan army,’ he said.
Friday, May 15, 2009
General Ashfaq Kayani visits Swat frontlines
RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Kayani on Thursday expressed his resolve to eliminate militancy from the country. “The COAS reiterated the army’s resolve to flush out militancy from Swat and defeat the militants as a whole,” ISPR quoted the COAS as telling the operation commanders during his first visit to Swat since the launch of the military operation. staff report.
Swat operation is completely planned and carried out by Pakistan army: ISPR
ISLAMABAD: Director General Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR), Major General, Athar Abbas has said that Swat operation is completely planned and carried out by Pakistan army.
While addressing a joint press conference along with State Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Sumsam Bukhari and State Minister on Finance Hina Rabbani Khar here in Press Information Department, he said that taking of foreign support so far is incorrect. Operation is fully planned and executed by Pakistan army.
He said that Operation Rahe-e-Haq going in right direction. So far 54 militants including three militants commander killed in the last 24 hours while nine security forces personnel also martyred. 15 militants’ hideouts destroyed in Shangla. Two militants killed by snipers in Mingora. 13 militants killed in outskirt of Mingora
Major Gen. Athar Abbas said that army is trying to avoid collateral damage as per the instructions of COAS. In this connection, sometimes operation is delayed or operation plans are changed.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Pakistan needs no certification from India on its nukes
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan says that it does not need certification from India or for that matter from any other country about the status of its nuclear arsenal. Texas based think-tank Stratfor, in its latest report released on Wednesday, said: “The United States works very closely with India on the issue of Pakistan’s nuclear security. It also maintains that India remains comfortable with Pakistan’s command and control structure.” The Strarfor report adds: “New Delhi is a key source of intelligence on the status of that security, and a good — albeit imperfect — measure of valid concern is the degree to which India is worried about it, since it stands the greatest risk of being targeted by Pakistan-based nukes.” When put to the spokesman at the Foreign Office, he responded, “We certainly do not need any