Sunday, October 15, 2017
276 killed in deadliest single attack in Somalia's history
The most powerful bomb blast ever witnessed in Somalia's capital killed 276 people with around 300 others injured, the country's information minister said early Monday, making it the deadliest single attack in this Horn of Africa nation. The toll was expected to rise.
In a tweet, Abdirahman Osman called the attack "barbaric" and said countries including Turkey and Kenya had already offered to send medical aid. Hospitals were overwhelmed a day after a truck bomb targeted a crowded street near key government ministries, including foreign affairs.
As angry protesters gathered near the scene of the attack, Somalia's government blamed the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group for what it called a "national disaster." However, Africa's deadliest Islamic extremist group, which often targets high-profile areas of the capital, had yet to comment.
Al-Shabab earlier this year vowed to step up attacks after both the Trump administration and Somalia's recently elected president announced new military efforts against the group.
The Mogadishu bombing is one of the deadliest attacks in sub-Saharan Africa, larger than the Garissa University attack in Kenya in 2015 and the U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Doctors at Mogadishu hospitals struggled to assist badly wounded victims, many burned beyond recognition. "This is really horrendous, unlike any other time in the past," said Dr. Mohamed Yusuf, the director of Medina hospital.
Inside, bleary-eyed nurses transported a man whose legs had been blown off. He waited as surgeons attended to another badly injured patient. Exhausted doctors struggled to keep their eyes open, while screams from victims and newly bereaved families echoed through the halls.
"Nearly all of the wounded victims have serious wounds," said nurse Samir Abdi. "Unspeakable horrors." The smell of blood was strong. A teary-eyed Hawo Yusuf looked at her husband's badly burned body. "He may die waiting," she said. "We need help."
Ambulance sirens echoed across the city as bewildered families wandered in the rubble of buildings, looking for missing relatives. "In our 10 year experience as the first responder in #Mogadishu, we haven't seen anything like this," the Aamin Ambulance service tweeted.
Grief overwhelmed many.
"There's nothing I can say. We have lost everything," wept Zainab Sharif, a mother of four who lost her husband. She sat outside a hospital where he was pronounced dead after hours of efforts by doctors to save him.
The country's Somali-American leader, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, declared three days of mourning and joined thousands of people who responded to a desperate plea by hospitals to donate blood. "I am appealing all Somali people to come forward and donate," he said.
Mogadishu, a city long accustomed to deadly bombings by al-Shabab, was stunned by the force of Saturday's blast. The explosion shattered hopes of recovery in an impoverished country left fragile by decades of conflict, and it again raised doubts over the government's ability to secure the seaside city of more than 2 million people.
"They don't care about the lives of Somali people, mothers, fathers and children," Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said of the attackers. "They have targeted the most populated area in Mogadishu, killing only civilians."
Rescue workers searched for survivors trapped under the rubble of the largely destroyed Safari Hotel, which is close to Somalia's foreign ministry. The explosion blew off metal gates and blast walls erected outside the hotel.
The United States condemned the bombing, saying "such cowardly attacks reinvigorate the commitment of the United States to assist our Somali and African Union partners to combat the scourge of terrorism." It tweeted a photo of its charge d'affaires in Somalia donating blood.
But the U.S. Africa Command said U.S. forces had not been asked to provide aid. A spokesman told The Associated Press that first responders and local enforcement would handle the response and "the U.S. would offer assistance if and when a request was made."
The U.S. military has stepped up drone strikes and other efforts this year against al-Shabab, which is also fighting the Somali military and over 20,000 African Union forces in the country.
The United Nations special envoy to Somalia called the attack "revolting," saying an unprecedented number of civilians had been killed. Michael Keating said the U.N. and African Union were supporting the Somali government's response with "logistical support, medical supplies and expertise."
In a tweet, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "sickened" by the attack, and his spokesman urged all Somalis to unite against extremism and work together to build a "functional" federal state.
Saturday's blast occurred two days after the head of the U.S. Africa Command was in Mogadishu to meet with Somalia's president, and two days after the country's defense minister and army chief resigned for undisclosed reasons.
