Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Perspective: Captain Safdar's tirade exposes Pakistan's true nature

By Munir Khan

A friend of The Times of Ahmad, Munir Khan, posted a list of questions and comments on micro-blogging website Twitter in the wake of the Pakistani politician Cap. Safdar Awan, son-in-law of the ousted Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, berating Ahmadis in the National Assembly at Islamabad.

Munir Khan asks the following questions:
Following Captain Safdar's tirade against Ahmadis from floor of the National Assembly did a single lawmaker from any party challenge him?
Did the leader of any Pakistani political party condemn Capt Safdar's hate speech against Ahmadis today in parliament?
Did the Major General Asif Ghafoor of ISPR issue a press release condemning Captain Safdar's remarks?
Of course none of them did because Pakistan is cursed with a cowardly political elite who loot Pakistan and have sold their souls to the devil.
Ahmadis will continue to be persecuted and martyred by a corrupt elite political class but will still defend, serve and contribute to their Pakistan.

Ahmadis will offer more Sir Zafrullahs, Dr Salams, Gen. Janjuas, Gen. Alis, Gen. Akhtar Maliks, Air Marshal Zafar Chaudhrys to defend and serve Pakistan.


The aforementioned names listed by Munir Khan are of some of the prominent Ahmadis who served Pakistan in various fields and they are well recognized for their selfless service to their nation.

Safdar in his speech called for 'action' against the community and said he would bring a resolution in the National Assembly for a “ban on recruitment of Qadianis [Ahmadis] in the armed forces".

"These people [Ahmadis] are a threat to this country, its Constitution and ideology. This situation is heading towards a dangerous point," claimed Safdar in his highly dramatic censure of the persecuted community.

Why Safdar was so angry is open to several interpretations, foremost of which is that he was attempting to balance the public opinion that was severely critical of Sharif group after his government's Election Commission Bill debacle.

http://timesofahmad.blogspot.com/2017/10/perspective-captain-safdars-tirade.html

Asma Jahangir calls on Nawaz to take notice of Safdar's 'unacceptable' attack on Ahmadis


Human rights lawyer and activist Asma Jahangir on Tuesday demanded former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to take notice of retired Capt Muhammad Safdar's tirade against the persecuted Ahmadi community.
On Tuesday, Safdar, who is the former prime minister's son-in-law and a member of the ruling PML-N, accused the faith group of acting against the country's interests and called for action against its members.
"These people [Ahmadis] are a threat to this country, its Constitution and ideology," Safdar had said.
Appearing on DawnNews talk show News Wise, Jahangir said that Safdar's incendiary speech made in the National Assembly was unacceptable and "highly discriminatory".
"Such words are spoken by those who we consider to be extremists; such remarks being made by a member of the NA is shocking," said the activist. "I believe Capt Safdar tried to incite [hatred]. While speaking in the NA, one must maintain respect."
Jahangir demanded that Nawaz take notice of Safdar's speech and urged all political parties to condemn it, voicing her concern that such incidents are not even condemned by the civil society anymore.
"Around the world, nobody can speak about their minority populations in such a manner," Jahangir said. "If we do not raise our voice against this incident today, people like this (who make such remarks against minorities), will form a majority."
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, in a tweet on Wednesday, condemned the speech without mentioning Captain Safdar's name.
"The bigotry, hatred and extremism on display in the National Assembly yesterday goes to show that the Nawaz league has been mainstreaming terror well before Milli Muslim League . No place for this mindset in our society," Bilawal said in his tweet.
During his speech, Safdar also criticised the renaming of Quaid-i-Azam University's (QAU) physics centre after Professor Dr Abdus Salam, the country's first Nobel laureate — the grounds for the lawmaker's objections being the scientist's Ahmadi faith.
Safdar referred to Dr Salam as "a controversial figure that has been termed an infidel in light of the Constitution".
Speaking to Dawn.com, Dr Javed Ashraf, vice-chancellor of the university, said that the renaming of the centre had been approved by Nawaz in December 2016.
"I feel every Pakistani should honour top intellectuals — regardless of their caste, colour and creed," Dr Ashraf said. "Every Pakistani should be equally honoured for their achievements."

