Tuesday, June 12, 2018
#Pakistan - 'Creeping coup' underway in lead-up to election
PPP leader Farhatullah Babar on Tuesday alleged that there has been a 'creeping coup' against the civilian government in the lead-up to the 2018 election.
Addressing a seminar organised by the Rawalpindi/Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) on freedom of expression and possible threats to the elections, the former senator noted that both democratically-elected governments which had completed their terms had sacrificed a prime minister each.
"A creeping coup has taken place against the authority of the civilian government. The coup has taken place very quietly before the election," he said.
"It is different from the martial law of the past, with two resulting outcomes: the civilian government exists, but has no authority; press freedom exists, but journalists have no freedom."
"All media has been controlled, whether it is social media, print media or electronic media. It is all happening very quietly," he told the seminar.
"The restrictions from the security establishment are the greatest. There are also restrictions from non-state actors and your rulers," he alleged. "The media is being attacked on all fronts."
"When the 'Dawn leaks' controversy was published, it was said that it was against national security. A British newspaper reported on a secret garrison meeting earlier this year, yet no one is speaking about it," Babar complained.
The PPP stalwart also called for an international conference on the freedom of expression.
"Parliament should be asked to hold a public briefing on the matter, and those against whom allegations have been levelled should also attend the briefing."
"Political parties should, in addition to human rights agendas, present road maps for press freedom and protection of journalists," he suggested.
"The civilian and military establishments are not on the same page. They are on different pages. To close the divide, the Parliamentary Committee on National Security should play a role.
"Institutions that announce without any investigation that a journalist has undermined national security should be strongly protested against, and they should be told that if the journalist has done anything wrong, then due legal process should be adopted against them," Babar said.
"If I ask how a former army chief received 90 acres of land, a tweet will be published saying that I am trying to ruin civil-military ties," he said.
"I fear that deliberate attempts are underway to create discord among journalists. There will be attempts to break you apart," he warned.
The former senator also called for amendments to be made to the existing contempt and cyber crime laws, and said that suo motu powers should not be abused to either reward or punish anyone.
OP-ED - Does #Pakistan’s justice system hate women?
While the SC’s involvement in the Khadija stabbing case is a welcome development, it is time for our institutions to do their job without reminders from civil society and the media.
The culprit, Shah Hussain, happens to be the son of an influential lawyer Tanveer Hashmi, which is why some lawyer groups have been trying to manipulate the proceedings of the court in his favour.
Hussain, who stabbed Khadija 23 times, was acquitted of the charges by the LHC in a shocking short order last week. The detailed judgement, which was issued later, added insult to injury. It appears that the judgement is justifying the attack on grounds that Khadija was friends with boys and had been photographed with them.
A letter written by Khadija Siddiqui to a friend when she was an 18-year-old was mentioned in the judgement; through this, the court seemed to target the victim’s character the same way Shah’s lawyers had done.
Khadija’s lawyers as well as other legal experts in the media are duly pointing out the verdict’s legal loopholes. The question of consent in an attempted murder case sounds absurd and raises questions on the intention of the judge, because consent of the complainant is taken into consideration only in cases involving sexual harassment. In an open and shut case of attempted murder, the relation between the victim and the perpetrator before the incident is irrelevant.
Once public attention drifted, and demands for justice on mainstream and social media stopped, Khadija’s tormentors once again started pressurising her to reach a compromise with her attacker
According to the DNA report, the blood found in the convict’s helmet belonged to Khadija and hair sample in the same helmet was that of Shah Hussain. Yet the LHC conveniently ignored the forensic evidence based its decision on Khadija’s personal life prior to the attack.
Thankfully, Chief Justice (CJ) Saqib Nisar took notice of the acquittal and set the case for hearing in the apex court’s Lahore registry. In the first hearing held on Sunday, the case was transferred to Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and the chief justice reportedly lashed out at Shah Hussain’s father for ‘running a campaign against the apex court’. Lahore High Court’s Bar Association has passed a resolution presented by the accused’s father against the chief justice’s suo motu notice of the acquittal.
From day one, the accused’s side had been targeting Khadija’s character as evidence in Shah Hussain’s favour.Despite the mudslinging, Khadija stood tall unlike most female victims of violence in Pakistan and got her attacker convicted. The verdict by judicial magistrate in July last year, which sentenced Hussain to a 7-year-imprisonment, was followed by months of rallying by civil society activists and media who brought the issue to the national spotlight.
Social media initially raised the issue last year when Khadija was forced to take her law exam in the same examination centre as her attacker. Mainstream media later followed suit and a number of anchors did shows on the case. The court was certainly under pressure to do the right thing, with the entire nation’s attention focused on the case.
Subsequently, Shah Hussain was convicted of stabbing Khadija with the intention of killing her and the judicial magistrate awarded a 7-year-sentence to him. Khadija appealed the decision and sought an increase in punishment. The convict’s lawyers also filed an appeal against the decision. Nevertheless, by this time, the media’s focus had shifted away from the case. Social activists also thought justice had been done and the right precedent set. But it was not over for Khadija yet.
Once public attention drifted, and demands for justice on mainstream and social media stopped, Khadija’s tormentors once again started pressurising her to reach a compromise with her attacker.
