Video Report - Vice President Kamala Harris visits site of Highland Park massacre

Video - President Biden Awards the Medal of Honor to Four U.S. Army Soldiers who Fought in the Vietnam War

Video Report - #Coronavirus #Omicron #Portugal - Omicron subvariant drives spike in Portugal's COVID cases — other European countries next?

Video Report - Algeria marks 60 years since end of French colonial rule

Video Report - Ghana struggles to ease rising cost of living

Music Video - Lokan Do Do Yar Banaye - Afshan Zaibi

Video Report - سابق وزیر اعظم عمران خان کا اینکروں اور میڈیا متعلق دوغلہ پن، جھوٹ اور منافقت کا بدصورت امتزاج

#Pakistan - No Mercy for Minorities in Jails

By Sumeera Riaz

Unlike their Muslim counterparts, religious minorities in Pakistani jails struggle to secure remission in sentences through study of holy books.Despite lip-service for equal treatment from nearly all governments, past and present, minorities in Pakistan continue to struggle for their civil rights in all aspects of their lives. The problem is particularly heightened for jail inmates, who suffer the worst form of inequality in violation of clear provisions in the Constitution guaranteeing equal treatment for all.

A recent petition taken up by the Lahore High Court has underlined this issue, pleading that people’s right to a free trial (Article 10A) and to be treated equally before law (Article 25) is being repeatedly violated for minority inmates in prisons across Punjab province. Filed by Kashif Masih, the petition argues that non-Muslim prisoners in various jails across Punjab are being treated discriminatorily, deprived of their right for remission in sentence on the basis of completion of education and memorization of their sacred books like their Muslim counterparts.

Under Rule 215 of the Punjab Prisons Rules, 1978, any convicted prisoner can seek remission in their sentence if they complete formal education and either memorize or finish study of their sacred book—whether it be the Quran for Muslims, Bible for Christians, the Granth Sahib of Sikhism, or Hindu holy books such as the Upanishads, among others. While Muslims often complete their study of the Quran and are granted remission to their sentences, many minorities are unaware that they even have the option, leaving them without any viable avenue to reduce their prison terms.

Sohail Yafat, a Christian who works for a non-governmental organization dedicated to fighting for minorities’ rights, confirmed to Newsweek that most non-Muslim prisoners were unaware they could apply for a reduction in sentences through study of their holy books. A former inmate who served a 10-year jail term in Punjab, he said it was incumbent upon the government to educate prisoners about their rights of remission, as many lacked the resources to educate themselves. Another issue is the lack of institutional support to hear remissions pleas for non-Muslims inmates.

There is no formal mechanism for non-Muslims to apply for remission in sentences, said advocate Shahab Akmal, counsel for petitioner Kashif Masih. “There’s a mechanism and system available in jails that automatically applies to prisoners who complete their education or memorize the holy Quran,” he said. “But there is no similar mechanism available for prisoners from religious minorities,” he added, suggesting clear discrimination against non-Muslim inmates.Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf told Newsweek that while the Constitution guaranteed equal rights for all minorities in Pakistan, problems arose due to “communication gaps” between officials responsible for the enforcement of rights and the citizens whose rights were being violated. “We need to see how many prisoners from religious minorities have applied [for remission] and how many were denied,” he said, adding that the principle of the policy was very clearly enunciated in the Constitution and its progressive implementation needed to be ensured.

According to the Punjab Prisons Department, there are currently 1,188 non-Muslim prisoners, including six women, housed in 34 jails across the province. Of these, 1,168 are Christian, 19 Hindu and 1 Sikh, with 829 currently under-trial; 320 convicted; and 39 condemned prisoners. The majority of prisoners belonging to religious minorities are in jails of Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Speaking with Newsweek on condition of anonymity, a senior official in the Punjab Prisons Department said that the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government had initiated the process of jail reforms in Punjab but had been unable to implement it. “The committee formed to rewrite the Punjab Prisons Rules did its job, but the new reforms could never be implemented due to lack of seriousness from the provincial government’s side,” he said, admitting that prisoners from religious minorities were not given any awareness about their rights.

Prison reforms

Thus far, Sindh is the only province that has successfully implemented reforms to the colonial-era laws that have governed Pakistan’s prisons since the country’s inception. The provincial assembly passed the Sindh Prisons and Corrections Services Act in 2019, replacing the Prisons Act 1894, with an aim at ensuring respectful treatment of all prisoners without any discrimination. Despite this, the province has also yet to grant a single remission in sentence to any religious minorities on the basis of completion of education or study of holy books. Similar to Punjab, Sindh also lacks a mechanism for the religious study of non-Muslims, with the Sindh Prisons Department confirming that there was presently no introductory syllabus available for non-Muslim inmates. However, the Prisons Department said, the Sindh Home Department had been requested to amend Rule No. 787 of the Sindh Prisons and Corrections Services Act, 2019 to allow for remission of sentences for prisoners who complete religious education of their own accord.