Safdar's tirade

During his speech, Safdar had also called for 'action' against the Ahmadi community and said said he wanted to bring a resolution in the NA calling for a “ban on recruitment of Qadianis [Ahmadis] in the armed forces".
"Because their’s is a false religion, in which there is no concept of jihad for Allah,” said Safdar, who continued his harangue against the community uninterrupted by other members of the House.
Safdar referred to the appointment of and promotion of military officers who he said were members of the Ahmadi community and "could not be trusted" with the responsibility of guarding the country's frontiers. He further said that government servants should be made to sign a declaration that they swear by the idea of Khatm-i-Naboowat.
“We have faith in Khatm-i-Naboowat. This is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a country of 220 million people...I call Zulfikar Ali Bhutto a shaheed because he protected the idea of finality of prophethood and was hanged for doing so.”
Pakistan was created with an ideology to protect the finality of Prophethood [Khatm-i-Naboowat] so Islam is practised here, the PML-N leader said.
Capt Safdar's remarks in the NA caused an uproar on social media, with many questioning whether action could be taken against the lawmaker.
Safdar and his wife Maryam are currently facing a trial in the National Accountably Bureau's court with regards to the Avenfield reference.

Dengue outbreak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa






Death toll from the dengue outbreak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has risen to 50. There is no respite in sight. 336 fresh cases have been reported from different parts of the province. The provincial government seems to be unprepared to deal with the problem. Oddly enough, some Pakistan Teheek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders have accused local PML-N leader Arbab Khizar Hayat of providing a favourable environment for the growth of dengue larvae at his residency. This goes to only show the PTI’s lack of seriousness in addressing the grave issue. PTI leaders ought to deal with a matter in a more responsible manner.
Environmental experts have also rubbished the allegations leveled by PTI leaders and said if a dengue mosquito is found somewhere, it can only infect the locality that lies within its 200-meter range, and thus, obviously, can’t be responsible for the outbreak across the province.
The attitude of the government and a complete inaction on its part is almost as problematic as the issue itself.
To prevent an epidemic, precautionary measures ought to be taken before it surfaces. Despite dengue being an annual problem in Pakistan, the authorities in KP did little to work towards raising awareness among the public on preventing the growth of the larvae. The KP government should have collaborated with environmental experts to make arrangements for the elimination of the sources of the virus, but the Health Department remained rather negligent in this regard. It is clear that the situation could have been avoided had there been proper planning by the provincial government.
Punjab government has been running successful anti-dengue campaigns in the wake of the horrific outbreak of the disease in 2011. The KP government should launch a similar campaign to raise awareness among the people about prevention of the disease. Punjab should extend support to the KP government in this regard. Political leaders should be able to set aside differences and work together to fight this public health menace.

Pakistan - #FATA Dharna




While every other political party in Pakistan has Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) on its agenda, but when it comes implementation of policies no party has succeeded so far. The ruling party along with all political parties decided to mainstream the region last year. However, succumbing to the pressure put on it by its allies, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) recently retracted the proposed Riwaj Bill.
On the other hand, people of the area and political parties except for Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI-F) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) are eager to see FATA as part of province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Desperate to watch their representatives in the KP provincial assembly next year, the people of the region have staged a sit-in around D-Chowk in Islamabad. Almost all political parties and notables from the area have this one demand from the federal government: Merge FATA with KP and abolish the notorious Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).
It is high time for the government to accept the legitimate demand of the people. The demands are completely justified. If what the people are asking for is accepted, a step in mainstreaming of the region will be taken. Though the Prime Minister Khaqan Abbasi, directed the concerned authorities to fast-track the process of FATA’s merger after the Dharna, the protestors are not completely sold on the promises. That people have occupied the D-Chowk indicates that tribesmen and political parties are not satisfied with the government made promises and declaration. People see all these announcements and promises as empty rhetoric.
The present situation was not unexpected. For a long time, there was a growing resentment in the people of the area over the status of the region and its people. It is another instance where the government has shown for the lack of diligence and a commitment to its vision. The irony in the present case is that people are trying to put pressure on the government for implementation of an agenda that the government launched itself – this is another crisis of the government’s own making.
The government needs to fast-track the process, at least the legal and administrative aspects of the scheme. Development projects will take some time. By and large, political consensus on the mainstreaming of FATA is there. The only obstacles in the present case are JUI-F and PkMAP. Along with the tribesmen, the political parties are also pressurizing the government for completing the task of mainstreaming the region with KP. People through the sit-in have shown the people that they are willing to take to the streets. The government has no excuse left but to accept people’s demands.

