Pakistan - State’s failure in Quetta

ANOTHER deadly attack in Quetta; yet more policemen targeted and killed.

The sickening pattern of violence in Balochistan is too public and clear for state officials to simply try and foist blame on unnamed external actors.

That a senior police officer, this time a DIG and two other policemen, could be killed near his official residence in what ought to be a high-security zone in Quetta is an utter failure of the intelligence and security apparatus.

There is simply no excuse for why a suicide bomber can infiltrate the area, reach his target and detonate explosives without being identified and stopped.

Quetta and the wider province have suffered violence that has ebbed and flowed too many times for the usual explanations to be tolerated.

A murky security strategy in the province appears to have made accountability all but impossible.

Who is responsible for the consistent lapses and why is it that the only thing that appears horribly certain in Balochistan is that more attacks will occur?

The targeting of policemen is a particularly deadly terrorist tactic.

In Balochistan, where the state has been hollowed out by attacking officials over the years to discourage others from serving in the province, there is a desperate shortage of skills at all tiers of the private and public sectors.

The worse that shortage is made and the more others are deterred from serving in the region, the less Balochistan will be able to reverse its abysmal socioeconomic indicators.

And that will surely help consign Balochistan to many more years of deprivation and violence — a cycle that the security establishment appears to have no real answer to.

Without recognising that a militarised security strategy in Balochistan has failed to produce adequate results in a province that is beset by a range of security challenges, Balochistan cannot begin to find answers to a complex, layered security threat.

Perhaps now is the time for the civilian government or one of its partners to issue an urgent call for a fresh national dialogue on Balochistan.

Previous attempts have achieved little, but it remains the case that only a combined civilian and military strategy affords Balochistan a chance to escape from its otherwise seemingly endless misery.

The different challenges — sectarianism, external interference, domestic militancy, radicalisation of parts of the population and a low-level separatist insurgency — require different responses, but they all need a coherent state strategy.

At the moment, it is not clear what strategy the state has to respond to this latest wave of violence.

A fresh initiative by the civilian leadership could open the door to an intra-state dialogue and an understanding of how to tackle the different strands of militancy, terrorism and violence in Balochistan.

The lack of ideas and initiatives in Balochistan appears to be undermining security in the province; it is time for another path to be taken.

Pakistani minorities: fleeing the fire for a snake pit

By Kaleem Dean

During the past few weeks, Thailand Immigration arrested around three dozen Pakistani Christian Asylum Seekers, even though all were holding UNHCR registration certificates. Thailand is a country known for its religious tolerance which has made her an easy destination for people fleeing their homelands to avoid persecution and oppression. 

Majority of Asylum Seekers in Thailand come from the Pakistani Christian community, and remainunder constant social subjugation in their home country. Amy Smith, Director of ‘Fortify Rights’, an organization that works to prevent human rights violation in South Asian countries, said, “Asylum seekers fleeing persecution in their home countries shouldn’t experience further violations in Thailand.” She demanded expeditious release of asylum seekers from the International Detention Centre (IDC.) declaring it, “trampling on the rights of asylum seekers”. 

Thailand is not a signatory of Human Rights Geneva Conventions of 1951, therefore it does not accept or relocate refugees in the country. But with a separate arrangement with the Thai government, the UNHCR has opened its ‘gateway’ office to re-settle successful asylum applicants to other countries of the world. Ironically, the UNHCR has failed to coordinate with Thailand Immigration once asylum applicants get registered with UNHCR. the local immigration authorities must grant a temporary leave to remain in the country but contrary to this, these applicants are arrested once their visas expire. 

Therefore, all applicants after the expiry of their six month’s visit visa are liable to be detained and deported, because of the inability of the UNHCR office to determine asylum applications in the maximum time of six months people exhaust their visaslimit. Holding a UNHCR asylum registration certificate does not satisfy the Thai Immigration or the police for their lawful stay in the country, therefore according to the local immigration rules after expiry of visas all are considered overstayed. Till 2010, the UNHCR in Thailand was comparatively fair in its treatment of asylum applicants but after the Rohingya crises in Myanmar became complex, the migrant influx increased the burden which was uneasy to handle for the limited staff at UNHCR. In 2009, Gojra riots against the Christian community in Pakistan triggered their exodus from the country. 

