Saturday, March 31, 2018
Former Pakistani ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani - Intelligentsia must think why Pakistan deemed dangerous by others
Haqqani unveiled his book at the event organised by the Centre for International Security Studies at the Princeton University. He said that he has laid out the vision of a tolerant, inclusive, democratic federation in the book titled ‘Reimagining Pakistan – Transforming a dysfunctional nuclear state’.
He noted that Pakistan has the world’s sixth largest population and army but lags behind in most international rankings that measure a nation’s success, including education, economic productivity and opportunities for citizens. He predicted that unless Pakistan drastically alters course, the country will come under greater pressure from the rest of the world while also having to deal with internal pressures from a growing population divided by sectarianism and ethnicity and without economic prospects for most people.
“It is true that Pakistan’s direction can best be changed by Pakistanis,” he told the audience. “But genuine debate inside Pakistan remains impossible as long as the nation is mired in a national narrative of hyper-nationalism, grievance and conspiracy theories,” he warned.
Pakistan has the world’s highest infant mortality rate according to a recent Unicef report, Haqqani stated, while lamenting that this troubling news got little attention in the country’s vast media.
“The Pakistani media discusses politics and corruption but ignores human development or the world’s negative perception of the country especially in relation to religious extremism and terrorism,” he said.
“Pakistanis are told about imaginary American, Israeli or Indian conspiracies and there is an outrage industry that keeps Pakistanis angry about perceived threats to Islam and their homeland,” Haqqani said, adding, “The real threats -- of inadequate economic performance, low human capital development, poor health and education statistics, and rising extremism -- are being ignored.”
He listed what he described as “many factual inaccuracies” in accounts of history that are taught to Pakistanis in schools and discussed on mainstream and social media. Haqqani also offered what he described as “practical, step by step remedial measures.”
The former ambassador is currently Director South and Central Asia at the Washington-based think tank Hudson Institute.
#Pakistan - Judicial martial law
By Afrasiab Khattak
In a free season on the Constitution some people have floated the idea of imposing a judicial martial law for holding general elections in the country. Apart from being a contradiction in terms it’s also a totally meaningless concept because a martial law is martial law and a prefix or a suffix doesn’t change its character in any manner. We know it because we have been here before. Under normal conditions such a demand would have been regarded as a constitutional blasphemy and the courts might have taken suo motto notice of it. But we are at a stage where the de jure is too weak to challenge the overbearing de facto and the higher judiciary has better things to do. Otherwise the trial of General (r) Pervez Musharraf for abrogating the Constitution would have been a priority and he wouldn’t have enjoyed the type of impunity that he has been enjoying in the recent years.
Be that as it may, it is interesting to look into rise of the phenomenon of the judicial martial law. It isn’t very complicated. The credit goes to the much maligned 18th Constitutional Amendment. One just has to have a look at the contents of the Article 6 of the Constitution before and after the 18th Constitutional Amendment. First let’s see Article 6 before the aforementioned Amendment;
1: Any person who abrogates or attempts or conspires to abrogate, subverts or attempts or conspires to subvert the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.
2: Any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause (1) shall be guilty of high treason.
3: ( Majlis-e-Shoora ( Parliament) shall by law provide for the punishment of persons found guilty of high treason.
Article 6 after the 18th Amendment;
1: Any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.
2: Any person aiding or abetting (or collaborating) the acts mentioned in clause (1) shall likewise be guilty of high treason.
2A: An act of high treason mentioned in clause (1) or clause (2) shall not be validated by any court including the Supreme Court and a High Court.
3: ( Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) shall by law provide for the punishment of persons found guilty of high treason.
As we can see Article 6 has been strengthened by the 18th Amendment unanimously approved by the Parliament in 2010. It was done because General Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf could get away with the abrogation of the Constitution in 1977 and 1999 respectively. So now the Constitution can’t be suspended or held in abeyance like it was done by the two military dictators. Moreover there is a bar on judiciary to validate abrogation, subversion or suspension of the Constitution. This helped in breaking the vicious cycle of direct intervention by usurpers. But the anti democratic forces have resorted to other means for ousting the elected prim ministers. Selective accountability has become the most favourite means for disqualifying them. It led to the judicialisation of the country’s politics and policisation of judiciary. Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister from PPP was disqualified in 2012. Court proceedings for disqualification of his successor Raja Pervez Ashraf were also initiated but the constitutional term of the Parliament expired before the completion of the court proceedings. Recently we have been witness to the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif by the Apex Court of the country. Although Nawaz Sharif and his party have accepted the court orders but the military has made it very clear that it would stand by the Supreme Court in case of resistance by anyone against the Court’s order. We have been through the Senate elections very recently and the “independents” from Balochistan were not so surprisingly able to hold their sway on the process.
But it’s pertinent to note that all this political engineering wouldn’t have been possible without the major political parties lending their shoulder to the “political engineering department”. PPP and PML (N) had their musical chairs games in 1990s. They took turns to aid and abet the security establishment in overthrowing the governments of one another. In 2006 they signed the Charter of Democracy ( COD) which was subsequently approved by most of the other political parties. It resulted in the general elections of 2008, the 18th Amendment and democratic transition of 2013. Even in 2014 the spirit of COD was able to foil the aims of scripted aggressive sit ins. But after that PPP and PML (N) went back to 1990s mode. Both of them have unfortunately justified their unprincipled positions by the past wrongdoings of each other as if two wrongs make a right. They tend to settle scores on the pattern of tribal feuds. By stubbornly clinging to these vindictive positions they are in for learning the hard way that it’s counterproductive for both of them.
There is a lot of talk about supremacy of Parliament but this remains an empty rhetoric as the present ruling party and some of the opposition parties have ignored the people’s elected representatives in taking important decisions. That isn’t obviously the path towards strengthening the Parliament. The attitude of the political parties and the level of people’s support will determine the status of Parliament and not just the constitutional provisions. If the people are ready to come out in support of Parliament no other institution will dare to usurp its power.
