Monday, March 5, 2018
جام ساقی کا رومانس
فاضل جمیلی
جام ساقی ایک رومانس کا نام تھااور اس رومانس میں مبتلاسرپھرے سینٹرل جیل حیدرآباد سے شاہی قلعہ لاہور تک دھمالیں ڈالتے پھرتے تھے۔جام اور جیل کا چولی دامن کا ساتھ تھا۔ایوب خان کے ون یونٹ کے خلاف چلائی جانے والی تحریک ہویا ضیائی آمریت کے خلاف مزاحمت ،کسانوں ، مزدوروں کے اجتماعوں اور سیاسی جلسوں میں ایک ہی نعرہ گونجتا تھا’’دھرتی مانگے دان‘‘۔اس نعرے کی طرح جام کی زبان سےاس وقت جو بھی لفظ نکلتا تھا ،حبیب جالب کے شعروں کی طرح عوامی نعرہ بن جاتا تھا۔
جام ساقی ایک چٹان کا نام تھاجسے جیلوں اور کال کوٹھڑیوں کی صعوبتیں اور بدترین تشددبھی نہ توڑ سکالیکن اس کی نوجوان بیوی سکھاں، جام ساقی پر ہونے والاتشدد برداشت نہ کر سکی اور اس نے کنویں میں کود کر خودکشی کر لی۔ 1979ء میں بغاوت اورغداری کے الزام میں گرفتارہونے والوں میں جام ساقی بھی شامل تھے۔یہ مقدمہ پاکستان کی تاریخ میں ریاستی جبر اور سیاسی مزاحمت کے درمیان پائی جانے والی کشمکش کی ایک ایسی داستان جسے جام ساقی جیسے سپوتوں نے اپنی جرات و استقامت سے بہت زیادہ آبرومند کیا ہے۔یہ وہی مقدمہ ہے جس میں کامریڈنذیر عباسی بدترین ریاستی تشدد کی تاب نہ لاتے ہوئے جان کی بازی ہار گئے تھے۔
پاکستان کی تاریخ میں اس مقدمے کی اہمیت اس لیے بھی زیادہ ہے کہ اس مقدمے بے نظیر بھٹو، غوث بخش بزنجو، خان عبدالولی خان اور معراج محمد خان نے فوجی عدالت کے سامنے پیش کر ملزموں کی بے گناہی کی شہادت دی تھی اور ایمنسٹی انٹرنیشنل نے جام ساقی ، جمال نقوی ، سہیل سانگی اور شبیر شر سمیت اس مقدمے کے تمام ملزموں کو ’’ضمیر کے قیدی ‘‘ قرارد دیا تھا۔جام ساقی نے بعد میں اسی نام سے ایک کتاب بھی لکھی جو عوام کے اجتماعی ضمیر کے حوالے سے ایک دستاویز کی حیثیت رکھتی ہے۔
فوجی عدالت کے سامنے پیشی کے دوران بے نظیر بھٹوسے پوچھا گیاتھا کہ آپ کانام کیا ہے۔بے نظیر نے کہا تھا،بے نظیر۔والد کا نام پوچھنے پر بے نظیر کا جواب تھا ،ذوالفقار علی بھٹو۔اور جب ان سے ان کی ذات پوچھی گئی تو بے نظیر کاجواب تھا،’’میں ذات پر یقین نہیں رکھتی‘‘۔بےنظیر نے یہ بھیکہا تھا کہ ’’میں فوجی عدالتوں کو نہیں مانتی ۔ جام ساقی اس ملک کا ایک محب وطن شہری ہے اور اسے رہا کرنا چاہیے۔‘‘
بے نظیر بھٹو کے بیان کے بعدفوجی عدالت کے سامنے ایک تاریخی بیان جام ساقی نے بھی دیا تھا۔انہوں نے فوجی عدالت کو مخاطب کرتے ہوئے کہا تھا کہ مملکت ،عوام، جغرافیے ، تاریخ اور بعض دیگر عناصر کا مجموعہ ہوتی ہے۔اسی طرح ہر جماعت کی اپنی آئیڈیالوجی ہوتی ہے۔کسی کی آئیڈیالوجی کوڑے مارنا، پھانسیاں دینااور تشدد کرنا ہے جبکہ ہمارا نظریہ صرف اور صرف پاکستان کی مظلوم قومیتیں ہیں، سائنسی سوشلزم ہے،بنیادی زرعی اصلاحات ہیںاور چھوٹی قومیتوں کے حقوق کی بحالی ہے۔
جام ساقی نے کہا تھا کہ حال ہی میں حکومت نے مستقبل میں جمہوریت کی لہر کو روکنے کے لیے عدالتوں سے مزید اختیارات چھین لیے ہیں لیکن عوام کی بے چینی پہلے ہی عوامی تحریک میں تبدیل ہونا شروع ہوگئی ہے۔ تمام جمہوریت پسند، محب وطن ، محنت کش عوام اپنے مطالبات کے حصول کی جدوجہد میں سرگرم ہورہے ہیں اور ان کی صفوں میں اتحاد بڑھ رہا ہے۔عدالت کو نوشتہ دیوار پڑھ لینا چاہیے۔جام ساقی پر الزام تھا کہ ان کے قبضے سے انتہائی خطرناک اور ملک دشمن مواد برآمد ہوا ہے۔