In this move, Adamidis and Shia communities too found the chance to find refuge outside the country. The lax visa policy as a tourist destination, Thailand attracted thousands of migrants from various countries of the globe which made it difficult for the UNHCR to deal with all asylum applications within the anticipated time frame, therefore, the heap of backlog kept growing and now an average waiting time for sylum interview is four years. People suffer in Thailand as their applications are not determined according to the set policies of UNHCR. The state-supported cleansing of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, people coming from Myanmar have been recognized the most deserving community to relocate in different countries whereas Christian asylum seekers from Pakistan have been ignored by the UNHCR. 

Two years before a Christian parliamentarian was sent to Thailand to reassure UNHCR and Thai immigration that Christians were safe in Pakistan; this has caused serious problems for the community in Thailand. In addition to this, cases of Christian asylum seekers are determined in light of UK asylum guidance line on Pakistan which is an old document that does not recognize Pakistani Christians as an oppressed community, but as socially discriminated. This way, the Christian asylum seekers fail to secure the refugee status in Thailand. Therefore, not finding hope; many families have returned to the same mess they once decided to leave in quest of safe life. Woefully, there are certain individuals in the Christian community who for their personal monetary gain encourage Christians to leave the country.

In 2009, Gojra riots against the Christian community in Pakistan triggered their exodus from the country. In this move, Ahmadi and Shia communities also found the chance to find refuge outside the country

Their dreams ends when people face the reality f the hard life in Bangkok. These poor people are not allowed legally to earn for their families and remain dependent on the national and international organizations for housing and other household needs. But a few fortunate ones get a chance to find this limited support whereas most people have to rely on illegal means of earning for themselves and their families. Almost half a dozen of Pakistani Christians have died in prisons and their families are facing destitution. Several thousand Christian families have been stranded in limbo, completely unsure about their future and waiting for a Messiah to come to their rescue. Why minorities leave Pakistan? Obviously, every day the growing persecution is the biggest factor, for example, Asif Aqeel, a Christian journalist and thinker reported to the World Watch Monitor that in the first week of November, a Christian boy of 18 years from Sukheke village, Punjab, was falsely accused of desecrating Islam through a Facebook account.

The local community announced him a blasphemer liable to die. Later it was found that someone through a fake Facebook account tried to trap the young Christian, however, the fear-ridden Christian community has fled the village for safety. One such incident creates an environment of fear, anxiety and helplessness. Also, this originates doubts among the members of majority community which widens the social gap between minority and the majority. In such a deplorable domain of oppression, minorities come to censuses that they face a social narrative of hate, discrimination and inequality which lead to their exodus from the country. A revised social structure based on equality could win the trust of marginalized sections of the society; however, the suffering of Pakistani Christian Asylum Seekers in Thailand should come to an end too.

Their dreams ends when people face the reality f the hard life in Bangkok. These poor people are not allowed legally to earn for their families and remain dependent on the national and international organizations for housing and other household needs. But a few fortunate ones get a chance to find this limited support whereas most people have to rely on illegal means of earning for themselves and their families. Almost half a dozen of Pakistani Christians have died in prisons and their families are facing destitution. Several thousand Christian families have been stranded in limbo, completely unsure about their future and waiting for a Messiah to come to their rescue. Why minorities leave Pakistan? Obviously, every day the growing persecution is the biggest factor, for example, Asif Aqeel, a Christian journalist and thinker reported to the World Watch Monitor that in the first week of November, a Christian boy of 18 years from Sukheke village, Punjab, was falsely accused of desecrating Islam through a Facebook account.

