Wednesday, May 6, 2020
India to push for Pakistan’s blacklisting at FATF after Handwara & Keran terror attacks
NAYANIMA BASU
India is planning to make a stronger case at the Financial Action TaskForce (FATF), to get Pakistan blacklisted for terror financing. ThePrint has learnt that India will base its case around recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the killing of five security personnel in Handwara last week and the Keran operation before that, to showcase how Pakistan has been supporting terror even as countries are focussing on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.While the Paris-based financial watchdog is believed to have given more time to Pakistan to comply with its 27-point action plan, New Delhi has decided to ramp up global pressure against Islamabad, which it believes “is running the business of terror as usual when the world is busy fighting the pandemic”, a top diplomatic source told ThePrint.
The FATF had given Pakistan the 27-point action plan at its plenary in February, failing which it would get ‘blacklisted’, instead of its current place on the ‘grey list’. The FATF had also said if it finds that Pakistan has worked on all parameters, it may even bring the country out of the ‘grey list’.
New terror outfits
India is likely to highlight the emergence of some new terror outfits in Jammu and Kashmir, like ‘The Resistance Front’ (TRF), which the government believes is an offshoot of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), another source said. Terror outfits such as the LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the Hizbul Mujahideen, which have been active in India, all fall under the FATF scanner.
Indian security officials have also noted reports of the emergence of another terror outfit, Tehreek-i-Milat-i-Islami (TMI), and the country is planning to highlight this too to the FATF, as it believes “these outfits are all getting support from across the border”, according to the second source, who refused to be identified.
Plenary delayed but evaluation to go ahead
The FATF’s June plenary has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a final call on whether or not to blacklist Pakistan will only be taken in its October plenary, according to diplomatic sources.
However, an evaluation of Pakistan’s progress on the 27-point action plan will be carried out in Beijing on 21-26 June. This will be done by the joint working group meetings of the FATF and Eurasian Group (EAG), sources said.
This group is expected to take into account the report given to it by the Asia Pacific Group, of which India is a member. The final findings from Beijing will feed into the October plenary, which will then do its own evaluation.
Won’t be easy for Pakistan
Pakistan has been on the terror-financing ‘grey list’ since June 2018, and wants to come out of it since it entails immense scrutiny by most countries that comprise the 39-member FATF, which impacts foreign capital inflow into the country.
“This time it is not going to be easy for Pakistan as it was before. The recent acquittal of terrorists like Omar Sheikh will also not go in its favour at the FATF,” former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal told ThePrint, referring to Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh, the alleged mastermind of the abduction and murder of Wall Street Journal scribe Daniel Pearl in 2002.
“Besides, India will now mount a diplomatic pressure on other countries over these recent flare-ups at the LoC that will not let Pakistan escape the blacklist this time,” Sibal said.
On Pakistan’s economic worries, Sibal added: “Pakistan is least worried about the economic fallout of Covid-19. Its economy has been in trouble for long but that has not deterred it from supporting terrorism.”
The former foreign secretary, however, also said it will not be easy to blacklist Pakistan, which has the support of the US for the role it played in the Taliban peace deal, and also the fact that Pakistan is a close ally of China.
