Thursday, February 13, 2020
Damage caused by Valentine’s Day to Pakistani ideology is bigger than any existential threat
NAILA INAYAT
Red roses, balloons, and stuffed toys have become a symbol of defiance in Pakistan. The bans against Valentine’s Day celebration cause unwarranted turmoil.
It is that time of the year when anything but love is allowed in the air of Pakistan. The dangerous Valentine’s Day is upon us. The day that will destroy our future generations, take us away from our cultural and religious tenets. Truth be told, the damage caused by 14 February to the ideology of Pakistan is greater than any existential threat the country has ever faced.
So, let the annual Valentine denouncing begin: It is Haya (shame or honour) Day, no it is Sisters’ Day. How about it being a Black Day? It is anything but Valentine’s Day. Can we at least agree that it is a day? This day is a western sazish (conspiracy) against our ancient tradition of celebrating birthdays. The infidel west is conspiring against us to take away the sharam (shame) and haya (decency) of our women. Brace yourself with this and much more this Valentine’s Day.
No time for love
Over the years, red roses, red balloons and stuffed toys have become a symbol of defiance in Pakistan. The bans, protests and court orders against celebrating Valentine’s Day by cultural thekedars has only caused unwarranted turmoil, with religious and political sections of the society using it to their benefit. Jamaat-e-Islami being the frontrunner with its Haya Day. Then there are those progressive types who fight back and denounce the anti-Valentine propaganda.Slain human rights activist Sabeen Mahmud in 2013 came out in support of Valentine’s Day, with one of the posters that said “Pyaar hone dein” or let there be love, in clear defiance of the religious Right, which was stopping people from any such celebration. She received threats and had to go into hiding. Two years later, Sabeen Mahmud was murdered. Her killer Saad Aziz said in his confession that he shot Sabeen for holding a un-Islamic Valentine’s Day rally.
Against Muslim tradition
The government of Pakistan has played an active role in the weaponization of Valentine’s Day. In 2016, Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain, who hardly spoke on any serious issue during his stay in office, got on the anti-Valentine bandwagon and urged the youngsters to not celebrate Valentine’s Day calling it a part of the western culture, and not of the Muslim tradition. He asked the students to maintain their religious and national identity. Same year, Chauhry Nisar, the interior minister in Pakistan Muslim League (N) government banned all kinds of Valentine’s Day celebrations in Islamabad. Why should have the Sindh government stayed behind? It banned swimming at Seaview beach in Karachi on Valentine’s Day. We don’t know if there was any forecast about couples going out for swimming.
In 2017, the Islamabad High Court banned the celebration of Valentine’s Day. Justice Shaukat Siddiqui prohibited any festivity in public spaces and government offices across the country. He also directed the media to not air any love — as “coverage (by media) of the spread of love was (promoting) immorality, nudity and indecency, which goes against our rich culture.” Asma Jahangir criticized the judgement saying it wasn’t based on any law and that Siddiqui wasn’t fit to be a judge, rather he should have become a Khatib at a local mosque. Again, in 2018, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority reminded the television channels to not promote the Valentine’s Day.
Celebrating Sisters’ Day
Khadim Hussain Rizvi, leader of a far-Right religious party Tehrik-e-Labbaik, has expressed his disdain over boys giving red roses to girls: Phool dene wale pe bhi lanaat aur phool lene wale pe bhi lanaat. There you have your Valentine’s Day decree.Last year, the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad celebrated Sisters’ Day on 14 February. In a rather idiotic ceremony at its campus, the chancellor of the university distributed 800 headscarves or abayas to female students as a “gesture of respect” and not love. Though it should well have been called Daughters’ Day as the chancellor was giving away tokens of honour to young girls, who could well be his daughters, and not sisters. Relationship between a man and a woman does exist. Celebrating Sisters’ Day doesn’t mean these relationships don’t exist. Yes, Pakistan is awkward when it comes to love and asking for a day to celebrate love is a bit too much. Those who vehemently oppose the idea forget that Pakistan is no island. It will get influenced by the happenings in the rest of the world. Those who want to celebrate Valentine’s Day will go ahead without anyone’s approval. But those who don’t want to be part of it have no business of imposing their views on others. Valentinegardi is still better than deshatgardi.
https://theprint.in/opinion/letter-from-pakistan/damage-caused-by-valentines-day-to-pakistani-ideology-is-bigger-than-any-existential-threat/364465/
Is Pakistan still under military rule? Pakistan's Government Approves New Social Media Rules
BY ASIF SHAHZAD
Pakistan's government has approved new rules for regulating cyber space which opponents say could be used to stifle dissent and free speech.
