Sunday, January 31, 2021
#Pakistan - Daniel Pearl Murder Case: A Prognosis – OpEd
By Nilesh KunwarNow that Pakistan’s highest court has acquitted Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, accused for his involvement in the 2002 abduction and subsequent decapitation of American journalist Daniel Pearl, the question on everybody’s lips is, ‘What next?’ Whereas Sindh Government says it’s filing a review petition against the supreme court’s verdict, while the federal government has pledged its “full support,” but given Islamabad’s characteristic reluctance to act against terrorists, these assurances have done precious little to allay fears of yet another hardcore terrorist going scot-free. Perhaps this is why US acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen has said that “The United States stands ready to take custody of Omar Sheikh to stand trial here.” Sheikh’s case has once again exposed Islamabad’s duplicity in its much hyped ‘zero tolerance’ for terrorism, because his involvement in Pearl’s abduction and murder case wasn’t the first terrorist act, he committed. Eight years before, as a Harkat-ul Ansar [HuA] terrorist, Sheikh had kidnapped four foreign tourists [three Australian and one American national] from New Delhi. To secure their release, a demanded that ten terrorists jailed in J&K should be set free was made alongwith the threat to behead the hostages if the demand wasn’t met. Luckily, the police were able to secure release of the abducted foreigners after a bloody shootout, while Sheikh was apprehended and imprisoned. However, in 1999, Pakistan based terrorists hijacked an Indian Airlines aircraft and managed to secure release of Sheikh alongwith two other convicted terrorists in exchange for passengers of this flight. Even though Sheikh took refuge in Pakistan and made no efforts to conceal his identity or whereabouts, Islamabad didn’t consider it necessary to ensure that this terrorist guilty of abduction is brought to book. The reasons for such an irresponsible behaviour are obvious-firstly, Islamabad’s anti-India mindset makes it believe in the ‘enemy’s enemy being a friend’ philosophy. Secondly, since HuA is one of the many terrorist groups Pakistan army is using to wage proxy war against India, Rawalpindi has ensured that Sheikh remains beyond reach of law. This incident, which exposes Islamabad’s utter lack of seriousness in holistically combatting terrorism cannot be dismissed as mere aberration because it’s not the only instance of Islamabad looking the other way as terrorist masterminds based on its soil were running riot in neighbouring countries. Its long list failures to bring terrorist leaders living in Pakistan to justice includes architects of 2001 Indian Parliament terrorist attack, 2002 Mumbai carnage, 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, 2019 Pulwama car bombing of a bus carrying central police force personnel, and many more such despicable acts of terrorism. Infact, anyone following what Pakistan’s leaders, Generals and government officials have been saying will agree that Islamabad and Rawalpindi always had an extremely selective approach towards terrorism dictated by its self-serving interests. While talking about terrorism during a 2014 TV interview, Adviser to the Pakistani Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, made Islamabad’s stand on terrorism clear by saying, “Why should America’s enemies unnecessarily become our enemies?” Two years later, he not only admitted that Pakistan had been hosting Afghan Taliban for 35 years, but also boasted that “We have some influence over them because their leadership is in Pakistan and they get some medical facilities.” So, former US President Donald Trump wasn’t at all wrong when he tweeted that “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan…!” By admitting that “we made a mistake by joining someone else’s war…[as] we had nothing to do with 9/11 attacks,” Prime Minister Imran Khan has unwittingly exposed Pakistan’s selective approach in fighting terrorism. However, going by Khan’s view of not “joining someone else’s war,” handing over Sheikh to the Americans so that he can stand trial for the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl appears to be a distinct possibility. After all, since the accused is a British national [albeit of Pakistani descent] and the victim was an American, neither the accused nor the victim have anything to do with Pakistan, so there’s legal issues involved. Moreover, as Islamabad had handed over a Kuwaiti national named Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was an Al Qaida terrorist and main 9/11 plotter to the US in 2003, precedent for turning over terrorists of foreign nationality to America already exists. However, this is not likely to happen, because even though the Daniel Pearl murder may not have anything to do with Pakistan, yet Rawalpindi will never accept a member of what it considers to be its ‘strategic asset’ to be handed over to America. It’s already ensured this in the case of Lashkar-e-Taiba [LeT] co-founder Hafiz Saeed and so, doing otherwise in Sheik’s case is unlikely. What makes such an eventuality even more improbable is the revelation by 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed that Omar Sheikh had sent about USD 100,000 from UEA to 9/11 hijacker Mohamad Atta on instructions from the then ISI chief Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmed! Just two years ago, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, a senior serving judge of Islamabad High Court went on record to say, “Today the judiciary and media have come in the control of ‘Bandookwala’ [army].” Disclosing that the “judiciary is not independent,” he went on to reveal that “In different cases, the ISI forms benches of its choice to get desired results.” Hence, the most likely out come of the Pearl trial case is that the Supreme Court of Pakistan will in all probability reverse Sindh High Court’s acquittal verdict and after rejecting the serious charges, declare Sheikh guilty on minor charges and sentence him to a jail term that would more or less be equivalent to the time he’s already spent in jail. As Section 403 of the Pakistan Code of Criminal Procedure,1898, incorporates the universally accepted ‘nemo debt bis vexari prone et eadem causa’ [no person should be put to peril twice for the same offence] maxim, a jail sentence awarded to Sheikh will ensure that he can’t be tried in this case again. Islamabad has already used this option to ‘technically’ comply with Financial Action Task Force’s observation regarding involvement of LeT co-founder Hafiz Saeed and its present chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in terror financing. By framing feeble charges against both, it has ensured that both have been awarded short jail sentences and as such, there’s no reason why Islamabad won’t follow suit in Sheikh’s case.