‘Pakistan is China’s colonial vassal’: Former Pentagon official
Pakistan joined hands with neighbouring China since after America’s growing relationship with India, a democratic nation having the world’s second-largest population.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/china-not-pakistan-s-key-partner-but-colonial-vassal-former-pentagon-official/story-4kan7FFgiVw36aGRNjs8WL.html
پشاور کے وائرس زدہ عام صحافی - #CoronaInPakistan
ایک خاتون صحافی کے مطابق: 'ڈپٹی کمشنر پشاورکے آفس سے کچھ دودھ کے ڈبے ان کے گھر پہنچائے گئے ہیں اور ساتھ میں ہدایات دی گئیں کہ دودھ زیادہ پیا کرو اس سے قوت مدافعت ٹھیک رہتی ہے، یعنی ہم صحافیوں کی اوقات کچھ دودھ کے ڈبے ہیں۔'
پی آر او : شہزاد صاحب کہاں پر ہیں؟ میں وزیر صحت کا پی آر او بات کر رہا ہوں۔
شہزاد: جی جی، کیسے ہیں آپ؟
پی آر او: اللہ کا شکر ہے جناب۔
پی آر او: شہزاد صاحب پولیس لائن ہسپتال میں کرونا (کورونا) کے حوالے سے دو بجے وزیر صحت کی پریس کانفرنس ہے، آپ نے ضرور آنا ہے۔
شہزاد: میری تو آج چھٹی ہے مگر ہمارا کوئی نہ کوئی رپورٹر آجائے گا۔ فکر نہ کریں۔
پی آر او: شہزاد صاحب اگر آپ خود آجائیں تو بڑی مہربانی ہوگی کیونکہ آپ کا چینل ہمیں بہترین کوریج دیتا ہے۔ وزیر صاحب بھی آپ کی رپورٹنگ سے کافی خوش ہیں اور تاکید کی ہے کہ شہزاد ضرور آئیں، لہذا کچھ کریں مہربانی ہوگی۔ وزیر صاحب آپ کو خود بھی کال کرلیں گے۔
شہزاد: نہیں نہیں، اس کی کوئی ضرورت نہیں۔ میں کچھ کرتا ہوں۔
پی آر او: شکریہ شہزاد بھائی، انتطار رہے گا۔ والسلام
اور یوں شہزاد اپنی چھٹی کو کینسل کرکے پریس کانفرنس میں چلا جاتا ہے جہاں وہ وزیر صحت کی پریس بریفنگ میں شرکت کرکے انہیں اچھی کوریج دیتا ہے۔ وزیر صاحب اس سے ملتے ہیں، شاباش دیتے ہیں مگر کچھ دن کے بعد اسی رپورٹر کا کرونا وائرس کا ٹیسٹ مثبت آجاتا ہے اور وہ گھر میں قرنطینہ میں چلا جاتا ہے۔
اس دوران نہ تو کسی حکومتی عہدیدار، نہ وزیر صحت اور نہ ہی ان کے پی آر او کی جانب سے طبیعت پوچھنے کے لیے کوئی کال آتی ہے جن کی پریس کانفرنسز کے لیے روزانہ فون کالیں آتی تھیں، لیکن اب جب صحافی پر آن پڑی تو کوئی داد رسی نہیں۔
یہ صرف کہانی نہیں بلکہ حقیقت ہے، جہاں صحافیوں کو کوریج کے لیے فون آتے ہیں، مگر مشکل وقت میں انہیں کوئی پوچھتا بھی نہیں۔ ہاں اگر صحافت میں عہدہ بڑا ہے تو پوچھنے والوں کی ایک قطار لگی رہتی ہے۔ مگر عام صحافی، عام صحافی ہی ہوتے ہیں عام لوگوں کی طرح۔
اس حوالے سے اگر بات کی جائے تو پشاور میں خاص صحافی چند ہی ہیں، باقی سارے عام صحافی ہیں اور ان عام صحافیوں نے بہت مشکلات میں صحافت کی ہ ۔ دہشت گردی کے خلاف جنگ ہو، سیلاب ہو، متاثرین آپریشن ہو یا پھر حالیہ کرونا وائرس کی رپورٹنگ ہو۔ یہ حکومت کے شانہ بشانہ کھڑے ہوئے ہیں، مگر جب یہ عام صحافی کسی مشکل میں پڑجاتے ہیں تو ان کی کوئی نہیں سنتا۔
ایساہی کچھ پشاور میں کرونا کے شکار ہونے والے صحافیوں کے ساتھ ہو رہا ہے، جن سے حکومت کی جانب سے ابھی تک کوئی رابطہ نہیں کیا گیا کہ وہ کیسے ہیں؟ انہیں کسی قسم کی ضرورت تو نہیں؟ صحت کے حوالے سے انہیں کوئی سہولت تو درکار نہیں؟ اگر گھر میں وہ قرنطینہ میں نہیں رہ سکتے تو کیا کسی ہسپتال میں ان کے لیے بندوبست کیا جائے؟ مگر انہیں ابھی تک خیریت کی کال نہیں آئی باقی باتیں تو دور کی ہیں۔ چونکہ یہ جو صحافی 'کرونائزڈ' ہوچکے ہیں اور عام صحافیوں کے زمرے میں آتے ہیں، لہذا ان سے بات کرکے شاید زعما کی عزت کم ہوتی ہے۔
