http://pjmedia.com/If some countries in the Middle East are continuing their Arab Springs, Saudis are continuing their own revolution behind the wheel with a nationwide driving protest scheduled for Oct. 26. The response should be interesting, as the above video from one of Eman Al Nafjan’s test drives shows, where a family and a car with two men all give her a thumb’s up. The mother of three and PhD candidate at King Saud University in Riyadh runs the Saudiwoman blog and got behind the wheel during the last big driving campaign in 2011.Running out of excuses to decree why women can’t drive, as it’s already been established as nothing Quranic, a Saudi sheikh warned last month that driving could impact a woman’s ovaries. Driving “could have a reverse physiological impact. Physiological science and functional medicine studied this side [and found] that it automatically affects ovaries and rolls up the pelvis. This is why we find for women who continuously drive cars their children are born with clinical disorders of varying degrees,” Sheikh Saleh bin Saad al-Luhaydan, a judicial and psychological consultant to the Gulf Psychological Association, told Saudi news website sabq.org. “Islamic sharia does not have a text forbidding women driving,” the head of Saudi Arabia’s morality police, Sheikh Abdulatif Al al-Sheik, told Reuters last month. The Oct. 26 declaration, which was at nearly 16,000 signatures as of this writing, states: 1- Since there is no justification for the Saudi government to prohibit adult women citizens who are capable of driving cars from doing so, we urge the state to provide appropriate means for women seeking the issuance of permits and licenses to apply and obtain them. 2- Many claim that this is a “societal decision”. However the public discourse will not be resolved except through a firm governmental decision to implement what was proposed in point one. Here it is important to point out that women will not be forced to drive if they do not wish to do so. 3- Deferring an issue such as this until a “societal consensus”, has only increased divisions because it constitutes that some will be forced to concede. We as a Saudi people are diverse and accepting of all views that are not prohibited in the Quran or by the Prophet. 4- In case the Saudi government maintains the ban on women driving, we demand that it presents to the citizens a valid and legal justification and not simply to defer it to a societal consensus. 5- In case the government refuses to lift the ban on women driving and refuses to provide the people with a legal and valid justification, we demand that it provides “society” with a legal mechanism through which it can express what it wants. Men are encouraged to participate in the protest as well by offering driving lessons, hanging a decal of support in their own car or spreading the word on social media.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Saudi Women Prepared to Grab Their Future by the Wheel on Oct. 26
Turkey’s headscarf ban lifted in latest assault on the secular state
http://www.secularism.org.uk/Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, yesterday continued his programme of Islamisation of the country by lifting the ban on the wearing of Muslim headscarves in public offices.
"Tibetan orphans" incident exposes Dalai Lama clique's callousness, hypocrisy
The "Tibetan orphans" incident, exposed by European media, has lifted the veil on the callous and hypocritical Dalai Lama clique, who have been masquerading as pacifist and benevolent.
According to a series of stories published by Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung, the vast majority of the so-called "Tibetan orphans" who were brought to Switzerland in the 1960s through a privately-run campaign masterminded by a Swiss entrepreneur and the Dalai Lama had at least one parent in Tibet.
In the Swiss documentary "Tibi and his mothers," directed by Ueli Meier, the bitter experiences and hard lives of the 100-plus "orphans" and other uncomfortable truths were presented.
For ulterior political purposes, the Dalai Lama clique trampled on the children's individual rights and publicly violated common ethics and morality, which was labeled by the Swiss paper as "morally ridiculous."
Humane people will be surprised to learn these lively Tibetan kids and their happy families could be employed by the Dalai Lama clique as political instruments and manipulated as "chess pieces."
And the orphan incident was just one of their favorite tricks to deceive the international community and win undue credit for themselves.
The disastrous effects produced by their dirty deeds are irreversible.
With little or no command of their mother tongue, the "orphans" have difficulties in communicating with their birth parents and some of them have given up attempts at family reunion. And faced with insurmountable cultural barriers, they have found themselves estranged from local communities. The "Tibetan orphans" fabricated by the Dalai Lama clique have thus become a real human tragedy.
Regardless of Swiss media's call for a sincere apology, the Dalai Lama clique feigns ignorance without the slightest remorse for their evil deeds.
The orphan incident was much more than "morally ridiculous" but a despicable crime the Dalai Lama clique committed against the Tibetan people.
The Dalai Lama clique must give the international community, as well as the Tibetan people, an accurate and comprehensive account of the incident.
Malala Yousafzai meets Queen at Buckingham Palace reception
Malala Yousafzai, who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, spoke to the Queen about the importance of education when they met at Buckingham Palace on Friday. The 16-year-old schoolgirl was shot in the head in Pakistan last October after campaigning for the right of girls to go to school without fear in a part of the country where Islamic fundamentalists were trying to impose a strict form of sharia law.Pakistani schoolgirl tells monarch about importance of education and gives her copy of book I Am Malala
Malala was one of the guests at a reception for Commonwealth, youth and education hosted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
She was reduced to laughter by a comment from the duke, who quipped that in this country people wanted children to go to school to get them out of the house. Malala covered her face while in a fit of giggles at his joke.
The teenager, accompanied by her father Ziauddin, gave the Queen a copy of her book, I Am Malala, during their meeting in the palace's White Drawing Room, telling her: "It is a great honour for me to be here, and I wanted to present you with this book."
Accepting the gift, the Queen replied: "That's very kind of you."
Malala told the Queen she was passionate about every child having a right to an education, everywhere around the world.
She added: "Especially in this country as well. I have heard about many children that can't go to school, and I want to continue our work."
Mr Yousafzai also spoke to the Queen and duke about their past visits to his home country.
Malala was flown from Pakistan to the UK for emergency treatment after the attack. Surgeons who treated her said she came within inches of death when the bullet grazed her brain in the attack on a school bus.
She was treated at Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham and has now settled in the city with her family. Since the attack she has addressed the United Nations and been nominated for the Nobel peace prize.
Princess Beatrice and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were also present at the reception, attended by 350 guests from academic institutions around the world. It included a performance from the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra and choir.
Pakistan: There are Many Christian Malala – One of them is “Kashmala Munawar”
She was taken to the Lady Reading Hospital for treatment and the doctors said that there are multiple pellets in her legs. They operated both of her legs and rods were fixed in her legs. Her leg got infected because of which doctors amputate her leg.
After amputating Kashmala leg doctors discharged her from hospital. She was taken to the Mission hospital (Owned by Diocese of Peshawar).
There are many Christian Malala’s who lifted their voices against mediocrity, education and health but no one shares their stories on their social timelines. This is a time to lift your voice for your brothers and sisters in Pakistan. - See more at: http://www.christiansinpakistan.com/there-are-many-christian-malala-one-of-them-is-kashmala-munawar/#sthash.45j3jBey.dpuf
PAKISTAN: Persecution of Ahmadis in September 2013
Following are excerpts from the press release of the Ahmadyya Jamat Report on the Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan, September 2013. The full report may be seen here.
