![Photo taken on Feb. 20, 2012 shows the view of sunset in eastern Pakistan's Lahore. [Xinhua/Jamil Ahmed]](https://i2.wp.com/images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20120221/001422373e1910ad71d543.jpg)
Photo taken on Feb. 20, 2012 shows the view of sunset in eastern Pakistan’s Lahore. [Xinhua/Jamil Ahmed]
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Jahane Rumi- Through the looking glassAfter a decade of epistolary exchanges, I finally met Shahzia Sikander, Pakistan’s most celebrated global icon of the arts, ironically unsung at home. Shahzia Sikander Selects, 2009, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York “Not to be boxed in, to be able to transcend boundaries: for an artist, it’s essential.” It is a pity that […]JahaneRumi
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- The vicious cycle of hate and violenceThe recent issue to have riled up a good number of Pakistanis — including jihadi networks — is the alleged blasphemy against Islam committed by the French magazine Charlie Hebdo. The imagined gatekeepers of the Ummah and the country in possession of an ‘Islamic bomb’ must protest against the ‘degradation’ and ‘defamation’ of the ‘faith’. […] […]JahaneRumi
- Through the looking glass
Raza Rumi's Photos
More Photos- Jahane Rumi
- Through the looking glassAfter a decade of epistolary exchanges, I finally met Shahzia Sikander, Pakistan’s most celebrated global icon of the arts, ironically unsung at home. Shahzia Sikander Selects, 2009, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York “Not to be boxed in, to be able to transcend boundaries: for an artist, it’s essential.” It is a pity that […]
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- Manto’s womenManto stands more or less alone in the position he takes on women, contends Raza Rumi, in an exploration of Manto’s relationship with his female protagonists Saadat Hasan Manto Perhaps the most well-known and also controversial Urdu writer of the twentieth century happens to be Saadat Hasan Manto. He left us with a stupendous […]
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- Through the looking glass
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- Lahore Metro
- Lahore at its best[This image by Rahat Dar of The News]
- Trees of LahoreSalman Rashid Until the 1970s some one hindered and sixty species of birds were listed in Lahore. While the city had such green spaces as Lawrence Gardens, Aitchison College, the cantonment and Model Town, farm and forest on the outskirts began where Defence Society or Allama Iqbal Town and the innumerable societies now sprawl in […]
- The Lahore that I grew up in was a great placeI grew up in Lahore. All my life I lived here except for the seven years in the army and ten in Karachi. I returned again in December 1988 and have lived here since. I knew a Lahore that was a very beautiful city. It was a city of people who ere cultured, courteous and with […]
- Odysseus LahoriFellow of Royal Geographical Society, Salman Rashid is author of several books including jhelum: City of the Vitasta and The Apricot Road to Yarkand, Riders on the Wind, Between two Burrs on the Map, Prisoner on a Bus and Sea Monsters and the Sun God. He is the only Pakistani to have seen the North […]
- Lahore Metro – Pros, Cons & PerceptionsA state of the art metro bus system – brand new and unique in Pakistan – should make every Lahori proud of their city today. A lot has been written and said about this system. And as is the case with almost everything in Pakistan, the points of views are poles apart. Many people regard […]
- Lahore at its best
- Lahore reports from the Nation
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Beautiful composition!
Beautiful :)
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was born in April 1952 at in Manghot village, Gujar Khan, suburb of Rawalpindi. He belongs to a martial tribe called Gakhars. He grew up in a working-low class family, son of a junior officer, Lehrasab Khan.
Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani graduated from Military College Jhelum (College No. 2828) and the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul and he was commissioned in the Pakistan Army in 29 August, 1971 as part of 45th PMA Long Course in the 5th Battalion of the Baloch Regiment. He is also a graduate of the Infantry Officer Advanced Course, United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia; Command and Staff College, Quetta; the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu, Hawaii; and the National Defence College, Islamabad, where he holds a masters degree in War Studies.
During his career in the army, he has commanded an Infantry Battalion, an Infantry Brigade, an Infantry Division and the prestigious Rawalpindi Corps.
