Imran Khan: engaging delusion

The Express Tribune

There was a moment last December when the mirage shimmered and briefly dissipated for many Imran Khan supporters. Amidst a tsunami of Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP) and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba/Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) flags, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Vice President Ijaz Chaudhry thundered on stage at the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) rally in Lahore. The special message that he delivered from his quaid, Imran Khan, touched the usual conspiracies and clichés about India, America and the Pakistani government. Yet, many PTI supporters were taken aback by their party rubbing shoulders with sectarian murderers and terrorists. Khan himself was questioned on sharing a platform with the likes of JuD and SSP. Unfazed, Khan simply said it was his duty to “engage” with everyone no matter how extreme.

The mirage reconstructed itself. PTI acolytes parroted the party line. The PTI was not associating with terrorists. It was “engaging” fringe elements to wean them into the mainstream. This rhetoric is attractive without being accurate. Consider. In May 2011, PTI leaders attended a rally with JuD that condemned the killing of Osama bin Laden, and pronounced him –– a man who had declared war on Pakistan –– a “Martyr of Islam.” PTI leaders also attended rallies with JuD and other extremist organisations on January 30, 2011 and October 29, in favour of Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, and to express admiration for Salman Taseer’s assassin. Khan’s message, delivered by Ijaz Chaudhry, was one of endorsement. He called

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws “divine,” foreclosing any reform.

Further, in April, 2011 Khan personally visited the Darul-Uloom Haqqania to seek support for his anti-drone dharnas – the campaign many see as a watershed in his rise. Popularly known as “the University of Jihad,” the Dar-ul-Uloom is accused by the Federal Investigation Agency of being the launching pad for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. It has schooled the Taliban’s top leadership, including the Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, who derives his name from his proud affiliation with his alma mater. And Khan’s “engagement” there? Extolling the virtues jihad as a mandatory obligation – the very ideology the would-be jihadis are indoctrinated with.

The DPC’s anti-Ahmadi activities are well-documented. Less so are the PTI’s, which has attended events arranged by the Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nubuwwat to discuss “increasing anti-social activities by Qadianis [Ahmadis] destroying the country’s peace”. Little surprise, then, that PTI leaders were behind the bigoted boycott of Ahmadi-made products by the Lahore Bar Association. At DPC rallies PTI leaders are seen erupting in wild applause, encouraging the militancy, xenophobia and misogyny spouted by the likes of Ahmed Ludhianvi of the SSP and Hafiz Saeed of the JuD. In fact, PTI president Javed Hashmi recently named the UN-declared terrorist Hafiz Saeed to be a “preacher of peace” on the same day that Saeed was publicly calling for “holy war”. In this light, who is engaging whom? And where does engagement drift into naked endorsement? It appears that the PTI, instead of peeling away extremists, is pandering to the hateful agendas of Pakistan’s Islamist and hyper-nationalist lunatic fringe. Moreover, as these organisations gain a mainstream podium to disseminate their extreme views, they are gaining a veneer of legitimacy with mainstream voters and PTI supporters. Indeed, the terrorist SSP has undergone a resurgence since its outings with the DPC and PTI. Can one reasonably expect the nature of PTI’s “engagement” with the far-right to be substantially different when Imran Khan does not believe jihadist radicalisation to be a concern? Having opposed military operations against the Taliban and terrorist organisations, Khan has stated that in power he would cease any action against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Recently he went so far as to state that “there is not a threat to Pakistan from Taliban ideology.” This is stunning given the backdrop of the spiralling persecution and slaughter of Pakistan’s beleaguered minorities, including Shias, Ahmadis, Hindus and Christians, by the Taliban and groups sharing their sectarian ideology –– among them PTI’s DPC partners. Khan’s position becomes positively morbid considering that a staggering 40,000 Pakistanis have been killed in militant and terrorist attacks since 2001. Whatever routine of blame-the-imperialist one engages in to explain the existence of these terrorists, the fact is their ideology –– unthreatening to Khan –– accommodates mass murder. Here, then, is the rub. Politics is about nurturing electoral constituencies and ensuring survival. If far-right politics and appeasing extremists successfully paves the way to power, then after years in the political wilderness Khan will have found his electoral niche. Those making excuses for this political opportunism are engaging only delusion. Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.

Pakistan: 'To follow constituion on Swiss letter'

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira on Wednesday said that the Constitution would be followed on the issue of writing a letter to the Swiss courts. Talking to media persons at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology here, Kaira said that Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf had already given the government’s stance on the issue. He the parliament is supreme, as it has the power to formulate new constitution as well as institutions. "It was agreed in Charter of Democracy that a new constitutional court would be established but Nawaz Sharif, who had signed the CoD, is now backing off," Kaira said. He said the Parliament was not formed by the Constitution but the former formulated the latter, and it is up to the Parliament to chalk out even a new constitution. The Parliament enjoys unquestionable supremacy because it also has the power to dissolve the existence institutions and establish new ones. To a question the Information Minister said: "We had responded to the NRO implementation case in light of the Constitution in the past and our reply will once again be in accordance with the Constitution." He said Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was Benazir Bhutto's choice whereas in Rental Power Projects he was given misleading figures and briefings by the bureaucracy. "He (Raja Pervaiz Ashraf) did not do anything on his own," he added. Kaira brushed aside as wrong the impression that millions of rupess were spent on ministers. Replying to another question, he said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and President Asif Ali Zardari had become the party co-chairman in extra-ordinary circumstances.

