Saturday, June 27, 2020
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan slammed for saying Osama bin Laden was ‘martyred’
- Martyrs are greatly revered in Islam and the term is generally used for people who die or are killed in the service of religion, or in formidable circumstances
- Khan made the comment in parliament while describing the history of Pakistan’s troubled relations with the US since bin Laden was killed in 2011
- Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan faced a growing backlash Thursday after he said former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been “martyred”. Khan made the comment in parliament as he was describing the history of Pakistan’s troubled relations with the US since American special forces killed bin Laden in 2011 in the northern city of Abbottabad.
“The Americans came to Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden. Martyred him,” Khan said.
Martyrs are greatly revered in Islam and the term is generally used for people who die or are killed while in the service of the religion, or in formidable circumstances.
The prime minister faced blowback from opposition figures and observers following the televised speech.
“Imran Khan has fiddled with history, declaring Osama bin Laden as a martyr today,” former foreign minister Khawaja Asif told parliament. “Muslims all over the world are struggling because of the discrimination they face due to recent terrorism & our PM makes it worse by calling obl a martyr of Islam!” Meena Gabeena, a Pakistani activist, said on Twitter.
Pakistan has officially denied knowing bin Laden was hiding in the country until he was shot dead in a nighttime raid on May 2, 2011. The incident was a major national embarrassment and caused already-tenuous ties between the US and Pakistan to fray further. Asad Durrani, a former spymaster, told Al Jazeera in 2015 that Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency likely knew where he was hiding and hoped to use him as a bargaining chip. The 9/11 mastermind was tracked down after a 10-year manhunt to Abbottabad, a garrison town north of Islamabad where Pakistan’s military academy is headquartered, sparking allegations authorities were colluding with the terror group. Khan has made repeated controversial statements over the years, including during a trip to the US in 2019 when he claimed the ISI provided Washington with a lead that helped them find and kill bin Laden. The former cricketer has long been criticised by opponents for sympathising with militants, with rivals once dubbing him “Taliban Khan”.
#Pakistan - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan: A Taliban Goebbels???
By —Dr. Mohammad Taqi
Daily times (Published 08/05/2010)
The PTI and its leader are perhaps politically insignificant, but conceding space to such Ziaist propaganda has the potential to radicalize the nation, especially our youth. Fortunately, Mr. Khan is not perceived as an American stooge — he is seen as a Taliban apologist
“The lowest form of popular culture — lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people’s lives — has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage” — Carl Bernstein, US journalist.
Perhaps ordinary Pakistanis are not much better off either. But it is not just the journalists embedded with the jihadists who are peddling nonsense. Among the politicians, Mr Imran Khan keeps outdoing himself in the craft of black propaganda. He has been stuffing people with this Goebbels-speak for years and, unfortunately, the western print media is one such avenue he uses to push his outlandish assertions.
While the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman, Muslim Khan, had the dubious courage to clearly own up to the savagery of his outfit, Mr Imran Khan, who is the head and de facto chief spokesman of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, stoops to the lowest levels of skulduggery in defending Taliban atrocities. Sheer disinformation, misinformation, contempt for truth, and an utter disregard for the realities of people’s lives, particularly of the Pashtuns, are what Mr Khan’s spoken and written words are all about.
He seems to have perfected the art of repeating half-truths and quite often just plain lies over and over again. In his article ‘Don’t blame Pakistan for the failure of the war’ (The Times, UK, July 27, 2010), he has some real gems to share. He writes: “Before the West invaded Afghanistan, my country had no suicide bombers, no jihad and no Talibanisation.”
Perhaps Mr Khan had been too busy playing cricket to take note of al Qaeda’s activities in the early 1990s at Abdullah Azzam’s Maktab-al-Khidmat — a base camp in Peshawar for Arab jihadists. Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden met each other in Peshawar courtesy Professor Azzam. Suicide bombings were not a norm then, but Azzam himself was killed in a car bombing in November 1989, allegedly orchestrated by his more extremist friends. He disagreed with their concept of takfir, i.e. declaring people who did not meet their definition of Muslim as infidels, who they believed deserved to be murdered. Benazir Bhutto, Dr Najibullah, several Arab rulers and Muslim minorities were placed in this category.
