Friday, January 24, 2020
#Pakistan #PPP #Bilawal Bhutto Zardari presides party meeting at Naudero House
The members of the Coordination Committee Larkana had complained that the party leaders in the city were not responsive to their complaints, while the government officers including the deputy commissioners, commissioners, SSPs even Mukhtiarkars were not cooperating with them.
Bilawal asked MNA Khursheed Ahmed Junejo, the convener of the Larkana Coordination Committee, to clear his position with regards to the complaints. Junejo told the party chairman that he has no power to resolve people’s issues. The PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, MPA Burhan Chandio, MNA Naseban Channo, Youth Sindh President Javed Nayab Leghari, Mehran Khan Nareejo, and others were also present on the occasion.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/603230-bilawal-bhutto-zardari-presides-party-meeting-at-naudero-house
Pakistan's Beleaguered Ahmadis Decry 'Deplorable' Attempt To Isolate Them
By Frud Bezhan
To be considered Muslim, members of Pakistan's minority Ahmadi sect must deny the beliefs of their religion.
They must swear that the Prophet Muhammad is the final prophet, and denounce the Ahmadi sect's 19th century founder as a false prophet and his followers as non-Muslim.
The Ahmadis, or Ahmadiyya, consider themselves Muslim, but that is a view rejected by mainstream Islamic sects.
And since they refuse to declare themselves non-Muslims, the Ahmadis have been stuck in legal limbo, leaving them without fundamental human rights such as access to education and the right to vote.
Numbering almost 5 million, the community has been persecuted for decades, banned from publicly practicing their faith and the target of rising sectarian violence.
Authorities in the predominantly Muslim country of 208 million have done little to stem the attacks, with the government still refusing to grant the community equal status.
'Paranoia, Intolerance, And Bigotry'
In what Ahmadis say is the latest attempt to segregate its members, the Islamabad branch of Pakistan's Bar Association on January 15 made it mandatory for its 5,500 members to declare their religious affiliation. If they identify themselves as Muslim, members must sign an affidavit by January 31 declaring that they are not Ahmadis.
To be listed as a Muslim, the affidavit said the signatory must believe that Muhammad was "the last of the prophets"; that the founder of the Ahmadi sect was an "apostate, liar, and hypocrite"; and must not have ever referred to him/herself as "an Ahmadi."
The Islamabad Bar Association (IBA) said members who failed to comply would have their membership suspended and be publicly named.
The move has been condemned on social media and criticized by bar members and rights activists, who have alleged that it is an attempt to suspend Ahmadi lawyers from the association.
Amir Mahmood, a spokesman for the Ahmadi community, told RFE/RL that the IBA's "deplorable" decision risked further pushing the sect towards "isolation."
"This shows the level of religious extremism in society and how religious differences are getting deeper," Mahmood said. "It is a deliberate attempt to isolate the Ahmadis in Pakistan."
Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, a senator and member of the bar, said the move had "buried" the South Asian country's vision for a secular state "in heaps of paranoia, intolerance, and bigotry."
"I am deeply saddened to be put under the spotlight to prove my faith," said Khokar, who added that he would refuse to submit the declaration.
Khokar said that "some in the fraternity" were contemplating challenging the move in the Supreme Court.
IBA President Malik Zafar Khokhar said the purpose of the declarations was to simply "identify" the Ahmadi members of the association.
'Rights Are Being Violated'
"Ahmadis are being discriminated against and their basic human rights are being violated in every sphere of life," Mahmood said, citing freedom of religion, right of assembly, and voting rights.
Under Pakistani law, the Ahmadis cannot refer to themselves as Muslims or engage in any Muslim practices, including using Islamic greetings, calling their places of worship mosques, or participating in the hajj, or holy pilgrimage. Ahmadis risk imprisonment for up to three years and a fine if they break those laws.
Ahmadis are allowed to vote only for parliamentary seats reserved for non-Muslims and, since they refuse to declare themselves non-Muslims, most do not vote.
The world's roughly 12 million Ahmadis are followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the man who founded the movement in British India in 1889 and who Ahmadis believe was a messiah and prophet. For the mainstream Islamic sects, that contradicts a cornerstone of their belief that Muhammad was the final prophet.
Those beliefs have seen the Ahmadis come under pressure in a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. In Pakistan, members of the community have been systematically persecuted by both mainstream Muslim sects and the government.
In the 1970s, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto passed an amendment to the Pakistani Constitution declaring anyone who does not believe Muhammad was the last prophet as non-Muslim. Under the rule of military dictator Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s, the practice of the Ahmadi faith was declared a "blasphemous" criminal offense.
