Friday, July 23, 2021
Opinion: Democrats’ defense of voting rights isn’t shameless. But Republicans’ silence is shameful.
Opinion: By Jonathan Capehart
Can’t believe I’m going to share this story to get into a considered opinion on voting rights, but . . . here goes. Back in the day, when you had to go to a store to rent movies on VHS tapes, a certain hormonal teen approached the counter with four or so G-rated titles. As I handed them to the clerk, I prayed he would make no mention of the racy movie mingled with them. No such luck. The clerk rattled off each title aloud. And when he hit that smutty film, he not only raised his voice, he turned a one-syllable title into a multi-second public comeuppance. Shamed but undeterred, I took the movie home.This embarrassing episode came to mind after reading John C. Ackerman’s op-ed in The Post entitled “Are our election laws here in Illinois also ‘21st century Jim Crow?’” No Republican president has won Illinois since 1988, thus defining it as a blue state. Ackerman, a Republican and the county clerk in Tazewell County Ill., uses that status to hammer away at Democratic criticisms of new voter (suppression) laws in Republican-controlled states. He compares and contrasts Illinois’ restrictions on vote-by-mail, third-party ballot collection, ballot drop boxes, and bans on distributing food and water to folks waiting in line to vote to those being rushed through in Georgia, Texas and Florida. The spirit of John Lewis lives on in the voting rights fight Most notably, Ackerman took issue with President Biden and other Democrats who call the current cluster of restrictive laws “21st century Jim Crow.” And he especially took offense at the president, in his powerful defense of voting rights last week, asking aloud of Republicans, “Have you no shame?” In response, Ackerman says it is the Democrats “and their media allies” who are shameless. Nope, not by a long shot. What Ackerman seems to hope no one will notice is the equivalent of that naughty VHS tape I hoped that clerk would overlook. Leave aside, for the moment, Republican objections to how and when votes are cast and by whom. Focus on this: Ackerman has nary a word to say about the moves by Republican governors and legislatures to rig who gets to count the votes and whether said votes count at all. The Georgia law strips the independently elected secretary of state of their role as chair of the state’s election board. Instead, the chair will now be elected by the General Assembly, which is controlled by Republicans. This galling change came after Brad Raffensperger, a Republican who declared “the process was fair and accurately counted,” resisted the demands of then-President Donald Trump to “find 11,780 votes.” “To me, this is simple: This is election subversion. It’s the most dangerous threat to voting and the integrity of free and fair elections in our history. Never before have they decided who gets to count — count — what votes count,” Biden correctly assessed in his speech. “Some . . . state legislatures want to make it harder for you to vote. And if you vote, they want to be able to tell you your vote doesn’t count for any reason they make up. They want the ability to reject the final count and ignore the will of the people if their preferred candidate loses.” On the filibuster, ‘stop being afraid of Mitch McConnell ’cause he’s not afraid of you' This is the threat that looms large over next year’s midterm elections and the 2024 presidential vote. This is why there is such urgency around passage of the For the People Act, which continues to languish in the evenly divided Senate. And this is why the calls are growing louder for reforming the filibuster to allow passage of that vote-protection bill by a simple majority. But the onus is not just on Democrats or the president to protect the integrity of our elections and, therefore, our republic. It is on local officials like Ackerman. As Biden said: “We must ask those who represent us at the federal, state, and local levels: Will you deny the will of the people? Will you ignore their voices?” So far, if Ackerman is any barometer, the Republican response is an undeterred and shameful silence.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/22/democrats-defense-voting-rights-isnt-shameless-republicans-silence-is-shameful/
Pakistan stands at 30th number in list of countries with 1 million COVID-19 cases
Coronavirus cases in Pakistan on Friday crossed the 1 million milestones after the country reported 1,425 new infections during the last 24 hours, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) reported on Friday.
25,215 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours and the positivity ratio was below 6%. The current positivity rate stands at 5.65% and the total number of cases are 1,000,034.
The grim milestone was reported exactly two months after Pakistan’s tally of positive cases crossed 900,000. It also makes Pakistan the 30th country in the world to report more than one million cases.
The nationwide death toll from the coronavirus now stands 22,939 after 11 people lost their lives to the disease.
While the number of recovered patients stands at 923,472 and the active cases of the country are 53,623.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/795221/pakistan-stands-at-30th-number/
#JusticeForNoor - Murder of ex-diplomat’s daughter has shaken #Pakistan. Media & money are both being questioned
The brutal murder of 27-year-old Noor Mukadam has sparked fresh debate over the safety of women. Now there are thousands of tweets asking for justice.Pakistanis are asking what it will take to punish influential criminals in the country. This time they are angry over the brief abduction of an Afghan envoy’s daughter and the murder of a former Pakistani diplomat’s daughter in the span of a few days. Citizens are trending #JusticeForNoor to search for answers that authorities won’t give them. The grisly murder of 27-year-old Noor Mukadam, daughter of former diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, has sparked fresh debate about the safety of women. According to reports, Noor Mukadam was shot at and beheaded after a quarrel in a residence in a posh area of Islamabad Tuesday. Allegedly, over a breakup. The suspect, Zahir Jaffer, whose father is reportedly the CEO of a construction company in Islamabad, was arrested at the crime scene Tuesday.
Questions have been raised over how the Pakistani media reported the incident – revealing more about the victim than the suspect – and Jaffer’s mental health and ‘plan’ to leave for the US.What happened to Noor
In an FIR, Noor Mukadam’s father stated that his daughter was missing since 19 July and her phone was switched off. She eventually called her parents to tell them she was travelling to Lahore with some friends and would return in a day or two, reported Dawn.