The early 1990s were the formative years of world jihadism and these men in Peshawar were not confined to just Afghanistan. The Afghan-Arabs, as they became known, worked hand in glove with all varieties of Pakistani jihadists and after 1992, Afghan territory was used for their cause. For example, training and sanctuary were provided at the Al-Badr camp in Khost to terrorists who unleashed havoc in Pakistan and around the world.
Mr Khan has completely glossed over the terrorist acts of the jihadists trained in the Pak-Afghan border regions. Riaz Basra of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was one such figure who was involved in over 300 acts of terror on Pakistani soil, including an attempt on Mian Nawaz Sharif’s life, way before the US forces had set foot in Afghanistan. Along with Akram Lahori and Malik Ishaq, Basra had used the training facilities in Sarobi (near Jalalabad). This was the beginning of Talibanisation in Pakistan.
While the terrorist cadres were trained in Afghanistan, their leadership was groomed at various madrassas in Pakistan. However, Mr Imran Khan is either ignorant of this fact or is protecting such nefarious characters when he writes, “Until that point [army action in FATA in 2004], we had no militant Taliban in Pakistan. We had militant groups, but our own military establishment was able to control them. We had madrassas, but none of them produced militants intent on jihad until we became a frontline state in the war on terror.”
Only two entities from what is literally the Ivy League of the jihadist network need a mention to refute Mr Khan’s claim. Karachi’s Jamia Islamia aka Binori Mosque has produced hundreds of jihadist leaders that include Maulana Azam Tariq of Sipah-e-Sahaba, Qari Saifullah Akhtar and Maulana Fazlur Rahman Khalil, the leaders of Harkatul Jihad Al-Islami, and the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Maulana Masood Azhar. The association of this madrassa’s patron (Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai) with the Afghan Taliban, especially Mullah Omar, is well known.
It might not have dawned on Mr Imran Khan but Jalaluddin Haqqani carries the title Haqqani for a reason — he had spent six years at Darul-Uloom Haqqaniah in Akora Khattak. Among the top 32 officials in Mullah Omar’s government, 11 — including six top ministers — were educated in madrassas in Pakistan. Out of these 11, seven were students at the Haqqaniah seminary. The US was nowhere in the picture when the alumni of these madrassas were on a killing spree in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Mr Khan betters himself still when he claims, “After the WikiLeaks revelations yesterday, reports are being floated that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is aiding the Afghan militancy. The fact is that the ISI is not that powerful, but certainly in an environment of chaos and uncertainty Pakistan will need to protect its interests through all means necessary.” Even the ISI may take serious offense to this, as it is positioning itself as the power that can deliver the Taliban, especially the Haqqani network, provided the new set-up in Kabul is to its liking.
These assertions by Mr Khan might even be amusing if he was not capable of even worse assertions. Blaming the US for all ills is one thing, but he has as easily blamed the victims of terrorism. Writing about the Karsaz bombing in ‘Benazir Bhutto has only herself to blame’ (The Telegraph, UK, October 21, 2007), he noted, “I am sorry to say this, but the bombing of Benazir Bhutto’s cavalcade as she paraded through Karachi on Thursday night was a tragedy almost waiting to happen. You could argue it was inevitable...it is different for me campaigning in public, even in the frontier region, because I am not perceived as an American stooge or a supporter of the war on terror.” Benazir and not the takfiris were to be blamed as per Mr Khan’s views!
The PTI and its leader are perhaps politically insignificant, but conceding space to such Ziaist propaganda has the potential to radicalise the nation, especially our youth. Fortunately, Mr Khan is not perceived as an American stooge — he is seen as a Taliban apologist.