It’s also important for the political leadership on all sides to realise that the erosion of civilian rule has reached to a level where the process of democratic transition has not only halted but it is also faced with regression. It means that mobilisation for coming elections, particularly in the Punjab, will not be just about winning majority seats in the Parliament. It will also be about reviving democracy and civilian rule according to the letter and spirit of the Constitution.
#Pakistan - Editorial: #MalalaComesHome #MalalaInPakistan #MalalaYousafzai - #Malala Comes Home
Malala Yousafzai has finally set foot in her homeland after a long wait of five and a half years. This is a very significant moment not just in her life but also for the people of Pakistan. Her journey is no ordinary journey. Having to witness extremism in such proximity and young age and refusing to be intimidated is heroic as it is, but her following campaign for the cause of education and peace is what has really propelled her to the world’s attention. Her return to Pakistan – brief as it is – bring that journey to a close, and attests to the fact that Pakistan has battled hard against extremism, and is winning.
The Pakistan Malala is returning to is a different Pakistan than she left it. It is clear to see how much the security situation in the country has improved. Instead of being the terror stricken country that it was, Pakistan is well on the way to peace, has development and economic growth to look forward to, and, a few political controversies aside, is relatively stable. Her return enforces that notion, and it commendable to see that the government is reinforcing the same narrative.
It is heartening to see the dignitaries and the authorities of Pakistan completely ignoring the wild conspiracy narrative against her and welcoming her back as a “daughter of the nation”. The meeting with Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi shows how much the country owns her and is proud of all her achievements. She has managed to put forth a soft image of Pakistan and is the youngest Nobel laureate in the history. Such achievements need to be celebrated by the nation as a whole.
Even on this four day visit to Pakistan, we see that her mission for education, particularly women’s education is something that she is passionate about, and her discussion with the Prime Minister on her future plans and possible cooperation is commendable one. The Malala Fund has contributed over $6 Million to the education sector of Pakistan and the campaign still goes on. The government should continue to support such assets of Pakistan, who are so dedicated to the country and continue to help in developing its neglected sectors. One can certainly hope that one day such a path can be paved for her to be able to work in Pakistan.
‘I left Swat with my eyes closed and now return with my eyes open,’ says Malala Yousafzai
Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, visited her hometown in Swat on Saturday, for the first time following the attack on her by Taliban gunmen.
“I left Swat with my eyes closed and now return with my eyes open,” she told AFP. “I am extremely delighted. My dream has come true. Peace has returned to Swat because of the invaluable sacrifices rendered by my brothers and sisters,” Malala said at a school outside Mingora.
On Saturday, Yousafzai flew by helicopter, to visit her childhood home in Swat amidst heavy security, accompanied by her father, mother, and two brothers.
“I miss everything about Pakistan … right from the rivers, the mountains, to even the dirty streets and the garbage around our house, and my friends and how we used to have gossip and talk about our school life, to how we used to fight with our neighbours.”
Malala commented further that she has wanted to return ever since before, but aside from security concerns, she had to follow through her hectic schedule at school and her entrance exams for Oxford, where she began studying last year for a degree in politics, philosophy, and economics. After taking an army helicopter from Islamabad, Malala met friends and family before paying a visit to the all-boys Swat Cadet College in Guli Bagh, some 15 kilometres outside Mingora.
Malala had said earlier that she would address the students there, however, she stayed only a few minutes to take photographs before making her way to return back to Islamabad. Malala was kept out of range of local media on Friday, making it difficult for people to learn about her activities on the day.
Malala, the youngest Nobel Laureate returned to Pakistan on Thursday for the first time since Taliban militants shot her in the head almost six years ago for her efforts to promote girls’ education in Pakistan. She was flown to Britain in 2012 to receive medical care and then went on to impress the world with her eloquence on rights issues. She won the Nobel Peace Prize peace prize in 2014, sharing the laurel with child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.
Bilawal Bhutto extends greetings to the Christians in Pakistan and the world over on Easter
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has extended greetings to the Christians in Pakistan and the world over on the eve of Easter, being celebrated on Sunday.In his felicitation message, the PPP Chairman said that the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees equal rights to every Pakistani citizen, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, and they can freely observe and celebrate their religious and spiritual festivals without any fear.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appreciated the sacrifices of Christian community during the independence movement of Pakistan under Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and in the nation’s struggle for restoration of democracy under Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
He said that PPP considers our Christian brothers and sisters as equal partners and do everything possible for protecting and promoting their political, economic and social rights.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appealed for special prayers for the peace, progress and prosperity of Pakistan on the Easter.
