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Posts tagged with: Video

Chat with Cisco Country General Manager, Dr. Aamir Matin

Chat with Dr Amir MatinA few days back I had the opportunity to sit down for an hour long talk with Dr. Aamir Matin, the Cisco Country General Manager who had flown in from Islamabad to be in Karachi for a few days. The casual meeting was arranged through the efforts of Rabia Garib of Rasala Publications and editor of NetXpress Online who just wanted us to sit and talk about anything over a cup of coffee.

There were no questions, per se, but a casual conversation where we touched a number of issues related to the IT industry, the overall economy in Pakistan and at the same time we did also touch the political nerve somewhere in between. It goes without doubt that Dr. Matin catches you a little off guard, where I expected an aloof CEO sitting across the table, but this guy was simply fun to talk to his casual style was definitely worth noting and I must admit he does carry refreshing aura of energy around him

Cisco is without doubt a core player in Pakistan’s IT arena and seems to have done well in Pakistan promoting its products in the open market while at the same time being mindful of its due role of corporate social responsibility here in Pakistan. Dr. Matin heads this unit fully aware of the difficulties facing this country and he remains adamant at exploring every opportunity available to Cisco and Pakistan, he was upbeat to point out that there has been a marked growth in infrastructure in the past few years and expects this growth to continue on into the years to come. To explain this phenomenon he had one simple sentence which aptly summarized the issue ‘if our routers are selling like hotcakes there must be something going on right in the country to show this growth’.
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Teeth Maestro off to Hingol, Baluchistan

Vigo in HingolJust a personal update for my blog readers, I am off to a four day 4×4 adventure cum camping trip to Hingol, Baluchistan. An estimated 14 off road vehicles are set to brave the dunes of Baluchistan in an attempt to reach Goran Gatti a mountainous region deep inside the Hingol National Park

The group consists of over 30 odd 4×4 adventure seekers from the Karachi based group called Off Road Pakistan which has frequently gone an many adventure trips in the past many years. I was fortunate to get hooked on to this sport last year when I joined them on a trip to Hingol back in April of 2007. We plan to leave Karachi early Friday morning to return hopefully safe and sound late Monday night, In this four day trip I shall be out of contact both cellular as well as email and hence the blog may adopt a dormant status for the four days, though a few friends from the People’s Resistance might pitch in occasionally with some updates if needed.
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RSF Questions Cyber Crime Law in Pakistan

Reporters Sans FrontiersReporters Without Borders has written a strong letter to the Minister of Information and Technology questioning the Government of Pakistan on the Cyber Crime Ordinance which was promulgated into effect barely a two weeks ago. Reporters Without Borders fears that a new law on cyber crime, revealed on 7 January by the authorities, will pose serious obstacles to “citizen journalism and calls on the government to clarify the definition of some of its provisions.

“This law prevents any blogger from posting photos or video showing persons who have not given their consent, the press freedom organisation said. “Pakistan has understood its right to give itself a law for fighting cyber-crime, but it is vital that this law should not obstruct freedom of information.

Reporters Without Borders added: “We urge the government to clarify the content of some of the provisions that we think are dangerous. With just one month to go to legislative elections, some of the articles of this law look like censorship.

The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act has been in force since 31 December and will be submitted to the new parliament in April, after it has been elected. Reporters Without Borders has written to minister of information technology and telecommunications Awais Laghari asking him to “provide guarantees as regards respect for freedom of information.

The law provides for the death penalty for anyone causing the death of another person by means of email messages. A Federal Investigation Agency representative in Islamabad tried to justify the law by referring to Daniel Pearls murder and describing the exchange of emails between the kidnappers as a “cyber-crime.
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American Journalist Deported from Pakistan today after publication of NY Times Magazine Article

An American journalist, Nicholas Schmidle, who authored the article “Next Gen Taliban ” that appeared in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine has been deported from Pakistan. He was forced to leave today — Friday, 11 January.

Schmidle will be returning to Washington, DC on Saturday and will be joining a panel I am moderating Monday afternoon titled “Pakistan in Peril” featuring veteran journalists and Pakistan-watchers Steve Coll and Peter Bergen as well as former Bush administration National Security Council senior official Flynt Leverett. Nicholas Schmidle will now be part of this panel.