اس ’’خطرناک‘‘ اور ’’ملک دشمن‘‘ مواد کی تفصیلبتاتے ہوئے جام ساقی نے کہا تھا کہ’’میرے پاس اکتوبر اور نومبر 78ء کے دو نیو ٹائمز تھے اور ایک کتاب ’’جدلیاتی مادیت کیا ہے‘‘ بھی تھی۔ یہ سب بازار میں دستیاب ہیں۔ میرے پاس ’’عوامی جمہوریت‘‘ نامی ہفت روزہ کا بھی ایک شمارہ تھا، یہ خوب ہے کہ ڈیکلریشن سے شایع ہونے والا اخبار بھی جب میرے ہاتھ میں آتا ہے تو وہ بھی قابل اعتراض بن جاتا ہے۔
اپنے بیان کے اختتام پر جام ساقی کا کہنا تھا کہ ’’آخر میں مجھے یہ کہنا ہے کہ ہمارے ملک کی اعلیٰ عدالتیں بھی تاریخ کے برعکس فیصلے کرتی رہی ہیں کچھ برسوں کے بعد انھیں یہ موقع مل جاتاہے کہ عاصمہ جیلانی کیس، ڈوسا کیس یا مولوی تمیز الدین کیس وغیرہ کو یاد کریں لیکن اس عدالت کو اس کا موقع پھر کبھی نہیں ملے گا کہ یہ اپنے فیصلوں کو تاریخ سے ہم آہنگ کرسکے۔اس لیے، جناب صدر اور اراکین عدالت! یہ آپ کا پہلا اور آخری موقع ہے جو تاریخ میں یاد رکھا جائے گا۔
جام ساقی پابندِ سلاسل تھے اور کراچی سے گلگت تک تمام دیواریں چیخ چیخ کر کہہ رہی تھیں ’’جام ساقی کو رہا کرو‘‘۔جام ساقی شاید پاکستانی تاریخ کے پہلے سیاسی قیدی تھے جنہیںتمام صوبوں کی جیلوں میں قید رکھا گیا ۔یہی وجہ ہے کہ وہ سوائے بلوچی کے باقی تمام زبانیں بولنے لگے تھے۔مچھ جیل میں بندش کا دورانیہ کم ہونے کی وجہ سے وہ بلوچی نہ سیکھ سکے۔جام ساقی جب بغاوت کے مقدمے میں بری ہوئے تو رہائی کے بعد ان کا پہلا استقبال لاہور میں ہوا تھا۔امتیازعالم اس وقت کمیونسٹ پارٹی کے پنجاب یونٹ کے سیکرٹری تھے۔
مشہورِزمانہ حیدرآباد سازش کیس کے ملزمان میںبھی جام ساقی شامل تھے۔نیشنل عوامی پارٹی کی تمام قیادت اس کیس کی مرکزی ملزم تھی اور جام ساقی اس وقت نیپ کے جوائنٹ سیکرٹری تھے۔ٹرائل کے نتیجے میں نیپ پر پابندی لگا دی گئی اور اس کی پوری قیادت کو گرفتار کر لیا گیا تھا۔جام ساقی نے گرفتاری سے بچنے کے لیے روپوشی اختیار کر لی تھی۔روپوشی کے دوران وہ نظمیں اور افسانے لکھتے تھےاورشاعراور افسانہ نگارجام ساقی پر نظمیں لکھتے تھے اور ان کے دیومالائی کردار کی کہانیاں سناتے تھے۔
پاکستان کی سیاسی تاریخ کا یہ افسانوی کردار نہیں رہا تو یاد آتا ہے کہ کیسے کیسے سپوت اس دھرتی نے پیدا کیےلیکن’’ وہ لوگ ہم نے ایک ہی شوخی میں کھو دیے‘‘۔اب نہ بزنجوکی بصیرت ہے،نہ بھٹو کی فراست ہے،نہ ولی خان کی مزاحمت ہے ، نہ نوابزادہ نصراللہ کی مفاہمت ہے،نہ بے نظیر کی قیادت ہے ،نہ حسن ناصر اور نذیر عباسی کی شہادت ہے ،نہ جام ساقی کی استقامت۔صرف اور صرف سیاست ہے اور سیاست بھی ایسی کہ جس کے شیشے میں مئے باقی نہیں ہے۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/457979
#Pakistan - ‘Patriotic citizen of the state’ comrade Jam Saqi passes away