Daily times (Published 08/05/2010)
The PTI and its leader are perhaps politically insignificant, but conceding space to such Ziaist propaganda has the potential to radicalize the nation, especially our youth. Fortunately, Mr. Khan is not perceived as an American stooge — he is seen as a Taliban apologist
“The lowest form of popular culture — lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people’s lives — has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage” — Carl Bernstein, US journalist.
Perhaps ordinary Pakistanis are not much better off either. But it is not just the journalists embedded with the jihadists who are peddling nonsense. Among the politicians, Mr Imran Khan keeps outdoing himself in the craft of black propaganda. He has been stuffing people with this Goebbels-speak for years and, unfortunately, the western print media is one such avenue he uses to push his outlandish assertions.
While the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman, Muslim Khan, had the dubious courage to clearly own up to the savagery of his outfit, Mr Imran Khan, who is the head and de facto chief spokesman of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, stoops to the lowest levels of skulduggery in defending Taliban atrocities. Sheer disinformation, misinformation, contempt for truth, and an utter disregard for the realities of people’s lives, particularly of the Pashtuns, are what Mr Khan’s spoken and written words are all about.
He seems to have perfected the art of repeating half-truths and quite often just plain lies over and over again. In his article ‘Don’t blame Pakistan for the failure of the war’ (The Times, UK, July 27, 2010), he has some real gems to share. He writes: “Before the West invaded Afghanistan, my country had no suicide bombers, no jihad and no Talibanisation.”
Perhaps Mr Khan had been too busy playing cricket to take note of al Qaeda’s activities in the early 1990s at Abdullah Azzam’s Maktab-al-Khidmat — a base camp in Peshawar for Arab jihadists. Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden met each other in Peshawar courtesy Professor Azzam. Suicide bombings were not a norm then, but Azzam himself was killed in a car bombing in November 1989, allegedly orchestrated by his more extremist friends. He disagreed with their concept of takfir, i.e. declaring people who did not meet their definition of Muslim as infidels, who they believed deserved to be murdered. Benazir Bhutto, Dr Najibullah, several Arab rulers and Muslim minorities were placed in this category.
The early 1990s were the formative years of world jihadism and these men in Peshawar were not confined to just Afghanistan. The Afghan-Arabs, as they became known, worked hand in glove with all varieties of Pakistani jihadists and after 1992, Afghan territory was used for their cause. For example, training and sanctuary were provided at the Al-Badr camp in Khost to terrorists who unleashed havoc in Pakistan and around the world.
Mr Khan has completely glossed over the terrorist acts of the jihadists trained in the Pak-Afghan border regions. Riaz Basra of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was one such figure who was involved in over 300 acts of terror on Pakistani soil, including an attempt on Mian Nawaz Sharif’s life, way before the US forces had set foot in Afghanistan. Along with Akram Lahori and Malik Ishaq, Basra had used the training facilities in Sarobi (near Jalalabad). This was the beginning of Talibanisation in Pakistan.
While the terrorist cadres were trained in Afghanistan, their leadership was groomed at various madrassas in Pakistan. However, Mr Imran Khan is either ignorant of this fact or is protecting such nefarious characters when he writes, “Until that point [army action in FATA in 2004], we had no militant Taliban in Pakistan. We had militant groups, but our own military establishment was able to control them. We had madrassas, but none of them produced militants intent on jihad until we became a frontline state in the war on terror.”
Only two entities from what is literally the Ivy League of the jihadist network need a mention to refute Mr Khan’s claim. Karachi’s Jamia Islamia aka Binori Mosque has produced hundreds of jihadist leaders that include Maulana Azam Tariq of Sipah-e-Sahaba, Qari Saifullah Akhtar and Maulana Fazlur Rahman Khalil, the leaders of Harkatul Jihad Al-Islami, and the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Maulana Masood Azhar. The association of this madrassa’s patron (Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai) with the Afghan Taliban, especially Mullah Omar, is well known.