Munter lauds Pak female entrepreneurs

US Ambassador Cameron Munter Tuesday lauded the successes of female entrepreneurs in Pakistan during a visit to the Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI). During his visit, Ambassador Munter and Dr Marilyn Wyatt met more than 100 successful women entrepreneurs, including Samina Fazil, founder and president of the IWCCI and owner of Misha’s Collection, which was founded in 1989 with start-up funding of about $1,100 and now exports goods to international markets. “The American Mission is committed to helping women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs, because Pakistan’s prosperity is closely linked to not only the success of its men, but also that of its women entrepreneurs,” said Ambassador Munter. He encouraged the members of IWCCI to work with other chambers of commerce across Pakistan to present a unified voice to lobby the Government of Pakistan for necessary reforms to remove obstacles that hinder economic growth. “A sustainable future for Pakistan will require significant participation of the private sector and significant reforms on the part of the government to enable the private sector to flourish. It will require a common vision and the participation of the people of Pakistan and the visible commitment of the government to the people.” He said the United States is committed to the development of the next generation of women entrepreneurs and business leaders in Pakistan. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Pakistan has trained more than 70,000 women micro-entrepreneurs in Punjab and Sindh in financial literacy. Through its Gender Equity Program, FIRMS project, and trade project, among others, USAID is helping create a socially just, democratic, and gender responsive society. These programs have helped Pakistani women-owned enterprises enhance their competitiveness and increase their sales, while also working on developing a regional trade portal for women entrepreneurs to facilitate trade among SAARC countries.

Viagra : Afghan Authorities Stop Going Soft On Viagra

http://www.rferl.org

Afghanistan's reputation as a haven for drug smugglers is well known. But while it is normally opium and its derivative substances that grab all the headlines, it seems that a little blue pill

is now causing the authorities serious concern. Viagra, a well-known erectile dysfunction drug, has long been in demand in the country. Such is its popularity the CIA has in the past been known to use the medicament as an enticement for tribal leaders to pass on information about Taliban movements. Now, however, it seems the little love philter is so prevalent it has become a major headache for the government in Kabul. The Afghan Health Ministry has recently issued warnings about the potentially dangerous nonprescription use of Viagra. According to the BBC, up to 2 million pills can be legally imported into Afghanistan each year, but ministry officials believe at least 4 million pills are being consumed nationwide. Indeed, given the notoriously porous nature of Afghanistan's borders, some believe that the number of tablets that are flooding into the country could be even higher. As Afghanistan only has an estimated adult male population of 9 million, it seems that demand for Viagra is exceedingly high. Why Afghan men appear to have such a pressing need for the aphrodisiac has been the source of some speculation. One BBC correspondent suggested that 34 years of almost continuous war in the country could be one of the causes. It's well known that residing in conflict zones can give rise to a whole host of psychological problems, which can have a concomitant impact on sexual performance. Some have also pointed to the fact that Afghan men can have as many as four, often younger, wives at any given time. It's little wonder, therefore, that the little blue diamonds might help maintain domestic harmony in many households. Whatever the reasons for its popularity, it seems the Afghan Health Ministry's warnings about Viagra have so far fallen on deaf ears. When a reporter from the BBC's Dari Service visited an open-air market in Kabul, he found that merchants were still doing a very brisk trade in the tablets.

Afghanistan: A bad place to be a mom

Improving Balochistan situation top priority

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that improving the situation in Balochistan and solving its provinces is one of his top priorities. He stated this while talking to a delegation led by Chief Minister Balochistan Aslam Raisani which called on him at the PM House. The PM said that he would visit Balochistan next month to personally see the implementation of ongoing development projects there. I would also CM Raisani briefed the PM about the situation in Balochistan. The PM directed the ministry of finance to call the meeting of ECNEC to make providing of funds for development projects in Balochistan possible.

Pakistani, US generals in border talks

The US commander in Afghanistan discussed border coordination with Pakistan's army chief on Wednesday as the Taliban released a video showing the remains of 17 beheaded Pakistani soldiers. General John Allen, who commands 130,000 NATO troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, flew into Chaklala air base and went straight into the talks with General Ashraf Kayani at his Rawalpindi headquarters, before jetting out of the country, officials said. There was no immediate comment from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), but a Pakistani official said Kayani demanded greater efforts from the Americans on stopping cross-border incursions. "It was a routine meeting to discuss the border coordination," a senior Pakistani military official told AFP. "We also raised the issue of cross-border attacks on the Pakistan military from Afghanistan. We demanded that ISAF take action against the militant sanctuaries in Afghanistan and eliminate the militant groups involved in cross-border attacks inside Pakistan," he added. Pakistan said around 100 Afghan-based militants crossed the border into the northwestern district of Upper Dir on Sunday. Six soldiers were killed and 11 went missing. Pakistani officials said Tuesday that seven of them were beheaded. On Wednesday, a senior security official in the northwest admitted that all 17 had in fact been beheaded after the Pakistani Taliban released a video showing the slaughtered heads. Pakistan's main umbrella Taliban faction claimed responsibility for the attack. Intelligence officials said the perpetrators were loyalists of Maulana Fazlullah, a Pakistani cleric who led a two-year Taliban insurgency in the northwestern Swat valley before fleeing into Afghanistan to escape an army offensive in 2009. But both the Afghans and the Americans repeatedly blame Pakistan for not doing more to eliminate havens on its soil, which are used as launch pads for attacks across the border. Last Friday, Allen blamed the Pakistan-based Haqqani network for a siege on a lakeside hotel in Kabul that killed 18 people. Earlier this month, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Washington was running out of patience with Pakistan over militant havens. On Tuesday, officials and witnesses in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar also said that thousands of villagers have been forced to flee their homes to escape a barrage of cross-border artillery and rocket attacks from Pakistan. It was also likely that Allen and Kayani discussed Pakistan's seven-month blockade on overland NATO supplies into Afghanistan after US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghan border on November 26. Talks to reopen the border have reached stalemate over Pakistani demands for a formal apology.