In the month of September persecution against Ahmadis continued in Pakistan. In Orangi Town on September 18, Mr. Ijaz Ahmad Kiyani was shot dead by unknown assailants at 7:30 a.m. He had left home for work but had not gone far when two men coming from the opposite side on a motorcycle fired several shots at him. He was hit six times; one bullet caught him in his left hand; four hit him in the chest and one in the head. He is believed to have died instantly.
Mr. Kiyani was 27 and worked as a driver in an army establishment. He is survived by his parents, a wife, five-year old daughter and a two-year old son.
Spokesmen for Jamaat Ahmadiya, Mr. Saleemuddin, expressed his grief and anguish over this incident and said that despite such target-killings happening in Karachi for a long time the authorities have failed to put a stop to them. "Four Ahmadis have been killed in Karachi for their faith during the past month. We refuse to be intimidated by the killing of innocent Ahmadis because we have faith in Allah", he said. He went on to say that, ".....our adversaries are wrong to assume that their barbarous activities would make any Ahmadi lose faith. The government should be mindful of its duty and should stop the proliferation of hate literature that incites the public to kill Ahmadis". In the recent past conferences were held in the sacred name of Khatme Nabuwwat throughout the country in which hatred and violence against Ahmadis was preached and the audience were incited against Ahmadis through edicts of Wajibul Qatl (must be killed).
A fortnight earlier, another Ahmadi Malik Ejaz Ahmad, was target-killed in Karachi on September 4, 2013. Mr. Kiyani's was the fourth such murder in four weeks.
In Gowalmandi on September 12, Dr. Qazi Munawwar was leaving his clinic for home when he was approached by a youth who threw acid on him before escaping. Dr. Munawwar's clothes were burnt and he was injured. The nearby shop-keepers shifted him to the emergency ward in Meo Hospital. Fortunately his face escaped harm, and the injury was not grave. Dr. Munawwar is an active member of the Ahmadiyya community in Lahore.
The desecration of Ahmadiyya mosques by state authorities continues. According to the Constitution of PAKISTAN:
... It is the will of the people of Pakistan to establish an order ... wherein shall be guaranteed fundamental rights, including equality of status, of opportunity and before law, social, economic and political justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship and association, subject to law and public mortality
Constitution of Pakistan, Preamble
The right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or faith includes the following:
To worship or assemble in accordance with a religion and belief and to establish and maintain places for these purposes.
Article 6 of the United Nations Resolution 365/55 of 25 November, 1981
In Sialkot the police moved into shameless compliance mode in support of extremist Mullas, against the peaceful Ahmadiyya community in this city. The daily The Express Tribune published the following detailed report on this subject in its issue of September 23, 2013:
Ahmadi Persecution: Police bow to clerics to tear down minarets
Group demands further demolitions at Ahmadi places of worship
By Rana Tanveer -- published September 22, 2013
Lahore: Police demolished minarets at an Ahmadi place of worship in Sialkot on Saturday, after a group of protesters threatened to do so themselves, The Express Tribune has learnt.
The police approached the community on Friday after a local cleric complained that three worship places for Ahmadis had features that resembled mosques, namely minarets and verses from the Quran written on the walls.
The minarets and verses were covered up, apparently to the police's satisfaction, but a baying mob gathered at one worship place the next day and demanded that the minarets be torn down. The police did so. The group of protesters is now demanding that similar action be taken against two other worship places within a couple of days.
The cleric whose complaint led to the action told The Express Tribune that he had approached the police after he attended a Khatm-i-Nabuwwat Conference on September 7, marking the anniversary of the passage of anti-Ahmadi laws, where a speaker said that Ahmadis were not allowed to build minarets or use verses from the Quran at their places of worship.
Sections 298-B and 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code outlaw Ahmadis from calling their place of worship a masjid, claiming to be Muslims or preaching their faith to others.
The police are employed and paid to enforce the law but instead acted blatantly to violate the law they are sworn to protect. Of course the officers enjoy full support of their departmental and political superiors at the highest level who were also guilty under the provisions of the following clause of the Pakistan Penal Code:
PPC-295. Injuring or defiling places of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class. Whoever destroys, damages or defiles any place of worship or any object held sacred by any class of persons with the intention of thereby insulting the religion or any class of persons or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such destruction, damage or defilement as an insult to their religion, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
In Chak no. 43, also in the month of September some miscreants hurled abuse at Ms. Saadia Tabassum, a teacher in Sargodha, Punjab. The shouted slogans against her and stopped her from going to the school. She is a teacher in the local Government Elementary School and was falsely accused of preaching Ahmadiyyat to students. This agitation was immediately reported to the authorities who arrived at the scene and rescued her.
It is learnt that the miscreants wanted to have one of their relatives appointed in place of Ms. Tabassum. They co-opted the Mullas of the Khatme Nabuwwat faction and planned a procession. They were unable to succeed as some elders of the area intervened. The students and principal of the school refused to testify against her. The miscreants used the services of a peon of the school in their support.
Ms. Tabassum has been temporarily suspended from the school under the circumstances. She has been advised not to go to the school until the situation improves.
