Friday, February 19, 2016

UK Commonwealth Parliamentary Association workshop on Oversight Committees

Saturday, 20 February 2016

From left: Leader of the Opposition R. Sampanthan, British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka James Dauris and British Labour Party MP Fiona Mactaggart at a reception hosted for MPs from the Sri Lankan Parliament, visiting MPs from the UK and members of civil society

This week the UK branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA UK) has participated in a three-day workshop on ‘Sectoral Oversight Committees for Members of Parliament’. The workshop, which ran from 15 to 17 February, was attended by many Sri Lankan MPs and parliamentary officials.

British Members of Parliament Fiona Mactaggart, Richard Bacon and Julie Elliott, representing the Conservative and Labour Parties, worked together with Sri Lankan Parliamentarians to support Parliament’s aim of creating a strong, independent oversight committee system.

At a reception hosted by the British High Commission, MP Fiona Mactaggart said: “We have learnt that there is a hunger for effective democracy in this country that has so recently dealt with bitter conflict. There is ambition to create a stable democracy, which allows those elected to Parliament to properly represent those who elected them. These sectoral oversight committees will enable Parliamentarians to work better for their constituents. Oversight committees will allow Members to use the authority that their election as MPs confers on them to help ensure that democracy thrives and government is held properly accountable.”

High Commissioner to Sri Lanka James Dauris said: “The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK’s visit is a reflection of the important and long standing Parliamentary relations that our two Parliaments enjoy. CPA’s work in Sri Lanka is a demonstration of the UK’s commitment to working with Sri Lanka’s Parliament and Sri Lankan parliamentarians in their efforts to strengthen its institutions and foster stronger democracy.”

This project forms part of CPA UK’s and Westminster Foundation for Democracy’s Parliamentary Partnership Programme (PPP) with the Parliament of Sri Lanka, and was funded from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy.

ITAK Constitution challenged in SC

BY STANLEY SAMARASINGHE-2016-02-20

The Supreme Court yesterday ordered written submissions from petitioners and respondents of a petition requesting the Court to issue a declaration that Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) is a political party, which has as one of the objectives, the establishment of a separate State in Sri Lanka.

H.K. Don Chandrasoma of Polhena, Kelaniya Housing Scheme has filed this petition under Article 157A (4) of the Constitution. Mawai Senathirajah – Secretary ITAK, Mahinda Deshapriya – Commissioner of Elections and the Attorney General have been cited as respondents.

According to the petitioner, ITAK is duly registered under the country's election laws although it has in its Articles of Association stated specifically that its mission besides other objectives is to establish a separate State within the territory of Sri Lanka.
The petitioner states that the ITAk Constitution makes no explicit statement to the effect that the party will not support or endorse the formation of an autonomous government, nor that it will not exercise any action to secure secession. The petition states that in the circumstances the only inference to be drawn from its Constitution is that ITAK's objectives include forming of such an autonomous government.

The petitioner further states that the concept of self-determination has been discussed in international jurisprudence in three important cases as Separate State or States.
The Bench comprises Justices Priyasath Dep, Upali Abeyratna, Anil Goonaratne, who, after hearing both parties ordered them to give Court written submissions within two months.
Dharsan Wijesekera appeared for the petitioner while M.A. Sumanthiran appeared for the respondents.

Sri Lanka Faces Military Insubordination During Reconciliation Drive

(Major General Chagi Gallage: A Rajapaksa loyalist?)

20/02/2016

Sri Lanka’s government came face-to-face with military insubordination at a very high level when Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera visited Jaffna to launch a website for ethnic reconciliation.

The usually unflappable Samaraweera was surprised by the tone of Major General Chagi Gallage when he visited Jaffna soliciting public views on a new reconciliation mechanism after decades of war.

Jaffna Security Forces Commander, Chief of Defence Staff Kolitha Gunathilake and defence secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi were present when Gallage, a senior officer commanding a division, spoke out.

The provocation for Gallage’s outburst which sought to contradict the administration was not immediately clear, but the Minister did not raise it thereafter, but the military leadership took immediate action.

The saving grace was the transfer of Gallage as director general of infantry, a position in Colombo without command of troops.

Gallage was the head of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s military security unit.

The major general’s action has brought loyalties into question at a time when the government is moving ahead with addressing accountability and reconciliation after ending a decades-long Tamil separatist war.

Former army chief Sarath Fonseka being brought back into the political fold through the UNP national list is seen as a sign of the government’s willingness to ensure war crimes investigations despite opposition protests.