Veena Malik : My marriage plans are jinxed

Pakistani model-turned-actress Veena Malik

was expected to find her prince charming on ‘Veena Ka Swayamvar’, but the reality show was aborted after the channel decided to shut down its operations. Veena says she is not upset as she knows that her marriage plans are doomed. “You know, my wedding dates have been getting ready ever since I was 14. My dad wanted me to get married since then. My parents tried to get me settled down four times and every time I backed out,” Veena said in an interview. She added, “But when ‘Swayamvar’ happened, my abu and my friends supported me a lot. When I was ready for it (marriage), it didn’t happen. I think my marriage plans are jinxed. It has been cancelled many a times.” After her stint on reality show ‘Bigg Boss’, ‘Veena Ka Swayamvar’ would have been her second Indian show. She was not shocked when she came to know that the show has been cancelled. “I was not surprised when I heard that the channel had shut down. I believe it happens in our lives. I am a very positive person,” said Veena who is said to be dating director Hemant Madhukar. She is working in his film ‘Mumbai 125 kms’. However, she admits her father was upset when the show didn’t happen. “If ‘Swayamvar’ would have happened, maybe I would have even gotten married. When it got cancelled, my dad was very upset. Something is wrong with my wedding. I don’t think I will ever get married,” she added. Veena came to limelight after her link-up with tainted Pakistani bowler Mohammad Asif. She rose to fame in India after appearing in the fourth season of controversial reality show ‘Bigg Boss’. During her stay in the Bigg Boss house, Veena was linked to Bollywood actor Ashmit Patel.

Pakistan's Supreme Court sets collision course with new prime minister

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday demanded that the nation’s brand-new prime minister follow an order to reopen a long-dormant corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari, setting up the likelihood of a continuing constitutional crisis. The court last week disqualified from office Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan’s longest-serving prime minister, whom it convicted of contempt in April because Gilani refused to follow the same order. The ruling party replaced Gilani with a former federal energy chief, Raja Pervez Ashraf, who has already indicated he will not comply with the order and faces his own set of corruption charges in a separate case before the high court. Some political and legal observers have accused the court, headed by populist, corruption-battling Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, of working to destabilize an already-shaky civilian government. Ashraf and his predecessor maintain that Pakistan’s constitution grants the president immunity from prosecution, but the court has consistently ruled otherwise, saying no one is above the law. The legal and political upheaval has complicated U.S. efforts to broker a compromise with Pakistan to reopen vital NATO supply routes that pass into landlocked Afghanistan through Pakistani territory. The routes have been shuttered for more than seven months, creating a logistical headache not only for the Pentagon but other forces, including France’s, which need access to Pakistan’s southern port to withdraw vast quantities of materiel. Zardari has denied the corruption allegations, which date to the 1990s and involve Swiss bank accounts held by the president and his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister who was assassinated in 2007. Gilani for months refused to write a letter to Swiss authorities asking them to reopen graft and money-laundering cases against Zardari. The court on Wednesday gave the new prime minister until July 12 to respond to its directive and offer any arguments as to why he might not have to pursue the corruption charges. Some analysts predict that Ashraf will only be in the job for a matter of weeks — the time the court will take to consider his response and hand down a ruling that, observers say, will almost certainly declare that Ashraf must write the so-called “Swiss letter.” “The new prime minister is facing the same situation” as Gilani, said S.M. Zafar, a longtime lawyer in Islamabad. “He could write the letter or he could take some middle ground that is acceptable to the court as well. "But if that doesn’t happen then I see a disaster in the coming days,” Zafar said. “The crisis would worsen further.” Other analysts said the court's respect for rule of law is admirable but also can go too far. “There is a place for judicial activism in almost every country, particularly one in which the rule of law has all too often been conspicuous by its absence,” Mahir Ali, a columnist for the English-language newspaper Dawn wrote in Wednesday’s editions, before the latest court ruling. “But the rule of law does not mean rule by the Supreme Court, which has no right to be a substitute for parliament.”

Salute to Swat's Gul-e-Khandana: Brave woman who stood up to the Taliban

Pakistan rebuilds its education network after Taliban are driven out of Swat A government operation to drive out militants has seen a gradual return to the classrooms in a district where more than 400 schools were destroyed, 70% of them girls' schools

In a rundown building in the mountain village of Sijban, girls sit at their desks, hair loosely covered in white or black scarves, staring raptly at their teacher. They say they want to become either doctors or teachers when they grow up. This is the one government primary school for girls in the Swat valley that was spared destruction by the Taliban. Their headteacher, Gul-e-Khandana,

is no ordinary teacher – she stood up to the Taliban and managed to save the school where she had taught for more than 20 years. She still shudders as she recalls what happened: "A group of Taliban arrived with Kalashnikovs at the school building just before the school holidays in June 2008. I ran out and told them: 'You will have to kill me first before you torch my school'. They called me a kaffir [non-believer] and said they would be back." The Taliban had already destroyed the nearby girls' middle school so, fearing the worst, Gul-e-Khandana removed the furniture and school records to her home. The girls had already stopped coming to school. But Gul-e-Khandana was determined. She was denounced on the radio, which was controlled by the militants. Her neighbours stopped talking to her and her extended family broke off all ties. When the military operation began to flush out the Taliban from Swat later that year, Gul-e-Khandana fled, smuggling the school records under her burka. "Everyone thought I was crazy but I thought one day the Taliban will leave and we will re-open the school and the girls will come back. I wanted to keep the certificates and records." With the army operation completed, Gul-e-Khandana returned to Sijban in July 2009 and went straight to her school. "It was still standing! I was so delighted. I had feared the worst but out of the six classrooms only one room had been destroyed by mortar shells." With the building more or less intact, she re-opened the school. "Many of the girls were still too terrified to come back to school and I started a committee with the help of the army that went from one household to another to convince the parents to send their daughters back to school." Today there are 262 pupils enrolled in her school, more than before the Taliban came to Swat. Other schools in the area, such as the middle school for girls in Shinkat, a village near the capital of Swat, were not so lucky. The school was completely destroyed by the Taliban in 2009. Salma, 17, recalls the day it was attacked. "It happened around 1 o'clock in the morning. I heard the blast. It made me very sad and I cried." Today, Salma is back at her newly constructed school in Shinkat and says she wants to be a doctor. Her teacher, Shanaz, says that now the Taliban have left the valley, enrolment is increasing. "More girls are coming back and many want to go on to college. There is a change; parents are willing to encourage their daughters. As for the girls, you can see the happiness on their faces, they are so happy to be back in a proper school again. Many lost almost two years of their studies." The Taliban destroyed more than 400 of the 1,576 schools in Swat. "Seventy percent of them were girls' schools," recalls Ensaullah Khan, who serves on the board of the Sarhad rural support programme, an NGO that is helping to rebuild schools. "Then as the conflict with the government intensified they started destroying both boys' schools as well as girls' schools. It was a terrible time. How can you build a nation without education?" This is a question many people are asking in Pakistan, after the Annual Status of Education report, published in February this year, revealed that nearly 60% of school-age children can't read. Girls fare the worst. Another report, by the Pakistan Education Task Force in 2011, showed that Pakistan is second in the global ranking of out-of-school children. One in three rural women have never attended school. Education in Pakistan is chronically underfunded. And the Taliban continues to strike in other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. There are no official figures but estimates suggest more than 800 schools have been destroyed in north-west Pakistan. Maryam Bibi, founder of the NGO Khwendo Kor, which has been working for girls' education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since 1993, is one of several who see the importance of educating girls. "We talk about equality and women's rights and welfare at the policy level, but what is the strategy, especially for poor girls living in remote areas? We must educate these girls – then you are automatically ensuring that their health improves and that later on they have fewer unplanned pregnancies." Her organisation focuses on remote areas where no schools exist yet. "The villagers themselves have given us space to run these schools for the young girls in the community and we try to involve the mothers as well by offering them short courses to improve their literacy levels. We are only working in remote areas where there are very few schools and opportunities. We try to find an educated girl in the village and then give her training and funding to run the school. So far, we are running around 150 schools on our own, but our funding is decreasing. We want the government to eventually take over these schools." Gul-e-Khandana believes that girls are the future for Pakistan. "Above all, girls must be educated," she says. "When one girl is educated, she educates her entire household. The role of women is very important in our society – it is they who can change our way of life for the better." Khan agrees that schooling is the answer. "With education, we can change our future. We can save the people from falling into the hands of extremists. We can empower them."