Ahmadis face a stark choice in Pakistan.
They can follow their faith and risk persecution and death or they can convert or leave the country. Thousands of Ahmadis from the subcontinent have left, with large communities in Britain, the United States, and Canada.
Growing Sectarian Violence
Religious discrimination and violence have increased in Pakistan, a mainly Sunni Muslim country, with attacks against Shi'a, Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs in recent years.
Ahmadis have become the target of the rising sectarian violence, with their burial grounds, mosques, and homes coming under attack. The community says the authorities have done little to stem the assaults.
In May 2018, a mob consisting of several hundred people led by hard-line Muslim clerics destroyed a 100-year-old mosque belonging to the Ahmadi community in the eastern city of Sialkot.
In August that year, a mob carried out a similar attack on an Ahmadi mosque in the eastern city of Faisalabad. Nearly 30 were wounded, and the mosque was largely destroyed.
In September 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan revoked the appointment of Atif Mian, an Ahmadi and a Princeton-educated economist, to a key advisory role following protests by a hard-line Islamist party and opposition from within Khan's own party.
It is not only Ahmadis, but also those seen sympathizing with them, who have faced threats and violence.
Pakistan's justice minister was forced to resign in 2017 after followers of a radical cleric accused him of blasphemy for changes to the electoral law that were seen as a concession to Ahmadis. Protesters forced the virtual lockdown of Islamabad for weeks.
In 'Smog-istan', not all #Pakistanis are created equal - Pakistan's Lahore has some of the most toxic air on the planet
By Asad Hashim
Pakistan's Lahore has some of the most toxic air on the planet, but not all of its residents suffer its effects equally.
Lahore, Pakistan - Walking through the streets of Lahore's old city, once home to Mughal royalty but now overtaken by a maze of ramshackle shops and commercial buildings built seemingly on top of one another, you can see a thin layer of translucent brown air hang just above street level.
"We have been getting sore throats, colds and fevers," says Khurram Shehzad, 35, a salesman at a hardware store, covering his mouth with a scarf. "Our eyes burn, and our throats become dry. I've been coughing a lot [this year]."It has been like this for months, says Shehzad, throughout what has come to be known in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, home to more than 10 million people, as "smog season".Come October, changing weather patterns, high levels of environmental pollution and seasonal crop burning combine to make the air in Lahore some of the most toxic in the world, with the city's air quality index (AQI) reading regularly topping 500 (the upper limit on most meters), according to AirVisual, an international air quality monitoring service.The AQI is a measure formulated by the United States' Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to measure how healthy or polluted air is, and takes into account levels of five major air pollutants.
Any reading higher than 100 is considered "unhealthy", with readings higher than 300 considered "hazardous", according to international standards. Pakistan's classification system for AQI considers levels up to 200 to be "satisfactory".
In 2015, an estimated 135,000 Pakistanis died due to air pollution, a study published in the medical journal The Lancet found. Perhaps more crucially, the study found that air pollution cost Pakistanis more than 42.3 million disability-adjusted life years - averaged out over Pakistan's cities, where air pollution is concentrated, that amounts to more than a year off every single urban citizen's life.
In Lahore, a growing metropolis that is a hub of commercial activity in Pakistan's Punjab province, the AQI during the four months between October and January rarely dips below "hazardous" levels. This year, for the first time ever, the provincial government shut down schools for three days due to hazardous air quality, asking citizens to remain indoors as much as possible.For many in Pakistan, where the average per capita income is less than $1,600 a year, staying indoors, however, is simply not an option.
'We don't eat that day'
"My whole family can eat [only] because I am running this pushcart," says Jalal Hazrat Syed, a 24-year-old migrant to Lahore who sells household electrical equipment off a wooden cart in the old city. "If I shut it down, what will they do?"
"It's easier for those who work in offices. If I don't work for a day, we don't eat that day."
This year, the government and activists have been encouraging citizens to wear filter face masks to protect themselves while outdoors in the smog, as well as to install air purifiers at home to filter the air.
The main danger from the smog is high levels of particulate matter that is less than 2.5 microns in diameter, known as PM2.5. Such particles can be absorbed directly into the blood and organs after being breathed in, and have been linked to higher rates of cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems and other diseases.
Pakistan's standard for "safe" levels of PM2.5 in the air is 35 microns per cubic metre. At the peak of smog season, the level was regularly more than 15 times that amount.
For many in Pakistan, however, buying air purifiers for their homes or workspaces is out of the question, given their high cost.