https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2018/03/31/bilawal-bhutto-extendeds-greetings-to-the-christians-in-pakistan-and-the-world-over-on-easter/
ہمیں سیاست کو پیری مریدی سے الگ کرنا ہوگا،بلاول بھٹو
چیئرمین پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا ہے کہ ہمیں سیاست کو پیری مریدی سے الگ کرنا ہوگا،ظالم حکمرانوں نے غربت نہیں غریب مٹانے کا فیصلہ کیا ہے ،عوام اپنے مسائل کا حل چاہتے ہیں، ہم نے 6لاکھ خاندانوں کو غربت سے نکالا ہے۔
سانگھڑ میں خطاب کے دوران بلاول بھٹو نے کہا کہ عوام کو اس سے غرض نہیں کہ کسی کو کیوں نکالا،عوامی مسائل حل کرنے کے لیے نہ ان کے پاس منشور ہے نہ ان کی صلاحیت ہے
ان کا کہناتھاکہ روز گار کے وسائل نہ ہونے سے غربت بڑھتی جارہی ہے ،ہم نے چھ لاکھ خاندانوں کو غربت سے نکالا ۔
پی پی چیئرمین نے یہ بھی کہا کہ آج ن لیگ اٹھارویں ترمیم پر حملے کررہی ہے ،جو اختیار صوبوں کو منتقل ہوا ہے انہیں واپس لینے کی سازش ہورہی ہے،پی پی یہ برداشت نہیں کرے گی ۔
بلاول بھٹو نے کہا کہ سندھ پینے کے ساتھ زراعت کے لئے بھی پانی کی کمی کا سامنا ہے ،وفاق صوبے کو ترسا رہا ہے ،ارسا سندھ کو اس کے حصے کا پانی نہیں دے رہا ۔
ان کا کہناتھاکہ سانگھڑ کو تباہ کرنے والا کوئی اور نہیں فنکشنل لیگ ہے ، گرینڈ الائنس سیاسی یتیموں کا ٹولہ ہے جو ادھر ادھر پھر رہا ہے ، یہ سب لوگ وزیر مشیر اور وزیراعلی رہے ،گھوٹکی کے عوام نے انہیں ان کی حیثیت دکھادی ہے ۔
چیئرمین پی پی نے یہ بھی کہا کہ ن لیگ والوں سن لو ،تم نے انکم سپورٹ پروگرام سے بینظیر بھٹو کی تصویر تو ہٹادی ہے لیکن اسے دلوں سے کیسے نکالوں گے؟ سب کچھ ٹھیک نہیں ہوا ، ہمیں ابھی آپ کی اور خدمت کرنی ہے۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/471881
IRSA not giving Sindh its share of water: Bilawal Bhotto
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto said that Sindh is
facing a shortage of water while Irsa doing the injustice with province, here on Saturday. While addressing the inauguration ceremony of a water project at Sanghar, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari alleged that Indus River System Authority (Irsa) is not giving its share of water to Sindh province.
He said that the federal is carrying out discrimination against Sindh province over water resources. Bilawal said that PPP believes in the service of public and his party work for the people. Chairman PPP said that at least 85 villages of Achro Thar of Sanghar district will get benefit of this project.
Talking to his opponents, he said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Thereek-e-Insaf (PTI) have wasted 5 years in their personal fight. Bilawal said that they have done nothing for public, but both parties doing only the politics of allegations.
http://www.thesindhtimes.com/blog/2018/03/31/irsa-not-giving-sindh-share-water-bilawal-bhotto/
He said that the federal is carrying out discrimination against Sindh province over water resources. Bilawal said that PPP believes in the service of public and his party work for the people. Chairman PPP said that at least 85 villages of Achro Thar of Sanghar district will get benefit of this project.
Talking to his opponents, he said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Thereek-e-Insaf (PTI) have wasted 5 years in their personal fight. Bilawal said that they have done nothing for public, but both parties doing only the politics of allegations.
http://www.thesindhtimes.com/blog/2018/03/31/irsa-not-giving-sindh-share-water-bilawal-bhotto/
#MalalaYousafzai - Nobel winner #Malala visits hometown in Pakistan for first time since shooting
Asif Shahzad, Jibran Ahmad
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai visited her birthplace in Pakistan’s Swat Valley on Saturday, bursting into tears as she entered her childhood home for the first time since a Taliban gunman shot her in 2012.
The 20-year-old told a family friend she planned to return home after completing her education at Oxford, where she is reading for a degree in politics, philosophy and economics.
Roads were blocked off in the town of Mingora as Yousafzai, known universally by her first name, flew in by military helicopter with her parents and brother.
Security was tight around her former home, now rented by a family friend, Farid-ul-Haq Haqqani, who has kept the young woman’s room intact with her books, school trophies and luggage.
“They were weeping. They were kneeling on the ground. They were touching the mud with their eyes,” Haqqani said of Malala and her family. He agreed to be interviewed inside the family home and pointed out a shelf in her room with books including Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” and “Romeo and Juliet” as well as a copy of the television series “Ugly Betty”.
“I asked her when are you permanently coming back and she said ‘God willing, when my education is completed, I will God willing come back to Pakistan.’”
He added that Malala chatted in her room with four friends from her school days in Swat, while her parents greeted neighbors who dropped by - since the security detail would not allow her to go to other houses or even up on the roof of her home.
Malala has been visiting Pakistan since Thursday, her first trip home since she was shot and airlifted abroad for treatment. The government and military have been providing security.
It had been uncertain whether she would be able to visit Swat, a scenic mountain region parts of which spent nearly two years under the control of Pakistani Taliban militants and their harsh interpretation of Islamic law, due to continued concerns for her safety. “I miss everything about Pakistan ... from the rivers, the mountains, to even the dirty streets and the garbage around our house, and my friends and how we used to have gossip ...to how we used to fight with our neighbors,” Malala told Reuters in an interview on Friday.
“I had never been so excited for anything. I’ve never been so happy before,” she said of returning to Pakistan. “WEAPON OF EDUCATION” Two security officials told Reuters the trip to Swat would likely be just for one day.
Another family friend, Jawad Iqbal Yousafzai, who is from the same Pashtun clan as Malala, said the family also visited a local army cadet college. The Pakistani army wrested control of Swat back from the Taliban in 2009 and the area remains mostly peaceful, but the militants still occasionally launch attacks, including one on the military a few weeks ago. The Taliban claimed responsibility in 2012 for the attack on Yousafzai for her outspoken advocacy for girls’ education, which was forbidden under the militants’ rule over Swat.
She wrote an anonymous blog for the BBC Urdu service as a schoolgirl during the Taliban rule and later became outspoken in advocating more educational opportunities for girls.
In 2014, Malala became the youngest Nobel laureate, honored for her work with the Malala Foundation, a charity she set up to support education advocacy groups with a focus on Pakistan, Nigeria, Jordan, Syria and Kenya.
This month, a new girls’ school built with her Nobel prize money opened in the village of Shangla in Swat Valley.
“The people of Swat and the whole of Pakistan are with Malala,” Jawad Iqbal Yousafzai said.
