Monday, March 16, 2020
In Pakistan, criticism grows dangerous as dissent stifled
By KATHY GANNON
In Pakistan, being a dissident or even raising a critical voice is a dangerous business.
Being a dissident — or even raising a critical voice — in Pakistan is growing more dangerous, regardless of whether the target is political parties, the judiciary or the powerful military and security agencies.
Intimidation of dissidents has increased on multiple fronts, rights workers and journalists say. A number of rights activists have been arrested and charged with sedition. Protesters have been jailed, including a member of parliament. Newspapers and journalists have faced violence, harassment and warnings from security officials not to cover anything that might show the military in a harsh light.
Rights groups say the civilian government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, elected in 2018, has failed to protect freedom of speech, imposing legislation to restrict online media, even dictating who can appear on television talk shows, while at the same time ceding authority for curbing freedom of speech to the powerful military.
“In recent years, the space for dissent in Pakistan has shrunk to the point of suffocation,” warned Omar Warriach, Amnesty International’s Deputy South Asia director.
“The Pakistani military has demonstrated that it can still call the shots without directly being in power. … Taking part in a peaceful protest can now lead to arrest and charges of sedition. Many activists have been forced into exile, fearing for their safety. What was once a lively media landscape has narrowed to exclude critical voices,” he said.
Pakistan’s government has denied allegations it’s stifling free speech. It said it was simply cutting spending when it recently pulled all its advertising from two prominent media houses, Dawn and Jang, that frequently criticize the military’s involvement in civilian affairs. Khan’s government has also criticized the previous administration for using public money on advertising to promote itself.
Government advertising is one of the leading sources of revenue for newspapers and media houses in Pakistan and is often used to squeeze critical media.In a March 2 statement, Steven Butler, the Asia program director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the government was using advertising “as a cudgel to punish and reward news outlets based on their editorial stance in this way,” and demanded the practice stop.Butler was denied entry into Pakistan last year despite holding a valid visa. The government has remained silent on the move, but Pakistani officials say that particular decision was taken without the prime minister’s knowledge. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Khan was elected in July 2018, amid widespread criticism from international rights groups and political opponents that the country’s powerful military and intelligence aided his campaign. The military was widely accused of intimidating the media and campaigning against Khan’s strongest opponent, the Pakistan Muslim League, whose leader Nawaz Sharif had fallen out with the army after openly accusing it of supporting militants.
At a recent meeting with international journalists, Khan’s adviser on communication, Firdous Ashiq Awan justified action against those who would attack the military, even charging them with sedition, saying the country’s military was sacrosanct according to the constitution.
One journalist, Aziz Memon, disappeared this month on the way to his work at a small newspaper in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province. He was found dead just hours later. A few months earlier, Memon tweeted that he had been threatened by local police and a prominent political party over his reporting.
The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists this week called for the arrest of Memon’s killers and strongly criticized a police report that said he died of “natural causes.” An autopsy report later listed his death as strangulation.
“The post-mortem report proves beyond a doubt that Aziz was brutally murdered,” the federation statement said. “We reiterate our demand that the authorities take urgent action to arrest the killers and those who ordered his killing.”
In other cases, intelligence agencies have reportedly forced newspaper sellers into not delivering papers to certain areas and warned television anchors against interviewing certain politicians.
The military’s public relations wing, known as the Inter-Services Public Relations, has repeatedly denied interfering in television programming or disrupting newspaper distribution, although it has justified muzzling news of a dissident ethnic Pashtun movement called the Pashtun Tahafuz (Protection) Movement, or PTM, claiming it impacts national security, without explaining exactly how.
Authorities have often targeted the PTM, which has accused the army of using the decades-long war on terror to profile, intimidate, harass and arrest ethnic Pashtuns, who dominate Pakistan’s northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan.
In late January, a protest of barely 100 people — small by Pakistani standards — took place outside the National Press Club in the capital Islamabad to protest the arrest of a young PTM leader. The protesters had begun to disperse when police arrived, grabbing protesters and throwing them into waiting trucks.
Among the men and women rounded up was Mohsin Dawar, a member of parliament from Pakistan’s North Waziristan border region. “I said I would go with them. I wasn’t resisting, but still they grabbed me, kicked me and punched me,” he said in an interview following his release. In all, 29 people were arrested, all of them ordered released in early February by the Islamabad High Court, which reprimanded police for charging many of them with sedition, without reason.