"We would see the smog descend in the evenings, mostly," said Faiz-ul-Islam, 30, a tea seller in the city's congested Shah Alami market. "It is unlikely, given I earn 15,000 rupees a month [$96], that I would be able to buy an air purifier."
Most air purifiers in Pakistani stores are imported, with prices starting at about 30,000 rupees ($194), or roughly double the monthly minimum wage. Prices for face masks certified to filter out PM2.5 particles are more affordable, however, with most masks retailing for roughly 200 rupees (about $1.30).
Islam says he has no choice but to go to work, no matter what the air quality, because he needs to earn a living.
"I cannot survive for a single day without going outside and working," he says. "[If we are forced to stay home], I will be forced into debt, and it will take months to work it off."
A new generation of Pakistani activists, however, is working to change all that.
'We work together, or die together'
Young Pakistanis have taken on a leadership role in demanding that the government apply more sustainable environmental policies and take climate change more seriously.In September, thousands of young people marched in 26 cities across the country to register their protest against unsustainable climate policies, joining a global movement dubbed the Global Climate Strike.
Nida Afzal, a student at Lahore's Punjab University, was among those marching.
"[If] I am living under a system that is oppressing me and doesn't allow me to speak the truth, then I should leave that system, right?" she says. "That seems to be anarchist, but it is really not anarchist. It is about communicating your opinion to power."
Afzal, 20, has been working on environmental issues for more than five years, ever since her mother died from liver disease linked to the quality of water in her middle-class Lahore neighbourhood."Students are now [engaging in this activism] because they know their rights," she says. "[Authorities] don't argue with us the same way, because they know ... that we really shut them up. That's the pride of this movement. How Greta [Thunberg] speaks, you know?"
Afzal says the time for governments to act is fast running out, and that for her, "it is do or die now".
"We have known about climate breakdown for 30 years, and we have been warned by scientists [...] We have now taken that stand, that we have to do something, because if we don't work together, we die together."
Other young activists say that they target other students and younger people, because they find it difficult to convince those who are middle-aged or older.
"[Young people] are easier to convince. It is more probable that a young person is more aware of this issue than someone in their mid-30s," says Raza Goraya, 25, a lawyer who co-founded the Clean Air Campaign in Lahore.
Goraya warns, however, that opposition to sustainable policies appears to be based in a paradigm that pits development against environmentally friendly policies.
"It is ingrained that [pollution] is necessary. That development with sustainability being brought into the equation is not possible, not on a fast pace."
There are, however, hurdles to climate activism - especially adapting global models of protest to Pakistan, some young activists explain.
Afzal works with the UK-based Extinction Rebellion (XR), a climate activism group that conducts civil disobedience protests where activists court arrest in order to force authorities to take notice of climate change.
In Pakistan, however, Afzal says it is more difficult to conduct those kinds of protests.
"They couldn't happen here, because people are scared. Over there, people are educated and very privileged. Their protests are flooded with middle-class white people, who are privileged," she says.
As elsewhere, however, she believes privileged Pakistanis will have to use their social power to agitate for change.
"The people will have to come forward and say, us educated people. A labourer cannot come forward to put his life and his wages in danger to say that they don't accept corporations. We should not expect that, either. We need to work with them and work for their rights, but we should not expect them to be revolutionaries."
'The biggest gap'
Pakistan's government dismisses criticism of its policies, saying it is taking effective steps to take on the smog crisis.
According to a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) report commissioned by the Punjab government, roughly 43 percent of the province's air pollution is attributable to vehicle emissions. A further 24 percent is from industrial emissions, 20 percent from the burning of crops in the winter season, and 12 percent from the country's mainly coal- and furnace oil-fired power plants.
"We have identified that it relates to petroleum and oils that we import or manufacture in our refineries," says Tanveer Ahmed Warraich, director general of the provincial Environmental Protection Agency. "The government wants that whatever fuel we import, it must be of better quality."
Currently, Pakistan uses Euro-II standards for the quality of fuels used in vehicles, which allows for higher levels of pollutants. For example, the sulphur content in Euro-II grade diesel fuel is roughly 50 times higher than current global standards.
Vehicle inspection standards, however, remain lax, and many inefficient or higher polluting vehicles continue to ply Pakistan's roads. Warraich said his agency aims to impound 20 vehicles a day after spot checks on Lahore's roads.
According to a 2017 Smog Policy, the government is also working on reducing industrial emissions, especially from the more than 10,000 brick kilns scattered across Punjab province. The government is incentivising brick kiln owners to switch to more efficient "zigzag" technology at their kilns.