اس وقت پشاور میں مجموعی طور پر سات صحافی اپنی صحافتی ذمہ داریاں پوری کرتے ہوئے کرونا وائرس کا شکار ہوچکے ہیں جبکہ پاکستان بھر میں 40 صحافیوں کے کرونا ٹیسٹ مثبت آئے ہیں۔ سندھ میں ایک صحافی کی وفات بھی ہوچکی ہے۔
پشاور کے صحافی آصف شہزاد سمیت ان کے تین بھائی بھی کرونا وائرس کا شکار ہوگئے ہیں جو سب ایک ہی گھر میں رہائش پذیر ہیں۔ ان میں واجد شہزاد بھی پیشے کے لحاظ سے صحافی ہیں جبکہ ایک بھائی ڈاکٹر ہیں۔ آصف شہزاد کا کرونا ٹیسٹ گذشتہ ہفتے مثبت آیا تھا مگر اس کے باوجود ابھی تک ضلعی انتظامیہ (ڈپٹی یا اسسٹنٹ کمشنر) یا ڈسٹرکٹ ہیلتھ آفس سے کسی نے متاثرہ خاندان سے رابطہ نہیں کیا اور نہ ہی انہیں ماسک وغیرہ فراہم کیے گئے ہیں۔آصف شہزاد نے اپنے تعلقات کی بنیاد پر ریسکیو 1122 کو بلوا کر گھر میں جراثیم کش سپرے کروایا، لیکن جو پی آر اوز پریس کانفرنسوں کے لیے انہیں درجنوں کال کرتے تھے، ان کی جانب سے خیریت پوچھنے کے لیے ایک کال بھی نہیں آئی۔
اس حوالے سے آصف شہزاد سے بات ہوئی تو انہوں نے کہا کہ 'غیروں سے کیا گلہ، اپنے پریس کلب کے بھائیوں نے بھی کوئی رابطہ نہیں کیا۔ صرف خیبر یونین کے جنرل سیکرٹری عمران یوسف زئی بحثییت ایک دوست کے رابطے میں ہیں، باقی یونینز کی جانب سے کوئی رابطہ نہیں ہے۔ ہمارے اپنے صحافی بھائیوں میں اتفاق نہیں تو اوروں سے کیا گلہ کرنا۔'
آصف نے کہا: 'کرونا وائرس نے مجھے یہ دکھا دیا ہے کہ کون اپنا ہے اور کون پرایا۔ ہم جب فیلڈ میں ہوتے ہیں تو سب کے لیے خاص ہوتے ہیں مگر جب فیلڈ سے باہر ہوتے ہیں تو عام بن جاتے ہیں۔' تاہم انہوں نے بتایا کہ ان کے چینل کے مالک روزانہ کال کرکے ان سے خیریت پوچھتے ہیں جبکہ دوسرے بھائی کے ساتھ ڈائریکٹر نیوز رابطے میں ہیں۔
ایک اور خاتون صحافی ثمینہ کا بھی کرونا ٹیسٹ مثبت آیا ہے۔ثمینہ فری لانس صحافی ہیں اور مختلف اداروں کے ساتھ کام کرتی ہیں۔ انہوں نے پولیس لائن ہسپتال میں ڈاکٹروں کے رویے پر تنقید کی کہ جب وہ ٹیسٹ کے لیے گئیں تو ان کے ساتھ بدتمیزی کی گئی، جس کی ویڈیو بھی وہ سوشل میڈیا پر پوسٹ کرچکی ہیں۔
ثمینہ کا کہنا تھا کہ 'مجھے اپنی حیثیت اس وقت معلوم ہوئی جب میں ٹیسٹ کے لیے پولیس لائن گئی تھی۔ ان کے رویے نے مجھے توڑ کر رکھ دیا تھا۔'
انہوں نے بتایا کہ 'ڈپٹی کمشنر پشاورکے آفس سے گذشتہ روز کچھ دودھ کے ڈبے گھر پہنچائے گئے ہیں اور ساتھ میں ہدایات دی گئیں کہ دودھ زیادہ پیا کرو اس سے قوت مدافعت ٹھیک رہتی ہے باقی ابھی تک کسی نے کوئی رابطہ نہیں کیا ۔یعنی ہم صحافیوں کی اوقات کچھ دودھ کے ڈبے ہیں۔'
ثمینہ نے بھی وہی بات کی کہ ہماری عزت تب تک ہے جب تک ہم ان کے کام آتے ہیں۔
مشیر اطلاعات اجمل وزیر کی طرف سے بھی صحافیوں کی فلاح و بہبود کے لیے کیے گئے بلند و بانگ دعوؤں کے باوجود اس طرح پراسرار خاموشی چھائی ہوئی ہے جیسے حکومت کو کسی بات کا علم ہی نہ ہو یا خدانخواستہ حکومت ہی نہ ہو۔
#CoronaInPakistan - Whose policy is it anyway?