It might not have dawned on Mr Imran Khan but Jalaluddin Haqqani carries the title Haqqani for a reason — he had spent six years at Darul-Uloom Haqqaniah in Akora Khattak. Among the top 32 officials in Mullah Omar’s government, 11 — including six top ministers — were educated in madrassas in Pakistan. Out of these 11, seven were students at the Haqqaniah seminary. The US was nowhere in the picture when the alumni of these madrassas were on a killing spree in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Mr Khan betters himself still when he claims, “After the WikiLeaks revelations yesterday, reports are being floated that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is aiding the Afghan militancy. The fact is that the ISI is not that powerful, but certainly in an environment of chaos and uncertainty Pakistan will need to protect its interests through all means necessary.” Even the ISI may take serious offense to this, as it is positioning itself as the power that can deliver the Taliban, especially the Haqqani network, provided the new set-up in Kabul is to its liking.
These assertions by Mr Khan might even be amusing if he was not capable of even worse assertions. Blaming the US for all ills is one thing, but he has as easily blamed the victims of terrorism. Writing about the Karsaz bombing in ‘Benazir Bhutto has only herself to blame’ (The Telegraph, UK, October 21, 2007), he noted, “I am sorry to say this, but the bombing of Benazir Bhutto’s cavalcade as she paraded through Karachi on Thursday night was a tragedy almost waiting to happen. You could argue it was inevitable...it is different for me campaigning in public, even in the frontier region, because I am not perceived as an American stooge or a supporter of the war on terror.” Benazir and not the takfiris were to be blamed as per Mr Khan’s views!
The PTI and its leader are perhaps politically insignificant, but conceding space to such Ziaist propaganda has the potential to radicalise the nation, especially our youth. Fortunately, Mr Khan is not perceived as an American stooge — he is seen as a Taliban apologist.
Opinion: 'Martyr bin Laden' and Khan's 'slip of the tongue'
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has sparked a big controversy by calling ex al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden a "martyr." DW's Shamil Shams believes it is consistent with the premier's personal and political views.
It is not a secret that Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has a soft spot for Islamists, even for those who carry out militant attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He blames the United States for destabilizing the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and justifies the Taliban militancy as a reaction to an imperialist invasion. But calling former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden a "martyr" is a new low even for Khan.
Some people say it was a "slip of the tongue." I'd say it was a "Freudian slip" and revealed his unconscious thought.
In his June 25 parliamentary speech, Khan was supposed to allay opposition's concerns that his government has badly mismanaged the coronavirus crisis in Pakistan. But he tends to digress. In an extensive speech, he spoke about many issues, including the war on terror and how it damaged Pakistan. This has been his political narrative for the past 19 years.
Pakistan's state narrative
Bin Laden was killed by US forces in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in 2011. Islamabad appeared to have cooperated with then US President Barack Obama in the bin Laden operation. It probably had no other choice but to support it. But the fact that the ex al-Qaida leader had been hiding in the garrison city raised many questions about Pakistan's anti-terrorism support. Let's not forget that Islamabad had received billions of dollars from Washington to go after al-Qaida and the Taliban leadership.
Pakistan's dubious role in the war on terror has always been a problem for the West, which needs Islamabad's support to manage the crisis but does not have control over the country's foreign and domestic policies. Islamist sympathy runs deep in Pakistan — both at state and societal levels. It is an instrument to stir up anti-India sentiment and keep the military generals in a powerful role.
Khan's close ties with the military are also no secret. Therefore, what Khan said about bin Laden is actually a reflection of the state policy. So let us not just blame the premier for saying something that many in the country's power corridors actually believe in. It is, however, not said openly, and definitely not in parliament.
Battle lines
Khan is entitled to his views, of course. If he actually thinks that bin Laden was a "martyr," then he should stick to his opinion. He should make it clear to the US that his government would not cooperate in the war against terror. It is an unnecessary facade — Islamabad has never really cooperated in the war against terror.
Pakistan should also stop playing victim. Khan keeps reminding the world that Pakistan paid a heavy price for participating in the war on terror. Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed by militant groups since 2001. If those who killed innocent people are "martyrs," then the premier has no right to talk about his country's "sacrifice."