Balochistan’s Feudal Cabinet
The Baloch HalThe Balochistan government made history for wrong reasons by delaying the formation of a full cabinet for more than four months. Last week, the National Party-led coalition government inducted eleven new ministers in the hitherto three-member cabinet. Now, the cabinet comprises of five ministers from the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (P.M.L-N), four from the Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party (Pk.M.A.P.) and the National Party (N.P) respectively and one from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam. The reason for the inordinate delay in the completion of the cabinet was a blend of rifts among the coalition partners and some constitutional restrictions. Differences broke out between the P.M.L-N, which has the largest number of seats (22) in the provincial assembly, and the nationalists over the distribution of ministries. For obvious reasons, the local leadership of the P.M.N-N. is displeased with the undue influence of Prime Minister Nawaz Shrif over the politics of the province. Mr. Sharif, they whine, has been “too generous” in patronizing the Baloch nationalists. For instance, he nominated Dr. Malik Baloch as the head of the provincial government although his party has only 10 seats in the legislature as compared to 22 of the P.M.L-N. and 14 of the Pk.M.A.P. As a quid pro quo, the P.M.L-N.’s local leadership has asked for a greater representation in the cabinet. The new cabinet has attracted criticism for genuine reasons because it has completely excluded women and religious minorities from the elite-decision making body. Although under the 18th Amendment the government is required to limit the number of ministers to 15, a small cabinet is still not a valid pretext for not including even a single woman and non-Muslim. In addition, the cabinet’s composition also comes as a setback for all of us who cheered the election of Dr. Malik Baloch as Balochistan’s first middle class chief minister. On the contrary, more than 90% of the ministers inducted in the cabinet come from a feudal background. They have been awarded key portfolios not based on their political credentials but tribal influence. With a middle class representative leading the provincial government, progressive circles in Balochistan have legitimate expectations that Dr. Malik will sincerely strive to weaken the tribal structure and liberalize the Baloch society. In order to empower every citizen with education and economic opportunities, the government should consistently follow a policy that overtly isolates greedy and corrupt tribal chiefs. If that is not done, it is futile to anticipate a different outcome from Dr. Baloch as compared to his predecessors. While we emphasize the need for reviewing the composition of the cabinet, one should also be mindful of the fact that the chief minister enjoys too little authority over his own government. At all times, he is expected to respect the wishes of his coalition partners. It is not very easy to persuade him to oust tribal chiefs from his cabinet. However, what he can do is to make his own party’s representation in the cabinet more democratic. The National Party of the chief minister has always flaunted its middle class credentials. But its decision to offer ministries to so many tribal notables, instead of members of the middle class, women and religious minority groups, is in stark contradiction with the party’s mission. In order to make his government truly democratic, the chief minister must immediately include at least one female and a minority minister in the cabinet and reduce the presence of feudal lords. In Balochistan, women and religious minorities and even minority sects, such as the Shias, regularly face extraordinary challenges. While a large number of Hindus has been compelled to flee the province owing to security problem, the state of women’s rights and their representation remains absolutely abysmal. Access to education and health facilities also remain underachieved goals of Balochistan’s women. By accommodating women and minorities, the chief minister will be making a much-needed commitment to protecting their rights and also encouraging them to actively participate in daily affairs of the province. A government that snubs the rights of women and minorities merely to please or patronize tribal chiefs will not be deemed sufficiently democratic or representative of all sections of the population.
The word “Taliban” will not slip from Imran's mouth!
http://lubpak.com/archives/287013
By Mahpara Qalandar
Bilawal Bhutto: 18th October is martyr's day
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, co-Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), said on Friday that 18th October is the martyrs’ day - ARY News reports.
The statement was made during an address to the party workers on account of Karsaz Incident, which claimed more than 150 lives, six years ago.
While speaking to the workers, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stated that its human nature to run away from danger but Pakistan Peoples Party has faced danger. He added that PPP has given sacrifices of their leaders and supporters.
He further stated that PPP is a brave party and is a party of the supporters.
Speaking on the sacrifices given by the PPP, the Joint Chairman of PPP explained that Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti sacrificed their lives while protecting the Christian Community of Pakistan. He stated that the party has given sacrifices of their leaders and supporters for Pakistan
Lashing out against the PPP opponents, he claimed that the party is not "Coward Khan" who makes deals after Church attacks. He further alleged that Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri made Islamabad hostage but it was PPP who foiled the intentions of Dr. Qadri.
He also said that the supporters of terrorists are celebrating in the country today.
On the 2018 general elections, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stated that he will strengthen the Pakistan Peoples Party and Asif Ali Zardari will be the commander of the supporters. He claimed that PPP will save the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) from the tsunami in the province. Speaking against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), he alleged that the party will cut the kite of Karachi. He also claimed that PPP will hunt the lion, which is feeding its stomach with the blood of the people.
Earlier, CM Sindh and President of PPP Sindh Qaim Ali Shah and Raza Rabbani, gave tributes to the people killed in the incident.
Zardari will be Jiyala’s bow, me arrow in next elections
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that Asif Ali Zardari would turn out to be a Jiyala's "bow" and he himself an "arrow" in next elections.
Addressing the party workers on 6th anniversary of Karsaz incident, Bilawal said that the whole nation was celebrating Benazir Bhutto's return, however, the bomb explosion occurred and the party workers rendered their sacrifices for their leader.
He said that the party workers sacrificed their lives for the restoration of democracy in the country.
"PPP is not a political party but passion".
Bilawal further said that Dr Tahir ul Qadri had made whole Islamabad hostage and in the current government one more armed person did the same.
He claimed that the political parties who took shelter from the terrorists are now celebrating.
Bilawal further said that Karachi is still a colony of London and pledged that his party would “rescue the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the Tsunami”.
Bilawal lays wreath at memorial of Karsaz martyrs
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has laid floral wreath at memorial of martyrs, who lost their lives in Karsaz carnage.
According to details, the PPP leader also offered Fateha for the victims of the Karsaz blast that killed over 175 people and injured 700 others.
Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Mian Raza Rabbani among various other party leaders were also present on the occasion.
Bilawal declares war on “hijackers of faith”
Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, on Friday said he was declaring jihad (holy war) against “hijackers of the faith”, DawnNews reported.
Addressing his supporters at Karachi’s Karsaz on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Oct 18, 2007 bomb blasts that killed 176 people during a historic rally led by Benazir Bhutto, Bilawal promised supporters that he would fight for the people.
The PPP chairman said that on Oct 18, the Taliban had used a child in the suicide attack on the rally led by his mother on her return from Dubai.
He said the PPP was a party of jiyalas (zealots), adding that it had given numerous sacrifices on several occasions.
Speaking at the site of the attack amid cheer from party supporters, Bilawal said he had "sacrificed” his childhood and his mother for the country.
During the address, he said Karachi still remained “a colony of London” and pledged that his party would “rescue the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the tsunami”.
He laid a floral wreath at the memorial of those killed in the Karsaz bombing and offered prayers for the victims.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, PPP leader Mian Raza Rabbani and various other party leaders were also present on the occasion.
Bilawal then headed to the mausoleum of Abdullah Shah Ghazi to pay his respects.
Bilawal: PPP will save K-P from drowning in PTI tsunami
The Express Tribune News
Picture: Former President Asif Ali Zardari addressing an Eid Milan party at Naudero House
Naudero, Oct 17, 2013: Former President Asif Ali Zardari addressing an Eid Milan party held here at Naudero House Thursday evening. PPP Patron Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, CM Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Ms. Faryal Talpur MNA, Syed Khursheed Shah, Agha Siraj Durrani, Syed Owais Muzaffar and others were also present on the occasion.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Crisis averted, Obama says Americans 'completely fed up' with Washington
U.S: The Republican Surrender
UPDATE: President Obama signed the bill reopening the government and lifting the debt ceiling early Thursday morning.The Republican Party slunk away on Wednesday from its failed, ruinous strategy to get its way through the use of havoc. Hours away from an inevitable market crash, it approved a deal that could have been achieved months ago had a few more lawmakers set aside their animus. After President Obama signs the bill, the government will reopen after more than two weeks of shutdown, and the threat of a default will be lifted.
Pakistan:Religious discrimination at climax by Nawaz Regime:No 'Qurbani' for you: Police stop Ahmadis from ritual sacrificing in Lahore
Lahore police stopped various members of the Ahmadi community in Lahore from slaughtering animals as part of ‘Qurbani’ ritual on Eidul Azha, proclaiming that the ritual of animal sacrifice was an Islamic injunction whereas Ahmadis were not Muslims.