Amid the chaos, the stories of victims began to emerge. Amino Ahmed said one of her friends, a female medical student, was killed on the eve of her graduation. The explosion also killed a couple returning from a hospital after having their first child, said Dahir Amin Jesow, a Somali lawmaker.
"It's a dark day for us," he said.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/business/article178988306.html
Pakistan - Dengue outbreak in Peshawar rings alarm about increase in vector borne diseases due to climate change
The outbreak of dengue epidemic in Peshawar infecting around 13000 people and claiming 54 lives in a span of two and a half months, has rang alarms about risks of increase in vector borne diseases due to climate change.
According to Dengue Response Unit (DRU), the total number of suspected dengue cases in Peshawar till October 5, 2017 are 60,807. The health department conducted 60,665 dengue serology screening out of which 12632 proved positive. About 147 confirmed cases of Chiken Gunya are also reported in Swabi district during that period out of which 51 have recovered from the disease.
“Prolong summer and irregular precipitation pattern due of climate change are factors attributing to increase in vector borne diseases including Malaria, dengue, zika, yellow fever and chikun gunya,” warns environmentalists, Public Health experts and entomologists.
“Vector borne diseases (VBDs) are transmitted to humans through the bites of insects including mosquitoes, ticks and flies,” appraises Dr. Farrah Zaidi, Assistant Professor and Teacher of Entomology at Zoology Department of Peshawar University.
“Research studies by international institutions including World Health Organization (WHO) have found nexus between climate change and vector borne diseases,” Dr. Farrah told APP.
The timing of the outbreak of dengue in Peshawar starting from mid June and its prevalence even in the month of October supports the research findings that dengue and malaria would likely to spread and increase in countries which are in grip of global warming, warns Dr. Farrah.
To substantiate her viewpoint, she gave reference of a study of Highland Malaria Project, part of an umbrella international collaboration `Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa” which says, World Health Organization estimates that approximately 300–500 million cases of malaria occur worldwide each year.
“A global increase in malaria may be associated with deforestation, water development projects and agricultural practices in poor countries,” the report proposes.
High altitude regions have been protected from malaria endemicity because parasite sporogony and vector development are inefficient in low temperatures. According to another report of World Health Organization (WHO) which says dengue is fast emerging as pandemic-prone in many parts of the world.
“The incidence of dengue has increased 30 fold over the last 50 years. Up to 50-100 million infections are now estimated to occur annually in over 100 endemic countries, putting almost half of the world’s population at risk,” report adds.
Explaining reasons behind increase in vector borne diseases due to climate change, Dr. Farrah said the biological life cycle of insects in summer and winter are separate.
In winter the Aedes aegypti mosquito which spreads dengue takes around 25 to 30 days to grow and matures. While the same process, starting from eggs laying to conversion into larva, pupa and full grown mosquito, takes a short period of around two weeks in tropical season.
Optimal climatic conditions when temperature is between 25 to 30 degree Celsius, vector development and transmission improves besides increase in its reproduction and biting rate. Even the pathogen incubation period reduces in summer to seven days from average of 20 to 25 days.
“Warm and humid weather also improves digestion of dengue mosquito whose blood meal requirement enhances and excessive biting ensues in increased transmission of virus among humans.”
“Poor sanitation, improper waste disposal, water shortage, ill planned irrigation and deforestation are the factors contributing to vector borne diseases,” observed Dr. Shehzad Faisal, Team Leader Dengue Response Unit (DRU) Health Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Apart from other reasons including semi-urbanization and its related problems, hot weather and excessive rainfall are also risk factors behind outbreak of dengue epidemic in Peshawar,” claimed Dr. Shehzad. “The main problem in containing dengue spread is lack of awareness among masses and delay of warm weather,” comments Muhammad Abid Majeed, Secretary Health Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In the prevailing weather, when temperature is around 25 to 35 degree Celsius, the mosquito is active and the only way to contain dengue is to destroy breeding sites and eggs, he told APP.
Abid Majeed said illiteracy is also a factor that is hampering dengue prevention because people are not accepting official advices of containing the contagion, but insist on arranging fogging.