@hidhussain
LAST week, the spectacle of the prime minister blaming an unidentified ‘elite’ for imposing a lockdown was bewildering. By doing so, not only was he disowning the actions taken by his own government but also contradicting his earlier statements. That leaves us wondering if there is anyone in charge in these times of an existential crisis. The confusion is alarming.
The remarks amplify the disarray in the federal government’s policy on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Clearly, the country’s top leadership sees the lockdown in the light of a ‘cowardly’ action that has only brought misery to the common people. Such skepticism over the shutdown may not be new, but irresponsible public statements make it harder for the administration to contain the spread of the disease.
Nothing could be more bizarre than the sight of federal ministers encouraging people to break the restrictions imposed by the Sindh government and that were among the decisions taken by the National Coordination Committee on Covid-19. Interestingly, the committee, which is chaired by the prime minister, had extended the nationwide lockdown until May 9.
Then there is also the National Command and Operations Centre comprising senior civil and military officials coordinating the strategy. So do these government bodies represent the ‘elite’ that has been blamed for its ‘anti-people action’? Ironically, the leadership is acting more like the opposition.The leadership’s whimsical approach is the biggest impediment.
By blaming some imaginary force for a policy that has the approval of all stakeholders, the prime minister can only undermine his own authority, for many people will see it as an admission of things slipping out of his control. It’s true that the prime minister has never been convinced about the necessity for a lockdown. But his recent remarks were disturbing.
In fact, the federal leadership was caught by surprise when Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa followed Sindh in enforcing a lockdown in the provinces in mid-March. The provinces have also called in the army in aid of civil authority. The announcement had come despite the prime minister’s public disapproval of a shutdown.
He had said that the Constitution allowed the provinces to take their own decisions regarding the lockdown, but later also appeared to take credit for containing the spread of infection. This contradictory stance from the nation’s top executive authority had added to the confusion in policy. Consequently, the lockdown was never fully enforced. Arguably, the half-hearted action has caused greater damage.
While business was closed down, the restriction on movement remained tentative. So the main objective of the lockdown to contain the disease was not fully served. Even before putting a mechanism in place, the federal government has started relaxing the restrictions on business and certain industries.
There is no smartness in the government’s oft-repeated claim of moving towards a ‘smart lockdown’. It is as chaotic as was the earlier so-called lockdown. Markets are open and some industries are back at work with precautions having been swept aside. With the ongoing battle between the federal government and Sindh, there is not even a semblance of a national strategy in fighting one of the worst crises this country has faced.The leadership’s whimsical approach is the biggest impediment in the way of formulating a more rational and holistic strategy that is required to deal with public health and economic challenges simultaneously. In fact, those in charge have never seriously considered the crisis primarily as a public health issue.What has not been understood is that the economy cannot be restored without containing the infection. That is the reason why almost all countries facing the pandemic have given priority to public health rather than the economy. Many of them have started opening their economies incrementally after the infection reached its peak and the curve began to decline.