The cases of Christian asylum seekers are determined in light of UK asylum guidelines on Pakistan. It is an old document that does not recognise Pakistani Christians as an oppressed community, but just as socially discriminated

The local community announced him a blasphemer liable to die. Later it was found that someone through a fake Facebook account tried to trap the young Christian, however, the fear-ridden Christian community has fled the village for safety. One such incident creates an environment of fear, anxiety and helplessness. Also, this originates doubts among the members of majority community which widens the social gap between minority and the majority. In such a deplorable domain of oppression, minorities come to censuses that they face a social narrative of hate, discrimination and inequality which lead to their exodus from the country. A revised social structure based on equality could win the trust of marginalized sections of the society; however, the suffering of Pakistani Christian Asylum Seekers in Thailand should come to an end too.

Pakistan: Closure of MSF project in northwest will leave thousands without healthcare

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been told by the Pakistani authorities to close its medical activities in Bajaur Agency in north-western Pakistan. The closure will leave thousands of people in Bajaur Agency without vital healthcare, and comes just seven weeks after MSF was forced to close its project in Kurram Agency, also in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). With the closure of its project in Bajaur, MSF will have no presence in the FATA, one of the areas of the country where the need for emergency, maternal and child healthcare is most acute.

“We are extremely disappointed by the authorities’ decision to refuse permission for MSF to continue providing urgently-needed medical care in Bajaur Agency,” said Azaad Alessandro Alocco, MSF Country Representative in Pakistan.

“Healthcare services are very limited in the area and most of our patients cannot afford to pay for even basic medical care. As the only major hospital providing free, quality healthcare in the area, the closure of MSF’s activities will leave a major gap and have serious negative implications for the health of people living in Bajaur and the surrounding areas, such as Mohmand Agency.”

The Pakistani authorities have informed MSF that the no-objection certificate (NOC) required for carrying out medical activities in Bajaur will not be renewed, although no explanation for this has been given.

Without a valid NOC, MSF is not permitted to continue providing medical services. MSF has informed its team and the local community in Bajaur Agency about the decision, and will complete the closure process within two weeks.

In Bajaur, MSF has supported the Ministry of Health at the Tehsil Headquarters hospital in Nawagai since 2013, providing medical care in the outpatient, emergency room, and mother and child health departments. As the authorities have not permitted MSF international staff members to access Bajaur Agency, the project is run by 120 Pakistani staff with support from international staff based in Timergara in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and in Islamabad.

“The number of people seeking healthcare at Nawagai hospital has continued to increase, illustrating the enormous need for medical care in the area," said Alocco.

"Since February 2017, when emergency services at the hospital were extended to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we have seen the number of patients treated in the stabilisation room more than double,” said Alocco.

"The end of MSF’s support will likely mean that people in need of life-saving emergency, maternal and paediatric care will face challenges accessing it, especially at night time when travelling is more difficult.”

In the first nine months of 2017, MSF teams provided care to 41,029 patients in the hospital, compared to 38,865 in all of 2016. More than 14,400 patients were seen in the stabilisation room between January and September 2017, compared to around 8,200 in the whole of 2016. In addition, 1,152 deliveries were assisted by skilled MSF medical staff between January and September 2017, compared to 1,291 in all of 2016.

In 2016 MSF teams at Nawagai hospital conducted more than 31,000 outpatient consultations and treated 167 children for malnutrition. The teams also treated more than 800 patients infected with leishmaniasis, which is an endemic disease in Bajaur.

MSF manages support services in the hospital such as the laundry and infection control. Teams have also provided support, including medical supplies and training, to the Ministry of Health Khar Agency Headquarter Hospital for responding to mass casualty events.

For severely ill patients in need of more intensive medical care than Nawagai hospital can provide, MSF ensured referrals to Khar Agency Headquarter Hospital or to the MSF-supported district hospital in Timergara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistan’s capital Islamabad shutdown by Islamists

Several thousand Islamists in Pakistan have effectively blocked a main crossing near the national capital, Islamabad, crippling the daily life of millions of people and underscoring challenges facing the country’s counter extremism efforts.

The rally began with a few hundred members of the small radical Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah party who had gathered earlier this week at the main Faizabad crossing outside Islamabad.