“Excessive use of larvacide has many side effects on human health and it will also result in contamination of ground water,” he opined.
“Climate Change is a global issue and has multi dimensional effects on environment, agriculture and human health,” comments Sadiq Khattak, Chief Conservator Forest Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Talking to APP, Sadiq Khattak agreed that vector borne diseases are increasing due to delay in duration of summer season. He said in Pakistan ratio of forests depletion is much high due to over reliance of people on timber for fuel requirements. “The best way to tackle problem of global warming is carbon sequestration through growing trees and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa enjoys the distinction of planting one billion trees in record time of three years under its Billion Tree Tsunami Project (BTTP) which on maturity in 2018 will help in reducing the average temperature of the province by around two degree Celsius,” Khattak observed.
“The current outbreak of dengue has diverted attention of health department on vector controlling measures to prevent future occurrence of the disease,” said Dr. Shaheen Afiridi, Director Public Health KP. Talking to APP, Dr. Shaheen said after emergence of the disease, it was felt that the Health department should have a team of entomologists for surveillance of vectors at larval, pupal and adult stages.
She informed that KP government has chalked out a comprehensive six months dengue prevention and control plan in line with the guidelines of WHO.
The plan included revision of Provincial IVM (Integrated Vector Management) programme with the agreed and approved structure to meet all technical and managerial needs.
The government has also decided to appoint 41 entomologists for working on destroying vectors’ eggs and breeding sites to prevent future outbreak of the disease.
“Preventing vector borne diseases is an emerging concept and Public Health department needs in-depth research, resources, technical assistance and public cooperation in achievement of this goal,” Dr. Shaheen observed.
Dengue claims another life in Peshawar
Dengue fever on Saturday claimed life of another patient, raising the death toll to 55 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa so far.
Sana Maryam, 25, daughter of Usman Ahmad, resident of Sufaid Dheri village in Peshawar, had been admitted to Khyber Teaching Hospital after being diagnosed dengue positive on Thursday. She breathed her lost at the hospital.
In its fresh report, the Dengue Response Unit said that a total of 1,574 people were tested for dengue virus at the three major hospitals in the provincial metropolis. Of them, 455 were tested positive for dengue virus. However, only 127 were admitted to hospitals, while 128 were discharged after giving them initial treatment, it explained. Moreover, it further said that at present, as many as 483 dengue patients were being treated at different hospitals.
The first dengue case had surfaced in the provincial metropolis on July 20 at Tehkal, where from the fatal virus spread in the neighbourhoods. Presently, most of the dengue cases are being reported from Pishtakhara, Palosai, Tehkal Bala and Tehkal Payan, Sufaid Dheri and other adjacent localities.
Residents of these areas are terrified by the outbreak of the dengue fever and they have demanded the government to take more steps to get control over the epidemic and also improve facilities at hospitals, particularly for dengue patients.
http://nation.com.pk/national/15-Oct-2017/dengue-claims-another-life-in-peshawar
Why ‘good’ terrorists are bad for Pakistan
Despite the Government’s claims of effectively implementing National Action Plan for counter terrorism, the activity of some terrorist organisations keeps baffling the people of Pakistan as well as the international community. Why, the dissenters within Pakistan ask, are certain groups allowed and certain others manage to keep working while the army is fighting an expensive Operation Zarb-e-Azb in the restive tribal areas and the government is busy implementing NAP whereby actions are being taken against the terrorist organisations in the settled areas of the country? The answer is not an easy one. There might be an element of voyeurism in letting some of these organisations work for damage the ones we are not so fond of, but there are also some rational choices and real-world hitches that might be responsible for the way the state of Pakistan behaves viz a viz terrorist organisations on its soil. However irrational its ‘rational choices’ appear, the madness still has a method to it. It is perhaps worth it to map both, the choices and the hitches.
The security officials keep referring to many operational and strategic complexities that come in the way of across-the-board action against the terrorist organisations working and based on Pakistan’s soil. For example, prioritizing counter-terror Ops based on the declared objectives of the terrorist organisations. The India-centric, e.g. Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM); and Afghan-centric, e.g. Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network, terrorist organisations pose no threat to Pakistan in lieu of the tacit arrangement that the state of Pakistan lets them be and doesn’t touch as long as they remain ‘peaceful’ within Pakistan.
