Random Chusses…

Zardari’s security chief,  shot dead in Karachi by ‘unknown’ gunmen as while taking a stroll. This guy was not only the person responsible for Benazir Bhutto’s security at the time she was killed but was also present in the car with her when she was ’shot/suicide bombed’. This incident has of course fueled further speculation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death. Since its still not clear whether she was killed by gunfire or by the suicide bomb (Although the Scotland Yard in February concluded the reason was the suicide bomb). But connecting the dots we can conclude that he probably knew some secret stuff that he might have threatened to reveal and the people behind the Bibi killing couldn’t let that happen and had him whacked. But I guess now that he’s dead we’ll never know the real deal (not that the general public ever get to find out such deep secrets).

As usual, people are pointing in different directions. There will be more to come as time wears on and more clues are discovered. A wave of intense paranoia will envelop the country and each side will hint at the enemy they most fear. Pakistan is so hounded by disorder that on any given day there are half a dozen credible candidates for pinning on the blame. Inevitably, there will also be outrageous allegations involving faraway powers “who don’t want to see an Islamic nuclear power survive”.

The IG Karachi seems to have some inside information. According to him these are the same people that carried out the July 7 bombings in Karachi. How did he reach this conclusion, nobody knows. We should probably let the police ‘investigate’. I’m sure they’ll catch the culprits soon. In the meantime feel free to create your own little conspiracy theories.

Jalsa Salana UK 2008 starts today in the UK. The special thing about this Jalsa is of course that its been 100 years since the inception of the second Khilafat in Islam (although many Muslims still deny this and consider Ahmadis to be non-Muslims). Also since the Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya community in Islam currently resides here its kind of the center of the Jamat right now. It used to be Pakistan but in the 1980s the Mullahs got rather angry so he had to leave. So anyway all the Ahmadis should hopefully gather around their TV sets to catch in on MTA or the web site. The Jalsa will continue for 3 days where many Ahmadis from around the world will gather in the UK.

As expected the ICC has upheld the decision to stage the trophy competition in Pakistan, at least for now anyway. They’ll be sending some king of ‘task force’ that will be monitoring the security situation in Pakistan before and during the tournament. As expected the decision was met with severe criticism and ‘disappointment’ from SA, England, Australian and NZ players.

“The South African team are very disappointed with today’s decision and remain extremely concerned about safety and security in Pakistan,” Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association, told Reuters. “We hope Cricket South Africa (CSA) will sit down with us and talk to us about whether they are seriously considering sending a team to the Champions Trophy in Pakistan or not.”

Paul Marsh, the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) chief executive, was also disappointed with the decision. “The ACA continues to have serious concerns with our players touring Pakistan for the Champions Trophy and we are disappointed with the ICC’s decision,” he said.

“Based on the independent information and advice received, we maintain that the risks are simply too great for the ACA to recommend that our players tour Pakistan at this time. We would expect Cricket Australia to adopt the same position.”

Players from Australia and New Zealand, such as Andrew Symonds and Jacob Oram, have already stated their concern over touring Pakistan. Cricket Australia spokesperson Peter Young told the Age: “We’re not willing to send our players or team officials anywhere that is not safe. We will always reserve the right to put player welfare first.”

They believe it was an irresponsible decision by ICC by putting the lives of cricketers of the nations that are fighting the ‘war on terror’. I can see why Eng, Aus and NZ might consider themselves in danger but why do South Africans consider themselves targets. They’re Africans man. They haven’t invaded any countries. They could send an ‘all black’ team I guess.They already have something like a ‘half-black’ quota. They could make it a full black thing just to be safe.

In Australia Andrew Symonds has been the most scared of them cricketers and that dude isn’t even white. He’s an Afro-Caribbean for God’s sake. I mean what’s he scared of? Nobody’s gonna hurt him. He could blend in with those Caribbean cricketers.

Anyway until the ‘task force’ finds something new the champions trophy is still on in Pakistan.