The Sindh Prisons Department says there are currently 1,022 non-Muslim prisoners housed in 24 different jails across the province. Of these, 336 are under-trial—184 Christians, 142 Hindus, 10 Sikhs—and 666 are convicted prisoners—21 Christians and 665 Hindus.

The sole province that has ever granted remission in sentence to a non-Muslim on the basis of study of their holy book is Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The government of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (2002-2008) implemented prison reforms during its rule, extending remission of sentence to one convicted Sikh prisoner. The province currently only has 13 under-trial non-Muslim prisoners.

Equal rights for all

According to the 2017 Census, Muslims comprise 96.2 percent of Pakistan’s population; Hindus 1.17 percent; Christians 2.06 percent; scheduled castes 0.06 percent; and other minorities 0.06 percent. In a country of over 210 million, these are not small numbers, yet unchecked discrimination persists. Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Tahir Ashrafi, who has often spoken about the need to ensure equal rights for non-Muslims, told Newsweek this was the first time he was hearing of this particular issue. “If there’s a provision for Muslim prisoners, the same grant should be extended to prisoners from religious minorities,” he stressed, adding that relief should be given to anyone who completes their sacred books during their jail terms. Vowing to raise the issue with the home departments at both the federal and provincial levels, he said the matter should be addressed on urgent basis.

But the road ahead is long and paved with bureaucratic red-tape. Nonetheless, if successfully implemented, this could be the first step toward the fulfillment of a promise 75 years in the making, when Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah assured non-Muslims of Pakistan that they were equal citizens of the country, free to practice their faiths without any discrimination.

https://www.newsweekpakistan.com/no-mercy-for-minorities-in-jails/

#Pakistan - Where are the women in Pakistan, their perspective is missing in national policies, laws, and institutions

Dr Zia Ullah Ranjah

Although women comprise 48.54% of the total population in Pakistan, their perspective is missing in national policies, laws, and institutions. Legal rights and opportunities to contribute to national progress are systematically restricted for women, especially on issues that disproportionately harm them – rape, harassment, and domestic violence. To achieve a more balanced approach, we must understand the nuances of a ‘gendered’ perspective and the challenges of promoting gender awareness in Pakistan.

The gender gap in Pakistan is high along with key indicators and aspects of life – health disparity, education disparity, economic disparity, legal disparity, political disparity and cultural disparity. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021 published by the World Economic Forum, Pakistan ranked 153rd out of 156 countries on the gender parity index, only above Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan. This is alarming. With fewer women in decision-making positions, there is a significant lack of gender perspective. Such a lens is about bringing women’s experiences into decision-making to ensure that laws, policies, rules and regulations have a greater impact in achieving their objectives. A ‘gender-aware’ perspective considers how gender-based discrimination shapes the immediate needs, as well as the long-term interests, of both women and men. In a policy context, such a perspective makes women’s as well as men’s concerns an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres, so that women and men benefit equally and gender-based inequalities are not perpetuated.

In Pakistan, there are multiple challenges involving assumptions and mindsets about women. It is generally assumed that women are weak, both physically and intellectually; that women are poor administrators and cannot make effective decisions; that they are temperamental and emotional. In the workplace, men frequently address women as sisters and daughters and fail to recognize them as equal colleagues. How long should we make these assumptions and presumptions about women when there is no scientific basis for them? The solution lies at many levels but educating the mindset, creating more opportunities and reducing stereotypes is a start.

Women are denied equal opportunities in all spheres of life despite our constitution providing for the equality of citizens (Article 25) and Pakistan’s formal legal acceptance of various international conventions. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women states that “State parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right to participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government” (Article 7). Pakistan is also a signatory to the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 as well as the UN Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Pakistan has also signed the UN’s Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals, which set out gender equality as a key goal. Pakistan, having signed these international instruments, is obliged to promote gender equality.

To do this, three steps are worth highlighting. First, women should be given adequate representation in the legislature, executive, and judiciary so that women’s perspective is reflected in laws, policies, and judicial decisions. Existing quotas in the provincial and federal legislature and government jobs, for example, should change or be supplemented with other policies giving representation to women proportionate to their population in Pakistan. A mere quota does not increase or improve representation. There have to be structural and institutional changes to make equality substantive. Representation of women based on open merit and population would strengthen democracy, promote good governance and improve the quality of justice.

Second, women should have due representation on key bodies, which make decisions regarding the appointment of judges and civil servants and the regulation of corporate entities such as the Judicial Commission of Pakistan as well as statutory bodies like the federal and provincial Public Service Commissions and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

Third, women should have administrative power for example, in terms of dealing with different government departments, postings, and transfers, budgets and accounts etc. Administrative experience would enable women to contribute more effectively to public service and thus national development.