Noted left-wing politician Jam Saqi, 73, passed away in Hyderabad due to kidney failure, family said Monday.Born on 31st October 1944 in a village called Janjhi in the Chacharo District of Sindh, Saqi also served as the general secretary of the Communist Party of Pakistan.
He was highly respected among the politicians not only in Sindh but all over Pakistan. He fought against the dictatorships and human rights abuses all his life and faced the consequences.
Saqi was arrested and tried in a military court during General Zia’s regime in the 80s. During his trial former prime minister Benazir Bhutto appeared as his defence witness and deposed that ‘Saqi is patriotic citizen of the state’.
He remained behind bar till 1988. Saqi joined the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) in the 90s.
He will be laid to rest in Hyderabad today.
#Pakistan - Bilawal Bhutto grieved over Jam Saqi’s death
In a condolence message, the PPP Chairman saluted the valiant political struggle and sacrifices of Jam Saqi adding that he had been fighting for democracy and democratic rights for his whole life.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari termed the death of Jam Saqi as a big loss of the democratic forces of the country including the PPP.
He said that PPP family shares the grief of Jam Saqi family and prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage and fortitude to the members of bereaved family and his fans to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity.
https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2018/03/05/bilawal-bhutto-zardari-grieved-over-jam-saqis-death/
#Pakistan - #AsmaJahangir - The other side of Asma
Aitzaz Ahsan
But there was one aspect in her tale of heroism and valour that has entirely escaped elaboration. And those that have mentioned it, have done so fleetingly. Yet that is the side on which the ‘Jahangir’ of ‘Asma Jahangir’ lived.
In our society the role of a woman as a domesticated home-bound mother, is chiselled in the stone of tradition and custom. It can only be an exceptional mother-in-law who will not complain to her son about his activist wife. Most will make the point unceasingly. The grievance is that in her activism the wife is ignoring the complainant’s grandchildren. Even if the husband continues to stand by her, his resolve will be tested by pestering parents.
The parents of Mian Tahir Jahangir, Asma’s husband, were of a different mould. And he, too: unique in his attitude, acceptance, solidarity and support.
They could have perceived her as a bull in the Fazl-e-Ahmed china shop. But they did not.
Mian Fazl-e-Ahmed and his wife, Begum Tahira, both belonged to conservative business families who normally shun politics of any variety.