Fonseka, the man who actually led the war against separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has maintained willingness to face any international tribunal in contrast to his former boss, ex-president Rajapaksa.

The former regime’s opposition to any probe could be neutralised by Fonseka who can credibly claim ownership of the war victory while facing any investigation.

Fonseka has also maintained that no war crimes were committed under his command, but qualified it by adding that he was away in China during the final week of the war when much of the alleged high profile atrocities took place.

Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga who is spearheading a reconciliation effort of the new government said last year that they will go after command responsibility rather than individual soldiers who may have only been carrying our illegal orders. (COLOMBO Feb 19, 2016)
EN

An Open Letter To My Dear Muslim Brothers & Sisters

By Ranga Kalansooriya –February 19, 2016

Dr Ranga Kalansooriya

Let me begin this letter with a short comparison of two stories that recently happened in two different countries, but under somewhat a similar context.

A few months ago, a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who is residing in Myanmar was waiting at the Yangon international airport to receive someone and relayed an interesting story to me later. “There was a Muslim family standing next to me – and I smiled at them out of courtesy. But the response was strange – they reciprocated in a non-friendly look and somewhat starring,” the monk told me. In fact, this is not a unique situation in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar. The relationship between the Buddhists – mainly the clergy – and an average Muslim citizen is not warm and cordial. Hardly would they greet each other with a smile. Therefore, when the Sri Lankan monk had a friendly smile at them, obviously it was a strange move to that Muslim family.

In contrast, I was in Trincomalee last week visiting a remote village called Sagarapura where I met a monasterial monk who completely depends on the begging ball (Pindapaatha). The village is a mix of Catholics, Muslims and a few Buddhists. I asked the monk whether the Muslims offer food into his begging ball. “Of course they do, but they lack knowledge on how to make such an offering. But they voluntarily offer food and other necessities to me,” the monk said adding that he feels comfortable whenever he visits a Muslim village for begging food.

Look at these two different scenarios of two similar socio-political contexts to some extent. As Jane Russellcorrectly highlighted in her book “Communal Politics Under the Donoughmore Constitution 1931-1947” international tensions, both political and economic, are reflected fairly accurately within Sri Lankan society. Tension between your brethren and my brethren (Buddhist) erupted during the past few years in different parts of the world – predominantly in countries with Buddhist majority. Of course each contexts has its own background, but here – to my mind- the ‘guns’ were turned against you following the military defeat of LTTE where the then government always required a nationalistic platform for its own survival.

Sri Lankans who made failed bids for asylum after the civil war return home, saddled with debt and facing criminal charges

By Amantha Perera-MULLAITTIVU/SRI LANKA, 18 February 2016

Vaithilingam Lingarajan spent the war years plying the seas off the northern coast of Sri Lanka in his small fishing boat. It was only once the conflict ended that he decided to flee the country, making a failed bid for Australia that has left him destitute and facing possible criminal charges.

Lingarajan is one of more than 1,400 asylum seekers who have returned since 2009 because Australia rejected their applications, according to the Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department. Another 4,310 Sri Lankans who did not apply for refugee status were sent back when the Australian or Sri Lankan navy intercepted their boats before reaching Australian waters.

Many returnees face crippling debt after spending large sums to pay for the journey, and they can be fined 100,000 rupees ($700) for attempting to emigrate illegally. Some left Sri Lanka for economic reasons, while others, like Lingarajan, planned to claim asylum in the dangerous aftermath of the civil war.

Ethnic tensions exploded in Sri Lanka in the early 1980s when the Tamil Tigers began fighting for an independent homeland for the Tamil minority, which had suffered discrimination under the Sinhalese majority. The conflict finally ended in May 2009 after the Tigers were routed from their last stronghold in Mullaittivu, where Lingarajan lives.

He had managed to escape being pulled into a conflict that even spilled into ocean, where the Sea Tigers, the rebels’ marine division, staged audacious attacks on government naval vessels. But after the war, security agents began searching Tamil communities for anyone with connections to the defeated rebel group. Some people were simply questioned, while others disappeared.

Shiral Lakthileke arrogates to himself powers of the president – storms into govt. offices and threatens when president is abroad.!

President , please ensure your dogs are not let off the leash

(Lanka-e-News- 19.Feb.2016, 7.00PM) While president Maithripala Sirisena is out of the Island , his co-ordinating secretary Shiral Lakthileke , who is best noted for his most putrid antecedence , and as a misfit wherever he was, is storming into government Institutions to threaten and compel the officers employed there to act unlawfully misusing his official powers, according to complaints made to Lanka e news.