“God willing, we will counter the terrorism and extremism in our region with the weapon of education, with the weapon of a pen, with the weapons of teachers and with the weapons of books.” Haqqani said Malala and her brother requested to be sent dried plums from a tree in the garden once they were harvested. The family visit lasted about 90 minutes, he said.
“They were leaving the house slowly. They were dragging their feet. They were coming back inside again and again,” he said.
Friday, March 30, 2018
Sindh Government Children Hospital, a state-of-the-art health facility
With a vision to be the best children’s hospital in Karachi, the Sindh Government Children Hospital (SGCH), which is under the control of an NGO – namely Poverty Eradication Initiative (PEI) under public-private partnership (PPP) mode – has surfaced as the first ever government health facility which is providing international standard quality healthcare services to children under the age 12.
While talking to Pakistan Today, Operations GM at PEI Syed Gohar Ali Shah said the NGO took over the reign of the children hospital on September 30, 2016, to provide a foundation for the next 10 years of the service (first phase of the partnership).
He said that PEI was striving to improve the access and quality of care that resulted in the quick moving of 50-bedded hospital into a 210-bedded functional hospital. “The outpatient services moved from average 300-500 patients a day to 1500-200 per day including speciality clinic while the government staff were given top salaries,” Gohar added.
According to Gohar, the PEI worked on the continuation of medical education, preventive maintenance of the equipment, strengthening of janitorial and security department, isolation care/high dependency care, Qmatic system and free care with respect and dignity. The hospital is providing all the facilities including OPD, IPD, diagnostic, ambulatory care and pharmacy, he told this scribe.
While briefing about the OPD services, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SGCH Dr Fatima Mohabat Ali said that in January 2017, the hospital had a total of 26,193 patients in just one month, which had now climbed to 44,166 in January 2018 that showed the performance of the hospital and teamwork.
The special OPD had 2,551 patients in January 2017 which became 4,160 children patients by January 2018. The hospital’s pathology department undertook 2,864 tests in January 2017 which jumped to 16,229 in January 2018. The admissions of the children were 297 patients in January 2017 which rocketed pass 696 in January 2018.
Informing about the performance of the surgical department, she said that the hospital had carried out 80 surgeries in January which reached to 199 in January 2018, adding that that hospital’s emergency department treated some 2967 patients in January 2017 which was 10,687 patients in January 2018.
“The hospital has a total strength of some 404 staff that included 77 doctors/specialists, 172 paramedics, 58 in administration, 90 government staff”, Dr Fatima added.
While informing about the future plans, the CEO of SGCH said the PEI was undertaking the renovation of the old building with the view of establishing an extra sixty beds as the hospital would be expanded up to 270 beds. “We are also working to build a strong collaboration with the leading hospitals and institutions and to get ISO certification”, she stated.
Militant leader, ex-bin Laden ally roams freely in Pakistan
By Kathy Gannon
He is crisscrossing Pakistan championing a fatwa, or Islamic religious decree, forbidding militant violence inside the country. But the mere fact that Fazlur Rehman Khalil, veteran leader of an organization designated as a terror group by the U.S., is free has experts questioning Pakistan’s willingness to fight extremism.
Khalil, once a close friend of the late al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, co-founded Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, a group accused by India of attacking its forces in the Kashmir region and by the U.S. of training militants and carrying out attacks in Afghanistan. The group has undergone several name changes over time and is now known as Ansar-ul Ummah.
But authorities have left him alone. At his home on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, the gates are protected by a burly, bushy bearded guard whose automatic rifle is always at his side. Khalil’s madrassa, or religious school, named for Khalid bin Al-Waleed, one of the most prominent early Muslim commanders leading the conquest of Iraq and Syria in the 7th century, occupies a sprawling compound next door in the middle of a crowded market. In an interview with The Associated Press, Khalil denied the accusations against his group and he applauded the fatwa, which he joined other Sunni and Shiite religious scholars in writing, denouncing militant violence in Pakistan as against Islam. The fatwa, issued in January, is the first such decree issued by such a broad range of scholars in Pakistan. “Terrorism, suicide attacks, blasts, and killing of innocent people are forbidden in Pakistan, in accordance with Sharia (Islamic law),” Khalil said, dressed in a starched white traditional shalwar kameez and looking relaxed on the manicured lush green lawn of his compound.
“Religious scholars belonging to different schools of thought are unanimous on the issue and are against terrorism.”
Afghanistan has criticized the fatwa because it is specific to Pakistan. Khalil said Afghan President Ashraf Ghani should call Islamic scholars in his country together to issue a fatwa of their own. He offered to go to Kabul to help craft the fatwa.
“If Ghani does this we will support his initiative. We wish he would do it. If Afghans sit with us we will support them,” he said. Since the beginning of the year Pakistan has come under relentless pressure from the United States to crack down on militants, particularly the Haqqani network, it says has found safe havens in Pakistan. While Islamabad denies organized havens, it says insurgents move around among the 1.5 million Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan.
U.S. President Donald Trump in a blistering New Year’s day tweet accused Pakistan of “lies and deceit” and later suspended hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid.
The 55-year-old Khalil’s stature in the militant hierarchy has waned since the late 1990s, when he signed on to bin Laden’s fatwa ordering the faithful to attack U.S. interests wherever they found them.
Still, his organization’s publications are used to raise money and have exhorted the faithful to fight in Afghanistan, where the Afghan National Army, backed by the U.S.-led coalition, is struggling against a resurgent Taliban. That sort of fundraising has contributed to the likelihood that Pakistan will be placed on a so called ‘gray list” of countries doing too little to stop terrorism when the Financial Action Task Force, an inter-government group trying to stem terror financing, meets in June. The U.S. State Department in 2014 said Khalil’s group still runs training camps in eastern Afghanistan. In 2016, Indian security forces said they arrested five Harakat members on its side of the disputed Kashmir region, allegedly planning attacks on Indian dignitaries Program at the U.S.-based Wilson Center. “Even if he’s not making much noise, he shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
Khalil dismissed U.S. criticism of Pakistan for allowing militant leaders to roam free.