In the backdrop of ongoing operation against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and allied groups in the northwest and while the borders in the east and the west remain extremely heated the civil and military leadership is not ready to open any other active front in the mainland. The situation further compounds keeping in view the ominous threat of ISIS, which the officials do not yet admit publicly but can’t deny the multiple arrests of many ISIS commanders from settled areas of Punjab and Karachi.
The emergence of ISIS provides a viable alternative to the foot soldiers and on-ground commanders of many of these organisations in case they are squeezed at this time. The theory is, the armed and trained foot soldiers might defect to ISIS if the state tightens the noose around these so far ‘peaceful’ organisations. If gathered around the ISIS axis, these terrorists would prove formidable for Pakistan in its mainland like Lal Masjid did when an operation was launched against it in 2007. Within a month of the operation, the terrorist attacks increased by 100% and by 200% in the following year. Another example is Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), the anti-Shia sectarian outfit that went rogue when the state tried to squash it. Many of its members went to ISIS while the others merged to make it LeJA that started attacking Pakistan. LeJA and Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) jointly claimed recent attacks in Quetta.
Given these considerations, the action against the Afghan/India centric outfits remains pending. But there appears to be a growing realization among the civilian leadership that giving free playing field to some group while trying to reign in some others is a strategy increasingly failing. Those having safe havens in Pakistan are variously seen lending resources (human and technical) to the ones under attack. With a very close-knit nexus between these categories of terrorist organisations, it is difficult to maintain a textbook separation between them.
In 2010, for example, a Frontier Constabulary (FC) check post on the border near Mohmand Agency came under attack and the soldiers ended up fighting the Afghan Taliban. After a fierce fight, some 23 soldiers had to surrender to Afghan Taliban who then handed the soldiers over to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan based in Afghanistan. The soldiers were brutally killed in 2014 by TTP. This was only possible if Afghan Taliban and TTP were working together, which they were. Similarly, the ties between JeM, LeJ, TTP and Afghan Taliban at operational level have been well documented by many researchers.
This poses urgency for Pakistan to act against the active factions of all these organisations active in Pakistan. Going by the report by Cyril Almeida in Dawn (that created quite a stir in Pakistan), the civilian leadership is aware of this bigger challenge and is determined to negotiate it with the military leadership too. The report also hints at military’s willingness to cooperate with the civilians for this uphill task. As per the report, the Director General of ISI made the commitment in that high level meeting to personally visit all the provinces and direct his men on ground to help the government permanently shut down the terror tap of formerly ‘acceptable’ outfits.
However, just two weeks ago, Retired General Amjad Shoaib while speaking in a current affairs show on one of the private TV channels informed that General Rizwan Akhter, the DG ISI, had written a letter earlier this year to the Prime Minister proposing two options for the way forward about these so called ‘peaceful’ groups (like JuD and other allied outfits). The first option proposed by the General was, mainstream the jihadis in the country by offering them government jobs. The Option Two that the DG ISI had reportedly proposed was that the fanatical jihadi militants who would not agree to be part of the mainstream be recruited into the security forces after being ‘deradicalised’.
Now this is a chilling report if true. Mainstreaming jihadis is a dangerous idea because the past experience has been that in addition to mainstreaming themselves they mainstream their ideology as well. And a decade down the road, we would be reaping an entire crop of ‘mainstream’ jihadis who would have penetrated in the entire social fabric and the state institutions. The best possible way for the state of Pakistan might be to ask all the armed groups on its soil to lay down their weapons, abide by the law of the land or face the consequences. Those guilty of brutalities must face the law. Those who refuse to budge in, must face the operation by the security forces / law enforcement agencies. This must not be taken as opening new wounds. This rather, would be treating the simmering ulcer that is most likely to affect the whole body.