It is a common saying ‘to a beggar even small change is a fortune.’ Naturally when an individual who is accustomed to do unimportant tasks is suddenly given a somewhat important task , he is apt to behave like a beggar who has suddenly come by some small change. It is a well and widely known fact that Lakthileke was discarded by the UNP because of his stupidity , imbecility and puerility despite being a lawyer. His favorite occupation has been double deals and playing double games wherever he was to the detriment of the leadership and the party which propels and elevates him.

It is very unfortunate president Maithripala Sirisena is surrounded by many square pegs in round holes , and Lakthileke is one such misfit. He is notorious for stepping into shoes which are too big for him , and carving a short cut to disaster for himself and those whom he serves. His (mis) conduct when the president is away is hence unsurprising , for it is natural for rats to run amok when the cat is away. Lakthileke being a worst ‘rat’ even among the most mischievous rats has therefore taken full advantage of president’s absence to become a pest and a source of destructive nuisance to the government officers.

Lakthileke the notorious moronic misfit has barged into the information department this noon , and threatened its Directress General Dharshani Gunathileke . Of course , if his unlawful threats and intimidation were for the sake of president Miathripala Sirisena and for his benefit , it is excusable even if that is legally wrong , and understandable on the ground his conduct is like that of a monkey to whom Maithripala has given a garland by mistake , and that monkey not knowing its purpose is misusing it. But this is not such an instance. This ‘monkey’ on the other hand has held out threats to save a notorious stooge who during the Rajapakse regime did all the sordid biddings of Rajapakses and acted unlawfully. Therefore even if Lakthileke personally prefers to be a monkey , donkey , beggar or a rat , his official conduct as a co ordinating secretary of the president of good governance is worthy of absolute condemnation.

During the Rajapakse presidential elections , the funds of the information department were misused for printing advertisements in connection with election propaganda activities of ex president Mahinda Rajapakse. These unlawful activities were carried out at that time with the permission of Vasanthapriya Ramanayake and Ariyaratne Athugala , two bootlicking stooges of Rajapakses who were holding sway then . However the present administration suspended these illegal bill payments.

Shiral Lakthileke had yesterday(10) stormed into the office of the Directress General of the inforfmation department and viciously threatened her to pay those bills out of the department funds. This is a sequel to Vasanthapriya Ramanayake another turncoat like Shiral , beginning now to bootlick Maithri.

Shiral an accomplished opportunist has a rare talent to transform into a rat , monkey , donkey or any other four legged creature to achieve his selfish ends exploiting the circumstances. He has on this occasion acted like a bull in Chinashop trying to rescue another scoundrel at the expense of public funds.

Let it be made abundantly clear ,no scoundrel or rascal has been given powers to fasten the label of good governance and carry out the same dastardly , deadly, deceitful and destructive activities the Rajapakse regime indulged in. It is therefore time to keep ‘monkeys’ , ‘donkeys’ and ‘rats’ in their places , and the president should ensure his dogs too are not let off the leash

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by (2016-02-19 13:44:42)

The defeated are not disqualified or unqualified

2016-02-19

The validity of the appointment of Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka to Parliament through the United National Party’s national list in place of former Deputy Minister M.K.A.D.S.Gunawardene who passed away last month is still being discussed among concerned parties, citing legal as well as ethical grounds. One argument put forward against his nomination is that his appointment was illegal as he was a serving officer of the Army. At the same time it is argued that nominating a candidate defeated at the last Parliamentary election was ethically wrong.

Apart from these there seems to be heartbreaking among certain UNP seniors such as former State Minister Rosy Senanayake for appointing a leader of another party, the Democratic Party (DP) to the national list slot, ignoring them. Also the New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) had stated that the appointment was a “Breech of Trust” citing possible human rights charges against the veteran soldier who spearheaded the war victory against the LTTE, an entity that had been described as the most ruthless terrorist outfit in the world.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who is also the UNP leader deviated twice from his policy that had been declared soon after the general elections not to appoint defeated candidates to the national list slots. First he had to do so as one of the constituent parties of the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG), the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC)led by Minister Rishard Bathiutheen’s elected a defeated candidate for the sole slot his party was offered by the UNFGG. This time he has selected Fonseka, also another candidate who contested under his own party, DP and was defeated at the last year’s General Elections.