While the lockdown is often blamed for causing economic hardship, there is seldom any talk at the federal level about the adverse impact of the disease. It is true that the shutdown has caused massive losses to the economy and has worsened the plight of the masses. But the unchecked spread of the deadly virus could wreak much greater havoc, as has been witnessed in many parts of the world. It is evident that countries which took timely action and enforced strict restrictions on movement have been able to contain the effects of the pandemic and have come out of the crisis faster.
Our muddled policy may cause greater damage. The failure to enforce strict restrictions on social distancing and congregations may lead to a greater public health and economic disaster. The government has also warned of reimposing the lockdown if the spread of infection worsens, but it would have been more prudent to take strict measures in the first place rather than risk a resurgence.
What we are witnessing now is the abrupt and unplanned opening of all kinds of businesses. The spectacle of people thronging the markets is alarming. It’s all happening as the number of coronavirus cases in the country has crossed the 20,000 mark. The death toll has shot up. According to the government’s own estimates, the pandemic will hit its peak in the next two weeks.
Most worrisome is the fact that a large number of Pakistani expatriates brought back especially from the Gulf countries have been diagnosed with Covid-19. The situation could worsen with the unravelling of the restrictions in many parts of the country. The theory that Pakistan with its large youth population and warmer climate may not be as badly hit as other countries has yet to be substantiated. Trivialising the danger could be disastrous. In the absence of credible data, all projections are questionable.
In the midst of the pandemic, the leadership’s remarks do not help boost public confidence in its ability to lead the nation out of the crisis. Instead of uniting the country to deal with the challenge, the federal government’s policy has widened divisions. It’s for the prime minister to show statesmanship and refrain from any move that could cause confusion.
In #Pakistan, mosques become #CoronaInPakistan battleground issue
Inside, more than 200 people are gathered, separated by a few feet between them - to maintain physical distancing - as they offer tarawih prayers, a special Muslim prayer offered in the holy month of Ramadan.There is not a face mask or bottle of hand sanitiser to be seen, as more worshippers walk past the police picket outside to crowd into the mosque's inner chamber, with its fluorescent lights twinkling off the latticed mirror ceiling."Essential services have been reopened, and offering prayers as part of a congregation is also an essential service," Hanif Jallandhri, a Pakistani religious leader who leads a network of more than 20,000 mosques and religious schools, tells Al Jazeera. In most Muslim countries, authorities have, with the backing of religious leaders, shut down all mosques to the public in a bid to contain the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus, which has claimed more than 247,500 lives worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
In Pakistan, however, tens of thousands of mosques across the country reopened late last month, after religious leaders prevailed upon the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to allow them to restart congregational services.
It is a unique decision, among Muslim countries, and one that ties into the complex interplay of how political and social power flows in a country where religion is central to public life but does not have a formalised role within State structures.
The result is a constant push-and-pull between religious and political leaders, such as has been seen over the decision to reopen mosques.
'Islamic Republic' vs 'Islamist' republic
Cases of the coronavirus in Pakistan crossed 20,000 early this month, with at least 526 people dead and more than 6,200 having recovered. Cases have been rising exponentially in recent days, and are expected to hit more than 130,000 by the end of May.
At least 2,682 cases, or 12 percent of the country's total cases, can be traced back to a single religious gathering by the Tableeghi Jamat missionary organisation outside the eastern city of Lahore in March. It is the largest single group of those infected in the country's outbreak so far.Part of the issue for Prime Minister Khan's government - which has advocated for loose shutdowns since the start of the outbreak - when taking on religious leaders is one that goes back to the foundation of the country as a homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent, in 1947."Pakistan is sort of a unique case," says Ahsan Butt, a political scientist at the George Mason University in the US state of Virginia."It's a case where it's a state built on Muslim nationalism, so Islam and Muslim identity are crucial to the State and the wider society, and the conception of the collective self.
"But it is not erected strictly as a Muslim or Islamist state, like Iran or Saudi Arabia."
As a result, Butt explains, religious leaders and institutions wield a great deal of influence and social power but are not explicitly a part of the State. By comparison, states where religious authority is melded into governance, like Saudi Arabia, have been more able to control their religious establishments during the coronavirus outbreak, shutting down places of worship, including the holiest site in Islam, the Kaaba.