“Whether America likes it or doesn’t like it makes no difference to me. I am Pakistani. We have courts. We are not U.S. slaves,” he said.
“If Pakistan has any charges of terrorism they can summon us. I am ready to go to court. The U.S. is not interested in courts, it is pressing for extra-judicial actions,” he said.
Khalil called U.S. policy confused and contradictory. He dismissed suggestions that the Haqqani network, which the U.S. has declared a terrorist group, is separate from the Taliban, which has not been declared a terrorist group to leave open the possibility of future negotiations. “You can’t separate the two. ... Taliban and Haqqanis are the same,” he said. “Sirajuddin Haqqani is the Number 2 in the Taliban. How can you separate the two?” Khalil, like many militants in south and southeast Asia, traces his career back to Afghanistan during the Soviet Union’s occupation in the 1980s. Then he fought on the side of the United States, which backed the mujahedeen — or, as President Ronald Reagan called them, “freedom fighters.” Today, many have joined the Afghan Taliban.
Khalil said U.S. intelligence trained him on the sophisticated U.S. Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that historians say turned the tide of the war. The Soviets withdrew in 1989.
“I have fought with the Americans in Afghanistan,” he said. “But I haven’t gone to Kashmir for a single day.” Analysts say Pakistan’s policy of allowing militants their freedom is mostly motivated by its concerns about India, against whom it has fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir.
Pakistan also repeatedly reminds the United States and its critics that it has lost thousands of soldiers — more than the U.S. and NATO combined in Afghanistan __ fighting militants on its territory. It says U.S. criticism is unfair and an attempt to put its own failures in Afghanistan on the shoulders of Pakistan. “Pakistan has certainly taken aggressive action against some militant groups” said Seth Jones, director of Transnational threats Project at the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. But its intelligence agencies “continue to use some militants as a tool of foreign policy in countries like Afghanistan and India.”
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari strongly condemns the brutal rape and murder of MA English student Abida
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has strongly condemned the brutal rape and murder of MA English student, Abida, who was found dead, after allegedly being subjected to sexual abuse in Faisalabad.
In a statement issued here, the PPP Chairman said that growing incidents of crimes against women were intolerable and culprits should be apprehended without any delay.
In a statement issued here, the PPP Chairman said that growing incidents of crimes against women were intolerable and culprits should be apprehended without any delay.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari asked government to immediately arrest the tormentors and ensure exemplary punishment to them as per the law.
https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/bilawal-bhutto-zardari-strongly-condemns-the-brutal-rape-and-murder-of-ma-english-student-abida/
Being an activist in Pakistan is hard but when I met Malala my work seemed validated
By Sarah Belal
We didn’t know who we were meeting until just a few hours before. All we had been told was to show up.
Perhaps that is why when 20 of us female human rights defenders found ourselves in a room waiting for her to arrive, none of us had quite calibrated what was happening.
Women, many of whom are institutions unto themselves, were teetering with excitement, joy – emotions not common in the lives of activists.
There was Syeda Ghulam Fatima, who works to liberate brick kiln slaves, Anis Haroon, a National Human Rights Commissioner, Khawer Mumtaz, Muniba Mazari, Nighat Dad, Samar Minallah, activists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
We all know of each other but our schedules rarely, if ever, bring us all into the same city, let alone the same room.
We started taking pictures to commemorate this moment. It isn’t often you are in the same room as all your sheroes.
As we took our seats, the doors opened.
Despite a whirlwind schedule, the world’s youngest Nobel Prize winner had made time to meet the women on the ground to inspire both the old and new generations of activists.
Malala went around the room, greeting each female activist individually by shaking their hand, sometimes leaning in for a quick hug. Some had met her before. Some, like me, had only ever seen her on television. But the delight of both was the same.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who had organised the meeting, asked everyone to briefly introduce themselves to Malala. But this moment was about Malala, nothing else.
Some told her they had not been able to sleep the night before when they found out they would be meeting her.
Anis Haroon, who has dedicated her life to the cause of human rights in Pakistan, had flown in from Karachi just that morning. The short notice had made it difficult to get a proper token of her affection, she said.
But she had brought with her the iconic Women’s Action Forum scarf, yellow, imprinted with laws and poetry that uphold the rights of women. Malala got up and went up to Anis Haroon, who draped the scarf around her shoulders, welcoming her into this decades-long battle.
Anis Haroon then invited present and past WAF activists to be photographed with Malala, in a moment of inclusiveness that echoed the generosity and positivity in the room. That is Malala’s power.
Malala is a listener. She speaks when called upon, and when she does, her words take comfort in their wisdom. She sits up straight, she makes eye contact. Her confidence is one fostered over years of experience. Only, Malala is just 20 years old. Her small stature emphasises this. We all know the battles she has fought. We all know the enemies she takes on. We all know the ambitions she has.
I told her, you are so young. I told her that I have two daughters and as inspirational as she was for them, I hoped that she could still find time to enjoy what is left of her childhood.
There is a collective acknowledgement of this in the room, each looking at her, aware of the normalcy she has traded in for her extraordinary life. When the introductions are done, Malala takes a deep breath. If she is overwhelmed, she does not show it. She knows how to navigate her distinction without a trace of arrogance.
She is comfortable in a room full of Pakistan’s leading activists. And surprisingly, Pakistan’s leading activists are comfortable in a room with her.
Earlier in the day, I had met a fellow activist at a café who was bursting with excitement at having just met Malala at the Prime Minister’s House.
I asked him how she was, and he said she was thronged by people which seemed to overwhelm her. And yet in this room, as we bonded over her arrival, she was calm, collected and eager to listen. Malala is thrilled to be home. She has dreamed of this moment, and like many of us, can’t bring herself to believe that her dream of returning to her country came true.
She was apprehensive about her reception in Pakistan but was glad to see that she had been welcomed with open arms.