Dear Prime Minister, the people of Pakistan have indeed suffered immensely due to terrorism. Liberal politicians who took a stand against extremists were killed by militants. You, on the other hand, have maintained friendly ties with the Taliban. You didn't have to pay the price for challenging extremism and militancy.
Lastly, Mr Khan, progressive and secular people will continue to challenge the state narrative and your policies. There wasn't any doubt that you sympathize with Islamists, but now you exposed yourself even more. The fight against extremism will continue in Pakistan. You have made it clear which side you are on by glorifying bin Laden.
Balochistan: Collaboration of Pakistan army and its proxy gangs
It was 3:30 pm of September 4th 2019 when Shahbaik Aziz, the son of a local chieftain in Pedrak called Usman Maqbool to come to his house in Kaleshap village so they go to the range for bird game, the naïve Maqbool couldn’t refuse because of the notorious behaviour of the chieftain in the area. “They’re very powerful people in the area, they have government backing, my brother couldn’t refuse to serve them in catching birds because he would be harmed had he refused,” said his young brother, Adnan Maqbool.
The three sons of the chieftain, Shahbaik Aziz, Jeeyand Aziz and Mullah Shahmir Aziz were waiting for Usman Maqbool to come so that they kidnap him and then handover him to Pakistani government’s security agencies in Turbat city.
The 30 years old Mr Usman Maqbool arrives at chieftain’s home in Kaleshap along with his four years old son Zaid Usman and his neighbouring friend Dilsar Shahdad on a motorbike. They leave their motorbike at Shahbaik Aziz’s house and get into his car and move hastily, they were in the midway when a vehicle coming from the opposite side pulled over in front of them. Twelve armed men jump off the vehicle and overwhelm Usman and his friend Dilsar, put them in their car and drove away. In halfway they throw Dilsar Shahdad on the road after giving him a good beating.
Shahbaik Aziz then returns home and drops Usman’s son Zaid Usman near his house. It was twenty minutes’ drive from where his father was abducted. Four days later Mr Murad, the Uncle of Usman brings the motorbike of Usman Maqbool back to his house.
Usman’s younger brother, Adnan Maqbool says that it has been pre-planned that the local death squads executed to kidnap my brother for ransoms from my family and get some rewards from Pakistan army after framing false charges against my brother. The notorious death squad’s clan of Sardar Aziz has the connection with another death squad headed by Rashid Patan who has been used by Pakistani agencies to abduct political activists of Balochistan freedom movement.
The armed people in the car that came and abducted my brother were the members of death Squad headed by Rashid Patan active in the western part of Kech district where he is tasked to spy and kidnap Baloch political activists.
After 30 minutes of Usman’s abduction, the same people of Rashid Patan death squad’s gang arrived Gorwan village to pick up Usman’s 16 years old cousin, Doda Rashid. At the time when they arrive, Doda was not at home, Doda had gone to a nearby river with his friends, and the gangsters ask his mother his whereabouts. Doda’s mother didn’t know that they had come to kidnap her son. So she would not tell them that he had gone to the river. She called her son to come home, when he arrived, the gangsters immediately arrested him and put him in their car in a similar manner as they did with Usman.
“The gang members of Rashid Patan cult handed over my brother Usman and Doda to Pakistan army in Turbat FC camp.
“Pakistan army has adopted a new way of executing its illegal kidnapping of Baloch people by subcontracting their crimes to local petty death squads mostly consisted of criminals and drug peddlers wanted by local police, but the police cannot touch them because the ISI has given them green cards”, remarks Adnan Maqbool.
He added that his family has appealed the government of Pakistan to release his brother Usman Maqbool and cousin Doda Rashid or produce him before a court of Justice if he has committed any illegal action against the state.