https://www.eurasiareview.com/31012021-daniel-pearl-murder-case-a-prognosis-oped/
Accountability mania - #Pakistan has faced a massive challenge of corruption and abuse of authority right from day one
Perhaps nowhere in the developing world has accountability been so much at the heart of national debate than in Pakistan. Ironically, very few countries may have made more of a mess of the job.
If needed, the proof is the most recent ranking of Pakistan on the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. According to the 2020 ranking, Pakistan has slipped four points down the transparency ladder compared to 2019.
Historically, accountability in Pakistan has been mostly ill-conceived, rarely well-executed, and blatantly selective in most cases. In almost all accountability drives, politicians on the wrong side of the divide were regarded as fair game. Civil bureaucracy was the second major target of accountability. The security establishment and judiciary were conspicuous by their absence among the targets.
Pakistan faced a massive challenge of corruption and abuse of authority right from day one. Jinnah rightly pointed out corruption as one of the biggest curses that must be put down with an iron hand. Ironically, the way evacuee property, which was abandoned by the departing Hindus and Sikhs during mass migration after Partition, was dispensed with shaped the moral fabric and mostly institutionalised corruption. There are authentic reports of massive corruption by politicians, bureaucrats, local notables and refugee groups who scrambled for evacuee property.
The accountability drive in Pakistan formally started when the then prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, promulgated the Public Representative Offices Disqualification Act (PRODA) in 1949 to check graft and misuse of authority. Corrupt politicians could be disqualified under PRODA for as long as ten years. The political opposition alleged that PRODA was aimed at whistleblowers in the opposite camps who highlighted the ruling Muslim League’s corruption.
In 1954, Liaquat Ali Khan’s PRODA was repealed because of its partiality and incompatibility with democratic norms. In March 1959, Gen Ayub Khan replaced the PRODA with a new law called the Public Offices Disqualification Order (PODO) and had later substituted it with the Elective Bodies Disqualification Order (EBDO). Under this law, around 75 senior politicians were charged. This included Qayyum Khan and Hosein Shaheed Suhrawardy.
They were disqualified from contesting elections till the end of 1966. However, they were never tried and convicted. This lends credence to the presumption that the objective of the PODO and the EBDO was not as much to stem corruption as it was to tame the politicians in the opposition.
In 1976, then prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto enacted the Holders of Representative Offices Act and the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies (Disqualification for Membership) Act. Still, no case were registered under these laws. However, around 1,100 government officers were sacked without trial. Due process of law that was ignored in the summary dismissal of civil servants. This became the hallmark of subsequent accountability drives as well.
Gen Ziaul Haq repealed the earlier anti-corruption laws and issued two presidential orders, commonly known as PPO No 16 and 17 in 1977. Critics still argue that the Zia regime institutionalised corruption. It introduced ideas, such as development funds for MNAs and MPAs and wrote off bank loans of the military ruler’s supporters and loyalists. Ironically, only this week Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced a grant of Rs 500 million for each member of National Assembly and provincial assemblies for development schemes in their constituencies. It is not yet clear if party affiliation will be a factor in the release of development funds to parliamentarians. If so, further exegete will be needed on how such allocation of public money based on party affiliation can be made.
In 1990, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was ousted from power on corruption charges by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan. President Khan was instrumental in filing about 20 corruption cases against Bhutto and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, during 1990-92.
The emergence of Broadsheet scandal also sheds light on the direction of accountability in Pakistan. The NAB signed a highly controversial agreement with the assets recovery firm.
After the 1993 elections, Benazir Bhutto became PM for the second time. She vehemently accused the Sharifs of receiving kickbacks in the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway and Yellow Cab Scheme and obtaining huge loans from nationalised banks. A total of 150 cases of corruption and irregularities were instituted against Nawaz and his family members.
In a strange twist of turns, President Farooq Leghari sent Benazir Bhutto packing in November 1996 over similar charges of corruption. President Leghari also promulgated the Ehtesab (Accountability) Ordinance.