"So this leads to a dichotomy: that Islam is central to Pakistan's being, but [religious] actors are, in their perception, outside the State. Clerics may influence the country very strongly, but they are not the ones actually in power."
Religious parties have never won a significant number of seats in Pakistani elections. Butt argues that they rely instead on "latent power, not juridical power".
"Their power comes from their standing and status; it comes from the threat of coming out on the street."
'Impossible to enforce' plan
Tensions came to the fore on April 14, when an alliance of religious leaders from across the Pakistani Muslim sectarian spectrum - a rare occurrence - came together to declare that they were unilaterally reopening mosques for congregational prayers, in defiance of government lockdown orders.
The step prompted the government to negotiate with a committee of religious leaders, agreeing to a 20-point plan for reopening mosques from late April. The steps include enforcing physical distancing guidelines between worshippers, discouraging the sick and elderly from attending prayers, providing hand sanitiser to congregants and discouraging socialising within the mosque.Days later, leading Pakistani doctors warned that the decision could lead to a spike in coronavirus cases. Religious leaders say they will take responsibility for implementing the directives and that the government can act if rules are not followed.In visits to observe congregational prayers at six major mosques in the Pakistani capital, Al Jazeera observed varying levels of compliance with the safety directives. In some, a handful of congregants stood more than six feet (two metres) apart and only those wearing face masks were allowed inside. In others, hundreds of worshippers crowded in, shoulder-to-shoulder, to offer prayers with no safety precautions visible."It's impossible to enforce," says Madiha Afzal, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies political economy and extremism."The buck is on the [the mosque leader]. Who is going to ensure that the cleric is doing this? Can there be any authority that ensures this all over the country, [five] times a day?"
So why does the Pakistani government itself not enforce these rules more strictly, forcing the religious leaders to obey government-mandated guidelines?
Afzal argues that this is because of how religious authority in Pakistan is organised - in a decentralised structure not controlled by the State.
"The Pakistani state does not have the ability to be authoritarian in terms of religion," she says. "It is the Islamic republic, but it is not a theocracy. It's a democracy with a very [...] complicated relationship with religion," says Afzal.
Butt concurs with that analysis.
"Pakistan is not a fully democratic state, but unlike Egypt, for instance, where the State can clamp down on protests and collective action and on freedom of assembly pretty easily, regardless of who is doing it [...] Pakistan does not have that fully authoritarian structure," he says. Both experts, however, were quick to point out that the Pakistani state had a history of taking authoritarian measures against other types of actors - those opposing the country's powerful military or advocating for causes deemed prejudicial to national security interests, for example.
Questions of social power
For religious leaders, bound in a constant push-and-pull for social and political power with the State, the calculus in such a situation appears fairly clear.
"If you have religious institution or mosques shut down, then the question arises that you have all these other [groceries and businesses] that are open, does that imply that religious aspects of our lives are less important?" asks Arsalan Khan, an anthropologist who studies Islamic revivalist movements in South Asia. "This is a deen [religion] versus duniya [worldly concerns] problem."
For leaders of organised religion, Khan says "there is a real fear, across the board, that religion will be rendered unimportant".
"When the politics of religion is organised around the sense that religious feeling is essential to the wellbeing of society, then it is hard to argue that mosques should be closed."
Jallandhri, the religious leader, says Pakistanis need to take "spiritual" steps to combat the virus, in addition to hygiene precautions.
"The government has opened many sectors to ease the lockdown," he says. "Our position is that if you open groceries, bazaars, banks, other types of businesses, then the mosque should also be reopened."
There are also very real financial implications for religious institutions if they remain closed. Pakistan's government is largely uninvolved in regulating or financing mosques across the country, leaving that up to independent religious boards and organisations.
"These [mosques and religious leaders] are basically freelancers, and it is a pretty vicious market, with tens of thousands of mosques," says Butt. "They need the donations [and] a lot of it comes from foot traffic - if you cut that during Ramadan, then you cut their income significantly for the year, not just that month."
For religious leaders, there is also the danger of not being seen to adequately protect the place of religion in society, and being "outflanked" by others who are willing to take a harder line.
