Friday, August 2, 2019
سینیٹ میں ناکامی، بلاول نے فیکٹ فائنڈنگ کمیٹی بنادی
چیئرمین پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے چیئرمین سینیٹ کے خلاف تحریک عدم اعتماد کی ناکامی کی وجوہات کا جائزہ لینے کے لیے فیکٹ فائنڈنگ کمیٹی تشکیل دے دی۔
ذرائع کے مطابق فیکٹ فائنڈنگ کمیٹی نے 6 اگست کو اسلام آباد میں اجلاس طلب کرلیا ہے۔ کمیٹی سینیٹ میں تحریک عدم اعتماد کی ناکامی کی وجوہات کا جائزہ لے گی۔
کمیٹی کے اجلاس میں یوسف رضا گیلانی اور فرحت اللہ بابر شریک ہوں گے، اجلاس میں کمیٹی کے ممبران سعید غنی، صابر بلوچ اور نیر بخاری بھی شریک ہوں گے۔
ذرائع کے مطابق فیکٹ فائنڈنگ کمیٹی تحقیقات کر کے اپنی رپورٹ چیئرمین پیپلزپارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری کو پیش کرے گی۔
دوسری جانب ن لیگ نے بھی پارٹی پالیسی کیخلاف ووٹ دینے والوں کے تعین کے لئے رانا مقبول کی سربراہی میں کمیٹی بنانے کا فیصلہ کرلیا ہے۔
مسلم ن کے صدر اور اپوزیشن لیڈر شہاز شریف نے کہا ہے ضمیر فروشی کرنے والے ارکان کو تلاش کریں گے اور ان کے خلاف کارروائی کریں گے۔
Pakistani Minorities: Kidnappings Covered Up by Religious Conversion, Marriage
By Ayesha TanzeemA judge in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, placed two Hindu girls, allegedly under the age of 18, in government custody Tuesday and ordered a "fair and transparent inquiry" into their circumstances that is to be presented to the court in a week. The girls, Reena and Raveena, were allegedly forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men. Their family filed a police report saying they had been kidnapped from Ghotki in Sindh province, where a majority of Pakistan's Hindus live. But the girls filed a court petition saying they were over 18 and had willingly converted to Islam and married the men they wanted. They also sought protection from their family, claiming the family had harassed and threatened them. The case has once again brought to the forefront the longstanding complaint in Pakistan's Hindu community that minor girls were being kidnapped, and that conversion and marriage were being used as legal cover to protect the abductors. The community also claimed the girls were threatened with harm to themselves or their family members to give false statements in court. While the Hindu community has the largest number of such complaints, other minorities have faced the same issue. Last month, a Christian woman in the Punjab province reported that her 13-year-old daughter was kidnapped from her home by several men. Her abductors claimed she had converted to Islam and was married to one of them. Mohammad Sarfaraz Khan Aibak, the police officer conducting the inquiry, told VOA the girl had given an affidavit in court that she was 18 and knew what she was doing. He also said the girl "refused to take a medical examination" to determine her age and could not be forced to take one against her will.Abiak claimed the family did not have a birth certificate. But the family's lawyer, Lazar Allahrakha, shared with VOA the copy of a church certificate called a "dedication certificate," often used by the country's Christian community in lieu of a birth certificate. He also shared a copy of a school certificate. According to both documents, the girl was born in 2005. Pakistan law Human rights lawyer Asad Jamal said even if a girl was a minor, under Pakistani law, marriage to an underage person could not be invalidated if she claimed she had done it willingly. "The girl's statement is very important in such cases," he said. Minority communities complain that minor girls should not be allowed to make such life-altering decisions. "They are innocent. They don't know anything at this age," said Kheeal Das Kohistani, a Hindu member of parliament from Sindh. In addition, Kohistani said, there was no way to determine whether the girls were giving their statements under pressure unless they were taken away from the men who had allegedly abducted them. "They should be kept in a shelter home for 15 to 20 days, and their parents should be allowed to meet them," he said. VOA's own investigation in Sindh province two years ago showed that not all cases involved kidnapping or use of force. Some minor girls eloped with Muslim men against their family's wishes and changed their religion since marriage between a Muslim and a Hindu is not allowed in Islam. The parents often claimed kidnapping, since local police were unlikely to take action if it was determined the girls left willingly. Authorities Investigate Cases of Forced Conversion of Sikh Minority in Pakistan However, rights activists say taking a girl under 16 away from her legal guardians is illegal under any circumstances. "The law says that if a girl is under 16, if she is taken away from her legal guardians even through enticement, whether you've made her believe she is in love or lured her away any which way, the law considers it kidnapping. It does not necessarily have to be use of force," said Jibran Nasir, a human rights lawyer who follows these cases closely.Pakistan's law also says a girl under 16 cannot consent to sex. "So, if you had consensual sex with someone under 16, that is still considered rape," Nasir said.Pir Mohammad Ayub Jan Sarhandi is one of two Muslim clerics in Sindh province the Hindu community blames for most of the conversions and marriages. He told VOA that he