certification from India and for that matter from any other country. We have enough confidence in our own foolproof mechanism of control and command structure, which is second to none.” Stratfor said although India continued to underscore the threat it faced from Pakistan-based militants, it remained comfortable with Islamabad’s nuclear command-and-control infrastructure. “This would explain to a considerable degree the current US comfort level,” it said.
As the battle heats up: Dawn Editorial
The battle for the Taliban heartland in Swat moved up a gear on Tuesday as crack commando units were airlifted to mountains ringing Peochar, the district headquarters of militant chief Fazlullah and his band of fighters. It is much too early to predict the outcome but the result will have a huge bearing on the wider fight against militancy.
A rout here of the Taliban — and, ideally, the capture or surrender of Fazlullah — may demoralise the militants who still control Mingora, Swat’s largest city, and lead to desertions in other areas as well. If the military is to be believed, this is already happening in Malakand Division as a whole, where new recruits and ‘criminal elements’ who had sided with the Taliban are said to have lost their appetite for battle. The military also maintains that nearly 750 militants have been killed so far in the ongoing operation. Unfortunately, there is no way of independently verifying these claims or, in some cases, distinguish-ing between dead fighters and civilians caught in the crossfire.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
پاکستان ایک صدی بعد 3009میں
امریکہ میں ای۔بی۔ایم کے دو ذہین افراد کے درمیان چیٹ ۔جوزف : ہیلو مارک ۔ کل تم آفس نہیں آئے تھے ؟ خیریت؟مارک: ہاں یار۔ میں پاکستانی ایمبیسی گیا تھا۔ ویزہ لینے۔ جوزف : اچھا واقعی ؟ پھر کیا ہوا ؟ میں نے سنا ہے آجکل انہوں نے بہت سختیاں کردی ہیں ۔مارک : ہاں ۔ لیکن میں نے پھر بھی کسی نہ کسی طرح لے ہی لیا۔ جوزف: بہت اچھے یار۔ مبارک ہو۔ یہ بتاؤ کہ ویزہ پراسیس میں کتنا وقت لگا ؟مارک : بس کچھ مت پوچھو یار۔ تقریباً مہینہ بھر لگ گیا۔ پہلی بار جب میں پاکستان ایمبیسی گیا تھا تو صبح 4:30 پر وہاں پہنچا۔ پھر بھی مجھ سےپہلے 10 لوگ کھڑے تھے۔ لمبی قطار۔ اور ہاں مجھ سے کچھ آگے بل گیٹ بھی اپنا پاسپورٹ اور بنک سٹیٹمنٹ ہاتھ میں لیا لائن میں کھڑا تھا۔ جوزف : اچھا۔ بل گیٹ کو ویزہ مل گیا ۔مارک : نہیں۔ انہوں*نے خطرہ ظاہر کیا ہے کہ بل گیٹ پاکستان جانے کے بعد وہاں سلپ ہوجائے گا اور امریکہ واپس نہیں آئے گا۔ جوزف : یار ۔ پاکستانی ایمبیسی کو ایسا نہیں کرنا چاہیئے۔ اسلام آباد میں ہماری امریکن ایمبیسی تو پاکستانیوں کو ایک گھنٹے میں ویزہ دے دیتی ہے۔ پھر یہ کیوں*ایسا کرتے ہیں ؟مارک : ارے یار ۔ تمھیں تو پتہ ہے پاکستان اس وقت دنیا کی سپر پاور ہے۔ اسکا ویزہ لینا گویا مریخ کا ویزہ لینے کے برابر ہے۔ اور پھر قصور ہمارا امریکیوں کا بھی ہے۔ ہم بھی وہاں وزٹ ویزہ پر جاکر واپس نہیں آتے نا۔ جوزف : اچھا یہ بتاؤ ۔ تمھیں ویزہ کیسے مل گیا ؟مارک : میں نے وہاں کی مشہور فرم 'پھالیہ شوگر ملز لمٹیڈ' سے بزنس وزٹ کا انویٹیشن منگوایا تھا۔ بس اسی بنیاد پر کام بن گیا۔ جوزف : ایک بار پھر مبارک ہو۔ یہ بتاؤ کب جا رہے ہو پاکستان ؟مارک : جیسے ہی ٹکٹ ملا۔ دراصل میں نے دنیا کی مشہور ترین اور اعلی کلاس کی ائیر لائن میں* ٹکٹ کے لیے درخواست دی ہے۔ میرا بچپن سے خواب تھا کہ کسی دن پاکستان انٹرنیشنل ایر لائنز PIA میں سفر کر سکوں۔ اگر ٹکٹ مل گیا تو میرا دیرینہ خواب پورا ہوجائے گا۔ جوزف : پاکستان میں کتنا عرصہ رکو گے ؟مارک : کتنا عرصہ ؟ کیا مطلب ؟ مجھے کسی پاگل کتے نے کاٹا ہے جو پاکستان چھوڑ کر واپس امریکہ آنے کی سوچوں گا۔ حقیقت یہ ہے کہ میں نے انٹرنیٹ پر چیٹ کے ذریعے پاکستان کے دوسرے بڑے شہر لاہور کے مضافات میں ایک صحت افزا مقام 'کامونکی' کی ایک لڑکی سیٹ کر لی ہے۔ میں اس سے شادی کرکے گرین پاسپورٹ اپلائی کردوں گا اور وہیں سیٹ ہوجاؤں گا۔ جوزف : یار تم بہت خوش قسمت ہو۔ لیکن تمھارے ماں باپ کا کیا ہوگا۔ مارک : پاکستانی گرین پاسپورٹ مل جانے کے بعد میں ماما-پاپا کو بھی وہیں بلا لوں گا۔ جوزف : کس شہر میں رہنا پسند کرو گے ؟مارک : کامونکی والی لڑکی نے مجھے کہا ہے کہ پنجاب سٹیٹ صحت و صفائی کے اعلی معیار کی وجہ سے ویسے تو دنیا میں پہلے نمبر پر ہے۔ لیکن ہم کراچی سیٹل ہوں*گے۔ وہاں آپرچیونٹیز بہت ہیں۔ پتہ ہے نا ؟ کراچی اس وقت دنیا میں ٹریڈ اور ٹیکنالوجی کے لحاظ سے اول نمبر کا شہر ہے۔ اور وہاں کا 660 منزلہ حبیب بنک پلازہ دیکھنا بھی میری زندگی کی بہت بڑی خواہش ہے۔ سنا ہے اسکی اوپرکی 200 منزلیں بادلوں*میں ڈھکی رہتی ہیں۔ واؤؤؤؤؤؤؤؤؤؤو واٹ آ ڈریم یار۔ جوزف : اچھا یہ بتاؤ اپنے ساتھ کتنے ڈالرز لے کر جاؤ گے ؟مارک : ڈالرز ؟ وہاں کون پوچھتا ہے۔ تمھیں پتہ ہے ایک پاک-روپے کے مقابلے میں آجکل 210 ڈالرز بنتے ہیں۔ یعنی میری اگر وہاں 10 ہزار پاکستانی بھی تنخواہ نکل آئی تو امریکہ میں چند مہینوں میں لاکھوں پتی بن جاؤں گا۔ جوزف : میں نے سنا ہے پاکستان کا لائف سٹینڈرڈ بہت اعلی ہے۔ مارک : ہاں۔ ایسے ہی ہے۔ وہاں پر BMW لکژری کار 25 ہزار پاک روپے میں ، جبکہ مرسٹڈیز 32 ہزار میں مل جاتی ہے۔ لیکن مین تو سوزوکی یا چنگچی لوں گا۔ خالصتاً پاکستانی میڈ آٹوز ہیں۔ کچھ مہنگی ہیں لیکن بہت اعلی کلاس کی ہیں۔ البتہ کراچی میں فلیٹ بہت مہنگے ہیں۔ اور کوئی بھی بلڈنگ 100 فلور سے کم تو ہے ہی نہیں۔ انسان ہر وقت خود کو فضاؤں میں اڑتا محسوس کرتا ہے۔ جوزف : اچھا یہ بتاؤ کہ وہاں کام کیا کرو گے۔ مارک : میں نے معلومات کی ہیں۔ وہاں پر آئی-ٹی میں بہت سکوپ ہے۔ لیکن تم تو جانتے ہو وہ ہمارے ملک کے تعلیمی معیار کو اپنے برابر نہیں سمجھتے اس لیے مجھے شروع میں وہاں کسی کسان کے ' گدھے' وغیرہ نہلانے پڑیں گے۔ یا پھر ہوسکتا ہے کسی مشہور پارک کے دروازے پر 'جوتے پالش ' کا کھوکھا ہی کھول لوں۔ کچھ نہ ہوا تو ٹیکسی کا لائسنس کرلوں گا۔ امریکہ سے تو پھر بھی کئی گنا بہتر کما لوں گا۔ اورہاں اگر میں وہاں کا گرین پاسپورٹ ہولڈر ہوگیا تو پھر ساری زندگی حکومت مجھے بےروزگاری الاؤنس اور میڈیکل سہولیات فری فراہم کرے گی۔ اور گرین پاسپورٹ کی بنا پر مجھے دنیا کے 80 فیصد ممالک میں بغیر ویزے کے وزٹ کرنے کی سہولت مل جائے گی۔ جوزف : بہت خوب ۔ یہ بتاؤ ۔ تمھیں انکی زبان کیسے آئے گی ؟مارک : اوہ بھائی ۔ میں پچھلے 10 سال سے اردو لینگوئج سیکھ رہا ہوں۔ کالج میں آپشنل سبجیکٹ بھی اردو ہی لیا تھا۔ اور ہاں میں نے TOUFL بھی A گریڈ میں پاس کیا ہے۔ جوزف : یہ TOUFL کیا ہے ؟مارک : Test Of Urdu as a Foreign Language جوزف : تم بہت خوش قسمت ہو یار۔ کاش میں تمھاری جگہ ہوتا۔ سنا ہے وہاں پر ٹرین سسٹم بہت اچھا ہے۔ مارک : ہاں ۔ کراچی سے لاہور اور وہاں سے پشاور اور کوئٹہ کے لیے دنیا کی تیز ترین اور آرام دہ ترین ٹرین 'تیز گام' چلتی ہے۔ اس میں سفر کا بھی اپنا ہی مزہ ہے۔ اور لاہور میں ہی دنیا کا مشہور فلم سٹوڈیو لالی وڈ بھی ہے۔ جہاں پر میں دنیا کے عظیم اداکاروں سلطان راہی ، شفقت چیمہ اور ریما کے مجسمے دیکھوں گا۔ سنا ہے آجکل انکے بچے بھی فلم انڈسٹری میں ہیں۔ اور راولپنڈی میں دنیا کی سب سے بڑی اور گہری جھیل 'راول ڈیم' بھی ہے۔ اس میں بوٹنگ کرنا بھی مجھے ہمیشہ سے ہی خواب لگتا ہے۔ لیکن اب یہ خواب بھی حقیقت بن جائے گا۔ جوزف : سنا ہے ہمارا صدر اگلے مہینہ امداد لینے پاکستان بھی جائے گا ؟مارک : ہاں۔ ایسا ہی ہے۔ اور قرضے بھی ری-شیڈول کروانے ہیں۔ پچھلے دنوں پاکستان کے محکمہ نسواریات کا منسٹر پختون خان ، وہائٹ ہاؤس آیا تھا تو 10 لاکھ روپے کا ڈونیشن تو صرف یہاں چلنے والے ایک منشیات کے ادارے کو دے گیا تھا۔ تاکہ ہماری نوجوان نسل کو زیادہ سے زیادہ منشیات باآسانی مہیا ہوسکیں۔ جوزف : اچھا تمھیں یاد ہے ہمارا پرائمری سکول کا کلاس فیلو 'پیٹر' ۔ وہ بھی تو کہیں پاکستان میں سیٹ ہے۔ مارک : ہاں۔ وہ کوئٹہ کے قریب ایک وادی ' پوستان' میں سیٹ ہے۔ سنا ہے پوسٹ کے کھیت سے پوست اکٹھی کرنے کا کام ہے اسکا۔ ایک ہی سیزن میں اتنا کما لیتا ہے کہ باقی 6 ماہ بیٹھ کر کھاتا رہتا ہے۔ عیش ہے اسکی تو۔ جوزف : یار میں بھی پاکستانی ویزہ کے لیے اپلائی کرنا چاہتا ہوں۔ مجھے کچھ انسٹرکشن تو دو ؟مارک : پاکستانی ایمبیسی میں ہمیشہ شلوار قمیض پہن کر جانا۔ وہ لوگ اپنے قومی لباس کو بہت اہمیت دیتے ہیں۔ اور کوشش کرنا کہ ویزہ کی درخواست انگریزی کی بجائے اردو میں پُر کرنا۔ اس سے بھی اچھا تاثر ملے گا۔ اور ایمبیسی میں داخل ہوتے ہی 'السلام علیکم ۔ جناب کیا حال ہے ؟' کہنا مت بھولنا۔ اس سے پتہ چلے گا کہ آپ کتنے مہذب ہو۔ جوزف : تھینک یو یار۔ مارک : تھینک یو نہیں شکریہ ۔ اب میں پاکستانی ویزہ ہولڈر ہوں۔ مجھے شکریہ کہنے میں فخر ہے ۔ خدا حافظ 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