The Express Tribune learnt that police from the Islampura Police Station directed Tahir* in Sanat Nagar not to sacrifice his bull, which he had bought and tied in front of his house a day before Eid.
At the direction of police, Tahir had to remove the animal from his house.
On the same night, Hanjarwal police raided the house of Ahmad* at Sabzazar and took him to the police station, where he was detained for two hours. When his family members reached the police station, officials agreed to release him, but not before he provided a a written assurance that he will not perform the sacrifice meant to remember the Prophet Ibrahim’s (AS) tradition of presenting Ismail (AS) for sacrifice, said one of Tahir’s family members.He said that the police, instead of providing security to the citizens, was meddling in sectarian issues and supporting hardliners.
*Tahir and Ahmad are fabricated names to protect the identities of the victims.
Sindh CM meets Zardari to discuss shuffling Sindh cabinet
The Express TribuneSindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah met former president Asif Ali Zardari in Larkana to discuss shuffling the Sindh Cabinet, Express News reported on Thursday.
At the meeting Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Member National Assembly (MNA) Faryal Talpur, Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani and Local Government Minister Owais Muzaffar were also present.
The meeting focused on shuffling portfolios in the Sindh Cabinet. According to sources, the local body elections were also discussed at the meeting.
The topic of Bilawal’s election to the National Assembly also came under discussion. The participants deliberated whether PPP MNA Ayaz Soomro should give up his place for the party’s patron in chief on NA-204. If a decision is arrived at, Bilawal can contest for the seat during the by-elections for the constituency.
Owais Muzaffar was considered for the role of interior department minister. There was further deliberation on whether Agha Siraj Durrani should be handed his old ministry for local government. Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sikandar Ali Mandhro was considered as a potential candidate to replace Durrani as the Speaker of Sindh Assembly.
India, Pakistan have highest population of slaves in the world: report
Over 16 million or half the world’s population of modern day slaves live in India and Pakistan, according to the inaugural Global Slavery Index published Thursday.
An estimated 30 million people worldwide are living in modern-day slavery, of which 2.1 million are in Pakistan and a staggering 14 million are based in India.
The report by the Walk Free Foundation ranks 162 countries on ‘modern slavery’ by using reports from governments and non-profit organisations as well as statistical estimates.
The Walk Free Foundation’s definition of modern slavery includes slavery itself, as well as human trafficking and forced labour, and slavery-like practices such as debt bondage, forced marriage, and sale or exploitation of children.
According to the index, India has the highest total number of enslaved people in the world, between 13.2 million to 14.6 million, followed by China with 2.9 million enslaved people, and Pakistan with 2.1 million enslaved people.
According to estimates by the WFF report, over 1.2 per cent of the Pakistani population is enforced into in some form of slavery.
In India, this percentage rests somewhere around 1.13 per cent, while in China it is about 0.22 per cent.
Combined, both India and Pakistan house 54 per cent of the world’s population of enslaved people.
The index also ranks countries on a slavery prevalence rating based on factors including ratio to country population.
Mauritania and Haiti rank among the countries with the highest prevalence of modern slavery. An estimated 4 per cent of West African nation Mauritania’s population is living in some form of slavery.
Pakistan and India follow the list, ranked third and fourth respectively on prevalence of slavery.
Taken together, countries with the highest numbers of enslaved people – India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh – account for 76 per cent of the total estimate of 30 million in modern slavery today.
The Walk Free Foundation is a Perth-based anti-slavery charity founded by Australian tycoon Andrew Forrest. The index has been endorsed by popular leaders including US Secretary Hillary Clinton, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, current Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and philanthropists Richard Branson and Bill Gates.
The charity hopes the annual index will help governments monitor and tackle what it calls a “hidden crime”.
AGENCIES ADD: “A lot of people are very surprised to hear that slavery still exists,” WFF chief executive Nick Grono told news agency AFP, explaining how many people assume it ended when the Atlantic slave trade was abolished in the 1800s.
“What modern slavery is is a situation that reflects all of the characteristics of slavery of past centuries,” he said. “People are controlled by violence. They are tricked or they are forced into jobs or situations where they are economically exploited. They live on no pay or base subsistence pay and they’re not free to leave.”
“I think once we start pointing out the scale of the problem on a country by country basis, policy makers will react.
“Slavery exists in every country in the world.”
Bilawal Bhutto strongly condemns D. I. Khan blast
http://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/
Patron-in-Chief of Pakistan People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has strongly condemned the blast in Kulachi, D. I. Khan, which resulted into the loss of several innocent lives including of provincial minister Israrullah Gandapur while injuring many others.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that shedding blood of innocent people was tantamount to playing with the stability of the country. He said that the enemies wanted to weaken the country to fulfill their nefarious designs.
PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto sympathized with the families of victims who lost their lives and limbs in the attack and expressed solidarity with them. He stressed that special arrangements should be made for timely treatment to all those injured in the attacks.
Eid sacrificial animals in Pak can cost more than cars
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/This year, the average price of a "qurbani" or sacrificial animal begins from 20,000 Pakistani rupees onwards and goes up to a princely sum of Rs 16 lakh - an amount that has left several appalled, considering a brand new car in Pakistan will cost only about Rs 7 lakh. It's the first time in years that the prices are so high and have nearly doubled from that of 2012. This means buying a sacrificial animal remains nothing but a dream for the salaried and middle class. No wonder then, animals are allegedly being stolen from homes. Take for example cricket player Imran Farhat. After paying Rs 1 lakh for his Eid goats, they were stolen overnight from his house in the upscale Valencia Town, Lahore. Despite police complaints and follow ups, the goats remain missing. It was "breaking news" on some channels. It is not uncommon for animals to be stolen or abducted in the days leading to Eid. In Karachi, where extortion is rampant in some areas, people who bring home sacrificial animals may even have to pay money to mafia to keep them safe. This year alone, two animals were shot dead by extortionists after their owners from Kharadar and Ranchore Lines area refused to pay them ransom. TV channels have also been showing all kind of animals that are up for sale, including a goat that "drinks sprite" and chews 'pan'. One goat showed on TV was priced at whopping Rs six lakh, while the most expensive buffalo was priced at about Rs 16 lakh. But then, if one does not feel like making his way through cattle markets crowded with buyers and animals, then help is just a click away. "Qurbani Online" is among a host of websites which promises to have the animal delivered 'at your home, at any relative's location or any charity organization'. But as of now, the service is restricted to Karachi. An official of the Livestock and Dairy Development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province told state-run APP news agency that sacrificial animals between Rs 70,000 to Rs 1,00,000 are being sacrificed in the province. People say rising prices of sacrificial animals have made it hard for them to afford and many joint families have decided to share the cost of sacrificial cows. Butchers are also in high demand. The current rates are about Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,500 for goat, Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for cows and Rs 10,000 to 15,000 for camels. Eid-ul-Azha is an Islamic festival in which devotees mark the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son when God ordered him to.
