Thursday, February 27, 2020
Christian “blasphemy” cases could rise under Pakistan’s new social media law
Pakistan’s government approved a new law to monitor online platforms on 28 January, which would require social media companies to remove any “unwanted and slanderous” online content within 24 hours, or six hours in “emergency cases”, prompting concerns over “blasphemy” accusations.
Any company failing to share any data or remove any content under the Citizen Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules could be blocked or fined up to 500 million rupees (£2.5 million; $3.2 million; €3 million).
Prime Minister Imran Khan reassured business leaders on rule changes and urged them to continue operations in Pakistan.
A Barnabas contact flagged that this law could be a new route to falsely accuse Christians of “blasphemy”. “We already warn Christians to be careful of what they are posting. Christians are in danger of attack or arrest if potentially ‘offensive’ content is found on their Facebook pages, even if it was posted by someone else,’’ he said.
Firdous Awan, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, said that previous governments “did not know who was creating fake pages and harming socio-cultural and religious values’’. Her statement came three years after former Interior Minister, Chaudhry Nisar, had called upon Islamic countries worldwide to oppose “blasphemous” content posted on social media.
The possibility of being sentenced to death for “blasphemy” on social media is already a reality in Pakistan. In March 2013, Junaid Hafeez, 33-year-old university lecturer, known for his moderate Muslim beliefs, was arrested, accused of posting derogatory comments about Muhammad on social media. He was sentenced to death in 2019. Taimoor Raza (30), a member of the Shia Muslim minority community, was jailed after engaging in a debate about Islam on Facebook and sentenced to death in 2017.
Defiling the name of Muhammad carries a mandatory death penalty under section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, and, under section 295-B, “wilful defilement, damage or desecration of the Quran” carries a mandatory life sentence for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Christians are particularly at risk of false accusations of blasphemy. Furthermore, the mere accusation of these types of “blasphemy” is enough to incite a vigilante killing by a mob or violent attacks on whole Christian communities.
Pakistani Christians attacked over church construction, 1 left partially paralyzed
By Samuel Smith
A Pakistani Christian man is partially paralyzed after a mob of Muslim men shot two Christians and attacked another with an ax for constructing a church in a village in Punjab province.
The Union of Catholic Asia News reports that 25-year-old Azeem Gulzar is now paralyzed from the right shoulder down after he was shot in the head on Feb. 2 in Punjab’s Sahiwal district.
Gulzar’s cousin was also shot while his uncle was attacked with an ax, according to Gulzar’s younger brother, Waseem. All three men were taken to a hospital but have since been released.
Gulzar, a tailor, had donated a 550-square-foot plot to be used as the site of a new church for the town’s 150 Christians. However, plans for the church drew the ire of area Muslims as the plot shares a wall with a property owned by a Muslim school teacher.
The attack came after months of disagreements between Gulzar’s family and the owner of the neighboring plot, Muhammad Liaqat. The attack also followed the Christian community’s winning of consent from a district coordinator for the church’s construction.
However, a Muslim villager has claimed that community members were successful in getting a court to issue an injunction against the church's construction.
Gulzar’s family built a wall and door on the construction site on Feb. 2. But later that night, about 15 Muslims descended on the property to tear down the wall. When Gulzar and his family tried to stop the destruction, they were attacked.
“It was Sunday. We spent the whole day building the wall and finished at 7 p.m.,” Waseem told UCANews.com. “We only wanted to secure our property against any forceful occupation. Three hours later, we heard a crowd chanting on our doorstep. As we tried to explain our stance, someone resorted to aerial firing. My brothers were the next targets.”
According to the U.K.-based Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement, both the Muslim and Christian communities in the area have accused each other of launching the attack and two different police reports have been filed related to the altercation.
One Muslim villager told UCANews that some in the Christian community had “threatened to kill us” if they were stopped from constructing the church.
The Muslim villager, Muhammad Aslam, claimed that the shooting of the two men was done by their “partners” in order to file a “false” police case against the Muslims trying to stop the church's construction.
Waseem told UCANews that although his brother was released from the hospital on Monday, he is unable to communicate.
“One of my cousins is recovering from the wound of a bullet that slightly hit his skull,” Waseem said. “My uncle was also injured with an ax. We are not rich enough to pursue lengthy court cases. Our property is the only hope we had.”