always ensured a young girl was making her decision freely without any pressure, but said he did not agree with the legal age for marriage. "They say a girl is not mature till she is 18. We condemn this law. We do not accept it. We will never accept it," he said. Several Pakistani clerics believe a girl is ready for marriage with her first menstrual cycle. Reena and Raveena The Sindh government took notice of Reena and Raveena's case when a video went viral of their father helplessly beating himself outside a police station and asking people to shoot him. Seven people have been taken into custody for their alleged involvement in the marriages, including members of the husbands' families and the man who performed the marriage ceremony. Prime Minister Imran Khan also ordered an inquiry, which Kohistani said was a good first step but not enough. "He should come in the parliament and help make a law against it. That is what will give them instant relief," he said. https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/pakistani-minorities-kidnappings-covered-religious-conversion-marriage
Christian girl kidnapped, forced into Islamic marriage in #Pakistan
The parents of a 14-year-old Pakistani Christian girl who was abducted in July and forced into an Islamic marriage are now battling the justice system in an attempt to rescue their daughter from her captors.
The U.K.-based charity Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement has been working on behalf of the family, who live in Lahore, after their 14-year-old daughter, Benish Imran, went missing on July 2.According to a news release sent out by the charity dedicated to helping persecuted Christians in Pakistan, the girl's father, Imran Masih, registered a case under section 496-A of the Pakistani penal code at the Cantt police station on July 3. Under Pakistani law, unlawful marriages are punishable by up to seven years in prison. However, the kidnapping and abduction of Christian and Hindu children by Muslim men remains a systemic problem. At the time, the father didn't know who had kidnapped his daughter but was later informed by police that a marriage and conversion certificate had been registered for her. He was told that she would appear before a magistrate to record a statement on July 12.
CLAAS lawyer Nasir Anjum attended the July 12 hearing on behalf of Masih. The child also attended the hearing with a Muslim man named Waheed Ahmed. Imran testified that she was 19 years old, which isn't true. She also reportedly claimed that she embraced Islam and got married to Ahmed on her own free will.
Anjum contested the claim that she was 19, and provided a birth certificate showing the magistrate that Imran was born in October 2005. Anjum argued that a minor cannot legally be married on her own free will.Additionally, Pakistan's penal code states that kidnapping occurs when a girl under the age of 16 is taken from a legal guardian without their consent. The magistrate reportedly ordered CLAAS to register a case at the local police station against the marriage registrar under the Child Marriage Restraint Act. However, the magistrate did not formally write that order. Although the girl's statement should have been tossed out by the court because she is underage, the judge recorded her statement.
According to CLAAS, authorities in the Muslim-majority country often side with Muslim perpetrators of crimes, and courts often avoid giving clear judgment because they are pressured by radical religious leaders.
According to the U.S. Library of Congress, a 2014 bill in Pakistan's National Assembly to strengthen the Child Marriage Restraint Act barring child marriage under the age of 16 by increasing punishment for perpetrators was withdrawn in 2016 after pressure from the Council of Islamic Ideology.CLAAS-U.K. Director Nasir Saeed said in a statement that dozens of women and underage girls have been forced into Islamic marriages in the last few months. A 2014 estimate from the nongovernmental organization Movement of Solidarity and Peace indicates that about 1,000 Hindu and Christian girls are abducted, raped and forced into Islamic marriages in Pakistan every year. “The Pakistani government must take this matter seriously and take all necessary steps to stop the ongoing forced conversion of underage Christian and Hindu girls in Pakistan," Saeed said in a statement.
“Pakistan must understand that it needs to improve the situation of human rights in general and particularly in relation to religious minorities.
Saeed noted that freedom of religion has become an important issue on the global stage as of late.
While the U.K. government recently published a report on the persecution of Christians worldwide, the U.S. State Department held its second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in July.
"Pakistan has multiple bilateral relations with all these countries, and therefore it needs to look into this matter seriously and bring changes where necessary," Saeed stressed.
In November 2016, the provincial government in Sindh passed a law to punish perpetrators who forcibly convert religious minorities. That crime holds a punishment of up to five years in prison and three years for anyone who facilitates such a conversion.