"If I, as a leader of [a] mosque, don't take the most extreme position, then the second or third in control of this mosque will look to replace me and will have a stronger [or more extreme] argument," says Butt. Khan agrees, suggesting that senior religious leaders who pushed for the 20-point plan to reopen mosques with the government were reacting to pressure from the bottom of their organisations.
"There is a fear [for them] that lower-tier upstarts could rise up," he says. "Whoever can control the politics of the street, has leverage and so [...] more established religious leaders are very worried about these more radical forces that come from the bottom [replacing them]."
Finally, there is the question of how religion may well be something many Pakistanis consider to be an essential service - regardless of questions of social power.
"The idea that wellbeing comes from God, this is not just religious leaders that say that, it is a widely accepted thing [in Pakistan]," says Khan. "This is not necessarily built on an irrational perception of the risk. It may be that you accept those risks, and yet you find that the importance of going to the mosque is greater."
At a small mosque in Islamabad's G-8 sector, questions of outflanking and potential ideological coups at the top of religious institutions feel like distant concerns.A handful of worshippers gather for the nightly tarawih prayer. Across the road stands the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the capital's main government hospital and the heart of efforts to control the coronavirus outbreak here.
The worshippers stand shoulder-to-shoulder, on a bare marble floor, as the imam begins the prayer.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/pakistan-mosques-coronavirus-battleground-issue-200504102030000.html
#UAE rejects #Pakistani claim it is exporting virus
The UAE said it tests everyone leaving the country and bars infected individuals from traveling, but Pakistan says up to half of those repatriated on some flights had COVID-19.
Pakistan has expressed concern that its citizens returning from the United Arab Emirates are bringing the coronavirus to the South Asian country, according to Reuters.
The UAE is home to more than 1 million Pakistanis, many of whom work as laborers. The UAE asked Pakistan to take them home amid the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying shutdowns in the country and 60,000 Pakistanis applied to leave amid a flight ban aimed at stopping the coronavirus’ spread. Many have since left on repatriation flights.
Moeed Yusuf, an assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, said a few flights carrying Pakistanis home from the UAE had infection rates of 40% to 50%. The average rate of infection among these passengers is 12%, Yusuf told Reuters.
Yusuf said the rates are due to the conditions the workers endure in the wealthy Gulf state. “The hypothesis is that a lot of the laborers live in crowded dormitories and in those, essentially, it’s easier to infect each other,” he said.
The UAE said it is taking proper health precautions when repatriating the Pakistanis. A consular official from the country’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters that Emirati authorities test everyone leaving the country and do not allow people to leave if they test positive.
“Everyone on UAE repatriation flights has been tested before departure, and those found to be infected were not allowed to travel,” said Khalid al-Mazrouei.
People working in manual labor in the UAE and the Gulf, including Pakistanis, often work in poor conditions and suffer mistreatment. They are also a crucial part of the Gulf economy due to the cheap labor they provide.
The coronavirus crisis made their already difficult situations more so. Many lost their jobs due to the lockdowns and economic downturn that have accompanied the spread of the virus. In March, the UAE allowed employers to force workers into taking paid or unpaid leave. The loss of work and repatriations have hurt their families, who rely on the remittances the workers would send home every month.
Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/05/pakistan-workers-coronavirus-return-uae.html#ixzz6LhJSUtHO
#Pakistan - #CoronavirusPandemic - 40 deaths, 1,400 new #coronavirus cases over past 24 hours
Forty deaths due to coronavirus and 1,400 new confirmed cases have been reported in the country during past 24 hours.
The total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country have mounted to 23,655. Of these, 8,640 were reported in Sindh, 8,693 in Punjab, 3,712 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,663 in Balochistan, 485 in Islamabad Capital Territory 386 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 76 in Azad Kashmir.
Over six thousand, two hundred and seventeen patients have recovered from the virus.
https://nation.com.pk/06-May-2020/40-deaths-1-400-new-coronavirus-cases-over-past-24-hours
#Pakistan #bilawalbhuttoleadsnation - Chairman #PPP chaired meeting with doctors, nurses and paramedics from #Punjab
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari chaired a meeting of health organizations of
Punjab on the video link on Wednesday. The representatives of health organizations from Punjab apprised Chairman Bilawal of the fast deteriorating situation due to Covid-19 in the province of Punjab.