Balochistan: GWADAR WITHOUT WATER

The Chief Minister had declared Gwadar as the winter capital of Balochistan with a view to increase its importance and attract foreign and domestic investment and also by making the Deep Water Port functional, at least partial functional by diverting part of the state trading from Karachi to Gwadar Port. However, Gwadar is without drinking water. Local residents staged a noisy demonstration by blocking the main Airport Road in protest against non availability of water for people of Gwadar. The Ankara Dam reservoir had gone dry in absence of substantial rains in its catchment area or in the whole region for the past many months or a year. The Ankara Kaur Dam was designed by the NESPAK engineers and it was supposed to silt up in 50 years. The NESPAK design was so defective and faulty that the reservoir of the dam had silted up in less than 25 years leaving minimum storage capacity in rains and floods. NESPAK engineers had failed in proper planning and designing projects for Balochistan. In most of the cases, NESPAK had dispatched inexperienced and low grade functionaries for preparing the design. In some case, sub-engineers were asked to supervise the project, including the Ankara Kaur Dam. It was natural that the design of the dam will be defective, below specification work had been carried out and sub-standard material used in connecting dam reservoir with the city. Pipes used were defective and NAB caught the NESPAK engineers and they were convicted in court of law for committing crime against the state and the people. Now the only solution for the water problem is that the Government should carry out desilting of the dam reservoir before the rains in the region so that water is again stored for future use. Besides desilting, the Government should raise the level of Dam Reservoir on the patter of Mangla Dam so that storage capacity is increased and the demand of the local people should be met for two years. Secondly, the Government should construct another dam in the downstream of Dasht River near Sunt Sar before the seasonal river falls into the Baloch Gulf. It will be the second dam on Dasht River storing water released from the spill way of the Mirani Dam. It can be a huge dam meeting the needs of growers of the area and develop a green belt around the port city of Gwadar. Thirdly, the Government should build a dam on Sawar River for which the Chief Minister had already allocated funds for early planning and execution of the project. Dams on Shadi Kaur and other rivers flowing close to Ormara be built catering the water needs of the entire coastal belt, including commercial needs of the huge projects planned for the Mekran Coast. The Government should allocate funds from its provincial sources as the Federal Government is reluctant to make significant investment for development of Balochistan for strategic reasons. The Provincial Government should seek international assistance from development finance institutions and friendly countries to augment water resources for the entire coastal region, from Karachi to Jiwani. Friendly country like Iran, UAE and other states in the gulf region will definitely help Balochistan in augmenting water resources, meeting the basic human needs and also for commercial and agriculture uses in the whole Mekran and Lasbela region. Vindar Dam had been planned and its foundation stone had been laid by the President of Pakistan last year and hopefully the work on the Vindar Dam will gain reasonable pace so that it is complete within the stipulated period. There are big scope for building more dams in Lasbela and Mekran Division meeting the water needs of the people. However, the Government will have to speed up the work to provide water to the residents of Gwadar before the start migrating from the port city for want of water.