Nawaz Sharif came to power for the second time in 1997 and amended the Ehtesab (Accountability) Ordinance. The amended law shifted the investigation from the Chief Ehtesab Commissioner to an Ehtesab Cell located at the PM‘s Secretariat and headed by Sharif‘s close confidant, Senator Saifur Rehman. Soon, the Cell earned notoriety for targeting political opponents and intimidating dissenting elements in the press. It focused largely on former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, her family and close associates. She was incriminated on charges of misuse of power and possession of assets beyond known means of income. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, was detained on five charges of corruption and one of smuggling narcotics case.
The US State Department, in its annual Human Rights Report for the year 1997 highlighted the allegation of Asif Zardari that he had been tortured and his tongue lacerated in the custody of the Crime Investigation Agency. This was seen as an attempt to force a confessional statement incriminating him and his wife. The police called it a suicide attempt. Recently, Nadeem Afzal Chan, a spokesperson for PM Imran Khan has said that Rana Maqbool, then IGP, had cut Zardari’s tongue and was rewarded for it with several favours including a Senate ticket. Asif Zardari, arrested by the caretaker government after the PPP government’s dismissal in November 1996, spent eight years in prison.
In October 1999, Gen Pervez Musharraf assumed power and replaced the Ehtesab Act of 1997 with the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance. The NAB was given sweeping powers. It could arrest anyone for 90 days without producing the arrested person in any court of law. The accused could not apply for bail.
Gen Musharraf also promulgated the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in October 2007. It granted amnesty to politicians, political workers and bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, money laundering, murder and terrorism, etc between January 1, 1986, and October 12, 1999, the time between two Martial Law stints in Pakistan. The NRO was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in December 2009.
In 2007, the cases against PPP leaders were also closed. However, the Supreme Court declared the NRO void in 2009. This resulted in reopening of these cases. However, by then, Asif Zardari had been elected president and thereby enjoyed constitutional immunity. After his term ended in 2013, he faced references in several cases.
In May 2013, Nawaz Sharif bagged the popular vote to rule the country for the third time. However, the PTI alleged serious rigging of elections. Later, the allegations of corruption against PML-N leaders rose to a deafening crescendo.
The names of 436 Pakistanis were identified in Panama Papers and 135 in Paradise Papers revelations. Only Nawaz Sharif was disqualified from premiership in this context even though his name did not directly appear in Panama Papers. No effective investigations were carried out against others named in Panama Papers.
The recent emergence of Broadsheet scandal has shed new light on the direction of accountability in Pakistan. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) signed a highly controversial agreement with the assets recovery firm. Justice Azmat Saeed, a former Supreme Court of Pakistan judge, who has been nominated by the federal government to head the inquiry committee to probe the Broadsheet affair, was then a deputy prosecutor general of the Bureau.
Justice Saeed was appointed a special NAB prosecutor in 2001 to pursue cases before the accountability courts at Attock Fort and Rawalpindi. Later, as a judge of the Supreme Court, he was a member of the bench that handed down the judgment in the Panama Papers case against Nawaz Sharif that disqualified him. Justice Saeed is currently an honorary member of the board of governors of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Trust.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/782453-accountability-mania
#COVID19Vaccine - #Pakistan battles tsunami of Covid-19 patients with few vaccines in sight
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/30/asia/coronavirus-vaccine-divide-pakistan-dst-intl-hnk/index.html
رقص زنجیر پہن کر بھی کیا جاتا ہے، نیلو بیگم کا فلمی سفر