On crop burning, Warraich said more than 400 farmers were arrested this year for burning the stubble from the rice harvest to clear their fields for the upcoming wheat season.
Others, however, say the action is simply not fast enough to take on what is a "crisis".
"A lot of the measures that were supposed to be immediately implemented, I am yet to see evidence of that," said Attiya Noon, an environmental activist who sits on the government's anti-smog committee.
"That's the biggest gap, that you see political will, you see action even in terms of these meetings ... however, it remains to be seen when and how it will be implemented."
For those working on the streets of Lahore, action cannot come too soon.
"When the smog was bad [this year], we'd tell our kids to stay indoors, in their own rooms," says Shehzad, the electrical store worker. "But if I stay at home, how will we eat? The government won't help me.
"Whether we are sick, or whatever happens, we have to work." https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/smog-istan-pakistanis-created-equal-200123081038630.html
پاکستان میں کرونا وائرس کا خوف اور اس سے بچاؤ کی تدابیر
واضح رہے پاکستان میں ہزاروں چینی باشندے کام، کاروبار اور تعلیم کے سلسلے میں ملک میں موجود ہیں اور ان کا اپنے ملک آنا جانا بھی لگا رہتا ہے۔
طبی ماہرین نے کرونا وائرس کے چین میں پھیلنے پر سخت تشویش کا اظہار کیا ہے اور حکومت سے مطالبہ کیا ہے کہ وہ چین سے آنے والے افراد کی سخت نگرانی کرے اور وائرس کی علامات کی شکل میں فوری طور پر اقدامات کرے۔
واضح رہے پاکستان میں ہزاروں چینی باشندے کام، کاروبار اور تعلیم کے سلسلے میں ملک میں موجود ہیں اور ان کا اپنے ملک آنا جانا بھی لگا رہتا ہے۔ اس وائرس سے چین میں اب تک 400 سے زیادہ افراد متاثر ہو چکے ہیں جب کہ نو کے قریب ہلاکتیں ہوئی ہیں۔ ماہرین کا کہنا ہے کہ جب چین ترقی یافتہ ملک ہونے کے باوجود اس کا مقابلہ صحیح معنوں میں نہیں کر پا رہا تو پاکستان کیسے اس کا مقابلہ کرے گا۔ پاکستان میڈیکل ایسویسی ایشن کے سابق صدر ڈاکٹر ٹیپو سلطان کا کہنا ہے کہ اگر اس مرض کی وباء خدانخواستہ پاکستان آتی ہے تو ہم اس کا مقابلہ نہیں کر سکیں گے: ''یہ وائرس انسان سے انسان میں بھی منتقل ہو سکتا ہے، جس کہ لیے آپ کو آئیسولیشن وارڈز چاہییں جب کہ ہمارے سرکاری اور پرائیویٹ ہسپتالوں میں آئیسولیشن وارڈز نہیں ہیں۔ جس کا مطلب یہ ہے کہ اگر یہ وباء یہاں آتی ہے تو پھر تیزی سے پھیلے گی۔‘‘
ان کا کہنا تھا کہ حکومت کو چاہیے کہ چین سے آنے والے مسافروں کو فوری طور پر چیک کریں اور اگر کسی کا ٹمپریچر 100 کے قریب ہے یا اس سے تھوڑا کم ہے، تو فورا اس کو علیحدہ کرے: ''ٹمپریچرکا بڑھنا اس مرض کی ایک بڑی وجہ ہے۔ اس کے علاوہ ناک سے پانی بہنا، رنگ سرخ ہوجانا، بخار ہونا اور سانس کا تیز ہونا اس کی کچھ علامتیں ہیں۔ عموماﹰ سانس کی رفتار 12 سے 14 ہونی چاہیے لیکن اگر یہ 18 سے 20 ہے، تو یہ پریشانی کی بات ہے۔ اگر ایسی کوئی علامات ہیں تو ایسے شخص کو فورا کورنٹین کیا جائے۔‘‘