On Tuesday, the ex-diplomat said he received a call from the suspect informing him that his daughter was not with him. That same day, at around 10 pm, Shaukat Mukadam said he received a call from the Kohsar police station about his daughter’s murder.
This was reportedly the third brutal attack on a woman in the country in the past few days.
‘Put him on the Exit Control List’
The situation has become murkier after it was revealed that Jaffer is allegedly a US citizen and had booked a flight to the US on Wednesday — a day after the murder. There has also been speculation that he was fleeing justice and allegations that his family was trying to bribe the police and a judge.
Soon after the news broke of his arrest Tuesday, Twitter was flooded with images of the suspect and his family. The hashtag #JusticeForNoor has garnered thousands of tweets.
Pakistani actor Osman Khalid Butt raised calls for the suspect to be put on Pakistan’s Exit Control List, which prohibits certain individuals from leaving the country.
In a press conference Thursday, Senior Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Ataur Rehman assured people by saying, “Whenever someone’s brutal murder is carried out, we shouldn’t care about the financial position of the culprit even if they are the son of a very influential father.”
There was also social media furore over the alleged cause of the murder.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani model Mawra Hocane asked if Pakistan was a civilized society at all.
Publications like Dawn were also put on the spot for not revealing enough information about the accused and for reporting his name in a certain way.
“Dawn can tell you the name of the victim’s father and the victim’s age but won’t give you any details about the murderer Zahir Jaffer,” wrote one user.
Jaffer’s ‘mental health’ woes
The discussion about the suspect’s mental health cropped up amid rumours that he had a drug abuse problem.
“It seems that Zahir Jaffer had a longstanding drug abuse problem which is why he tried several times but couldn’t finish college & then installed in family business. The parents that didn’t attend to his issues are equally culpable in this heinous murder #JusticeForNoor,” tweeted political commentator Ayesha Siddiqa.
However, others like journalist Hamza Azhar Salam, asked how Jaffer was able to serve at a top post in his family’s business, Ahmed Jaffer and Company, if he was mentally ill.
In the midst of this, the police released a statement Thursday saying Jaffer was “sound and in his senses” when arrested from the murder scene.
https://theprint.in/go-to-pakistan/murder-of-ex-diplomats-daughter-has-shaken-pakistan-media-money-are-both-being-questioned/701558/
جنگ کرنی ہے یا امن؟ فیصلہ کشمیریوں کے حکم پر ہوگا، بلاول بھٹو
چیئرمین پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا ہے کہ جنگ کرنی ہے یا امن کرنا ہے؟، فیصلہ کشمیریوں کے حکم پر کریں گے۔
باغ آزاد کشمیر میں جلسے سے خطاب میں بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ کشمیری حکم کریں، جنگ کرنی ہے تو ہم ساتھ ہوں گے، کشمیری حکم کریں گے کہ امن کرنا ہے تو ہم امن کریں گے۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ ہم سمجھتے ہیں کشمیر کے فیصلے کشمیری عوام کریں، ہم کسی کی ڈکٹیشن نہیں مانتے، عوام کا حکم مانتے ہیں۔
پی پی چیئرمین نے کہا کہ 25 جولائی آزاد کشمیر کے لئے امتحان ہے، الیکشن شفاف ہوئےتو یہ نشستیں پیپلز پارٹی کی ہوں گی۔
اُن کا کہنا تھا کہ آپ نے ساتھ دیا تو ہم باغ کی قسمت بدل دیں گے، پیپلز پارٹی کا آپ سے تین نسلوں کا رشتہ ہے۔
بلاول بھٹو نے مزید کہا کہ باغ کے جیالوں نے کارساز میں بی بی کا استقبال کرتے ہوئے جام شہادت نوش کیا، کوئی کٹھ پتلی جماعت آپ سے ہمارا تعلق نہیں توڑ سکتی۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ بینظیر بھٹو جب وزیراعظم تھیں تو پوری دنیا پاکستان کی بات سنتی تھی جبکہ آج کٹھ پتلی بات کرتا ہے تو لوگ مذاق اڑاتے ہیں۔
پی پی چیئرمین نے کہا کہ یہ کٹھ پتلی کشمیر کا ذکر کرتا ہے تو غلطی کرتا ہے، آپ کو عوامی وزیراعظم چاہیے یا کٹھ پتلی وزیراعظم چاہیے؟
اُن کا کہنا تھا کہ پاکستان کا وزیراعظم عمران خان، بھارتی وزیراعظم نریندر مودی کے جیتنےکی دعا کرتا رہا ہے، کسی کٹھ پتلی کو کشمیر کا سودا کرنے کی اجازت نہیں دیں گے۔
بلاول بھٹو نے یہ بھی کہا کہ آزاد کشمیر میں آج تک ن لیگ کی حکومت ہے، انہوں نےآپ کے لئے کیا کیا؟ یہاں کی حکومت نے آپ کو لاوارث چھوڑا، ہم نہیں چھوڑیں گے۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ ایک گندا وزیر کشمیر میں لاؤنچ ہوا ہے، ہم حکومت بنائیں گے تو پہلے دن ہم تنخواہ اور پنشن میں اضافہ کریں گے۔
پی پی چیئرمین نے کہا کہ ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کے بارے میں بات کرنے والے ذرا آئینہ دیکھیں،کلبھوشن کو این آر او دینے والے بھٹو کو غدار کہہ رہے ہیں۔
اُن کا کہنا تھا کہ اگر پاکستان میں جمہوریت ہے تو بھٹو کی وجہ سے ہے، ہمارا وزیراعظم سیاست، عوام اور کشمیر پر سودا کرتا ہے۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/960413