I reported for this publication in April that Khadija was sent a message by Punjab Governor Rafiq Rajwana that he wanted her to forgive Shah Hussain because the initial trial has already ‘destroyed his future’.
Khadija had also stated that the appellant court judge hearing the plea called her to his chamber and asked her to reach a compromise with the convict. No action was taken by the honourable CJ, who is otherwise rather quick to take notice of news items about alleged corruption in government institutions.
It was only after a campaign on social media and pressure from civil society that the CJ took notice of the acquittal and ordered the case to be reopened. While the suo motu and the apex court’s involvement in the case is a welcome development, it is time for our institutions to do their job without needing a reminder from civil society and media.
It is not possible for the civil society to be aware of every case of injustice and stand up for every victim. The news about members of the legal fraternity using their influence to save Shah Hussain was reported several times, but the authorities concerned paid no heed.
The chief justice, who is eager to bring reforms in other institutions, should also set his own house in order. Lawyers who tried to protect a convicted criminal should be taken to task by the CJ himself because such elements give a bad name to both the judiciary and the legal profession.
A few days ago, when politician Farooq Bandial briefly joined, and was expelled from, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), reports of actress Shabnam’s rape began circulating. Bandial, among others was convicted of raping Shabnam during a robbery at her house in 1979, but he was released after the victim reached a compromise under anti-women laws introduced by Zia-ul-Haq and forgave the perpetrators. Shabnam had to leave Pakistan after her rapists were allowed to walk as free men. She currently lives in Bangladesh.
Most of the youth in Pakistan is not even aware of the case, despite the huge travesty of justice done because of rape cases and sexual violence against women being conveniently brushed under the carpet. Shabnam is not the only woman whose rapists got away with the crime.
Rape victim Mukhtaran Mai who dared to report the crime despite her rural background could not get justice either. A three-member-bench of the court acquitted the accused in 2011 for ‘lack of evidence’. She pursued the case for nine years, but our broken justice system could not provide her relief. She is among the numerous Pakistani women (Benazir Bhutto, Asma Nawab, Aasia Bibi to name a few) who were failed by Pakistan’s criminal justice system.
It is pertinent to mention that CJ Saqib Nisar was on the bench that acquitted Mai’s rapists. Therefore, it is no surprise that the current judiciary has been unable to side with the female victims of violence. The justice system’s anti-woman approach must change. Since the CJ has taken it upon himself to fix all that is wrong with this country, he should do something about this as well.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto pledges to transform Karachi into a city of opportunities for all
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Sherry Rehman, Rashid Rabbani, Waqar Mehdi, PPP Karachi Division Saeed Ghani, General Secretary Javed Nagori, Nabeel Gabol, Yousuf Baloch, Najmi Alam, Khalil Hoath, Karamullah Waqasi, Nadya Gabol, Nadir Gabol, Shakeel Chaudhry and others were present on the meeting.
Speaking at the meeting, the PPP Chairman said that Karachi has been freed from the clutches of ‘Na-Maloom Afrad’ and due to initiatives and efforts of last PPP government, peace has been restored in the city to a great extent. He said that people of Karachi will be exercising their right of franchise for the first time without any coercion and intimidation.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that PPP will sweep general elections in Karachi as it has served the people of the city, who can more easily differentiate between anti-PPP propaganda and the services rendered by the Party for the metropolis despite having lesser mandate from it.
He urged the PPP leaders and workers from Karachi to step-up campaign and take the message of the Party to every door in the city that we will transform it into a city of opportunities for all and sundry residing here.
https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2018/06/12/ppp-chairman-bilawal-bhutto-zardari-pledges-to-transform-karachi-into-a-city-of-opportunities-for-all/
#Pakistan - #PPP - الیکشن 2018: آصفہ بھٹو نے فیصلہ تبدیل کرلیا
سابق صدر آصف علی زرداری کی صاحبزادی آصفہ بھٹو زرداری نے الیکشن 2018ء میں حصہ لینے سے متعلق فیصلہ تبدیل کرلیا ۔
ذرائع کے مطابق آصفہ بھٹو عام انتخابات کے بجائے قومی اسمبلی کے لئے ضمنی الیکشن میں حصہ لیں گی ،وہ کس حلقے سے انتخاب لڑیں گی ؟اس حوالے سے معاملات طے ہونا باقی ہیں۔
ذرائع کے مطابق آصفہ بھٹو کو ممکنہ طور پر پی پی چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو 2 جیتنے والی نشستوں میں سے ایک خالی ہونے والی سیٹ سے انتخاب لڑایا جاسکتا ہے ۔
ذرائع کے مطابق بلاول بھٹو لیاری اور لاڑکانہ سے قومی اسمبلی کے امیدوار ہیں، وہ لاڑکانہ کی آبائی سیٹ رکھنا چاہتے ہیں جبکہ آصفہ بھٹو لیاری کو اپنا حلقہ بنانا چاہتی ہیں، اس لئے لیاری سے ضمنی الیکشن لڑیں گی۔
ذرائع کے مطابق آصفہ بھٹو کو لیاری کاحلقہ دینےکی وجہ سے انہیں عام انتخابات میں ٹکٹ نہیں دیا گیا۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/506112