- See more

Political & Religious Leadership Crisis Of Muslims

By Latheef Farook –February 19, 2016

Latheef Farook

The island’s Muslim community is passing through its worst ever political and religious leadership crisis which placed the community in a precariously helpless situation while burning issues await urgent solution. The tragedy is that this happens at a time when so many hostile forces, both local and foreign, are openly and secretly working against Muslims.

Ever since the evolution of political reforms in the 1930s Muslim leaders who were respected by all worked for the community and won their rights while maintaining the goodwill of the majority community. The situation began to change drastically after the independence in 1948 due to rising racist politics.

The vote catching strategy of promoting majority community interest began by the United National Party continued later by the Sri Lanka Freedom party despite its devastating overall impact on the country.

However Muslim leadership was represented in both parties. As a result despite rising chauvinism, Muslim leaders managed to contain the hatred towards the community though there were sporadic anti Muslim attacks.

However the disaster came when late President J.R. Jayewardene dismissed the UNP Muslims stating that “if they want they can stay or they can leave the government” when the Muslims opposed his move to bring Israelis to deal with growing Tamil militancy.

Read More

Sri Lanka’s separatist armed conflict

Prince Hussein-February 18, 2016, 9:03 pm

By Neville Ladduwahetty

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Al Hussein has made insulting and degrading comments about Sri Lanka’s judiciary in particular, and other institutions of the sovereign State, perhaps in a bid to humiliate and badger Sri Lanka into accepting international participation in the accountability mechanism. His efforts have turned out to be a diplomatic disaster, because what is realistically possible in Sri Lanka falls far short of the promised build-up contained in the UNHRC Resolution.

The approach adopted by the High Commissioner reflects an ignorance of the Constitutional constraints involved. These Constitutional constraints apply to any international involvement in any capacity, be it as Judges, Prosecutors, etc., if it involves revising existing judicial mechanisms in place, because of provisions in Article 4 and its relationship to Article 3 in the Constitution. Even Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry does not seem to be aware of these limitations. However, having subsequently realized the limitations involved, he did concede that "Whatever we see from our side, it’s your sovereign right to decide."

Sovereignty is the context and the only context to judge the manner in which the Separatist Armed Conflict was conducted. Despite references to defeating terrorism, the ideology driving the conflict initiated by the Tamil leadership at Vaddukodai in 1976, and very much alive even today ,was the "Creation of a Separate State – Tamil Eelam". Therefore, the conflict was a Separatist war that reached the threshold of an Armed Conflict; a threshold that has finally come to be acknowledged both nationally and internationally. Thus, International Humanitarian Law is what applies, as set out in "Protocol Additional to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), 8 June 1977.

THE SEPARATIST ARMED CONFLICT Read More

GMOA mafia chief Dr. Padeniya’s falsified publication stands exposed..!

(Lanka-e-News -19.Feb.2016, 7.25AM) It is very unfortunate Padeniya along with his GMOA have to pay now for the grave sins they committed in the past .A falsified statement published by them in 2012 distorting page of the medical ordinance according to their own whims and fancies had triggered a CID investigation . Moreover ,when trying to furnish answers to the CID in connection with their distortions , they have got stumped well and truly.

What Naveen De Soysa , the media nincompoop of Padeniya’s GMOA was unable to reveal about the background of Dr. Padeniya’s so called printing blunder to the mass media of Sri Lanka (SL) , we are able to …

The background :

The opposition of the medical officers against the (mal) administration of the GMOA of Padeniya was mounted as far back as from 2012. Padeniya and his unscrupulous team on the other hand were resorting to dubious and diverse methods to suppress them , without resolving the genuine issues of the medical profession.

One of those illicit methodologies was publishing a misleading book entitled ‘Indian doctors are going to befoul the private medical service of Sri Lanka’ and portraying a wrong picture .The most reprehensible aspect of this evil maneuver is ,towards this publication , the whole hearted support and blessings were extended by the health ministry at that time when incumbent president Maithripala was the health minister.

The page 14 of the book supposedly incorporating medical ordinance (chapter 105) section 67A is fundamentally flawed and bogus ( shown herein) ( http://www.srilankamedicalcouncil.org/contactus.php)
In the authentic medical ordinance issued by the Sri Lanka (SL) Medical Council which is the only body that is constitutionally empowered to govern all the western medical officers, such a distorted version is not included. By phoning the medical council this can be verified and what is true and what is false can be confirmed. (http://www.srilankamedicalcouncil.org/contactus.php) .