Schmidle was informed that the Ministry of Interior was deporting him for unspecified reasons, but his speculation is that he was expelled because of his article which The Washington Note highlighted on Wednesday, 2 January — before it came out on Sunday. Continue Reading


Nawaz Sharif blows his TOUPEE when asked ‘Tough Questions’

The Pulse with Jasmine on Business Plus PakistanYesterday Business Plus host Jasmeen Manzoor – The Pulse was invited for a one on one interview with Nawaz Sharif, at his home in Raiwind, Lahore. For starters the interview appeared to be going fine until Jasmeen touched on a few sensitive issues with Nawaz Sharif, more specifically his controversial 10 year deal with Musharraf and his relationship with the Saudi government, it is then he is said to have suddenly gotten angry to the extent that the plunged at the camera to confiscate the video, threatening Jasmeen and the Business Plus TV crew to not talk about it

This scribe got wind of this breaking news late this Friday afternoon around 3 pm when an email was circulated on the People’s Resistance network asking us to watch the program which might be aired at 3 pm on ARY ONE WORLD, but much to our dismay nothing came on and quite naturally we assumed that either ARY may have buckled under the pressure or PCO-Bound-PEMRA was hounding over them. Only to see a news ticker at 6:30pm on Business Plus stating they protested against Nawaz Sharif’s ‘confiscation’ of the tape. Hence the confiscation of the tape may explain why it never made it on ARY or YouTube for that matter.

Later at 7 pm ARY & Business Plus then televised a press conference in which Jasmeen Manzoor and Rana Mubashir spoke about Nawaz Sharif’s behavior and how he had lost his temper when asked routine questions about the deals, etc. questions that have often been asked to other politicians in the past.
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Another Video Released showing the Assassination

Another mobile video has just been released and it shows Benazir being shot down before the actual bomb blast, I continue to feel depressed with the sensation that Pakistan has lost a great leader, political differences maybe but no one could ever wish for such at thing. These reports that continue to come forward are showing the people of Pakistan the importance of Citizen Journalism. In this age and technology its going to be very difficult to hide the truth and if secure avenues are available then it is possible to use this power to solve any investigation. Hence its important to collect these small tidbits of information as they appear to hopefully locate the killers who orchestrated this heinous crime May Her Soul Rest in Peace

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu8qQZmSg-Y[/youtube]


Daughters of Asma Jehangir Assaulted

A statement has just be issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission calling attention to the assault on the daughters of Asma Jehangir, the leading Human Rights Activist in Pakistan where she alleges that her daughters assaulted and illegally held for several hours along with their friends by armed persons of the Pakistan Muslim League Q.

Daughters of Asma Jehangir assaulted and threatened by gunmen of the ruling party

The two daughters of Ms. Asma Jehangir, a well known lawyer, human rights activist and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of religion or belief, were assaulted and illegally held for several hours along with their friends by armed persons of the Pakistan Muslim League Q (PML-Q); they were beaten severely and threatened to be killed. One of the girls was pushed into a room and this was only prevented due to the intervention of their mother. Ms. Asma. Ms. Asma herself was also threatened by the gunmen who used very filthy language against her. When police were called to the scene they took the side of the gunmen who claimed to be police officers. However, only two out of this group were policemen and the 20 other gunmen belonged to the PML-Q.

This incident happened at 1.30am when Ms. Muneeza Jehangir, Asma¡¦s eldest daughter along with her younger sister Ms. Sulema Jehangir and other friends, were making a video clip for her television channel, the Geo TV. She was filming the ripped posters and banners of the political parties in Lahore city, Punjab province, after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former premier who was killed on December 27.
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Doctors Told to Shut Up

In an investigative report appearing in Washington Post it seems there was an elaborate plan to cover up the evidence relating to the Assassination of Benazir Bhutto. The Washington Post have expressed their concern to say that the Pakistani authorities have pressured the medical personnel who tried to save Benazir Bhutto’s life to remain silent about what happened in her final hour and have removed records of her treatment from the facility, according to doctors. It seems all this cover-up slowly got exposed since the video and images of the assassination become public after Musharraf’s propaganda team tried to spoof its way through a fabricated medical report

In an interview with the doctors who were at Bhutto’s side at the Rawalpindi General Hospital said that they were under extreme pressure not to share details about the nature of the injuries that the opposition leader suffered in an attack, “The government took all the medical records right after Ms. Bhutto’s time of death was read out,” said the visibly shaken doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Sweating and putting his head in his hands, he said: “Look, we have been told by the government to stop talking. And a lot of us feel this is a disgrace.”

Jameel Yusuf, a lead investigator in the 2002 disappearance of American journalist Daniel Pearl in Karachi, said the Pakistani government had blundered badly by not sealing off the crime scene. Moments after Bhutto was killed, workers hosed down the blood at the blast site before any evidence could be collected. “When you’re dealing with a murder of this nature, you need to have forensics,” Yusuf said.