FIFA suspends the Pakistan Football Federation

FIFA has decided to suspend the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect in accordance with the decision of the Bureau of the FIFA Council dated 10 October 2017 on account of undue third-party interference.

The Bureau took this decision as a result of the fact that the PFF offices and its accounts remain in control of a court-appointed administrator, which constitutes a violation of the PFF obligations to manage its affairs independently and without influence from any third parties in accordance with the FIFA Statutes.

The suspension will be lifted once the PFF offices and access to the PFF accounts are returned to the PFF.
Following its suspension, the PFF has lost all its membership rights as defined in art. 13 of the FIFA Statutes. The PFF's national and affiliated club teams are no longer entitled to take part in international competitions until the suspension is lifted.
This also means that neither the PFF nor any of its members or officials may benefit from any development programmes, courses or training from FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation. Moreover, and in accordance with art. 16 par. 3 of the FIFA Statutes, other member associations may not entertain sporting contact with the PFF during its suspension.

http://www.fifa.com/governance/news/y=2017/m=10/news=fifa-suspends-the-pakistan-football-federation-2913299.html

Benazir Bhutto murder case: PPP questions appointment of ‘co-accused’ as SSP Special Branch





The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Tuesday questioned the reinstatement of a senior police officer who was a co-accused in former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s murder case.
The PPP Secretary Information, Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, said that the re-appointment of Khurram Shehzad as the senior superintendent of police (Special Branch) was an “outrageous conspiracy” by Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif against the Bhutto family.
He alleged that Shehbaz Sharif wanted to save the killer of Benazir Bhutto and had given Shehzad the task to achieve this goal.
In August, the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC)’s in Rawalpindi declared former military ruler Pervez Musharraf an absconder in the Benazir Bhutto case. The court directed to forfeit Musharraf’s property. The ATC sentenced former Rawalpindi City Police Offer Saud Aziz and former Rawal Town Superintendent Police Khurram Shahzad to 17 years in prison, and fined them Rs500,000 each.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) later released the senior cops and suspended the penalty imposed by the ATC.
The ATC had earlier released the other five suspects over lack of evidence against them. The five suspects – allegedly affiliated with Taliban – identified as Rafaqat, Hasnain, Rasheed Ahmed, Sher Zaman and Aitzaz Shah were set free. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack outside Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on December 27, 2007 when Musharraf was in power.
After the much-awaited verdict was announced, PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari tweeted: “BB case decision is disappointing and unacceptable. Release of terrorists (is) not only unjust but also dangerous. PPP will explore legal options.”
In a statement, Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed said Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Rawalpindi and Shehbaz Sharif had appointed Khurram Shehzad in the same city, which raised many eyebrows.
“These politicians use the names of Bhuttos when they are in trouble but do not hesitate to show their real selves through their actions,” he said.
Ahmed said that the PPP had no enmity with Saud Aziz or Khurram Shehzad.
“They only have to tell us who is the real killer,” he added. The PPP leader demanded of the government to cancel Khurram Shehzad’s appointment and take the Benazir Bhutto case seriously.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar proposed reducing offences carrying death penalty.
“We need to have a wider public debate on death penalty engaging all sections of society in all provinces and not merely among politicians and opinion makers,” he said.
Speaking at a demonstration organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan here on the international day against death penalty, Babar said that even if initially it was not possible to abolish death penalty “what can and must be done is to ensure basic legal guarantees in cases of death penalty.”
Regardless of one's opinion, there can be no disagreement on presumption of innocence until proven guilty, he said, the right to proper legal defence and declaring confession extracted through torture as illegal.
Some jurists, the lawmaker said, had proposed a time gap between conviction and pronouncement of sentence as a safeguard against hasty death penalty.
He said that there were laws with locus in religion that could not be changed.
However, as against only two crimes that carried death penalty in religion, at present there were 27 crimes that carried death penalty and called for a review. The senator said that in Pakistan death penalty was almost abolished for the rich and the privileged because of the mis-application of Qisas (revenge) and Diyat (blood money).
He said that the moratorium on death penalty was lifted only in case of jet black terrorists.
“We ought to know how many of the hundreds executed during the past three years were terrorists and how many were ordinary criminals,” Babar said.
He added: “Let us spare a thought on not to hang a minor and a mentally sick at least.”
Babar said that people should not be sent to the gallows even before the appeal was accepted as happened last year in the case of two brothers.
Separately, PPP leader Saeed Ghani said on Tuesday that there was no comparison between Zardari family and Imran Khan’s background.
He said that the PPP co-Chairman, Asif Ali Zardari's father was a well-known businessman in Sindh and his grandfather had established Sindh Madressatul Islam where Father of the Nation Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was educated, whereas Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan's father was dismissed from government employment on corruption charges.
In a statement, Saeed Ghani said that Imran Khan was facing money laundering charges in courts and he was surrounded by criminal and corrupt individuals.
He said that it was ironic that Imran Khan had been declared absconder by the court but he was roaming free.