Distorting or falsifying a government record is a most grave criminal offence. Though investigations were begun in 2012 itself under the government and medical statutes , into the distortion and falsification of government records , as well as the incorporation of this falsified page into the book published with the authority of the health ministry , that investigation was suppressed by the Rajapakse administration at that time.

Now that the investigations have been resumed, Padeniya and his crooked den are desperately seeking refuge under the bogus claim and campaign that the government is seeking to sabotage the trade unions. They allege that this falsified record is a printer’s devil. Nothing can be more ridiculous and ludicrous than to claim that the whole page of falsified records is a printing error , and such a defense is the biggest joke of the century!

In the circumstances ,the board of Editors of the book , the GMOA which published , and the health ministry must be held directly responsible for wantonly distorting and publishing a falsified section of the Medical ordinance .

Another separate investigation should also be launched to ascertain whether the expenses towards this distorted publication were met out of goverment funds.

For further details :
01. http://www.lankadeepa.lk/index.php/articles/385875
02. http://www.gmoa.lk/index.php/documents/publications/

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by (2016-02-19 01:57:33)

The cocaine swallowed by the Venezuelan woman values 18 million

Feb 19, 2016

Reports reaching us confirm the cocaine contained in the abdomen of the Venizuelan woman who was supposedly taken into custody for smuggling cocaine valued Rs. 18 million. Customs media spokesperson Leslie Gamini said the customs able to retrieve 87 cocaine tablets contained in her abdomen.

This woman has come to Sri Lanka from Brazil via Dubai through Emirates air line and snatched by the airport customs. The suspect was produced to the Negombo magistrate and sent to the Negombo hospital and able to retrieve the cocaine tablets. A total of 1200g tablets were retrieved.

Customs media spokesperson said following the preliminary investigations the suspect would be handed over to the police anti narcotics bureau.

Google Loon balloon falls in Gampola

2016-02-18

The One Google Loon balloon which entered into Sri Lankan airspace on Monday is reported to have fallen to the ground at Gampola, Pupuressa last night.

Police said the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) had informed the police to provide security to the balloon which was taken to the Pupuressa police post.

However, Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure Minister Harin Fernando posted a tweet saying “flight control of safely landing the balloon under standard operating procedures was successfully carried this evening”

Reject The ETCFA: Joint Opposition

February 19, 2016

The “Joint Opposition” has today called upon the Sri Lankan business community, professionals, and the general public to oppose foreignisation of the Sri Lankan economy.

Dinesh

“The proposed Economic and Technical Cooperation Framework Agreement (ETCFA) which is vague and has no specific provisions.” the group said in a statement.

The Joint opposition said; “The government has not tabled the proposed pact with India in parliament. Furthermore parliament has not been informed that the government has granted approval to set up an Indian ambulance service in this country with state patronage from both sides. Minister Malik Samarawickrama did tell the media that the government would be opening up the IT and maritime engineering services to Indian professionals but he did not say anything about pre-hospitalisation health care. The Joint Opposition met on Thursday 18 February 2016, and after due discussion we thus place our views on this matter of utmost national importance before the people.”

We publish below the statement in full:

The proposed ETCA with India

The government intends entering into an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ECTA) with India. The previously proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India had to be abandoned due to the lack of public support. The government has not revealed the provisions of the new agreement to the public and only a select few have the draft. According to the latest draft of this agreement, we understand that what is proposed is in reality not an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement as originally thought, but an Economic and Technical Cooperation Framework Agreement (ETCFA) which only sets a ‘framework’ for future agreements.

The agreements that are to be entered into later under the framework of the ETCFA include an agreement on trade in goods, an agreement on trade in services and an agreement on investment – the same components that made up the old CEPA. The difference this time however is that the ETCFA does not have specific provisions relating to any of these areas and the specifics are to be worked out only after the ETCFA is signed.

A bad omen for the Hambanthota white tortoises

- Feb 19, 2016

W.M. Gunathunga of the Hambanthota wildlife security officer said a suspect has been arrested by his office who has taken two white tortoises for the consumption of the Chinese working at the Hambanthota Magampura harbor.

Gunathunga said white tortoises are very highly secured animal species and possessing or killing those are legally prohibited.

Recently many people were arrested by the police for catching those white tortoises in the rivers and selling them to the Chinese.

Besides that many Chinese nationals were arrested by the police and produced them to the courts for hiding white tortoises in their possession.

He said a suspect was caught from Galgamuwa River for catching these white tortoises and produced him before the courts.

He said the raid was conducted by the information given by the assistant site security officer Wijeyakumar.