Rights groups have also criticized the liberal use of Pakistan’s sedition and anti-terrorism act.
Gulalai Ismail, a rights activist, was charged under the anti-terrorism act after she criticized army actions in the border regions, including a report that complained of military harassment of women and girls, a charge the army has denied.
Ismail has fled to the United States, but her elderly parents continue to be harassed. Her father was jailed for two weeks and her mother, Uzlifat Ismail, was added to a list of individuals unable to leave Pakistan on charges of hiding her daughter.Ismail’s father, professor Mohammad Ismail, said intelligence agents and police have raided his home in Islamabad six times without a court order. His domestic employees have been harassed and he appears regularly in court fighting charges of anti-state activities related to his support for his daughter.Harris Khalique, head of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said that while previous civilian governments have at times stood up to the military to protect rights, the current prime minister has failed to do so.“The current political government is more responsible for what is happening in terms of freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly than any one particular institution, whether it be the military or the bureaucracy,” said Khalique. “At the at the end of the day they got elected to run this country, if they are ceding their space, they are equally responsible, if not more. “
https://www.columbian.com/news/2020/mar/15/in-pakistan-criticism-grows-dangerous-as-dissent-stifled/
#Pakistan - More controversy: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa universities face the threat of harassment
The higher education institutions in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have a brand new battle on their hands. Already mired in controversy, it turns out that cases of harassment are now adding to their long list of troubles.
“So far, we have received 70 complaints. Out of that 50 are from academic institutions,” claimed Khyber-Pakhtu¬nkhwa (K-P) Ombudsperson Rukhshanda Naz.
Female students, Naz said, had no idea how and where to file complaints. “We need to launch awareness campaigns to inform female students about the process of filing complaints,” the ombudsperson said. Harassment cases, according to experts, are severely underreported in male-dominated societies like K-P. “Victims are discouraged from reporting incidents of harassment,” said one expert speaking on the condition of anonymity. To address the issue, that appears to be haunting universities in the province, the ombudsperson urged universities and departments to form committees to investigate such cases.
While harassment cases have rocked Gomal University, officials at the University of Peshawar claimed only eight cases surfaced in the past three years. “Since 2017, we have only received eight complaints at the University of Peshawar. None of them are against the faculty,” claimed Dr. Abdur Rauf, who heads the harassment committee at the university.
Already irked over the financial crisis that confronts universities across the province, Governor Shah Farman fired a stern warning to academic institutions over the rising harassment cases.
Facing a series of overlapping crises, Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan was the first academic institution that came under fire for several harassment cases. In response, the governor sacked four employees of the university.
“I have warned universities to improve their affairs, or face serious consequences,” cautioned Governor Farman, who also serves as the chancellor. “Universities should have a zero-tolerance policy when dealing with harassment cases,” the governor added.
In a pickle
Mired in a severe financial crisis, universities across the provinces are struggling to make ends meet. So far, Gomel University, Malakand University, Bacha Khan University, and University of Engineering and Technology, have requested the government for a financial bailout.
The University of Peshawar, one of the oldest academic institutions in the country, faces a financial shortfall of Rs. 300million. Commenting on the financial crunch, Vice-Chancellor Professor Muhammad Asif Khan said the federal government announced Rs.20billion for universities in K-P. However, he said, the university has not received its share. With 2,800 employees, an ever growing force of retired staff, and a 50% cut in the education sector budget, the university is finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. Similarly, the University of Agriculture appears to be in a financial fix. “We don’t have the funds to pay our pensioners. The university needs Rs400 million,” said Director Finance Professor Dr Zulfiqar.
#Pakistan - Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa reports first 15 cases of #coronavirus
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) reported its first 15 cases of novel coronavirus on Monday, bringing the totoal number of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan to 136.
“Just received news that 15 of 19 individuals received in KP from Taftan have tested positive for Corona Virus. These are the first positive cases in KP,” said provincial Health Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra in a tweet from his official handle.
“They are being well looked after in quarantine in an isolated facility in DI Khan. More details soon,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the the K-P government rubbished rumours of Pakistan’s first novel coronavirus death in Peshawar.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, K-P Health Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra clarified that a suspected patient had passed away while authorities awaited results. “His blood tested negative for COVID-19.”