Quetta’s Carnage Spells Trouble For Balochistan

http://www.thebalochhal.com

A remote-controlled bomb blast on Monday, June 18 targeted a university bus in Quetta, the capital city of the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan, killing five students and injuring more than 60 civilians. All the students killed belonged to the Shiite-Hazara ethno-religious minority group. An underground Sunni militant organization, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), which is thought to have close ties with the intelligence agencies of the Pakistani military, claimed responsibility for the unprecedented attack. While ceremonies and mosques of Shia Muslims are often the target of deadly attacks, a university bus has never before come under such a robust attack. The LeJ, which was formed in 1996 as a breakaway faction of another banned militant Sunni organization, the Sipa-e-Sahaba, has pledged to carry out more of such attacks on Pakistan’s Shia in the future. With Shia making up a quarter of the population, Pakistan has the world’s second largest Shia population after Iran. The majority of Shia Muslims in the Balochistan region are also of the Hazara ethnic origins. Theoretically, the Pakistani authorities have banned the LeJ and declared it a terrorist organization, but practically it operates with absolute impunity because of its deep contacts with some sections of the armed forces. The LeJ treats Shias as apostates and vehemently advocates for their killing if they do not convert to the Sunni version of Islam or leave Pakistan. Monday’s incident comes less than two weeks after another deadly terrorist bombing at a Sunni religious school (a madrassa) in Quetta on June 7, which killed 14 people including several students, and injured at least 40 people. Abu-Bakar Siddiq, a spokesman for the LeJ, told the local media that the killings on June 18 were actually meant to avenge the earlier madrassa bombing. Attacks and counter-attacks by fanatic religious groups serve as the harbinger of renewed confrontation in Pakistan’s less-known sectarian battle. Washington believes the top leadership of the Taliban, headed by Mullah Mohammad Omar, is hiding in Quetta, allegedly with the covert support of some sections of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The Quetta Shura, according to an American diplomat, is comprised of people who devise policies for the Taliban while living in Quetta. In March 2009, the New York Times reported that the Obama administration intended to extend the chain of drone strikes to Quetta, where they believe the Taliban are masterminding attacks on American troops in southern Afghanistan. Pro-Taliban members of the Balochistan Assembly immediately passed a parliamentary resolution to warn the United States of the “dire consequences” of expanding drone operations to Quetta. The postponement of action against radical Islamic elements only provided them an opportunity to further consolidate their grip on the gas-rich mountainous region. The June 7 attack was also unique since schools run by Sunni clerics rarely come under attack. According to a senior police officer, seminaries had not received any threats. Sunni organizations and schools do not normally ask for security assistance from the government, either because they do not foresee any attacks, or because they suspect the official security apparatus because of the covert ties these religious parties keep with jihadist organizations (the security apparatus in this case refers to the local police, who don’t have the same Jihadist-supporting policies and powers of the army or intelligence agencies). The Jamiat Ulema e Islam (JUI), a pro-Taliban political party which runs most of the seminaries across Balochistan, is also a coalition partner of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the regional government. The JUI rallied against the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, and also provided manpower to the Taliban for attacks against coalition forces. Anti-American campaigns led to its overwhelming electoral victories in Balochistan and the North Western Frontier Province in the general elections of 2002 and 2008. JUI’s alignment with the ruling PPP enables it to protect and promote its Islamist interests and vast network of religious schools. Hundreds of students who are enrolled in these seminaries traditionally make arrangements for and provide security to JUI’s mammoth public gatherings and anti-U.S. protest rallies. Pakistan’s secret services support the JUI and their Taliban proxies in an effort to counter the left-wing Baloch nationalist movement inside Pakistan. The ethnic Baloch, who represent a majority in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province, also live in Iran’s largest province of Sistan and Baluchistan, as well as southern parts of Afghanistan. In Iran and Pakistan, the Balochs complain about maltreatment and exclusion from the mainstream by the majority Persian and Punjabi populations, but the two states have traditionally responded differently to the Balochs’ discontent. While Pakistan has allowed radical elements to fight sections of the Baloch nationalists who seek a separate homeland, Iran has treated the Sunni radical movement led by Balochi speakers in the Jundullah organization as an enemy. Local sources in Balochistan say funding for Sunni and Shiite groups mainly originates from Saudi Arabia and Iran respectively, two ideological rivals, and sections of the intelligence wing of the Pakistani military are also known to support Sunni organizations. Against the backdrop of violent religious politics, there has been a dramatic increase in targeted killings of Sunni scholars of Baloch ethnic origin, allegedly by Shia groups. On October 30, 2011 Hafiz Itesham-ul-Haq, the secretary general of a district chapter of JUI, was shot dead in the Pakistan-Iran border town of Panjgur, an incident which was followed on March 24, 2012 by the killing of Qari Abdul Basit, the son of a noted Sunni scholar Maulvi Abdul Samad. On April 6, 2012 Maulana Muhammad Qasim, the prayer leader of a Quetta mosque, was murdered while Hafiz Imdadullah, the son of a JUI district leader, was assassinated in Quetta on June 1. On March 24, 2012 Hafiz Hamdullah, president of JUI’s Quetta chapter, was quoted by the Karachi-based Express Tribune as saying that over ten religious scholars belonging to the Sunni sect have been killed in the past few months. He blamed a “powerful group” for targeted killings and incidents of kidnapping for ransom in Quetta. In Pakistan, “powerful group” is often used to allude to foreign countries as well as Pakistan’s own intelligence agencies. On June 2, 2012, Major General Obaidullah Khan, the Inspector General of the Frontier Corps (FC), a paramilitary organization responsible for guarding Pakistan’s borders with Iran and Afghanistan, said, without providing any evidence, that the intelligence agencies of at least 20 countries were involved in a number of activities in Balochistan. Insiders in the government say they have arrested a member of the Shia community in Quetta in connection with his alleged involvement in the June 1 killing of a prominent Sunni leader’s son. However, they refrain from publicizing such information, fearing worse communal and sectarian backlash and unrest. In the 1980s, Pakistan patronized Sunni militant groups across the country with Saudi funding in order to contain the Iranian Revolution. Since then, some of these homegrown sectarian groups have slipped out of Pakistan’s official control. While these organizations originated from the most populated Punjab province, they have now spread throughout Pakistan. The LeJ regularly attacks police officers and installations to intimidate the law enforcement agencies. To overcome such attacks, authorities secretly cooperate with the groups in hopes of appeasing them to stop attacks on their personnel. Civil society groups blame the Pakistani state for cultivating the roots of religious intolerance in the country. For its part, the government has merely offered lip-service, instead of punishing the masterminds behind religiously-motivated attacks, despite the enormous cost of civilian lives. (Courtesy: Foreign Policy)