ہفتے کی شب نیلو بیگم کے بیٹے شان شاہد نے اپنے ٹویٹر اکاؤنٹ سے ٹویٹ کر کے اپنی والدہ کے انتقال کی اطلاع دی کہ ان کی والدہ اپنے خالق حقیقی سے جا ملی ہیں۔
پاکستانی سلور سکرین کی معروف اداکارہ نیلو بیگم طویل علالت کے بعد ہفتہ کی شام انتقال کر گئیں۔ اداکارہ نیلو بیگم معروف اداکار و ہدایت کار شان شاہد کی والدہ اور اپنے زمانے کے معروف ہدایتکار ریاض شاہد کی اہلیہ تھیں۔
ہفتے کی شب نیلو بیگم کے بیٹے شان شاہد نے اپنے ٹویٹر اکاؤنٹ سے ٹویٹ کر کے اپنی والدہ کے انتقال کی اطلاع دی کہ ان کی والدہ اپنے خالق حقیقی سے جا ملی ہیں۔
شان شاہد نے اپنی والدہ کے انتقال کے کچھ گھنٹوں بعد ایک اور ٹویٹ بھی کی جس میں انہوں نے لکھا ’میں نہیں جانتا کہ میں کیا لکھوں کیونکہ میرے الفاظ خالی پڑ گئے ہیں بالکل اسی طرح جیسے میری دنیا میری والدہ کے بغیر بے معنی ہو گئی ہے۔ میری کامیابی و ناکامی دونوں کو ان کی ضرورت ہے۔ اب صرف ایک امید ہے کہ وہ زندہ ہیں اور ان سے ایک روز اگلے جہان میں ملاقات ہو گی۔ میں آپ سے ہمیشہ پیار کرتا رہوں گا، اللہ آپ کے ساتھ ہو۔‘
نیلو 1940 میں سرگودھا کی تحصیل بھیرا میں پیدا ہوئیں۔ زخمی کانپوری کی برصغیر پاک وہندکی خوبصور ہیروئینوں پر لکھی کتاب ’پری چہرے‘ کے مطابق نیلو بیگم کا تعلق ایک مسیحی گھرانے سے تھا اور ان کا اصل نام پروین الیگزینڈر تھا۔ انہیں فلمی دنیا میں نیلو بیگم کے نام سے جانا جاتا تھا۔ 16 سال کی عمرمیں لاہور میں فلمائی جانے والی ہالی وڈ فلم ’بھوانی جنکشن‘ سے انہوں نے فلمی سفر کا آغازکیا مگر انہیں شہرت پاکستانی فلموں میں کام کرنے سے ملی۔
انہوں نے ایک کے بعد ایک کامیاب فلم دی اور پھر ان کا وجود پاکستانی فلموں کے لیے ناگزیر ہو گیا۔ نیلو بیگم پر کئی مشہور گانے فلمائے گئے جن میں فلم سات لاکھ کا گانا ’آئے موسم رنگیلے سہانے‘ بھی شامل ہے۔ یہ گانا آج کل کی نسل میں بھی مقبول ہے۔
'کچھ بھی نہ کہا اور کہہ بھی گئے۔' فلم ڈائریکٹر و پروڈیوسر اور ایورنیو سٹوڈیو کے مالک جی اے گل کے بیٹے آغا سجاد گل نے انڈپینڈنٹ اردو سے بات کرتے ہوئے اس گانے کا ذکر کیا اور کہا ’ایورنیو پکچرز کی فلم عذرا کا یہ گانا نیلو بیگم پر فلمایا گیا۔ نیلو بیگم نے 60 کی دہائی میں ایورنیو پکچرز کے تحت بننے والی سب سے زیادہ ہٹ فلموں میں کام کیا اور مجھے اب تک ان فلموں کی عکس بندی یاد ہے کیونکہ میں تب بہت چھوٹا تھا اور فلموں کی شوٹنگ دیکھنے سٹوڈیو آیا کرتا تھا۔ نیلو بیگم کا دنیا سے چلے جانا یقیناً انتہائی دکھ کی بات ہے مگر نیلو بیگم ہمیشہ دل کی دھڑکنوں میں زندہ رہیں گی اور انہیں ہمیشہ 60 کی دہائی کی پاکستانی فلموں کی مرکزی اور بے باک اداکارہ کے طور پر یاد رکھا جائے گا۔‘
اداکارہ نیلو نے ہدایتکار ریاض شاہد سے شادی کے وقت اسلام قبول کیا اور ان کا نام پروین سے تبدیل کر کے عابدہ
رکھا گیا۔
ساٹھ کی دہائی میں جب نیلو بیگم شہرت کی بلندیوں پر تھیں تو مغربی پاکستان میں اس وقت کے گورنر نے ایک غیر ملکی سربراہ (شاہ ایران) کے دورہ پاکستان کے دوران نیلو بیگم کو ان کے سامنے رقص کرنے کے لیے مجبور کیا لیکن نیلو بیگم نے انکار کر دیا۔ جس کے نتیجے میں انہیں ہراساں کیا گیا اور انہوں نے خود کشی کی کوشش کی۔
اس واقعے کے بعد ریاض شاہد نے نیلو سے شادی کر لی تھی جب کہ معروف شاعر حبیب جالب نے نیلو کے عنوان سے ایک نظم لکھی ’تو کہ ناواقف آداب شہنشاہی تھی، رقص زنجیر پہن کر بھی کیا جاتا ہے۔‘ اس نظم کو بعد میں فلم زرقا میں نیلو بیگم پرفلمایا گیا۔ چونکہ یہ فلم فلسطین کے موضوع پر بنائی گئی تھی اس لیے جالب کی اس نظم کے مصرعوں کو تبدیل کر کے ’تو کہ ناواقف آداب غلامی ہے مگر رقص زنجیر پہن کر بھی کیا جاتا ہے‘ کر دیا گیا۔ یہ فلم سو ہفتے چلی اور اس فلم کو پاکستان کی پہلی ایسی فلم کا اعزاز ملا جس نے ڈائمنڈجوبلی کی۔
نیلوبیگم نے سینکڑوں فلموں میں کام کیا جن میں دوشیزہ، ناگن، ڈاچی، عذرا، جی دار، شیر دی بچی، آخری نشان، چنگیز خان، کوئل، سہرا ، بلندی کے علاوہ ان کے اپنے بیٹے شان کی ہدایت میں بننے والی فلم وار بھی شامل ہے۔ نیلو بیگم کو 1959، 1963، 1969، اور 1999 میں بہترین اداکارہ کے علاوہ دیگر کیٹگریز میں نگار ایوارڈ سے بھی نوازا گیا۔
نیلو بیگم کو اتوار کی دوپہر لاہور کے علاقے گلبرگ میں میں سپرد خاک کردیا گیا۔ ان کے جنازے میں اداکار معمر رانا، ریمبو، غلام محی الدین، شفقت چیمہ، سید نور، نغمہ بیگم، صائمہ، وارث بیگ سمیت دیگر شوبز کی شخصیات شامل ہوئیں۔
https://www.independenturdu.com/node/58791
Saturday, January 30, 2021
Faith-Based Discrimination in Balochistan
“Whosever killed a person; it shall be as if he had killed all mankind.” The Holy Quran (5:33) Our religion, Islam, teaches tolerance, peace and universal brotherhood. But in today’s world, many so-called Muslims seems to have forgotten about the fundamental laws and principles of Islam. A few days ago, cowardly inhumane act of terrorism took place in Balochistan, and the gunmen took the lives of 11 innocent people. Now here comes the real question,” Who were those 11 people? Well, they were from Pakistan’s minority Shi’ite Hazaras. Their only fault was their faith. Yes, you heard it right, Shia Hazaras were killed on the basis of their faith. The so-called believers and