If, instead of pulling its hands from the heads of jihadi organisations altogether, the state institutions want to help the terrorists make their living in the name of ‘mainstreaming’, even the God won’t be willing to help.
http://www.stringerasia.it/?en/stringer-asia---in-depth/why-%E2%80%98good%E2%80%99-terrorists-are-bad-for-pakistan/&q=hbihnq4lfq53P0LnZvCJSzm7WE1pwhBr
Pakistani Liberals Speak up for a Progressive, Secular Pakistan
London, October 13, 2017: More than a hundred liberal, progressive and left leaning Pakistanis got together in London from around the world in a three days moot. This is the second conference hosted by South Asians against Terrorism & for Human Rights (Saath Forum) headed by Husain Haqqani, former Pakistani Ambassador to the USA. The first one was organised in October 2016.
While inaugurating the conference, Rashid Rehman, senior Pakistani journalist and intellectual, said that a strong liberal, secular front was needed to fight the menace of extremist ideologies in Pakistan. He proposed to establish a conference Secretariat in Pakistan, in addition to an international Secretariat that would ensure that Pakistani diaspora in different countries remains involved in this important debate about the future of Pakistan.
Husain Haqqani while giving his welcome address said that neither the organisers of the conference nor the participants have any intention to start a fight with country’s armed forces. “We consider our armed forces as our own, but we also want our armed forces to consider us their own”, he added.
He said that no one wanted to break or damage Pakistan, but there might be some people who might not agree with the preeminent narrative of how the state of Pakistan needed to be, or how it needed to behave with its own people and with the rest of the world. This, he said, should not be equated with treason or collision with the state.
Husain Haqqani went on to quote recent development and economic rankings on which Pakistan stands at the lowest. He said that having a desire to change these things towards the better is the best form of patriotism.
He also advocated involving Baloch, Pakhtun, Sindhi and Siraiki nationalists in mainstream discourse in order for them to have a feeling of inclusiveness rather than of being neglected.
The conference shall discuss in next three days, the way forward for the Liberal forces in Pakistan in order to provide an alternative narrative on Pakistan’s state and society.
Among the prominent participants of the conference are Wajid Shamsul Hassan, former Pakistani High Commissioner to UK; Prof Amin Mughal, leading Pakistani professor and intellectual based out of London; Dr. Sarfaraz Khan, Professor Area Studies Center Peshawar; Aimal Khattak, peace activist and son of late Ajmal Khattak; Mohsin Dawar, Abdul Hameed Bhashani, Kashmiri Barrister based out of Canada; Farhat Taj, author & Professor of social sciences based out of Norway; Beena Sarwar, senior Pakistani journalist; Lakhu Lakhani, senior leader of World Sindhi Congress; Mazhar Arif, intellectual and human rights defender; Fahim Baloch, Baloch activists and human rights defender; and Pakistani journalists Mehreen Zehra Malik and Taha Siddiqui.
Activists affirm belief in a liberal Pakistan
Vidya Ram
Dissent is patriotic, declares forum
Prominent Pakistani political and human rights activists, intellectuals and journalists gathered in London for a conference this weekend to affirm their faith in a “liberal, democratic secular and progressive Pakistan”. They warned that without a change in its “crisis-ridden trajectory”, the country risked global isolation.
It was the second conference to be organised outside London by South Asians Against Terrorism and for Human Rights (SAATH), a forum headed by Husain Haqqani, former Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S., and Dr. Mohammad Taqi, a U.S.-based columnist.
Obscurantist forces
The group will set up two Secretariats — at home and abroad — to help “wrestle the idea and identity of Pakistani away from the obscurantist forces” and protect their pluralist, secular and liberal vision of Pakistan. “Dissent is patriotic,” they said in a declaration at the end of the conference.
“The widening circle of repression of critical, dissenting voices to the state’s narrative have led to shrinking space for liberal, secular, progressive ideas and pluralism,” warned the declaration, pointing to threats faced by NGOs, human rights activists and others.
Aiding extremism
“Attempts to mainstream extremist and terrorist organisations is a particularly dangerous development and a threat to the democratic polity,” they added, accusing the state of continuing to “appease or nurture religious extremists”, allowing the spread of extremism and misinforming “the people of Pakistan about the realities of the country”.