Pakistan lodges case against alleged perpetrators of Pathankot air base attack

An Indian security personnel stands guard on a building at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Pathankot in Punjab, India, January 5, 2016. REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta/Files

A policeman stands guard with a gun as vehicles pass by, following an attack on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot on Saturday, near the border with Pakistan, in Ludhiana, Punjab, in this still frame taken from video, January 2, 2016. REUTERS/ANI/via Reuters/Files

Fri Feb 19, 2016

A Pakistan police spokesman said on Friday a case has been lodged against unnamed perpetrators of a deadly attack on an Indian air base last month that has renewed tensions between the rivals.

The Jan. 2 attack on the Pathankot air base, in which seven Indian security personnel were killed, has stalled hopes of revived peace talks between the nations after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to his counterpart Nawaz Sharif in December.

India said it gave actionable intelligence to Pakistan in the weeks following the attack, but Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar suggested on Thursday Pakistan was slow to act.

"The government of India has been continuously giving evidence of so many things," Parrikar said in a televised interview on India Today. "If someone is serious, he can definitely act."

Foreign secretary level talks between the nuclear-armed neighbours had been scheduled for last month. On Thursday, Pakistan's Foreign Office said a new date should be decided "as early as possible".

Counter-terrorism police in Pakistan's Punjab province on Thursday filed a case against the alleged air base attackers and "their alleged abettors" belonging to a banned militant group, a spokesman said in a statement.

It did not give the number or names of the accused, or which group they belonged to.

Last month, Pakistan detained Maulana Masood Azhar, head of Jaish-e-Mohammad, or Army of Mohammad, a militant group that Indian officials blamed for the attack.

Pakistan authorities sealed offices and shut several religious schools run by the group, but security officials said a special team set up to look into the attack found no evidence implicating Azhar or associates in the January raid.

On Friday, Pakistani officials said a new joint team of military and civil intelligence agencies would look into the freshly lodged case, and that any non-state actor found to be involved would be brought to justice.

"The registration of this case shows that there is full commitment and earnestness," Punjab's law minister Rana Sanaullah told reporters.

"If you want to make your image before the world better, and to dispel the propaganda of other countries that our commitment is questionable, then we have to do things like this," he said.

India has long accused Pakistan of using Kashmir-based militants such as Jaish-e-Mohammad as a proxy to mount attacks on Indian soil.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since becoming separate countries in 1947, two of them over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

(Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore, Asad Hashim and Krista Mahr in Islamabad and Syed Raza Hassan in Karachi; Writing by Krista Mahr; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Are Venezuelans at the Breaking Point?

BY DANIEL LANSBERG-RODRÍGUEZ, FRANCISCO MARQUEZ LARA-FEBRUARY 18, 2016

There was a time when the word “Venezuela” conjured up oil wealth, beauty queens, and baseball players. Today all those things are overshadowed by flag-themed tracksuits, histrionically ranting leaders, and, above all else, lines, lines, lines. The dramatic collapse of the economy, thanks to chronic mismanagement and plunging oil prices, has made queues — las colas, as they are locally known — the most visible symptom of the country’s failed revolution. And they’ve gotten far worse under President Nicolás Maduro.

Since coming under government control in 2014, Ultimas Noticias, one of Venezuela’s highest circulating national newspapers, has become a wellspring of rosy observations. Last week, it published an article that succinctly sums up the tragic surrealism of everyday life in what was once South America’s wealthiest country. Noting that waiting in long lines has become an unavoidable part of everyday life (“whatever the reason”), and duly asserting that “life wasn’t made solely to satisfy our tastes, wants and preferences,” the author offered a series of helpful tips to make the best of queue-standing:

“Try to stay cheerful, friendly, and make fun conversation with those next to you in line as well as behind and ahead; read; make sure to bring an umbrella and a snack; do breathing exercises; meditate and focus creative energy on the general good…”

And if those suggestions weren’t uplifting enough, the author added a bit of advice on how to improve one’s relationship with the supernatural:“For those who are religious or philosophical, it’s a marvelous moment to take stock and gauge the advancement of your spirituality.”
Venezuela’s vigorous manufacture of such banalities is, of course, nothing new. A few years back, a well known pro-government blog argued that waiting in line is actually beneficial, because it makes people value their goods and protects them against impulsive purchases. That the tone has since changed from extolling hidden opportunity to counseling weary patience is telling: the public’s rising frustration has become impossible for the government to shrug off.