advocates of Islam took their lives in a very inhumane way possible. The only fault of those innocent miners was their faith. They were only trying to make their both ends meet. And to be very honest, this is not new. There has always been discrimination in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan on the mere basis of faith. Shia people have always been a victim of sectarianism. The ethnic Hazara population make up the most of Shia population in Balochistan. And once in a while, they get killed because of their ethnicity and faith. It has been several days, and the people have been sitting on the roads and demanding justice for the lost souls. While, on the other hand, our officials are only condemning, which is more heart-wrenching. Hazara people have gathered on the roads, but it doesn’t seem they are getting justice any soon. Our officials are only good at making promises, but when it comes to fulfilling those promises, they once made, they disappear, as if they don’t even exist. We, as a society, have become so heartless that we don’t feel anything at all. Besides, in Balochistan, Shias are already living in terror, and now this incident took place. And I cannot imagine the pain and suffering of the families of the victims. It must be tough for them to live in a state which cannot even protect their lives, let alone their other needs. https://dailytimes.com.pk/711622/faith-based-discrimination-in-balochistan/
From Small Town In Pakistan To Shoe Empire In New York: How She Found Freedom
By Sanya Jain
"It's the same story taught to every Pakistani girl. We are raised from a young age to believe that our purpose in life is to find and keep a husband," says Sidra.
"Just two kids from a small town in Pakistan, who escaped their conservative families" is how Sidra Qasim describes herself and her husband, Waqas Ali. Sidra and Waqas are today the power couple behind Atoms - a New York-based footwear brand known for its quarter sizes and comfortable sneakers. But the road to success was not an easy one for them, and now Sidra has opened up about their journey in an interview with Humans of New York.
Sidra, who belongs to the small town of Okara, first met Waqas at her aunt's house. He was one of her aunt's students. "We'd discuss life, and society, and human emotions. It became the only chance I had to exchange my ideas with anyone. And Waqas took my opinions seriously," she says.
After school, she enrolled in a college and became one of the only 15 female students there. It was after she successfully produced a play to help with flood relief efforts that Waqas asked her to join him in Lahore - where he had moved to study further - and become his business partner.
"It finally felt as though my talents were being recognized, and the next day I asked for my parent's permission. But they refused," she says.
The refusal came as a blow to Sidra, who describes lying listless on the couch for weeks - to the point where it scared her father. Eventually, they agreed to let her move to Lahore, where she began working with Waqas on a company named 'Social Media Art' which aimed to help brands establish a social media presence.
As their company struggled, Waqas and Sidra grew closer. "We never discussed the status of our relationship, but both of us could feel a closeness. We were bonded by our journey. Both of us were defying our parents," she says.
"But after a year of rejection we had begun to lose hope."
A ray of hope came from unlikely quarters, when Sidra Qasim and Waqas Ali met with a group of craftsmen in the local village council of Okara. "They were making leather shoes on the floor of a two-room workshop," she says.
Sidra returned to the workshop again and again for a week and, in the end, the craftsmen agreed to collaborate with them.
While Waqas worked on the website, Sidra ensured that the shoes they produced met the highest quality standards.
" We called our collection 'Hometown Shoes.' And after we launched our website, the first order came in right away," she says. Although they made a loss on the order due to the high shipping cost to France, the couple did not give up hope.
"After a year we were selling about 50 shoes per month. We were happy to have any business at all, but it wasn't nearly enough to survive," says Sidra. They started a highly successful Kickstarter campaign and raised $1,07,000 in 2014 by selling over 600 pairs of shoes.