Mian Fazl’s preoccupations were industry and philanthropy, presiding over one of the largest industrial groups in the country, the Premier Group with its flagship, the Premier Textile Mills Lyallpur. But even the time he spent at the Mills, was mainly consumed by his first passion in life: the eradication of tuberculosis from Pakistan.
Then there was the administration of the Mian Mohammad Trust Hospital named after his late father. This 200-bed hospital thrives to this day in the heart of Faisalabad where land is valued as if it were paved with gold. Yet the family, and now Tahir, continue to run it exclusively as a charity hospital with a better environment and services than any other hospital in Punjab. A much-needed nursing institute has been added to it by Tahir.
Tahir’s family thus lived in a quiet, peaceful and idyllic haven of their own. Cocooned in luxury, they stepped out only to engage in voluntary and non-profit public service. They had a large circle of friends in Lyallpur and Lahore, none of them politically minded. Agitation was not a word in their dictionaries.
Tahir too, had led a life of luxury. He had had a swimming pool, horse stables and fleets of cars in his father’s homes in Lyallpur and Lahore since his childhood. He was an alumni of Aitchison College and Cambridge University. From school to completion of our Master’s degrees at Cambridge, (the Tripos), Tahir and I were classmates and friends. But Tahir throughout was the topper: winning the gold medal for the best academic in school in our final year at Aitchison. Tahir (TJ to friends) was a prince and had been brought up like one. Even when Cambridge closed for as little as a few days, TJ would fly home or to an exotic holiday venue as we, the plebs, slogged on in our digs in a deserted university town. Back in Cambridge, Tahir drove around in an MGB Convertible. In winters he spent time in Switzerland’s ski resorts rubbing shoulders with the world’s rich and famous. His wardrobe was all from Cambridge’s most expensive shop, Arthur Shepherd. He spent sunny days punting on the Cam, the scenic river that gave its name to the town, or speeding around in the MGB, hood down, and blonde hair flying from the passenger seat.
Since he usually ate at the most expensive restaurants, and in elite company, he was witness to the first meeting between Rajiv Gandhi and his future wife, Sonia, as they sat on different tables in The Varsity eatery and Rajiv asked a waiter to deliver a bottle of wine to her as a token of his admiration. The rest is history.
Then in the quiet serenity of the Fazl-e-Ahmed clan entered the whirlwind! TJ married Asma.
Back in Pakistan and focusing primarily on running a family ghee mill in Lahore, the prince married a woman who would always live precariously and on the edge. But he never crossed her path. The entire Fazl-e-Ahmed family, including Tahir’s sister Nageen and her husband Ayaz (Jajji), remained, much against their grain, highly supportive. They sought to impose no constraints upon Asma. She had married into a law-fearing business family and brought with her the vigour and pugilistic character of her father, Malik Ghulam Jilani, a political jail bird. They could have perceived her as a bull in the Fazl-e-Ahmed china shop. But they did not.
Each member of the Mian Fazl clan was devoted to Asma’s endeavours. Even when she was campaigning for bonded labour, TJ would be explaining to his industrialist friends, business magnates and the elite, how necessary that campaign was. TJ has a sharp sense of humour and a close circle of friends who took time understanding or appreciating Asma’s great potential. But he continued to stand by her like a rock. His parents also bore the constant jeopardy of unannounced police raids with unmatched equanimity, never insisting that Asma give up and ‘domesticate’ herself.
Asma’s own children grew up in a world of extreme tension and trepidation not knowing when, and for what, their mother would be attacked or taken to prison. But Munizae, Sulema and Jilani Jahangir also stood steadfast by their mother like rocks on which she could anchor her life. And yet they resolutely made space for themselves. At a young age Munizae is a very competent and nationally acknowledged television anchor. Sulema, an accomplished lawyer has decided to move back to Pakistan to fill the place left vacant by Asma in her law firm, the AGHS. And Jilani Jahangir now runs his father’s business of textiles, allowing respite to TJ to pursue his passion for hiking, mountaineering and photography.