کرونا وائرس سے چین میں اب تک 400 سے زیادہ افراد متاثر ہو چکے ہیں جب کہ نو کے قریب ہلاکتیں ہوئی ہیں۔
اسلام آباد سے تعلق رکھنے والے طبی ماہر ڈاکٹر عبید عثمانی کا کہنا ہے کہ یہ بات تشویش ناک ہے کہ وائرس کو پھیلے ہوئے کچھ دن ہو چکے ہیں اور حکومت نے اب ایئرپورٹ پر اسکرین لگائے ہیں: ''میرے خیال میں جو چینی باشندے حال ہی میں ملک میں آئے ہیں، ان کا فوراﹰ طبی معائنہ کرایا جائے۔ اس کے علاوہ ایئرپورٹ پر اسکریننگ بھی ہونی چاہیے اور میڈیکل ٹیم بھی وہاں موجود ہونی چاہیے۔ ورنہ اگر یہ وباء پھیلی تو ہمارا اللہ ہی حافظ ہے کیونکہ ہمارے ہاں صحت کا اور صفائی ستھرائی کا کوئی نظام نہیں ہے۔ ایسے وائرس کے لیے یہ صورت حال آئیڈیل ہے۔‘‘ تاہم پاکستانی حکومت طبی ماہرین کی تشویش سے متفق نہیں ہے اور اس کے خیال میں حکومت نے تمام احتیاطی تدابیر کر لی ہیں۔
کرونا وائرس کے پھیلاؤ سے بچنے کے لیے تمام اقدامات مکمل ہیں، پاکستانی حکومت
وزارت صحت کی طرف سے میڈیا کو بھیجی جانے والی ایک پریس ریلز کے مطابق حکومت نے اس وبا سے نمٹنے کے لیے خاطر خواہ اقدامات کیے ہیں۔ وزارت صحت کے ایک اعلٰی عہدیدار نے نام نہ ظاہر کرنے کی شرط پر ڈی ڈبلیو کو بتایا کہ کرونا وائرس کی اسکریننگ کے لیے حکومت نے ملک کے تمام ایئرپورٹس پر ڈیسک قائم کر دیے ہیں: ''چین سے پاکستان آنے جانے والوں کا طبی معائنہ کیا جائے گا کیونکہ چین سے پاکستان آنے جانے والے لاکھوں افراد کے ذریعے وائرس کی منتقلی کا خدشہ ہے۔ پاکستان چین کے پڑوسی ملک ہونے کی وجہ سے اس خطرے کی زد میں آسکتا ہے۔‘‘
وزارت صحت کی ایک پریس ریلیز میں اس بیماری کے حوالے سے ایسے نکات دیے گئے ہیں، جس سے طبی حکام اور عام عوام میں اس بیماری کی حوالے سے شعور بیدار ہو۔ اس اعلامیے میں اس وبا کی علامتیں، اس کی نوعیت اور اس کی منتقلی کے ممکنہ طریقے سے عام عوام اور طبی عملے کو آگاہ کیا گیا ہے۔ اس میں مزید بتا یا گیا ہے کہ ایسے افراد پر نظر رکھی جائے، جنہیں سانس لینے میں دشواری ہو، جنہیں بخار ہو اور کھانسی کی شکایت ہو اور جنہوں نے گزشتہ 15 دنوں میں چین کے متاثرہ علاقوں کا دورہ کیا ہو۔ ایسے افراد پر نظر رکھنے کا بھی کہا گیا ہے جو وائرس سے ممکنہ طور پر متاثر ہوں یا متاثرہ شخص سے کسی بھی طرح جسمانی طور پر رابطے میں آئے ہوں یا وہ متاثرہ جانوروں کے قریب رہے ہیں یا پھر سی فوڈز، گوشت یا کوئی اور اینمل پروڈکٹ کھایا ہو۔
پاکستان میں ہزاروں چینی باشندے کام، کاروبار اور تعلیم کے سلسلے میں ملک میں موجود ہیں اور ان کا اپنے ملک آنا جانا بھی لگا رہتا ہے۔
پریس ریلیز میں کہا گیا ہے کہ ایسے افراد کے خون کے نمونے تربیت یافتہ اسٹاف کے ذریعے لیے جائیں اور انہیں ٹیسٹ کے لیے بھیجا جائے۔ کسی ایمرجنسی کے لئے وزارت صحت نے ٹیلی فون نمبرز بھی دیے ہیں۔
واضح رہے کہ ہزاروں کی تعداد میں چینی گلگت بلتستان کے ذریعے بھی پاکستان میں داخل ہوتے ہیں۔ جب ڈی ڈبلیو نے اس حوالے سے گلگت بلتستان کے وزیر اعلٰی کے ترجمان فیض اللہ فراق سے رابطہ کیا، تو انہوں نے بتایا، ''خنجراب کا باڈر بند ہے اور چین سے کوئی آمد و رفت نہیں ہو رہی۔ لہٰذا ہمارے علاقے میں اس وبا کے پھیلنے کا کوئی امکان نہیں۔‘‘
چین سے پاکستان ہر ہفتے 41 فلائٹس آتی ہیں۔