60pc Afghan children facing malnutrition: WFP
The Role of Church – Peshawar Church Attack
The voice of the martyred of Peshawar church blast is not silent. All over the world Pakistani Christians have one voice for them.Last day in Kasure at Ganda Singh boarder our Christian brother sisters were gather to make their voice against Peshawar Church attack on 22nd September when the believer of Lord Jesus Christ were just finished Holy Mass and two suicide bomber blast them. At that time more than 500 people including Sunday school children were present. At the spot 110 people including women, children and young boys, girls were died and 170 people were injured, some of them were major and some were minor but they were affected. The number of death were increased by night 127 when we were busy for quick funeral service ordered by Bishop Humphrey who were just away from Peshawar only for 3 hours drive in Bannu but reached at 7:30. And having meeting with Imran Khan at his own Drying room as well as controlled to media and officials. In the history of Pakistan the first time Christian faced huge life damages but the Church of Pakistan and Peshawar diocese sum up quick and fast, now the policy maker of Peshawar diocese try to close this issue and think that is normal, at other side the patient of blast are losing parts of bodies and forcibly treatment in to the private hospital because the Mission hospital of Peshawar diocese have no expert para medical and medical staff as well as that hospital is too dirty. Many girls had major operation which is alarming for the future generation, One of collage girl (Farah Irshad) still waiting for surgery now she is paralyzed due to blockage of ball barring in her back bone her brother lost his all gums and teeth. My cousin lost her eye boll. Kashmalla Munawar lost her leg. Many children and other affected were still in private hospital in shocking conditions that are taking care of WVIP, BISHOP JOHN JOSEPH TRUST. After the attacked the numbers of martyrs are now 130, 120 people still in the different hospitals in Peshawar and in PIMS Islamabad, 12 women become widows, 24 children become orphan 18 children were lost both father and mother. But the church of Pakistan diocese of Peshawar think its normal and people should forget and started new life as they were in past also condemning those who are activist and shouting for justice. Diocese thinks that some activist getting political advantage and making hurdle in the diocese plan. It’s true that Bishop Humphrey Peter control all situations by himself, Himself made dialogue with C M KPK at his office on 23rd September. 10th October he met with Prime Mister of Pakistan without delegations of victims but in press release they issued report with affected families which are not true. - See more at: http://www.christiansinpakistan.com/the-role-of-church-peshawar-church-attack/#sthash.WBYApqPH.dpuf
Bomb defused in Peshawar
Former President Asif Ali Zardari & PPP Patron-in-Chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari meet Party workers in Naudero
Naudero, October 16, 2013: Former President Asif Ali Zardari returned from Dubai to celebrate Eidul Azha today in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, Naudero in Larkana. The former President offered Eid prayers at the mausoleum of Bhutto’s in Garhi Khuda Baksh in Larkana. He was accompanied by the Patron PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani and senior provincial Minister Nisar Khuro.http://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/
More enrollment in Malala's part of the world
Malala Yousafzai has not won the Nobel Peace Prize. Nonetheless, a number of people attribute the hike in girls' enrollment in schools in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to her struggle.Malala's international admiration has boosted the number of newly enrolled girls in schools in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KPK), particularly Malakand Division. The Malakand Division includes the districts of Chitral, Lower Dir and Upper Dir, Swat, Buner, Shangla and Malakand. "In less than a month, more than 200,000 children, including 75,000 girls have been enrolled in different schools," KPK education minister Atif Khan told DW. He added that the people living in this area had now understood the importance of education in a nation's progress. Khan called what happened to Malala "upsetting" and hoped it would not repeat itself. Malala's campaign
Pakistani Quake Victims Suffer As Government Denies International Aid
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Israel poverty figures up, 40% of children at risk
Nearly twice as many youngsters facing financial difficulties compared to average for European countries
The number of Israelis at risk of poverty has gone up in the last decade and is nearly twice the average in the European Union, figures released Wednesday show.Details from the “Society in Israel Report No. 6,” published by the National Central Bureau of Statistics, showed that an increasing number of Israelis are failing to make ends meet.According to the report, 31 percent of the population in 2011 was in danger of poverty, compared to 17% in the European Union. For the purposes of the report, risk of poverty was defined as when each member of a household is supported on less than 60% of the average financial resources available to the rest of the population.
Among Israeli single-parent households with dependent children, 44% were facing poverty compared to 41% in 2001. In Europe, the numbers stood at 35% in 2011 and 32% in 2001. Luxembourg was found to be worst of all with 46%.
The number of children at risk of poverty in Israel was twice that in Europe in 2011, with 40% for the former compared to just 20% for the latter.
Seventy-four percent of Israelis between the ages of 25 and 64 were employed in 2012, compared to a 71% average among the other 33 countries that, along with Israel, are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Israel lagged in higher education, with the percentage who obtained a first and second degree at 36% compared to 39% for OECD countries in 2011. Poland scored highest with 58% and Turkey and Mexico were at the bottom, with 23% and 21% respectively.
On the bright side, traffic accidents have shown a steady drop and Israel was among the 10 least deadly countries in this regard. The number of deaths per billion kilometers of road travel was seven in 2010, down from 13 in 2000. Britain had the lowest number of car fatalities, with four deaths per billion kilometers traveled.
The full report on Israeli society is due to be published on Thursday.
Feud in Washington risks US credit
October 17th witnesses the deadline on US debt but there are still no signs that Republicans and Democrats will make a compromise. Therefore the rest of the world can only draw confidence from the perception that US political games would work out at the last moment based on past experience. However, suspicion is on the rise this time because the White House shutdown will probably continue to exert gloomy influence in the foreseeable future, even if the two parties reach an agreement in the end.
The Xinhua News Agency published a comment calling for the international community to consider "de-Americanization" a few days ago, arousing high alert among US public opinion.
However, Americans can not blame Xinhua for its remarks since the unrelibility of the US has been prompting other countries to ponder how to escape its negative impact.
Republicans and Democrats are putting on "a democratic show" to the whole world like dancing on a wire rope. But other nations are still able to sense something wrong in the inter-party feuds within Washington as the deadlock over Obamacare has already exposed profound defects in US institutions. What's more, the once powerful nation, which now sees declining wealth-creating capacity, ushers in a period of "multiple contradictions" that its reputedly strong politics can hardly rein in.
Once a default occurs on the US national debt, China will be in the forefront as its biggest creditor and suffer far more losses if the White House makes the default a long-term conundrum.
Nevertheless, the US government is undergoing more losses than China, at least for now, since its credit will be stricken in a catastrophic way throughout the world. As a consequence, it will have to increase its financing cost drastically with descending political appeal.