Would Asma have been ‘Asma’ had her in-laws, husband and children been narrow-minded pestering bigots and not as enlightened and broad-minded as they in fact were? They deserve to be acknowledged for what they were.
OP-ED For Imran Khan, this is the time for introspection
Raza Rumi
Beyond the rhetoric on anti-corruption, the PTI chief has still to present a cogent and comprehensive plan to the voters, especially in the Punjab.
After the Panama verdict in 2017 that ousted Nawaz Sharif as the Prime Minister, it was viewed by many as the boost for the fortunes of Imran Khan and his party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). Eight months later, it is unclear if the judicial knock-out of Nawaz Sharif has benefitted Khan. In fact, the Sharif brothers are still in the arena with the elder building a public narrative against the unjust decisions of the courts and the younger heading the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and tipped as the future PM.
To begin with, the PMLN still enjoys power in Islamabad and Lahore and has remained intact contrary to the past trends where the signaling by establishment was enough for the backbenchers to jump ship. They might still do before the general election but the popularity of Nawaz Sharif in the Punjab will discourage many from taking the risk. Second, once out of power, Nawaz Sharif has acted like an opposition leader mobilising public sympathy. A senior member of PMLN rules Islamabad, while its Quaid Nawaz Sharif acts as the opposition leader and the younger Sharif flaunts the infrastructure projects that he is determined to complete in the Punjab. This has evidently reduced the space for Imran Khan as the opposition leader. Third, beyond the rhetoric on anti-corruption, Imran Khan has still to present a cogent and comprehensive plan to the voters especially in the Punjab. Overarching narratives of turning Pakistan into an Islamic welfare state sound good but what that will translate into for an average voter is unclear.
Two recent events were instrumental in both shifting the public narrative and reminders of Khan’s flawed politics. The Lahore jalsa held in January by combined opposition was an embarrassing show to say the least. Images of empty chairs on TV screens indicated that PMLN had not lost the support in its bastion i.e., Lahore despite the serious charges of Model Town ‘massacre’ and corruption. The case of young Zainab, exploited for purely political ends, was handled with unusual alacrity by Punjab administration and it could not turn the tables. This was followed by the Lodhran by-election that even surprised the PMLN with the margin of victory. A relatively unknown candidate defeated PTI’s central leader who has invested for years in that constituency.
It is hoped that Khan will learn from Lodhran debacle. His party awarded ticket to the son of a ‘disqualified’ legislator that negates all that PTI has stood for.
It is hoped that Imran Khan will learn from Lodhran debacle. His party awarded ticket to the son of a disqualified legislator that negates all that PTI has stood for. After years of sermons on dynastic politics and the hold of ‘corrupt’ families over power, the public image of Khan and his party took a hit. And even at the local level, where such factors are less important, the party decision did not find widespread favour. PMLN has won all the by-elections in the Punjab including Lahore and Narowal and its hold over the electoral game remains unscathed by Panama papers scandal and the trials in courts.
Mr Khan has also married again. Now that is purely a personal matter but with a probing media, questions were bound to be raised. Vociferous denials and then a sudden confirmation. Khan like any other person is well within his rights to choose his partner and deserves personal happiness but the media debates about the wedding were quite negative. Pakistanis have traditional values, and Khan has been an ardent advocate of them. His rather unconventional marriage was bound to raise questions. Leaving that aside, the timing was also reminiscent of his earlier marriage when right in the midst of an anti-government movement he announced his wedding. Even then denials were followed by public announcements.
Not unlike other popular leaders, Khan has also followed the route of ingratiating himself with the powerful establishment. The route to Islamabad lies through Rawalpindi as any student of politics knows in Pakistan. But things are changing fast in Pakistan. His archrival is building an anti-establishment political narrative while Khan’s policies and statements are almost always in sync with the worldview of the deep state. This is why he lashes out at blood-thirsty liberals who actually want a reorientation of state policies especially the reliance on Islamic extremist proxies. The deep state terms ‘liberals’ traitors and threats to national security; and Khan happily endorses that. He has even used the blasphemy and national security card against Nawaz Sharif in recent weeks. Doling out funds to Haqqania seminary is yet another move in this direction. It garners support for his party and also gives the right signal to the establishment.