By Friday afternoon, the gathering grew to over 3,000, disrupting public life and prompting police to set up shipping containers on the throughway to prevent the protesters from entering the city. The demonstrators sought the removal of Zahid Hamid, although he has apologized and said the omission of the reference how Muhammad is the last prophet in Islam was a clerical mistake that was later corrected by the parliament.

But demonstrators claim Hamid made the omission purposefully to appease the minority Ahmadis sect.

Addressing emotionally charged demonstrators, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the head of the Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah party, said they will not end their protest until the government has sacked Hamid.

“We will not allow anyone to change Islamic laws,” he said, as people chanted: “We will die to protect the honor of the Prophet.”

The rally drew criticism from residents and rights activists when an infant died Thursday on the way to a hospital due to the road blockades in Islamabad. Police say they have charged the rally’s organizer, Rizvi, with manslaughter following complaints from the child’s parents who claim his life could have been saved had they reached the hospital in time.

The government has said it wants the protesters to peacefully disperse and authorities are in communication with Rizvi — who has not yet been detained over the charge — to end the sit-in along with the other clerics in attendance.

Pakistani Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal told media that the government has rejected the protesters’ demand for the law minister to be removed, saying there is no charge against him.

“There is a small group of certain demonstrators who are sitting on one road. We are trying to talk to them through dialogue to persuade them that this is an illegal action to make a sit-down on the road because there is a restriction on such an assembly under the law. However, if they indulge in any violent activity the law will take its course,” Iqbal said.

The rally has also caused inconvenience to commuters as authorities have suspended the only bus service linking the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi with Islamabad.

Islamabad’s administration has placed scores of shipping containers and deployed up to 4,000 policemen to prevent protesters from entering Islamabad’s key areas, particularly the “Red Zone” housing foreign diplomatic missions, government offices and the parliament.

Authorities have hinted at using force over the weekend if their talks with Rizvi fail.

On Friday evening, authorities started cordoning the rally amid rumors of imminent action against the demonstrators, who have virtually sieged an important entry gateway into the capital.

Pakistan has also stepped up security at places of worship for Ahmadis, as the protesters are accusing Hamid of transgressing to appease the small sect.

Ahmadis are declared non-Muslims under the Pakistani constitution and considered apostates by the clergy. Members of the community in Pakistan are barred from calling themselves Muslims or referring to their worship places as mosques.

Ahmadis’ interpretation of Islam differs from traditional orthodox positions, and community leaders insist their faith has been misinterpreted by mainstream Muslims, encouraging fundamentalists to persecute and preach violence against them.

https://www.rabwah.net/pakistans-capital-islamabad-shutdown-islamists/

Pakistan - Zardari calls for enlisting missing women in the voters lists

Former President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed grave concern over the missing 13 million women voters from the voters’ list and called upon the government and all relevant state institutions to address the issue in right earnest for the credibility of the 2018 polls.

The former President said this at a briefing by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in Zardari House Islamabad on voters’ registration and other election related issues in the country.

The four member FAFEN team which gave the briefing comprised of Shahid Fayyaz, Mudassir Rizvi, Yasir Javed and Javed Minwa. The PPP leaders who attended the briefing included Nayyer Hussain Bokhari Secretary General PPP, Farhatullah Babar Secretary GFeneeral PPPP, Chaudhry Manzoor Secretary Information PPP and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar Information Secretary PPP.

The meeting was informed that the Election Commission had also stated recently that over 13 million women were not in the voters’ lists and not eligible to vote in the elections..

Zardari said that the voters registration issue was important for empowering women by enabling them to participate in the political decision making processes.

He said that the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will also raise the election and delimitation related issues at the meeting of the Council of Common Interests on Monday and present its point of view forcefully.

The former President also demanded to know the figures of above 18 years old in the country both males and females to make a fair assessment as to how many citizens were still not registered voters. The issue of under registration must also be addressed speedily, the former President demanded.

He also called upon Party office bearers to keep watch on the progress made in this regard and to keep him posted regularly.

https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2017/11/10/zardari-calls-for-enlisting-missing-women-in-the-voters-lists/