If Washington is stable in both politics and economy, a default will never take place and the rest of the world will not show any concern.
If the US is indeed not able to pay off the debt due to various reasons, the political fighting in Washington would be a clear signal that the US is heading toward collapse.
Americans are supposed to take the comment on "de-Americanization" as an alarm bell. They must note that the US has gradually been falling out of its position as a "superpower" by being opportunistic and greedy. An increasing number of countries in the world have shown discontent and even boredom toward it.
While preserving the right to avoid being affected by the US debt crisis, China hopes that Washington will make positive contribution to the renewed world order in the 21st century as a healthy superpower.
Whether Republicans and Democrats can reach a compromise, which is key to the world at large, is a highlight today. We are unwilling to see the bankruptcy in the US national credit.
Bahrainis determined to get political change: Saeed Shehabi
Press TV has conducted an interview with Saeed Shehabi, from the Bahrain Freedom Movement, about the security forces in Bahrain once again clashing with anti-regime protesters, who took to the streets across the country to denounce the Al Khalifa ruling family.
What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.
Press TV: How do you view the persistence of the resistance of the Bahraini people and also the persistence of the Al Khalifa regime in carrying out its crackdown on these demonstrations?
Shehabi: Thank you very much and of course my greetings on the Eid of Haj, of pilgrimage, Eid al-Adha to everybody, to all Muslims and especially to the people of Bahrain who were mourning the end of the ceremony to bury the latest martyr Yusef al-Nashmi.
Now what has amazed me over the past two and a half years is the fact that the Bahrainis have been persistent in their daily protests, in their daily demonstrations and as we just heard from your video clip, people are just shouting without fear, down with Hamad, down with Hamad and so on.
So this shows that the people are determined to get a political change in their country. They do not want to sit back and wait for the Americans or for the West to change the situation. They will change the situation themselves. The only thing they are asking the West to do is not to side, not to support, not to continue giving military and security support to this defunct regime.
So what I see is there is on one hand the determination of the people to continue their struggle, on the other hand the continuation of the regime to suppress, to maim, to attack, to detain, to try the Bahrainis and torture them.
Press TV: How come Western countries, some Western countries and their major media outlets aren't giving the uprising and the crackdown in Bahrain more proper and adequate attention and coverage?
Shehabi: This is really perplexing because on one hand you can see that the human rights bodies such as Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch are giving importance, significance to the situation in Bahrain. They are issuing statements, urgent actions against the Al Khalifa regime.
On the other hand there is a total blackout in the Western media on what is going on in Bahrain. Imagine a revolution that has been going on for thirty months, that has been protesting everyday without any stop, either it is Eid, either it is a religious festival or a martyrdom or it is hot or cold, the march has continued.
Yet this media which is supposed to cover the world events, is ignoring purposely this revolution. This is something that cannot be excused or understood.
I believe that there is hidden agenda with this media which is totally and continuously ignoring the plight of the Bahrainis while concentrating on other places of interest to them.
I believe that what we have learned over the past two years is that unless the people depend on themselves neither the West nor anyone else is going to help them. This is why the people are ready to sacrifice, are ready to protest, are ready to go and to pour into the streets on daily basis in their hundreds, thousands to change their situation.
I believe the end will be near because there is no room for dictatorship even if it is supported by America or by Britain, there needs to be a serious change and that change will be coming soon Inshallah (God willing).
U.S. Congress prepares to vote on breakthrough fiscal deal
U.S. Senate leaders struck a bipartisan 11th-hour deal to break the fiscal impasse on Wednesday, and the Republican-led House of Representatives agreed to take it up as Congress moved to avert a historic debt default.
With the government's borrowing authority set to run out on Thursday, aides said House Speaker John Boehner would allow the deeply divided House to vote on the Senate plan for a short-term increase in the debt limit and a reopening of government, which was expected to pass with mostly Democratic votes.
The timing of the House and Senate votes is unclear.
The deal would extend U.S. borrowing authority until February 7, although the Treasury Department would have tools to temporarily extend its borrowing capacity beyond that date if Congress failed to act early next year.
The agreement also would fund government agencies until January 15, ending a partial government shutdown that began with the new fiscal year on October 1.
The moves were a bruising political defeat for Republican conservatives who had demanded changes to President Barack Obama's healthcare law before they would agree to fund the government.
It was unclear if Boehner's leadership position will be at risk in the political fallout, but opinion polls show Republicans have taken a political beating in the showdown as they head into next year's congressional elections.
"The deal we've got, you know the old saying 'we may have left a little bit on the table?' We left everything on the table," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said. "This has been a very bad two weeks for the Republican brand, conservatism."
Asked by reporters if the fight for deficit reduction and changes to the healthcare law was over for now: "That appears to be where we are headed," Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio said.
It remained to be seen if the House and Senate could pass the deal before Thursday, when the U.S. Treasury has said it will hit a $16.7 trillion borrowing limit. The government will have enough cash on hand to meet its financial obligations for a few more days, but officials have warned that an economically devastating default could quickly follow.
The deal between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell gives Obama what he had demanded for months: A straightforward debt limit hike and government funding bill.
The extension is shorter than the one year Obama had asked for, however, and promises another budget fight in a few months.
The deal includes some income verification procedures for those seeking subsidies under the healthcare law, but Republicans surrendered on their attempts to include other changes, including the elimination of a medical device tax used to help pay for it.
"This is not a time for pointing fingers and blame. This is a time for reconciliation," Reid said on the Senate floor in announcing the deal.
McConnell and Reid said the agreement will give both parties time to try to negotiate a long-range budget agreement, although they acknowledged that has been hard to achieve.
The Senate leaders were exploring ways to speed the legislation through their chamber, which often can get bogged down for days with procedural hurdles.
Republican Tea Party firebrands, such as Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, have tried to delay passage of a government funding bill as they demanded changes to Obama's signature healthcare law in return.
But Cruz said on Wednesday he would not delay passage of the bipartisan deal, although he bitterly criticized it.
"Unfortunately, once again it appears the Washington establishment has refused to listen to the American people," Cruz told reporters.
The budget deadlock led to federal agency shutdowns as Obama and his fellow Democrats stood firm against changing the healthcare law.
Republican Representative Sean Duffy of Wisconsin said most House conservatives would likely reject the Senate's plan, but "more than likely it'll pass," he told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday.
ځانمرګي بريد د خيبر پښتونخوا يو صوبايي وزير وواژه
http://www.mashaalradio.com/د خيبر پښتونخوا د قانون او پارليماني چارو وزير اسرارالله ګنډاپور نن په يو ځانمرګي بريد کې ووژل شو.
د خيبر پښتونخوا د قانون او پارليماني چارو وزير اسرارالله ګنډاپور نن په يو ځانمرګي بريد کې ووژل شو.