The meeting also called for a greater devolution of powers to local governments. “It is time for Pakistan’s rich and powerful ruling elite to own up and take responsibility for the failed policies of the past instead of promoting conspiracy theories through manipulation of the mainstream mass media and increasing repression of the social media,” the declaration said.
#Pakistan - #IstandwithAhmadis - Decoding anti-Ahmedi bigotry
Another day, another bigoted outburst from someone in a position of power. Earlier this week Capt. Ahmed Safdar, the son-in-law of Nawaz Sharif and an elected member of parliament, took to the floor of the National Assembly to denounce Ahmadis. His utterly unwarranted outburst reiterated many of the tropes that have been used to demonize the community in the past, and which have been used to justify much of the state-sanctioned and societally enforced discrimination against them; Ahmadis, Capt. Safdar said, were anti-Pakistan elements whose religious beliefs meant that should not be allowed to serve in the government or the armed forces. The virulent cherry on this hate-filled cake was a call for Quaid-e-Azam University to reverse its decision to name one of its centres after Dr. Abdus Salaam, Pakistan’s first Nobel Laureate, with Capt. Safdar arguing that the eminent scientist’s religious identity invalidated all of his many accomplishments. Why this should be the case was not made clear in what will undoubtedly be remembered as one of Pakistan’s more unhinged and swivel-eyed displays of intolerance.
Capt. Safdar is no stranger to this kind of display, having engaged in theatrics of this sort in the past as well. What is more interesting to consider is the timing this time around; why did Capt. Safdar make these statements when he did, given that they seemed to come out of the blue, devoid of any broader context or debate. Here it is possible to discern four potential motivations, none of which are mutually exclusive. The first of these is simply that the views expressed by Capt. Safdar represent his genuine beliefs, and that his words in the National Assembly were nothing more than an unacceptable articulation of his prejudice. However, while this may indeed be the case, it does not fully account for why he said what he did when he did. After all, one would assume that Capt. Safdar could make use of his pulpit in the National Assembly to speak in this fashion at any point in time.
A second potential explanation is that the logic behind this outburst was more personal. Given the Sharif family’s on going and increasingly serious legal troubles, in which Capt. Safdar and his wife Maryam Nawaz figure prominently, making outlandish statements against a minority that has long been the unfortunate subject of popular persecution might have been a ham-fisted attempt to curry favour with those elements of parliament and, indeed, society who would look upon such conduct favourably. If this were to be the case, it would represent a degree of cynical manipulation and opportunism that makes the whole episode even more unsavoury, showing how some of this in power might be willing to incite violence and hatred against already marginalized communities in order to protect their own interests.
The third explanation is related to the second, and highlights the political gains to be made from fanning the flames of religious bigotry. In the recently held by-election in NA-120, one of the key developments was how the decrease in the PML-N’s vote share was accompanied by the emergence of significant support for two far-right religious parties, the MML which is an offshoot of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and the Labaik Ya Rasool Party which has mobilised around the issue of blasphemy. As some commentators have pointed out, the PML-N has a long history of using religion to garner support for itself (as evinced, for example, by Nawaz Sharif’s attempt to have himself declared Ameer-ul-Momineen through a constitutional amendment in the late 1990s), and the MML and LYK therefore represent an electoral threat to the PML from the Right, peeling away the types of religious voters who might have previously voted for the former. In this context, anti-Ahmadi hate speech could be construed as dog-whistle politics aimed at appealing to sections of the electorate that may have been defecting to more overtly religious organizations.
Finally, it could also be that Capt. Safdar’s words were an attempt to insulate the PML-N from the attacks it was being subjected to in parliament after the controversy that emerged over amendments to the Elections Bill that altered clauses relating to the Finality of Prophethood. Whether these amendments were accidental or deliberate (with the latter option potentially being an attempt to test the waters with regards to introducing incremental reforms to religious laws), using anti-Ahmadi rhetoric as a defence mechanism is, once again, cold-heartedly cynical and morally reprehensible.