بلاول اور اخترمینگل کا بجٹ پر مشترکہ حکمت عملی بنانے پر اتفاق
پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی (پی پی پی) کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے بلوچستان نیشنل پارٹی (بی این پی) کے سربراہ اختر مینگل کو ٹیلی فون کیا ہے، دونوں رہنماؤں نے بجٹ کے معاملے پر مشترکہ حکمت عملی پر اتفاق کیا۔
بلاول بھٹو نے کہا کہ وفاقی حکومت کی نااہلی کی وجہ سے آج کورونا وائرس ہر جگہ پھیل چکا ہے۔ 18ویں آئینی ترمیم پر تنقید کرکے عمران خان دستورِ پاکستان پر حملے کررہے ہیں۔
پی پی چیئرمین نے وفاقی حکومت سے علیحدگی اختیار کرنے والے سردار اختر مینگل کو فون کیا اور باہمی دلچسپی کے امور پر تبادلہ خیال کیا۔
دونوں رہنماؤں نے وفاقی بجٹ کے معاملے میں مشترکہ حکمت عملی اختیار کرنے پر اتفاق کیا۔
پی پی چیئرمین اور اختر مینگل کی بات چیت کے دوران 18ویں آئینی ترمیم پر حملوں کا معاملہ بھی زیربحث آیا۔
چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری اور سردار اختر مینگل نے این ایف سی ایوارڈ کے حوالے سے حکومتی اقدامات پر بھی گفتگو کی۔
اس موقع پر دونوں رہنماؤں کے درمیان اگلے ہفتے اے پی سی بلانے کے حوالے سے بھی مشاورت کی گئی۔
بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ وفاقی بجٹ عوام دشمن ہے، ہم اسے کسی صورت نہیں مان سکتے۔
’پاکستان میں تنقیدی سوچ کو دبایا جا رہا ہے‘
حکومت مخالف نظریات کے حامل متعدد لبرل اساتذہ اور دانشوروں کو پاکستانی یونیورسٹیوں میں ’ملازمت سے برخاست‘ کیا جا رہا ہے۔ اس رجحان کو انسانی حقوق کے لیے سرگرم حلقے پاکستان میں تنقیدی سوچ کی تنزلی قرار دے رہے ہیں۔
پاکستانی پروفیسر عمار علی جان نے حال ہی میں ٹویٹر پر کہا تھا کہ وہ لاہور کی فارمین کرسچن کالج یونیورسٹی (ایف سی سی) سے علیحدگی اختیار کر رہے ہیں، جہاں وہ پولیٹیکل سائنس کی تعلیم دیتے تھے۔
عمار علی جان ایک مقبول ترقی پسند اسکالر ہیں، جو سماجی اور سیاسی تحریکوں میں باقاعدگی سے حصہ لیتے ہیں۔ وہ شورش زدہ صوبے بلوچستان میں فوجی مظالم کے خلاف آواز بلند کرتے رہے ہیں۔ جان پشتون تحفظ موومنٹ (پی ٹی ایم) کی حمایت بھی کرتے ہیں۔
جان نے ڈی ڈبلیو کو بتایا کہ اسٹوڈنس کے مظاہروں میں حصہ لینے کے نتیجے میں حکومت نے ان کے خلاف بغاوت کا مقدمہ درج کر دیا۔ ان کے بقول، ’’یونیورسٹی انتظامیہ نے مجھے ان سرگرمیوں سے دور رہنے کی ہدایت دی اور کہا کہ اگر میں نے ایسا نہیں کیا تو وہ میرے خلاف کارروائی کریں گے۔‘‘ جان نے مزید بتایا کہ پاکستان میں حکام کی جانب سے تعلیمی اداروں پر دباؤ ڈالا جا رہا ہے تاکہ ان کے مؤقف کی پیروی کی جاسکے۔
یہ بھی پڑھیے: سات دہائیوں سے چودھری اپنے چوکیدار پال رہا ہے!