Under regulations that were approved by the cabinet late last month but were not immediately made public, social media companies will be obliged to help law enforcement agencies access data and to remove online content deemed unlawful.
Companies that do not comply with the rules risk being blocked online, according to a copy of the regulations seen by Reuters.
The approval of the new rules follows accusations by opposition parties that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government has sought to intimidate and silence its opponents and allegations of media censorship. Pakistan's military has also faced accusations of cracking down on media and free speech.
But Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqi, the top official at the ministry of information technology that authored the regulations, said the new rules would help "identify and weed out unwanted and slanderous online content."
"We needed to do it to uphold the integrity, decency and respect of individuals and sanctity of institutions," he said.
The new rules on social media are described by the authors as intended to prevent live streaming of online content relating to "terrorism, extremism, hate speech, defamation, fake news, incitement to violence and national security."
Social media companies will be obliged within 24 hours to respond to a request to remove "unlawful" material, or six hours in emergency cases. They will have three months to register with authorities in Pakistan, and must have a physical presence in Pakistan.
When required, the companies will be required to provide subscriber information, traffic data, content data and any other information or data that is sought, the regulations stipulate.
The rules also state that interpretations of the regulations by the authorities in Pakistan "shall take precedence over any community standards or rules or community guidelines or policies or any other instruments devised by a social media company."
"OVERREACH"
Nighat Dad, who runs the not-for-profit Digital Rights Foundation in Pakistan, says the new rules will give the authorities unflinching powers to stifle social media.
"The worrying part for me is that the definition around extremism, religion or culture is so wide and ambiguous and that means they have these unfettered power to call any online content illegal or extremist or anti-state," she told Reuters.
"I do fear that this will be used against dissent, free speech and for political gains."
Farieha Aziz, founder of Bolo Bhi, a digital rights advocacy group, also voiced concern.
"This is the kind of overreach we were worried about," she said. "They're trying to go beyond the ambit of the law, trying to go above and beyond what the law allows them to do."
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-02-13/pakistans-government-approves-new-social-media-rules-opponents-cry-foul
'Please evacuate us': 800 Pakistan students plead for help to escape Wuhan
Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Shah Meer Baloch
The group have been confined to a hostel for three weeks and want their government to help them fly back home.
Hundreds of Pakistani students trapped in the Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak have said they are going through “mental torture” and pleaded with their government to help get them out.
Rehan Rasheed, who has been studying medicine in Wuhan since 2015, criticized the Pakistan government and prime minister Imran Khan for refusing to bring back the more than 800 students who have been trapped in the city since it was locked down by the Chinese authorities in an attempt to contain the outbreak.
He also said five Pakistani students studying at Wuhan’s university of science and technology had contracted the virus.
“We are not being evacuated and we are not being supported,” said Rasheed, speaking on the phone from China. “We are all very scared, this is a terrible situation. We have been imprisoned in a hostel room for more than 20 days. For the past three days, we have not been allowed to leave at all, even for food, and are surrounded by fear.”
The students have witnessed their counterparts from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, the US, UK and other countries board evacuation flights provided by their governments. Officials in the Pakistan government urged the group to “remain calm”. Pakistan has close ties to China and government figures have repeatedly congratulated the Chinese government for their handling of the outbreak.
The refusal to evacuate the students back to Pakistan is also thought to be due to fears that the country does not have the medical facilities or capabilities to safely quarantine the returnees or handle a coronavirus outbreak on Pakistani soil. Pakistan has a poor record of handling disease outbreaks and is one of only two countries in the world that has failed to eliminate polio.