پی ٹی آئی ایک گاؤں نہیں بناسکی، پاکستان کیا بنائیگی؟زرداری



سابق صدر اور پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے شریک چیئرمین آصف علی زرداری کا کہنا ہے کہ آج پرویز خٹک کے گاؤں میں ہوں، پی ٹی آئی ایک گاؤں نہیں بنا سکی، پاکستان کیسے بنائے گی۔
سابق صدر آصف زرداری نے نوشہرہ کے قریب وزیراعلیٰ خیبر پختونخوا کے آبائی علاقے مالکی شریف میں جلسے سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے مزید کہا کہ پرویز خٹک کو جانتاہوں، یہ میرے دفتر میں بیٹھے ہوتے تھے ،خٹک حکومت نے گندگی کی، فراڈ کیا ، لوگوں کو نوکریوں سے نکالا، خیبر بینک بھی نہ چھوڑا ۔
سابق صدر نے کڑی تنقیدکرتے ہوئے کہا کہ ڈینگی، لوگوں کو نکالنا، ہر قسم کا فراڈ کیا، یہ فیصلے اور مک مکا کی سیاست کرتے ہیں، یہ دکھاوے کی سیاست کرتے ہیں ،پختونوں کو میں نے شناخت دی۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ کشمیر میں بہنوں اوربھائیوں کےساتھ ہونے والاظلم سب کے سامنے ہے،پختون ہمارے بھائی ہیں، انہیں اپنا مانا ہے، انہیں پاکستان میں داخل کیا ہے،برصغیر میں اسلام فقیروں کے در سے آیا ہے ۔
آصف زرداری کا مزید کہنا ہے کہ ہم نے نکالے گئے ہزاروں لوگوں کو بحال کرایا، سینیٹ میں پی ٹی آئی اور اے این پی نے ووٹ ڈالے۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ یہ دکھاوے کی سیاست کرتے ہیں، انہیں نہیں پتہ دھرتی کی کیا مانگ ہے، دھرتی کیا چاہتی ہے،پختونوں کو شناخت اس لئے دی کہ بھارت پختونخوا میں نہ گھسے، پختون اپنی شناخت پاکستان کے ساتھ رکھےیں، کسی کے ساتھ نہ جڑیں ۔
آصف زرداری نے مزید کہا کہ بھارت میں مسلمانوں کے ساتھ زیادتی ہورہی ہے،وہاں بی جے پی کے خوف سے ووٹ دیتے ہیں،کشمیر میں جو ہورہا ہے وہ آپ جانتے ہیں۔
ان کا کہنا ہےکہ پاکستان بنانےمیں بزرگوں نے بہت تکلیف اٹھائی، ہمیں پاکستان اور پختونوں کی قدر کرنی چاہئے، پختونوں کو شناخت دے کر احسان نہیں کیا۔
سابق صدر نے مزید کہا کہ عوام کے ساتھ مل کر کےپی کے کو خوشحال کریں گے، یہاں انڈسٹریاں لگائیں گے، جس کا جوعلاقہ ہے اس پر اس کا حق پہلے ہے، ہم ہر مشکل اور مصیبت کو ٹھیک کریں گے۔