پروفیسر عمار جان کا دعوی ہے کہ ملک کی طاقتور فوج سویلین اداروں پر اختلاف رائے کی آوازوں کو دبانے کے لیے دباؤ ڈال رہی ہے۔
واضح رہے اس معاملے پر فارمین کرسچن کالج یونیورسٹی کی انتظامیہ نے ڈی ڈبلیو کو اپنا موقف بیان کرنے کی درخواست کا کوئی جواب نہیں دیا۔
واضح رہے اس معاملے پر فارمین کرسچن کالج یونیورسٹی کی انتظامیہ نے ڈی ڈبلیو کو اپنا موقف بیان کرنے کی درخواست کا کوئی جواب نہیں دیا۔
انسانی حقوق کے گروپوں کا کہنا ہے کہ اگست 2018ء میں وزیر اعظم عمران خان کے اقتدار میں آنے کے بعد سے پاکستان میں اظہار رائے کی آزادی، خاص طور پر آزادی صحافت پر دباؤ میں شدید اضافہ ہوا ہے۔ انسانی حقوق کے لیے سرگرم عمل کارکنان کا دعویٰ ہے کہ وزیراعظم خان کی حکومت کے دوران ملکی فوج نے اپنی طاقت کو مزید مستحکم کیا ہے۔
ملازمتوں سے مزید ’برطرفیاں‘
پاکستانی میڈیا اور کارکنوں کے مطابق، ایک بین الاقوامی شہرت یافتہ ماہر طبیعیات، پرویز ہود بھائی کو بھی فارمین کرسچن کالج یونیورسٹی نے بتایا کہ آئندہ سال ان کی ملازمت کے کانٹریکٹ میں توسیع نہیں کی جائے گی۔ ہود بھائی مذہبی قدامت پسندی اور ریاست کی عسکریت پسندی کے خلاف اپنے سخت خیالات کے اظہار کے لیے جانے جاتے ہیں۔
دوسری جانب عمار جان کی ٹویٹ نے ملک میں دیگر سیکولر دانشوروں کو بھی علمی آزادی پر روک تھام کے خلاف آواز بلند کرنے پر مجبور کر دیا۔ لاہور گورنمنٹ کالج یونیورسٹی میں سن 2015 سے رواں سال فروری تک درس و تدریس سے منسلک ضیغم عباس کو بھی ان کے سیاسی نظریات کے اظہار کی بنیاد پر نوکری سے برخاست کر دیا گیا۔
ملازمتوں سے مزید ’برطرفیاں‘
پاکستانی میڈیا اور کارکنوں کے مطابق، ایک بین الاقوامی شہرت یافتہ ماہر طبیعیات، پرویز ہود بھائی کو بھی فارمین کرسچن کالج یونیورسٹی نے بتایا کہ آئندہ سال ان کی ملازمت کے کانٹریکٹ میں توسیع نہیں کی جائے گی۔ ہود بھائی مذہبی قدامت پسندی اور ریاست کی عسکریت پسندی کے خلاف اپنے سخت خیالات کے اظہار کے لیے جانے جاتے ہیں۔
دوسری جانب عمار جان کی ٹویٹ نے ملک میں دیگر سیکولر دانشوروں کو بھی علمی آزادی پر روک تھام کے خلاف آواز بلند کرنے پر مجبور کر دیا۔ لاہور گورنمنٹ کالج یونیورسٹی میں سن 2015 سے رواں سال فروری تک درس و تدریس سے منسلک ضیغم عباس کو بھی ان کے سیاسی نظریات کے اظہار کی بنیاد پر نوکری سے برخاست کر دیا گیا۔
عباس نے ڈی ڈبلیو کو بتایا کہ تعلیمی ادارے بہت تیزی سے ایسے اساتذہ کو ملازمت سے نکال رہے ہیں جو حکومت کی پالیسیوں پر تنقید کرتے ہیں۔ ان کے بقول، ’’ریاست آزاد خیال اساتذہ اور دانشوروں سے خطرہ محسوس کرتی ہے۔‘‘
ملٹری، سیاست اور علمی آزادی