Sure, she manages the Malala Fund for Education. But, she tells us, she has assignments due at Oxford. She worries about homework. Her friends at university have been texting her constantly, who are in disbelief that she managed to keep her trip to Pakistan secret from them.
We are heartened to hear of these small marks of student life. It is apparent that Malala can have a life, not entirely untouched by her celebrity but still pretty close.
Malala has always been serious about her studies, we know that. Even after she was shot, her first conversation with her father from the U.K. included an impassioned plea to bring her books with him. Her Matriculation exams were right around the corner, after all.
Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, sits next to her. He lets her shine, and speaks with the same respect he has passed down to his daughter.
There was something personal about how we understood what his support had done for Malala.
We all know how enabling having a father-figure that supports our work can be, and the courage it gives you to embark on a path less trodden. Malala says her home country looks the same. Only, everything is different. There is so much hope, she finds, and is deeply touched by the kindness she has found in just this room.
I have never seen activists in such a good mood.
Last month, the civil society in Pakistan lost one of its giants. There was a sense of foreboding, as if we had lost a compass in a terrain that suddenly had become unfamiliar despite years of having walked it. Even the most steadfast of us felt broken by Asma Jahangir’s death. Being an activist in Pakistan, being an activist anywhere, is a taxing road. But when we met Malala, the work seemed validated.
That if this young woman could find her way back, after everything she had been through, with her faith and will intact, how could we not keep fighting?
The struggle is long and often a lonely one, but how were we alone if we had each other?
And make no mistake, Malala fights the good fight. She brings nuance to the narrative about Pakistan in the West.
She is accused of being a tool for this narrative, but rest assured, she is no one’s fool.
She was not yet 16 years old when she met President Obama, who had asked her to come at the White House, and raised the impact of drone warfare on her people, reminding him of their murderous consequences.
Her very existence complicates things for the very institutions that paint Pakistan with a broad brush. And she does not let them forget that.
To those who know this, her homecoming was the triumph for the years of standing up for her.
This meeting wasn’t a baton-passing ceremony. None of us marked her out to continue the journeys that many of us embarked on before Malala was even born. That is not what we were there to do. What it was, was a moment of validation and joy, for what she meant as a global symbol of Pakistani women fighting for a just world. It is easy to overlook how much courage it took for her to come back home, and in that room, that bravery was infectious. The best you can do as an activist is to create a path for future activists. You are lucky if you even guide one.
And here was Malala, uniting us all to continue to march forward, demanding more, fighting back and never giving up.
When she left the room, we all looked at each other in excitement. We took some more photos, hugged each other, promising to help each other in our respective battles.
Eventually, we all got up and returned to the work that we do.
#MalalaYousafzai - #Malala visits native Pakistan, 1st time since Taliban attack
By Munir Ahmed and Sherin Zada
Yousafzai, who landed in her home country just before dawn flanked by heavy security, said in a brief speech at a ceremony at Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s office that she will continue to campaign for the education of girls and asked Pakistanis to be united on issues like providing better health care and education.
She said she remembered having to leave Pakistan for treatment after she was attacked. Covering her tear-filled eyes with her hands, Yousafzai said it was hard to wait for more than five years to return home.
“It is now actually happening and I am here,” she said.
It’s unclear how long Yousafzai will stay, neither she nor her family have announced any travel plans. Pakistani officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said their understanding is that her visit will last until Monday.
Speaking after meeting the prime minister, Yousafzai said Pakistan was always in her thoughts — even when she traveled to cities like New York or London.
“I was always dreaming for the past five years, that I can come to my country, whenever I was travelling abroad,” she said, adding that her dreams were of simple things, “like driving in Karachi, Islamabad.”
“Finally, I am here,” she said.
Since the attack, Yousafzai spent lengthy stretches of time undergoing medical treatment to recover from her wounds. She also went to school in Britain.
Her native Swat Valley still sees occasional militant attacks, though the Pakistani military has largely restored peace since retaking the area. In February, a suicide bombing at an empty lot used by soldiers for sports and exercise killed 11 troops, underscoring the threat that militants still pose to the region and this Islamic nation. Abbasi praised Yousafzai for her sacrifices and role in the promotion of girls’ education. He said he was happy to welcome her home, where he said “terrorism has been eliminated” — a line often repeated by Islamabad despite persisting militant attacks across the country.
Since her attack and recovery, Yousafzai has also led the “Malala Fund,” which she said has invested $6 million in schools and to provide books and uniforms for schoolchildren. “For the betterment of Pakistan, it is necessary to educate girls and empower women,” she said.
Earlier, tight security greeted the now-20-year-old university student upon her arrival at Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport. Local television stations showed her with her parents in the lounge at the airport, before leaving in a convoy of nearly 15 vehicles, many of them occupied by heavily armed police. Her return had been shrouded in secrecy and she was not likely to travel to her hometown of Mingora in the Swat Valley, where the shooting occurred.
As news broke about Yousafzai’s arrival, many of her fellow Pakistanis welcomed her.
The party of Imran Khan, former international cricket star and now leading Pakistani opposition politician, said Yousafzai’s return was a sign of the defeat of extremism in the country. Mohammad Hassan, one of Yousafzai’s cousins in the northwestern town of Mingora, said it was one of the happiest days of his life. He said he was not sure whether Yousafzai will visit her hometown, where he said schoolchildren were jubilant and wished they could greet her.
Javeria Khan, a 12-year-old schoolgirl in Mingora said she wished she “could see her in Swat.”
“I wish she had come here, but we welcome her,” she said, as she sat among schoolchildren.
Marvi Memon, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party, said it was a pleasant surprise for her to see Yousafzai back home and a “proud day” for Pakistan. “What an incredible surprise, I woke up to this morning” to know that Yousafzai is back along with her parents, Memon said.
Yousafzai was just 14 years old but already known for her activism when Taliban gunman boarded the school van in which she was sitting and demanded to know “who is Malala?” before shooting her in the head. Two of her classmates were also wounded.
