The electricity crisis through out the country is indeed democracy's best revenge against the masses. It is an open secret that this crisis is not because of generation capacity being unable to meet for our requirement. Then the question is: Why have the people not been relieved from this crisis by the two previous two regimes of Musharaf-Aziz and Kayani-Zardari? The rulers' point fingers towards circular debt, expensive furnace oil, electricity theft, non-payments of bills and the extreme inefficiencies of distribution companies.

However, are these problems so insurmountable that the previous two governments could not address them? In fact, the real cause is that in democracy these electricity generating plants, units and their distribution companies are privately owned businesses, rather then public properties.  So even though the installed capacity is 21,000 MW and the peak demand is 17,500 MW, the electricity production remains at less than 9000 MW. The withholding of payments to these companies by the government is allowed by democracy, adding to the woes of the companies, who are struggling to produce whilst maintaining profits and avoiding further debt, and so are forced to under-produce. Moreover, whilst electricity remains private property, even if there is an increased supply to quell the people's anger, it just means more debt for the country and even more expensive electricity.

This policy is employed because it keeps the people drowning in misery, so they do not raise voice against the American Raj. Thus, the rulers have created this crisis intentionally and now the strongest Muslim country seems to be weaker then any weakest of African nations. And this scenario helps the rulers to make excuses for their surrender before America.  The rulers in waiting since the 11^th May general elections have started to say even before they have been sworn into office that they can not give any specific date for the ending of this crisis. Along with this, they are also creating a false perception that a country which acquired nuclear and missile technology without the assistance of any foreign power, cannot resolve this crisis with out the help of America, China or India. Moreover, on the one hand these rulers cry over scarcity of resources when it comes to ending this crisis, but on the other hand they spare nothing to fight America's war, draining seventy billion dollars from the economy and spending billions of rupees of taxpayers' money to maintain and secure the NATO supply line.

Democracy and dictatorship only fulfill American colonialist interests. Only the Khilafah "Caliphate" will provide relief to the masses from this crisis by implementing rulings of Islam regarding energy. According to the saying of RasulAllah (saw): «المسلمون شركاء في ثلاث: في الماء والكلأ والنار» "Muslims are partners (associates) in three things: in water, pastures and fire"(Dawood), the Khilafah "Caliphate" will declare all electricity generating plants, units, organizations and their distributing companies as public property and abolish taxes imposed on petrol, diesel, furnace oil etc. These measures will not only liberate people from under-producing electricity producing units, it will also reduce the cost of electricity as well. Other then this Khilafah "Caliphate" will opt for the policy of self reliance and promote the generation of electricity through those resources, like water, coal, natural gas, which are available within the state. This policy of self reliance further reduces the cost of electricity.

Hizb ut Tahrir warns the people that both democracy and dictatorship implement the capitalist system and care only for colonialist interests. Only the Khilafah "Caliphate" can liberate the Ummah from the tyranny of the capitalist system and the clutches of the colonialist powers, through the implementation of Islam. Therefore the people must join Hizb ut Tahrir in its struggle for the establishment of Khilafah "Caliphate".

Shahzad Shaikh

Deputy to the Official Spokesman of Hizb ut Tahrir in Pakistan

Hizb ut Tahrir/ Indonesia: Khilafah Conference in Medan

If anyone would like to know what World War III looks like they have to look no further than Syria. If one has doubt that the war in Syria does qualify to be called a world war then they should scrutinise a couple of definitions for the term world war. According to the online free dictionary "a war that involves most of the principal nations of the world" and Macmillan Dictionary defines it as "a war involving many large nations in all different parts of the world".

Clearly then, much of the world is united against the Syrian people and desperately wants to see their rebellion against the despotic Assad crushed no matter what the price maybe. Some countries openly support Assad's brutality, whilst others through their deliberate inaction end up providing support to Assad's tyrannical rule. In both cases, the outcome is the same- Assad's war machine continues to wreak havoc on Syria's civilian population.

Amongst the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Russia and China openly support and embrace Assad's regime. Russia's resurrected Geneva plan- supported by China and America- is a charade, as it seeks to keep Assad's bloody hands wet by continuing with daily massacres that have become the hallmark of his rule.

Britain, France and America through their blatant indecisiveness and deception are in the same league as Russia and China. They have all been instrumental in bolstering Assad's precarious regime by ensuring that all political initiatives advocated hitherto such as the intervention of the Arab league, the Annan plan, and the Brahimi peace plan provide Assad - the tyrant of Sham, with ample time to execute his evil atrocities.  The rest of Europe is not too far behind in this crime perpetrated against the people of Syria. Europe's persistent divisions on how best to arm selective factions of the opposition with light weapons-as if this would degrade  the military ability of Assad's regime in any way- reaffirms tacit support to Assad to continue with his evil bedlam of destruction and bloodshed.

Equally guilty are Syria's neighbours when it comes to propping up Assad. Iraq, Lebanon and Iran not only publicly support Assad but actively participate with Assad's thugs and military units to the slaughter Syrians en masse. Other countries such as Jordan and Turkey despite the hefty rhetoric have done next to nothing to stop Assad's war machine in its tracks. The same applies to countries further afield such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the wider Muslim world. All are big when it comes to uttering words of condemnation but have not lifted a single finger to stop the atrocities against the Syrian people.

So what is it about Syria that has united East and West, Muslim and non-Muslim countries and capitalist nations (including China that pretends to be a socialist nation) to take such a stand? Why is it that the world is prepared to turn a blind eye to 100,000 deaths and a displaced population of 1.5 million refugees?

The answer to both questions is that the world is afraid of the return of political Islam manifesting in the form of a state i.e. the re-emergence of the Caliphate. In an article in the New York Times called "Islamist Rebels Create Dilemma on Syria Policy" the situation facing those who seek to maintain the existing world order is neatly summed up: "The Islamist character of the opposition reflects the main constituency of the rebellion, which has been led since its start by Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, mostly in conservative, marginalized areas. The descent into brutal civil war has hardened sectarian differences, and the failure of more mainstream rebel groups to secure regular arms supplies has allowed Islamists to fill the void and win supporters. The religious agenda of the combatants sets them apart from many civilian activists, protesters and aid workers who had hoped the uprising would create a civil, democratic Syria."  Thus the political landscape in Syria has forever changed and this poses a huge challenge to the major powers. Because of this reason alone, major powers have put their differences aside and have teamed up with Muslim countries (both Sunni and Shia) to give Assad more time to crush the rebellion.

Almost ninety years ago, World War I was fought to destroy the Ottoman Caliphate and plunder its resources. The West thought they had dealt a devastating blow to the Muslim world, and the heart of political Islam, the Caliphate was no more. Today, much to their dismay World War III is being fought to prevent the emergence of the Caliphate in Syria-the heart of the Islamic world. This is troublesome for both the West and their allies behind World War III. In the past, Muslims of the region overcame their differences and defeated formidable adversaries like the Crusaders and Mongols and reinvigorated the Caliphate. Today, it is no longer a question of if, but when the Caliphate returns, what will be the fate of those countries that are part of World War III?

Abed Mostapha

A series of conferences organized by Hizb ut Tahrir/Indonesia in more than 30 Indonesian cities for the Hijri anniversary of the destruction of the Islamic Khilafah "Caliphate" to remind the Ummah of the obligation to work to restore the Khilafah "Caliphate" State and resume the Islamic way of life that the Hizb organized a conference in the city of Semarang, Indonesia which hundreds of Shabab and supporters attended.

Sunday, 05 Jumada II 1434 AH / 05 May 2013

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