The truth is that Pakistan has moved on from the politics of the 1990s. Nawaz Sharif did the same against Benazir Bhutto and then realised after a decade of active politics that this was counter-productive. Of course by the time Sharif understood this, the junta threw him out in 1999. It was easy to control information and create villains but in 2018 Pakistan’s media is relatively freer and the urban population has access to many sources of information. This is why Nawaz Sharif’s branding as a corrupt looter is not having an impact on his support base. PMLN is fighting it out.
Khan wants to become the Prime Minister. Yet, he curses the Parliament that will elect him to the premiership, assuming his party wins. He rarely participates in parliamentary business and refuses to cast his vote in Senate elections. Populist rhetoric is not enough to appear a committed democrat. For that one needs to engage with democratic institutions such as the Parliament.
If Khan wants to create an electoral ‘wave’, to use popular parlance, before the next election, he needs to reflect where he went wrong over the last few years. What is even more important is to assess why his anti-corruption narrative is not working outside the urban, social media-savvy spaces. As a colleague mentioned the other day, Khan has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. It is time that some of the more astute advisers around him help change the course.
With gas and diplomacy, Russia embraces Cold War foe Pakistan
Drazen Jorgic
As U.S. influence in Islamabad wanes, Pakistan’s former adversary Russia is building military, diplomatic and economic ties that could upend historic alliances in the region and open up a fast-growing gas market for Moscow’s energy companies.
Russia’s embrace of Pakistan comes at a time when relations between the United States and its historical ally are unraveling over the war in Afghanistan, a remarkable turnaround from the 1980s, when Pakistan helped funnel weapons and U.S. spies across the border to aid Afghan fighters battling Soviet troops.
Though the Moscow-Islamabad rapprochement is in its infancy, and it is neighbor China that is filling the growing void left by the United States in Pakistan, a slew of energy deals and growing military cooperation promise to spark life into the Russia-Pakistan relationship that was dead for many decades. “It is an opening,” Khurram Dastgir Khan, Pakistan’s defense minister, told Reuters.“Both countries have to work through the past to open the door to the future.” The cozier diplomatic ties have so far focused on Afghanistan, where Russia has cultivated ties to the Afghan Taliban militants who are fighting U.S. troops and have historic links to Islamabad. Moscow says it is encouraging peace negotiations.
Both Russia and Pakistan are also alarmed by the presence of Islamic State (IS) inside Afghanistan, with Moscow concerned the group’s fighters could spread towards central Asia and closer to home. In Pakistan, IS has already carried out major attacks. “We have common ground on most issues at diplomatic levels,” Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told Reuters.“It’s a relationship that will grow substantially in the future.”
During a trip to Moscow last month by Pakistan’s foreign minister, Khawaja Asif, the two countries announced plans to establish a commission on military cooperation to combat the threat of IS in the region. They also agreed to continue annual military training exercises that began in 2016 and followed the sale of four Russian attack helicopters to Pakistan, as well as the purchase of Russian engines for the Pakistan Air Force’s JF-17 fighter jets that Pakistan’s military assembles on its own soil. The detente has been watched with suspicion by Pakistan’s neighbor and arch-foe India, which broadly stood in the Soviet camp during the Cold War era. In the last two decades, the close Russia-India relationship has been underpinned by huge arms sales by Moscow to a country it calls a“strategic partner”.
“If the Russians start backing the Pakistanis in a big way at the political level, then it creates a problem for us,” said Sushant Sareen, a leading expert on India’s relations to Pakistan and Afghanistan with New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.