After that, Sidra and Waqas got married in a small ceremony - and immediately began to work on their application for the Y-combinator accelerator programme in San Francisco. "The admissions process was more selective than Harvard, and they'd helped launch companies like AirBnB and Dropbox," says Sidra.
Although she describes their interview as a "disaster", they did get through and moved to the US.
Their time at Y-combinator was one of making mistakes and learning from them. "We were the only company in our group who didn't raise money. And to make matters even worse, it had been a formal event," says Sidra, describing Demo Day which is sort of a final exam for participants of the programme. "Many of our classmates had dressed up. But none of them were wearing the shoes we had sold them."
Doing more market research helped them understand that most people wanted shoes they could wear every day, and so Sidra and Waqas shifted their focus from formal footwear to casual.
"We researched the highest quality materials, and we put all of our findings into a document called 'Ideal, Everyday Shoe.' Then we gave all our notes to a talented designer. Together we built a prototype, and we called them 'Atoms,' because we'd gone to the atomic level in search of quality."
It took them several months to manufacture their first collection after extensive customer feedback and market research. "By the time we were ready to launch, 45,000 people had signed up for our mailing list. On the first day of sales our website crashed," says Sidra.
Their company expanded to 25 employees, but they also had to go through a round of layoffs. At the beginning of the pandemic, to stay afloat in the face of dwindling funds and investors unwilling to put in more money, Atoms expanded to making masks.
"One year later we've sold 500,000 of them, and donated 500,000 more. Our shoe business has continued to grow, and once again investors are calling on the phone," says Sidra to Humans Of New York.
She concluded the interview by talking about the change that her business has helped brought about. She has been able to help her family back in Pakistan financially. "But more importantly I've provided an example," she says.
One of her younger sisters is now working as a fitness coach, the other is selling sanitary pads. But the biggest transformation, she says, has been in her mother - a school headmistress who now tells her students to be financially independent and learn technology.
"She's telling them all the things that I needed to hear as a little girl. The road was so lonely for me, and maybe I still carry some unconscious resentment," says Sidra. "She's telling them all the things that I needed to hear as a little girl. The road was so lonely for me, and maybe I still carry some unconscious resentment.
"But my mother has apologized for not supporting me more. And consciously I have forgiven her."
https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/from-a-small-town-in-pakistan-to-new-york-city-the-couple-who-built-a-shoe-empire-from-nothing-2359840
Blinken calls Pakistan FM Qureshi, seeks accountability in Daniel Pearl murder case
US Secretary of State Tony Blinken has spoken over phone with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and discussed the accountability of convicted terrorists responsible for the murder of Daniel Pearl, according to the State Department. Pearl, the 38-year-old South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was abducted and beheaded while he was in Pakistan investigating a story in 2002 on the links between the country’s powerful spy agency ISI and al-Qaeda. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said on Friday that Blinken reinforced America’s concern over Pakistan Supreme Court’s ruling acquitting Pearl’s killers.Blinken and Qureshi discussed how to ensure accountability for convicted terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and others responsible for the kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, Price said in a readout of the call.In addition, the Secretary and the Foreign Minister discussed the importance of continued US-Pakistan cooperation on the Afghan peace process, support for regional stability, and the potential to expand our trade and commercial ties, Price said. A day earlier, Blinken expressed concern over Pakistan Supreme Court’s decision acquitting those involved in the sensational kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl in 2002 and said that the judgement is an affront to terrorism victims everywhere. In a strongly worded statement, Blinken urged Pakistan to explore all legal options to ensure that the killers of Pearl are brought to justice. The United States is deeply concerned by the Pakistani Supreme Court’s decision to acquit those involved in Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and murder and any proposed action to release them, he said.Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed appeals against the acquittal of British-born al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in the kidnapping and murder case of Pearl and ordered his release, a judgement denounced by the American journalist’s family as ‘a complete travesty of justice.’Sheikh and his three aides – Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib – were convicted and sentenced in the abduction and murder case of Pearl in Karachi in 2002. Blinken said: Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh was indicted in the United States in 2002 for hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, resulting in the murder of Pearl, the South Asia Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal, as well as the 1994 kidnapping of another United States citizen in India. The court’s decision is an affront to terrorism victims everywhere, including in Pakistan, he said. We expect the Pakistani government to expeditiously review its legal options to ensure justice is served. We take note of the Attorney General’s statement that he intends to seek review and recall of the decision. We are also prepared to prosecute Sheikh in the United States for his horrific crimes against an American citizen, Blinken said. The United States is committed to securing justice for Pearl’s family and holding terrorists accountable, he said. Pearl’s murder took place three years after Sheikh, along with Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, was released by India in 1999 and given safe passage to Afghanistan in exchange for the nearly 150 passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814. He was serving a prison term in India for kidnappings of Western tourists in the country. A three-judge bench of Pakistan Supreme Court led by Justice Mushir Alam on Thursday dismissed the Sindh government’s appeal against the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) decision to overturn the conviction of Sheikh in the Pearl murder case. The beheading of the American journalist in 2002 had grabbed international headlines. The court ordered that three others, who had been sentenced to life in prison for their part in Pearl’s kidnapping and death, also be freed. https://theprint.in/world/blinken-calls-pakistan-fm-qureshi-seeks-accountability-in-daniel-pearl-murder-case/595183/US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urged Pakistan to explore all legal options to ensure that the killers of Pearl are brought to justice.