د چارواکو په وينا اول د لوی اختر په لومړۍ ورځ (چارشنبه يا شورو) په ډيره اسماعيل خان کې د هغه د کور مخې ته ډزې شوي او بيا ځانمرګي بريدکوونکي په ځان پورې چاوديدونکي مواد چولي چې په نتيجه کې يې د اسرار الله ګنډاپور تر څنګ اوه نور کسان هم وژلي.
د پوليسو په وينا پيښه کې ديرش کسان زخميان شوي هم دي او چارواکي وايي د وژل شوو او مړو شوو په شمېره کې زياتوالی امکان لري.
اسرارالله ګنډاپور د خيبر پښتونخوا حکمران ګوند تحريک انصاف غړی وو.
د دې خبر تر ليکلو پوې کومې وسله والې ډلې د دې بريد پړه پر غاړه نه ده اخيست
Explosion kills K-P minister Israrullah Gandapur, nine others
An explosion has taken place at the house of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Israrullah Gandapur, killed the minister among eight people and injured 10 others, Express News reported.
The attack reportedly took place when the minister was meeting visitors at his traditional village in Kulachi, which is located 45 kilometers from Dera Ismail Khan.
Gandapur had been elected during the May elections from PK-67 D.I. KHAN-IV as an Independent but he later joined the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Express News correspondent Ramzan Seemab reported that Gandapur’s brother, Ikramullah Gandapur was also injured in the attack.
Police suspect a suicide blast targetted Gandapur.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/618954/explosion-at-k-p-minister-israrullah-gandapurs-house-in-di-khan/
Pakistan: Czech President Seeks Release Of Captives
http://www.rferl.org/Czech President Milos Zeman says his government is negotiating the release of two Czech women kidnapped in Pakistan in March. Zeman said on October 16 he had written to the Pakistani president asking him to pay special attention to the case. The Czech Foreign Ministry has declined comment. Antonie Chrastecka and Hana Humpalova, who are both 24, were seized in March while travelling by microbus through Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan near the Afghan border, en route to India. No one has claimed responsibility. A video emerged in June showing the two demanding the release of Pakistani national Aafia Siddiqui from a U.S. prison. Siddiqui, a neuroscientist, was given an 86-year sentence by a U.S. court in 2010 for shooting at FBI agents and soldiers in Afghanistan.
Pakistan: 2 killed in remote control attack in Swat
At least 2 persons were killed during an explosion in Swat on Wednesday - ARY News reports.
According to sources, the blast occured near a vehicle in the area of Mian Shaikh Baba. The explosion was carried out by a remote control.
Security officials sealed the area after the explosion.
Dear Mighty Khan / Kaptaan / Übermensch,(Imran Talib Fake Khan)
Dear Mighty Khan / Kaptaan / Übermensch,
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Greetings from an ancient admirer, a long-time fan and a member of the species you call ‘liberal scum.’
Back in 1992 when you led the Pakistan cricket team to its first World Cup victory and made that narcissistic speech after the final, I used to work as a reporter and feature-writer for a local English weekly.
While most of the country’s press was wagging its collective finger at you for being selfish and arrogant, I defended you in a series of articles, in spite of the fact that (eventually) you were brave enough to admit that you made a mistake in taking all the credit for the victory as your team mates stood there, scratching their heads and maybe waving at you to remind you of their existence. ‘Hey, skipper, remember us!’
Being a fan, I was extremely excited when (in the mid-1990s) you decided to join politics and form your own party – even though I must admit, I was kind of apprehensive when I saw you hanging out with General (R) Hamid Gul.
I know that liberal scumbags criminally undermine General Gul’s role in wisely and prudently utilising the big American Dollar and the Saudi Riyal to deliver a crushing defeat to an atheistic superpower that was known to eat Muslim babies, but to fans like me, a dashing Khan just didn’t augur very well with a foaming, wrinkled Gul.
I know I might be sounding a tad disrespectful of a hero like Gul, but time and history can be a cruel combination because the only Gul that really matters now is Umar Gul and he too, has lost form.
But, alas, call it a mischievous itch, I did quite enjoy how you eventually ended up completely peeving Gul and leaving him in an existentialist lurch when you decided to marry a Caucasian British national whose father was a wealthy Jew.
If ever there was a starker physical expression of irony, it manifested itself across Gul’s angry face when he heard the news. I remember him telling journalists how disappointed he was. The protégé had slipped away.
I told my cynical friends that this act proved that Khan Saab was still the guy we cheered for across his cricketing career; the same guy we had thought was the most inspirational and intelligent thing ever to happen to the post of captaincy in Pakistan cricket.
Some of my friends called me a fool when one day in 1997 I decided to donate half of my monthly salary to the cancer hospital you had set up in Lahore.
They asked me, ‘have you heard him speak, lately?’ They didn’t like how you had started to sound: Like an angry, self-righteous reactionary, or, as one of my friends had put it, ‘like Hamid Gul on amphetamines!’
Humbug, I thought. What did that have to do with the cancer hospital, right? So off I went to the post office with my donation tucked inside an envelope, addressed to the administration of the hospital. I felt good.
Incidentally, that same evening I picked up a copy of The Friday Times and was thrilled to see a full-page article on you. I cringed, gritted my teeth, clenched my fists and tried to look away but just couldn’t ignore some of the things that you had said in the quotes that the article had used.
You went on and on about ‘servile brown sahibs’, ‘the drugged out, decadent and liberal youth culture of the West,’ the evilness and corruption of people like Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, the glory of faith and how you rediscovered it.
I tried to understand you as being like most urban middle-class Pakistani men who, after spending a good part of their lives in the most flamboyant and colourful manner, suddenly ‘rediscover the wonders of faith’ the moment they hit middle-age.
Fair enough, I thought, but what really bothered me was how instead of keeping such noble spiritual re-discoveries to themselves, they make it a point to exhibit it and flaunt it as a tool to judge other men.
But you weren’t just another Pakistani. You were Imran Khan. And while I was reading that article also I kept wondering: What was a proud brown Pakistani like you doing behaving like a ‘servile brown sahib’ by marrying an opulent Caucasian Westerner? I mean, not that it ever bothered me, but couldn’t you have found a proud brown Pakistani woman?
Even then, I didn’t really get your angry, dismissive dig at the decadent, druggie youth culture of the West. Weren’t you (and still are) great friends with rock star Mick Jagger and actor Peter O’Toole – two of the most prominent purveyors of exactly the kind of culture you were decrying?
Did you tell them how decadent and disgusting their lifestyles were in the 1960s and 1970s? I’m sure you didn’t. But you had no qualms in telling us – the ones who live in a country where the only culture (since the late 1970s) that mushroomed was the one in which men were encouraged to use religion to meet cynical political ends and as a weapon against those they deemed to be ‘bad Muslims’ or downright infidels.