Jhagra had addressed the rumours in a tweet, saying that a patient had passed away in Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar. “He was a suspected case. He was dealt with as per protocols. His test results are awaited. We will keep everyone posted.”
In the wake of a surge in coronavirus cases across the country, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had closed educational institutions till April 5 and suspended wedding activities around the province.
The provincial government has released Rs0.5 billion in emergency funds to procure essential equipment to tackle the outbreak of the contagious disease in the province. This is in addition to the Rs100 million which the provincial government had released on March 3.
Sindh confirms 41 new coronavirus cases, national tally at 94
Pakistan’s total confirmed cases
Pakistan’s tally hit 136 with Sindh and K-P confirming 68 and 15 new cases respectively among the pilgrims placed in isolation wards after finishing 14-day incubation period at the quarantined tent city in Taftan.
A day earlier, 20 were cases were confirmed by the authorities with Punjab reporting its first confirmed patient. Sindh confirmed 18 new cases while Islamabad reported one.
As of now, there are 103 confirmed cases in Sindh, 15 in K-P, 10 in Balochistan, three in Gilgit Baltistan, four in Islamabad and one in Punjab.
Pakistan has also reported at least two locally transmitted cases.
Action plan
On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) to cobble a unified approach to contain the outbreak. It was decided to hold daily National Coordination Committee for COVID-19 meetings to review the situation. The huddle was attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed provincial chief ministers, top advisors and cabinet members.It was decided to close borders with Iran and Afghanistan, allow only three airports – Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore – to operate international flights in limited numbers while other airports will see domestic flights, and ban public gatherings.The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been tasked to coordinate with provincial governments and lead the fight against novel coronavirus. It was also decided to close all educational institutions until April 5.
The Pakistan Day parade on March 23 has also been cancelled.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2177277/1-k-p-govt-rubbishes-report-covid-19-death-peshawar/
میں نے زہریلی مردانگی کو اشتعال دلایا | ماروی سرمد
پاکستانی فیمینسٹ یا حقوق نسواں کی علمبردار ماروی سرمد نے ڈی ڈبلیو کے ساتھ گفتگو میں کہا ہے کہ ایک ٹی وی پروگرام میں ڈرامہ نگار خلیل الرحمان قمر نے ان کے ساتھ جو بدکلامی کی، وہ دراصل اس قدامت پسند معاشرے میں طاقت کے بگڑے ہوئے توازن کی نشانی ہے۔