In the aftermath of Capt. Safdar’s speech, there has been little in the way of condemnation from opposition parties or the PML-N itself. Indeed, the only official statement that came out was from Ahsan Iqbal, whose briefs words or reproach two days after the event did little to challenge or confront the bigotry he and others in government often claim to be fighting. This is perhaps the most troubling aspect of this entire fair; while there will always unfortunately be individuals like Capt. Safdar who are perfectly willing to fuel bigotry and hatred, the widespread acceptance of this by society reflects poorly on all of us.
Can Pakistan continue to afford its hatred for Ahmadis?
BY LUAVUT ZAHID
Pakistan is in trouble. And a lot of it.
Safdar believes that Ahmadis work against the country’s interest. He takes issue with Quaid-e-Azam University renaming its physics centre after Abdus Salam. And finally, he wants to ban Ahmadis from being recruited into the armed forces. His words are ironic, to say the least
We cannot afford parliamentarians going off on rants that make the entire country look much worse than it did before – and it’s not at all as though we looked pretty before this statement came out.
The Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) group government has made its own attempts at giving its narrative a makeover. The party was once almost atheistic in its approach to minority rights, in that they believed the right did not exist. Then it took a slight U-turn in recent years. Nawaz Sharif was seen celebrating Holi, revamping mandirs, hiring Christian lawmakers for jobs that impacted minorities, and the – somewhat short but very real – list goes on.
And then Captain Muhammad Safdar happened.
Just a few days ago Ahmadis found themselves back into perpetually unwanted limelight, thrown on them as a convenient tool for a variety of reasons. Most recently, it is Safdar who decided to put his unasked for two cents.
Safdar believes that Ahmadis work against the country’s interest. He takes issue with Quaid-e-Azam University renaming its physics centre after Abdus Salam. And finally, he wants to ban Ahmadis from being recruited into the armed forces. His words are ironic, to say the least.
To start with, the country, its agencies, its people, and beyond, have been working against any interest that may benefit Ahmadis in the slightest. The fact that Safdar wants a physics centre renamed from the moniker it shares with an actual scientist is also laughable at best. And perhaps, he takes issue with Ahmadis being inducted into the army, because we’d much rather kill them ourselves then let them be killed defending the country.
While this has been ongoing, Ahmadis have continued to face a range of atrocities – from your garden variety harassment and accusations of ghadaari to more sinister and heinous treatments. Ahmadis are the only people in Pakistan that was unsafe even as they descend into their graves, promising never to ever again betray the state, the people or the religion everyone selectively claims to hold so dear. If we were to start listing down the atrocities and evil this minority has faced in the very country it calls its own we’d probably run out of print space for a few issues of any newspaper, let alone this one.
But I digress.
The main question here is whether anyone gave Safdar a memo on where the party stands. It didn’t take long for Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to distance himself and the party from Safdar’s views. Even Rana Sanaullah, former law minister, gave a statement that must have had his extremist brethren scratching their heads.
Abbasi calls Safdar’s speech his personal views. The question of how a lawmaker and parliamentarian – someone who is the voice of the public — could take to the National Assembly floor to share light banter releasing his personal opinion into the world is one we must ask.
Pakistanis love to sit around most evenings and talk about the old Pakistan. In our never-ending quest to build an entirely new one, we often choose to forget that the fault lines that now define us were once just scratches on the wall. There was indeed a time that this country knew what tolerance looked like. World leaders used to drop by for a visit, cricketers lined up the streets throwing ball with kids, and actresses of global prominence made us their one interesting pit stop to take.
But then we changed. Slowly but surely.
The world is watching as we continue to tumble between two extremes. Simultaneously thirsting for peace and blood, this country and its people know not what path to walk, but they know how to stop others from walking a path they do not like.
Only a handful of years ago we came up with a National Action Plan – a large component of which was hate speech. What Safdar did was nothing short of hateful – except his actions are backed by laws that were put in place ages ago. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto was quick to tweet in the aftermath about the bigotry and hate filled extremist sandwich that was Safdar’s speech. But the lad continues to stay sparingly mum on what he will do once in power to rid the minority of the law created by his own forefathers.
Our leaders are at best confused and at worst apathetic – and neither situation bodes well for any of us. Pakistan sits in isolation in the middle of neighbours that hate it. The supers powers that once called it a friend have slowly inched away. Things are not heading in a better direction, the only way to go is not up, and if we don’t wake up now someone will bomb us in the place of an alarm clock to shake us out of our slumber.