Pakistan ranks as the fifth-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA's 2019 World Watch List. In addition to abduction and forced conversion of Christian girls, Pakistan is often criticized for imprisoning dozens of people for the crime of blasphemy.
Under Pakistani law, it is illegal to insult Islam or its prophet. The crime is punishable by the death penalty or life imprisonment. The law is often abused by majority Muslims to take advantage of or settle scores with religious minorities.
As many as 40 people are on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan right now and Pakistan reportedly imprisons more people for blasphemy than all other countries in the world combined. In the last two years, the U.S. State Department along with other signatory countries have signed statements criticizing blasphemy laws, such as one in Pakistan.Pakistan is listed by the U.S. State Department as a "country of particular concern" for having engaged in or tolerated "systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
https://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-girl-kidnapped-forced-into-islamic-marriage-pakistan.html
Has TTP been completely wiped out from tribal areas?
The TTP has once again claimed to exert its influence over the people residing in tribal areas which is worrying for society agencies and local leaders. Pakistan army is expected to give a befitting response to the TTP in order to maintain the confidence of people in the existing security apparatus without any disruptive change.
Once again the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has warned people against playing loud music, polio vaccination and women going out without being accompanied by a man. The one-page message also threatened people defying the warning with serious consequences. According to local sources, it has created a sense of fear across the tribal belt where it was being considered that the TTP and their facilitators have been wiped out.
According to media reports, the message on the page is written in Urdu and has been seen by people in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan tribal district, on Wednesday cautioned the people: “We remind you [residents] that similar statements issued by Taliban several times in the past had fallen on deaf ears, but this time we are going to take to task those who violate the Taliban order.” The message further said: “There will be no use of DJs, neither inside the house nor in open fields and those ignoring the warning will be responsible for consequences.”
Proscribed #TTP in #North #Waziristan today distributed pamphlets which state: No DJ sound system allowed, women should not go outside their homes alone, and polio workers should avoid administer polio drops to children or be ready for dire consequences etc.
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Polio workers have been asked to do finger-marking of children during the vaccination campaign, but told not to administer polio drops to children or be ready to face dire consequences for defying the instructions. It is important to recall that polio workers were recently targeted by the extremists in the tribal areas.
It was also seen that many people out of fear were not willing to get their children vaccinated. The federal government intervened and provided the polio workers with security to perform their duties.There is one informer of Mujahideen in every three people and it was a misconception on the part of the people to think we will not get information about non-compliance of our order.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), polio has been all but wiped out across the world following a sustained vaccination campaign, with only 22 cases reported in 2017 against more than 350,000 in 1988. There is no known cure but the disease can be prevented if children are given multiple treatments with the polio vaccine, the WHO says. Along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, Pakistan is one of the only three countries where complete polio eradication has not yet been achieved.The TTP is notorious for its rigid and selective interpretation of Islam. The banned outfit has claimed the responsibilities of blowing up barber and music shops in the past. The current pamphlet prohibited playing loud music on the computer and other shops with a warning that any place from where songs are heard could be blown up any time.
Furthermore, the TTP has stated more than once that women must not be allowed to go alone and interact with their male counterparts. This has been reiterated in the message. “Women shouldn’t go out of their homes alone as it is harmful for our society. There is one informer of Mujahideen in every three people and it was a misconception on the part of the people to think we will not get information about non-compliance of our order. Follow the order or be ready to face worst consequences,” the message concluded.
Political commentators now believe that recent attack on Pakistan armed forces and the blast in Quetta indicates that the banned group is once again rising. It is being speculated that the army may have to intensify its operation in some part of the tribal areas in order to completely eliminate the TTP.
Pakistan: Tenuous Control In Dera Ismail Khan – Analysis
By Tushar Ranjan Mohanty*
On July 21, 2019, a group of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants on four motorcycles opened fire on Policemen at the Kotla Saidan checkpost in Dera Ismail Khan town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Two Policemen were killed in the attack. Following the gun attack, a suicide blast took place at the hospital where the victims were shifted. The female fidayeen (suicide bomber) struck at the entrance to the hospital, killing four Policemen and three civilians who were visiting their relatives. 30 others were injured in the two incidents.
The TTP ‘spokesperson’ Muhammad Khorasani, in a statement, claimed the attacks were carried out in retaliation for the killing of a suspected terrorist by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in Dera Ismail Khan District on June 23, 2019. Security Forces (SFs) had killed a militant and arrested another after they threw hand-grenades at the Cantonment Police Station in Dera Ismail Khan on June 23.
On March 18, 2019, at least three persons, including two Policemen, were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion near a Police vehicle in the Parowa Sub-District of Dera Ismail Khan. The Police van was on a routine patrol in the Parowa area when the bomb, planted on a bicycle, went off.