’والدین نہیں جانتے سینیٹر کیا ہوتا ہے‘ - کرشنا کماری
سندھ کے پسماندہ علاقے نگر پارکی دلت برادری سے تعلق رکھنے والی پیپلز پارٹی کی نو منتخب سینیٹر کرشنا کماری کے والدین کا کہنا ہے کہ ان کی بیٹی کو اسلام آباد میں بہت بڑی نوکری مل گئی ہے اور اب وہ اسلام آباد چلی جائے گی۔
برطانوی نشریاتی ادارے کے مطابق کرشنا کماری نے بتایا کہ ان کے والدین کو پتا ہی نہیں کہ سینیٹر کیا ہوتا ہے اور ان کا رکن منتخب ہو جانا کیا معنی رکھتا ہے۔
کرشنا کماری نے کہا کہ اُن والدین مبارکباد دینے گھر آنے والے برادی کے لوگوں سے کہتے ہیں کہ اُن کی بیٹی کو بہت بڑی نوکری مل گئی ہے اور وہ جلد اسلام آباد چلی جائے گی۔
کرشنا کماری نے کہا کہ ان کے گھر والے اور ان کی برادری والے بہت خوش ہیں اور مٹھائیاں تقسیم کر رہے ہیں۔
سینیٹر منتخب ہونے پر کرشنا کماری نے اپنے جذبات اور تاثرات بیان کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ اتنی خوشی ہوئی ہے کہ اسے الفاظ میں بیان نہیں کیا جا سکتا۔
’یہ سب کچھ خواب سا لگ رہا ہے، کبھی سوچ بھی نہیں سکتی تھی کہ میں سینیٹر منتخب ہو جاؤں گی۔ مجھے ابھی تک یقین نہیں آ رہا۔
کرشنا کماری نے کہا کہ تعلیم حاصل کرنے کے بعد وہ سوچتی تھیں کہ انہیں کوئی اچھی نوکری مل جائے گی اور وہ اپنی برادری کی کچھ خدمت کر سکیں گی۔
کرشنا کماری عمرانیات میں ایم اے کی ڈگری رکھتی ہیں اور اپنے علاقے میں سماجی خدمات انجام دیتی رہی ہیں۔
سیاست میں آنے کے بارے میں ایک سوال پر انہوں نے کہا کہ سیاست میں آنے کے بارے میں جب بھی وہ سوچتی تھیں تو انہیں یہ ہی خیال آتا تھا کہ کبھی موقع ملا تو صوبائی اسمبلی کی رکن منتخب ہو کر اپنے علاقے کے پسماندہ اور غریب لوگوں کے لیے کچھ کریں گی۔
صوبۂ سندھ میں ہندو اقلیت کی بھیل، کوہلی، میگاوار اور اوڈ برادریوں سے تعلق رکھنے والوں کی اکثریت انتہائی غریب ہے اور ان میں خواندگی کی شرح بھی بہت کم ہے۔
سندھ کے ان دور آفتادہ علاقوں میں بیٹیوں کو اعلیٰ تعلیم دلوانا ایک انہونی سے بات ہے۔ ان علاقوں میں غربت کی وجہ سے لوگوں میں اتنی سکت ہی نہیں ہوتی کہ وہ بیٹیوں کو اعلیٰ تعلیم کے لیے شہروں میں بھیج سکیں۔
کرشنا کماری اپنی برادری کے لوگوں اور خاص طور پر خواتین کے لیے کچھ کرنے کے عزم سے سرشار ہیں۔ ان کا کہنا ہے کہ کیونکہ وہ جنرل سیٹ سے منتخب ہوئی ہیں اس لیے وہ زیادہ مؤثر طریقے سے کام کر سکتی ہیں۔
کرشنا کماری کو اس بات کا پوری طرح ادراک ہے کہ سینیٹر کا کردار زیادہ تر قانون سازی تک محدود ہوتا ہے اور وہ پارلیمان کے ایوان بالا میں اپنے صوبے کی نمائندگی کرتے ہیں۔
کرشنا نے کہا کہ ’سینیٹ کا پلیٹ فارم ایک بڑا پلیٹ فارم ہے اور اس کا مؤثر طریقے سے استعمال کرتے ہوئے خواتین کی تعلیم اور صحت کو اجاگر کرنے اور انہیں حل کرنے کے لیے بہت کچھ کیا جا سکتا ہے۔
کرشنا کماری کا کہنا ہے کہ انہیں اپنی برادری کے80 فیصد سے زیادہ لوگوں کی حمایت حاصل ہے اور ان کا اپنی برادری کے لوگوں سے قریبی رابطہ ہے۔
کرشنا کماری کے فون کی رنگ ٹون اپنے وقت کے مقبول ترین قومی ترانے ’سوہنی دھرتی اللہ رکھے قدم قدم آباد‘ ہے۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/457970
PPP is the majority political party of the Senate, will bring its chairman: Bilawal Bhutto
The Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party, Bilawal BhuttoZardari, has said that the opposition would try to get elected its nominee as new chairman of the Senate of Pakistan because the majority party in the upper house has the right to bring its own Senate chairman.