Friday, January 29, 2021
بختاور بھٹو زرداری رشتہ ازدواج میں منسلک ہوگئیں
سابق وزیراعظم شہید محترمہ بےنظیر بھٹو اور سابق صدر آصف زرداری کی بڑی صاحبزادی بختاور بھٹو زرداری رشتہ ازدواج میں منسلک ہو گئیں۔
محمود چوہدری کے ساتھ ان کے نکاح کی تقریب بلاول ہاؤس کراچی میں ہوئی۔ تقریب میں دونوں خاندانوں کے قریبی افراد شریک ہوئے۔
بلاول ہاؤس میں خوشیوں کے شادیانے بج رہے ہیں، 24 جنوری سے بلاول ہاؤس میں محفل میلاد کے ساتھ شادی کی تقریبات کا آغاز ہوچکا ہے۔
بختاور بھٹو کی مہندی کی سادہ اور پُروقار تقریب بھی بلاول ہاؤس میں ہوئی جہاں انہوں نے اجرک کے ڈیزائن کی خوبصورت مہندی اپنے ہاتھوں پر لگوائی۔
یاد رہے کہ بختاور بھٹو زرداری اور محمود چوہدری کی منگنی دو ماہ قبل بلاول ہاؤس کراچی میں ہوئی تھی۔
https://samachar.pk/
#BakhtawarBhuttowedding - Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari shares a sweet message on sister Bakhtawar's nikah
Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari has tied the knot!
The bride, shimmering in a gold-speckled ensemble by Wardha Saleem, married Mahmood Choudhry, the son of a US-based businessman, in a daytime ceremony today at Bilawal House in Karachi.
Her brother, PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, shared pictures and a sweet message on Twitter: "Happiest moment in many years to see my sister Bakhtawar getting married."
"Felt like our mother was watching over us in this moment of joy. Wishing them both all the best of for their new life together," said the son of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari.
The youngest sibling, Aseefa, wished the couple "a lifetime of happiness and joy" on their new journey.
"I love you, my dear sister. I wish you a happy married life," she wrote.
The groom wore a classic cream-coloured sherwani while Bilawal stuck with his staple: shalwar kameez and a blazer. The pictures also show Zardari in attendance.
Bakhtawar and Choudhry exchanged rings in an intimate ceremony in November 2020. A milad was held on Jan 24 and a mehndi ceremony on Jan 27.
According to PPP sources and spokesperson, the function of baraat will take place tomorrow (Jan 30).
A brief statement issued by Bilawal House said that some 300 guests are expected at the main function due to the standard operating procedures related to Covid-19.
While we're still waiting to see what the 31-year-old wore at her mehndi function, we did get a glimpse of Bakhtawar glowing a day before the festivities, her hands decorated with intricate bridal henna with hints of Sindh's ajrak in it.
There has been a lot of suspense on whether politicians apart from PPP's, such as PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz, have been invited to one of the most anticipated weddings of the season. For that, we'll just have to for more pictures!
بلاول بھٹو نے اپنی بہن بختاور کے نکاح کی تصاویر جاری کردیں
پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا کہنا ہے کہ میری بہن بختاور کی شادی طویل عرصے بعد آنے والی خوشیوں کا لمحہ ہے۔
ایک بیان میں بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے محمود چوہدری کے ساتھ اپنی بہن بختاور بھٹو کے نکاح کے بندھن میں بندھنے کے بعد نو بیاہتا جوڑے کے لیے نیک تمناؤں کا اظہار کیا۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ مجھے ایسا لگا کہ خوشیوں کے اس لمحے میں میری والدہ ہمیں دیکھ رہی ہیں۔
پی پی چیئرمین نے کہا کہ میری جانب سے دونوں کو ایک ساتھ نئی زندگی کی شروعات کی مبارک باد قبول ہو۔
محمود چوہدری کے ساتھ ان کے نکاح کی تقریب بلاول ہاؤس کراچی میں ہوئی۔ تقریب میں دونوں خاندانوں کے قریبی افراد شریک ہوئے۔
بلاول ہاؤس میں خوشیوں کے شادیانے بج رہے ہیں، 24 جنوری سے بلاول ہاؤس میں محفل میلاد کے ساتھ شادی کی تقریبات کا آغاز ہوچکا ہے۔
بختاور بھٹو زرداری اور محمود چودھری نےاہل خانہ کے ساتھ تصاویر بنوائیں، تقریب میں صنم بھٹو، فریال تالپر، ڈاکٹر عاصم حسین اور دیگر نے بھی شرکت کی۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/878667
Thursday, January 28, 2021
Biden Gets Positive Marks For First Steps As President, Survey Finds
Donald Trump’s presidency was marked by stable, negative ratings. Biden starts out with a broader pool of potential supporters.