Pakistan ranks as the fifth-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA’s 2020 World Watch List.
Open Doors, which operates in over 60 countries, reports that there are dozens of attacks that occur each year against churches and cemeteries in Pakistan.
In November, 30 men raided St. Dominic Catholic Church in the Arifwala subdistrict of Punjab province. The church’s boundary wall and gate were destroyed and attackers took down the cross from a wall.
In 2018, the U.S. State Department designated Pakistan for the first time as a “country of particular concern” for tolerating and engaging in egregious violations of religious freedom.
Considering that blasphemy (insulting Islam or the Islamic prophet Muhammad) is a crime punishable by death or imprisonment, the law is often abused by Muslims to settle disputes with religious minorities. Horrific mob crimes have taken the lives of Christians accused of blasphemy, including the lynching of two Christians by a mob in 2014.
Many Christians and other religious minorities — such as peaceful Ammadiya Muslims — have fled persecution in Pakistan and are now living as refugees in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia.
#Pakistan arrested more Basant kite flyers than terrorists this year
NAILA INAYAT
If arresting kite flyers was one of FATF's compliance requirements, then Pakistan would have transcended even the grey list to get itself on the white list.Terrorists like Ehsanullah Ehsan and Masood Azhar going MIA is not a bigger issue than kites and kite flyers in Pakistan. Imagine if arresting kite flyers was one of the FATF compliance requirements, then Pakistan would have transcended even the grey list and gotten itself into the white list.
Yes, spring is here, but no kites can be allowed in Pakistan’s skies. Kites were killers – of motorcyclists and Islam.
Basant in ‘Purana Pakistan’
There was a time when Lahore’s skies would welcome spring with colourful kites, while on the streets, children would chase kites falling from the sky. The excitement of planning a perfect Basant with kites, colourful thread, loudspeakers and yellow clothes would begin days in advance. It was one weekend amid the shouts of bo kata that everyone looked forward to.
Some would fly kites, while others would enjoy food. Sometimes it wouldn’t even be about flying a kite but just being on the rooftop around all the craziness. Other cities in Pakistan’s Punjab province also celebrated Basant, but it was Lahore that was the king of kite-flying festival.
By the early 2000s, during Pervez Musharraf’s push for enlightened moderation, Basant clubbed with music concerts became a huge commercial and tourist activity in Lahore.And then it was no more.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan imposed a ban on flying kites in 2005 to prevent the loss of lives caused by the chemical kite strings. These manja strings were slitting throats of two-wheeler drivers on the roads. In 2007 and 2009, the ban was lifted only to see the sport causing deaths. The religious groups took an undue advantage of this and called for a ban on Basant, which they saw as a Hindu festival against the principles of Islam.
Kite flyers, the real terrorists
Fifteen years later, the crackdown on kite flyers begins in Punjab every February with the arrival of spring. The ‘vigilant’ police officials go after poor kite flyers as if they are the real terrorists. This year alone, Punjab has reportedly seen more than 500 people booked for kite flying. Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail is filled with 400 kite miscreants, while 2 lakh kites and 55,000 string rolls have been seized from various neighbourhoods. Many parents accuse the police of picking up their children who were only watching the sport. For the authorities, even watching someone fly a kite is abetting a crime. Devoid of much entertainment, police officers have rounded up people for the ‘crime’ of being fond of flying kites.
Basant used to be a source of income for many households in Pakistan. By 2013, around 1.5 lakh people in Lahore and about 1.8 lakh workers in Gujranwala and Kasur districts were rendered unemployed and later forced to take up other jobs. The kite flying material used to be exported to the United States and Europe, but after the ban, that demand has also vanished.
This year a petitioner moved the Lahore High Court asking for the festival to be legally recognised as a sport. His argument was that the ban infringed on his fundamental rights and impeded economic activity for millions.
A blurred memory
Instead of imposing a complete ban and running after poor kite makers and kite flyers, the government should work towards making Basant a safe cultural festival. How difficult can it be to regulate the quality of strings manufactured and designate parks or open spaces for kite flying like it is done in other countries? The government can make it obligatory for motorcyclists to equip their vehicles with antenna-like metal or wooden wires as a safety measure. There are many ways to make this sport safe but only if there is a will.