In critical condition, Yousafzai was flown to the garrison city of Rawalpindi before being airlifted to Birmingham in Britain.
She has since spoken at the United Nations, mesmerizing the world with her eloquence and her unrelenting commitment to the promotion of girls’ education through the Malala Fund, a book, meetings with refugees and other activism. She was awarded the Nobel in 2014, along with Indian child-rights activist Kailash Satyarthi, and said on the day she collected the prize that “education is one of the blessings of life, and one of its necessities.”
She remained in Britain after undergoing medical treatment there and was accepted to the University of Oxford last year.
At home in Pakistan, however, she has been condemned by some as a Western mouthpiece. Some have even suggested on social media that the shooting was staged. Yousafzai has repeatedly responded to the criticism with a grace far outstripping her years, often saying education is neither Western, nor Eastern.
Often when she has spoken in public, Yousafzai has championed her home country and spoken in her native Pashto language, always promising to return to her home.
Joy in Nobel winner Malala's hometown, though some Pakistanis decry her
By Asif Shahzad
By late Friday it was not yet clear whether security considerations would allow Yousafzai to return to Swat Valley, but many are eagerly awaiting her.
“We’re very happy that Malala has come to Pakistan. We welcome Malala,” said Arfa Akhtar, a third grade student in a school where Yousafzai once studied. “I’m also Malala. I’m with Malala in this mission.” Barkat Ali, 66, says he remembers holding Malala in his lap when she was a child in Mingora. He is proud of the 20-year-old’s struggle to promote girls’ education, just as he is of his refusal 10 years ago to turn over his son when the Taliban demanded new fighters.
“They were the old illiterate people who would say that our daughters will not go to schools,” Ali said, recalling two mortar shells landing in his street, often patrolled by the Taliban.
“Now people have become sensible. They educate their girls.”
The Pakistani Taliban took over much of the valley starting in 2007, banning girls’ education, killing people, flogging women and hanging bodies from electric poles to enforce their harsh interpretation of Islamic law before the Pakistani army drove them out in 2009.
Not everyone in Swat, though, has such reverence for Yousafzai who became the youngest Nobel laureate in history in 2014 at age 17.
Swat resident Mohammad Nisar Khan says the international celebrity and official protection given to the young woman overshadows the sacrifices made by others in Swat.
“We were the ones who stood up against the Taliban... My four uncles and two cousins were slaughtered by the Taliban in Matta. They were brutally martyred. Yet, no one has asked about me,” Khan said.
“Can someone show me one brave deed that Malala Yousafzai has performed ... that we have not performed at age 50?” Elsewhere in parts of Pakistan, her arrival was met with outright hostility from those who accuse her of building a career abroad by painting a negative picture of her homeland. In the eastern city of Lahore, a group of private schools staged a protest with teachers and their students chanting “I am not Malala”, some wearing black armbands.
The organizer of the protest, Kashif Mirza, said dozens of private school chains participated and teachers told students in classes “that Malala does not represent true Pakistan”.
“She maligned Pakistan, Islam and the Pakistani army after going abroad,” said Mirza, who leads the President of All Pakistan Private Schools Federation. He said his group condemned the gun attack on Yousafzai but said since going abroad she had been influenced by foreign powers.
Other private schools, however, declined to join the anti-Malala protest.
“No such day was observed in any of our branches, because we don’t support any event which spreads hatred,” said Tabraiz Bokhari, spokesman of Beacon House School System, with 200 affiliates across Pakistan.
In the nine years since the army drove out the Taliban, Swat has become mostly peaceful, though there are still occasional militant attacks including one several weeks ago targeting the military.
Many Swat residents, including family friend Jawad Iqbal, are hopeful Malala will be able to return on this trip.
“The people of Swat and the whole of Pakistan are with Malala,” Iqbal said standing in front of a portrait of Yousafzai with her father, who is a teacher. “God willing, we will counter the terrorism and extremism in our region with the weapon of education, with the weapon of a pen, with the weapons of teachers and with the weapons of books.”
Along the road where Malala was shot on her school bus, resident Amir Zeb also said he hopes Malala will visit her hometown.
“Malala Yousafzai is the daughter of Pakistan,” he said, adding. “We’re proud of her.”
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Saudi reforms 'fooling nobody': Amnesty
Saudi Arabia's widely-lauded reforms are no more than a public relations blitz aimed at masking Riyadh's rights record and are "fooling nobody", Amnesty International said on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia, a key US ally and the world's largest oil exporter, began to ease its ultraconservative policies following the rise to power of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 32-year-old heir to the region's most powerful throne. "Saudi Arabia's aggressive publicity drive to rebrand its image, tarnished by a ruthless crackdown on freedom of expression and a bombing offensive in Yemen, is fooling nobody," Amnesty said in a statement.
The kingdom has launched a major image overhaul, lifting bans on entertainment, including cinemas, public music festivals and tourism, and scaling back restrictions on women.
The London-based rights group published a preview of a mock PR job advert -- slated to run in The Economist and a number of Dutch media outlets on Friday.
It features a photograph of a beheading and the blistering caption: "If this is how your country delivers justice, you need a really, really good PR agency". Riyadh leads a military alliance fighting against Yemeni rebels in a bloody war that has left nearly 10,000 dead since 2015 and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. The Saudi-led alliance was blacklisted by the UN last year for the killing and maiming of children. Amnesty singled out Prince Mohammed in its critique of Saudi Arabia's policy changes over the past nine months. "The Crown Prince has been cast as a reformer but the crackdown against dissenting voices in his country has only intensified since his appointment last June," said Samah Hadid, Director of Campaigns for Amnesty International in the Middle East.