The representatives of health organizations welcomed the fact that there is one political leader in the country who is directly taking the viewpoint of doctors. They said that the rate of spread of Covid-19 in Punjab is very high and it is also the province where there is a lack of PPEs and doctors are being targeted in Punjab. They said that in Punjab advice is taken from bureaucrats instead of doctors and even the guidelines for doctors are prepared by the bureaucrats. They said every health worker got risk allowance in Sindh whereas only three percent of health staff is given risk allowance.
The doctors from Punjab said that facilities are not being provided to doctors in Punjab and doctors are hired on daily wages. They have no job security and they are putting their lives online. Positive negative tests are being changed to negative on the recommendation of ministers in Punjab. There is no screening of doctors are conducted in Punjab. A large number of doctors who were tested positive are from emergency, gynecology, and other wards. Doctors in emergency departments are not being provided with PPEs.
Chairman Bilawal addressing the doctors and other medical experts said that the question is where did the money go which was given by IMF and other financial institutions and governments and other sources? Where did all the medical equipment go? He said that the lesson from this pandemic is that we will have to establish health infrastructure. The private health system and its hollowness have been exposed during this pandemic. Health systems should not be run on the basis of profit but health facilities should be provided free of cost.
Chairman PPP said that the federal government sabotaged the lockdown by its narrative. He demanded the federal government to announce a package for the families of health workers including doctors. The federal government should also help the Punjab government and all other provincial governments in fighting with Covid-19. The meeting was attended by PMA president Ashraf Nizami, Dr. Azhar Ahmed Chaudhry, Dr. Shahid Malik, YDA president Dr. Salman Hasseb, Dr. Khizr, Dr. Maroof, Nurse Rubina Manzoor, and Arshad Butt of paramedical staff. PPP president Qamar Zaman Kaira, General secretary Chaudhry Manzoor and Dr. Khayyam of Peoples Doctors Forum were also present in the meeting.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/2020/05/06/chairman-ppp-chaired-meeting-with-doctors-nurses-and-paramedics-from-punjab/
The representatives of health organizations welcomed the fact that there is one political leader in the country who is directly taking the viewpoint of doctors. They said that the rate of spread of Covid-19 in Punjab is very high and it is also the province where there is a lack of PPEs and doctors are being targeted in Punjab. They said that in Punjab advice is taken from bureaucrats instead of doctors and even the guidelines for doctors are prepared by the bureaucrats. They said every health worker got risk allowance in Sindh whereas only three percent of health staff is given risk allowance.
The doctors from Punjab said that facilities are not being provided to doctors in Punjab and doctors are hired on daily wages. They have no job security and they are putting their lives online. Positive negative tests are being changed to negative on the recommendation of ministers in Punjab. There is no screening of doctors are conducted in Punjab. A large number of doctors who were tested positive are from emergency, gynecology, and other wards. Doctors in emergency departments are not being provided with PPEs.
Chairman Bilawal addressing the doctors and other medical experts said that the question is where did the money go which was given by IMF and other financial institutions and governments and other sources? Where did all the medical equipment go? He said that the lesson from this pandemic is that we will have to establish health infrastructure. The private health system and its hollowness have been exposed during this pandemic. Health systems should not be run on the basis of profit but health facilities should be provided free of cost.
Chairman PPP said that the federal government sabotaged the lockdown by its narrative. He demanded the federal government to announce a package for the families of health workers including doctors. The federal government should also help the Punjab government and all other provincial governments in fighting with Covid-19. The meeting was attended by PMA president Ashraf Nizami, Dr. Azhar Ahmed Chaudhry, Dr. Shahid Malik, YDA president Dr. Salman Hasseb, Dr. Khizr, Dr. Maroof, Nurse Rubina Manzoor, and Arshad Butt of paramedical staff. PPP president Qamar Zaman Kaira, General secretary Chaudhry Manzoor and Dr. Khayyam of Peoples Doctors Forum were also present in the meeting.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/2020/05/06/chairman-ppp-chaired-meeting-with-doctors-nurses-and-paramedics-from-punjab/