We cannot afford parliamentarians going off on rants that make the entire country look much worse than it did before – and it’s not at all as though we looked pretty before this statement came out. Instead of working towards bringing people together so that it isn’t as easy for someone to decide who lives and who dies, we are standing around debating whether Ahmadis are evil or not. This acute paranoia is going nowhere till we
Truly the pedestal from which our rulers operate is too high up in the clouds for us to hold them accountable.
#KurramAgency - Pakistan - Four FC officials, including captain, martyred in Kurram Agency
Four security officials, including a captain, were martyred and three injured in an IED blast in Kharlachi, Kurram Agency, on Sunday morning.
Three officials were killed instantly while three were reported injured, according to the political administration of the agency. The bodies of the martyred officials and the injured were taken to the Agency Headquarters Hospital in Parachinar, the headquarter of Kurram Agency.
Later, one of the injured, Captain Hasnain, succumbed to his injuries.
A search operation was launched by security forces after the incident.
A statement by the army's media wing said the troops were part of a search party looking for the handlers of the kidnapped foreigners rescued on Wednesday. The martyred officials were identified as Capt Husnain and sepoys Saeed Baz, Qadar Khan and Juma Gul while the injured as Naik Anwar, Sepoy Zahir and Lance Naik Sher Afzal. Their funeral prayers were offered at the FC Ground in Parachinar where senior civil and military officials were in attendance. In a statement, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as well as Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemned the incident.
Bhutto called for national unity to defeat terrorism.
Sources said following the incident, the border crossing at Kharlachi was shut down.
On June 17, the border crossing was reopened after a four-month closure following the deadly suicide bombing at Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’s shrine in Sindh in February 2016.
More than 80 people were killed in the attack.
Rescue of American-Canadian couple
Talking of the recently conducted intelligence-based operation which resulted in the rescue and safe recovery of the Canadian-American couple, along with their children, Inter Services Public Relations chief Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said better intelligence sharing and cooperation can ensure better security.
Describing the operation in a press conference on Saturday, DG ISPR said a call was received by the American ambassador at 4:10pm, informing us that the family was being transferred to Pakistan. On the information we received, we sent our troops and used surveillance means to detect the vehicles transporting the hostages.
Elaborating further, Maj Gen Ghafoor said the army has a very heavy presence in the area "but obviously we dont cover every inch".
"We traced the two cars and cordoned them and fired on their vehicle. Our first priority was that the captives are brought out safely and wanted to isolate the captives and the terrorists so that the captives remain safe."
He added that the objective was to ensure the terrorists, a driver and three gunmen, don't fire on the hostages.
"Personnel of the ISI and the Army came between the terrorists and the fleeing terrorists so they could shield the hostages from gunfire. There is an Afghan refugee camp nearby, and the terrorists fled to it."
"We have been saying repeatedly that the Afghan refugees need to be sent back. It is difficult for us to distinguish who is a terrorist and who is a refugee in such situations."
After detailing the rescue operation, the Army spokesman played a clip of Joshua Boyle, one of the rescued hostage, who praised the professional conduct of the men who saved him and his family and also thanked the Pakistani Army and government for ensuring his family's safety during the rescue operation.
On September 27 this year, four security personnel were injured when two roadside bombs exploded near their vehicle close to the Afghan border in Kurram Agency.
Officials of the political administration said the incident occurred in Shorki, Lower Kurram. Kurram Agency borders three provinces of Afghanistan and witnesses several cross-border attacks.
Bilawal Bhutto condemns terrorist blast in Kurram Agency
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has condemned terrorist bomb blast on FC personnel in Kurram Agency and expressed deep grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of officer and soldiers.
He said that Pakistan was passing through the most difficult time in history as terrorism has become a cancer which can only be cured through national unity and cohesion.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari prayed for the departed souls of martyrs and expressed sympathy and solidarity with their families.
https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2017/10/15/bilawal-bhutto-condemns-terrorist-blast-in-kurram-agency/