Americans give President Joe Biden solid marks for his first day in office, a set of new HuffPost/YouGov polling finds, rating him positively both on his inaugural address and on a series of executive actions he has signed.
The results align with other polls on the beginning of the Biden presidency, which find him taking office with an average approval rating of about 55%. That’s a considerably higher starting point than President Donald Trump had, although it falls below the robust initial job approval “honeymoons” that were common for new White House occupants from the 1950s up through the end of the 1980s.
Trump’s ratings throughout his four years in office remained both notably low and remarkably steady. The stability was likely due in part to his status as a polarizing figure, as well as broader forces of calcifying partisanship. Biden’s broader base of support offers more of a cushion, but also further room for volatility.
In the HuffPost/YouGov survey, 43% of Americans say they feel Biden’s inauguration was meant for people like them, compared to 29% who say it was not. Four years ago, the public was about evenly split on whether Trump’s inauguration was meant for people like them.
Similarly, Americans say by a 17-percentage-point margin that it would be a good thing if Biden’s actions as president are in line with his behavior as a candidate. In 2017, they said by a 22-point margin that it would be a bad thing if Trump’s presidency continued along the same lines of his candidacy.
The poll finds that 57% of Americans say they either watched the inauguration or consumed later news coverage about it. As is generally the case with political events, the audience was self-selecting: people who chose to tune in are more politically engaged than the public at large and are significantly more likely to be supporters of Biden.
Given that friendly audience, the reception for Biden’s inaugural address was ― perhaps unsurprisingly ― positive. Roughly three-quarters rated his speech as either good or excellent, with similar shares describing it as optimistic and giving them hope. In Four years ago, 55% of Americans who tuned into Trump’s inauguration speech rated it good or excellent.
Immediately following his inaugural address, Biden signed 17 executive actions, more than half of which reversed Trump-era policies. In a second HuffPost/YouGov survey, which gauged opinions on nine of those actions, all polled at least slightly above-water, with most garnering majority support.
Continuations of two Trump-era policies ― a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, and an extension of the pause on federal student loan payments ― were among the most popular. But reversals of several Trump policies, including actions to keep the U.S. in the World Health Organization, rejoin the Paris climate accord, and halt construction of the border wall with Mexico, also saw net-positive ratings.
Results of new HuffPost/YouGov polling on several of Biden’s actions on his first day in office.
Two-thirds or more of the public say they support extending the pause on federal student loans (67% approve) and the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures (70%), as well as banning workplace discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity (69%) and asking Americans to wear masks for 100 days while instituting new mask requirements for federal buildings and contractors (70%).
Biden’s move to keep the U.S. in the World Health Organization was backed by 57%, while about half approve of the U.S. rejoining the Paris climate accord and halting construction of a wall on the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
Less of a strong consensus was found on reversing the Trump administration’s “travel ban” for passport holders from seven Muslim-majority countries (45% approve, 41% disapprove) and canceling the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline (38% approve and 34% disapprove).
None of the actions asked about in the poll received greater than 41% disapproval, and none saw more than a third of the public strongly opposed.
Underlying those numbers is near-unanimous backing from Biden’s supporters, sometimes coupled with relatively muted reactions by his opponents. Most of the executive actions included in the survey had 90% support or higher among voters who backed Biden in 2020.
A majority of Trump voters do disapprove of rolling back some of his most highly touted proposals, including the travel ban and the wall. Only about half, though, disapprove of the new mask-wearing guidance, and even fewer of the extended pause on student loan payments.
On balance, Trump voters are more likely than not to support extending the eviction and foreclosure moratorium, as well as banning sexual-orientation or gender-identity based workplace discrimination.
The rest of the public, comprising nonvoters and those who picked a third-party candidate, give positive ratings to all of the executive actions included in the survey, although they’re much more likely to say they’re unsure.
The HuffPost/YouGov polls, each consisting of 1,000 completed interviews, were conducted Jan. 20-22 and Jan. 21-25 among U.S. adults, using a sample selected from YouGov’s opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population.
HuffPost has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov’s nationally representative opinion polling. More details on the polls’ methodology are available here.
Most surveys report a margin of error that represents some but not all potential survey errors. YouGov’s reports include a model-based margin of error, which rests on a specific set of statistical assumptions about the selected sample rather than the standard methodology for random probability sampling. If these assumptions are wrong, the model-based margin of error may also be inaccurate. Click here for a more detailed explanation of the model-based margin of error.