Imran Khan said in a tweet: “I have issued instructions to our Foreign Office and Overseas Ministry to do everything possible for our students who are stuck in Wuhan city.”
By Thursday, the number of people in China who had died from coronavirus had risen to 1,368 and the number infected is 59,805.
Rasheen added: “It is clear that our government don’t want to take us out from this situation. We met with people from the Wuhan authorities and they told us they have no problem with us leaving but that ‘your government is not willing to accept you or to receive you back home’.
‘‘It is mental torture here every morning. We appreciate what Chinese authorities are doing but they are not sure we will survive this, so we are asking our state to help us. Please evacuate us.”
His plea was echoed by Amjad Hussain, a PhD student at China University of Geoscience, who has been studying in Wuhan for three years. “There is panic here,” said Hussain. “Definitely there is anger among students against Pakistani state for doing nothing. We just want to know why is Pakistan not helping us and evacuating us? I want to go back home and want my country to help.”
The anger and pain was also felt by the students’ relatives back in Pakistan. Abdul Rasheed Baloch, Rasheed’s father, who lives in the Balochistan region of Pakistan, said: “I’m more than concerned. I feel like I have no soul. My heart and mind is there, with my son.”
Baloch said he was speaking to his son daily to keep the hope alive. “Talking to him everyday keeps me going or else I feel I’m dead,” he added. “There is no help from the government of Pakistan. Nothing at all.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/13/800-pakistani-students-plead-for-help-to-escape-wuhan-coronavirus
گرفتار ہوا تو آصفہ بھٹو میری آواز ہوگی، بلاول
پیپلز پارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا کہنا ہے کہ ہم سیاسی رہنماؤں
جے وی اوپل کیس کے سلسلے میں نیب راولپنڈی میں پیشی کے بعد میڈیا سے بات کرتے ہوئے بلاول بھٹو نے کہا کہ چیف جسٹس صاحب نے خود کہا تھا کہ بلاول بھٹو زرداری بے گناہ ہیں، پھر بھی دسمبر میں اچانک پتہ نہیں کیا ہوا کہ مجھے پہلا نوٹس بھیجا گیا۔
اس کے بعد جب ہم نے اعلان کیا کہ پی ٹی آئی ایم ایف کے خلاف جدوجہد کریں گے، ہم اس معاہدے کو مسترد کرتے ہیں تو ایک اور نوٹس آیا۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ جس الزام میں آج نیب میں مجھے بلایا گیا سب کو معلوم ہے، میں کسی کاروباری سرگرمی میں ملوث نہیں رہا، جب میں پبلک آفس ہولڈر نہیں تو نیب کا نوٹس جاری کرنے کا کیا تک بنتا ہے۔
بلاول نے بتایا کہ میں جب کمپنی کا شیئر ہولڈر بنا 7 سال کا تھا، میرا مؤقف کل بھی وہی تھا، آج بھی وہی ہے کہ میں بے گناہ ہوں۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ حکومت کی جانب سے غریبوں کے معاشی قتل کو مزید ایک دن بھی برداشت نہیں کریں گے، ملک کی وکلاء برادری جمہوریت اور قانون کے ساتھ ہے۔