The PPP chairman stated this as he addressed a press conference here at the media cell of the People’s Party along with newly-elected senators of the party from Sindh. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was also present on the occasion. Ten senators-elect ofPPP in Sindh were elected in the Senate elections held the previous day.
Bilawal said that the majority political party of the Senate was not the Pakistan Muslim League (N) but it was the People’s Party as senators in the Punjab were elected independently, without any party affiliation and were yet to join any political party. Bilawal challenged the PML-N to get its candidate elected for the slot of the Senate chairman. He asked how the PTI senator got success from Punjab.
He said if the PML-N thought that it was the biggest political party in the upper house of parliament, then it had every right to get its nominee elected as the chairman of the Senate. The PML-N should make efforts to this effect as nobody is stopping it from doing so, he said.
The PPP chairman said it was better that the chairman of Senate did belong to the opposition for the sake of check and balance on the system of governance as the Senate had to oversee the role of the National Assembly. He said that except for the PML-N, all the political parties having representation in the Senate would be consulted by the PPP for bringing an opposition-backed chairman of the Senate.
He said it was wrong to level the allegation of “horse-trading” against the People’s Party in the Senate elections. He said that Sindh CM had made efforts to secure victory in the Senate elections.
He said that lawmakers of the MQM didn’t accept the leadership of their own party as time for the MQM, which had been levelling the allegation of horse-trading just to cover up its own internal rift, was over.
He said that it was better for the MQM to concentrate on resolving its internal issues instead of pointing fingers at others. He said that allegations of horse-trading did surface whenever any poll took place during the era of PML-N. The provincial election commissioner had termed the Senate elections held in Sindh as most transparent and fair in the entire country.
He said that there should not be doubt about the transparency of Senate polls in the province after unequivocal viewpoint expressed about the polling process by the provincial election commissioner, Sindh.
Bilawal Bhutto said the PPP sensed no danger from Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan. He said that people of Karachi didn’t like PTI any more owing to unsatisfactory performance of its government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan during the last five years have done nothing except doing confrontation with each other only for the sake of capturing the rule in Punjab, he said.
“I call upon the Captain (Imran Khan) that instead of giving electoral tickets to ATMs only, he should bring forward the party’s ideological activists like what the People’s Party does. People’s Party gave the Senate tickets to ideological workers (of the party),” said the PPP chairman. He said that “ATM candidates” just indulge in buying of votes.
He said that Imran Khan didn’t come to the National Assembly the previous day to vote even in the favour of Senate election candidates of his own party. He said that the PPP had secured more victories in the Senate election held previous day than expected on the basis of good candidates of the party.
He said that PPP had secured votes in the Senate poll on the basis of its performance. He said the PPP had won the Senate seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well. Bilawal said that contrary to the PML-N and PTI, the PPP’s Sindh government had performed very well as it had invested to build several healthcare centres, cardiac hospitals, and to construct road infrastructure especially in Karachi. He said that people had no interest in the campaigning being done by Nawaz Sharif to protest against his expulsion from power.
http://www.thesindhtimes.com/blog/2018/03/05/ppp-majority-political-party-senate-will-bring-chairman-bilawal-bhutto/