Channel 4 Releases the Assassination Video

Its great to know that the assassination video finally got released and landed straight into the hands of the international media, in all honesty had if it reached some of our local Post-PCO-Controlled Media outlets in Pakistan it would have disappeared into history similar to the controversy surrounding the JFK Video. All day yesterday I was in close contact with a few journalists both local and international but we were unable to get anything done since the contact had somehow disappeared, we speculated the work of agencies etc but today hats off to Channel 4. Welcome to the new world of CITIZEN JOURNALISM

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwB8rFmDr6k[/youtube]



Bhutto’s Assassination Evidence Hosed Down

This video captured from a cell phone shows a shocking detail of how ruthlessly the Rawalpindi firefighters destroyed the crime scene. Some may argue that they might have scraped the scene completely before authorizing it to be cleansed. But with all the confusion surrounding the assassination and that too of an Ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan I would suspect they would work a lot harder then merely picking up the trash. No wonder they have their story all mixed up

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QXvK7NvJEQ[/youtube]

Credit Current.com


Sherry Rehman saw Bullet Wounds, But why the Twist?

BB We Condemn TerrorismTo continue adding a twist to the entire controversy surrounding the assassination of PPP Chairperson and Ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan. Sherry Rehman vehemently refutes the claims made by the Government that Benazir had knocked her head on a lever on the side of the vehicle. Sherry Rehman insists that she saw a bullet wound on the side of the head while she bathed the fallen leader in the final ritual before her burial. She that her car was used to transport Benazir to hospital. “There was a bullet wound I saw that went in from the back of her head and came out the other side. “We could not even wash her properly because the wound was still seeping. She lost a huge amount of blood. Rehman accused the government of mounting a cover-up over Benazir’s death. “The hospital was made to change its statement. They never gave a proper report, she said. “I believe the interior ministry is saying that she died from some concussion that may have taken place against the sunroof. This is ridiculous, dangerous nonsense because it is a cover-up of what actually happened.

Bullet went from the back & came out the other sideThis blogger early today morning acquired the images that in someway does refute the statement made by the Government of Pakistan, but the question is why did the Musharraf propaganda team follow this line of action. This blogger feels that Musharraf saw this as yet another opportunity to redirect the blame onto Al-Qaieda, he did that successfully on Oct 18th, no video footage refuted his claims so he pulled it off. This time he was not so lucky as in broad day light everyone has a decent mobile camera to seize the action and these images quite literally screw up the entire propaganda. He needed the Al-Qaeda twist to prove to his supporters (read USA’s war on Terror) that this country is brimming with Al-Qaeda, a bomb blast here, a bomb blast in Karachi, a Bomb blast in Swat – heck its filled with the rotten bastards called Al-Qaeda. Lets not forget the Lal Masjid disaster and the May 12th Massacre while we are recalling historic events
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UPDATED: Mobile pictures – Benazir was defintely shot dead before the Blast

New Images updated below: Considering all the commotion and fuss created by the government of Pakistan saying the called that Benazir Bhutto was not hit by the three bullets but instead she hit her head on some ‘lever’ of the sunroof. Last night I was contacted by a person via Orkut who had uploaded these images on his profile (now he has taken them off) he was offering to share his video to the extent that he gave his cell number in Islamabad, since his dial up did not permit transferring this heavy file.

On contacting him today he claimed that he was a PPP supporter and his party had instructed him not to share this with anyone. Later when a news reporter tried contacting him, his cell phone was switched off. I have two images to share with you which were initially taken off his Orkut Profile

The first image clearly shows Benazir Bhutto standing upright in the car through the sunroof waving to the crowd

benazir-before-shot-was-fired-thumb.jpg

The next image is just after the gun shots which were fired from the left but moments before the bomb blast. Here we see Benazir Bhutto not on the sunroof of the car most likely already shot and injured slumped inside

benazir-after-shot-was-fired-thumb.jpg

I sadly do not have the original video, though I tried very hard to get it. A source was in direct contact with the cameraman who actually shot the video and later uploaded the screen captures to show that he means serious business. He claimed to be in the security detail with Benazir Bhutto was riding on her car barely five minutes earlier but had to jump off as she exited the Liaquat Bagh venue. He was finding it difficult to upload the 56MB video file online so was ready to allow someone to help him get it readily available. Today morning he said that his cell phone was ringing off the hook with people clambering in the hunt for the video, hence forth he turned his cell phone off and had even removed the images from his Orkut profile.

NEW IMAGES UPLOADED BELOW
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Bhutto blames Musharraf if killed, email two months earlier

Benazir Bhutto in CarTwo months before her death, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto sent an e-mail to her U.S. adviser and longtime friend, saying that if she were killed, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf would bear some of the blame. “Nothing will, God willing happen,” she wrote to Mark Siegel, her U.S. spokesman, lobbyist and friend.

“Just wanted u to know if it does in addition to the names in my letter to Musharaf of Oct 16nth, I wld hold Musharaf responsible. I have been made to feel insecure by his minions and there is no way what is happening in terms of stopping me from taking private cars or using tinted windows or giving jammers or four police mobiles to cover all sides cld happen without him.”Watch the video of Wolf Blitzer on CNN talking about this letter

Musharraf, hide all you might, but sadly you have been found wanting