https://jang.com.pk/latest/387565-pti-failed-to-buil-village-cant-bult-new-pakistan-zardari

Bilawal Bhutto slams PML-N for ‘mainstreaming terror’ after Capt Safdar’s speech

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday lashed out at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) following Captain (r) Safdar Awan, the son-in-law of deposed PM Nawaz Sharif, speech demanding strict actions against Ahmadis.


Bilawal Bhutto took to Twitter accusing PML-N of spreading hatred and extremism in country. He said, “Nawaz league has been mainstreaming terror well before MML,” a political party formed by Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD).
Slamming the comments made by Safdar as “bigotry, hatred & extremism”, the PPP chief said that there is “No place for this mindset in our society”.

The bigotry, hatred & extremism on display in the National Assembly yesterday goes to show Nawaz league has been mainstreaming terror well before MML. No place for this mindset in our society.
Curbs on Ahmadis
Addressing the National Assembly on Tuesday, Capt (r) Safdar called for complete curbs on Ahmadis in government, army and private employment.
He asked, “Can these people, who attack the finality of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), be loyal to a country, which came into existence in the name of Finality of Prophethood?”
He also demanded that the Professor Abdus Salam Center for Physics be renamed, saying “Dr. Adbus Salam was a non-Muslim, and the Constitution of Pakistan declares him a non-Muslim and we don’t want any department to be affiliated with the name of any such person.”
Safdar, who is married with ex-PM Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz, asked for complete constraint on admission of Ahmadi’s in armed forces. He blamed the failure of 1971, on Qadayani’s leading high posts during the war.
“In 1971, the Corps Commander of Sindh, General Abdullah Ali, was a Qadiyani; his brother was a Qadiyani and I’m shocked that even the Air Force chief was Qadiyani. How can you win a war when all the high ranks were given to the enemies of Islam.”

The recent outburst against Qadiyani’s follows the political and religious parties’ protest against the ‘un-Islamic’ amendments in the new Election Bill, which according to them clash with provision regarding finality of Prophethood. After the protests, the clause was reinstated and Speaker National Assembly called it a mere ‘clerical mistake’.

Captain (r) Safdar arrived in the country from London on Monday, and was presented in front of accountability court after being arrested at Islamabad airport. He was released after submission of Rs0.5 million bail.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/bilawal-bhutto-slams-pml-n-for-mainstreaming-terror-after-capt-safdars-speech/

On International Day of the Girl Child, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari pledges to protect girls




Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that better grooming, education and protection to our girl children is their basic right hence the government and the society are bound to provide the same.
In his message on the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child being observed under the aegis of the United Nations, the PPP Chairman reiterated the pledge of his Party that girls will be protected and incentives will be increased for them for obtaining education and health facilities.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said he feels pain to know about the sense of insecurity among our mothers, sisters and daughters in Karachi and questioned whether the knife-attacker was a Martian, who is not being caught. He stressed that everyone should do his job instead of playing outside the domains.
PPP Chairman said that his Party won’t tolerate attacks on our mothers, sisters and daughters. “PPP supports the slogan of Strong Girl – Strong World slogan of the United Nations,” he added.

https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2017/10/11/on-international-day-of-the-girl-child-chairman-bilawal-bhutto-zardari-pledges-to-protect-girls/