The stories of Benazir Bhutto, General Nigar Johar Khan, and Justice Ayesha Malik show that women can perform as well as men. It is unfortunate how we have allowed just a few women the opportunity to rise to high ranks. But, to make Pakistan stronger, we have to move from the few to the many.It is worth recalling the words of Muhammad Ali Jinnah: “No nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with the men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women.”

We often fail to appreciate this third power. How can any law, policy, or decision be effective without including women’s perspectives? Women judges, for example, can help promote a gender-aware perspective by writing gender-sensitive judgments like the Sadaf Aziz case in which the two-finger test and the hymen test in sexual abuse or rape cases were declared unconstitutional, discriminatory, invasive and an infringement on the privacy of a woman to her body, blatant violation of the dignity of a woman, and devoid of any legal, scientific or medical basis.

Men must support women. Taboos and traditions have to give way to innovation and creativity. The ability and merit of women must be recognized not as a concession but as a matter of fundamental right. The government should introduce more gender-responsive policies and initiatives. Both men and women’s perspectives should be appreciated, equally, to produce a balanced gender perspective in Pakistan.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/426157-where-are-the-women

A Christian mechanic in Pakistan gets the death sentence for ‘blasphemy’. He said ‘Jesus is supreme’

REVATHI KRISHNAN

As per National Commission for Justice and Peace data, 776 Muslims, 505 Ahmadis, 229 Christians and 30 Hindus were booked for blasphemy from 1987 to 2018.

More than five years after his arrest, a Christian mechanic booked on the charges of blasphemy was sentenced to death by a Lahore court Monday. Masih has been in jail since 2017 and his case riddled with adjournments. The accused, who has a wife and a daughter, also lost his mother in 2019 while he was behind the bars.

According to reports, in June 2017, Masih got into a dispute with a Muslim customer in Lahore after he repaired the latter’s bike. When Masih asked for payment, the customer did not pay the entire amount and asked for a waiver on grounds that he was a religious devotee. Masih refused the request, saying he believed in Christ. The issue of money led to a heated argument and a crowd gathered, accusing Masih of “disrespecting” the Prophet Muhammad. The mechanic had allegedly said that for Christians, Jesus was supreme. This was enough for his arrest.

Since 2019, the case has witnessed multiple adjournments, rescheduling, judge not showing up, witness failing to turn up and even the complainant’s lawyer not registering their presence.

In 2019, Masih was released on parole to attend his mother’s funeral. After he was arrested, it has been reported that the family fled from Lahore in fear.

On multiple occasions, in different court appearances, Masih can be seen chained and in handcuffs.

This is not the first time a judge in Pakistan has sentenced someone to death under the blasphemy law. In September 2021, a local Lahore court sentenced a school principal to death. The charge against the principal was that she had claimed to be the ‘Prophet of Islam’ in pamphlets she distributed and denied the finality of Prophethood.

In yet another incident in January this year, a 26-year-old woman was sentenced to death for posting ‘blasphemous material’ as her WhatsApp status. She had sent caricatures of Prophet Muhammed.

Pakistan inherited the blasphemy laws after Partition in 1947. However, during General Zia-ul Haq’s regime between 1980 to 1986, a number of clauses were introduced that included a provision to punish blasphemy against Prophet Muhammed and the penalty for this was “death, or imprisonment for life”. It has been used in these cases of death sentences.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said that Muslims constitute the majority of people booked under the blasphemy laws, followed by the Ahmadi community. According to data by the National Commission for Justice and Peace, 776 Muslims, 505 Ahmadis, 229 Christians and 30 Hindus have been booked under the blasphemy law from 1987 to 2018. 

Mai Baghi Hoon (Jeyay Bhutto)

کل بھی بھٹو زندہ تھا،آج بھی بھٹو زندہ ھے

ملک کی پہلی جمہوری حکومت پر 45 سال قبل شب خون مارا گیا، شیری رحمٰن

 نائب صدر پیپلز پارٹی سینیٹر شیری رحمٰن کا کہنا ہے کہ 45 سال قبل آج کے دن جنرل ضیاء نے پاکستان کی پہلی جمہوری حکومت اور آئین پر شب خون مارا تھا۔

سینیٹر شیری رحمٰن نے 5 جولائی کے حوالے سے اپنے پیغام میں کہا کہ شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو،کارکنان اور تمام جمہوریت پسند عوام نے آمریت کا ڈٹ کر مقابلہ کیا۔

انہوں نے کہا کہ شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو،کارکنان اور تمام جمہوریت پسند عوام کو سلام پیش کرتی ہوں۔

شیری رحمٰن کا کہنا تھا کہ ضیاء الحق نے 11 سال آئین پاکستان معطل کر کے ملک میں مارشل لاء نافذ کیا، آمریت کے ان 11 سالوں کو ہماری تاریخ کے سیاہ ترین دور کے طور پر یاد رکھا جائے گا۔