اپنی اس دلیل کی وضاحت میں ماروی نے ایک مثال دیتے ہوئے کہا کہ جب ایک دوسرے ٹی وی پروگرام میں خلیل الرحمان قمر کا مقابلہ مشہور ٹی وی اینکر عامر لیاقت حسین ہوا، تو خلیل خاموش رہے جبکہ لیاقت حسین نے انہیں کڑی تنقید کا نشانہ بناتے ہوئے’سماج دشمن‘ تک بھی کہہ ڈالا۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ اس سے معلوم ہوتا ہے کہ یہ سب ‘پاور رلیشن‘ کی وجہ سی ہی ہوتا ہے۔
ماروی کے بقول خلیل الرحمان قمر دراصل خاتون کو کمتر سمجھتے ہیں اور وہ یہ قبول نہیں کر سکتے کہ خاتون جھکنے سے انکار کر دے۔ ماروی کا مزید کہنا تھا کہ وہ ایک طویل عرصے سے اس کا شکار بن رہی ہیں، ”جب میں اپنا مؤقف پیش کرتے ہوئے مرادنگی اور پدرشاہی نظام کو چیلنج کرتی ہوں تو مردوں کو خوف لاحق ہو جاتا ہے۔‘‘
ایک سوال کے جواب میں ماروی نے واضح کیا کہ ‘پاور ریلشن‘ کی وجہ سے صرف خواتین ہی متاثر نہیں ہوتیں بلکہ ایسے مرد بھی اس کی زد میں آتے ہیں، جو کمزور ہوتے ہیں۔ اس کی مثال دیتے ہوئے انہوں نے کہا کہ عامر لیاقت حسین کے سامنے تو خلیل الرحمان قمر خاموش رہے لیکن جب ایک جونیئر اینکر پرسن نے انٹرویو کے دوران ان سے سوال کیا تو خلیل نے اس کے ساتھ بھی بدتمیزی کی۔
ماروی سرمد پاکستانی ملٹری اسٹیبلشمنٹ اور انتہائی دائیں بازو کے مذہبی نظریات کی کھلی ناقد ہیں۔ وہ کہتی ہیں کہ یہی وجہ ہے کہ اس معاشرے میں انہیں وہ حیثیت نہیں مل سکی، جو عامر لیاقت حسین جیسی شخصیات کو حاصل ہے۔
اپنے کھلے اظہار خیال کی وجہ سے ماروی سرمد کو پاکستان میں ایک متنازعہ شخصیت قرار دیا جاتا ہے۔ کئی قدامت پسند حلقوں کی طرف سے انہیں شدید تنقید کا نشانہ بنایا جاتا ہے اور الزام عائد کیا جاتا ہے کہ وہ مغربی اقدار کو متعارف کرواتے ہوئے پاکستانی کے روایتی خاندانی نظام کو برباد کرنا چاہتی ہیں۔
ان الزامات کے جواب میں ماروی نے کہا کہ دراصل وہ صرف ‘زہریلی مردانگی کو اشتعال دلاتی ہیں‘۔ انہوں نے کہا، ”یوں میں صنفی موضوعات کو سامنے لاتی ہوں اور ایک بحث شروع کرنے کی کوشش کرتی ہوں۔‘‘
ماروی سرمد کے بقول ‘میرا جسم، میری مرضی‘ کا نعرہ دراصل پاکستان کی تمام خواتین کا مسئلہ ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا، ”جب کسی خاتون کو عزت کے نام پر قتل کیا جاتا ہے تو اس کے جسم کو نشانہ بنایا جاتا ہے، جب کسی خاتون کی زبردستی شادی کی جاتی ہے تو اس کے جسم اور پسند پر سمجھوتہ کیا جاتا ہے اور جب کسی کسی خاتون کو گھریلو تشدد کا نشانہ بنایا جاتا ہے تو اس کے جسم پر ہی ضربیں لگائی جاتی ہیں۔‘‘
ایک سوال کے جواب میں ماروی نے کہا کہ پاکستان میں خواتین کے حقوق کی تحریک زور پکڑ رہی ہے اور خواتین کو متنازعہ ہو جانے کے خوف کا شکار نہیں ہونا چاہیے کیونکہ متنازعہ ہوئے بغیر ‘سٹیٹس کو‘ کو چیلنج نہیں کیا جا سکتا۔
اس سوال کے جواب میں کہ ان پر ‘لبرل انتہا پسند‘ ہونے کا الزام لگایا جاتا ہے، ماروی کا کہنا تھا، ”دراصل دو الفاظ پر مبنی یہ ترکیب ہی درست ہے کیونکہ لبرازم درس دیتا ہے کہ براشت کا مظاہرہ کیا جائے اور تمام نظریات کے حامل افراد کا احترام کیا جائے۔ اس لیے لبرل کبھی بھی انتہا پسند نہیں ہو سکتا۔ یہ الزام وہ عائد کرتے ہیں، جن کے نزدیک سیاسی و معاشی شعبہ جات میں خواتین کی شمولیت کی خواہش دراصل نتہاپسندانہ