You being my idol, I wondered who you were addressing. I believed in the same God as you did and shared the same faith. Yes, I wasn’t (and still am not) quite into the ritualistic bit of our faith (as you now are), but does that make me a lesser Muslim than you?
And if you weren’t talking to people like me, then who? Ninety-eight per cent of Pakistanis are Muslim and ever since the 1980s, a majority of them love wearing their faith on their sleeves.
But then I understood. And you helped me understand. And it happened only recently when I read your last book, ‘Pakistan: A Personal History.’
I didn’t agree with a lot of things you mediated upon in the book, but (as always) I admired your honesty – especially when you confessed that you had very little knowledge of what went on in Pakistani politics and society during the Ziaul Haq dictatorship in the 1980s.
Well, as a busy cricketer you could escape the sight of public floggings, the midnight arrests, the myopia and the religious bigotry of the era, but most Pakistanis couldn’t.
Many Pakistanis readjusted their spiritual and political dispositions to fit in the new paradigm of acceptance, whereas those who didn’t, suffered all kinds of hardships.
It was fine to be naïve about such matters as a travelling sportsman (especially if one was as good as you were), but this naïveté (or the sudden, late realisation of certain disturbing moments of Pakistan’s history) can become a problem for a politician.
Now, here you are, leading Pakistan’s third largest political party and basking in the admiration of thousands of young Pakistanis as an ideological icon but with perhaps only a superficial knowledge of your own country’s history.
After reading your confessional book I just can’t help but wonder exactly how much do you really know about or comprehend the things you are so very vocal about: Faith, corruption, drone attacks, ‘Pushtun traditions,’ economy …
Just like most Pakistanis, your grip on history is weak because in our country, half-truths and myths are taught as historical fact.
After all, your ideological mentors, like General Gul and Jamat-i-Islami (JI) are the kind of folks who see the country and the world exactly through the kind of eyes that stare back at us every time we open the history books that are in circulation across Pakistan’s educational institutions.
Have your sons ever gone through such a book? I don’t think so. They’ll grow up in the UK as wise lads, with an education that is designed to help students understand the world in a rational, creative and practical manner; they’ll never experience an education that was solely constructed to promote a myopic ideology.
I was quite pleased when you talked about educational reforms before the 2013 election. I thought who else but the Mighty Khan can rid our text books of all that is designed to turn young minds into robotic, reactionary pulp.
But I should have known. Why would you? I mean, this pulp is what one comes across if he or she even tries to rationally interact with your most ardent supporters in the social media.
E=MC2 becomes E=@@$%$$#@&&^$#@!
Have you ever heard them speak? Many of them make reactionaries of yore sound like soft-spoken underlings, and one is not sure whether he is interacting with an urbane middle-class young person or a rabid incoherent bigot.
But your government in the KP did initiate those much talked-about education reforms. However, instead of going forward, your government decided to go backwards. Reverse swing, I guess?
The last ruling party in KP, the ANP, had edited out certain verses on Jihad, believing that when taken out of context they would generate confusion and even make many young people misunderstand Islam.
But, instead of at least gazing at your navel about this argument, you dismissed ANP’s manoeuvre as something done by a diabolic batch of corrupt and evil secularists, and gave a free hand to your education ministry to put those verses right back in.
‘These verses would clear the confusion about Jihad in young people’s minds,’ said the ministry. I’ve gone through those verses over and over again and they are put there without any context. So tell me, how is this act of your government any different than the act of extremists cherry-picking the same verses (out of context) to justify their violence against the state, government and people of Pakistan?
Every Muslim Pakistani kid gets ample religious education at home, doesn’t he? And if you are so hell-bent on putting verses on Jihad in school text books, why not also put verses on tolerance and the pursuit of knowledge that run across the holy book are far simpler to comprehend by young minds than the more complex ones on Jihad?
I’ve never called you ‘Taleban Khan.’ And I don’t plan to now. I am sure you truly believe that the war against extremist groups can be won through talks and dialogue.
But, as you often say, it’s ‘not our war’, I have wondered on whose behalf would we be talking to the militants?
It’s America’s war, right? So would we be talking on the behalf of the scheming Americans? Have they asked us to? And why should we?
I’m kind of confused here. You say it’s not our war and yet it is Pakistani soldiers, cops and civilians dying in it, being killed by men who are also Pakistani.
You do have an answer, though, and you keep repeating it: Those Pakistanis who are killing other Pakistanis are the guys whose families were hit by US drone strikes. In anger and desperation they have picked up arms.
Okay, but against whom have these victims of American brutality picked up arms?
Against unarmed people praying in mosques, shrines and churches? Against women and children in markets? Against the Pakistan army and police? Against teenaged school girls?
Oh, of course, this is so because we as a nation are fighting America’s war. Let’s say that we were, but over the years, hasn’t it become squarely our own war?
Over 50,000 Pakistanis killed since 2002. They’d have to be living in Guatemala for anyone to say that this doesn’t make it Pakistan’s war.
However, you are right to ask that if the US is willing to hold talks with extremists in Afghanistan, why the Pakistanis shouldn’t be allowed to do the same with those haunting the mountains, caves and cities of Pakistan.
But whereas, the conniving Americans are doing so to negotiate a safe exit for its occupying forces in Afghanistan, what would we be negotiating for?
Are we an occupying force? Is our military an occupying force in the north-west of Pakistan? Should we negotiate its safe exit first from KP so the extremists are free to do whatever they like, first in the KP, then in the rest of Pakistan?
Will we be negotiating that ‘bad Muslims’ be allowed to at least settle on the shorelines of Gawadar and Karachi? Or should we grow gills and find an underwater city of infidels in the Arabian Sea?
I am all for peace talks, Khan Saab. We are all for peace. Who in his or her right mind wouldn’t be?
But so far it’s just been one-way traffic. The state and government alone has been talking about peace. And what are they getting in return?
Suicide bombings on men, women and children. IED explosions against senior military officers and soldiers.
Obviously, as you pointed out, these acts are the doing of those who want to derail the peace talks. May we know who these saboteurs are?
Americans, Indians, Afghans, or maybe the ANP? Kindly do inform confused Pakistanis like me.
You did say that ANP was politicising issues like suicide blasts. Well, I guess, they shouldn’t, but you most certainly can on issues like drone strikes, right?
After all, you are the mighty Khan who has always taken the higher moral ground. That’s exactly why Western press spews fact after fact on corrupt hyenas like Zardari and Sharif and mobsters like Altaf Hussain, but you only make news when you attend a charity ball by a British royal to save endangered elephants.
Oh, how we wish the 81 Christians who were slaughtered by extremists in a church in Peshawar last Sunday were elephants as well.
They’re most certainly an endangered species, just like sanity in this country.
So, can you ask Prince Charles to hold a charity ball for this as well?
Thanks.
Your fan (as opposed to a foulmouthed fanatic),
Nadeem.
http://dawn.com/news/1044868/dear-mighty
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