PAKAF: Cross-border attack imperils Pakistani-Afghan peace efforts

A cross-border attack on Sunday by Afghan militants that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers has escalated the tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan and could imperil the much-needed peace and reconciliation efforts by the neighboring countries. Pakistan's civilian and military officials said that the militants used Afghan territory for the deadly Sunday attack on its check post in Dir district in the country's northwest region. The Sunday's cross-border attack happened at a time when the two countries are exerting efforts to find a political solution to the Afghan crisis ahead of the withdrawal of foreign forces. Pakistan-Afghanistan joint peace and reconciliation efforts were deadlocked after the September's assassination of Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani. Pakistan insists that several key leaders of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have crossed into Afghanistan following major military operations over the past three years and now they are using remote Afghan border regions for attacks on Pakistani border checkpoints and villages. The Afghan deputy ambassador here was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Monday and a formal protest was lodged over the recent Taliban incursion, officials said. The envoy was asked to convey to Afghan authorities that they must take urgent steps to prevent such attacks in future. Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan, Omar Daudzai, told Xinhua on Tuesday that Islamabad's "concerns and demands" have been communicated to Kabul. He said that both countries should not fall prey to the conspiracies of the Taliban, their common enemy. A spokesman for the TTP, who goes by a single name Sirajuddin and who is believed to be in Afghanistan, confirmed to the media in Pakistan via phone that Taliban fighters indeed ambushed a convoy of Pakistani soldiers, killing six and beheading seven more after they were kidnapped and taken to Afghanistan. A Pakistani military official also confirmed the beheading of the soldiers in a statement. Pakistan insists that several top Pakistani Taliban leaders, including the former chief of Taliban in Swat valley, Maulvi Fazalullah, the TTP deputy chief, Maulvi Faqir of Bajaur tribal region and Abdul Wali, TTP leader in Mohmand tribal agency have established bases in Afghanistan's Kunar and Nuristan provinces and launch attacks on Pakistani border posts from there. But the Afghan government has denied Islamabad's claim and asks Pakistan to support their claims with pieces of evidence. Also on Friday, two Pakistani security men were killed and two others were injured when a mortar shell hit a border post in Mohmand Agency, official sources said. The sources said a rocket was fired by militants from across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. There had been series of cross-border attacks in the past and Pakistani Taliban in a major attack in August last year had killed 25 security men in northern Chitral district.

Poem IN HONOR OF chief justice Iftikhar

by:SYED KAZMI

CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry should be asked to appear before Parliamentary Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges

Let Us Build Pakistan

In the light of recent commentaries by leading Pakistani and international lawyers including but not limited to Asma Jahangir, Justice Markandey Katju (Indian Supreme Court), Saroop Ijaz etc, it is evident that Supreme Court of Pakistan has violated not only national constitution but also attacked the very foundation of parliamentary democracy in Pakistan. Former Indian Supreme Court judge Justice Markandey Katju, writing in The Hindu recently, questioned what he said was the “lack of restraint” on the part of Pakistan’s superior judiciary. I regret to say that the Pakistani Supreme Court, particularly its Chief Justice, has been showing utter lack of restraint. This is not expected of superior courts. In fact the court and its Chief Justice have been playing to the galleries for long. It has clearly gone overboard and flouted all canons of constitutional jurisprudence. Justice Katju noted that Article 248, Clause 2 of the Pakistani Constitution very clearly states: “No criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be instituted or continued against the President or governor in any court during his (or her) terms of office”. He then went on to ask that if this is the case, how could a court approach what is a settled provision in the “garb of interpretation”? The Pakistan Constitution draws its basic structure from Anglo-Saxon laws, which establishes a delicate balance of power among the three organs of the state — the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. However, in recent past, particularly since April 2012, Pakistan’s top judiciary led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has encroached into the elected parliament’s domain. This situation is not only a violation of Pakistan’s constitution but violates privilege of the elected parliament. In his obsession to become a saviour of the nation and hero of Pakistani media, CJ Chaudhry has become a tool in the hands of right-wing dominated politicians and media, and is through his actions and verdicts hurting Pakistan’s very security and stability. Lawyer Saroop Ijaz writes: The Pakistan Supreme Court has sent an elected prime minister home. This in itself is disturbing, however, permissible it may be under some circumstances. What is infinitely more worrying is the fact that the Supreme Court did not feel itself constrained by the procedure of law. The argument that the order of the Speaker cannot overrule the Court is a very decent one, yet does not explain why the Court ignored the clear provisions of the Constitution to send the matter to the Election Commission of Pakistan. There is also the issue of the three-member bench making a mockery of the seven-member bench. However, there is a vaguely linear progression to all of this. The Supreme Court terminated the employment of “PCO” judges without reference to the Supreme Judicial Council, which was allowed to go unexamined. More recently, when memberships of members of parliament were suspended for dual nationality, again without reference to the Election Commission of Pakistan, not enough noise was created. Demagogy has a tendency of being incremental sometimes; they have tested the waters and now found it appropriate for a splash. It is likely to get worse now, it always does. Even now there is a curious reluctance to unequivocally condemn, or mildly speaking, criticise the judgment of the Supreme Court. Yousaf Raza Gilani and his maladministration is not the issue here, the issue is considerably more fundamental, namely the right of the people to elect their representatives and also to send them home. The Supreme Court does not represent the will of the people and the Courtrepeatedly saying so to the contrary would not change that. Let me also say this about the law of contempt, if the Court in fact does believe that it represents the will of the people then it will have to make its peace with the fact, that people talk and also talk back. It is high time that Pakistan’s parliament, not only ruling PPP but also other parties (PML-Q, ANP, MQM, JUI-F etc), require Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to appear before the Parliamentary Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges to explain his position on supremacy of elected parliament. According to Section 227 of the Rules of Procedures: “A Committee shall have power to require the attendance of persons …. if such course is considered necessary for discharge of its duties.” CJ must be asked to explain why he is insisting on violation of Pakistan’s constitution and also why he is insulting the mandate given by the people of Pakistan to their elected parliament. The Committee should ask CJ why he wants elected Prime Minister to violate Article 248 of Pakistan’s Constitution (related to President immunity). http://criticalppp.com/archives/9123 The Parliamentary Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges must ask Justice Jawad S. Khwaja & other judges of the SC to explain their alleged past and present links with Hamid Khan Group of PTI who was a petitioner in PM Gilani’s disqualification case. The Parliamentary Committee should require CJ to assure he won’t force Pakistan’s current Prime Minister (Raja Pervez Ashraf) and other members of the executive to violate Pakistan’s constitution. He must also assure that Supreme Court will refrain from further trespassing into the parliament’s domain. In case, CJ is unable to satisfy the Parliamentary Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges, SC may be dissolved and reformed as per the Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed by late Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. There are precedences in other countries where elected parliament had to intervene in order to remove a corrupt or trespassing judge or chief justice. Recently in May 2012, parliament in Philippine voted to remove the country’s Chief Justice of Supreme Court. On 29 May 2012, the Philippine Senate voted to remove the country’s top judge for failing to disclose his wealth, a landmark victory in a country wide campaign to root out endemic corruption in the Southeast Asian nation. More than two-thirds of the 23 senators voted to oust Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, who becomes the first official in the country to be removed by an impeachment court. The decision bars him permanently from public office. The ruling is likely to be welcomed by investors amid concern that the four-month-long trial was distracting the government from policy matters at a time when the Philippines is seeing a resurgence of interest in its long-underperforming economy. (Source) The following extract from the CoD describes the formation of superior judiciary: 3. (a) The recommendations for appointment of judges to superior judiciary shall be formulated through a commission, which shall comprise of the following: i. The chairman shall be a chief justice, who has never previously taken oath under the PCO. ii. The members of the commission shall be the chief justices of the provincial high courts who have not taken oath under the PCO, failing which the senior most judge of that high court who has not taken oath shall be the member iii. Vice-Chairmen of Pakistan and Vice-Chairmen of Provincial Bar Association with respect to the appointment of judges to their concerned province iv. President of Supreme Court Bar Association v. Presidents of High Court Bar Associations of Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta with respect to the appointment of judges to their concerned province vi. Federal Minister for Law and Justice vii. Attorney General of Pakistan (a-i) The commission shall forward a panel of three names for each vacancy to the prime minister, who shall forward one name for confirmation to joint parliamentary committee for confirmation of the nomination through a transparent public hearing process. (a-ii) The joint parliamentary committee shall comprise of 50 per cent members from the treasury benches and the remaining 50 per cent from opposition parties based on their strength in the parliament nominated by respective parliamentary leaders. (b) No judge shall take oath under any Provisional Constitutional Order or any other oath that is contradictory to the exact language of the original oath prescribed in the Constitution of 1973. (c) Administrative mechanism will be instituted for the prevention of misconduct, implementation of code of ethics, and removal of judges on such charges brought to its attention by any citizen through the proposed commission for appointment of Judges. (d) All special courts including anti-terrorism and accountability courts shall be abolished and such cases be tried in ordinary courts. Further to create a set of rules and procedures whereby, the arbitrary powers of the chief justices over the assignment of cases to various judges and the transfer of judges to various benches such powers shall be exercised by the Chief Justice and two senior most judges sitting together. The CoD offers best path to reconstitute the Supreme Court consistent with the essence of parliamentary democracy. In such a scenario, Pakistan’s Supreme Court may be reconstituted just like Senate, assuring equal representation of all ethnic groups (not domiciles), also making sure that no PCO judge (i.e., one who has in the past validated a military coup or endorsed dictator’s actions) is a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or High Courts in provinces.