پی پی سینیٹر کا کہنا تھا کہ تقسیم،نفرت اور انتہا پسندی کی بنیادیں رکھیں گئیں جن سے پاکستان آج تک نہیں نکل سکا، 45 سال پہلے کے اس آئینی اور جمہوری سانحہ کے اثرات ہمارا آج تک پیچھا کر رہے ہیں۔

شیری رحمٰن کا مزید کہنا تھا کہ شہید بھٹو کی آئینی حکومت پر شب خون نا مارا جاتا تو آج پاکستان کا دنیا میں الگ مقام ہوتا۔

انہوں نے کہا کہ عوامی حکومت کا غیر آئینی طور پر خاتمہ نہ ہوتا تو آج عوام کی تقدیر بدل چکی ہوتی، ہمیں نہیں بھولنا چاہیے کہ پاکستان کی ترقی اور استحکام آئین اور جمہوریت میں ہے۔

https://jang.com.pk/news/1107720

وفاقی وزیر خارجہ و چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری - 5 جولائی 1977ء قومی تاریخ کا سیاہ ترین دن ہے۔

 وفاقی وزیر خارجہ و چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا کہنا ہے

کہ 5 جولائی 1977ء قومی تاریخ کا سیاہ ترین دن ہے۔

چیئرمین پی پی پی بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے اپنے ایک بیان میں کہا ہے کہ آج کے دن ڈکٹیٹر نے پاکستان کے پہلے منتخب وزیرِاعظم ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کی حکومت کا خاتمہ کیا تھا۔

ان کا کہنا ہے کہ پاکستان جن سیاسی، معاشی، معاشرتی بیماریوں کو جھیل رہا ہے، اس کے تانے بانے ضیاء دور سے ملتے ہیں، ضیاءالحق نے پاکستان کی سیاسی، معاشرتی زندگی میں لسانیت و فرقہ واریت کی سوچ کا زہر گھولا۔

بلاول بھٹو کا کہنا ہے کہ ضیاء الحق نے جمہوریت اور وفاق پرست سیاسی جماعتوں پر زمین تنگ کر دی تھی، شہید بھٹو کو سیاسی منظر سے ہٹانے کے لیے عدالتی قتل کا اسٹیج تیار کیا گیا، ضیاء  نے پیپلز پارٹی کی قیادت اور کارکنوں کو جیلوں میں ڈالا، کوڑے مارے، جلا وطن ہونے پر مجبور کیا۔

انہوں نے کہا کہ پاکستان کے عوام نے ضیاء اور اس کی غاصبانہ حکومت کا ڈٹ کر مقابلہ کیا، پاکستان کے عوام آج تک ڈکٹیٹر ضیاء کی سوچ اور باقیات سے نبرد آزما ہیں۔

بلاول بھٹو نے کہا کہ شہید محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو، بیگم نصرت بھٹو، تحریکِ بحالیٔ جمہوریت کے جیالوں، سیاسی کارکنوں کو سلام پیش کرتا ہوں، تحریکِ بحالیٔ جمہوریت کے دوران عوام نے انتھک جدوجہد کی اور بے مثال قربانیاں دیں۔

وفاقی وزیرِ خارجہ نے یہ بھی کہا ہے کہ پیپلز پارٹی آئین، جمہوریت، پارلیمانی بالادستی کے محافظ کا کردار ادا کرتی رہے گی، یہ قائد اعظم کے نظریے کی علم بردار جماعت ہے۔

واضح رہے کہ آج سے 45 برس قبل 5 جولائی 1977ء  کو سابق وزیرِ اعظم اور پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے بانی چیئرمین ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کی جمہوری حکومت کا تختہ اُلٹ دیا گیا تھا۔

#Pakistan - July 5 is the darkest day in Pakistan’s history: FM Bilawal Bhutto

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party and Foreign Minister, declared July 5 to be the darkest day in Pakistan’s history.

General Ziaul Haq seized power 45 years ago and imposed the country’s third and longest martial law, according to Bilawal Bhutto in a statement commemorating Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s overthrow.Today’s political, economic, and social ills, according to Bilawal Bhutto, have their roots in the dark days of General Zia’s dictatorship, which promoted sectarianism, extremism, and terrorism in Pakistan’s political and social life.

He recalled that the PPP leadership and workers were imprisoned, flogged, and forced into exile, that the people of Pakistan fought hard against General Zia and his aggressive government, and that they still struggle with his thinking and remnants.

The PPP chairman reaffirms his commitment to completing ZAB’s mission of establishing a truly democratic setup.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/962749/july-5-is-the-darkest-day-in-pakistans-history-fm-bilawal-bhutto/