اسلام آباد حکومت اور ملٹری ادارے ان الزامات کی تردید کرتے ہیں۔ وزیر اعظم خان کے مطابق پاکستان میں میڈیا بالکل آزاد ہے۔ حکومت کے بعض حامیوں کا خیال ہے کہ سیکولر کارکن پاکستان مخالف سرگرمیوں میں ملوث ہوتے ہیں اور انہیں لگام دیا جانا چاہیے۔ سابق فوجی اہلکار اور دفاعی تجزیہ کار اعجاز اعوان نے ڈی ڈبلیو سے بات چیت میں اس تمام معاملے میں فوج کا دفاع کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ فوج کا ان اکیڈمکس کے کانٹریکٹس سے کوئی تعلق نہیں ہے اور اگر کوئی برطرف ہوا ہے تو کانٹریکٹ کے شرائط و ضوبط کی وجہ سے ہوا ہو گا۔ دفاعی تجزیہ کار نے مزید کہا، ’’فوج کو ہر چیز کا ذمہ دار نہیں ٹھہرانا چاہیے‘‘۔
اسلام آباد حکومت اور ملٹری ادارے ان الزامات کی تردید کرتے ہیں۔ وزیر اعظم خان کے مطابق پاکستان میں میڈیا بالکل آزاد ہے۔ حکومت کے بعض حامیوں کا خیال ہے کہ سیکولر کارکن پاکستان مخالف سرگرمیوں میں ملوث ہوتے ہیں اور انہیں لگام دیا جانا چاہیے۔ سابق فوجی اہلکار اور دفاعی تجزیہ کار اعجاز اعوان نے ڈی ڈبلیو سے بات چیت میں اس تمام معاملے میں فوج کا دفاع کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ فوج کا ان اکیڈمکس کے کانٹریکٹس سے کوئی تعلق نہیں ہے اور اگر کوئی برطرف ہوا ہے تو کانٹریکٹ کے شرائط و ضوبط کی وجہ سے ہوا ہو گا۔ دفاعی تجزیہ کار نے مزید کہا، ’’فوج کو ہر چیز کا ذمہ دار نہیں ٹھہرانا چاہیے‘‘۔
یہ بھی پڑھیے: جے یو آئی ایف کی طویل خاموشی: اسٹیبلشمنٹ کا خوف یا پھر سیاسی مایوسی؟
ایک اور ریٹائرڈ فوجی افسر غلام مصطفی کا کہنا ہے کہ جان جیسے لوگ پاکستان کی تاریخ اور سیاست کا ایک مسخ شدہ نظریہ پیش کر رہے ہیں۔ مصطفیٰ نے ڈی ڈبلیو کو بتایا، ’’یہ ماہرین تعلیم فوج مخالف پروپیگنڈے میں ملوث ہیں اور فوج کا ان کے کانٹریکٹس سے کوئی لینا دینا نہیں ہے۔‘‘ انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ ماہرین تعلیم کو سیاسی سرگرمیوں سے پرہیز کرنا چاہیے۔ ’’ان کا کام سیاسی سرگرمیوں میں ملوث ہونا نہیں بلکہ پڑھانا ہے۔‘‘
ایک اور ریٹائرڈ فوجی افسر غلام مصطفی کا کہنا ہے کہ جان جیسے لوگ پاکستان کی تاریخ اور سیاست کا ایک مسخ شدہ نظریہ پیش کر رہے ہیں۔ مصطفیٰ نے ڈی ڈبلیو کو بتایا، ’’یہ ماہرین تعلیم فوج مخالف پروپیگنڈے میں ملوث ہیں اور فوج کا ان کے کانٹریکٹس سے کوئی لینا دینا نہیں ہے۔‘‘ انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ ماہرین تعلیم کو سیاسی سرگرمیوں سے پرہیز کرنا چاہیے۔ ’’ان کا کام سیاسی سرگرمیوں میں ملوث ہونا نہیں بلکہ پڑھانا ہے۔‘‘
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)