On March 15, 2019, a CTD Police Constable was killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on him in the Muddy area in Kulachi tehsil (revenue unit) of Dera Ismail Khan District.
Sources stated that the Constable was on his way home after offering Friday prayers, when unidentified motorcyclists opened fire on him, killing him on the spot.
On February 12, 2019, at least four Policemen were killed and a Station House Office (SHO) was injured in an ambush in the Maharah area of Parowa Sub-District in Dera Ismail Khan District. District Police Officer (DPO) Mohammad Iqbal disclosed that suspected militants targeted a Police van patrolling the area.
According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), Dera Ismail Khan District has recorded at least 17 terrorism-related fatalities (11 SF personnel, four civilians and two terrorists) in 2019, thus far (data till July 28, 2019).
During the corresponding period of 2018, the Province registered eight terrorism-related fatalities (three terrorists, three SF personnel and two civilians).
During the corresponding period of 2017, there were 11 such fatalities (four civilians, four SF personnel and three militants), while these numbers stood at nine (six civilians and three SF personnel) in the same period of 2016.
Militancy-related Fatalities in Dera Ismail Khan: 2000*-2019**
| Year | Incidents | Civilians | Security Forces | Militants | Not Specified (NS) | Total |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2004 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2005 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2006 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2007 | 13 | 40 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 63 |
| 2008 | 12 | 42 | 12 | 37 | 4 | 95 |
| 2009 | 25 | 68 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 93 |
| 2010 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 31 |
| 2011 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
| 2012 | 10 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 30 |
| 2013 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 35 |
| 2014 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 23 |
| 2015 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 26 |
| 2016 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2017 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 15 |
| 2018 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 2019 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
| Total | 134 | 245 | 107 | 104 | 36 | 492 |
| *March 6, 2000; **July 28, 2019; Source: SATP |
More worryingly, total fatalities in first six months and 28 days of 2019 have already crossed the total number of terrorism-related fatalities recorded each year, since 2016.
Dera Ismail Khan has accounted for a total of 492 fatalities [245 civilians, 107 SF personnel, 104 terrorists and 36 not-specified (NS)] since March 6, 2000, when SATP commenced compiling data on Pakistan. These fatalities have been recorded in a total of 134 incidents of killing. 43 of these 134 incidents were ‘major (involving three or more fatalities). These major incidents resulted in the death of 362 persons (182 civilians, 72 SF personnel, 84 militants and 24 NS).
The District has recorded a total of 243 violent incidents since March 6, 2000. These include 89 incidents of explosion and 16 suicide attacks.
According to Dera Ismail Khan Police data, 111 Policemen were killed and 180 sustained injuries in acts of terrorism and targeted attacks, between January 2008 and December 2018. During the same period, seven Army soldiers were killed and 14 were injured. Besides, five personnel of the Frontier Constabulary were killed and one was injured. 474 civilians were killed in the 10-year period ending December 2018.
With a population of more than 1.6 million people, Dera Ismail Khan has long been a centre of terrorist activities due to its strategic location. It shares borders with South Waziristan, Tank and Lakki Marwat Districts in KP; Mianwali, Bhakkar and Dera Ghazi khan Districts in Punjab, and the Zhob District of Balochistan. Two of these neighbouring districts, South Waziristan and Zhob, share borders with Afghanistan. Dera Ismail Khan has served as a transit point for militants operating in these areas.
Analyst Syed Kashif Ali in a February 5, 2017, column, noted that, owing to its geo-strategic importance, Dera Ismail Khan served as a gateway for Punjabi militants fighting against the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s. During the 1990s, the District became a recruitment-centre for terrorist organisations operating out of Pakistan occupied Kashmir, such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI), which have organisational structures, recruitment centres and offices operating openly in the Dera Ismail Khan city.
The District, which had earlier served as a transit route for militants, progressively transformed into a terror hub after the emergence of TTP. The other major extremist group operational in the District is the sectarian Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). These outfits began creating havoc in the District in 2007, as in the rest of the Pakistan. Like other parts of Pakistan, Dera Ismail Khan has witnessed relative improvement, after the peakof 2007-09. However, the threat persists, as indicated by the recent surge in fatalities. As Dar Ali Khattak, Regional Police Officer (RPO) for Dera Ismail Khan, notes, “The situation is now under control, but we have to stay alert to cope with the threat.”
Though a semblance of peace has been established in Dera Ismail Khan District, as a result of several operations launched against domestically oriented terror formations over the years, no steps have been taken to de-radicalise the wider society, which continues to serve as a fertile ground for extremists to breed and thrive.
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