"The best PR machine in the world cannot gloss over Saudi Arabia's dismal human rights record". Amnesty International has also said the human rights situation has "deteriorated markedly" since Mohammed bin Salman took over as crown prince. Authorities in the kingdom have long drawn harsh criticism from rights group over the targeting of human rights activists and political dissidents. Dozens of Saudi citizens have been convicted on charges linked to dissent and under the country's sweeping cyber crime law, particularly linked to posts on Twitter.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/afp/2018/03/saudi-politics-rights.html#ixzz5BBv53AMV
#YEMEN WAR: FOUR YEARS ON
The Saudi-led Arab military coalition’s war on Yemen has entered its fourth year. Since 27 March 2015, the capital Sanaa and a set of other Yemeni cities have been targets for the daily bombardment of the Saudi fighter jets. After three years, the war has made no achievement for the people but huge human tolls and displacement and reducing to rubble the nation’s infrastructure.
Why did Riyadh wage the war?
Yemen crisis is the oldest and most active domestic trouble in West Asia region, having its roots deep into the ethno-sectarian disputes which are a legacy of the past. However, there is a consensus that the Saudi military intervention in the crisis-hit country under the ruse of bringing back to the office the resigned President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi marked an entry into a new critical stage.
The Saudi rulers stressed that their bombing and later ground campaign, codenamed Operation Decisive Storm, was meant to restore to power in Sanaa President Hadi who shortly before the war resigned willfully and then fled the country to neighboring Saudi Arabia. But the fact is that drives for the brutal military action transcended the will to reinstall Hadi as the head of state. Rather, the intervention was prompted by regional developments and Yemen’s position in the regional equations.
Saudi Arabia’s pessimistic view of the Shiites, especially the Ismailiyah and Zaydiah sects who are residing in parts of Yemen bordering the southern Saudi territories, has always fuelled Riyadh rulers’ sharp antipathy and concern about their power gaining in the country. The oil-wealthy kingdom has offered a set of supports to the takfiri groups in Yemen such as the al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) as well as the opposite Sunni movement the Muslim Brotherhood in a bid to hold the Shiites in check. Though it should be taken into the account that not all of Yemen’s Sunni factions support Riyadh. On the contrary, some, such as the socialists and nationalists, back Ansarullah revolutionary movement, the party Saudi Arabia finds an archenemy.
Yemen is located close to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The country overlooks the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a feature giving the Arab nation specific geopolitical weight. The strait is linked to Yemen from two sides: The northwest and northeast. The international water gate’s significance is doubled as it plays the role of a sea energy trade crossing. The strait comes fourth in the facilitation of global energy transit after Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, and Suez Canal. Figures show that within 2013, about 3.8 million oil barrels per day passed through Gulf of Aden and Bab-el-Mandeb. Any disruption of operation of the strait will cause a serious energy shock globally, especially for Europe which in the past few years developed a deep reliance on the Saudi oil as a result of sanctions on Iran, another major regional oil producer.
Another factor should be taken into account as the prompter of the Yemen significance in the eyes of the Saudis: The disputes inside the body of the Saudi governing structure. After the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the absolutely-governed Arab monarchy became a theater for an unfolding succession crisis whose blazes touched the highest levels of the rule. Vigorous power struggle on the one hand and the resultant instability on the other hand have pushed the country to the brink of a real crisis. A set of recent happenings, from the crackdown on the royals and businessmen to the reshuffle of the key military and political posts mainly masterminded by the ambitious young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, bear all hallmarks of a home crisis. Finding the domestic power encounter raging, the Al Saudi family members sought to distract the public attention from internal discords to an outer threat to cover up the infighting. This was desperately needed at least to occupy the popular minds at least in the short run. The Yemen crisis allowed the Saudis to focus on the war instead of the home power fight.
Yemen war causes humanitarian crisis
Reports hold that since the military action began, tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians lost their lives. the Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights released a statement on Sunday, saying the Saudi-led coalition have claimed the lives of more than 38,500 people
The large casualty numbers are only the direct outcome of the war. Indirect effects of the war, like cutting access to basic medical and healthcare services, famine, starvation, malnutrition, and other shocking infrastructural losses, are massive.
The statement further noted that the Saudi military aggression has also indirectly caused the death of 296,834 people.
More than 247,000 children have lost their lives due to severe malnutrition, and 17,608 civilians have died because of inability to travel abroad to seek medical treatment.
The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that about 3 million Yemenis have been displaced. Of this huge number, about 280,000 crossed the sea into such African states as Djibouti and even Somalia in the quest for immunity against the coalition’s daily bombings.
Moreover, those not displaced are grappling with difficulty accessing medical services. The World Health Organization in its latest report announced that of 27 million Yemeni population, 18.8 million are in urgent food aid needs. And 14.8 million urgently require medical and health services.
And growing poor help conditions, the airstrikes, and blockade imposed on a major part of Yemen compound the situation for the aid agencies operating there.
Saudi Arabia-UAE disputes resurface as the war unfolds
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the Arab parties participating in the Saudi-led alliance. But the small Arab state at the beginning had no interest in joining the anti-Yemeni campaign.
Reports suggest that despite the fact that the UAE is the second largest participant in the war with its 30 fighter jets and a large number of ground troops, it does not want Riyadh to come out as a winner. David Hearst, a West Asia-based British correspondent, in his article published by the Middle East Eye news portal highlighted the Riyadh-Abu Dhabi differences, asserting that the two’s rivalry was majorly over who should lead the Sunni Arab world.
Hearst continued that the Emirati leaders want to set up roadblocks ahead of Saudi-sponsored power transition in Yemen. The major focus, he added, was to see the government of Hadi, which includes ministers from the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Al-Islah party, collapsing in a bid to replace the Saudi-recognized president with Ahmad Ali Saleh, the son of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh who once led the Presidential Guard and served also as Yemen ambassador to Abu Dhabi.
Reports say that the UAE leaders before the war notified the former president and his son of when the Operation Decisive Storm will be launched. Sources also hold that Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of the UAE, in advance informed Ali Abdullah Saleh of an attack details, a move that helped him relocate to survive the air raids that were to strike his house.
http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/articles/item/33726-yemen-war-four-years-on