اپنی اس دلیل کی وضاحت میں ماروی نے ایک مثال دیتے ہوئے کہا کہ جب ایک دوسرے ٹی وی پروگرام میں خلیل الرحمان قمر کا مقابلہ مشہور ٹی وی اینکر عامر لیاقت حسین ہوا، تو خلیل خاموش رہے جبکہ لیاقت حسین نے انہیں کڑی تنقید کا نشانہ بناتے ہوئے’سماج دشمن‘ تک بھی کہہ ڈالا۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ اس سے معلوم ہوتا ہے کہ یہ سب ‘پاور رلیشن‘ کی وجہ سی ہی ہوتا ہے۔
ماروی کے بقول خلیل الرحمان قمر دراصل خاتون کو کمتر سمجھتے ہیں اور وہ یہ قبول نہیں کر سکتے کہ خاتون جھکنے سے انکار کر دے۔ ماروی کا مزید کہنا تھا کہ وہ ایک طویل عرصے سے اس کا شکار بن رہی ہیں، ”جب میں اپنا مؤقف پیش کرتے ہوئے مرادنگی اور پدرشاہی نظام کو چیلنج کرتی ہوں تو مردوں کو خوف لاحق ہو جاتا ہے۔‘‘
ایک سوال کے جواب میں ماروی نے واضح کیا کہ ‘پاور ریلشن‘ کی وجہ سے صرف خواتین ہی متاثر نہیں ہوتیں بلکہ ایسے مرد بھی اس کی زد میں آتے ہیں، جو کمزور ہوتے ہیں۔ اس کی مثال دیتے ہوئے انہوں نے کہا کہ عامر لیاقت حسین کے سامنے تو خلیل الرحمان قمر خاموش رہے لیکن جب ایک جونیئر اینکر پرسن نے انٹرویو کے دوران ان سے سوال کیا تو خلیل نے اس کے ساتھ بھی بدتمیزی کی۔
ماروی سرمد پاکستانی ملٹری اسٹیبلشمنٹ اور انتہائی دائیں بازو کے مذہبی نظریات کی کھلی ناقد ہیں۔ وہ کہتی ہیں کہ یہی وجہ ہے کہ اس معاشرے میں انہیں وہ حیثیت نہیں مل سکی، جو عامر لیاقت حسین جیسی شخصیات کو حاصل ہے۔
اپنے کھلے اظہار خیال کی وجہ سے ماروی سرمد کو پاکستان میں ایک متنازعہ شخصیت قرار دیا جاتا ہے۔ کئی قدامت پسند حلقوں کی طرف سے انہیں شدید تنقید کا نشانہ بنایا جاتا ہے اور الزام عائد کیا جاتا ہے کہ وہ مغربی اقدار کو متعارف کرواتے ہوئے پاکستانی کے روایتی خاندانی نظام کو برباد کرنا چاہتی ہیں۔
ان الزامات کے جواب میں ماروی نے کہا کہ دراصل وہ صرف ‘زہریلی مردانگی کو اشتعال دلاتی ہیں‘۔ انہوں نے کہا، ”یوں میں صنفی موضوعات کو سامنے لاتی ہوں اور ایک بحث شروع کرنے کی کوشش کرتی ہوں۔‘‘
ماروی سرمد کے بقول ‘میرا جسم، میری مرضی‘ کا نعرہ دراصل پاکستان کی تمام خواتین کا مسئلہ ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا، ”جب کسی خاتون کو عزت کے نام پر قتل کیا جاتا ہے تو اس کے جسم کو نشانہ بنایا جاتا ہے، جب کسی خاتون کی زبردستی شادی کی جاتی ہے تو اس کے جسم اور پسند پر سمجھوتہ کیا جاتا ہے اور جب کسی کسی خاتون کو گھریلو تشدد کا نشانہ بنایا جاتا ہے تو اس کے جسم پر ہی ضربیں لگائی جاتی ہیں۔‘‘
ایک سوال کے جواب میں ماروی نے کہا کہ پاکستان میں خواتین کے حقوق کی تحریک زور پکڑ رہی ہے اور خواتین کو متنازعہ ہو جانے کے خوف کا شکار نہیں ہونا چاہیے کیونکہ متنازعہ ہوئے بغیر ‘سٹیٹس کو‘ کو چیلنج نہیں کیا جا سکتا۔
اس سوال کے جواب میں کہ ان پر ‘لبرل انتہا پسند‘ ہونے کا الزام لگایا جاتا ہے، ماروی کا کہنا تھا، ”دراصل دو الفاظ پر مبنی یہ ترکیب ہی درست ہے کیونکہ لبرازم درس دیتا ہے کہ براشت کا مظاہرہ کیا جائے اور تمام نظریات کے حامل افراد کا احترام کیا جائے۔ اس لیے لبرل کبھی بھی انتہا پسند نہیں ہو سکتا۔ یہ الزام وہ عائد کرتے ہیں، جن کے نزدیک سیاسی و معاشی شعبہ جات میں خواتین کی شمولیت کی خواہش دراصل نتہاپسندانہ
مطالبات ہیں۔ یہ الزام وہ عائد کرتے ہیں، جن سمجھتے ہیں کہ برابری کے مطالبات ہی انتہا پسندی ہیں‘‘۔