He has also served as her deputy military secretary of Benazir Bhutto during her first stint as prime minister. He also served as the General Officer Commander (GOC) 12th Infantry Division stationed in Murree, deployed all over the Line of Control and which comes under the X Corps (Rawalpindi).
Gen. Kayani’s career progressed and he went on to serve as Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) from December 2000 to September 2003. It was during his tenure as DGMO that the intense military standoff of 2001-2002 between Pakistan and India took place. Reportedly, Kayani only slept a few hours a night during that period as he diligently oversaw the army’s mobilization and preparedness on the border.
He was promoted as Lieutenant General in September 2003, and was trusted with the command of the X Corps in Rawalpindi. The promotion indicated Musharraf’s significant trust in Kayani, since an army chief cannot build an army coup without the help of the X Corps commander, with Rawalpindi being the twin city of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. Kayani led the corps until October 2004, when he was transferred to the ISI as its chief.
During Gen. Kayani’s tenure at the X Corps, he led the successful investigation of the two back-to-back suicide attacks against Musharraf in December 2003. It is believed that Kayani won the trust of Musharraf after the investigation, and a prelude to Kayani’s promotion to the sensitive position of ISI chief. He was awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the civilian medal, for his achievements.
In October 2004, Ashfaq Kayani was made the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence, in place of General Ehsan ul Haq, who was promoted to the chairmanship of Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lt. Gen. Kayani led the ISI during insurgencies in Waziristan and Balochistan, AQ Khan’s nuclear proliferation scandal and fake propaganda, and waves of suicide attacks throughout Pakistan emanating from the northwestern tribal belt. In his final days at the ISI, he also led the talks with Benazir Bhutto for a possible power sharing deal with Musharraf. In October 2007, after three years, he was replaced at the ISI by Lt Gen Nadeem Taj.
In October 2007, Kayani was promoted as a full general, and made the Vice Chief of Army Staff. At the time of promotion, Kayani superseded one officer, Lt Gen Khalid Kidwai who was on an extension for a year. He took over as the new army chief of Pakistan Army after Musharraf’s retirement on November 28, 2007. The ceremony was held at the sports stadium near General Headquarters, Rawalpindi. Kayani is the first officer in the history of Pakistan who held the position of DG ISI and then went on to become the Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) (COAS). The last time a Director General of the ISI was to be made army chief in 1999.
He is described as a soft-spoken intellectual who is a political, and disciplined and a very good golfer, he is the current president of the Pakistan Golf Association. Kayani is married and has four children, two sons and two daughters.
IsI
Goals & Objective
Every state apparatus requires intelligence agencies, and Pakistan is no different. ISI is the nation’s invisible 1st line of defense. The intelligence officers, who are mostly hired from all the three armed forces, of the said organization are very much loyal and devoted to their people and country. They know how to tackle and handle the threats and the enemies of the nation very efficiently. They put Country/Nation first and Agency before self. Their all actions and deeds are based on the Teachings of Islam, Faith, Discipline, Truth, and uphold the highest standards of conduct.
The main objective of ISI is to collect the intelligence data through different means and to safeguard the national interests. The job is to identify and block the threats to the state and its citizens, and to reinforce the country’s security and safety according to the teachings of Islam and the constitution.
The ISI was structured to be manned by officers from the three main military services, and to specialize in the collection, analysis and assessment of external intelligence, either military or non-military. At first, the ISI focused primarily on domestic espionage, such as tapping telephone conversations and monitoring internal political affairs and these all activities were same like other agencies of different countries, in which those were already involved.
Now its primary objectives are not only to safeguard the National Security and Pakistani interests, but also, reinforcing Pakistani power base in the region. Other responsibilities includes, monitoring the political and military developments in adjoining countries, which hafve direct bearing on Pakistan’s national security and in the formulation of its foreign policy and to collect foreign and domestic intelligence in such cases. Co-ordination of intelligence functions of the three military services and to keep vigilant surveillance over its cadre, foreigners, the media, politically active segments of Pakistani society, and diplomats of other countries accredited to Pakistan and Pakistani diplomats serving outside the country.
This honorable organization known as “ISI” is really very sincere and loyal to country and performs such heroic silent deeds like we normally used to hear in our daily lives, historical stories and war magazines. May ALLAH keep blessing on Pakistan.