The Punjab government, year after year, goes back on its promise to lift the ban on kite flying. We have been hearing since last year that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in the province will move towards giving back the sport to Lahore, but to no avail. Jamaat-e-Islami, one of Pakistan’s leading Islamic political parties, views Basant as a Hindu festival in serious violation of the PTI’s manifesto that talks about making Pakistan a Madina-like state. Someone should inform Pakistan’s legislators that Basant is celebrated even in Saudi Arabia.
The festival is now a blurred memory and kite flying is viewed as an aberration, so if someone in Pakistan still wants to fly a kite, then they are on their own. There is a generation in Pakistan that has no clue about kite flying or Basant, which was once an integral part of our culture.
#Pakistan #PPP - Bilawal Bhutto Zardari inaugurates Sindh Wildlife Museum
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari inaugurated Sindh Wildlife Museum. The museum was open for the public now after a hiatus of 29 years. The museum, a state-of-the-art institution housed in the Old Freemasons Lodge was located at Deen Mohammad Wafai Road, Karachi.
READ MORE: Sugar thief govt stole coronavirus protection clothing also: Hassan Murtaza Owing to its rich wildlife diversity and geographical location, Sindh province was home to a number of bird species. There were 322 bird species, 107 reptiles and 82 mammals native to Sindh province. The museum had four rooms and two huge corridor.
The main objective of opening the museum was to preserve all Sindh’s wildlife animals and birds. It also aimed to educate the younger generation.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also visited the reference library of the department which had rare books on the topic.
The PPP Chairman was accompanied with Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Sindh Chief Minister’s Special Assistant for Wildlife and Sports Bangul Khan Mahar and other officials.
https://nation.com.pk/27-Feb-2020/bilawal-bhutto-zardari-inaugurates-sindh-wildlife-museum
Govt takes effective measures to control #coronavirus in Pakistan - Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah
Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah on Thursday has said that task force has been established to control coronavirus spread across the province.While talking to media, the CM said that two affectees of coronavirus in Pakistan have been kept in isolation ward while data of 1500 people who have recently traveled from Iran has also been gathered. He said that the authorities will carry out complete monitoring in this regard. The minister further told that schools across the province have been closed in a wake of the virus. The people should not get afraid of precautionary measures being taken by the government, he stated. Earlier, Pakistan had confirmed two cases of coronavirus, the State Minister of Health said, marking the first recorded cases of the virus in the country. READ MORE: Protest demos on Friday against persecution of Muslims in Delhi “Both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols & both of them are stable,” Zafar Mirza, tweeted. “No need to panic, things are under control.” According to Sindh Health Department, 22-year-old Yahya took a flight to Karachi from Iran. Patient and his family were immediately placed in quarantine at a hospital. https://nation.com.pk/27-Feb-2020/coronavirus-in-pakistan-karachi
#Coronavirus reaches #ISLAMABAD , #Pakistan
The Pakistani health authorities on Wednesday confirmed two positive cases of COVID-19 or novel Coronavirus in the country, saying both the persons tested positive for the lethal virus, one each in Karachi and Islamabad, who had traveled to Iran for pilgrimage to holy sites and on their return to the country, they tested positive for the disease. In view of the emergent situation, both Sindh and Balochistan governments have closed down all academic institutions.
“I can confirm the first two cases of coronavirus in Pakistan. Both cases are being taken care of according to the clinical standard protocols and both of them are stable. There is no need to panic, things are under control,” Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr. Zafar Mirza said in a tweet after the Sindh health department announced that young man had been tested positive for Coronavirus in Karachi and undergoing treatment at an isolation ward of a private hospital in the city.
The Sindh health department confirmed the first patient as Syed Muhammad Yahya Jaffri, 22, a resident of Karachi who had traveled to Mashhad and Tehran in Iran, saying he flew back to Pakistan last week and developed symptoms similar to those of having the respiratory disease caused by COVID-19. “The 22-year-old Jaffri returned from Iran to Karachi by plane. He and his family have been placed in quarantine and the health department is examining all the passengers he had traveled with,” said Meeran Yousuf, a spokesperson for the Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho.