‘Sharif brothers working on mullahs’ agenda’

Dunya News

PPP MNA Rubina Qaimkhani said Sharif brothers were working on mullahs agenda. The Sharif brothers are allegedly working on mullahs’ agenda and pushing party’s parliamentarians in the provincial assembly to harass women legislators belonging to PML-Q and PPP. This was stated by the Parliamentary Secretary on Human Rights and Member National Assembly (MNA) Rubina Saadat Qaimkhani while addressing a news conference on Tuesday. She condemned the vulgar words used by the MPAs Sheikh Allauddin and Abdul Rehman Dhilu against women parliamentarians. She alleged that MPA’s of PML (N) time and again harassed the women parliamentarians on directions of the Chief Minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif. She said that human rights cell of PPP submitted an application in Lahore to register FIR against Mr. Sheikh but the CM stopped the police from launching the FIR. She added that ten-day suspension from membership of the alleged violators of harassment bill was not enough to discontinue such incidents again. “We have serious concerns over such incidents and working hard to ensure implementation on harassment of women at workplace bill 2010”, she maintained. On the occasion, a renowned social activist Dr. Fouzia Saeed demanded proper legislation in all provincial assemblies including National Assembly to guarantee protection of women parliamentarians. Meanwhile, Ms. Qaimkhani demanded of the Chief Justice to take suo moto action of the incident. She requested the Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Iqbal to order disqualification of MPA’s Mr. Sheikh and Mr. Dhillu. A number of civil society workers and media persons were also present on the occasion.

Gen. John Allen to reach Pakistan today

Commander ISAF General John Allen will reach Pakistan today (Wednesday).According to ISPR, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, US General John Allen, will reach Pakistan to review border coordination measures with Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani. The sources said that the issues of intrusion of militants from the Afghan side into Pakistani territory and NATO supply will come under discussion during the meeting.

POLIO IN PAKISTAN: Grappling with polio threat

Participating in a media workshop in Karachi the other day on healthcare issues of children, a senior official of the Expanded Programme of Immunisation in Sindh confirmed that polio remains a clear and present threat in the country. Although, the official expressed satisfaction that Sindh had only three reported cases of polio since the beginning of the current year, her subsequent comments included quite worrisome information. The overall number thus far, she disclosed, stands at 22. And that considering the past pattern, which shows almost half of polio cases occur during July-October period, this number is likely to rise considerably in the next four months. That means unless intensive efforts are made Pakistan will remain, for some time to come, in the unenviable position of being at the top of a list of three polio endemic countries - the other two being Afghanistan and Nigeria. According to experts, persistent transmission of the poliovirus is localised in three high-risk towns of Karachi - Gadap, Baldia and Gulshan-e-Iqbal - parts of Quetta district and Fata. It is sad, indeed, that a metropolitan centre like Karachi should be such a high-risk place. The reasons seem to be negligence on the part of the city's civic authorities, and/or laxity in the manner immunisation drives are carried out. The same may be the case in the affected areas of Quetta district. For, as the immunisation programme official pointed out, the main cause of poliovirus transmission are sewerage and drinking water. Besides, supplemental doses, in addition to the three routine immunisation doses, are necessary to ensure that a child is protected against polio. The more serious challenge polio immunisation programme faces is local resistance in Fata, especially in North Waziristan. Reports say polio vaccination had not made any headway in the agency this year. However, health officials claim that in 68 of its 74 areas most children have already been immunised except for 1,100 whose families resisted and another 17,000 who remained inaccessible in six Taliban-controlled areas. It is pertinent to recall here that for a while people in the tribal areas, even in some settled parts of KP, have been resisting vaccination because of a rumour that it was a conspiracy by the Western countries aimed at rendering their children infertile. More recently, a North Waziristan militant leader, Hafiz Gul Bahadar, announced vaccination drives would not be allowed unless drone attacks stop. As absurd as this argument is, there may still be room for persuasion. It is good to note that the federal government has directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor to talk to the Taliban with the help of the agency's political agent. Hopefully, good sense will prevail and the militant leader will realise that those carrying out drone strikes have nothing to gain from polio vaccination campaign and that the children of his own area a lot to lose due to the ban.

