THIS is with reference to the article ‘Benazir and the bomb’ (May 4). I wish to remind all concerned about a television interview given by General Mirza Aslam Beg to journalist Najam Sethi on a private television channel on August 29, 2009, in which he had stated clearly that the late Benazir Bhutto was not a security risk, rather she took a decision that in his estimation no other ruler could have taken regarding the country’s nuclear capability.
During her first term in office, Pakistan had not publicly gone nuclear. Yet, in 1990, when Pakistan’s atomic assets were under a threat, she had asked General Beg, who was the army chief at the time, to station at Mauripur Airport a whole air fighter squadron fitted with nuclear weapons to smash any or all Indian sites targeting Pakistan at the earliest sign of a threat. Gen Beg, Najam Sethi and the footage are all available on record.
The Future of TLP in Pakistan’s politics
By
Monday Apr 26, 2021
Police personnel use teargas shell to disperse supporters of religiopolitical group TLP during a protest in Karachi on April 13, 2021. Photo: AFP
The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is here to stay.
Within three years of its formation, the religious right party has not only shown immense street power but it has also proven to possess the electoral strength to spring up surprises, such as the one in 2018 in Karachi’s Lyari when the TLP candidate raked in more votes than Pakistan Peoples Party s (PPP) chairperson.
At the moment, the TLP is a banned entity for damaging public property and attacking law enforcement personnel. Yet, its three members of the Sindh Assembly have not been disqualified. Not only that, but the TLP is one of the frontrunners in the upcoming by-polls in Karachi, despite internal squabbling.
The Future of TLP in Pakistan’s politics
By
Monday Apr 26, 2021
Police personnel use teargas shell to disperse supporters of religiopolitical group TLP during a protest in Karachi on April 13, 2021. Photo: AFP
The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is here to stay.
Within three years of its formation, the religious right party has not only shown immense street power but it has also proven to possess the electoral strength to spring up surprises, such as the one in 2018 in Karachi’s Lyari when the TLP candidate raked in more votes than Pakistan Peoples Party s (PPP) chairperson.
At the moment, the TLP is a banned entity for damaging public property and attacking law enforcement personnel. Yet, its three members of the Sindh Assembly have not been disqualified. Not only that, but the TLP is one of the frontrunners in the upcoming by-polls in Karachi, despite internal squabbling.