بلاول نے کہا کہ قومی اسمبلی کے اجلاس میں قائد ایوان ہوتے ہیں نہ قائد حزب اختلاف ہوتے ہیں جبکہ دونوں کا کردار اہم ہوتا ہے،امید کرتا ہوں اپوزیشن لیڈر جلد ایوان میں آئیں گے۔
ذرائع کے مطابق بلاول بھٹو زرداری کو نیب راولپنڈی کی جانب سے 30 سوالات پر مشتمل سوالنامہ دیا گیا ہے جس کا انہیں 2 ہفتے میں جواب جمع کرانے کا کہا گیا ہے۔
ذرائع کا کہنا ہے کہ نیب سوالنامے میں کہا گیا ہے کہ بلاول بھٹو کے الیکشن کمیشن میں جمع دستاویزات کے مطابق جےوی اوپل کے 2011 تا 2017 شیئر ہولڈر ہیں، جبکہ ان کے دستخط 2011 سے 2017 تک دستاویزات پر موجود ہیں۔
اس پر بلاول بھٹونے نیب ٹیم کو کہا کہ انہیں کاروباری معاملات کا علم نہیں ہے۔
اس سے قبل بلاول بھٹو کی پیشی کے موقع پر قمر زمان کائرہ، سینیٹر شیری رحمان ، نیئر بخاری سمیت دیگر پارٹی رہنما نیب راولپنڈی کے باہر موجود ہیں۔
اس موقع پر میڈیا سے بات کرتے ہوئے پیپلز پارٹی کے رہنما قمر زمان کائرہ کا کہنا ہے کہ حکومت کے پاس کوئی ثبوت ہیں تو عدالتوں کو دیں ، حکومت کی ناکامی سے معاشی بحران بڑھتا جارہا ہے اور یہ سیاسی انتظامی بحران سے توجہ ہٹانے کے لیے کیس ڈالنا چاہتی ہے۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ نیب، ایف آئی اے سمیت تمام تحقیقاتی اداروں کے جواب دے رہے ہیں، ہمارے خلاف کیسز خواہشات پر مبنی ہیں، ہم نیب کو کیا ان کی مرضی کے جواب دیں؟ ہم نے حقائق بیان کردیئے ہیں۔
پی پی رہنما نے کہا کہ عدالتوں سے ہمارے اختلافات رہے لیکن پھر بھی ہم عدالتوں میں جائیں گے، جبکہ حکومتی جماعت میں بھی دراڑیں پڑ رہی ہیں ،اتحادی اسے چھوڑ کر جارہے ہیں، حکومت کا جانا ٹھہر گیا ہے۔
قمر زمان کائرہ نے شہزاد اکبر پر تنقید کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ شہزاد اکبر کدھر چھپ گئے ہو کہا گئے تمہارے دعوے اور ثبوت؟
انہوں نے کہا کہ عمران خان کل تک میڈیا کے داعی تھے، اب آپ سوشل میڈیا کو کنٹرول کرنا چاہتے ہیں، جو آپ کا بڑا ہتھیار ہے، ان کا مزید کہنا تھا کہ سوشل میڈیا کنٹرول سے پہلے اپنی گالی گلوچ بریگیڈ کو کنٹرول کریں ۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/733406-bilawal-appear-in-nab-rawalpindiپیپلز پارٹی پیشیوں سے نہیں گھبراتی، شیری رحمانشیری رحمان کا کہنا تھا کہ پیپلز پارٹی پیشیوں سے نہیں گھبراتی ، عدالتوں کا احترام کرتی ہے۔انہوں نے کہا کہ حکومت کہتی ہے ریکوڈک سے قرض اتاریں گے، عوام کے ساتھ یہ مذاق بند کیا جائے۔حکومتی ناکامی پر بات کرنے پر نوٹس آجاتا ہے، نیئر بخاریپی پی رہنما نیئر بخاری نے کہا کہ حکومتی ناکامی پر بات کرنے پر نوٹس آجاتا ہے، جبکہ حکومتی وزراء کے خلاف بھی ریفرنسز ہیں ان کے خلاف کوئی کارروائی نہیں ہورہی۔واضح رہے کہ نیب کی جانب سے بلاول کو زرداری گروپ آف کمپنیزکا2008تا 2019 کا ریکارڈ ساتھ لانے کے ساتھ ساتھ بورڈ آف ڈائریکٹرز کی لسٹ بھی طلب کی ہوئی ہے۔نیب کا نوٹس سیاسی انتقام ہے، مصطفیٰ نواز کھوکھردوسری جانب بلاول بھٹوکے ترجمان مصطفیٰ نواز کھوکھر کا گزشتہ روز کہنا تھا کہ چیف جسٹس کے بلاول بھٹو کو معصوم قرار دینے کے باوجود نیب کا نوٹس سیاسی انتقام ہے، بلاول بھٹو قانون کی پاسداری وانصاف کے لیے پیش ہونگے۔