$30b worth of drugs transit through Pakistan

The Express Tribune

At the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2012, Pakistan may be free of poppy cultivation, but the country still provides a vital transit route for smuggling of drugs worth $30 billion from neighbouring Afghanistan. Speaking at the launch of the World Drug Report 2012 on Tuesday, officials from the United Nations welcomed the decline in poppy cultivation in Pakistan. In the same breath, however, they added that the country is a major route for the smuggling of drugs cultivated in Afghanistan, primarily through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, and that drug cultivation can resurface in these areas if the Anti-Narcotics Force is not strict in its surveillance. One-third of drugs produced in Afghanistan are smuggled to other countries via the coastal areas of Balochistan, the UN officials added. Global numbers The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released the annual report about the state of drug cultivation, production, usage and transport in New York on Tuesday. According to the report, at least 5% of the world’s adult population, or about 230 million people, are estimated to have used an illicit drug at least once in 2010. Some $68 billion is generated globally from illicit drugs annually, and is mainly used in terrorist activities, human trafficking and the smuggling of arms. According to the UNODC, $27 to $30 billion worth of drugs are smuggled from Afghanistan, via Pakistan, to other parts of the world annually; of this, drugs worth $1.5 billion stay in Pakistan. Drug abuse and illicit trafficking continue to have a profoundly negative impact on development and stability across the world, the report says. Heroin, cocaine and other drugs continue to kill around 200,000 people a year, bringing misery to thousands of other peoples, insecurity and the spread of HIV, the report adds. Drug cultivation Global opium production amounted at 7,000 tonnes in 2011, up from the low levels of 2010 when diseases wiped out almost half of the crop yield. Afghanistan maintained its position as the largest producer and the country’s opium production increased by 61%, from 3,600 toms in 2010 to 5,800 tonnes in 2011. High prices and increase in demand are making opium production more attractive to farmers in South East Asia, the report says. Poppy cultivation in South East Asia jumped 16% – from 41,000 hectares in 2010 to almost 48,000 hectares in 2011. Overall cultivation of opium doubled in South East Asia. Externalities Illicit drugs and related criminal networks undermine the rule of law, the report says. Central America, for instance, faces rising levels of violence fuelled by transnational organised crime and drug trafficking. The region is now home to the highest homicide rates in the world. Meanwhile, development in Afghanistan is being hindered by the highest rates of opiate prevalence in the world. In parts of Myanmar, farmers are trapped by food insecurity compelling them to grow poppies as a cash crop. The challenge is also greatly testing West and Central Africa, which lies along one of the main drug trafficking routes to Europe. Moreover, transit countries are no longer simply links in the chain of supply. About half of the cocaine trafficked through West and Central Africa now remains in the region. Solutions The drug, crime and corruption conventions of the UN form a solid basis for global solutions to these challenges, the report states, adding that these instruments offer a balanced approach to halt trafficking, promote viable alternatives to the farmers of cash crops, and offer drug users their health and human rights.

Pakistan: Justice or revenge?

Let Us Build Pakistan

After four years of day and night struggle, honorable Chief Justice and his puppets (clapping hands) have succeeded to hunt the elected Government. At this very inappropriate time when the whole world is focusing on the issues of NATO supply and Afghanistan, it was mandatory to support the Government rather than to attack. But after many unsuccessful attempts to target the Government they got their longing revenge of delayed restoration of judiciary. We, the ordinary people of Pakistan, as helpless observers, are anxiously waiting for the role of heroes of restoration of judiciary, why are they not showing up now? They should come up and stop judiciary from this revengeful attitude, especially, Aitzaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmed Kurd, Munir A. Malik, Athar Minallah, Justice Tariq and many others to raise their brawny voices in the interest of nation and stop the Chief justice from further revenge. This spite is not only destabilizing the Government but ultimately against the nation as well. Unfortunately, all these heroes are looking dreadful from contempt of court. They do share their opinion but their voices are meek enough to ignore and resultantly, go unheard. Only brave voices against an increasingly dictatorial Chief Justice are those of Pakistani activists on social media who are describing him as IftikharMental to cast doubts on his mental state. The only fearless voice we listen is of Asma Jahangir. Perhaps she is the only “MAN” (in this misogynistic society) who is preaching truth and reality. Where are other warriors of justice? All these barriers of justice were very bravely out against a dictator but now they are in their bins against this judicial dictatorship. If presidential immunity is constitutional then why are our Chief Justice and his companions unaware of it? Is it the duty of Asma Jahangir to guide them the same way she did about the code of conduct in Malik Riaz and Arslan Iftikhar’s case for which the CJ had to leave the bench the very next day? Dear Munir A Malik, Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed Rashid Rizvi, Ali Ahmed Kurd et al, Even if learned practitioners like you are unaware of the constitutional position of immunity then better take off your black coats and ties and go back to your bar rooms or simply class rooms as beginners. But if you are sure of what you are continuously saying about immunity then shout it out. The court should not force the Government to go against the constitution by writing letter because violation of constitution leads to high treason. For God sake standup, because we know one decision of Maulvi Tameez ud Din case was the start of break up of our beloved country and perhaps, God forbid, the decisions of this court are going towards the same road again. Stop it please by all means. In the end, I request the Chief Justice of Pakistan to stop these revengeful proceedings and let the country move on in a stable and honorable manner.