The Sindh health department officials informed The News that the patient left for Karachi from Tehran on 20th February 2020 and remained asymptomatic till 23rd February 2020. On February 24, he developed a productive cough and postnasal drip on 25th February 2020, following which he visited AKUH on 26th February 2020 and was promptly admitted. According to health officials, after Jafrri tested positive for the COVID-19, his family members and some friends were also quarantined. The officials confirmed that their samples were also being analysed to ascertain if they too have any trace of the infection.
The second person, who also tested positive for the fearsome disease is a resident of Islamabad and hails from Gilgit Baltistan. The patient had also traveled to Iran and returned to Pakistan last week, where he developed symptoms similar to COVID-19. He was advised to get himself examined at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad. “The patient, in the early 50s, tested positive for COVD-19 and is undergoing treatment at an isolation ward at PIMS. Both the patients including one in Karachi and the other at Islamabad are in stable condition,” an official of the National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination confirmed.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr. Zafar Mirza along with Balochistan Prime Minister Jam Kamal addressed a hurriedly called news conference in Quetta and asked the people not to panic, saying the situation is under control and both the provincial and federal governments are working jointly to prevent people from the infectious disease.Meanwhile, all the educational institutions of Balochistan have been closed down for a fortnight after which their status will be further reviewed at the end of this period, a notification of the provincial government issued. Balochistan borders Iran and Afghanwith which it shares borders porous borders and both the countries have confirmed cases of coronavirus. In a related development, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani announced closing down all educational institutions across the province for Thursday and Friday (Feb 27, 28). Ghani on his twitter handle announced the closure of all academic institutions throughout Sindh for two days.In a rather strange development, personal protective equipment including masks, overalls and other material has practically vanished from Pakistani markets and pharmacies while in many areas, people said ordinary masks and other equipment were being sold at exorbitant rates.
Meanwhile, health specialists have advised people not to panic, consider coronavirus as a disease similar to flu and adopt the similar precautions including maintaining personal hygiene of washing hands regularly with soap, maintaining social distance and boosting their immunity with fruits and vegetables, drinking plenty of water and taking proper sleep.
Muhammad Qasim/ Agencies add from Rawalpindi: A resident of Skardu admitted in isolation ward for a couple of days has been confirmed positive for illness caused by 2019 novel coronavirus. The Executive Director at PIMS Dr Ansar Masood, when contacted by 'The News' late Wednesday night, however, said he has not been confirmed about positive status of the patient.
Meanwhile, a woman was admitted to hospital who was suffering from influenza in Jhelum on Wednesday. She was kept in quarantine as it was suspected that she might carry symptoms of coronavirus.
Talking to Geo News, Sindh government spokesperson Senator Murtaza Wahab confirmed the case and said: "All safety measures have been taken and we will take emergency steps after this case. Most arrangements are being made by the Centre but the Sindh government will play its part as well."
Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said the provincial government was "working to procure the data of the infected" under Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah's orders.
Talking Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath,’ Shah, the information minister, added that isolation wards were being set up in different hospitals around the province. "We are taking the data of all the people who were travelling with the infected person on his flight," he added."There are three isolation wards in Sindh, one in Civil Hospital, one in Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC)), and one in AKUH (Aga Khan University Hospital). "The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Sindh, has also been alerted" in this regard.
With porous borders, creaking hospitals and large illiterate populations, Afghanistan and Pakistan face a potentially devastating health crisis after the new coronavirus erupted in neighbouring Iran.
Islamabad has closed official border crossings while Kabul has suspended all travel to the Islamic republic, which has reported 15 deaths out of nearly 100 infections -- making it one of the hardest hit countries outside the virus epicentre China.
But experts fear the measures could prove ineffective with thousands of people -- refugees fleeing violence, pilgrims, smugglers and migrants looking for work -- likely crossing the long, poorly patrolled frontiers every day. The virus has spread to more than 25 countries, killing over 2,700 and infecting 80,000, mostly in China. But new outbreaks in Europe, the Middle East and in Asia have fanned fears of the contagion taking hold in poor nations which lack the healthcare infrastructure to cope.
Meanwhile, Senate’s Foreign Committee Chairman Mushahid Husain has said that government should adopt that kind of strategy which has been adopted by China to cope with coronavirus. While talking to the media in Karachi, he said that government should take emergency steps in this regard. He said that government should seal its borders with those countries where cases of coronavirus are found.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/620257-coronavirus-reaches-pakistan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)